{"id":320,"date":"2011-09-25T07:00:00","date_gmt":"2011-09-25T12:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.hanoverbaptistchurch.org\/blogpastor\/2011\/what-does-the-bible-say-about-only-one-way-to-eternal-life\/"},"modified":"2011-09-25T07:00:00","modified_gmt":"2011-09-25T12:00:00","slug":"what-does-the-bible-say-about-only-one-way-to-eternal-life","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.hanoverbaptistchurch.org\/blogpastor\/2011\/what-does-the-bible-say-about-only-one-way-to-eternal-life\/","title":{"rendered":"What does the Bible say about only one Way to eternal life?"},"content":{"rendered":"
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And this is the testimony; that God has given us eternal life, and this life is in His Son. He who has the Son has life; he who does not have the Son of God does not have life. (1 John 5:11–12—NKJV)<\/cite> <\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n

Just like a notice from your bank that your account is overdrawn, some facts in life demand a response and are ignored to our peril. This passage declares one such fact that will not be ignored nor remain silent: Jesus Christ is the only way to eternal life and there is no other way, for all other ways are false. <\/p>\n

We are living in an increasingly relativistic society. Our society is casting off every mooring and is adrift in dangerous, uncharted waters. All the familiar navigable stars from ancient days are still up there, but their significance is unknown to current day travelers. There is no sense of bearing and direction beyond one\u2019s own understanding of \u201cfairness.\u201d Is it any wonder that even among those who should know better (church-going believers in the blood-bought salvation of Jesus Christ) there is creeping confusion today? Well-meaning Christians make allowances for the possibility that others may get to heaven a way other than through exclusive faith in the finished work of Christ. Some are not willing to state the hard, cold, biblical fact that without faith in Jesus Christ you cannot be saved from your sins. Somehow fuzzy kindness for the moment trumps the wake-up call of orthodox doctrine. Shame on us for ceasing to be watchmen who cry out with a stentorian voice the uncompromising message of the Gospel, even to those who do not wish to be disturbed! <\/p>\n

Our text is one of many which communicate the exclusivity of the \u201cnarrow gate and the straight way\u201d which leads to God, forgiveness, eternal life and happiness. The way to God is not like a wheel with God in the center and many spokes (Hindu, Shinto, Mohammedan, Christian, etc.) leading to Him. There is only one way as John 14:6 states, \u201cJesus said, I (I and no other) am the way, the truth, and the life, no man comes to the Father, but by Me. Jesus\u2019 statement is factual, universal, and unmalleable, but one with which every man must reckon. Either one believes what God says about His Son Jesus and receives eternal life, or one rejects the testimony of God and upon his death enters eternal punishment in Hell, which his unforgiven sin justly deserves, and God\u2019s wrath rains down on his head. <\/p>\n

There are four questions<\/b> answered about the way to God detailed in our two verses: 1) Who says?<\/b> God testifies, as verse ten clearly states, \u201cthe testimony that God has given of His Son.\u201d It is His record given of the facts, and it is His testimony on the line. Any quibbling with, or amending of, the record is a direct affront to God Himself. 2) What way?<\/b> God has given us the way of life. God is the source of this greatest of blessings. The \u201cgiving\u201d is a simple aorist tense meaning the way was given but once (historical fact) upon the cross of Calvary as in John 3:16, \u201cFor God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whosoever believes in Him has everlasting life.\u201d The gift given just this once is eternal life, a life unending, unblemished, undiminished, and unbounded—life in its fullest. In short, life like unto His. 3) Where found?<\/b> This life is in His Son, Jesus Christ, hinging upon His perfect, sacrificial death on Calvary. Everything in this profound phrase points to the exclusivity and uniqueness of the one Way through the one Savior who is the one Son of the one God who has given the one gift of life as He declared! As a matter of fact, the life we crave is in His Son alone, regardless of any diverse opinion, cultural story, or religion of men. 4) How exclusive?<\/b> Eternal life is the possession only of those who have the Son (Acts 4:12, John 1:12–13). The article precedes both occurrences of the word \u201clife\u201d in verse 12—\u201cthe life.\u201d The emphasis in the first phrase is on the word \u201chas,\u201d referring to the key relationship of knowing the Son. The emphasis in the second phrase is on \u201clife,\u201d showing the eternal bankruptcy of not having the Son of God, who is life. Bengel states, \u201cThe verse has two clauses: in the former, \u2018of God\u2019 is not added because believers know the Son; in the other it is added, that unbelievers may know at length how serious it is not to have Him.\u201d <\/p>\n

First and foremost, are you saved by the one and only means available to your soul namely through belief in the redemptive work of Jesus Christ? If so, are you faithfully, uncompromisingly, and unapologetically representing the exclusivity of the testimony of God, that there is only one Way to Him? Trust and obey. <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

And this is the testimony; that God has given us eternal life, and this life is in His Son. He who has the Son has life; he who does not have the Son of God does not have life. (1 John 5:11–12—NKJV) Just like a notice from your bank that your account is overdrawn, some facts in […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[3],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.hanoverbaptistchurch.org\/blogpastor\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/320"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.hanoverbaptistchurch.org\/blogpastor\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.hanoverbaptistchurch.org\/blogpastor\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.hanoverbaptistchurch.org\/blogpastor\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.hanoverbaptistchurch.org\/blogpastor\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=320"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.hanoverbaptistchurch.org\/blogpastor\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/320\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.hanoverbaptistchurch.org\/blogpastor\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=320"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.hanoverbaptistchurch.org\/blogpastor\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=320"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.hanoverbaptistchurch.org\/blogpastor\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=320"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}