{"id":3743,"date":"2024-01-24T17:40:23","date_gmt":"2024-01-24T17:40:23","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.desiringgodchurch.org\/web\/?p=3743"},"modified":"2024-01-24T17:40:23","modified_gmt":"2024-01-24T17:40:23","slug":"the-right-path","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/hi10.in\/dgcc\/2024\/01\/24\/the-right-path\/","title":{"rendered":"The Right Path"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>\u201cThere is a way that seems right to a man, but its end is the way to death\u201d (Proverbs 14:12 and 16:25).<\/p>\n<p>In my 14 January sermon, we spoke of this way that seems right to us as the way of <em>taking <\/em>\u2013 taking rather than giving. God is a Giver \u2013 when we display His image, we too are givers rather than takers.<\/p>\n<p>Let\u2019s now think more broadly about the image in this proverb:<\/p>\n<p>You are on a lengthy walk. You come to a point where numerous paths come together. How can you choose the right one?<\/p>\n<p>Jesus tells us: \u201cI am the way, and the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me\u201d (John 14:6).<\/p>\n<p>That is: \u201cThe right path is ME! Every other path has its attractions \u2013 but they all lead AWAY from the Father and thus TOWARDS death!\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Note that our Lord tells us to choose the right GOAL, and then to choose the right PATH TO REACH THE GOAL.<\/p>\n<p>The right goal is the Father \u2013 our Creator, our Redeemer, who is \u201cmerciful and gracious, slow to anger, and abounding in steadfast love and faithfulness, keeping steadfast love for thousands, forgiving iniquity and transgression and sin, but who will by no means clear the guilty\u201d (Exodus 34:6-7). He is the source of \u201cevery good gift and every perfect gift\u201d (James 1:17); in the end He will wipe every tear from your eyes (Revelation 21:4) and will provide you with fullness of joy in His presence (Psalm 16:11).<\/p>\n<p>Other goals tempt us. We pursue instead recognition or approval or money or accomplishment or security or friendship and joy in this life. None of those are bad in and of themselves; all can be among the good gifts that God grants. But when we choose a path because it seems to lead to one or more of these goals, we end up on the path to death.<\/p>\n<p>So we must pursue the right GOAL: The Father.<\/p>\n<p>That\u2019s a necessary requirement for choosing the right path.<\/p>\n<p>But many have the right goal in mind but still are on the wrong path \u2013 because they choose a path other than Jesus:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Some choose the path of self-improvement: \u201cI can make myself acceptable to God! I\u2019ll live a better life than most people!\u201d<\/li>\n<li>Others choose the path of appeasement: \u201cIf I sacrifice this or that, if I worship Him in this way, if I perform that ritual, then God will accept me!\u201d<\/li>\n<li>Others choose a path that sort of looks like Jesus but isn\u2019t: \u201cI made a profession of faith when I was 15;\u201d \u201cI attend a Bible-believing church every Sunday;\u201d \u201cI read my Bible daily;\u201d \u201cI accepted Jesus into my heart.\u201d<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>Again, none of these are bad in and of themselves \u2013 many are often part of a genuine Christian life. But they cannot be THE PATH; they cannot be WHAT WE DEPEND ON.<\/p>\n<p>Jesus says there is no path to the Father other than Himself. He is not ONE source of truth or ONE alternative way to pursue life. He ALONE is the source of Truth; He ALONE is the source of Life. Every other path that seems right to us leads not to Life, not to the Father, but to death and destruction.<\/p>\n<p>Furthermore, note one vital difference between Jesus as the path and those alternatives that just look a bit like Jesus. The alternatives depend either on a ritual \u2013 church attendance, Bible reading \u2013 or on a past act. In contrast, when Jesus is the path, WE PUT OUR WEIGHT ON HIM EVERY STEP. That is, we are tempted, and turn quickly to Him asking for grace to help in time of need. We sin, and we seek forgiveness from the Father through Jesus. We have a decision to make \u2013 and we ask for wisdom and grace through Jesus. To be on Jesus as the path is to live a life of active dependence on Him.<\/p>\n<p>So the Father is THE ONLY GOAL WORTH PURSUING. And Jesus is THE WAY. There is no other path to the Father. Every other path leads to death.<\/p>\n<p>Take Jesus as the path \u2013 and thereby find the truth and the life.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>\u201cThere is a way that seems right to a man, but its end is the way to death\u201d (Proverbs 14:12 and 16:25). In my 14 January sermon, we spoke of&hellip;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"give_campaign_id":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[11,15],"tags":[93,2465,2941,1755,1567,2940,2939,2943,2942],"class_list":["post-3743","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-blog","category-devotions","tag-active-dependence","tag-goal","tag-john-146","tag-proverbs","tag-the-way-the-truth-and-the-life","tag-way-of-death","tag-way-of-life","tag-way-to-death","tag-wrong-path"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/hi10.in\/dgcc\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3743","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/hi10.in\/dgcc\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/hi10.in\/dgcc\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/hi10.in\/dgcc\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/hi10.in\/dgcc\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=3743"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/hi10.in\/dgcc\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3743\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":3745,"href":"https:\/\/hi10.in\/dgcc\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3743\/revisions\/3745"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/hi10.in\/dgcc\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=3743"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/hi10.in\/dgcc\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=3743"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/hi10.in\/dgcc\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=3743"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}