With Lord's Day 11, the Heidelberg Catechism enters into its treatment of the second part of the Apostles Creed, namely, concerning God the Son and our redemption. It looks, therefore, at the Bible's teaching concerning the Son of God, not as the second Person of the Holy Trinity in relation to the Godhead, but as the Mediator between God and man. This second division of the Apostles Creed is remarkably complete. It gives confession to all the main doctrines concerning our Lord Jesus Christ. Confession is made concerning His Person and work, His divine and human nature, His conception by the Holy Spirit, His virgin birth, His suffering, death and resurrection, His ascension and exaltation at God's right hand. It is all here. And the Catechism expands further on all those things, devoting more than a Lord's Day to each. But as we study these things, let us not lose sight of the fact that the purpose of such an exposition of the Scriptures concerning these matters is that by this gospel the confession is aroused within our own hearts, "I believe in Jesus." Not merely superficially. Virtually everyone says, "I believe in Jesus." But the purpose of going to the Word of God concerning these things is that we are able to confess from the heart, "I believe what God has revealed in His Word concerning my Savior." This is my Jesus, our Jesus. He is our only Savior. We speak this morning from faith, faith which clings to the Word of God as its content, faith which clings to Christ as its object. And laying hold of the Scriptures we make our confession in
JESUS, OUR ONLY SAVIOR
I. ONLY SAVIOR
II. COMPLETE SAVIOR
III. PARTICULAR SAVIOR
IN CONFESSING THE NAME OF JESUS, WE CONFESS OUR FAITH IN THE ONLY SAVIOR.
PETER PREACHED IT BOLDLY, AS RECORDED IN ACTS 4:12: "NEITHER IS THERE SALVATION IN ANY OTHER: FOR THERE IS NONE OTHER NAME UNDER HEAVEN GIVEN AMONG MEN, WHEREBY WE MUST BE SAVED."
We confess that the Son of God is called Jesus, that is a Savior, because He saves us and delivers us from all our sins; and likewise, because we ought not to seek, neither can find salvation in any other. When you use the name "Savior" there is only One Who can have that name. And that One is God. There is a significant truth, therefore, in the name Jesus, and that is this: He is Divine, God our Savior. Paul instructs Titus in the third chapter of his epistle to that young preacher, to remember his own background as he labors in preaching the gospel. Remember, says he, that we ourselves also were sometimes foolish, disobedient, deceived, serving diverse lusts and pleasures, and so on. Remember that as you labor among sinners. Remember the sad state in which you yourself once were, "But after that the kindness and love of God our Saviour toward man appeared, Not by works of righteousness which we have done, but according to his mercy he saved us, by the washing of regeneration, and renewing of the Holy Ghost; Which he shed on us abundantly through Jesus Christ our Saviour." Notice in verse 4 he refers to the love of God our Saviour, while in verse 6 he says that God our Saviour shed His love on us abundantly through Jesus Christ our Savior.
Our Savior is God, Who exercises His love toward those whom He saves, in the Person of Jesus Christ. That is a truth emphasized throughout the Bible. And although the Godhead of Jesus Christ will be expanded upon in the instruction of Lord's Days 13 and 14, nevertheless, it is also on the foreground from the very beginning. The Bible throughout emphasizes that there is but one Savior, that is God. Jehovah Himself speaks in Isaiah 43:11, "I, even I, am the LORD; and beside me there is no saviour." Jude therefore closes his brief epistle with the doxology, "To the only wise God our Saviour, be glory and majesty, dominion and power, both now and ever. Amen." And as we have seen before from Scripture: Only God can save us.
That from which He saves us is sin. That we read literally in Matthew 1:21. Such was the instruction of the angel to Joseph. "The angel of the Lord appeared to him in a dream, saying, Joseph, thou son of David, fear not to take unto thee Mary thy wife: for that which is conceived in her is of the Holy Ghost. And she shall bring forth a son, and thou shalt call his name JESUS: for he shall save his people from their sins." That is a striking thing!
If you were to ask people today what is the greatest need, most will point to troubles that they experience in their own lives, or know about in the world of our day. Crime—that's a major problem in our day. Drive-by shootings in the cities, kidnappings, murders, drug dealing in even the smallest communities—very serious problems we face in our country today. Soon the elections will take place. The politicians all promise us the alleviation of particular problems that plague us—social, economic, political troubles. Then there are the multitudes of medical problems. For every cure there appears to be a new disease or two. And when your life is touched by a serious illness, then that affliction becomes a major focus in your life, no question about it. But the problem is, our misery lies much deeper than all these things. The worldliminded and earthly focus of men today is such that the savior that they want, they will never have. They want someone to clean up society, heal all diseases, and give them a trouble-free life. One day there will come a power that comes close, at least to the appearances of men. That will be Antichrist. And all who bear the mark of the beast shall worship him. Until they open their eyes in hell. Oh, beloved, our misery, our greatest need, is far more serious than any of these problems I have just mentioned, that have the focus of the news media and the public. That is why we are so little enthused about the political scene of our day. All kinds of promises, but no grasp whatsoever of the real problem.
We are sinners. Oh, I know very well: This is a very severe indictment. The wages of sin is death, says Scripture. We are sinners. Do not minimize that. Scripture doesn't. That we are sinners means that we miss the mark. No, don't picture in your mind the hunter who misses the target with the arrow or with the bullet. We speak of something far more serious. We are sinners because we intentionally and willfully miss the mark. That mark is the glory of God's name. We are required not only to aim at that mark, but to hit it perfectly. Our whole life is to be focused on that mark, the glory of God's name. But we pay no attention to the mark. We are aware of it. But we avoid it; we miss it willfully. We are guilty before God.
The seriousness of our sinfulness must be understood. You must understand the seriousness of your own sin. The Word of God, you see, has no sympathy for sin. It never attempts to condone or excuse the sinner. There are those who would like to have us believe that man is merely the victim of circumstances or of his own surroundings. They would like to have us believe, for example, that if a wife is married to a man who is contentious and hard-hearted, then she is merely a victim to her circumstances when she rebels against her God-given calling to submit to her husband for God's sake. They would like us to believe that when a child does not have a stable family life, his rebellion and his drug use and his stealing and so on, are merely reflections of his being a victim of an unstable upbringing. The world likes very much to point the finger of blame at others. That, they think, rids them of their own responsibility. The Scripture knows nothing of such philosophy. Although the Scripture recognizes the consequences of sin are sometimes very broad, affecting other family members and even bringing them under the influence of such wickedness, the fact remains, Each individual is condemned for his or her own sins.
You and I are guilty before God, worthy of everlasting damnation. We have brought ourselves under the chains of death, and therefore cannot free ourselves from condemnation and wrath. Being spiritually full of darkness we are not subject to the law of God, neither indeed can be. Those who want to deny personal responsibility may speak of a Savior. But the Jesus that they may acknowledge is little more than a teacher or an example to help men overcome their lack of development. Ultimately men must save themselves. Beloved, we must not play around with the truth of man's hopelessness and corruption, but must proclaim this truth of Scripture in all its terrible severity and simplicity. You and I, as we walk in the ways of sin, are in the way that leads to eternal darkness. We are in bondage, except Christ makes us free.
HE WHO SAVES HIS PEOPLE IS JESUS.
What a wonderful name! "He shall save His people from their sins." The name means, Jehovah saves. From that hopeless misery of sin and guilt Jehovah saves. That is the meaning of His name. The Son of God is none other than Jehovah in our flesh. And Jehovah is the unchangeably faithful God of His covenant people. He is the fulfillment of the divine promise, given already in Paradise and repeated throughout the ages of the Old Testament. He is the fulfillment of God's invincible oath to save His people. God's own faithfulness is revealed in Jesus!
In addition, that He is called Jesus reveals to us how Jehovah saves. He saves His own by coming into their flesh. He takes upon Himself our own flesh and blood. He is Immanuel, God with us. He comes to us as the God of our salvation, Who brings light in the darkness, Who quickens the dead, Who accomplishes all God's pleasure. Our Savior becomes like unto us, sin excepted, to bear our sin and iniquity, to suffer and die as the satisfaction for our debt. This can only happen in our human nature. Jesus is the One Who assumes our flesh and blood and takes upon Himself our sin and guilt, Who stands in our state of guilt before the law, to save us as the everlasting God of our salvation. He it is Who saves His people from their sins.
THIS JESUS IS A COMPLETE SAVIOR.
THAT IS EMPHASIZED IN THE VERY PROMISE OF GOD IN MATTHEW 1:21, "HE SHALL SAVE."
He is not merely One Who shall make salvation possible. One who merely makes salvation possible cannot be the fulfillment of this promise. For we are told very pointedly, He shall save. He is not merely One Who will help His people, assisting them in their deliverance. He shall save them. The Catechism emphasizes this very truth in Q & A 30 when it asks: "Do such then believe in Jesus the only Savior, who seek their salvation and welfare of saints, of themselves, or anywhere else? They do not; for though they boast of Him in words, yet in deeds they deny Jesus the only deliverer and Savior; for one of these two things must be true, that either Jesus is not a complete Savior or that they, who by a true faith receive this Savior, must find all things in Him necessary to their salvation."
Always the world and the false church tries to present the child of Bethlehem in such a way that it is, after all, man who saves himself. As our teacher, He instructs us; but we must absorb that instruction. As our wonderful example of reform, He gives us ways we can work reform and improve things; but we have to put those measures to practice. As our example, He has left us His footprints in the sands of time; but we must walk in those footprints. Jesus tells us what to say and how to live; it is left to us to speak and live that way. Or, He is presented as One Who has grace available for the asking. He stands at a distance, holds out His hand to us offering salvation; but we must take it. In many different ways and by many different teachings, Jesus is denied as the complete Savior. He is a savior, even a necessary savior; but there are many other saviors just as important to the process, not the least of which is man himself.
The Heidelberg Catechism points out the seriousness of this error, which has its root in the Pelagian heresy. "One of these two things must be true, that either Jesus is not a complete Savior or that they, who by a true faith receive this Savior, must find all things in Him necessary to their salvation." So serious is this, that those who seek their salvation and welfare in anyone or anything else, have not Christ! This error was seen very clearly in the Roman Catholic Church. And it is the error of Rome that the Reformed fathers try tactfully, yet forcefully, to expose. For centuries the followers of Pelagius taught that good works must be joined with Christ's merits in order to obtain justification. That thinking permeated the Roman Catholic Church. Eventually the pope added the error that to Christ's intercession must be added the intercession of saints, and especially of Mary, who they began to call "The Queen of heaven." False teachers taught the people to pray to Mary, rather than to God Himself.
But this denial of Jesus as complete Savior is not only an error found in Romish doctrine; this error is with us in many other forms. And to all such error comes the instruction of Jehovah in Isaiah 42:8: "I am the LORD: that is my name: and my glory will I not give to another, neither my praise to graven images." Salvation will not be of us, lest any man should boast. But it will be all of God, in Jesus Christ His Son. The work of salvation is His, from beginning to end, in the most absolute and all-comprehensive sense of the word. He delivers us from our guilt, from the death of our sin, completely, perfectly. He redeems us with His precious blood. In perfect obedience He fulfills all the law in our place. He merits for us life everlasting. That is the gospel of the cross and resurrection. It is that which we preach. This is the Christ in Whom we glory. Our salvation is realized perfectly and completely according to the justice and righteousness of the Holy God. That is what it means that Jesus saves.
BUT THERE IS MORE: FOR WHEN WE CONFESS JESUS AS THE COMPLETE SAVIOR, WE CONFESS THAT HE SAVES US IN SUCH A WAY THAT ALL OUR LIFE IS AFFECTED.
Indeed, by His wonder work of grace we are given life! The Almighty God of our salvation comes to us with His powerful, efficacious Word of grace and breaks our stubborn wills. He softens our hard hearts, making us sincerely willing and ready to live unto Him. Jesus does that. He gives us spiritual life, a life which finds its focus in fellowship with our heavenly Father, a life which knows that there is one only comfort, and that is to belong with body and soul, in life and death, to our faithful Savior Jesus Christ. What a great salvation is ours in Christ Jesus!
We have something far more than the world could even hope for! Jesus our Savior doesn't merely bring about some form of reformation in state government and in federal government and on the local level, so that eventually this becomes a nice world in which to live. He doesn't merely bring about social reformation, so that earthly poverty is eliminated, and injustice is a thing of the past. He doesn't merely bring about victory over diseases such as cancer, so that we can live a long life on the earth. Those things, nice as they may be, could not begin to touch the surface of the glory which He reveals as the wonder work of His grace! He isn't a Savior Who merely patches things up, makes some outward improvements, and helps His people to feel good about their state. Oh no. Far better, beloved!
He is Jesus, Savior, the mighty God of our salvation, Who comes with His Almighty Word to you and to me and makes us new creatures in an old world! In fact, He makes us strangers and pilgrims, citizens of the heavenly kingdom, who enjoy a relationship of fellowship and love with God our Father that the world cannot even begin to comprehend. He saves us in such a way that we live in the midst of this world of darkness, and yet are children of the light. He doesn't merely seek admittance into our hearts; He makes room. He dethrones sin, and enthrones Himself. He lives in us by His Holy Spirit, sanctifying us, purifying us, causing us to turn from sin unto the living God. He awakens within us a longing for God and His fellowship, and nurtures that longing in us, so that it grows. He preserves us as His people, so that all the powers of darkness are only servants in the building and strengthening of Christ's Church. And then—as if all those things were not glorious enough—He prepares for us a place in heaven. And when He has finished His work with us in this world, He will come and take us unto Himself, that where He is, there we may be also. That, beloved, is the wonderful gospel! Jesus, Jehovah-saves!
HE SAVES HIS PEOPLE.
GOD HIMSELF INFORMS US THAT WE ARE SAVED BY A PARTICULAR SAVIOR.
He doesn't save all men. He doesn't. On the one hand, there are those who openly oppose Him and manifest their hatred against Him, who are simply given over to their sins, to darkness and death. On the other hand, as the Catechism points out, there are those who are outwardly religious, who even profess to believe in Him; but who do not believe in Him as the Jesus revealed in Holy Scripture. Jesus Himself spoke of them in His sermon on the mount, when He said, "Not every one that saith unto me, Lord, Lord, shall enter into the kingdom of heaven; but he that doeth the will of my Father which is in heaven. Many will say to me in that day, Lord, Lord, have we not prophesied in thy name? and in thy name have cast out devils? and in thy name done many wonderful works? And then will I profess unto them, I never knew you: depart from me, ye that work iniquity" (Matthew 7:21-23). All men are not saved. So Scripture teaches throughout, giving its warning even to those within the church institute.
BUT HIS NAME IS JESUS, FOR HE SHALL SAVE HIS PEOPLE FROM THEIR SINS.
His people are the elect who have been given Him by His Father from before the foundation of the world. Jesus died for them. He died for a definite number. And that definite number is not determined by the people, but by the living God. Jesus taught that clearly in John 10, when He said, "I lay down my life for the sheep," and then identified those sheep as those which the Father gave Him. But that is the truth set forth throughout the whole of the Bible. And this truth is fundamental. I realize that this particular aspect of the gospel is generally denied today. Sadly, it is denied now even in so-called Reformed circles. Today a Jesus is preached who, although He does not save all men, nevertheless desires to save all. Today they say that He did not die in order to save a chosen few, but He died to save everybody, if only they will give themselves to Him. And the same poisoned gospel that embraced the Romish church prior to the Reformation now embraces many of the churches whose roots are in that Reformation.
Oh yes, we may say this: Jesus saves believers. Do you believe? The
call of the gospel is this: Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, and you shall be saved. But,
let us ask, who are believers? Scripture identifies them. They are those who belong to the
elect organism of the world, those who have been born again by the Spirit of Christ and
who have been given to see, therefore, the things of the kingdom of God. They are those
who know that they are lost. They know the devastating nature of their sin. But they hear
the Word that says, The Son of man came to seek and to save that which was lost. They are
those who are weary and heavy laden under the burden of their own sin and guilt and shame.
But they hear the call, "Come unto me, all you who labor and are heavy laden, and I
will give you rest." They are those, according to the same words of Jesus recorded in
John 10, who hear His voice and know Him, and follow Him. That is a believer, according to
the Word of God. Do you believe? Then you know what the Apostle meant when he wrote what
we read in Acts 3, that "God, having raised up his Son Jesus, sent him to bless
you, in turning away every one of you from his iniquities."
Amen.
Preached: 1) Randolph PRC 10/27/96 (am)
===============================
Return to the
Heidelberg Catechism Sermons page
Return to the Reformed
Literature page
Return to the Reformed Sovereign Grace Literature
Home Page