when believing is not saving. Let's go back to our chapter
two, verse 23 in John's gospel. Now when he was in Jerusalem
at the Passover and the feast day, many believed in his name
and they saw the miracles which he did. But Jesus did not commit
himself unto them. They believed in his name, that
he did not believe in them he did not entrust himself to them
he did not commit himself and there are two reasons given aren't
they in verse 24 at the end of verse 24 because he knew all
men he knew all men at the end of verse 25 he didn't need any
witness for he knew what was in It's a remarkable thing to think,
isn't it, that the Lord Jesus Christ sees our thoughts, and
He sees what's behind our thoughts. So let's examine these men. I
want us to look this morning at what is deficient, in a sense,
in their faith. And I want us to look again at
what it is for the Lord Jesus Christ. If he didn't entrust
himself to these men, didn't commit himself to them, there
are some that he did commit himself to. And I want to be numbered
among them. They believed in his name. They
possibly believed this. They'd had this several days,
maybe a week, during this feast that follows the Passover, to
actually witness and to contemplate what he did in the cleansing
of the temple. And as much as the Pharisees and others were
horrified originally, maybe in time they came to see, because
of his miracles, that he had authority to cleanse the temple. And the miracles that are recorded
are, we are told at the end of John, in John chapter 20, that
there are many other things that the Lord Jesus did. And if all
the things that the Lord Jesus Christ did were put together
and written out, you couldn't, the world is not big enough to
contain all the books. So there are other things that
happened during that week. And we can guess what they are. But
we know that when he was in Jerusalem, he healed the lame. He healed
the blind. He performed that one miracle
that is reserved as a messianic miracle throughout the Old Testament.
So they've witnessed these miracles, these men. They might have also
heard of the wine, the miraculous wedding feast in Cana. The disciples
had come down to Jerusalem with the Lord Jesus Christ. And maybe
they might have believed that this is the Messiah to come. So, many believed in his name,
but he did not entrust himself to them. He did not commit himself
to them. He did not believe in them. He kept himself from them. So the great lesson here is that there is a kind of faith
that speaks of the Lord Jesus Christ and says fine, good and
true things about Him which is not saving faith. These people had a faith but
it was not one that which the Lord Jesus Christ accepted. They saw Him and His miracles
and he saw right through them." This is a truth that's so often
repeated in John's gospel that we need to be reminded that this
is a constant theme. These people of the Jews in many
ways and in various times and instances came and they professed
belief in him. In John chapter six after the
miracle of the loaves and the 5,000,
the Lord Jesus said to them, verily, verily, I say unto you,
you seek me, not because you saw the miracles, but because
you did eat the loaves and were filled. Labor not for the meat
which perishes, but for that meat which endureth unto everlasting
life, which the Son of Man shall give unto you. call him hath
the father sealed you might recall at the end of that the Lord Jesus
Christ during that chapter as he goes on and deals with these
people that came to him and sought him and looked to him, and he
explained who he was. As the Christ of God, he explained
the character of God, and he explained his own character,
and they left, thousands left. And he doesn't make one single
effort to gather them back. But you might recall at the end,
there's a glorious verse, in verse 67, the Lord said, after
they'd all gone, he said, would you also go away? And then Simon
Peter answered him, Lord, To whom shall we go thou hast the
words of eternal life? When Peter was speaking of the
we, there was another man there, who appeared to have faith and
did mighty, mighty deeds, called Judas of Iscariot. In John 8,
in verse 31, verse 30 it says, And Jesus spake these words,
and many believed on him. then said jesus verse 31 to those
jews which believed on him if you continue in my word then
you are my disciples indeed and then as he did in chapter 6 the
lord jesus christ goes on to speak of who he is and to speak
of who they mean because that they are because he knew what
was in man he called them the children of the devil and by
the time He comes, you come to the end of this chapter, Jesus
said unto them, verily, verily, I say unto you, verse 58, before
Abraham was, I am, I'm God. I am God. Jesus Christ is God. The knowledge of God is infinite. I am. Then they, the ones that
had believed on him, they took up stones, to cast at him, but
Jesus hid himself and went out of the temple. And he went through
the midst of them, and so passed by. In John chapter 12, you might
recall that there are some of the Pharisees. Nevertheless, among the chief
rulers, verse 42 of John 12, among the chief rulers, also
many believed on him. But because of the Pharisees,
they did not confess him, lest they should be put out of the
temple. So there are, in John's Gospel
and other Gospel accounts, there are those who profess some faith
in the Lord Jesus Christ, and it is proven to be not saving
faith. I want to know, and I trust you
want to know, whether my faith is saving faith. You see, the
demons believe and tremble, they do, much more than many professing
Christians these days. I don't know many, and I've met
none, who tremble. This, of course, these events
that we're witnessing here are the fulfilment of the prophecy
in Malachi chapter 3 that Ben read last week, and it was those that feared his name thought
much on him and he on them and he speaks of them being his jewels. So let's spend a little time
together looking at their faith and looking at why it was deficient
faith. The first thing that we come
across in verse 23 is that when he was there at
the Passover and the feast day, many believed in his name when
they saw, when they observed the miracles which he did. They saw, they observed remarkable
things. What a remarkable time it was
in human history for you to be in the presence of a very God,
a very God, God in human flesh. The words that he spoke were
not like any other man's words. The miracles he did were particular
and peculiar in that they pointed to both the character of our
God as absolutely sovereign and they pointed especially to the
way he saves sinners. As we saw earlier, Nicodemus
said the same thing. He said, Rabbi, we know that
thou art a teacher, verse two of chapter three. You're a teacher
come from God, for no man can do these miracles that thou doest
except God be with him. This faith that's deficient faith
is a faith that's based on what man sees and what man's reasons. It's a faith that's based on
intellect and will. It's faith Ultimately faith that's
based on what I see is not saving faith. I do love that verse of
Hebrews chapter 11. It says, I'd just love you to
read it with me in Hebrews 11 verse 1, before he gives that
great list of the faithful. He defines what faith is, isn't
it? is the substance of things hoped
for, the evidence of things not seen, not seen. The 2nd Corinthians 5 sentence
says we walk by faith and not by sight. This is a faith that
could be called the faith be true. The demons believe,
the devils believe don't they? In James chapter 2 the devils
believe and there's such a long way from being saved. They believe
and they tremble. Thou believest that there is
one God says James 2.19. Thou doest well. The devils also
believe and tremble. So often in apologetic ministries,
I remember being at a creation science evening, and the man
said that if you can believe the things that we are saying
out of Genesis, then you'll be saved. You'll be saved if you
can agree with us. about our notion of creation. This world, this religious world
especially, has made salvation to be an assent of people to
propositions. And the great impetus of so many
is to get people over the line, to get them to make a commitment,
to get them to say the sinner's prayer. All this evidence is
presented before them. just pray the sinners prayer,
do something and you'll be saved. One of the reasons that John
and all the other gospel writers, and I trust we as a church have
begun and will continue to do, is that we want to describe God. I love what's said in Acts chapter
2, isn't it? Whosoever shall call on the name
of the Lord. How do you know about the name
of the Lord? You know about the name and the
character of God through the words of God. You'll have life. John's writing
this gospel that we'll believe and keep on believing that we'll
have life in through his name. Through his name. So saving faith
is a committal. It's an entrusting. It's a reliance
upon the object of faith. It's a reliance upon the person
of the Lord Jesus Christ. The person of the Lord Jesus
Christ and his work as John the Baptist God who takes away the
sin of the world. See, true saving faith is not
based on weighing the evidences and deciding to believe. True saving faith is the work
of God in the hearts of his people. John has defined it so beautifully,
hasn't he, in that beginning. He says, as many, verse 12 of
chapter one, as many as received him. It's an active reception
of him. To them gave he power to become
the sons of God, even to them that believe on his name. Once
again, it's about his name, it's about his character. These men
were looking at the things he did. True saving faith looks
beyond the miracles and the signs, and it looks and believe on his name which
were born. It's a new birth, as he'll tell Nicodemus. Not
of blood, nor of the will of the flesh. These men were acting
on the will of the flesh. Nor of the will of man, but of
God. A great, great lie. You hear it
again and again and again when you speak to people. Surely God
gave people free will. Free will is the greatest lie. It's one of the biggest lies
that's ever been perpetrated since man came out of the garden.
Free will. Man, by the Exorciser, he creates
his own. If your faith is purely based
on signs that you've seen, and based on a free will decision
that you've made, then it won't save you. See the Lord Jesus
Christ refused to entrust himself to them. Real believing is a
commitment, it's an entrusting. I'm entrusting my eternal destiny,
my eternal life before God. I'm entrusting that to the perfect
and finished work of the Lord Jesus Christ in me whatsoever. We hold the Lord Jesus pray and
he says this is eternal life in John 17 3 this is eternal
life that they might know thee not know about him and not know
about his works know thee know him the only true God and Jesus
Christ whom thou has sent He has power, he said in the previous
verse, he has power over all flesh, that he should give eternal
life to as many as thou hast given him. These men were attracted, they
had the faith of a cent. The thing that is deficient in
the faith of these people of his words and his teaching. In chapter 1 the disciples who
followed the Lord Jesus Christ, Andrew and Peter, Philip and
Nathanael, they followed the Lord Jesus Christ to be in his
presence, to be in his presence. They followed because of a word
that he had said unto And see, he said to Philip, follow me. These disciples were more interested
in his teaching. Where dwellest thou? Where do
you live? Where can we abide with you? Where can we abide so that we
can be in your presence and be with you? They didn't say a word
about his words or his teaching. And in chapter two, he had spoken,
hadn't he? It's spoken with great clarity
and faithfulness. He says, I am God. He says, this
house is my father's house. And you have made it into a place
of merchandise, a den of thieves. And they asked for a sign and
he said, there's one sign that will be given. There's one great
sign. The great sign is the destruction
of this temple and the resurrection. It's the cross and the resurrection,
the great sign of who the Lord Jesus Christ is happens at the
cross. The signs for all believers point
forward to that great sign. They didn't say anything about
that. They didn't say anything about
sin. They didn't speak anything of
his words. They weren't humbled. Nicodemus
comes to the Lord Jesus Christ as a teacher and he sees that
the Lord Jesus Christ is a teacher sent from God because of the
signs that he does. And the very first thing that
Nicodemus needs to learn is that all his religion, and all of
his righteousness, and all of his law-keeping, and all of his
obedience, and all of the esteem that he had with all of the people,
the religious people in Israel, was absolutely worthless. Nicodemus had to learn that he
knew absolutely nothing. that he was, as he read in Psalm
32, altogether vanity. He's a picture of the greatest,
isn't he? Man at his best state. Altogether vanity. So these men were not humbled. These men were not humbled. These
men were not desperate to be saved. They had intellectual
and physical needs to be satisfied. They had knowledge of experiences. They had what they can do. Sinners
simply need a Saviour. Lord, save me. The Kingdom of
God is all about who the Lord Jesus Christ is. and what he
does. Ultimately, it's not saving faith
is not him, but his interest in us. Has he given us saving
faith? That's the great question these
verses are asking, isn't it? Is the Lord Jesus Christ interested
in you? Is the Lord Jesus Christ believing,
trusting in you? He didn't trust them. What an
extraordinary different attitude that Peter and Andrew and Nathaniel
and Philip had. I want to have saving faith. The
part of what comes with saving faith is a revelation of what what is in us the two reasons
he didn't commit himself to them is because he knew all men verse
24 he knew all men and he didn't need any that any should testify
of him he didn't need any witnesses about what was in man he knew
what was in man what did the Lord Jesus Christ see what did
the Lord Jesus Christ see that it caught it that led him, caused
him to turn from these men and to leave them. So the Lord Jesus
Christ will not leave his own. It's a shocking thing to be left
in your religion. It's a shocking thing to be left
in the delusions. It's a shocking thing to think
of those people that go through this life and no doubt read these
very words that we're reading and read the thousands and thousands
of other warnings throughout scripture and get to the Lord
in that last day. And in the words of Matthew,
the Lord's words in Matthew 7, he says, many will come to me.
Many will say to me in that day, that day when you meet him, Lord,
Lord, have we not prophesied in thy name, and have we not
in thy name cast out devils, and in thy name done many wonderful
works, and then I will profess unto them, I never knew you. Depart from me, ye that work
iniquity. The church knew them. The religious
world knew them, probably esteemed them highly. They thought they
knew themselves. knew them. They thought they
had an interest in him and he saw right through them. What
did the Lord Jesus Christ see in them? We have to remind ourselves that
the Lord Jesus Christ sees everything perfectly and he sees everything
with perfect clarity all the time. He sees us now, brothers
and sisters, and He sees our hearts. I trust that that's a
comfort to you, and I trust that the comfort of it is that we
can actually come before Him and just be honest about what
we are. He says, I know you. In John chapter 5, you search
the Scriptures, for in them you think you have eternal life.
And they are they which testify of me, and you will not come
to me that you might have life. I receive not honor from men.
These men came to honor him in some sense, didn't they? But I know you, that you have
not the love of God in you. I know you. I know you. see let's just turn to Genesis
chapter 6 this is one of those passages of scripture which are
repeated so often we read it in Psalm 39 it says in verse
5 Genesis chapter 6 before the flood and God saw that the wickedness
of man was great in the earth and and that every imagination,
every imagination of the thoughts of his heart was only evil continually. Every imagination of the thoughts
of his heart. What was the great crime of Satan
that caused him to be cast out of heaven? It's what he thought,
like what he thought, it was pride that was found in him. It says, Thou art how thou art
fallen from heaven, O Lucifer, son of the morning, how thou
art cut down to the ground, which did weaken the nation, for thou
hast set in thine heart Thou hast said in my heart, as Jeremiah
17.9 says, the heart of man is deceitfully wicked and beyond
cure. Every imagination, is that describing
you? It's describing a sinner. The Lord Jesus Christ came into
this world to save sinners. This is a description of a sinner.
Every imagination, only evil, and that continually. Romans
chapter 3 Paul concludes his exposition of the fall of
man with these remarkable words in verse 10 of chapter of Romans
chapter 3 as it is written this is enough for the children of
God isn't it just as it is written as it is written there is none righteous No, not
one. There is none that understandeth. There is none that seeketh after
God. They are all gone out of the
way. They are all together become
unprofitable. There is none that doeth good.
No, not one. Their throat is an open sepulcher
with their tongues they have used to seat and the poison of
asps is under their lips. whose mouth is full of cursing
and bitterness, their feet are swift to shed blood. Destruction
and misery are in their ways and the way of peace, have they
not known? There is no fear of God before
their eyes. That's us, brothers and sisters.
As we came into this world, we came forth from our mother's
womb, speaking lies, we don't have to be We don't have to be
taught to defend our own righteousness. We don't have to be taught to
sin. The carnal mind is enmity, Romans 8, 7, against God. Hatred
against God. And there is just one place, there
is just one place where we go to see the sinfulness of our
sin. and that's at the cross of the
Lord Jesus Christ. Pilate delivered them in to their
will, the will of that most righteous, moral, legalistic generation. They had no outward idolatry,
but they had the most appalling idolatry in their hearts. We see these men that the Lord
Jesus Christ rejected. The Lord Jesus Christ would not
entrust himself into their hands. And I trust that it might cause
us to cry out to God, have mercy on me. Cause me to call on your
name. See these verses, are about us
it's so easy isn't it for us to look at the Pharisees and
to look at those that are lost when this passage is saying examine
ourselves see it's about us first brothers and sisters it's always
about us first it's about us and our relationship with God
we don't need to look to others We need, if God will enable us,
to see that we are sinners, and there is a saviour for sinners. It's so easy to go to the temple
as that Pharisee did in Luke 16, and pray to us with himself,
I'm not like these other men, to think that this is a description
of other people, and I'm not like that. And the saved man
who went home to his house justified, beat on his breast and said Lord
have mercy on me. Lord you be propitious to me. Man at his best state Psalm 39
5 is altogether vanity. Man at his best state is busy
polishing the fig leaves of his own righteousness and finding
new ones and they are seen of men. Man at his best state doesn't
look to the Lord Jesus Christ and him crucified. He looks to
all sorts of other things. He doesn't look to the name and
the character of man. So let's just be reminded, the
faith of ascent, any faith, say any faith that leaves a natural
man enthroned is not saving faith. The natural man is just the old
man. As you were born, it can reason
from evidences, and it can reason from the scriptures. It can change
the fig leaves of Arminianism and say, now I'm a decided Calvinist. It can be proud that he's not
like other men. It can be religious, like these
men were, and not like the pagan world. It can have a changed
life, and say, I'm not like others in this world. Faith is based on a scent in
the face that, based on science, can join with others in transformed
beliefs and morals and compasses and company, and it can seek
others to join with them. These Pharisees and others had
their Bible colleges and they travelled over land and sea to
bring people back into their great company. It can cause people to think
that because they have been transformed in some outward way that they've
become Christians. There will be a day come when
all things will be revealed, and a shocking day it will be
for many. I trust the Lord causes us to
examine ourselves I pray that he comes and strips away our
fig leaves as he did to Adam and Eve in the garden and leaves
them there just standing naked before God and you can say this
is all I am. I have nothing. I am nothing. See a saved dethroned sinner
needs a saviour. He has one great need doesn't
he? I have to have my sins forgiven. He has That great need because
the Saviour has come to him and revealed his holiness and his
glory and his majesty. He needs a Saviour. He's blind and he needs sight
and he needs light to see. He's deaf and he needs to hear
the words of God. He's lame. He can't walk in God's ways in
this world and he needs a Saviour. to walk for him, to walk in him,
to walk with him, a saviour that hides him in himself, a saviour
that carries him in his arms close to his chest, in his heart. A dethroned sinner is dead and
needs life from God. These men, had increased in knowledge,
hadn't they? Enormously increased in knowledge. And they, in their increased
knowledge, believed. But the Lord Jesus Christ did
not believe in them. Lord, have mercy upon me. Lord, be propitious to me. Lord,
would you look upon the sacrifice of your son? Would you look upon
his shed blood? And on account of what he has
done, that temple destroyed and that temple raised again by the
power of God. And be merciful to me. Lord, turn me away from looking
to myself. Turn me away to simply look to
you. you in our house and the lord calls us as we look
further to see