This blog is an expression of my love for Jesus. He is my Saviour who has given me life in Him. (John 6:40) He is all, (Colossians 3:11) and the reason for my existence. Like countless millions of other followers of Christ, He predestined my entire life. (Romans 8:29, 30; Ephesians 1:5, 11)
My greatest desire is for more countless millions to know and love Jesus, to be found in Him, having been born again of the Spirit. (John 3:3-9) The Father hears my prayers, and His Word, the Bible, tells me that whatever I ask Him in His Son’s name will be done, and my joy will be full. (John 16:23, 24)
Jesus said, “I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through Me.” (John 14:6)
Early Christians were known as the people of ‘The Way’, (Acts19:9; 24:22) which was very appropriate, because they were followers of Jesus who believed He was, “The Way” to the Father.
Jesus came to call a ‘special’ people chosen by God to offer spiritual sacrifices and praises to Him. (1 Peter 2:4, 5, 9, 10)
They were to trust the Saviour and to follow Him. (John 10:27) Over and again He exhorted them to ‘follow’ Him. (Matthew 10:38; 16:24; 19:21; Mark 8:34; 10:21) They were to repent and to believe. (Mark 1:14, 15)
Today, as in the past, people need to hear what Jesus has to say. God commands us to hear His Son. (Matthew 17:5) We can only do this by the enabling of the Holy Spirit. (1 Corinthians 2:14; Acts 15:7, 8; 1 Peter 1:12) He is the third Person of the Trinity, who helps us comprehend the word of God, which is the entire Bible. (John 14:16, 17)
Purpose of the Blog
The purpose of this blog is to point people to Jesus so that they might hear Him and follow Him. My prayer is for the Holy Spirit to bring it about. John 3:3-8 speaks of the necessity of being ‘born again of the Spirit.’ Only then is it possible to have a living relationship with the One who is the Way to eternal life. (John 3:16) Prior to that, we are all ‘dead in trespasses and sins.’ (Ephesians 2:1)
Jesus’s claim to be the only Way to the Father is extraordinary, but He was no ordinary man. He said He was God’s Son (John 3:16; 5:43; 6:38; 8:42; 16:28) and that His mission was to give people abundant ‘life. (John 10:10) He was to ‘bear witness to the truth’. (John 18:37)
These promises give hope for the future, and joy to those who are in Him now. (John 17:13) Believers trust Him (John 9:35-39), because inwardly they have the testimony of the Spirit who guaranties (2 Corinthians 1:22) they have been saved by grace through faith. (Ephesians 2:8,9)
Jesus said He did not come to call the righteous, but sinners to repentance. (Mark 2:17; Luke 5:32) This good news gives us hope, because each and every one is born a sinner. (Romans 3:23) By contrast this Saviour was born righteous of a virgin, (Luke 1:28-33) and He was without sin. (Hebrews 4:15) Therefore, being uniquely qualified, He came to save us from everlasting Hell, a place where, “Their worm does not die and the fire is not quenched.” (Mark 9:43-48) He will give to those who trust Him an everlasting inheritance. (Matthew 25:34; Luke 22:29, 30; John 14:2)
As recipients of the Holy Spirit, believers are given the privilege of being made ministers of the New Covenant. (2 Corinthians 3:4-6)
What is the New Covenant?
Jesus said He did not come to destroy the Law or the Prophets, but to,”fulfil” them. (Matthew 5:17) Part of that fulfilment was to bring into effect the New Covenant in His blood, (Matthew 26:28; Luke 22:20; 1 Corinthians 11:25; Hebrews 9:15) which was a covenant of grace; unlike the Mosaic Covenant, which was a covenant of works. (Exodus 19:5, 6, 8)
To enter the Promised Land and remain there, the Old Testament Israelites had to ‘obey’ the Mosaic Law (God’s Law) to the letter (Deuteronomy 4:1, 2). Although they were the special people of God, (Exodus 19:5) the vast majority of them did not have the Holy Spirit, and without Him they were unable to obey the Law. (Romans 3:20) There were exceptions who had the Spirit, such as Caleb and Joshua, who were commended for their faith. (Numbers 14:6-9) True to God’s promise, He brought them into the physical land of Canaan. Apart from them, only the offspring of the original exodus from Egypt and their children entered the land flowing with milk and honey. (Exodus 3:8; Joshua 5:6)
By Jesus’s fulfilment of the New Covenant He made the Old Covenant obsolete, (Hebrews 8:13) and He promised His Father would send the Holy Spirit (John 14:26) to those who would be baptised by the Spirit. True to the promise, the Holy Spirit gave birth to the Church of Christ at Pentecost. (Acts 2:1-4) All ‘born again’ believers, past, present and future, i.e., members of His Church constitute the new Israel of God. (Galatians 6:16) They are His people who worship Him in Spirit and truth. (John 4:23, 24)
By the Spirit the redeemed dwell in ‘the city of the living God’ (Hebrews 12:22-23), and shortly after the second coming of Jesus they will experience the fullest measure of His love. This will be at the consummation of the New Heaven and Earth. (Revelation 21:1-6)
Today, God’s special people the Church, live in His spiritual land where Jesus is their High Priest and King. (Hebrews 8:1, 2; John 18:37) They delight in Him; they love, obey, worship and adore Him. These special people are ‘the light of the world,’ (Matthew 5:14) as Israel should have been, ‘a light to the Gentiles.’ (Isaiah 49:6) The latter miserably failed on account of disobedience and lack of faith.
Reconciliation with God was made possible through the atoning sacrifice of Jesus at the cross. By the giving of His eternal life in exchange for our mortal lives, and by suffering in our place for our sins, He made us acceptable to His Father. Hence, as believers we have eternal life. (John 3:16) He rose again after His crucifixion, proving His claim that He was ‘the resurrection and the life’. (John 11:25)
God loves Him, and because Jesus first loved us, we love Him. (1 John 4:19) God forgives us and declares us righteous in Jesus. (Romans 3:21, 22) He welcomes us into His presence. We, if we are believers, have communion with all three Persons of the Trinity and with the saints. (1 Corinthians 10:16, 17; 2 Corinthians 13:14) ‘We have the mind of Christ’. (1Corinthians 2:14-16) None of this is by any merit or any work of ours, but solely through the merits of Jesus. (Ephesians 2:8:9)
So we thank Jesus for what He has achieved for us by living His perfect life, and for suffering for our sins and being a substitute for us. He was vindicated by being resurrected by His Father, (Acts 10:40) and He lives to give life to us. (Romans 6:10) In response to His great love we are obedient to Him, and He makes us His ‘ministers of the New Covenant (2 Corinthians 3:4-6). In this capacity it is our privilege to make disciples and to teach them to do all that Jesus has commanded. (Matthew 28:19, 20)
The Biblical Way 