Reforming the Family: Part 4—Solus Christus
What better way is there to honor and celebrate the Protestant Reformation than by actually living out the faith that was reclaimed by the Reformers? It’s one thing to talk about how much we love reformed theology, but it’s quite another to do the hard work of reforming our lives and the life of our family. The major goal of this series has not only been to acknowledge the heart of the Reformation. We certainly want to do that, but more importantly, we want to understand that the doctrinal issues which helped to define the purpose of the Reformation are just as important today as they were 505 years ago.
To recap, in week one we looked at sola Scriptura, which is the affirmation that declares, “God’s Word alone.” The Bible is the inspired, inerrant, sufficient Word of God (2 Tim. 3:16). It’s not enough to simply give lip-service to that declaration. We either order our lives and the life of our family according to the authority of God’s Word, or we don’t.
In week two, our focus was on sola gratia, which proclaims, “grace alone.” Building upon the foundation of Scripture as the only perfect and sufficient authority for salvation and godly living, we discover that salvation is the gift of God’s grace, alone (Eph. 2:8). There’s nothing we can do to earn it. God is not waiting for us to come to Him and then responding to our faith. He is the sovereign Creator of the universe, and He is the active agent in salvation, giving spiritual life to whom He chooses.
Week three then looked at sola fide, “faith alone”, which was the battle cry of the Reformation, declaring and articulating the doctrine of justification (Rom. 5:1). For Luther, justification by faith alone was the doctrine by which the Church stands or falls.
This week, our focus is on solus Christus, which unashamedly emphasizes, “Christ alone.” Since Jesus is the founder and perfecter of our faith, it is essential that we affirm the biblical truths concerning the person and work of Christ (Heb. 12:2). For the Reformers, the reality of Christ’s sufficiency is really where the heart of the issue was found. The question is, what does the Bible actually say?
1. The Perfect Person of Christ
The biblical witness to Christ’s identity is a seemingly endless subject, but for the sake of brevity, we’ll look at a few key passages that help us more fully appreciate the person of Christ, and then consider the implications for your family:
He is the Son of God
Beginning in Romans 1, the Apostle Paul writes:
“Paul, a servant of Christ Jesus, called to be an apostle, set apart for the gospel of God, which He promised beforehand through His prophets in the holy Scriptures, concerning His Son, who was descended from David according to the flesh and was declared to be the Son of God in power according to the Spirit of holiness by his resurrection from the dead, Jesus Christ our Lord” (Rom. 1:1-4).
Christ’s absolute uniqueness as the Son of God points to the reality that He has shared the honor of deity with the Father for all of eternity. In the person of Jesus, the eternal Son has come into the world, taken on human flesh, and accomplished His divine mission.
Implication: Point your children to the reality that Jesus is God and that He deserves to be worshiped with every aspect of their being.
He is the Lord of All
In a familiar passage, Paul writes to the Philippian believers, saying:
“Have this mind among yourselves, which is yours in Christ Jesus, who, though he was in the form of God, did not count equality with God a thing to be grasped, but emptied himself, by taking the form of a servant, being born in the likeness of men. And being found in human form, he humbled himself by becoming obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross. Therefore God has highly exalted him and bestowed on him the name that is above every name, so that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth, and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father” (Phil. 2:5-11).
Although he has existed for all eternity, Christ humbled Himself by taking on the flesh of humanity. He then accomplished His work on earth and was exalted back to His rightful place of exaltation and honor as Lord.
Implication: Help your children understand that Jesus is the Lord of their life, and therefore they are called to submit their lives to his Lordship.
He is the Radiance of God’s Glory
One of the most prominent books of the Bible focused on Christology is Hebrews. In the opening verses, the author of Hebrews makes it abundantly clear that we cannot rightly understand the identity of Jesus without affirming Him as God, Himself:
“Long ago, at many times and in many ways, God spoke to our fathers by the prophets, but in these last days He has spoken to us by His Son, whom He appointed the heir of all things, through whom also He created the world. He is the radiance of the glory of God and the exact imprint of His nature, and he upholds the universe by the word of his power. After making purification for sins, he sat down at the right hand of the Majesty on high, having become as much superior to angels as the name he has inherited is more excellent than theirs” (Heb. 1:1-4).
The majesty, brilliance, radiance, supremacy, and glory of God is found in the person of Jesus Christ. If we want to understand more about God, we simply need to look to Christ. He is the image of the invisible God (Col. 1:15-19).
Implication: Teach your children about the excellencies of Christ. Pray for God’s Spirit to increase their affections for God as they see His radiance in Jesus.
2. The Perfect Work of Christ
Much like Christ’s identity, we could look at a multitude of passages to see the full extent of Christ’s work, but in order to see specifically how His identity is connected to His work, we’ll focus on a few passages in particular:
He Died for Us
Returning again to the book of Romans, Paul writes:
“For while we were still weak, at the right time Christ died for the ungodly. For one will scarcely die for a righteous person—though perhaps for a good person one would dare even to die— but God shows His love for us in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us. Since, therefore, we have now been justified by his blood, much more shall we be saved by him from the wrath of God. For if while we were enemies we were reconciled to God by the death of His Son, much more, now that we are reconciled, shall we be saved by his life” (Rom. 5:6-10).
The Son of God, who took on flesh, offered His body as a substitutionary atonement for the sins of God’s people. Because of who He is, Christ is able to effectively justify us before the Father, satisfy His holy wrath, and bring about our reconciliation.
Implication: Point your children to the perfect standard of God’s Law, pray that they will see the seriousness of their transgressions, and then help them to understand that Jesus has sacrificed His life to pay the penalty for the sins of God’s people on the cross.
He Secured Our Righteousness
Looking again to Philippians, Paul writes:
“Indeed, I count everything as loss because of the surpassing worth of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord. For his sake I have suffered the loss of all things and count them as rubbish, in order that I may gain Christ and be found in him, not having a righteousness of my own that comes from the law, but that which comes through faith in Christ, the righteousness from God that depends on faith—" (Phil. 3:8-9).
So, the exalted One from Philippians chapter 2, who is the Lord of all, humbled Himself on our behalf. By living a perfect life of obedience, laying His life down to satisfy our wrath, and conquering death through His resurrection, Christ has secured for us the righteousness we need to be justified in God’s sight.
Implication: Help your children understand that there’s nothing they can do to be righteous in God’s sight. Then, comfort them with the reality that they can be credited with the righteousness God requires through faith in Christ, alone.
He Purifies Our Conscience
Finally, we return to Hebrews and read these words:
“But when Christ appeared as a high priest of the good things that have come, then through the greater and more perfect tent (not made with hands, that is, not of this creation) he entered once for all into the holy places, not by means of the blood of goats and calves but by means of his own blood, thus securing an eternal redemption. For if the blood of goats and bulls, and the sprinkling of defiled persons with the ashes of a heifer, sanctify for the purification of the flesh, how much more will the blood of Christ, who through the eternal Spirit offered himself without blemish to God, purify our conscience from dead works to serve the living God” (Heb. 9:11-14).
The radiance of God’s glory, Jesus Christ, who is our great High Priest, has offered Himself as our perfect sacrifice. Through our faith in Him, our consciences are cleansed from dead works so that we can serve the living God.
Implication: Point your children to the purifying power of Christ’s sacrifice, which can cleanse their consciences. Teach them that there’s nothing they can do to make that happen. They simply need to believe in the only perfect, sufficient Savior, who is Jesus Christ.
As we contemplate the implications of solus Christus, it’s vitally important that we understand what’s at stake in our lives and in the lives of our children. To truly believe upon Christ alone, in all His excellency and sufficiency, is to embrace salvation. But to affirm anything else is to undermine the gospel. May the foundation of our families be built upon the solid rock of Jesus Christ, alone.