“The Way To Life”
John 20:30-31
Sermon Series: “Getting Acquainted With Jesus”
Introduction: I believe that each of us deep down wants to really experience true life. Are we experiencing life to the fullest? Are we really living or just existing? Where do we find that kind of life? Is it found in Jesus Christ or is Easter just a nice religious story that gives us an excuse for a spring holiday? I believe that the resurrection is the proof that life truly is found in Jesus Christ.
The theme of the gospel of John, summarized in these verses, is that Jesus is the eternal God who also became a man, and we can have life through believing in His Name. Let’s examine this theme.
1. The Revelation of the Person of Christ: Verse 31 says, “Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God.”
A. Jesus means “Jehovah is salvation.” Matthew 1:21 says, “And she [the virgin Mary] will bring forth a Son, and you shall call His name Jesus, for He will save His people from their sins.”
B. Christ refers to Jesus being the Messiah, which means, “anointed One” or “sent One.” The Messiah was the promised deliverer, the hope of the world. According to the Old Testament, the Messiah would be the prophet, priest, and king.
C. Son of God means that Jesus is the second person of the Trinity, God manifest in human flesh. John 1:1, 14 say, “In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God…And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us, and we beheld His glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the Father, full of grace and truth.” John 5:17-18 says, “But Jesus answered them, ‘My Father has been working until now, and I have been working.’ Therefore the Jews sought all the more to kill Him, because He not only broke the Sabbath, but also said that God was His Father, making Himself equal with God.”
To demonstrate the deity of Christ, Jesus selected 7 signs (a sign is a miracle with a message) and 7 “I am” sayings of Christ, and then he recorded the ultimate miracle and proof, the resurrection, in chapter 20. Henry Morris said, “The bodily resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead is the crowning proof of Christianity. If the resurrection did not take place, then Christianity is a false religion. If it did take place, then Christ is God and the Christian faith is absolute truth.”
2. The Required Response to Christ-Faith: Verse 31 says that these signs were recorded so that we would believe (see John 1:12, 3:15-16, and 6:29). True faith is both life-giving and life-changing. If we don’t live what we say we believe, then we do not really believe it because true faith is taking God at His Word and acting on it. Warren Wiersbe has written, “We need to remind ourselves that everybody lives by faith. The difference is in the object of that faith. Christians put their faith in God and His Word while unsaved people put their faith in themselves.” Billy Graham says, “No one can be said to be truly converted to Christ who has not bent his will to Christ. He may give intellectual assent to the claims of Christ and may have had emotional religious experiences; however, he is not truly converted until he has surrendered his will to Christ as Lord, Savior, and Master.” True faith involves:
Accept (intellectually accept the facts regarding Christ)
Believe (trust Christ personally in our hearts)
Commit (surrender our wills to Christ)
Are you truly trusting Jesus Christ?
3. The Result of Trusting Christ-Life: The end of verse 31 tells us that we can have life through believing in the name of Christ. John 1:4a says, “In Him [Jesus] was life,” and He wants to share that life with us. This life is:
Spiritual (Ephesians 2:1).
Found in knowing God, which is the true and. ultimate purpose of life (John 17:3).
Eternal (John 3:36, John 14:19).
Abundant (John 10:10). William Mac Donald said, “Without God, we must either fail miserably or succeed even more miserably.”
