The Way Made Plain

Q: What does the Bible say about eternal life?

The Bible teaches that eternal life is given through hearing God's word and believing in Christ (John 5:24). Eternal life, according to John 5:24, is granted to those who hear the word of Christ and believe in the one who sent Him. This promise highlights that eternal life is not merely a future hope but a present possession for believers, as they are passed from death to life through faith in Jesus. The essence of eternal life is the possession of divine life and a vital relationship with God, restored through Christ's redemptive work.

Q: How do we know salvation is true?

Salvation is true as it is founded on Christ's words and the assurances of Scripture, confirming believers' justification and eternal life (Romans 5:1). The truth of salvation is unequivocally rooted in the authority of Christ's words, which command our attention and faith. When Jesus proclaims that believers in Him 'hath everlasting life' (John 5:24), He provides an assurance that transcends personal doubt or societal criticism. Additionally, the Apostle Paul affirms in Romans 5:1 that through faith, believers are justified and have peace with God, confirming the unshakable nature of this salvation. Therefore, the assurance of salvation is not based on human efforts but on the divine promise embedded in Scripture.

Q: Why is hearing the word of God important for Christians?

Hearing the word of God is vital as it builds faith and equips believers for life in Christ (Romans 10:17). Hearing the word of God is fundamental to the life of a Christian because it is the primary means through which faith is birthed and nourished. Romans 10:17 states that 'faith cometh by hearing, and hearing by the word of God.' This emphasizes that genuine faith is formed through an engagement with Scripture, which reveals God’s character, man’s sin, and the redemptive work of Christ. In hearing God's word, believers are empowered to live in obedience, growing not just in knowledge but in their relationship with Christ, who is the source of life.

Q: What does it mean to believe in Christ?

Believing in Christ involves trusting His word and receiving Him as Savior and Lord (John 1:12). To believe in Christ means to actively trust in His person and work, accepting the truth of His promises found in Scripture. This belief is not passive; it requires an engagement that leads to receiving Christ into one’s life (John 1:12) as both Savior and Lord. Such faith is characterized by a commitment to not only accept Christ's forgiveness but also to live under His lordship, which reflects a genuine transformation in the believer's life. Like Abraham, who 'believed God' (Romans 4), true belief prompts action and a deepening relationship with God.

Q: How does one pass from death to life?

One passes from death to life by hearing Christ's word and believing in Him (John 5:24). The transition from death to life, as outlined in John 5:24, occurs through the act of hearing Christ's word and responding with faith. This passage emphasizes that spiritual life is a direct result of faith in Christ and His work of redemption. 'Death' refers to spiritual separation from God, while 'life' signifies union with Him, initiated by belief in the gospel. In Christ, believers are assured of their deliverance from eternal condemnation and welcomed into a living relationship with God, illustrating the transformational power of faith.

Our Lord said in John 5, 24,
Verily, verily, I say unto you, He that heareth my word, and
believeth on him that sent me, hath everlasting life, and shall
not come into condemnation, but is passed from death unto life. The title of this message is
The Way Made Plain. And I hope that's exactly what
it is, the way made plain. There is a city of refuge and
it's the responsibility of the preachers of God to make the
way clear and plain, to make it so that the signposts can
easily be read and there are no stumbling blocks, useless
stumbling blocks thrown in the way of the fleeing sinner. I
want to speak to you now on the way made plain. Did you notice
how this text began? verily, verily, I say unto you."
Several times in the book of John, our Lord uses these words,
verily, verily, I say unto you. And I believe, and many people
who write about these things believe that this indicates that
it's a statement of the utmost importance. Special importance. It means, this is what it means,
verily, verily, I say unto you, it means surely, surely, amen,
trustworthy. It means this, most solemnly,
I assure you, most solemnly. It's of special importance. Now
here are some of the statements that he preceded with these two
words, verily, verily. He said, verily, verily, I say
unto you, except a man be born again. He cannot see the Kingdom
of God. Most solemnly I assure you that
except a man's born again, he'll never enter the Kingdom of God. And then this statement, Verily,
verily, I say unto you, the Son can do nothing of himself but
what he seeth the Father do. In other words, the Father, the
Son, and the Holy Spirit are in agreement. They're three in
one and one in three. And one does not act without
the other. And our Lord is saying most solemnly,
I assure you that I came to do the will of my Father. That what
I tell you, these are the words of God. And the works that I
do are the works of God. And the mission upon which I
have come is His mission. I came not to do my own will,
but the will of him that sent me most solemnly, I assure you."
And then this one, "'Verily, verily, I say unto you, except
ye eat the flesh of the Son of Man, and drink his blood,' you
have no life in you." Now, these religious people thought life
was in the ceremonies. They thought life was in the
law. They thought life was in the mechanics of religion or
the orthodoxies of doctrine. And Christ said, most solemnly,
I assure you that life is not in these things. It's in substitution. It's in the Son. It's in the
blood of the cross. It's in the sacrifice of his
body. It's in the Lamb of God being
slain for our sins. It's in receiving Christ inwardly,
not going about some outward system of do's and don'ts and
laws and statutes and rituals and ceremonies. That's not it
at all. Most solemnly I assure you that life is in the person
of Christ and becomes ours as we receive Christ and are brought
into a living, vital union with the Son of God by faith. And
then another one, he said, Verily, verily, I say unto you, I am
the door of the sheepfold. Most solemnly, surely, surely,
I say this is true. This is trustworthy. I am the
door. By me, if any man enter in, he
shall be saved. There is no other door. There
is no other way. I am the door. This is of greatest
importance. Did you hear what he said? Verily,
verily, I say unto you, he that heareth my word, and believeth
on him that sent me, hath everlasting life, and shall not come into
condemnation, but is passed from death unto life." The subject
that he introduces here, I told you, when he preceded something
with, most solemnly I assure you, verily, verily, I say unto
you, this is of special importance. Well, what is the subject? It's
eternal life. It's freedom from condemnation.
It's salvation. Can anything be of more importance? I know that we all have many
questions that we would like to have answered. We have many
things that we want to know, but all of these things can wait
till we get this question answered. What must I do to be saved? How
can I obtain eternal life? And our Lord gives the answer,
the ways made plain. Most solemnly I assure you, he
that heareth my word and believeth on him that sent me, hath eternal
life, and shall not come into condemnation, but is passed from
death unto life." And, my friends, all doubt is removed when our
Lord says, I say unto you. You see the next word there?
Barely, barely, I say this. This removes all doubt. Nothing
but the truth can come from him who is the truth. This is the
key to this verse. Barely, barely, I say unto you.
I say this. It's true because our Lord says
it's so. Let God be true and every man
a liar. This is true because Christ says
it's so. Most solemnly, I say unto you,
all arguments and doubts and fears and debates and logic and
reasoning must lie down at His feet. Let the Son of God speak
and let His servants hear. And if you reject His Word, you
reject Him. And if you reject Him, you in
turn reject Him who sent Christ. That's what he said. He that
heareth me, heareth my Father. And he that heareth not my words,
heareth not him who sent me. And when he sent his disciples
out to preach, he told them the same thing. He says, he that
heareth you, heareth me. And he that rejected you and
your words, rejecteth me and him that sent me. So, verily,
verily, I say unto you, this is Christ speaking. This is our
Lord speaking. All right, what does he say?
Now, my friends, we're not sent to protect the Word or cautiously
guard the Word. We're sent to preach the Word,
and that's what I intend to do. It's useless to talk of being
his disciple if we're not willing to lay aside all our traditions
and all our heritage and all our human wisdom and all our
human logic and just bow to the Word of God. I wish we'd do that
in our churches and colleges and seminaries and quit being
critics of the Word of God. and just be hearers of the Word
of God and believers of the Word of God. Receive Christ's Word
by faith. The Apostle Paul said, I had
to lay aside all my heritage and all my tradition and all
my accomplishments that I may win Christ and be found in Him,
that I may know Him and the power of His resurrection. I appeal
to you this morning, listen to God's Word. Verily, verily, most
solemnly I assure you, I say unto you, that's who's talking,
Christ is speaking. Let's see about the way of life.
He says, he that heareth my word. He that heareth my word. Now
it doesn't appear from the words of Christ here that life is communicated
by drops of water on an infant's head. That's obvious, isn't it?
And we're talking about eternal life. Are you willing to listen?
Most solemnly, Christ said, I assure you, he that heareth my word
and believeth on him that sent me hath everlasting life. Everlasting
life is not communicated by drops of water on a baby's head. It
doesn't say that here. Now, men may say that, but Christ
didn't say that. Certain churches may say that,
but Christ didn't say that. He said, I say this. He that
heareth my word. And it doesn't appear from this
text that eternal life is communicated by beautiful religious ceremonies,
however impressive. He doesn't say, verily, verily,
I say unto you, if you'll get in the processional, if you'll
kneel at a certain time, and stand at a certain time, and
light a candle at a certain time, or go through certain rituals
and ceremonies, that you'll have eternal life. He that heareth
my word. He that heareth my word." It
doesn't appear from this text that life is communicated by
dreams and visions. Christ didn't say, most solemnly
I assure you, he that has an outstanding vision and who has
a midnight dream and sees a sight that's never been seen hath eternal
life, or sees a statue with a tear rolling down its cheek, or sees
some certain signs in the heavens. He that heareth my word. That's pretty clear. He that
heareth my word." It doesn't appear from this text that life
is communicated by obedience to laws. It didn't say, verily,
verily, I say unto you, he that obeys my commandments hath eternal
life. That would let all of us out,
wouldn't it? He that heareth my word. What Paul said in Romans
10, 17, faith cometh by hearing, and hearing by the word of God.
What did Isaiah say in Isaiah 55, 3? Incline your ear, here
and your soul shall live. Here and your soul shall live.
What did Paul say in 1 Thessalonians 1, 4? Knowing, brethren, beloved,
your election of God. For our gospel came to you, not
in word only, but in power, in assurance, in the Holy Ghost.
What came to you? The gospel. Verily, verily, I
say unto you, he that heareth my word." My friends, those who
come to saving faith and everlasting life do so first, not by dreaming
dreams and seeing visions and going through ceremonies and
rituals and christenings and confessions, but he that heareth
my word. They hear the word of God in
regard to sin. All is sin and comes short of
the glory of God. That's what God says. Sin bringeth
forth death. They hear the word of God in
regard to sin. They hear the word of God in
regard to Christ. O'er their foundation can no
man lay than that which is laid, Christ the Lord. There's none
other name unto heaven given among men whereby we must be
saved, except Christ the Lord. I am the way, the truth, and
the life. No man cometh to the Father but by me. They hear the
word. The word says that. coming to me, argued that laboring
a heavy leg. And Christ said, I'll give you
rest. You hear the word. And they hear the word about
the cross, and the word about the resurrection, and the word
about the intercession of Christ, the word about his mediatorial
office. He's our only mediator. He that
heareth my word. That's so important. I say this
to you, Christ said. Faith cometh by hearing, and
hearing by the word of God. God has chosen by the foolishness
of preaching to save them that believe. Take heed what you hear. The gospel is the power of God
unto salvation. Not the waving of some man's
hands, or the mumbo-jumbo of some man's foolish foreign language,
or the ritualism and ceremonialism of some fellow leading a procession,
or isolating yourself like a hermit in a commune and acting religious,
he that heareth my That's pretty plain. All right, look at the
next line. He says, and believeth on him
that sent me. People who have everlasting life
and are delivered from condemnation not only hear the word, but they
do something about it. They believe it. They not only
hear the word of God, but they become believers. They're not
hearers only, but they're doers of the word of God. They're believers
of the word of God. They believe God. Like Abraham
of old, it says in Romans 4, Abraham believed God. Not just
believed in God or believed on God or believed about God, he
believed God. God came to him and told him
to leave his father's house and his kindred and go to a land
that God would show him, and he left, not knowing where he
was going, but he believed God. When he was 90 years old, God
came to him and said, you're going to have a son, an heir.
He'd never had a child. The Savior had never born a child. Abraham had no heir. Ninety years
old. Sarah was almost that old. He
believed God. He didn't know how, but he believed
God. And ten or twelve years passed, and the son still wasn't
there, but he believed God. Sarah doubted, but Abraham believed
God. He didn't know when, he just believed God. And then after
the boy was born, in the greatest trial of Abraham's faith, God
told him to take that only son, whom he loved, up to a mountain
and sacrifice him as a sin offering, and he was going to do it. Why
was he going to do it? He believed God. God had already
told him, you see, that that son would be his heir. So he
knew that if he took the boy's life, God would raise him from
the dead because God had already said he's the heir. In Isaac
shall thy seed be called. In Isaac. And God never takes
back anything that he says. And Abraham knew that. And he'd
already seen Isaac risen from the grave. He saw him dead and
risen from the grave in his mind of faith. He believed God. Oh,
for a faith that will not shrink, though tested by every foe, that
will not tremble on the brink of any earthly woe, that kind
of faith God will bless. He that heareth my word and believes
on him that sent me. Do you believe God? And then Abraham believed God,
not knowing where, not knowing when, not knowing not knowing
why, and the Scripture says he believed God was able to do everything
that he promised. And this was not only written
for Abraham's sake, but for ours, to whom righteousness will be
imputed if we believe on him who raised Christ from the dead.
Do you believe? I feel like the centurion of old. Lord, I do
believe. Help thou mine unbelief. These people have heard God's
Word and they believe Christ. And let me tell you something.
I keep hearing people talk about faith in a personal Savior, faith
in a personal Savior. Let me tell you something. Now,
you listen to me. It's not so much of great importance
you're believing in a personal Savior as this, personal faith
in a living Lord and a living Savior. It's not just faith in
a personal Savior. It's personal faith in the only
Savior. No one else can believe for me.
I've got to believe for myself. With the heart, man believeth
unto righteousness. With the mouth, confession is
made unto salvation. And these people not only hear
God's Word and believe God and believe Christ, but they receive
Christ. They receive Him into their hearts.
True faith produces action. True faith produces work. They
receive Christ to as many as received Him. To them gave He
the right, the privilege, to become sons of God, even to them
that believe on His name. They believe. They receive Christ.
They receive Him as their prophet to reveal the Father. They receive
Him as their priest to make an atonement. They receive Him as
their King to reign over Him. to reign over them. That's right.
Totally right. Christ is sovereign. He's king.
He's Lord of all. He's not a doormat named Jesus. He's not a fire escape from hell.
He's not an insurance policy to keep in the safe till the
time comes to use it. He's Lord in the life of every
man whom is saved. They receive Christ and they
keep on believing. That's something else about this
thing of faith. It's not a isolated act that I hear people talk about.
Well, I I'm saved, I believed when I was 12 years old. How
about now? Faith groweth. If it's real, if it's living,
anything that lives grows. One of the marks of death is
it quits growing. This pulpit here, this desk will
never grow. It's dead. But now, things that
live, grow. And faith, if it's living, faith
grows. We have believed, we now believe,
we shall believe. The just are justified by faith,
the just shall live by faith, and the just shall die in faith,
for they are not redeemed. Any man departs, the Lord says,
I have no pleasure in him, and we are of the household of Christ
if we hold fast the profession of our faith firm unto the end.
They keep on believing. I most solemnly say unto you,
he that heareth my word, the words of life, the words of truth,
the words of conviction, the words of grace, he that heareth
my word, the words of substitution, the words of sacrifice, the words
of satisfaction, he that heareth my word and believe it on him
that sent me. What's the next line? Hath everlasting
life. It doesn't say shall have, may
have, could have, looks forward to having, but hath everlasting
life." Right now, it's a present possession. Do you believe that?
Well, it says that all the way through the Bible. It says, Beloved,
now are we the sons of God? And it doesn't yet appear what
we shall be. Romans 8 says, If we're children, then we're heirs
of God. In Romans 8, verse 29 through
31 says, Whom he foreknew, foreordained, he predestinated to be children
of God. To be conformed to the image
of Christ Jesus, whom He predestinated, He called, whom He called, He
justified, whom He justified, He glorified. It is done. The
great transaction is done. I am my Lord's and He is mine. I have eternal life. Oh, we were
dead. We were dead in sin just like
others, even as others, but in Christ we live. 1 John 5, 13
says, These things have I written unto you. that believe on the
name of the Son of God, that you may know that you have eternal
life. You have, right now. We have
eternal life. What is life eternal? Well, the
important thing about life eternal is not the length of it. It's
the quality of it. It's the life of the eternal
one. It's divine life. It's spiritual
life. Actually, everybody's going to live forever. That's right. There's going to be a resurrection
of the dead and the living. There's going to be a resurrection
of the believers and unbelievers. There's going to be a resurrection
of those in Christ and those who never knew Christ. They're
going to live always, either in judgment and darkness or in
light and glory. But everlasting life, eternal
life, is the life of the Eternal One. It's divine life. It's what
Adam lost in the garden. If Adam had never sinned, he
would have lived always in that state. God created Adam and breathed
into his body the breath of life. He became a living soul. Not
a dying soul. The body dies. The soul doesn't
die. Not actually. It goes on and on and on. It's
a living soul. It's created by God in the image of God. It can't
die any more than God can die. Satan can't die. He's a spiritual
being. Man can't die. The flowers die.
The animals die. Man's soul never dies. It'll
never die. It lives always. Created in the
image of God. It came from God. Life came from
God. But when Adam sinned, he lost
spiritual life. He lost the life of God, the
divine life. And when we're saved, redeemed
by believing on Christ, we have everlasting life, eternal life,
the life of God. It's restored what was lost in
Adam. And we live unto God. And notice the next line, it
says, and they shall not come into condemnation. Now, this
ought to be comforting to every one of us. You know what a better
translation of that is? Most solemnly I assure you, Christ
said, I assure you that he that heareth my word and believeth
on him that sent me right now already has eternal life, the
life of God. The very fact that we see the
beauty of Christ means that we have eternal life. Because eye hath not seen, ear
hath not heard, neither hath it entered the heart of natural
men the things that God has prepared for them that love him. Christ
said they have eyes but don't see. We see. That means we already
have life. We hear the voice of God speaking
in His Word. That means that we have life
or we wouldn't hear. There was a day when we didn't
hear. We walk with Christ. That means
we have life. And he says, they shall not come
into condemnation, and the best translation is this, they shall
never come into judgment. Never come into judgment. That's
right. When a man believes on Christ, he receives all the benefits
of Christ's work. In Christ, the law has been honored.
In Christ, the law has been kept. In Christ, righteousness is secure. With His holy garments on, I'm
as holy as His Son. Near, so near to God, nearer
I cannot be. In the person of His Son, I'm
as near as He. I'm seated with Christ in the heaven, and so
are you who believe. In Christ, justice is satisfied.
There's no satisfaction to be demanded. It's paid. The debt
is paid. The ransom is complete. We're
redeemed. We're complete in Him. The Scripture
says God has chosen us in Christ that we should be holy without
blame before Him. Listen to these scriptures, Romans
5, 1, "...therefore being justified by faith, we have peace with
God." The peace is already declared. God's not going to open war with
us again. He's not going to declare war on us again. We have peace
with God through our Lord Jesus Christ, not in our merit or righteousness,
but in Him. Listen to Romans 8, 1, "...therefore
now no judgment, no condemnation to them who are in Christ." Listen
to Romans 8, 31, "...if God be for us, who can be against us?"
You know anybody who can be against us if God's for us, if God's
for us in eternal grace, if God's for us in substitution, if God's
for us in divine call, if God's for us in divine predestination?
Who can be against us? You got any suggestions? If God
be for us, who can be against us? What does it matter what
man shall do unto you? We have no fear of men. No concern
whatsoever. God's first. Listen to this verse,
Romans 8, 33. Who can lay anything to the charge of God's elect?
Bring on the charges. Who has a charge to bring? No
one can. When God says he's clear, he's
clear. That's the highest court. You can't appeal to any higher
court. Down here on earth, if you have a little battle down
here in the city court, they take it to the county court,
and then they take it to the state court, and then they take it
to the supreme court, and that's the end of the road. And the
Supreme Court rules, and there's no higher court to which we can
appeal. And let me tell you something.
My case has been settled in the highest court. God's satisfied. And God says He's justified.
And there's nobody else that can... Who is He, Romans 8, 34,
that can condemn me? Christ died, is buried, risen
again, intercedes for me. Romans 8, 35, who can separate
me from the love of Christ, which is love of God, which is in Christ?
If our Lord has answered every charge, what is there left for
me to answer? So we shall never come into judgment. And then the last line, the way
made plain, Verily, verily, I say unto you, He that heareth my
word, and believeth on him that sent me, hath life eternal, and
shall never come into judgment, but is past already. from death to life. Notice where
judgment is. Now here's death, the death of
sin, the mire and cesspool and dunghill of this world, the guilt
and shame and corruption of human nature. There's resurrection,
glory, eternal life. In between is judgment. You can't get there because you
can't get through judgment. If you come to judgment, you've
got to face your sins, and you're cast into hell. If you come to
judgment, you've got to face God's wrath, and you're cast
into hell. If you come to judgment, you've got to face your iniquity
and transgression, and you can't get there. Judgment prevents
you. But wait a minute. If somebody
will go here and satisfy judgment, and take our judgment, and satisfy
all that's demanded, then we can pass from death to life. We can go around the judgment.
And that's what we've done. He said, He that heareth my word,
and believeth on him that sent me, hath everlasting life, and
shall not come into judgment, but is already passed, already
seated with Christ in the heavenlies. Christ has removed the judgment
for the people of God. Now, you who have not Christ,
the judgment's still there. Glory and life is here, and you're
here in death and judgment, and what's between you and life is
judgment. It's appointed unto me and wants
to dine after that judgment. And that's what you can't get
through, is judgment. Christ can take you through. And that's
my message. I raise no other issue with men
other than what think ye of Christ. I present no other foundation
than Christ. I hold out no other hope than
Christ, the hope of glory. I know no other mediator. I know
no other high priest. I know no way to God but through
Jesus Christ. I invite you to look to Him.

The Way Made Plain

What does the Bible say about eternal life?

How do we know salvation is true?

Why is hearing the word of God important for Christians?

What does it mean to believe in Christ?

How does one pass from death to life?

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The Way Made Plain

What does the Bible say about eternal life?

How do we know salvation is true?

Why is hearing the word of God important for Christians?

What does it mean to believe in Christ?

How does one pass from death to life?

Sermon Transcript

About Henry Mahan

Comments

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