John 14:6

and you know the way where I am going.

And then in verse 5, Thomas, one of the disciples, says,

Lord, we do not know where you're going. How can we know the way?

And that's interesting because our Lord kept telling them what he was going to do and where he was going. He kept telling them, I'm going to die. I'm going to return to the Father. I'm going to be rejected. I'm going to be put to death. And I'm going to go back to heaven from where I came. And he told them many times in his three-year ministry. But they had a hard time accepting this truth. They had a hard time accepting the fact that Jesus would be handed over and put to death by his enemies. Because the crucified Messiah was not what they expected. And they are now profoundly troubled by what is coming. So they don't know where he's going. They claim they don't know the way. And that brings us to verse 6. So let's look at verse 6 together. John 14, verse 6.

Jesus said to him, I am the way, and the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.

Now regarding the exclusivity of the gospel, I want you to notice the definitive article in verse six here. Jesus says, I am the way. He doesn't say, I am a way. He doesn't say, I am one of many ways. He says, no, I am the way. I am the only way to the Father. And this statement drives a nail right through the coffin of false religion, because it basically puts to rest the idea that there are many paths to eternal life, or even many paths to Christ. And we know it's through scripture alone. Well, now let's consider what Jesus means by the phrase the way. What is the way? Well, we can define it as this. It is the means through which we have access in salvation. The way is the means through which we have access to God in salvation. Well, then how then is Christ the means through which we access God in salvation? Well, it's through the accomplished work of Christ. It is his perfect life of obedience, his death, his burial, and his resurrection. All the Old Testament requirements are satisfied and fulfilled in the death of Christ. And sinners now have free access to God and salvation. But we will go into greater detail about that when we come to the end of verse six. But for now, let's consider our first application point, and that is this, to every Christian. Whether you teach, preach, or evangelize, are you proclaiming that there is only one way to heaven? Is your message that Christ alone is the way or are you somehow compromising your message on what is the way? Are you compromising the only way to heaven by affirming Jesus plus something? Maybe Jesus plus the merits of your obedience. Now the way of the Father is not by anything that you do. It is in Christ alone and the merits of his obedience. It's his imputed righteousness that we receive. It's not by anything that you do. Furthermore, in terms of our sanctification, your obedience on the path of righteousness is the fruit of your salvation, not the cause of it. It's the fruit. Well, next, our Lord says he is the truth. He says, I am the way and I am the truth. Now, I'd like you to turn to the first chapter of John's gospel with me for a moment, and we're gonna look at verses 14 and 17 of John chapter one. And in this first chapter, there's a reference to Christ being the full disclosure of God's grace and truth. So let's unpack these couple of verses to understand how Jesus is the truth. John 1 verse 14 says this,

and the word became flesh and dwelt among us. And we have seen his glory, glory as of the only son from the father, full of grace and truth.

Number 17,

for the law was given through Moses, grace and truth came through Jesus Christ.

Now in the Old Testament as the apostle, as the disciple John writes here,

the word became flesh and dwelt among us and we have seen his glory, glory as the only son from the father, full of grace and truth.

Now Moses wanted to see the glory of God in the Old Testament in Exodus 33, but the problem with seeing the fullness of God's glory is that it would have killed Moses because nobody can see God's glory and live. Nobody can see the full disclosure of God and survive. He is too righteous, he's too pure, and he's too holy. And sinful men would be virtually incinerated in the sight of God's unveiled holiness. Therefore, God put Moses in the cleft of the rock and then he passed by Moses, letting him see only a part of him. And as God passed by in Exodus 34, God said this,

the Lord, the Lord God, compassionate and gracious, slow to anger and abounding in loving kindness and truth, forgiving iniquity and transgressions and sin.

So the Old Testament clearly teaches that God is a gracious God to forgive sin and iniquity. Now John 117 also references the Mosaic Law in relation to the grace of God. So in the Ten Commandments, the Mosaic Law, we have God's commands and requirements for purity and holiness, but as sinners we are both unwilling and incapable of perfect obedience. So therefore we find only condemnation in the law. There is no grace found in God's law, only condemnation. So returning to John 14, 6, what is John telling us about Jesus being the grace and truth of God? What is Jesus telling us about himself when he says he is the grace and truth of God? Well, the point is this. The fullness of the grace and truth of God in salvation was manifest in Jesus Christ, as Christ himself is the full manifestation of Yahweh in all his glory. In the Old Testament, salvation was always by grace, of course. The washing and forgiveness of sin was always based on the Messiah who would come and die on the cross for our sins. So Christ, then, is the full disclosure of the grace and the truth of God in salvation. And it's here we find our second point of application, and that is this. Do you believe in the right Jesus? In point number one, Jesus is the way to God, but in point number two, are you believing in the right Jesus, the true Christ of scripture? The son of God, God himself, not the Jesus of Islam, not a mere prophet, not the Jesus of Mormonism, not the half-brother of Lucifer, not merely a wise teacher, not merely an example of goodness, but God himself incarnate in the flesh, all the fullness of deity, dwelling in Christ with all the knowledge and wisdom and grace and truth of Yahweh himself in the manifestation of Christ. So for those of you who teach to preach, I would ask you this, are you teaching and preaching the true Christ? Those who evangelize the lost in public ministry and outreach, are you evangelizing the lost with the true Christ of scripture? And for the college students engaging others in epistemology or worldview or whatever it is you talk about. Are you proclaiming the true Christ when you witness the gospel to them? Are you proclaiming the true Christ? Because there is only one Christ. And there is only one name under heaven by which men can be saved. So does your Christ align with the scripture? That's what I'm getting at. Does your Christ align with the scripture? And to anyone else here who's not a believer, for your salvation, the Christ of Scripture is your only hope and your guarantee of salvation. So Jesus is the way and the truth, and next, he says he is the life. He says, I am the life. Jesus is life itself. He is the creator of life. He is the giver of life. John 1, verses 3 and 4. He is the giver of eternal life. John 3, 15, 16. He is, in the spiritual and salvific sense, He is the very life of God revealed and manifest to the world. His life is the very quality and life of God himself. The very life of God becomes your life. It becomes your newness of life. You are a new creation in Christ with new spiritual life that comes down from heaven and makes you born again. Jesus is the way, the truth, and the life. And now we come to the end of verse six. And Jesus says,

no one comes to the Father except through me.

Well, what does it mean to come to the Father? Let's explore this for a minute. What does it mean to come to the Father? Well, let's consider how the Jewish people came to God in the Old Testament. How did sinners come to God in the Old Testament? Well, it was on the Day of Atonement, the annual Jewish feast. And the high priest would enter the tabernacle and go directly into the Holy of Holies, which was the same for the temple in Jerusalem. And this was the most inner room and sanctuary, and it was there where there was a veil that separated the Holy of Holies from the rest of the temple, and it was there to separate a righteous God from unrighteous, sinful sinners. And this was the most inner room and sanctuary, and it separated God from everyone else, basically. And it was here in the Holy of Holies that the high priest would sprinkle the blood from the sacrificial animal onto the altar in the mercy seat, making atonement for his sins and for the sins of the people of Israel. Yahweh would then appear, and this was how man would come to God, and this is how God would dwell with man. Now, immediately following the death of Christ on the cross, what happened inside the temple? It was the veil that was torn, right? It was torn from top to bottom. And this was done to both validate and accept the death of the Lamb of God to reconcile a righteous God to a sinful people. Which begs the question, well, how then do sinners come to God the Father in the New Testament? Well, it's God himself, the Son of God, who comes to dwell with man. And he tabernacles with man for three years. And he does this by teaching and preaching and fulfilling the law. And then he offers himself as the once for all sacrifice for sin, shedding his blood on the cross. So just as the high priest would sprinkle blood on the altar in the Holy of Holies, Christ himself sprinkles his own blood on the cross, granting full access to sinners into the Holy of Holies and to the very presence of Yahweh and salvation in full unveiled glory. Jesus is the way, the only way of salvation, and God in heaven. He is the truth, he is the full disclosure of the grace and truth of God and salvation, and he is the life, he is the very life of God himself. All three have their essence and their origin and their full disclosure in Christ Jesus. Nobody comes to the Father except through the Son. There is no other way to God than through God. Let's pray. Heavenly Father, we are thankful to you for this time of prayer and fellowship and proclaiming your word once again. We lift up this time as an offering to you to exalt you and to glorify you. And we thank you, Father, that you have shown us your glory in the fullness of the revelation of Jesus Christ. And all that you are was manifest in the incarnation of your eternal son. And we thank you that we may know him and that we may know you through him. And all things have been handed over to him by you, Father, and nobody knows you except through your son and anyone to whom he chooses to reveal. He's the way, the truth, and the life. And nobody comes to you except through him, so he is our great high priest who made atonement for us by his sacrifice. So may we take this message to the world that sinners may come to you in repentance and faith in your only begotten son. To the praise of your glory, we pray these things in the name of your son. Amen.