‘No Other Way, Truth or Life—but Jesus Christ’
Preached on October 7th 2001
Text: John 14:1-6
Intro: We are living in what some have called the post-Christian era, where, for most people, Jesus Christ has become totally irrelevant. People still have their religion, but, don’t talk to them about absolutes, or doctrines, or especially the biblical doctrine of Jesus Christ… they don’t want to hear it!
In our post-modern world, Christianity has taken on a whole new meaning. The biblical doctrine of Jesus Christ has been pared down and expunged of everything that is offensive to the natural man. But the fact remains, that the Jesus of the Bible is as offensive to the religious world in our day, as He was to the religious world in His own day… when He walked on the earth.
So, post-modern Christianity has concocted ‘another Jesus; another gospel,’ one that is very different from that which the apostles preached, whose words are not only recorded in the NT Scriptures, but are etched into the hearts of all true believers.
This post-modern teaching is called—RELIGIOUS PLURALISM. Philosophically, religious pluralism is the theory that all the great world religions constitute varying conceptions of, and responses to the one ultimate, mysterious divine reality (that’s their definition).
In everyday language, religious pluralism teaches that, all religions lead to the same God. Therefore we are told that we must not only be tolerant of other religions, but we must not be critical of them. Some have even gone so far as to describe sincere Muslims, Hindus, and Buddhists as “anonymous Christians.”
One Roman Catholic scholar said, - ‘Salvation is not only for Christians but for all persons of good will, because in their hearts grace works in an unseen way… God saves these “anonymous Christians” not because of their natural morality, but because he gives them the grace of Jesus Christ without them realizing it.’ – Karl Rahner
Religious pluralism falsely reasons, that since Jesus Christ is found in all the major religions (Buddhism and Islam); then all religions offer salvation. Therefore, missionaries and evangelists need to recognize that the people to whom they are bringing the gospel, already have the gospel. They just need to “enter into dialogue in order to learn how Christ can be glorified through those people’s unique religious expressions,” no matter what their religion teaches.
Some of you are probably thinking, ‘But, who in their right mind would believe all this religious bunk about ‘anonymous Christians’ and all the rest?’ – you might be surprised…
Billy Graham appearing on Robert Schuller’s Hour of Power television program, June 8, 1997, said,
‘I think everybody that loves Christ, or knows Christ whether they’re conscious of it or not-(are) members of the Body of Christ…. (God is) calling people from out of the world for His name, whether they come from the Muslim world, or the Buddhist world, or the Christian world, or the non-believing world… They may not even know the name of Jesus, but they know in their heart that they need something that they don’t have, and they turn to the only light that they have. And I think that they are saved, and that they are going to be with us in heaven.’
Robert Schuller: What I hear you saying, that it’s possible for Jesus Christ to come into a human heart and soul and life, even if they’ve been born in darkness and have never had exposure to the Bible. Is that a correct interpretation of what you’re saying?
Graham: Yes, it is. Because I believe that I’ve met people in various parts of the world in travel situations, that they had never seen a Bible or heard about a Bible, and never heard about Jesus, but they believe in their heart that there was a God, and they tried to live a life that was quite apart from the surrounding community in which they lived.
Schuller: This is fantastic! I’m so thrilled to hear you say that! There is a wideness in God’s mercy!
Graham: There is; there definitely is.’
Does God ever save people who have never heard about Jesus Christ? (Rom 10:13-14,17> ‘For whoever calls on the name of the LORD shall be saved. How then shall they call on Him in whom they have not believed? And how shall they believe in Him of whom they have not heard? And how shall they hear without a preacher?… Faith comes by hearing, and hearing by the Word of God.’
Does God ever save people who may not even know the name of Jesus? (Jn 1:12> ‘But as many as received Him, to them He gave the right to become children of God, to those who BELIEVE IN HIS NAME.’ (Is 53:11> ‘…By His KNOWLEDHE My righteous Servant shall justify man, for He shall bear their iniquities.’
Is God’s mercy wide? – Yes, but not wider than the Bible; and not wider than Jesus Christ! (Mt 7:13-14> ‘Enter by the narrow gate; for wide is the gate and broad is the way that leads to destruction, and there are many who go in by it. Because narrow is the gate and difficult is the way which leads to life, and there are few who find it…’
Read; John 14:1-6
As Christians, we are to love all people everywhere, even those who hate us. We are to be patient and tolerant of people who believe differently than we believe. BUT, having said that, we must not be passive or silent when it comes false religions.
But the skeptic says, ‘But, what makes you think you’re religion is the right religion?’
Why? … because the Spirit of God has illuminated our minds and has caused us to see the hateful secret of our sinfulness against God; and He has shined into our darkened souls ‘the light of the knowledge of the glory of God,’ perfectly revealed in the Person of Jesus Christ,
And now we believe and are sure that ‘we are of God, and the whole world lies under the sway of the wicked one. And we know that the Son of God has come and has given us an understanding, that we may know Him who is true; and we are in Him who is true, in His Son Jesus Christ. This is THE TRUE GOD and eternal life.’ <1 Jn 5:19-20).
In (v.6), we have one of the clearest declarations of the exclusive nature of the gospel of Jesus Christ. With all reverence and candor—either Jesus was mistaken, or He was deceived, or He was lying, when He spoke these words…or… the people who believe religious pluralism are mistaken, or they are deceived, or they are lying…
I. LET’S LOOK AT THE CONTEXT - the Lord Jesus is attempting to minister consolation to His disciples, who were beginning to understand that Jesus was really going to leave them. So the Lord Jesus here, gives them three reasons why they should not be troubled or fearful or discouraged—because:
1st ... JESUS WAS GOING TO HEAVEN – He was going to His Father’s house—the place of God’s special presence; He was going away in order to prepare dwelling places, rooms (mansions) for His disciples. And not only for these disciples, but for every disciple, in every generation—who in Spirit-wrought repentance and faith, would trust their souls to the mercies of God; believing that Jesus Christ, ‘also suffered once for sin, the just for the unjust, that He might bring them to God!’
The 2nd Reason why God’s people should not be troubled or fearful or discouraged—is because:
2nd ... JESUS PROMISED TO COME AGAIN – in eternity to come, the redeemed of all the ages will study God’s record of human history, and I am certain, they will discover that the four greatest events that have ever taken place in this world—are events that all revolved around the Person of Jesus Christ.
1st – The BIRTH OF CHRIST – in a manger in Bethlehem, when God became what He had never been before—a Man with a human body and soul—and think of it… retaining that unique human identity for the rest of eternity.
2nd – The DEATH OF CHRIST – on the cross, when He paid the penalty that our sins deserved; not only to put away our sins, but to turn away God’s wrath! The most significant and appalling demonstration of God’s awesome holiness, that the moral universe has ever witnessed was when Jesus suffered, bled and died on that Roman cross!
No question about it, the cross of Calvary exhibits God’s hatred for sin in a way, and to an extent that the annihilation of millions of worlds, swept off the face of the universe by the broom of God’s wrath, could never have done! ‘Who His own self bore our sins in His own body on the tree...’
At the cross, we learn how holy God is; at the cross, we learn what a monstrous thing sin is. On that bloody cross, hung Jesus, the only hope for sinners. And those of us who get to heaven, will only get there by the force of the incarnate Son of God bleeding out His life for us!
3rd – The RESURRECTION OF CHRIST – on the first Day of the week, forever afterward known as the Lord’s Day; Jesus conquered death and hell and the grave, when He physically erupted out from among the dead—leading captivity captive, giving gifts unto men; even the gift of life. Breaking the silence of a thousand cemeteries, proclaiming with a loud voice—‘I AM THE RESURRECTION, AND THE LIFE: he who believes in me, though he were dead, yet shall he live…’
4th – The SECOND COMING OF CHRIST – there is a day in the future, like no other day… when Jesus will come—quickly and unexpectantly—‘like a thief in the night,’ suddenly appearing in the clouds, in brilliant glory and power with ten thousands of His saints, with His holy angels; and ‘every eye shall SEE HIM.’ On that Day, when the trumpet of God will reverberate throughout the universe and the archangel will shout and every dead body will rise from its resting place in the dust of the earth… for Jesus Christ will come again as He promised ‘To judge the earth in righteousness and justice…’
3rd ... JESUS WILL RECEIVE THEM! – (lit.> He will be face-to-face with them; He will welcome them; not just these eleven disciples, but all those who look forward to His appearing. Everyone (from every nation, culture and ethnic group) who believes—not just in God, but in the God of the Bible, as He is perfectly revealed to us in the Person of Jesus Christ.
The only sure antidote for a troubled heart is—faith in the Lord Jesus Christ! Jesus said, ‘You believe in God, believe also in Me.’ Why should we believe in Jesus? Because He Himself declared, ‘I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through Me.’
Let’s look at this:
II. AMAZING PERSONAL DECLARATION THAT JESUS MAKES in (v.6) Actually, we have two things in this verse. Jesus first makes:
(1) A BOLD DECLARATION OF FACT; He provides (2) An UNCOMPROMISING EXPLANATION. Notice;
1st … OUR LORD’S BOLD DECLARATION OF FACT – ‘I am the WAY, the TRUTH and the LIFE…’ In essence, Jesus is telling us, that He alone—is the sum and substance of all true religion; that He alone, is everything that sinners could possibly need to be saved from their sins. In this bold declaration of gospel fact, Jesus identifies Himself as the solution to three problem areas of life:
(1st) – BY NATURE, WE ARE ALL A BUNCH OF MORAL WANDERERS – it doesn’t matter where we were born, or what kind of culture we were brought up in, or what ethnic or economic group we belong to; as soon as you and I came into this world, we immediately began following our morally wild and restless instincts; instincts that we inherited from our father—Adam. ‘All we like sheep have gone astray, we have turned everyone to His own way…’
The tragic thing about our wanderings, is that we always wandered in the wrong direction—away from the true God. We began life running from God—and some of you are still running. You know what?—you’re running FROM God’s mercies and blessings; your running from God’s goodness and care; and you’re running TO shame and suffering and sorrow; pain and more problems, loneliness and lost-ness and death and eternal ruin.
So when the Lord Jesus boldly declares, “I AM THE WAY” – He is categorically saying, ‘I am the only way out of: your wanderings; your lost-ness; your loneliness; your foolishness; your sinfulness. I am the only way to salvation, to heaven, to eternal life—to God!’
Jesus is saying, that there is no other way to have access to God; He is the only bridge to heaven—there is no other way.
(2nd) – BY NATURE, WE ARE ALL VERY IGNORANT OF GOD – no one likes to be called ‘stupid,’—but when it comes to spiritual things; especially when it comes to knowing the truth about God—by nature we are all very stupid. We are spiritually and morally dull, insensitive, incoherent, foolish, stubborn, thick-headed, unteachable, gullible and irrational.
(Rom 3:11> ‘There is none that understands…’ (Eph 4: 18> ‘Having their understanding darkened, being alienated from the life of God, because of the ignorance that is in them, because of the blindness of their heart…’
Our natural, inbred moral and spiritual ignorance, combined with our sinful nature and our proneness to wander—is the reason why we have so many different religions in the world. Sinners are really good at dreaming up schemes of religion.
So when Jesus says, “I AM THE TRUTH” – He is saying that He is the full and final revelation of God. Without Christ, men will believe the lies of the Devil, or make up their own lies. Without the Lord Jesus, we are morally and spiritually blind and can never be saved. (2 Thess 2:9-10> ‘…according to the working of Satan, with all power, signs, and lying wonders, and with all unrighteous deception among those who perish, because they did not receive the love of the truth, that they might be saved.
Jesus identifies Himself as the solution for a third problem. We are not only: (1) Moral Wanders; (2) Very Ignorant of God; but:
(3rd) – BY NATURE, WE ARE SPIRITUALLY DEAD TO GOD – only dead men hijack airplanes full of people and crash them into buildings; only dead men murder and commit acts of violence; only dead men abuse their wives and children; only spiritually dead men practice sexual immorality; only dead men love lies, and violence, and the world, and money.
Only spiritually dead men waste their lives on meaningless pursuits of pleasure, prosperity or play! Only dead men say ‘No’ to God, and are indifferent to Jesus Christ. Only dead men say, ‘No thanks, I have my own religion—so mind your own business.’
Without Jesus Christ, our religion at its very best—is a dead religion; our morality is dead morality; our worship is dead worship; our faith is a dead faith. So when Jesus says, “I AM THE LIFE” – He is saying, that all liveliness of spirit comes through Him; that all God-ward movement of the soul comes from Him; that He alone is the fountain and fullness of life; and everything outside of Christ—is spiritual deadness...
(1 Jn 5:11-12> ‘And this is the testimony: that God has given us eternal life, and this life is in His Son. He who has the Son has life; he who does not have the Son of God does not have life.’ (Jn 3:36> ‘He who believes in the Son has EVERLASTING LIFE; and he who does not believe the Son shall not see life, but the wrath of God abides on him.’
Lastly, we come to OUR LORD’S UNCOMPROMISING EXPLANATION – if anyone has any question about what Jesus was talking about, He settles the question with this unambiguous, uncompromising statement, ‘…NO ONE comes to the Father EXCEPT THROUGH ME.’
In other words, there is no other God-honoring religion, but the religion of the gospel of the Lord Jesus Christ. There is no other true faith, but the faith that looks to Jesus Christ, as the perfect sacrifice for sinners, believing that Jesus lived a perfect life and died a substitutionary death… There is no other way to be forgiven by God, than to have our sins washed away in the blood of the Lord Jesus Christ. There is no other name under heaven, ‘given among men whereby we must be saved, but by the name of Jesus Christ.’
* Let me ask you… Have you ever come to Jesus Christ for salvation? What are you waiting for? There is no other Savior!
But, ‘Why is there no other Savior?’ — Because Mohammed and Buddha and Joseph Smith and Mary Baker Eddy and the Dahli Lama and Saint Mary and St. Peter didn’t die for you. And even if they had, their deaths would have been utterly rejected by God. ‘The wages of sin is death… The soul that sins shall die…’ Real sinners need a real Savior…
