The Biblical Path of Life

Tag: Way

  • An Example to Follow

    “There is a way which seemeth right unto a man, but the end thereof are the ways of death.”

    Proverbs 14:12

    Why do we not see a great revival in our day?

    There is a great revival recorded in the Bible (see 2 Kings 22 – 23:28 and 2 Chronicles 34-35).

    Notice what we see about young King Josiah in Second Chronicles. “For in the eighth year of his reign, while he was yet young, he began to seek after the God of David his father: and in the twelfth year he began to purge Judah and Jerusalem from the high places, and the groves, and the carved images, and the molten images” (2 Chronicles 34:3). While Josiah was yet young, he began to seek after God, and then he began to purge the land of the false gods and religious practices. Read what this entailed: “3. … he began to purge Judah and Jerusalem from the high places, and the groves, and the carved images, and the molten images. 4. And they brake down the altars of Baalim in his presence; and the images, that were on high above them, he cut down; and the groves, and the carved images, and the molten images, he brake in pieces, and made dust of them, and strowed it upon the graves of them that had sacrificed unto them. 5. And he burnt the bones of the priests upon their altars, and cleansed Judah and Jerusalem. 6. And so did he in the cities …” (2 Chronicles 34:3-6). Not only did he break the idols and groves down, but he also broke them in pieces “and made dust of them.” They were utterly destroyed. Especially recognize that those things had to be eliminated (purged from the land). This is very important because the land had to be purged before reformations could begin.

    While working on repairing the Temple, they found the book of the Law. Shaphan, the scribe, returned to the king and told him what the high priest had found. “… And Shaphan read it before the king” (2 Kings 22:10). What did the king do? “And it came to pass, when the king had heard the words of the book of the law, that he rent his clothes” (2 Kings 22:11). Read what King Josiah understood once he heard the words of the book of the Law, “… for great is the wrath of the LORD that is kindled against us, because our fathers have not hearkened unto the words of this book, to do according unto all that which is written concerning us” (2 Kings 22:13b). The king recognized just how far from God the nation was living. He not only sought God, but he acknowledged the sin of this people and even their father’s before them. 

    King Josiah was a good king. Not only did he remove the wicked things from the land, but he also humbled himself before God when he heard the Law read. Although Josiah led one final revival in Judah, where the people sought God, they had forsaken God long enough that there was only room for discipline. God saw the people living in a continual state of wickedness. We can read of God’s longsuffering and extension of Judah’s kingdom because of King Josiah’s repentance and reforms (see 2 Kings 22:11-20). One thing significant thing we should understand is the importance of reading God’s Word. Once King Josiah heard God’s Word read, he understood and knew what God had expected from His people – and just how far they had fallen short.

    We should also recognize that that time of renewal was not enough – for as soon as King Josiah died, the people reverted back to their idolatrous practices. See one important thing that they had forgotten: “There is a way which seemeth right unto a man, but the end thereof are the ways of death” (Proverbs 14:12). When the people chose to do what they wanted over faithfully obeying God’s commands, they lost their kingdom, riches, land, and many people died (Babylon besieged them and took many captive).

    Now what should we learn from this example?

    It was good for Josiah to seek God early in his life. “I love them that love me; and those that seek me early shall find me” (Proverbs 8:17). Just as Josiah removed and eliminated all of the old ways of their lives, utterly destroying them, understand what each person is to do once they have trusted in Christ: “Therefore if any man be in Christ, he is a new creature: old things are passed away; behold, all things are become new” (2 Corinthians 5:17). Christians must remove all of the ways of their life before Christ and begin anew. It is very important to read the Bible. Reading God’s Word will bring that same repentance in our hearts and lives today. We too, must do as King Josiah did – depart from evil and do what is right.

    Until we go back and read God’s Word, recognizing just how far from God our nation has gone, we will never understand what must be done to correct our problems. There has been no such time of national repentance (as in the days of King Josiah) in many years. Instead, the wickedness has become engrained in our society. Because of this, we should expect God’s judgment to fall upon us at any time.

    Have you prayed that you would be faithful to read God’s Word learning to depart from evil and choose to do what is right?

  • A Personal Testimony

    “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

    There was a very religious man, a Pharisee, named Saul. He witnessed an amazing defense of the Gospel Message of Jesus by Stephen that ended in Stephen’s death. When Saul heard of this new “way,” he actively sought to stop it. Although this may have sounded commendable, he was wrong in his thinking. Saul set out to persecute this new way, putting people in prison (see Acts 8:3). However, in reality, see what this caused: “Therefore they that were scattered abroad went every where preaching the word” (Acts 8:4).

    Saul received special permission to go to Damascus to bring any of “this way,” bound to Jerusalem. As he went, he saw a great light and heard Someone call out his name. When Saul asked who it was, he found out it was Jesus, the one whom Saul was persecuting. When he heard from Jesus, Himself, Saul had much to consider. Jesus told him, to go to the city and wait (see Acts 9:6b). Saul went to the city and waited. “And he was three days without sight, and neither did eat nor drink” (Acts 9:9).

    The Lord sent a certain disciple named Ananias to see Saul. Saul received his sight, and more importantly, he received Jesus into his heart and life. Soon, he was no longer called Saul, but Paul. He became a voice preaching the truth of Jesus. He recorded much of the New Testament for us to read today.

    Later, when he was given the opportunity to share just what had happened to him before a great crowd of people (who wanted to kill him), see how he did this.  

    • Paul briefly reminded them of the sinner he was,
    • He spent time explaining the specific call Jesus made to him,
    • He told of his personal response,
    • Then, he told of the particular job Jesus gave to Paul to accomplish with his life. 
    • Paul briefly reminded them of the sinner he was:

    “1. Men, brethren, and fathers, hear ye my defence which I make now unto you … 3. I am verily a man which am a Jew, born in Tarsus, a city in Cilicia, yet brought up in this city at the feet of Gamaliel, and taught according to the perfect manner of the law of the fathers, and was zealous toward God, as ye all are this day. 4. And I persecuted this way unto the death, binding and delivering into prisons both men and women. 5. … and went to Damascus, to bring them which were there bound unto Jerusalem, for to be punished” (Acts 22:1-5). Gamaliel was a doctor of the Law of Moses, and he had at one time been Paul’s teacher. Remember Paul was one of the religious leaders that had hated the Christians. Before Jesus called Paul, Paul persecuted any who believed or taught of “this way.” “This way” in verse 4 refers to what Jesus had said in John 14:6: “Jesus saith unto him, I am the way, the truth, and the life: no man cometh unto the Father, but by me.”  Jesus is The Way. 

    • He spent time explaining the specific call Jesus made to him & he told of his personal response:

    “6. And it came to pass, that, as I made my journey, and was come nigh unto Damascus about noon, suddenly there shone from heaven a great light round about me. 7. And I fell unto the ground, and heard a voice saying unto me, Saul, Saul, why persecutest thou me? 8. And I answered, Who art thou, Lord? And he said unto me, I am Jesus of Nazareth, whom thou persecutest. 9. And they that were with me saw indeed the light, and were afraid; but they heard not the voice of him that spake to me. 10. And I said, What shall I do, Lord? And the Lord said unto me, Arise, and go into Damascus; and there it shall be told thee of all things which are appointed for thee to do. 11. And when I could not see for the glory of that light, being led by the hand of them that were with me, I came into Damascus. 12. And one Ananias, a devout man … 13. Came unto me, and stood, and said unto me, Brother Saul, receive thy sight. And the same hour I looked up upon him. 14. And he said, The God of our fathers hath chosen thee, that thou shouldest know his will, and see that Just One, and shouldest hear the voice of his mouth. 15. For thou shalt be his witness unto all men of what thou hast seen and heard.” (Acts 22:6-15). 

    • And then the particular job Jesus gave to Paul to accomplish with his life:

    Paul (Saul) was saved when Jesus called him, and he responded to that call. However, God had a job for him to do. “18. And saw him saying unto me, Make haste, and get thee quickly out of Jerusalem: for they will not receive thy testimony concerning me. … 21. And he said unto me, Depart: for I will send thee far hence unto the Gentiles” (Acts 22:17-21).  Jesus called Paul, he believed and was saved, and then God sent him to preach Jesus – primarily to the Gentiles.

    This is a good basis for anyone to use who will give their testimony of the time they gave their heart and life to Jesus. Spend time understanding how to simply share. A personal testimony of when Jesus called upon one’s heart is pivotal in witnessing to someone else. 

    Have you ever shared your personal salvation experience with anyone else?

    How to be Saved

  • A Wise Man

    “Because strait is the gate, and narrow is the way, which leadeth unto life, and few there be that find it.”
    Matthew 7:14

    There are countless people who believe there are “many” ways to get to heaven. We can see this evidenced in numerous religions out there that promise eternal life in heaven. These religions (and personal opinions) give false hope of eternal life because they do not teach there is only One way; Jesus.

    Jesus spent much time teaching, and the most important thing He came to reveal was the truth about eternity. He taught about the Strait Gate. After telling of the importance of entering in at the strait gate, He explained: “Because strait is the gate, and narrow is the way, which leadeth unto life, and few there be that find it” (Matthew 7:13-14). This Strait Gate leads to life, yet few find it (it is also called the door of the sheep in John 10:7). Jesus is that Gate (Door). This is a picture of Salvation through faith in Jesus. Those who enter by “other” ways, think they are heading to life eternal. When one rejects Jesus, they often choose an easier path than the strait and narrow path that Jesus requires.  

    That is why while continuing in the Christian life, one will find other people who declare they are a Christian, yet who do not hold the truth of God’s Word in their hearts – those who have not gained salvation through Jesus. They may challenge your Christian faith. “5. Having a form of godliness, but denying the power thereof: from such turn away … 7. Ever learning, and never able to come to the knowledge of the truth” (2 Timothy 3:5, 7). We are warned to turn away from their “form of godliness.”

    Jesus gave another warning to help us understand this. “Not every one that saith unto me, Lord, Lord, shall enter into the kingdom of heaven; but he that doeth the will of my Father which is in heaven” (Matthew 7:21). Who will enter the kingdom of heaven? We just read, “he that doeth the will of my Father.” What is the will of his Father? It is to “enter ye in at the strait gate,” which is to believe in Jesus for salvation.

    Right after this, we read what Jesus taught about two very different men. One He called a wise man. This man He likened to one who heard the teachings of Jesus and did them. This man built his house upon a rock. A rock is solid and does not move. “And the rain descended, and the floods came, and the winds blew, and beat upon that house; and it fell not: for it was founded upon a rock” (Matthew 7:25). Whatever opposed the wise man, his house stood, for it was founded upon Jesus, the Rock: “… and that Rock was Christ” (1 Corinthians 10:4b).

    The other man he called a foolish man. “And every one that heareth these sayings of mine, and doeth them not, shall be likened unto a foolish man, which built his house upon the sand” (Matthew 7:26). What made him foolish? He heard Jesus’ teachings, yet did not do them. This is building a house upon the sand – for it is constantly shifting or moving. (Religions and man’s opinions continually change.) What happens when one builds their house upon the sand? “And the rain descended, and the floods came, and the winds blew, and beat upon that house; and it fell: and great was the fall of it” (Matthew 7:27). Not only does the foolish man’s house fall when troubles come, but that fall is great.

    Christians will encounter people who have chosen numerous different paths, by many different men’s teachings (religions/opinions). They all sound much easier and quicker than the One true way that the Bible teaches. The journey may not appear easy, but Christians have the assurance that the Narrow Way is the Only way to life everlasting. In addition, Christians have God’s written Word that was given to read which will help in this Christian life. Christians can learn many things in the Bible that are profitable, enabling them to become stable, building a strong house (life) upon the Rock that is Jesus. One should find comfort in God’s Word that will help in this Christian life, teaching one what to do.

    Have you chosen to be wise and build your house upon the rock?

    How to be Saved

  • A Death Sentence

    “But without faith it is impossible to please him: for he that cometh to God must believe that he is, and that he is a rewarder of them that diligently seek him.”
    Hebrews 11:6

    Naaman healed of leprosy is a very familiar event that happened in the Old Testament. In Bible times, leprosy was much like a death sentence. There was no known cure. However, have you ever considered a great lesson that can be understood from this event?

    Read what we know about Naaman. “Now Naaman, captain of the host of the king of Syria, was a great man with his master, and honourable, because by him the LORD had given deliverance unto Syria: he was also a mighty man in valour, but he was a leper” (2 Kings 5:1). Naaman was a great, honorable, and a mighty man in valor that God had used to give victory to Syria. But he was a leper.

    A young servant girl understood what being a leper meant, and she wanted to see him healed. She knew the answer to his problem. There was a man of God (from her homeland in Israel) named Elisha who knew how to recover Naaman of his leprosy. Naaman went to the door of Elisha with his horses and chariot. “And Elisha sent a messenger unto him, saying, Go and wash in Jordan seven times, and thy flesh shall come again to thee, and thou shalt be clean” (2 Kings 5:10). Naaman was very angry. He went away saying, “Behold, I thought, He will surely come out to me, and stand, and call on the name of the LORD his God, and strike his hand over the place, and recover the leper” (2 Kings 5:11b). Naaman expected Elisha to come out of the house and do something to heal him from his leprosy. Instead, Elisha had required that Naaman needed to do something. He was to obey the word of the prophet. Naaman declared there were better rivers in Syria than in Israel. “May I not wash in them, and be clean? So he turned and went away in a rage” (2 Kings 5:12b).

    Naaman had servants that gave him good counsel. They suggested that if Naaman had been asked to do some great thing, wouldn’t he have done it just to be healed from his leprosy? “Then went he down, and dipped himself seven times in Jordan, according to the saying of the man of God: and his flesh came again like unto the flesh of a little child, and he was clean” (2 Kings 5:14). When Naaman acted in faith, believing the word of God’s prophet, he was healed. He returned to Elisha and said, “Behold, now I know that there is no God in all the earth, but in Israel” (2 Kings 5:15b).

    What almost stopped Naaman from obeying the man of God? His pride. He thought that the man of God must do something (stand, call on the name of the LORD his God, and strike his hand over the place) in order form him to be healed. The only thing it took was for Naaman to humble himself, believe Elisha, and act upon that belief. His leprosy was a physical death sentence. However, not knowing God was a spiritual death sentence. Because Naaman acted in faith, he was cured of both conditions.

    There are many good people today who do many great things, but they have a problem. They are sinners, which is a spiritual death sentence. “For all have sinned, and come short of the glory of God” (Romans 3:23). They are in the same condition as Naaman. They need to know God. “But without faith it is impossible to please him: for he that cometh to God must believe that he is, and that he is a rewarder of them that diligently seek him” (Hebrews 11:6). People need someone much like that servant girl to help them understand that there is deliverance available – if they would only have faith and act upon it. What is the message we need to get out to good people who have this problem? We need to tell them the only way to God is through Jesus. “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).

    Are you a good person with a spiritual death sentence?

    Or were you a sinner that believed, sought diligently and found Jesus?

    How to be Saved

  • The Only Way

    Each Christian needs to know, and even memorize, these scriptures in order to tell someone else how to be saved. Tell someone today!

    1. Lostness:  Romans 3:23:  “For all have sinned, and come short of the glory of God;”
    2. Penalty: Romans 6:23:  “For the wages of sin is death; but the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord.”
    3. Price:  Romans 5:8:  “But God commendeth his love toward us, in that, while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us.”
    4. Response:  Romans 10:9-10:  “9. That if thou shalt confess with thy mouth the Lord Jesus, and shalt believe in thine heart that God hath raised him from the dead, thou shalt be saved. 10. For with the heart man believeth unto righteousness; and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation.”
    5. Security:  Romans 8:38-39:  “38. For I am persuaded, that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor principalities, nor powers, nor things present, nor things to come, 39. Nor height, nor depth, nor any other creature, shall be able to separate us from the love of God, which is in Christ Jesus our Lord.”
    6. New Life:  Romans 12:1-2:  “1. I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that ye present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable unto God, which is your reasonable service. 2. And be not conformed to this world: but be ye transformed by the renewing of your mind, that ye may prove what is that good, and acceptable, and perfect, will of God.”

  • Strait is the Gate, and Narrow is the Way

    Jesus taught what many call “The Sermon on the Mount.” In that sermon He taught the character qualities of the kingdom He would establish. The things He taught the people were many practical ways to live. As He came toward the end of this sermon, He presented a choice. Jesus always gives each person a choice that must be made. No one else can make that choice. But Jesus encouraged the right choice. “13. Enter ye in at the strait gate: for wide is the gate, and broad is the way, that leadeth to destruction, and many there be which go in thereat: 14. Because strait is the gate, and narrow is the way, which leadeth unto life, and few there be that find it” (Matthew 7:13-14).

    Notice that the way that leads to destruction (means “ruin or loss; death, damnation”) is wide and broad – and many go that way.

    But see that the way that leads to life (means “life; or to live”) is strait and narrow – and few find it.

    What is the difference?

    The Bible teaches that everyone is a sinner (Romans 3:23). And the penalty for that sin is death (Romans 6:23). The only One who paid that penalty for us is Jesus (Romans 5:8). Jesus declared He is The Way (see John 14:6). What are we to do with that information? (See Romans 10:9-10.) We rarely hear this today. Many times we hear that as long as you are good, go to church, say a little prayer to God and try to live your best that you will go to heaven.

    What Jesus said after the invitation to choose the strait gate and the narrow way.

    Read what Jesus said after the invitation to choose the strait gate and the narrow way that leads to life. “Beware of false prophets, which come to you in sheep’s clothing, but inwardly they are ravening wolves” (Matthew 7:15). A false prophet (means “deceitful; wicked; liar; a pretend foreteller or religious imposter”) looks like the real thing (they come to you in sheep’s clothing). (See also 2 Peter 2:1-3.) They tell people try to be really good. They teach we are to do good works, make good decisions, to be kind to others, love one another, don’t break the law, and so many other “good” things. But is that the way to life? Can any person be “good” enough? A false prophet offers a religion of one who can come as they are, and just do good things. This is a false religion based upon works. A false teacher produces fruit just like him (see Matthew 7:16). If that person teaches a faith based upon works, not Jesus, they will produce a follower that looks like a Christian, but not like Christ. Religion based upon works promises heaven, but the path is destruction (death; damnation). Faith in Jesus promises life and one day heaven, but you must enter in by the straight gate and the narrow way. Take note that few there be that find it. 

    Jesus warned again of false prophets. “And many false prophets shall rise, and shall deceive many” (Matthew 24:11).

    We can also read something very scary. “21. Not every one that saith unto me, Lord, Lord, shall enter into the kingdom of heaven; but he that doeth the will of my Father which is in heaven. 22. Many will say to me in that day, Lord, Lord, have we not prophesied in thy name? and in thy name have cast out devils? and in thy name done many wonderful works? 23. And then will I profess unto them, I never knew you: depart from me, ye that work iniquity.” (Matthew 7:21-23).

    Many people are self-deceived.

    Make sure you are not.

    For there is a day when it will be too late. See what Jesus warned, “24. Strive to enter in at the strait gate: for many, I say unto you, will seek to enter in, and shall not be able. 25. When once the master of the house is risen up, and hath shut to the door, and ye begin to stand without, and to knock at the door, saying, Lord, Lord, open unto us; and he shall answer and say unto you, I know you not whence ye are” (Luke 13:24-25).