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Volume. XXIV, No. 13 Jesus The Only Way! Part 1"Jesus saith unto him, I am the way, the truth, and the life: no man cometh unto the Father, but by me" (John 14:6). Introduction John 14:6 reveals an important doctrinal statement of salvation by our Lord Jesus Christ! It clearly states that it is only through Christ Jesus that we can go to God the Father and be saved. The “scriptures” of other religions do not tell us how we can go to God and heaven directly. This verse reveals succinctly the four important truths – our Lord Jesus is: 1) The Way; 2) The Truth; 3) The Life; and 4) The Only Way to our Heavenly Father, and therefore heaven. The first two important words in John 14:6, "I am", in our King James Version Bible, are from the Greek words, "Egw eimi"- transliterated as "ago aimi". The Greek "ago" is "I" in English (which is a personal/possessive pronoun, nominative case, singular), and Greek "aimi" is "I am" (which is a verb, first person, present tense, active voice, indicative mood, singular). So, "ago aimi" is literally "I, I am". In our Bible, it is translated only as "I am", when it should be "I, I am". Then "I, I am" means that the "I" in John 14:6 is an emphatic one, meaning, that our Lord was speaking with great emphasis on Himself, thus conveying a forceful and decisive importance to Himself as to what He meant. What He says is the absolute truth, and that only through Him can man achieve eternal life. By the inspiration of the Holy Spirit, these wonderful words were recorded in the Gospel of John and they have caused great offence to many non-believers, “Christians”, and apostates! These words make our faith an exclusive club of “Bible-believing” Christians. Many people would not accept this fact. They will tell you that this is not a politically correct thing to say! They accuse Biblical Christianity as an intolerant religion. Biblical Christians have been persecuted throughout many centuries by the earlier established churches. In fact, no other scriptures (that is, of other religions) ever claim that theirs are the only ways to heaven, only ours. Our Scriptures further declare that only through Jesus can man enter into heaven! Jesus is "The Way". When our Lord Jesus says, "I am the way", He means "He" is the "ONLY" way, the "ONLY" passport, to heaven. It is like a traffic sign that says "ONE WAY" with an arrow pointing in one direction. Jesus is that "ONE WAY" sign! All other ways, and other belief systems, are NOT leading people in the right direction to heaven. The Bible points to Jesus Christ as our constant guide, teacher, and lawgiver. He is the door in John 10:7. "Then said Jesus unto them again, Verily, verily, I say unto you, I am the door of the sheep". In verse 10:9, Jesus said, "I am the door: by Me if any man enter in, he shall be saved, and shall go in and out, and find pasture". Jesus is therefore the ladder, and the road through whom we ourselves must draw near to God. Christ Jesus is that door through which we must pass to get to our eternal destination. When Adam and Eve fell from grace into a sinful state by their pride and disobedience, the human race was cut off from eternal life. Jesus Christ opened the way for us to eternal life. This was achieved by His shed blood on Calvary\'s cross. Through this shed blood, the saved ones can come near with boldness, and have access with confidence into the presence of our Father in heaven. This shed blood is our password, our passport to His Holy Presence! So Jesus Christ is our passport to heaven. In the Old Testament Book of Isaiah, there is a mention of a highway. Isaiah 35:8a "And an highway shall be there, and a way, and it shall be called the way of holiness". Our Lord Jesus is the highway of and to holiness. He is the King\'s highway leading us to everlasting life which is in contrast to the other highways that lead others to destruction. In Heb 9:12 Christ is the only way for "by His own blood He entered in once into the holy place, having obtained eternal redemption for us". We enter this way by Him. Jesus Christ is our intercessor, our only mediator between God and man. "For there is one God, and one mediator between God and men, the man Christ Jesus" (1 Tim 2:5). He is now seated on the right hand of God the Father, interceding for us. "Neither is there salvation in any other: for there is none other name under heaven given among men, whereby we must be saved" (Acts 4:12). After the Holy Spirit had descended upon all the apostles, the Apostle Peter declared boldly that there was no other way to heaven except through the Lord Jesus. Jesus Christ is the only way. There is no other name under heaven. Allah, Muhammad, Gautama Buddha, Krishna, all the gods of the ancient world, and other gods created by the imagination of man will not lead us to heaven. The only way to heaven is to believe on Him. We are to believe that He is God, the Son of God. "That if thou shalt confess with thy mouth the Lord Jesus, and shalt believe in thine heart that God hath raised Him from the dead, thou shalt be saved" (Rom 10:9). Let us therefore look to Jesus Christ as the only way to heaven. "By whom also we have access by faith into His grace wherein we stand, and rejoice in hope of the glory of God" (Rom 5:2). Jesus is not only The Way, but also The Door or Gate to heaven\'s glory. Some “Christians” now say that people of other religions can go to heaven through their religion. Even the Roman Catholic, Pope Paul VI, in the late 1960s, whilst on his visit to India, said that Hindus through their religion could go to heaven. If Hindus, Buddhists, Moslems or ancestor worshippers could go to heaven, then there is no need for The Church to send missionaries to the uttermost parts of this world. These “Christians” have contradicted Scriptures. May God bless you all! …….To be continued next Lord’s Day. Elder Michael D Lee |
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