Sermon 7-8-18
Overview
Is Jesus Really the Only Way?
In a culture that prizes inclusiveness, the claim that Jesus is the exclusive way to the Father can sound offensive—even cruel. But the question must be answered honestly: is Jesus really the only way to heaven? Many today try to soften the answer by treating all faiths as roughly equivalent. Islam acknowledges Jesus as a prophet but denies He is the Son of God. Hinduism welcomes Him as a good teacher and example. And many Christians, wanting to be kind, quietly assume that Buddha, Allah, and Jesus all lead to the same destination. This belief has a name: religious pluralism. It sounds gracious, but it is a heresy—a belief contrary to orthodox doctrine—and Scripture warned us it would come. Paul told Timothy that people would gather teachers to suit their own passions, turning from the truth to wander into myths 2 Timothy 4:3-4. Peter warned that false teachers would secretly bring in destructive heresies, "even denying the Master who bought them" 2 Peter 2:1-3.
God genuinely desires that all be saved. He is patient, "not wishing that any should perish, but that all should reach repentance" 2 Peter 3:9. Yet His desire that all come to Him does not mean that all paths lead to Him. Jesus answers Thomas's question with breathtaking clarity: "I am the way, and the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me" John 14:6. The phrase "I am" is not incidental. It echoes God's self-revelation to Moses at the burning bush—"I AM WHO I AM" Exodus 3:14—a name unbounded by space or time. Jesus is claiming to be eternally the way, eternally the truth, eternally the life.
He is the way because He is not merely a route or a moral code but the access itself. In Him, God reconciled the world to Himself, making Him who knew no sin to be sin for us 2 Corinthians 5:21. He is our peace, breaking down the dividing wall of hostility so that we have access to the Father Ephesians 2:14-18. He is the truth because He is the Word made flesh John 1:1-14, and the Father's word is truth John 17:17. If Jesus is the truth, then competing claims about salvation are not. He is the life because all things were made through Him, and in Him was life (John 1:3-4; see also Colossians 1:16; Hebrews 1:2). Peter declares it plainly: "There is salvation in no one else, for there is no other name under heaven given among men by which we must be saved" Acts 4:12.
This is why our faith cannot be reduced to admiring Jesus as a good teacher, nice prophet, or fine example. He did not die merely to instruct us; He died to defeat sin, death, and the devil—to literally rescue us. Buddha did not set us free. The gods of Hinduism did not free us. Islam does not claim that Allah will free us. One man, one name: Jesus. So clean out the itching ears, resist the temptation to pile your plate with a hodgepodge of beliefs, and rest in the freedom of His exclusive, sufficient love. And because He alone saves, we cannot keep Him to ourselves. Loving our neighbor means caring enough to share the only Name that saves.
Transcript
If I asked for directions to the Pacific Ocean, 0s
and I insisted that there was a way to get there by taking I-35, 4s
you would know I was completely wrong. 11s
There's absolutely no way that you can get to the Pacific Ocean by taking I-35. 16s
I even checked on a map. 21s
I went down through Mexico. 23s
We still could not get to the Pacific Ocean if we just 25s
took I-35. 29s
It's not the way. 33s
You cannot get to the Pacific by driving I-35, 35s
and I expect that you're probably okay with this statement. 38s
I expect that you think this makes sense. 42s
It clarifies or it's clear in your mind, 48s
but that's okay. 50s
And there's no problem with accepting this as a true statement, 51s
because I-35 is not the way to get to the Pacific Ocean. 55s
And just like we cannot get to the Pacific Ocean by traveling I-35, 61s
there's only one way we can get to heaven. 69s
What we are asking of Scripture today is, 75s
is Jesus really the only way to heaven, 79s
because that's a question that we get asked a lot, 85s
or we hear it a lot. 88s
And in our day and age, in this time of inclusiveness, 91s
a non-judge mentalness, and letting people be who they are, 97s
and live their lives as each man, woman, and child sees that it can really appear offensive, 103s
offensive and downright cruel to say that Jesus is the exclusive way 109s
to our Father in heaven. 114s
And let's be honest, we don't want to hurt anyone's feelings. 116s
We don't want anyone to feel badly. 120s
We want people to feel good about themselves. 122s
We want people to feel good about their beliefs, 125s
and their place in this world. 127s
And who are we to say that Buddha is not one way of getting to heaven? 129s
You know, we hear it time and time again, 137s
that Allah is the same as our God. 139s
And that really kind of seems legit, because Muslims do give Jesus his due respect 142s
as a prophet. 148s
They just don't believe that he's the son of God. 149s
One Christian who converted to Islam, I had a conversation with her, 151s
and she said, well, Islam is basically like Christianity, basically. 155s
In Hinduism, Jesus is a great example, 161s
and one can learn from his goodness, Mahatma Gandhi, 165s
a loved Christ. 168s
He said, I love your Christ. 170s
I just don't like your Christians. 172s
Gandhi knew that by following Jesus as an example, 176s
he could enhance his own faith, 180s
and he could be a better Hindu without the need 182s
of changing his belief system. 186s
And if these other religions systems, 189s
believe that Jesus was real, 192s
and he was a good teacher, 194s
and a prophet, or an example for us, 195s
then really, we should call it good and done, right? 199s
So what's the problem? 203s
Well, the problem is that being a good teacher, 205s
a prophet, and example, 209s
is not what makes us need Jesus. 212s
We have been tricked into believing that that's all he's good for. 216s
And what a selfish, an empty belief system that is, 221s
we have been absolutely convinced that it is right and salutary 226s
to pile our religious plates with a variety of beliefs, 230s
dabbling in a mixture of Jewish mysticism, 235s
and Buddhist meditation, and the pillars of the Quran, 238s
stacking them to practice alongside our Christian faith, 241s
because they seem okay, 244s
and like they should work together, 247s
but when we try to make it all work together, 249s
we end up with a dangerous mix of heresies. 253s
A heresie is defined as a belief, 259s
or opinion contrary to Orthodox religious doctrine. 261s
And throughout the Christian Church, 266s
there have been heresies. 268s
I really encourage you to go to our YouTube channel, 270s
and pull up the classes that Pastor Eibel did on heresies. 273s
I think they're about 12 of them, 276s
and you're going to find that a lot of the old heresies 278s
that we read about in history really carry on through into today. 281s
And one heresie that is rampant in the Christian Church of our day 287s
and age is something called religious pluralism. 292s
Religious pluralism. 297s
Obviously plural means more than one. 299s
So religious pluralism is holding the belief 302s
that more than one religious doctrine is right. 306s
And quite frankly, religious pluralism sounds really nice. 311s
It gets us out of a very uncomfortable position 315s
of having to make any definitive truth claim about Jesus. 318s
It also gets us off the hook for having to evangelize, 324s
or having to care and wanting to share Jesus with our neighbor 327s
because if everything leads to the same destination, 331s
well, we don't have to deal with the messiness of interfering 334s
with another person's life choices. 339s
But we were warned against this. 343s
We were absolutely warned against this. 345s
The Christian Church has then warned from the start 347s
that this would happen. 350s
In second Timothy Paul wrote, 352s
The time is coming. 354s
When people will not endorse sound teaching, 356s
but have itching ears, 360s
they will accumulate for themselves teachers 361s
to suit their own passions. 363s
And we'll turn away from listening to the truth 365s
and wander off into myths. 367s
How about that? 371s
Through the inspiration of the Holy Spirit, 372s
Paul warned Timothy that people will have itching ears. 375s
They will want to hear anything 379s
that will suit their own desires, their own thoughts, 381s
their own needs and feelings. 385s
We live in a time of itching ears, my friends. 388s
Itching ears. 394s
We want all faiths to work nicely together, don't we? 395s
And we want all people to end up together with us in heaven. 398s
Newsflash. 404s
God does too. 405s
He wants us all to end up together in heaven. 407s
In second Peter, it says that the Lord is patient. 411s
The Lord wants none to perish, 415s
but all to come to repentance. 418s
But Scripture is very clear that there is only one way. 422s
Everyone can be together in heaven. 427s
And it is not through a hodgepodge of religious scramble. 429s
Don't be swayed. 434s
Clean your itching ears. 436s
And listen good because Peter tells what happens 439s
when we fall into the trap of heretical teachings. 442s
He said false prophets rose among the people. 445s
Just as there will be false teachers among you who will secretly bring in destructive 448s
heresies, even denying the master who bought them, 452s
bringing upon themselves swift destruction, 457s
and many will follow their sensuality. 459s
And because of them, the way of truth will be blasphemed. 462s
And in their greed, they will exploit you with false words. 466s
Their condemnation from long ago is not idle, 468s
and their destruction is not asleep. 472s
Heresies, such as the religious pluralism we consider today, 477s
right now, they lead to destruction. 481s
Consider the first and only confession that one makes in Islam. 486s
It's to confess that Allah has no son, 492s
and that Muhammad is a prophet. 495s
The first confession is to deny Jesus Christ as the son of God. 498s
In our own faith, in our own creeds, 505s
we confess that Jesus is the begotten son, 508s
the only begotten son of the father. 511s
We confess that he came down from heaven for our salvation. 514s
And we know this salvation to have been bought on the cross 518s
through his holy, innocent and precious blood. 522s
We confess Jesus as the divine son or the master who has bought us. 527s
Listen again to what Peter wrote, false teachers will secretly 534s
bring in destructive heresies denying the master who bought them, 538s
bringing upon themselves swift destruction. 544s
The denial of Jesus brings swift destruction upon oneself. 547s
It sounds harsh when we think of Jesus only as a good teacher, 555s
or a great prophet or a wonderful, wonderful example for us to follow. 559s
But when we buy into these skewed doctrines of Jesus, 564s
we lose Christ. 568s
We lose Christ in the very purpose for which he lived and died 571s
and lived again. 575s
So let's start from square one. 579s
Let's start at point zero. 581s
This is us, not asking for directions to the Pacific Ocean, 585s
but this is us asking for directions to eternity 589s
from our Creator, with our Creator. 592s
In our song today, we read, 596s
lead me in the way ever lasting. 598s
So we ask from this square one position, lead us in the way ever lasting. 601s
And we find our answer to this request in our gospel reading today. 607s
So if you still haven't booked marked open up to page 95, 611s
John 14, verse 6. 615s
Jesus said, 623s
I am the way, the truth and the life. 626s
No one comes to the Father except through me. 632s
Jesus said, 638s
I am the way the truth and the life. 639s
I am the way the truth and the life. 643s
Let's consider just for a moment the use of I am. 647s
In the third chapter of Exodus Moses is questioning Yahweh. 651s
He's been asked to lead the Israelites to go to the Israelites and free them from slavery. 656s
And he says, 661s
I don't think I can do this. 662s
And the Lord said, 663s
I have observed the misery of my people who are in Egypt. 664s
I have heard their cry on account of their task masters. 667s
Indeed, I know their sufferings and I have come down to deliver them from the Egyptians 670s
and to bring them up out of that land to a good and broad land, 674s
flowing with milk and honey. 679s
The cry of the Israelites has now come to me. 682s
I have also seen how the Egyptians oppressed them. 684s
So come, 687s
I will send you to Pharaoh to bring my people the Israelites out of Egypt. 688s
who am I that I should go to Pharaoh and bring the Israelites out of Egypt? 693s
The Lord said, 698s
I will be with you. 699s
And this shall be a sign for you that it is I who sent you. 700s
When you have brought the people out of Egypt, 703s
you shall worship God on this mountain. 705s
if I come to the Israelites and say to them, 709s
the God of your ancestors has sent me to you 711s
and they ask me, 714s
what is his name? 716s
What shall I say to them? 718s
I am who I am. 722s
He said, 725s
further thus, 725s
you shall say to the Israelites, 726s
I am has sent me to you. 728s
This is my name forever. 731s
And this my title for all generations. 733s
Jesus using those words, 738s
I am. 741s
It is significant because he is making a significant statement about himself. 743s
He is connecting himself to the Father, 748s
to Yahweh, 751s
and two words signify a continuous being, 753s
not limited by time. 758s
I am is never ending. 760s
It's not limited by space. 762s
It's not limited by time. 764s
It just is. 765s
I am. 769s
And by starting the statement, 771s
I am Jesus removes all those limits of space and time 772s
to the rest of his claim. 778s
I am always, 781s
and eternally, 783s
the way. 784s
I am always eternally, 785s
the truth. 787s
I am always eternally, 788s
the life. 791s
So how is Jesus always, 794s
and eternally, 798s
the way. 800s
Practically speaking, 802s
a way is a road. 805s
It's the path. 807s
It's a journey. 808s
And when we ask for directions, 809s
we ask, 811s
hey, can you tell me the way, too? 812s
Right? 815s
We want a very practical answer. 815s
And that's what Thomas was asking in our gospel reading. 818s
He was thinking very concretely, 820s
and asking how to get to this place that Jesus was going. 823s
Lord, we don't know where you're going, 827s
how will we know how to get there. 829s
So we can read Jesus' statement as him saying, 832s
he is that concrete path, 835s
or the journey to his father's house. 837s
the way was also a metaphor for conduct. 842s
It's a manner of thinking and feeling and deciding. 845s
The Jews talked a lot about the way men must walk 849s
or the ways of God. 853s
And Jesus saying he is the way is his declaration 856s
that he is the only path to the Father. 859s
In second Corinthians, 865s
it says, 866s
in Christ, God was reconciling the world to himself. 867s
For our sake, he made him to be sin, 870s
who knew no sin, 872s
so that in him we might become the righteousness of God. 873s
Jesus walked in the ways of God for us. 877s
He walked that path for us. 883s
He knew no sin, 885s
so that he could be that very pathway to God for us. 887s
In the Ephesians text that we heard read, 891s
it says that Jesus himself is our peace 894s
who has broken down in his flesh, 897s
the dividing wall of hostility. 900s
Through him, 902s
we have access in one spirit to the Father. 903s
Jesus doesn't describe a route to the Father. 907s
He doesn't say, 911s
oh, you could take a left here, you go right, 912s
you do these things, right? 915s
It's not a literal path to follow 916s
or a certain way to conduct ourselves 918s
because he's it. 921s
It is through Jesus that we are taken directly 924s
to the Father. 927s
Jesus is the way. 930s
I am the way. 933s
We then ask with the Psalmist in Psalm 86, 936s
teach me your way, O Lord, 940s
that I may walk in your truth. 943s
What is the Lord's truth? 946s
In his great prayer before he was betrayed, 950s
Jesus prayed to the Father, 952s
sanctify them in the truth. 953s
Your word is truth. 955s
Jesus is praying that the Father would make his disciples holy 958s
that he would set them apart in the truth. 962s
And what is truth? 965s
The word is truth. 966s
And this is where it gets exciting. 968s
It's putting all these puzzle pieces together. 971s
This is where it gets exciting because in John 1, 973s
it says, in the beginning, 976s
was the word. 977s
And the word was with God. 979s
And the word was God. 981s
Jesus is the word. 983s
The word made flesh. 985s
The word is God's eternal truth. 987s
And Jesus tells his disciples very plainly, 989s
I am the truth. 992s
Jesus is the word made flesh. 996s
He is truth. 1000s
And if Jesus is truth, 1002s
then everything else is not. 1005s
Now understand, 1010s
I'm not saying that if this piece of metal is not Jesus, 1011s
then it doesn't exist, right? 1016s
It's not a lie. 1019s
I can talk about this music stand and tell you, 1020s
that it's metal. 1023s
It's called to the touch. 1027s
It holds my papers on it. 1028s
There are verifiable fact statements that I can make about this music stand. 1030s
But when we talk about the truth in context of what Jesus saying is saying, 1037s
we are talking in the realm of meaning. 1043s
And what is true in things, 1046s
what is happening to God and the duties of man, moral, and religious truth? 1048s
Discerning truth is a matter of interpreting the facts. 1055s
So for an example, in a courtroom setting, 1060s
the same facts are available to both the prosecuting and the defense attorneys. 1063s
And each attorney puts his or her own spin on the facts. 1068s
And he or she constructs the evidence to work for his or her side. 1074s
That doesn't mean that both sides are right. 1079s
Right? 1083s
There's still one truth, one truth. 1083s
And the facts, as presented by scripture through the law, 1087s
through the prophets, through the gospel, 1091s
leads us to the one truth that Jesus is the Christ. 1093s
I can stand here and tell you about the truth, 1100s
but only Jesus can say, I am truth. 1104s
The truth of Jesus is that he is life for you and I. 1110s
Life belongs to God. 1115s
And our lives are created and sustained by the grace of God. 1118s
We like to try to split the Triune God by saying that that Father is the creator. 1122s
The Son is the Redeemer, the Holy Spirit, is the sanctifier, the one who makes us holy. 1128s
But those distinctions falsify the statement that Jesus makes here. 1134s
Jesus says, I am the life. 1140s
If he's life, he would have to be a part of creating, 1142s
be creating action himself. 1146s
So let's go back to the beginning of the gospel of John. 1149s
It says in the beginning was the word Jesus. 1153s
And the word was with God. 1156s
And the word was God. 1158s
He was in the beginning with God. 1159s
All things were made through him. 1162s
And without him, not anything made, not anything made that was made. 1165s
In him was life. 1170s
And the life was the light of men. 1171s
All things were made through him. 1173s
In him was life. 1176s
In Hebrews, it says in these last days, 1178s
He has spoken to us by his son, 1180s
whom he appointed the heir of all things through whom. 1181s
Also, he created the world. 1185s
In collageons, it says by him, Jesus, all things were created in heaven. 1187s
And on earth, visible and invisible, 1192s
whether thrones or dominions or rulers or authorities, 1194s
all things were created through him and for him. 1197s
Jesus holds life within himself. 1202s
He created life along with the Father and the Spirit. 1205s
And it is through him that we are brought into the fullness of our life with the Father. 1209s
The life Jesus gives us is everlasting. 1214s
And if the bold statement of Jesus that I am the way, the truth, 1218s
and the life wasn't clear enough, 1222s
Jesus takes it that final step to leave absolutely no further questions. 1225s
He says, no one comes to the Father except through me. 1231s
No one comes to the Father except through Jesus Christ. 1237s
That is a very definitive statement. 1242s
There is absolutely no wiggle room in that statement. 1247s
And Jesus is very comfortable making this claim. 1252s
You and I can also be very comfortable in this claim. 1256s
Not only do we have the truth, Jesus Christ, 1261s
but we have the whole source of truth in Holy Scripture. 1264s
And God's word is relentless in bearing witness to truth about Jesus, 1269s
about our relationship with the Father and about salvation. 1277s
Scripture does not mince words, 1282s
and there is no scriptural basis for religious pluralism. 1283s
We don't always like absolutes, 1289s
but the Bible absolutely says, 1292s
there is salvation in no one else. 1295s
For there is no other name under heaven given among men by which we must be saved. 1299s
As Christians, we can't try to find a way around this definitive word. 1306s
Oh, surely Jesus didn't mean he was the only way truth in life 1313s
because it's clear that Jesus did mean exactly that. 1318s
He is the only way, the only truth, the only life. 1323s
We can rest easy with this because our faith is not about following a good teacher, 1331s
a nice prophet, a good example. 1340s
Our faith is not about those things. 1344s
Jesus did much more than any of that he literally set. 1347s
Set us free. 1352s
He breaks our bonds of sin. 1356s
We are held captive, we are enslaved to our fleshly desires, our arrogance, our pride. 1359s
And Jesus came through and said to that chapter, 1367s
who hasn't slaved us in our sin. 1372s
No. 1375s
He said, no. 1377s
He did not die on the cross so that we could learn a lesson from him. 1379s
Jesus died on the cross to defeat our enemy and to literally rescue us from our sin, 1384s
from our death and from the devil. 1394s
Buddha did not set us free. 1398s
The gods of Hinduism have not freed us. 1401s
Islam does not claim that Allah will set us free. 1407s
One man, one name. 1414s
Jesus. 1422s
Amen. 1425s
Amen. 1435s