John 14:5-21
Jesus is the Only Way to God – True or False?
Introduction
A. How many people like things done your way?
B. I do!
C. There are things that I want done the way I want them done, or else do not do them!
D. Often someone will come to me and tell me their idea of how to do something
E. I will listen, and many of times, their right that way would work better, so I will switch my ways and try the other way
F. Today we have many different ideas on How to get to God
G. The famous expression all roads lead to Rome now should be stated all roads lead to God.
H. Is that true?
I. Or is Jesus the only way to God?
J. Today we are going to look and see if Jesus is the only way to God
K. We are going to look at three areas put them all together and answer our question
L. We are going to look at:
a. What is salvation?
b. I just have to be good right?
c. If you first don’t succeed try try again.
I. What is Salvation?
A. Explanation
1. Unfortunately there are many different views of Salvation, let me give you some of them, by no means is this an exhaustive list
a) The first one is Liberation Theology. Liberation Theology believes that salvation means deliverance from oppression. Sin is not the obstacle. The obstacle is oppression and exploitation of powerless classes by the powerful. In order to obtain salvation in their thinking is through political reform and revolution. God is not talked about. Worry about the injustice that is happening her on earth is all that is mentioned.
b) There is also Existential Theology. In Existential theology, salvation means: “A fundamental alter of our existence, our outlook on and conduct of life. Obtaining “authentic existence” or being called by God (or the gospel) to one’s true self and true destiny.” What prevents man from obtaining salvation is that he is imprisoned by his ego rationality and past identity forming experiences. He is living an inauthentic existence. Salvation then occurs by putting to death self gratification and security apart from God. All faith must be put in God. However, their definition of faith is abandoning the quest for tangible realities and transitory object
c) Secular Theology believes that salvation is moving away from God and learning to live independent of God. What prevents people from experiencing salvation is God. God is the opposite of salvation. If you need God then you are not saved according to the Secular Theologians. The only way to obtain salvation then is by getting rid of all religion and the need for God. You then must find a way to life self-sufficient and fully human. This finding yourself is accomplished though introspection, affirmation and the practice of scientific (e.g., antisupernatural) inquiry
d) That brings us to Evangelical Theology. The meaning of salvation if to change position before God from guilty to innocent. What prevents us from receiving salvation then is Sin. Sin breaks our relationship with God. In order to reestablish that relationship we must be justified by faith in the finished work of Christ and receive the Holy Spirit of God in regeneration, indwelling and sealing unto the day of redemption.
B. Application
1. So what is Salvation?
2. Salvation is the change of position before God from guilty to innocent
3. Let me unpack that definition
4. When we do wrong we are guilty
5. Salvation then is changing from that guilty stage we are at to an innocent stage
6. Once we are pronounced innocent, then we can enjoy the benefits of being innocent upon death here on earth
7. Those benefits would be spending eternity with God
8. To be in heaven with God
C. Illustration
1. At the end of a president’s term, he usually will pardon a whole lot of people. When he is pardoning this people is essence what he is doing is changing their position before the united states from guilty to innocent
2. He is saying that despite that fact that the person was convicted of the crime, with is presidential powers he is making that person innocent
3. When we are talking about Salvation that same concept is at work, except rather then a human doing the act, God is pronouncing people innocent
II. All I have to do is be good right?
A. Explanation
1. If I live a good life and do not do anything wrong I will go to heaven right?
2. Unfortunately this is the answer that is given a lot of times
a) Parents just wanting their kids to be good
b) Not wanting to try and explain things so that makes it easy way out
3. Why does just not being good work though?
4. We have to look at what causes the obstacles to Salvation
a) In Liberation Theology it is the oppressive people “The Man getting me down
b) Existential theology tells us it is our ego
c) Secular Theology says that God and organized Religion is what prevent salvation
5. However, the real obstacle to salvation is sin.
6. Sin is disobedience to God.
7. That disobedience to God causes the relationship between God and Men to dissolve
8. The extent of the Sin does not matter
9. In God’s eyes Sin is sin
10. There is no big sin’s, there is no little sins, there is no “I lived a pretty good life stuff” If you have sinned even once in your life, the separation is there
B. Application
1. What does this mean for us in our life?
2. We need to be clear on this point
3. So many times we want to say that is a good person he/she will be in heaven
4. Despite how good or how bad your are the reality is that we all need salvation
C. Illustration
1. In college, the last couple of weeks of the semester I would be sitting in class computing my grade. All the professors were required to tell us how our grades would be determined. Such like the 3 Test would make up 90% of the grade (30% each test) and homework and attendance would make up the final 10% of the grade. So I would plug the numbers in, figure it out and find out what grade I would need to pass the class. Notice I did not say what grade I would need to get an A – for I knew that was out of my reach. I just wanted to pass.
2. Here is the problem with salvation; you know what grade you need to pass into heaven? 100% you cannot miss a single point. 77% at Toccoa was a C- also known as just barely passing.
3. 99.9% in terms of salvation guess what that means?
4. Failure! Despite how “Good” you were, it still is failure
5. Being Good will not get you there.
6. No one outside of Christ has ever lived a perfect life
III. If first you don’t succeed try try again?
A. Explanation
1. Well, I know I have not lived a perfect life, but my next life, I make sure I get it right
2. Reincarnation, did you know that in 1982 1 out of 4 Americans believed in some form of reincarnation, that means in a group like this we would have 10 people believing in reincarnation
3. Let us take a good look at reincarnation
4. Reincarnation is the belief that you keep coming back to earth as a different being if you do not succeed at salvation
5. It is saying that if you do not live a “good enough” life, you will come back and try try again
6. However, if you live a really bad life, your next life will have bad Karma. If you lived a “pretty good” life you will have good Karma
7. What is wrong with reincarnation? There are two ways to deal with that question.
a) The first way is to concentrate on the logical aspects of why reincarnation is wrong.
b) For one Reincarnation does not solve the problem of evil.
(1) Let me give you an example of this. Say a mother is grieving over the death of her 4-month-old child. If someone were to ask me why that happens, I look him or her straight in the eye and say, “I don’t know.
(2) If someone were to ask that of one who believes in Reincarnation their answer would be “Your sweet innocent angel is dead because in a earlier life he was a scum ball
(3) Reincarnation does not offer a solution to the problem of evil, it just prolongs having to deal with it
c) Karma does not equal law
(1) There is no set of values that you can hang your hat on. What makes something right of wrong? That question cannot be answered
d) Reincarnation is ultimately anithumanitarian
(1) Because bad karma is receiving what you deserve, then to interfere with someone punishment because of bad karma will cause you to experience bad karma
(2) Therefore if someone has nothing to eat, it is because he is getting punished and if you help him out that you would be interfering with his punishment
(3) So in reality reincarnation than is antihumanitarian.
e) Reincarnation does not guarantee spiritual progress
(1) What we are saying here is that despite the advance in time, morally we are no further then we were
(2) We are still experiencing the same bad Karma, so there has been no spiritual progression
(3) If Reincarnation does work, then we would have to progress, have we progressed?
B. Application
1. So if reincarnation does not happen, since we proved that reincarnation does not work what are we left with?
2. Resurrection
3. Resurrection happens just once. Instead of living life after life after life, this is saying that life happens once
4. Upon death you will be judged
5. If you are found guilty – you will be sent to eternal torture and separation from God
6. If you are found innocent – you will be sent to eternal bliss and will spend eternity with God
7. There is no do over
8. There is not let me have another shot
9. This is a one time deal, you either are or your not
10. By the way there is no halfway stuff – it is either heaven or it is Hell!
C. Illustration
Conclusion
A. All of this, What is Salvation, All I have to do is be good right?, and if first you don’t succeed try try again boils down to one question
B. How do I experience salvation?
C. The Better way to say that is how do I receive Salvation?
D. Salvation is a gift from God
E. Because of the sin in our life, we deserve to be judged guilty
F. God sent His Son Jesus to die on the Cross
G. Jesus, did not sin, Jesus lived a perfect life
H. Therefore, Jesus was able to do something that we do no deserve
I. He choose to allow us to use Him as payment for our sins
J. He takes our place so that we might get to enjoy Eternality with God
K. Our responsibility for this is to accept what He has done
L. Accept that fact that He died for us on the Cross
M. Then we have to believe that He has the power to save us from our sins
N. Without Jesus, there would be no hope of Seeing God
O. Because God loved us so much, He sent Jesus to take our place
P. Jesus is the only way to God – True or False? TRUE!
