CHRISTIAN EVIDENCES

Know “And you shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free.” John 8:32

The“I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.” John 14:6

Truth “In Him was life, and the life was the light of men.” John 1:4

This Month's Theme: 

“There Is A Way!”

 I. There Is A Way That Seems Right To Man!

Proverbs 14:12 “There is a way that seems right to a man, But its end is the way of death .”

This quote, as an introduction, comes from the book of Proverbs. This book of the Old Testament is primarily the production of Solomon and may be better served in title as the book of “Wisdom”. The book itself is comprised of thirty one chapters of pithy statements on moral and spiritual matters. The theme of the book is found in this simple statement of wisdom:

Proverbs 1:7 “The fear of the Lord is the beginning of knowledge, But fools despise wisdom and instruction.”

In this simple theme, the explanation of our opening quote is defined. Man, left to his own devices will foolishly despise the wisdom implanted within and without to recognize his Creator and the knowledge given by Him to save man from himself ( Acts 17:26 -27 ; Romans 1:20 ).

Solomon was considered to be the wisest man to have ever lived! It is stated that his wisdom was greater than that of the wise men of the East and of Egypt . He was an expert in botany and zoology. He was an author, credited with the wise writings of Proverbs , two Psalms , the Song of Solomon , and is considered by the book of Ecclesiastes for his wisdom and wealth.

His fame was widespread and people came from great distances to hear his wisdom. In addition, through the visitation of people of distant lands to hear from the greatest wisdom of this time; Solomon established an elaborate trade network. He built ships and sent them with the fabled Phoenician fleets to trade in commerce. This vast network of trade also spread his fame to the utmost parts of the world; even bringing the queen of Sheba to his courts.

Solomon was a great temporal ruler, blessed with wisdom, every natural advantage, and virtually inconceivable wealth. However, though he began so well, trusting in the source of all his blessings; he would gradually turn from the God that had blessed him with so much. He would ignore his own wisdom and seek the way of man which would lead to his own destruction and fall.

Before Solomon and since, many men have looked to themselves as the source of wisdom and strength, ignoring their surroundings and the internal knowledge that there is something greater.

The great preacher of the book of Ecclesiastes would use the life of Solomon to define the folly of this self sought path that many choose, note:

Ecclesiastes 2:9-11 “So I became great and excelled more than all who were before me in Jerusalem . Also my wisdom remained with me. 10 Whatever my eyes desired I did not keep from them. I did not withhold my heart from any pleasure, For my heart rejoiced in all my labor;

And this was my reward from all my labor. 11 Then I looked on all the works that my hands had done And on the labor in which I had toiled; And indeed all was vanity and grasping for the wind. There was no profit under the sun.”

In the life of Solomon, the great preacher sums up the result of a life devoted to our own resources; profitless, vain, and like trying to grab the wind!

 II. There Is A Way !

During the ministry of Jesus the Christ, He was often challenged concerning His claims by the religious leaders of His day. These challenges came from men who knew God and although they knew the source of true wisdom and life, preferred not to fear the Lord, thus cutting off the wisdom they should have valued above all else.

Jesus denounced these hypocrites by using the example of the great wisdom of Solomon, note:

Matthew 12:42 “The queen of the South will rise up in the judgment with this generation and condemn it, for she came from the ends of the earth to hear the wisdom of Solomon; and indeed a greater than Solomon is here .”

The lesson to the scribes and Pharisees is that if as notable a person as a queen would come so far to hear the wisdom of a man, surly the people would come just as far and show greater interest in one such as Jesus (a man approved of God by signs and wonders, who spoke in such wisdom that it has endured the test of time).

Solomon stated that a man left to his own devices would end up devoid of life. Jesus stated that a greater wisdom than Solomon's has come and provided a WAY to have life (something of greater value than this temporal way).

John 3:16-21 “For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life. 17 For God did not send His Son into the world to condemn the world, but that the world through Him might be saved. 18 He who believes in Him is not condemned; but he who does not believe is condemned already, because he has not believed in the name of the only begotten Son of God. 19 And this is the condemnation, that the light has come into the world, and men loved darkness rather than light, because their deeds were evil. 20 For everyone practicing evil hates the light and does not come to the light, lest his deeds should be exposed. 21 But he who does the truth comes to the light, that his deeds may be clearly seen, that they have been done in God."

God has provided a WAY ; however, man must still select to go that WAY !

 III. Jesus Is The Way!

During the last Passover that Jesus would spend with His chosen; He responded to a question. It is in this response that we learn a very critical fact, note:

John 14:6 “Jesus said to him, "I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through Me.”

In this simple statement we learn that there is only one path to life . It is not the path of our own devise. The wisdom of life is found on only one path, Jesus the Christ.

When the Apostle Peter had been arrested for preaching the life offered through Christ Jesus; he stood before the high court of the land and built on the foundation that Jesus had built, note:

Acts 4:10-12 “let it be known to you all, and to all the people of Israel, that by the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, whom you crucified, whom God raised from the dead, by Him this man stands here before you whole. 11 This is the 'stone which was rejected by you builders, which has become the chief cornerstone.' 12 Nor is there salvation in any other , for there is no other name under heaven given among men by which we must be saved ."

As the good news of Jesus Christ began to be preached in the world; those that selected the path to salvation and sought the wisdom that leads to life became known simply as, “of the WAY” ( Acts 9:2 ; 19:9 ; 22:4 ). They would additionally become known as Christians (those that pertain to Christ- Acts 11:26 ).

You too can be just a Christian! Of the WAY! Unaffiliated with the wisdom of men that leads to destruction.

The early disciples were Christians only! Although we live 1900 years later, we too can be Christians only if we will follow the same teachings given to these first followers of Jesus. Christ said, "The seed is the word of God." Just as surely as a planted acorn will produce only an oak, so God's Word will produce Christians and nothing more. We invite your earnest consideration to this plea.

There is a WAY!