Solus Christus (Christ Alone) Pastor Nathan Weller October 15, 2017

5. The pope neither desires nor is able to remit any penalties except those imposed by his own authority or that of the canons. 6. The pope cannot remit any guilt, except by declaring and showing that it has been remitted by God; or, to be sure, by remitting guilt in cases reserved to his judgment. If his right to grant remission in these cases were disregarded, the guilt would certainly remain unforgiven. Martin Luther’s 95 Theses

Sola Scriptura—by Scripture Alone

Sola Scriptura—by Scripture Alone Sola Fide—by Faith Alone

Sola Scriptura—by Scripture Alone Sola Fide—by Faith Alone Sola Gratia—by Grace Alone

Sola Scriptura—by Scripture Alone Sola Fide—by Faith Alone Sola Gratia—by Grace Alone Solus Christus—Through Christ Alone

Sola Scriptura—by Scripture Alone Sola Fide—by Faith Alone Sola Gratia—by Grace Alone Solus Christus—Through Christ Alone Soli Deo Gloria—Glory to God Alone

CenterPoint Church is about Christ, and Christ alone

and circumference of the Bible”—meaning that who The centrality of Christ is the foundation of the Protestant faith. Martin Luther said that Jesus Christ is the “center and circumference of the Bible”—meaning that who He is and what He did in His death and resurrection is the fundamental content of Scripture. Ulrich Zwingli said, “Christ is the Head of all believers who are His body and without Him the body is dead.” -Dr. Joel Beeke-

1 ...but we preach Christ crucified: a stumbling block to Jews and foolishness to Gentiles...And so it was with me, brothers and sisters. When I came to you, I did not come with eloquence or human wisdom as I proclaimed to you the testimony about God. 2 For I resolved to know nothing while I was with you except Jesus Christ and him crucified. --1st Corinthians 1.23, 2.1-2 (NIV)

Christ alone is our message

--1st Corinthians 2.2 (NIV) For I resolved to know nothing while I was with you except Jesus Christ and him crucified --1st Corinthians 2.2 (NIV)

--1st Corinthians 1.23 (NIV) ...we preach Christ crucified: a stumbling block to Jews and foolishness to Gentiles. --1st Corinthians 1.23 (NIV)

My entire theology can be condensed to four words: Jesus died for me. -Charles Spurgeon-

Christ alone is our salvation

17 For Christ did not send me to baptize but to preach the gospel, and not with words of eloquent wisdom, lest the cross of Christ be emptied of its power. 18 For the word of the cross is folly to those who are perishing, but to us who are being saved it is the power of God. --1st Corinthians 1.17-18 (ESV)

For our sake he made him to be sin who knew no sin, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God --2nd Corinthians 5.21 (ESV)

-Donald Smarto, Pursued- Now I knew, I really knew, that Christ had died for me. It was coupled with the more important revelation that I was a sinner, that I was not the good person I had thought I was a moment before. All at once I embraced the telephone pole and began to cry. I must have hugged that piece of wood for nearly an hour. I could imagine Jesus nailed to this pole, blood dripping from his wounds. I felt as if the blood were dripping over me, cleansing me of my sin and unworthiness. -Donald Smarto, Pursued-

Christ alone is our strength

--1st Corinthians 1.26-31, 2.3-5 (ESV) 26 For consider your calling, brothers: not many of you were wise according to worldly standards, not many were powerful, not many were of noble birth. 27 But God chose what is foolish in the world to shame the wise; God chose what is weak in the world to shame the strong; 28 God chose what is low and despised in the world, even things that are not, to bring to nothing things that are, 29 so that no human being might boast in the presence of God. 30 And because of him you are in Christ Jesus, who became to us wisdom from God... (cont’d) --1st Corinthians 1.26-31, 2.3-5 (ESV)

--1st Corinthians 1.26-31, 2.3-5 (ESV) ... righteousness and sanctification and redemption, 31 so that, as it is written, “Let the one who boasts, boast in the Lord.” 3 And I was with you in weakness and in fear and much trembling, 4 and my speech and my message were not in plausible words of wisdom, but in demonstration of the Spirit and of power, 5 so that your faith might not rest in the wisdom of men but in the power of God. --1st Corinthians 1.26-31, 2.3-5 (ESV)

And my message and my preaching were very plain. --2 Corinthians 2.4 (NLT)

Christ alone is our life

4 When Christ who is your life appears, then you also will appear with him in glory…11 Here there is not Greek and Jew, circumcised and uncircumcised, barbarian, Scythian, slave, free; but Christ is all, and in all. --Colossians 3.4, 11 (ESV)

These three words are the essence and substance of Christianity. -J. C. Ryle-

--1st Corinthians 2.2 (ESV) For I decided to know nothing among you except Jesus Christ and him crucified. --1st Corinthians 2.2 (ESV)

“In the light of the cross, how well do the raucous appeals of competing public philosophies stand up? What place does the cross have in communism? What place does the cross have in capitalism? Does systematic hedonism lead anyone to the cross? How about dogmatic pluralism? Will secular humanism lead anyone to the most astonishing act of divine self-disclosure that has ever occurred—the cross of Christ? Does the elevation of the virtues of democracy lead men and women to the cross? Is it not... (cont’d)

the cross. Whatever the merits or the demerits of these ...always wrong to equate “the American way,” or, more broadly, any democratic system, with the gospel? Paul’s point is that no public philosophy, no commonly accepted “wisdom,” can have enduring significance if its center is not the cross. Whatever the merits or the demerits of these various systems, they exhaust their resources on merely superficial levels. They do not reconcile men and women to the living God, and nothing is more important than that.” -D.A. Carson-

Solus Christus (Christ Alone) Pastor Nathan Weller October 15, 2017