Untitled Sermon (2)

What makes solving mysteries so difficult is that very few of us, if any, catch all the important details. My wife and I like mystery tv shows, and like many of you, we always try to solve the case in the first three minutes.

Sometimes we are right, sometimes we are wrong. But almost all the time, neither of us had taken in every detail. We missed some things, just like how we all missed at least some of the changes in the video we just watched.

Today, we continue our Christmas 360 series by discussing two questions:

1. Why did Jesus come to earth in the first place?

Why couldn’t He have just flipped a supernatural switch? Why couldn’t He have made a decree from on high?

2. Why is Jesus the only way of salvation?

If Jesus’ desire is that no one should perish, why make the door so narrow?

Hopefully this morning we will see not only the necessity of Jesus Christ for salvation, and in His coming in the manner that He did, but also we will see that the narrow road is actually the broadest span of love that He could have offered to a lost and spiritually dead humanity.

Of course, for most Christians, these questions might not seem like mysteries, yet I think sometimes, in our quiet moments, we can wonder, why did Jesus accomplish salvation in the way that He did. And even more, I don’t know a Christian yet that hasn’t asked the question, “why is Jesus the only way?”

A recent Pew research survey found the following (survey slide 1):

How Does One Obtain Eternal Life?

American adults express a variety of views on how people can achieve eternal life. When asked to describe in their own words what determines whether a person will attain eternal life, nearly three-in-ten (29%) say that a person’s actions are most important. A similar number (30%) says that belief is the key factor in achieving everlasting life. One-in-ten refer to a combination of belief and actions as necessary for eternal life, and almost as many (8%) cite some other factor as most important. In addition, more than one-in-ten (14%) indicate they are unsure of what leads to eternal life, and another 7% volunteer they do not believe in eternal life.

(http://www.pewforum.org/2008/12/18/many-americans-say-other-faiths-can-lead-to-eternal-life/)

Or consider this (survey slide 2):

About Jesus being the only way of salvation

Although this survey finds that roughly two-thirds (65%) of religiously affiliated Americans continue to say many religions can lead to eternal life, this number is slightly lower than the seven-in-ten who said this in 2007 and is down 11 points since 2002. White Catholics and white mainline Protestants are the groups most likely to say that many religions can lead to eternal life, with 84% and 82%, respectively, expressing this point of view. Attitudes on this issue since this survey was taken among these groups have remained largely unchanged.

(http://www.pewforum.org/2008/12/18/many-americans-say-other-faiths-can-lead-to-eternal-life/)

Is it not at least a bit troubling that so many professing believers are missing the necessity of Christ, let alone those who do not believe on Jesus?

And just like the video we watched, after you are alerted to the changes, don’t you say to yourself, “I should’ve seen that! It was so obvious!”

Well, while there are certainly some mysteries of Christ that our human minds may never fully grasp, but I want to tell you that the mystery of Christmas has been solved, and it was solved in the person of Jesus Christ. And He left all the evidence we need both in Scripture, and in world history.

Pray.

Because we are investigating a mystery today, we won’t be focusing on just one text, but on several sections of Scripture in order to allow us as much evidence as we can find in the very brief time we have with each other this morning.

So let’s start with the first question:

Why did Jesus come to earth in the first place?

Genesis 3:15 ESV

15 I will put enmity between you and the woman, and between your offspring and her offspring; he shall bruise your head, and you shall bruise his heel.”

We know the basics of the events and history here: Adam and Eve sinned, which brought sin and death into the world, and forevermore all of humankind would be under the curse of sin, and could therefore not enjoy eternity with God.

God, not wanting His creation, people, to perish, made a way of redemption and salvation by coming to earth in the Person of Jesus Christ to live a sinless life, die a sacrificial death, and raise to life again after three days, thus conquering sin, and making the way of salvation for all those who believe in Jesus alone by faith alone.

But here again, why did Jesus have to come to earth?

Couldn’t He have just said that from now on, if you have a choice between sin and Me, just choose Me?

Even Jesus in the Garden of Gethsemane asked God if there was any other way to accomplish redemption and salvation for people other than having to be a sacrifice.

But the truth is found in the last 5 words of this verse:

“…you shall bruise his heel.”

These few words point to the sacrificial death of Christ as the payment for the sin, and the conquering of death that had just been invited into the world. The “you” is Satan, and the “his heel” is Jesus being killed on the cross.

Since these words point to Christ’s sacrifice, we also can glean that a blood sacrifice is what would be necessary to pay for sin, thus satisfying the wrath of God.

And of that blood, that blood sacrifice, the sacrifice must be perfect and without defect.

Leviticus 22:18–19 ESV

18 “Speak to Aaron and his sons and all the people of Israel and say to them, When any one of the house of Israel or of the sojourners in Israel presents a burnt offering as his offering, for any of their vows or freewill offerings that they offer to the Lord, 19 if it is to be accepted for you it shall be a male without blemish, of the bulls or the sheep or the goats.

Contrast that with this verse:

John 3:16 ESV

16 “For God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life.

So, as to the mystery of why Jesus had to physically come to earth:

Sin required a blood sacrifice to satisfy God’s wrath over sin and accomplish payment for sin

The sacrifice offered for sin had to be a perfect sacrifice, without blemish (i.e., without sin)

No other human being was, or could be, without blemish because all naturally born people were, and would be, under sin’s curse.

This is why the Holy Spirit needed to, effectively, implant Jesus into the Virgin Mary’s womb. If Jesus had been born naturally, He would’ve been under the curse of sin.

Now, here is some detail that I think many of us miss when we read the Bible and think of why Jesus came and what it means. And here again, this was an evidence that I missed as well. And I missed it over and over again for years.

In all of history, there are only three people who were without sin in their original state:

Adam, Eve, & Jesus

And you’ll notice, that because sin was not in them naturally, sin had to present itself in front of them for them to be tempted.

Remember, the books of Jeremiah and James says this:

Jeremiah 17:9 ESV

9 The heart is deceitful above all things, and desperately sick; who can understand it?

Jeremiah

James 1:14–15 ESV

14 But each person is tempted when he is lured and enticed by his own desire. 15 Then desire when it has conceived gives birth to sin, and sin when it is fully grown brings forth death.

But this was not true of Adam and Eve before they sinned, and it was not true of Jesus because these three people, and only these three people were not born under the curse of sin.

To be sure, Jesus has always existed because, He is, of course, God, and a part of the Holy Trinity, and God is uncreated, He always was. Now, in this case, I am speaking of His physical birth on earth.

This means that only Jesus would even have a shot at being sinless and perfect as a sacrifice for the sin of the world.

Think of it this way:

The Bible says that when we are saved, when Jesus saves us and we put our faith in Him and Him alone, we are a new creation, the old has gone, the new has come. ()

So its like getting a complete blood transfusion. When you have a blood transfusion, the blood must be clean and without disease and defect, otherwise, it cannot work for what ails you.

When it comes to the necessity of Christ for the payment of sin, none of us are qualified blood donors, only Christ. No matter how good our intentions might be, or how well did in school, or how beautiful our families are, or how much community service we’ve done, or how much we’ve given to charity, or how much we went to church, and on and on. Even if we are saved by Jesus Christ, we are still not acceptable blood donors before God to pay for sin.

Why did Jesus come to earth?

Because it was absolutely necessary if God’s wrath over sin was going to be satisfied, and if the debt owed to God for sin was to be paid.

Jesus didn’t come to earth to make a nice Hallmark card, or a nice holiday story, He had to come to earth if humanity was to be redeemed at all.

I really wish I had more time to go over some of the other mysteries surrounding the Christmas season and Jesus’ coming. And in that vein, I encourage to listen to Pastor Jay’s message as he is tackling some of the other mysteries in the message at the Avon campus. Hopefully these two message together will provide a rich depth of knowledge and encouragement for you.

Nonetheless, since time is a factor, let’s go to the second and final mystery that we will investigate today:

Why is Jesus Christ the only Way of salvation?

For many Christians, we find the exclusivity of Jesus to be part of the joy of being His. Because, although we do not deserve life with Jesus in heaven for eternity, He graciously offers it to us, and we receive it through faith in Him alone.

At the same time, as we saw in the Pew research survey, there are many more professing Christians who doubt if Jesus is the only way of salvation.

And certainly, the world hates that Jesus claims to be the only way. To the world, the exclusivity of salvation through Jesus Christ alone is an oppressive teaching that is unfair and not compassionate.

To solve this mystery, we are going to examine an eyewitness account to Jesus Himself for the answer.

How many of us have heard of “Doubting Thomas?”

Thomas was one of Jesus disciples, one of the apostles, and he was very inquisitive. He absolutely believed in Jesus, and he was committed to following Christ, and he was willing to die, and did die, for, and because of, the sake of Jesus.

If you will turn in your Bibles to John chapter 14, we are going to read from verse 5.

As you turn there, Thomas is about to ask Jesus a question. He was confused about the Way of eternal life, and this caused him some personal despair because he did not want to accept a state of perpetual bewilderment. Thomas was a man who was, “confused by life and felt that (life’s) riddles (i.e. mysteries) were unsolvable.” (Expositor’s Bible Commentary, Vol. 9, Logos Bible Software).

John 14:5–7 ESV

5 Thomas said to him, “Lord, we do not know where you are going. How can we know the way?” 6 Jesus said to him, “I am the way, and the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me. 7 If you had known me, you would have known my Father also. From now on you do know him and have seen him.”

Jesus is trying to teach the disicples and tell them that He is about to leave them, but He is not abandoning them. He is about to introduce the person of the Holy Spirit in later verses. But here is the first of two eyewitness testimonies that we will examine to learn why Jesus is the only way of salvation.

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

Let’s look at the illuminating brilliance of Jesus’ reply:

Jesus’ reply was personal.

He didn’t claim, as every other religious founder has, to just “know a better way,” Jesus claimed to BE “the way.”

Every other religion, including non-religion, can only try to convince you that they know a better way. None claim that they ARE the way.

World religions give you a recipe to try and live up to, Jesus offers a relationship in which you can live in freedom.

2. Jesus’ reply was authoritative and assertive.

When we are presented with questions about Jesus, isn’t it hard to fight our knee jerk reaction to craft a better argument than whomever we are addressing? In this instance, Jesus shows that an authoritative declaration of Himself is far more more effective than an intellectual argument from one’s own memory.

Jesus is the Master of Life

Jesus is the Way to the Father because He alone has an intimate knowledge of God that is unmarred by sin.

Jesus is the Truth because he alone has the perfect power of making life one coherent (that is, purposeful and understandable) experience regardless of its ups and downs.

Jesus is the Life because He was not subject to death, but made death subject to Him.

(Expositor’s Bible Commentary, Volume 9, Logos Bible Software)

The Expositor’s Bible Commentary explains:

The Expositor’s Bible Commentary, Volume 9: John and Acts c. The Question of Thomas (14:5–7)

He did not live with death as the ultimate end of his life; he died to demonstrate the power and continuity of his life. Because he is the way, the truth, and the life, he is the only means of reaching the Father. Jesus was not exhibiting a narrow arrogance. Rather, he was making the only possible deduction from the fact that he, the unique Son, was the sole means of access to the Father. Jesus’ claim parallels the author’s pronouncement: “No one has ever seen God, but God the only Son, who is at the Father’s side, has made him known” (John 1:18).

Jesus is the only authentic revelation of God in human form and He is the only God-authorized representative of humanity to God.

In other words, Jesus is the only one who can represent God to us, and He is the only one who represent us to God.

Are you starting to see the connections here?

Jesus had to come to earth to accomplish salvation. And Jesus is the only way of salvation.

But let’s look at one more eyewitness in last few minutes together.

Thomas had philosophical doubts and questions that Jesus answered masterfully. In the next verses, Philip asks more materialistic questions. And that doesn’t mean Philip was greedy, but Philip was desiring real-time, in-the-flesh evidence. Philip, in large part, was a realist you could say. Philip wanted an answer that could be experienced by the senses, not just the mind and/or spirit.

Let’s keep reading in .

John 14:8–11 ESV

8 Philip said to him, “Lord, show us the Father, and it is enough for us.” 9 Jesus said to him, “Have I been with you so long, and you still do not know me, Philip? Whoever has seen me has seen the Father. How can you say, ‘Show us the Father’? 10 Do you not believe that I am in the Father and the Father is in me? The words that I say to you I do not speak on my own authority, but the Father who dwells in me does his works. 11 Believe me that I am in the Father and the Father is in me, or else believe on account of the works themselves.

Here, Philip asks Jesus to show them the evidence that Jesus was one with God.

Jesus’s response is almost sarcastic at first, or at least, it demonstrates a disappointment that Philip would miss clues and evidence that had been right in front of him the whole time.

Maybe some of us have heard the following:

Jesus’ Response to Philip:

There is no material image that can adequately depict God

Because

I think alot of times when we hear that, we think of it in terms of reverence. As in, there is no physical item or image that is reverent enough to depict God.

And that is true, but there’s more to it than that.

The reason that no physical or material image can adequately depict God is because God has a personality, and only a person can represent another person (yes, God is a spirit, but He is a person in that He has a distinct personality).

Personality must be employed in order to adequately represent God

If there is personality in the image of God, then:

The personality cannot be less than God and still be adequate, nor can it be so far removed from humanity that is unable to communicate God perfectly to people.

Jesus’ response to Philip was really the same response that He gave to Timothy which was, “I am the evidence because I am God.”

Jesus then says to Philip that if Philip can’t grasp His words enough to understand, at least look at His works on earth.

Jesus made God’s character and reality known through His words and works.

God’s truth filled Jesus’ words, and God’s power produced Jesus’ works.

(Expositor’s Bible Commentary, Volume 9, Logos Bible Software)

Why is Jesus Christ the only way of salvation?

Because only Jesus Christ can claim, “I AM.”

No other religious figure has ever made claims such as the ones Jesus’ made about Himself, which we read in the Gospels.

And moreover, no other religious figure has even dared.

But here is where you respond to God’s call for salvation.

You know that things are not as they should be in the world, or in your own life.

The Bible says that that is because of sin.

And the Bible says that you can’t defeat sin, and what’s worse, if sin isn’t defeated, you will not participate in eternal life with God because you will be covered by sin and not by the Grace and Mercy of God.

So God, came to earth in the person of Jesus Christ, to defeat sin, and make a way for sin to be defeated in your life, and for you to be covered by His Love.

The question is do you believe that Jesus is the Way, the Truth, and the Life?

Do you believe that He had to come to earth because you could not offer a sacrifice good enough to satisfy the wrath of God and pay for your sin?

If you do, then respond to God’s saving work in your life in repentance and faith.

Repent of trying to live life on your own

Repent of thinking that some other thing could do what only Jesus could do

And place your faith, then, in the One who is the GREAT I AM, Jesus Christ.

The mystery of Christmas is solved in the person of Jesus Christ, and if we will the details of His Life, we will find the evidence we need so that the mystery of Christmas is clear.

I want to bring the music team up at this time, and, I suppose we can shed light one more aspect of the mystery of Christmas this morning.

Why did Jesus do all this for us?

For this answer, we can find it plainly written in the book of Lamentations.

Lamentations 3:19–24 ESV

19 Remember my affliction and my wanderings, the wormwood and the gall! 20 My soul continually remembers it and is bowed down within me. 21 But this I call to mind, and therefore I have hope: 22 The steadfast love of the Lord never ceases; his mercies never come to an end; 23 they are new every morning; great is your faithfulness. 24 “The Lord is my portion,” says my soul, “therefore I will hope in him.”

Translation:

I remember that I am hopeless, yet I have an everlasting hope because of the steadfast love of the LORD.

Why did Jesus do this for us?

Because of His steadfast love for us

The phrase “steadfast love” points to a covenant of mercy that God had between Himself and His people.

And in verse 24 where it says, “The LORD is my portion,” it is referring to the concept of Levitical inheritance, which means that only God is enough.

God knew we couldn’t pay the price for sin for ourselves.

And God’s steadfast love for us preceded our sin and rebellion against Him, it even preceded our very creation.

God knew that only He was enough.

And so He came in the person of Jesus Christ. He came as a baby, through a virgin mother, to be born in a manger, to live a sinless life, and die the death that was due to sinners so that the lives of the sinners He died for might be rescued from death, and those who are rescued would inherit eternal life in and through Him. And He left the evidence to see this in His Word, and in His works, which can be seen through the lens of history, and on the pages of the Holy Bible.

Jesus Himself is the solution to the mystery of Christmas.

Lets sing together.

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