The Radical Message

Announce Text - If you have your Bibles, turn with me to – John 14:6

Background: Chapters 13 – 17 have been called the Upper Room Discourse, where we find Jesus and His disciples partaking of the Last Supper, and Jesus teaching His final lessons to His disciples.  In our passage, we find Jesus responding in answer to Thomas’ question, “Lord, we do no know where You are going, and how can we know the way?” 

Read Scripture – John 14:6

Pray for Illumination and Filling of the Spirit

Intro

What way should I go?  What is the truth? What is the meaning of life?  How can I get to Heaven?  Can I have a personal relationship with God? Today, we live in a culture that can be described as “pluralistic,” made up of many different peoples, cultures, traditions, and religions, and as such there are many different answers that are offered to those questions I posed.   But who is right?  Is anybody right?  In our society, the worst thing a person can do is claim that his or her answer is the only answer that is in fact true or right.  People say that we must be tolerant, and what they mean by that is that all beliefs, all traditions, and yes, all religions, are true in their own sense, or that there isn’t just one way to be “right” with God, but many ways, and that the meaning of life can be found regardless of what we believe.  Indeed, many say that it doesn’t really matter what we believe, the most important thing is that we are just sincere.

How different this is from what Jesus Christ proclaimed!  You see, there is only one way, there is only one truth, there is only one life, there is only one way to the Father, and it is to be found in the Person of Jesus Christ and Him alone. 

Many people think that what I’m saying is too extreme, it is too radical, it is too narrow!  There may even be some of you here today saying the same thing.  Well, let me answer that by saying that it isn’t me who makes the Gospel such an exclusive, radical, narrow message, rather, it is Jesus Christ Himself!  Let’s look at our passage.  Jesus makes a universal and exclusive statement that disqualifies universally all others.  First, Jesus says that He is…

A.  The Way: 

                        1.  “A Way” has to do with following a particular course.  We enter on a path in order to come to a certain place.  For example, when I came to Turkey, I was told that I had to take a certain plane, on a certain day, in a certain city in order to arrive at certain location.  There was only one way I was going to get to Incirlik AB!  Here, Jesus is referring to a certain path or way that will take us to a certain place, namely, to Heaven, and be assured, His way is in direction opposition to the way or ways man has devised to get to God.

                      2.  Prov 14:12-There is a way that seems right to a man, but the ends thereof are death

                             a.  The “way” that seems right to men, is that man is basically good, and if his good deeds outweigh his bad deeds, he might get to heaven. 

                             b.  This sums up the teaching of every false religion in the world, whether it is Islam, Buddhism, Hinduism, etc.  Every one at the core says man can EARN his way to heaven or eternal bliss.                   

                 3.  Different story in the Bible! 

a.  What the Bible says about man:  Rom 3:10–12.  Man is totally corrupted. 

b.  What the Bible says about God:  God is absolutely Holy:

God cannot, and will not overlook sin, rather, He has sworn in His wrath to punish sin.  Man cannot escape this judgment.  The only way that he can is if God Himself makes a way of escape for him.  And this is precisely what we find in Christianity.  Man is lost, and under the just condemnation of a Holy God.  This Holy God, out of nothing but His sheer grace and mercy, comes to us in the Person of Christ, bears the full penalty for all of our sins, rises from the dead for our justification, and then offers to us the free gift of eternal life on the basis of the finished work of Christ on our behalf. Despite the clear teaching of Christ though, many people though still think that all of the religions in the world are the same!

4.  To say that that there is no essential difference between Christianity and the other

religions is not only wrong, it is blasphemous! We are bringing Christ and His cross down to the level of “sameness” and equality with those false “gods,” when in fact Christ is far superior to those “gods,” and there will be no other gods before Him!  We would be saying that Mohammed, Buddha, and the millions of gods in the Hindu and new age religions, are just as valid as Christ!  God forbid!

5.  Jesus’ way is the only way--only He lived a perfect life, never sinned, He is the

 only begotten Son of God who died of the Cross to pay the price for our sins. 

6.  There is only:  One Door, One Alpha and Omega, One Light of the World, One

Great Shepherd, And Only One “Great I AM”, There is only One WAY!  

7.  The road to Heaven is a 1 way street, and the road’s name is JESUS CHRIST 

 Jesus didn’t just point us to the way; he is the way…not only that, Jesus says He is…

B.  The Truth: 

            1.  A Few Good Men Movie Illustration…People today really can’t handle the truth, and that is why we have abandoned any concept of an absolute truth! 

2.  The truth isn’t what I think it is, or what you think it is.  The truth could care less

about our opinions!  The truth simply IS. 

3.  The truth doesn’t compromise.  The truth doesn’t invite us to obedience, the truth

demands and commands us to obedience! 

4.  And hear this …the truth, like nothing else, is intolerant!  It does not “tolerate”

anything that compromises it, or denies it, rather, the truth simply IS.  You see, there is an absolute, objective truth that all of mankind is obligated to obey! 

5.  Jesus doesn’t just point us to the truth, Jesus says He actually IS the Truth! 

Only  the belief system and/or lifestyle that is “In Christ” is living according to the truth, and those that are not are living a lie. 

And speaking of living, Jesus says that not only is He, the way, and not only that He is the truth, but that He is:

C.  The Life: 

1.  Solomon in Ecclesiastes - “Meaningless”  “The conclusion of the matter…”

2.  Building on the sure foundation.  Jesus didn’t point someone to a self-help

 guru, or to some cute philosophy on life, but pointed to Himself because He is the author and giver of life, both physical and spiritual!  Everything apart from Christ is indeed meaningless, and a life lived apart from The Life is really no life at all.

Jesus, claiming that He is the way, the truth, and the life, has assigned to Himself characteristics that can only reside in God Himself!  Hence, Jesus says,

            D.  No one comes to the Father except through Jesus. 

                      1. Acts 4:12   (no other name given by which men must be saved)

                     2. Phil 2:10 – 11 (Every knee shall bow, every tongue confess that Christ is Lord)

                     3. It’s not a question of whether or not you will confess, but when. 

In the presence of a Holy God, the human dilemma is great—all of us are sinful, and are helpless in and of ourselves to do anything about it.  But God has responded by providing a great way of salvation—justification by grace alone through faith alone, in the finished work of Christ alone.

Conclusion

When Jesus says He is the way, the truth, and the life, and that no one can come to the Father except through Him, we must understand and come to grips with the radical nature of His message.  Jesus has set Himself apart from all other religions and worldviews.  Jesus has disqualified all others.  But now, I must deal with what Jesus has said. 

In the case of our personal lives, the question is am I on “the right way?”  Have I embraced the truth?  Have I committed my life to the Giver of Life, Jesus Christ?  You may be one of those who is sincere your beliefs, but you have never come to embrace Christ.  It is possible for one to be sincere, but to also be sincerely wrong, and in this case, the stakes are high…we are speaking of eternal consequences.  As it has been said, the road to hell is paved with good intentions, and if might add, hell itself is filled with those who were sincere, but sincerely wrong. 

It is time to stop running from Christ, and run to Christ whose arms are wide open waiting to receive you.  Today is the day of salvation.

If you claim to have embraced Christ, let me ask you, are you abiding on the way?  Are you living the truth?  We can tell the world with our words all day long about Jesus, but does your actions betray your words? I pray that you might examine yourselves this day. 

JCO

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