Let's look at verse 38, chapter 13. Jesus answered him, wilt thou lay down thy life for my sake? Verily, verily, I say unto you, the cock shall not crow. "'Til thou hast denied me thrice, "'let not your heart be troubled.'" It's remarkable, isn't it? The chapter divisions are man-made. You're gonna deny me three times, let not your heart be troubled.

You believe in God? Believe also in me. Believe even so in me. In my father's house are many mansions. If it were not so, I would have told you. I go to prepare a place for you. And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again and receive you unto myself, that where I am, there you may be also. And whither I go, you know, and the way you know, Thomas saith unto him, Lord, we know not whither thou goest. How can we know the way? Jesus saith unto him, I am the way, the truth, and the life. No man cometh unto the Father but by me. I am the way, the truth, and the life. No man cometh to the Father but by me.

I've entitled this message, The Claims of Christ. Here they are. I am the way. I am the truth. I am the life. No man cometh to the Father but by me. Now this is the speech of one with a narcissistic, histrionic personality disorder with a deranged delusion of grandeur and self-importance, or it's the most significant statement ever uttered on planet Earth. I am the way, not a way, the way. I am the truth. I am the life. No man cometh to the Father, but by me. The claims of Jesus Christ.

On the very surface, This statement tells me that I have no way to God in and of myself. I have no life before God. I am ignorant of the truth. This is what this verse says to me about myself. I have no way to God. I'm ignorant. And I have no life before God. As the scripture says, dead, dead. This is not a state to be pitied, but this is a state to blame me. I am dead. It's all my fault. I am dead in trespasses and sins.

I am the way, not a way. but the way, the way that excludes all other ways. No man cometh to the Father, he said, but by me. There are no other ways. I read where there are 4,300 different recognized religions that have a text of some kind in the world. That's a lot. 4,300. How many denominations are there within quote Christianity? A whole lot, aren't there? And you know, there are classes on comparative religions. You take the religions and compare them and see what they have in common and see how they differ. Let me simplify that, there's only two religions. And they have nothing in common. The way of salvation by Christ, and the way of salvation by works. The religion of Cain, the religion of Abel. And they have no similarities at all.

Are you saying that there are no other ways but him as the way? Well, whether I'm saying it or not, Christ says it. I am the way. I am the truth. I am the life. No man cometh through the Father, but by me. All other religions and religious leaders say, I'll show you the way. I'll take you by the hand and guide you along the way. I will help you stay on the way. Jesus Christ says, I am the way.

A way is how to get from point A to point B. In central Kentucky, Lexington is largest city in central Kentucky, and there's quite a few surrounding cities, and every single one of them have Lexington Road. This is the road to Lexington. You have that in Danville, you have that in Nicholasville, you have that in Winchester, there's Lexington Road, the way to get to Lexington. If you stay on the road, you'll get to Lexington.

Christ is a completely different way than that. Here's why. If you're on the road, you're already at the destination. In a physical road, the road to Lexington, you can be on the road, but you're not there. Beloved, if you're in Christ, you're already there, seated together in the heavenlies with Christ Jesus.

No man cometh to the Father but by me. Yes, we come pleading only him. We don't plead anything else if we're real. If I'm pleading something else, I'm just a phony. I'm not real. I'm not being honest before God. But if I'm real, by His grace, I come pleading only Him. Nothing else, but this means more than pleading only Him. As a matter of fact, I don't think that's the primary meaning. There's a couple of young ladies, at least, in here that are with child. When they walked into this room, somebody else walked in with them. because they were in them. When Christ comes to the Father, I come too, because I am in him. That's the only way I can come.

No man cometh to the Father but by me, through me, and in me. When he walked upon this earth after his resurrection for 40 days, and after that 40th day ascended back to the Father, he did not do so alone. As the Lord of hosts, everyone in him ascended back to the Father. He is the way of God. No other way can be called that. He is the way to God. No other way can be called that. He is the way of truth. All other ways are lies. He is the way of righteousness. His righteousness is the only righteousness. He is the way of peace. No other way gives peace. If all God requires of me, he looks to his son for, guess what? I have peace. If he requires anything of me to first do, I have no peace.

Remember when the Lord said, all that ever came before me are thieves and robbers, some who come some other way, Now, if anything comes before Christ, my decision, my works, my experience, it's a thief and a robber. He is the way of salvation. All others lead to destruction, all other ways. I love this. He's the new and living way. That word new means freshly slaughtered. The blood of Christ is always new and fresh and poignant to the Father. I commit the same sin over and over. It seems like it gets old. It does get old, but the blood of Christ is ever new, ever fresh, poignant to the Father. He's the living way. not some dead way. He is the straight gate, the narrow way. The entrance into him is so narrow that if you have anything other than himself, you can't get through. The only way you can get through this gate, if he's all you have, you add anything to it, you're not getting through. He's the narrow road. If you have anything other than him, you're going to fall off. Only those who have nothing but Him can walk this way. All other ways lead to destruction.

Now, I like to think of this broad gate, this wide way. The reason it's so broad and wide is because there's plenty of room for anybody. There's room for the religious and the unreligious. There's room for the moral and the immoral. There's room for the liberal and the conservative. There's room for the Republican and the Democrat. There's room for the Calvinist and the Arminian. There's room for the Pentecostal and the Presbyterian, for the Baptist and the Buddhist, the Hindu and the Hottentot, traditional worship or contemporary worship. Reformed or unreformed, there's room for everybody on this. The way of works is very broad, but him being the way. I love when the Lord said to Bartimaeus, go thy way. He followed Jesus in the way. He's my way. He's my way. I am the way, and he is the way that excludes all other ways, and if I don't see him as that, whatever else I am, I'm not on the way.

I am the way. I am the truth. Now what if I said that? It would be so offensive. If you said that, he would be very offensive. Only he can say this, I am the truth. And this is either a statement of incredible arrogance, or it's the truth. I am the truth, not I'll show you the truth, not I'll teach you the truth, not I'll tell you the truth. I am the truth. Anything that does not line up with me being the truth is a lie propagated by the father of lies.

I am The truth. I am the truth of scripture. John 5, 39. I love that verse of scripture. You search the scriptures. In them, you think you have eternal life. If I can just figure out how to live by what this Bible says to do, I'll have life. They are they, the scriptures, which testify of me. Every one of them. You know, whenever you and I learn that, That's when we're gonna understand the Bible's the word of God. We'll believe the Bible's the word of God, not simply because we've been taught it from a child, but we know the message, and we know no man could write this book.

They are they which testify of me. I am the truth concerning the character of God. Now, we just read in John chapter 14, verse one, you believe in God, believe also in me. That means a whole lot more than believe in both of us. You believe in God, even so believe me. Do you believe God's creator? I am the creator. Do you believe God is absolutely sovereign? I am absolutely sovereign. My will is always done. You are in my hand for me to do with you whatsoever I will to do. Do you believe God is independent, self-existent, having no needs? He doesn't need for somebody to do something so his will can be done? First, self-existent, absolutely sovereign, independent, omniscient, he knows everything, that's me. Omnipresent, he's not bound by space or time, that's me. Somebody says, explain that. I can't explain that, I just know it's so. In him dwelleth all the fullness of the Godhead bodily. He also said in this same chapter, he that hath seen me hath seen the Father. He didn't say, it's just as if he's seen the Father. No, all we're ever gonna see of the Father is Jesus Christ, God's Son. His name should be called Wonderful Counselor, the Mighty God, the Everlasting Father, the Prince of Peace. He's the truth concerning the character of God.

When he says, I am the truth, he's also telling us not only is he the truth of Scripture, not only is he the truth of who God is, he's the truth of who man is. Now, what do you mean by that? Put any man alongside the man Christ Jesus, and he's seen to be what he really is, altogether sinful.

You know when you're gonna see that you're altogether sinful? When you see who he is, and not before then, when you see who he is, Daniel said, when I saw him, my comeliness turned to corruption. Job said, I've heard of thee with the hearing of the ears, but now mine eyes have seen thee, wherefore I hate myself and repent in dust and ashes. The only time you're gonna see who you are is when you see who he is. hopefully make this even clearer.

The only time we see how bad we really are is when we see Jesus Christ nailed to a cross, and that is what we did then. God leaves me and you to ourselves. We will nail his son, murder his son. That's how bad it is. He's the truth with regard to the true character of man.

And he is the truth concerning salvation. I love what Simeon said when he held the eight day old infant God manifest in the flesh. He said, Lord, Now lettest thou thy servant depart in peace, for mine eyes have seen thy salvation. Jesus Christ is salvation. He's the purpose of salvation. It's for his glory. God made the universe for him to come and save his people from their sins to glorify his father. He's the purpose. He's the purpose for the fall. He's not a response to the fall. He's the purpose of the fall so he could come and die on a cross and glorify his father and save his people from their sins.

He's the reason for election, chosen in him. He's the reason for redemption, redeemed by his blood. He's the reason for justification, justified by what he did. I stand before God without guilt because of what he did. That's the only reason. He's the only reason you have faith, he gave it to you. He's the only reason for repentance, it's his gift. He's the reason you're born again. You're not born again because you did something, it's because he died for you, that's why. He is the reason for salvation. He is salvation.

I don't think there's a scripture that is more telling of this than this. Be ye kind, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, even as God for what? Christ's sake, hath forgiven you. Why did he forgive you? Because you asked? Because you pleaded for mercy? For Christ's sake. Salvation is for Christ's sake because Christ is salvation. I am the way, I am the truth. I am the life. He doesn't say, I'm the one who tells you how you should live. He does not say, I'm the one who gives you life. He says, I am the life. The only life that God will accept is mine. We just heard that. I am the life. The only way you can get to the Father is if my life is your life before God. When Christ our life shall appear, then shall we appear with him. In glory, no other life would be accepted.

Would you bring your life? Would you bring your motives? Would you bring your efforts in striving against sin? Would you bring your works? Would you bring your evidences? Would you bring your ability to resist temptation? Would you bring that life before God? Oh, no. That's death. His life is the only life God will accept. The life of his blessed son. I think of those people who came into his presence with their own life. Lord, Lord, you know us. Why? We've preached in your name and it's your name we preach in. In your name, Cast out demons. In your name, we've done many wonderful works. Many, the quantity. Wonderful, the quality. What will he say? Depart from me, ye that work iniquity. I never knew you. That's what happens when we bring our life There is only one life that God will accept, the life of the Lord Jesus Christ.

Now somebody's thinking, how can his life be my life? How can that be? I know something about my own life. How could his life actually be my life? Why was he nailed to a cross? Because my life became. His life. I say that fearfully. Amazed. This is something only God can do. But the reason he was nailed to a cross. Is because when he drank that cup, that was the cup of my life, my sins. He bore our sins in his own body on the tree. My sin became his He owned it as his own and his father poured his wrath upon him. He was not an innocent victim. He was guilty because my sin became his sin.

Now, if I died for you, what good would it do you? None at all, because I'm a sinner. But remember this, he never sinned. And his perfect life, just as he took my sin and my sorrow and made it his very own, He bore the burden to Calvary. He suffered and died alone when he by himself purged our sins. Just as truly as my sin became his sin, his life becomes my life before God. That's why I can stand before God in judgment with boldness. How? That's my life, his life, the life of Jesus Christ, that perfect, sinless, holy, glorious life. Oh, the life. I'm going to hear God say to me, well done, thou good and faithful servant. Somebody says, how could God say that to me? If Christ is your life, he'll be saying it to you. Well done, you have done well. You're good, you're faithful. I am the life. I am the way that excludes all other ways. I am the life, the only life God will accept. I only am the truth, everything else is a lie.

Now that statement, Like I said, it's either the most incredibly arrogant statement to ever be made, or it's the very truth of God. Let's close by turning to Hebrews chapter seven. Verse 25. Wherefore, he is able also to save them to the uttermost, to the furthest extent all together, wherefore he is able to save them to the uttermost that come unto God by him. That's what the Lord said, isn't it? No man comes to the Father, but by me. Now, the reason I'm going to heaven is because I come by him, through him, and in him. Wherefore, he is able to save them to the uttermost that come unto God by him, seeing he ever liveth to make intercession for them. He lives eternally as their great high priest and intercessor. Thank God for this simple verse of scripture. You can't mess, you can't confuse it. There's nothing to be confused about. There are not choices to be made. There's not comparisons to be made. I am the way. I am the truth. I am the life. No man cometh to the Father but by me. Amen.

Revelation chapter 19 verse 10. Worship God for the testimony of Jesus is the spirit of prophecy. And I saw heaven opened and behold a white horse and he that sat upon him was called faithful and true. I believe the Lord's open the windows of heaven for us today. And I'm so very thankful. We see our Lord, who is faithful. Thank you, Caleb. And who's true. Hope you can stay for lunch. We have plenty of food in the fellowship hall. So let's stand together. And we're going to close with the hymn. The hymn on the inside cover. Inside cover of your spiral hymnal. And Tom, if you'll lead us in prayer after the hymn. OK.