The title of my message today
is Christ's True Disciples. The text will be John 8, verses
31 through 36. And what I'm going to do is go
ahead and tell you, I'm only going to have you turn to four
Scriptures today. John 8, John 17, Philippians
2, Galatians 4. If you all want to go ahead and
mark those, you might do that while I introduce this message. Philippians 2, Galatians 4. I'll
just quote the rest of them, they'll be familiar to you. Christ's
true disciples. By definition, a disciple, we
know, is a learner and a follower. A learner and follower of someone
or some system of doctrine. So a true disciple, then, is
one who's a true learner and a true follower as opposed to
one who is a disciple in name only or in appearance only. For
instance, in Christ's day in Luke chapter 6, he addressed
a crowd in his day and he said, Why do you call me Lord, Lord,
but do not the things that I say? And then in Matthew chapter 7
and verse 21, Christ said, disciples indeed. And Christ
teaches His hearers in this context what it means to be truly His
disciples. He teaches them what will accompany
those who become His disciples indeed in each generation. Look
at John 8 and verse 31 with me to start our lesson. John 8.31,
Then said Jesus to those Jews which believed on him, If you
continue in my word, then are you my disciples indeed, and
you shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free. Now one very important rule of
interpretation is who is being addressed. Here, Christ is not
speaking to those who at this time rejected Him. He's not speaking
to sinners that have no interest in Him. He's speaking to those
that believed in Him, it says. And He's speaking to those who
believed in Him at that time. They were embracing Him as the
promised Messiah. They were embracing Him as the
Son of David. They were embracing Him as that
prophet that Moses wrote about. So, to continue in my word presupposes
that these to whom he's speaking already had some interest in
his word. They already had some interest in him. What we'll see
from these verses is three things that will characterize and distinguish
those who will, in each successive generation, become Christ's true
disciples or who will become disciples indeed. Three things. I'll give you those three things
and we'll look at them individually. First, they will continue in
Christ's Word. He said, if you continue in My
Word. Second, they will know the truth.
You shall know the truth, He said. and they will be made free
by the truth they know and continue in." Three characteristics that
will be found in those who become known as Christ's true disciples. So first, Christ's true disciples
will continue in the Word of Christ. Now, this doesn't just
mean that they'll study and they'll learn and they'll memorize and
they'll gather where God's people are. They'll do all that. But
it means a little more than that. To continue in the Word of Christ
means something much more. Listen to 1 Thessalonians 1,
verses 4 and 5a. Paul writes to the Thessalonians
here, he says, "...knowing, brethren beloved, your election of God."
Now, how does he know that they are the elect of God? Well, he
tells us in verse 5a, he said, "...for our gospel came not unto
you in word only, but also in power, and in the Holy Ghost,
and in much assurance." The Gospel didn't just come to you in word
only. You didn't just hear it and then like the wayside hearer,
forget what you hear. Or like the stony ground hearer,
fall away because of persecution. Or the thorny ground hearer,
let that word get choked. It came to you in power and in
the Holy Ghost and in much assurance. He's talking about a regenerate
sinner here who's visited under the gospel, by the Holy Spirit,
to give that word power to regenerate. When the gospel comes in power
to a sinner, minds are changed, and they continue to be changed.
Error in doctrine begins and continues to be corrected. Interpretations
begin and continue to honor God. Understanding and interpretation
of the Scriptures won't rest until they're exalting Christ.
and honoring a just God and a Savior. Continuing in the Word of Christ
means that the Word has become our standard of judgment. It's
what we judge by. We go by the Word, and the specific
Word is by the Gospel. The Word is the final authority
of Christ's true disciples. They will adhere to no doctrine
that cannot be clearly defended by the Word, the Gospel. In other
words, they abide in the doctrine of Christ. They go where Christ
is preached clearly, where His work is lifted up, And when men come to them apart
from this doctrine, they don't side with these men. They obey
God. They reject the men and their
doctrine. They do not become sharers of
the evil of those who come preaching otherwise. Listen to 2 John 9-11. These are familiar verses to
most of us. He says, Whosoever transgresseth and abideth not
in the doctrine of Christ, that's the gospel. That person hath
not God. He that abideth in the doctrine
of Christ, he hath both the Father and the Son. If there come any
unto you, and bring not this doctrine, receive him not into
your house, neither bid him God's speed. For he that biddeth him
God's speed is partaker of his evil." You see, we're partakers
of whatever message or whatever preacher we allow ourselves to
be taught by. If you're taught by me, then
you're a partaker of the message I'm delivering. We can see in
2 John the criteria for identifying and distinguishing preachers,
whether they're truly sent from God or whether they've just come
on their own. Whether their message honor God
and exalt Christ, or whether they take away all ground of
boasting in the sinner. What is that criteria? They abide
in the doctrine of Christ. They abide in the gospel. And this becomes the criteria
of those who become known as Christ's true disciples or disciples
indeed. What do men say about Christ?
Do they preach Christ? Do they preach the gospel? Do
they tell sinners about Christ's righteousness as that being the
only thing that enables God to show mercy to sinners? Disciples
indeed judge the message they're preaching or supporting by this
criteria. and they judge the messages of
others as well. The writer of Hebrews said in
Hebrews 3.14, For we are made partakers of Christ, if we hold
the beginning of our confidence steadfast unto the end. Now the
beginning confidence of a true believer, true confidence, biblical
confidence, is when we come to God, a just God and Savior, pleading
nothing but the imputed righteousness of Christ as all our salvation. That's when we begin to have
confidence in God and in Christ, not before then. So if we hold
fast that beginning to the end, then we are partakers of Christ.
So the first characteristic of those who are disciples indeed
is they continue in the Word. They continue in the gospel.
That gospel becomes their standard of judgment. Alright, let's look
at the second characteristic of those who are disciples indeed.
They know the truth. Look back at John 8 and verse
32 here. Christ says, "...and you shall
know the truth, and the truth shall make you free." Now again,
this is more than just knowing some truthful facts. The Bible
is full of truth. I mean, it's truth from beginning
to end. And it's more than just accumulating
facts together. That is truth. Why do disciples
indeed continue in the Word of Christ? Why do they judge every
message in light of the righteousness of God? Why do they separate
themselves from those who fail to preach the gospel? It's because
the gospel alone contains the truth. In his high priestly prayer in
John 17, Christ prays to His Father on behalf of His people.
Now, you can turn to that passage if you would, flip over there
to John 17. It's important for us to understand that Christ's
prayer here is not for the world in general. His prayer is for
specific sinners. Now, who are these sinners? Look
at John 17 and verse 1. These words spoke Jesus and lifted
up His eyes to heaven and said, Father, the hour is come, glorify
Thy Son that Thy Son also may glorify Thee. As Thou has given
Him power over all flesh, that He should give eternal life to
as many as Thou has given Him. You see that last phrase? To
as many as Thou has given Him. That identifies those Christ
is making His prayer for here. You see, in a covenant made by
the Godhead before time called the everlasting covenant of grace,
the Father gave the Son a people. That is, He entrusted the complete
salvation of a multitude of sinners out of every kindred, tongue,
and nation, a multitude that no man can number. But God the
Father entrusted the complete salvation of that people to His
Son. He made Christ, as Jim said earlier,
the surety of that people. He's not the surety of all, but
He's the surety of that people He was given. He made Christ
legally responsible for the spiritual and eternal well-being of that
particular people. Now that people, the elect of
God, those entrusted to Christ, That's who Christ is praying
for throughout this prayer. This is not a general prayer
for all without exception, but it's a prayer for these specific
sinners. Look on in John 17, look down at verse 9. We can
see this very clearly right here from this verse. Christ said,
I pray for them. I pray not for the world, but
for them which thou hast given me, for they are thine. Christ
makes His prayer for them whose complete salvation has been entrusted
to Him and not for the world in general. Now these specific
sinners that Christ prayed for are distinct, two distinct parties
here. First, He prays for His immediate
disciples. John 17, look at verse 6. He says, I have manifested Thy
name unto the men which Thou gavest Me out of the world. Thine
they were, and Thou gavest them Me, and they have kept Thy word.
Now they have known that all things whatsoever Thou hast given
Me are of Thee. For I have given unto them the
words which Thou gavest Me, and they have received them, and
have known surely that I came out from Thee, and they have
believed that Thou didst send Me. These are those that walked
with Christ in His incarnation. You see, He had followers with
Him. Some with Him from the beginning.
And these are those that were with Him. These are those which
Christ sent into the world to preach the Gospel to every creature.
If you look at verse 18 of John 17, He said, As thou hast sent
Me into the world, even so have I also sent these disciples into
the world. So Christ prayed, first of all,
for His immediate disciples here. And then He prayed for those
who would believe on Him through their word, through that gospel
preached out. Look at John 17 and verse 20.
He said, neither pray I for these disciples alone, but I pray for
them also which shall believe on Me through their word. Now,
you might be asking why I came over here to John 17 here and
read these particular verses. How are they connected to our
lesson concerning those who are truly Christ's disciples? And
more specifically, how are these verses connected to them knowing
the truth that eventually will set them free? Well, here's the
answer to that question. What Christ declares of disciples
indeed in John 8 What He declares of them there, they'll know the
truth and the truth will make them free. He prays for that
here in John 17. In John 8, He declared that His
disciples indeed would know that truth and be set free by it.
In John 17, He prays that these be given that knowledge in the
world. And not only that they be given
that knowledge, but that they be set apart by that knowledge.
Look at John 17, verses 17 and 19 here. Christ prays for those
immediate disciples and for those that would believe on Him through
their word. He said, sanctify them through thy truth, thy word
is truth. And for their sakes I sanctify
myself that they also might be sanctified through the truth. Now one meaning of sanctify means
holy. It means to be made holy, but
that's not the meaning here. Sanctify also means to set apart,
to separate, and to distinguish, which is what we're looking at
in this context. Christ is asking His Father to
set His people apart, to separate and distinguish them in this
world. He's praying for those who would
in time, in each successive generation, become known as disciples indeed. And He's asking for those who
would know the truth, And this is not just a request for them
to know it in an intellectual way, but he's asking of his father
that these sinners be sanctified by that truth, that they be set
apart by it, that they be distinguished by it, that they be separated
from the religious worlds in their generations by the truth. Now what is the truth that distinguishes
true believers from the world in every generation? Well, it's
the gospel wherein the righteousness of God is revealed. It's the
truth that God is just, that He's doing right to show mercy,
to save sinners on the basis of Christ's finished work alone.
It's the truth that sinners are saved by Christ's righteousness
exclusively and not by anything found in their character and
conduct, not by any works of righteousness whatsoever that
come from the sinner. God has a specific people, and
they're born into this world in each generation, and they
are made known, they're distinguished, they're sanctified by the truth. They're distinguished from their
religious family, their friends and co-workers by the gospel
they believe, they support. and they preach. They're set
apart from the religious world they live in by the knowledge
that God is right. He's doing right. He's just to
justify ungodly sinners on the basis of Christ's imputed righteousness
alone. Now, none of us knows this truth
right here. This is the truth. If there's
one truth in the Scriptures, this is that truth. And none
of us knows this truth by nature. But as we'll see clearly in the
next point, this is the truth that changes everything. As it's
been said, it just upsets the apple cart. It turns a sinner's
world upside down. The second characteristic, the
one we've just been talking about, of disciples indeed, They continue
in the Word and they know the truth. Then the last characteristic
of those sinners who will be identified as disciples indeed,
they will be made free. The truth they hear from the
Word, that is the gospel they continue in, that truth will
deliver them. It will make them free. Look
back at John 8 and verse 32. He says, "...and you shall know
the truth, and the truth shall make you free." Now the idea
of being free here is liberation, deliverance. That's what it's
all about. What do sinners need to be liberated from? Well, I'm
going to show you three things that sinners need to be liberated
from, delivered. First, from a bondage that we
don't know, we're not even aware that we're in, from bondage.
Look at John 8.33. This is back in our context here. These that Christ is addressing
here, these who believed Him to be the Messiah, they answered
Him. When He said, You'll be made free, they answered Him
and said, We be Abraham's seed, and we're never in bondage to
any man. How sayest thou, You shall be
made free? They're thinking about a physical
bondage and servitude, but Christ is talking about spiritual bondage
here. And it's bondage that no unconverted
sinner will ever recognize, much less admit to. It's a spiritual
bondage that's hidden to the natural mind. It's like we've
got a blank on this when it comes to understanding that we're in
bondage by nature. None of us by nature sees ourselves
as servant of the sin that holds us all in bondage. We don't acknowledge
it, and we don't admit it, and we don't do so because we don't
see it. It's a reality, but none by nature sees it. The only way
to see this sin and its bondage is to be delivered from it by
believing God's testimony. It's true of all without exception,
but none of us by nature see it, and the only way to be delivered
from it is to believe God's testimony. So look, listen to Ephesians.
These are familiar verses to all of us too. I think Jim went
over some of these. No, I'm not sure. Anyway, listen
to Ephesians 2 verses 1-3. Paul writes, And you hath he
quickened who were dead in trespasses and sins, wherein in time past
you walked according to the course of this world, according to the
prince of the power of the air, the spirit that now worketh in
the children of disobedience, among whom also we all had our
conversation in times past, in the lust of our flesh, fulfilling
the desires of the flesh and of the mind. And we're by nature
the children of wrath, even as others." See, that's a description
of fallen humanity right there. By nature. All of us by nature.
That shows us who we are. And that's the testimony of God
concerning all of us. Paul is writing there in Ephesians,
though, to converted sinners. He uses the past tense. He says,
in time past you walked. We all had our conversation in
time past. You were aligned with the children
of disobedience. You were, by nature, children
of wrath. Unlike those in John 8 here,
these Paulites too would recognize the bondage that they were, they
had previously been in before God regenerated and converted
them. They would know they were in
bondage for one reason, because God had delivered them from that
bondage. It's bondage, and every sinner
whom God delivers from it recognizes and admits this as a former bondage. Have you seen this bondage in
yourself I'm talking about? Well, you have if you've been
delivered, and if you haven't been delivered, you still don't
see it, although I'm talking to you about it, and although
I've showed it to you from the testimony of God. So that's the
first thing sinners need to be liberated from. It's from a bondage
that we don't even see ourselves in by nature. Second, sinners
need to be liberated from a sin they don't recognize as sin.
They need to be liberated from committing sin. In the context
of John 8 here, look at verse 34. Jesus answered them, who
said back there in that other verse, We are Abraham's seed,
we are not in bondage. What do we need to be delivered
from? Jesus answered them, Verily, verily, I say unto you, Whosoever
committeth sin is the servant of sin. You see, committing sin
is what keeps sinners in bondage. What is committing sin? Well,
it's not finding all of our hope of salvation in Christ and Christ
alone. A sinner commits sins who imagines
that anything in them, even our faith, even our repentance, even
our reformation, if we think that anything found in us makes
up any part of the cause of God saving us, we're committing sin
because that's sinful in God's sight. Committing sin is failing
to abide in Christ. It's failing to find all my hope
of standing before God and being counted righteous in the doing
and dying, the righteousness of Christ alone. Now who does
this? Who commits sin? Every sinner
who is ignorant of the complete salvation Christ has accomplished
for every sinner he died for commits sin. Everyone. To be
ignorant of Christ's person and work, to be ignorant of His righteousness,
to be ignorant that God is just to justify sinners on the basis
of Christ's imputed righteousness alone, To think that any sinner
Christ died for could ultimately end up under God's eternal wrath.
To imagine that you could be favored of God, or blessed of
God, or saved by God on any basis but Christ's righteousness and
purity. That's what it is to commit sin. And whoever commits
sin, the Scripture says, is in bondage to sin. Whoever commits
sin is the servant of sin. Disciples, indeed, are those
who rest their whole salvation in Christ alone, and they are
those who are liberated from committing sin. The last thing
sinners need to be made free from, and this is the bottom
line, sinners need to be made free from the mentality, the
dependence of a servant. This is the mentality of one
who's committing sin. It's the mentality of one who's
in bondage and doesn't recognize that bondage. Listen to John. Look here at John 8 and verse
35. He said, And the servant abides not in the house forever,
but the Son abideth ever. What is the dependence of a servant?
What is the mentality of a servant? A servant knows that his place
in the household depends upon one thing, his service to the
household, his continued service. If he goes on serving, if he
goes on doing what he's been employed to do, then he'll be
able to remain in that household. But if he stops serving, if he
stops his doing what he's been employed to do, he'll be kicked
out of the household. So a servant's mentality, he's
dependent on his own efforts to keep him in that household.
That's his standing in that household. It's a servant. Sinners need to be made free
from thinking that their place in the household of God is dependent
upon their continued efforts, upon their works, their obedience,
their reformation. All need to be made free from
this thinking because that's what all of us think by nature.
You see, I think I got myself into sin, and I think I get myself
out of sin, and I think I keep myself in the favor of God. By
my efforts. But that's totally contrary to
the gospel of God's free and sovereign grace in Christ. It's
bondage. And it's bondage that none of
us recognize by nature. How is this mentality, this dependence
of a servant overcome? Well, it's overcome only one
way. The Son has to free you from it. He has to make you free
from it. Look at John 8 verse 35b there and verse 36. The servant abides not in the
house forever, but the son abides ever. If the son therefore shall
make you free, you shall be free indeed." You see, unlike a servant,
the son has an abiding place in the household. His place is
fixed. It's permanent. It's unchangeable. And how did
the Son get His place in the house? We say He's the Son of
God. No, that's not how He got it. He earned it by His incarnation,
obedience, and death. He acted as a representative.
He offered Himself as a substitute for His people. He fulfilled
His duties as the surety of His sheep. He humbled Himself to
become a servant in order that His people could become sons.
Look at Philippians. I told you to turn to Philippians
2 or mark it. Look at that Philippians passage
now. Philippians 2, starting in verse 5. He said, Let this
mind be in you which was also in Christ Jesus, who being in
the form of God, thought it not robbery to be equal with God,
but made himself of no reputation, and took upon him the form of
a servant, and was made in the likeness of men, and being found
in fashion as a man, he humbled himself and became obedient unto
death, even the death of the cross. Christ earned his place
as the head of God's household. He earned it. He humbled himself.
He became a servant so that his sheep could become sons. That's
why the Father exalted Him. If you look on there, it says
in verse 9, Wherefore God also hath highly exalted Him, and
given Him a name which is above every name, that at the name
of Jesus every knee should bow, things in heaven, and things
in earth, and things under the earth, that every tongue should
confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of the Father. Christ earned His place as the
head of God's household. And he didn't just earn his place,
he earned the place of every sinner he was given. Every sinner
whose salvation the Father entrusted to him. No sinner has a place
in the household of God because of their service, their efforts.
Every sinner who's in the household of God is there because of Christ's
service on their behalf. Those who are truly Christ's
disciples are those who have been given eyes to see these
things. They are those whose hearts have embraced these things.
Disciples indeed are not those who worked in order to be adopted
into God's family, but rather they are those who have received
the adoption of sons. See, we don't work to get there. We receive an adoption that's
already ours. Look at that Galatians passage,
I ask you to mark Galatians 4 and look at verse 4. It says, "...but
when the fullness of the time was come, God sent forth His
Son, made of a woman, made under the law, to redeem them that
were under the law, that we might receive the adoption of the Son."
You see, sinners are not adopted. They're not saved when they believe.
No, on the contrary, believing sinners receive an adoption that
took place in eternity. based on Christ's finished work
alone. That's why the Spirit is sent to them in regeneration. Look on down at verse 6 there.
It says, And because you are sons, God sent forth the Spirit
of His Son into your hearts, crying, Abba, Father. You see,
the Spirit's work in the sinner doesn't make them sons. He sent
the sinners to receive that adoption because they already are sons
based on Christ's work and that alone. The Spirit's work reveals them
to already be sons. The Spirit's work in sinners
is just a fruit, it's just the result of Christ's work for them
in His service. of the Father. Disciples, indeed,
are those whom the Son in each generation makes free, indeed,
truly free. They're those whom the Son liberates
from a servant's mentality. They're those who are made free
from thinking that they're in God's household because of their
efforts, their obedience. They are those who are given
the liberty of sons. One more verse in Galatians there. Look at that verse 4 and verse
7. Chapter 4 verse 7. He says, Wherefore
thou art no more a servant, but a son, and if a son, then an
heir of God through Christ. Thou art no more a servant. started out in our minds as servants,
but we received that adoption that's ours because of Christ's
work alone. You see, sons are always sons,
all the way back to eternity. Their adoption goes all the way
back to before the world began. And it was all based on what
Christ would accomplish in time when He came and died on the
cross. So, sons have always been sons, but sons start out thinking
and acting not like sons, but like servants. All by nature
have a servant's mentality, a servant's dependence. The Spirit liberates
us from that sin and that bondage by convincing us that we're in
God's household and therefore certain for final glory because
of Christ's work and Christ's work alone. Our obedience and
effort is totally excluded. Paul the Apostle wrote on this
same subject in Romans, and you can just listen to these familiar
verses from Romans 6, 17, and 18. It says, But God bethanked
that you were the servants of sin, but you have obeyed from
the heart that form of doctrine to which you were delivered.
Being then made free from sin, you became the servants of righteousness. Paul is writing here about that
same liberation that John is writing about over there in John
8. Those who become known as disciples
indeed in each generation don't start out servants of righteousness.
We start out servants of sin. We start out in bondage. We start
out ignorant of and unconcerned about how God can be just and
justify an ungodly sinner like we are. But the Spirit of God
delivers His people to the gospel, and He sets them free from the
mentality and dependence of service. He sets them free from thinking
that anything in them makes up any part of saving them or keeping
themselves. He sets them free to the liberty
of sons. Okay, I said a lot, and I know
I said it quickly, but let me just summarize it in a few concise
words here, and I'll close. Those who are truly Christ's
disciples, those who are disciples indeed, are known in each generation
by these three characteristics. They continue in Christ's Word. Christ's Word is their standard
of judgment. That's the Gospel. Second, they
know the truth. They are set apart by the knowledge
that God is just and shows mercy to sinners on the basis of Christ's
righteousness imputed alone. And that truth, that truth of
how God is just to justify on the basis of Christ, that truth
liberates them from a bondage they didn't see, from committing
sin that they didn't recognize, from thinking that they were
saved or kept by something found in them. They are made free by
Christ's finished work alone, His imputed righteousness alone. Now, in the light of God's Word,
it behooves each of us, listening to this message, to judge ourselves.
Peter wrote, be diligent to make your calling and election sure.
When the Gospels preach, judge yourself by what you just heard. How do you fit into this scheme?
Have you seen that you were a servant of sin? But now, after God delivered
you from that thinking, you became the servants of righteousness.
Am I a disciple of Christ in name, in appearance only, or
am I a true disciple, a true believer, a true promoter of
God's gospel? Am I truly Christ's disciple? Am I a disciple indeed? Yeah. I would pray that God would enable
His people to see that disciples indeed are those who abide in
Christ and find their hope and confidence in Him and in Him
alone.