Hello everyone. Thanks to CV first off for his comment. I think it’s great if the church is doing something to remind us all that we are supposed to be servants of all. We are continuing our walk through the New Testament and looking for clues of the doctrine of the Trinity. Tonight, we’re going to be looking at a most hated verse of Scripture today if not the most hated verse and frankly, I think it is. That text will be John 14:6.
Jesus answered, “I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.
This is the verse Opran Winfrey and several others have a problem with. To Oprah, it’s incredible that the thing God cares about is that you call his Son Jesus. The problem is that if Christianity is true, then God has sent his Son, his only unique Son, to save people from their sins and if you deny that, then you are essentially telling God that you will go your own way and are denying his Son.
What we have to ask of any other system is “Why should I believe that this is a valid way to God?” Do we want to base our view of who God is on our feelings alone? You may feel like you’re good enough so that God will accept you. Fine. Feel that way. The question is, do you want to risk eternity on that? Christianity makes a serious claim and serious claims don’t go away just because you don’t like them.
Now someone may ask “What about those who never heard?” That’s another question for another blog, but if you’re reading this blog, you’re not one of those. Oprah Winfrey definitely isn’t one of those. I think one reason the Bible never gives a clear answer is because the Bible has plan A as being the Great Commission. There’s no plan B out there given. The Bible wants us to do plan A and not give any reason why we should NOT do plan A.
But there is also great Trinitarian truth in this passage based on what Athanasius said which led to a conversation I had with two Jehovah’s Witnesses that rang the doorbell of my apartment by surprise one day. They wanted to know what I believed and so I went through a long list and I don’t believe they really caught what I had to say.
I believe in truth.
I believe truth doesn’t change.
I believe in Jesus.
I believe Jesus is the truth.
I believe truth is eternal.
Therefore, I believe Jesus is eternal.
They never seemed to notice that last point. (It seems a tendency of Jehovah’s Witnesses to not realize what I mean by eternal.)
This is the way Athanasius argued where he said Jesus is the truth of the Father. If truth is eternal and unchanging and Jesus claims to be the truth, then it is valid to see him in that way. Truth exists in the person of Jesus. He is that good news of the Father and as long as Truth has existed, Jesus has existed, which means Jesus is eternal and if he is eternal and he is a person, then he is fully deity.
In our pluralistic culture, this verse is unpopular, but we need to stand beside it. More and more evangelicals are becoming pluralists and saying there is more than one way to God. There may be many ways to God, but there is only way he’s approved of. One will either arrive and receive judgment or receive blessing. He has shown the way. Let us walk in it.
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