1005. Christ Alone

Welcome to The Daily Platform from Bob Jones University in Greenville, South Carolina.

The school was founded in 1927 by the evangelist Dr. Bob Jones Senior's intent was to make a school where Christ would be the center of everything, so he established daily chapel services today. That tradition continues with fervent little preaching from the University chapel platform just over 500 years ago, in October 15 17, Martin Luther wrote his 95 theses, which is considered to be the beginning of the Reformation for the next several days on The Daily Platform will be studying some of these doctrines in a series called truth tryouts.

Let's listen to today's message entitled Christ alone preached by Nathan Crockett, the director of ministry training at Bob Jones University. Dr. Sam Horn will introduce him will be hearing from Dr. Nathan Crockett, all of you know Dr. Crockett.

He teaches all of you are in the freshman class. He is the director of ministerial training, and it has been an incredible joy to me and really in amazement to see how God has used Dr. Crockett in so many ways so many of the new changes in the way that we have approached the ministry training this year. The new ministry chapel that is going on really are coming out of Dr. Crockett's heart for the Lord in his heart for you a student so he's going to come and speak to us on our next topic in the Reformation series Christ alone. Please turn to Romans 321 Romans 321 and as you turn. I want you to imagine that you are out hiking with some of your close family members and as you're hiking your hiking across kind of a rickety bridge and something terrible happens and that bridge gives way and you and your family members fall into a very fast flowing river.

This of course is hypothetical, and you're the only one he knows how to swim and to hate ethical dilemmas like this, you are hiking with your mother, your spouse and your only child, you only have the time to save one.

Who would you save that's a terrible question to ask is in it yet. Recently I heard Dr. Lonnie Paulson, speaking, and he said that question has been asked to people all around the world in various countries and it's interesting to see the various responses that they give for instance in the United States, and this maybe would not surprise you. It's almost exactly a 50-50 split half the people say I would save my spouse the other half say I would save my child. Nobody says I would save my mother. II think the feeling would be well she's she's been a wonderful mom. She's had a great life. She certainly would want me to save her grandchild. However, if you ask this in the Middle Eastern country. The responses overwhelmingly that they would save the mother factor. Then Dr. Polson said it's usually hundred percent of the recipients say that in their thinking, would probably go I can get another wife. I can have another child. But I only have one mom I talked to some students recently from Asia and they said it would typically be the same response there. My point would simply be this, that the culture that you grow up in influences significantly. Your thinking and so for us in our day and our culture to say what's the big deal that 500 years ago German monk named nailed 95 theses on the door.

The cast of churches is that really something that we should have all the celebrations about and and we need to understand something about Luther's world. And again, others have talked about the history behind this and others will in the future in this series but I wanted to quickly remind you a little bit about Luther's world. There were famous things of course going on around that time Columbus sailing the ocean blue Copernican revolution. All these things, but likely Luther growing up would have never known about Michelangelo or Raffaella Copernicus or Columbus. He grew up in an area where most people lived a harsh life in northern Europe there is terrible violence of peasants would often fight for food with knives or clubs. There were many many homeless people is reading this recently about whole groups of homeless people that would be pushed from one country to another. If you were born with any kind of handicap you are almost certainly doomed to a life of homelessness and probably an early death.

Many around Luther's lifetime before him and shortly after were killed by various plagues that came through and not only was the associate socioeconomic status really bleak and dark, but even more dark was the religious day that Luther grew up in the Roman catholic church dominated everything and so they would worship saying some of the veneration of relics he had these indulgences. It supposedly if you would buy one. It would help your loved one, spend less time in purgatory.

Luther grew up in a period of complete religious darkness and of course you probably know about the lightning experience in the promise that he would become a monk and really Luther, if you study his life was in overachiever I mean everything he did, he did all out like 200% and Luther would later write if if you could get to God by being a monk I would've done it, but he kept feeling empty until he came to Romans chapter 1 and in God's providential timing. He sent someone who's been called a revolutionary thinker. There's a sense in which Luke what Luther is doing wasn't totally revolutionary was just going back to what the Bible said and and really at the same time having revolutionary. What we could call technology.

It seems funny to us to call the movable type printing press technology.

But that's precisely what it was, so that Luther and his many many writings that these could be widely spread disseminated throughout the area, and God providentially did that so that a man like Martin Luther and the other reformers and these men were not perfect they had plenty of flaws and yet God amazingly providentially used them to take on a religious empire with biblical truth to bring us back to what the Bible said and there's so much more we could say about Martin Luther you probably realize a for much of his adult life. He was a wanted man wanted dead or alive, and yet within certain pockets particular, Germany. He was like a superstar and he was like people zero as he took on the Catholic Church. Luther, of course, didn't want to take credit for it he actually wrote this I simply taught and preached wrote God's word. Otherwise, I did nothing and then while I slept the word so greatly weakened the papacy that never a prince or Emperor did such damage to it. I did nothing. The word did it all. And of course Scripture is the first of the soul is that we've been talking about right.

We Artie heard a great message on Scripture alone. This was I would you call this the content of the Reformation. The Reformation also taught faith alone, that this in many ways was the central issue of the Reformation.

It's not your works are saved by faith alone. It was grace alone. The message of the Reformation and today we are talking about this topic. It is through Christ alone. It's not just faith in anything. It's not faith for faith sake, but Christ is the foundation of the Reformation and will find Lord willing. Next week, that all of this is to the glory of God alone the goal of the Reformation, you could try to summarize the five solos in a sentence like this that Scripture and you can add in your mind here alone if you want.

Try to keep it as concise as possible, but Scripture alone teaches that we are saved by grace alone through faith alone in Christ alone, to the glory of God alone. This is the Reformation.

Those five solos, and today we have the privilege of talking about the fact that we are saved by Christ alone. Michael Reeves wrote this the center, the cornerstone of the jewel in the crown of Christianity is not an idea, a system or thing. It is Jesus Christ.

Christianity is all about Christ. I had you turn to Romans 321 Martin Luther scribbled in the margin of his Bible this about Romans 321 to 26 this paragraph that we can look at that. It is the chief point in the very central place of the epistle and of the whole Bible, but now with me at this passage, but now the righteousness of God without the law is manifested, and if you've been following Paul's argument through the book of Romans. In the first 17 verses after an introduction and then stating the theme of the book of Romans. He transitions into a period where in Romans one through three. He really is proving to you that the entire world. Whether your Jew.

Whether you're Gentile, that the entire world stands guilty before the God of heaven.

He actually says in chapter 3 that when you stand before God. You will shut your mouth you'll have nothing to say but now is can argue that people like you that people like you and like me who are completely entirely guilty that we can actually be justified that we can be declared righteous in the courtroom of heaven.

And that's a remarkable thing if you've been following his argument because we are filthy rotten sinners were guilty, vile and helpless.

How could we be declared righteous by the just God of heaven, and he explains in this paragraph. But now the righteousness of God without the law is manifested, there's a way to be saved without perfectly keeping the law because none of us could do that. How is it made no he points out its witness to by the law and the prophets. He said I'm not contradicting the Old Testament pointed forward to this day. Even the righteousness of God which is by faith of Jesus Christ and you'll notice in this passage the soul is right. It's by faith of Jesus Christ unto all and upon all them that believe.

For there is no difference for all of sin and come short of the glory of God, and we use verse 23, to show that all people are sinners and it does that, in context, it's actually showing the because all people send all people are savable. Verse 24 being justified.

That's declared righteous in the courtroom of heaven frequently by his grace through the redemption to be bought back from the slave market of sin through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus. Now he describes it more about Christ. Verse 25 whom God has set forth to be the propitiation. This is the appeasement offering of God's wrath. The sacrifice that appease the wrath of Almighty God, to be the propitiation through faith in his blood, to declare his that's God the father's righteousness for the remission of the forgiveness of sins that are past, through the forbearance of God to declare, I say at this time his that's God's righteousness that he might be just and the justifier of him which believe it than Jesus say wow that's a lot to get my mind around the realize most everyone would agree that the key word in the book of Romans is righteous or it's often translated just that Greek word occurs dozens of times in Romans in one of the things Paul is arguing for in the book of Romans is trying to prove this. How can a God who is entirely righteous. Let guilty people in the heaven. Think about America.

If we have a District Court judge, and they continually let guilty people go free. What do we call them everything in liberal but we usually call them unjust right you have somewhat of a judge keeps letting guilty people go free, we say that's not jealous, that's not fair that's not righteous, but Paul is saying the all right just incredibly just God devised a righteous means by which he could let guilty people become righteous. How does he do that. Why does it through Christ right. Verse 24 being justified freely by his grace through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus. He tells us in verse 25. That's how he can forgive your sin he gave you a substitute the picture in Scripture is not of a God who looks at all your sin and turn the other way and pretend like it didn't exist, but a God who calls you out for being guilty. Who calls me out for being guilty and chooses to pay the payment for me. It's as if you graduate from college and get your first job, and within the first year you get fired and you go into a rage about this. In fact, you are so upset about you said they fired me. I'm in a fire them and you actually set their building on fire one night and in a fit of rage, and you watch that burning you know that building burned to the ground and it's call on the security camera and you stand in court and all the evidences guilty that you did it. The biblical view of God is your judge is not someone who pretends he didn't do it. It's a judge who looks at you and says your guilty and gives the appropriate punishment maybe in this case. Let's say the building was not insured for fire and so he says I was a $5 million building your punishment is you spend the rest of your life in jail less, you can come up with $5 million and you know that you can't come up with $5 million.

But what if it just judge to righteously called you guilty he righteously told you the price that you needed to pay that you could never ever pay what if the judge is also incredibly loving and he took office judge's robe and he stepped out from behind the judge's bench and he pulled out his checkbook and he said I'm independently wealthy and not because of anything good in you because your center you committed the crime but because I've chosen to set my love on you. Here's a check for $5 million. If you accept it you can go free.

You can pay your price because I'm paying it for you. Christ alone can do that. I mean, where else would you find forgiveness where else would you find mercy. Who else would give you heaven when you deserve hell we need Christ and we need Christ alone. My wife and I like to try to teach our kids.

Various songs in there certain ones I really pick up on horses remarkable thing they can see a Disney movie once and it's like the song is locked into their mind set bridges. I came back to the office last night to study and I got home and under my pillow he draw me a picture and he he likes writing jokes with his pictures and so with quite a few misspellings. He wrote, why would you never give Elsa a balloon.

She might let it go. But you know they'll be singing a song in the car like let it go or something like that and I'll be a great song and I'll start singing amazing Grace, you know, so we were this past weekend. Abigail was traveling to the University she was in New England and so I took my three oldest kids Gatlinburg just for some fun times with them to take them to the aquarium so as were driving up to Gatlinburg we do the same. We sometimes do I say carrying oldest to youngest. Everyone will sing a song in we did that a long time because we got caught in traffic so we sing a bunch of songs we sang through all the songs that the three of them knew and one of the songs we kept coming back to that we've taught our kids since they were toddlers is what can wash away my sin.

Nothing but the blood of Jesus. What can make me whole again nothing but the blood of Jesus (is that flow that makes me white as snow. No other found IPO nothing but the blood of Jesus and the only other verse I knows verse four. This is all my hope and peace. This is all my righteousness nothing but the blood of Jesus. And sometimes when I'm singing a song like that. I sit there and I think what if my unsaved neighbors heard me singing this. What if a typical person with a secular mindset heard me singing this with my six-year-old and my five-year-old and my three-year-old they would think I was a horrible parent they would think I was the weirdest person in the world you're singing with little kids about what what's that all about, but is because we believe in Christ alone that he is our one Savior.

I believe first Timothy two, five and six. There is one God and one mediator between God and man, the man Christ Jesus. Acts 412. Neither is there salvation in any other there is none other name under heaven given among men whereby we must be saved.

Christ alone and of course John 14 six but the whole passage here on the screens you can see the context but where Jesus responds to a doubting disciple by saying I am the way the truth and the life no man cometh under the father but by me. How would you apply a truth like this was a first of all to believe to believe almost undoubtedly, there would be several views sitting here and maybe you sort of let your parents faith spill over to you a little bit may beer at Bob Jones because you can get a great education for a good price. Maybe you're here for any number of reasons. And yet, may be you yourself have never believed that there is one way to God the father and it goes straight through Jesus Christ. Maybe there's someone here, and as a child. He made a profession and you kind of think that you believe but even in the past month or two you've been dealing with serious doubts. One of the things I like to give out of dozens and dozens of these. It's a readers guide to the Gospels. It's it's set up like a almost like a novel with no verse numbers no chapter numbers that paper nicely bound just the Gospels be happy to give you one of these few if you say no I'm struggling with doubts you can read apologetics books you can study biblical prophecy, but I encourage people read what the Bible says about Jesus believe secondly at encourage you to think couple weeks ago I was speaking at a conference in Ohio went from that to Christian school convention does leadership convention in Indianapolis. Took my three-year-old son Kristin with me. My friend Jack rammer came as well were sitting in Indianapolis airport waiting on a flight and playing with Christian in the stewardess leads a man over near me. He was completely totally blind can see anything about my age, set them down in the open seat right next to me. I could tell he was a little bit nervous and so I just leaned over and I said hey I'm the guy sit near left my names Nathan them 37 years old. My three-year-old son Kristin's here with me and it is finished speaking at a Christian school leadership conference and I'm headed to Atlanta than in Greenville who were were you doing, he just started talking. We talked for probably 30 minutes or so before he got on the flight and I second thought he was from Charleston. He had a T-shirt on for Charleston pub and I said he would. It had his bachelor party there and he was headed back to Charleston to get married on a cruise and I started talking to him about Christ and as I did.

He sort of lit up and he said I actually used to live in Seattle and I got saved to the church there and I've kind of gotten away from that a little bit but he said I love Jesus and I asked him how he went blind when he went blind. He was born with almost no site. By the time he was 12 years old is completely dark and I said that must be hard and he started smiling. He said everyone talk soon about how hard it must be being blind, but he just started enumerating all the things that he thanked God for all that the little things you never I would never even think to think God for but he did. Are you thankful for Christ and his cross work on your behalf. Thirdly, are you committed to this. I like that BJ slogan own it. Do you own it. Do you want to make this place better when someone says where you go to school is a member of your version and I would say the same thing about your Christian faith. Do you own it, like in a try to guilt you into sharing the gospel. But are you excited about what Christ is done in this world right in over a number four and that is to share the you realize their people around you who are walking in spiritual darkness and you have the truth that could set them free.

You have to be mean about that you want to be ugly about that but can you tell people about Christ alone.

Is there one hope for salvation. I love the Getty song in Christ alone. My hope is found. He is my light, my strength, my song the conference I was speaking. Abigail went to hear Keith Getty do a workshop she's a flute player and he studied under James Galway, the best flute player in the world who grew up in Ireland were Getty grew up next to my wife afterwards.

It's Galway taught him how to write a beautiful melody, but one of the things he said that that was a set I wake up every day. He wrote in Christ alone is 25 years old. His very first songs in her wake up every day and I try to write another song like in Christ alone. Why it's so poor and central to what we believe as Christians have a picture of the corner of my bedroom. I don't know how well you can see that but on the side of the bed. I sleep on right next to me on the wall and on nice would pallet type things.

Is this phrase from one of my favorite songs in the morning when I rise give me Jesus want to close by reading for you a few the paragraphs that I read at my dad's funeral. The hardest sermon ever preached a few years ago, the close family friend told me before the funeral. Dad had counseled with so many people as their pastor while they died and now he had the chance to go to the Valley himself data told dozens of our closest friends and family members how to die well and now God gave him the opportunity to show all of us how to die well if you didn't know, dad, and you found your way into the service.

You might get the wrong idea.

You might think that today we were honoring a great man here. After all, is a man preached the thousands and talk to presidents and share the gospel with the nation on good morning America if you thought that that was a great man he be the first to insist that you had it all wrong today were not honoring a great man but his great God that would be the first to tell you here's just a redneck country boy from the hills of North Georgia. The great and all wise God save that teenage boy from the pit of sin, a great and merciful God put his hand on that redneck country boy and did something remarkable with his life. Dad was not perfect he had flaws, just like the rest of us.

Those of us who knew him well know that he did his best to practice what he preached. He was quick to ask his friends and family for forgiveness that he was absolutely passionate about the gospel of Jesus Christ that preached a whole lot of funerals through the years and he always gave the gospel the song that's been playing over and over in my mind these past few days is the one the brother debauch of saying for us. Give me Jesus give me Jesus. And when I come to die. And when I come to die. Give me Jesus you can have all this world, but give me Jesus.

And when dad came to die when it was time for dad to leave this fleeting world behind when he breathed his last breath here on earth. When he left behind his pain written tumor filled body and stepped from the temporal and the eternal dad had Jesus and that was really all that mattered. I hope today is not my dad's many accomplishments is not his artistic ability has many talents are speaking ability are hope is in the bedrock reality that dad knew Jesus. He was in Christ. Could that be said of you at your funeral that you are in Christ alone that you believe that that your thankful for it that you are absolutely 100% committed to it, and that your desire is to share it with others. Perhaps father we can face no guilt in life and have no fear and death and we recognize that is the power of Christ in me from our life's first cry to her final breath. You command our destiny, no power of hell. No scheme of man can ever pluck us from your hand till you return her calls home here in the power of Christ will stand we pray pray for your grace to do that. We pray in Christ name, amen. You been listening to a sermon preached by Dr. Nathan Crockett, director of ministry training at Bob Jones University. Thanks for listening and join us again next week as we continue this series about the Reformation here on The Daily Platform