‘I don't need a mediator’, some people say, ‘to reconcile me with God. I believe that God is pleased with all those who work hard to please him, and I believe I have the power in myself to please Almighty God. I can live a righteous life. So much so, that I can make up for all my past sin, and I can outweigh them by my acts of righteousness. That is what we call ‘works religion’. ‘I believe I do not need the grace of God. I do not need a mediator to do it for me, to earn heaven for me, to suffer the punishment of my sins on my behalf. I can do it myself.’ That is very proud religion, and of course the whole Bible is written against that idea.
There are some religious systems, and the Church of Rome is one of them, that try to bring you to God by a mixture of your works and a whole rump of mediators aside from Jesus Christ. They teach that it is partly by your works, but you also need the mediatorial merits of the church. The church has some past holy men who have contributed to a treasury of merit. They had more righteousness than they needed to get to heaven, and so the spare righteousness is in the coffers of the church and it can somehow be credited to your account. So your good works plus the merits of the church – because you are plugged into the church – will get you to heaven. Then also, if you come to mass that will do something; that will be a few plus points for you. If the priest is on your side and he absolves you from your sin, that will help you too. All this is totally contrary to the teaching of Scripture which says that there is one mediator, Jesus Christ, and what he has done on Calvary's cross, what he has done in his perfect life is all that we need. We need him in his perfect righteousness to be offered up to God the Father for us. We need Christ to say, these are my children I will hide them under my cloak, and take them under my merits on account my perfect holiness and righteousness.
What must it have cost the Saviour? Before he became incarnate he looked down on this world from heaven. He saw the people for whom he would die. He saw the sins of each one who he would have to die for. He would be the mediator, the go-between. He would come into the world, and for all who would be saved, the ransomed, the elect of God, he knew he would represent them. He would take their punishment, take their place so that he could bring from God to them all the blessings of salvation. He knew what we can never know, the sum total of the punishment and the price that he would pay for each one of millions, and yet he came. He came for us and for all who would be saved. Just imagine it. Just stand as it were in heaven – it is nonsense to talk in this way – and just imagine that before time even began you can see ahead, you can see the mighty cost of salvation and the pain and the anguish and the humiliation, and yet you come. There is no love like the love of Christ.