The Five Solas (2017): Solus Christus

Good morning. Take out your Bible and turn to Romans chapter 3.

Romans 3 · chapter mention

! We've been promoting books and stuff.

! I think if I had to promote one good Reformation book, I think I would pick this one.

! This is a book that I read when I was on the waiting list for my lung transplant.

So, right under the Bible, I was reading this.

And I can't tell you how much this ministered to my soul during that time as I thought about what was ahead of me.

So, it's not just dead doctrine, dead theology.

It was like really encouraging me in the Word of God.

And so, this is John Calvin's Institutes of the Christian Religion.

And this is the abridged version.

So, halfway through, I just kind of donked on me, wait a minute, this is the abridged version.

The real one's about like that.

But it just really explains so much about the person of God, the person of Christ, the Scripture.

And it really ministered to me, particularly the part about God's providence, God's sovereignty,

through what I was going through.

And so, I commend this one to you, the Institutes of the Christian Religion.

It was written in 1559, I believe.

So, pretty awesome to read the old dead guys.

So, this would be mine.

I can't give it to you.

This is my copy.

It's got like everything.

You wouldn't like my notes in here anyway.

So, Romans 3 is what we're going to be picking up today.

And as it's already been said, we're coming up on October 31st,

which is the 500th anniversary of the Protestant Reformation.

It kind of marks the day that Martin Luther in 1517

nailed his 95 Theses to the door of the Church of Wittenberg.

And so, we're going through the five solas,

which really are a summarized, condensed way of saying this is what the Reformers taught.

But it probably wasn't really even consolidated like that until about the 20th century.

But it's what they were teaching.

And that's what we believe in our church.

And any church that's really a Protestant evangelical church holds these things dear.

So, I mean, why is this so important, though?

Well, the sola alone is so important to what we believe.

And what we believe Scripture teaches.

If it's not sola, then it is something that's got to be added in.

If it's not alone, there's something else that's added to it.

It will be Scripture and something else is our authority.

Grace and something.

Faith and something.

Christ and something.

And to the glory of God and something else.

And so, the sola is really, by saying what is true, they're also saying this is false.

Like, if you add something to this, it's not true.

And so, the Reformers were saying,

Scripture is not only necessary, but it's sufficient.

Christ's work is not only necessary, but it is enough to save us.

That grace is not only necessary, but it is perfectly the only way, like we are made right with God.

And Scripture is just not a authority.

It's the only authority.

Period.

So, you pull out your bullets and there's a quote there by Calvin that I thought would be good to kind of put our mind on.

I just want to pray briefly, but it says,

The gospel is not a doctrine of the tongue, but of life.

It cannot be grasped by reason and memory only.

But it is fully understood when it possesses the whole soul and penetrates to the inner recesses of the heart.

So, that's what we want.

We want this not just to be head knowledge, not just to be mental assembly.

We want our hearts and our souls to rejoice in the gospel and have these truths penetrate us to our inner heart.

So, let's pray together.

Father, as we join together this morning as your people, I pray you give us eyes to see, ears to hear.

God, you would soften our hearts to receive your word.

That you would make us teachable.

That we would sit quietly before your word and receive what is there.

And I pray that this feeble attempt to describe Christ and his work would move in our hearts today.

And I just ask that in his name.

Amen.

So, today, we are looking at solus Christus, Christ alone, which emphasizes the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ.

It's not only necessary, again, for salvation, but it is sufficient.

Enough to say to the uttermost, all those who come to Christ.

So, this means that no amount of human work can be added to the work of Christ.

It's like Christ's work is so sufficient, so perfect, that it can't be improved upon in any way.

So, that is really important to understand.

And it implies, then, if Christ's work is sufficient, that any work we bring in is insufficient.

All right?

Like Paul said in 2 Corinthians 3.5,

Now, not that we are adequate in ourselves to consider anything as coming from ourselves, but our adequacy is from God.

So, the heart of the gospel is that Christ is for us.

He is for us.

It's the message of the New Testament, indeed, really the Scripture, the whole of Scripture.

So, Christ lived.

He obeyed.

He was crucified.

He was raised.

And He ascended.

And He is returning.

That's what we are saying.

So, all that is embodied by Jesus Christ Himself is what we are saying when we say Christ alone.

Romans 1.9 is called, the gospel is kind of summed up as,

The Good News of His Son.

So, we are going to just look at some different aspects of Christ's work.

And man, I was just overwhelmed studying all this.

But, I want you to not run from, I've even heard recently some leaders in our Dahlonega community say,

You know, doctrine doesn't matter.

Theology doesn't matter.

All we really care about is a relationship with Jesus.

Well, what does that mean?

Don't throw out a Bible word.

Paul uses the word doctrine at least 15 times in the New Testament.

And what he's trying to say is doctrine is explaining, clarifying.

So, the Good News has to be explained verbally.

It has to be clarified, expounded upon.

And that's what doctrine is.

So, if you're talking about Jesus and it's truthful, you're talking doctrine.

So, I want us to see,

Man, this is the only thing I can grab.

So, imagine this is like a gem, if you will, like a precious gem that was found.

It's not a gem, it's a stupid iPhone.

I hate iPhones.

But, just imagine this is like a precious diamond or gem.

And it's called the work of Christ.

Alright?

So, if you look at it this way, you can explain it.

And your explaining it is doctrine.

And you tilt it a little bit and explain a different facet of it.

So, that's what we're going to do today as we look at the work of Christ.

All part of the same diamond.

But just different angles on it.

Different descriptions on what he has done.

If you will.

So, Romans 3.

We'll start in verse 21.

Together.

But now the righteousness of God has been manifested apart from the law.

Although the law and the prophets bear witness to it,

the righteousness of God through faith in Jesus Christ for all who believe.

For there is no distinction.

For all have sinned and fallen short of the glory of God.

And are justified by his grace as a gift.

Through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus.

Whom God put forward as a propitiation by his blood.

To be received by faith.

This was to show God's righteousness.

Because in his divine forbearance.

He passed over former sins.

It was to show his righteousness at the present time.

So that he might be just.

And the justifier of the one who has faith in Jesus.

So, that will be our primary text.

That I want to draw some things out of.

So, I have a few points today.

And off of Nathan's pun last week.

It's just going to be points and not questions.

I'm going to try not to do questions at this point.

So, the first point.

The first point.

Is that Christ alone is our mediator with God.

Christ alone is our mediator with God.

So, a mediator, simply put.

Christ alone is one who intervenes between two parties.

To resolve some conflict, intimacy, or strife.

So, it's one who intervenes and solves the problem.

So, this is the role we see of Jesus in our text.

We see some hostility.

Right?

We see that we have sinned and fallen short in the glory of God.

And that we have to be made right with God some way.

So, Christ is our mediator.

Right?

He's coming between us and God.

And like reconciling.

He's bringing us back together.

So, it's important that you understand that.

Because Jesus alone, again, is our mediator.

During the period of the Reformation, in the medieval time, you could even say today, Rome taught that the Pope and even the Roman Church itself was the mediator between God and man.

So, anyone outside of them, their doctrine says this, even today, anyone outside of the Roman Catholic Church is outside of salvation.

They would teach that.

Pope Clement, who was Pope between 1342 and 1352, he said,

No man outside of obedience to the Pope of Rome can ultimately be saved.

All who have raised themselves against the faith of the Roman Church and died in final impenitence have been damned and gone to hell.

That is still taught, even today.

And I want you to know that I say these things with a heavy heart.

Many of you know I have had countless trips to the Emerald Isle of Ireland and talked to many Catholics there.

And so, it breaks my heart to see how falsely they have been instructed.

And so, if you hear anger, just hear anger at the false teaching and not the lost soul.

I want them to be reconciled to God.

Even as I've cried tears praying for some of them before.

And so, at that point, like I said, they even taught, I mean, even now really, that Jesus is not that approachable.

Okay?

That he is still very holy, very set apart, very other.

That you have to find another mediator to even go to Jesus.

And that's where the idea of the Virgin Mary and her son is so pivotal.

Because who can get at a man, his mom?

You know, this is a soft part of him.

Even, I went to Birmingham this past week, and we drove by one of the biggest Mary worship shrines in the southeast.

Thousands of people gathered there to get a vision of the Virgin Mary and have someone say,

This is what Mary says to you from Jesus.

Heartbreaking and demonic.

And so, even then, they've added in saints.

You can pray to the saints.

You can pray to your dead relatives who have gone on to be with the Lord.

I had a dear friend, a man that was in his late 70s, that I worked out with at a gym for a long time.

And he and I would talk about this kind of stuff.

A devout Catholic.

He had an Italian, really deep Italian last name.

And we talked, and he was just always encouraging me to pray with my dead relatives.

And how encouraging that was.

I'm like, man, no.

And just begged him to say, Christ is the mediator alone.

And so, the reformers were banging their heads and banging their Bibles, saying,

Look, there is no other mediator between God and man.

It's Jesus Christ, and that's it.

Don't misrepresent the character of God.

He also can be approachable through Christ.

Right?

So, not Virgin Mary.

Not the saints or cardinals or priests.

Only Christ alone.

They're not crazy.

They're just basically saying what Paul said in 1 Timothy 2, 5-6.

This is Paul.

Listen to this.

For there is one God, and there is one mediator between God and men.

The man, Christ Jesus, who gave himself as a ransom for all, which the testimony given at the proper time.

So, again, Luther, Calvin, Tyndale, Wycliffe.

They were all saying, Brum, stop marring the character of God.

Yes, he is holy.

Yes, he is just.

Yes, he is righteous.

But he is also a loving God and gracious.

And he has provided a way through his Son to be brought back to man.

And Luther, if you study his life, the whole first part of his life, he was terrified of the judgment of God.

That's all he thought about was God is wrath.

God is damnation.

And he had no way to be made right with God.

So, when he began reading Romans, he was like, wait a minute.

This God is a loving God.

This God is a gracious God.

And he was transformed by the Word.

And so, Christ alone is the mediator.

Hebrews 9, 15, it says,

Therefore, Christ is the mediator of the new covenant, so that those who are called may receive the promise of an eternal inheritance.

It's awesome.

So, this idea that Jesus is the only mediator spills into a lot of our thinking of saying that Jesus is the only way to God.

He came from the Father and he went back to the Father.

He's the only one.

So, this is not just a problem back then.

It is today as well.

Shockingly, in the late 90s, there was a study conducted of, quote,

evangelical seminaries who agreed with the following statement.

35% of them agreed with the following statement.

God will save all good people when they die, regardless of whether they know and have trusted Jesus Christ.

And now those people are pastoring churches outside of Christ.

So, that's a struggle if we don't see our need for Christ.

Right?

And one of the things that the Reformers kept bringing up is,

Popes and councils over the history have just contradicted themselves over and over and over.

You just heard me read Pope Clement from the 1300s.

He said,

There is no salvation outside of the Holy Roman Church.

You heard me read that.

More recent, though, Pope John Paul II.

He stood in December 6, 2000, and addressed 30,000 pilgrims at St. Peter's Square.

Listen to what he said.

Listen to this.

No.

Jesus, the only way, the only mediator to God.

We know our famous verse, John 14, 6.

Jesus told them,

I am the way, the truth, and the life, and no one whatsoever comes to the Father except through me.

I am the mediator.

Acts 4, 12.

There is salvation in no one else,

for there is no other name under heaven given among men by which we may be saved.

So if we are to be saved and restored back to God,

we have to come through Christ alone as our mediator.

So that is the first point.

Each one of these begin with Christ alone.

But number two,

we are going to get into more of our text now.

Christ alone made full atonement for our sin to God.

Christ alone made full atonement for our sin to God.

Okay, so we see in our text that like it says that God's righteousness had to be upheld.

We see that he had to show that he was righteous, prove that he was righteous.

And so it just means that God always does what is right, what is good.

He, by his nature, is the very definition of what is right and good.

It means that he is holy.

He is totally separated from all evil.

And that also means that he is devoted to destroying evil.

And we want him to be that way.

We want him to be a God who seeks to uphold what is right and beautiful and good and true.

So, if God opposes evil,

then we should not be shocked that he is out to destroy it.

That's what we see in our text.

We want God to be a God who upholds justice.

A Roman citizen who lived under the Julio-Claudian Caesars, Augustus, you know,

then all the way up into like Nero.

That was that dynasty.

This is something that he said when a man has absolute power.

He said,

And God is not like that.

God intrinsically, in his very core, hates evil.

And we want him to be a God who upholds justice.

We all see things on TV and the news that just cry out injustice.

And we want that.

It's part of who we are.

But if we really want that, then God also has to destroy us.

Because we are a part of that same evil.

It says in our text, you look at verses 25,

This was to show God's righteousness.

Because in his divine forbearance, he had passed over former sins.

It was to show his righteousness at the present time,

so that he might be just and the justifier.

So we see in the wisdom of God's sovereign plan,

that he allowed Jesus to be punished in the place of sinners,

and thereby justified those who were guilty without compromising his justice.

It's a beautiful text for you just to chew over.

So let's talk about this word atonement a little bit.

It is a very broad term that is used to entail a lot of things in the Scripture.

But in short, we're just going to define it simply as this.

It's the work of Christ in his life and his death,

all that he did to earn us salvation.

It's the work of Christ, all that he did in his life and his death,

to earn us salvation.

So Christ made right the hostility between us and God.

And he opened the door for spiritual blessings.

So let's talk about just the nature of this atonement for a second.

Just two words, big words, but I hope they stand out to you and you remember them.

That's the purpose of using big words.

Penal substitution.

Penal substitution.

All right?

Penal substitution.

It's the idea that the penalty we deserve was given to someone else,

to another who did not deserve it,

and who took it voluntarily for us.

All right?

It's this idea that Christ stood in our place,

took our punishment,

even though he didn't deserve it,

but he took it willingly.

That's what we did.

We are spared the penalty.

This also can be described as a vicarious atonement,

a vicarous someone who stands in the place of another and represents them.

And so Christ stood in our place.

He represented us.

He took the penalty we deserve.

All right?

So stay in Romans 3,

but I just want you to turn to the famous Isaiah 53.

I just want you to see this idea of substitution,

that Christ stood in our place and bore our punishment.

This atonement was foretold 700 years before Christ.

Isaiah 53.

Then go to verse 4.

I want you to see this.

Surely he has borne our griefs and carried our sorrows.

Just look at the ours in this text.

Borne our griefs and carried our sorrows.

Yet we esteemed him stricken,

smitten by God,

and afflicted.

But he was wounded for our transgressions.

He was crushed for our iniquities.

Upon him was the chastisement that brought us peace.

And with his stripes we are healed.

All we like sheep have gone astray.

We have turned everyone to his own way.

And the Lord,

Yahweh,

has laid on him the iniquity of us all.

He was oppressed and he was afflicted.

Yet he opened not his mouth.

Like a lamb that is led to the slaughter.

And like a sheep that is before its shearers is silent.

So he opened not his mouth.

By oppression and judgment,

he was taken away.

As for his generation,

who considered that he was cut off of the land,

out of the land of the living,

stricken for the transgression of my people.

So if you see this idea of substitution there,

our,

you see that he was wounded for our transgressions,

crushed for our iniquities.

And so in our text,

back in Romans 3,

we see a really big Bible word

that I beg of you to like,

get in your head

and really gnaw over it

and pray over it.

It's in our Romans text,

but it says,

it's the word,

propitiation.

It's a big word.

And the same Greek word

is translated both propitiation

and expiation.

And they carry slightly different meanings.

So again,

they're a part of the same gem,

if you would.

And,

but together,

they give a beautiful picture

of what Christ has done for us.

And as we've been reading,

it's just really cool

that we've been reading through Leviticus

and we're moving in the numbers now.

We've read over the scripture

that talks about the day of atonement

in Leviticus,

right?

It's the day that Israel offered up

a symbolic atonement

that prefigured Christ's final atonement.

And if you remember in the text,

it talks about there are two different

spotless goats.

One,

the first goat

was used as an act

of propitiation.

It was killed

for the sins of the people

and the blood was sprinkled

on the mercy seat.

And so it was focused on,

in that sense,

like satisfying the wrath of God.

The second goat

was not killed,

but it was actually set free.

It was sent out

as an act of expiation,

removing or blotting out our sins,

right?

Before God.

And in the focus,

in this case,

is that

the second goat

was called the scapegoat.

That's where we get this from.

It was sent out into the wilderness

and it represented

carrying away

the sins of the people

from the presence of God.

So,

we see this

in Jesus.

Christ fulfilled

both of those

at the same time.

He represented

this complete work.

So,

Jesus not only

propitiated

the wrath of God

by offering himself

as a sacrifice,

but he also

removed our sin

and guilt

from the presence of God,

which is a symbol

of that second goat,

if you would.

So,

let's just break down

these words.

Propitiation,

again,

the act

is the act

by which the sacrifice,

in our case,

Christ,

bears the full wrath

of God.

And it results

in a changing

of God's attitude

towards us.

Before we were enemies,

we were hostile,

and this sacrifice

changed his attitude

to favorable

and acceptable

and loving.

Some of your translations

may use different words,

but I guess

if you had to come up

with a really good,

clear definition

of what propitiate

could say,

it's not

to appease,

to placate,

or to just,

you know,

glance off.

To appease

carries like a negative

kind of connotation

for it.

It's this idea

of buying off

an aggressor

at a certain expense.

To placate

is very inadequate

because it suggests

like a soothing

of the wrath of God.

Like he actually

didn't unleash it,

he was just kind of like,

calm down, God.

So,

that's not what

the word means either.

It doesn't mean

to deflect.

Right?

Like a boxer

would strike away

a blow,

you know,

by blocking.

That's not what

it implies as well.

But the word,

I think,

that I've studied,

that I've read,

that I believe

best describes this

is that

word exhausted.

Christ exhausted

the wrath of God

on the cross.

So,

not deflected it

and just prevented it

from reaching us,

but he absorbed it,

he exhausted it.

So,

all of God's

holy fury

was unleashed

on his beloved son

and he held

none of it back

on behalf

of his people.

So,

that is the word

propitiate.

It means that

Christ exhausted

the wrath of God.

So,

that's the one part.

Then tilt it

to expiation.

It implies,

again,

the removal

of our sin

and our guilt

from the presence

of God.

Alright?

Sin,

do you know that,

like,

let's say you committed

a serious crime

and you went to court

and it was really

killing your soul,

gnawing on you,

vexing your conscience,

weighing you down

with guilt and shame.

And the judge

forgave you

and pardoned you,

but you still went home

with that same guilt,

that same

torn up conscience.

This is what

expiation does.

It means that

Christ's sacrifice

has the power

to cleanse you

of guilt

and of shame

so that you can

walk away

clean

and free.

Right?

That's that picture

of the second goat.

That God has

removed our sins

from his presence.

Right?

That famous verse

in Psalm 103,

11-12,

For as high

as the heavens

are above the earth,

so great

is his steadfast love

for those

who fear him.

As far as the east

is from the west,

so far

does he remove

our transgressions

from us.

So that's a

cultural idiom

to suggest

an infinite distance.

East to west,

right?

Heaven to earth,

an infinite distance.

So,

Jesus bore

our punishment

and propitiation,

but he also

carried away

our sin

and our guilt

from the presence

of God.

When it says

that Christ

remembers our sins

no more,

it's not,

it just basically

means that he's

choosing not to

bring them up again.

It doesn't mean

that God literally

forgets.

It just means that

he's not going

to hold them

against us

any longer.

So our consciousness

can be freed

from guilt

and shame

by the blood

of Christ.

So,

if you want

one more tilt

on this idea

of atonement,

it's very important

that you understand

this.

It was a decisive

atonement.

Decisive.

It was so powerful,

perfect,

and clear,

it never needs

to be repeated

again.

Hebrews 10

says,

every priest,

he's referring

to the old

covenant,

every priest

stands daily

at his service

offering repeatedly

the same

sacrifices,

which can never

take away sins.

But listen to this,

but when Christ

had offered

for all time

a single

sacrifice

for sins,

he sat down

at the right

hand of God.

Right?

And this is,

this word is

implied,

I think,

four times

in the book

of Hebrews

because in

the old

covenant,

the priests,

the sacrifices,

the rituals

were never

ending,

over and over

and over.

And so when

Christ came,

he fulfilled

those things

that never

needed to be

repeated again,

ever.

It's the,

it's the Greek

word,

hapax,

and it means

once for all

time.

It means that

something happened

that was so

decisive

and accomplished

so much

that it never

needs to be

repeated.

So,

and in fact,

any effort

to repeat it

would be

to be,

to be,

make a mockery

of that

sacrifice.

Right?

So Christ's

work was

hapax.

That's why,

again,

this idea

that the Roman

Eucharist,

where they,

they shed

the blood

of Christ

afresh

on the altar

table

and partake

of it

is so disgraceful

and sad.

It's not real.

Christ made

that sacrifice.

It's done.

So all we do

now is remember

and rejoice

in what he's

done.

Right?

It was so

sufficient,

monumental,

and effectuous

that it never

has to be done

again.

Once for all

time.

Hebrews 9,

26,

again,

this word's

repeated.

But as it is,

Christ has

appeared once

for all

at the end

of the ages

to put away

sin by

the sacrifice

of himself.

The conclusion

then,

of all that,

is to say

that Christ's

suffering and

death,

if that was

accomplished

once for all

time,

we no longer

can be condemned

if we stand

in Christ.

But there is

therefore now

no condemnation

for those

who are in

Christ Jesus

at all.

So those of you

who are a criminal

justice major,

there is no

double jeopardy

in God's

courtroom.

There will

be no,

you will not

be tried

twice for

the same

crime

at all.

It's

basis,

Paul goes

on in Romans

8,

it says,

who is to

condemn?

And then it's

assumed,

no one.

And then why?

Because it's

Christ Jesus,

he was the

one who

died.

The death

of Christ

secures our

freedom from

that condemnation.

So,

listen to

something Luther

said.

I just want

to throw

this out

there just

before we

move on to

the next

point and

the idea

of the

atonement.

So,

I love

this.

Talking about

what Christ

did for us,

he said,

so when the

devil throws

your sins

in your

face and

declares that

you deserve

death and

hell,

tell him

this,

I admit

that I

deserve

death and

hell,

what of

it?

For I

know one

who suffered

and made

satisfaction

on my

behalf.

His name

is Jesus

Christ,

Son of

God,

and where

he is,

there I

shall be

also.

The

atonement

of Christ,

a complete,

perfect,

finished work,

satisfied the

wrath of

God and

carried away

our guilt

and shame

from his

presence.

Point number

three,

Christ alone

is fully

ours by

faith alone.

So,

it's tying it

into what we

spoke of last

week.

If you look at

our text in

Romans 3,

the righteousness

of God

through faith

in Jesus

Christ for

all who

believe.

He

propitiated

by his

blood to

be received

by faith.

Then you

move on

to 26,

that he

would be

just and

the

justifier

of the

one who

has faith

in Jesus.

So,

that word

is repeated

multiple

times for

emphasis,

meaning that

you cannot

earn what

Christ

accomplished.

You cannot

be good

enough,

do enough

good works.

It is to

be received

alone by

faith.

So,

that is the

ground for

our acceptance

with God.

As you

read in

Romans and

other places

in the New

Testament,

you see that

when we

place saving

faith in

Christ,

it unites

us to

Christ.

We become

one with

him,

so that

his life

becomes our

life,

his death

becomes our

death,

and his

resurrection

will become

our

resurrection.

It is a

beautiful,

beautiful thing.

It is important

to throw

this in as

well,

that it is

the object

of our

faith that

saves us,

not our

faith itself.

Okay?

So,

you can have

a very weak

faith.

Jesus even

said,

even the

side of a

mustard seed

would move

a mountain,

but it is

the object

of our

faith that

saves.

All right?

That is

Christ,

the Savior.

So,

we cannot

add to what

Christ has

done.

This is a

gift that we

are to receive

by faith

in Christ.

So,

for sake of

time,

better move

on to the

next point.

Point number

four.

Go back and

listen to Nathan's

sermon last

week on faith

if you want

more on that.

But,

point number

four.

Christ alone

brought

reconciliation

with God.

This is so

key.

Christ alone

brought

reconciliation

with God.

So,

we understand

our sin

and our

rebellion

separated us

from God.

Isaiah 59,

but your

iniquities have

made a

separation

between you

and your

God,

and your

sins have

hidden his

face from

you so that

he does

not hear.

For God

to hide his

face means

disgust,

disfavor,

judgment.

And to see

God's face

means blessing.

So,

our sin

separates us

from God.

That's the

tragedy of

our sin.

It destroyed

the perfect

relationship we

have with

him.

A beautiful,

incredible

being such

as God

separated

because of

our evil.

So,

this is why

the gospel

is good

news,

okay?

Because we

are reconciled

to God.

Alright?

Romans 5,

a few chapters

later,

says,

for if

we were

enemies,

we were

reconciled

to God

by the

death

of his

son.

Much

more,

now that

we are

reconciled,

shall I

be saved

by his

life.

So,

again,

Christ comes

in as our

mediator,

and he

takes God,

and he

takes us,

and he

brings us

back into

fellowship

together again.

Now,

hear me,

a lot of

people today

want to

preach the

good news

of the

gospel

apart from

God himself.

They don't

understand that

God is the

gospel.

Being restored

back to

him is the

good news.

That's what

all the

gospel points

towards.

It is,

Jesus said

in John 17,

this is

eternal life,

that you

know the

only true

God in

Jesus Christ

whom he

has sent.

So,

this is all

about being

restored back

into a

relationship

with God.

John

Piper,

in that

book that

Nathan

actually

commented

to you

earlier,

he made

this point.

All words

of the

gospel

lead to

God,

or they

are not

the

gospel.

For

example,

salvation

is not

good news

if it

only saves

us from

hell

and not

for God.

Forgiveness

is not

good news

if it

only gives

us relief

from guilt

and does

not open

the way

to God.

God

is not

good news

if it

only makes

us legally

acceptable

to God

but does

not bring

us into

fellowship

with God.

Adoption

is not

good news

if it

only puts

us in

the Father's

family but

not into

his arms.

God is

the gospel.

So,

if you

simply have,

if your

gospel simply

means I

get to

not go to

hell and I

get to go

live forever

in heaven,

if that's

where it

ends,

you need

to think,

you need

to examine

your heart.

If someone

went through

this brutal,

awful death

for you,

to save

you from

the greatest

eternal

torture ever

and then

gave you

the greatest

gift ever

which would

be to

restore

back to

God

in

relationship

and

fellowship,

that should

change your

heart.

In fact,

that's what

our word

faith and

believe in

the New

Testament

means.

It means

that you

have such

a strong

conviction

about

something

that it

changes

how you

live.

It's not

just a

mental

ascent of

I believe

that.

So,

God is

the gospel.

He is

the gospel.

So,

another verse

for you.

1 Peter 3

18 says,

Christ also

suffered

once for

sins,

the righteous

for the

unrighteous,

that he

may bring

us to

God.

Christ

enables us

to experience

the full

and lasting

joy of

seeing and

savoring the

glory of

God forever.

That is

what Christ

came to

do.

So that we

would glorify

him,

walk with

him,

know him,

that what

was lost

in Genesis

3 is

restored,

but even

in a

greater

sense

than what

Adam and

Eve had.

So,

we can't

just leave

it there.

Our sins

alienated us

from God,

we were

hostile,

yet,

Christ

Jesus

has once

brought us

for all

time

near to

God

through

his

blood.

That is

the gospel.

These are

just a few

things that

I know

scripture

teaches

very clearly

about what

Christ did

for us

once and

for all.

It's

Christ

alone.

So a few

little things

to walk

away with,

to chew

on,

in conclusion,

that if

all this

be true

then,

Christ

alone,

it is to

Christ

alone we

must be

faithful and

devoted to.

It demands

everything,

it demands

our lives.

I mean,

I grew

up most

of my life

having a

false

sense

of assurance

in Christ.

I fought

because I

prayed a

prayer,

an incantation,

and that

made me

okay with

God,

and I

lived like

the devil

for probably

16 years.

No evidence

at all

that I

loved Christ

or knew

him.

And

finally,

I believe

God saved

me when I

was around

18.

and after

that

happened,

I didn't

want to

do

anything

but live

for him

and even

die for

him.

And we

have to

get to

that point

where we

see this

sacrifice that

he made,

this work

he accomplished,

it's worth

all you have,

your time,

your life,

your money,

everything.

He is to be

the goal

of it all.

in fact,

he even

demands that

if you

follow him

that you

be willing

to even

take up

your cross

and die

for him

if need

be.

And

many of

our brothers

and sisters

around the

world,

that's a

reality.

They become

believers,

they could

face alienation

from their

family,

their community,

in prison,

death,

so they have

to weigh

that.

But what

Christ did

is so precious

to them,

they don't

care.

Right?

So if

following

Christ would

cost you

your life,

would you

do it

anyway?

Is he

that precious

to you

that you

want all

he has,

that you're

willing to

surrender

anything?

So if

this be

true,

it is Christ

alone that

we must

be faithful.

And so

another

spinoff of

this is

that we

need to

treat the

blood of

Jesus as

precious.

Again,

I talked

about this

probably the

last time I

was up here.

It is not

something cheap,

it is

something,

beautiful that

we must

guard and

talk about

in the most

beautiful way

is the

blood of

Christ.

Then lastly,

I just want

you to turn

to 1 John

and we'll

end right

here.

1 John

1 John 4 · chapter mention

chapter 4.

So I

know probably

in a crowd

this big

that some

of you are

not sure

maybe where

you stand

with God.

And again,

it is never

too late

even now

to place

saving faith

your complete

trust in

Christ's work

to reconcile

you to God.

So 1 John

1 John 4:9

chapter 4

verse 9

in this

the love

of God

was made

manifest

among us

that God

sent his

only son

into the

world

so that we

might live

through him.

And this

is love,

not that we

have loved

God,

but that he

loved us

and sent his

son to be

the propitiation

for our

sins.

let's pray

together.

Let's pray

together.