JESUS, THE WAY, THE TRUTH AND THE LIFE
2005 European/CIS International Summer Bible Conferences By Mother Barry, DBF General Director
JESUS, THE WAY, THE TRUTH AND THE LIFE
"Jesus answered, I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me." (Jn 14:6)
Mother Barry delivered the opening message at the European ISBC and a key verse address at the CIS ISBC. These messages were virtually the same. The following is the key verse address she delivered at the CIS ISBC.
We have come here from the countries of the CIS and from all over the world. Our brothers and sisters from Astana traveled 60 hours by train to get here. When we leave, we will scatter all over the world. Our presence here affirms of truth. They think that commitment to
that there exists among us a bond of oneness in Jesus. He is the vine, we are the branches. Our Lord prayed that we might be one. He gave us a common mission and a common prayer topic. He prayed that God's kingdom might come on think briefly about Jesus, who is the way earth as it is in heaven. He sent his disciples out to make disciples of all nations. We have come here to affirm the good news that the truth sets us free. In these times, which some people refer to as postmodern, we are surprised to find that there are people who deny the existence truth makes them slaves. But denying the existence of truth does not remove the reality of truth. And truth does not make us slaves. Truth sets us free. As we begin this CIS Summer Bible Conference let us think briefly about Jesus, who is the way and the truth and the life.
1. Jesus is the way to God
Several weeks ago I read in Newsweek an interview with a Muslim terrorist. This young man said that he was a terrorist and that he had volunteered to be a suicide bomber, and that he had been accepted. He was waiting for his specific assignment. He hoped that he would be assigned a crowded place with a lot of Americans around so that he could kill as many as possible when he blew himself up. He was convinced that this way was the sure way to heaven and to God. This young man, and many like him, was seduced by the devil, who is a liar and a murderer. Jesus is the only way to God. He is the only way to heaven. He came from heaven. He returned to heaven. He knows the way. He is the way. He is the way because he is the Lamb of God who died for the sins of the world. We are forgiven and cleansed of sin and guilt and shame by the blood of the Lamb. He rose to life and ascended to the Father. The Holy Spirit, the Spirit of truth, has come to make his home in hearts that have been cleansed by the blood. He leads us on our pilgrimage to the heavenly kingdom. We are not righteous or good. We can do no good work that will qualify us for heaven. On the other hand, no sin or shame is so great that his blood cannot cleanse it. He only asks that we believe in him, that we entrust ourselves to him in obedient faith.
2. Jesus is the way to God because he is the truth
Truth is universal; it is unchanging; it is absolute. Only God the Creator of all things is unchanging and absolute. The plan of salvation which he made and worked out on the stage of history is universal. It is for all people. "The true light that gives light to all men was coming into the world." (Jn 1:9) The true light is Jesus.
God's promises are true. The gospel of Jesus rests on the promises of God. The devil is a liar. There is no truth in him. Jesus is the truth because he fulfills God's promises. He fulfilled the promise God gave Abraham and David. He keeps the promise to forgive our sins and give us eternal life. He keeps his promise to give us the Holy Spirit. Jesus is the truth. Jesus told the truth about man. All people are sinners. Jesus told the truth about God. God is the Creator of all things. He is Holy and Righteous. He is love. He loves the world and sent Jesus to save us from sin and death and give us life. In North Korea people believe the lie that Kim II Sung is eternal. They believe that Kim Jung II can save them. This is a lie. Because of this lie, many people have died and are dying. The devil is indeed a liar and a murderer, but people without God in their lives desperately grasp such lies. Jesus is the truth. He is the only way to God.
3. Jesus is the only way to the Father because he is the life
"Through him all things were made and without him nothing was made that has been made. In him was life, and that life was the light of men." Jesus is the Creator of life. We are dead in sin because sin cuts us off from the Creator God, the life source. We are like dead men walking. But Jesus came to give life. Jesus said, "I tell you the truth, whoever hears my word and believes him who sent me has eternal life and will not be condemned; he has crossed over from death to life." (Jn 5:24)
I believe and know that Jesus is the only way to God because by his death and resurrection he saved a proud and useless sinner like me. He led me to the Scriptures and through searching the Scriptures I could come to the One about whom they are written, and find life. He is my life. He is my love. He is the one whom I worship. He is my Savior and my Friend. I am never lonely because he walks with me. He is the way and the truth and the life.
May each of us meet Jesus through his word and know the truth that sets us free. May God give us the Spirit of truth to show us the way in this wilderness-like world. May he bless this conference and equip us to go to the campuses of the world with the good news that the truth sets us free. Jesus is the way and the truth and the life.