A Close Look at Solus Christus (Part 1)

John 14:6
Sunday, September 25, 2005

My anniversary message last July has led us to a series of messages regardingthe

wonderful lessons that the Lord has taught us as the SDG church for the past 9 years. In
this series the Lord brought us to take a close look at the 5 solas of the Reformation of the
16th century. We have looked at the first, Sola Scriptura, meaning by Scripture alone.
Now lets look at the second great sola, Solus Christus, or Solo Christo. This means
Christ alone. This declares that our salvation is accomplished by the mediatorial work of
the historical Christ alone. His sinless life and substitutionary atonement alone are
sufficient for our justification and reconciliation to the Father.
Just as sola Scriptura means several things, such as Scripture is absolutely necessary,
absolute authority, sufficient and clear, so also solus Christus means several things: Christ
is the only Savior, His is the only Sacrifice, He is the only Mediator. (I have taken this
idea from Terry Johnson, author of the book The Case for Traditional Protestantism. Like
James Boice, Terry Johnson writes about the five great solas of the Reformation of the
16th century.)

The Only Savior

There are many people today who abhor the idea of absolute truth. These are people who
hold on to the philosophy called relativism. Relativism says there is no God and therefore
there are no absolutes in any area of life. This philosophy believes that truth is relative. I
like Terry Johnsons description of people with this view of life. He writes,
[Relativists] are happy to say of our religious convictions, whatever they might be,
How wonderful of you. What they mean is, What is true is what is true for you. Of your
moral convictions they are happy to say, What is right is what is right for you. All
religions and moral systems are of equal worth. None is superior to the rest. For
contemporary people there is no final truth. There may be truth when it comes to the law
of gravity, or the laws of thermodynamics, but not in religion and morals. The only
requirement in religion is that one be sincere in ones beliefs. We are all on the same road
to the same place, they say. Our differences are superficial.
This is the orthodoxy for twenty-first-century secular man. Dare to say that there might
be a single truth in religion and morals, and one is accused of arrogance (You think you
alone are right), of bigotry (and you think everyone else is wrong), and intolerance.
Belief in ultimate truth is heresy in the light of the present day orthodoxies of relativism,
pluralism, and secularism. (The Case for Traditional Protestantism, p. 48)

SDG Sunday

A Close Look at Solus Christus

In contrast to this relativist philosophy what do the Bible and the Reformers assert? Terry
Johnson writes,
Classic Protestantism asserts that God has revealed Himself through the prophets and
apostles and recorded that revelation in His Word. That Word reveals a plan of salvation
which has at its heart the incarnation of the Son of God. This Son of God is not merely a
great man, even a divine man, but God the Son, the God-Man, the second person of the
Trinity united to human flesh. He is the Savior of the world. What He does is not just of
tribal or local significance, but of universal significance. (The Case for Traditional
Protestantism, p. 48)

Look at some of Christs claims for Himself:

Look at Christs universal claim regarding His Saviorhood: Jn 8:12 When Jesus spoke
again to the people, he said, "I am the light of the world. Whoever follows me will never
walk in darkness, but will have the light of life."
Look at Christs exclusive claim regarding His Saviorhood: Jn 14:6 Jesus answered, "I
am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.
(Notice the word the. Christ reinforces His exclusiveness by the negative: no one comes to the
Father except through Me.)

Look at what others have said about Christ

John the Baptist said, Look, the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world! (Jn
1:29)
Peter said, Salvation is found in no one else, for there is no other name under heaven
given to men by which we must be saved." (Ac 4:12)
John the Beloved testified, And we have seen and testify that the Father has sent his
Son to be the Savior of the world. (1Jn 4:14)
Paul wrote, Here is a trustworthy saying that deserves full acceptance: Christ Jesus
came into the world to save sinners--of whom I am the worst. (1Ti 1:15)
Ro 5:18-19 Consequently, just as the result of one trespass was condemnation for all
men, so also the result of one act of righteousness was justification that brings life for all
men. 19 For just as through the disobedience of the one man the many were made
sinners, so also through the obedience of the one man the many will be made righteous.
2Co 5:18-19 All this is from God, who reconciled us to himself through, Christ and gave
us the ministry of reconciliation: 19 that God was reconciling the world to himself in
Christ, not counting men's sins against them. And he has committed to us the message of
reconciliation.

Look at what the heavenly host will say about Him.

Rev 5:6-10 Then I saw a Lamb, looking as if it had been slain, standing in the center of
the throne, encircled by the four living creatures and the elders. He had seven horns and
seven eyes, which are the seven spirits of God sent out into all the earth. 7 He came and
took the scroll from the right hand of him who sat on the throne. 8 And when he had
taken it, the four living creatures and the twenty-four elders fell down before the Lamb.
Each one had a harp and they were holding golden bowls full of incense, which are the
prayers of the saints. 9 And they sang a new song: "You are worthy to take the scroll
and to open its seals, because you were slain, and with your blood you purchased men
for God from every tribe and language and people and nation. 10 You have made them
to be a kingdom and priests to serve our God, and they will reign on the earth."

SDG Sunday

A Close Look at Solus Christus

Here is a description of Christs unique character and amazing influence which

accordingly proves that He is Lord and Savior of the world. This comes from an
anonymous article entitled The Incomparable Christ, quoted by Terry Johnson in his
book, The Case of Traditional Protestantism.
More than nineteen hundred years ago there was a Man born contrary to the laws of life.
This Man lived in poverty and was reared in obscurity. He did not travel extensively.
Only once did He cross the boundary of the country in which He lived; that was during
His exile in childhood. He possessed neither wealth nor influence. His relatives were
inconspicuous and had neither training nor formal education. In infancy he startled a
king; in childhood He puzzled doctors; in manhood He ruled the course of nature, walked
upon the billows as if pavements, and hushed the sea to sleep. He healed the multitudes
without medicine and made no charge for His service. He never wrote a book, yet all the
libraries of the country could not hold the books that have been written about Him. He
never wrote a song, and yet He has furnished the theme for more songs than all the
songwriters combined. He never founded a college, but all the schools put together
cannot boast of having as many students. He never marshaled an army, nor drafted a
soldier, nor fired a gun; and yet no leader ever had more volunteers who have, under His
orders, made more rebels stack arms and surrender without a shot fired. He never
practiced medicine, and yet He has healed more broken hearts than all the doctors far and
near. Every seventh day the wheels of commerce cease their turning and multitudes wend
their way to worshiping assemblies to pay homage and respect to Him. The names of the
past proud statesmen of Greece and Rome have come and gone. The names of the past
scientists, philosophers, and theologians have come and gone, but the name of this Man
abounds more and more. Though time has spread nineteen hundred years between the
people of this generation and the scene of His crucifixion, yet He still lives. Herod could
not destroy Him and the grave could not hold Him. He stands forth upon the highest
pinnacle of heavenly glory, proclaimed of God, acknowledged by angels, adored by
saints, and feared by devils, as the living, personal Christ, our Lord and Savior. (pp.
56,57)

The Only Sacrifice for Sin

Jesus is the only Savior. How does He save? By His death on the cross. How does the
cross save? How does it work?
James Boice writes, In order to understand the Cross we must begin by considering the
seriousness of sin. Sin is an infinite offense against Gods utterly upright character. If we
dont understand that this is how serious sin is, we will assume that all God needs to do is
forgive us, indeed, that He owes us forgiveness. We forgive other people, we think.
Why shouldnt God just forgive us? But God cannot just pardon, and to think so is
itself an offense.
A holy God does not wink at sin. Because sin dishonors a God who upholds a just, moral
order there is a need to make reparation for damage done or to make amends. Sin
demands punishment. The soul that sins, it shall die (Eze 18:4); the wages of sin is
death (Ro 6:23). Forgiveness requires death as well: Without the shedding of blood

SDG Sunday

A Close Look at Solus Christus

there is no forgiveness (Heb 9:22). Because the sin committed against God is an infinite
offense, there is a need for an infinite sacrifice to pay for sin. These are all addressed in
the Cross of Christ.
Someone said, the Cross of Christ is the very heart and essence of Christianity. The
meaning of the death of Christ on the cross is so rich and complex so that its full
comprehension will always lie beyond our grasp. The theology of the Cross might be
described by the words one writer used to describe the theology of the fourth Gospel. He
called it a pool in which a child can wade as well as an ocean in which an elephant
can swim.
We begin to see the complexity of the Cross as soon as we list the words commonly used
to explain it: atonement, propitiation, expiation substitution, sacrifice, satisfaction,
redemption, ransom, mediation, reconciliation, and so on.
Let us look more closely at some of these words to understand what the Cross is all
about:
Atonement
Expiation
Redemption
Propitiation
Substitution
Let me begin with the ATONEMENT. This term carries the idea of removing offense by
payment of ransom and so bringing the offender and the offended together. In Christian
theology, atonement is the central doctrine of faith and can properly include all that Jesus
accomplished for us on the cross. Our Lord's work of atonement looks in four
directions: toward sin, toward us, toward Christ, and toward the Holy Father.
A. Towards sin:
EXPIATION. Expiation is what is done to crimes or sins or evil deeds: Jesus
provided the means to cancel, or cleanse, them.

Jn 1:29 Look, the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world!
Lev 16:7-10, 20-21

B. Towards us
REDEMPTION. A metaphor used in both OT and NT to describe God's merciful
and costly action on behalf of sinful human beings). The basic meaning of the
word is release or freedom on payment of a price, deliverance by a costly method.
To appreciate the NT theme of redemption, the position of human beings as slaves
of sin must be assumed (John 8:33-34). Thus they must be set free in order to
become the liberated servants of the Lord (Mark 10:45).

SDG Sunday

A Close Look at Solus Christus

RANSOM. The price paid for the redemption of a slave (Lev 19:20); a reparation
paid for injury or damages (Exod 22:10-12); a fee, fine, or heavy assessment laid
on a person as a substitute for his own life (21:30). In the NT the term signifies
the redemptive price offered by Christ on the cross for the redemption of his
people (Mark 10:45; 1 Tim 2:6).
Mark 10:45 For even the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to
serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many."
1Pe 1:18,19 For you know that it was not with perishable things such
as silver or gold that you were redeemed from the empty way of life
handed down to you from your forefathers, 19 but with the precious
blood of Christ, a lamb without blemish or defect.
Rev 5:9,10 And they sang a new song: "You are worthy to take the
scroll and to open its seals, because you were slain, and with your
blood you purchased men for God from every tribe and language
and people and nation. 10 You have made them to be a kingdom and
priests to serve our God, and they will reign on the earth."
C. Towards God
PROPITIATION. Propitiation describes what Jesus does to God. Jesus is the
subject of this actionHe is the one who propitiates. God is the objectHe is the
one propitiated. By Christs sacrifice, Gods anger is appeased and turned aside.
The word propitiation means atoning sacrifice or the sacrifice which appeases
the wrath of God for sins and obtains His favor.
Ro 3:25 God presented Him as a sacrifice of atonement. [NIV note: Or as
the one who would turn aside his wrath, taking away]
1Jn 2:2 He is the atoning sacrifice for our sins, and not only for ours but
also for the sins of the whole world. [NIV note: Or He is the one who
turns aside Gods wrath, taking away our sins]
1Jn 4:10 This is love: not that we loved God, but that he loved us and sent
his Son as an atoning sacrifice for our sins. [NIV note: Or as the one who
would turn aside his wrath, taking away]
Heb 2:17 For this reason he had to be made like his brothers in every way,
in order that he might become a merciful and faithful high priest in service
to God, and that he might make atonement for the sins of the people. [NIV
note: Or and that he might turn aside Gods wrath, taking away].
There are many people and even Christians who do not know or understand this
word. One reason is because the word propitiation is an unusual word and it is
far from the experience of ordinary people. The word justification is still used in
our law courts. The word redemption is used in pawnshops. But propitiation is
foreign to us. Propitiation is a word that is taken from the world of ancient
religion. It signifies what the worshiper does when he or she presents a sacrifice
to a god. It is an atoning sacrifice, an act by which the wrath of the offended
deity is appeased or turned aside.
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A Close Look at Solus Christus

In the Bible it is never we who take the initiative or make the sacrifice; it is God
Himself who, out of His great love for sinners, provides the way by which His
wrath against sin may be averted. Moreover, He is Himself that wayin Jesus.
God himself placates His own wrath against sin so that His love may go out to
save sinners. The sacrifices in the OT did not make God gracious; they were
provided by a gracious God in order that He might act graciously towards His
sinful people (Lev 17:11).
D. Towards Christ
SUBSTITUTION. Christs death was substitutionary. Jesus said He gave His life
a ransom for many (Mk 10:45). He died for or on behalf of many. He died in
their place. His blood of the new covenant was poured out for many (Mk 14:24),
that is, on their behalf, in their place, for their benefit.
Similarly, Paul said in 2Co 5:14 For Christ's love compels us, because we are
convinced that one died for all, and therefore all died. The apostle says one died
for all, therefore, in Him all died. Jesus died as our representative. As our
representative, He stood in our place.
Gal 3:13 Christ redeemed us from the curse of the law by becoming a curse for
us, for it is written: "Cursed is everyone who is hung on a tree."
The punishment due to us was meted out to s substitute, a replacement. Isa 53:5-8
Because the sacrifice of the Son of God was substitutionary, it was complete. It is final
and sufficient. It does not need to be repeated or supplemented. Jn 19:30 says, When he
had received the drink, Jesus said, "It is finished." With that, he bowed his head and gave
up his spirit.
The writer to the Hebrews said,

Heb 7:26,27 Such a high priest meets our need--one who is holy, blameless, pure, set
apart from sinners, exalted above the heavens. 27 Unlike the other high priests, he does
not need to offer sacrifices day after day, first for his own sins, and then for the sins of
the people. He sacrificed for their sins once for all when he offered himself.
Heb 10:12 But when this priest had offered for all time one sacrifice for sins, he sat down
at the right hand of God.

James Montgomery Boice defines solus Christus this way: Solus Christus means that
Jesus has done the necessary work of salvation utterly and completely, so that no merit on
the part of man, no merit of the saints, no work of ours performed either here or later in
purgatory, can add to His completed work. In fact, any attempt to add to Christs work is
a perversion of the gospel and indeed is not gospel at all (Gal 1:6-9).

SDG Sunday

A Close Look at Solus Christus

In closing, let me show you an important application of the principle of solus Christus. I
have taken this from Terry Johnsons book, The Case for Traditional Protestantism. He
writes:
The position of Rome, articulated by the Council of Trent (1545-63), reaffirmed by
Vatican II (1962-5) was that the sacrifice of the mass is propiatory, both for the living
and the dead, and even that the Lord is appeased by the oblation thereof (Session 22,
chapter II). The Council of Trent also anathemizes the following:
Canon I: If any one saith, that in the mass a true and proper sacrifice is not
offered to God; or, that to be offered is nothing else but that Christ is given us to
eat: let him be anathema.
Canon III: If any one saith that the sacrifice of the mass is only a sacrifice of
praise and of thanksgiving; or, that it is a bare commemoration of the sacrifice
consummated on the cross, but not a propitiatory sacrifice; or, that it profits him
only who receives; and that it ought not to be offered for the living and the dead
for the sins, pains, satisfactions, and other necessities: let him be anathema.
This doctrine of the Mass denied the finality and sufficiency of the sacrifice of Christ if
the cross is in need of continual supplementation thought the altar. Communion is a
Supper, said the Reformers, not a sacrifice (1Co 11:20). It is served upon the table of the
Lord, not an altar (1Co 10:21). His sacrifice was once for all and anything that weakens
our sense of its finality robs it of its glory.
The Reformers rejected the terms priest and altar as appropriate for Christian ministry.
Priests clothed in vestments offer sacrifices upon altars. Christian clergy are pastors or
ministers dressed in simple robes lwho feed and tend Gods sheep through the ministry of
Gods Word.
They rejected the treasury of the saints as superfluous. Nowhere does Scripture mention
such a treasury. Moreover, one need not go to saints for merits (even if they had any
they do not_, because Christs merits are sufficient.
They rejected the doctrine of Purgatory, where the souls of believers are alleged to go to
be purged of the guilt and stain of unpaid (or unatoned) sins. In Christ there are not
unpaid sins. For the believer, Christs sacrifice covers all his sins for all time. Moreover
death is final. It is appointed for man once to die and after this the judgment. (Heb 9:27).
They rejected the sale of indulgences, whereby one could purchase the benefits of the
treasury of merit thereby reducing ones temporal punishments in Purgatory. Merits are
not for sale. They are freely reckoned to our account in Christ.
They rejected prayers for the dead, because, as Calvin put it, The entire law and the
gospel do not furnish so much as a single syllable to pray for the dead. They did not pray
for the dead because the dead are in eternity. Their future is sealed. Either by Christs
sacrifice they are in heaven or because of rejecting Him they have descended into hell.
His sacrifice was once for all and sufficient for all our sins! The whole ministry of the
church is transformed by ones view of the finality and sufficiency of Christs atonement.

SDG Sunday

A Close Look at Solus Christus