Solus Christus | The Five Solas

What if the most liberating truth you could hear is also the simplest: Jesus is Lord. We revisit the five solas through a fresh lens and zoom in on Solus Christus—Christ alone—as the pulse of the gospel that still frees captives, steadies anxious hearts, and sends ordinary people into extraordinary mission.

We share updates from the field: a new English-speaking campus launching in Koh Samui, a learning center designed to help refugee kids reach higher education, and courageous anti‑trafficking work that brings rescue, restoration, and dignity to survivors. These stories aren’t statistics; they are living proof that when the church trusts grace over grind, faith over fear, and Scripture over tradition, real people meet a real Savior. You’ll hear of an 11-year-old exploited and now on a path toward healing, and a Pakistani couple who found a Bible, found Christ, and found the courage to start again.

Then we dig into Romans 5:1–2 and unpack three anchors that hold in any storm: justification by faith, reconciliation with God, and bold access to the throne of grace. We confront legalism that suffocates and hyper‑grace that excuses, and we point to the better way where obedience springs from love. Along the way, we trace Jesus through all 66 books of Scripture and remember why the early church’s original creed still changes lives: Jesus is Lord. If you’ve felt unworthy, anxious, or far from God, this conversation opens the door to mercy, peace, and confidence in prayer.

Join us, share it with a friend who needs hope, and help us keep this work moving. If this encouraged you, subscribe, leave a review, and tell us: where have you seen Christ alone make the difference?

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Chapters

• 0:00 The Five Solas Introduced
• 2:56 Cornerstone’s Mission And Community
• 4:32 Solus Christus Focus And Speaker Welcome
• 6:24 Thailand Missions Updates And Vision
• 12:02 Anti‑Trafficking Rescue Story
• 17:12 Partnership, Heritage, And Revival Hunger
• 21:33 Reformation Context And Corruption Challenged
• 25:19 Justification By Faith Revealed
• 31:12 Hope, Faith, And Legalism Addressed
• 36:20 Reconciliation And Peace With God
• 41:00 Bold Access To The Throne Of Grace
• 46:15 One Mediator And Jesus Through Scripture
• 50:38 Salvation Invitation And Prayer
• 54:08 Response, Giving, And Closing Blessing

Transcript

AI Video: 0:00

500 years ago, a monk named Martin Luther ignited a fire that would reshape Christianity forever. His stand against the prevailing doctrines of his day wasn't just a protest, it was a call to return to the foundational truths of the faith. This pivotal moment of the Protestant Reformation wasn't about creating a new religion, but about rediscovering the gospel. At the heart of this rediscovery were five core principles, Latin phrases that became the rallying cry for reform. These are the five solas, sola scriptura, scripture alone. The Bible, not tradition or human authority, is our ultimate and infallible guide for faith and life. It's the final word, the highest court. Sola fide, faith alone. We're justified, declared righteous in God's sight, by faith alone, not by our works. We trust solely in Christ's finished work on the cross, sola gratia, grace alone. Salvation is an earn, it's a gift from God. It's his unmerited favor that saves us. Nothing we do can ever deserve it. Solace Christus, Christ alone. Jesus Christ is the only mediator between God and humanity. He is the one and only way to salvation, our one true King, and our sole redeemer. Solideo Gloria, to the glory of God alone. The ultimate purpose of everything, including our salvation, is to bring glory to God. Our lives are to be lived for his praise, not our own. These aren't just historical slogans, they're living truths that anchor our faith.

Jason Brown: 1:31

Amen. The five solas is what we were talking about, is the theme for us here at Cornerstone. It's those five statements as we talked about sola scriptura, scripture alone, sola fide, faith alone, sola gratia, grace alone, solus Christus Christ alone, and solidia gloria, glory to God alone. It's those five statements that drive us, and we've talked about over these weeks in talking about who we are and whose we are in Christ Jesus. Amen. If you're a guest of ours at Cornerstone, welcome home today. We're glad to have you. We're glad you're a part of what we're doing, and glad to be able to worship with you. You know, we see ourselves very much as imperfect people, and all of us are in need of a savior. None of us have figured it out yet. And so, because of that, we are walking after him because it's only by his redemption that we are known in the Father. And that's what it means for us to be walking with Jesus. And that's why we use this imagery of Christ walking with his disciples, because that's how we view ourselves as people who are following after where he's leading us to go. Our ambition, both per personally and corporately, is that we want to be more like Jesus. And so that's why we meet with each other throughout the week, throughout the city and life groups, so that we can be intentional in living that life for Christ, that we can connect, we can build those relationships with each other, so we can grow, we can be those that learn more about what the word says and apply it to our lives, and that we can serve, we can use the abilities that God has given us for him and for his purposes. That collectively we would love God, we would make disciples, and we would reach the world. So in these last few weeks, we've been talking about these different attributes and different pieces of what it means to see the five solos realized. And we talked about how Martin Luther over 500 years ago he came and he he nailed those 95 thesis to his church door. And in doing so, it was a statement about wanting to return back to the core principles of faith, not about other things or praying to saints or to doing these other traditions, but instead the core principles of who we are and what we believe. We talked about how scripture alone, it comes from 2 Timothy 3, all scripture is breathed out by God and profitable for teaching, and how it is the word of God that is the truth that we align our lives with. So as we walk into the scripture of God daily and it washes over us, it becomes something transformational and it becomes something that we see the Holy Spirit breathing upon daily, making the scripture become alive and applicable to our lives as we live it. We also talked about how it's only by faith that we are able to do these things, our faith in Christ, in Christ alone. For by grace you have been saved through faith. It's not of your own doing, it is the gift of God, not a result of works, so that no one may boast. We talked about it's we can't earn our way into the presence of God. It is his gift to us, and it's by his grace, sola gratia, that we can receive it. Today we get to continue in that process talking about solus Christus, Christ alone. Our speakers are some heroes and mentors of myself and Celeste. They are missionary pastors uh and very much those who we admire. They've spoken to this house some powerful words, and today I want to welcome our speakers, pastors Dana and Bridget Metcalf. Please welcome them as they come today.

Dana Metcalf: 5:04

Thank you.

Bridgette Metcalf: 5:04

Wow, what an honor and a joy to be able to be with you today. And I truly love this series that you are on right now. And solos Christos is the reason why we're able to do what we do, because in Christ alone, he gives us the strength and the power and the wisdom to be able to go into some of the darkest corners of Thailand and be able to share the gospel of Jesus Christ. I want to say to you, church, you are an amazing church and you have amazing pastors. It's Pastor Appreciation. Can we show some appreciation to these wonderful pastors? They're very dear to our heart, um, Pastor Jay and Celeste. We actually, uh Celeste was our missions pastor uh before she got married to Jay, and it was a joy and such a pleasure to have her in our home, lived with us for two years, uh, put up with my sons. So we were little rascals at the time. And we just got our oldest son married, and he is just married this last weekend. And so we are rejoicing. God gave him a wonderful, wonderful wife and blessed us with a wonderful daughter. And so uh what a joy it is to be home and to be able to celebrate that union. But also, I just want to give you just a little reflection of what God is doing through your missions, dollars, and your prayers. And I just want to say thank you to you because November 30th of 2025, we're gonna be launching our third campus in Kosamui. It'll be the first time that this province, which is a state, uh, has over a million people that live in it, will have this English-speaking church in this area. It's revolutionary. And we feel overjoyed that we get to partner with you and be your hands and feet extended and to see this work happen. So we'll please be praying November 30th. And then in January 2026, we're launching something that's been dear to my heart for the last four years. We've been trying to figure out a way that we can minister to our refugee families. We have 32 young individual children that cannot go to school, and they're begging. Every time I pray for them, I say, What can I pray for you about? And they say, I want to go to school. And so we're creating a what we call learning center, not really a school, but a learning center that will provide the education, get their GED, and get them off to college. And we're actually praying for some advanced uh schooling as well. So that will happen January 2026. And I just want to say thank you, church, to you for all that you've done to make that possible. And we'll be launching at that time. And then lastly, I just want to say thank you for supporting Sealed Ministry and Project Rescue Thailand. It is an anti-trafficking organization that I run. And uh, we go into the highways and the byways and some of the darkest corners, prisons, everywhere you can think, to be able to rescue, restore, love, and value uh these men, women, children from this dark web of really modern-day slavery. Um, two days before I was leaving for the USA, um, I got a call asking for a desperate cry for a young lady. At the age of 11, she went into prostitution um because her grandparents had been sick, her mom and dad had no money, and she thought, I need to do something. And so her neighbor um said, Well, I I can help you with that, and started prostituting this young girl at age 11 for 10 baht a trick, which is equivalent to about 35 cents. And at age 15, she said, I I really feel like I need to be done with this. And she went to this neighbor and said, I I can't do this anymore. I need to do something else. And he goes, Just one more, just one more trick, and you're done. And so he she went to this house of his, and little did she know, he had 17 men awaiting for her, and she was multiply raped, gang raped by these men. And so I got this phone call saying, Is there any place you can put her? Is there anything that you can do? There's a cry. She's been in this slavery, really, for four years, and so uh trying to find the housing and the place and the proper discipleship for this young lady who's just been completely ravaged by sin and for the effects of mankind. And so I just want to ask you to continue to pray for us as we are getting her in a home right now and uh trying to bring back life into her and sharing the gospel of Jesus Christ. There's a dark world out there, and they need solos Christus, Christ alone. Because when they enter into this world and they understand that there is a Christ out there, there's a savior, there's a redeemer that can rescue them from the sin and the bondage of hell and bring them into life and grace and mercy, it is just remarkable what God can do. So if you think about it, please pray for us every day and just pray for the wisdom and the strength and the guidance and for the people that they will come to the knowledge of Jesus Christ and especially this young lady to pray for her. I believe that God will enter into her situation and she will literally from her captivity, she will be rescued, and that she will live her life for Jesus Christ and come to healing and fullness in Christ. Amen. Thank you, church, for your prayers and your love.

Dana Metcalf: 10:56

Thank you. Praise the Lord. Thank you so much. What an honor uh to be with you again. We're home for a quick trip for our son's wedding, but we are so honored that Pastor Jay and Pastor Celeste have invited us to come to share with you this morning. You are a church who has partnered with us for many years. And uh your prayers and support have been so significant. We want to thank uh each one of you uh for the world vision that you carry here at Cornerstone. Obviously, Pastor Jay and Pastor Celeste have a heart for the world and world missions, and I just want to say thank you, Pastor Jay and Celeste, uh, for believing in us, partnering with us, serving with us. He's been with me in Thailand, Laos, Nepal, in these various places where we minister together. Uh we have minister together, laugh together, and I can just say it's just a pure joy to have your pastor uh come and be with us. Um, he reminds me still of uh like a youth pastor because he just makes me laugh, and it's so fun to be with him, and uh, but yet he has such a powerful anointing on his life to present the word of God, and so we are just so grateful to be here today. You know, in every generation throughout the ages, there is always a remnant, and it's usually young people who say that I I'm I don't want just religious fanfare, I don't want just religious things in the church, but I I want to have a true encounter with the living God. Every generation, there's a segment of people, it's just like I I I don't want to just go to church and I or anything like that, but I really want to have a true encounter with Jesus. There's no exception to that. Even in this generation, we're seeing a movement of young people in America now that they they really want to have a true encounter, they want to know the truth, even if the truth is painful. And uh, I think especially in the millennial generation, which my sons are millennials, it's like I just want the truth. My family is interesting because in my great-grandmother, uh, and I'm fourth generation uh Pentecostal, but my great-grandmother, and I never met her, but my grandmother would tell me stories that she was a part of the early movement of the assemblies of God, a Pentecostal movement in the early 1900s, where it was formed in Arkansas, and that's where she lived. And this is the time where that generation that goes way back in the early 1900s, they they wanted to have an encounter with the true and the living God. They wanted to know that Jesus was real and that he would manifest his power in their lives. And this was a day when the church uh literally was on the other side of the tracks. How many have heard that expression? Oh, that's the church on the other side of the tracks. Those are the holy rollers, the ones that swing from the chandeliers, although I don't think that ever happened. And she was a part of that. And in those encounters, in those all-night prayer meetings and praying for um, not just the church there, but praying for the world, praying for the nations, as this movement was formed, not to be just a traditional denomination, but really it was formed to be able to send missionaries out around the world and to take the gospel of Jesus Christ to every nation. That is still the passion and the mission of the movement that we are a part of, is that everybody would hear, that every nation would have a presentation of the gospel of Jesus Christ. That is the goal, that is the mindset of our movement. I'm thankful to be here today as a fourth generation and to part of this movement, and to be able to continue to take the gospel of Jesus Christ. When Bridget and I first arrived in Thailand years ago, we were invited to speak in just a pastor's conference in northern Myanmar, which is formerly Burma, up by the Chinese border. I was astounded to see the number of pastors and churches in that area. It's a very remote area of Myanmar. It was very restrictive. The government officials were constantly watching us. You have to stay in a certain hotel up there. You can't even talk about Jesus or Christianity publicly. You could be arrested. We had to be really, really careful. But I was astounded to see these tribal pastors come from different tribes of northern Myanmar, not traditional Burmese really, but tribal people groups. And we uh Bridget did the first women's section. They brought their wives and had the well group for the teaching, the women in the conference. And I was told the story that how the gospel came into that area, and I thought, how did this happen? There's not many places uh in the world that it's like this, and I think very few people knew about what is happening up there. And they said that a mission, a Pentecostal missionary, got a heart and a call from God to cross the border out of China into northern Myanmar and to bring the gospel of Jesus Christ. And he preached this message, and the church began to grow, and the gospel, it spread like fire. Literally, it was the fire of God that was being manifested in northern Myanmar, and to this day now, this was back in the 1930s, and now we're here almost a hundred years later. The church is growing, it's prolific. Myanmar is closed to us now. We can't get back in. We've pulled out all of our missionaries out of the country, but the church there is thriving. And Gandhi said it well in India. Why do you keep persecuting the Christians? Don't you know from church history? The more you persecute them, the more the church will grow. We've seen persecution, and we're seeing it more here, even in the United States of America. People that are persecuted for sharing their faith and speaking the truth, but yet the blood of the martyrs is you know the seed of the church. And we're seeing that, we've seen it all around the world, and we're thankful for what God is doing. Solus Christus, Christ alone. The Reformation was an important part of the church, and with that really the Protestant movement was born out of the Reformation, and we had the Catholic Church at that time, but the Protestant, which comes from the word protest simply, you see the word Protestant, we're a Protestant church, but protest is in that word Protestant, it's not by mistake. It was a protest against the traditions of the church that were not biblical, that were literally leading people astray. Imagine being in a generation, a time period over 500 years ago, before the printing press existed. Nobody had a copy of the Bible in their own hands. It was only the leaders in the church that had copies of the scripture in Latin that was interpreting it and teaching it, but nobody had a Bible in their hands. The Pope was literally like the authority in the church, not the word of God itself. And there was so much corruption that was lingering in the church. The same things they did back then, it happens even today. They were marketing the gospel where people in the 16th century would go and they would pay money to get it like a certificate saying, Your sins are forgiven. They're marketing the gospel. There was that kind of corruption, and Martin Luther was appalled by it. And the 95 thesis that he nailed on the door in 1517 was considered the beginning of the Reformation, the protest against this corruption in the church. And he began to understand as he read the scripture that it was completely opposite, and this is where the solaces came about during this time, and the grace and the redemption and all justification by faith and God in all of these areas. They weren't questioning the person of Christ, but they were questioning the work of Christ. And there's a difference, and that's what we're going to speak about this morning. The original creed in the early church is Jesus is Lord. Jesus is Lord. That's the original creed. That was the statement of faith. That one phrase, those three words, Jesus is Lord. That was the creed of the first century church. That's all that needed to be said in the statement of faith. And I think this is so powerful and so important for us to look back at church history and to understand this. That in the 1500s, before Martin Luther got a revelation, it says that he believed, even personally, that God gives grace to those who do their best. How many, when you were growing up, had a coach or a parent or a teacher? It's like all you have to do is just go out there and do your best. How many have ever heard that? I mean, I've heard it a million times, you know, just do your best. And Martin Luther even believed this before God really gave him a revelation that if you just do your best, that God, you know, will give you grace, that there'll be forgiveness if you can just do your best. It was self-effort, it was pride, it was self-righteousness, that even today in many movements and churches, it's all about works, it's all about what you do. And I'm here to tell you here today, it has nothing to do with your works because the Bible says that our righteousness is as filthy rags in God's sight in the book of Isaiah. Nothing you can do, nothing can make you righteous. And Martin Luther began to realize this. We look in Romans 1:17. The good news tells us how God makes us right in his sight. This is accomplished from start to finish by faith. As the scripture says, it is through faith that a righteous person has life. This was the first seed of the Reformation in Martin Luther's own heart, was Romans 1:17. He realized that God doesn't ask people to acquire their own righteousness through personal efforts. It was a tremendous revelation. And so, contrary to the church at that time, and it and this is where he created that 95 thesis, he is a God who declares sinners who believe in him will be clothed with the righteousness of Christ. Martin Luther, the father of the Reformation, received a revelation that would help restore doctrinal purity back to the church over 500 years ago. And this is what we teach and walk in today. When he received this revelation, it's interesting. And when you look at church history, there is a story and a quote about him. He wrote this. He says, I felt as if I had entered paradise itself through open gates. I felt as I had been born again because of this revelation of a gracious God who allows sinners to be righteous, not because of how they've done, but because of how Jesus and his all-sufficient salvation, solus Christus, that's what this is. Imagine that. I felt like I came into paradise itself and I was a born again at this revelation. I say this all the time with the different people groups that we minister to. In fact, we had our pray to nations, which we do every August, and people that want to represent their nation, they come out on the stage and the platform with a sign holding the name of the nation that they're from. And we celebrate all of the nations. We value all of the nations in our church. I mean, it's called International Sunday. It's one of the most beautiful Sundays of the year. And last year we had 42 nations represented, 42 nationalities. And this year, shockingly, we had 55 nations represented that Sunday morning, just in the last couple of months. 55 nations that are attending the church. It's truly a picture of heaven sometimes to see that many nations coming together. But what I always say is, you have to come to a place at the end of yourself, at the end of your rope where you say, Jesus, I don't know what to do. I know I cannot save myself. That's the revelation that has to occur in the hearts of those who don't know Christ is Savior. Maybe people who have been religious in their backgrounds have to come to a place, I cannot save myself. This is what Martin Luther understood. This was the revelation. And when I tell our people, when you come to the place, you say, I cannot save myself, only Jesus, solus Christos, Christ alone, can save me. Somebody say amen. This is the beautiful story of the gospel. This is why Jesus came to this world. This is why God so loved the world that he gave his only begotten son. Because when he looked at mankind, he thought they cannot save themselves. They're captured by this life of sin, that this door that has been opened, and only my son can come. And through the his work in ministry can they be saved? And we put our faith in that today. It's so simple, but yet it's profound that many people have a hard time really grasping it because it just seems almost too good to be true. Is it really that's yes, it's faith. Faith in his grace, opening your heart and life. There is a condition. Like with every promise in the Bible, they say there's over 6,000 promises, but every promise has a condition. And I would venture to say that not even half those promises have come to play in my life because I probably haven't met the condition. But salvation, the condition is repentance, um, you know, and confession of faith in Jesus Christ. We meet that condition and we repent of our sins, we confess Christ as Savior, then the promise and the gift of salvation becomes ours, and our name is written in the Lamb's Book of Life, and we have eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord. That's it. And it's interesting that he realizes this. And in Romans chapter 5 is the basis, this is the foundation. These two verses in Romans 5, verses 1 and 2, that I want to give you just three quick points this morning that hopefully will just inspire you because doctrine is foundational in the church. Doctrine is foundational in your life. And so oftentimes, because we don't have an understanding of doctrine in the Bible, that we really don't know what we stand on. We really don't know what we believe. My mom used to say, if you don't believe in something, you fall for anything. You gotta know what you believe in and why you believe it. And Romans 5, 1 and 2 gives us three things. It says, Therefore, having been justified by faith, here's justification, just if you never sinned. We have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ. That's reconciliation. And how many know that when you don't have peace and in a relationship, when there's a lack of reconciliation, it's a horrible place to be, though whom also we have access by faith in his grace, I which we stand and rejoice in the hope of the glory of God. We all have access into the presence of God. That's hard to grasp. That's hard to understand that your access that you have to God is it because you're a good person or you do good works or anything like that. You have free access by his grace, and very few people utilize the access that they have to the throne of grace today. We're going to talk about that this morning. First of all, we see three things here happen justification, reconciliation, and access in Christ alone. Solus Christus. In Christ alone. All three of these are fundamental. They're foundational that we walk and understand, that we fully celebrate and appreciate. The Phi Solus was not a debate about the person of Christ, but it's about the work of Christ. Solous Christus. Let's look at number one justification by faith in Jesus Christ or Christ alone. Justification, according to Herman Babinek, is the doctrine on which the church stands or falls. Either we must do something to be saved, or our salvation in purely a gift of grace. That's what we that's what the church stands on or falls on. We don't have to do anything to be saved. It's by grace alone in that. Romans 5:1 says it like this. Therefore, having been justified by faith, that we're literally justified by our faith. Now, faith is a concept that has been taught. There's series, there's books, there's commentaries, there's opinions, there's perspectives on this whole concept of faith. And the writer of Hebrews says, faith is a substance of things to hope for, the evidence of things not seen. I hope for something. I have an expectation. All of us sitting here this morning have hopes and dreams and desires and expectations about your life. And you wonder sometimes, will I ever get to the place where you know I actually will have enough faith to believe that that's going to happen for me, maybe for somebody else, but not for me. And sometimes hope just kind of sits there and hope deferred, it says in Proverbs, makes the heart sick when our hope is deferred. But hope needs to be released into an action of faith and into a work of faith. And uh they say that hope is the distance between our head and our heart. You know, that that distance here with 20 inches or whatever that is, that's faith. You don't need faith for what you can do. Now, all of us sitting here can do things, and and I don't do a lot of things well like my wife, but I I can do some things. I don't need faith to do certain things. But the things that I cannot do, the things that I hope for, the things that I expect and and dream about sometimes, it's like this is where faith comes in, and God will intentionally bring you into a place where you're you're standing upon hope. Hope for somebody to be saved, hope for somebody to be healed, or hope for your own life. And he puts us in that position where it's like, Lord, I don't know what to do. I'm at the end of my rope here, I don't know what the next step is. And the Lord smiles upon that because this is where it's like he says, Okay, now you begin to walk in faith. You begin to work in faith. Now allow that hope to bring you into a place of faith. You don't need hope for what you or faith, what you can do, but what you cannot do. Salvation, you can't save yourself, and God understood that, and that's why it It's by faith alone in Jesus Christ. Therefore, we've been justified by faith. Romans 3.28, we are made right with God through faith and not by obeying the law. They say that legalism in the church, which during the Reformation, this is what Martin Luther was fighting against, he was protesting against, is the legalistic uh atmosphere that was in the church on that day, that your self-righteous actions and obeying rules and regulations or obeying the law was going to save you. That's what he protested. They say that if you're a parent and you implement, which every home, every parent has rules and regulations and things in the home like that. But rules without relationship will almost always result in rebellion. We need to hear that because with God, when he said Jesus, it was he's relational, he wants relationship with us, he wants an intimate relationship, not at a distance, but when he gives us his law, when he gives us his word, because I'm in a relationship with Jesus, that I Jesus says, if you love me, you'll obey my commandments. Now, when I obeyed my parents, and there's the rules that we had growing up that I didn't like or I didn't agree with, but deep within my heart, because of the love and the intimacy and the relationship that I had with my parents, I did not want to disappoint them. I didn't want to disobey them. So I submitted myself to those things growing up, most of the time, not all of the time, there was regrets, regretful, sometimes I didn't. But rules without relationship sometimes always result in rebellion. But when you're in a relationship with God, when you see what he has done, you see the love that he has poured out, then you realize that I can put my faith in what Jesus did. It's not about obeying the law. Justification is a heavenly pardon from God Himself, which declares the penalty of your sin will not be held against you. Aren't you glad if you're a believer in Jesus, you have been pardoned? Now, when I come home and I'm not really connected to a lot of the politics in America while I'm gone in Thailand, I don't stay up to date too much. But when I come home, I can feel the division. I can feel the political tension when I come home. Those topics already have come up with some of my family members, and it just feels you can feel the tension that's going on here with that. And um I was thinking about this, that I read an article just recently that President Trump pardoned somebody who was in prison. I don't remember the name or what he did, but I I read something that he quoted. I think he put it out on um his post or whatever. He pardoned this guy recently that was in prison. Basically, now it's just like he never committed the crime. He's released. And he said in the quote, I thought this is interesting, now go out and have a good life after you pardon him. Go out and have a good life. And that's exactly when I read that, I thought that's exactly what the Lord is saying to the church, what he's saying to you when he pardoned you. Now I want you to go out and have a good life. Jesus says, I came that you would have life and have it more abundantly. Have it more abundantly. Go out and have a good life. I pardon you. It's not going to be held against you any longer. And God has that ability, that power spiritually to pardon us, and that's exactly what justification is. We have been pardoned by Jesus Himself. It's so powerful. And in Thailand, I have had to deal with a doctrine, an erroneous doctrine, that I really wasn't that aware of until I got there. But supposedly in a church in Singapore, there was a movement called the hyper-grace movement. I won't say the name of the pastor that kind of birthed it, but you would know his name if I said it. But I've got Singaporeans in our church that were kind of living out this hyper grace movement. They were living ungodly lives after becoming a believer, after being baptized. It's like, what are you thinking? You know, what are you doing? And they said, well, we've been taught, Pastor, in our home church by our pastor and the hyper grace is that the grace covers everything of your past, which it does, present and even future. So if I go out in the future and I'm, you know, sleeping with some other woman other than my wife or doing this or that, it's already covered. I don't have to worry about it. And I just, I'm shaking my head like, where did this come from? I had to do a whole series on grace, basically implementing Paul's teaching on that, that it doesn't give you a license just to go out and sin and do what you want to do. There's there's boundaries there, and we had to go through steps in that, even in the church. But justification is a heavenly pardon, justification by faith. Number two, reconciliation through Jesus Christ. Romans 5, 1 says, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ. A language that they didn't have their own Bible. It's the first time the Bible is going to be translated in this language. And one of the national leaders he was with at the time, they were waiting for disappointment, somebody who committed to be there and to come into the country. And for whatever reason, this person didn't show up. And this national leader was so upset because he invested resources and time for this to happen, and it just didn't happen. And he was disturbed by it. He was angry by it. And he kept making the statement, I don't have my peace. I've lost my peace. I've lost my peace. And the missionary said, you know, I was looking for a word in this language for peace, but I just couldn't find the word. And they didn't have a traditional word for peace as he's translating the Bible. But he said, but he kept saying this, I, you know, I've lost this, I've lost this. And he began to understand. But what he was really saying is that the relationship is broken. He's upset, and that relationship is severed now with that individual, and it was a reconciliatory type of a statement. And he began to understand, I've lost my peace. Basically, I'm not reconciled with my brother. And that's a horrible place to be. If you're sitting here today and you could say that I really don't know Jesus and I'm not fully reconciled with God, you haven't truly found real peace yet in this world. Only as we become reconciled with the Savior do we really know and understand what true peace is. He is the Prince of Peace. Charles Spurgeon says, there could be no peace between you and Christ while there is peace between you and sin. There could be no peace. My mentor, when he discipled me years ago when I was a college student, going to college at ASU, and I went to his church, he taught me about the doctrine of sin, which I never understood. You won't find many books or commentaries on the doctrine of sin. But he said this to me: he said, Sin is not your biggest problem, Dana. It's your only problem. It's not your biggest problem, it's your only problem. This is the core of the issue that we've been separated from God when Adam and Eve first sinned in the garden and the Lord came down, it says to walk with him and fellowship with them. They weren't there, they weren't in that meeting place. He's yelling out in the garden, Adam, where are you? Eve, where are you? Where are you? They were hiding in the bushes because of their shame. And this is what sin does is that the shame and the condemnation and the guilt that we feel from that. We make that statement even to our children, oftentimes, and I remember teachers even saying it in the classroom, shame on you for what you did, shame on you. But Jesus came to this world not to say, shame on you, but shame off of you. That's what he does. Shame off of you. Sin is our fundamental problem, and this is why Jesus came. It's like you can't deal with the sin. You can't pardon yourself through good works and through self-righteousness. Only I can pardon you. And he had to shed his blood on the cross and in provision so that he can pardon you through his sacrificial death on the cross, and he gave his life freely for that. That's how we're pardoned. We put our faith in the grace of Jesus Christ. That's where we find peace. That's where we're reconciled to God. Romans 5, 10 and 11. It says, when we were enemies, we were reconciled to God through the death of his son. Much more, having been reconciled, we shall be saved by his life. And not only that, we also rejoice in God through our Lord Jesus Christ, through whom we now have received reconciliation. Praise God. We've been justified, and now that we've been justified, we've been reconciled to God through the Lord Jesus Christ. Nothing that we've done, but everything that He did on the cross. Now we're in reconciled. We have our peace now, the peace that passes all understanding. Philippians 4 4, Paul says, Don't be anxious about anything, don't worry about anything. Oswald Chamber, in his devotional book, that's a classic that everybody should have, probably next to their Bible, my utmost for his highest, he says in a passage in there that worrying, anxiety, worrying is simply calculating without God. We're calculating in our mind without God when we worry in the anxiety. And Paul says, Don't be anxious for anything, don't worry about anything, but bring everything to Jesus Christ. Bring your supplications and prayer requests to him with thanksgiving, thanking God in advance that he's going to give breakthrough and answers. That's faith. And it says, and the peace of God that surpasses all human understanding and intellect, it will guard your heart, it will guard your mind in Christ Jesus. That's the secret to peace. Relationship with Jesus. Putting our trust in Him, our faith in the work that He has done, and that is fundamental. Number three is access to God through Jesus Christ. Access. This is one that if we could master this idea, this concept, that you could be driving down the road, you can be, you know, in your house or at work. We have instant access to the throne of grace with God. I I have a hard time fully understanding this, but I just know that when I call upon the name of Jesus and I can access his presence, that it is one of the most powerful concepts that has brought redemption and breakthrough and answers to prayer in my life when I realize that I can access to the Lord and not allow shame or guilt or condemnation, not allowing thoughts in your mind to think I'm not worthy to go into God's presence, but we can go in with boldness, the Bible says, access. Romans 5, 2, through we also have access by faith into his grace in which we stand and we rejoice in the hope of the glory of God. Have access. David writes it in the Psalms that there's fullness of joy in the presence of the Lord. This is the yearning, this is the cry of even this young generation in America and countries around the world that they want to have a true encounter with Jesus Christ. They want to have a true encounter with God. And when they begin to experience His presence, that's the fullness of joy. That's the encounter that they're looking for. That's the solution to the problem. That's the experience they're longing for that changes everything in their life, is by having an encounter in His presence. Hebrews 4.16 says, Let us therefore come boldly or with confidence to the throne of grace, that we may obtain mercy and find grace to help in time of need. We have a new family from Pakistan that came some months ago, just this year. They're a highly trained and educated couple with two sons, and they're from a very um strict sect of Islam in Pakistan. Incredible story. Somehow she found a Bible, and no doubt it was just the province of God that it happened. She finds a Bible she had never read before. She knew very little about Christianity, other than Christians are infidels. She began to read this Bible. How many know the Word of God is powerful? She began to read it just out of curiosity. And the Holy Spirit began to do a work in her heart, and through just reading the scripture, nobody sharing with her, saying anything, she gave her life to Jesus Christ. It was an amazing miracle that happened. She shares with her husband. He comes to Christ and in that regard. And then when their family found out, they found out at the mosque, they wanted to kill them. In fact, he came, his leg was all battered and wounded. He was attacked by his own brother that says, We're going to kill you for converting to Christianity. It's a very real thing in places like this. And they fled to Bangkok City and they found themselves in our church. They speak not really good English, but enough to communicate with them and they're sharing the story. And they said, We're living in great fear. And even this sect, my Pakistani pastor said, This is real, Pastor. They will look for them even in Bangkok City. Even when if they leave the country, it doesn't solve the problem. They'll pursue and trying to find out where they're at and they'll try to kill them. And so they were in hiding. They lived in several different places so they wouldn't be found. And ultimately they were baptized in our church this year, sharing this powerful testimony of what God had done in their life. And just about a month ago, she was in labor, their third child and everything, and went to the hospital to pray with her before they took her in to deliver this baby. And they told me it's going to be a little girl, and they were excited because they have two sons. And they said, Pastor, we want you to uh to name this child. He says, You're my father. I said, No, I'm not your father. He's your father. No, you're my father. And he says, I want you to name the child. And I could sense there was some cultural things going on here. I didn't want to dishonor him. And I thought, well, I just don't want to pull a name out of a hat, you know. And I went back and I said, Lord, give me perspective. If I'm going to name this child for this family, and I looked up, the word mercy came to my mind because I looked at this family. I every time I see him, I would just see the mercy of God. The mercy of God that delivered them from this situation of a life-threatening situation. God's mercy. And I looked it up in the Hebrew and it showed a picture of a pregnant woman, and that they would use that Hebrew word that God has shown that mother mercy by the pregnancy, and she the child is in her womb. It reveals the mercy of God. And I went back and I said, We're going to name her mercy. And he said, Okay. She was in church just a few weeks ago. This beautiful little Pakistani girl. God's presence. God's throne is a throne of grace and mercy. J.C. Ryle said all men ought to think of Christ because of the office Christ fills between God and man. He is the eternal Son of God, through whom alone the Father can be known, approached and served. He is the appointed mediator between God and man, through whom alone we can be reconciled with God, hardened, justified, and saved. First Timothy 2 5 says, There is one God and one mediator between God and men, the man Jesus Christ. The man Jesus Christ. He's the mediator. I'm going to close with this. It's not a revelation on my part. You can Google this and see it. But I want to close the service. Jesus alone. In every book of the Bible, all 66 books of the Bible, you see this creed. You see this statement of faith that Jesus is Lord. In the book of Genesis, Jesus is the seed of the woman. In Exodus, he is the Passover lamb. In Leviticus, he is our great high priest. In numbers, he's the pillar of cloud by day and the pillar of fire by night. In Deuteronomy, he's the prophet like unto Moses. In Joshua, he's the commander of the Lord's army. In judges, he's the judge, our judge and deliverer. In the book of Ruth, he is our kinsman, redeemer. In Samuel, he's our Ebenezer and stone of help. In the book of Kings and Chronicles, he's our eternal king and the seed of David. In Ezra, he is our faithful scribe and restorer. In Nehemiah, he's the rebuilder of the broken down walls of human life. In Esther, he is our Mordecai and our advocate. In Job, he's our ever-living redeemer. In Psalms, he is our shepherd. In Proverbs, he is our wisdom. In Ecclesiastes, he is our meaning for life. In the Song of Solomon, he's our loving bridegroom. In Isaiah, he's our prince of peace. In Jeremiah, he is our righteous branch. In Lamentations, he's the weeping prophet. In Ezekiel, he's the watchman on the wall. In Daniel, he's the fourth man in the fiery furnace. Somebody say man. Hallelujah. In Hosea, he's our faithful husband. In Joel, he's the outpourer of the Holy Spirit. In Amos, he is our burden bearer. In Obadiah, he's our judge and savior. In Jonah, he's the great missionary sent by God. In Nahom, he's the stronghold in the day of trouble. And Habakkuk, he is the Lord in his holy temple. In Zephaniah, he is the mighty one to save. In Haggai, he is the desire of the nations. In Zechariah, he's the branch of David, the one who was pierced for us. In Malachi, he's the son of righteousness, rising with healing in his wings. In the book of Matthew, he's the king of kings, the king of the Jews, the Messiah and the Christ. In the book of Mark, he's the servant and the miracle worker. In Luke, he's the son of man who walked in your shoes and feels what you feel. In John, he's the son of God, the living word, the way, the truth, and the life. In Acts, he is the savior of the world, the ascended Lord. In Romans, he's our justifier and the righteousness of God. In Corinthians, he's our all-sufficient giver of grace. In Galatians, he's our redeemer from the curse of the law. In Ephesians, he is the head of the church. In Philippians, he is the joy of our life. In Colossians, he's the completeness and the glue that holds our world together. In Thessalonians, he is our soon and coming king. In Timothy, he is the mediator between God and man. In Philemon, he's the one who paid our debts. In Titus, he is our blessed hope. In Hebrews, he is the author and the finisher of our faith. In James, he is our great physician and healer. In Peter, he's our chief shepherd and the chief cornerstone. Hallelujah. In John, he is the God in the flesh. In Jude, he is the foundation of our faith and our eternal security. In the book of Revelation, he is the King of Kings. He is the Lord of Lords and the one who is coming again. Hallelujah. That's our Jesus. Jesus alone. That's Jesus. And the Lord has given such clarity and understanding for us here today. He is the way, the truth, and the life. Would you bow your hearts and answer with me today? Thank you, Lord. I want to give an invitation. If you're here today and say, Pastor Dana, I want this to be the creed and the statement of my life. Jesus is Lord. I want him to be the Lord of my life. Well, you're in the right place today, if that's you. You're not here by accident. But God has brought you into this place for this moment that will change your life for all of eternity. And as our heads are bowed together here today, if you're here today, you say, Pastor, I I want to take a stand for Jesus. I want him to be the Lord of my life. Solus Christos, I want you to stand right where you're at right now. Just stand up. And we're gonna, I'm gonna lead you into prayer right where you're standing this morning. And we're gonna pray a prayer and become the Lord of your life here today. And just take a moment for those to stand in Jesus' name. Amen. Praise God. Thank you, Lord. Anybody else? Please follow me in this prayer and join in with those who have stood today. It's the most important decision that you will ever make. Jesus came for you. He loves you so much. He knows your name. He knows where you live and all about your life. Follow me in this prayer to say, dear Lord Jesus, I want you to be the Lord of my life. I confess that you are Lord. I believe that you died on the cross for my sin. And I ask you to forgive me and become my Lord and Savior. I give my life to you. Because you gave your life to me. I believe that you were raised from the dead by the power of the Holy Spirit. And that you will raise me up in newness of life. I declare you today, Lord and Savior of my life. In Jesus' name. Amen. Amen. Thank you, Jesus. Amen. Praise the Lord.

Jason Brown: 53:58

We have a hand of the Lord for the ministry of Pastors Dan and Bridget today. Thank you guys so very much. I'm asking to actually ask you to stand as we're going to head into a song and a response here to the Lord. We're going to open up this altar and make it available to you. Maybe you're someone that just wants to come and just have more of God's presence. Just ask him to meet you and heal your body, to heal your circumstances for provision, for wisdom, for guidance. We're going to have people that come and join with you in prayer. Just agree with you for what God wants to do. Maybe you're here and you've heard this passion this couple has and the team that they have that serve with them and that all of God is doing in through their ministry. If you want to give to them specifically today, you can do so through the QR codes or the boxes at the back and just mark right on their missions. Anything that comes in today will go to them in that way. And we're just blessed to be able to partner with them in what God is doing. But we know that God is powerful and He is on the move, and He wants to do that in your life as well. So as we come to this altar, we open up our hearts to Him that we would respond. That it's only through Jesus that any of this is possible. Let's pray. Lord, thank you so much, Lord, for this opportunity to hear your word. Thank you, Lord, for speaking to us through Dana, Lord, just a powerful message about your love, Lord, your reconciliation, how we are made in right standing and justified, Lord, by you and through you alone. Lord, that we would be able to have access to the living God, the creator, God, the God of the universe. Lord, in who you are. Lord, we are so thankful for the power that is in your name, Lord, and it's by your name that we come today to this altar to just have a meeting place with you. Lord, pray for healing and for restoration. We pray for guidance and wisdom for all that anyone would need as they come today. Lord, you meet us right where we are. As you are a good father who good gives good gives good gifts to us. We pray all this in their powerful name that is Jesus Christ. Amen.

Celeste Brown: 55:55

Our fall family day is two weeks away. And so we want you to invite somebody, invite your neighbors, your colleagues, your friends. Um, also, if you want to volunteer, there's a sign-up sheet in the lobby, or you can do it online. And I don't want you to forget that there's a chili cook-off involved. So if you think that you're good, then I want you to submit something and we will test it out and let you know. Um, but it's gonna be fun, and so we're two weeks away.

Jason Brown: 56:20

Before we go, I'm gonna pray his blessing over us. The Lord bless you and keep you. Lord, make his face to shine upon you and be gracious to you. Or lift up his countenance upon you and give you peace. Lord, I pray a blessing upon your church, your people. Lord, you can empower us by your spirit to live your love out to those around us. Pray all this in the powerful name that is Jesus Christ. Amen. Amen. Know this. We love you very much, Eric Cornerstone. God bless you, and have a great week.