Solus Christus
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Greg Waybright
- Colossians 1:15-23
- The Five Solas
- 39 mins 42 secs
- Views: 806
Small Group Questions
Read Col 1:15-23
- From the beginning of Jesus' ministry on Earth, people have been divided on exactly who Jesus was and is. What are some of the things that people claim about Jesus?
- What does the passage say about the relationship between Jesus and God? What about the relationship between Jesus and creation?
- In verse 18, the passage says that Jesus is the head of the church. What does this mean? How should this affect the way we live in Christian community?
- Paul writes that God has reconciled us to God's self through Jesus' death on the cross. What are some areas in your life where you need to experience God's reconciliation?
- Verse 23 encourages us to hold firm in our faith and not stray from the hope of the gospel. What are some practices that you and your community can engage in to continue well in your faith?
Study Notes
Solus Christus: Christ Alone
Colossians 1:13-22
There is an interesting art piece that hangs in the Menzel Gallery in Berlin. It was done by German artist Adolf von Menzel called “King Frederick the Great Addresses His Generals”. 
The artist, obviously, intended to portray King Frederick motivating the generals. But, it took Von Menzel so long to get the painting done that he died before he had finished it. When you look at the painting, you can see the detail of the generals and the landscape. But, something important is missing. In the place in the picture where King Frederick, the central figure, should have been is a blank! The painting is supposedly about King Frederick – but King Frederick is not in the painting at all!
I thought of that painting as I began to prepare this sermon. Is it possible that though we may claim that Jesus is our Lord and Savior, when we really look at where we put our focus in daily living, there is a blank where Jesus should be? Is it possible to be a church that says Jesus is the Lord but, when people look at the things that consume our time and resources, the one who should be King of this place is not there? Like Menzel’s painting, do we ever leave a blank where Jesus should be? That’s my question today.
When we read church history, we can see that almost every group that once claimed to be biblically grounded but then moved away from the gospel into sectarianism, has begun to go wrong by turning away from the centrality of Jesus. When churches or denominations have begun to focus on secondary things, e.g.: details about when and how Jesus will return, dwelling on rules about what we can and cannot wear, what we can or cannot do on the Lord’s Day, what we should or should not eat. Those are secondary things. I’m not saying that none of those things have any importance. Many secondary things are important. But, when they move into the center of our focus, they quickly become divisive doctrines that have little to do with the most important One in our faith, in our lives and in our church. Who is that person?
The Five Solas Series
That question brings us to today’s message. Here at LAC, in celebration of the 500th birthday of a group of God’s people calling the church of their day to be reformed by returning to the main pillars of our faith, we have been looking at what many have called the “Five Solas” of their proclamation. “Sola” is not an English term but a Latin one – and it simply means “only” or “alone”. We are going through the “solas” one-by-one to make sure that we as a local church will have the Bible’s main pillars be our main pillars.
- Week 1 was Sola Scriptura – Scripture alone is the final authority for what we believe and how we live.
- Week 2 was Sola Fide – It is only by faith in Jesus that we can be saved.
- Week 3 was Sola Gratia – It is only by the grace of God that we are saved, i.e., salvation is a free gift from God that we desperately need and that we have no resources to obtain on our own.
Today we come to Solus Christus – Christ alone. Today, I want to be sure that in your life and is our church, there is not a blank where Jesus should be. This pillar of faith is crystallized in two concise verses:
1 Tim 2:5 -- There is one God and one mediator between God and mankind, the man Christ Jesus.
Acts 4:12 -- Salvation is found in no one else, for there is no other name (other than Jesus) under heaven given to mankind by which we must be saved.
Setting the Stage
The single most famous act leading to the reforming of the church took place on a Saturday morning, October 31, 1517. On that day, Dr. Martin Luther, a 33-year-old Roman Catholic priest and theology professor at the University of Wittenberg -- stood in front of the doors to the Castle Church and nailed a paper with 95 theses handwritten in Latin. 
Dr. Luther’s first thesis was that Christ the Lord calls for all of life to be marked by repentance, i.e., from a turning away from a current way or direction of life and a commitment to living with Jesus Christ as Lord, i.e., Jesus and Jesus alone is worthy to be the Lord of our lives and of our churches.
500 years ago, the main issue Luther and others were addressing had to do with the sufficiency of Jesus Christ to save us. The problem then was not that the church didn’t believe in Jesus or in what he had done in his life, death and resurrection. It was that, in order for people actually to be forgiven of sin and assured of a new life with God, church leaders said that we also have to add works to faith. And, because people’s works never were completely perfect, the church taught that, when people died, there was a purgatory to be endured so that guilt might be purged away. Over the years, the church had developed a system by which people who were still alive would be able to pay money, called indulgences, to get their loved ones out of purgatory.
While trying to raise money for the St. Peter’s Basilica in Rome, a church fundraiser named Johann Tetzel used a slogan that infuriated Luther and others. German: “Wenn die Münze im Kästlein klingt / die Seele in den Himmel springt.” English: “When the coins in the coffer cling, souls from purgatory spring.”
When you read the 95 theses, you’ll find that they really are 95 reasons why paying money will not get people to heaven. To all this, those calling the church back to biblical faith declared, “Solus Christus”, i.e., Christ alone. They said, “The perfect life of Jesus Christ, his death on our behalf and his resurrection from the dead to defeat sin and death are enough for our salvation. What Jesus did is sufficient to save us!”
In our day, the issue we wrestle with is not so much the sufficiency of Christ as it is the uniqueness of Christ. We live in a more pluralistic world in which we feel people should be able to believe whatever we want to believe. Our 21st C mantra is: “Whatever you believe is OK if it works for you! If you want to believe in Jesus, do it! That’s great.” But, the teaching that Jesus and Jesus alone was both God and man, that he and he alone lived a sinless life, that he and he alone was able to atone for our sin, and that therefore Jesus and he alone is able to forgive our sins and make us right with God – this teaching is offensive in our world as much as the teaching that our own works can do nothing to save us was offensive 500 years ago.
What We Believe at Lake Avenue Church (A “Solus Christus” Church)
I hope you all know that we have a “Statement of Faith (SOF)” here at LAC that sets the groundwork for what we teach in our church family. You should ask the question, “Is Jesus mentioned in our Statement of Faith?” My answer is that, in one respect, all ten articles are about him. We declare that all the main things we believe are statements about the gospel, the good news that the entire Bible is all about. And, when you read 1 Corinthians 15, you see that the gospel centers in the person and work of Jesus.
But, in case that isn’t clear enough, we have two articles in our SOF that I want you to see:
Article 4: We believe that Jesus Christ is God incarnate, fully God and fully man, one person in two natures. Jesus, Israel’s promised Messiah, was conceived through the Holy Spirit and born of the Virgin Mary. He lived a sinless life, was crucified under Pontius Pilate, arose bodily from the dead, ascended into heaven, and sits at the right hand of God the Father as our high priest and advocate.
Article 5: We believe that Jesus Christ, as our representative and substitute, shed his blood on the cross as the perfect, all-sufficient sacrifice for our sins. His atoning death and victorious resurrection constitute the only ground for salvation.
One of Many SolUs Christus Bible Passages (Colossians 1:15-23a)
I don’t want us to leave without taking a few moments to let what the Bible says about Jesus speak and touch our lives. No text in the Bible is more majestic about its description of Jesus than what Paul wrote in Col. 1:15-23. It was written to churches in which the church people were struggling with some teachers who were denying both the sufficiency and the uniqueness of Jesus. Most of us think vv.15-20 was a hymn of praise about Jesus sung by our brothers and sisters in Christ in the early church. We read this beautiful passage earlier but now let’s briefly look at what it tells us about Jesus, the Christ.
Summarizing the text, it tells us that Jesus is 1) God, 2) Creator and 3) Re-creator.
#1: Jesus is God: When I read the passage, it feels to me like a breathtaking ride in which the Apostle Paul seeks to put into words what he believes about this man who did what only God could do and was what only God could be. Remember that Jesus had utterly transformed Paul’s life. Notice Paul’s three awe-inducing statements:
Statement 1: Jesus is the “image of the invisible God” (v. 15) – I know that some read this and say, “Aha! Jesus isn’t God – just the image of God.” If so, don’t buy what they’re saying. The word translated image is “eikon”. It’s the word for a visible manifestation of an invisible reality. As such, the Bible is saying that Jesus is the physical presence of God on earth! As the Bible says in in John 1:18, “No one has seen God (the Father) at any time – except God the one and only Son. He makes him known!”
We are made in the image of God – Jesus is the image of the invisible God. Jesus himself would say in John 14:9, “If you have seen me you, have seen the Father.”
Statement 2: Jesus is the “firstborn over all creation” (1:15) – Some may say, “Oh, ok – but look: Jesus is the firstborn. He was born. He’s a creature too!” But you say (or, I hope you will say), “Not so fast. Did you notice in vv. 16-17 that Jesus has made anything that has ever been created?”
So, what is this “firstborn” language about? Those in our church who come from extended family settings -- like all people in the world of Jesus were – can understand this well. The firstborn refers to the one who has the position of being the head of the family. All the wealth, all the inheritance, all the status in a family was under the authority of the firstborn son. In other words, what this hymn is affirming with this word “firstborn” is the great truth that Jesus is not the Father but is one with the Father. Jesus is the eternal Son with all the authority over the family of God. That’s why Paul says immediately in v. 18, “He is the head of the church…”
Statement 3: “All God’s fullness dwelled in him (1:19).” All that God was and is – was and is in Jesus. Charles Wesley had to sing about it in one of his hymns: “Veiled in flesh, the Godhead see. Hail, the incarnate deity!” So, Jesus is God. Now, let’s consider his relationship to the created world.
#2: Jesus is Creator
Three little words speak profoundly to us about this truth: in, through, and for.
- In Christ, all things were created (1:16a) – This “creation in him” sounds strange to our ears. But, it means that all that was made was in the sphere of his control, i.e., he had the power and authority to do the creating.
- Through Christ, all things have been created (1:16b) – Before there was anything that could be called a thing, Jesus was. The Bible is saying that when we look at any created thing in this world, we should see that the Jesus who loved us and gave his life for us as its Maker. We see many things in this world about which we may say, “Why on earth did he make that?” And we may have to ask him about those things in heaven. But, now, with our limited understanding, we must see that all creation is a part of his intentional handiwork.
- For (or to) Christ, all things have been created (1:16b) – What an assertion! All creation points to Jesus. It all shows much of what he is like – like his power and sense of order. Like a well-run business points toward its founder, or an exquisite meal points toward its chef, so all creation declares to us something about Jesus. Jesus knows there are currently things in his world that fall short of his glory. But, as we so often declare here at church: Jesus is on a mission to make all things right. The one through whom all things are made is now recreating what has gone wrong. Someday, everything will be made right.
#3: Jesus is Re-creator – All things will be reconciled. Shalom will return.
The hymn of Col 1:15-20 ends with these words: God was pleased to have all his fullness dwell in Christ, and through him to reconcile to himself all things, whether things on earth or things in heaven, by making peace through his blood, shed on the cross (1:19-20). This is the great promise that God will take all that is broken and make it right; all that is hostile and bring peace. He will do it in Christ alone.
The song of 1:15-20 flows directly into application to us in vv. 21-22: Once you were alienated from God and were enemies in your minds because of[g] your evil behavior. But now he has reconciled you by Christ’s physical body through death to present you holy in his sight, without blemish and free from accusation.
That promise God makes to you and me when we are in Christ. He promises that we will be holy in his sight, without any blemish. No one can bring any accusation against us.” God promises that what he has begun in us, he will complete (Phil. 1:6). He says that though we are not yet all that he made us to be, we are also not yet what he promises we will be! It all happens “sola Christus”, i.e., through Christ alone.
What Does This Say to Us Today?
I pray that one thing you will make sure of today is that your faith is in Jesus. There is no other name given under heaven by which people can be saved. No one else can wash away your sins. No one else can make you whole again. But, Jesus can – and he’s ready to. Hear Jesus’ own words: “Whosoever will believe in him, i.e., Jesus, shall not perish but have eternal life.”
I also think this Sola Christus message says a lot to us about how we speak of our faith to our world. When we do, we should not speak so much of our church programs or our sanctuary or our congregational form of government. We must tell the world about Jesus.
Research shows us that younger adults, millennials, are not very positive about organized religion of any kind. But, most have a different response to the person of Jesus. And, in global outreach, many people groups are negative about the institution they call “Christianity”, seeing it as a way of life that leads to what they see in the entertainment industry or to the political views they see in what they consider “Christianized” countries. But, when we tell them the stories of Jesus, there is often a different response. Indeed, thousands of people from many religions are now coming to faith in Jesus – and they don’t even know that we would call them Christians. All this is to say that we must make sure that Jesus really is the Lord of this church. When he is, we will see people drawn to him.
I could say much, much more about “Christ alone” but I’ll stop there for now. I want us to do something at this point that may not come easily to us. I want us all to speak out four words together today. They’re four words that I pray will not just come across your lips but will flow from your soul. If you take these four words to heart, and if they will be a true expression of what you believe, they will give you hope and guide your life. The words are these: Jesus and Jesus only. I know we’re a pretty quiet church family. I sometimes like that when I’m preaching. But I don’t want you to be quiet right now. I’ll ask a question and, if you feel ready to confess it, say out loud, “Jesus and Jesus only!”
How can I come alive God? Jesus and Jesus only.
How can my sins be forgiven? Jesus and Jesus only.
How can my shame be dispelled? Jesus and Jesus only.
How can my guilt be washed away? Jesus and Jesus only.
How can my life be changed for good and forever? Jesus and Jesus only.
Who loves me so much that he died for me even while I was a sinner? Jesus and Jesus only.
Who can assure me that I never will be separated from the love of God? Jesus and Jesus only.
Who is at the right hand of God the Father interceding for me in prayer? Jesus and Jesus only.
Who will return for me in glory and assure me of an eternal home with God? Jesus and Jesus only.
As your Sr. Pastor, I join with the Apostle Paul when he said to the church in Corinth, “I am determined to make known among you nothing -- except Jesus Christ and him crucified!”
1 Corinthians 2:2
Chinese Study Notes
唯獨基督
歌羅西1：13-22
在柏林門塞爾博物館掛著一幅有趣的畫作，是德國藝術家門塞爾的作品，題為“弗萊德雷大帝對將軍的演講。”
顯然，藝術家想要刻畫出弗萊德雷大帝鼓舞將軍們的樣子，然而，這幅作品花了門塞爾很長時間，直至死前也未能完工。觀看這幅畫時，你可以看到對將軍們以及背景的細節處理，但重要部分卻缺失了。本該是核心人物弗萊德雷大帝站的位置是空白的。這幅畫的主角應該是弗萊德雷大帝，而他本人卻根本沒有出現在畫面中！
我準備這篇講道時想到了這幅畫。我們本應該宣告耶穌是我們的救主和生命的主，會不會當我們審視每日的生活卻發現耶穌並沒有出現在他應該出現的地方？會不會本該稱耶穌是主的教會，在使用時間和各樣資源上竟看不到他的君王地位？正如門塞爾的畫一樣，我們是否在本該耶穌出現的地方留下了空白？這是我今天的問題。
當我們讀教會史時會發現，幾乎每一個聲稱自己是建基於聖經後來卻遠離福音基礎走向世俗的群體都是偏離了以耶穌為中心，最後走入歧途的。當教會或教派開始聚焦於次要的事物，比如，耶穌什麼時候再來，如何再來，爭論該穿什麼不該穿什麼，主日能做什麼不能做什麼，該吃什麼不該吃什麼等次要的事時------我不是說這些事沒有意義，許多次要的事還是很要緊的-----但當它們漸漸成為我們的焦點時，次要的教義就會迅速代替我們信仰和教會中最重要的那位。那一位是誰呢？
五個唯獨
這個問題帶我們走入今天的主題。我們教會最近正在慶祝引領神的百姓回歸信仰基石的宗教改革五百周年。我們前三周一直在學習改革者們所宣告的“五個唯獨”（唯獨聖經，唯獨信心，唯獨恩典，唯獨基督，唯獨神的榮耀）。“Sola”不是英文而是拉丁文，意思是“只有”，“唯獨”。我們要逐一看看每個“唯獨”，並確保地方教會擁有這些聖經基石作為我們的基石。
- 第一周唯獨聖經—只有聖經是我們信仰和生活的終極權威
- 第二周唯獨信心—只有相信耶穌我們才能得救
- 第三周唯獨恩典--只有通過神的恩典我們才能得救，救恩是神白白賞賜的禮物，也是我們迫切需要並靠自己無論如何也無法得到的禮物。
本周我們接著來學習唯獨基督。我想和大家確認在各位的生活中以及在教會中，耶穌的位置不是空白的。有兩節經文可以清楚闡明這一信仰基石。
提摩太前書 2:5 -- 神只有一位，在神和人之間的中保也只有一位，就是成為人的基督耶穌；
使徒行傳4:12 -- 除他以外，沒有救恩；因為在天下人間，沒有賜下別的名，我們必須靠著得救。
引子
導致宗教改革最著名的一個行動發生在1517年10月31日星期六的早晨。那天，馬丁路德博士，一個33歲的羅馬天主教修士，威登堡大學神學教授，站在教堂門口，將拉丁文寫成的95條綱領釘在門上。
路德博士的第一條就是主耶穌呼召所有人悔改，從個人的道路轉向委身主耶穌基督；因為耶穌，唯獨耶穌配得作我們生命和教會的主。
500年前，路德與其他人涉及的主要問題是耶穌基督的救恩是否足夠？當時的問題不是教會不信耶穌和他的生、死、復活，而是為了確保信徒罪得赦免，教會領袖要求人們信心上還要加行為。但因為人無完人，教會就說人死後要忍受煉獄使罪得除去。多年來，教會發展出一個制度，就是活著的人可以為死去的所愛付錢，買贖罪券救他們脫離煉獄。
當時有一個教會領袖約翰泰琢為了給羅馬的聖彼得堂募捐，就用了這樣一個口號，激怒了路德和其他人：“所捐的錢落入箱中，靈魂就脫離煉獄！”
當你讀95條論綱時，你就看見它們其實是付錢不能進天堂的95個理由，呼籲教會回到聖經宣告：“唯獨基督”。論綱說，“耶穌的生、死、復活足以擊敗罪與死，讓我們得救。耶穌的救恩是足夠的！”
今天我們的信仰掙扎不再是基督救恩的足夠性。我們生活在一個多元的世界，人們可以信他們願意信的，21世紀箴言是：“信什麼都好，只要對你有用！若你要信耶穌，信就好了，不錯啊。”但是諸如唯獨耶穌，耶穌是神又是人，只有他無罪，只有他可以救贖我們脫離罪，因此唯獨耶穌能赦免我們的罪引我們歸向上帝---這樣的教導和500年前說我們的救恩與行為無關一樣，是不被這世界接納的。
我們教會的認信 (一個“唯獨基督”的教會)
我盼望你們都知道我們教會有一個“信仰告白”作為我們教導的基石。你應該問：“耶穌有沒有在告白裡被提到？”我的回答是，總共10條告白都是關於他、尊崇他。其主要內容是我們所信的福音，就是整本聖經所傳的好消息。當你讀哥林多前書15章，你就看見福音的中心在耶穌這個人和他的工作上。
我舉兩個告白作為例子，可以更清楚說明：
第 4條: 我們相信耶穌基督是道成肉身的神，完全的神，完全的人，兼有神人二性。耶穌就是應許給以色列人的彌賽亞，由聖靈感孕，童女瑪利亞所生；他一生無罪，被彼拉多釘死，卻從死裡復活，升上高天，坐在父神的右邊，成為我們的大祭司和辯護人。
第5條: 我們相信耶穌基督作為我們的代表和替贖者，在十字架上流出寶血，為我們的罪獻上了完全祭。他的替死和復活的勝利奠定了救恩的根基。
唯獨基督的聖經信息之一 (歌羅西書 1:15-23a)
深願有關耶穌的聖經信息對我們說話並觸動我們生命。西1：15-23是聖經中最精彩的基督頌。保羅寫給歌羅西教會，因為當時信徒們被一些否認耶穌完全性和獨特性的假教師所迷惑。我們不少人認為15-20節是早期教會的弟兄姊妹所唱的讚美耶穌的詩歌，我們早先讀過這美麗的經節，現在讓我們簡要看看它就耶穌基督說了什麼。
總的來說，它告訴我們耶穌是1）神， 2）創造主，3）重新創造的主
#1: 耶穌是神: 當我讀這段經文時，我感到像在一個激動人心的行程中，使徒保羅把他的信念用文字表述出來，就是耶穌所做的就是神的所是和所為。耶穌完全反轉了保羅的生命。讓我們看保羅的三個精彩的表述：
表述 1: 耶穌是 “不可見之神的形象” (v. 15) – 我知道有人讀到這裡就說：“啊，原來耶穌不是神，只是神的形象！若真這樣，不要理睬牧師們的話了”。事實上，“形象”的原文意思是一個看不見的真相以看得見的方式彰顯，因此這裡的意思是耶穌是神在地上的肉體顯現，如約翰福音1：18： “從來沒有人看見神，只有在父懷裡的那位獨生子——神，他將神表明了出來！”
我們是照著神的形象所造 –耶穌是不可見的神的形象。耶穌在約翰福音 14:9說, “一個人看到了我，就是看到了父。”
表述 2: 耶穌在 “在一切被造物中是首生的” (1:15) –有人會說，“看，耶穌也是生的，是被造的!”但且慢，你注意到16-17節，耶穌創造了萬物麼？
那麼，“首生的”意思是什麼？我們教會中有來自大家庭的人，就像耶穌時代的那些人可以很好地理解：“首生”意味著他在家裡作頭，因為一切財富、繼業、地位都在長子的名下。這裡，“首生的”所表達的真理是耶穌是子的位格，但與父同在。耶穌在神的家中為首，有一切的權柄；這就是為什麼保羅在18節說：“他也是教會的頭。。。”
表述 3: “神一切的豐盛完美都在他裡面” (1:19) 神的一切都在耶穌裡面。查理衛斯理在他的一首聖詩裡唱：“父神看見他在肉身；啊，道成肉身的上帝！”是的，耶穌在神裡面。我們再來看看他與被造的世界的關係。
#2: 耶穌是創造主
“藉著”, “通過”，“為” 這三個介詞卻很深刻地表達了真理
- 萬有都藉著他所造 (1:16a) ---我們可能不太瞭解“藉著他”，那意思是，一切都在他掌控下被造，他有能力和權柄來創造。
- 一切都是通過他造的 (1:16b) --- 耶穌在萬有以先。聖經說，我們可見這世界的任何被造物，都會看見耶穌愛我們並把生命賜給我們的記號。我們在世界上看見許多東西都禁不住說：“為什麼他造了這個？”也許我們要到天國去問他這個問題；而今，以我們有限的知識，我們必須看到所有的被造物都是他有意識的手工。
- 一切都為他而造 (1:16b) ---多麼有力！萬有都指向耶穌，顯明了他擁有權柄和秩序；正如一個傑出的企業指向他的創始人，一場盛宴指向廚師。萬有都向我們宣告耶穌。耶穌知道這個世界虧欠了他的榮耀，就像我們在教會常常宣講的：耶穌的使命就是來復興萬事。萬有都通過他而造的那一位正在重新創造那些已經出錯的萬有，要使萬有歸正。
#3: 耶穌是重新創造的主 --- 一切都和好，平安必回來.
西 1:15-20 的頌歌是這樣結束的: 因為父樂意使一切的豐盛完美都住在他裡面，又藉著他在十字架上所流的血成就了和平，就是藉著他使萬有——無論地上的或天上的——都與他自己和好了 (1:19-20).
這是一個偉大應許，即神要恢復一切破碎的，為一切仇恨的帶來和平，他只在基督裡成就這事。
這首頌歌在 vv. 21-22直接對我們應用: 從前，你們在邪惡的行為中與神隔絕，在意念中與他為敵；但如今，神在基督的血肉之軀上，藉著死使你們與他自己和好了，並且使你們站在他面前，是聖潔、毫無瑕疵、無可指責的。
這是神對你我在基督裡的人的應許，他應許我們將在他眼中成為聖潔，毫無瑕疵，無可指摘。神應許他要在我們身上創始成終（腓1：6）。他說儘管我們還不是他造我們的全部，還不是他應許我們的樣子，但他必在耶穌裡成全，唯獨耶穌！
這對我們今天說了什麼?
我禱告，今天你就確認你的信仰是在耶穌裡的。天上地下沒有賜下其它的名我們可以靠著得救。沒有他人可以洗淨你的罪，也沒有別人可以讓你完全，唯有耶穌，他已經動工，聽：“一切信他的，不致滅亡，反得永生！”
“唯獨基督”的信息也提醒我們當如何向世界傳揚我們的信仰，我們不應該只和人講我們教會的活動、禮拜堂或聚會形式，我們必須傳講耶穌。
研究表明，年輕人，90後，00後對任何有組織的宗教都不太感興趣，但大多數人都會不同程度回應耶穌。全世界不少群體對“基督教”的系統反感，看作是所謂基督教國家的大眾輿情或政治秀。但當我們講耶穌的故事時，常常會有不同的反應。事實上，成千上萬的人從不同信仰中歸向耶穌---甚至他們不知道他們自己已經是基督徒了。我們一定知道耶穌真實地是這個教會的主，必要吸引人歸向他。
我可以說更多關於“唯獨耶穌”的話題，但我今天在此停住，我請大家做一些對我們來說不容易的事，讓我們一起說幾個字，不是從你的嘴唇說出而是從心發出的。如果這幾個字從你裡面出來，真實代表了你的所信，就必帶給你希望和生命指引。這幾個字就是：耶穌，唯獨耶穌！我知道我們都比較矜持沉默--我講道時你們這樣比較好，但現在，我要問你們幾個問題，如果你們預備好宣信，就請大聲說：“耶穌，唯獨耶穌！”
我如何來到神面前存活？耶穌，唯獨耶穌！
我的罪如何被赦免？耶穌，唯獨耶穌！
我的羞辱如何被除去？耶穌，唯獨耶穌！
我的罪咎如何被清潔？耶穌，唯獨耶穌！
我的生命如何變好並直到永遠？耶穌，唯獨耶穌！
是誰如此愛我，甚至在我還是罪人的時候就為我而死？耶穌，唯獨耶穌！
是誰保證我永遠不與神的愛分離？耶穌，唯獨耶穌！
是誰在神的右邊為我代求？耶穌，唯獨耶穌！
是誰將為我在榮耀中再來，保證我在神永恆的天家？耶穌，唯獨耶穌！
作為你們的主任牧師，我認同使徒保羅對哥林多教會所說的：“因為我曾下定決心，在你們中間不知道別的，只知道耶穌基督，就是被釘了十字架的這一位。”哥林多前書2：2
榮耀歸給神，
Greg Waybright博士
主任牧師