Evangelism Resources

By: W. Stephen Gunter, Ph.D.

One of the most important texts (and most difficult!) about which an evangelist must make a decision is John 14:6, in which the Apostle John records Jesus’ words: I am the Way, the Truth and  the Life. No one comes to the Father except through me. My decision to capitalize Way, Truth and Life is an advised grammatical device because these three words form a trilogy in Johannine thought would advise us not to separate from each other the interpretation of these three theologically laden words. If you do not believe that this is the case, just take a look at the May/June 2007 issue of Circuit Rider, and you will read some rather divergent interpretations of this passage. In all of the articles on John 14:6 there seems to be an important assumption at work about Scripture, although I did not find it expressly laid out anywhere – and that is a Wesleyan assumption about how the Bible functions for Christians in the Wesleyan traditions. You will find it spelled out in various church Manuals and Disciplines, but let me reduce all those to just a few words – for this is of absolutely critical significance, and it is not often understood by Methodists and other Wesleyans.

If you go to the Book of Discipline in search for the United Methodist position with regard to the ‘authority’ of Scripture, you will not actually find the word ‘authority.’ This does not mean that there is no affirmation of scriptural authority, but it does mean that we think about the Bible somewhat differently than other Protestant Christians. What you will find are expressions about “the sufficiency of Scripture for our salvation.” And actually, in the original Latin texts which Wesley would have used as a good Anglican, the grammar of the Articles of Religion are written in such a way that it should read in translation this way: “Of faith in The Holy Trinity . . . . [Of faith in] The Sufficiency of Scripture for our Salvation.” Put in a nutshell, Scripture functions for Methodists and other Wesleyan Christians as “Book of Salvation.” There is no other book, oral tradition or history to which we turn in order to discern how human beings can enter into the saving work of God in the world. None!, only The Holy Bible. This does not mean that we can not learn from other sources, histories or religious traditions; but it does mean that, in the final analysis, as Christians we must not look to other sources or traditions to discern how one comes to know God in a saving way. Furthermore, it means that it is only within the context of “having faith” that this sufficiency of Scripture resides.

With this foundational assumption in place, let’s look then at John 14:6. This passage about Way, Truth and Life should be read and interpreted in the light of John’s Gospel, chapter one 1, where John tells us in verses 4 and 9 that Christ is the light that enlightens every person born. As the logos of all creation, Christ does not leave a single created being in darkness. It is not just that Christ is the light of the world, Christ is the light of all creation, and God has chosen through Christ to make this light available TO ALL. Viewed then from the side of God’s self-disclosure in Christ, every person of every faith (unfaith) and religious tradition and culture has at their disposal this self-disclosure of God’s very self – even if it is not specifically conveyed to them by you or me as the evangelist/missionary. This is God’s saving initiative, and this means that the offer of salvation is a universal offer – even if it is not universally accepted.

This means that what John is saying in verse six is comprehensively broad in its implications for God’s evangelistic work in the world. To every human being, God’s love and saving initiative is available as The Way through Jesus’ mediatorial role between God and humanity. To every human being, The Truth that Jesus is the self-disclosure of God’s very self is accessible through the universality of God’s Spirit. To every human being, Jesus as The Life is making available salvation as life in God.

Our basic difficulty with John 14:6 is that we tend to try interpreting the text from our side, i.e., with regard to our sharing the Gospel and telling the Good news. But the Gospel of John is not concerned specifically with our evangelistic mechanics. The Apostle John is most concerned to make clear to all who read his Gospel that God the creator has taken the initiative to make salvation universally available to every part of creation. Our job is to tell this Good News!

W. Stephen Gunter, Ph.D.
Associate Dean for Methodist Studies and
Research Professor of Evangelism and Wesleyan Studies
Duke Divinity School