Word of Salvation - September 2017

 

Redemption Accomplished in Jesus Alone

By Rev. Craig Van Echten

On Lord's Day 6

 

Theme: Lord’s day 6 continues to highlight that Jesus is the unique Saviour.

Purpose: To comfort the Christian with the knowledge that Jesus is The Only Way to salvation.

Proposition: Only Jesus has accomplished salvation

Songs: In Christ alone, Cornerstone, Bow 465, 467, 385

 

Just a qualification before tonights sermon. I will make reference to the other main religions like Islam, Buddhism, and Hinduism. But, I hope to deal respectfully and yet honestly with them. Afterall, those who follow other religions are fellow image bearers. But it’s appropriate to make reference to them to appreciate the Bible’s claim that there is only one way. As well as appreciating the gospel, hopefully you’ll also be in a better position to defend your faith. A book helpful in my preparation was ‘Jesus among other gods’ by Ravi Zacharias.

Readings: Lord’s Day 6; 2Cor. 5:11-21; John 1:43-51

 

Brothers and sisters,

You often hear people say, ‘all religions are the same.’ Many people liken religions to paths up a mountain. ‘There are many different paths, but they all end up at the same point.’ Others will claim we all worship the same God.

But the reality is that there are fundamental differences between the religions. They all differ on origins, meaning, morality, destiny and more. Take for example the question of destiny. A Christian says that a believer goes to heaven. A Hindu and Buddhist believes a person is reincarnated. A Muslim believes in going to paradise. And an Atheist believes we just return to the dust? So who is right? These are all competing claims. They can’t all be right. Unless of course you are reincarnated as a particle of dust in paradise!

Take for example, the Bible’s claim that Jesus died on the Cross. The Koran says Jesus didn’t die on the cross (Surah 4:157-158). These are competing claims. They can’t both be right.

So the question we need to wrestle with is not: are all religions the same. Because clearly and fundamentally they are not. Rather we need to ask: Which one is true? Which one is valid?

Just a bit of recap for a moment. In the catechism we have already seen that our sin makes us guilty before God. And saw how we can’t blame God or our environment. Where is the problem? It’s one we’ve inherited from Adam. And it lives in our heart. And because it is our problem we are guilty of God’s punishment. He is just isn’t He? So then how can we pay the penalty? Last time we saw how we can’t pay the penalty for sin ourselves. Nor can any other creature. It is only by the precious blood of Christ that we are saved. And this evening we build on that. We are going to see that only Jesus has accomplished salvation.

The first thing we see is this, Jesus is a righteous man. Isn’t interesting that the main religions like Islam, Buddhism, and Hinduism focus less on the teacher and more on the teachings? Mohammed points to the Koran. Buddha to the Noble path. Krishna, to his philosophizing. The Jew to the law. Why do they point to their teachings? Because Mohammed, Buddha, Krishna, and the Law cannot save. They were flawed people. And their Holy books record their struggles.

Mohammed had at least eleven wives. One of them was his daughter in law. A verse in the Koran gave the okay for this (Surah 33:37). The fact Mohammed is not righteous comes out in other ways. The Qaran also records how Mohammed was told to ask for forgiveness from ‘faults.’ (Surah 47:19). In other words, sins.

In Hinduism, Krishna is one of the main gods. And his exploits with the milkmaids are recorded in the Bhagavad-Gita. They are an embarrassment to many Hindu scholars. According to their writings he played the flute and they came running. And the rest is history.

And Gautama Buddha, the founder of Buddhism, turned his back on both his wife and his son.

            All these leaders were found to be flawed. Just like every character in the Bible. Except one. Christ Jesus.

Jesus Christ was also born in the flesh. He was fully human wasn’t He? He entered this world via the womb of Mary. In every way, Jesus shared our humanity. The Bible testifies to His hunger (Mt. 4), thirst (Jn. 19:28), and tiredness (Jn. 4:6). Jesus shared our emotions. He even wept. And like us He was tempted.

But although Jesus will fully human. He remained righteous. Never once did He sin. He never had to ask for the forgiveness of sins. He never had to offer a sacrifice for his sins.

People tried to catch Jesus out didn’t they? They tried to expose flaws in His character. But they found none. He even challenged them as to what wrong He did. For example in John 8:46 we read, “Which one of you convicts me of sin?” None of them! Because they had never seen Jesus sin.

He was a “lamb without blemish or defect.” Hebrews 7:26 says, “For it was indeed fitting that we should have such a high priest, holy, innocent, unstained, separated from sinners, and exalted above the heavens.”

And why must He be truly human and truly righteous? The answer the catechism gives is that ‘God’s justice demands that human nature, which has sinned, must pay for its sin; but a sinner could never pay for others.’

So already for this reason that can be no other way to salvation. Mohammed, Krishna, and Buddha are sinners. They could never pay for their followers. But Jesus was a righteous man. But that’s not all. He was also God’s Son.

 

Secondly, Jesus is God’s Son.

Have you ever wondered why there is not much about Jesus’ early life? Wouldn’t it be interesting to see a house that Jesus built? Or some other product of His carpentry? Did He do other jobs? And where did He live in those early years? Did He stay with His parents until the age of 30 when he began ministry?

In a museum in Turkey one can see the supposed sword of Mohammed, or his beard. In a temple in Sri Lanka one can see the supposed tooth of Buddha.

But Jesus left nothing for the museums. And left very little in the Gospels about His earthly life.

Why?

Because while Jesus lived in this world, He wasn’t that rooted to it. Ultimately, His home address was not an earthly one. But a heavenly one.

 

In the Gospel of John Jesus calls Philip to follow him. Then Philip shares the gospel with Nathaniel. Nathaniel seems to be a pretty devout Jew. So there would be no pulling the wool over his eyes. Philip tells him that Jesus is the Messiah foreshadowed in the Old Testament. Significantly, Philip also tells Nathaniel that Jesus is from Nazareth. And that Jesus is the Son of Joseph. In a Middle Eastern context this was normal. People were understood through their birth place and parentage. So what does Nathaniel say next? ‘I want to believe in Jesus too.’ No, he says, “Can anything good come out of Nazareth?” As some people say about certain towns, which shall remain nameless. ‘They all have two heads over there don’t they?’ So, Nathaniel sizes up Jesus. And thinks, He can’t be much. Look at where He is from! (By the way, what a testimony to the humility of Jesus to be identified with this lowly family and unloved town).

But, there was a crucial piece of the puzzle that Nathanael didn’t see. The history of Jesus is not limited to this world. But stretches back into eternity.

Jesus comes towards Nathanael and says, “Behold, an Israelite indeed, in whom there is no deceit.” Nathaniel is shaken. “How do you know me.” You see, the Son of God saw right into His heart. For the Son of God is omniscient. Meaning, He knows all things. In this brief exchange, Jesus reveals a glimpse of His divinity. Now how does Nathanael respond? Verse 49 “Rabbi, you are the Son of God! You are the King of Israel.”

Nathaniel realized what every person must realize. Jesus’ home address is not this world. He is from all eternity. The Gospel of John particularly reminds us of that fact. Because at the beginning of the gospel we read, “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 were made through Him and without Him was not anything made that was made.”

Jesus is the Son of God.

Now, ‘Why must He also be true God? So that by the power of His divinity, He might bear the weight of God’s anger and earn for us and restore to us righteousness and life.’

As we saw last time. One perfect human being cannot alone pay the debt for sin. The sacrifice for sin must be valuable enough. Justice demands a worthy sacrifice to atone for sin against the Almighty God. No person, and no creature was worthy enough. So God gave His own Son.

“For God so loved the world that He gave His only Son that who ever believes in Him should not perish but have eternal life.”

So on this count there can be no other way to be saved. No one else could make a sacrifice worthy enough. Only the “precious blood of Christ.”

The final thing we see is redemption is accomplished in Christ alone.

If you ask a Muslim whether they will be in paradise, what will they say? Something like ‘I hope my good deeds will outweigh the bad ones.’ If you ask a Hindu or a Buddhist what will happen when they die, what will they say? They hope they will be reincarnated as something better next time. Ravi Zacharias was cycling past a cremation site. And stopped to ask the Hindu priest where that person, whose body was nothing more than a pile of ashes, was now.” “Young man,” he said, “that is a question you will be asking all your life, and you will never find a certain answer.”

If you ask an atheist what will happen when they die, what will they say? They might say they will simply return to the dust. But isn’t amazing how many Australians talk about a better place at funerals?

Have you noticed about all these religions that salvation has not been accomplished. People talk about a longing and hope. But there is no provision for their salvation. Nothing outside of themselves to give a firm place to stand.

But in Christianity, we talk about salvation accomplished. We are not waiting to see how our life measures up. We are not waiting to see how our good works pan out. Our salvation stands upon what Christ did on our behalf.

 

Jesus became our substitute. This word ‘substitute’ or ‘vicarious’ is so important. A substitute takes the place of another, right? Vicarious means much the same. To stand in the place of. These words are especially important with respect to what Christ accomplished. He accomplished our salvation by means of substitutionary atonement. Or vicarious atonement. Put simply, on the cross, Jesus stood in our place. “But He was pierced for our transgressions; he was crushed for our iniquities; upon him was the chastisement that brought us peace, and with his wounds we are healed.” He was there on our behalf.

2Corinthians 5:21 makes this even more clear. “For our sake He made Him to be sin who knew no sin, so that in Him we might become the righteousness of God.”

Another way to put it is this: On the cross there was a great exchange. Christ took our sin. And we received His righteousness. By the way, this doesn’t mean Jesus became a sinner as such. Our debt was credited to Him. His bank balance was credited to us.

So the point here is that salvation has been accomplished by our substitute. And we simply receive it by faith.  

Other religions can only long for this. Think of all the words and phrases we can use that no other religion can?

We can speak about the removal of sin (the technical word is expiation). “As far as the east is from the west, so far does he remove our transgressions from us.” (Psalm 103)

We can speak about redemption. Redemption means the price is paid and we are set free. John 8:36 “So if the Son sets you free, you will be free indeed.”

We can speak about propitiation. God is no longer angry with us. His anger has been absorbed in Christ. “There is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus” (Rom. 8:1)

We can speak about reconciliation. We were God’s enemies. All those who reject God are His enemies. But now we are his friends. Romans 5:11 “More than that, we also rejoice in God through our Lord Jesus Christ, through whom we have now received reconciliation.”

So you see, salvation has been provided for. Jesus has become our substitute. And He has accomplished salvation.

Conclusion

So are there many ways that lead to the top of the mountain? As in, are there many paths to God? Of course not.

1. a) All religions make competing claims. They can’t all be true.
2. b) Christ Jesus is the only righteous man that has lived. Only He is qualified to make atonement for others.
3. c) Christ Jesus is the Son of God. Only He can make a sacrifice worthy enough.
4. d) God gave His Son and no one else to accomplish redemption

 

The best other religions can do is point to a system for people to follow. But, Jesus said, “I am the Way, and the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.”

This is the great story of the Bible. There is salvation from sin, death, and hell. And the goodnews is that it can be found today, now, in Christ. By turning to Him in faith.

Amen (2250 words)