28. March 2025
The Pillars of Christianity
The Pillars of Christianity…
The Gospel (Good News) of Jesus Christ
The Son of God, Jesus Christ, gave up his life and then rose from the grave to provide forgiveness of sins to all who put their trust in him alone.
(John 3:16 ESV) “For God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life.
The Gospel is what sets Christianity apart from other religions. In all other religions one does some acts or tasks to earn approval or forgiveness from the god(s).
Through the New Testament God teaches us two key items.
• The bad news - We are all sinners and there is nothing that we can do to “earn” forgiveness for our sins.
• The good news – God’s loves us so much, that he sacrificed his son, Jesus Christ, to atone for our sins.
It is the first item that trips up so many people today. “We are all sinners” However, so many people consider themselves a “good person” and sincerely believe that they do not need forgiveness for their sins. They think that their sins are so minor that surely God will not punish them for their sins Or they believe that if they do more “good” in their lives than “bad,” the “good” will outweigh the “bad.”
However, as nice as that sounds and makes you feel good about yourself, it is not what God teaches us.
God teaches us that we all sinners based on HIS standards. It is God’s standards, not man’s standard, that matters.
Consider the perfect judge (which God is), there is no “good enough” or “innocent enough.” You either committed a crime (sin) or you did not. Think of this, if the speed limit is 55 mph and one person drives 56, one person drives 57 and one person drives 75, which person is guilty of a crime. In the eyes of a perfect judge, they all are. Yes, it’s easy to see the person driving 75 mph is guilty of breaking the law, but the other two? If the other two are not guilty, where is the cutoff between innocence and guilt?
Also, consider one person does 100 good deeds and another person does 101 good deeds. Which has done enough good deeds to outweigh their sins? Both, neither? A perfect judge would not weigh “good deeds” when considering guilt. And when it comes to sentencing, there is only two options, either you are innocent and spend eternity with God or you are guilty, and you do NOT spend eternity with God.
However, the good news is that our sins have been paid for by the sacrifice of his Son, Jesus Christ, on a Roman cross.
The 5 Solars
Authority - Sola Scripture (By Scripture Alone)
• The Scriptures alone are our supreme authority. They contain, and are sufficiently clear in teaching, all things necessary for salvation and the life of faith.
Mediator - Solus Christus (In Christ Alone)
• As our Savior and Mediator, Christ has accomplished the necessary work for our salvation completely.
Salvation - Sola Gratia (By Grace Alone)
• We all are sinners, who cannot contribute anything to our salvation. Our salvation is accomplished by the sovereign unmerited favor of God, who freely chooses to save sinners.
Justification - Sola Fide (Through Faith Alone)
• Faith (receiving and resting on Christ and his righteousness) is the only means by which we can receive justification (a right standing before God.)
Glory - Soli Deo Gloria (Glory to God Alone)
• God alone is also due all glory for our salvation as it was appointed by him, accomplished by him and ultimately has his glory as its goal.
