What do we do if we want answers to our questions? Where do we go? Simple questions, for instance, like definitions of words or locations of countries, can be answered by going to the dictionaries or encyclopedias sitting on our bookshelves or located at the local library. These days, we can also find many answers to our questions at on-line websites such as “Wikipedia” or other search engines. If we need a quote for the price of an insurance premium, we can go to our insurance agent or if we require advice on plumbing repairs we can visit the corner hardware store and speak with one of the people working there.
But what if we need answers to our more important questions? If we’re sick or injured and want to find out how to get better, we’ll set up an appointment with our physician. That stands to reason! And then if we are prescribed some medication, we can go to the pharmacist to obtain instructions in how to properly take the medicine.
We need to understand the underlying rule that is evident in all of these situations: We need to go to the appropriate people and/or resources to get the most appropriate, the most correct, the most accurate answers. We usually don’t go to our doctor to obtain advice in how to fix a clogged sink. Neither do we speak to our insurance agent and discuss with him or her how to find a cure for our nagging cold, sore throat, and congestion. We can see in the New Testament, specifically in the book of John that one of Christ’s apostles came to the same conclusion about Jesus and the answers He offered.
In the book of John, chapter 6, it tells us that some of the disciples of Christ could not accept His teachings and thus decided not to follow Him anymore. It says in v. 66 that they: “…went back and walked with Him no more.” [NKJV] They rejected Christ and His teachings and walked away. They abandoned Him! Jesus, of course, noticed this and went to the twelve apostles and asked them if they, too, were planning to leave Him and go home.
In John 6:68 – 69, we can read Peter’s response to Christ’s question: “…‘Lord, to whom shall we go? You have the words of eternal life. Also we have come to believe and know that You are the Christ, the Son of the living God.’” Peter recognized that there was something very special, very unique about Jesus. No one else, no other teacher could offer salvation – the teachings that lead to eternal life. He had the answers! Peter and the other apostles had become convinced that He, Jesus, truly was the promised Messiah.
This is something that we, today, all need to recognize about Christ! Many try to turn to other religious leaders like John Calvin, Martin Luther, Joseph Smith, or the Buddha and follow their teachings. Others place their trust in the ideas of secular philosophers like Friedrich Nietzsche, Jean-Paul Sartre, or David Hume. Yet, none of them, zero, offer us a way to save us from our sins and thus have a better relationship with God. It is only through Jesus Christ that we can approach our Heavenly Father. Christ said, concerning Himself, in John 14:6, “…‘I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through Me.’” It is only through obedience to the teachings of Jesus Christ, His blessed gospel that we can truly know God the Father and obtain eternal life, true immortality (John 17:1 – 2; II Timothy 1:10). Let us reject the teachings and claims of the many false teachers and latter-day seers and philosophers and rely only on the gospel of Jesus Christ, our Lord and Savior. Like Peter did so long ago, let us realize that only He, the Son of God, has the answers to our most important questions and that it is a waste of time, it is futile, to turn to anyone else.