Christ Alone

I love that tune. Thank you, Rachel. If God’s people would, you can
take up your Bibles, but we’re gonna take a minute before we
get there. Turn to John chapter 14. Last week, we began a short
but five-week study of what are called the Solas of the Reformation.
And I was hoping to capture in doing so some of the excitement
that Barbara and I experienced on our Reformation tour in Scotland
and England. And the solas seemed like the
ideal vehicle to accomplish that. Based on the feedback that I
received from last week’s message, I think that we’re off at least
to a good start. I personally was really moved
to see some of the places and sites that we did in Europe. In addition to the primary cities,
Edinburgh, St. Andrews, London, Oxford, Cambridge,
each of those cities presented several important Reformation
sites. We saw, for instance, the very
place in Oxford where the reformers, Hugh Latimer and Nicholas Ridley,
were burned at the stake. A small circle of bricks. And
the place in London where John Rogers, likewise, was burned
at the stake while Bloody Mary looked on from a second story
window. That window, the building still
stands, the window is still there, still looking over a small plaque
commemorating the event. No wonder Philip Schaff called
the Reformation of the 16th century the greatest event in history.
You had people willing to give their lives for the cause of
truth. Ordinary men standing firm for biblical principles. And that is why I thought it
would be good to review some of our church history, sampling
the fruit of the Reformation, considering these solas of the
Reformation. These solas, as we discussed
last week, were not a series of tenets recited during the
Reformation. To our knowledge, there’s no
historical document that sets forth the five solas until 1996. But, there and then, in the Cambridge
Declaration, godly pastors and scholars, looking back on the
events of the Reformation, could see these five key principles
at work. They memorialized them in those
five classic Latin superlatives. Sola Scriptura, scripture alone,
the one source of divine revelation, solus Christus, Christ alone,
the one source of redemption and forgiveness for sin, sola
gratia, grace alone, the one means of spiritual restoration,
sola fide, faith alone, the one means of possessing Christ’s
righteousness, being justified before a holy God, and soli deo
gloria, God’s glory alone, the one great aim of every true child
of God, that God would receive all glory and honor. We should not be dismayed that
there is no long historical connecting chain back to these five tenets
of the Reformation. We do, after all, find these
principles actively at work in the lives, in the work, and in
the efforts of the Reformers. The greater question about these
statements is not whether or not these five statements are
historical, but are they biblical? Do we find these truths in Scripture?
Are these concepts or principles supported by scripture? And without
a doubt, they are. Last week, we began with the
first sola, sola scriptura, scripture alone. As we saw, it was the
context of the church that prompted the need to return to sola scriptura. And before the would-be reformers
lit upon the idea of scripture alone, they had to first rediscover
Scripture itself. Over the course of 10 centuries,
the Word of God had become obscured and nearly forgotten. For the
average person, the Scriptures simply did not exist. That was
due to the fact that since the 5th century, When Jerome translated
the Bible into Latin, as that language faded away into a dead
language, so also did people’s access to the Word of God. Once
the average person could not read the Latin Vulgate, the Bible
became as dead to them as the language of Latin. Strangely,
the Catholic Church grew in favor of this arrangement. Where only
the priests and scholars had access to the word of God, it
started slowly, but like newly poured cement, the longer the
church had exclusive stewardship over the Bible, the more rigid
the church became against putting the scriptures back into the
hands of the people and giving them access to the truth. You
see, many pernicious errors had crept into the church over the
thousand years, all embraced and advanced by the only ones
with access to the Bible. Errors, heretical teachings,
abuses by the hierarchy of the church flourished under this
arrangement. Whatever the church could not
justify from scripture itself, they created an alternate source
of authority called tradition. But thanks to men like Wycliffe
and Tyndale and Rogers and others, scripture was rediscovered. And almost as soon as scripture
was rediscovered, uncovered, Sola Scriptura was awakened as
a lively standard for the reformers. I mentioned that the thousand
years of spiritual darkness had led to countless errors, heretical
teachings by those in charge in the church, but way worse
than unchecked hedonism, bribery, the abuse of power, political
maneuvering, nepotism, tyranny, Way worse than that were the
doctrinal heresies that Rome invented and advanced. And on
no other subject were those heresies worse than with regard to the
Lord Jesus Christ. Some pardon me rather, since
God’s people had virtually no access to the Bible, all manner
of devilish inventions were concocted and forced upon the church and
her people. The Roman Catholic Church itself
had supplanted Christ. They were now in charge. She
placed herself above him in authority. It seems absurd to even verbalize,
but the church displaced her Savior. The veneration, really
the worship that was given to so-called saints began very early,
AD 375. One of the most mournful things
that the church has done is what it has done to Mary, to actually
denigrate Christ in the elevating of Mary to an unbiblical status. She is called, she is given worship. She is called co-mediator. She is called since AD 431, the
mother of God. which emphasizes her strength,
her maturity, and her authority even over Christ. Originally,
that statement was made, the mother of God was given to her
to emphasize Christ’s deity. But that faded in time and now
exalts Mary to the status of queen of heaven, the mother of
the church. They consider her now, shockingly,
a co-mediator with Christ. A famous saying among Catholics
goes like this, he came to us through Mary. We must go to him
through her. The priesthood is another of
the many unbiblical developments within the Catholic Church. The
Catholic priest serves as a mediator between God and people, for which
there is absolutely no biblical support. In the 500s, they began
to dress differently than the people. In the 1200s, the confession
of sins to the priest was introduced. At the Council of Trent, which
was concluded in 1563, this was the official position on the
priesthood. And I quote, the priest is the
man of God. He that hears him hears God. The priest remits sins as God. Their function is such that none
greater can be conceived. They are justly called not only
angels but also God, holding as they do among us the power
and authority of the immortal God. Purgatory. Purgatory was another of the
inventions of the Catholic Church. Introduced in 8593, the doctrine
of purgatory maintains that for any who die in an unperfect state,
They go to a place called purgatory to continue paying for their
sin, where they can be helped, as the Catholic Church teaches,
by the intercessions of the faithful, their family and friends. The
problem is, no one knows exactly where one stands with God and
with the church. And so the pure gospel of Christ,
of justification by faith, is effectively nullified by the
doctrine of purgatory. the office of Pope, which is
styled after rulers of pagan Rome, who called their high priest
Pontifex Maximus, the same thing the Catholic Church uses, the
supreme mediator between God and man. The first use of the
word Pope occurred in AD 607. Although the church unfortunately
went back into time and pinned that title on Peter. In time, the Pope came to be
considered the vicar of Christ. That is, he takes the place of
Christ on earth. As one Pope declared, as Pope,
he held upon this earth the place of God Almighty. And so the Pope demands submission
to himself of all people, whether you’re Catholic or not, so that
he is to be called Holy Father or His Holiness. And it was along
these lines that the act of kissing the Pope’s feet in reverence
was first introduced in AD 709. Interestingly, the so-called
infallibility of the Pope was not claimed until 1870. Prayer, prayer directed to Mary,
prayer directed to other dead people, even angels, first began
to be practiced in AD 600. Prayer to Mary in particular
became a regular feature of Catholic life through a device called
the rosary. The rosary is a necklace-like
string of beads, each representing a call for a particular prayer,
either the Our Father, as it’s called, or the Hail Mary, in
which the person is specifically directed to pray to Mary, to
invoke her as mediator. That prayer is uttered on the
rosary 10 times as many times as the prayer uttered to the
father. The worship of images and statues
and relics, that came into prominence in AD 786. That practice is in
direct contradiction to the second commandment. You shall make for
yourself, not make for yourself an idol or any likeness. for
the purpose of worship. And yet, the Council of Trent
declared, and I quote, the images of Christ and the Virgin Mother
of God and of other saints are to be had and to be kept, especially
in churches, and due honor and veneration are to be given to
them. Sainthood. The practice of recognizing
exceptional or miracle-working believers didn’t begin until
AD 995. This, too, is a direct affront
to Christ because Catholics are instructed to pray to these so-called
designated saints. Even the Lord’s Table, with regard
to the Lord’s Table, there was error, as I mentioned last week,
In the celebration of communion, during which the priest was supposed
to be nearest the great drama of redemption, it was tainted
by the heresy of transubstantiation, which began to develop in the
11th century and was formalized in A.D. 1215. The doctrine holds that the bread
and the cup of communion become the literal body and blood of
Christ. This is still their position. Cited from a Catholic catechism
statement, Listen to this, and I quote, the Holy Mass is the
sacrifice of the body and blood of Jesus Christ, really present
on the altar under the appearance of bread and wine, and offered
to God for the living and the dead. That in itself renders
the celebration of communion into a re-sacrificing of the
Savior during each Mass. And this obliterates the idea
of Christ’s sacrifice done once for all and accepted by His Father. The confessional, where one confesses
one’s sins to priests developed during this time. Confession
is uttered to a priest, where he then forgives the sins. The sale of indulgences, which
we mentioned last Lord’s Day. The sale of forgiveness of sin
for money. And that practice was introduced
in AD 1190 and would be especially despicable to the reformers.
Jesus Christ himself purchased sinners’ pardon with his own
blood. And sadly, Christianity itself had largely become a system
of merit and pursuit, never really enabling a person to know and
enjoy full salvation. The doctrine of salvation itself
had been muddied over, which was a direct attack on Christ’s
work. All of these errors and heresies
were a direct attack on the person and work of Christ. This is what
drew the attention and the ire of the reformers. The Roman Catholic
Church had determined, or had rather undermined, the sufficiency
of Christ’s redemptive work. Under their system, the Christian
entered into a long system of grace that must be constantly
drawn upon throughout the person’s entire life. It was a constant
system of chasing grace so their person could never really have
confidence that they were saved. Jesus Christ, the Reformers argued
from the scriptures, was the only legitimate object of believer’s
faith. His atonement for sinners on
the cross was alone the sufficient ground for a person’s faith.
This is how the confessions stated it in the chapter titled, Of
Christ the Mediator. Listen, The Lord Jesus, by his
perfect obedience and sacrifice of himself, has fully satisfied
the justice of God, procured reconciliation, and purchased
an everlasting inheritance in the kingdom of heaven for all
those whom the Father has given him. That’s definitive. And so
is the Bible. And that meant that the Christian
could be justified, declared righteous by God, by their faith
alone. Well, by the 16th century, after
1,200 years of mischief and decline, the church was at its low point.
The need for reform was great, and the Reformation suddenly
began by God’s sovereign providence, simultaneously in various locations
throughout the modern world. Men misinformed and misled by
the Roman Catholic Church were all asking the same simple question,
what must I do to be saved? This was the basic question that
prompted a spiritual revolution. As these men began to look to
the scriptures and to discover or rediscover the answers to
their questions, the Reformation was born. The closer the reformers
looked at God’s word, the worse the present church looked in
comparison. They saw again the purity and
the simplicity of the gospel, which had been cloaked under
the church’s false teachings for centuries. The only hope
for sinners they saw was to get the Bible into people’s hands,
to translate God’s word into the common tongue of the people
of the day, whether German or French or Italian or English.
And that brings us to the second sola of the Reformation, solus
Christus. Because as soon as the Reformers
began to interact with and to translate the scriptures into
the language of the people, they began to see the horrific abuses
of the teachings pertaining to the Savior. What they saw in
the scriptures was solus Christus, Christ alone. As they looked
to God’s Word objectively for the first time in a thousand
years, think of what they saw. The opening of John’s Gospel,
proclaimed Solus Christus. In the beginning was the Word,
and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was in the
beginning with God. All things came into being through
him, and apart from him nothing came into being that has come
into being. In him was life, and the life was the light of
men. The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness did
not comprehend it. Solus Christus. They would have seen Solus Christus
in the opening verses of Matthew’s gospel as well. Matthew, after
presenting that very detailed genealogy of Jesus, says this
in verse 16. Jacob was the father of Joseph,
the husband of Mary, by whom Jesus was born, who is called
Messiah. Elizabeth believed in Solus Christus. When Elizabeth came, when rather
Mary came to visit Elizabeth, the child in her womb leaped. And she says this, How has it
happened to me that the mother of my Lord would come to me,
Christ alone? Poor old Simeon, He believed
in Christ alone. God had promised to him that
he would see the Messiah in his day. And as soon as he took up
the Christ child into his arms to bless him, he was ready to
die. You are releasing your bondservant
to depart in peace. My eyes have seen your salvation. Christ alone, the lowly shepherds
watching their sheep on the hillside, They believed in Solus Christus
just as the angels’ announcement. Today in the city of David there
has been born for you a Savior who is Christ the Lord. Glory
to God in the highest, Solus Christus. Think of the veritable
landslide of faith recorded in the New Testament. Stephen, Stephen
believed in Solus Christus so firmly that he was prepared to
die and stood toe to toe with his accusers and rebuked them
for killing Christ. They killed those who had previously
announced the coming of the righteous one, whose betrayers and murderers
you have now become. the Samaritan villagers, they
believed in Solus Christus. We have heard for ourselves and
know that this one is indeed the savior of the world. Peter,
James, and John, they got a little reminder of Solus Christus on
the Mount of Transfiguration, didn’t they? This is my beloved
son with whom I am well pleased. Listen to him. The Ethiopian
eunuch believed in Solus Christus. I believe that Jesus Christ is
the Son of God. The royal official whose son
was healed, he himself believed in his whole household. Even
the demons believed. They knew that Jesus was alone,
the Holy One of God, Luke 4, 34. The sinful woman of Luke
7, wiping Jesus’ feet with her tears and her hair. I think you
see where this is going. The evidence for those who believe
in Solus Christus, Christ alone, is absolutely overwhelming. They
weren’t looking for anyone else once they came face to face with
the Savior. All these testified by their
faith, by their action, by their words, Solus Christus, Christ
alone. Listen to how frequently this
truth is proclaimed by the writers of scripture, Paul. Romans 3,
24, justified that we are justified as a gift by his grace through
the redemption which is in Christ Jesus. Romans 5, verse 17, those
who receive the abundance of grace and the gift of righteousness
will reign in life through the one, Jesus Christ. Romans 5,
verse 1, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ.
2 Corinthians 5, 20, 21, he made him who knew no sin to be sin
on our behalf so that we might become the righteousness of God
in him. 1 Timothy 2, 5, could it be any
more clear? There is one God and one mediator
also between God and man, the man, Christ Jesus. John believed
in Solus Christus. The Apostle John says at the
end of his gospel, these things have been written to you so that
you might believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God,
and that by believing you may have life in his name. In his
first epistle, he says it this way, chapter two, verse one,
if anyone sins, we have an advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ,
the righteous. First John 3, 23, this is his
commandment, that we believe in the name of his son, Jesus
Christ, Solus Christus, Christ alone. Peter believed in Solus
Christus. Speaking of Jesus the Nazarene,
whom God raised from the dead, in Acts 4, 12, he says this,
there is salvation in no one else. For there is no other name
under heaven that has been given by men by which we must be saved. In his first epistle, Peter reminds
that we were not redeemed with perishable things like silver
and gold from our futile way of life inherited from our forefathers,
but with precious blood as of a lamb unblemished and spotless,
the blood of Christ. Peter believed in solus Christus.
The writer of Hebrews believed in Solus Christus. Hebrews 4.14,
Since we have a high priest who has passed through the heavens,
Jesus, the Son of God, let us hold fast our confession. Hebrews
7.25, He is able to save forever those who draw near to God through
him, since he always lives to make intercession for them. Paul
believed in Solus Christus. Peter believed in Solus Christus.
John believed in Solus Christus. The writers of scripture believed
in Solus Christus, Christ alone. All the biblical writers believed
in Christ alone. But do you know who else believed
in Solus Christus? Jesus. Jesus Christ believed
in Solus Christus. Jesus Christ believed in Christ
alone. May I take you back to the upper
room, the very night in which Jesus was betrayed, John chapter
13. The very night where he’s betrayed, arrested, and ultimately
crucified. John chapter 13, and here in
John chapter 13, we know the backdrop. Jesus is meeting with
his apostles, one final intimate meeting. They have already celebrated
the Passover meal. Jesus has already instituted
the Lord’s table. And in the most remarkable display
of humility, Jesus has now gone man to man among his apostles,
washing their feet. Judas has already been exposed
as the one who will betray Jesus. He has already departed. And
Jesus now instructs the remaining 11 apostles. Would you look down in chapter
13, verse 31? Therefore, when he had gone out,
Jesus said, now is the Son of Man glorified and God is glorified
in him. If God is glorified in him, God
will also glorify him in himself and will glorify him immediately. Little children, I am with you
a little while longer. You will seek me, and as I said
to the Jews, now I say also to you, where I am going, you cannot
come. A new commandment I give you, that you love one another,
even as I loved you, that you also love one another. By this,
all men will know that you are my disciples if you have love
for one another. Suffice it to say, All that Peter
can hear in this instruction is in verse 33. He’s stuck there. Little children, I’m with you
a little while longer. And where I’m going, you cannot
come. Peter is stuck on that thought. And in verse 36, he asks, Lord,
where are you going? Where would you go that we can’t
come with you? We read Jesus gracious reply
and his continued exchange with Peter in the ensuing verses.
Glance down if you would. Simon Peter said to him, Lord,
where are you going? Jesus answered, where I go, you cannot follow
me now, but you will follow later. Peter said to him, Lord, why
can I not follow you right now? I will lay down my life for you.
Jesus answered, will you lay down your life for me? Truly,
I say to you, a rooster will not crow until you deny me three
times.” As Peter boldly but proudly asserts his willingness to die
for Jesus, Jesus challenges him and informs him of his soon denial. And as the narrative glides into
chapter 14, Jesus seeks to comfort not only Peter, but all of the
disciples. Look at the first four verses. Do not let your heart be troubled. Believe in God, believe also
in me. In my Father’s house are many
dwelling places. If it were not so, I would have
told you, for I go to prepare a place for you. If I go and
prepare a place for you, I will come again and receive you to
myself, that where I am, there you may be also. And you know
the way where I am going. What an astounding thing. Comfort
from their Lord together with a promise that he is going to
prepare a place for them in heaven and a promise to return for them,
to bring them with him. It should be so obvious now that
he’s speaking of heavenly glory that he says in verse four, you
know the way that I’m going, you know. Peter falls silent
for now, but Thomas interjects with a challenge all of his own.
Embrace yourselves. I think of Thomas as kind of
the gloomy Gus of the apostles. Remember he’s forever known as
doubting Thomas because of his refusal to take the apostles
testimony about the risen savior at face value Until I see his
hands, I will not believe. Well, Thomas is about to wade
into this conversation. Would you look at verse five?
Thomas said to him, Lord, we do not know where you are going. How do we know the way? Thomas effectively tells Jesus
that he’s wrong. They neither know where Jesus
is going, nor do they know the way. And in verse six, Jesus
issues one of his clearest declarations of solus Christus, Christ alone. Jesus said to him, I am the way
and the truth and the life. No one comes to the father but
through me. Jesus begins with a subtle declaration
of his deity, Those two little words, I am. This hearkens back,
as you know, to God’s interaction with Moses, Exodus 3.14. Moses
being sent by God to Pharaoh to liberate the nation of Israel.
And he pauses and asks God, what should he say when they ask his
name? Who is it that sent you? And
to this God speaks. God said to Moses, I am who I
am. And he said, thus you shall say
to the sons of Israel, I am has sent me to you. So when Jesus
employs this same language again and again in John’s gospel, he
is effectively proclaiming his deity. And this is the sixth
of seven times that John has recorded Christ. declaring himself
to be the great I am. John 6, 45, pardon me, 48, I
am the bread of life. John 8, 12, I am the light of
the world. John 8, 58, before Abraham was born, I am. John 10, nine, I am the door. John 10, 11, I am the good shepherd. John 11, 25, I am the resurrection
and the life. John 15, number seven, I am the
true vine. The nature of the sentence makes
it absolutely explicit. The pronoun is emphatic, I and
no other. And the emphatic pronoun covers
all three of these declarations. I and no other am the way. I
and no other am the truth. I and no other am the life. Jesus says the same basic thing
three different ways. Glance down, if you would, at
verse six, I and no other am the way. Thomas’s question seems
to subtly suggest that if he only knew where Jesus was going,
getting there would be no problem. A lot of people think like that.
I can make it to heaven on my own just being a good person.
But Jesus, on his part, was not content to answer the simpler
question. He’s going to heaven to be with
his father, that much is true, but he leaves that part completely
unaddressed. And instead, he wants Thomas
and the other ten to know definitively the way to heaven. And here,
in the simplest terms, he declares that he is the way. And so his desire is not to show
the way. He is the way. He is the way
of redemption. He is the way of peace. He is
the way of forgiveness. He is the way of eternal life. The history of mankind shows
that we are quite creative in coming up with other possible
means of getting to heaven. Ever since Adam and Eve unceremoniously
exited the garden, mankind has been searching for a way back
to God. It’s called religion. Religion
is mankind’s attempt to reach out, reach up to God in order
to kind of smooth things over with Him. All the religions of the world
are basically the result of mankind’s effort to please God and to somehow
sneak in to His heavenly domain. And so we must know Jesus here
doesn’t say that He is a way. He’s not a way to the Father. He says that He is the way. The
only way. Jesus Christ is the only means
of access to God. Jesus Christ is the only way
of salvation. He is the means and the only
means of sinners accessing heaven. He will say in the end of the
summary of this verse, no one comes to the Father but through
me. Faith in Jesus Christ in his death and resurrection is
the only way of salvation. It’s the only way to enter into
eternal fellowship with the Heavenly Father. But Jesus also says,
I am the truth. I and no other am the truth.
Jesus tells Thomas and his other apostles that he is not only
the way, but he is also the truth. Jesus’ statement here is one
of contrast. Most people will look for truth
in philosophy or in science or some other discipline. Jesus
tells Thomas that he and he only is truth. Definitively, the truth. When we speak of truth, we think
of truth as over against a lie. And likewise here, Jesus points
to the fact that he is the final revelation of God. He is truth
incarnate, the living God made flesh. The writer of Hebrews
said it very succinctly in the opening verse of his epistle. The Son, that is Jesus Christ,
is the means which God has spoken. God has spoken this one time
and he’s done so in the Lord Jesus Christ. And then he says
this. He is the radiance of His, that is the Father’s glory, the
exact representation of His, that is the Father’s nature.
Jesus Christ is a true and accurate representation of God. He’s not
only true, He is the truth. In Christ, and only in Christ,
both God and people are seen in light of truth. They’re seen
as they really are. Paul said it twice in rapid succession
to the Colossians, speaking of Christ himself, Colossians 2,
3, in whom are hidden all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge.
Only a few verses later, verses eight and nine, listen to how
practical this revelation of truth is. Colossians 2.8, see
to it that no one takes you captive through philosophy and empty
deception, lies, according to the traditions of men, according
to the elementary principles of the world, rather than according
to Christ. For in him all the fullness of
deity dwells in bodily form. I am the way. I and no other
am the way. I and no other am the life. Thirdly,
pardon me, thirdly, I and no other am the life. the way, the
truth, and the life. Here’s the third thing that Jesus
declares to the apostles, I am the life. And this point hearkens
all the way back to the fall of Adam and Eve. Their sin left
them and their progeny not only with a sin nature, sinful, cursed
by God himself, It set the clock ticking on their life. Their
mortality suddenly comes into view, the eventuality of their
death. But it’s worse even still. The fall of Adam and Eve left
them and left all humanity spiritually dead. The natural man is a dead
man, spiritually speaking. He’s born, he lives, he grows,
he experiences. And from a human perspective,
he appears very much alive. But from God’s perspective, he’s
dead. He has no love for God. He has no interest in the things
of God. He has no spiritual vitality at all. He’s alive to this world,
but he’s dead to the next. This is what Jesus speaks to
when he says that he is life. He comes to restore life as it
was meant to be. A life of joy, a life of forgiveness,
a life of peace, a life everlasting, life eternal. I remember, and
it has to be now some 40 years ago, but I can remember it vividly,
a billboard for a large church. that somewhat cluelessly declared,
life is better with Christ. And I remember instantly wincing
in disapproval with that thought. Life is not better with Christ. Life, true life is Christ. And Jesus says, I and no other
am life. Life only as Christ can give
it is a recurring theme in John’s gospel. John 1.4, in him was
life and the life was the light of men. John 5.24, he who hears
my word and believes him who sent me has eternal life. He’s passed out of death into
life. John 6, 51, I’m the living bread
that came down out of heaven. If anyone eats of this bread,
he will live forever. John 20, 31, believing you might
have life in his name. And with that, Jesus issues his
direct and motivating conclusion. At the end of verse six, would
you look? I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes
to the Father but through me. Would you take note of something
very significant here? Jesus is obviously speaking of
heaven in a general sense throughout this whole interaction with Thomas,
but would you note his language here? He doesn’t say that no
one comes to his father’s house. He doesn’t say that no one comes
to heaven He says that no one comes to
the Father. And in that, there is a hope
of an intimate communion with the Almighty God. No one comes
to the Father except through me. There’s communion with the
Heavenly Father to be soon restored, but only through His Son, Jesus
Christ. The bottom line is that all people
will live eternally, but people have this strange idea that all
roads lead to God, that one’s religious persuasion is irrelevant
as long as you’re sincere. That’s foolishness. Jesus says
that there’s one way, one truth, one life. No one comes to the
Heavenly Father except through Him. Only those who are in Christ
will live eternally with the Father. I’ll close with one verse. The Declaration of Solus Christus,
John 3, 16. For God so loved the world that
he gave his only begotten son that whoever believes in him
shall not perish, but have eternal life. For God did not send the
son into the world to judge the world, but that the world might
be saved through him. Solus Christus, Christ alone. Would you humble yourself before
him?