Christ - The Way to God

Q: What does the Bible say about the way to God?

The Bible teaches that the way to God is through Jesus Christ, as stated in John 14:6. According to the Bible, God desires an intimate relationship with humanity; however, sin has caused a separation between God and man. The way to God was blocked after Adam's sin, but Jesus Christ reveals the solution, declaring, 'I am the way, the truth, and the life; no one comes to the Father except through me' (John 14:6). This underscores that any approach to God must be through Christ, emphasizing his role as the mediator and the only means of reconciliation.

Q: How do we know Jesus is the only way to God?

Jesus' statements in the New Testament, particularly in John 14:6, confirm his exclusive role as the way to God. The New Testament consistently affirms that Jesus Christ is the sole path to God. In John 14:6, Jesus explicitly states that he is 'the way, the truth, and the life,' indicating that no one can approach the Father without going through him. This claim is supported throughout Scripture, where Jesus' sacrificial death and resurrection provide the necessary atonement for sin, making it clear that redemption and access to God are solely available through faith in him.

Q: Why is Christ's sacrifice important for Christians?

Christ's sacrifice is central to Christianity, as it provides the means for forgiveness and reconciliation with God. The significance of Christ's sacrifice cannot be understated in Christian theology. It is through his death on the cross that believers receive forgiveness for their sins, fulfilling the requirements of God's justice. In 1 Peter 1:18-19, we learn that we are redeemed not with corruptible things, but with the precious blood of Christ, underscoring the importance of his atonement. This act reconciles us to God, allowing us to have direct access to the Father and restoring the intimate fellowship that was lost due to sin.

Q: What does it mean to be accepted in the Beloved?

To be accepted in the Beloved means to be accepted by God through Jesus Christ, who is the object of God's love. Being accepted in the Beloved, as mentioned in Ephesians 1:6, signifies that believers are embraced by God through their union with Jesus Christ. This acceptance is not based on personal merit or works but solely on the grace and love of God, which is manifested through Christ. Believers can have confidence in their standing before God because they are covered by Christ's righteousness and his sacrificial work on their behalf. This emphasizes God's delight in showing mercy and his willingness to receive those who trust in Christ.

God and man had the most intimate
and personal and affectionate communion. But from the moment
that Adam sinned, the way to God became blocked up. The bridge was broken down, and
a great gulf was fixed between man and God. Now the reason why
man cannot fellowship with God now and cannot come to God as
he did in the garden and cannot walk with God is not that God
has changed. God is the same yesterday, today,
and forever. But man is changed. Now God is
the same. He's pure, He's holy, he's perfect,
and he's righteous. And his holy eyes cannot endure
iniquity. If a sinner comes into the presence
of God in his guilt, in his sins, apart from the mediator, he may
as well march into a blazing furnace. God's holy righteousness
cannot endure iniquity. God's holy presence cannot permit
sin. God's holy justice cannot clear
the guilty. The Bible says, who shall stand
in his presence? who shall stand in his awesome
presence, he that hath clean hands and a perfect heart." Job
wrote about that. Turn with me to Job, chapter
15. In the 15th chapter of Job, I'm talking about the holiness
of God. God is pure and holy. His righteousness cannot endure
iniquity. His justice cannot clear the
guilty. His presence cannot permit evil. Job 15, 14. What is man that
he should be clean? And he which is born of a woman,
that he should be righteous. Behold, God putteth no trust
in his saints. The heavens are not clean in
his sight. Behold, he putteth no trust in
his saints, the heavens, the heavens are not clean in his
sight. How much more abominable and
filthy is man, which drinketh iniquity like water." Turn to
Job 25 now, just over a few pages, Job 25 verse 4. How then, how
then, can man be justified with God? How can he be clean that is born
of a woman, beholds even to the moon, and it shineth not? Yea,
the stars, yea, the stars are not pure in God's sight. How
much less man that is a worm, and the Son of Man which is a
worm. God cannot endure iniquity. When Jesus Christ, even his Son,
was made sin for us on the cross, the Father turned his back, withdrew
his presence, and would not look upon his Son. So Christ had to
cry, My God, why hast thou forsaken me? But God's holy presence cannot
endure sin even in his Son, Jesus Christ. Now, we know the sinful condition,
the state and nature of all men. We know our own sinful condition. We hear people talk about a fallen
woman. All women are fallen. We hear
people talk about a fallen man. All men are fallen. We're all
fallen women and men. We're fallen creatures. We're
God looked down from heaven. Turn to Psalms 14. Let's let
God speak about this matter of man's sinful condition, of our
sinful condition. We're not talking about somebody
way off somewhere. We're talking about ourselves.
We're talking about the minister. We're talking about the deacons
and elders. We're talking about you today. Psalm 14, verse 1, the fool hath
said in his heart, There is no God. They are corrupt, they have
done abominable works. There's none that doeth good.
The Lord looked down from heaven upon the children of men to see
if there were any that did understand and seek God. They're all gone
aside, they're all together become unfilthy, and that word filthy
is stinking That's what the word is. There is none that doeth
good, no, not one. That's what we are, filthy, stinking,
with fallen creatures. In the flesh, no man can please
God. In my flesh, even the apostle
Paul had to say, there dwelleth no good thing. That which is
born of flesh is flesh. Well, is there a way to God? Is there a way that creatures
like you and me can walk with God again, as Adam walked with
God? What a fellowship, what a joy
divine. Is there such a fellowship? Is
there such a joy? Is there a way for me to come
into God's presence of guilty filthy, needy sinner to have
sweet, precious communion with the living God, to know that
everything's all right between me and God, that peace is made? The Bible says there is. The
Bible says there is. Here in John 14, verse 6, my
text, the Lord Jesus Christ said this, I am the way, the truth and the
life. No man cometh unto the Father
but by me. Never a prayer ascended to God
except by Christ. I am the way. No man cometh to the Father but
by me. Never a prayer ascended to God
except by Christ. Never a blessing came down to
man except through Christ. Never a sin ever forgiven, except
through Christ. Never a guilty sinner pardoned,
except through Christ. Never a cry for mercy heard,
except through Christ. Never a name written in glory,
except by Christ. No man. Whatever his ability,
no man. Whatever his accomplishment,
no man. Whatever his knowledge, no man. Whatever his heritage, no man,
whatever his nation, no man cometh to the Father except by me."
Abel's sacrifice reveals that. Abel brought the blood, Cain
brought the fruit of the field. Abel came with a sacrifice that
had been King bought those things which he had made with his own
hands. God Almighty accepted Abel's sacrifice and rejected
King. That's simply saying to us that
the way to come to God is by the sacrifice of Christ, by the
sacrifice of him who shed his blood. The blood on Egypt's door
reveals how that God Almighty will hold back judgment when
he sees the blood. All of the families of Israel
slew the Lamb and put the blood on the door, and that night when
God passed through in judgment and slew the firstborn Son in
every home, where there was blood on the door, judgment passed
over. Where there was blood on the
door, God passed by. Where there was blood on the
door, the wrath did not descend. When I see the blood, I'll pass
over you. That's clear. It is the blood
of Christ that maketh atonement for the soul. It is the blood
of Christ that cleanseth us from all sin. It's the blood of Christ
that reconciles us to God. That's the message of the whole
book, Old and New Testament. The serpent of brass lifted up
in the wilderness. Our Lord said, even as Moses
lifted up that serpent, must the Son of Man be lifted up.
and whosoever believeth on him should not perish, but have eternal
life." Israel looked to the Lamb and lived. You and I look to
the Lamb of God and we live. The priest entering the Holy
of Holies with the blood of the Lamb, taking it under the veil
and putting it on the mercy seat to cover the broken law, to make
atonement for the soul. This reveals Christ and his blood,
Christ the way to God. The way that Israel came to God
was by the blood of the Lamb. The way we come to God is by
the blood of the Lamb. Now I want you to listen carefully
to me for the next few moments. I don't want to be offensive.
I don't want to be known as a denominational critic. But I think error ought
to be exposed as kindly and as compassionately as possible.
I want you to turn with me to 1 Peter 1. 1 Peter 1. I want you to listen to me. Now,
here's what I'm saying. God is holy. Let that be established. God will not wink at sin. The
Father is pure and perfect and righteous and just. He will in
no wise clear the guilty. We are fallen, filthy, the Bible
says, stinking creatures, in mind, in heart, in will, in walk,
in attitude, in every way. Now, the way to God has been
established according to this book, and that's through all
the way back to the first sacrifice, able sacrifice, that first one
we read about. The Bible is saying the way to
the Father is by Christ, the way to the throne is by the blood.
The way to forgiveness is by the mercy seat. The way into
the presence of the Holy God for any guilty sinner is through
the cross. The way of the cross leads to
God. In any other way, God will not
receive us. Now look at 1 Peter 1, verse
18. Forasmuch as you know that you
were not redeemed with corruptible things as silver and gold from
your vain conversation received by tradition from your father,
but with the precious blood of Christ. That's how you're redeemed,
with the precious blood of Christ, as of a lamb without blemish
and without spot. Now one other scripture before
I make some observations. 1 John 1, verse 7. If we walk in the light, that
is, the light of his word, the light of his will, as he is in
the light, God is light, in him there's no darkness. We have
fellowship. We have fellowship, one with
another, that is, with God. We have communion with God. and
the blood of Jesus Christ, God's Son, cleanseth us from all sin."
Now it's terrible, absolutely terrible, to watch men and women,
boys and girls, try to approach God in any way
except through Christ and his blood. It's a horrible, horrible,
if you know the way to God, to watch someone else try to come
to God some other way, it's a horrible experience. I've stood many,
many times down in Mexico, in the doorway of those large cathedrals, And in every pueblo there is
one of these cathedrals built with the sweat and blood and
tears and bread of those poor, starving, poverty-stricken people. And some of them are elaborate
things. They're very seldom ever used.
They just stand there in the middle of the village. And I
watch these poor, starving people. They live on pennies a day. They
take one chicken and make it last a whole week, making soup
out of it. They go barefooted. They have
rags on their backs. And I see them take food from
the mouths of their children, money with which they need to
buy food, to bring an offering. They'll come with these little
dirty hands. swivel, wrinkle, old women and
men. They've gone without food. They've
had nothing to eat. And they'll come to this huge
cathedral that's got a gold front, that's got actually thousands
of dollars' worth of relics and antiques in it. They'll bring
their little pesos to a fat, well-fed that lives off in the
big city, in a mansion, and once in a while comes down there to
sell them salvation. And they'll bring that little
fistful of pesos and hand it to that fat, well-fed priest
who lives in a mansion to put some more gold on the front of
his cathedral. And I ask myself, what kind of
God is this they're worshiping? What kind of monster is this? It's not the God of the Bible. It's not the God of the Bible.
And then I watched the monk, and I read about him. I never
did see many of them, but I have read about him. And to gratify
his God, he's got to take a whip and flog himself. He's got to
take a whip or branches of thorns and beat his body until it bleeds,
and the blood runs down his back and down his chest. And I say,
what kind of God is this, who delights in the torture of his
children? Is this the God of the Bible? And here I see the monk off there
living in exile, all alone, sitting by himself somewhere in a pile
of rocks. What kind of God is this? Is
he the God of loneliness? Is he the God of desertion, a
God of exile? What kind of God is this man
worshiping? And I see him fast until they
ruin their health, and I say, is God the God of starvation?
I thought God was the God of plenty. The cattle on a thousand
hills are His. The gold and silver that hadn't
been mined in His children are starving themselves trying to
appease Him. What kind of God is this? And then I see those monks who
go off somewhere in monasteries and they can't bathe. Their God
delights in filth and dirt and squalor. Now watch the poor penitent as
he crawls on his knees before statues. I've seen them do this
so many times, come to a statue and crawl on their knees in front
of that statue, crying for mercy to an image that can't hear,
to an image that can't speak, to an image that offers them
no hope, no peace, no joy. What kind of God is this? Is
he the God of no hope? Is he the God of no revelation?
Is he the God of no peace? Is he the God of no joy, no forgiveness? Is he the God that would have
his people come to a stature, to a picture, and cry and receive
no answer? Not the God of the Bible. not the God of the Bible. That's
not the God of grace, the God of mercy, the God who's plenteous
in redemption, the God who says, call unto me and I'll answer.
Ask of me and I'll open the windows of heaven and pour out upon you
blessings that you can't even receive. I watch men and women right here
in this town get religion. That's what they call it. I don't
know. That's what they say it is. They come to know God. Some God, they say they have
faith in Christ, but then they fall into sin and they lose their
salvation. Is God an unforgiving Father?
What kind of Father you got? My children do something wrong
and I forgive them. God doesn't forgive. Does God
cast away his erring child? My children can sin against me
a thousand times. I'll never forsake them. I'll
never disown them. I'll never withdraw fellowship
from them. I'll never order them from my home. They're always
welcome. I don't care how they live or
where they live, they're always welcome. My home's their home.
Am I better than God? What kind of God do you got? The Scripture tells me that if
your son asks bread, you don't give him a stone. If your son
asks a fish, you don't give him a scorpion. How much more will
your Father give good things to them that ask Him? If you,
being evil, know how to give good things to your children,
you're evil. I say that God's love is infinitely
greater than my love. I say that God's compassion on
his children is infinitely greater than any compassion I could ever
show as a human being. I say that God Almighty is more
quick to forgive than I ever can be as a human being. I say
that God Almighty has greater love and greater compassion and
greater affection for his children, bought by the blood, the precious,
infinite blood of his Son, than I could ever have. What kind
of God do you worship, huh? You don't know the God of the
Bible. Not if that's the kind of God
He is. I lost my salvation. I lost my forgiveness. I see religious professors. They
make great outward shows. This is something that's hard
for me to understand. They make great outward show. They attend
church. They abstain from all the outward
forbidden practices. They're so moral and pious and
righteous and holy. They're so critical of the behavior
of everybody else. And yet on the inside, they're
full of guilt and sin and corruption. Is your God blind to the sins
of the heart? Does your God only see that which
men see? Does your God only judge you
by those things that men judge you? Can your God be appeased
with your offerings? Can your God be appeased with
your outward conformity to rules and regulations and laws and
ceremonies? Does your God not look on the
heart? Is He deceived by outward piety? I wonder as I watch these
religious professors of today go to their cathedrals and synagogues
and temples and churches and chapels, and they go through
all the motions of religion in order to appear religious to
men. Is your God confined to man's
sight? I think I can truthfully say
this morning that I'm here to worship and seek the Lord in
spirit, aren't you? May that worship God, worship
Him in spirit and in truth. That God knows my heart. That
God knows your heart. That God looks not on the outward
countenance, God looks on the heart. And really, it's not of
great importance what people think. It's not of great importance
what kind of show that I can present to the world. Of great
importance is that relationship between me and God in the spirit,
in the heart. Peter said, Lord, you know all
things. You know I love you. Peter didn't
act like he loved the Lord, did he? He had denied that he knew
him. Peter didn't act like he loved
the Lord, did he? He got the other disciples and
went back to his old occupation. He quit the ministry and went
back to his old occupation. He didn't act like he loved the
Lord, did he? But as they sat by that fire, he could look into
the face of the Master and he could say, Lord, these folks
may not believe I love you. The things I've done may not
reveal that I love you. The things I've done may lead
others to think I don't love you. But Lord, you know my heart,
and you know I love you. Now there's a difference in that
and this religious profession that tries to convince the world
that you're saved, tries to convince people that you know God, tries
to convince the world that you walk with the King. Lord, it's
between me and you. And you know I love you. You
know I love you. What kind of God are we worshiping?
A God that you approach with your candles burning brightly?
Or a God that you approach with your heart broken over sin, huh?
What kind of God do we worship? One that looks down as we walk
with our uniforms down the aisle of the church and we bow at a
certain time and bend at a certain time and pray at a certain time
and go through our chanting and rituals and all these things.
Is God pleased with all of that stuff? Are we worshiping a God
where a broken-hearted sinner on his knees, at least in his
heart, before that God says, I sin, and I'm looking for mercy
in the blood of our Son. I come to thee only in Christ,
and only by Christ, and only through Christ, and only for
the glory of Christ. I know he loved me and gave himself
for me. Accept this poor praise, accept
this feeble petition in the blood of Christ, and look down upon
me in mercy, and receive me for Christ's sake." You can do that
behind the hedge. You can do that in the cave.
You can do that under a brush arbor. You can do that out on
the sands of the seashore. You don't need the stained-glass
windows for God to peek through. What kind of God is this? That's
what I want to know. I see men and women who, they
don't attend the house of God at all. Occasionally they'll drop into
a service, Christmas, Easter, funeral, special service. They
don't need the fellowship of God's people. They don't need
the Bible. They don't need instructions
in righteousness. They don't need the edification
of other believers. They don't need that unity of
heart and unity of spirit. Yet they say they know God. What
kind of God is it they know? He's not the just God because
he needs no sacrifice. He's not the holy God because
he needs no mediator. He's not the righteous God because
he needs no covering for sin. Brethren, when Jacob fell asleep,
he lay his head on those rocks. And he fell asleep. And the scripture
says that he saw a ladder reaching up into heaven. The base of the
ladder was on the ground, and the top of the ladder was in
heaven. And angels were ascending and
descending on that ladder. He saw the glory of God. Now
that ladder is Christ. Christ in his humanity. rest
on this earth. He's the Son of Man. He came
down here, bone of our bone and flesh of our flesh. He was made
in the likeness of sinful flesh. That's His humanity. He plants
His footsteps on this earth. In His divinity He reaches to
the highest heaven, to the Holy of Holies. He's very God of very
God. He reaches all the way to the
throne, all the way to the very heart of the Father in his divinity. And when our prayers ascend on
high, they must climb the rungs of that ladder, which is Christ. And when God's blessings descend
to us, God's blessings must descend on the rungs of that ladder,
which is Christ. As Jacob lay there on the ground
and saw that ladder, he saw Christ, from us to God, from God to us. Turn to Isaiah with me just a
moment. Israel had all of these ceremonies
and rituals and feast days and holy days, and God said to them,
In Isaiah 1, verse 11, Isaiah 1, 11, to what purpose is the
multitude of your sacrifices to me, saith the Lord? I am full
of your burnt offerings of lambs, and the fat of fed beasts. I delight not in the blood of
bullocks, and of lambs, and of he-goats. When you come to appear
before me, who hath required this at your hand, to tread my
courts? Bring no more vain ablation.
Your incense is an abomination to me, the new moons and Sabbaths,
the calling of assemblies I cannot away with. It is iniquity, even
the solemn meeting, your new moons, your appointed feasts,
my soul hated. They are a trouble unto me, I
am weary to bear them. When you spread forth your hands,
I'll hide my eyes from you. Yea, when you make many prayers,
I'll not hear you. Your hands are full of blood." come now and let us reason together,
saith the Lord. Though your sins be as scarlet,
they shall be white as snow. Though they be red like crimson,
they shall be as well. Come as a sinner, come to Christ
as a guilty, needy creature. Come to Christ with a broken
heart, with a contrite spirit. Come not in the religious show
and pomp and pageantry. Come to Christ with a broken
heart. He's the friend of sinners. One other scripture I want you
to look at in Ephesians. In Ephesians chapter 1. You're
not going to buy God with your tithes and offerings. You're
not going to deceive God with your outward show. You're not going to pacify Almighty
God with your good deeds. You're going
to come to God through the High Priest, through the Mediator,
through the Lord Jesus, as a sinner. It says in Ephesians 1, verse
6, to the praise of the glory of his grace, wherein he hath
made us accepted in the Beloved. Brethren, He hath made us. Salvation is God's gift. Forgiveness
is God's gift. He delights to show mercy. He's
plenteous in redemption. Listen to it. For God so loved
the world that He gave His Son. God delights to show mercy. All the way through the New Testament,
you'll find him stooping to lift the fallen. You'll find him turning
his back on the religious, on the proud, on the doctrinalist,
on the legalist, on the ritualist. Turning his back on them, always
stooping, always bending, always reaching down for someone fallen. The prodigal's father, prodigal's
son, had gotten his inheritance, gone into a foreign country,
wasted his substance, you blew it, threw it away foolishly,
got down to skin and bones, had nothing to eat, had no friends,
no clothes, nothing, and he said, I'm going back home. And you
know the first one to greet him was the father. Glad you're home. I don't care what you've done,
I'm just glad you're home." And God is plenteous in mercy. He
delights to show mercy. Don't hang your head down between
your knees and keep it there, saying, God won't forgive me! Listen, who is your God? What
kind of God do you worship? The God of the Bible delights
to show mercy. The God of the Bible is a friend
of sinners. I have a good news for sinners.
He, he hath made you. God so loved the world, he gave
his life. He hath made us, us! The chief of sinners, come ye
sinners poor and needy, weak and wounded, sick and sore. Jesus
ready stands to heal you. Do you believe that? God's glory is his goodness. Moses said, show me your glory.
God said, I'll show you my glory. I will be merciful. I will be
merciful. He hath made us accepted. What Adam lost, I have regained. Where is it? In the Beloved,
in Christ. That's where it all is. If you
can come to Christ, if you can believe on him, if you can rest
in him, if you can lay hold on him, if you can in your heart,
by faith, receive Christ as your Redeemer, as your Mediator, you'll
be accepted in him. Now, out of him, there's no hope. Out of him, there's nothing but
wrath and judgment and condemnation. Don't even think for a moment
that God Almighty is going to show you any mercy out of Christ.
And you people who are God's children now, forgiveness is
always in Christ. Your refuge is Christ. Your strength
is Christ. Your bread, your water, your
life is Christ. And God's not having any dealings
with you outside of Christ. God's not going to deal with
you outside of Christ. God's not going to receive you
outside of Christ. It's all got to be for His sake. For His sake. For His sake. You see what I'm
saying? And He loves you enough to die
for you. He loves you enough to give His
life for you. How shall he not with him freely
give us all things? Is there a way to God? Oh, yes,
sir, there is, in Christ, who said, I am the way. I am the
way. Come on, sinner. Christ is the
way. Our Father, bless the message.
Help us to see in Christ, there's mercy. In Christ, there's love. In Christ, there's forgiveness.
And no man is strayed so far away that he cannot be reached
with the love of Christ. No man is so guilty, filthy,
black with sin that he cannot be washed as pure as the throne
of God and the blood of Christ. Pure blood cleanseth us from
all sin. We are accepted in the Beloved.
We confess our sins. faithful and just, faithful and
just and merciful, to forgive us all our sin. In his name we
pray, amen. Can you please? Just as I am without one thing,
but as I was Oh.

Christ - The Way to God

What does the Bible say about the way to God?

How do we know Jesus is the only way to God?

Why is Christ's sacrifice important for Christians?

What does it mean to be accepted in the Beloved?

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Christ - The Way to God

What does the Bible say about the way to God?

How do we know Jesus is the only way to God?

Why is Christ's sacrifice important for Christians?

What does it mean to be accepted in the Beloved?

Sermon Transcript

About Henry Mahan

Comments

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