Salvation in Jesus Alone

based on John 14:6

 

In the past few weeks I have highlighted for you some of Jesus’ teachings in the parables. If you had the opportunity to listen to these talks then you may well have wondered why the underlying message of the stories Jesus told seems so one-sided. Each parable in its own way echoes the need for repentance from sin and stresses the necessity to embrace Christ as your Saviour and commit yourself to him.

 

Jesus’ teaching in the parables to respond to his message of salvation becomes very personal because matters of faith are always personal. I cannot believe for you, you cannot believe for me. Therefore the responsibility rests on each one of us to personally respond to the call which comes from Jesus Christ to believe in him and so be saved.

 

Perhaps you wonder from what we must be saved. We must be saved from our sinfulness by which we offend God. Sin is a word which people no longer want to hear. They love to use different and milder expressions. A person makes a mistake sometimes, or even commits a criminal offense, but what is still considered sin, let alone called sin?

 

The only talk about sin I heard some time ago was when someone let go a prefect opportunity to make a fast buck. It was labelled a “sin” not to have seized the opportunity, even though it would have been at someone else’s expense and disadvantage.

 

From this example it becomes clear that sin has obtained a totally different meaning over the years. As a result, the existence and reality of sin the biblical sense is denied altogether. But no one can escape the fact that the Bible—which is God’s divine revelation and word of truth— teaches that all people sinned in our first parents Adam and Eve (Rom 5:12).

 

What is sin? Sin is disobedience to God. Sin means that we miss the mark which God has set before us and that we step outside the boundaries within which God wants us to live. Sin bars the way to God who is the source of life. Sin has driven a wedge between God and us. And God’s terrible curse and punishment for sin is eternal death. You and I need to be saved from that curse and punishment. The Bible says: Jesus Christ is the only one who can do that. He comes with the message of salvation in his gospel.

 

The call to salvation goes out from the Lord Jesus Christ of whom Scripture says, “Salvation is found in no one else, for there is no other name under heaven given to men by which we must be saved” (Acts 4:12). And the Saviour himself said, “I am the way, and the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me” (Jn 14:6).

 

So, the Bible is very clear on this point: Salvation comes to us in Jesus Christ alone. This is quite a statement to make and to maintain, especially in a multi-cultural society like ours which teems with different religions. Remarkably, all these religions advocate, in one form or another, the necessity of salvation. Thus we find a universal recognition that, as things stand, all is not well in or with this present world. People everywhere stand in need of salvation. The question now is: How does one obtain this salvation? Among these numerous religions the Christian faith alone stands out as unique. It points us to Christ Jesus.

 

The Christian faith is radically different from any other kind of belief or philosophy. In all the world religions the basic conviction is: people save themselves. Salvation is a matter of self-realization. And therefore worship of God also becomes a matter of one’s own interpretation and preference. The one speaks about worshipping God in nature, someone else turns introvert in silent meditation. If God plays any role in the religious life of the world religions and their quest for salvation, then it is a role where God is reduced to a kindhearted God who rewards us for our own efforts.

 

In sharp contrast—and here lies the crucial and unique difference between the Christians faith and all other religions—the Bible teaches that because of Adam and Eve’s fall into sin we, too, have become sinful. The impact of the fall into sin is so far reaching that we are unable to save ourselves or make ourselves acceptable to God on the basis of our own merits. There is only one way by which God saves us. He does so exclusively in his Son, the Lord Jesus Christ who is the way, the truth, and the life. No one can come to God the Father except through the Son.

 

Therefore, in the Christian faith the saving work of Jesus Christ forms the centre. Everything is worked through him and depends on him. Jesus does not only show us the way to God; he is the way. He has opened the way to the tree of life which was closed when Adam and Eve fell into sin. Jesus as the way bridges the deep and wide chasm between God and us caused by sin.

 

Now everyone knows that if a bridge falls short even a little in reaching the other side, it cannot let any one get safely across. But the Lord Jesus opened the way and bridged the wide chasm of sin by his death on the cross for the sins of mankind. Jesus Christ is the only Saviour, the only bridge between God and us.

 

But, Jesus is not only the way, he is also the truth. This means more than that he is truthful. Certainly, we may rest assured that he is completely reliable in what he says and what he does and is. Jesus is the truth personified. He is the embodiment of the truth that by his saving work he sets us free from sin and death. He is the dependable source of God’s saving grace to us. Christ Jesus makes this saving grace a reality in our lives when we accept in faith the gospel of salvation.

 

The Bible’s unique claim is that Jesus saves. He is the way, and the truth, and the life. Life is the exact opposite of death. Life is that which has vitality and a future. Jesus has within himself the life that never ends. This life he gives to all who believe in him. Life without Jesus brings separation from God; life in Jesus implies communion with God. In the person of Jesus, God sends us the life that never ends. Through faith in Jesus Christ God removes our sins which separate us from him and through faith in Jesus Christ the communion with God is restored. Jesus is our claim to forgiveness of sins and eternal life. Salvation is in Jesus Christ alone.

 

When you hear this, dear listener, you will sense why the Christian faith is unique among all other religious. The Lord Jesus Christ is central and indispensable for salvation. Jesus is the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to God the Father except by him.