A message preached in Garvagh FPC, October 19th, 2017.

"And being made perfect, he became the author of eternal salvation unto all them that obey him," Hebrews 5:9.

The Protestant Reformation of the 16th century restored Christianity to its Biblical roots and as a result, changed the world. Roused to action by the Spirit of God, upon recognising the corruption and abuses they saw in the Roman Catholic church of the time, the likes of Martin Luther and John Calvin spearheaded a movement that led to the emergence of the Protestant denominations that exist today.

The Reformers believed that there was a great drift away from the essential, original teachings of Christianity, especially in regard to what was the Bible's teaching about salvation. How people can be forgiven of sin through the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ and receive eternal life with God was grossly perverted by Rome! The Reformation sought to return Christianity to the original message of Christ crucified as preached by the early church.
During the Reformation, five phrases emerged summarising the Reformers' theological convictions about the essentials of Christianity.

They were:
"Scripture alone" - The Bible alone is our highest authority.
"Faith alone"- We are saved through faith alone in Jesus Christ.
"Grace alone" - We are saved by the grace of God alone.
"Christ alone" - Jesus Christ alone is our Lord, Saviour, and King.
"To the glory of God alone" - We live for the glory of God alone.

Tonight I have been asked to speak on the fourth of these slogans: "Christ alone". I will do that by looking with you at our text.