The Way to God

Welcome to the In Touch Podcast with Charles Stanley for Thursday, April 13th. The Bible clearly states that there is one way to God, that it's through faith in Jesus Christ. Instead of being narrow and limited, today you'll hear how open and inviting the way to God really is. There is only one God, but how many ways are there to this God? That is the question that oftentimes people ask, and many people have the idea that there are many different ways to God.

And the question is, what does God say about how many ways there are to know Him, to meet Him, and to spend eternity with Him? And that's what I want to talk about in this message, the way to God. And I want you to turn, if you will, to John chapter 14.

And in this 14th chapter of John, Jesus, the night before He's crucified, is comforting His disciples, and He begins by saying in the very first verse, Let not your heart be troubled. Believe in God, believe also in Me. In My Father's house are many dwelling places.

If it were not so, I would have told you. For I go to prepare a place for you, and if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again and receive you to Myself, that where I am, there you may be also. And you know the way where I'm going. Thomas said to Him, Lord, we do not know where You're going. How do we know the way? Jesus said to him, I am the way, the truth and the life. No man comes to the Father but through Me. How many ways are there to God?

Well, one of the reasons that there is a great deal of confusion about how many ways there are to God is because we do not understand the condition of man from God's viewpoint. I want you to turn, if you will, to Romans chapter 5. And in the fifth chapter of Romans, Paul describes the real problem with mankind. And he says, beginning in verse 12 of Romans 5, he says, Therefore, just as through one man sin entered into the world.

Who was that? That was Adam. Adam was in a state of a sinless condition until he sinned against God. And the Bible says that sin entered into the world and death through sin, and so death spread to all men because all sin. So man's heart is corrupted.

Man by nature has been corrupted by sin because every person who's ever been born thereafter came into this world with a sinful nature. That's why you do not have to teach your child to do wrong. You don't have to teach them to disobey, to rebel, to be indifferent, because we just sort of come into the world knowing those things, but we have to be taught discipline. And we have to be taught to obey and taught to be submissive and taught to yield. And so why is it you don't have to teach us to do wrong? Because that is our nature. We come into the world, every single child born following Adam came into this world with a sinful nature against God. And among their first two children, one killed the other, murdered the other brother. And so God sees humanity as corrupted.

Now here's the thing I want us to see. That sin is not the result, that is what makes me a sinner, is not the fact that I did this or did that or misbehaved or my conduct here. It is our problem is we have a disposition, that is those who are unbelievers, a disposition toward sin. God sees man, listen, not only as one who has conduct and behavior that is not in keeping with his will, but who is diseased, so to speak, that is our very nature. We have a disposition that is bent away from God and not toward God.

Now think about this. God is absolutely holy, that is morally. He knows no sinner has never experienced sin and cannot look upon any sin with approval. And therefore, because he cannot, he said, the wages of sin is death, the soul that sinneth it shall die. And so God has decreed that all sin must suffer or pay the penalty of death. And so therefore, because it is his nature, his disposition, his tendency, his inclination, his bent toward sin, because he comes into the world with that disposition, he's going to sin.

So you see, therefore, to stop some things that a person is doing doesn't make them right with God, because it isn't the action, the behavior, the conduct, it is their disposition, their very nature, which has been against God and away from God, which means independence and rebellion. Now here's the reason most folks aren't going to get to heaven. For a man or a woman to have to humble themselves and say, God, I'm helpless to save myself, to forgive myself. I'm helpless to do anything to get to heaven. I desperately need you. Please save me. The refusal to bow one's heart, one's spirit, one's knee, and cry out to God as their only hope will be the primary reason that most folks will miss heaven.

Because you see, there's something inside of man that doesn't want to do that. And what is it? Here's what it is. Old Pride says, now wait a minute, you mean to tell me that all I have to do is just believe in Jesus? Well, that is the requirement if you understand what belief is. Wait a minute, you mean to tell me that I don't have to do anything? Well, what is there to do?

Well, listen, I've been going to church and reading the Bible at times and I pray and I give and, you know, I've tried to be as good as I can. You mean to tell me that none of that's going to count? None of it? Wait a minute. You mean to tell me that these 40, 50, 60 years I've lived and the good things I've done, none of that's going to count? None of that works. You say, well, what's the use of it all then?

You got it. There is no use in it. Listen, if you're not approaching God in the right way, all of that is a waste. You mean to tell me that all the years I've been to church and money I gave, it didn't count? Didn't count. You mean I wasted it?

Well, I can't answer that question. But I can tell you this, if it has to do with your salvation, you wasted it. What kind of a God is this? I want to show you why this is the way God operates.

You see, if I understand who God is, it all becomes very simple. You see, God is a holy God and what God says He's going to do, God's going to do it. Here's what He said, the soul that sinneth, it shall die. The wages of sin is death, whatever man sows, that it also reap. So all of us have sinned against God. And so God must keep His Word. Now, the truth is, that is a decree of God which will be kept, will not be violated. And the truth is, you don't really want God to violate that when you say, oh, I don't know if I'm, yeah, I would like for God to overlook some things. No, you don't. Here's the reason you don't. If God were to say to you, well, now, I tell you what, this time I'm just going to forget.

I'm going to wink at that and let it go. Suppose you're in a real crisis and you were crying out to God, you'd have no assurance that God would ever do anything else He said He would do if He ever violated one single thing He promised to do. God's not going to violate His Word. Forgiveness of sin, yes. Forgiveness on top of forgiveness on top of forgiveness, yes. But not violate His Word.

Now, here's what I want you to realize. It isn't that God is being exclusive. Look how inclusive God is. It isn't that God is being unloving. I want you to see how loving God is.

This is how loving and all-inclusive God is. Seeing that man who was the crowning glory of His creation was corrupted by sin and condemned by the holiness of God. God took it upon Himself to send Jesus, His only begotten Son, the only person capable of doing what was required. The wages of sin is death. Therefore, somebody had to pay the penalty for the sin of mankind.

Who would it be? There's not a soul that has ever been born on the face of this earth apart from Jesus Christ who could meet the requirement. What was that requirement? Sinless. That requirement was that, listen, someone equal to God in His holiness had to pay the price for the sinfulness of man. There was only one man and that person is Jesus Christ. Jesus Christ died on the cross at Calvary and when He did, God the Father placed all the sin of all mankind upon Him. When Jesus, who is God, died, He paid the sin debt. And when He paid the sin debt, what He did, He opened the door of opportunity for everybody everywhere to be saved because no one else would have to do it. You see, what Jesus did could never be duplicated.

What Jesus did, no one else could substitute anybody else in His behalf. That was God, the Son who died. The sinless Son of God took the penalty of all of our sin upon Himself once and for all. Notice what that did.

Listen carefully now. If you're one of those persons who thinks God's exclusive and God's narrow-minded and there must be other ways, listen very carefully to this. When Jesus Christ who is the sinless Son of God died, He paid the sin debt of the world. When He paid the sin debt of the world, He satisfied God's requirements as holy God for the penalty of all sin which is debt. Therefore, from that moment on, the way to God is a gift. Salvation is a gift. It isn't something we work for, it's something for which Jesus died for. You see, the penalty's already been paid so that all men everywhere, all women and children everywhere, can know the way to God and walk in that way and spend eternity with Him. Jesus Christ paid that penalty.

You see, if I don't understand that, I won't understand why there's only one way. Now listen, God made this statement. Not only did He say the wages of sin is death, but He said, without the shedding of blood, there is no forgiveness of sin.

Listen to that. Without the shedding of blood, there is no forgiveness for sin. Now think about this. Sir, you say, well, look, I've been to church 20 years. What about the blood? I've given thousands of dollars out of my benevolent spirit. What about the blood? I even taught Sunday school. What about the blood?

I used to pass for church. What about the blood? My friend, the question is, without the shedding of blood, there is no forgiveness, none.

Listen to that, not any. That's why everything man does apart from Jesus Christ is absolutely useless and futile and empty when it comes to his salvation. Without the shedding of blood, no forgiveness of sin. Who shed his blood?

Christ. Jesus Christ said, I am the way, the truth and the life. No man comes to the Father but by me.

Why is that? Because He's the only one who paid the debt. And secondly, He's the only one who could. And He's the revelation of God. If you've seen Him, you've seen the Father. And you see, if your pride is such that you're not willing to bow before holy God and to acknowledge that His Son, listen carefully, that His Son did for you what no one else will ever be able to do and no one else could possibly do, unless you're willing to accept Him, you'll never get to heaven. You say, I don't believe that. Well, my friend, then you go back to reason rather than revelation. When you stand in the presence of God, you're not going to be judged by your reason.

You're going to be judged by the revelation of God, which is what this book is all about. He doesn't require works. He offers the gift of grace. He doesn't save the few. He offers it to us all. And Jesus said, He came into the world that men might have life and have it abundantly. And God sent in that whosoever believes in Him, for God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son. You can't accuse God of being exclusive and narrow-minded. It isn't narrow-minded to say that Jesus Christ paid the penalty and satisfied the demands of the holiness of God so that He could open salvation to the whole world.

That's not exclusivism. That is love, incomparable, immeasurable, indefinable love that God could offer such redemption. Now let's ask ourselves the question, what did Jesus mean when He said, look at this in verse 6, He said, I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father but by me.

Now look at this. Why didn't He say, I'm just the way? Why did He say here, I am the way, the truth and the life? Because you see when He says, I am the way to the Father, that means through Him. What do we mean by through Him? Through a personal relationship with Jesus Christ, we have access to God. That's the only way to the Father.

He's the only one who paid the penalty. He's the only one who could be the substitute in your behalf and mine. He's the revelation of God. I want you to listen and if you'll turn with me, let's begin with John chapter 3. We'll just go through a few, a few verses here in John. Listen to what Jesus said about the way you and I get to the Father. He says, I am the way. But how do we do this?

Listen to what He says. Verse 16 of John 3, we know it by heart, for God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son that whoever believes in Him would not or should not perish but have eternal life. And God did not send the Son into the world to judge the world, but that the world should be saved through Him. He who believes in Him, that is in Christ, is not judged, not condemned. He who does not believe has been condemned already because he has an old sin nature and has this disposition to sin against God. Because He's not believed in the name of the only begotten Son of God.

Turn to chapter 5. In chapter 5 when Jesus is talking about the judgment, listen to what He says in verse 22, for not even the Father judges anyone, but He has given all judgment to the Son. In order that all may honor the Son, even as they honor the Father. We are to honor Christ in the same way we are to honor God. He who does not honor the Son does not honor the Father who sinned Him. You say, now wait a minute, yes, I do honor God, but I don't honor Jesus.

Jesus said, you can't do that. Because you see, if God the Father and God the Son are one, the dishonor one is to dishonor the other, and that's what Jesus is saying. If you've seen me, you've seen the Father, I and the Father one, and He says in this passage here, you can't dishonor Him and honor God the Father. So He says, verse 24, truly, truly I say to you, he who hears my word and believes Him who sent me has eternal life and does not pass into judgment, but is passed out of death into eternal life because that life is given through the Son Jesus Christ. Turn to chapter 6, chapter 6, verse 40, look at that. He says in verse 40, for this is the will of my Father.

What is that? That everyone who beholds the Son and believes in Him may have eternal life and I myself, Jesus says, will raise Him up on the last day, that is will resurrect His dead body out of the grave and reunite His body and His Spirit with the Lord. And we could just go on and on through these passages in John of the books of the Bible about what it means. Now, here is the big time final question.

This is it. How do I get to God specifically and clearly? This is the way we do it. Believe, believe, believe, believe. Here's what believe means. To believe in the Lord Jesus Christ means that I accept His testimony about Himself in the Scriptures that He is God and that His death at Calvary paid our sin debt in full and that if I am willing to receive Him as my personal Savior, as the one who paid my sin debt, He will forgive me of my sins, make me a child of God and I will be eternally His forever and ever. That's what salvation is all about. It is placing my trust in God the Son and what He did at Calvary, surrendering myself to Him and acknowledging Him as my Savior and following Him. That's what salvation is all about. You see, the way to God is through a personal relationship with Christ and the way to heaven is through Jesus. He said, I'm going to prepare a place for you and if I go and prepare a place for you, I'm coming again to receive you.

Who's He coming for? All of us who have chosen to receive Him as our personal Savior. If you're willing to say to the Lord Jesus Christ, Lord Jesus, I do believe that you died for my sin. I do believe in the revelation given to us, your testimony in Scripture. I do believe that when you died at Calvary, you paid my sin debt in full and I'm receiving you as my personal Savior.

I receive it as a gift, just trusting you as a gift. No efforts, no works, no promises, just faith. The moment you're willing to do that, God the Father, in a split second faster than you and I can bet our eye, will wipe away every single sin you have ever committed. And with that goes the penalty for all the sins you ever will commit because that is this vast, wonderful, indescribable grace of a loving Father. And your whole eternity will be secured once and for all. Thank you for listening to The Way of God. If you'd like to know more about Charles Stanley or In Touch Ministries, stop by InTouch.org. This podcast is a presentation of In Touch Ministries, Atlanta, Georgia.