the gospel according to John chapter 14. And once you have found the 14th chapter of John, I want to direct your attention to what the Lord Jesus says in verse number six. John 14, six. Jesus saith unto him, namely Thomas, I am the way, the truth, and the life. No man cometh unto the Father but by me. The particular gospel objection that I want to expound upon in our time together this morning has to do with others rejecting the biblical claims of Jesus Christ simply because they have already affiliated themselves with another religion. The evangelistic conversations usually go something like this. In my desire to talk to others about their eternal souls, and in my asking them what they believe about God, the Bible, and the person of Jesus Christ, many times the immediate verbal response I meet with is the hasty yet honest affirmation that says something along the lines of, I have my own religious beliefs. Over the years of seeking to engage others in gospel conversations, I have had hundreds if not thousands of people avoid taking a gospel tract from my hand and quickly avoid my attempts to talk to them about the Lord by saying, no thanks, I'm Catholic, I'm Hindu, I'm Muslim, I'm Buddhist. I'm Jewish. I'm a Jehovah's Witness. I'm a member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. I'm a member of the Church of Scientology. Or sometimes, especially among the United States, I have found people quickly respond by stating their affirmation with those groups that call themselves evangelical Christian. So they say, I belong to the Church of Christ. I'm Baptist. I'm Presbyterian. I'm Lutheran. I'm Methodist. I'm Pentecostal. I'm Amish. I'm Anglican. And so on and so forth. Have you had any of these conversations with others before? There are some people who wrongly believe that just because they have their own religious beliefs that they are exempt from examining the biblical claims of Jesus Christ and turning to the Lord in repentance and faith. So my question to you this morning is, when you meet someone who says, I have my own religious beliefs, or they belong to some particular denomination that claims to be Christian, should we just leave it alone? and go on accepting their answer as the termination of all future gospel conversation? Or should we press into their response with some further questions and declarations about what the Christian faith is all about? Think about it practically. If you saw someone unloading a U-Haul truck next door to your home, and you went to welcome them to the neighborhood, and in the course of conversation, things turned more spiritual, and you told them that you were a Christian, and then they say, I'm Buddhist, I'm Hindu, I'm Muslim, I'm Jewish. What thoughts would flood your mind at that moment? No, I'm not suggesting that in that moment you give them a hearty Yucca Valley welcome by telling them that their religious beliefs are nonsensical and they need to turn or burn. But I am saying you should be thinking of something to say if future conversations or questions arise about your faith. Scenario number two, if you found yourself in the break room at work, and you are reading your Bible or reading some Christian book, and someone came to you asking about what you are reading, and then they say, well, I don't believe like you do. I have my own beliefs. I believe there are many ways to God. How would you respond? What questions would you ask? What Bible verses would come to mind? What statements could you give to encourage people to think about the biblical claims of Jesus Christ? This is what I'm asking. When you rub shoulders with others who do not claim to be Christian, but they do claim to be associated with some religion or religious beliefs, are you prepared to give an answer of the hope that you claim lies within you? If you are taking notes this morning, let me give you what I believe to be the three most important biblical responses that I would give to those who say, I'm not interested in what you have to say about your God and your beliefs because I belong to another religion. If I met with this response in my conversations with others, I would want to emphasize the following three truths. Truth number one, Biblical Christianity is not a religion. It is a personal, loving relationship with God through the Lord Jesus Christ. Let me say that again. If I met with someone who says, I have my own religious beliefs and I don't need your religion, I would say that Biblical Christianity is not a religion. It is a personal, loving relationship with God through the Lord Jesus Christ. Think about the text before us. Here in John chapter 14, Jesus Christ, God in the flesh, is in the world teaching and fellowshipping with his disciples. His disciples are those He has personally loved and befriended to the end that they might have a personal, intimate relationship with the Father. This is precisely what Jesus Christ prays to the Father in John chapter 17. John 17 three, and this is eternal life, that they, speaking of Christ's disciples, and Christ's sheep might know thee, speaking of God, the only true God, and Jesus Christ, whom thou hast sent. Jesus says, this is eternal life, that others, namely God's children, might know Jesus Christ. And this word no is not speaking of a mental knowledge, but an intimate, affectionate, relational knowledge. The Lord Jesus Christ, the second person of the Godhead, who is co-equal and co-eternal with the Father and the Spirit, willingly left the glories of heaven and tabernacled among men on earth for one purpose, so that he might reveal who the Father is. To what end? To the end that those who are separated from God in their sin might be released from their satanic bondage and reunited into a saving relationship with God. You see, Jesus Christ came to earth to seek and to save that which is lost. Christ tells us that his primary objective is to call unrighteous people to repentance. He came, not to do his own will, but the will of the Father who sent him. And it was the will of the Father to lay down his life on Calvary's cross as a substitute for sin, because without the shedding of innocent blood, there could be no forgiveness of sin. Let me just pause here for just a moment and expound upon this more thoroughly. When Jesus says, I am the way, the truth, and the life, no one comes to the Father except through me, it's important that we recognize that he is concluding that humanity is lost and needs a Savior, and he is that Savior. To say that no one can go to the Father except through him assumes that man does not have the ability to go to God by his own power or merit. To say that he is the way, the truth, and the life is to proclaim that we do not naturally know the way. We do not instinctively abide in truth. and we do not inherently have spiritual life abiding within us. Jesus is telling us here in our text that he has come to give us something that we are not born into this world with, and he has come to accomplish something that we cannot do for ourselves. Jesus Christ has come to appease the wrath of God. for those who place their faith in him. Paul says it this way in 2 Corinthians 5, for our sake God made Christ to be sin who knew no sin so that in him we might become the righteousness of God in him. This is one of the fundamental differences between religion and biblical Christianity. Religion is about sinful men attempting to take care of their own sinful problems by their sincerity, dedication, good deeds, and sometimes sacrifices. Biblical Christianity, on the other hand, is about Jesus Christ, the perfect, sinless Son of God, suffering on the behalf of guilty sinners so that He might bring them to God. Do you see the difference? Religion is essentially about trying to be good enough when you will never be. Biblical Christianity is about God being good to graciously offer a way of salvation to wicked, vile, helpless sinners. There's a great gulf between the two. As I often say, religion is about man attempting to go to God. Biblical Christianity is about God in love coming to unworthy man. Religion is about works. Biblical Christianity is all about grace. Religion is about man attempting to satisfy God in a way that God never prescribed. Biblical Christianity is about God's son. satisfying God the Father in precisely the way that he prescribed. We have an Old Testament picture of what religion is all about in Adam and Eve's son, Cain. The offering that was offered by Cain was offered to God, but rejected by God because it lacked faith in what God would do. Catch this. You see, Cain thought that any sacrifice offered to God through any manner would be satisfactory. Cain thought he could be religious enough for God all while he was void of true faith. in the coming lamb that was promised in Genesis 3.15. And thus we have the introduction of man-made religion. All religions can be traced back to wicked Cain. Just as Cain sought to worship God through his own way, without the shedding of blood, without an eye on the Lord Jesus Christ. So all religions today seek to worship God through their own unbiblical inventions. Think about it. Where in the Bible do we find sinners being promised a relationship with God by being baptized in a certain church? Where in the Bible do we find God promising to wash away our sins through lighting incense, going to confessional booths, being confirmed, or striving to abide by the Ten Commandments? Where in the Bible do we find anything about nirvana or reincarnation? Where in the Bible do we find anything about fasting during Ramadan or making pilgrimages to Mecca? Where in the Bible do we find anything about a plurality of gods and many ways to heaven? Let me help you out. We don't find anything in the Bible about such things. So the question is, well then, where did such ideas come from? They came from man's sinful imaginations and the devil's temptation to question God's authoritative truth. Do you know what the foundation of all false religion is? Here it is. It ties in with Satan's first question to Eve. Did God really say, did God really say only one way? It sounds something like this. I know God says, but we're gonna do what we wanna do. I know God's word says in Exodus 20, thou shall not have any other gods before me. Thou shall not make unto thee any graven image or any likeness of anything that is in the heaven above or that is in the earth beneath or that is in the water under the earth. But that seems a little too exclusive for people's tastes. People want to be told that they can become God. And so we have religions where others supposedly can become God. Or it sounds like I know God's word says in John 3, 16 that God so loved the world that he gave his only begotten son that whosoever believes in him should not perish but have everlasting life. But we need something more than that. We need to do something to make God save us. I know that God's Word says, Ephesians 2, 8, 9, For by grace are you saved through faith, and that not of yourselves. It is the gift of God, not of works, lest any man should boast. But that doesn't cause people to purchase incense, prayer bracelets, and idols from the store at the front of the Catholic Church. So we have religion. I know God's word says, John 14, 6, that Jesus is the way, the truth, and the life, but we are living in a day where people are easily offended by that. And they really want to coexist. So let's just try to be a little bit more accepting of each other, shall we? If someone came to me and said, I have no interest in the Christian faith because I'm already associated with another religion or simply I'm not interested in organized religion at all, I would want to make sure they rightly understand that biblical Christianity is not a religion. It's a personal, loving relationship with God through the person of Jesus Christ. And correspondingly, I would want them to understand that unlike other religions, biblical Christianity was never created by sinful men. Biblical Christianity has always existed in the mind of God. Did you hear what I just said? I said there was never a point through which Christianity was started by man. You cannot say that with any other religion. Islam was founded by the Prophet Muhammad in the 7th century. Buddhism was founded by a man referred to as Buddha approximately 2,500 years ago. Scientology was founded by L. Ron Hubbard in 1954. Judaism was erroneously misinterpreted by the Jews after the life and death of Abraham. But true Christianity has always been because Jesus always was. Now others want to argue that Christianity began some 2,000 years ago upon the coming of Christ, and I say no. No. Look at the text. Look at the text. Jesus says, I am. Remember Moses' words to God as he was commissioned to lead Israelite out of captivity? Moses asked God, who should I tell the Hebrew people that sent me? And God said, I am that I am. Tell them that the eternal, self-existent, ever-faithful God has sent you. So Jesus says, reaching back, I am that I am. John 8, before Abraham was, I am. I am the bread of life. I am the vine. I am the light of the world. I am the good shepherd. I am the resurrection and the life. I am the gate. I am the way, the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father but by me because I alone have always been. You see? Jesus is demonstrating his divinity here. I am God. What do we say to those who say, I'm not interested in reading the Bible. I'm not interested in going to church. I'm not interested in seeking the Lord in your way because I'm already dedicated to another religion or religious group. The first truth that I would want to emphasize is the truth that biblical Christianity is not a religion invented by men. Biblical Christianity is a personal, loving relationship with God through the Lord Jesus Christ that has always existed in the mind of God. The second truth that I would want to emphasize is the truth that Jesus Christ is the only exclusive way to the Father. He's the only exclusive way to the Father. Look back at the text, beginning in verse one. In response to Peter's question back in verse 36 of chapter 13, Jesus says, verse 1 of chapter 14, let not your heart be troubled. You believe in God, believe also in me. In my Father's house are many mansions. If it were not so, I would have told you. I go and prepare a place for you. And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again and receive you unto myself, that where I am, there you may be also. And whither I go you know, and the way you know. But Thomas scratches his head. Thomas always has doubts. Thomas saith unto him, Lord, we know not whither thou goest, and how can we know the way? Jesus responds by saying, Thomas, you're looking at him. Jesus says, I am the way, Now I don't think I need to convince you of the fact that what Jesus Christ says here is among the most controversial statements in all of Scripture. Look at it carefully. Jesus did not say that He has come to show us a way. Jesus did not say that He has come to teach us a truth. Jesus did not say that he has come to offer us some insight about life. Jesus dogmatically says, I am the way, I am the truth, I am the life. And then he follows up such statements by saying, it is impossible for anyone to go to heaven except through me. Translation? The idea of coexisting doesn't exist in the mind of Jesus Christ. There is none of all this all roads lead to God nonsense. There is none of this as long as you are sincere about what you believe, you can go to heaven. Jesus says he is the only way to God and no one can go to heaven apart from him. Now the age old argument that Christian teachers and evangelists have used over the years still rings true today. Either what Jesus says here is true or it's not. Jesus' claim to be God in the flesh and the exclusive savior of the world can only be interpreted in three different ways. Either he was intentionally lying, either he was mentally unwell, or his claims were true. That's it. Either he is liar, lunatic, or Lord. I mean, a man cannot make such a claim without people responding to it. As one commentator put it, if Jesus is not the only way to God, then he was not an honest man. And if he was not an honest man, then that would make him a false prophet. And if he was a false prophet, then that would mean that he was sent from the devil and not from God. Stay with the logic. If Jesus is not the only way to God, then he is not any way to God. If there are many ways to God, then Jesus is not one of them because he absolutely claimed there was only one way to God and he himself is the way. So here's the catch. All of us in this room, are forced to make a decision about what Jesus Christ has proclaimed. There's no middle ground. You have to accept it or reject it. I use this with Mormons all the time. It's quite fun. As they approach me with their Book of Mormon, as they approach me with their King James Bible, or perhaps I should put it in the backpack, I say, You believe in Jesus Christ, right? Oh, yes. And you believe in the Bible, right? Yes, we have one right here. Then I say, do you believe Jesus is a liar? Oh, no, no, no. We would never say that Jesus is a liar. And then I say, okay, answer me this, John 14, six. In your Bible, Jesus says, I am the way, the truth, and the life. No man goes to the Father except through me. Is he lying? And then usually, oh, well, you know, you see, is he lying? Is he telling the truth or not? The text doesn't say anything about being part of a church. It doesn't say anything about being baptized in a temple. It doesn't say anything about going on missions, trips. It doesn't say anything about the teachings of Joseph Smith. It says, no one comes to the Father except through me. Is he telling the truth or not? And then when they hymn and haw, I say, you don't believe him. And the Bible was written far before Joseph Smith. Sometimes they respond by saying, well then, how do you know? that Jesus is not a liar or lunatic. How can you be so confident that he is actually the only exclusive Lord? And I say, here it is, write this down. Jesus not only proclaimed it, he proved it. Jesus not only declared that he was God, he demonstrated it. He demonstrated it through the fulfillment of prophecies, through His virgin birth, through His perfect life, through His divine miracles, through His humanly undeserved death. He proved it through His glorious resurrection, through the millions upon millions of lives that He has transformed over centuries. He has proved the validity of what He says in John 14, 6. and never has one man influenced the history of the world like Jesus Christ has. Actually, Jesus is the hinge through which history swings upon. People can claim exclusivity all they want, but that means nothing. Jesus Christ made the claim and backed up the claim with proof, after proof, after proof, after proof, after proof, after proof, after proof. You cannot say that with Abraham, Mohammed, Buddha, Joseph Smith, Charles Taze Russell, Mary Baker Eddy, or the Pope. Jesus' claim separates Him from all other people. And this, my friends, is the glorious message of the gospel. Acts 4.12, neither is there salvation in any other, for there is no other name under heaven, whereby we must be saved. For there is one God and one mediator between God and man, the man Christ Jesus. Wherefore he is able to save them to the uttermost that come unto God by him, seeing he ever liveth to make intercession for them. What can we say to those who say, I'm not interested in Christianity because I have my own religion? We can say first, biblical Christianity is not a religion. It's a personal, loving relationship with God through the Lord Jesus Christ. We can say second, that Jesus Christ is the only exclusive way to the Father. There are not many gods. There is only one God. There are not many ways. There is only one way. And Jesus is that way. And then third, we can say that what you need more than anything else in life is the Lord and not more religion. This is the conclusion of it all. The third and final truth that I would want to etch on the minds of those who say, no, thank you, I have my own religious beliefs. After explaining what I've explained thus far, I would want to plead with them to seek after the Lord with all of their heart, more than striving to be more moral and religious. Because morality and religion will lead people to hell. We need to tell others that what they need is a savior and not religion. I don't care if they're religious Buddhists, Hindus, Catholics, Presbyterian, or Bible-believing Baptists who go to church every Sunday. Tell them that their greatest need in this life is someone outside of themselves who can bring them to God. They need a shepherd who can lead them to God and Jesus is the good shepherd. They need a deliverer who can deliver them out of the errors of their ways and show them the truth. Jesus is the truth. They need a life giving physician who can heal their heart and give spiritual life to their spiritually dead soul. And Jesus is the resurrection and the life. He is the great physician. If all have sinned and fallen short of the glory of God, if there's not a just man on earth who does good and sins not, if the wages of sin is eternal condemnation, if after death the judgment, then we need something more than more prayers, more church, more Bible, more trips to Mecca, and more fasting. We need someone to save us from the wrath to come. And Jesus is the Savior. Romans chapter five. Therefore, being justified by faith, we can have peace with God through the Lord Jesus Christ. Romans 5.8, but God commendeth his love towards us in that while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us. Christ died the death that we deserve. Romans 5.9, much more than being now justified by his blood, we can be saved from wrath through him. Listen to Jesus' invitation in Matthew 11, 28 through 30. Jesus says, come unto me, all you who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you and learn of me for I am meek and lowly in heart and ye shall find rest unto your souls for my yoke is easy and my burden is light. Take that invitation and plug it into the religious society of Israel in the day. The Jews and the Pharisees and the scribes doing their best to be religious, to merit eternal life. Jesus says, what you need is not more religion. What you need is me. Jesus does not say come and be more religious. Jesus does not say, clean up your life. Jesus does not say, read your Bible, pray, go to church so that you will enter into the kingdom of heaven. He says, come unto me and I will give you rest. How ironic that some religious people who strive to be more religious only find themselves in more turmoil. They don't find more rest, they find less rest. because they know in the depths of their heart it's not enough. It doesn't atone for sin. Jesus says, come unto me and I will give you rest. Come unto me and you will find rest for your soul. The invitation is for weary religious worshipers. doing all that they can to be good enough for God. They're doing their best like the rich young ruler, trying to abide by the Ten Commandments and falling up short time and time again. The invitation is to stop trying and to start resting in Christ. The invitation is to look to the cross and see the penitent thief who was promised heaven. Was he religious? No. He was simply repentant. Godly sorrow worked repentance to salvation. He believed that he was a sinner in need of a great savior, and he believed that the man next to him was that savior. The penitent thief on the cross, believed that what Jesus was doing at that moment was sufficient to save his soul. This is the answer to the question about how we can know God, how we can get to heaven, and how we can have our sins forgiven. We don't need to be more religious. We need Jesus Christ. We need to be born again. We need God to do for us what we cannot do ourselves. We need to believe that Jesus Christ alone has the power to bring us to the Father. We need to believe that Jesus died and was buried and rose again for us personally. We need to receive God's gift of grace. We need to cast all hopes of trying to save ourselves aside, and we need to be like the publican in Luke 18 who cries, Lord, be merciful to me, the sinner, the sinner of all sinners. God, be propitious. Offer a blood sacrifice so I can be reconciled with the Father. This is why Christ willingly laid down his life on Calvary's cross. He laid down his life to bring us to God. As he hung in between earth and heaven, he shows us that there is a way. Religion is like a ladder that attempts to get to God, and we only come up short. But the God-man hung between heaven and earth to show Only He is the way. My question to you this morning is, as always, do you know Jesus Christ as the only exclusive Savior? Are you trusting in Jesus Christ as the only means of your salvation? Has He enlightened your heart regarding who He is? Has He given you spiritual life? And if not, if not, The good news of the gospel is, today is the day of salvation. Now is the accepted time. Repent and believe before it is too late. And Christ promises that all who turn to Him in repentance and faith, all who turn to Him for salvation, all who desire rest and look to the cross, Jesus says, I in no wise will cast you out. just as the prodigal son's father was waiting for the son, so God is in heaven waiting for those sheep who have gone astray who will turn back to him and be restored.