Articles
The Way, The Truth, and The Life
….THE WAY, AND THE TRUTH AND THE LIFE…..
(by Jim Stauffer)
Jesus said to him, I am the way, and the truth, and the life; no one comes to the Father but through Me. John 14:6 There is great specificity in this statement by our Lord.
First, He uses the term way, to indicate a specific path to be followed. We are taught to walk in the footsteps of Jesus as He is our example for avoiding the pitfalls of life on earth while in His service (1 Pet. 2:21). Jesus tells us there are two very different ways we can go. One is broad and easy and leads to destruction and the other is narrow and rigid and leads to life (Matthew 7:13,14). We know we can stray from the way and sometimes it is as simple as failing to understand the way. See Apollos in Acts 18:25,26.
Second, He indicates this way is connected to the truth. Truth has always been something men have compromised and vacillated over according to how it fits their desires. Pilate responded to Jesus' claim of being God's witness of the truth by saying, …What is truth? ….John 18:38. We know from Jesus' teaching that God's word is truth (John 17:17) and that very truth will set us free from the burden of sin (John 8:32).
The third word He uses in His answer to Thomas is life. Jesus is the life. He tells Thomas all these things are necessary in coming to the Father and all are achieved in and through Jesus Christ Himself. We learn Jesus is life and as life He is the light of the world (John 1:4). His life shines light on a world of darkness. Paul tells us we have all become a part of that darkness and as a result have become alienated or separated from God by our sin (Rom. 3:23; Eph. 4:17-19). But when we have renewed access to the life Jesus brings it is because we have accepted the truth He has revealed to us and follow the way He has set before us.
This life is promised to those who believe in Him (John 3:15,16). Those who believe in Him obey Him in recognition of His authority (Heb. 5:8,9).
Now, here is the plea made with these remarks. Please, for our own benefit, let us recognize the demand of the biblical language. There is no compromise of the way, truth or life. They are not negotiable. We cannot make peace spiritually with anyone who does not acknowledge Christ as the way, truth and life.
The world we live in wishes us to soften our approach to Christianity. We cannot. We are not the authors of this great pathway from certain destruction to eternal life in heaven. We therefore, cannot accept false religions. False religions are those who teach things contrary to what Jesus and His apostles taught (1 Tim. 4:1-3).
We are warned about the dangers of the world and how those things of the world are at odds with the will of God (1 John 2:15-17).
Are you a disciple of Jesus Christ? Have you followed His instructions to be added to His church as one of the saved? (Acts 2:47) If so, stand up and be counted. If not, realize you are not following the way, the truth and the life sent from God.
