good morning some of you look well rested this morning some of you look slightly fatigued but you are all in the right place this morning for we are talking about Christ and because of the person of Christ and the sufficiency of his work we can run this exhausting race of life with hope and joy and find rest so welcome this morning and prepare to find rest in the good news of Christ this morning we will look at the word of God and we will consider this phrase soulless Christus which means Christ Alone soul is Christus is one of five Latin statements that summarize the Theology of the Reformation in the 16th century and contrast it with the Theology of the Roman Catholic church and these five Solas they form the nucleus of the Evangelical faith in this series we'll be going through these five scripture alone Christ Alone faith alone grace alone glory to God Alone now these statements may be new to you but if you are familiar with the word of God then their meaning and their explanation will not be new to you in this series we are not teaching anything new even as we look back at the time of the Reformation when these statements were of extreme importance to correct the Roman Catholic Church which had strayed so far from the gospel teaching of the word of God we recognized that the reformers were not teaching anything new nor did they claim originality they were standing on the written word of God they were standing on the teachings of Christ and his Apostles and if you're here this morning and you're not familiar with the word of God if you don't know the teachings of Christ and his apostles we we want to welcome you here today we believe that this is a good place that this is a a good church to come and to explore the things of God to look closely at his revealed word to us the Bible so that we can know what the god of the universe might say to us now last week Pastor Clint introduced this series and taught on the subject of scripture alone he reminded us that only scripture because it is God's inspired word is our inherent sufficient and final Authority for the church scripture is breathed out by God and intended to be breathed in by us and so for Christian and non-Christian alike it means one thing for all of us in this room as we get ready to go to the word of God it means this he has something to say to you pray with me Father God we come before you speaking to you asking you to speak to us from your word through your spirit draw us to Christ we pray this in his name amen soulless Christus Christ alone I don't know if you've heard the news there's so much news out there it can be overwhelming and confusing news can be distorted some claim there's fake news some say there's misinformation it's difficult to keep track of it all news is coming so fast from every direction especially with the election coming up and the storm of course and power outages so I'm not sure if you've heard this and I hate to say it to you because it's bad news and people don't like to hear it but here goes you are a sinner and people don't like to hear it but you were born in sin the god of the universe has spoken to us and he has revealed this truth to us that we were all born into the same race the race of Adam and we were all born with this same defect the SI the stain of sin through one man God tells us sin entered the world and death spread to all men we were born with the stain of sin but even if you had never heard that said and that way you should know that you're a sinner you're probably old enough to remember this fact that you are a sinner and your friends certainly know that you're a sinner your spouse knows that you're a sinner children your parents know that you are a sinner God the righteous God he would have been perfectly just in leaving us in our sin and condemnation but he's a saving God in addition to being a God of Justice he's a god of Mercy In addition to being a god of wrath he's a god of love oh he's a saving God someone ought to be happy this morning that he's a saving God and he lowered himself down this God God of Salvation he stooped down he condescended and he spoke to us through the Living Word his only son Jesus Christ why to save Sinners this is the good news this is the good news but so often we are tempted to distort the good news we're tempted to think that there is something in in ourselves or something we can do to contri contribute to this Redemption even if it's small even if it's obedience to the law even if it's a work that comes out of Faith but Romans 3:10 it says None is righteous no not one Jesus Christ came to save sinners Christ Alone can save save Sinners and Christ Alone is sufficient to save Sinners soulless Christus this morning we're going to look at the first two verses of Hebrews 12 because it connects it it Weds the difficulty of the Christian Life which we all experience which many of us in this room are trying to live and the Glorious Christ that makes that Faith possible and sure salvation comes through Christ alone that's not just a theological statement this is not just an outdated historical argument it is the beautiful glorious news of the Gospel that gives us hope and helps us to rest as we run our race let me read it again again Hebrews 121 and2 therefore since we are surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses let us also lay aside every weight and sin which clings so closely and let us run with endurance the race that is set before us looking to Jesus the founder and perfector of our faith who for the joy that was set before him endured the cross despising the shame and is seated at the right hand of the Throne of God we have a race to run we are all running the race and I want to point out a couple of things about the Christian Life that we see in this text the Christian life is like a race this metaphor of Life as a race was common in ancient literature as well as in the Bible the idea of a race where there's a prize at the end was familiar to the audience of Hebrews because of the ancient Greek games running was certainly one of the original games I don't know the others I think this predated Australian style break dancing it's not mentioned here and I think that event is only vaguely referenced in apocalyptic passages but the Greek games gives a good illustration of the pursuit the Christian Life I told my wife the other evening as I was in s sitting in bed enjoying my nighttime snack I told her how grateful I am to the Greeks for their big three contributions to the world number three being the Olympic Games which is referenced here number two being being democracy and of course number one my favorite Greek yogurt but the Greeks do help us here and there is a lot about this illustration that helps us to understand the Christian Life and one of those things is that there is a destination in the Christian Life there is a destination we are not tourists brothers and sisters going out to see the SES and then returning back to the hotel where we began the day our course is not a circular track we are Runners and we are racing towards the Finish we are pilgrims who are in search of the celestial City our life has a target an aim a goal a direction a purpose this is the Christian Life I ask you Christian is this your life is your life a life of a tourist do you wake up and leave only to return home the same unchanged person or are you a pilgrim who is in search of that Celestial City where our savior awaits there is a destination to the Christian Life it ought to be lived in that way also we learned that the race is long and difficult it is a race it requires endurance it says I once ran a half marathon and that's a generous retelling I ran 90% of a half marathon and was carried the final 10% along in an ambulance I know a race can be difficult and this race is difficult it requires endurance there are obstacles there are weights there are traps much in this life much in this life can obstruct the Christian race we are running often we are running blindly as if in the dark stumbling and bumbling through life we must be aware there are difficult ulties there are traps there are pitfalls in this life we must be on guard we must be alert and we must be careful of sin we are hampered greatly by sin for the Christian Pilgrim sin is a wait it is a Leed weit on us sin makes this Christian Life difficult and in our pursuit of the destination sin is a great hindrance to us like a weight growing up I had a soccer trainer he was not of our faith but a friend he was an Iraqi immigrant and he had an expression that he loved to to yell out whenever we would defend somebody he would yell out crucify him one of many odd things about him but another was another was we ran a lot we ran a lot and he would bring to practice these weight jackets certainly modern science has told us this is not a good idea but a few decades ago it was happening at least in Iraq and in parts of North America so we would wear these these weight jackets and I can't tell you how difficult was to Run 3 four five miles with 20 lb weight jacket on you but when you took off that weight oh your legs felt light and Lively in our race it says lay aside sin put it aside if we are to run and run with purpose we must lay aside every weight put it aside cast it aside ongoing sin has no place in the life of a Christian like like a cancer to an athlete's body sin will deteriorate us it will fatigue the muscles it will hollow out the bones take it off and confess it and leave it behind also in this race we are told that there is a cloud of witnesses chapter 11 of this book it goes through the Hall of Faith men and women who have gone before us and persevered to the end through difficulty through weights and obstacles and sin and suffering and persecution and they made it to the end and they surround us as a cloud of witnesses those men and women of the faith watching and cheering and encouraging us on like a HomeField Advantage Friday night I coach a a high school soccer team that my son plays on Friday night we had a big game it was it was senior night it was against our Rivals and and my wife and my daughter organized many people from the church and and others from our community to come and and to create a a a cheering section and my daughter was very proud of all the people that she got to come and and help and uh see her brother's team win this big game and she asked him that night did it make any difference did it help and he said oh yeah oh yeah it did to hear the encouragement and we are told that we have in the faith this this cloud of witnesses that that surrounds us that encourages us that cheers us on that their their testimonies of endurance and perseverance are that energy that uplifting adrenaline we need when life gets difficult we are surrounded by these brothers and sisters and they're a regular reminder to endure with hope to trust in God he has been faithful for Generation after generation he has been faithful to them he will be faithful to you we are surrounded by this cloud of witnesses but they cannot they are not our aim and they are not our strength they are an encouragement but they are not our aim and they are not our strength they cannot intercede for us on our behalf they like us are fallen and sinful in need of the same thing we are Christ they are only at the end because of Christ and Christ alone and so we do not look to them or we do not go to them or pray to them as some might instead we look only to Christ the one whom they looked to in this race we are to look ahead at Christ looking to Jesus Hebrews says as we run our race looking to Jesus the one place where we will find our rest let's read verse two again he says looking to Jesus the founder and perfector of our faith who for the joy that was set before him endured the cross despising the shame and is seated at the right hand of the Throne of God there is only one place and one place alone that we look for salvation and that is at the person in the work of Jesus Christ because of who he is and what he has done he alone can carry us to the end we look to Jesus we look to the person of Jesus Christ for our for our Salvation we look to the person of of Jesus Christ for our forgiveness for our righteousness his exclusive identity that's why Jesus says about himself in John 14:6 he says I am the way and the truth and the life no one comes to the father except through me and why Peter says to the Jewish leaders as he was filled with the Holy Spirit he says this about Jesus there is salvation in no one else for there is no other name under Heaven given among men by which we must be saved we must be clear on this church there is no other way for us to approach God salvation comes exclusively from Jesus why can he Deliver Us well he is the radiance of the glory of God he is the exact imprint of his nature he is before all things and in him all things hold together in him was life and the life was the light of men the light shines in the darkness and the Darkness has not overcome it listen Church there is no other person that gives us access across the line he is the great high priest over the house of God and so it says in Hebrews 10 let us draw near with the true heart and full Assurance of faith and when we look to Jesus for salvation we look at both who he is and what he has done we look at his work we have faith that his work and his work alone is sufficient this here is where the reformers were at odds with the Roman Catholic Church according to Rome faith is the beginning of our justification then through the sacraments of baptism God's grace is infused in US enabling us to cooperate with God to Merit eternal life but this teaching undercuts Christ's all sufficient work the reformers said no through faith we are Justified Christ's righteousness is accounted to us his work and his work alone is sufficient and his righteousness is imputed to us accounted to us through faith and faith alone the author of Hebrews wants us to look to Jesus and to see his sufficient work every part of our faith is dependent on Jesus his work on the cross is sufficient verse two looking to Jesus the founder and perfector of our faith who for the joy that was set before him endured the cross despising the shame and is seated at the right hand of the Throne of God in this little verse there is so much said about Jesus that I want to share with you this morning Jesus is our destination and our aim if life is a race Jesus is the Finish Line Jesus doesn't just help us to get to the prize he is the prize that awaits us Jesus also is our example Jesus is certainly much more than an example but he absolutely is the example the one who came and lived a perfect life complete obedience perfect righteousness he is the Trailblazer Jesus has gone before us he made the way into the holy of holies so that we could follow into God's presence Hebrews 10 says therefore Brothers since we have confidence to enter the holy places by the blood of Jesus by the New and Living Way that he opened for us through the curtain that is through his flesh both in this life and into the next he has blazed the trail for us the founder and perfector of our faith he is the initiator of our journey Christ is the founder the author of our faith he is the creator of our faith this word also means Captain he is the captain of our faith he controls and steers as a captain would a ship he presides over it he is the sustainer along the way at the end of verse two it says that Jesus is seated at the right hand of the Throne of God it is there that he acts continually as our high priest it is there that he continually intercedes on our behalf Hebrews 4:14 says since then we have a great high priest who has passed through the heavens Jesus the son of God let us hold fast our confession for we do not have a high priest who is unable to sympathize with our weaknesses but one who in every respect has been tempted as we are yet without sin let us then with confidence draw near to the throne of grace that we may receive mercy and find Grace to help in time of need and Hebrews 7 says consequently he is able to save to the uttermost those who draw near to God through him since he always lives to make intercession for them he initiates our faith he sustains our faith as our great high priest but he also is the perfector of our faith the finisher of our faith the completer of our faith the one who carries it through to the end how can I explain his sufficient role in your faith if you're a baseball fan he's he's the starter he's the reliever he's the closer if you like writing he's the introduction he's the body he's the conclusion if you're a chef or let me just hit all of you if you like to eat he's the appetizer in the main course in the dessert of your faith he is the captain of every part of your faith our faith is sure because of Christ because he initiated it and he sustains it and he will finish it and I am sure of this that he who began a good work in you will bring it to completion at the day of Jesus Christ oh church we should find so much hope and comfort and rest in this truth and then it says he endured the cross and despised the shame the shame of Isaiah 53 it says he was dis despised and rejected by Men A Man of Sorrows and acquainted with grief as one from whom men hide their faces he was despised and we esteemed him not surely he has borne our griefs and carried our sorrows yet we have SE him stricken Smitten by God and Afflicted but he was pierced for our transgressions he was crushed for our iniquities upon him was the chastisement that brought us peace and with his wounds we are healed all we like sheep have gone astray we have turned everyone to his own way and the lord has laid on him the iniquity of us all our weakness he carried our sorrows were his weight our Rebellion pierced him our sins crushed him so we could be healed he was whipped so we could be whole he was Torn to Pieces it was on the cross of Shame where we could both be forgiven and made righteous it was a place of Shame the Romans made crucifixion as humiliating as possible often stripping a person naked we know Christ was mocked and ridiculed and belittled physical emotional mental abuse and for Christ there was more the weight of our spiritual guilt in shame beating him piercing him crushing him but he endured despising the shame and he did so for the joy that was set before him Christ had Joy because he knew from this pain would come healing Christ knew out of humiliation would come salvation taking shame that was not his so that he could give us a righteousness that is not ours he who had no sin of his own became sin so that we who have no righteousness of our own might become the righteousness of God the work of Christ Alone is sufficient for our righteousness and it says he is seated at the right hand of the Throne of God when Christ rose from the dead and ascended into heaven what did he do he sat down and Hebrews 1:3 says after making purification of sins he sat down his work for our Salvation was complete sufficient there is nothing left that we must achieve or do or work for salvation Christ alone has done everything necessary he is sufficient and any teaching to the contrary undercuts what Christ has accomplished on the cross it steals his glory and it gives it to another Christ is sufficient and so this morning church I want us to remember these things to run and to rest to run the race that is set before you looking to and trusting in Jesus leave behind your sin remember the inspiring testimony of the Saints and look to Jesus alone and rest Jesus says come to me all who labor and are heavy laden and I will give you rest and he says it with a straight face because he means it and he says it in Matthew 11:28 in the context of those who are under the burden of a religious system of legalism he says it to people who are are truly religious he says you are under but who are under the burden and guilt of trying to earn salvation through their own good works how can he offer rest if God requires righteousness then how can he offer rest because Jesus did the work because his righteousness is sufficient for you you receive it through faith through faith alone and he says come to me just come to me come to me and find rest many find it difficult to find Rest In Christ and perhaps that's you this morning you get the Running part you feel it the exhaustion and fatigue of life you feel the weight from the world the fight against sin that that clings to you you're running but you're gasping and your muscles are cramping and your lungs are wheezing the feeling that you are not good enough to finish this race let me tell you this morning church look to Jesus look to Jesus come to him but but sin he paid for your sin and his blood has washed you clean but righteousness his righteousness is sufficient for you receive it through Christ receive it through faith in Christ alone let's pray