Sinful human beings are redeemed from the guilt, penalty and power of sin only through the sacrificial death once and for all time of their representative and substitute, Jesus Christ, the only mediator between them and God.
In our comments on the fourth article of the Doctrinal Basis, we addressed the question: 'What's wrong with the world?' Now we come to the next logical question: 'What's the solution?'
If you surveyed people in your city with the question 'What's the solution to humanity's problems?', you might get a range of answers - but I suspect a common one would be 'science'.
In the secular salvation narrative, scientific progress is framed as an unstoppable force which, given enough time, will put an end to all humanity's troubles. All we need is enough scientists, enough research funding, and enough time.
But it doesn't take long to realise that the biggest problems facing our species are not things that science is able to solve. Science may help us live healthier lives, but it cannot stop us dying sooner or later. And as long as science is wielded by corrupt humans, it's never going to put an end to corruption.
The inability of science to save us comes down to the fact that it cannot do anything about the problem behind all other problems: sin. Death (the penalty of sin) and corruption (the ongoing power of sin in human hearts) are two consequences of our rebellion against God, that can only be remedied by God Himself. A third, perhaps most significant, is guilt: we stand condemned before God and alienated from Him.
The solution to sin? Jesus' sacrificial death.
In a single act, as he dies on the cross in our place, Jesus redeems us from the guilt, penalty and power of sin. He takes our guilty record, bears our punishment on our behalf, and breaks the power of our sinful nature by putting it to death with him.
If sin is the root cause of all humanity's problems, the cross is the solution.
As great as science is, we must not be tempted to think it can deliver utopia apart from the cross of Jesus. Salvation for humanity does not come through technological power, but through the apparent weakness of a crucified Messiah.
