___ Robert Murray McCheyne
"Jesus saith unto him, I am the way, the truth, and the life: no man cometh unto the Father but by Me" (John 14:6).
1/ Christ is the Way.
— "I am the way: no man cometh," etc.
The whole Bible bears witness that by nature we have no way to the Father. We
are by nature full of sin, and God is by nature infinitely holy—that is, He
shrinks away from sin. Just as the sensitive plant, by its very nature, shrinks
away from the touch of a human hand, so God, by His very nature, shrinks away
from the touch of sin. He is everlastingly separate from sinners; He is of purer
eyes than to behold iniquity.
This
was impressively taught to Adam and the patriarchs. As long as Adam walked
holily, God dwelt in him, and walked in him, and communed with him; but when
Adam fell, "God drove the man out of paradise; and He placed at the east
of the garden of Eden, cherubim, and a flaming sword which turned every way, to
keep the way of the tree of life." This flaming sword between the cherubim
was a magnificent emblem of God—the just and sin-hating God. In the bush, He
appeared to Moses as a consuming fire; in the temple, He appeared between the
cherubim in the milder glory of the Shechinah; but here He appeared between the
cherubim as a sword—a just and sin-hating God. And I beseech you to remark,
that this flaming sword turned every way,
to keep the way of the tree of life. If it had not turned every way—if it had left some
footpath unglared across—then Adam might have stolen in by that footpath, and
made his own way to the tree of life. But no; whatever avenue he tried-however
secret, however narrow, however steep and difficult, however silently he crept
along—still this flaming meteor met him, and it seemed to say, "How can
man be just with God? by the deeds of the law there shall no flesh living be
justified." Well might Adam sit down, wearied with the vain search for a
pathway into life; for man by nature has no way to the Father.
But
Christ says, "I am the way." As He says in Psalm 16, "Thou wilt
show Me the path of life." No man could find out this path of life; but
Jesus says: "Thou wilt show it Me: in Thy presence is fullness of joy; at
Thy right hand are pleasures for evermore." Jesus pitied the poor sons of
Adam vainly struggling to find out a way into the paradise of God, and He left
the bosom of the Father, just that He might open up a way for us into the bosom
of the Father. And how did He do it? Was it by escaping the vigilance of the
flaming sword? No; for it turned every way. Was it by exerting His divine
authority, and commanding the glittering blade to withdraw? No; for that would
have been to dishonour his Father's law instead of magnifying it. He therefore
became a man in our stead—yea, became sin. God caused to meet on Him the
iniquities of us all. He advanced in our stead to meet that fiery meteor—He
fell beneath its piercing blade; for He remembered the word of the prophet,
which is written: "Awake, O sword! against my shepherd, and against the
man that is my fellow, saith the Lord of hosts."
And
now, since the glittering blade is bathed in the side of the Redeemer, the
guiltiest of sinners—whoever you be, whatever you be—may enter in over His
bleeding body, may find access to the paradise of God, to eat of the tree of
life, and live forever. Come quickly—doubt not; for He says, "I am the
way."
The same fact—that man has by nature no
way to the Father was taught to the people of Israel.
When
God condescended to dwell among the children of Israel, He dwelt peculiarly in
the holiest of all—the innermost apartment of the Jewish temple. There the
visible token of His presence rested between the cherubim, at one time
described to us as a light inaccessible and full of glory, at another time as a
cloud that filled the temple. But this innermost apartment, or holiest of all
(or secret place, as it is called in the Psalms), was separated from the holy
place by a curtain or veil; and through that veil no man was allowed to pass,
lest he should die, except the high priest, who entered in once in the year,
not without blood. Now, no picture could express more plainly that the way into
the holiest was not made manifest, that no sinful man has any way of coming
into the presence of God.
But
Jesus says, "I am the way." Jesus was grieved that we were shut out
from the holiest of all—from the presence of God; for He knew by experience
that in that presence there is fullness of joy. But how did He open the way?
Did He pull aside the veil, that we might steal in secretly and easily into the
presence of the Father? No; but He offered Himself an offering to satisfy
divine justice and reconcile us to God. "He said, It is finished: and
bowed His head, and gave up the ghost. And, behold, the veil of the temple was
rent in twain, from the top to the bottom." It is finished: the punishment
of the law is borne, the demands of the law are answered, the way is finished,
the veil is rent from the top to the bottom! Not a shred of the dreadful
curtain now remains to intercept us. The guiltiest, the vilest sinner of you
all, has now liberty to enter in through the rent veil, under the light of Jehovah's
countenance-to dwell in the secret of His tabernacle, to behold His beauty, and
to inquire in His temple.
And
now, my friends, is this your way of coming to the Father? Christ says, "I
am the way; no man cometh unto the Father but by me." If, then, you will
still keep to your own way, whatever it be—whether it be the way of tears, or
penances, or vows of amendment, or hopes that God will not deal strictly-if you
will not be warned, you will find in the judgment day that the cherubic sword
turned every way, and that you are left a prey to the consuming fire.
But
oh, if there be one soul that can find no peace in any self-righteous way—if
there be one of you who find that you are lost in yourself—behold, Christ says
to you, "I am the way," as He says in another place, "I am the
door." It is a full, free, and open way, and it is a way for sinners. Why
wait a moment longer? There was once a partition wall between you and God; but
Christ hath cast it down. God was once angry; but His anger is turned away from
this blessed path. In Christ He is ever well pleased.
2/ Christ is the Truth.—The whole Bible, and the
whole of experience, bear witness that by nature we are ignorant of the truth.
No doubt there are many truths which an unconverted man does know. He may know
the truths of mathematics and arithmetic—he may know many of the common
every-day truths; but still it cannot be said that an unconverted man knows the
truth, for Christ is the truth. Christ may be called the key-stone of the arch
of truth. Take away the key-stone of an arch, and the whole becomes a heap of
rubbish. The very same stones may be there; but they are all fallen, smothered,
and confused—without order, without end. Just so take Christ away, and the whole
arch of truth becomes a heap of rubbish. The very same truths may be there; but
they are all fallen—without coherence, without order, without end. Christ may be
called the sun of the system of truth. Take away the sun out of our system, and
every planet would rush into confusion. The very same planets would be there;
but their conflicting forces would draw them hither and thither, orb dashing
against orb in endless perplexity. Just so take Christ away, and the whole
system of truth rushes into confusion. The same truths may be in the mind, but
all conflicting and jarring in inextricable mazes; for "the path of the wicked
is as darkness; they know not at what they stumble." But let Christ be revealed
to an unconverted soul—let it not be merely a man speaking about Christ unto
him, but let the Spirit of God reveal Him—and there is revealed, not a truth,
but the truth. You put the key-stone into the arch of truth; you restore the sun
to the centre of the system. All truth becomes orderly and serviceable in that
mind.
Now
he knows the truth with regard to himself. Did the Son of God really leave the
bosom of the Father to bear wrath in our stead? —then I must be under wrath.
Did the Lord Jesus become a servant, that He might obey the will of God instead
of sinners?—then I must be without any righteousness -a child of disobedience.
Again,
knowing Christ, he knows the truth with regard to God. Did God freely give up
his Son to the death for us all? — then, if I believe in Jesus, there is no
condemnation to me. God is my Father, and God is love.
My
friends, have you seen Christ, who is the truth? Has He been revealed to you,
not by flesh and blood, but by the Spirit of our God? Then you know how true it
is that in Him "are hid all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge"
-that He is the "Alpha and Omega," the beginning and the ending of
all -knowledge. But if you have not seen Christ, then you know nothing yet as
you ought to know; all your knowledge is like a bridge without a key-stone —
like a system without a sun. What good will it do you in hell that you knew all
the sciences in the world, all the events of history, and all the busy politics
of Your little day? Do you not know that your very knowledge will be turned
into an instrument of torture in hell? Oh, how will you wish in that day that
you had read your newspaper less and your Bible more—that, with all your
getting, you had got understanding -that, with all your knowledge, you had
known the Saviour, whom to know is life everlasting!
3/ Christ is the Life. —The whole Bible bears
witness that by nature we are dead in trespasses and sins—that we are as unable
to walk holily in the world, as a dead man is unable to rise and walk.
Both
Scripture and experience alike testify that we are by nature dead in trespasses
and sins; and yet it is not a death in which we are wholly inactive, for in it
we are said to walk according to the course of this world, according to the
prince of the power of the air.
This
truth is taught us impressively in that vision of the prophet Ezekiel, where he
was carried out by the Spirit, and set down in the midst of an open valley full
of dry bones; and as he passed by them round about, behold, there were very
many in the open valley, and lo! they were very dry.
Just
such is the view which every child of God gets of the world. The dry bones are
very many, and they are very dry; and he asks the same question which God asked
of Ezekiel: "Can these bones live?" Oh yes, my friends; and does not
experience teach you the same thing? True, the dead cannot know that they are dead;
and yet, if the Lord touch your heart, you will find it out. We prophesy to dry
bones; for this is the Lord's way—while we prophesy, the breath enters in. Look back over your life, then. See
how you have walked according to the course of this world. You have always been
like a man swimming with the stream-never like a man swimming against the
current. Look into your heart, and see how it has turned against all the
commandments: you feel the Sabbath to be a weariness, instead of calling it a
delight and honorable. If ever you tried to keep the commandments of God—if
ever you tried to keep your eyes from unlawful desires, your tongue from words
of anger or gossiping or bitterness, your heart from malice and envy and
covetousness —if ever you have tried this, and I fancy most unconverted men
have tried it—if ever you have tried this, did you not find it impossible? It
was like raising the dead. Did you not find a struggle against yourself? Oh,
how plain that you are dead—not born again!
Marvel
not that we say unto you, Ye must be born again. You must be joined to Christ,
for Christ is the life. Suppose
it were possible for a dead limb to be joined into a living body so completely
that all the veins should receive the purple tide of living blood —suppose bone
to join on to bone, and sinew to sinew, and nerve to nerve—do you not see that
that limb, however dead before, would become a living limb? Before, it was cold
and stiff and motionless, and full of corruption; now it is warm and pliable,
and full of life and motion. It is a living limb, because joined on to that
which is life. Or suppose it possible for a withered branch to be grafted into
a living vine so completely that all the channels should receive the flow of
the generous sap, do you not see that that branch, however dead before, becomes
a living branch? Before, it was dry and fruitless and withered; now it is full
of sap, of life, and vigour. It is a living branch, for it is joined to the
vine, which is its life. Well, then, just in the same way, Christ is the life
of every soul that cleaves to Him, He that is joined to the Lord is one spirit.
Is your soul like a dead limb—cold, stiff, motionless, and full of corruption?
Cleave you to Christ, be joined to Him by faith, and you shall be one spirit -you
shall be made warm and vigorous and full of activity in God's service.
Is
your soul like a withered branch — dry, fruitless, and withered, wanting both
leaves and fruit? Cleave to Christ; be joined to Him, and you shall be one
spirit. You will find it true that Christ is the life; your life will be hid
with Christ in God. You will say, "I live, yet not I, but Christ lives in
me: and the life which I now live in the flesh, I live by the faith of the Son
of God, who loved me, and gave Himself for me."