Sermon for 10.24.21
Text: John 14:1-6
Theme: Christ Alone
• *In the Name of the Father…Amen.*
• *The text for our consideration this morning comes from the
Gospel of John, chapter 14:1-6, which reads as follows:*
(1) “Let not your hearts be troubled. Believe in God; believe also in me.
(2) In my Father’s house are many rooms. If it were not so, would I have
told you that I go to prepare a place for you? (3) And if I go and prepare
a place for you, I will come again and will take you to myself, that where
I am you may be also. (4) And you know the way to where I am going.” (5)
Thomas said to him, “Lord, we do not know where you are going. How can we
know the way?” (6) Jesus said to him, “I am the way, and the truth, and
the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.
• *This is the Word of the Lord. Thanks be to God. Amen.*
• *Introduction*
• *Dear brothers and sisters in Christ, let us pray:*
• In Christ alone my hope is found,
He is my light, my strength, my song;
This Cornerstone, this solid Ground,
Firm through the fiercest drought and storm.
What heights of love, what depths of peace,
When fears are stilled, when strivings cease!
My Comforter, my All in All,
Here in the love of Christ I stand.
• In Christ alone! – who took on flesh,
Fullness of God in helpless babe.
This gift of love and righteousness,
Scorned by the ones He came to save:
Till on that cross as Jesus died,
The wrath of God was satisfied –
For every sin on Him was laid;
Here in the death of Christ I live.
• *Introduction*
• *An American pilot was flying over Burma when his plane
began to break down. (This was back when Myanmar was still called Burma.)*
• The pilot had to bail out of his plane and parachute
down.
• He managed to land safe and sound in the jungle far
from civilization.
• A native Burmese man found the pilot there, lost in
the jungle.
• The Burmese man was cutting a crude road through the
brush with a machete.
• The pilot, now desperate, yelled, “How can I find the
way out of here?”
• The Burmese man, in his poor English, answered, “I am
way. Just follow me and you will be safe.”
• *Introduction*
*B. There are many people and many philosophies in this world that
represent themselves as the truth and the way for those who are lost and
confused.*
• However, according to Jesus there is only one way and
only one truth.
• Only through Jesus can we reach the true God.
*I. **Christ Alone is Our Savior *
• *Today many people believe that all roads lead to Rome
and all religions lead to the same God in the end. *
• Regrettably, they are dead wrong.
• The city of Rome is south of the city of Venice.
• If you are in Venice and get on the highway heading
north, you are never going to reach Rome.
• It just isn’t true that all roads lead to Rome.
• *I. Christ Alone is Our Savior *
*B. It is also not true that all religions lead to the same God.*
• There are many “alternate routes” that will get you to
hell, but there is only one road to get to the true God.
• Jesus said, *“I am the way and the truth and the life.
No one comes to the Father except through me.” (John 14:6, NIV) *
• He also said, *“Enter through the narrow gate. For
wide is the gate and broad is the road that leads to destruction, and many
enter through it. But small is the gate and narrow the road that leads to
life, and only a few find it.” (Matthew 7:13-14, NIV)*
• *I. Christ Alone is Our Savior *
Brothers and sisters in Christ, any person with a working brain can see
that the different religions take you to a destination that is far from the
true God.
• Some religions – like the Hindus – believe that many
“gods” exist.
• Other religions – like some Buddhists – believe in a
cosmic, impersonal force that guides things.
• Still other religions – like the Muslims – believe in
one god, but it is not the God of the Bible.
• It is not the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, the God who
has saved us.
• *I. Christ Alone is Our Savior *
• So there are plenty of false roads and wrong turns, but
only one way to get to the God who is real.
• *As Deuteronomy 4 says: Acknowledge and take to heart
this day that the Lord is God in heaven above and on the earth below. There
is no other. (verse 39, NIV) *
• Out of the 10 Commandments, the first is: You shall
have no other gods.
• *I. Christ Alone is Our Savior *
• Anyone who bothers to read the Bible will see that God
is a jealous God.
• The Lord hates it when people worship false gods.
• In ancient times, God got very angry with the
Israelites when they fell into worshiping idols, false gods.
• Why should we think that idolatry is all right today?
• *I. Christ Alone is Our Savior *
• There is just one God and one way to God.
• Jesus is the only route to God because he is the only
one who has saved us.
• Jesus said to his disciples in our sermon text for
this morning: “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.” (John 14:1-3, NIV)
• *I. Christ Alone is Our Savior *
• Jesus has reserved a place in heaven for us.
• You should know that almost all the different religions
accept that a person should do what is right.
• Almost all the religions have laws that you should
keep.
• Every human being has a natural sense of what is right
and what is wrong.
• *I. Christ Alone is Our Savior *
• The problem is that we repeatedly fail to keep God’s
laws.
• We stumble a lot.
• And if we haven’t done what is right, then we’re
stuck.
• Almost all the different religions try to get out of
this problem by assuring their followers that they aren’t all that bad, or
by telling them that if they do this or that, they can pay for their
wrongdoing.
• For example, the Muslims have to keep the “5 pillars”
of Islam,
• the Jews have to keep the rules of the Talmud,
• every group has its requirements.
• But none of them can truly obtain real forgiveness.
• *I. Christ Alone is Our Savior *
• By contrast, Jesus has prepared for us a place in his
Father’s house, a place that we do not deserve.
• Jesus prepared for us a place in heaven, because he
took our place here on earth.
• In our place, Jesus lived a perfect life. In our place,
Jesus died to pay for our sins.
• Mohammed did not die for our sins.
• Neither did the Buddha. Neither did Krishna or anyone
else.
• Jesus said: Believe in me… I am going there to prepare
a place for you.
• For those who are trusting in Jesus, God has erased our
sins!
• *II. Christ Alone Deserves Our Heart*
• Now, if Christ alone saves us, it is logical that
Christ alone deserves our loyalty, our heart.
• We trust in him alone.
• Unfortunately it doesn’t always work that way.
• Even if we avoid all the false gods, all too often we
trust in ourselves, at least a little.
• *II. Christ Alone Deserves Our Heart*
• For example, when we go to a funeral, many times we
comfort ourselves by affirming: “He or she was such a good person,” as if
we can know that they are in heaven because of his behavior.
• Instead, we should comfort ourselves with the words of
Jesus, who said: “I am going there to prepare a place for you.”
• It is because of Jesus that we have the assurance of
eternal life.
• When are we going to stop trusting in our own goodness
and trust in Jesus alone?
• *II. Christ Alone Deserves Our Heart*
• The Bible says that all of us are sinners.
• And yet so often we try to justify ourselves instead of
admitting to what we have done wrong.
• We think that our sins aren’t “that” bad.
• At least we are better than lots of other people.
• We’ve done more good than bad.
• *II. Christ Alone Deserves Our Heart*
• These are just excuses.
• All of us have done wrong and we need to admit it, not
justify it.
• We need to say, “Lord, I’m a sinner and what I have
done makes me ashamed.
• Forgive me.” And because of Jesus, because of Jesus
alone, God does forgive us.
• *II. Christ Alone Deserves Our Heart*
• Today, Jesus is speaking to us in this Bible passage.
• These words from John 14 were not just for Peter and
the other apostles.
• They are for us too.
• Jesus is encouraging us, because in spite of all of our
sins, he has prepared a place for us with the Father.
• He is the way, the truth, and the life.
• When we think about Jesus’ words, the wrong roads don’t
seem so attractive anymore.
• *II. Christ Alone Deserves Our Heart*
• None of the non-Christian religions can save us,
because they don’t have Jesus.
• About 30 years ago, there was a big problem that Africa
was having with malaria medicine.
• The medicine itself was effective.
• However, there was too much fraud.
• *II. Christ Alone Deserves Our Heart*
• Some pharmaceutical companies in Africa did not bother
much with quality control.
• The medicine that they produced didn’t have the right
dosage to beat the malaria.
• Even worse, some people were putting that weak medicine
in bottles with false labels, claiming to be from other companies with good
reputations.
• For that reason, the article warned people traveling to
Africa to buy their malaria medicine in the U.S., not in Africa itself.
• *II. Christ Alone Deserves Our Heart*
• Well, Jesus is the “medicine” for our sins.
• That medicine saves lives – eternally.
• Too bad there is so much fraud.
• There are many religions that “sell” a fraudulent
medicine that doesn’t work.
• They use God’s name but they don’t have Jesus.
• *II. Christ Alone Deserves Our Heart*
• 1 John 4 says that if someone doesn’t acknowledge
Jesus, their spirit is not from God.
• In the same way, if we try to “medicate ourselves” by
trusting in our own good behavior, we won’t get anywhere.
• Only Jesus is the Savior.
• Jesus is the only way to heaven.
• *Conclusion*
• In the end, there are many roads – and many religions –
around us.
• But that doesn’t mean that they all lead us to God.
• Instead of blindly following the broad road that leads
to destruction, let’s pay attention to God’s GPS, his Word, and trust in
Jesus.
• Because only Jesus saves. Amen.
• Let us pray:
• *Prayer*
• There in the ground His body lay,
Light of the world by darkness slain:
Then bursting forth in glorious day
Up from the grave He rose again!
And as He stands in victory
Sin’s curse has lost its grip on me,
For I am His and He is mine –
Bought with the precious blood of Christ.
• *Prayer*
B. No guilt in life, no fear in death,
This is the power of Christ in me;
From life’s first cry to final breath,
Jesus commands my destiny.
No power of hell, no scheme of man,
Can ever pluck me from His hand:
Till He returns or calls me home,
Here in the power of Christ I’ll stand.
• *Prayer*
• *2 Corinthians 13:14 The grace of the Lord Jesus
Christ and the love of God and the fellowship of the Holy Spirit be with
you all.*
• *The peace of God, which passes all understanding, keep
your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus. Amen. *
• *In the Name of the Father…Amen.*