Solus Christus | Christ Alone

But you know, there are no DIY theology self-help books, no DIY theology TV channels or shows or videos—nothing, at least, that can guarantee your salvation is secure, and you will stand righteous before God. When we attempt such DIY theology projects, it’s just never quite like the picture. The closest thing I found to a DIY theology clip was of a strange incident that made the news. It happened last week, and …well, let’s just play the video. (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=obBynTrWJqI)

It’s a silly video, I know. And you might be thinking—maybe Pastor Meyer has lost it. But the reason that little crab made the news in some circles was because of what an outrageous feat he accomplished. I mean, have you ever seen such a thing, outside of a cartoon? He saved himself and the other crabs, too.

Folks, as we consider our own sinful selves, we find we’re not too different from that crab. We imagine we could get ourselves out of the hot water we find ourselves in due to sin. We imagine we could, by our own efforts, avoid frying in the fires of hell. We even imagine that by our good works we can be responsible to save others, too. But what the video didn’t show was what probably happened next. Here's what I imagine probably happened next: The chef put down the camera, grabbed that little crab, put it back into the frying pan, maybe put a lid on it this time, turned the heat back on, and continued cooking. The reality is never quite as good as the picture with these DIY projects. And so, no matter how great we think we are, it’s still never enough. We just end up right back in the frying pan. There is no “[being] worthy of the Gospel” on our own. There is no “[making yourself] a new heart and a new spirit” on our own. There is no “[working] out your own salvation,” at least, not in the way our sinful human nature takes it.

But if we pay attention to Paul, he’s not talking about saving yourself. He’s not proclaiming a DIY theology. He’s pointing to Jesus! Paul’s pointing to Christ alone. At the very center, the heart of this passage, is Jesus! Paul inserts this beautiful poetry; what’s been called “a hymn to Christ.” He’s pointing to Jesus who “was in the form of God, [but] did not count equality with God a thing to be grasped, but emptied himself, by taking the form of a servant, being born in the likeness of men.”

This Jesus saw us in that boiling pot, if you will, in our struggle to survive. Saw us, in our original sin, grasping, like our first parents to that forbidden fruit, to be like God. Jesus, the One, through whom all things were made, emptied Himself of all pride and glory to save us. Jesus, “Who for us men, and for our salvation came down from heaven, and was incarnate by the Holy Spirit of the Virgin Mary, and was made man.” C.S. Lewis put it this way: “The Eternal Being, who knows everything and who created the whole universe, became not only a man, but before that a baby, and before that a fetus inside a woman’s body." He says, "If you want to get the hang of it,” get this, “If you want to get the hang of it, think of how you’d like to become a slug or a crab.” And this God, this “Eternal Being” as C.S. Lewis called Him, humbled Himself further, for you. “Being found in human form, he humbled himself by becoming obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross.” Christ alone suffered and died in our, so that we would be righteous before God. Righteous, not because of your good works, but because of His.