Walk the Way, Tell the Truth, Live the Life
—Words of Jesus
If you, or anyone else, wants to come to the Father to have his blessing, be reconciled to him, and escape his wrath, you can do it. However, there is only one way —Jesus.
"I am the Way, the Truth, and the Life. No one comes to the Father except through Me" (John 14:6).
1 Walk the Way
Paul says this about Jesus: "He came and preached peace to you who were far away and peace to those who were near. For through Him we both have access to the Father by one Spirit" (Ephesians 2:17-18).
Only Through Jesus
Gaining access to the heavenly Father is not possible any other way. That's because, having suffered and died on the cross, "He has by one offering perfected forever those who are being sanctified" (Hebrews 10:14).
It's impossible to be sanctified (made holy) by anyone but Jesus, because only he was worthy to offer himself as the one valid sacrifice for the sins of the whole world, the one sacrifice that the Father would accept.
Not Without Obedience
Since Jesus is the only one whose sacrifice is valid, he is the only one who can be the way to everlasting life. It follows that he is the only one who can truly say what we must do to walk faithfully in that way.
Jesus said, "If you love me, keep my commands" (John 14:15). Jesus implies that we don't love him if we won't keep his commandments.
Here, for example, are some of his commandments...
- HEAR AND DO ¶ "Therefore everyone who hears these words of Mine and does them, is like a wise man who built his house on the rock" (Matthew 7:24).
- DENY YOURSELF "Then He said to them all, 'If anyone desires to come after Me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross daily, and follow Me.'" (Luke 9:23 NKJV)
- KEEP ON PRAYING ¶ "Now He told them a parable to show that they ought to keep praying often and not be discouraged," (Luke 18:1)
- SHINE YOUR LIGHT ¶ "Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works and glorify your Father in heaven." (Matthew 5:16 NKJV).
- AVOID SEXUAL IMMORALITY ¶ "Whoever looks on a woman to lust after her has committed adultery with her already in his heart." (Matthew 5:28).
- DO GOOD QUIETLY ¶ "When you give to someone in need, don’t let your left hand know what your right hand is doing. Let your charitable deed be done in secret; and your Father who sees in secret will Himself reward you openly" (Matthew 6:1-4).
- LOVE ONE ANOTHER "A new commandment I give to you, that you love one another; as I have loved you, that you also love one another" (John 13:34 NKJV).
- WORSHIP IN SPIRIT AND TRUTH ¶ "Those who worship God must worship him in Spirit and in truth" (John 4:23-24).
Those are just a few examples of how Jesus commands us to walk in his Way. Next we look at a few examples of his commandments that show what is involved in speaking the Truth...
2 Tell the Truth
- BELIEVE THE SCRIPTURES ¶ "You search the Scriptures, for in them you think you have eternal life. Well these very scriptures testify of Me." (John 5:39).
- BOLDLY SPEAK HIS WORDS ¶ "For whoever is ashamed of Me and My words, the Son of Man will be ashamed of him when He comes in His glory..." (Luke 9:26).
- CALL BELIEVERS TO REPENTANCE ¶ "The men of Nineveh will stand at the judgment with this generation and condemn it; for they repented at the preaching of Jonah, and now One greater than Jonah is here" (Matthew 12:41).
- CALL BELIEVERS TO CONFESS CHRIST ¶ "I tell you, everyone who confesses Me before men, the Son of Man will also confess him before the angels of God... I also will acknowledge him before my Father who is in heaven" (Luke 12:8, Matthew 10:32).
- CALL BELIEVERS TO BAPTISM ¶ "He who believes and is baptized will be saved; but he who does not believe will be condemned" (Mark 16:16).
- PURIFY YOUR HEART ¶ "The mouth speaks what the heart is full of... The words that come out of the mouth come from the heart, and these things defile a man" (Matthew 12:34, 15:18).
- OPPOSE FALSE PROPHETS ¶ "Watch out for false prophets. They come to you in sheep's clothing, but beneath that disguise they are ravenous wolves..." (Matthew 7:15).
Those are just a few examples of how Jesus commands us to tell the Truth. Next we look at a few examples of his commandments that show what is involved in being born again so that we might live the Life that is in Jesus...
3 Live the Life
- BE BORN AGAIN ¶ "Unless a man is born again...of water and the Spirit he cannot see the kingdom of God" (John 3:1-7).
- RECEIVE LIFE ETERNAL ¶ "God so loved the world that he gave his only begotten Son that whoever believes in him should not perish but have everlasting life" (John 3:16).
- RECEIVE FORGIVENESS OF SINS "And He told them, 'This is what is written: The Christ will suffer and rise from the dead on the third day, and in His name repentance and forgiveness of sins will be proclaimed to all nations, beginning in Jerusalem'" (Luke 24:46-47 BSB).
- RECEIVE THE HOLY SPIRIT ¶ "On the last and great day of the feast, Jesus stood up and called out with a loud voice, 'If anyone is thirsty, let him come to Me and drink. Whoever believes in Me, as the Scripture has said, streams of living water will flow from within him. Jesus was speaking about the Spirit, whom believers in Him were about to receive. (The Spirit had not yet been given because Jesus was not yet glorified)" (John 7:37-39).
- BE REDEEMED ¶ "The Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many" (Mark 10:45).
Those are just a few examples of how Jesus commands us to be born again so that we might live the Life that is in Jesus.
What must we do to be redeemed and born again? Among the commands above, you will find these: believe, repent, confess Christ, be baptised. They are the basic steps one must take to become a Christian.