May 3, 2026

“I Am the Way”

Message by Rev. Alan Perkins

Good morning! We continue today our celebration of the Easter season, the seven weeks between Resurrection Sunday and Pentecost Sunday. During this time, we focus on our risen Savior, Jesus Christ, and we reflect on what his victory over death means to us as his followers. Last week, we looked at one of Jesus’ promises, that he would give us rest for our souls. Not merely by giving us knowledge, or a new set of religious practices, but by giving us himself. And we saw that the resurrection proves he is able to deliver on that promise. In fact, Jesus is able to fulfill all of God’s promises. Because rising from the dead showed that he is no ordinary man, but that he is the Son of God, and is himself God, the second member of the Trinity. Paul writes this in the introduction to Romans: 

“Paul, a servant of Christ Jesus, called to be an apostle and set apart for the gospel of God—2 the gospel . . . 3 regarding his Son, who as to his earthly life was a descendant of David, 4 and who through the Spirit of holiness was appointed the Son of God in power by his resurrection from the dead: Jesus Christ our Lord.” (Romans 1:1-4)

This morning, we will be considering another implication of the resurrection. Last week, we heard what Jesus could do for us. And this week, we are going to see who he is for us—what the resurrection event tells us about his identity as the Son of God. Our text will be from the gospel of John, chapter 14. To set the stage: on the night that Jesus was going to be betrayed and arrested, he was eating a meal together with his disciples, the Last Supper. Prior to this, Jesus had washed the disciples’ feet. He predicted that Judas would betray him, and that Peter would deny him.  He gave them the sorrowful news that he would soon be leaving them. But then he comforted them, by promising that he would return and gather them to himself. Here is what he said:

“Do not let your hearts be troubled. You believe in God; believe also in me.2 My Father’s house has many rooms; if that were not so, would I have told you that I am going there to prepare a place for you? 3 And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come back and take you to be with me that you also may be where I am. 4 You know the way to the place where I am going.”

5 Thomas said to him, “Lord, we don’t know where you are going, so how can we know the way?” 6 Jesus answered, “I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me. 7 If you really know me, you will know my Father as well. From now on, you do know him and have seen him.” (John 14:1-7)

Our focus will be on verse 6: “I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.” Jesus is making an amazingly arrogant statement here.
Or it would be, if he were only a man. Because he is not merely claiming to be able to show them the way to God. He is not stating only that he can reveal the truth to them. And he is not promising to lead them into life. Those are things that any teacher or spiritual leader could claim. But no, he is stating that he actually is all of those things, himself. That he ”is” the way to God. He “is” the truth. He “is” the life. How can he make those kinds of claims? I’ll quote the boxer Muhammed Ali, who was questioned about his claim to be the greatest boxer who ever lived, and who replied “It’s not bragging if you can back it up”. Jesus isn’t bragging here; he’s simply stating the truth. Because of who he is: the Son of God.

Some people accuse Christians of arrogance for making the claim that Christ is the only way to God. But note the prepositions here. Jesus doesn’t say, I am A way, or A truth, or A life. He says, “I am THE way and THE truth and THE life”. And then, just to make sure there is no confusion, he adds, “No one comes to the Father except through me.” There is only one way to God, and that is through Jesus Christ. There is no other path to God. This is the offense of the gospel. The offense of the gospel is not that we claim Jesus is God, or that we say his teachings are true, or even that we view him as a savior. Many people would have no objection to those kinds of statements. But when we say that Jesus is the only way to God, and that therefore all other so-called paths to God are dead ends; when we say that any other religion, or philosophy, or creed that contradicts the Bible is false and in error; or when we say that only Jesus is to be worshipped, and that all other gods are false idols that lead men astray—it is when we do those things that people take offense. Statements like that are what provoke resistance, and opposition, and persecution. 

For example, many people think that Christians in the first centuries after Christ were persecuted for following Christ. But that’s not really the case. They weren’t persecuted because they worshipped Christ, but because they refused to worship anyone else. They refused to participate in the Roman civic religion and bow down to Caesar as lord. And so they were considered to be disloyal, unpatriotic, and even traitors to the state. When Romans emperors died, they became part of the pantheon of Roman gods, along with Jupiter, and Neptune, and Mars, and Venus. There were over 200 gods and goddesses, who were worshiped in temples and altars throughout the empire. Sacrifices were offered to them. Vows were taken. Festivals and banquets were held to honor them. Many homes would have a small statue of the emperor, along with statues of their other gods. And they took this all very seriously. Because Roman religion wasn’t simply a matter of personal piety; it was intertwined with the authority and functioning of the state. Something that Baptists tend to regard as a bad idea, by the way. 

Remember what happened to the apostle Paul when he preached about Christ in Ephesus. A silversmith named Demetrius was concerned about the threat which the gospel posed to his business, which was making little silver shrines to the local goddess, Artemis. And so he gathered together all the craftsmen, and he gave this speech:

“You know, my friends, that we receive a good income from this business. 26 And you see and hear how this fellow Paul has convinced and led astray large numbers of people here in Ephesus and in practically the whole province of Asia. He says that gods made by human hands are no gods at all. 27 There is danger not only that our trade will lose its good name, but also that the temple of the great goddess Artemis will be discredited; and the goddess herself, who is worshiped throughout the province of Asia and the world, will be robbed of her divine majesty.” 28 When they heard this, they were furious and began shouting: “Great is Artemis of the Ephesians!” 29 Soon the whole city was in an uproar. (Acts 19:25-29)

And so Demetrius wasn’t objecting to Paul preaching Christ as God. He objected to the fact that Paul was saying other “gods" weren’t really gods at all.  That incident showed how angry people get when you start saying that their gods are false idols, and that only Jesus Christ is Lord. But that is exactly what the early Christians did. They refused to offer sacrifices to the emperor, or to any of the Roman gods. 

You can imagine how this affected their social relationships, when the local temple to Artemis, or Venus, or Apollo, was the center of community life. You see, the temple, in ancient times, was where you went to offer sacrifices before a wedding. It was where you registered your son when he came of age.  Often, the community festivals, and theatrical performances, and athletic events were connected with the local pagan temple. And so the Christians’ refusal to honor the Roman gods made them social outcasts. Not only that, but they were considered a threat to the community, because they did not worship the gods whom everyone else prayed to for blessing and protection. For example, the Romans might appeal to Saturn or Ceres, the gods of sowing and reaping, for a good harvest. Those in communities along the coast would sacrifice to Neptune for protection from storms and shipwrecks as their men went out to sea. Jupiter was believed to control the weather, and so towns and villages would appeal to him for rain, or to protect them from hail or lightning. And anyone who refused to participate in these sacrifice was thought to be actually endangering the community, because they were provoking the gods. 

We don’t share that same risk today, because we live in a society that was shaped by the Christian faith. Although Christians who take their faith seriously, and who choose not to participate in social activities or community events which dishonor Christ may find that they become estranged from their former friends. But we do have a slightly different, and uniquely American risk, one that is related to our core democratic beliefs and our bill of rights. Here’s what I mean. In America, we believe that all men are created equal. That’s in the Declaration of Independence. The Bill of Rights, the first ten amendments to the U.S. Constitution, recognizes individual rights, such as the right to free speech and a free press, and the right to worship freely. And it grants to every adult person, with some exceptions, the right to vote and to have a say in who represents us in government. 

But over time, these ideas, that everyone is equal, and everyone has a say, and everyone has a vote, and everyone can worship as they please, have become transformed into thinking that all beliefs are equal, and have equal validity. And so it’s considered almost a violation of democratic principles to tell someone that their beliefs are wrong, especially their beliefs about religion. At the very least, it’s considered rude, and bad manners, to do so. Because we’re supposed to respect one another’s beliefs, and not tell them they are headed down the wrong road, even when they are. And if we do tell them that, they will likely respond with some version of: “Well, you know, that’s just like your opinion, man.” 

Because most people today assume that religions is simply a matter of personal preference; that all religions are basically the same, and that all religions lead to God, or to the same spiritual reality, just by different paths. They emphasize the common factors between religions, such as the similarities in their moral codes. The problem with this assumption is that it ignores the fundamental differences between religions. For example, Christianity believes in a single, Trinitarian God of Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. We’ll be studying that doctrine four weeks from now. But other religions embrace polytheism—multiple gods—while still others, like Buddhism, reject the idea of a deity altogether. Those belief systems simply aren’t compatible. 

And you can take virtually any topic; for example, how the world came into existence, or the value of human life, or the question of life after death, and different religions will give you very different answers. Because the ways that mankind has come up with over the centuries to make sense of the universe, apart from the revelation of God, vary tremendously from one another. And so, for example, a Buddhist, and an Aztec, and a Viking would find very little to agree on from a religious perspective. Nevertheless, many people do hold this superficial view that all religions are basically the same. 

And so, for all of these reasons, whenever Christians proclaim the uniqueness of Jesus Christ as Savior, whenever we proclaim that salvation is to be found only in him, and in no other, we are going against the grain. That was true in ancient Rome, and it’s true in 21st-century America. And because of that pressure to compromise our witness, I want to make sure that that we are all very clear on this point. There is no other savior than Jesus Christ. There is no other way to God. And so all who live and die apart from Christ are lost. Whether they are religious in their own way; whether they are pious and observant according to the beliefs and practices of their religion; whether they are “spiritual”, or moral, or people of good character: whatever their virtues might be, whatever religion, or philosophy, or personal code they might be observing—if they are not in Christ; if they do not have faith in Christ, they are lost. Because he is not “a” way to God—he is not one way among many—he is “the” way to God. 

To some people, that sounds harsh. Rather than focusing on the wonderful news that there is a way to know God and to be forgiven of our sins, they focus on the fact that not everyone finds it. And so there have been attempts to finesse, or to soften the offense of the gospel,
by leaving open the possibility that those who do not know or have faith in Christ might still be saved “through” him somehow, even though the follow a different religion or worship a different god. But the Scriptures do not leave us that option. Because in Acts, when Peter is speaking before the Jewish ruling council, he said this:

11 Jesus is “‘the stone you builders rejected, which has become the cornerstone.’ 12 Salvation is found in no one else, for there is no other name under heaven given to mankind by which we must be saved.” (Acts 4:11)

There is no other name under heaven by which we must be saved. No other name. Not Jupiter, or Zeus, or Odin. Not Confucius, or Buddha, or Mohammed. Not L. Ron Hubbard, or Mary Baker Eddy. There is no other name but the name of Jesus Christ by which we must be saved. In other words, everyone needs to know about Jesus, a specific person who lived in first-century Israel, who was born of a virgin, who taught, and performed miracles, and healed the sick, who was crucified and buried, and who rose again to life, in order to be saved. Because what Jesus did to save us cannot be separated from who he was, and is; salvation through Christ cannot be separated from his identity, his person, and his name. 

I know that some of you may be reluctant to embrace this, so let me give you one more piece of evidence. It comes from Paul’s letter to the Romans:

“Everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved.” 14 How, then, can they call on the one they have not believed in? And how can they believe in the one of whom they have not heard? And how can they hear without someone preaching to them? (Romans 10:13-14)

The implied answer to each one of Paul’s rhetorical questions is the same: “They can’t.” How, then, can they call on the one they have not believed in? They can’t. How can they believe in the one of whom they have not heard? They can’t. How can they hear without someone preaching to them? They can’t. What Paul is saying is that in order to be saved, people must call on the name of the Lord Jesus. And in order to that, they must believe in him, which means they must first hear of him. And so someone must be sent to tell them. 

If this sounds very narrow and limiting to you, you’re right, it is. In fact, Jesus referred to it in that way himself. 

13 “Enter through the narrow gate. For wide is the gate and broad is the road that leads to destruction, and many enter through it. 14 But small is the gate and narrow the road that leads to life, and only a few find it.” (Matthew 7:13-14)

The gate that leads to life is small and narrow. And what is that gate? The gate is Jesus.

“9 I am the gate; whoever enters through me will be saved. They will come in and go out, and find pasture.” (John 10:9) 

Jesus is the narrow gate. He is the narrow road. Following him leads to life. Following any other road, trying to enter heaven by any other gate, any other religion, any other philosophy, any other ideology, or by any other means whatsoever, including a so-called “good” life, will only lead to destruction. If the salvation that Jesus purchased for us by his blood could be applied to those who followed other paths, then you could enter heaven by many other gates, however they were labelled. But you cannot. There is only one narrow gate to eternal life, and that is Jesus Christ.

Now, perhaps you will object that this seems inconsistent with what we know of God’s character, because God loves variety. We can see this in the natural world that he created. A few weeks ago, I gave you some examples of this: that God created 37,000 different species of fish and over 400,000 species of beetles. And this time of year we are treated to an infinite variety of flowers and flowering plants: roses, tulips, daffodils, lilies, bluebells, irises, petunias, marigolds. A British novelist, Iris Murdoch, once wrote that “People from a planet without flowers would think we must be mad with joy the whole time to have such things about us.” And so why would a God who evidently glories in diversity ordain that there should be only one path to heaven? Why not a hundred paths, or a thousand, or ten thousand? 

But it had to be this way, and here’s why. There is a great gulf separating God from mankind, a chasm that was created by sin. And only someone who is both God and man; only someone who unites within himself both full deity and full humanity, could overcome that divide and reconcile the two. And the only person who meets that criteria is Jesus Christ. He alone is both God and man, and so he alone can reconcile us to God. As the apostle Paul wrote to Timothy,

“5 For there is one God and one mediator between God and mankind, the man Christ Jesus, 6 who gave himself as a ransom for all people.” (1 Timothy2:4-5)

There is only one God. And therefore, only the One who is both God and man could serve as a mediator between the two. And this is what Jesus did when he gave his life to ransom us, to pay for our sins. He became the sole mediator between God and man. 

Let me pause here just to acknowledge the emotional weight of this doctrine. This isn’t just an intellectual exercise or a theological debate; we are talking about real people, billions of people all over the world, including people we know and care for, who according to what the Bible teaches, will be lost if they do not know Christ. And so I have two applications to make. I’ll speak first to anyone here who has not yet placed their faith in Christ. What this means to you is that you must trust in Christ in order to be saved. Full stop. In order to be forgiven of your sins; in order to escape the wrath and judgment of God; in order to receive eternal life, you must put your faith in Christ. Nothing else will satisfy God’s justice. There is no other path: there is no other religion, or philosophy, or way of life, that will close the gap between you and God. Only Christ can bridge that gap, and you must place your faith in him. He died to pay for your sins. Accept his offer of forgiveness and trust in him today. 

And second, for those who have trusted in Christ: the uniqueness of Christ and the exclusiveness of the Christian gospel means that evangelism and missions are absolutely essential. Everyone needs to be told. We cannot rest in the hope that somehow, if people don’t hear the gospel, they will be saved by some other means; that God will accept their sincerity and piety in following some other religion, or that he will accept their innate goodness, or their spirituality, as sufficient to grant them salvation. We have no Biblical basis for such a hope. And so we must commit ourselves to sharing the gospel with the lost, to praying for them, and also to sending missionaries into every nation, and people, and language, and tribe, to tell them about this Savior, whose name is Jesus Christ. Because there is no other name but the name of Jesus Christ by which they must be saved. 

Think about it: if people could be saved without hearing of Jesus Christ, why would missionaries uproot their lives and travel thousands of miles to go live in foreign cultures, leaving behind everything they know and love, in order to go to people who may not welcome them? Why would they risk rejection, or hardship, or persecution, or worse,
in order to share the gospel? Why embed yourself in a tribal community and spend years laboring to learn their language so that you can translate the Scriptures into their native tongue? Why not remain comfortably at home and trust that their sincerity in their own religion will be sufficient? And the answer is because it won’t be sufficient. And so when missionaries go into dangerous areas of the world to proclaim Christ, to risk or even lose their lives as a consequence of their witness, they are doing something that matters.

I’ll give you an example. Adoniram Judson, one of the founders of our American Baptist denomination, believed this, and because of that belief, he went to Burma in 1812 with his wife, Ann. It took him three years, studying twelve hours a day, to learn to speak the language. It was seven years before he had his first convert. After ten years, there were only 18. His work was opposed by the government, and he was arrested and held in prison for a year and a half. During that time he suffered deprivation and torture. All in all, he spent 37 years laboring among the Burmese people, with only one trip home to America. But he never questioned the importance or necessity of his work. He knew that without the gospel, the Burmese people would be lost. And by the time he died at the age of 61, there were 100 Christian churches in Burma, about 8,000 believers. Missions are essential. 

One final application in closing. If Jesus is the way, the truth, and the life, and if we care about life, then we should make it our goal to stay close to Christ and to walk with him every day. Because it is only by knowing Christ and staying in fellowship with him that we can have life in all of its fullness. And by contrast, we need to remember that anything which leads us away from Christ, no matter how appealing it seems, is leading us away from true life. Anything the world offers us which conflicts with following Christ is only a pale imitation of life. Jesus said, “I came that they may have life and have it abundantly.” (John 10:10, ESV) And so I’ll conclude with that. Do you want a full, abundant life? Full and abundant as God intended, and not the imitation that the world offers? Do you desire, as Henry David Thoreau wrote in Walden, “to live deep and suck out all the marrow of life”? Then start with Christ, because he is life. He gave us life; he sustains our life; and he is our life. And so the more we know of Christ, in our understanding and in our experience, the more we will know true life. Because he is “the” way, he is “the” truth, and he is “the” life. He is everything, and he is everything for us; he is the alpha and omega, the beginning and the end. Amen. 

The First Baptist Church of Richwood - May 3, 2026