Solus Christus- Christ Alone Forgives Sins

DAY 31- 3/31/17 CHRIST ALONE FORGIVES SINS

No one can forgive sins but God alone…but that you may know the Son of Man has authority to forgive sins, take up your mat and walk.    (Mark 2:7ff)
All the prophets testify about Him that everyone who believes in Him receives forgiveness of sins through His name. (Acts 10:43)

Thoughts: Our hope is not in ourselves and Christ or someone and Christ.  We fail ourselves.  Others fail us.  Christ never failed and never fails.  What makes us realize our sins are forgiven as far as the east is from the west is that Christ has paid the price for them.  Many do not name “forgiveness” as their problem. Guilt and shame are not perceived in our culture.  But alienation from others, depression and loneliness, and purposelessness are aching and nagging problems.  But the root of these things is our own selfishness and pride- which are also sins that we must somehow get past.  Sadly, we usually cannot name our basic sin, but we can only name the symptoms without naming any kind of real cure.  The cure to emptiness, depression, and purposelessness is the hope offered by Christ- and that is the hope of the cross.  It is on the cross alone that we can get past our past failures and alienations to move on in life.  Forgiveness is not made up for by doing good.  For how much good do we need to do?  We cannot earn our way to feeling better and being reconciled to God, others, and ourselves.  If we could, then we could boast about how good we are.  However, Christ gives us a way to pay our debt from outside of ourselves.  The Creator who designed things and holds things to account- also made a way to reconcile us to Himself.  He Himself has paid the price and bore our sins.  To think that we have added to that payment by our own small acts of goodness is demeaning to the majestic cost of the cross.

Prayer: Lord, thank you for the forgiveness offered in Christ. 

Solus Christus- Only Christ

DAY 28- 3/28/17 SOLUS CHRISTUS

“I am the way, the truth and the life.  No one comes to the Father but by me.”  John 14:6
“Enter through the narrow gate.  For wide is the gate and broad is the road that leads to destruction , and many enter through it.  But small is the gate and narrow the road that leads to life, and only a few find it.” Mt. 7:13,14
There is a way that seems right to man, but in the end it leads to death. Proverbs 16:25

Thoughts: For some Jesus is only one among many ways, one among many truths.  Jesus was not saying, “Follow me and I will lead you to the truth” rather- “I am the truth.”  Many do not have a problem adding Jesus to their spirituality- or having Jesus as one god among many.  But the “solus” or “only” claim of Jesus is what not only rubs them the wrong way but frustrates them.  For them, all roads lead to the mountaintop, however winding.  But, despite what post-moderns think, Jesus was saying that truth matters.  To say that truth matters means that lying and deceiving is not okay. 
     At the time of the Reformation (and still today), people were trying to get around the idea that salvation comes through faith in Christ and trust in the cross as a sacrifice for our forgiveness.  So the idea of purgatory- that we may somehow pray for others to have their sins burned off in time with punishment; or as some Catholic sects believed- transfer the righteousness of one saint over onto us was followed.  Luther and the Reformation leaders called people back to the idea of Christ as our Savior. 
    Once a baby had jaundice and her parents were told that if they put the baby underneath a special light for so many hours, the baby would get better.  But suppose the parents quarreled- “That’s too easy!  How about if we scrub her, warm her, put a little skin coloring on her, and drops in her eyes? If we work hard enough at it, I’m sure we could get her normal coloring back.”  The doctor would have insisted, No, there’s only one way to handle this.”  If the parents had said, “No, we will just ignore this and maybe it will go away.” The doctor would remind them that things can get better if they do not follow his simple but important steps.  Believing in Christ is simple but it is also important.  Jesus opens the door to belief to whosoever will.  It is not exclusive in its invitation it is exclusive in its solution.  
    Lee Strobel asks, if there were two country clubs- one of which had an exclusive membership for those who earn it and do a multitude of tasks; and the other invited everyone- no matter what they looked like or what they had to join. For the second, entry was not based on qualifications or earning it but on accepting the invitation.  Christianity is like the latter.  All are invited and we do not earn our way.  Rather we depend on one who has paid the way for us. 

Prayer: Lord, help me to see you are my only and most important savior.  Help me to trust in you alone.  

Song: "In Christ Alone"