Solus Christus: Christ Alone

“Solus Christus: Christ Alone Salvation in No One Else” November 19, 2017 Scripture Alone is our authority. It teaches us that we are saved by Grace Alone through Faith Alone in Christ Alone. The Big Question: Solus Christus answers the “Who” Question. Who will go to God on our behalf? In whom is salvation found? Who is our mediator? To go to God, do we go through Mary, the Saints, the Priest? Who mediates for us? The Big Idea: Jesus was extraordinarily exclusive in His language about where salvation is found. In a world that has little tolerance for that kind of thinking and language, Christians are increasingly challenged to speak of salvation with clarity, grace, and compassion, without compromising the Gospel. Acts 4:5–12 (ESV) 5 On the next day their rulers and elders and scribes gathered together in Jerusalem, 6 with Annas the high priest and Caiaphas and John and Alexander, and all who were of the high-priestly family. 7 And when they had set them in the midst, they inquired, “By what power or by what name did you do this?” 8 Then Peter, filled with the Holy Spirit, said to them, “Rulers of the people and elders, 9 if we are being examined today concerning a good deed done to a crippled man, by what means this man has been healed, 10 let it be known to all of you and to all the people of Israel that by the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, whom you crucified, whom God raised from the dead—by him this man is standing before you well. 11 This Jesus is the stone that was rejected by you, the builders, which has become the cornerstone. 12 And there is salvation in no one else, for there is no other name under heaven given among men by which we must be saved.” Acts 4:18–20 (ESV) 18 So they called them and charged them not to speak or teach at all in the name of Jesus. 19 But Peter and John answered them, “Whether it is right in the sight of God to listen to you rather than to God, you must judge, 20 for we cannot but speak of what we have seen and heard.” • What does this mean? • Peter’s Assertion: No one else but Jesus could ever and would ever be able to provide salvation. 1. Salvation is about life and death ü It deals with all that is death. o Everything that sin caused can be traced back to God’s warning that if Adam & Eve disobeyed Him, they would “die”. ü It is the Good News that we can be saved from death and to life. o Salvation impacts every dimension of our lives o We think too small about salvation if we think about it as just a future event that I experience once I die and go to heaven. All that was damaged and killed by Sin is being redeemed by Christ. 2. Jesus is the Way to Salvation o John 14:6 o 1 Timothy 2:5 o Hebrews 1:1-4 o Peter’s claim might have been politically incorrect, but it was not logically incorrect. He spoke based upon the words of Scripture, the words he heard Jesus speak that were verified by the resurrection, and by the personal experiences he and hundreds of others were now having in the life to which Jesus had saved them. o “Christ Alone” is rooted in the 10 Commandments – Exodus 20:2-3 o The persecution of Christians has always been connected to the exclusive claims we believe about Jesus. o How can we say Jesus is unique? Because He is unique in His birth, His death, and in His resurrection. o Society tells Christians, “You must be tolerant.” à What we must be is able to distinguish between legal and social tolerance and intellectual tolerance. à It is not wrong or arrogant or unkind to have a different belief than the majority. à We simply need to understand that many people will be offended when we tell them that our belief is that people cannot save themselves – that Jesus is the only Savior. “If you believe what you like in the Gospel and reject what you don’t like, it is not the Gospel you believe. It’s yourself.” - Augustine