John 14-17

Jesus is the way, and without him, there is no access to God. Either Jesus is the only way, or he is a deluded peddler of false hope at best, and a fraud at worst. He cannot be just a good and wise man. He said, “Either make the tree good and its fruit good, or make the tree bad and its fruit bad, for the tree is known by its fruit” (Matthew 12:33).

Jesus is the truth and without him, there is no knowledge beyond that which is observable by the five senses. If Jesus is not the truth, then there was no truth in him. He testified of himself: “I thank you, Father, Lord of heaven and earth, that you have hidden these things from the wise and understanding and revealed them to little children; yes, Father, for such was your gracious will. All things have been handed over to me by my Father, and no one knows who the Son is except the Father, or who the Father is except the Son and anyone to whom the Son chooses to reveal him.” (Luke 10:21-22). John the baptizer testified of him: “He who comes from above is above all. He who is of the earth belongs to the earth and speaks in an earthly way. He who comes from heaven is above all. He bears witness to what he has seen and heard, yet no one receives his testimony. Whoever receives his testimony sets his seal to this, that God is true. For he whom God has sent utters the words of God, for he gives the Spirit without measure. The Father loves the Son and has given all things into his hand. Whoever believes in the Son has eternal life; whoever does not obey the Son shall not see life, but the wrath of God remains on him” (John 12:31-36).

Jesus is the life and apart from him all a dead—the walking dead. “For as the Father has life in himself, so he has granted the Son also to have life in himself” (John 5:26). This follows his affirmation that the dead who hear his voice will live (v. 25). These are the spiritually dead, as Paul teaches: But God, being rich in mercy, because of the great love with which he loved us, even when we were dead in our trespasses, made us alive together with Christ—by grace you have been saved (Eph 2:4-5). Jesus went on in John 5:28-29 to address physical death which comes to saint and sinner alike, but who, saint and sinner alike, shall be raised from the graves.

C. S. Lewis has the senior tempter says to his nephew and understudy in the art of seducing Christians to leave Jesus as the way, the truth, and the life for a so-called historical Jesus:

The “Historical Jesus” then, however dangerous he may seem to be to us at some particular point, is always to be encouraged. About the general connection between Christianity and politics, our position is more delicate. Certainly we do not want men to allow their Christianity to flow over into their political life, for the establishment of anything like a really just society would be a major disaster. On the other hand we do want, and want very much, to make men treat Christianity as a means; preferably, of course, as a means to their own advancement, but, failing that, as a means to anything—even to social justice. The thing to do is to get a man at first to value social justice as a thing which the Enemy demands, and then work him on to the stage at which he values Christianity because it may produce social justice. For the Enemy will not be used as a convenience. Men or nations who think they can revive the Faith in order to make a good society might just as well think they can use the stairs of Heaven as a short cut to the nearest chemist’s shop. Fortunately it is quite easy to coax humans round this little corner. Only today I have found a passage in a Christian writer where he recommends his own version of Christianity on the ground that “only such a faith can outlast the death of old cultures and the birth of new civilisations”. You see the little rift? “Believe this, not because it is true, but for some other reason.” That’s the game, [ Your affectionate uncle, SCREWTAPE]

Many believers who once embraced the truth about Jesus now sit on the fence. Unwilling to come out of the closet as atheists but unwilling to give whole-hearted allegiance to Christ. Elijah rebuked the “fence-sitters” of his day, saying, “‘How long will you go limping between two different opinions? If the LORD is God, follow him; but if Baal, then follow him.’ And the people did not answer him a word” (1 Kings 18:21).

Today, we are too sophisticated to believe in Baal, but many sit on the fence between serving Christ and serving themselves. If you believe Christ is who he says he is, love him with all your heart, soul, and mind. If you don’t believe he is who he says he is, have enough courage to come out of the closet, for “To choose doubt as a philosophy of life is akin to choosing immobility as a means of transportation” (Yann Martel, Life of Pi.). Neither will get you anywhere.

CONNECTIONS

1. When Screwtape said that the Enemy would not be used as a convenience, he was speaking of man’s attempt to use Christ and Christianity to further aims other than the advancement of the gospel. Have you seen political ads in which candidates try to put their piety on display in order to get votes?