Starting two weeks ago I have been preaching a series on the five solas:

• Sola Scriptura (By Scripture Alone)
• Solus Christus (By Christ Alone)
• Sola Gratia (By Grace Alone)
• Sola Fide (By Faith Alone)
• Soli Deo Gloria (Glory to God Alone)

This week’s message was on By Christ Alone and the text was
Acts 4:12. So far I haven’t written any manuscripts for these sermons so I will just bring up a few things from my sermon outline.

The first thing needed to understand Acts 4:12 is knowing what salvation is and why it is necessary. This goes back to very basic truths of humanity. We are all sinful, living in rebellion against God. We have broken his just commands and because he is just there must be punishment for our sins. But God loves his creation and from the beginning has planned a way to save us from our sins. That way is through Jesus Christ who bore the punishment we deserve. This is why he is described in Romans 3:26 as being “just and the justifier” – he remains just, there must be punishment for sins; he is the justifier, he is the one who bore our punishment so that we can be justified. This is salvation, the payment of Jesus for our sins on the cross so that we don’t have to pay for our sins.

People often rely on other things for salvation. People think their works will save them. The Pharisees were big on this, believing that their righteousness was most excellent and praiseworthy and would win for them the favor of God. People today continue to rely on works. Ask any given person why they will go to Heaven and a very common response will be, “Well, I’m basically a good person. I mean, I’ve never killed anyone or anything like that, so I think I will go to Heaven.” They try to rely on their goodness, the righteousness of their own actions, rather than on Christ. Paul speaks against works righteousness in Galatians 2:16 and again in Ephesians 2:8-9:

People also try to rely on wisdom and intellect for salvation. Faith is not important to them. All that is needed is the right kind of knowledge, the right way of thinking. The old Gnostic heresy is perhaps the most blatant example, but the Gnostics did not have a monopoly on this. Paul writes in 1 Corinthians 1:18-31 about people who because of their assumed wisdom consider Christianity to be foolishness. They cannot wrap their brains around the claims of Christ so they reject him. They cannot understand his work for them so they reject it. But God does not esteem people for their intellect, for their ability to reason. God accepts only those who are righteous, and the only way to be made righteous is to be covered with the righteousness of Christ.

People also turn to other religions for salvation. It is quite en vogue for people to say that all religions are basically the same, that you can pick the one you like because we all worship the same God anyway. Some will tame this down some and limit the claim to Jews, Christians and Muslims. But when it comes to salvation, we have already read Acts 4:12: Christ is the only way to be saved, and only Christianity offers Christ and only the Christian Bible will tell people about him and what he has done.

Finally, we need to consider how salvation comes to people. The basic, simple answer is that it comes through Jesus Christ. The testimony of Scripture is quite loud on this point. Consider Romans 5:1-2 and Romans 5:6-11:

Jesus came to earth for the purpose of saving people from sin. This was made clear even before his birth when the angel was speaking to Joseph in Matthew 1:21: “…you shall call his name Jesus, for he will save his people from their sins.” The angel does not say that he will join the others who save people from their sins, but that he is the one who will save people.

Jesus’ own claim was that he was the only way. In John 14:6 he speaks the words that should settle the issue as to whether or not one can be saved outside of Christ.

Jesus is the only mediator between God and man. Paul says this to Timothy in 1 Timothy 2:5: “For there is one God, and there is one mediator between God and men, the man Christ Jesus.” For the Reformers this meant that Pope and priest did not stand between the people and God. For us it also means one cannot rely on anyone or anything except Christ. He is the only one who can reconcile man and God.

Jesus splits the world into two camps. In Matthew 10:34 Jesus says, “Do not think that I have come to bring peace to the earth. I have not come to bring peace, but a sword.“. One place where Jesus does this is in John 3:19-21:

There are those who have received salvation, who love the light of Christ, who have cast off the works of darkness, and who live in righteousness. There are also those who have rejected Christ, who love their wickedness, who hide in the darkness lest their deeds be exposed, and who live in unrepentant, consistent sin. What we do with Christ is how we can identify where we fall in these groups. If you follow Christ then you are a lover of the light. If you reject Christ then you walk in darkness.

For the follower of Christ there is hope and a future. For the one who turns away from Christ and pursues some other way of salvation there is only judgment and damnation. Revelation 20:15 tells us:

Turn to Christ. Cling to the salvation he offers. Seek no other way but him. And once you are his, follow the life he has lived, follow the example he left in his time on earth.