In today's Gospel Lesson, Jesus asked His disciples an important question: "Who do you say that I am?"  How would you answer that?  What would you say if someone asked, "Who is this guy, Jesus?"  1 Peter 3:15 tells us, "Always be prepared to give an answer... for the hope that you have."  How would you answer Jesus' question?

          I do get asked that question and I tell them He's God's Son, who loves and forgives me.  He's the One who loves me no matter what.  He gave His life for me.  He accepts me the way I am, but He won't let me stay that way for long.  He loves me even when I'm dirty with sin, and He washes me clean so I can live FOR Him here on earth, and WITH him there in heaven.  I tell them Jesus is the way!

          But what do we do when we don't know the way?  Do we find a map?  Do we keep driving till we run out of gas or do we stop and ask directions?  It's often said men don't like to ask directions.  Someone even joked that Moses could have gotten to the Promised Land a lot sooner, but he wouldn't stop and ask directions.  Do you always know the way where you're going?  What about the way to heaven?  Do you know the way there?

          Years ago my Dad gave directions to a Watkins salesman, who was new to our area.  He had stopped to ask how to get to our neighbors, the Jensens.  Weren't they west down that road?  "Naw," Dad said, "you can't get there from here.  But if you go east to the corner, then a mile south and then turn back west a mile, they're right at the SW corner."

          My Dad gave him directions to go in a circle!  "You can't get there from here."  That's true about heaven.  You can't get there from here, at least not all by yourself.  You and I might know the way, but we need help.  We need a map to give us right directions.  We need someone to lead us.  The Bible is our map and Jesus is the one with the directions.  Jesus is the way.

          A man pulled up to a gas station.  "Where's the road to San Josie?" he asked.  "San Josie?  Oh, you mean San Jose," said the attendant.  "Around here the "J" is pronounced like an "H".  "Okay, San Jose," said the man.  "Ya see, we're from New Hersey and will be here on vacation until Hune or Huly."

          Some folks don't know where they are and others don't know where they're going.  Most of us don't know what will happen when we get there, and that's especially true of heaven.  We know it will be great, but we won't know what it's like till we're there.

          A man died and stood before St. Peter, waiting to get into heaven.  Peter told him he must tell of some good deed he had done in life before he would be let in.  "I was a good boy at home and was a good father and husband.  I taught Sunday School and mowed the church lawns a lot."  "But haven't you done one really good thing that stands out -- some great, courageous deed?"  "Well, once I saved an old lady being harassed by a member of Hell's Angels."  "That's better," said St. Peter, "what did you do?"  "I kicked him in the shins, punched him in the mouth and knocked over his motorcycle so the little old lady could get away."  "Wonderful!" said St. Peter.  "When did this happen?"  "Oh, about five minutes ago!"

          People enjoy hearing stories about heaven.  Maybe that's because we think about it a lot.  While we're living in the present, we're wondering about the future.  We work in the material world, but we ponder the spiritual.  We want answers to the fundamental questions:  Is there really a God?  If so, does He care about me?  Is there really a heaven?  How can I get there?

          St. Paul said in our text, "If you confess with your mouth, 'Jesus is Lord,' and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved."  Peter said, "Salvation is found in no one else, for there is no other name under heaven by which we must be saved." (Acts 4:12)  Our world doesn't like to hear that.  We're told to be inclusive, to be tolerant of just about anything, and they're right in that we shouldn't tolerate hateful attitudes.

          There's no room for hate in Christianity, but God Himself is not tolerant of all things.  God doesn't tolerate idolatry or unfaithfulness.  He's very intolerant of those who mock Him.  He tolerates people, but not different gospels.  The Bible is clear:  Jesus is the only Way to heaven.

          God's Word says, "There is one God and one mediator between God and man, Christ Jesus." (1 Timothy 2:5)  The Holy Spirit moved Paul to write, "If anyone proclaims another way of salvation than Jesus, let him be cursed!" (Galatians 1:8)  Jesus is the way to heaven, the only way.  "Always be prepared to give an answer... for the hope that you have."

          We live in a world that has watered down the truth.  It's become fashionable today to think the truth can be whatever we want it to be.  Our generation is the first in history to put the enduring truths of the ages into storage and to elevate fickle human opinion to the level of great truth.  Most of our colleges and universities were founded by Christians, but they've become headquarters for humanism, with the blind telling the blind that truth is whatever they want it to be.

          The truth about God has always been unpopular, but the fact remains:  there is no other way to God than through Christ.  To say it doesn't matter what way a person takes to get to heaven is to make a tragic and eternal mistake.

          God loves us and gives us time to believe.  He gives us wonderful blessings and wants us to enjoy them.  But He also wants us to share our faith.  To talk of one's faith has become fashionable in some circles once again, so let's tell them.  He is the Way, and He is the Lord who loves us.  He paid the price for the sins of all on Calvary, and He is inclusive of all who come to Him with faith.  Always be ready to share the hope you have.  Our hope is in Christ who loves us, the One who says, "Never will I leave you, never will I forsake you." (Hebrews 13:5)

          When is the right time to believe in Christ?  God says, now is the time.  We can't wait until we have more time, when the work is done, the kids are grown, or we've retired.  We can't wait till tomorrow because tomorrow may not get here.  2 Corinthians 6:2 says, "...NOW is the time of God's favor, NOW is the day of salvation."

          Last Wednesday while delivering our PR mailing cards to several Post Offices around Castle Rock, I walked past a tavern in Sedalia and saw a sign on the front door that said, "Free beer tomorrow."  I stepped inside and asked what the sign meant, and the bartender said, "Tomorrow never comes."  He's right.  We'd best make good use of the time we have left.

          Imagine there's a bank which credits your account every midnight with $86,400.  Every day $86,400 is yours and you have to spend all of it every day.  You can't put it into savings, and you can't have a cash balance.  What do you think you'd do?  Spend every cent, of course!  Park Meadows, here I come!

          Each of us is given such an account, and in it are SECONDS of TIME.  Every morning, God credits us with 86,400 seconds.  Every night He writes off, as lost, whatever time is left.  He carries over no balance.  The next day God deposits another 86,400.  If we fail to use what He deposits to our account, the loss is ours.  I hope you see this makes our time valuable.

          To realize the value...

• ...of one YEAR, talk to a college student who just failed his final exam.
• ...of one MONTH, talk to a mother who has given birth to a pre-mature baby.
• ...of one WEEK, talk to an editor of a weekly newspaper who missed a story.
• ...of one DAY, talk to a daily wage laborer who has six kids to feed.
• ...of one HOUR, talk to someone who's young and in love.
• ...of one MINUTE, talk to a person who has just missed the train.
• ...of one SECOND, talk to the person who has won a silver medal in the Olympics.

          What is your price?  What would you do if you were given a fortune?  A national survey held in 1997 asked people what they'd be willing to do to get $10,000,000.  They were asked to check one or more of the 30 options they would be willing to do in exchange for $10,000,000.  Their responses:

• 25% would abandon their families for a significant time,
• 25% would abandon their church and faith completely,
• 23% would become a prostitute for a week,
• 16% would give up their American citizenship,
• 16% would leave their spouse,
• 7% said they would commit murder,
• 3% would put their children up for adoption.

          What would you be willing to give up for a fortune?  Friends, Jesus gave up His life for us.  He's the Way, the Truth and the Life.  God give us faith to believe this, and courage to share it.  May He give us love for the present and hope for the future.  May we confess with our mouths, 'Jesus is Lord,' and believe in our hearts that God raised him from the dead, and then we'll be saved.  Amen!

Copyright © 2000 by Pastor Bob Tasler.  All rights reserved.