John 14 v.6
I am the way, the truth, the life
The passage I have chosen to write about this week contains words which are so relevant to Christian living and belief. Jesus was speaking to His disciples shortly before going to the Cross, teaching and giving guidance, and that same teaching is passed down for the benefit of all Christians throughout the ages.

Jesus is here telling His Apostles He was going to leave them for He was going on a journey He had to take alone. The Apostles were devastated at the thought. Perhaps you can imagine their feelings if you reflect on how people feel when a Minister they are happy with suddenly tells them that he is moving to another Church. This invariably causes sadness unless there is a poor relationship. I have experienced this on three occasions in ministry and it is hard to disassociate oneself completely

Peter is very concerned about His Lord’s departure and swore he would even lay down His life for Jesus. The exact opposite would be the case and Jesus told Him so.

Jesus said, ‘do not let your hearts be troubled’. The heart is the seat of all our emotions and when that is upset it affects thoughts and actions and causes personal disturbance. Jesus wanted to reassure them He was not forsaking them.

He told them they were to believe in Him as well as God. Most people believe in God but have less thought for Jesus. He was putting Himself alongside God and wanted them to trust Him

He said there were many rooms in His Father’s house, meaning there was room for all in heaven, and He was going to prepare a place for them. This meant there was the prospect of living for ever with Him in heaven being given to the Apostles, and by extension to those who are prepared to give their life to Jesus.

Jesus said He would come back to take them with Him so that where He was they could be also. We do not need to wonder what heaven will be like, it is enough to know we will be with Him, and for a Christian, heaven is wherever Jesus is. At present our contact with Him is through faith, but one day we will see Him face to face.

When Jesus said they knew the place where He was going, Thomas asked Him how they could know when they didn’t know the way. This brought forth from Jesus that profound immortal statement, ‘I am the way, the truth and the life’

This passage is widely quoted in funeral services when people assume that everyone is automatically going to heaven. I have taken thousands of funerals over the years and there has never been doubt in anyone’s mind that the deceased is going to heaven irrespective of the life led. Nowhere in the Bible is this view upheld. Jesus was very clear in His teaching that it certainly was not so. In parable after parable He spoke of two roads, of sheep and goats, of tares and wheat, of heaven and hell.

There is a grossly mistaken notion that as long as one is honest and a nice person one is assured of heaven. That is not what the Bible teaches. Many people who are atheists are honest and nice people. There has to be a personal commitment to Jesus. The Church has not always given sound teaching on this and some misguidedly preach that Jesus was giving a blank promise for everyone when He is clearly addressing His followers, and if we do not follow Him our end will not be in the rooms of His Father’s house.

If we say to someone who has no Church commitment, has only a tenuous belief in Jesus Christ, never reads a Bible or prays, that they are going to heaven, then we are leading them astray.

Whilst it may be comforting to believe that we can all get to heaven regardless of one’s beliefs, and we like to please our fellow men and women, it is quite cruel to mislead if it is not true. It is like telling a blind person standing on the footwalk of a busy road it is safe for him to cross when ready. Others say if you just follow your conscience you’ll be fine, but consciences become dulled and hardened. Taking the lead from politicians, people can look you in the eye and lie without any qualm of conscience.

In this passage before us He is talking to His followers, people who have made a personal commitment to accept Him as Saviour. This is why it is so important for each person to make his/her own decision whether to follow Jesus in His teaching, commands and demands He makes on us.

You see the Bible is all about commitment. We are reminded of the superficiality of commitment in our own time. Less than 10% of people think God worthy of one hour per week to visit a Church. Yet if you were to ask people their religion, the vast majority would reply C of E and seriously consider they were Christians. They would be mortally offended if you suggested otherwise. Very few people seem bothered to think of Jesus, even less to do anything about it.

What exactly does Jesus mean when he says, we can only come to the Father through Him alone. Some time ago I went to Birmingham and had to find an address. I asked a man passing if he could tell me the way and he answered, ‘it is pretty difficult for you to get there on your own, but I am going that way and could take you’. He got into my car and we went directly there. That is what Jesus does for us. He says you can’t get there on your own but I will direct you, guide you, and take you myself. He is saying there is no other way. This is an exclusive offer.

Jesus spent His entire ministry telling that we are separated from God through sin and only He could obtain forgiveness for us, so we have to make a choice whether to follow Him or face the consequences.

The common belief these days is that all religions lead to God which Christians cannot accept. No other faith had a man who died on a Cross to grant universal forgiveness, no other faith had a man who rose from the dead.

Jesus said He was the truth. If a person is to teach moral truth that person’s character must be worthy. It is not enough to just say the words, one’s life must exemplify morality. This is why it is so wrong that the Church is condoning immoral action and appointing homosexual bishops, when the Bible does not approve of such conduct. This does not mean we discount people, but rather seek to preach that which Scripture states. Only Jesus can claim moral perfection, which is why He can say ‘I am the truth’.

Thirdly Jesus says ‘I am the life’, meaning the opposite of death. He is the source of life and gives life to His own. Just as death mean separation from God, so life means being in communion with Jesus.

Jesus claims exclusive way to God and since we are totally dependent upon Him for the understanding of truth and for eternal life, it naturally follows that no one can come to the Father other than by and through Him.

The Church in general in its desire to be nice and friendly to all, with a craving to please society in general, has sought to promote not only a soft line on salvation and judgement, but to seek a close dialogue with other faiths.

I cannot understand how we can share in multi-faith worship and maintain Biblical integrity. Whilst I believe we should respect other faiths and try to live amicably with them, in view of the unique teaching of our Lord (here set out in verse 6 that He alone is the way to God) we cannot justify sharing in multi faith services when our beliefs are so different, and it is matter of recognising the unique authority of Jesus.

Only Christianity maintains that Jesus Christ as divine and salvation was earned by Jesus on the Cross. But we have the words of our Lord Himself, ‘I am the way, the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me’. Jesus is quite unequivocal. This is not generally liked as it is seen as being too restrictive, too bigoted and intolerant, and to be judgmental is not liked.

All other faiths see Jesus as a good man in the social sense or a prophet at best. Indeed, the Islamic faith states, ‘God has no son’, which is in direct contravention of Jesus nature.

I do admire the devotion and loyalty of Islam. Muslims in Islamic countries are Muslims in the full sense of the word, and they find difficulty in understanding how people who live in Christian lands reject their faith so completely. Why, on the Lord’s birthday so many get drunk and engage in orgies. They will fight and defend their faith, and the men will not feel embarrassed or ashamed to be seen going to worship. Put many Englishmen in a Church and they feel lost and disorientated.

Jesus warns us that there must be a clear acceptance of His teaching and total obedience to it. Just to recite a creed and attend Church is not enough. We honour Jesus by calling Him Lord and sing hymns expressive of our devotion to Him. The lips that sing His praise should never be the lips that do not speak the truth.