Solus Christus

Solus Christus

If you have been following along with us, then you know that we have been looking at five great biblical truths, known as the Five Solas. Each of these five points is a truth that is critical to the proper understanding of the Gospel. These five points became areas of controversy 500 years ago and led to the split of the Roman Catholic and Protestant churches.

Today we will look at the fourth point called Solus Christus. As you might have guessed, this is a Latin phrase that means “Christ Alone”. The Roman Catholic church taught, and still teaches, that in various ways the institutional Church functions along with Jesus as a mediator between God and human beings. A mediator is someone who comes in between two separated parties to bring them together. The Catholic Church teaches that the grace of salvation comes from Christ, through the Church, to believers. The Reformers, however, insisted that salvation came directly from and through Jesus Christ alone. They insisted the Bible taught Jesus was the only mediator and salvation was in Christ Alone, Solus Christus.

Our main goal this morning is to look at how Jesus works as our mediator and why salvation is through Christ alone. Our main point is that salvation is found in Christ alone.

If you have your Bibles, please turn to Hebrews chapter 1 with me.

“Long ago, at many times and in many ways, God spoke to our fathers by the prophets, but in these last days he has spoken to us by his Son, whom he appointed the heir of all things, through whom also he created the world. He is the radiance of the glory of God and the exact imprint of his nature, and he upholds the universe by the word of his power. After making purification for sins, he sat down at the right hand of the Majesty on high…”

The entire Bible points us to Jesus. Every chapter adds to and deepens the majesty and glory of who Jesus is and what He has done. There is no way in a single sermon, or even a lifetime of sermons, to fully communicate the riches of Christ, but we already have in these three verses several truths that point us to why salvation is in Christ Alone.

Since all people have sinned, we are separated from God and can no longer come to Him on our own without judgment. We need someone to come in between us to reconcile us to God before we can enjoy any fellowship with Him. We need a mediator. In the Old Testament there were three mediatorial offices that stood between God and His people. They were the prophet, priest, and king. All three were pictures pointing forward to Jesus who alone fulfilled them perfectly.

Prophets speak on behalf of God to the people. They proclaim God’s word, reveal who God is and what He expects, calling His people to repentance and covenant faithfulness. Priests on the other hand, represent the people before God. They bring sacrifices on behalf of the people to God to make atonement and purify the people. Kings were God’s appointed rulers who governed, provided for, and defended the people according to God’s Law.

Notice that in our text Jesus fulfills the office of the prophet. “Long ago, at many times and in many ways, God spoke to our fathers by the prophets, but in these last days he has spoken to us by his Son…” God used to speak through a series of prophets but now He has revealed Himself through Jesus. It says, “He is the radiance of the glory of God and the exact imprint of his nature” Whoever sees Christ has seen the Father. There is nothing to add. Christ is the perfect and final revelation. The apostle John says in 1 John 2:23, “No one who denies the Son has the Father. Whoever confesses the Son has the Father also.” And the apostle Paul says it this way in Colossians 1:19-20, “For in him all the fullness of God was pleased to dwell, and through him to reconcile to himself all things, whether on earth or in heaven, making peace by the blood of his cross.”

The Reformers saw that religious leaders were not agents of revelation who speak for God except to the extent that they proclaim what God has already revealed in Christ and His word. The Church has no authority to proclaim anything other than what has been once and for all delivered to her. When you hear preaching here on Sunday or seek counsel from our elders, please understand that we have no wisdom and no authority to offer you other than Christ. We humbly do our best to use our imperfect gifts and talents to point you to Christ through His word. We speak with authority only when we speak His words.

The prophetic ministry of the church is like the light of the moon on a dark night. It is a great help and by it we can see many things and avoid many dangers but its light is merely a reflection of the light of the sun. The moon has no light of its own and the Church has no revelation of her own. The wisdom of the most gifted pastor compared to the word of Christ is like the difference between midnight and noon.

Notice that Jesus is also a priest. “After making purification for sins, he sat down at the right hand of the Majesty on high…” In the Jewish temple, day after day, for generations there was an unending stream of blood flowing from the altar because of sin. There was an endless cycle of people bringing offerings to be sacrificed on the altar to purify themselves. Every day, week, month, and year the cycle continued and the priests sacrificed on behalf of the people. Jesus, however, offered the perfect sacrifice by offering himself and then do you see what it says? After making purification… he sat down. The work was finished, it was accomplished. 

Hebrews 10:11-14 explains it this way,

“And every priest stands daily at his service, offering repeatedly the same sacrifices, which can never take away sins. But when Christ had offered for all time a single sacrifice for sins, he sat down at the right hand of God, waiting from that time until his enemies should be made a footstool for his feet. For by a single offering, he has perfected for all time those who are being sanctified.”

Believers are made acceptable by one perfect sacrifice for all time. When we come together on Sunday, we don’t celebrate a mass. A mass requires a sacrifice. Our ministers do not participate in a sacrifice, instead we proclaim the once for all sufficient sacrifice of Jesus Christ whose benefits we can receive through faith. This is why in our church there is a pulpit rather than an altar at the front of the room. Our pastors are not priests. We do not purify or make atonement but we point sinners to the one who has. The only priesthood we have is that which is shared by all believers who through faith have direct access to God. When Christ died the veil in the temple separating the common people from the holy place was torn in two.

Notice also where Christ is seated in our text. “He sat down at the right hand of the Majesty on high” and we also see that He has been “appointed the heir of all things”. These are brief references, but they point us to Jesus’ as King. We know that Jesus is Lord of Lords and King of Kings. He has all authority in heaven and on earth and all things are under him. But we do not often think about why His kingship is important to his work as mediator. Remember, kings not only governed, but also provided for and defended their people.

Jesus provides everything we need for salvation. In Christ we are strengthened with the Bread of Life and are satisfied with rivers of Living Water. He is Life and Light and in him is rest and peace. As the apostle Paul says in Ephesians 1:3, “Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us in Christ with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places”. Christ our King provides everything we need. 

King Jesus also defends us. It is Jesus that has defeated our enemies. He has overcome the world and shattered the power of sin, the devil, and the flesh. Look at how Luke explains what the coming of Jesus meant for his people in Luke 1:68-71,

“Blessed be the Lord God of Israel, for he has visited and redeemed his people and has raised up a horn of salvation for us in the house of his servant David, as he spoke by the mouth of his holy prophets from of old, that we should be saved from our enemies and from the hand of all who hate us”

We also see Jesus the warrior King in Ephesians 4:8 where we are told “When he ascended on high he led a host of captives, and he gave gifts to men.” He plundered the strongholds of powerful spiritual rulers freeing us from slavery and oppression. He has conquered all our enemies and invites all to come to him for salvation. 

Brothers and sisters, the church has no royal power or majesty of her own. It is true we are made heirs of the kingdom but it is only by the grace of God in Christ that we are adopted. I pray, let our testimony be like that of the apostle Paul when he said to the church at Corinth in 1 Corinthians 2:3–5, “And I was with you in weakness and in fear and much trembling, and my speech and my message were not in plausible words of wisdom, but in demonstration of the Spirit and of power, so that your faith might not rest in the wisdom of men but in the power of God.”

Jesus Christ has perfectly executed the threefold office of mediator. He is the perfect Prophet. He is the perfect Priest. And, He is the perfect King. There is something else, however, I want you to notice in our main passage that makes Jesus utterly unique as a mediator between humans and God. Look at what the author of Hebrews is claiming about Jesus. He is absolutely superior in every way to any other potential mediator, even angels, because Jesus Christ is God.

“Long ago, at many times and in many ways, God spoke to our fathers by the prophets, but in these last days he has spoken to us by his Son, whom he appointed the heir of all things, through whom also he created the world. He is the radiance of the glory of God and the exact imprint of his nature, and he upholds the universe by the word of his power. After making purification for sins, he sat down at the right hand of the Majesty on high…”

Jesus is fully God and fully man, which makes Him alone qualified to be the mediator and savior. In Him God and humanity are perfectly reconciled. The Savior had to be a human who is without sin.

He is fully human: John 1:14 tells us “the Word became flesh and dwelt among us…” and Hebrews 2:14 says, “Since therefore the children share in flesh and blood, he himself likewise partook of the same things…”

 He alone is without sin: All others have sinned but 1 Peter 2:22 says, “He committed no sin, neither was deceit found in his mouth.” and Hebrews 4:15 says he was “…one who in every respect has been tempted as we are, yet without sin.”

We can already see that Jesus is the only man who could represent us for salvation, but there is more. It wasn’t enough for the Savior to be a perfect man. He also had to be able to take upon himself the sins of His people and satisfy God’s just wrath. Only a divine person could do that. Only a being of infinite worth and life could pay that price. Salvation had to come from one who was fully human and fully God. Jesus alone fits that description. He is utterly unique in being able to pay the penalty for sin while in the flesh. Christ alone is the only person in all of history that could do what He did. He is the only begotten Son of God and as Luke writes in Acts 4:12, “…there is salvation in no one else, for there is no other name under heaven given among men by which we must be saved.”

To modern ears this sounds narrow. It may even sound arrogant to say there is only one way to salvation. After all, there are thousands of religions and philosophies trying to help humans climb up to God for salvation. Jesus, however, is the only example of God’s coming down to us to bring salvation. It is more arrogant to reject God’s grace and insist on trying it our way than admitting that we cannot attain it on our own. 

Whether we like it or not, truth is often narrow. If you want to breathe, you have one option, oxygen. When you go to the doctor you need the precise treatment that is going to help you, anything else is useless or dangerous. Physics, mathematics, logic and every other pursuit of truth is surprisingly narrow. The truth of salvation is there is only one way. Salvation comes through Jesus Christ alone. 

I should point out that the Roman church has never denied the exclusivity of Jesus. It is, however, what they add that is the problem. Like the other four Sola’s it is the word “alone” that becomes the main point of disagreement.  The Roman Catholic Catechism of 1993 says:

“No creature could ever be counted along with the Incarnate Word and Redeemer; but ... the unique mediation of the Redeemer does not exclude but rather gives rise to a manifold cooperation which is but a sharing in this one source.” (CCC 970)

It goes on a bit further to say more clearly:

"In the forgiveness of sins, both priests and sacraments are instruments which our Lord Jesus Christ, the only author and liberal giver of salvation, wills to use in order to efface our sins and give us the grace of justification" (CCC 987)

Rather than Solus Christus, the Roman Church teaches Totus Christus, which is Latin for the Total Christ. Totus Christus teaches that the connection between Jesus and the Church is so complete that it results in a single mysterious body. They believe that Christ in the Church and the Church in Christ together are the total Christ. Therefore, the Catholic Church also fill the offices of prophet, priest, and king along with Jesus.

They believe the Church mediates as a prophet, giving the world the revelation of God and even the Bible itself. They believe that the priests of the Church participate in the sacrifice of Christ through the mass where they teach that the bread and wine are actually transformed into the body and blood of Jesus and offered in sacrifice. They believe that saints and especially the Virgin Mary are able to intercede alongside Jesus as mediators of salvation and that the Pope has the full authority of Jesus to rule over the Church.

By adding the institution of the Church to what Christ does as our mediator they distort the Gospel. It is true that the Church is the Body of Christ and that Christ works through His Church but in the New Testament the word Church refers to all those who have been united to Christ by faith and the distinction between the head and the body is never confused. It is not the Church, but the Holy Spirit sent by Christ Himself that applies the benefits of Jesus to believers. 

Rome teaches, for example, that Mary is a type of the church and is a mediatrix or co-mediator with Jesus. There are prayers and hymns to Mary because it is thought the best way to approach Jesus is through Mary because of her special relationship with him. But what do we find in the Scripture?

When praising God for his blessing upon her, Mary says in Luke 1:46–47, “My soul magnifies the Lord, and my spirit rejoices in God my Savior.” Far from relying on any special relationship Mary acknowledges her own need of salvation and gives all glory to God.

Christ is not a reluctant Savior that needs to be persuaded to show mercy. From beginning to end our salvation is an act of love to the glory of God. In love the Father initiates, the Son accomplishes, and the Spirit applies salvation. “He who did not spare his own Son but gave him up for us all, how will he not also with him graciously give us all things?” (Rom. 8:32)

If we add anything to the work of Jesus Christ in salvation we deny the sufficiency of what He did and rob Him of the glory He alone deserves. It is to say that the cross was not enough. It is to say that God needs the help of the very same sinners he came to rescue to complete His work. This is not at all the picture the Bible gives us. No sinner is going to love us more than Christ and no person can add to what has already been perfectly and completely accomplished in Jesus. The Bible says that all we must do to receive the benefits of the Cross is to believe. Through faith we receive the fullness of all that Christ offers.

Hear what the Word of the Lord says,

Acts 16:30–31, “Then he brought them out and said, “Sirs, what must I do to be saved?” And they said, “Believe in the Lord Jesus, and you will be saved, you and your household.”

John 3:16, “For God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life.”

John 5:24, “Truly, truly, I say to you, whoever hears my word and believes him who sent me has eternal life. He does not come into judgment, but has passed from death to life.”

It is Christ that is offered in the preaching of the Gospel and if we receive Him we need nothing else. Salvation is in Christ Alone. There is now therefore no condemnation for those who are In Christ. In Him, we are restored to fellowship with God and need  not seek any other mediator. In Christ, we can come confidently before Himself to receive mercy because He loves us and gave Himself for us.

Hebrews 4:14-16 says,

“Since then we have a great high priest who has passed through the heavens, Jesus, the Son of God, let us hold fast our confession. For we do not have a high priest who is unable to sympathize with our weaknesses, but one who in every respect has been tempted as we are, yet without sin. Let us then with confidence draw near to the throne of grace, that we may receive mercy and find grace to help in time of need.” 

What about you this morning? Where have you placed your hope for salvation? Listen carefully brothers and sisters, the church cannot forgive sin. Your pastors cannot release you from your guilt. There is no saint who has any merit they can offer you other than that which they received from the same hand that freely offers righteousness to you. Your works add nothing to what Christ has done. Your goodness and your service are the fruit rather than the root of your acceptance by God.

These five solas were developed in distinction to Roman Catholic theology but the instinct to try and add to the finished work of Jesus is found in every denomination. Don’t assume that just because you are not Catholic that you don’t need this message. It is so easy to subtly shift our confidence from Jesus alone to Jesus plus all sorts of other things. Spiritual gifts, reading our Bibles, Church attendance, serving, giving, etc. The list is endless. Anything that takes our attention off of Christ is dangerous. Our only hope is found in Christ and Christ alone. 

As Paul says in 1 Timothy 2:5 says, “For there is one God, and there is one mediator between God and men, the man Christ Jesus.”

We have all sinned. Rather than worship and serve God as we should we chose to serve ourselves. We all rejected God and because of that were cut off from fellowship with Him and deserve His judgment. There is nothing we can ever do to erase that sin, no way for us to “fix” this. But God is merciful and is not reluctant to forgive us. But He is holy and our sin has to be dealt with. So He sent His Son Jesus who lived the holy life we were called to live and then offered His death in our place. He satisfied God’s justice so we would not have to. Then, three days later He rose from the dead and ascended into heaven where He is seated at the right hand of the Father and makes intercession for us as the perfect prophet, priest, and king.

Jesus has paid the price and God stands ready to forgive. All we need to do is to trust Him. If you have not already trusted in Christ for salvation I urge you to do it even now. In Christ you will find all you need. as Hebrews 7:25 says, “he is able to save to the uttermost those who draw near to God through him, since he always lives to make intercession for them.”

I want to finish this morning with the beautiful words of Belgic Confession written in 1561. This is one of the early Reformed confessions of faith written while people were still giving their lives so that the truth of these Sola’s could be preached.

“...this Mediator, whom the Father has appointed between himself and us, ought not terrify us by his greatness, so that we have to look for another one, according to our preference. For neither in heaven nor among the creatures on earth is there anyone who loves us more than Jesus Christ does. Although he was “in the form of God,” Christ nevertheless “emptied himself,” taking “human form” and “the form of a slave” for us; and he made himself “like his brothers and sisters in every respect.

Suppose we had to find another intercessor. Who would love us more than he who gave his life for us, even though “we were enemies”? And suppose we had to find one who has prestige and power. Who has as much of these as he who is seated at the right hand of the Father, and who has “all authority in heaven and on earth” And who will be heard more readily than God’s own dearly beloved Son?” (Belgic Confession Article 26)