gospel according to John chapter
7. Before we begin, I'd like to
begin in a few minutes in verse 19. But let's ask our Lord to
bless you. Our Father, how wonderful it
is to be able to call upon you in the name of the Lord Jesus
Christ. and how thankful we are for this blessed time, Lord,
a time on the first day of the week, Lord, when you've allowed
us to meet together. This is your day, the Lord's
day, the celebration of your resurrection. Lord, would you
bless the Word, bless it to the comfort of your people, For Christ's sake, we ask these
things. Amen. Our Lord has set forth,
this is where we ended last time. He set forth the true barometer. This is the measure of a ministry. This is the measure of a preacher. This is the measure of what God's
people want to hear. Verse 18, He that speaketh of
himself seeketh his own glory, but he that seeketh his glory
that sent him, the same is true, and no unrighteousness is in
him. He that speaks a message that
originates with a man, rather than from God, is one
that is seeking his own glory. Now, I know that that's so. And the way we know it's so is
because the Lord said it so. All messages that fail to set sovereignty of Almighty God,
that salvation is all of grace, and that no works of man's ability
is involved. It's totally, completely beginning
to eternity. It's of the Lord. And men are
the recipients of it. God tells them what He's done.
He shows them in the gospel. The Spirit of God gives them
light and understanding. They hear it. They rejoice in
it. That's salvation. That's the message. Any man that
speaks of himself, speaks concerning himself, concerning his works,
concerning his will, he's seeking his own glory. It comes down
to this, as I've said before. Men may say, I know I didn't
do much, but at least I believed. And thinking that in that statement,
that because they believed that the Lord then saved them, that's
wrong. That's wrong. are saved totally by the grace
of God. Regenerated totally by the grace
of God. And then God tells them. Then
God tells them. He gives them faith to believe. Attracting attention to oneself
is to want nothing less than the praises of men. more than
the praise of God. Listen to what a man is preaching.
Now listen, I'm telling you, listen to what a man says. And
ask yourself this question. Who is the honored subject? Who does this depend on? Who
makes the final decision? I told you about this before
I moved here to Cady. I had a lady that was going to
take me to task on the glorious gospel of God's free grace. And
I listened to what her argument was, and I asked her, I said,
let me ask you something. I said, when it comes right down
to it, when the final decision is made, when it comes right
down to salvation, before salvation is truly rendered. Who has the last word? Who has
to make the last decision, the last word, before salvation is
sold? Man or God? She said, Man. And I told her, I said, I will
tell you this, based on the Scriptures. I blessed the Lord. delivers
you from that belief, you're going to perish. You're going to leave this world
under the judgment of God. Man does not have the last word.
Almighty God is the author and the finishing edge of our faith. Now to prove that these that
our Lord spoke For Almighty God, for His Word,
the Lord asked this searching question, beginning in verse
19, and here's where we begin this morning. Did Moses, did
not Moses give you the law? And yet none of you keepeth the
law. Why go ye about to kill me? Now, that was his question. Did
Moses give you the law? You claim to have a love for
Moses. Did not Moses give the law from
God that forbids murder? That's what he asked him. Did
not Moses give you the law that none of you, yet none of you,
keepeth the law? to show man man's inability. The law was given to show man
God's demand for righteousness. You say that you love Moses. You say you love the law. You're
not even keeping it. Here you're going about to kill
me. Oh, how quickly does man sit
in honor of God's Word become exposed when man is seeking his
own desire, his own glory, his own honor. Where there is no
heart for the truth of God's Word, there is always a heart
against it. The carnal mind is enmity against
God Almighty. And where there is enmity against
the truth of God's sovereign grace, there is hatred for those
that preach it. The people answered when he told
them. He said they used to say you
love Moses, you love the law, none of you is keeping the law.
That statement right there sets forth. Man is depraved. Man is unable. Man is helpless. You say you love Moses a lot. Why do you go about to kill me? The people answered and said,
Thou hast the devil. Who goeth about to kill thee? I don't doubt for a second that
many of them had probably heard some things that were said by
the Pharisees and rulers about finding the Lord Jesus Christ.
If anybody finds him, You come tell us about it. We're going
to take care of him. He's a heretic. He's making some
statements that make himself out to be God. That's what they're
saying. Let us know. Now, they heard
the Lord say, why do you go about to kill me? And I don't doubt
that they probably He saw at that time no apparent, no outward
attempt on the Lord's life. He was there. They were there.
They may have thought him to be beside himself. You're going
about to kill me and they're standing there. We're not going about to kill
you. You have a devil. But I want
you to notice what the Lord revealed here. concerning their heart. He set forth that their very
heart hates him. Or they may not realize
it. That heart left to itself hates
God. Right now you tell men out of
the scriptures, out of the scriptures, concerning an unbeliever, When
the Lord said they hated me before they hated you. People will say,
I don't hate God. I don't hate the Lord. I don't
even hate those people that preach the gospel. You're just pressing
this thing a little too far. Here's the truth of the matter.
Man without Christ hates God. Man may not realize it. Man may
doubt it. Man may dispute it. Well, he
will, he may, he will dispute it. But Almighty God says, if
you're not with me, for me, you're against me. The carnal mind is
enmity against God. Though many make great claims
to love God. I mean, listen to them. They
love the Lord. I love the Lord. I love what
the Lord does for me. I love the Lord's great plan
for me. I heard somebody say this morning on that, God's got
a great plan for my life. The scriptures reveal, because
the carnal mind is enmity against God, the law of God, neither indeed
can be. And because of that, many that
cried, not very long after, Hosanna to the Son of David. Blessed
is he that cometh in the name of the Lord. Hosanna in the highest. Matthew 21.9. Soon said, let
him be crucified. Mark this down. When Almighty God sets forth
that man despises God. Let God be true. Every man alive. Even in the midst of the great
disrespect that was shown him. They told him, you've got to
be out of here. You're demon possessed. Nobody is going to
kill you. Even with the disrespect that
was shown him. Our Lord obediently. And take note of what he's about
to say right here. As he walked upon this earth,
doing only always those things that pleased his Father, establishing,
earning by his own obedience, that is imputed to everyone that
believes. Listen to him. Listen to what he says. They
railed on him. They called him a liar. He said,
you're going about to kill me. They said, we're not going about
to kill you. They called God a liar. And the scripture sets
forth in verse 21. Jesus answered when they told
him, you have a devil. going about to kill you. Jesus answered and said to them,
I have done one work, and ye all marveled. Though he knew
the depravity of their hearts, though he knew that many would
in time truly rail on him, here he did exactly what the Holy
Spirit revealed. in 1 Peter 2, 21-23. For even hereunto were ye caught,
because Christ has suffered for us, leaving us an example that
ye should follow in his step, who did no sin, neither was guile
found in his mouth, who when he was reviled, reviled not again. When he suffered, He threatened
not, but he committed himself, his cause, to him that judges
righteously. Here's what he did. They called
him a liar, and the Lord Jesus Christ committed himself to God's
purpose and God's will. Boy, I tell you, I know what
I do. All you have to do to get me
off top dead center. Just let me come to the church
this morning and let me turn on, you know, check the e-mails. And then I get an e-mail reprimanding
me for something that I preached that we put on. Let me put these
messages on sermon audio and I'll get an e-mail and they'll
call me everything but a milk cow. And I'm telling you the
truth, I just, man, Dave, I'm thinking if I could get a hold
of you right now, I'd straight... Boy, that's me, Corey. That's
me. Dear Lord of Glory, told these
men exactly what they are by nature. And they told him, you're
demon possessed. We're not going about to kill
you. Oh yeah? Give them just a few days. And
all that is within a man is going to come out. Crucify him. Crucify him. It's your law, Pilate said, that
I should release one. Barabbas, that man was supposed
to be crucified. He was a murderer. Committed
sedition. His life, as far as everybody
else was up, It was over. What do you want me to do? Now
you talk about a picture of redemption. You talk about substitution. This man Barabbas, it was his
lot he was going to have to be crucified. A murderer. What should I do? That's what
Paul said. You want me to release this murderer? Who do you want me to release?
Turn Barabbas loose and crucify this one. Oh, substitution. Blessed
substitution. Here is the Lord of glory absolutely
bowing to His Father's will, His Father's pleasure. Obedient. Obedient. Lord, teach me. Lord, help me. Moses verse 22-23,
Therefore gave unto you circumcision, not because it is of Moses, but
of the fathers. And ye on the sabbath day circumcised
a man. If a man on the sabbath day received
circumcision, that the law of Moses should not be broken. Are
ye angry at me? Because I made a man every whit
hole on the sabbath day. Remember what I said, here we
are in chapter 7. It's still out of chapter 5 when
he healed that man at the pool of Bethesda. The one that couldn't
get down into the pool. The one that said the angel comes
and stirs the water and another man steps in ahead of me, I can't
do it. He healed that man on the Sabbath day and they're still
mad at him. They're still angry. He said, here you are. Moses
gave you circumcision, though it wasn't the one that originally
circumcision, the scripture says, Moses therefore gave unto you
circumcision, not because it was Moses, but of a father's.
It was Abraham that the Lord gave it to originally. Then he
says that that circumcision requires that the male child be circumcised
on the eighth day. That's God's law. Circumcision. The eighth day. Now, if that
eighth day falls on the Sabbath day, the Sabbath is not broken
if circumcision takes place on the Sabbath day, because it was
God's law. Circumcision, Almighty God says,
eighth day, you circumcise it. It's on the Sabbath day. You
circumcise him on the Sabbath day. Moses therefore gave unto
you circumcision, not because it is of Moses, but of the father.
And ye on the sabbath day circumcised a man. Now if a man on the sabbath
day received circumcision, that the law of Moses should not be
broken. Are you angry at me because I have made a man every whit
hole on the sabbath day? Is it lawful for you to remove
a small that symbolizes the covenant
of God in Christ to remove the filth of sin by the death of
the substitute and the redeemer, the Lord Jesus Christ. Is it
lawful for you to take and circumcise a man and actually perform that
which symbolizes cleansing? And are you angry at me because
I actually made a man, the scripture says, every wet hole on the Sabbath
day, body and soul. And I made that man whole. Healed his body and actually
saved that man's soul, regenerated him. Are you mad because I actually,
on the Sabbath day, actually performed what you do in type
and symbols? Are you mad at me for performing
the fulfillment of what the law pictured while you still hold
to the type? Are you mad because Almighty
God saved by grace totally according to His purpose and will? Are
you mad, are you angry because salvation is totally in the hands? And the pleasure and the timing
of Almighty God, are you mad because of that? Men will hold
to anything that gives man honor, and they hate He needs to do. Are you mad? Verse 24, Judge not according
to the appearance, but judge righteous judgment. Judge not according to the appearance. Now, I read that scripture and
I I thought to myself, now, does this mean that we're never to
judge? That we're never to distinguish,
to try, to decide any matters concerning ourselves or others? Here's a scripture that probably
I say this is probably one of, it would be like John 3.16 or,
you know, this is Matthew 7.1. This is probably one of those
scriptures that more people in this world can quote. And it's
absolutely one of the most abused and misunderstood verses in all
of scripture. And usually you're going to find
those Scripture revealed the Word of
God. Usually you're going to find
those that despise God's Word. They're going to be able to quote
this Scripture right here. And whenever a stand is taken against
false prophets, liars, liars on God, and there is so much
that is said, set forth concerning men that lie on God. And whenever you make a statement
concerning those that set forth an untruth concerning God's sovereignty,
and I'm telling you, I don't want anybody to misunderstand
what I'm saying, I'm telling you, anybody that preaches that
man has a free will, That man has a free will and that God
Almighty has made salvation possible by the Lord Jesus Christ dying
on the cross. That He went ahead and paid the
debt. That the debt's already paid.
Now all you have to do to make it effectual to you is you have
to exercise your free will. Now God wants to save you. He
wants to save you if you'll let Him. Now, He's not willing that
any should perish. See, there's a misquote. He quoted
half the verse. He's not willing that any should
perish. He wants you to come to Him. If you'll take one step toward
the Savior, my friend, you'll find His arms open wide. If you
take that first step, it's hands down. All you've got to do is
just reach out and take it. Salvation is yours for the asking. I'm telling you that anybody
that preaches that is a liar. That's a lie. That's a lie. It's
a lie. I want to be careful. I'm getting ready to preach out
of Proverbs 14, 12 in a minute. I'm going to deal with this subject
right here. So I want to slow down. I'm telling you, it's a lie. Whenever you take a stand against
that, Here's the verse that people will take their finger and they'll
point and they'll say, Judge not. Judge not. Lest ye be judged. Judge not. Let me ask you something. Are
we not to prove, 1 Thessalonians 5.21. Prove all things and hold
fast to that which is good. Are we not to test, to approve,
to examine and try all things by the Holy Scriptures and hold
fast to that which is revealed? Yes, we are. 1 John 4, verse
1, Beloved, believe not every spirit, that is men that preach,
that's what it's talking about, believe not every spirit, but
try examine, approve, judge according to the Word of God, try the spirits,
whether they are of God, because many false prophets are gone
out into the world. Yes, sir, are we supposed to
judge, to try, to examine, to approve what men say? When men are proclaiming, saying,
Thus saith the Lord, if it is not according to these
scriptures right here, it is not so, and they are not to be
believed. I'm not saying that men are not
sincere. I'm not saying men are not sincere. As I said before,
many sincere people, Hitler, sincere. Or are they telling the truth?
If it's not according to this scripture, it's not. Judge not. Before I get off of Matthew 7.1,
I'm going to tell you what it means. I'm not going to leave
that one hanging. Judge not means primarily to
not attempt to judge the motives of what others do. Don't be quick
to condemn another's conduct when that conduct or decision
is not contrary to the revealed scriptures. Now, there's times
that men want to do something, and if it's not something that
is absolutely dealt with in scriptures, Unless you can point to a specific
passage and give specific instructions to the matter at hand, usually
you can't. I'm not saying that there's very
many times that you can't. People want to make decisions
and they'll say, what do you think about so and so? And here's
my answer at this moment. Well, what does the Word of God
say? What does the Lord have to say
about it? If Almighty God has dealt with it, and I'll tell
you, there's not many times that you're going to find that it's
not. I mean, you might make some decisions on whether or not you
want to wear a blue shirt or a white shirt. If you like a
blue shirt, and I'd rather you wear a white shirt, why don't
I just shut up? And I won't judge you for that.
I won't examine you for that. I won't try you for that. That's
fine. Just not. But if Almighty God
deals with something, and this is what the Word of God has to
say, then stand on God's Word. Let God be true. It's best if
a matter is not dealt with specifically in God's Word. Leave it alone. But if the Scriptures does deal
with an issue. Judge, try, decide with God's
revealed Word against everything else and everybody else. Are
we supposed to judge when God deals with it? Yes, we do. Yes,
we do. The Lord says here, judge not
according to the appearance. Judge not concerning the way
that it naturally appears to you. Don't judge according to the
way others say that things are if God says they are another
way. Judge not according to appearance
to the way you see or you think or other men think. Is a tree known by its fruit? Yes it is. The scripture says you are known
by the fruits. What do they believe? What do they preach? Judge righteous
judgment. Judge according to mercy on the
basis of what is true and what is revealed. We come every Sunday,
every Wednesday, to hear what does Almighty God have to say
about His Son, about men, about salvation, about faith, about
life. We search the Scriptures. What
does God have to say about it? Judge righteous judgment. Psalm 119 says, The way things are, are the way
that things are set forth by Almighty God. What does the Lord
have to say? When it comes to salvation, when
it comes to grace, when it comes to faith, what does God have
to say? When the Lord told those people,
He said, You don't keep the law. Why are
you going about to kill me? If Almighty God gave them understanding
to what he said, they would have fallen on their faces and said,
Lord, you're true, I'm a liar. Lord, forgive me. Leave a man to himself, and he'll
say, that's a demonic statement. This statement you're making,
Lord, who's going to like it? Who hates
you? I don't hate you. There's buildings
all over this city right now where men are saying, we love
the Lord. But what they're preaching is
inconsistent with this. Judge not according to appearance,
to what you think it is. To what men think it is. You
judge righteous judgment. What does almighty God have to
say? And by the grace of God, a man will take sides with God
against himself. Let God be true. I'm a liar. Forgear the truth. Lord, teach
me. For Christ's sake.