Sermon Archive
The Supremacy of Christ

 

The Supremacy of Christ or Who’s Number 1!
Col 1:15-20
 
In a TV interview Charles Gibson of ABC news talked with President Bush: Gibson: “Do we all worship the same God, Christian & Muslim?”  Bush: “I think we do. We have different routes of getting to the Almighty. I believe there is a universal God. I believe the God that the Muslim prays to is the same God that I pray to. After all, we all came from Abraham.”  Gibson: “Do Christians & non-Christians & Muslims go to heaven in your mind?”  Bush: “Yes they do. We have different routes of getting there.    (Nov. 2003)

What do you think, do all paths lead to God?” __yes __no   __no opinion
Jesus said: “I am theway the truth & the life. No one comes to the father except through me”(Jn 14:6) I believe that Jesus is the way to God. I believe that Jesus did something utterly unique for all the human race. Jesus, as God’s only Son, died to pay the penalty for our sin! No one else has ever claimed to do that. Christians, who believe “Jesus is the way the truth & the life”, are told that they aren’t loving & they aren’t tolerant. Many in the media declare they are sick of intolerant Christians, & they’re not going to tolerate the their intolerance anymore.
 
Think about it: No one tolerates everything! Daniel Taylor writes "The real issue shouldn't be whether one is tolerant or intolerant, but what's included on one's list." What actions or attitudes would be on your "not tolerated" list. I would imagine your list would include racism, hatred, terrorism, & child molesting. You see we are all intolerant of some things. The Apostle Paul shares about the Supremacy of Christ in:
 
“We look at Jesus & see the God who cannot be seen. We look at Jesus & see God’s original purpose in everything created. For everything, absolutely everything, above & below, visible & invisible, rank after rank after rank of angels—everything got started in him & finds its purpose in him. He was there before any of it came into existence & holds it all together right up to this moment. And when it comes to the church, he organizes & holds it together, like a head does a body. He was supreme in the beginning & - leading the resurrection parade - he is supreme in the end. From beginning to end he’s there, towering far above everything, everyone. So spacious is he, so roomy, that everything of God finds its proper place in him without crowding. Not only that, but all the broken & dislocated pieces of the universe—people & things, animals & atoms—get properly fixed & fit together in vibrant harmonies, all because of his death, his blood that poured down from the cross.”  (1:15-20 msg) 
     
Supremacy means First place in everything. I believe in the “Supremacy of Christ,” that Jesus alone is sufficient for salvation. I do not believe all paths lead to God.
 
Do you know that Christianity is NOT the only major world religion that claims to be “the one path to God.”   (Show 1st mountain scene.)
 
Let me list some of the fundamental beliefs of Hinduism, Islam & Christianity, concerning who God is, who Jesus is, what salvation requires & what each believes about the afterlife. (Show other mountain scenes.)
 
Hindu path
God = there are many gods (1000’s of them)
Jesus = could be one of many gods but is not the only way
Afterlife = through a series of a reincarnations one pays off karmic debt, eventually becoming one with the impersonal Brahman(Highest God of Hindus).
On the Hindu mountaintop there are thousands of gods.
 
Islamic path:
God = one God, Allah
Jesus = a prophet but not the Son of God
Afterlife = paradise or hell; Man earns his own salvation, pays for his own sin.
On the Islamic mountaintop there is no God but Allah, but Allah is different from the Hindu gods, & different from the Christian God.
 
Christian path:
God = one triune God (Father, Son & Holy Spirit)
Jesus = the one & only Son of God, who is the way to salvation
Afterlife = heaven or hell, based on our acceptance or rejection of Jesus
    substatutionary payment for our sin on the cross.
On the Christian mountaintop is One Triune God, (Father, Son & Holy Spirit)
 
When you actually look at the major world religions, you see that all roads do not lead to God. Each path leads to a different mountaintop. You can’t have God saying he is one God, as is Islam & Christianity, but have thousands of God in Hinduism. You can’t say Jesus is the Son of God & the Savior, as Christianity teaches, but then have Islam say Jesus is just a prophet. These beliefs are different & contradictory. So which one is true? When it comes to the fundamental teachings of the various world faiths, either they are all wrong, or the only one is right. They can’t all be true.
 
So why do many Christians believe that Christianity is the right path?
Because Jesus not only made this amazing claim, that he was “the way, the truth & the life”; Jesus confirmed it.
There are numerous ways in which Christ proved His claims. I will cover only four.
 
1st Confirmation is the impact of Christ on mankind. More schools & colleges have been built in the name of Christ than any other man. More hospitals & orphanages are built in the name of Christ than any other person. More literature & music are written about Christ than any other person. More laws & ethical codes are built on His teachings than any other man. He has had a tremendous impact on every area of culture like no one else.
 
2nd Confirmation is the miracles He performed. God's existence makes it reasonable to assume He would use miracles to confirm His message & messenger. Miracles are a powerful confirmation because it authenticates the creator's authority over His creation. Christ's miracles over nature, sickness, spiritual forces, sin, & death displayed this authority over every realm of creation.
 
3rd Confirmation is the fulfilled prophecies. Before He set foot on the earth, there were over 70 specific prophecies made by the O.T. writers about the coming Messiah. The prophecies included the city of birth, His method of execution, His betrayal, His resurrection, etc. Jesus fulfilled each of these. No one has both made the claims that Christ made & confirmed them, as He did. His life is another proof Christianity is true.
 
4th Confirmation is the Resurrection. Jesus further confirmed His claims to be God by rising from the dead. Jesus stated that God had given Him authority over life & death. He states in Jn 11:25, "I am the resurrection & the life. He who believes in me will live, even though he dies; & he who believes in me will never die."The resurrection is proof that His claim is true.
 
My faith continues to grow each time I see that God's truth works in every day life. The more time I spend with God in prayer, in study, & in worship, the stronger my faith becomes. Where does Christ fit into your life, into your belief system, into your heart, into your worship?   Does He have supremacy in your life?
 
So how do we express a passion for the supremacy of Christ in a pluralistic (Pluralism means tolerating or accepting competing ideas) world where most people do not recognize God as an important part of their lives, let alone an important part of government or education or business or industry or art or recreation or entertainment? Jon Piper
1) By maintaining the belief in the Supremacy of Jesus, as the Creator,
    Sustainer, & Governor of everything. 
 
2) By trusting God in every circumstance to use his creative, sustaining,
    essential wisdom & power to work all things together for the good of
    all who love him.
 
3) By making life choices that reveal the supreme worth of Christ above
     what the world values supremely.
 
4) By speaking to people of Christ’s supreme worth in creative &
    persuasive ways, & by telling people how they can be reconciled to
    God through Christ.
 
5) By making clear that God’s son, Jesus Christ  is the foundation for our commitment to a pluralistic democratic order - not because pluralism is his ultimate ideal, (Religions Pluralism no longer means tolerating or accepting competing ideas, but rather forced neutrality: no one should express any idea that could offend another.) but because in a fallen world, coercion will not produce the kingdom of God. Christians agree to make room for non-Christian faiths, not because commitment to Christ’s supremacy is unimportant, but because it must be voluntary, or it is worthless. (Matthew 13:36-43 the parable of the weeds)
 
 
Where does Jesus fit into your life, into your belief system, into your heart, into your worship?   Is Jesus #1 in your life?