What is the Way 2

Review

We are exploring the “I Am” statements of Jesus.

Each “I Am” statement tells us about what Jesus is as God.

Jesus as the Word

Jesus as the Bread of Life

Jesus as Light (then satan as Darkness)

Jesus as the Door, the only way to enter in.

Jesus as the Good Shepherd

Jesus as the Resurrection and the life. (Speaking with Martha after Lazarus died.)

Offers us eternal Life.

Offers us a true bodily resurrection, where our new bodies meet with our souls again to live for Him for eternity.

The Upper Room

Jesus knows that Judas is going to betray him at the conclusion of the evening.

He spends time with His disciples to strengthen, warn, and teach them for the last time.

John 13 He washes their feet and commands them to love one another.

John 14 He tells them that He is going away to prepare a place for them, then He will return.

Thomas asks “We don’t know where your going, how can we know the way?”

John 14:6 “6 Jesus said to him, “I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through Me.”

3 separate claims that Christ makes, two of them new.

The Way

Thomas was thinking literally. Jesus was going somewhere, by himself. Where? What roads did He use?

Jesus was speaking of dying and ascending back to the Father.

There are obviously no roads to get to heaven.

But their needs to be a ‘Way’ to get there, so this question while asked out of ignorance and confusion, is a perfect question as Jesus can provide an answer.

John 14:6 “6 Jesus said to him, “I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through Me.”

What does Jesus mean?

How is He the way?

Is it available to us as well?

The Warning

We must deal with reality.

We live in a time where men believe that truth is personal and changeable. What is true for me, isn’t necessarily true for you.

May god, whoever you envision Him to be, go with you!

This is utter foolishness as we know that there is true truth.

We know that when we are speeding and we get stopped we can’t escape by saying that I envision the speed limit to be 20 over the sign.... so I shouldn’t get a ticket.

We know that if we fall while on the roof fixing some shingles that we will slide down and if we go over the edge, we will fall down accelerating at a steady rate until we hit the ground.

We know that the sun rises in the east and sets in the west, that the water is wet, the fire is hot… We are surrounded by true truth that we live by and live with every day. We can not escape truth by denying it.

God is the greatest reality of all.

As the Creator, He is more real than the things that He created. He is more real than the heavens and earth, more enduring....

For us to think that God grows or changes or needs us, is for sin and foolishness. Lets just think about God as He has revealed Himself.

God existed from eternity past, beyond the realms of thought, God was and is and will be.

God can speak and worlds / universes come into existence, fully formed and mature.

God speaks and creates all the animals, birds, vegetation, water, mountains, all of it just with the words of His mouth.

Job 38-41 God deals with Job who is questioning Him and His decrees that allowed God to suffer.

We should all read this as it helps us to see who God is and the foolishness of trying to think we can know anything about God other than what He has revealed.

We must start with this understanding, God is above us infinitely. We will never fully understand Him, nor can we ever change Him. One of the character traits of God is that He doesn’t change, so us little mortals who think that be thinking of Him differently will change him, is sin. We are inventing an idol in our imagination, after the likes of our own heart.

Psalm 50:21 “21 These things you have done, and I kept silent; You thought that I was altogether like you; But I will rebuke you, And set them in order before your eyes.”

God

Creator and Judge of all flesh.

We did not create God, but God created us to show His glory.

Righteous and Holy.

1 John 1:5 “5 This is the message which we have heard from Him and declare to you, that God is light and in Him is no darkness at all.”

Man

Created by God, for God.

Fell

Died Spiritually

He started Loving God perfectly.

He ended loving himself and hating the Just God of the bible.

He is a sinner from birth and by choice.

Man’s Fall

Man’s Fall is not a lovers quarrel to be overlooked, but a rebellion against God’s sovereign authority to rule, against God rights as King, lawgiver, and judge.

d. notice the relationships: We would see ourselves as equals of God, God reserves the right to be the only God and creator, the righteous King of all.

All of Mankind died in Adam, and suffer the effects of the fall.

Romans 3:23 “23 for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God,”

Matthew 15:19 “19 For out of the heart proceed evil thoughts, murders, adulteries, fornications, thefts, false witness, blasphemies.”

Ephesians 2:1–3 “1 And you He made alive, who were dead in trespasses and sins, 2 in which you once walked according to the course of this world, according to the prince of the power of the air, the spirit who now works in the sons of disobedience, 3 among whom also we all once conducted ourselves in the lusts of our flesh, fulfilling the desires of the flesh and of the mind, and were by nature children of wrath, just as the others.”

Jesus Christ

Old Testament

He was the Hope that was looked for.

Genesis 3:15 “15 And I will put enmity Between you and the woman, And between your seed and her Seed; He shall bruise your head, And you shall bruise His heel.””

Genesis 12:3 “3 I will bless those who bless you, And I will curse him who curses you; And in you all the families of the earth shall be blessed.””

Seen in 2 ways —

Coming King who would sit on David’s thrown and rule forever.

A suffering servant who would die. (Is 52:13-53:12)

New Testament - Gospels

He is introduced by the Gospel writers as the Hope of Israel.

Matthew 1:20–23 “20 But while he thought about these things, behold, an angel of the Lord appeared to him in a dream, saying, “Joseph, son of David, do not be afraid to take to you Mary your wife, for that which is conceived in her is of the Holy Spirit. 21 And she will bring forth a Son, and you shall call His name Jesus, for He will save His people from their sins.” 22 So all this was done that it might be fulfilled which was spoken by the Lord through the prophet, saying: 23 “Behold, the virgin shall be with child, and bear a Son, and they shall call His name Immanuel,” which is translated, “God with us.””

Mark 1:1 “1 The beginning of the gospel of Jesus Christ, the Son of God.”

Luke 1:34–35 “34 Then Mary said to the angel, “How can this be, since I do not know a man?” 35 And the angel answered and said to her, “The Holy Spirit will come upon you, and the power of the Highest will overshadow you; therefore, also, that Holy One who is to be born will be called the Son of God.”

John 1:1–3 “1 In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. 2 He was in the beginning with God. 3 All things were made through Him, and without Him nothing was made that was made.”

John 1:14 “14 And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us, and we beheld His glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the Father, full of grace and truth.”

So He is shown as the fulfillment of prophecy and the Hope of Israel.

He came as the Passover Lamb of God. He came to die.

John 1:29 “29 The next day John saw Jesus coming toward him, and said, “Behold! The Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world!”

Mark 10:45 “45 For even the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give His life a ransom for many.””

Luke 9:51 “51 Now it came to pass, when the time had come for Him to be received up, that He steadfastly set His face to go to Jerusalem,”

Matthew 16:21 “21 From that time Jesus began to show to His disciples that He must go to Jerusalem, and suffer many things from the elders and chief priests and scribes, and be killed, and be raised the third day.”

John 10:15–17 “15 As the Father knows Me, even so I know the Father; and I lay down My life for the sheep. 16 And other sheep I have which are not of this fold; them also I must bring, and they will hear My voice; and there will be one flock and one shepherd. 17 “Therefore My Father loves Me, because I lay down My life that I may take it again.”

New Testament - Epistles

Ephesians 2:4–10 “4 But God, who is rich in mercy, because of His great love with which He loved us, 5 even when we were dead in trespasses, made us alive together with Christ (by grace you have been saved), 6 and raised us up together, and made us sit together in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus, 7 that in the ages to come He might show the exceeding riches of His grace in His kindness toward us in Christ Jesus. 8 For by grace you have been saved through faith, and that not of yourselves; it is the gift of God, 9 not of works, lest anyone should boast. 10 For we are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand that we should walk in them.”

Romans 3:21–26 “21 But now the righteousness of God apart from the law is revealed, being witnessed by the Law and the Prophets, 22 even the righteousness of God, through faith in Jesus Christ, to all and on all who believe. For there is no difference; 23 for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, 24 being justified freely by His grace through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus, 25 whom God set forth as a propitiation by His blood, through faith, to demonstrate His righteousness, because in His forbearance God had passed over the sins that were previously committed, 26 to demonstrate at the present time His righteousness, that He might be just and the justifier of the one who has faith in Jesus.”

Psalm 85:10–11 “10 Mercy and truth have met together; Righteousness and peace have kissed. 11 Truth shall spring out of the earth, And righteousness shall look down from heaven.”

Zechariah 9:9 “9 “Rejoice greatly, O daughter of Zion! Shout, O daughter of Jerusalem! Behold, your King is coming to you; He is just and having salvation, Lowly and riding on a donkey, A colt, the foal of a donkey.”

Acts 13:38–39 “38 Therefore let it be known to you, brethren, that through this Man is preached to you the forgiveness of sins; 39 and by Him everyone who believes is justified from all things from which you could not be justified by the law of Moses.”

1 John 1:9 “9 If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.”

Response:

Mark 1:15 “15 and saying, “The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God is at hand. Repent, and believe in the gospel.””

Our introduction to the Gospel by Christ shows 2 clear elements.

Repentance

Belief

Repentance:

This is part of the Gift of Salvation:

It is the first step on the road to Salvation, a recognition that we have sinned and are sinners.

We don’t look for the least definition, but the fullest explanation, the sum of God’s Word is truth. (Psalms 119:160)

Verses that link Repentance with Salvation.

Acts 5:30–31 “30 The God of our fathers raised up Jesus whom you murdered by hanging on a tree. 31 Him God has exalted to His right hand to be Prince and Savior, to give repentance to Israel and forgiveness of sins.”

Acts 11:18 “18 When they heard these things they became silent; and they glorified God, saying, “Then God has also granted to the Gentiles repentance to life.””

2 Timothy 2:25 “25 in humility correcting those who are in opposition, if God perhaps will grant them repentance, so that they may know the truth,”

2 Peter 3:9 “9 The Lord is not slack concerning His promise, as some count slackness, but is longsuffering toward us, not willing that any should perish but that all should come to repentance.”

Hebrews 6:6 “6 if they fall away, to renew them again to repentance, since they crucify again for themselves the Son of God, and put Him to an open shame.”

How are we brought to Repentance?

This is part of God showing us the truth in 2 Corinthians 4:6 “6 For it is the God who commanded light to shine out of darkness, who has shone in our hearts to give the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ.”

We have light to see and we see our sin.

We also see God’s love, His purity and are humbled. It isn’t light per-say, but an exalting of God and His glories in some way.

Paul on the road to Damascus.

Heard the Lord, recognized Him as God.

Heard it was Jesus. (enough! The light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus had arrived!)

It must be Godly Repentance.

2 Corinthians 7:8–12 “8 For even if I made you sorry with my letter, I do not regret it; though I did regret it. For I perceive that the same epistle made you sorry, though only for a while. 9 Now I rejoice, not that you were made sorry, but that your sorrow led to repentance. For you were made sorry in a godly manner, that you might suffer loss from us in nothing. 10 For godly sorrow produces repentance leading to salvation, not to be regretted; but the sorrow of the world produces death. 11 For observe this very thing, that you sorrowed in a godly manner: What diligence it produced in you, what clearing of yourselves, what indignation, what fear, what vehement desire, what zeal, what vindication! In all things you proved yourselves to be clear in this matter. 12 Therefore, although I wrote to you, I did not do it for the sake of him who had done the wrong, nor for the sake of him who suffered wrong, but that our care for you in the sight of God might appear to you.”

2 Chronicles 7:14 “14 if My people who are called by My name will humble themselves, and pray and seek My face, and turn from their wicked ways, then I will hear from heaven, and will forgive their sin and heal their land.”

Proverbs 28:13 “13 He who covers his sins will not prosper, But whoever confesses and forsakes them will have mercy.”

We put no trust in these works and even admit that they are less then God deserves, but there will / must be a turning to the Lord.

Luke 9:23–26 “23 Then He said to them all, “If anyone desires to come after Me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross daily, and follow Me. 24 For whoever desires to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for My sake will save it. 25 For what profit is it to a man if he gains the whole world, and is himself destroyed or lost? 26 For whoever is ashamed of Me and My words, of him the Son of Man will be ashamed when He comes in His own glory, and in His Father’s, and of the holy angels.”

Is repentance a second work? Are we denying Salvation by faith alone as some preach? (easy believism or free grace movement - Dallas Theological Seminary)

No.

They are parts of the same gift of salvation. It isn’t the change in our life that saves us, but the change in our life and our mourning over sin shows that we have been given the New Heart and have the Holy Spirit within us.

There are many groups who try to claim that you can have a salvation without repentance. Any true salvation will have repentance as the light of God’s word shines on them.

1 John 3:9 “9 Whoever has been born of God does not sin, for His seed remains in him; and he cannot sin, because he has been born of God.”

1 John 4:4–6 “4 You are of God, little children, and have overcome them, because He who is in you is greater than he who is in the world. 5 They are of the world. Therefore they speak as of the world, and the world hears them. 6 We are of God. He who knows God hears us; he who is not of God does not hear us. By this we know the spirit of truth and the spirit of error.”

1 John 5:1–5 “1 Whoever believes that Jesus is the Christ is born of God, and everyone who loves Him who begot also loves him who is begotten of Him. 2 By this we know that we love the children of God, when we love God and keep His commandments. 3 For this is the love of God, that we keep His commandments. And His commandments are not burdensome. 4 For whatever is born of God overcomes the world. And this is the victory that has overcome the world—our faith. 5 Who is he who overcomes the world, but he who believes that Jesus is the Son of God?”

James 2:26 “26 For as the body without the spirit is dead, so faith without works is dead also.”

Belief

What is belief? (faith)

Faith is primarily knowledge of and in God.

Romans 10:17 “17 So then faith comes by hearing, and hearing by the word of God.”

This is a knowledge that is so deep seated that we know it to be true, without any outside evidence.

Hebrews 11:1 “1 Now faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen.”

It is knowledge that produces a change in our lives.

James 2:26 “26 For as the body without the spirit is dead, so faith without works is dead also.”

One author speaks of this faith as “reliance”. This is the sum total of these three, knowing, being convinced and acting on this conviction is relying on what you know.

So what do we believe?

That Jesus came, fully God, fully man to bear our sin to the cross, died on our behalf, and rose again.

1 Corinthians 15:3–5 “3 For I delivered to you first of all that which I also received: that Christ died for our sins according to the Scriptures, 4 and that He was buried, and that He rose again the third day according to the Scriptures, 5 and that He was seen by Cephas, then by the twelve.”

Acts 16:30–31 “30 And he brought them out and said, “Sirs, what must I do to be saved?” 31 So they said, “Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, and you will be saved, you and your household.””

Acts 10:43 “43 To Him all the prophets witness that, through His name, whoever believes in Him will receive remission of sins.””

Conclusion:

Could you give the gospel to someone? Would you feel comfortable?

Read “What is the Gospel” by Greg Gilbert.

Study the Gospel. It is encouraging to us as well.

Romans 4:16 “16 Therefore it is of faith that it might be according to grace, so that the promise might be sure to all the seed, not only to those who are of the law, but also to those who are of the faith of Abraham, who is the father of us all”