Jesus is the Way
Text: John 14:1-7
Introduction: Do you have problems you can’t seem to find an answer to? Are you confused about things pertaining to your life? Do you often feel lost and in despair? If this is you, you are not alone...there was a man who lived about the same time as Abraham. This man, Job, was experiencing a tremendous load of suffering and pain when he penned the words:
"Man born of woman is short of days and full of trouble. He blossoms like a flower, then withers; he flees like a shadow and does not last." (Job 14:1-2)
Job’s words, spoken nearly four thousands years ago, express the sentiments of millions today.
Now, however, there is a way out and that way is Jesus Christ! He said: "I am the way, the truth, and the life." (Jn 14:6). To everything that is truly good, both in this life and the one to come, Jesus Christ is the way! The next several messages will introduce several areas in which Jesus is truly "The Way." As we endeavor to search out the Word on this particular theme, I pray that you will come to discover Jesus Christ is the only real answer to every problem and situation you will ever encounter. Today, I grant to you an overview of what is to come in hopes of whetting your desire for the rest of the story that is to come.
Jesus is:
I. The Way to a Better Life
A. Jesus offers abundant life...
1. On one occasion, Jesus stated His purpose in coming to this earth - "I have come that they may have life and have it in abundance." - Jn 10:10
2. This "abundant life" is more than simply life in the "hereafter"
3. Though it is not a promise of great wealth or luxury, it is a promise of:
a. A loving Father in Heaven, Who cares for His children - "So don’t worry, saying, What will we eat? or What will we drink? or What will we wear? For the idolaters eagerly seek all these things, and your heavenly Father knows that you need them. But seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness, and all these things will be provided for you." (Mt 6:31-33)
b. More than sufficient provision for those who are willing to follow Him - "I assure you, Jesus said, there is no one who has left house, brothers or sisters, mother or father, children, or fields because of Me and the gospel, who will not receive 100 times more, now at this time--houses, brothers and sisters, mothers and children, and fields, with persecutions--and eternal life in the age to come." (Mk 10:29-30)
B. All who receive this better life are blessed...
1. The happiest people in the world are those who truly commit themselves to following Jesus as "The Way"
2. Even though living in the most adverse circumstances:
a. Paul was able to proclaim - "I have learned to be content in whatever circumstances I am. I know both how to have a little, and I know how to have a lot. In any and all circumstances I have learned the secret of being content--whether well-fed or hungry, whether in abundance or in need. I am able to do all things through Him who strengthens me." (Ph 4:11-13)
b. The persecuted Christians in Asia Minor could say - "You rejoice in this, though now for a short time you have had to be distressed by various trials so that the genuineness of your faith--more valuable than gold, which perishes though refined by fire--may result in praise, glory, and honor at the revelation of Jesus Christ. You love Him, though you have not seen Him. And though not seeing Him now, you believe in Him and rejoice with inexpressible and glorious joy, because you are receiving the goal of your faith, the salvation of your souls." (I Pe 1:6-9)
Jesus is:
II. The Way to Forgiveness
A. Jesus is the only solution to a most serious problem...
1. Sin!
- Everyone is guilty of sin - "For all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God." (Ro 3:23)
2. Sin brings serious consequences
a. Sometimes physical, but always spiritual! - "For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord." (Ro 6:23)
b. Unless the problem of sin is resolved, the ultimate consequence is eternity in hell!
B. Through Jesus, God provides forgiveness...
1. Out of love, God offered Jesus as the propitiation for our sins - "God’s love was revealed among us in this way: God sent His One and Only Son into the world so that we might live through Him. Love consists in this: not that we loved God, but that He loved us and sent His Son to be the propitiation for our sins." (I Jn 4:9-10)
2. Through His blood shed on the cross, Jesus provides forgiveness for our sins - "In Him we have redemption through His blood, the forgiveness of our trespasses, according to the riches of His grace." (Ep 1:7)
3. After His sacrificial death for us, Jesus explained how those lost in sin could be saved
a. Through repentance - "This is what is written: the Messiah would suffer and rise from the dead the third day, and repentance for forgiveness of sins would be proclaimed in His name to all the nations, beginning at Jerusalem." (Lk 24:46-47)
b. Through faith and baptism - - "Whoever believes and is baptized will be saved, but whoever does not believe will be condemned." (Mk 16:16)
But to be truly happy, we need more than just the forgiveness of sins; we need to be restored to the close union with God which we lost by our sins. In this also, Jesus is our answer, for He is:
III. The Way to God
A. Jesus came to reconcile us to the Father...
1. Many religions, claiming to be Christian, are almost totally silent about the new relationship Jesus brings us into with God, the Father
2. Jesus came to this world to reconcile man back to God the Father
a. God sent Him for that purpose - "Therefore if anyone is in Christ, there is a new creation; old things have passed away, and look, new things have come. Now everything is from God, who reconciled us to Himself through Christ and gave us the ministry of reconciliation: that is, in Christ, God was reconciling the world to Himself, not counting their trespasses against them, and He has committed the message of reconciliation to us. Therefore, we are ambassadors for Christ; certain that God is appealing through us, we plead on Christ’s behalf, "Be reconciled to God." (II Co 5:17-20)
b. This is what He claimed to be - "Jesus told him, "I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through Me." (Jn 14:6)
B. A relationship with God is important...
1. One does not truly experience what it means to have "eternal life" without having an intimate relationship with the Father, as well as with the Son which is exactly what Jesus has to offer us! - "For You gave Him authority over all flesh; so He may give eternal life to all You have given Him. This is eternal life: that they may know You, the only true God, and the One You have sent--Jesus Christ." (Jn 17:2-3)
2. The eternal life Jesus offers to us includes "knowing" the Father as well as the Son!
The way to a better life, the way to forgiveness of sins, the way to God...what wonderful blessings! But there is more. Jesus is also:
IV. The Way Out of Religious Confusion
A. The dilemma many face today...
- Consider the plight of many who wish to truly follow Jesus. They become confused and even repelled by the multitude of different churches and conflicting doctrines being offered by those who profess to be His church.
B. One does not have to be a part of this confusion...
1. Jesus certainly does not approve iof this confusion...
a. He taught the harm of division - "Every kingdom divided against itself is headed for destruction, and no city or house divided against itself will stand." (Mt 12:25)
b. He prayed for His followers to be united - "I pray not only for these, but also for those who believe in Me through their message. May they all be one, as You, Father, are in Me and I am in You. May they also be one in Us, so the world may believe You sent Me." (Jn 17:20-21)
2. Jesus promised to build His church - "And I also say to you that you are Peter, and on this rock I will build My church, and the forces of Hades will not overpower it." (Mt 16:18)
a. Despite all the efforts of man and Satan to destroy it or otherwise change it, they shall not prevail!
b. Even today, when someone obeys the words of Jesus Christ, they are added by the Lord Himself to His church - "Every day the Lord added to them those who were being saved." (Ac 2:47)
c. In His church, we can enjoy the unity of which Paul wrote - "There is one body and one Spirit, just as you were called to one hope at your calling; one Lord, one faith, one baptism, one God and Father of all, who is above all and through all and in all." (Ep 4:4-6)
Finding His church and enjoying this unity is experienced only as we follow Jesus as the way out of religious confusion. Finally, let me point out that: Jesus is:
V. The Way to Eternal Life
A. Death is inevitable...
1. It is appointed for men to die once - "it is appointed for people to die once" (He 9:27a)
2. After death comes the judgment - "and after this, judgment" (He 9:27b)
3. Death becomes the door to either eternal life or eternal condemnation - "And they will go away into eternal punishment, but the righteous into eternal life." (Mt 25:46)
B. Jesus offers eternal life...
1. To die in Jesus is to die in the way to life eternal! - "Don’t work for the food that perishes but for the food that lasts for eternal life, which the Son of Man will give you, because God the Father has set His seal of approval on Him." (Jn 6:27)
"Jesus said to her, "I am the resurrection and the life. The one who believes in Me, even if he dies, will live." (Jn 11:25)
2. As the apostle John wrote in the book of Revelation - "Then I heard a voice from heaven saying, Write: Blessed are the dead who die in the Lord from now on. Yes, says the Spirit, let them rest from their labors, for their works follow them!" (Re 14:13)
Conclusion: Jesus is "The Way." He is the way to life eternal. He is the way to life more abundantly. He is the way to get to the Father. He is the only way one can ever gain entrance to heaven.
Have you discovered the way? Have you invited Jesus Christ to be your Lord and Savior? Where do you stand today?
Jesus Is The Way Series #1
