I am the way the truth and the life (II) Jesus is THE way

If Jesus is neither a lunatic nor a liar (see last day’s post), then He is who He says He is Lord, the Word (God) in flesh (John 1:1,14), and we need to listen to, and to take heed of what He says. In particular, He did not say He was “a way,” but the unique one and only way (the force of the Greek) to the Father. Indeed in the continuation of this quote from John 14:6, Jesus says “No one comes to the Father except through Me.” The point is, that it is only through the substitutionary death of Jesus that it is possible for sinful human beings to come into the presence of a Holy God. Salvation is a gift, received by faith (Ephesians 2:8, 9). And it was God Himself who “was reconciling the world to himself in Christ, not counting people's sins against them” (2 Corinthians 5:19). The way it works is that He takes our sin, and exchanges it for His righteousness (2 Corinthians 5:21). It is the only way!

I immediately hear the objection “But what about those who do not hear?” It’s a valid question, one the Bible does not explicitly answer, but it does give us some clues. In fact, God did not count either Abraham or King David’s sins against them, and this too was received by faith (Romans 4:3-8). Both Abraham and David were before Christ, and would certainly not have been saying the so-called sinner’s prayer! But since no one comes to the Father but by Jesus and they were accepted, then they must have come through Him. But they came without understanding that it was through what He would do on the cross. I see this as a matter of the heart, a matter of trust, of being reconciled to God (2 Corinthians 5:18-20), not of correct doctrinal truth, though I am not saying that correct doctrine is not important.

Abraham and David, who were separated from Christ by time, were nevertheless saved by Him. And for me it is not too much of a stretch to believe that there are some who have never heard whose hearts are reconciled to Him, and so also saved by His death. My understanding of the unforgivable sin, is that it is rejection of the gift of forgiveness. And I reason, righty or wrongly, that you cannot reject an offer you have not even heard of! This is what I think, and part of why I think this, is that knowing something of the character of the One in whom I have believed, I answer yes to the question Abraham asked “Will not the judge of all the earth do right” (Genesis 18:25)? So I leave such question about those who have not heard, in His loving and merciful hands. But those who have not heard is not us, and the question for us, for you, is what will we, have we, done with Christ’s offer? There is only one way to be reconciled to God, and it is through Jesus!

Lord Jesus, within the mystery and the foolishness (to the World) of faith, since I am in You and You are in me (John 17), then I am a kind of Jesus sandwich with You as the bread, and me as the meat. And since You are the way, then I really can go where You lead. It may not always feel that You are this close Lord, but I choose this morning by faith to believe it, and trust as in the “Footprints in the Sand” poem, that when I do not feel I can go on, nevertheless I am still going the right way because You, who is the way, are carrying me. In Your precious name Amen