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Title: Christ Alone
Passage: John 14:1-7
Speaker: Pastor Ryan Martin
Service: Sunday Morning Worship Service
Date: October 15th, 2017
Indulgences led to confidence in a merit apart from Christ. In his classic the Institutes of the Christian Religion, John Calvin critiqued the Catholic doctrine of penance. He said Catholics held ‘that there are many helps by which we may redeem sins: tears, fasting, offerings, and works of charity. With these we must propitiate the Lord. … With these we must merit his pardon. For although he has forgiven the guilt through the largeness of his mercy, yet by the discipline of his justice we retains punishment. … When the Scripture says, ‘by the name of Christ,’ it means that we bring nothing, we claim nothing of our own, but rely solely upon the commendation of Christ” (3.4.25). This is a crucial Reformation doctrine. We claim nothing of our own, but rely solely upon the commendation of Christ. This is the matter of today’s sermon. Our whole salvation rests on Jesus Christ and him alone.