Solus Christus (Christ Alone)

Transcript

Merry Christmas, family. Merry Christmas. If you have your Bibles with you, if you would please be so kind as to turn with me in your Bible to 1 Timothy chapter 2 verse 5 and 6. 1 Timothy chapter 2 verse 5 and 6. I’ll read, and then we will pray together, and then we’ll dive in. And if you don’t have a Bible with you this morning, I just want you to know that there are some Bibles in the front seat, underneath that seat there. You’re welcome to use that this morning. If you don’t have a Bible at home, feel free to take that with you as our gift.

1 Timothy chapter 2.

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.

— 1 Timothy 2

(ESV)

Brothers and sisters, this is the word of the Lord. Thanks be to God. Let’s pray. Our Father and our God, we do thank you for your word. We thank you for what it declares to us, that Christ is born for us. We pray, O Lord, that as we explore the beauty of your word, that you would give us the help of the Holy Spirit to open our eyes. We confess, God, that without your help, these would just be words. And we need more than words. We need the illuminating help of your Holy Spirit. So meet us this morning. Help us to see all the beauty of Christ, so that our hearts might burn. We pray these things

in Christ’s name. Amen. Well, as Greg mentioned at the beginning of the service, we come to the end of our five sola sermon Advent series. That’s kind of a mouthful. And by design, and because it’s only appropriate, we are ending with the crescendo sola Christ alone. And my aim this morning is to put on display this beautiful doctrine of the exclusivity and sufficiency of Christ, so that our hearts would be stirred to worship, and that our minds and our affections would be properly set for Christmas. Because Christmas is exclusively about Christ. Now, this beautiful doctrine, Christ alone, or in Latin, Solus Christus. I say that better than Sola Scriptura. This sola, in my view, is the greatest pillar of the five solas of the Protestant Reformation. And the reason why is because this sola centers on the person in whom all the other solas hinge. In fact, during the 16th century,

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Christ Alone

reformers like Martin Luther and John Calvin proclaimed this truth of the exclusivity of Christ with boldness to confront the errors and the corruption of the Roman Catholic Church. Specifically to address the elevation of human mediators like popes and priests, and to address what they might call the sacrificial system or the sacramental system as a means of securing salvation. These reformers reminded the church that salvation does not come through priests, or popes, or indulgences, or sacraments, or tradition, or good works, but that salvation comes through Christ alone, our only mediator and our only redeemer. And though this sola, Christ alone, was central to the Reformation, it’s important that you remember what I mentioned in the intro sermon to our series. The solas, specifically Christ alone, these are not new concepts that emerged during the Reformation. In fact, long before the Reformation, long before the rise of the Roman Catholic Church, the Scriptures

proclaimed the truth of Christ alone with complete clarity. And this sola, Christ alone, along with all the other solas, still speaks today. In fact, Christ alone, in every way, is directly connected to the most essential questions that every human in our world wrestles with. Questions like, is there a God? And if there is a God, how can we know him? Why am I here? What happens when we die? You see, these aren’t just abstract curiosities. These are what’s called worldview questions. Questions that shape the way we think, the way we live, and ultimately define the way we hope. And what’s crazy about these worldview questions today is that our culture, which prides itself on being enlightened and inclusive and open-minded, well, they look in every possible direction other than Christ to try and find these answers. And the best that they can come up with

is a kind of patchwork of ideas. Here’s what they come up with, that there are many gods, and that there are many roads that lead to many gods. That our purpose in life is personal happiness. And that when we die, unless we’ve been a really bad person, like Hitler or something like that, then everyone goes to the same place. But here’s the problem. An honest person who is coherent in any way knows deep down inside that these answers are extremely subjective. And they’re loaded with contradictions. So at best, these answers are hollow attempts to make sense of our life and our world. And at worst, they’re just empty rhetoric to suppress the truth. Because the truth forces us to face certain realities we’d rather ignore. This is why we desperately need to examine what God himself reveals through Christ alone. And this family is exactly what we’ll be exploring in our

text this morning. Paul, unlike our culture, does not give us a list of many gods. He doesn’t give us a list of mediators, like popes or priests. He doesn’t give us a list of religious sacraments. He doesn’t offer us many paths or competing ideologies. Instead, he points us to the one who came to make sense of all these questions that exist in our world. And so what I want to do this morning is break down these two small verses in 1 Timothy, line by line, and see how this text addresses our worldview questions and how these answers hinge on the exclusivity and the sufficiency of Christ. By way of context, this portion of Scripture that we’re looking at this morning, this is part of a larger letter in which the apostle Paul is writing to a young pastor named Timothy. Paul’s aim is to give him instructions

on how to pastor the church that Timothy has been entrusted with. And in the beginning of chapter 2, in the verses leading up to our text, Paul gives Timothy and the church these instructions. Listen to what he says. He says,

First of all, then, I urge that supplications, prayers, intercessions, and thanksgivings be made for all people, for kings, and all who are in high positions, that they may, that we may lead a peaceful and quiet life, godly and dignified in every way. This is good, and it is pleasing in the sight of God, our Savior, who desires all people to be saved and to come to the knowledge of the truth.

— 1 Timothy 2

(ESV)

So, Paul is urging Timothy and us to pray for all people, not just because he wants us to live peaceful lives, but primarily because God desires all people to be saved. In other words,

Paul wants Timothy to know two things in this section. First, that God is the sovereign creator of the world, who rules over everyone and everything, including kings and people in high positions. Which is why he asks us to direct our prayers to God for all people. Because God, who created all people, is sovereign over all people. And secondly, Paul wants Timothy and us to know God’s heart for people is expansive. And listen, if God is the sovereign creator and desires all people to know Him and to be saved, then the follow-up question we should ask is, how in the world does this happen? How can people know the God who made them, and how can they be saved? Well, Paul’s answer flows directly into verses five and six, where under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit, he writes this gospel in miniature. For there is

One God

one God, and there is one mediator between God and men, the man Christ Jesus, who gave himself as a ransom for all. Okay? So in this text, Paul gives us, really, three critical and comprehensive truths of how we can know the God who made us and how we can be saved. And the way Paul breaks this down is really quite simple. He says, there is one God, there’s one mediator, and there’s one ransom. And I’ll use these three truths as my main points to guide us through the text. So the first point Paul begins with is pretty straightforward, but it’s absolutely fundamental. Notice he starts by saying, for there is one God. Now, to some, especially Christians, this truth seems basic. But in our pluralistic world, this massive truth stands as a direct challenge to our lost and misguided world. This one massive truth pierces through the fog of

religious pluralism that insists that all religions are equally valid and equally effective. It also shatters the arrogance of atheism that makes the claim that there is no God. And you see, the reason why it shatters the arrogance of atheism is because in order to make that claim that there is no God, you would have to be God, knowing all things, having explored every facet of the cosmos, having lived through every single time in human history to make sure for certain that there is no God. And listen, Paul shuts down both of these views by declaring there is one God and this one Creator, and that is the main essential truth. And this is more than just a high-level theological concept. This is exceedingly personal because if there is one God who made us, then the truth is we’re not our own. We belong to Him.

We are accountable to Him. We exist under His authority and that means that our deepest purpose, our deepest pursuits are defined exclusively by Him and are found exclusively in Him. And you see, this reality cuts against our cultural narrative that says, you are an autonomous being, free to define your own truth, establish your own moral code, that we somehow evolved from nothing and therefore we are accountable to no one. And in this autonomy, our culture has made this kind of buffet of gods to choose from. And they functionally hold to the idea that whatever God you choose will end up working out in the same kind of way. And of course, what’s behind this narrative is the autonomy of choice and control. You see, we would rather make many small gods that we can choose and control than submit to one sovereign Lord who created the world,

who governs it with the power of His word. We want options as humans. We want to pick the God that most fits into our ideological and philosophical systems. In other words, our world and sadly this would include a lot of professing Christians are principally trying to create God in their own image. But it doesn’t work that way. The scripture says there is one God and that we were made in His image, meaning He created us. He designed us. And the reason why He created us was specifically to know Him, to worship Him, and to enjoy Him. And until people arrive at that answer, they will never be satisfied. Because humans were made to worship the God who made us. The great theologian Augustine said, You have made us for yourself, O Lord, and our heart is restless until it finds its rest in You. This is why the world

will never be satisfied with their worldview answers until they find their ultimate answer in Jesus Christ. Amen. Now kids, raise your hand if you’re in the sanctuary. Two. I got one. One kid. Okay, there we go. Okay. Up there. Alright, listen. Do you know that all the big questions about life, that all the adults in the world are asking, you already have the answers to their questions. I’m serious. You know these answers because this is what we’ve been practicing with our kids’ catechism questions. This is what Pastor Josh just taught you guys with our catechism questions. Here’s what I want you to do. I want you to think back to the very first catechism questions and answers. The first six. Question one. What is our only hope in life and death? And kids, if you know these answers, you can say it out loud. That we are not

our own, but belong to God. Question two. What is God? God is the creator of everyone and everything. Question three. How many persons are there in God? There are three persons in one God. The Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit. Question four. How and why did God create us? God created us male and female in His own image to glorify Him. Question five. What else did God create? God created all things and all His creation was very good. Finally, question six. How can we glorify God? By loving Him and obeying His commands in law. You see, kids, you already know the answers to these very big questions. You already know that there is one God. That we were made by Him to glorify Him and to love Him and to do what He says. And because you already know the answers to these questions,

you will be able to help a whole world of adults to know the one God in three persons and why they were made. Isn’t that crazy? Yeah. And parents, just by way of encouragement, this is why you should continue to catechize your kids. Okay? Because the repetition helps them. You remember, like, Mr. Miyagi? Some of you do? Alright. Same principle. So Paul uses these five little words, for there is one God, to sober us, to sober the world to the reality of the one true and sovereign God. And listen, this truth didn’t begin with Paul. It’s woven throughout the Scripture. We see this at the very beginning of Scripture, Genesis 1.1. In the beginning, God created the heavens and the earth. Deuteronomy 6, 4 and 5. Hear, O Israel, the Lord our God, the Lord is one. You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with

One Mediator

all your soul and with all your might. Isaiah 45.5 I am the Lord. There is no other. Besides me, there is no God. From beginning to end of the Scriptures, the Bible testifies of the truth that there is one God. So having emphasized that there is only one God, Paul then continues in verse 5 with the second point. He says there is one mediator between God and men, the man, Christ Jesus. Here, Paul helps us understand that the knowledge of God and the peace that we desire to have with God comes from having a mediator. Now, before we get too deep into this idea, it’s important to ask this question. What does mediator mean? Or better yet, what exactly does a mediator do? Well, to make it as simple as possible, a mediator is someone who stands in the gap bringing together two opposing parties that cannot

reconcile on their own. They’ve exhausted every resource, they can’t find peace, so they bring in a mediator. Take, for example, a labor mediator in a strike or in a workplace dispute. Whenever there’s a conflict that arises that cannot be resolved, mediators are there to negotiate between the employers and the employees to try to find a solution that satisfies both parties so that they can move forward. Now, for any mediator to be effective or good, the mediator must consider both parties’ needs and represent each party equally and without partiality. So that’s how mediators work at a basic level. But the concept of mediator in a biblical sense is not only more significant because it pertains to the mediation between God and men, but it’s also way more comprehensive. And that’s because it does more than just negotiate. It acts, it communicates, and it advocates. The theological dictionary

of the New Testament describes it as more than a negotiator or a broker. It is someone who interprets between God and humanity. It is someone who acts on behalf of both. Now, the question we need to answer is, why do we even need a mediator to begin with? Well, because there is conflict between God and humanity. Because God is holy and righteous and we are sinners, God cannot stand in the presence of humans. We are unable to stand before Him to try and make things right. Because of our sin, we are eternally separated from this holy God with no hope of reconciliation on our own. Our sin has created this massive barrier that no human effort could tear down. So if we’re going to have peace with the God who made us, it can’t be something that we can negotiate on our own terms. We need someone who can bridge

that infinite gap. Someone who can represent God’s holiness and righteousness and justice. And someone who can represent us in our sinfulness. Now, throughout the Scriptures there have been these lower case mediators that God has used to temporarily settle the dispute between God and men. We see this with Moses. Moses was God’s chosen representative for this kind of short-term mediation. For mediating between the sinful Israel and the Lord. In Exodus chapter 34, Moses serves as this go-between by acting on behalf of both God and the people. So he mediates in two directions. First, he climbs up to Mount Sinai. He receives the Ten Commandments from the Lord. Then Moses takes the commands directly from God, brings it down to the people, and he begins to communicate God’s truth and his will to the people of Israel. But at the same time, Moses also turns in the opposite

direction, representing the people before God. Moses intercedes on their behalf. He acknowledges their stubbornness and sinfulness, and he pleaded for the Lord’s mercy, forgiveness, and ongoing presence. So he brought down the Word of God to the people, and he lifted up to God the people’s needs, confessions, and requests. Moses was a mediator. But it wasn’t just with Moses. The Old Testament priesthood functioned in a similar two-way mediation role. On the one hand, these priests represented God to the people by teaching his laws, declaring his blessings to the people. And on the other hand, they represented the people before God by offering sacrifices, making atonement, temporary atonement for sins, and interceding through prayer. So essentially, priests were charged with both conveying God’s will and his holiness to Israel, and carrying Israel’s repentance, needs, and offerings into God’s presence. So this is the work of these lower-case mediation

or mediators in scriptures, standing in the gap between a holy God and sinful humanity. But family, here is the thing. Those mediators, they were limited, and they were temporary. They were limited because they were humans, tainted by sin. They were temporary because none of them could permanently solve the problem of human sin before a holy God. Moses couldn’t do it as righteous as he was, and the priests couldn’t do it. In fact, they had to make sacrifices for their own sins. It was only temporary, which meant that the settlement between these parties was temporary. We needed a mediator whose work was perfect and permanent, and the only mediator who could effectively do that? Amen. The only mediator who could effectively do that is Christ alone. The reason why Christ alone could be that mediator is because Christ alone is fully God and fully man. Because he is fully God,

he can represent God’s holiness and righteousness and justice. Because he is fully man, he can represent us, standing in our place. Only someone who was fully God and fully human could mediate the infinite gap between a holy God and a sinful humanity. You see, everything Moses did and everything the priests did were only shadows pointing to Jesus, the divine and human mediator who came to bring peace with God forever. This is why the reformers were so adamant about Christ alone. This is why they protested so severely this idea that popes or saints or sacraments or even the church could stand in that mediation role. And in so doing, they eclipsed the sufficiency and exclusivity of the one mediator between God and men. And you see, it’s this sufficiency and exclusivity of the one mediator that makes Christmas so significant. Because Christmas isn’t just about a baby in a manger.

It’s God incarnate, which means God taking on flesh, coming to us so that he could be a perfect mediator. So he didn’t just simply appear as a human, he became human. This is what we see in John 1.14. And the word that is Jesus became flesh and dwelt among us. And we have seen his glory, glory as the only son from the Father, full of grace and truth. And this is why Paul in this verse highlights the man Christ Jesus. While Jesus is fully divine, Paul is emphasizing his genuine humanity. Because this humanity allows him to stand in our place as a representative before a holy God. So at Christmas, we celebrate God with us, the one who came to live among us, who experienced our frailty and did for us what we could never do for ourselves. He came as a baby so that one

day he could stand before the Father as the perfect go-between, our advocate and our high priest. This means God with us and God for us. Now family, don’t just let that reality kind of pass over you as some kind of theological concept as if it’s no big deal. Just consider for a moment the practical implications of God with us and God for us in our everyday lives as Christians. God with us means that we are never alone. Even in our most isolated moments when you feel like no one else is around, no one else cares, no one else understands, God is with us. Even in the deepest and darkest struggles, Emmanuel means God is close. He’s not just peering on like our world from a distance as this disengaged God. He is near and he promises to never abandon you or forsake you. And just to be clear, that nearness,

it doesn’t hinge on our performance. How good was your week or how bad was your week? His presence, it doesn’t flow from our behavior. It flows from his unchanging character who chose to come to us, to walk with us, to represent us and to be an advocate for us. Family, when we feel crushed by disappointments, when our hearts are weighed down by grief, God with us means we don’t walk through the darkness by ourselves. As dark as it seems, you’re not alone. And because he is not only with us, but he is for us, he isn’t simply standing by us. He’s actively at work. He’s pleading. He’s petitioning. He’s extending grace. He’s showing mercy. He’s forgiving. He’s guiding us, turning even the most difficult and challenging of circumstances for our good and for his glory. This is what Christ our mediator means at the most basic and fundamental

One Ransom

level. Praise be to God for God with us. And listen, this mediation that we receive in Jesus, it’s more than just advocacy. It’s action. And Paul accentuates this action in verse 6. He tells us that he gave himself as a ransom for all. That is action. Notice the brilliant way that Paul moves us from the birth of Jesus to the death of Jesus. Did you see what Paul did there? Super quick, super subtle. He moves from the man Christ Jesus to the ransom of Jesus on the cross. Essentially, Paul is emphasizing while all of humanity is born to live, Jesus was born to die. The whole reason for coming to earth as a baby was his eventual death on the cross as a ransom and his resurrection to verify it. You know, the Old Testament priests as part of their mediation work, their temporary mediation, what they would do

is they would offer animal sacrifices on behalf of the people to temporarily atone for sin. And so, by placing their hands on the head of a sacrificial animal, they symbolically transferred the sins of the people to that animal. Then that animal’s blood would be shed and its life would be offered up as a payment for sin. And you see what’s underneath all of that reality is the truth that sin has to be paid for. The Bible tells us in Romans chapter 3, verse 23, for all have sinned and fallen short of the glory of God. Every single one of us has sin that needs to be paid for. Romans 6, 23 says, for the wages of sin that means that the payment is death. Someone’s got to die for those sins. Because God is holy and just when we sin against Him as all humanity has,

the consequence of that sin is death. Despite what the world thinks, sin is not some insignificant thing. It’s not just some small indiscretion or a kind of small mistake. It is a severe offense against a holy and righteous God that has devastating consequences and those consequences require a ransom. And the text says that Jesus gave Himself as a ransom for all. He becomes more than just a mediator. He Himself becomes the offering for sin. His own blood was shed to cover the sins of the people. Because we committed the sins, we owe the penalty. But no mere human can bear the infinite weight of God’s judgment. We needed someone divine to pay the full ransom and pay it permanently. This is why Jesus had to be fully God and fully man. Exclusive and sufficient. The writer of Hebrews in chapter 9 says this, and I’ll just

paraphrase it. He says, for Christ has entered not into holy places made with hands. That’s what the priests would do. They’d make these temples. But Jesus, He entered into heaven itself now to appear in the presence of God on our behalf. He has appeared once and for all at the end of the ages to put away sin by the sacrifice of Himself. In Jesus we have a paid in full sacrifice for sin. He is the ransom we needed to know God and to be saved. You see what this means is that our greatest problem is not that we needed more religious rituals to bring us to God or that we needed more spiritual teachers to kind of guide us or that we needed priests to mediate for us. Our real life and death problem was sin and its penalty and Jesus paid it all. This is why Christ alone

is our only sufficient savior. No amount of personal effort, no good works could fix or satisfy the legal demands of God. We needed rescue. We needed a ransom and this is why Jesus came in the first place. In Mark 10.45 Jesus said, for even the Son of Man came not to be served but to serve and to give His life as a ransom for many. You know in the original language of that declaration from Jesus it’s actually translated He came to give His life as a ransom instead of many. Which just speaks to the sufficiency and the efficacy of Jesus’ sacrifice. One death for the many. Because He is God His sacrifice is infinitely valuable to save so many. Because He is man His sacrifice counts for us. 1 Peter 1 Peter 1 18-19 says knowing that you were ransomed from the feudal ways inherited from

your forefathers not with perishable things such as silver or gold but with the precious blood of Christ like that of a lamb without blemish or spot. He is the sacrificial lamb for us. Romans 5 8 but God shows His love for us in that while we were still sinners Christ died for us. His love for us motivated His death for us. No other figure no other system could save us from our sins. No good works, no religious deeds, no church system—none of those things can do anything to save you. Christ alone saves. Do you think you’re a good person? Do you think that will work for you? It will not work—it’s not sufficient. The Bible tells us that Jesus is the way the truth and the life. No one comes to God except through Jesus. And you see how this radically informs the world view

questions that everyone is seeking to answer? There is one God and He has revealed Himself in the person and work of Jesus. We were made to know Him to love Him to glorify Him and to enjoy Him forever and it is through Christ alone that we can be saved and have the promise of eternal life which means real and eternal fellowship with God. This is how we can know God. This is how we can be made right with God. Can I ask you this morning dear friend? Do you know this Jesus? Have you been made right with this God? Well you can know this Jesus this morning. You can know this Jesus. You see the way of receiving this ransom is by receiving Jesus as Lord and Savior. If you would just confess your sins. Confess that He is who He says He is. The creator of the world

and the Savior of the world. You don’t need a priest. You don’t need a Pope. You don’t need more religious works. All you need is Jesus and all He asks is that you turn from your sin and turn to Him in faith. And you can do that this morning. You can do that this morning. You can ask Him, help me believe. Save me Jesus. And He will do it. The Bible says that there is salvation under no other name in heaven than Jesus Christ. Christ can save you. And not only will He save you, He will transform you. He will give you a new heart. And He will give you a new hope. And listen, if you want to know what it means to follow this Jesus, if you have questions this morning, you can ask anyone in this room. Ask them if they are a Christian and if they say yes,

The Ultimate Condescension

they will happily cancel their lunch plans to help you to know what it means to follow Jesus. There is nothing more important in this life than coming to the Lord of life in repentance and faith. We would love to talk to you about that. Brothers and sisters, in closing, and as you prepare to move into Christmas, I want to just leave you with this realistic picture concerning the incarnation of Christ, God taking on human flesh. I want you to see what God with us and God for us means so that we might have a proper perspective of what we’re celebrating during Christmas. Just listen to this. The eternal Son of God who lived in perfect fellowship with the Father and the Spirit for all eternity, who spoke the universe into existence by the power of his word, humbled himself to be confined to the isolation of a womb for nine months

for you. The creator of time who existed outside of space and time entered into the constraints of time for you. The one who holds the cosmos together by the power of his words had to be cradled and fed for you. The omniscient one who knows all things subjected himself to learning. He was taught to eat, to crawl, to walk and to speak for you. The hands that shaped humanity out of dust gripped the fingers of a mother to reach for you. The feet that would one day walk on water stumbled as he learned to take his first steps to come towards you. The one who came to fulfill the law had himself, he had to learn the law and yet he did it all perfectly without sin to represent you. Christ alone entered fully into the frailty of humanity, enduring all the growth and the struggles and the temptations

of human life so that he could sympathize with you. He perfectly obeyed his Father always walking in righteousness so that he might present himself perfectly before the Father as an advocate for you. This, family, is the ultimate condescension. The most high became the most low. The creator became part of his creation. The one who had no need for anything made himself deeply dependent. The one who commands the hosts of heaven allowed himself to be betrayed, beaten and killed by the very hands that he formed. And why did he subject all of himself to all of this? For you and for me to be with us, to be for us and to give himself as a ransom for us. And he has done all this not begrudgingly but willingly out of love for you because no one else can do it. Jesus did it. He humbled himself

to the lowest place to lift us to the highest place. This, family, is our God. This is our mediator and this is our ransom. This is who we worship and this is who we celebrate Christ alone at Christmas. And so, amen. Family, to him be the glory. To him be the honor and to him be the praise, not just at Christmas but forever and ever. Amen? Amen. Let’s pray. Our Father and our God, we do thank you that you didn’t leave us on our own. You didn’t leave us in this helpless state only to be condemned. But you acted. Perhaps the greatest expression of love was in that act of sending Jesus to reconcile the people you created to yourself. And God, as we think about Christmas and what it means that God came to us in the form of man who humbled himself in every way. God, I pray that would

flood our hearts. That would be our primary focus. That it wouldn’t be the presents. It wouldn’t be the songs. It wouldn’t be the celebration of Christmas from a sentimental perspective. But it would be Christ alone. And what he has accomplished for us, the greatest gift we could ever receive is Jesus. God, would you flood our hearts to focus on that reality. Thank you for saving us. Thank you for coming. Thank you for being our advocate. Thank you for ransoming us. We owe everything to you. Without you, we would have no hope. Because of you, we have a future hope. We pray these things in Christ’s name. Amen.