Approaching God
You are about to encounter the only true God, your heavenly Father. But your only access to Him is through the gate He provides to you. He accepts and welcomes you only if you use the proper gate. Jesus says to you:
“I am the gate; whoever enters through me will be saved.” (John 10:9, my emphasis)
Any other attempt to get to God would fail. You approach a jealous God. Ponder the truth of this verse and the futility of seeking other gates or entry points into God’s presence, mercy, and grace:
“A prophet who speaks in the name of other gods, is to be put to death.” (Deuteronomy 18:20)
Listening to God
The Reformation happened in the context of the abuses observed within the Western Church, or the Catholic Church. But due to the split in the church in 1054 AD, there was another branch: the Orthodox Church in the East. The Eastern Orthodox Church was not heavily affected by the Reformation, so they still perceive salvation as the work of a national church: since you are born into a nation, the national church (Russian, Serbian, Romanian in my case) is in charge of saving you. The church itself is the depository of the grace that can save you. But that’s not what the Bible says. Christ alone saves! Not the saints. Not the church. Listen to this:
“Salvation is found in no one else, for there is no other name under heaven given to mankind by which we must be saved.” (Acts 4:12, my emphasis)
Talking to God
From the beginning of the covenant with Abraham, God has made the promise that He would be our God and that we would be His people. In the Ten Commandments, He repeatedly said that we should have no other gods besides Him. Can you say that you “Do not worship any other god, for the Lord, whose name is Jealous, is a jealous God”? Or do you feel like you’ve been chasing after other gods: fame, money, power, pleasure?
Responding to God
It is time to recognize that you need to experience liberation from the bondage of all other false gods. Would you ask the Lord to bless you with love that is devoted only to Christ, and Christ alone?
Surrendering to God
“Father, I come to you and I thank you for Christ, the author and perfecter of my faith. I surrender all to Christ. I belong to Him. He is my only Savior, my only Lord! Amen”
By Daniel Bud
A HISTORICAL SIDEBAR
As the Heidelberg Catechism states, “God has granted forgiveness of sins, everlasting righteousness, and salvation, out of mere grace, only for the sake of Christ’s merits.” Salvation is found and offered nowhere else but in Christ alone. In relation to the other solas, it is offered by grace and not by works, comes to us through the gift of faith given by the Spirit, is found in Christ alone, and the glory can only be given to God alone.
