The Way to God

It has been said, “The world has come into the church.” These words are true. When a person joins the local church he or she brings all of their life experiences with them. They bring everything that they have been taught by both word and deed. Everyone who gives their life to Jesus Christ must leave behind the natural inclination to sin. He or she must give up their practices of sin. The new life in Christ must overcome the old life. We are continuously overcoming the old life by disarming the things of the flesh and allowing the Holy Spirit to minister to us in new ways that we have never experienced before. Paul writes, “Therefore I urge you, brethren, by the mercies of God, to present your bodies a living sacrifice, acceptable to God, which is your spiritual service of worship. And do not conform to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, so that you may prove what the will of God is, that which is good and acceptable and perfect” (Rom. 12:1-2, NASB). Since Christians are to live for God how can they know the will of God? How can they find a way to God? Jesus claims to be the way to God. However, the philosophies of the Greeks and the Romans competed for the minds of the believers in the early church. The religious leaders of the Jews denounced Jesus as a blasphemer and a fraud. In this article I want to explore ways in which modern philosophies are competing for the minds of Christians in the church.

When Jesus is near the end of His earthly ministry, He begins to prepare His disciples for His return to the Father. Jesus says, “‘I am the way, and the truth, and the life; no one comes to the Father but through me’” (John 14:6, NASB). The article “the” used by the writer indicates that Jesus is claiming that He is the only way a person can gain eternal life and see the Father. The apostles preached salvation through Jesus who died for sins and is resurrected from the dead. Those who believe in Jesus accept Him as their Lord, and they follow His teaching.

From the beginning, the church faces opposition. First there is opposition from the Jewish leadership, the Pharisees and Sadducees. When the church begins to spread outside of Palestine it continues to meet opposition from the Jews. The church also meets opposition from Greek and Roman philosophies and religious practices that are unacceptable in the community of believers in Jesus Christ. The epistles of Paul, Peter, and John address some of the issues inside the community as well as issues that are brought into the church by the Gentiles.

Today, multiple surveys strongly suggest that the number of people in America that believe in the traditional teaching that Jesus is the Christ has been on a decline for many years. Indeed, the church is becoming more of a thermometer than a thermostat. People of the world are looking for answers to their problems; and for happiness, prosperity, and peace. Yet, while the church talks about Jesus and how He can make a difference in our life the world does not see this claim as a reality shown in the life of those who make such claims. Could it be that Christians today base their lives more on current philosophies than on the words of Jesus and expounded upon by the apostles in the New Testament? What are some of the beliefs and philosophies that people are gravitating to and bringing into the church?

Some people believe that God changes as the world changes. The writer of Hebrews writes: “Jesus Christ is the same yesterday and today and forever” (Heb. 13:8, NASB). The hope of believers is that God does not change. God is said to exist everywhere and at all times. His attributes and His essence never changes. Our trusting God is based on the unchanging character and purposes of God. His laws and principles never change. God always keeps His promises. From the beginning it is faith that gives us access to God. It is our faith that makes us right with God (Gen. 15:6; Rom. 4:3; 5:1). It is by faith that believers are to live daily. (Hab. 2:4; Rom. 1:17; Gal. 3:5-6; Heb. 11).

A second philosophy is “Pluralism” which can be briefly described as the belief that life is multiple choices. Values may come from any number of religions or denominations. No religion is dominant. Since this is true, there are different paths that a person can take and get to heaven. All religions worship the same god. It is just that God has spoken to different people at different times under different circumstances. The Scriptures do not deny that there are many things that testify to God’s existence and His greatness. The Psalms tells us that the heavens and all nature testify to God’s existence and praise God by functioning in the way that God has designed them to do (Psalm 8; 148,). Paul writes that some people instinctively keep the Law because “they show the work of the Law written in their hearts, their conscience bearing witness and their thoughts alternately accusing or else defending them” (Rom. 2:15, NASB). We may believe that God exist, but the devil knows that God exist, and He knows the Scripture. However, it is by grace alone, through faith alone that one is saved; has eternal life with the Father. “‘And there is salvation in no one else; for there is no other name under heaven that has been given among men by which we must be saved’” (Acts 4:12, NASB).

A third philosophy is “relativism.” It is at the heart of moral relativism. There are no absolutes. God may be real for you, but God does not have to be real for me. What is true for you is not necessarily true or right for me. Everything is accepted except intolerance. I do not need to conform to any one way of thinking or living. Relativism is often associated with “Naturalism” and “Individualism.” “Naturalism is another form of agnosticism or even atheism, meaning that everything can be explained within the context of “natural forces.” Naturalism is prevalent among educational systems that our teenagers attend. “Individualism” focuses on the individual’s right to express one’s self. All people are separate beings; not connected to anyone else, and not in need of anyone.

The statement of Jesus in John 14:6 gives us the basis for recognizing God and the teachings of Jesus Christ as a foundational necessity for a living community based on the principles and values of God’s love available to all people. Today, the church must heed the words of Paul to the church at Colossae: “See to it that no one takes you captive through philosophy and empty deception, according to the tradition of men, according to the elementary principles of the world, rather than according to Christ” (Col. 2:8, NASB).

Jesus is the way, the truth, and the life. He is the only way to God.