CHRIST
ALONE - THE SINNER’S ONLY HOPE
Matthew
1:21
"And she shall bring
forth a son, and thou shalt call his name JESUS: for he shall save his people
from their sins."
Our
only hope of salvation is the Lord Jesus Christ. Salvation is in Christ alone,
in Christ completely, and in Christ only. In fact, he is God’s salvation (Lk.
2:30). You cannot be saved without him; and you cannot be saved if you try to
mix your own works, feelings, emotions, or experiences with faith in him. The
Lord Jesus Christ is able to save you from the guilt of sin, the power of sin,
and all the consequences of sin (Heb. 7:25). He is all-sufficient.
His name is called “Jesus” because “he shall
save his people from their sins” (Matt. 1:21). He is the only one who
has power in himself to forgive sin (Matt. 9:6). He is exalted “to give repentance and remission of sins”
to the Israel of God (Lk. 24:47; Acts
5:31). The Lord God found a ransom for sinners in his own dear Son (Job 33:24),
and purposed to save his people by the sacrificial death of his Son as their
Substitute from eternity (Acts 2:23). In the fullness of time, the Son of God
became a man to accomplish the salvation of chosen sinners (Gal. 4:4-5). “Being found in fashion as a man, he became
obedient unto death, even the death of the cross” (Phil. 2:8). Thus, by the
sacrifice of himself according to the will of God, the Lord Jesus Christ put
away all the sins of his people, obtained eternal redemption for them, and
established the only grounds upon which God can be both just and the Justifier
of all who believe (Heb. 1:3; 9:12, 26; 10:1-14; Rom. 3:24-26).
There is no other possible way of
salvation. God’s own beloved Son would never have been crucified to redeem
and save us if salvation could have been obtained in any other way. Indeed, the
apostle Paul reasons that if we could have been saved in some other way “then Christ is dead in vain” (Gal.
2:21). Infinite wisdom found a way to save us. Infinite grace provided the
great sacrifice. Infinite love brought the Son of God to lay down his life for
his people. Why? Because there was no other way for God to both satisfy his
justice in the punishment of sin and forgive his people of all their sins.
Christ alone is and must be our Savior. “Neither
is there salvation in any other: for there is none other name under heaven
given among men, whereby we must be saved” (Acts 4:12).
The only way we can obtain God’s salvation
is by faith in the Lord Jesus Christ. If you believe on Christ, you may be
confident that your sins are forgiven by his blood and that God looks upon you
as being perfectly righteous because God appointed this way of salvation; and
he has promised to save all who trust his dear Son (Rom. 10:9-13). Indeed, if
you now trust the Son of God, it is because you are already born of God and
have everlasting life (John 3:36).
AMEN.
Grace Baptist Church of Danville - Grace For Today Radio Message #603
2734 Old Stanford Road -
Danville, Kentucky 40422-9438
Donald S. Fortner, Pastor -Telephone 606-236-8235 - Email grace@mis.net