Christ Alone

 We are saved by grace alone, through faith alone, by the finished work of Christ alone.

John 14:1-6, 1 Tim 2:5

Faith in Christ alone is all that is needed for salvation.

Over the 2,000 year history of the church there has been many splits and division. Cults have formed and new denominations have sprung up. This is very sad. The two most significant splits have been the Great Schism, when in 1054 the Roman Catholic church and the Eastern Orthodox church split and the Protestant Reformation began in 1517 when Martin Luther posted 95 theses, for debate, on the door of Wittenberg’s Castle Church.

The four pillars of the reformation were: Faith alone; Grace alone; Bible alone; and Christ alone. We are saved by grace alone, through faith alone, by the finished work of Christ alone. The supreme source of our theology and practice is the Bible.

These pillars were to combat the position that the Roman church had evolved into. Papal decree and tradition had been elevated to equal with scripture. Indulgences were sold to supposedly get your deceased relatives out of purgatory and into heaven. Grace had become a commodity that was dispensed at the sacraments.

But probably the most significant thing was the rediscovering that the finished work of Christ had paid the total price for sin and death. Faith in Christ alone is all that is needed for salvation. There is no need for an earthly priest. Leaders using their gifting are important, but they are fellow Christians with no special powers. There is no need to go through the sacraments to receive grace. No amount of money can buy special favours. Communion, baptism, and giving are important, but we do them because we are saved, not to obtain special favour.

In Christ alone my hope is built.

Pastor Andy