One of the major differences between Protestants and Catholics during the Reformation resulted in debates surrounding the role of Mary as a co-redeemer and to what extent good works impact our salvation. Most Protestants do not believe in Purgatory, a holding place between heaven and hell. As I understand it, your time there depends on your sins and penance. The reformers insisted that faith in Christ was the only way of salvation. To die is to be with Christ for sinners. They looked to verses like:
- John 14:6 – “Jesus replied: I am the way, the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.”
- 1 Timothy 2:5 – “Because there is only one God, and only one mediator between God and men, the man Christ Jesus.”
- Acts 4:10–12 – “May all of you and all the people of Israel know that this happened in the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth […] And there is no salvation in anyone else; for there is no other name under heaven given among men by which we must be saved”
Today we face a pluralistic world where we are exposed to all the major world religions. Not only that but we value tolerance. We want to respect other faith systems. Anyone who insists that Jesus is the only way will be thought narrow, dogmatic, intolerant and just plain wrong. But our world is not so different from that of the early Christians who were surrounded by Roman and Greek gods as well as the local baals other believed influenced life. We might talk about Lady Luck or Good Fortune or Carma.
Gods come in various forms, not just formal religions from around the world. Let us listen to this worship song that talks about the meaning of Christ as God to Christians.
“In Christ Alone My Hope is Found”
In Christ alone, my hope is found. He is my light, my strength, my song
This Cornerstone, this solid ground. Firm through the fiercest drought and storm. What heights of love, what depths of peace. When fears are stilled, when strivings cease. My Comforter, my All in All. Here in the love of Christ I stand.
In Christ alone, who took on flesh, Fullness of God in helpless babe.
This gift of love and righteousness, Scorned by the ones He came to save.
‘Til on that cross as Jesus died, The wrath of God was satisfied.
For every sin on Him was laid. Here in the death of Christ I live, I live
There in the ground His body lay, Light of the world by darkness slain.
Then bursting forth in glorious Day, Up from the grave He rose again.
And as He stands in victory, Sin’s curse has lost its grip on me.
For I am His and He is mine. Bought with the precious blood of Christ.
No guilt in life, no fear in death, This is the power of Christ in me
From life’s first cry to final breath, Jesus commands my destiny
No power of hell, no scheme of man, Can ever pluck me from His hand.
Till He returns or calls me home, Here in the power of Christ I’ll stand.
On the Way to Wonder 