I'm so happy to be with you.
What a blessing. Would you turn to John chapter
14. John chapter 14. The Lord says in verse four to his
disciples, and whether I go, you know, And the way, you know. Thomas saith unto him, Lord,
we know not whether thou goest, and how can we know the way?
Now, why did the Lord say, you know the way, and they said,
we don't know the way? Well, Christ is the way, and
if you know Christ, you know the way. That's how they knew
the way, even though they didn't realize it. Jesus saith unto him, I am the way, the truth, and the life. No man cometh unto the Father,
but by me. I've entitled this message, the
claims of Jesus Christ. Here's his claim. I am the way. I am the truth. I am the life. No man cometh through the Father,
but by me. There we have the claims of Jesus
Christ. This is the speech of one with
a narcissistic or histrionic personality disorder, with a
deranged delusion of grandeur and self-importance, or it's
the most important and significant statement ever uttered. I am the way. I am the truth. I am the life. No man cometh through the Father
but by me." Now, in this statement, I'm the way, the truth, and the
life, not even One two syllable word is used. And yet eternity
itself could not exhaust the meaning of this glorious statement
by the Lord Jesus Christ. I am the way, the truth and the
life. Now, on the very surface, this
tells me I have no way to God. You can't get there from here.
I have no way to God. On the very surface, this tells
me I don't have the truth. You know, all you got to do is
believe in salvation by works in any way to any degree, and
you demonstrate a complete ignorance of the character of God, your
own character, and how he saves sinners. That's all it takes.
If I believe my salvation is in any way dependent upon me,
what a low opinion I have of God that I think he could accept
something from me. What a high view of myself that
I think he could accept something from me. What a complete ignorance
I demonstrate of salvation. I do not have the truth. Not
only that, I don't have life. I don't have spiritual life.
As the scripture says, I'm dead in trespasses and sins. That's
the way I was born into this world. Now this statement on
the very surface tells us, I have no way to God. I do not have
the truth. Don't know the truth. And I have
no life before God. The Lord says, I am The way. Not a way, but the way. The way that excludes all other
ways. No man cometh to the Father,
but by me there are no other ways. Now you've probably heard of
comparative religions. As a matter of fact, you can
take a class on that, comparative religions. And in that class,
they compare religions and see what they have in common and
how they differ. And there are actually 4,300 registered religions in the world
where they actually have a dogma and a doctrine and so on. 4,300
religions. Now, 4,299 of them are all alike. Salvation by works. And they
have nothing in common with the gospel of God's grace. The way. The truth. The life. They have nothing in common. They exclude one another. The way of grace, the way of
works. the way of Law, the way of Christ, the way of Cain, the
way of Abel. Those are the two religions.
There are only two, don't get confused. There are only two. Christ the way, or as Christ
said, some other way. Those that come outside the door
and miss the door, they come some other way. And the Lord
says, all that ever came before me are thieves and robbers. All that ever came before him, he came before election. He came before my acceptance. He came to me before I ever came
to him. He came before faith. He came before repentance. All
that ever came before me are thieves and robbers. Thieves
seeking to rob God of his glory. Robbers seeking to rob us of
salvation. I am the way. Are you saying all other religions
are wrong? Whether or not I'm saying it,
Christ is saying it. He's saying it. I am the way. No man cometh to the Father but
by me. All other religions and religious
leaders say, I'll show you the way. I'll take your hand and
guide you along the way. I'll help you stay on the way.
Jesus Christ says, I am the way. Now, the way is the way from
point A to point B. Simple enough. He's the way to
the Father. The way from point A to point
B. And he's unique in this sense. In many senses. I shouldn't say
in this sense. He's unique in every sense. There's nobody like
him. There's nobody to compare him to. The Lexington area in Central
Kentucky, and I actually noticed when I was coming over here,
I was coming on Ashland Road. I didn't know this was called Ashland
Road. But in Central Kentucky, all the smaller towns have a
Lexington Road. Lexington Road. You've got one
in Nicholasville, you've got one in Danville, you've got one
in Winchester, these Lexington Roads, the way to Lexington.
Now, if you're on the road, you're on the way, but you're not there. If your way is Christ, you're
already at the destination right now. We just read about it in Ephesians
chapter two. The scripture says we're seated together. in the
heavenlies in Christ Jesus. I'm not sure for heaven as if
I was already there. I am already there in the person
of my Redeemer. He's the way to, if you're in
the way, you're already in the destination. There's no way that
it can be anything else because you're already there in Christ
Jesus. When he says, No man coming to
the Father but by me. While it's true, we come pleading
only his name, don't we? I come into his presence and
I say, hear me for his sake. Forgive my sins for his sake.
I have no, I have nothing else. Forgive me for his sake. I don't
plead my preaching or my praying or my, faith or my repentance
or my holy... No, hear me. There's one reason
he hears, for Christ's sake. And that's the way we come. We
come pleading only him. But did you know that the preposition
by is also translated through and in, in the scriptures? I come through him, Beloved,
I come in Him. Now this is how I get to the
Father. When He comes into the Father's presence, I do too,
because I'm in Him. Now that's what that means. The
only way I can come into the Father's presence is by being
in the Lord Jesus Christ. Accepted in the beloved. I would come no other way. I
can't come any other way. There is no other way than simply
being in him. Yes, we come by him pleading
only his name, but that's really not what this means. If a young
lady with child comes through those doors, with the child in
her womb and she walks in, somebody else walks in with her, that
person who is in her. So when Jesus Christ, after his
40 days with his disciples here on earth, ascended back to the
Father, Psalm 24 says, the Lord of hosts is the one who the gates
are open for. He ascended not by himself, but
with hosts, all of the company of God's elect, everybody for
whom he died for, he brought with him into the very presence
of the Father. He's the way to God. There is no other way. He himself is the truth. The truth is more than a proposition.
I don't wanna speak negatively about propositions. When we communicate,
we gotta communicate in propositions, I realize that. But the truth
is a person. He said, I am the truth. He's the way of righteousness.
There is no other righteousness, none. What's the scripture say
our righteousness is? Filthy rags. Do you believe that
about yourself? That your righteousnesses are
nothing more than filthy rags? And there's only one righteousness,
the righteousness of Jesus Christ. He's the way of peace. You wanna give me peace? That everything God requires
of me, he looks to Christ for. That is all that gives me peace. He is the way of peace. Any peace
that comes other than what I just said is a false peace. If I have some assurance that
I'm saved because of something in me, it is false. Get rid of it. He is our peace. He's the way of salvation. All
other ways lead to destruction. He's the way into the holiest.
There is no other way. I love the way the writer to
the Hebrews called him the new and the living way. Now that
word new means freshly slaughtered. That is how poignant his blood
is all the time before the father. Living, he lives. Now, He's the narrow way. He's so narrow that if you have
anything other than him, you can't get through the gate. If
you have anything in addition to him, you cannot walk along
the road. He is the narrow way. Do you have anything other than
him? Well, if you do, ask the Lord to give you grace to get
rid of it, because you can't get through the gate if you have
anything other than Him. And you cannot stay on the road
if you have anything other than Him. Now, the wide gate and the
broad way, there's plenty of room on it. The religious and
the unreligious can walk hand in hand. The moral and the immoral. the liberal and the conservative,
the Republican and the Democrat, the Calvinist and the Arminian,
the Pentecostal and the Presbyterian, the Baptist and the Buddhist,
the Hindu and the Hottentot, the folks that practice traditional
worship and the folks that practice contemporary worship, reformed
and unreformed. They can all walk on this broad
way. But the only one who can walk on this narrow way is the
one who has nothing but Jesus Christ. Somebody said, if all
you have is Christ, is he enough? He is if he's all you have. If
you have anything else, you exclude yourself. He himself is the way
to God and he's the way that excludes all other ways. Now
if you're on the way, you reject as false and untrue all other
ways. And if you don't, you're not
on the way. You may think you are, but you're
not because if you're In Him, if He's your way, you know He's
the only way. You are sure of it. You know
He's the only way for you, and you know He's the only way, period. He said, I am the way. Not a way, the way. He said, I am. the truth. Now what if I said
that? I am the truth. Why? Y'all start
throwing tomatoes at me. I mean, you the truth? That can
seem like such an arrogant statement for a man to make. I am the truth? Well, it's either an incredibly
arrogant statement or it's the truth. He said, I am the truth, not I'll show you
the truth, not I'll tell you the truth, not I'll teach you
the truth, not I'll lead you along the path of truth. He said,
I am the truth and anything that doesn't line up with me being
the truth is a lie coming from the father of lies. Jesus Christ
said, I am the truth. In John chapter five, verse 39,
he's the truth of scripture. He said, you search the scriptures. And you know, they did search
the scriptures, trying to figure out how to please God. What would
please God? What works could I do that I
might work the work of God? They did search the scriptures.
You search the scriptures. In them, you think you have eternal
life. If I can just figure out what
to do or what this book tells me to do, I'll have eternal life.
And the Lord says, they are they, every one of them, which testify
of me. Every scripture testifies of
the Lord Jesus Christ. This is true of every word of
scripture. So we know what it means before
we know what it means. It has something to do with the
gospel, doesn't it? It has something to do with the gospel of Jesus
Christ. I might not know how to get there yet, but I know
where it's going to end up. They are they, every single one
of them are they which testify of me. I love the first verse
of the Bible. In the beginning was the word. In the beginning God created
the heavens and the earth. Do you know God is spoken of
in the plural? God the Father, God the Son,
and God the Holy Spirit. He speaks right in the very first
verse of who he is. I think of that scripture in
2 Thessalonians 2, for this cause, what cause? Because they receive
not the love of the truth, God shall send them strong delusion. that they should believe a lie.
Who sends them their delusion? God does. Strong delusion that
they should believe a lie that they all might be damned who
believe not the truth. Christ is the truth. It's not
just a rejection of a doctrine, it's a rejection of the person
of Christ. They believe not the truth, but had pleasure in unrighteousness. Now, not only is the Lord the
truth of the scriptures, all of them, he's the truth concerning
the character of God. Now in this same chapter, look
in verse one, let not your heart be troubled.
You believe in God, believe also in me. Now that word also can
just as easily be translated even so. As a matter of fact,
it's translated that way in several places in the New Testament.
As in Adam all die, even so in Christ shall all be made alive.
Same thing. Here's the point, you believe
in God, even so believe in me. Do you believe God is all powerful?
Even so, I am too. Do you believe God is absolutely
sovereign in control of everything? Even so, believe in me, that's
who I am. Do you believe that God is absolutely just? Even
so, believe in me. Do you believe God is holy? Other. Even so, believe in me. Do you
believe God is independent, having no needs? Even so, believe in
me. Do you believe God is immutable?
He can't change. Even so, believe in me. Do you
believe God is love? Even so, believe in me. Every
attribute of God, He is. In him dwelleth all the fullness
of the Godhead bodily. And you are complete in him. Don't miss that. You are complete,
lacking nothing. There's nothing you need to be
added to you. You're complete in him who has
all the fullness of the Godhead dwelling in his body. Look in
John chapter 14, verse eight. Philip saith unto him, Lord,
show us the Father, and it sufficeth us. Jesus saith unto him, have
I been so long time with you? And yet hast thou not known me,
Philip? He'd been with him for three
and a half years, every day, hearing his teaching. You know,
the Lord had very dull disciples, didn't he? Still does, doesn't
he? But what does he say? He that hath seen me hath seen
the Father. It does not say he that's seen
me it's as if he has seen the Father. He says he that has seen
me hath seen the Father. All you and I are ever going
to see of the Father is Jesus Christ his Son. God who commanded
the light to shine out of the darkness has shined in our hearts,
the heart that he gives to give the light of the knowledge of
the glory of God. in the face of Jesus Christ. All you and I will ever see of
God is the only begotten Son of God. Now that beginning is
not an event of time. It's a fact irrespective of time. He's the sole representative
of the being and the character of him who sent him. God the
Son. He is the truth concerning the
character of God, who God really is. We can't know who God is
apart from the Lord Jesus Christ. And he's the truth about me and
you. Now, let me say this in a couple of ways. Number one,
you take any man, the best man, the best man to ever live, and
put him beside Jesus Christ, what is he? I can't even use adjectives enough
to describe how unlike Jesus Christ he is. The best man to
ever live is a sinful, evil man. Put him beside Jesus Christ,
you can see he's the best man. I love the scripture. There's no difference. There's no difference between
the best man to ever live and the worst man to ever live in God's
sight. There's no difference. All have sinned. and come short
of the glory of God. The only way I'm going to have
any idea of how bad we really are is not looking within our
heart. I can see a lot of bad stuff in my heart, you can too.
Bad motives, evil thoughts, evil intentions, jealousy. Go on and
on. The hell that's in everybody's
heart. But you and I don't see the tip. The only way I really
see how bad I am is when God left me to myself and left me
into themselves. They nailed his son to a cross.
That's how bad you are. That's how bad I am. That's rough
to think about, but it's so. I don't feel that bad, believe
it. Believe it. Whether you feel it or not, believe
it. This is God's testimony with regard to me and you. We are
that bad and the only way we can see how sinful we are is
by looking to the cross. What did Christ have to pay to
put away our sin? He's the truth. of Scripture,
he's the truth of God, he's the truth of man, and most especially,
he's the truth of salvation. Simeon understood this. Lord,
now let us, thy servant, depart in peace, for mine eyes have
seen thy salvation. That person, that is God's salvation. Now, he's the reason for salvation. You're not the reason for salvation.
He is. Now we benefit from it. I'm thankful
for that. But it's for his glory. It's
for his honor. It's for his exaltation. You're
not the reason. He is. Do you know God made the universe
so he could put his son on a cross for his own glory? That is God's
eternal purpose. The cross of the Lord Jesus Christ. He's the reason for election.
Why'd God choose you? Because you're in His Son. That's
the only reason. You can't understand election
apart from the person of the Lord Jesus Christ according as
He has chosen us in Him. before the foundation of the
world. He's the reason for justification. How could you be justified because
of what he did? It had nothing to do with your
works. It's his righteousness making you just before God because
he put away your sins. That's his work. How much did
he by himself purged our sins? You didn't help. His father didn't
help him. He said, my God, my God, why
are thou so far from helping me in the words of my roaring?
He by Himself purged our sins. He's the reason for redemption.
He's the reason for forgiveness. Ephesians 4.32 says, be ye kind,
tenderhearted, forgiving one another, even as God for Christ's
sake hath forgiven you. He didn't forgive you because
you were sorry. He didn't forgive you because you asked Him to.
He forgave you for Christ's sake. He's the reason for the new birth,
wasn't your free will. He, by his spirit, birthed you
into the kingdom. He's the reason for preservation,
were preserved in Christ Jesus. He's the reason for faith and
repentance, he gave them to you. And he's the object of it. He
himself is the truth. and anything that is not this
is a lie. I am the way. I am the truth. Now what does he say next? I am the life. I'm the way that excludes all
other ways. I'm the truth that excludes all
other truths. I am the life that excludes all
other lives. Now, he does not say, I'm the
one who shows you how to live. He does show us how to live,
but also want to say this, as far as knowing how to live, you
already know how to live. You know, when people say, we need
to teach people how to live. You already know how to live.
You know you ought to pay your bills. You know you ought to be honest.
Every one of the Ten Commandments are written in your heart. You
know them, I know them when we're born into this world. Everybody
knows it's wrong to murder. Everybody knows it's wrong to
be a thief. Everybody knows that sexual sin
is wrong. We need to teach people how to
live. They already know how to live. We need to teach them how
to die. We need to teach him the gospel. I wanna learn the
gospel, don't you? Now, he doesn't say I'm gonna
teach you how to live. He doesn't even say I'm the one
who gives you life. He said, I am the life. Now hear what he says. I am the
life. The only life that will God accept,
that will God accept is my life. Now do you hear that? The only
life that God will accept is my life. The only way you can get to the
Father is if my life is your life before God. Paul said in
Colossians 3, when Christ, our life shall appear. Would you want to bring your
life before God? Would you want to bring your faith and your
repentance and your holy living and your striving against sin
and your victory over sin and your prayer life and your, fill
in the blank. Would you want to bring that
before God? Oh, Paul said, oh, that I may
win Christ and be found in him. Not having my own righteousness,
which is of the law. I don't want my fingerprints
to be on anything. Just his life. Tell me about your life. Read
Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John. That's it. That's my life before
God. I am the life. You know, a lot of people try
to bring their own lives. A lot of people do. Lord said, many
shall say unto me in that day, not a few, many shall say unto
me in that day, Lord, Lord, you know me. Lord, Lord, the repetition
of his name, you know what I've done. Why? In your name, we preached
in your name. We've cast out devils in your
name. In your name, we've done many
wonderful works. Then shall I say unto thee, Depart
from me, ye that work iniquity. I never knew you. The only life that we dare plead
is the life of the Lord Jesus Christ. Now, the question is,
how can his life be my life? How's that work? to where his
life really is my life. I understand the Bible talks about
imputation. Imputation does not mean that
here we are guilty and God just imputes us to be righteous. That's
not what imputation means. If I have $500 in the bank and
there's something I want to buy that costs $800, I think, well,
I'm just going to impute that I have $1,000 in there. OK, I'll write my check. What's
it going to do? Bounce. Because just because I imputed there
to be $1,000 in there, that doesn't mean that's what was in there.
What the correct reckoning is, if I got $500 in there and I
impute, yeah, there's $500 in there. That's how much is there.
If God imputes me righteousness, it's because I am righteous. I am righteous before God. Think
about this, this thing of how can Christ's life actually be
mine? Well, with God, nothing is impossible. Amen? He can't act contrary to
his character, I realize that. It's impossible for him to lie.
It's impossible for him to act contrary to any of his attributes.
He will not do that. But God has the power and the
authority to take my sin and lift it off of me and put it
in that cup that Christ drank in Gethsemane's garden. And when
he was drinking that cup, he was drinking my life, my sin,
my sin. iniquity, my transgression, every
sin I've ever committed was in that cup. All of the sins of
all of God's elect, he drank the cup. My life became his life. That's why he died on Calvary
Street. That's why God forsook him. He
deserved to be forsaken by God because that's what I deserve.
But it became his. He took full responsibility for
it. No, he never committed a sin. Worse, he was made sin. You see, I can't take your sins
because I've got sins of my own. If I wanted to take your place
because of a crime you committed, government wouldn't let me do
it because I didn't commit it, you did. Christ had no sin of his own,
so he could take my sin He took my sins and my sorrows, He made
them His very own. He bore the burden to Calvary
and suffered and died alone, but He can take His life, His
perfect righteousness, and make it mine. So His life is my life
before God. I'm actually going to hear God
say to me, well done, thou good and faithful servant. Somebody
cringes. I can't see God saying that to
me. If Christ's life is your life, you're going to hear it
too. Every believer is going to hear that. My life is the
life of the Lord Jesus Christ. That's what he said. I am the
life. I am the way. I am the truth,
I am the life. No man cometh to the Father,
but by me. He's the life that, he's the
only life. Would you want to hear the life?
He's the only way. That excludes every other way.
He's the truth that excludes every other truth. No man comes
to the Father, but by me. Now let's close with Hebrews
chapter seven. I hope this will be real to us by the Lord's grace. Verse 25, Hebrews chapter 7,
verse 25. He is able also to save them
to the uttermost. Now, I don't even know how to
define that word. That's a big word, isn't it? The uttermost. Wherefore he is able also to
save them to the uttermost that come unto God, how? By him. There is no other way. But he's
able to save them to the uttermost that come unto God by him, seeing
he ever liveth to make intercession. for them. How am I coming to God? By him, through him, and in him. No man comes to the Father but
by me. Amen.