by Rev. Travis Grassmid
Q. 29: Why is the Son of God called “Jesus,” that is, Savior?
A. 29: Because He saves us from all our sins, and because salvation is not to be sought or found in any other.
Q. 30: Do those also believe in the only Savior Jesus, who seek their salvation and welfare from “saints,” themselves, or anywhere else?
A. 30: No; although they make their boast of Him, yet in their deeds they deny the only Savior Jesus; for either Jesus is not a complete Savior, or they who by true faith receive this Savior, must have in Him all that is necessary to their salvation.
Obviously this eleventh Lord’s Day is responding to the errors of the Roman Catholic Church, i.e., the prayers to saints. The catechism rightly points out that looking to any other, besides the Christ the Lord for our salvation is not only futile, but ultimately damning to the soul.
We live in an age of moral relativity, and so, I find in refreshing to read these words and see that our fathers were not so squeamish about calling out the lie. Not all assertions are equally valid!
Thus, the authors of the catechism, using impeccable logic, note that when we consider the work of our Lord, we only have two options:
- In Jesus, and in Him alone, we find our complete redemption. Or,
- In Jesus, we have absolutely no hope.
Two options, Jesus is everything, or Jesus is nothing; there is no in between.
As I began, I noted that these words had the RCC in mind; now consider all of the other practical implications there are to this simple truth:
- Jesus, and my works = no salvation
- Jesus, and my church = no salvation
- Jesus, as defined by any false religion = no salvation
- Jesus, and my good intentions = no salvation
- Jesus, and any other thing = hopelessness
God is a jealous God, Jesus is God, and as such, He reminds us that “I am the way, the truth and the life. No one comes unto the Father, but by Me” (John 14:6).
We do not desire to offend anybody, and we seek to live at peace with all men (Rom. 12), and yet, we are not loving our neighbor, nor ultimately living at peace with our neighbor when we compromise on this simple truth. Jesus, the second Person of the Trinity is our complete Redeemer, there are no others, nothing may be added, through Him, and Him alone we have our Mediator between God and man.
This Lord’s Day is an exposition of the Apostle’s Creed, next time you recite the beautiful words of the confession of the universal church, recall that we are confessing the exclusive nature of Jesus Christ, the “one Mediator between God and men, the Man Christ Jesus” (1 Timothy 2:5).