“Why Believe That Jesus Is The Only Way To God?”
John 14:6
Sermon Series: “Why Believe?”
Introduction: Jesus is the only way to God! Lee Strobel summarizes the way this claim is often viewed when he says that “many people consider it arrogant, narrow-minded and bigoted for Christians to contend that the only path to God must go through Jesus of Nazareth. In a day of religious tolerance this claim of exclusivity is politically incorrect; a verbal slap in the face of other people’s belief systems.” Rosemary Radford Luther labeled it “absurd religious chauvinism.” A Jewish rabbi called it a “spiritual dictatorship that fosters the kind of smug and superior attitude that can lead to hatred and violence toward people who believe differently.” So, is this claim true or is it false, narrow-minded, and hurtful to others? In today’s message, we are going to look at what is actually being claimed, analyze some of the objections to it, and consider reasons to believe it is true with the hope of you responding and actually coming to God through faith in the Lord Jesus Christ.
Main Idea: Jesus claimed to be the only way to God, and His claim is actually true so we can know God through faith in Him.
1. What Jesus Actually Claimed:
A. He claimed to be God (“I Am”).
B. He claimed to be the Way into a personal relationship with God and the way into the very presence of God in heaven.
C. He claimed to be the Truth, which means He is the ultimate reality and measure of all things.
D. He claimed to be the Life, which means He is the creator and giver of life, the One who regenerates our hearts and makes us spiritually alive, the One who gives us eternal life, and the One who defeated death and resurrects us.
E. He sums all of this up by claiming to be the ONLY way to the Father.
2. Objections To This Claim Answered:
Objection #1-Christians make this claim about Jesus. Answer-Actually, Jesus made this claim about Himself.
Objection #2-This is an arrogant, narrow-minded, and bigoted idea. Answer-It is really humble instead of arrogant because it says we can’t save ourselves. Ideas aren’t broad or narrow, but they are true or false. It is not bigoted because it says God loves everybody so much that He would die for them.
Objection #3-There is no such thing as absolute truth, but everything is relative and a matter of my perspective or my personal truth. Answer-A person stating there is no absolute truth is contradicting herself because that is stating an absolute.
Objection #4-All religions are basically the same. Answer-Every religion is unique. Christianity in particular in marked by teachings such as the Trinity, the Incarnation, grace, and the bodily resurrection of Jesus.
Objection #5-Jesus was loving, accepting, and tolerant so He would not judge anyone. Answer-This is a partially true statement. Jesus is loving and accepting, but He does judge people and does not tolerate sin (Matthew 7:21-23, 23:33, 25:46; Luke 12:5, 13:1-5, 16:19-31; John 5:26-30). Lee Strobel said, “It’s ironic that many atheists embrace Jesus as having been a great teacher, and yet he’s the one who had the most to say about hell.”
3. Reasons To Believe This Claim Is True:
A. The bodily resurrection of Jesus.
B. The nature of God (holy, just, and love).
C. The identity of Jesus (fully God and fully man).
D. Grace.
