Introduction =Jesus As The Way=
As we begin this series of studies, I would like to start by
having you ask yourself several questions:
•
Do you have problems?
•
Are you confused in things pertaining to life
itself?
•
Do you feel lost, with a sense of despair?
If you do, don't feel like you are alone. About the time of
Abraham, a person who was experiencing a great deal of suffering said:
Man who is born of
woman is of few days and full of trouble. He comes forth like a flower and
fades away; He flees like a shadow and does not continue. (Job
14:1-2)
These words, spoken nearly four thousands years ago, express
the sentiments of millions today. Now, however, there is a way out: Jesus Christ! As He Himself said:
"I am the way, the truth, and the life..." (John
14:6)
Yes, to everything that is truly good, both in this life and
the one to come, Jesus Christ Is The
Way!
In this study, I want to introduce several areas in which
Jesus is truly "The Way".
Succeeding lessons will expand upon these themes, but in this lesson I simply
wish to whet your appetite. For example, Jesus is...
THE WAY TO A BETTER LIFE
On one occasion, Jesus stated His purpose in coming to this
earth:
"...I have come
that they may have life, and that they may have it more abundantly." (John
10:10)
This "abundant life" Jesus offers is more than
simply life in the "hereafter". Though He does not promise wealth or
luxury, He does assure us of:
•
A loving Father in Heaven, Who cares for His
children. As Jesus taught in His "Sermon on the Mount":
"Therefore do
not worry, saying, 'What shall we eat?' or 'What shall we drink?' or 'What
shall we wear?' For after all these things the Gentiles seek. For your heavenly
Father knows that you need all these things. But seek first the kingdom of God
and His righteousness, and all these things shall be added to you." (Matthew
6:31-33)
•
More than sufficient provision for those who are
willing to follow Him as "The
Way". As we read on another occasion:
So Jesus answered
and said, "Assuredly, I say to you, there is no one who has left house or
brothers or sisters or father or mother or wife or children or lands, for My
sake and the gospel's, who shall not receive a hundredfold now in this time;
houses and brothers and sisters and mothers and children and lands, with
persecutions; and in the age to come, eternal life." (Mark
10:29-30)
Therefore, it is not surprising to find that the happiest
people in the world are those who have most completely committed themselves to
following Jesus as "The Way".
As the apostle Paul wrote, even though he was under house arrest at the time:
Not that I speak in
regard to need, for I have learned in whatever state I am, to be content: I
know how to be abased, and I know how to abound. Everywhere and in all things I
have learned both to be full and to be hungry, both to abound and to suffer
need. I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me. (Philippians
4:11-13)
And when the apostle Peter wrote to Christians undergoing
extreme forms of persecution, he could honestly say:
In this you greatly
rejoice, though now for a little while, if need be, you have been grieved by
various trials, that the genuineness of your faith, being much more precious
than gold that perishes, though it is tested by fire, may be found to praise,
honor, and glory at the revelation of Jesus Christ, whom having not seen you love.
Though now you do not see Him, yet believing, you rejoice with joy
inexpressible and full of glory, (1
Peter 1:6-8)
Jesus is also...
THE WAY TO FORGIVENESS OF SINS
He is the only
solution to a very serious problem...the most serious threat to our well-being
that we face: Sin! This is because
everyone of us is guilty of sin:
For all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, (Romans
3:23)
And sin is not without its consequences! Often physical, but
always spiritual! Unless the problem of sin is resolved, the ultimate consequence is eternity in
hell!
But through Jesus Christ, God has made provision for the
forgiveness of our sins! Out of love, God offered Jesus as the
"propitiation" for our sins:
In this the love of
God was manifested toward us, that God has sent His only begotten Son into the
world, that we might live through Him. In this is love, not that we loved God,
but that He loved us and sent His Son to be the propitiation for our sins. (1
John 4:9-10)
Through His blood shed on the cross, Jesus provides
forgiveness for our sins:
In Him we have
redemption through His blood, the forgiveness of sins, according to the riches
of His grace. (Ephesians 1:7)
After His sacrificial death for us, Jesus explained how those
lost in sin could be saved; it involves repentance on our part...
Then He said to
them, "Thus it is written, and thus it was necessary for the Christ to
suffer and to rise from the dead the third day, and that repentance and
remission of sins should be preached in His name to all nations, beginning at
Jerusalem." (Luke 24:47-48)
It also involves faith and baptism...
"He who
believes and is baptized will be saved; but he who 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...
THE WAY TO GOD
Many religions, claiming to be Christian, are almost totally
silent about the new relationship Jesus provides with God, the Father. About
all they seem to talk about is "Jesus, Jesus, etc." or "Holy
Spirit, Holy Spirit, etc." Could this indicate a lack of real
understanding of Jesus' purpose?
Jesus came to this world to reconcile man back to God the
Father. As Paul told the Corinthians:
Now all things are
of God, who has reconciled us to Himself through Jesus Christ, and has given us
the ministry of reconciliation, that is, that God was in Christ reconciling the
world to Himself, not imputing their trespasses to them, and has committed to
us the word of reconciliation. Now then, we are ambassadors for Christ, as
though God were pleading through us: we implore you on Christ's behalf, be
reconciled to God. (2 Corinthians 5:18-20)
As we have already noted, Jesus claimed to be the only way to
the Father:
Jesus said to him,
"I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except
through Me." (John 14:6)
Why emphasize this point? Because one does not truly
experience what it means to have "eternal life" without having an
intimate relation- ship with the Father, as well as with the Son. And this is
exactly what Jesus has to offer us! As He mentioned in His prayer before His
trial and crucifixion:
Jesus spoke these
words, lifted up His eyes to heaven, and said: "Father, the hour has come.
Glorify Your Son, that Your Son also may glorify You, as You have given Him
authority over all flesh, that He should give eternal life to as many as You
have given Him. And this is eternal life, that they may know You, the only true
God, and Jesus Christ whom You have sent." (John
17:1-3)
Yes, that "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...
THE WAY OUT OF RELIGIOUS CONFUSION
Consider the plight of many who wish to follow Jesus. They
are confused and even repelled by the multitude of different churches and
conflicting doctrines being offered by those who profess to be His church.
But one does not have to be a part of this confusion! Jesus
Himself certainly does not approve it. He taught us that:
"Every kingdom
divided against itself is brought to desolation, and every city or house
divided against itself will not stand." (Matthew
12:25)
Before His betrayal and arrest, we find Jesus praying
fervently...
"I do not pray
for these alone, but also for those who will believe in Me through their word;
that they all may be one, as You, Father, are in Me, and I in You; that they
also may be one in Us, that the world may believe that You sent Me. And the
glory which You gave Me I have given them, that they may be one just as We are
one: I in them, and You in Me; that they may be made perfect in one, and that
the world may know that You have sent Me, and have loved them as You have loved
Me." (John 17:20-23)
How can we even begin to hope to have this unity of which
Jesus spoke? It helps to remember that 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
gates of Hades shall not prevail against it." (Matthew
16:18)
Despite the efforts of man and Satan to destroy it, or
otherwise change it, they shall not prevail! Even today, when someone obeys the
words of Jesus Christ, they are added by the Lord Himself to His church:
...praising God and
having favor with all the people. And the Lord added to the church daily those
who were being saved. (Acts 2:47)
In His church, we can enjoy the unity of which Paul wrote to
the Ephesians...
There is one body
and one Spirit, just as you were called in one hope of your calling; one Lord,
one faith, one baptism; one God and Father of all, who is above all, and
through all, and in you all. (Ephesians
4:4-6)
But 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...
THE WAY TO ETERNAL LIFE
Death is inevitable (unless Jesus returns first), and as the
author of the epistle to the Hebrews wrote, it is followed by judgment:
And as it is
appointed for men to die once, but after this the judgment, (Hebrews
9:27)
In this way, death becomes the door, either to eternal life
or to eternal condemnation. In His description of the Judgment scene, Jesus
outlines only two alternatives...
"And these will
go away into everlasting punishment, but the righteous into eternal life."
(Matthew 25:46)
To die in Jesus is to die in the way to life eternal! As the
apostle John wrote in the book of Revelation:
Then I heard a voice
from heaven saying to me, "Write: 'Blessed are the dead who die in the
Lord from now on.' " "Yes," says the Spirit, "that they may
rest from their labors, and their works follow them." (Revelation
14:13)
Yet another wonderful blessing in following Jesus as "The Way", to find that He is
the way to eternal life!
Conclusion
I hope that I have sparked your interest in wanting to learn
more about Jesus as "The Way".
As I mentioned at the outset of this study, the other lessons will elaborate
upon these great blessings provided only through Jesus.
My purpose in this series is two-fold...
•
For those
who are Christians, to increase their appreciation of Jesus as their Lord
and Savior, so they will want to serve Him with greater zeal;
•
For those
who are not Christians, to encourage them to let Jesus be their way to everything that is truly
good, both in this life and in the life to come!
Questions To Stimulate Your Thinking...
What does Jesus expect
of those who call Him "Lord"? (Luke
6:46)
To do the things which He says.
What does Paul claim
about the things that he wrote? (1 Corinthians 14:37)
They were the commandments of the Lord.
To whom did Jesus
promise the necessities of life? (Matthew
6:33)
Those who seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness.
Through what do we
have redemption? (Ephesians 1:7)
The blood of Jesus.
What did Jesus say
should be preached in His name to all nations? (Luke
24:47)
Repentance and remission of sins.
What did Jesus say one
must do to be saved? (Mark 16:16)
Believe and be baptized.
Can Muslims,
Buddhists, or any others reach God without Jesus? (John
14:6)
No.
Whom did the Lord add
to His church in Jerusalem? (Acts
2:47)
Those who were being saved.
How many baptisms does
God now recognize? (Ephesians 4:5)
One.
Who are blessed when
they die? (Revelations 14:13) Those who die in the Lord.
This is one of a short lesson
series presented by brother Mark Copeland.
Note: The lessons are based on
a Bible correspondence course entitled
"Jesus, The Way", by
brother Sewell Hall.
