WHAT IS THE WAY?

Before Paul was converted, he was out to arrest anyone connected to the Christian church. But, at that time, they did not call themselves Christians, in fact, that was a derogatory term in those days. Originally, they were called the Church of God. The name Church of God is used 8 times in the New Testament. The plural term "Churches of God" is used 3 times.

Paul himself referred to the true church by this name when he said, "For ye have heard of my conversation in time past in the Jews' religion, how that beyond measure I persecuted the church of God, and wasted it..." Galatians 1:13 Paul says in 1 Corinthians 15:9 "For I am the least of the apostles, that am not meet to be called an apostle, because I persecuted the church of God."

So it is well established that the early church was called The Church of God and they followed something called "the way."   This way was not very popular at the time. There was a movement to crush it, led by the priests or Sadducees. (Zadoks sons) These were the same men behind the death of Christ. They were not satisfied to kill Christ, they wanted all of his followers put to death as well, and Paul was their cohort. At the stoning of Stephen, Paul held the coats of the men throwing the stones. Which tells you that he was the one behind it.

Paul (called Saul before his conversion) worked in powerful conjunction with the Sadducees to kill anyone he caught following "the way." with full authority of the high priest. "Then Saul, still breathing threats and murder against the disciples of the Lord, went to the high priest and asked letters from him to the synagogues of Damascus, so that if he found any who were of the Way, whether men or women, he might bring them bound to Jerusalem."
Acts 9:1-2

We all know the story of Paul's conversion. It had to really hurt those priests when Paul converted to Christianity. I would have liked to have seen the look on their faces when they found out Paul had become a follower of Christ. Then Paul himself became a victim of persecution for following the way. He went to trial. Acts 24:22 says, "But when Felix (the governor) heard these things, having more accurate knowledge of the Way, he adjourned..." Felix did not disagree with Paul as much as he did not want to aggravate the Jews, so he left Paul in jail for 2 years after this trial.

In those days you went to jail or you were put to death if you followed "the way." We have to remember that "the way" at that time, was not purely about keeping the Sabbath alone. It was not purely about keeping the Holy Days, or the food laws, because all Jews were supposed to do those things. It was about being a follower of Jesus Christ and about following His teachings. The teachings of Christ were more strict than that of the Jews, even though the conception is that He was a rebel who did away with everything. That is not true. The truth is that Christ taught a more perfect kind of obedience to God. Christ taught that God wants us to worship God in Spirit and in truth.

Peter called it "the way of truth." He also called it the "way of righteousness." 2 Peter 2:21-22 says, "For it had been better for them not to have known the way of righteousness, than, after they have known it, to turn from the holy commandment delivered unto them." So we see that this way of righteousness was connected to keeping the Holy Commandments.

True Christianity was and is a way of life. It is the way of God that God wants us to live.   It is based on belief in Jesus Christ, obedience to God, receiving the Holy Spirit, conversion...in other words, being changed due to these things.   Becoming more and more like Christ. We learn more and more as we go, how Christ wants us to live.

The New Testament outlines the birth of true Christianity, and all that it entails. We have to learn the way of God bit by bit and God wants us to learn it more perfectly. Acts 18:24-26 explains that one can learn "the way" more perfectly. It says "Now a certain Jew named Apollos, born at Alexandria, an eloquent man and mighty in the Scriptures, came to Ephesus. This man had been instructed in the way of the Lord; and being fervent in spirit, he spoke and taught accurately the things of the Lord, though he knew only the baptism of John. So he began to speak boldly in the synagogue. When Aquila and Priscilla heard him, they took him aside and explained to him the way of God more accurately.

We all have a lot to learn. We need to ask God to teach His way more accurately. And to help us to absorb the mind and character and teachings of Jesus Christ. Because as members of The Church of God, we are members of Christ's body.

Paul said, in 1 Corinthians 12, "Now ye are the body of Christ, and members (limbs) in particular...." You've heard the saying "What would Jesus do?" That is not a bad question to ask ourselves in our effort to be conformed to the mind and character of Christ.

Romans 8:29-30 says, "For whom He foreknew, He also predestined to be conformed to the image of His Son, that He might be the firstborn among many brethren. Moreover whom He predestined, these He also called; whom He called, these He also justified; and whom He justified, these He also glorified." When it says, He justifies us, that is because, we sin and we are not perfect. We cannot achieve eternal life through our own righteousness or our own efforts, therefore, God has to justify us through the sacrifice of Christ.

In John 14:6, Jesus said, "I am the way, the truth, and the life." Even with all our efforts to keep God's law and to live a righteous life, we fall short. Our own effort at righteousness will not save us. Jesus Christ's perfection and His sacrifice is the only thing that can save us...and the whole world.

In the end, Jesus Christ truly is the way for every human being destined to be a future Son of God.