SOLUS CHRISTUS & SOLI DEO GLORIA (Romans 11:33-36)

Transcription

1 SOLUS CHRISTUS & SOLI DEO GLORIA (Romans 11:33-36) INTRODUCTION: Today we come to the fourth Sola of the Reformation, Solus Christus or Christ Alone. Stephen Wellum (Professor of Christian Theology is the Southern Baptist Seminary) says,: Solus Christus stands at the center of the other four solas, connecting them into a coherent theological system by which the reformers declared the glory of God. This is the sola that ties all the other solas together. It stands at the center of them. But what was the issue here for the Reformers? What were they saying when they declared Christ Alone? It was not that the Reformers were rejecting the Roman Catholic doctrine of the person of Christ. The Trinitarianism of the Nicene Creed and two natures in one Person Christology of the Chalcedonian definition were part of their creeds. It wasn t the Person or Nature of Christ the Reformers were declaring in their plea of Christ Alone. It was the work of Christ. It was Christ as our only Mediator. Luther argued that the papacy, through this sacramental system, had usurped the prerogatives of Christ, making itself the dispenser of God s grace. Christ alone, and not the church, however, is our only Mediator. He alone is the Dispenser of God s grace. 1 Timothy 2:5-6 NIV For there is one God and one mediator between God and mankind, the man Christ Jesus, (6) who gave himself as a ransom for all people We cannot go through any other mediator than Christ to get to the Father. Mary cannot help us. The saints cannot help us. Jesus only is the way to the Father. The Reformers wanted to declare Solus Christus, Christ Alone, as the only Mediator between God and man and the true Dispenser of God s grace in salvation. Solus Christus ties all the Solas together. Let see how. SOLUS CHRISTUS AND SOLA SCRIPTURA How is Solus Christus central to Sola Scriptura? Sola Scriptura, the only infallible authority for faith and practice. November 5, 2017 Corntassel CP Church Page 1

2 The infallible Scriptures have an infallible message. What is the central message of the Bible? It is that God has sent his Son into the world to redeem fallen man by grace through faith. If we put something or someone else as central message then we do not have an infallible Bible, because the Bible says that salvation only comes by Christ. There is no other name in heaven given among men whereby they must be saved. Jesus is the central message of Scripture and His coming to earth certifies the infallibility of Scriptures. Jesus made this point to the Pharisees who were experts in the law, but missed the central message of the Scriptures. John 5:39: Jesus said: These are the very Scriptures that testify about me, yet you refuse to come to me to have life (John 5:39 40). After the crucifixion and resurrection to the two disciples on the road to Emmaus Jesus showed that He was the fulfillment of the Scritpures: Did not the Messiah have to suffer these things and then enter his glory? And beginning with Moses and all the Prophets, he explained to them what was said in all the Scriptures concerning himself. (Luke 24:26 27) Jesus fulfillment of the Scriptures, certifies the infallibility of the Scriptures. Without proclaiming Solus Christus there would be no Sola Scriptura! SOLUS CHRISTUS AND SOLA FIDE Next how is Solus Christus the center of Sola Fide? This should be easy enough to see. We are saved by faith alone, but who is the object of our faith? Is it not Jesus Christ? Yes, it is. Over and over the Bible says that we are justified by faith in Christ Jesus. It is not just having any faith that justifies us. It is faith in Jesus Christ. A couple of Scriptures which emphasized this: Romans 3:22 NIV This righteousness is given through faith in Jesus Christ to all who believe. There is no difference between Jew and Gentile, Galatians 2:16 NIV know that a person is not justified by the works of the law, but by faith in Jesus Christ. So we, too, have put our faith in Christ Jesus that we may be justified by faith in Christ and not by the works of the law, because by the works of the law no one will be justified. November 5, 2017 Corntassel CP Church Page 2

3 Without Christ Alone there is no justification by faith alone because the only saving object of our faith must be Christ Alone! SOLUS CHRISTUS AND SOLA GRATIA What about Solus Christus and Sola Gratia? How does Solus Christus relate to Grace Alone? Rome was teaching that the church was the only dispenser of grace. The church dispenses God s grace through baptism, the mass, through confessions to a priest, through the sale of indulgences, through pointing people to Mary as their co-, to the saints, through displaying relics of the saints for the people to view and touch. The Church of Rome controlled all the means of the people receiving God s grace. The Reformers rebelled again this view. Jesus Christ is the only Dispenser of God s grace. Does not the Gospel of John say: John 1:14-17 NKJV And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us, and we beheld His glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the Father, full of grace and truth (16) And of His fullness we have all received, and grace for grace. (17) For the law was given through Moses, but grace and truth came through Jesus Christ. Jesus is full of God s Grace for He Himself is Grace. He alone is the One who dispenses grace, not the church, not the priest, not the sacraments. To receive grace you must go to Jesus directly and personally! Without proclaiming Solus Christus we have no Sola Gratia. SOLUS CHRISTUS AND SOLI DEO GLORIA What about Soli Deo Gloria glory to God alone? I haven t covered the fifth sola, Soli Deo Gloria, in my sermons yet. So let me say a few words about this Sola here since I won t be preaching a specific sermon on it. What is the glory of God? The word glory is hard to define. It is like the word beauty which also is difficult to define. We all can use the word beauty and communicate with it but to try to reduce it to words is very frustrating. It is easier to point to examples. Beauty is a sunset seen from the shore line of the ocean or a sunset from the high mountain in Colorado; a painting by Rembrandt or a November 5, 2017 Corntassel CP Church Page 3

4 musical piece by Bach; or a 54 yard field goal in the last seconds that wins a ball game. There are many examples of beauty. What is the glory of God? It is related to beauty. some even define it as the beauty and excellence of God s manifold perfections. It is the beauty and excellence of His purity, His power, His grace, His righteousness, His love, etc. Put all the perfect attributes of God together on display for the universe to behold that is the glory of God. It refers to His infinite and overflowing fullness of all that is good. Where do we see the glory of God today in its purest and fullest form? It is in Jesus Christ! Hebrews 1:3 NIV The Son is the radiance of God's glory and the exact representation of his being. To get the idea here think of the sun. The radiance of the sun is it s light or sun rays. Jesus is the sunrays of God shining out into the universe. The sunray is the same as the sun. Jesus is the same as God. He is the exact representation of His being. We see the glory of God in its brightest when we see Jesus Christ. Listen to II Corinthians 4:6. 2 Corinthians 4:6 NIV For God, who said, "Let light shine out of darkness," made his light shine in our hearts to give us the light of the knowledge of God's glory displayed in the face of Christ. This is an amazing passage. God shines his light in our heart to see His glory. When He does what do we see? We see the face of Christ. Christ is the glory of God. Solus Christus In Christ alone do we come to know and see the glory of God. Where do we see Christ s glory? In the Gospel. Again II Corinthians 4:4 2 Corinthians 4:4 NIV The god of this age has blinded the minds of unbelievers, so that they cannot see the light of the gospel that displays the glory of Christ, who is the image of God. In it in the Gospel that the glory of God is seen. It is the Gospel of grace alone through faith alone, in Christ alone. This is what the Reformers saw. They saw that salvation was by grace alone, through faith alone, in Christ alone was for November 5, 2017 Corntassel CP Church Page 4

5 God s glory alone. Thus we have Soli Deo Gloria. Or as Paul summed it up in Romans 11: Romans 11:36 NIV For from him and through him and for him are all things. To him be the glory forever! Amen. CONCLUSION I have come to the conclusion of my series of sermons on the Five Solas of the Reformation. Remember that the heartbeat of the Reformation was the recovery of the true Gospel. It was all about God s way of salvation. The Reformers continued to reforme many things in the church but what unified all of them was the Gospel of God s grace through the imputed righteousness of Jesus Christ by faith. This Gospel is central to being the church. It is this gospel that must be preached and experienced to be a Christian. God brought a great revival of true religion through the Reformers. It was brought through the recovery of the Gospel of salvation by grace alone, through faith alone, in Christ alone, to the glory of God alone. We need to continue in the footsteps of the Reformers and believe, relish, and proclaim this great Gospel. Amen? Amen! Now let s me give you a spiritual to do list based on this Gospel of grace. 1. First let s remember the cost of our great salvation by coming to the Lord s Table and remember Jesus death for us. 2. As we come to the table, let s confess our sins to the Lord and renew our personal faith in Christ alone for our salvation. 3. As we renew our faith let s allow the Holy Spirit to confirm in our hearts the promises of Christ s forgiveness of sin because of his broken body and shed blood was for you. 4. As the Holy Spirit is working in our hearts allow Him to convey you spiritually into the heavenlies to see your union with the resurrected, ascended and enthroned Christ. November 5, 2017 Corntassel CP Church Page 5