01 Jesus Way

                         The Jesus Way
Pastor Eric Schall
October 28, 2008

John 14:1-6

Baptism today!

***Prayer***

Mission statement “for Jesus, and others”  Going to focus on what it means to be a Christ-follower.  It is my hope that we can all go really deep in embracing Jesus in our lives.  Don’t have to be special.  Disciples a rough and rowdy bunch.  Praying that this series will be truly transformational in all of our lives.

The Jesus Way vs. No Way

In the 80’s and 90’s we saw a cultural shift away from religion.  Ideas like those put forth by men like John Lennon who asked us to imagine a world without religion or it’s exclusive claims of faith that would lead us to a golden age of humanity without intolerance or violence or bigotry.  We have had a century long experiment in the real world in which countries have tried to ban religion in the name of humanity and mutual respect. Just get rid of religion and we will live in peace. Well, they've tried that. They tried that in the former Soviet Union. They tried that in China. They tried that during the French Revolution. They tried that in Cambodia. The most intolerant and bigoted countries in the history of the world have been those countries that banned religion.

The reason why religious people are sometimes intolerant is the same reason that non-religious people are sometimes intolerant. Because of what the Bible calls sin that resides in each of us. People kill each other and hurt each other and scream at each other for a million reasons, only one of which is differing religions.

The Jesus way vs. other ways

In more recent times we have moved away from trying to do away with faith, to rather embracing all faiths in what is called tolerance and respect.  In this atmosphere you see a rise of organizations that call themselves churches, but in reality are more like a local “build-a-god workshop.”  It is Western arrogance and pride that has reached a whole new level. 

Faith has become viewed as a personal thing.  A force that rests within the individual and is used like a tool for various purposes.  You can draw from various teachings and sources to add to your tool as you wish.  If you like one part, take that.  If you don’t like a part, leave that.  Basically we have a whole bunch of people that are serving a god that they have created in their own image.  It is modern day idol worship. 

The Uniqueness of the Jesus Way

From the beginning God has said that He alone is God.  There is no one beside Him. 

The first two commandments given to the people that bared His name dealt with the uniqueness of God and the exclusivity of their worship.

Deuteronomy 6:4 is the most important verse in Judaism. Deuteronomy 6:4 (TNIV) Hear, O Israel: The Lord our God, the Lord is one.

Or The Lord our God is one Lord; or The Lord is our God, the Lord is one; or The Lord is our God, the Lord alone.  All of those are wrapped up into this phrase.

This verse is prayed in every Jewish service of every day of the year. It is the central prayer of Judaism called "The Shema Yisroel."

Then Jesus comes in the NT as the embodiment of God and as a fulfillment of all the OT law and promises, and says,

John 14:6 (TNIV) Jesus answered, “I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.

All throughout the unfolding drama of God’s story of redemption you see Him pointing to Himself as unique.  He has bridged the gap, paid the price, but He will not (and cannot) compromise Who He is.  He still says today, “I am who I am and I have made a way for you.”

So, let me clear away this huge obstacle of the claim of intolerance. True followers of Christ never want to force their religion down anyone's throat. True followers of Christ want to share their faith in an atmosphere that is always characterized by love, graciousness and tolerance. The fact that we want to share issues of faith in an atmosphere of love does not mean that we Christians believe that the issues we are discussing are not important. We support, as much as anyone, the right of every religious person in this country to follow the dictates of their consciences without fear of persecution. We don't want to be persecuted. And we certainly don't want anyone else to be persecuted either.

But those of us who are followers of Christ would say that there is a difference between equal toleration and protection under the law vs. equal validity according to the truth. What if God has provided only one way for people to be saved? Let's set aside, for the moment, the issue of tolerance and bigotry and come to a common agreement that all of us, followers of Christ, and those of you, who are not followers of Christ, should condemn bigotry and intolerance. Let's also set aside the issue of whether we like the idea that there might be just one way to God. Second, let's remember that it was not Christians who made up this claim to be the one way to God. Jesus said it. If you don't like it, blame Jesus, not His followers. They're just echoing His claim.

So let’s look at this passage briefly as we being to examine the Jesus Way…

John 14:1-6 (TNIV) “Do not let your hearts be troubled. Trust in God; trust also in me. My Father’s house has plenty of room; if that were not so, would I have told you that I am going there to prepare a place for you? And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come back and take you to be with me that you also may be where I am. You know the way to the place where I am going.” Thomas said to him, “Lord, we don’t know where you are going, so how can we know the way?” Jesus answered, “I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.

Jesus has just revealed some troubling things to the Disciples.  He has told them in the previous verses in Jn 13 that He is about to leave them.  He told them that they cannot go where He is headed…not yet.  And to top it off He has told them that they are about to disown Him for a time.  This is why the verse begins, “do not let your hearts be troubled” (lit. agitated, storm-tossed)

Now, He is not in error when He tells His disciples "you know the way to the place I am going". They do know the way. The problem is that they don't know that they know the way. And so in v. 5, Thomas said to him, "Lord, we don't know where you are going, so how can we know the way?" In other words: Lord, I don't even know the destination. How can I know the way there?

Thomas “I need a road map with markers and rest stops along the way!  I need to see point A to point B, and what type of terrain that I will see in between.”  I think Thomas was just a pretty literal dude.  Some people have a very rigid way of looking at things and often desire concrete direction in their lives to move.  They draw back in fear when great leaps of faith are required. 

While everyone kicks Thomas around, Jesus rarely did. Instead, Jesus generally answered Thomas' questions. Because while he was slow and found it hard to believe, nevertheless, he had a hungry heart and he was really sincere in his questioning. Jesus doesn't mind ignorance so long as you really want to know the truth. The way one discovers things about God is to confess that you don't know all that you need to know.

I might just briefly mention to you that it is not a bad thing to confess ignorance sometimes. One of the easiest ways for you to grow spiritually is to confess that you don't know certain key spiritual lessons. Instead of pretending that you are an expert in all things spiritual, the way that you will best grow is to ask questions. Ask people who are a step ahead of you; ask God.

Thomas is asking one of the major questions that anyone ever could ask. What is the way to heaven? Jesus says in v. 6: "I am the Way and the Truth and the Life."

But the questions arises, "Eric, aren't there many ways to God?"

To those who say that Christians are being narrow-minded and self-righteous and intolerant by claiming that Jesus is the only way to God, a very good response would be that we didn't claim it first. We are simply repeating the words of our Lord. We are simply saying what Jesus said. And note that Jesus uses the definite article "the" when he says, "I am THE way…" Jesus did not claim to be "a" way. He didn't say, "I am one way." "I am the best way." He didn't even say, "I am here to teach you the way. To guide you in the way. To show you the way. Or even to point you to the way." He said, "I am the way."

And so we have to face the objection: Aren't there many ways to God? Perhaps Jesus was wrong here. You know the illustration. “If God were sitting up on top of a mountain, surely there must be many paths and many ways up the mountain. And they all lead to God.” “Why can't Christians see that?”

Well the reason we followers can't see that is because fundamentally to be a follower of Jesus means that you follow Jesus' teachings. Do you know that Jesus never spoke about there being many roads up a mountain? He spoke about just two roads in Matthew 7 (13-14). Just two - one road leading to eternal life and a relationship with God and the other road leading to eternal damnation and permanent separation from God. His words.  There are not many roads up a mountain. There are just two roads.

Think about it in the physical world. All roads don't lead to the same place. No matter how long you travel from this building going east, you will never get to Florida. No matter how fast you drive, no matter how sincere you are, Florida is south and getting on a road heading east will not take you there. There is the same kind of objective reality in the spiritual world.

Friends, here is the bottom line truth. Every spiritual path does not lead up the mountain. And this idea that all spiritual paths do lead us to God is not only a lie, but it is a tragic lie. The fact is a lot of roads lead down and not up.

The great English writer, C.S. Lewis, also used the principle of there just being two roads, not many roads, just two roads in a book called The Great Divorce. Here is what C.S. Lewis said:

"There are only two kinds of people in the end. Those who say to God, 'Thy will be done' and those to whom God says in the end, 'Thy will be done.'"

You know, this is by no means the only place where Jesus claims to be the only way to God. In John 10:7, Jesus says, "I tell you the truth, I am the Gate for the sheep. Whoever enters through me will be saved."

I am the way. I am the door. I am the gate. And you can circle the word "I". We are not saved by a principle. We are not saved by a practice. We are not saved by a force. We are not saved by a formula. We are saved by a person named Jesus. He is the way to God. He is the doorway to God. He is the intersecting point between heaven and earth. He is the bridge through the enormous divide that separates God and people, and all traffic between heaven and earth has to go through Jesus. That is what Jesus is claiming. He is saying all prayer from earth to heaven has to go through Him to God. All souls that are going to be saved have to go through Jesus to get to God in heaven. All blessings that are going to come down from God come down across that bridge named Jesus to us.

Jesus, when He says He is the way, is claiming that you can't have direct communion with God on your own. You must go through the cross.  Jesus stands in the middle. Jesus is the intermediary. Jesus is the mediator.

The Jesus Way is Personal

When we look at the Jesus Way, we are not studying some disembodied set of religious teachings.  The way Jesus goes about loving and saving the world are personal.  He did not send teachings to save the world.  He did not send philosophy to save the world.  He did not send religious practice to save the world.  He sent Himself in flesh and blood, God incarnate, relational and particular to each person.

The Jesus Way is more than just a path.  It is a way of being.  It is completely counter-cultural.  Jesus offers us an alternative to the dominant ways of the world, not a supplement to them. 

If your life is broken and not working right and you are tired of trying, Jesus is the answer. 

REMEMBER TO THE POOR…POOR BOX

PRAYER OF BLESSING