Solus Christus

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A while back, I read an article called Six Things That Christians Should Just Stop Saying. I clicked on it purely out of curiosity, and it was written by what passes for a Christian teacher in the pages of the Huffington Post. As I read through this list of these six things that apparently we should stop saying, the entire list was complete garbage, and it was designed to undermine everything from the authority of scripture to 6,000 years of Christian teaching, Judeo-Christian teaching on sexual purity. I mean, this supposed pastor went after everything we teach, everything foundational to the Christian faith.

The most shocking thing that he had to say, though, was that we should stop saying Jesus is the only way to heaven. And I read this, and I thought, why do you even call yourself a Christian? You can go call yourself a motivational speaker and not have to claim anything about Jesus being the only way to heaven.

That’s pretty much central to our message is the idea that Jesus is the only way to heaven. If you’re here this morning, okay, let me rephrase that. If you’re here this morning and you’re not sure about Jesus being the only way to heaven, I’m glad that you’re here.

I’m glad that we can talk to you about this. But if you consider yourself a Christian and say, no, Jesus is not the only way, then my question to you is what is the point of even calling yourself a Christian? Because you’re trying to live by the ethical teachings of a teacher who lied to his followers by claiming that he was the son of God when he knew he wasn’t.

Okay? I think I did a whole series on this. Liar, lunatic, legend, or Lord.

He’s one of those four things. He has to be one of those four things. He has to be completely made up.

He had to have been lying to his followers about being the son of God. He had to have really believed he was the son of God when he really wasn’t and thus been a lunatic. Or if he’s none of those three things, then he’s Lord.

He is exactly what he claimed to be. And that’s what I believe. That’s what Christianity has always believed.

But the writer of this article said, no, that’s merely your interpretation of the Bible. He began to attack the idea of us having an interpretation of the Bible, and he submitted this other idea. He looked specifically at John chapter 14 talking about this, and he offered another perspective, but what he didn’t seem to realize was that was his interpretation of the Bible.

And the idea that Jesus was just trying to, when he said, I am the way, the truth, and the life, well, he’s just trying to comfort his followers. Okay, that’s your interpretation. And what he also didn’t seem to realize is we all take in information on a daily basis, and we all interpret information constantly.

You don’t realize that you’re even doing it. But we interpret information constantly. I can say one phrase to somebody in here and say the same phrase to my wife, and you’ll probably take it differently.

See, if I said to Kay, well, what you ought to do is, she’s going to take that as friendly pastoral advice, probably. If I say, well, what you ought to do is to my wife, it’s a different story, isn’t it? We’re all taking in information, and we’re all interpreting information, but it doesn’t mean that every interpretation is just something we made up out of thin air.

There are some interpretations that are just natural. They’re just common sense because words have meaning. Words mean something. I know the politicians don’t seem to think that anymore, but I still submit to you the words have meaning.

So he offered this other explanation, oh, Jesus was just trying to comfort his followers. That was his interpretation. But if we look at John chapter 14 as we will this morning and other passages like it, it seems pretty clear to me it’s not a matter of my interpretation or this pastor’s interpretation, your interpretation, or anybody else’s.

Jesus made some claims to his disciples when he was talking to them, made some claims about himself and his authority, his position, his nature. He made some claims about these things, and his point isn’t really open to an interpretation that we make up. It’s open to the interpretation of what words did he say and what did he mean by those words.

Yeah, I don’t get to put Jesus’ words are not an empty vessel that I pour full of whatever meaning I want them to have. Words mean something. And so when Jesus made claims to his disciples, what did he intend and what would they have understood?

Folks, there are going to be some passages in the Bible. I readily admit some passages are difficult. Okay?

There are some passages that are difficult. Am I the only one that has trouble with some passages in the Bible? There are some that I’ve struggled with for years.

There are some I still struggle with. There are some passages that are difficult and some that are open to interpretation. And a lot of times I’ll tell you that.

Hey, scholars are divided on whether this means this or whether it means that, and here’s where I fall down on it or which side I fall on. There are some passages that are difficult and open to interpretation, but you know what? There are also a lot of passages that are not.

Contrary to what some churches would tell you today, contrary to what some pastors that you’ll see interviewed on The View or other shows like that, there are some passages that are pretty clear and not really open to whatever you want them to be. And as we’ve been studying the concept of the Reformation for the past few weeks, when Martin Luther got some things wrong, I’ve said that to you already, I want to make that clear again, he was wrong with some issues on communion, he was really wrong with the horrible things he said about the Jews later on when he was old and cranky, okay, he was wrong on some things. But when Martin Luther and the other reformers began to openly affirm the gospel again 500 years ago, that’s something that they got right.

That’s something that they got absolutely right. They got that much right, the idea of where salvation comes from. Jesus said it, they were clear on it, and I’m sorry, I’m going to take Jesus’ word over the word of somebody on the Huffington Post. They taught that salvation, these men taught that salvation, just as the Bible teaches, is given by grace alone, not by merit.

We talked about that a couple weeks ago with the concept of sola gratia. They taught that salvation is received through faith alone and not works. We talked about that last week, although I never used the word sola fide.

And they taught that this is only possible, that this grace-faith relationship is only possible because of Jesus Christ, and they called that solus Christus. Now, God’s grace is offered to us only because Jesus Christ paid for it. Yes, salvation is by grace alone, but that grace is only available because Jesus Christ paid for it in full.

Our faith only allows us to stand righteous before a holy God when that faith is placed in Jesus Christ. See, faith isn’t magical and mystical. You don’t get into heaven on the strength of your faith. Or just because you believe strongly and sincerely, if you put your faith in the wrong place, your faith is only as valuable as its object. The only faith that matters is the faith that we put in Jesus Christ. And just as they taught and just as they understood, indulgences couldn’t save us.

Those little certificates I’ve been talking about that they used to sell that said your sins were forgiven, you get into heaven because you paid the money for it. Those couldn’t save you. I mean, we laugh at that today.

Sacraments and ceremonies couldn’t save you. The Lord’s Supper can’t save you. Baptism can’t save you.

Being at church can’t save you. The church itself, church membership, cannot save you. Folks, there’s one thing and one thing only that can save you, and that’s Jesus Christ. You’re not saved because the pastor says so.

You’re not saved because you said the right words. You’re saved because Jesus Christ shed his blood and died to pay for your sins in full. He’s the only way to salvation.

And any, you know what, any pastor or church that can’t say that clearly doesn’t deserve the name. Is that too harsh a statement? You don’t deserve to call yourself a pastor or a church.

If you’re not clear on that one, you can be wrong about a lot of things. Okay? I’ve got a lot of pastor friends and some from other denominations, and I think they’re wrong about a lot of stuff.

Of course, they probably think that I’m wrong about a lot of stuff, but they’re actually wrong. Okay? But if they’re right on this, that salvation is by grace alone, through faith alone, in Christ alone, there’s a lot they can be wrong about, and they’re still my brother in Christ. And as wrong as they may be on communion or the second coming or what have you, We’re still on the same team.

We may not should go to the same church because I think there should be a unity about our doctrine, at least in the important things. But we’re still on the same team. If you can’t get that simple fact down, Jesus Christ is the only way to heaven.

Close up your church. Take your pastor credentials down off the wall and go do something else. Jesus himself, this is not just my opinion.

Jesus himself is very clear that he’s the only way to salvation. If you haven’t already, turn with me to John chapter 14. We’re going to look at the first six verses of this chapter as quickly as we can this morning.

And just to give you some background on it, going into chapter 13, Jesus and his disciples were finishing up their Passover meal on the night before the crucifixion. That’s when this is taking place. At this point, Judas has already left to go put his plans into motion, the process of betraying Jesus.

And while he’s gone, Jesus is teaching his disciples about how they’re supposed to continue in his absence. Well, Peter gets really worried at this idea of Jesus’ absence, and so he asks Jesus where he’s going to be going. And Jesus said, I’m going somewhere that you can’t follow me yet, but eventually you will.

Now, I’m paraphrasing. Go back and read the end of chapter 13 for yourself. But just for time’s sake this morning, I’m paraphrasing.

He said, I’m going somewhere you can’t go yet, but eventually you will. And Peter, as he often did, began to argue with Jesus. And so Jesus sought to reassure the disciples and explain to them where he’s going.

And this is where we pick up in chapter 14, verse 1. He says, let not your heart be troubled. You believe in God, believe also in me.

And think about what they must have been feeling at that point. The man that they’ve been following, that they’ve devoted their whole lives to for three years, is suddenly talking about going away. And they don’t understand where he’s going.

There was a lot the disciples didn’t understand. we probably wouldn’t have either in their shoes. See, we understand all these things through the Gospels that Jesus is saying because we see how the story turned out.

There’s a lot they were really unclear on, and so they’re worried. He says, let not your heart be troubled. You believe in God, believe also in me.

In my Father’s house are many mansions. If it were not so, I would have told you. I go to prepare a place for you.

Now, Jesus didn’t want them to be distraught or to lose their faith in the coming days. They were about to go through some of the most trying times that they would experience up to this point. Excuse me.

They’re about to watch Jesus arrested and tried and crucified, murdered in this brutal and humiliating way. And then he’s going to be buried. They’re not going to see him for three days, and they still don’t completely understand that he’s going to rise again in three days.

And so he wants to strengthen them for this, and he challenges them to hold on to their belief in him. He said, just as you believe in God, believe in me. Now they had been through troubles and struggles and trials all this time, and they still believed in God.

And he’s trying to shore them up and saying, the same way you believe in God, believe in me. That’s pretty big talk if you’re not God yourself. I would never tell you, hey, the same way you believe in God, have faith in me too.

I’ve heard, not good pastors, but I’ve heard pastors make that statement, and usually that’s a cult-like mentality that you’re getting into. I will tell you, I will let you down. I don’t intend to.

I don’t want to. I don’t try to. But there’s going to be some point, if not many points, if it hadn’t happened already, that I’m going to let you down because I’m human.

You’re going to expect something from me, want something from me, and I’m just not going to be able to deliver. That’s a pretty bold statement. Believe in me the same way you believe in God.

Have faith in me the same way you have faith in God. That’s a pretty bold statement unless you’re God yourself, which Jesus Christ was. So he says, hold on to your faith in me, even as you hold on to your faith in God.

And then he turns around and by way of assurance, he promises them a home in heaven, promises them a home. I go to prepare a place for you. He describes it.

And he says, I’m going to make a place for you there. I’m not just going to make a place. I’m going to make a place for you, he says.

There’s going to be room for you. and adding further reassurance to this. Excuse me.

He says that if they’d made a mistake in their understanding, he would have corrected it. If he was leading them down a dead-end road, he would have warned them because it’s entirely possible for people to misunderstand what’s being taught. Anybody who’s had children realizes that, okay?

Okay? Maybe just me. Children misunderstand all the time.

I think some of you heard the story. And Madeline was really excited thinking we were going to Hawaii Auto Parts. O’Reilly.

Dear, if I could afford to take you to Hawaii, I could afford somebody else to fix this. And we wouldn’t be going to the auto parts store. Misunderstandings happen all the time, don’t they?

And what Jesus is saying here is if somehow you had gotten the wrong idea and I wasn’t really promising you heaven all this time, and I just realized you misunderstood and it wasn’t true, He says, I would have told you. I would have told you, hey, you’re making a mistake. I would have warned you, hey, the road we’re going down is not the one you think we are.

So he tells them, I’m going to prepare a place for you in heaven. And I can assure you it’s true. And listen, you know me.

And you know that I tell the truth. If it wasn’t true, I would have already told you this before now. I would have set the record straight.

He wants to make sure they understand. Then we look at verse 3. And it says, and if I go and prepare a place for you.

I will come again and receive you unto myself that where I am there you may be also. And whither I go, you know, and the way you know. He tells them he wasn’t only going to make a place ready for them.

I mean, that’s incredible enough. Jesus says, I’m going to the Father to make ready a place for you. But he also says, if I go to prepare a place for you, I will come back again that where I am there you may be also.

He says, I’m going to prepare a place for you, and then I’m going to come back for you. I’m going to bring you there. Folks, think about that.

Not only has Jesus prepared our place in heaven, but we don’t have to figure out the way to get there. He’s going to bring us. The journey to heaven from first to last, the journey to salvation from first to last is entirely the work of Jesus Christ. There’s nothing for us to do but faith.

Nothing for us to do but believe. He was going to come back and get them, and beyond the beautiful setting, Part of the joy of heaven is the knowledge that we will forever spend eternity in the presence of Jesus. He talks about the mansions here, and here’s one of these areas open to interpretation.

I’ve talked to you some on Wednesday nights about, I believe it’s Paul says in 1 Corinthians, 2 Corinthians, he talks about a building not made with human hands. And he uses the idea of this body being a tent and a building being prepared for us in heaven. There’s some question whether the mansions mean physical mansions like the Grisso Mansion or whether it’s going to be a fancy house or the glorified body.

I don’t know exactly what heaven’s going to look like. Am I going to be thrilled to be up there and have a fancy house? Sure, I’m going to be thrilled.

Am I going to be thrilled to be up there and I don’t have my own fancy house but I get to live in the Lord’s fancy house and a glorified body? I’m going to be thrilled with that too. There’s some question about what the word mansions means.

But that’s really not the important thing here. That’s really not the important thing here. Because he says, I’ll receive you unto myself that where I am, there you may be also.

See, part of the joy of heaven, really most of the joy of heaven is going to be spending eternity in the presence of Jesus. And I know we like to think about the streets of gold and the crystal sea. When we get to heaven, gold is pavement.

Think about that. Yeah. Gold top rope.

But think about all the gold. Let me ask you this. Are you excited about the pavement?

I mean, maybe if you’ve just been driving on mud roads and it’s rainy, I mean, maybe you’re excited about that. But I don’t wander down my driveway to the street every morning and dance around in the street because there’s pavement. I mean, yes, it’s going to be beautiful and it’s going to be glorious, but the attraction of heaven is eternity with Jesus and the love and the comfort and the light in his presence.

And he closes this part by saying that they know where he’s going. You know what, if you’ve listened to me all this time and you think about it, you know where I’m going. He says, whether I go, you know.

In other words, you know where I’m going. And the way you know. They know how to get there as well.

He’s explained this to them. Now, they’re dense as we all are. I’ve told you before that I used to look down on the apostles and think, how stupid were these guys?

They never understood what Jesus was saying. And then I realized I’d probably be in the same boat. No pun intended since they were fishermen.

but I’d probably be in the same boat with them the whole time. We just know how the story ends, and so we see it more clearly than they do. But he says, you think about it.

You know where I’m going. I’ve told you where I’m going, and you know the way to get there. Verse 5, Thomas saith unto him, Lord, we know not whither thou goest. And how can we know the way?

Jesus saith unto him, I am the way, the truth, and the light of the life. No man cometh unto the Father but by me. So Thomas is still confused.

He tells Jesus, we don’t know where you’re going. Jesus just said, you should know where I’m going. And Thomas says, we don’t know where you’re going.

And Jesus says, you should know how to get there. And Thomas says, if we don’t even know where you’re going, how do we know how to get there? And so Jesus, one last time, let me explain this one more time.

And he makes it abundantly clear. He says, I am going to my Father. You get there through me, and there is no other way.

I mean, you can read this, and you can change the meanings of the words, and you can use all kinds of fancy theological talk, all you want to dance around the issue and say, well, there’s some other interpretation. Yeah, you can make up an interpretation out of thin air if you want to. But look at the conversation they’re having, and look at what Jesus says.

Look at their question, where are you going, and how do we get there? And he says, I am the way, the truth, and the life. No man comes unto the Father but by me.

It’s pretty clear to me, and I don’t think it’s just my interpretation. Seems pretty clear to me that he says, I’m going to the Father. You get there through me and there is no other way.

Is that or is that not what he said? Okay, just making sure I’m on the right track. If we agree, we’re probably right, okay?

He says this to him. He says, let me break this down for you and make it as clear as I possibly can. I’m going to the Father.

You get to the Father through me. There’s no other way, okay? This is not the only place in the scriptures where this is taught, but we didn’t have time this morning to go over every place where it’s taught because it’s taught on page after page after page.

You can turn to just about any book in Scripture and find something that indicates the role that Jesus plays in our salvation. But here’s one of the places where Jesus makes clear his unique position when it comes to our relationship with the Father. And we need to understand that Jesus is the one and only way to salvation.

If you’re following along in your bulletin blanks, that’s the first one. Jesus is the one and only way to salvation. Some people try to play the middle ground and say, yes, Jesus is a way to salvation, but he’s not the only way.

Okay, so you’re calling Jesus a liar and still think he’s a way to salvation. You’re saying it’s possible to trust your salvation in a liar or a confused man. If Jesus says, I am the way, and you say, well, no, that’s not true.

You’re a way. If Jesus doesn’t know, take him off this list. You don’t want to be putting your trust in him. Okay?

But Jesus says, I am the way. And I know I emphasize that a different way, maybe than what Jesus said. Jesus said, I am the way, the truth, the life.

And I usually say it, I am the way, the truth, the life. I realize my emphasis might put a little more emphasis on that point there. But you can’t work around the second part of that statement.

No man comes under the Father but by me. I’m sorry, there’s no amount of linguistic somersaults that you can do to get around that point. He says nobody gets the Father except through him.

Jesus is not just a way to heaven. He is the one and only way to salvation. There’s no other way.

There’s a passage that, and again, this idea that this is something that we conservative churches have made up. Now, this is something the apostles themselves taught and something that they were beaten and arrested and executed for proclaiming. In the book of Acts chapter 4, write this down if you it up later, Acts 4, 10 through 12.

The apostles are preaching, I believe it’s Peter and John, after they’ve just, they’ve been arrested, they’ve been told not to preach in the name of Jesus, they go do it anyway. And they’re preaching out there, be it known unto you all and to the people of Israel, that by the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, whom ye crucified, whom God raised from the dead, even by him doth this man stand here before you whole. This is the stone which was set of naught by you builders, which has become head of the corner.

Here we go. Neither is there salvation in any other, for there is none other name under heaven given among men whereby we must be saved. So they’re getting in trouble for preaching the name of Jesus, and they said, we can’t stop because there is not salvation found in any other.

There’s no other name under heaven by which we’re saved. They said Jesus is the only one. The apostles weren’t confused on this.

This isn’t something the fundamentalists made up in the 20th century. This is something the apostles fought and died for. The men who walked with Jesus believed that only way to heaven, that he was the only way to salvation.

So we talk about Jesus being the only way to salvation, but it’s important that we define what that salvation means, what that includes. Because we can talk to a lost and dying world all we want and say, well, you need salvation. Well, that’s all well and good, but if they don’t know what that means, the message isn’t going to mean much to them.

So what does salvation mean? The salvation that Jesus provides includes forgiveness of sins. Salvation means that our sins are forgiven, and we get that only in Jesus Christ. Paul wrote in the book of Colossians, giving thanks unto the Father, which hath made us meet or fitting to be partakers of the inheritance of the saints in light, who hath delivered us from the power of darkness and hath translated us into the kingdom of his dear Son, in whom, meaning in Jesus, we have redemption through his blood, even the forgiveness of sins.

How are we able to stand before God the Father forgiven for our sins? Only through Jesus. I can’t do enough good to erase the wrong that I’ve done.

I can’t. If I spend the rest of my life not committing any sin, which is impossible, I don’t think I could spend the rest of the day not committing sin. But if I spent the rest of my life not committing any sin, I’m only doing what God expects.

I’m only following the law. I don’t get extra credit for that. And I still have sin on my account.

It’s only because the sinless Savior was nailed to the cross and shed his blood and died for us that our sins can be forgiven because they were paid for by Jesus Christ. Second of all, salvation includes peace with God. We have, I like to think of it this way, that we are in rebellion against God, that earth is a province in rebellion against our king. God created us and rules over us, and he’s supposed to be our king, and he is whether we like it or not, but we’re in rebellion.

We fired the first shots in this little revolution. So when the Bible teaches that friendship with the world is enmity with God, In other words, that by following the world, we become the enemies of God. It’s not because God is hostile.

It’s because we started it. It’s because we looked at God and said, I hate you, and you’re no longer my king. But Romans chapter 5 says that being justified by faith, we have peace with God.

How? Through our Lord Jesus Christ, by whom we have access by faith into this grace, wherein we stand and rejoice in hope of the glory of God. It says we have peace with God through Jesus Christ. because we’ve been justified by him.

Excuse me. So the sin and the disobedience that kicked off that rebellion can only be solved because Jesus Christ paid the price for our treason. Because he took the penalty that we owed, it’s like a peace treaty was signed with the king.

And when our sins are forgiven through Jesus Christ, we are now at peace with the God who created us and rules over us. So salvation means that we have forgiveness of sins. It means we have peace with God, and it also means that we are promised eternal life with him in heaven.

Eternal life with him in heaven. Romans chapter 6 says, but now being made free from sin and become servants to God, ye have your fruit unto holiness and the end everlasting life. Hear this.

For the wages of sin is death. What we earn by our sin is death, but the gift of God. It’s not something we earn or deserve.

It’s a gift in contrast to what we really earn, which was death. He says the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord. He promises that we will live forever.

Now, don’t misunderstand. The Bible does teach that we’ll all be resurrected and that we will all live forever. But there’s a question about where that life will take place and whether it’s really life.

Because there are those who will exist forever in a place where the fire’s not quenched and the worm never dies. In a place created for Satan and his angels. But God doesn’t desire for us to have that punishment with them.

No, Jesus Christ died to pay for our sins so that we could instead spend that eternity enjoying life, abundant life, in the presence of the Father and Jesus Christ. And it’s a gift that he gives us, eternal life. Not because we’ve earned it or deserved it, but because Jesus Christ paid for it. I believe the Bible is very clear that Jesus Christ is the only way to salvation.

And that salvation he provides is forgiveness of sins, peace with God, and eternal life in heaven. Folks, these are incredible gifts, again, that we didn’t earn or deserve. I’ve done nothing in my life to deserve all these gifts that God has given.

And it amazes me that he didn’t give me what I did deserve, but offered me what I did not deserve. And to realize that I only have these gifts because of what Jesus Christ did. I have all of this.

And you today can have all of this because of Jesus Christ alone and the sacrifice that he made for you.