John chapter 14, verse 5, Thomas saith unto him, Lord, we know not where you are
going. Some folks seem to know all about
that. How can we know the way? I heard
a message this afternoon on television. And believe me, it troubles me
deeply. There's so much of what we call
the truth and so little of the truth being preached today. There's a man running a series
of messages on the Church, the importance of the Church. He
spoke a few weeks ago on the founder of the Church, another
sermon on the foundation of the church, another sermon on the
faith of the church, and this afternoon on the fundamentals
of the church. And he gave ten fundamentals
of the church. He said, you write them down. No, sir. I've known these ever
since I was a foot and a half high. These are the fundamentals
of the church. I didn't have to write them down.
I imagine you go get his outline. coincide exactly with what I've
written down that he said, as I listened to him, didn't write
a thing down. First of all, the Church believes in the inspiration
of the Scriptures. This is verily the inerrant,
verbally, unbroken, inspired Word of God. That's a fact. That's
what the Church preaches. That's what we believe. The second
point was the virgin birth of Jesus Christ, that He was born
without aid of a human father, that He was born of the Virgin.
It is necessary that you believe he was born of the virgin. Now,
he never told me why. It was necessary that he be born
of a virgin. That's the key to this virgin
birth. It's not just because the Bible says it. It's because
he had to be born of the virgin or he'd been a partaker of Adam's
sin. But that wasn't mentioned. The
fundamental of the Church is this is what you believe. This
is what the Church believes, what it teaches, the virgin birth
of Jesus Christ. Thirdly, the sinless life of
Christ. the perfect life of Christ. He
obeyed the law perfectly, he never sinned. Fourthly, he died
on the cross. He died a vicarious, those were
the words, and believe it or not, the word effectual was used,
death on Calvary. It is necessary, and fifthly,
that he rose from the grave. And then it is necessary in the
sixth place that men repent of their sins and believe on Christ.
This makes his death effectual for you. and then be baptized. Baptism is for a conscious believer,
not for a child. Baptism is by immersion only. The Lord's suffering in the 8th
place was to picture the death, burial, and resurrection of Christ.
Good works are to follow faith. Anybody who believes, truly believes,
ought to. He didn't say they do, he said
they ought to maintain good work. In the 10th place, the fundamental
of the Church is the second coming of Christ. Now, my friends, I
want to present something to you. I believe all ten of those
things. I would fight for all ten of
them. I would debate and argue anybody, all ten of them. And
I believe ninety-nine percent of you here tonight would. And
I would say that ninety-nine percent of the church members
around the world would. But does that mean we're saved?
Does believing these fundamental facts, does that constitute salvation? I'll be honest with you. Believing
these things gives me no peace to go to sleep at night. When
I think about death and judgment and eternity, believing these
ten things gives me no assurance whatsoever, Charles. Because,
like I say, I believed these before I learned the gospel.
I was taught these truths, these fundamentals from my youth up.
I was taught them way back young. by men whom I never heard one
time preach the true gospel of Jesus Christ. Now this is not
the way to God. Fundamentals, facts, mental assent
to truth is not. There are people who believe
this who are not saved. Just like the Pharisees of old
and the scribes and Sadducees who were orthodox men, orthodox
readers of students of the Scripture, teachers of the Scripture, contenders
for the ceremonies and the feast days and fastings and tithings
and alms and all of these things, who didn't know God. Our Lord
leveled a finger into the face of the most religious men of
His day and said, you don't know God. It's one thing to know about
Him, it's another thing to know Him. It's one thing to preach
about Jesus Christ, it's another thing to preach Christ. It's
one thing to talk about the gospel, it's another thing to preach
the gospel. I want, believe me, with all
my heart, to know the gospel. I want you to know the gospel.
I feel a tremendous burden for your souls and for my soul, a
burden for the Word of God, a burden to tell men the weight of God. Don't you feel a burden to hear
it? I don't want to know a gospel or some gospel or any gospel
but the gospel. I want to know the gospel. And
I don't only want to know it in my head, I want to experience
it and believe it and embrace it and lay hold of it in my heart.
And then I want, above all things, to preach it. For Paul said,
Woe is unto me if I preach not the gospel. God have mercy on
my soul, but he won't if I preach not the gospel. I want us to
look at this text tonight in John 14. Now, I'm not going to
do a whole lot of preaching. I about preached out this morning.
But I'm going to do a little just visiting with you for a
little while on this subject. In John 14, our Lord said to
his disciples, that's the people to whom he's speaking here, he
said, let not your heart be troubled. Let not your heart be troubled.
Now their hearts were troubled, very troubled. Most of what they
believed about Jesus of Nazareth was wrong. Did you know that?
Most of what the disciples believed about Jesus Christ was wrong. They really expected him to set
up a kingdom here on this earth. They said, when are you going
to restore the kingdom to Israel? They asked him that. One of them
said, well, now who's going to sit on your right hand and your
left hand, you remember, when you come into your kingdom? Lord,
when are you coming into your kingdom? They had the wrong conception
of the work of Christ. They didn't see a cross. They
didn't see suffering. They didn't see the Lamb dying.
They didn't see a burial and a resurrection. They didn't see
those things. In fact, Peter said, when he said, the Son of
Man must go as it's written. I must go to Jerusalem and suffer
and die. Peter said, oh no, no, don't
do that. That's not in the blueprint.
Now if you die, we're not going to have a king, nor a kingdom. If you die, all our eggs are
in your basket, all our hope's in you. You can't do that! You
can't do that! In fact, out there in the garden
when they came to get Christ, Peter drew his sword and he was
going to have the battle of Armageddon right there, by himself. And the Lord said, put up your
sword, Peter. And he said, get thee behind me, Satan. These
men, they didn't understand. Most of what they believed about
Christ and his kingdom was wrong. And here he was talking about
going to the cross and dying. And these men were downcast and
brokenhearted and bereaved and frustrated and confused. And
he turned and said, don't be troubled, but not your heart. Can you imagine how they felt? To a degree I can. My heart's
been troubled many times. About what? About my sins? Don't
your sins trouble your heart? I've been troubled about the
thoughts of death. I've thought about dying and
I've thought about the overwhelming awesomeness of eternity. Have you thought about those
things? I thought about how dreadful it would be at the judgment to
find out all these years you didn't know the gospel. That you were building on a false
foundation and road and a false righteousness and hid in a refuge
of lies. You said, not me. Well, I don't
know about you, but Christ said many will hear that. I never
knew you. Many, many. Not everybody says,
Lord, Lord, it's going to enter the kingdom of God, but many
were saying to me on that day, now wait a minute, Lord, we preached
in your name and cast out devils and did many wonderful works.
I don't know that I've ever cast out a devil. And I can't name
too many wonderful works I've done. And then I shall say unto
them, I never knew you. I can identify with a troubled
heart. I don't know. You may have that cocksure, proud,
presumptuous attitude if anybody makes it. Lord, surely I will.
But this fellow standing here doesn't have it. I have a greater
desire to know Christ as anybody here. I have a greater desire,
as greater desire to know the gospel as anybody here. I have
as greater desire to be saved as anybody here. I don't want
to die without Christ. But I'll tell you this. And I
say it with all my heart. I can identify with these disciples
here. A troubled heart. Let's go on. The Lord said, you believe in
God? Do you believe in God? Well, I have no trouble believing
in God. I believe in God. I do. I do believe in God. Now, not
the gods of this world. I don't believe in that little
silly, frustrated, defeated God I hear preached all over this
country. They use the Lord's name like a buddy or a partner. You know, God's my co-pilot.
Well, that's not the God I believe in. I don't. I believe that God is not the
co-pilot. I believe He's the pilot. I don't believe He's... Jesus is my partner, and I don't
believe in that Jesus either. I believe He's the boss, the
head man. I really do. I don't believe
in this little silly superstar or somebody up yonder or the
man upstairs. No, I don't believe in that God.
I believe in the eternal, almighty, omnipotent, holy, righteous,
just, and sovereign God of the universe. That's the God I believe
in. The living God in whom we live and move and have our being. The God who said, I work all
things after the counsel of my own will. That's the God I believe
in. who reigns in the armies of heaven and among the inhabitants
of this earth, and giveth it to whomsoever he will." That's
the God I believe in. The God who holds every man's
breath, life, and destiny in His hand. That's the God I believe
in. The God who does what He will, when He will, with whom
He will, and gives no account of these matters to any creature.
That's the God I believe in. I believe in that God. Sovereign,
yet love. Righteous, yet gracious. Just
and holy, and yet gentle and tender. The living God. David said, My heart panteth
for thee, the living God. When shall I come before thee,
the living God? Jesus Christ said, This is life
eternal, to know the living God. There was a time when man walked
with God. There was a time, there was a
time when my great-great-great-granddaddy walked with God. A man in the
flesh, with flesh and blood and bones, just like me, walked with
that God. Not on pretense, not on presumption,
but he walked with God. With my great-great-great-granddaddy's
sin, and he didn't walk with God no more. No, sir, he didn't. He and all his children were
separated from God because of sin. Your sins have separated
you from God. There's a great gulf between
me and God because of my sins and evil nature. The Scripture
says, Who shall stand in his presence? He that hath clean
hands and a pure heart. Adam had that before he fell. How can man be just with God? God's the same, but man's changed. Turn to Psalm 14. This is what's happened to us.
Over in the book of Genesis, it says, God saw that every imagination
of man's heart was evil continually. And then here in Psalm 14, he
says, in verse 1, the fool has said in his heart, no God. No
God. They're corrupt. They've done
abominable works. There's none that doeth good.
The Lord looked to God, looked down from heaven upon the children
of men to see if there were any that didn't understand and seek
God. They're all gone aside. They're
all together become filthy. There's none that doeth good.
No, not one. Yeah? There was a time when we
walked with God, but no more. There was a time when man stood
in God's presence, but no more. There was a time when man had
sweet, blessed, unbroken communion with God, but no more. No more. Our Lord described we Gentiles
and said you're without hope, without help, without God, without
Christ in this world. Well, let's read the text again.
Let not your heart be troubled. Well, it is. You believe in God? I sure do. I sure do. Coming back to that next phrase,
let's go to verse 2. In my Father's house are many
mansions. But I believe that. I don't have
any trouble believing that. Heaven's going to be populated.
God's going to have a people. I guarantee you heaven will be
populated. I guarantee you that there'll
be some vessels of mercy to eternally praise the Lord God. There's
going to be trophies of His grace, there's going to be people in
hell, there's going to be people in heaven. I'm sure of that. I'm sure of that. Our Lord said
this in 2 Corinthians 5 verse 1, writing Through the pen of
the Apostle Paul in 2 Corinthians 5.1, he said, we know that if
this tent, this earthly house of this tent is dissolved, we
have a building of God. In my Father's house are many
dwelling places, many of them. Brother Barnard used to say there
won't be any vacancies, but there'll be plenty of room. They've all
got a nameplate on the door and on the mailbox. At the table
of the marriage supper of the Lamb, every place is identified.
God's going to have a people just like His Son. I want to
be one of them. I want to be one of them. When
I die, I want to die the death of the righteous. I want to die
in faith. I want to be able to say with the Apostle Paul, I've
kept the faith. And I want to be, I want to forever
be with Christ, don't you? Because I believe in the Father's
house are many dwelling places. All right, let's notice something
else. And he said, and I go to prepare a place for you. My Lord
Jesus Christ has gone to prepare a place. I have no problem with
that. Heaven, I know, is a prepared place for a prepared people.
Not only must the place be prepared, and don't put too much emphasis
on that and forget the next important thing, heaven is a prepared place,
but it's prepared for a prepared people. You have to be prepared
to live in heaven. Just anybody can't live in heaven.
Did you know that? We've got the idea that God can
just somehow or other take anybody to heaven. Yes, anybody can go
to heaven, but anybody can't go to heaven. You know why? Well,
let me give you three reasons. Number one, to enter into the
presence of God, whether here or in heaven. A man's got to
have a righteousness which we don't have by nature. Now, you
remember when the tabernacle stood in the wilderness? And
that little cubicle, 15 by 15 by 15, where the Ark of the Covenant
and the Mercy Seat was, nobody could go in that place but a
high priest once a year, nobody. And the only way he could go
in was with the blood, which represented the atonement of
Christ, and the burning incense, which represented the mediatorial
intercession, the work of Christ. One fellow went there one time
and he died and they drug him out quite as snow as a leper,
just going into that cubicle. And you talk about you and me
going to heaven? Going into the presence of God?
Who's going into the presence of God? Not unless you have a
perfect holiness. You're not going into God's presence,
I'm not either. No way. Our Lord Jesus Christ
talking to his disciples one day. Here he was talking to just
a bunch of rough, ordinary fishermen. Old Peter could cuss, and Thomas
could doubt, and Philip could question, and the rest of them
had their infirmities. Just ordinary fellows like you
and me, working men, men that had calluses on their hands from
pulling on nets at the sea, and men that labored for a living,
men that had families and all. He said to them, he said, except your righteousness,
your holiness and righteousness exceed the scribes and the Pharisees
up there in the temple. Now, do you know who he was talking
about? He was talking about those fellas whose very lives were
religion. That's exactly who he was talking
about. Their lives were dedicated to religion. They had the heritage,
the background, the theology, the orthodoxy. They gave the
tithes, they fasted twice a week. They gave alms to the poor. They
wore their phylacteries broad to tell people they were believers
in God. They stood on the street corner
and read the Bible. They prayed long prayers, they
were moral men, their lives above reproach, and he turned to these
simple, ordinary, hard-working, laboring fishermen and said,
ìYour righteousness has got to exceed theirs or you canít enter
the kingdom of God.î Why? Because an unrighteous man
cannot stand in God's presence. God cannot demand anything but
perfection, but he can't be satisfied with any less than perfection.
That's the reason he turned his back on Christ as he hung on
the cross, because he was made sin for us. Where am I going
to get this righteousness? Well, we'll talk about that in
a minute. What I'm trying to establish is this. Entering heaven
is not as simple as preachers make it. You want to go to heaven? You don't want to go there unless
you have a righteousness that will let you in, because you
could come out a sender. That's right. Burned to a crisp.
No man can look on God and live. What makes you think you'd enjoy
that sight? Why, when they stood and Moses
came from the mountain, they had to cover his face with a
veil before they could look on him. What would it be to look
on God? Oh, I want to see Jesus. I don't
know whether you want to see Jesus or not. Now just hang on
there. You better have sanctified eyes
if you're going to look on him. Why Moses had to put a veil on
his face because he'd just been in the presence of God. It was
just reflected glory. What on earth would we do with
the raw glory? See what I'm saying? Something's
got to happen to me before I can enter that place. I've got to
have a righteousness. I'll tell you something else.
There's some books up there waiting on me. Some books which contain
some records. Some records of every imagination,
every thought, every word, every sin that I've ever committed.
The books are opened, he said, and men shall be judged. Are
you in a hurry to get there and look at those books? Yeah, just
come on in, Brother Halston. We've got a surprise for you.
We've got a debt here for you to pay. See what I'm saying?
Come on in, Abram. Now, you want to get here so
quick, come on in. We've got a book here with your
name right on top. And you see, Mr. Yeager, there's
some sins here that's going to have to be satisfied because
God will not clear the guilty. You know what it says? God will
not clear the guilty. God will not clear the guilty.
Justice must be satisfied. Tell you something else. What
makes you think you'd enjoy heaven? To enjoy the presence of God,
I'm going to have to be like God. Two cannot walk together
except they be agreed. Now you can fall out with the
pastor and quit church here, but you can't fall out with God.
See what I'm saying? Ain't no falling out there, you
see. It's the way of righteousness and the way of love and the way
of holiness. His way or no way. In order to enjoy the presence
of God, I'm going to have to have a nature like God, a spirit
like God, I've got to hate evil like God, and love holiness like
God. So you see this thing of taking
this creature, who is the grand, great, great, great, great grandson
of the fellow that used to walk with God, but he failed. And because of his fault, death,
judgment, condemnation, sin passed upon all men, and God has remained
the same, but we've been changed. And we love darkness. And we're
evil by birth and practice and nature and choice. And we're
talking about getting back into his presence? Tell me the way,
will you? Would you tell me the way? Well,
just believe. I believe there's something more to it than that.
I believe it is. See, I've got to have some righteousness.
God's not going to receive me as I am. I've got to be made
holy. Without holiness, no man will see the Lord. And that don't
mean you quit playing cards and got fixed up. Without holiness, no man will
see the Lord. That doesn't mean you quit going
to the show and watching television and got holy. That ain't the
holiness. Without holiness, holiness, holiness,
no man will see the Lord. That doesn't mean you quit bowling
on Friday night and betting a nickel on the outcome of the game and
got holy. That holiness is the immaculate,
infinite, perfect holiness of Christ. That's that holiness,
that imputed holiness. That holiness in thought, imagination,
word, deed, truth. God's got to have it. He demands
it. And in that justice, that book,
those charges in that book got to be paid for it. Every blessed
one of them, every transgression shall receive a just recompense
of reward. You know what it says? God Almighty's
justice is going to be satisfied. Every crime is going to be punished,
every sin is going to be paid for, and every transgression
is going to be satisfied. That's right. And to enjoy the
presence of God, I got to have a new heart and a new nature
that would enjoy heaven, that would enjoy it. Brother Barnard
said if the Lord took some church members to heaven that he had
met, why, he said they'd have the angels fighting in two hours.
They'd bring up some matter that'd get everybody divided. Well,
he said he'd seen some that would be digging up the straits of
gold and peddling it on the straits. But to have a holy nature that
loves the things God loves, and delights in the things God delights
in, and hates the things that God hates, has to have a new
birth, regeneration, a changing, a new creation. Now here's the
question. I know what Thomas is asking
now. Where are you going and what's
the way? What's the way? Preacher, what's
the way? How can sin be put away? How can man be just with God?
How can man have that perfect holiness? How can I be clean
that is born of a woman? Now listen to me, this is true.
Everything that's called religion today, from Catholicism to sedentary
Adventism, pretends to be the way. You know that's so and I
know that's what. Every fundamentalist, every Protestant,
every Catholic, even the Jews, Every Muslim, everybody claims
to know and to have a corner on the way to God, the way to
God. But they can't all be right.
There's just too many different ways and they're poles apart. Thomas said, how can I know the
way? And this one says this and that
one says that and that one says the other. This man was talking
about these fundamentals of the church. He had a meeting down
in Haiti last week and had 100,000 people saved. That's what he
said, 100,000. If that's all there is to salvation
is believing these fundamentals, I believe I could save a hundred
thousand pretty quick. Raise your hand if you believe
those fundamentals. Do you believe? Well, you're saved. That fixes
you up. Where's my righteousness? Where's
my justice satisfied? Where's my new nature? Where's
my holy nature? The preacher will have to run
them down to get them baptized. He'll have to run them down to
get them to come to Sunday night service or Wednesday night service.
He'll have to run them down to get them to love each other.
He'll have to promise them a reward in heaven to get them to witness.
He'll have to promise this, that, and the other. He'll have to
warn them. He'll have to make them afraid of the fire and brimstone
of hell. He'll have to use every tactic
and gimmick and thing he can imagine to get them to worship
God. What's he going to do when they
get to heaven? Well, they won't like it up there. They don't
like it down here. What's the way? There's a way
that seems right to man. I'm not interested in that way.
I'm not interested in that way. There's a way that seems right
to men. I want to know the way. And Thomas
looked right at the master and says, I don't know where you're
going, and I don't know the way. And my Lord answered him. Here's
what he said. Jesus said then to him, I am the way. There it is. I am the way. I am the way. Christ is the only
way. He didn't say I am a way. He
didn't say I'm a good way or a special way. He didn't say
I'll make a way. He said I am the way. Christ
is the door. If any man enter in, he shall
be saved. Christ is the water of life.
If any man drinks, he'll never thirst. Christ is the bread of
life. He that hungereth and eateth
of Christ shall never hunger again. Christ is the Good Shepherd. He does not share that position
with any law, any church, any ordinance, any duty, or any action,
or any decision, or any profession. He himself is the way. Never
a prayer was heard by God except through Christ. Never a blessing came to a man
except through Christ. Never a sin is forgiven except
through Christ. Never a guilty man has been pardoned
except through Christ. Never a cry for mercy has ever
been heard except through Christ. Never a name written in heaven
except through Christ. Never a sinner saved except through
Christ, and never a believer raised from the grave except
through Christ, that in all things he may have the preeminence. He's the way. And then, he said, I am the way. He said, I am the way. Not a
way. Not a way. Somebody said, it
doesn't matter, we're all going to heaven, we're going to start
in different ways. I am the way, other foundation can no man lay.
There's none other name under heaven given among men. I am
the way. The way. No argument there. I
am the way. Thomas said, Lord! How can I
know the way? I'm the way. But he said, I am
the way. What is a way? A way supposes
two points, where I am and where I want to be. And the way is
between them. Here I am right here. I want
to be there. What's the way? A way is something
that's between two points. Christ said, I am the way. I
am the way. Now listen to me. He's the way
from ruin to righteousness. He is the way. He lifts me from
ruin by being himself ruined. You see what I'm saying, John?
By one man's disobedience, I was made a sinner. By another man's
obedience, I was made righteous. He himself is the way. You see,
I just don't believe on Christ and then get in the way of righteousness.
He is the way of righteousness. He is my righteousness. God never
looks upon me. He looks upon me in Christ as
righteous. He is my righteousness. He is
my sanctification. He is the way. A way supposes
two parts, where I am, where I want to be. I'm in ruin. I want to be in righteousness.
Christ is the way. He's my righteousness. I'm just as righteous the moment
I receive him as when I stand in the presence of God. You know
the only difference? I'll be rid of this flesh. That's
what you were saying last night. That's the only difference. You
get people to understand and believe that. They don't believe
it. They're going to put something else in here to mess around with.
They're going to get something else in here somewhere. I know
Christ's our righteousness, but ain't no but about it. He either
is or he isn't. You're either righteous in him
or you're dead in sins. Because anything in the flesh,
well, it's no good thing. In the flesh no man can please
God. There's not anything commendable in the flesh. The plowing of
the wicked is sin. Our righteousness is a filthy
rag. Christ is the way to righteousness. He's the way from death to life.
I'm dead if I live or live in Christ. I'm either dead or I'm
alive. If I'm dead, I'm dead in Adam,
and Adam will all die in Christ the made alive. He is my life. He said I am the life. I am the
way. I am the life. See what I'm saying? I don't know how he could make
it any plainer. I am the way, way. I'm the way
from death to life. He has translated us from the
kingdom of darkness and death to the kingdom of His dear Son.
We know that we have passed from death unto life. How did you
do it? I didn't do it, He did it. Christ
is my life. When Christ, who is our life,
shall appear, then shall we appear with Him in glory. He is the
way from enmity to peace. Now, brethren, I know this upsets
folks and I know it makes them mad, but so anyhow, God's angry
with the wicked. God is angry with the wicked.
The Scripture says, if we believe not on Christ, the wrath of God
abideth on us. I know we're telling this whole
ungodly, Christ-hating, lawless world that God loves them, and
I think we're lying to them. I think this world's under judgment.
I think this world is under God's wrath. I think there is an ark
floating. I think there is a city of refuge.
I think there is a hiding place. I think there is a rock in a
weary land. I think there is where God loves, and that rock
is Christ, and that refuge is Christ. There is a place where
God's love and peace abides, but it's not in you or me or
upon our churches. It's in Christ, and all who are
in Christ have been reconciled to God. God was in Christ, reconciling. He is our peace, having made
peace through the blood of his cross that he might reconcile
us to God. I was under God's wrath, children
of wrath, even as what? Others. Christ is my peace. And I passed from judgment and
condemnation and wrath in Christ immediately into God's favor,
reconciliation, and peace. I didn't graduate there. Christ
put me there. He is my peace. He's the way. And then He's the way from condemnation
to acceptance. We're accepted in the beloved.
Therefore being justified by faith, we have peace with God,
and there is therefore now no condemnation to them who are
in Christ. Paul said, who can lay anything
to the charge of God's elect? It's God that justifies. Who
can condemn me? Christ died. Yea, rather, is
risen again, who is even at the right hand of God, who also maketh
intercession for us." Christ is the way. That's pretty clear,
isn't it? Thomas said, I don't know the
way. And I listen to the average preacher, and I still don't know
the way. And I listen to all these fundamental facts, and
I've always believed them, and I still don't know the way. And
listen to all these propositions and all these invitations, and
raise a hand here and a raise a hand there and a foot here,
you know, and walk down and out and shake a preacher's hand,
pray through, hold on, turn loose, join the church, promise to tithe,
fill out my card, go out in the soul winning, knocking on doors,
doing all these things, and have a heart as heavy as a brick,
bad. Don't know God. Old Thomas said, I don't know
where you're going, and I don't know the way, and I'd sure be
much obliged if you'd tell me. And my Lord looked at him and
he said, I am the way. The way. The way. And I am the way. And then he
said this, watch it, he said, I am the way. I. He didn't say, I'm a guide that'll
show you the way. He didn't say, I'm a representative
that'll make a way, though he did. He said, I myself am the
way. Would you know God? You're going
to have to know Christ. He is God in human flesh. They
said, show us the Father. He said, he that has seen me
has seen the Father. Would you have a righteousness?
Christ is your righteousness. Would you live? Christ is our
life. Would you have an atonement? Christ is our atonement, by whom
we have now received the atonement. Would you be sanctified? He is
our sanctification. Would you have a mediator between
God and men? There's one mediator, the man
Christ Jesus, and he's not a doctrine, he's a person. He's not a decision,
he's a person. He's not a plan, he's a person.
But what shall I do? Nothing, it's done. A dear old lady summed this up.
She was talking to a freewill Armenian fundamental preacher
one time, and she said, I'll tell you the difference in your
religion and mine. Your religion is a word with
two letters, mine's a word with four letters. He said, how's
that? She said, your religion is do, do, do, do, d-o, do. My religion's d-o-n-e, done.
Tis done, the great transaction's done. It is finished. I am my
Lord's and He is mine. Somebody says, well, preacher,
I tell you, when I get home tonight, I'm going to pray. I hope you
do. But that's not the gospel. Nobody ever prayed his way into
heaven yet, because prayer is not the way, Christ is the way.
See what I'm saying, Robert? Well, I'll tell you what I'm
going to do, I'll tell you what I'm going to do, I'm going to be baptized
and join the church. I hope you do. That's what you
ought to do. But that's still not the gospel. It won't do you
a bit of good until you meet Him who is the gospel. That's
right. Well, I'll tell you what I'm
going to do. I'm going to quit my sins and I'm going to give
my life to God and serve him. That'd be great. That's what
you ought to do. But that's not the way to go.
Christ is the way to go. But tell you what I'm going to
do. I'm going to give my tithe. I'm going to help those who preach
the gospel. I think you ought to do that.
But that's still not the way. How many times does he have to
say it? Thomas said, I don't know the way. Christ said, well,
Thomas, go home and pray, or join the church, or be baptized,
or do the best you can, or serve God, give your life to Jesus.
Now see, he said, Thomas, I'm the way. I'm the way. I myself am the way. And I'll
tell you, this world is full of people who've learned the
doctrines of Christ but have never learned Christ. This world
is full of people who appreciate, agree with, and try to obey the
laws of Christ who have never learned Christ. Turn to Ephesians
4. This is such an important scripture here, Ephesians chapter
4. And I know this is, you say, I don't quite lay hold on what
you're preaching. Well, my friend, the gospel is
a mystery. I heard a preacher say one time,
I preach the gospel so simply that a little child can understand
it. Let me tell you something. There's no way you can preach
the gospel of redemption, of the wisdom and glory of God,
so that any man can understand it apart from the Holy Spirit.
Because a natural man receives it not the things of God. They're
foolishness to him. He cannot know them. They're
spiritually understood. Our Lord said to Nicodemus, he
wasn't a little child, he was a full grown man who was a theologian
and an orthodox teacher of the scriptures, and he said, if I
told you earthly things and you can't understand them, how are
you going to understand if I tell you heavenly things? Except the
man's born again, he cannot see, understand, discern the kingdom
of God. But I tell you, I'm on the right
track here because Christ said this, I am the way. Whatever
that means, He's the way. I don't care if you don't understand
it, He's still the way, whatever that means. You see what I'm
saying? Because you don't understand
it, don't go figure it out another way. Sit around until you do. This is what dum-dums do. They
come and they listen to a preacher and Christ said, I am the way.
And instead, they say, well, I don't understand that. I think
that's all right, but we better do this, that, and the other.
No, sit down and learn the way. God opened my eyes and let me
see the way, opened my ears, let me hear Him who is the way,
opened my heart so I can lay hold on the way. I don't want
to substitute for the way just because I don't understand it. I'm wanting to understand more
and more about this way. The people who've learned of
the life of Christ who've never learned Christ. Look at Ephesians
4. 18 says they have their understanding
darkened, alienated from the life of God through ignorance. Ignorance that is in them because
of the blindness of their hearts, their past feeling, having given
themselves over to lasciviousness to work all uncleanness with
greediness. You have not so learned, Christ.
It so be that you have heard him and been taught by him, as
the truth is in Christ." That's where the truth is, the way and
the life is in Christ. That's where it is. The way to heaven, the way to
where he is. I go to prepare a place for you.
And Paul Thomas. I don't know where you're going.
How can I know the way? I'd better run down to some Pharisee
and find out the way. I'd better get busy and figure
out what I think is the best way. Maybe I'd better find all
the different ways and compare them, you know. That's smart.
How can I know the way? And Christ gave the answer. And
my friend, if I was you, I'd camp right there. That's where
I'm going to camp. If I ever find the way, I'll
find it in him. Because he said, I am the way.
Truth? Truth? I am the truth. And I
am the life. I want life. Three things Adam
lost in the garden. You know what they were? He lost life. He died in his
sins. Christ said, I am the life. He
lost the truth. He believed the lie. Christ said,
I am the truth. And God put him out of that garden
and put a sword across that door of that garden so he couldn't
come back in. And Christ said, I am the way. Won't back in,
Charlie? I am the way. Whatever that means. I bet you
don't sound real certain. I'm certain about one thing.
He's the way. I'm dead sure about that, Eddie. He's the way. Just
as dead sure as I can be.