The Way of Truth and Life

   Mankind. Spiritually adrift, confused, lost, miserable, 
   seeking. Mankind on the wrong road - on a million wrong roads. 
   A million roads to nowhere. Mankind in chains, chains of his 
   own making. Mankind caught in a thousand snares from which he 
   is unable to escape. Mankind a slave - a slave of his own 
   passions and perverse inclinations. Mankind a prisoner of his 
   own perverse nature and mind. Confused mankind lost in a 
   wilderness of lie and Satanic deception. Everywhere signs point 
   this way and that and they all point to roads to nowhere. 
   
   Which is the right road? Where can you find it? Who can you 
   trust to show it to you? Where is the truth? How can you find 
   it? How can you know it? That is the question. 

   Truth.  Understanding.  Wisdom.  Knowledge of the Deep.  
   Understanding of the Profound.  Would you know profound truth, 
   my friend, if you saw it?  What does it look like?  Would you 
   know it if it were staring you in the face?  Or are you one of 
   those scoffers who say it doesn't exist?  Are you one of those 
   who say life is all just a joke and a comedy and nothing more;  
   that there is no God and no life after this one; that truth is 
   all relative, that there is no absolute truth.  That there is 
   nothing more to do but to get all you can from this life, to 
   live life to the hilt, to indulge all your appetites, to 
   get all the pleasure you can while you can --- for that is all 
   there is and there is nothing more.  Well, yours is not some 
   new, modern outlook, my friend.  It is an old one, as old as 
   man himself.  And the Bible has a response to it.  It says, 
   "The fool has said in his heart, 'There is no God'" (Psalms 
   53:1).  And it assures us that there is a God and that there is 
   a life after this one and that the righteous in this life will 
   be rewarded and the wicked and immoral will indeed be punished.  
   Or are you one of those who has turned his back on Christianity 
   and is looking to other religions and other gods?  Again the 
   Bible has a response:  The God of the Bible, Jehovah God, has 
   stated that he is "the God of gods and Lord of lords, the great 
   God, mighty and awesome" (Deut 10:17).  He has said, "I am the 
   first and I am the last and besides me there is no God" (Isaiah 
   44:6) --- and that we must serve him and him only --- and that 
   to serve other gods is sin of the highest magnitude (idolatry).  
   See Ex 20:3-5 and Matt 4:10.  That he is a jealous God who will 
   not accept the worship of other gods.  Or are you one of those 
   who says to me, "I am just not interested in religion"?  Again 
   the Bible has a response: You are a fool.  Are you listening to 
   me, my friend?  The message is for you. 

   Back in the very beginning God created this world we live in.  
   He created the whole expansive universe with all its 
   innumerable great distant galaxies, its hundreds of trillions of 
   stars, and its awesome, mind-boggling distances.  He created 
   the earth and all the various amazing forms of life on it and 
   all the marvels and wonders that we see about us.  He created 
   the amazing world of the tiny atom, all the various chemical 
   elements, and their mysterious ways of combining.  He created 
   biological cells and reproductive processes and all the various 
   amazing laws and mechanisms by which nature operates.  And he 
   created man "in his own image".  And he gave man a conscience, 
   a knowledge of right and wrong, and explicit spiritual and 
   moral laws to live by.  And then what happened?  What happened, 
   I think is very interesting.  His very own creation, his 
   special beloved creation that he had created in his own image -
   -- puny, mortal man --- turned against him.  Puny, mortal man 
   had the audacity, the nerve, the impudence, to challenge him, 
   to question him, to defy him.  His special creation rebelled 
   against him, cursed him, spit in his face.  His creation 
   defied all his rules, turned to other gods, to violence and 
   immorality, to gross sexual perversions.  Not only that but 
   even while surrounded by all the great and marvelous world that 
   surrounded him, puny, mortal man had the amazing conceit and 
   arrogance to declare, in his intellectual foolishness, that 
   there was no God.  How did all this great and amazing creation 
   come into existence, he is asked.  It just happened, he says.  
   The story goes further.  God sent his beloved son, the Lord 
   Jesus Christ, down to earth as a messenger to man and man 
   rejected him, abused him, and crucified him.  God has 
   repeatedly gone to great lengths for his creation and received 
   only abuse and rejection. I do observe, however, that God has 
   the last word.  How is that, do you say.  Man is mortal.  Each 
   man must face his maker one day.  There is more than a little 
   foolishness in man's great arrogance. 


   The fool has said in his heart, "There is no God." 
    They are corrupt, and have done abominable iniquity; 
   There is none who does good.  
    God looks down from heaven upon the children of men, 
   To see if there are any who understand, who seek God.  
    Every one of them has turned aside; 
   They have together become corrupt; 
    There is none who does good, 
   No, not one.  
    Have the workers of iniquity no knowledge ... ?  

                                         Psalms 53:1-4           



   Modern man.  Immoral, depraved, wicked.  In deep transgression 
   against God and his law.  The Western World.  Up to its ears in 
   immorality and sin.  Modern Europe.  Spiritually bankrupt.  A 
   lost case.  At rock bottom morally and spiritually.  Modern 
   America.  Deep in wickedness.  Pornography, promiscuity, 
   adultery, homosexuality.  You name it.  Gross sin.  Sin of 
   every sort and description.  America has lost her way.  She 
   doesn't know right from wrong.  Mankind.  Stubborn.  Obstinate.  
   Wayward.  Rebellious.  Defiant against God and his way. 
    

      I am the way, the truth and the life: no man cometh unto 
      the Father, but by me.

                                   -- words of Jesus, John 14:6


    The Way.  The Path.  The lesser traveled path.  The path 
      of light, life, wisdom and understanding.  

       
    The road.  The lesser traveled road.  The solitary road.

      
      Enter at the narrow gate.  For wide is the gate and broad is 
       the way that leads to destruction and many there are who go 
       in thereat.  Narrow is the gate and difficult is the way 
       which leads to life and few there are who find it.  

                                ---  words of Jesus, Matt. 7:13-14 


       
     There is presented to each a high road and a low;
       And each decides which way he will go.



     I am the light of the world. He who follows me shall not walk
      in darkness, but have the light of life.  

                                     --- words of Jesus, John 8:12

 
  
      For with thee is the fountain of life: 
       in thy light shall we see light.  
      O continue thy lovingkindness unto them that know thee; 
       and thy righteousness to the upright in heart.
                                                Psalms 36:9-10




      In the way of righteousness is life; 
       and in the pathway thereof there is no death.   
                                     Proverbs 12:28
      



      The fear of the Lord, that is wisdom, 
       and to depart from evil is understanding.  
                                         Job 28:28


   Come, you children, listen to me; 
    I will teach you the fear of the LORD. 
   Who is the man who desires life, 
    And loves many days, that he may see good? 
   Keep your tongue from evil, 
    And your lips from speaking deceit. 
   Depart from evil and do good; 
    Seek peace and pursue it. 
   The eyes of the LORD are on the righteous, 
    And His ears are open to their cry.
   The face of the LORD is against those who do evil, 
    To cut off the remembrance of them from the earth. 

                                       Psalms 34:11-16




   Let us hear the conclusion of the whole matter: Fear God, and 
   keep his commandments: for this is the whole duty of man. For 
   God shall bring every work into judgment, with every secret 
   thing, whether it be good, or whether it be evil. 

                                 Ecclesiastes 12:13-14   





   The way of the wicked is an abomination to the LORD, 
   But He loves him who follows righteousness. 

   The LORD is far from the wicked, 
   But He hears the prayer of the righteous. 

   Everyone proud in heart is an abomination to the LORD; 
   Though they join forces, none will go unpunished. 

   The fear of the LORD is a fountain of life, 
   To turn one away from the snares of death. 
 
   The mouth of the righteous is a well of life, 
   But violence covers the mouth of the wicked. 

   The sacrifice of the wicked is an abomination to the LORD, 
   But the prayer of the upright is His delight. 

   Righteousness guards him whose way is blameless, 
   But wickedness overthrows the sinner. 

   The heart of him who has understanding seeks knowledge, 
   But the mouth of fools feeds on foolishness. 

   The highway of the upright is to depart from evil; 
   He who keeps his way preserves his soul. 

   Understanding is a wellspring of life to him who has it. 
   But the correction of fools is folly. 

   A wholesome tongue is a tree of life, 
   But perverseness in it breaks the spirit. 
 
   A fool has no delight in understanding, 
   But in expressing his own heart. 

   The heart of the prudent acquires knowledge, 
   And the ear of the wise seeks knowledge. 

   The law of the wise is a fountain of life, 
   To turn one away from the snares of death. 

   The fear of the LORD leads to life, 
   And he who has it will abide in satisfaction; 
   He will not be visited with evil. 

   Even a child is known by his deeds, 
   Whether what he does is pure and right. 

   To do righteousness and justice 
   Is more acceptable to the LORD than sacrifice. 

   There is no wisdom or understanding 
   Or counsel against the LORD. 

   By humility and the fear of the LORD 
   Are riches and honor and life. 

   Through wisdom a house is built, 
   And by understanding it is established; 
   By knowledge the rooms are filled 
   With all precious and pleasant riches. 

   He who covers his sins will not prosper, 
   But whoever confesses and forsakes them will have mercy. 

                                   Selections from Proverbs