The Mediator

Title:  The Mediator

Big Idea:  Jesus is the ONLY way to God.

Purpose:  We must have a personal relationship with Jesus Christ to come to God and Heaven.

Introduction:  My dad grew up in Colorado, in the middle of the Arkansas River Canyon.  His folks ran a little restaurant called The Frontier, on the highway side of the river.  There was a bridge that went across from the town of Howard, which allowed those residents access to the highway and to the towns outside of the canyon.  This bridge was the only way across for quite a few miles.   Now, my papa’s best friend was the County Commissioner at this time, and one day, my papa called his office, wanting to know when they were going to fix the hole in the bridge.  He was quite worked up, especially when Denzel said “What hole? How did it get there?”  Papa’s response was “I don’t know how, it’s just there!  Folks are having to drive all the way down to Cotopaxi to go around!”  Denzel said he’d be right there and hung up the phone.  Papa turned around, grabbed his jacket, and told the waitress “When Denzel gets here, tell him April Fool’s.  I’m going fishing.” 

            (Unlike those people, who could still get to the other side of the river, even though they’d had to drive twelve miles, there’s only one way for us to get to the other side.  Jesus Christ is our bridge, and we can’t cross alone.  We’ve got to let Him repair the holes.)

            I.  There is only one God.

                        A. He is our Creator.  (Genesis 1:1 - In the beginning God created the                                                
                              heaven and the earth.)                                                  

                        B.  He is God alone.  (Isaiah 37:16 - O LORD of hosts, God of Israel, that                       
                             dwellest between the cherubims, thou art the God, even thou                    
                             alone, of all the kingdoms of the earth: thou hast made heaven and  
                             earth.

(However, it’s not just enough to know about God.  We actually need to KNOW Him.)

            II.  We all need a relationship with God.

A.     Jesus answered and said unto him, Verily, verily, I say unto thee, Except a man be born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God (John 3:3).  (talking to Nicodemus)                                                                   *To be born again means a spiritual rebirth, to be like a new person with your sins forgiven, starting again – And you hath he quickened, who were dead in trespasses and sins; (Ephesians 2:1), quicken meaning “brought to life”.

                        B.  ¹⁷Therefore if any man be in Christ, he is a new creature: old things  
                              are passed away; behold, all things are become new. ¹⁸And all 
                              things are of God, who hath reconciled us to himself by Jesus Christ, 
                              and hath given to us the ministry of reconciliation; (2 Corinthians  
                              5:17).

(Reconciliation basically means to bring opposing sides back together.) 

            III.  We became separated from God because of sin.      

                        A.  Romans 3:23 - For all have sinned, and come short of the glory of                                          
                              God;

                        B.  Romans 6:23 - For the wages of sin is death; but the gift of God is                                            
                             eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord.                                                      

            III.  The only way for us to approach God is through a mediator, Jesus Christ.                          
                       A.  A mediator is “someone who mediates”, which means, a go-                            
                              between.                                                                                                                                                      *Someone who works with opposing sides in order to bring about an agreement, or a RECONCILIATION (Miriam-Webster).             

                       B.  Jesus is an effective mediator because that is exactly what God sent                    Him to be.  He is the God, He is the Son of God, but he is also the only                         perfect man. 

(You and I cannot be mediators because we are not without sin.  We are not God.  I am definitely not perfect.)

            IV.  You must have a personal relationship with Jesus Christ to come to God.                                                                             
                     A.  Romans 5:8 - But God commendeth his love toward us, in that,                               
                           while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us.                                                                   
                      B.  John 3:16 - 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.

(You cannot earn your way into God’s Kingdom, you cannot patch that bridge on your own.  The only way to bring about that reconciliation, and that relationship with God, is to KNOW Jesus Christ).

Conclusion:  There is only one way to become a child of God, and to enter Heaven.  And that way is through the mediator, Jesus Christ.  Let me take you back to our key verse in First Timothy. “For there is one God, and one mediator between God and men, the man, Christ Jesus.”  Paul lays it right out there for you, and it’s pretty clear cut that Jesus is IT.  In fact, Jesus said that Himself in John 14:6, where He stated “I am the way, the truth and the life, no man can come to the Father but by me.”  What does your bridge look like?