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THE WAY, THE TRUTH & THE LIFE
Based on the message by Blake Bradley
OVERVIEW
Jesus said, “I am the way, the truth, and the life.” These are not simply things Jesus gives us. They reveal who He is.
Jesus is the only way to the Father. Salvation is not found through our own goodness, accomplishments, knowledge, or another path. It is found in Jesus Christ alone.
Jesus is also the truth. In a world filled with competing voices, opinions, feelings, and ideas, we need a standard that does not change. We cannot determine truth by what feels right, what culture accepts, or what someone else tells us. We know truth by knowing Jesus and His Word.
But knowing what Jesus says is not enough. He calls us to hear His words and do them. When we hear and obey, we build our lives on the Rock. When we take some of God’s truth and mix it with ideas that contradict His Word, we build on an unstable foundation.
Jesus is also the life. Nothing this world offers can take His place. True life, eternal life, and resurrection life are found in Him.
“He is the only way to life. To know Him is to know truth. To know Him is to know the way to the Father.”
HOW TO USE THIS STUDY GUIDE
Read → Respond → Reflect
Read each passage carefully before answering the Respond questions. Keep your Bible open and allow Scripture itself to provide the answers.
Then use the Reflect questions to examine what you believe and how you live. Ask the Holy Spirit to expose lies, mixture, or areas where you have heard the truth but have not obeyed it.
This guide is designed for individual study, family discipleship, and Roads Groups.
SECTION 1 — JESUS IS THE ONLY WAY
Focus
Jesus did not say He is one of many ways to the Father. He said He is the way.
We cannot earn salvation through our goodness, accomplishments, family, knowledge, or religious activity. Salvation is found in Jesus Christ alone. He is the door, and those who enter through Him are saved.
Following Jesus also means recognizing that His way is not necessarily the broad or popular way. We surrender our lives to Him, follow Him, and trust that He alone leads us to the Father.
Read
John 14:6; Acts 4:10–12; John 10:7–10
Respond
- What three things does Jesus say about Himself in John 14:6?
- According to Jesus, how does someone come to the Father?
- What does Acts 4:12 say about salvation in any other name?
- What does Jesus call Himself in John 10:7 and 9?
- What does Jesus say happens to the person who enters through Him?
Reflect
- Do I truly believe Jesus is the only way, or have I allowed other ideas about salvation to influence what I believe?
- Is there any area where I am relying on being a “good person” rather than what Jesus has done for me?
- Have I surrendered to Jesus as Lord, or do I mainly want Him to fit into the life I have chosen for myself?
- Where might following Jesus require me to choose His way even when another way seems easier or more accepted?
Further Scripture Reading
Matthew 7:13–14
SECTION 2 — JESUS IS THE TRUTH
Focus
When Pilate stood before Jesus and asked, “What is truth?” he was looking directly at the Truth.
Truth is not determined by our feelings, opinions, experiences, culture, friends, podcasts, or social media. Jesus is truth, and we come to know His truth through His Word.
There will always be voices saying something different from what God has said. We need to know the Word of God well enough to recognize what is true and stand firm when other voices contradict it.
Read
John 18:33–38; John 8:31–32; John 17:17
Respond
- What question does Pilate ask Jesus in John 18:38?
- According to John 8:31, what identifies someone as a disciple of Jesus?
- What does Jesus say we will know if we abide in His Word?
- What does Jesus say the truth will do?
- According to John 17:17, what is truth?
Reflect
- What has the greatest influence on what I believe: Scripture, my feelings, culture, people around me, or something else?
- When something I believe conflicts with God’s Word, which one am I most likely to question?
- Is there something I have accepted as “my truth” that I need to bring back under the truth of Jesus?
- How well do I know Scripture for myself, rather than depending on someone else to tell me what it says?
- What voices in my life need to be measured more carefully against God’s Word?
Further Scripture Reading
2 Timothy 3:14–17
SECTION 3 — BUILD YOUR LIFE ON THE ROCK, NOT MIXTURE
Focus
Jesus described two foundations: rock and sand. The Rock is Jesus. Blake described sand as a picture of mixture, pieces of different things combined together.
Mixture happens when we take God’s truth and combine it with ideas, beliefs, values, or practices that contradict His Word. It may still contain some truth, but it no longer provides a solid foundation.
Jesus is returning for a pure Bride. God calls His people to resist mixture rather than adopting the ways of the culture around them. Our lives need to be built completely on Jesus and His truth.
Read
Matthew 7:24–27; Psalm 106:34–39
Respond
- What foundation did the wise man build his house upon?
- What foundation did the foolish man choose?
- What happened to each house when the storm came?
- According to Psalm 106:34–35, what did God’s people fail to do, and whom did they begin to mingle with?
- What happened as they began learning the practices of the nations around them?
Reflect
- Where might I be mixing God’s Word with what culture says is acceptable?
- Is there something I know Scripture says that I have been trying to modify, explain away, or make more comfortable?
- Have I allowed repeated exposure to something contrary to God’s Word to make it seem normal?
- If a storm exposed the foundation of my beliefs today, what areas would prove to be firmly built on Jesus, and what areas might shift?
- What mixture is the Holy Spirit asking me to remove so that my life is built more completely on Christ?
Further Scripture Reading
2 Peter 3:11–14
SECTION 4 — HEAR THE WORD AND DO IT
Focus
Jesus makes an important distinction between hearing His words and actually doing them.
The wise person hears Jesus and obeys Him. Hearing truth without putting it into practice does not create a strong foundation. We can know Scripture, attend church, listen to teaching, and still choose not to obey what God has said.
Obedience means bringing our thoughts, decisions, habits, relationships, and actions under the authority of Jesus. When we hear His Word and do what He says, we are building our lives on Him.
Read
Matthew 7:24–27; James 1:22–25
Respond
- According to Matthew 7:24, what two things does the wise person do?
- What does Jesus compare that person to?
- What does the foolish person do differently in Matthew 7:26?
- What warning does James 1:22 give to those who only hear the Word?
- According to James 1:25, what is promised to the person who continues in the Word and does what it says?
Reflect
- What is something God has already shown me in His Word that I have not acted on?
- Have I confused knowing Scripture with obeying Scripture?
- Is there an area where I am offering God partial obedience while knowing what He has actually asked of me?
- What excuse have I been using to delay obedience?
- What specific act of obedience can I take this week based on something God has already said?
Further Scripture Reading
Luke 11:27–28
SECTION 5 — JESUS IS THE ONLY LIFE
Focus
Jesus does not simply show us how to have a better life. He is life.
We can pursue pleasure, success, money, relationships, experiences, and everything else this world offers and still miss the life that is found only in Jesus.
When Lazarus had died, Jesus told Martha, “I am the resurrection and the life.” Our hope is not found in what this world can provide. Jesus gives eternal life, and His resurrection power brings us out of death and into life.
To know Jesus is to know life.
Read
John 11:21–27; John 10:10
Respond
- What does Martha tell Jesus she believes about her brother?
- What does Jesus declare about Himself in John 11:25?
- What does Jesus promise concerning the person who believes in Him?
- According to John 10:10, what does the thief come to do?
- Why does Jesus say He came?
Reflect
- What have I been pursuing because I believe it will make me feel truly alive?
- Have success, relationships, money, experiences, pleasure, or approval begun taking a place in my life that belongs to Jesus?
- Is there an area of my life that feels dead, hopeless, or defined by my past?
- Do I believe the resurrection power of Jesus can change the way I think and live now, not only give me eternal life someday?
- What would it look like for me to stop searching for life somewhere else and find my life fully in Jesus?
Further Scripture Reading
Romans 6:4–11
FINAL ENCOURAGEMENT
“He is the only way to life. To know Him is to know truth. To know Him is to know the way to the Father.”
Ask the Holy Spirit to show you if there is any lie you have been believing. Is there an area where culture, feelings, opinions, or your own desires have become louder than the Word of God? Is there mixture in your foundation? Is there truth you have heard but have not obeyed?
Bring those things before Jesus. Repent where you need to repent, surrender what needs to be surrendered, and choose to stand on His Word.
Jesus is the Way. Jesus is the Truth. Jesus is the Life.