Let's take our Bibles and turn
with me to John 10. John 10. I'd like to look at verses 31
through the end of the chapter. That's verse 42. And I've entitled this message,
Jesus Christ is God. You know, that's an amazing thought.
Great is the mystery of godliness. God was manifest in the flesh. God Almighty came into this world
and walked among men. The Lord had plainly, faithfully,
declared his deity. That's what made him mad, is
that he set forth that he is God. And his works had borne witness
of him. And he even told the religious
Jews that didn't believe Him. Why they didn't believe Him? He told them. He said, you believe
not because you're not My sheep. He revealed that His sheep, those
who were given to Him in electing grace, everlasting electing grace,
chosen before the foundation of the world. I mean, what we're
actually seeing right now in the calling out of God's sheep
is that which Almighty God purposed, established, Almighty God has
absolutely finished salvation. Salvations of the Lord. And what
we're actually witnessing through the preaching of the gospel,
that which He purposed, He purposed that this is how He's going to
call His sheep out of darkness. He's going to send a preacher
And the gospel is going to be preached. He's going to declare
the good news. And they're going to hear it.
And He's going to give them a new heart, just like He gave that
dying thief. And they're going to hear His
voice. And they're going to follow Him. He said, My sheep, I know them. I show mercy. They believe Me. They follow Me in believing that
salvation is all of grace. Everything that a believer does
in following after Me. My sheep follow Me. They believe Him. They believe
His Word. They trust Him. No confidence
in the self. And He gives them eternal life
and they're never going to perish. One of these days, that's going
to be real. One of these days, we're not
going to see through a glass darkly anymore. And no man is
going to pluck them out of my hands. They were given to me
by my Father. And no one's able to pluck them
out of my Father's hands. He said, I and the Father are
one. One in purpose. One in essence. Spirit. One in nature. They're holy. One in will. One in mind. One in heart. And
the only way that we would ever know what God Almighty purposes
and declares and is pleased to do, is that God was pleased to
come in human flesh and tell us. He is God's Word. Now that truth, one would think,
would cause a sinner to cast himself upon God's mercy. And
a sinner made to know himself to be a sinner. He does. All
men are sinners. But there are just very few of
them that know it. But a sinner, one that God has
shown mercy to, they are going to believe him. But one left
to himself. A sinner left to himself. What
is he going to do when he hears the gospel? Now this is the way
it is. A sinner, all men are sinners. If God leaves a man to himself
in sin and unbelief, he's going to do one thing. He's going to
hate God. He's going to hate God's gospel. He hates God's Christ. He hates
God's people. The Scripture says in Romans
8-7, because the carnal mind is enmity. That is, it's an enemy. That's what the word enmity means. An enemy. The carnal mind, the
unregenerate mind, is an enemy against God. It's not subject
to the law of God, neither indeed can be. John 10-31. When he said in verse
30, I and my Father are one, then the Jews took up stones
again to stone him. Being ignorant of God. Ignorant of God's sovereignty.
Ignorant of God's purpose. Ignorant of all things. Take
away a man's ability. Speak against his will. Speak
against him being able to do something. You step on a man's
God. Because let me tell you something,
whatever a man believes merits his standing before God. That's
his God. That's his God. Whatever it is. He said, I and the Father are
one. He picked up some rocks and they
were going to kill him. Let me show you something. Leviticus
24. Now, what they were doing, Leviticus 24, this is what the
Scripture says concerning the law, concerning blasphemy or
speaking evil of or irreverently of God. Leviticus 24, 14, 16. bring forth him that hath cursed
without the camp, get him outside the camp, and let all that heard
him lay their hands upon his head, and let all the congregation
stone him. And thou shalt speak unto the
children of Israel, saying, Whosoever curseth his God shall bear his
sin, and he that blasphemeth the name of the Lord, he shall
surely be put to death, and all the congregation shall certainly
stone him as well the stranger as he that is born in the land,
when he blasphemeth the name of the Lord, shall be put to
death." Scripture says the Lord said, I am the Father of one.
What He said is, I'm God. I am God. And buddy, they picked
up some rocks. They said, we're going to end
this. Verse 32, Jesus answered them, Many good works have I
showed you from my Father. For which of those works do you
stone me? All the works that He had shown
them were works of mercy and compassion. Works from the Father
that displayed the deity of Almighty God and God's approval, power
in Christ. Acts 2.22, let me read this.
You men of Israel, hear these words. Jesus of Nazareth, a man
approved of God. That is, a man that has been
given evidence. A man that God has exhibited. A man approved of God among you
by miracles and wonders and signs which God did by Him in the midst
of you as ye yourselves also know." All the works that the
Lord Jesus Christ did were works of spiritual mercy. The blind
saw. It was a picture. It was a type. that He gives spiritualize to
cause men and women to see the glory of God in Christ. To see that salvation is all
of grace. To see that there is nothing
that I can do. The lame walk. I can't walk before God. Do you
know what all of my hope is? All of my ability? is that when
the Lord Jesus Christ came into this world as the federal head
of His people, and walked before God Almighty, and God Almighty
gave this declaration of Him, this is My beloved Son, whom
I'm well pleased. He's never deviated, He's never
thought a thought, He's never said a word, He's never done
anything, but that which pleases Me, the deaf here, when God's people hear the Gospel.
You hear the blessed truth of God's grace, saving grace, and
it's like a sweet melody in your heart. You hear it. Man, I'll
be reading sometimes. Glenda and I will read at night.
And I'll pick up something and we'll read a commentary. And
I'll start reading something that happened the other day.
And I read a line. And all of a sudden it just,
oh, oh, just way said it. I went back and re-read it again. I've never read anything that
he had written that wasn't just right down the line. But that
particular line, I don't even remember what it was. Remember
that? And I went back and I read that again. I thought, oh, man,
I think I ought to, I'd have rewritten that. When a believer
reads something and it even remotely just gives a hint of man's ability
or man's merit or something, you think, oh, they hear. God's people hear and see and
know. The Lord asked them, which of
the acts of mercy angers you. What have I done that has made
you mad? Verse 33, the Jews answered him,
saying, For a good work we stone thee not, but for blasphemy,
and because thou, being a man, makest thyself God. Now here
we see the unregenerate hiding behind the cloak of lies. The Lord's good works, morally
good, holy, virtuous works. They angered Him. And they said
that they didn't. But they lied. Look at John 9
verse 24. This man had been healed. Then again, they called the man
that was blind and said unto him, Give God the praise. We
know that this man is a sinner. But none of the works that he
had done angered them. Oh, they said they didn't. They lied.
They lied. His good works gave evidence
of his deity. While they said that nothing
that he did angered them, what they hated, and it just manifested
itself, is that they hated what he said concerning his oneness
with God. You see, when all honor and all
glory and all praise is given to the Lord, and none is given
to man, Men hate it. I hate you talk to someone and
you say that you believe that God Almighty is holy. Oh, yes. You believe God's just? Yes,
I do. Yes, I do. You believe that He's
all-powerful? Yes, I do. Yes, I do. You believe
He's sovereign? Yeah, yeah, mostly. I believe He's sovereign most
of the time. But I will say this, He still
gives man. He still gives man the last say. I know that He spoke this world
into existence. And I know He upholds all things
by His power. But I'm telling you, He didn't
take away man's free will. Man gave up all of his freedom
in the garden. By one man's disobedience, many
were made sinners. Dead, as Brother Scott said,
graveyard dead. It always amazes me. What can
a dead man do? What can he do? Can he talk? Can he hear? Can he see? Can he will? Can he think? What can a dead man do? Nothing. Nothing. God Almighty must give
him life. Appeal to one that is dead. And you're appealing to one that
is dead. Jesus answered, verse 34, is
it not written in your law, I said, ye are God's? Our Lord referred to a Scripture,
but you might want to turn. Psalm 82.6. Now, here's what
He asked them. He told them. He said, I'm God. I am God. And they wanted to
stone Him for that. And He asked them, 34, Is it
not written in your law, I said, Now, I want you to notice that's
a little g. Little g God. Did I not say you're
gods? Psalm 82, verse 6 says this,
I have said, ye are gods, and all of you are children of the
Most High. He asks them, he says, in your
law, referring to the whole Old Testament, And he's referring
to that which they claim to believe. Men will make claim. They say,
I believe this Bible cover to cover. Well, a believer does. And there's some things we don't
understand. But I tell you this, you'll never find a believer
that will read something and just say, I just don't believe
it. They'll bow to it. They'll admit their ignorance.
There's a lot of things. I don't know. I do not know. I know in part and preach in
part. Nobody knows everything save
the Lord. In your law though, in the book
that you claim to believe, is it not written, I said your
gods? Now that word gods there means
authority or magistrates. Those sent by God in places of
authority as the Lord's spokesman. Exodus 7, verse 1, the Scripture
says, And the Lord said unto Moses, See, I have made thee
a god to Pharaoh, and Aaron thy brother shall be thy prophet. The Lord says, Is it not written
in your law, in the Scriptures, that I said you are gods? Your
spokesman. Your authorities. Verse 35 and 36, and I'm going
to read something to you. If he called them gods, the Lord
said, unto whom the Word of God came and the Scripture cannot
be broken, say ye of him whom the Father has sanctified and
sent into the world, thou blasphemest, because I said, I am the Son
of God. He said, is it not written That
God Almighty said to Moses, I made you a God. A spokesman. The mouthpiece. The authority
to speak in the name of God. Moses was referred to. Didn't
I not say that? It is not written in your law.
Brother Henry wrote something here that I thought was so good,
I'm just going to read you what he said. He said, Psalm 82.6,
"...called men gods and sons of the highest, which received
a divine commission to administer justice in the name of God to
the people, as Moses was to Pharaoh, and as David was to Israel and
her enemies." Surely, according to our Lord's Word, surely it
cannot be blasphemy for the Lord Jesus to assert Himself to be
the Son of God who existed as the divine person from all eternity. He who was set apart by the Father
to the office of prophet, priest, and king, and who, in the fullness
of time, was sent into the world to be the author of eternal redemption
to the sons of man. He told them. He said, I am the
Father and One. I'm God. I'm God. They're going
to pick it up. Pick up a stone and they're going
to stone Him. Which of these works are you going to stone
me for? We're not stoning you for works. Because you said that you're
God. He said it's not written in your
law that God Almighty sent as authorities and spokesmen to
administer justice, magistrates, and called you gods? Is it wrong
for the one Son of God, the Savior, the Messiah, the Spokesman, the
Word Himself, is it wrong that I declare who
I am? The Scriptures cannot be broken.
The Word of God cannot be flawed. No one word can be omitted if
those that receive the honor to be called gods, liturgy gods,
spokesmen, were respected by the people that were sent from
God. How much more should God Almighty
Himself The Word Himself, the God of all grace, to be received
as such. How can He, the Spokesman of
God, be rebuked for declaring who He is? The One that has been
proven by works and miracles and signs God Almighty, Father,
Son, and Spirit, proved who He was. He said, how can you, knowing
that God sent God's liturgy gods, to speak to the people? To speak
for God? To speak in the place of God? To administer the authority of
God? How is it that you show respect
to them? And you show not respect to God
Himself who is the Word Himself, God Almighty. How is that you
show me not? The Scripture sets forth, verse
36, You say, Say ye of him whom the Father has sanctified and
sent to the world, Thou blasphemest? Because I said I am the Son of
God, do you realize what you are saying? of the One that God
Almighty has sent, has sanctified, has set apart, has appointed
from all authority and sent into this world to be the Savior of
sinners? You're saying, Thou blasphemest
because I said I am the Son of God? Verse 37, If I do not the
works of my Father, believe me not, here again the Lord refers
to the evidence of his works. What he's saying is this, if
my works don't prove my deity, then don't believe me. Dead. Raised from the dead. I was thinking about when Lazarus,
Lord willing, in the next few weeks we're going to get into
the raising of Lazarus. And we know of that incident. But I think about when the Lord
Jesus Christ was approached by two of John's disciples. And
John said to them, he said, you go talk to him. And ask him,
are you the one we look for? Or do we look for another? And
do you remember what our Lord said? Now this was before. He said, you go tell John the
dead are raised. I don't know how many he raised
from the dead. I know that he raised more than Lazarus. You
go tell them that the dead are raised. Men saw men and women
that had died, been in the ground. And Almighty God spoke in power
and they came out of the grave. They saw lame people who had
been lame from their mother's womb. They had been lame from
the birth. And God spoke to them. And they
got up. Blind. He spit on the ground,
he picked it up and he made some mud and he stuck it on his eyes
and he said, you go wash in the pool of Siloam. And he went and
he washed and he could see. How'd that happen? I don't know.
He just told me to go watch and I can see. He said, my works
prove my deity. He said, if I did nothing to
justify this truth, you'd be right in not believing me. Verse
38, but if I do, though you believe not me, Believe the works that
you may know and believe that the Father is in me, and I in
Him. Though you resist the evidence
of my words, be convinced by what I do." Peter, back in Acts
2.22, appealed to the works of the Father. I'll read this to
you, Acts 2.22. He said, you men of Israel, hear
these words. Jesus of Nazareth, a man approved
of God among you by miracles and wonders and signs which God
did by Him in the midst of you, as ye yourselves also know. Believe the works." The Lord
said that. That you may know that I and
the Father are one. And the Father is no different
than I am and I am the Father. See Him? See me. See me. See him. Verse 39, Therefore
they sought again to take him, but he escaped out of their hands.
Oh, how we see the evidence of a heart that's dead. Hardened by sin. No sensitivity
to God's Word or work. Man by nature determined to resist
God. In verse 40, he went away again
beyond Jordan into the place where John had first baptized. And there he abode. It was not his time. He went back to the place where
he was baptized. And according to the calculations,
it was somewhere between three and four months took place between
the Feast of the Dedication and the Passover. He went there and
he abode for a while. And many, verse 41, resorted
unto him and said, John did no miracle. But all things that
John spake of this man were true, and many believed on him there. Here was the one that John had
preached. Here was the one that John said,
Behold, the Lamb of God taketh away the sin of the world. The
one that John admitted to be unworthy, to even tie his shoelaces. Here was the Son of God, God
Himself in the very place where many heard John preached. And
they noted that truth. That's what they said. They said,
you know, John never did any miracles, but everything that
John said concerning this man has been proven by his works. Believed on Him there. Head or heart? God knows. Many of these may have been some
that actually heard on the day of Pentecost. And God called
out of darkness. God may have saved them before
the day of Pentecost, but you can bet this for sure. Almighty
God is going to save His people. And He's going to save them under
the preaching of the gospel. He's going to save them under
the preaching of the message of free grace, sovereign grace. Lord, help us. Help us. Have mercy on us today for Christ's
sake.