JESUS CHRIST: THE ABSOLUTE TRUTH

                                             By Pastor Max Solbrekken, D.D.

     Only in Jesus Christ do we find absolute truth. In Him ALONE there is no lying, hypocrisy, deceit or darkness. He alone is the ultimate Truth. In His High Priestly Prayer to His Father our Lord stated: "Sanctify them through Thy Truth. Thy Word is Truth." (John 17:  17)

      To His Disciples He declared, "I am the Way, the TRUTH and the Life: no man cometh unto the Father but by Me."(John 14:6). He said: "I and My Father are One." (John 10:30); "I came to do My Father's will." (John 6: 3)

      "...My Father works hitherto and I work. Therefore the Jews sought the more to kill Him, because He not only had broken the Sabbath, but He said also that God was His Father, making Himself equal with God.

      JESUS stated: "Verily, verily, I say unto you, The Son can do nothing of Himself, but what He sees the Father do: for what things soever He doeth, these also doeth the Son likewise." (John 5: 17-20)

      "... When ye have lifted up the Son of Man, then shall ye know that I am HE, and the I do nothing of Myself; but as My Father hath taught Me, I speak these things. And He that sent Me is with Me: the Father hath not left me alone; for I do always those things that please Him." (John 8: 28,29)

JESUS PROMISED THE HOLY SPIRIT!

      The Holy Spirit is called, "The Spirit of Truth." (John 14: 17). Speaking of the Holy Spirit, our Lord stated: "But when the Comforter is come, Whom I will send unto you from the Father, even the Spirit of Truth, which proceeds from the Father, He shall testify of Me." (John 15: 26); "Howbeit when He, the Spirit of Truth is come, He will guide you into all TRUTH..." (John 16: 13)

      JAMES RUSSELL LOWELL wrote: "Once to every man and nation, Comes the moment to decide. In the strife of Truth and Falsehood, For the Good or Evil side." About 65 years ago, I committed to memory a great poem written by British poet  William Dunkerley, under the pseudonym of JOHN OXENHAM. Hundreds of times during the last half century, I have quoted it in my sermons. It is called 'THE WAY'. May the message penetrate your heart as it has mine!

      

        To every man there openeth

        A Way, and Ways, and a Way,

        And the High Soul climbs the High Way,

        And the Low Soul gropes the Low,

        And in between, on the misty flats,

         The rest drift to and fro.

         But to every man there openeth

         A High Way, and a Low.

         And every man decideth,

          The way His soul shall go.

     When you tell people that there is only ONE way to God and Heaven, they often react negatively. Many want to do their own thing, go their own way and leave everything to chance. After all, if everything we see evolved from nothing as the pinhead evolutionists preach, then there is nothing to fear.

    If there is no God, then there are no laws that must be obeyed and no punishment for wrong doing, they erroneously assume! If there is no authoritative figure called God, Maker of Heaven and earth, then there is No-one to give an account to. We may as well then do as the Scripture says of the rebellious man, "Eat, drink and be merry." (Eccl.8:15)

      When you confront people because of their sins of unbelief, unrighteousness, lust, greed, pride, hatred and jealousy, they get on their 'high horse' saying, "We will not have this Man to rule over us." (Luke 19: 14). When told that we ought to help the poor, lift up the fallen and bring the gospel to the lost, they often answer like Cain: "Am I my brother's keeper?” (Gen.4:9)

WHY DO PEOPLE REJECT

THE BIBLE AND CHRIST?

      Here is the real 'Sixty-Four Dollar Question'. Why would any one in their right mind reject God's Holy Word? How could any one, of even limited understanding, reject the liberating Gospel of God's grace and love to fallen, degenerate and undeserving sinful man? And what would make human beings who were created in God's image, become so stupid that they would reject the world's Redeemer and Emancipator, our Lord Jesus Christ, and cling to Satan, the Cosmic Liar?

       THE ANSWER: After more than fifty years of intense Bible study, observing human nature, current events, and having preached the Gospel of Christ and ministered His saving and healing power to multitudes across the world, here is a concise answer to the three questions posed!

      1). These people love their sins and refuse to give up their ungodly lifestyles!

"And this is the condemnation, that light is come into the world, and men loved darkness rather than light because their deeds were evil." (John 3:19)

      2). They have been enticed, deceived and snared by the devil, who is the Father of Lies, deception and spiritual death!

      "In meekness instructing those that oppose themselves; if God peradventure will give them repentance to the acknowledging of the truth; And that they may recover themselves out of the snare of the devil, who are taken captive by him at his will." (2 Tim.2: 25, 26)

      3). If they admit that the Bible is God’s Word and that there is a Day of Judgment for sinners, they would have to repent of their sins and receive Jesus Christ as Lord and Saviour!

      "For everyone that doeth evil hates the light, neither cometh to the light, lest his deeds should be reproved. But he that doeth truth cometh to the light that his deeds may be made manifest, that they are wrought in God." (John 3:20, 21)

      The fact of the matter is that they would rather believe a lie, in order to somehow escape the truth that God exists and demands an accounting of our lives! They have convinced themselves that they are as good as their neighbour and that if there really is God, He is good, charitable and kind and would never judge anyone to Hell for their sins.

       After all, they didn't ask to be born, had no part of Adam's sin and it's damming influence on us all, including our eternal abode! They live in a dream world that everything will turn out alright in the end. And after all, their parents may have brought them to church as a baby and had them christened or sprinkled.

SOLUTION TO THE SIN PROBLEM!

     We often hear people talk about drug problem, the alcohol problem, the gambling problem, the crime problem and the racism problem. What we really have is a SIN PROBLEM and the drug, alcohol, gambling, crime and racism problems disappear when the Gospel of Jesus Christ is invited to function in the hearts and lives of the people!

     The Bible says: "Come now, and let us reason together, saith the Lord: though your sins be as scarlet, they shall be as white as snow; though they be red like crimson, they shall be as wool." (Isa.1:18)

       "Seek ye the Lord while He may be found, call ye upon Him while He is near. Let the wicked forsake His way and the unrighteous man His thoughts: and let him return unto the Lord, and He will have mercy upon him; and to our God and He will abundantly pardon." (Isa. 55:1, 6, 7)

     THE BIG QUESTION: How did we get into this situation? What drove us away from the sanctuary of God's presence? Why did we get estranged from our Heavenly Father and God? And how do we get back into His Eternal Kingdom? And will He receive us as we are?

     The answer is that we were, "born in sin and shaped in iniquity" (Psa.51: 5).We are sinners by birth, by nature and by choice: "Wherein in time past, ye walked according to the course of this world, according to the prince of the power of the air, the spirit that now works in the children of disobedience. (Eph.2: 2; Gal.5: 10-21)

HE WILL RECEIVE US BACK AGAIN!

       "Among whom also we all had our conversation in times past in the lusts of our flesh, fulfilling the desires of the flesh and of the mind: and were by NATURE the children of wrath, even as others.      

     "But God, Who is rich in mercy, or His great love with which He loved us, even when ewe were dead in sins, hath quickened us together with Christ (by grace are ye saved); and hath raised us up together, and made us sit together in Heavenly places in Christ Jesus." (Eph.3-6)

       The GOOD NEWS is that even though we may have drifted away from Him, we can be forgiven, healed and liberated by God's Divine love and power: "All have sinned and come short of the glory of God." (Rom.3:23);

      "The wages of sin is death but the gift of God is eternal life, through Jesus Christ our Lord." (Rom. 6: 23); "He that believeth on the Son hath everlasting life; and he that believeth not the Son shall not see life, but the wrath of God abides on Him." (John 3: 36)

     God is merciful, gracious and loving: "For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son that whosoever believeth in Him should not perish but have Everlasting Life. For God sent not His Son into the world to condemn the world but that the world through Him might be saved." (John 3: 16, 17)

      It is TRUE that sin had its grip on us all and we were on our way to a Christ-less Eternity, but God in His great mercy and love redeemed us by His precious blood that He shed on Golgotha. To receive His forgiveness and mercy, however, we must repent of our sins and by His grace receive His pardon.

       It is also true that all those who spurn and reject His offer of love will be forever left outside to meet God's judgment. If His mercy is spurned and rejected there will be nothing left but judgment!

       He is NOW the God of mercy, but when He comes again, He will come “to judge the Living and the Dead.” (1 Peter 4: 5); "I charge thee therefore before God, and the Lord Jesus Christ, Who shall judge the quick (living) and the dead at His appearing and His Kingdom.” (2 Tim.4: 1)

      ST. PAUL admonished Timothy: "PREACH THE WORD; be instant in season and out of season; reprove, rebuke, exhort with all long suffering and doctrine. For the time will come that they will not endure sound doctrine; but after their own lusts shall they heap to themselves teachers having itching ears; And they shall turn away their ears from the truth and shall be turned unto fables." (2 Tim.4: 2-4)

     Jesus WARNS: "Verily, verily I say unto you, He that hears My Word, and believeth on Him that sent Me, hath everlasting life, and shall not come into condemnation: but is passed from death unto life. Verily, verily I say unto you, the hour is coming, and NOW IS, when the dead (spiritually dead) shall hear the voice of the Son of God; and they that hear shall live." (John 5:24, 25)

      Our LORD is inviting all sinners who are "dead in their trespasses" to hear His voice and be saved for time and eternity! If however, they do not respond, they will be in the Second Group who will hear His voice and come out of their graves and face the Judge of the Entire Earth.

      Here is His WARNING: "Marvel not at this for the Hour is Coming in the which all that are in the graves shall HEAR HIS VOICE, and shall come forth; they that have done good, unto the resurrection of life; and they that have done evil unto the resurrection of damnation." (John 5:28, 29)

       Again He ASSURES us: "Him that cometh unto me I will in no wise cast him out." (John 6: 37): "Behold I stand at the door (your heart's door) and KNOCK. If any man will hear My voice and open the door, I will come in unto Him and sup with Him and he with Me." (Rev.3: 20) Amen.