God has an amazing life of adventure and purpose waiting for us all. But very few people find it. A lot of people think “I tried the God thing, but it didn't work.” The problem is that the promises of God don't happen without the practices of Jesus. AND Most people aren't taught what those practices are. OR how to live them out in a busy life in the real world. Good News! Jesus promised, “I am the Way.”
In other words, if we learn to do what Jesus did, we’ll discover the pathway to purpose THAT God has for all of us. This Lent season we will explore the 7 practices of Jesus to help you grow spiritually. Religion doesn’t lead to real life– following Jesus does. This is “The Way” is our series leading up to Easter
The followers of Jesus for the first 100 years were known as the followers of The Way - The way of Jesus. The pre-christian label was a by-product of Jesus' famous statement from John 14:6: “I am the way, the truth and the life. No one comes to the father except through me.”
The problem is many people don’t understand what this means. Jesus tried to let us know how difficult it will be to stay focused in his most famous teaching when he said Matt 7:13-14.
Enter through the narrow gate. For wide is the gate and broad is the road that leads to destruction, and many enter through it.14 But small is the gate and narrow the road that leads to life, and only a few find it
This week we look at another “Way.” The Way of Salvation. Have you ever met the person who is quick to tell you they have been saved? They will recite a day and maybe even a time of when they were saved? I’ve always been a little awed by these people. Maybe because I come from a faith tradition where it was assumed our infant baptism and subsequent confirmation ritual assured us of our unique relationship with Christ. In either case, the larger question is the same one being asked in video with the words by Nicodemus - What must I do to be born again? Or in other words, what must I do to be saved? What is the way of salvation?
An age old question, we can find in the scriptures in a few places. This morning we will dive into a text named the rich young ruler from Matthew 19 beginning in verse 16:
Just then a man came up to Jesus and asked, “Teacher, what good thing must I do to get eternal life?” “Why do you ask me about what is good?” Jesus replied. “There is only One who is good. If you want to enter life, keep the commandments.” “Which ones?” he inquired. Jesus replied, “‘You shall not murder, you shall not commit adultery, you shall not steal, you shall not give false testimony, honor your father and mother,’ and ‘love your neighbor as yourself.’” “All these I have kept,” the young man said.
A quick note - Jesus' answer was not saying works are needed for spending eternity with him. He was letting everyone know there is an inherent goodness that comes when someone lives in obedience to God’ commands and it can be an indicator of a person's heart. However, if you ask the next question to yourself often, you may need a refresher on the idea of faith.
“What do I still lack?” Jesus answered, “If you want to be perfect, go, sell your possessions and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven. Then come, follow me.” When the young man heard this, he went away sad, because he had great wealth.
Another side note: we do not know what happened to this rich young ruler. The scriptures don’t tell us. The point is that at some point God may ask you to give up your dreams and to follow Him. It might be the hardest lesson of all. We may be asked from time to time to surrender even more of life to follow Jesus. The thought jared the disciples so it should jar us as well.
Then Jesus said to his disciples, “Truly I tell you, it is hard for someone who is rich to enter the kingdom of heaven. 24 Again I tell you, it is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for someone who is rich to enter the kingdom of God.” When the disciples heard this, they were greatly astonished and asked, “Who then can be saved?”
Jesus looked at them and said, “With man this is impossible, but with God all things are possible.”
The last line leads us to an undeniable truth. We will never be able to right the wrongs and all the consequences of our life. Sin is the reason we need to be saved. No matter how many good deeds we do there will never be enough to tip the scales of justice. Thankfully, our relationship with God does not come from what we do, it comes as a gift from God for those who believe in God and that He has given us all a way to be forgiven of our sin so that we can experience eternity with Him.
Unfortunately, sin separates us from Him. This separation is felt by everyone. It is why everyone’s greatest need, the deep desire of every soul, is to be in relationship with God. Once our basic physical needs (food, water, shelter, clothes) are supplied, everyone begins to try to find the one aspect of life that satisfies.
As we shared last week, these show up in what I called distractions or idols: technology, success, comfort, self gratification, escape and a thousand other forms. All perpetuated by the greatest lie of the evil one, this pursuit will end with bliss and harmony forever. However, what inevitably happens at the pinnacle of the experience is a quick realization, whatever it was, didn’t fill the soul. Then a new whisper begins, maybe more is the answer or maybe something else will do the trick. Only to end up back in this spot once again a few years later. The pathway to destruction is so predictable but so is the way to THE abundant life (John 10:10).
The simple pathway to life and citizenship in the kingdom of God is the same for everyone. Confess your sins to God. Ask for mercy. Be forgiven. Commit your mind and will to Him. Only then, in our cleansed state, are we able to begin to restore our relationship with God and open the doorway to join him throughout eternity.
I think many wonder if this promise is too good to be true so they justify and rationalize the promise away. They tell themselves the idea is too simplistic.Other people tell themselves they are good enough to get into heaven because they are better than the other people they associate with. They rationalize that if there is an all loving being who judges us on our actions as a path to heaven then obviously, I have done enough. The problem is none of us are good enough, for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, and all are justified freely by his grace through the redemption that came by Christ Jesus.(Romans 3:23).
No matter how good we are, we can never erase our own sins. Only God can do this—and that is what He did by sending Jesus Christ into the world for us. The Bible says, “For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life” (John 3:16).
Don’t miss this. Salvation, becoming a citizen of the Kingdom of God has three aspects - past, present and future.
• Past: We have been saved from the penalty of sin. We have been justified.
Jesus paid for our sin on the cross in the past, and when a person trusts Him for salvation, that person is forgiven and justified before God. This is a once-for-all transaction.Paul writes:
For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith—and this is not from yourselves, it is the gift of God—not by works, so that no one can boast (Ephesians 2:8–9).
• Present: We are being saved from the power of sin. We are being sanctified.
While on earth they are being saved from the power of sin (sanctified). Paul spends a lot of time in his directions to the church plant in Ephesus to encourage them to live in a new reality by not letting sin continue to control their action. He writes:
As a prisoner for the Lord, then, I urge you to live a life worthy of the calling you have received. Be completely humble and gentle; be patient, bearing with one another in love. Make every effort to keep the unity of the Spirit through the bond of peace (Ephesians 4:1–3).
• Future: We will be saved from the presence of sin. We will be glorified.
One day, Christians will receive a new body, and the sin nature will be completely eradicated. We look forward to a new home, a new heaven and a new earth where sin will no longer be an issue. John writes of this at the end of your bible as he details a vision:
Then I saw “a new heaven and a new earth,” for the first heaven and the first earth had passed away, and there was no longer any sea. I saw the Holy City, the new Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God, prepared as a bride beautifully dressed for her husband. (Revelation 21:1-2)
References: https://billygraham.org/answers/why-do-christians-believe-jesus-is-the-only-way-of-salvation-isnt-that-being-rather-narrow-minded-and-judgmental https://www.gotquestions.org/saved-and-being-saved.html
