Sermon Central
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I Am The Way The Truth The Life Series
Contributed by Allan Kircher on Apr 18, 2012 (message contributor)
Summary: If it had not been for the divine plan of grace we could not have ascended to God Neither could God in justice come down to us.
Shell Point Baptist Church 15 April 2012
"I Am the Way and the Truth and the Life"
Introduction
When Adam was perfect in the garden of Eden, God walked with him in the cool of the day.
• God/man held/most intimate/affectionate/bond with one another.
• Man was a happy creature
• God was a condescending Creator, and the two met together and held sweet conversation and communion.
But from the moment when Adam touched the forbidden fruit, the way from God to man became blocked up, the bridge was broken down,
• If it had not been for the divine plan of grace
• we could not have ascended to God
• Neither could God in justice come down to us.
Let us think for a moment of Jesus Christ as the way to God.
The reason man cannot come/God as he did in the garden is
• That God is the same, but man is changed.
• God is as affectionate and as condescending as ever
• But man is unholy and impure.
Now, God is as pure as he is affectionate
• God is love it
• God is infinitely just and holy.
• His holy eyes cannot endure iniquity.
Come into the presence of God, O sinner, and you might as well march into a consuming fire.
As Nebuchadnezzar's furnace burned the men who came to throw in the three holy children so must God, the consuming fire, burn and destroy us, even if we approach him with our prayers and thanksgivings, were it not for the interposition of Jesus Christ the Mediator.
• This is a necessity of his nature.
• God is necessarily just, and justice cannot endure a sin.
• God is necessarily pure and holy:
• He might sooner cease to be God than cease to be pure.
• The approach of impurity to him he must repel.
His nature is, "I will by no means clear the guilty."
• He is slow to anger, he is great in power
• he is ready to forgive
• but so long as guilt lies unforgiven he is also ready to punish
• He must punish or else cease to be.
Consequently, no man can come to God as a sinner, unless he comes to him to be utterly destroyed, and without remedy.
• You do not wish so to come to God.
• Happy is it, where we can come with joy and gladness to the Father, through Jesus Christ.
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If you want a figure of him, remember the memorable dream of Jacob.
• He lay down in a solitary place, and he dreamed a dream
• It was something more substantial than anything he had seen with his eyes wide open.
• He saw a ladder, the foot rested upon earth, and the top reached to heaven itself.
• Upon this ladder he saw angels ascending and descending.
• Now this ladder was Christ.
Christ in his humanity rested upon the earth, he is bone of our bone, and flesh of our flesh.
In his divinity he reaches to the highest heaven, for he is very God of very God.
• When our prayers ascend on high they must tread the steps of this ladder
• and when God's blessings descend to us
• This marvelous ladder must be the means of their descent.
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Never has a prayer ascended to God w/o Jesus Christ.
Never has a blessing come down to man w/o the same Divine Mediator.
There is now a highway, a way of holiness where the redeemed can walk to God, and God can come to us.
The king's highway through Jesus Christ. The way, and the truth.
I. How many ways are there to God?
• This is an important question today.
• It is important because almost everyone claims to believe in God.
• Almost everyone wants to establish some kind of relationship with God.
• People want to find a way to connect with God.
• How many ways are there to God?
In our text for this morning Jesus answers this question for Thomas and Philip and us too. Jn 14:6…
In these statements Jesus wants us to think of God speaking to Moses out of the burning bush;
• At that time God identified Himself as "I Am Who I Am."
• By using the same expression, Jesus claims divinity
• He claims to be God's equal
• He claims to be part of the eternal Godhead.
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A. There are many men today going as far as they can from him.
• Nothing would delight such men to be rid clean of his presence
• To be entirely escaped from the bounds of his dominions.
• They would be content to make their bed in hell
