How Do I Get To Heaven Series

“How Do I Get to Heaven?”

John 14: 6

January 31, 2010

Intro: Probably the greatest virtue of our day is “tolerance.” Josh McDowell said tolerance used to mean, “to respect others beliefs and practices w/o sharing them.” But tolerance now means, “every single individual’s beliefs, values, lifestyles, and truth claims are equal.”

-This sounds nice b/c we don’t like to say anyone’s right or wrong for fear of offending. But we need to understand this view has serous ramifications spiritually. If you’re tolerant religiously today it doesn’t mean respecting people of other faiths and their views, but it means accepting that their view of God is just as right as your view of God.

-Spiritual tolerance is now defined as saying all religions are equal; that all religions are valid b/c eventually they lead to the same place anyway. Now try that mode of thinking out w/your wife sometimes and see where that gets you. Can you imagine?

-Husbands, that’d be like taking a girl from work on vacation w/you for a week. Then you come home and tell your wife, “I had a great time w/Mary. I know it wasn’t you down there in the Cayman Islands w/me, but my affection for Mary ends up showing my affection for you as well. Hope you had a great week.”

-What do you think’s going to happen next? I’m pretty sure you’re going to end up w/a fist lodged in your mouth. Today we’re concluding our series “Heaven.” We’ve been discussing it for the past month but today we’re finally going to see how we actually arrive there.

Sermon Idea: Today in our passage of Scripture we’re going to see Jesus sharing w/His followers the exclusivity of Xianity. We’ll see Him sharing w/His followers why He’s the only way, the only ticket to heaven.

-I’m going to be upfront w/you here. This isn’t going to be a politically correct message. This is going to be a message that truthfully talks @ what the Bible says. And what the Bible teaches us is that there’s only one path to heaven.

TEXT: JOHN 14: 6

Bckgrd: Jesus had just finished telling His disciples that He was getting ready to die. In John 13: 33 Jesus said, “My children, I will be w/you only a little longer.” As you can imagine His disciples were devastated. But at the beginning of ch. 14 Jesus tells His disciples He’s going to heaven to prepare a place for them.

-It’s as though Jesus was telling them, “Hey! You didn’t waste your time following Me! I’m going to take care of you.” He let them know in no uncertain terms that He was the only one who could truly take care of them.

-And it’s here we see 3 assertions of Jesus that demonstrate why Jesus is the only path that leads to heaven. The 1st assertion that demonstrates Jesus is the only path that leads to heaven is:

DIV. 1: JESUS IS THE ONLY WAY TO HEAVEN (v. 6)

Exp: Now I know that statement is going to sound arrogant to some. If you make a statement like that then in essence what you’re saying is that this way is right and all the other ways are wrong. That’s a pretty heady statement to make. And I’m here to let you know I’m not the one making that pronouncement. This is what the Bible teaches.

A. Acts 4: 12, “There is no other name under heaven by which man must be saved.” John 3: 35-36, “The Father loves the Son and has placed everything in His hands. Whoever believes in the Son has eternal life, but whoever rejects the Son will not see life, for God’s wrath remains on him.”

1. Those are pretty exclusive claims right there. And they fit perfectly w/what Jesus says here in v. 6. He said, “I am the way.” For a little history, early Xianity was known as “the Way.”

a. Notice Jesus didn’t say, “I am A way.” If He would’ve said that then it would’ve indicated that there were other “ways” as well. Instead Jesus said, “I am THE way.” He’s making a statement that He is the only way.

b. You may wonder, “the way to what?” Jesus is the only way to heaven. He’s the only way that leads to a relationship w/God. Jesus is like a map that leads us to God. He’s the only road that leads to God. The point Jesus is getting across here is that f you desire to have a relationship w/God; if you desire to discover eternal life, it can only be achieved thru a relationship w/Christ.

2. Now you can use the map analogy and say, “Hey, if I want to go to downtown Columbia, there are a lot of different ways I can get there. I can take N. Main Street all the way into town. Or I can get off on 277 and take that right into Bull Street. Or I can get downtown by taking 126 off of I-26.”