Salvation By Christ Alone

John 17 

            I hope this morning to proclaim an old truth to which you may have listened many times.  Rest assured that this truth is such as to be worthy of repeating every day.  When the old dispensation was becoming worn and ready to end its usefulness, then God presented the last puzzle piece of His wondrous plan for mankind’s redemption.  The Law was never meant to overcome sin but to prepare the way for ultimate truth.  That truth is a person, Jesus the Messiah!

            You may recall the story of the Wedding Feast at Cana, Galilee?  When the servants served the water Jesus had made wine, it was observed that the best had been saved for last – so has God saved the very best for us!  It was no easy thing to put away sin.  It seems a simple thing to have faith but the human heart is selfish enough and hard enough to defeat faith.  The good news is that Jesus did not come to save those without sin (there are none) but to redeem the hopelessly sinful and lost – us!  If your house was on fire and the fire trucks were racing toward you, you would be surprised to see them continue past without stopping.  In your need you would jump up and down waving your arms insisting on having help.  Make no mistake, Christ has come and we desperately need Him!

I.                    Jesus Did Not Come To:

A.    Deny sin and make it appear harmless

B.     Help us forget our sin and its result

C.    Offer us a false hope

II.                 He Came To Perform An Impossible Task

A.    The sacrifice of millions of sheep and goats could not assuage sin

1.      Animal sacrifice put not one sin away

2.      Every Day of Atonement simply put off the debt for another year

B.     The Law did not suffice

1.      The Jews developed more than 600 rules and rituals in an effort toward righteousness

2.      They were able only to whitewash the outside of the sepulcher

C.    Repentance alone cannot accomplish forgiveness

1.      Repentance is a work of man and therefore unable to alter our condition

2.      Turning over a new leaf fails to solve the problem

D.    Suffering and death do not expiate sin

E.     Not even Hell can destroy the power of sin

1.      The rich man in Hell was unrepentant and unabsolved

2.      Fallen men and angels will never cease from their evil imaginings

F.     Faith in Christ alone is sufficient to satisfy God’s requirement

III.               Even After Salvation It Is Difficult to Remain Faithful

A.    Christians face testing

1.      Are we truly different?

2.      Let us prove our condition by the way we behave

B.     If the Elect are not exempt from testing what will happen to the lost?

We are called to a higher standard.  Let each of us know that we will give an account for the life given us and for its opportunities.