The Lord would help you this
evening and grant you prayerful attention. I direct you to a
word in the chapter we read together, the Gospel according to John
chapter 11. I'm reading again at verse 25. John chapter 11
verse 25. Jesus said unto her, I am the
resurrection and the life. He that believeth in me, though
he were dead, yet shall he live. And whosoever liveth and believeth
in me shall never die. Believest thou this? The context of these words I'm
sure well known unto you. Lazarus, the brother of Martha
and Mary, having died, really died, raised again from the dead
by our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ. And Mary, while she mourned
in the house, Martha went out to meet her Lord, who was coming
unto her, and told him what had happened. And Jesus calls forth
her confession of faith, beginning in the verses that precede this.
I then said, Martha, unto Jesus, Lord, if thou hadst been here,
my brother had not died. But I know that even now, whatsoever
thou wilt ask of God, God will give it thee. Jesus saith unto
her, Thy brother shall rise again. Martha saith unto him, I know
that he shall rise again in the resurrection at the last day. Now you see, friends, Martha's
faith is expressed in these verses. It describes the faith of many
in the world. There are many that will confess that Jesus
is the Son of God. You know, the devils know that.
That's what Martha confesses. I know that even now, whatsoever
thou would ask of God, God will give it thee. And Martha came
on a little bit, she confessed there would be a resurrection.
There are many that believe there'll be a life hereafter. But friends,
you know, such a confession falls short of saving faith. But Jesus
presses her here on the essence of saving faith. He said unto
her, I am the resurrection and the life. Believest thou this? You see, friends, this is where
faith centers. Saving faith doesn't center simply
on the fact that Jesus is the Son of God. It doesn't center
on the fact there'll be life hereafter. Saving faith centers
on this, Jesus Christ, the only source of salvation. I am the
resurrection and the life. And so what we have set before
us this evening is a confession of Jesus Christ as to who he
was. And then the benefits to believers that flow forth from
that. And then, friends, oh, he sets
before us a vital necessity of saving faith. And they're the
three things I'd like to examine with you this evening. Firstly,
the prophetic testimony of the Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.
I am the resurrection and the life. Who he was, what he was,
what he has made unto his people. And then the benefits that come
forth from Christ for the Lord's people. Firstly, he that believeth
in me, though he were dead, yet shall he live. Oh, life! Life
here, friends. That's the first benefit that
flows from the fact that Jesus is the resurrection and the life.
And then life hereafter. And whosoever liveth and believeth
in me shall never die. And then, friends, a vital necessity
of saving faith. You see, Jesus asked, believeth
thou this? No faith, friends, no life. He
that believeth in me, He that believeth in me, though he were
dead, yet shall he live. Well, first of all, the testimony
of the Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ, I am the resurrection
and the life. Now, Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ,
when he came into this world, he was anointed to those three
offices by the Father, Prophet, Priest, and King. We speak a
lot of his priesthood, of the sacrifice that he had made at
Calvary when he, through the Eternal Spirit, offered himself
without spot unto God. Died for us, risen again, ascended
into glory. Oh, we may speak of his priestly
office in this, he ever liveth to make intercession for us.
And we may feel the benefit of that intercession day by day.
His kingly office we acknowledge. Oh, we acknowledge his kingly
office when we're born. as His people to have to fall
at His feet and acknowledge Him as our Lord and King. When we're
made submissive unto His will, when we're enabled to say with
one, it is the Lord, enthroned in light, whose claims are all
divine, who has an undisputed right to govern me and mine,
there the dear soul, when they're brought to that place, they acknowledge
Christ as their King. But you know, friends, I think
sometimes we pass over the prophetic office of Christ. Oh, the Lord
and Saviour Jesus Christ was anointed as a prophet. You see,
we misunderstand prophecy. We see prophecy as foretelling,
telling what the future will be. But you know, prophecy also
has the aspect of forth-telling. Telling the truth. Telling forth
what God would have the people to hear. And that's what the
Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ came into this world. I'm come.
What has he come for? For what the prophet Isaiah prophesied
he would come for, the spirit of the Lord God is upon me. Why? Because he was anointed to preach
the gospel, to bind up the broken hearts, to lose the captives.
When John Baptist's faith began to found him in prison, he sent
his disciples to ask, go tell Jesus, are thou the Christ or
look we for another? What was the reply John Baptist
received? Go tell John. the blind see, the deaf hear,
the lame walk, the poor have the gospel preached unto them.
That was a sign that this was the Christ. The poor have the
gospel preached unto them. And here, friends, we have Jesus
as prophet, preaching to Martha, foretelling unto Martha who he
was, the reason that he come into this world. I am the resurrection
and the life. Now, friends, in this statement
I see three things. Firstly, the I am. Now I'd be
cautious what I say about this. When we come to interpret the
word of God, our mind can fix on all kinds of things. There
are, of course, those seven I am statements in John, where the
Lord says that he is something specific. I am the door. I am
the bread of life. I am the resurrection and the
life. I am the good shepherd, you know that I am the true guide.
But you know there's an occasion in John's gospel when we read
of a slightly different I am. And that's when Jesus was brought
into the garden. And there they came to take him.
And what do we read there? They answered him, Jesus therefore
knowing all things that should come upon him, went forth and
said unto them, Whom seek ye? They answered him, Jesus of Nazareth.
Jesus said unto them, I am. You'll notice that the he there,
verse 5 of John 18 is in italics, the original, Jesus said, I am.
And Judas also which betrayed him stood with him. And as soon
then as he had said unto them, I am, they went backward and
fell to the ground. Why did they go backward and
fall to the ground? Because he was declaring who he was, the
I am that I am, the I will be that I will be. I was that I
was, the ever-living God, the same declaration that God made
unto Moses there in the back side of the desert when he appeared
unto Moses out of the burning fiery bush. And Moses said unto
God, Behold, when I come unto the children of Israel, and shall
say unto them, The God of your fathers hath sent me unto you,
and they shall say to me what is his name, and what shall I
say unto them? And God said unto Moses, I am
that I am. And he said, thus shall thou
say unto the children of Israel, I am, I have sent thee unto you.
Who was God declaring that he was? He was the uncreated, the
eternal God, the ever-living God. Ah, friends, the very essence
of divinity. You say to me, well, I can't
really see much in those words, I am. No, friends, we can't because
we're so blind when it comes to seeing God. You know, we're
poor mortal finite creatures. And here we have set before us
the infinite, the eternal, the ever-living God. No certainty
of his understanding, the creator of the ends of the earth. How
can he declare himself unto us? Well, he does, friends, in those
words, I am. I am. You see, you owe your existence
to him. He owes his existence to no one.
He exists because he exists. The I am that I am. Now you may
say to me, well, why is that important here? Why is Jesus
declaring his divinity? Why do I see him declaring his
divinity here, friends? Because the other two things
hang on it. He could not say, I am the resurrection and the
life, except he was the I am. Except he was the divinely sent,
the divinely appointed son of God, the eternally begotten of
the Father, the one who the Father said, thou art my son, this day
have I begotten thee. The one of whom the Father said,
that he made him, by that oath, a priest forever after the Order
of Melchizedek. You see, our Lord and Saviour
Jesus Christ was sent into this world, the Divine Son of God,
and there, there in the womb of the Virgin Mary, a body prepared
by the Father, a body that has prepared me, we read the son
says, prepared by the Father, wrought out there in the womb
of the Virgin by the Holy Spirit, the divine son of God, taking
that human nature into union with his divine person, and being
found in fashion as a man, he humbled himself. He became obedient
unto death, though a son, though the son, nevertheless. He learned obedience by the things
which he suffered. He passed through death. He passed
through death. he suffered that death which
is natural unto all the sons of Adam the separation of body
and soul in the moment he cried it is finished he suffered that
death that was due unto us as sinners the eternal spiritual
death that sinners are consigned to
as the wages of sin the soul that sinneth it shall die in
that moment when the comfortable presence of God was removed from
him as the father turned his face and he said, Eli, Eli, lama
sabachthani, my God, my God, why hast thou forsaken me? But he passed through death.
He tasted death as the apostle. He passed through death. Death
could not hold Him. The grave could not have dominion
over Him. Why? Ah, well, the Father had said,
I will not leave thy soul in hell, nor suffer my Holy One
to see corruption. Why? Because there was no corruption
there. He was the holy, harmless, undefiled, separate from sinners,
made higher than the heavens. Therefore, the wages of sin,
death could not hold Him. And the sacrifice made for sin
by him, the atonement for sin, was received. And as it was received,
our friends, the sting of death was taken away, the wages paid,
and therefore our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ came forth from
the grave on the third day, rose again from the dead. That's,
friends, what we have set before us here. I am the resurrection,
I am the life. And all that hangs on this, that
he is the divine son of God. You see, friends, there could
be no atonement made, apart from the fact that the one making
the atonement was the divine son of God. The whole of scripture
points to that. All the priests of the Old Testament,
they all had this infirmity. They died. Why did they die?
Because they were sinners. And therefore, friends, they
have not that continuing priesthood. And they could not offer first
for the sins of the people without offering first for their own
sins. But you see our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ being without
sin, being impeccable, being unable to sin. Sin could not
taint him in any way. He had no need to offer for himself
first when he offered for the sins of the people. And therefore,
friends, he comes without all prevailing oblation before the
Father. the blood which may rightly be
described as the blood of God and described by Joseph Hart
as invaluable blood. Invaluable blood. Oh, the merit
of that blood. All that blood which exists to
take away, O Mary, and Manasseh's sins, and sins more vile than
they, and the power of which, dear Cooper says, dear dying
lamb, thy precious blood shall never lose its power, till all
the ransomed church of God be saved to sin no more. Friends,
that's where the life was. That's where the life was. We
read in the Old Testament that the life is in the blood. That's
why, friends, they were not to eat of things strangled. Of the
blood that came forth from those animals, they were to put it
to one side. Why? The life was in the blood. The soul that sinneth,
it should die. And there, friends, we see the
life. Oh, the life draining from the blessed Son of God. And,
ah, friends, what does that become for us? Life for us. You see,
we lived because He died. We live because he died. We have
hope of resurrection because he's risen again from the dead. Paul says in the 15th chapter
of the 2nd epistle, in the 1st epistle of Corinthians, that
if Christ be not risen from the dead, we are of all men most
miserable. Why friends? Because there's
no life. There's no hope beyond the grave. There's no tomorrow
for the Lord's people. But because he's risen. Because
he's risen. we have hope of life, that we,
as he's risen from the dead, we shall rise also. He first,
he the first for us. We shall follow after him, raised
again because he lives. Ah, what did he say a few chapters
on when he was with his disciples in the upper room? He told them,
a little while the world seeth no me no more, but ye see me.
Because I live, ye shall live also. Ah, you see, friends, we
derive life from his life. We derive life from his life.
From the life that he lived while he was here upon this earth.
You see, friends, that's the first source of this life. The
life he lived. Horatius Boner, doesn't he, sums
up the atonement like this? Upon a life I did not live, upon
a death I did not die. You see both aspects, friends.
You see both those aspects back in Eden, when Adam and Eve had
sinned. and God took beasts, he slew
them, he shed their blood. There's the first aspect, the
death, the death of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ. He
died, bearing the punishment for sins, taking away our sins
upon the cross. Ah, friends, he shed his blood
that we might live. But you see, Adam and Eve, although
the blood had been shed, they still felt themselves to be naked,
still the broken law. Still the broken law. Ah, friends,
how is our broken law to be made up? It's made up in the precious
life of the Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ. Set before us there,
in the fact that from the same animals that were slain, God
took the skins and made coats to cover them. Adam and Eve no
longer found naked. And ah, friends, that's where
we find our covering, that's where we find our righteousness.
A righteousness which doesn't hide our sins, as one of our
hymns suggests. No, our sins are taken away,
they're not hidden by that righteousness of Christ. But our friends, our
failures, our disobedience hidden. His righteousness made ours.
We now found righteousness in Him. God sees us as we kept the
commandment. We declared righteousness in
Christ. You see, friends, because I live. Because I live. The life
he lived here. Because of that we have hope
of heaven above. You know we must be careful when we speak
about these things. But there is a sense, friends,
had Jesus just died upon the cross to take away our sins,
and had that righteousness not been procured for us by him living
under the law and going to the end of the law for righteousness
sake, you know there'd have been no hope of heaven. Why? Because
though our sins, though the payment due unto our sins have been taken
away, though we need no longer have died, nevertheless we would
not have been righteous, and there's no room for unrighteous
souls in heaven. We must be made righteous to
go to heaven. But you see, oh, the blessedness of this complete
atonement, which not only pays the price due unto sin, but makes
up the broken law and makes us righteous in the sight of Christ. This is our life. This is the
source of our life, the life that he lived. The life that
he lived. But you see, friends, he's also
life unto his people in the life he lives now. in the life he
lives now as he ever lives to make intercession for us. You
know, dear child of God, do you feel you're dying this evening?
Do you find the fresh breaking out of sin? Have you had to say
with the hymn writer, how shall I ever live at this poor dying
rate? Ah, in vain we raise our formal tunes, doesn't think Henry
Fowler says it. Ah, we seem so much times to
be formal, so much to be dead. Are you proving what the psalmist
said? No man can keep alive his own soul. You know, that's a
painful experience for the Lord's people. You struggle, you strive,
you think you try to be a little more holy, you try to read the
word of God, you know it's a hard thing, it's easy to be instant
in season, it's a hard thing to be instant out of season. But you know as you feel you're
dying, as you feel you're going to make shipwreck, as you feel
you won't get through life at the rate that you're living at
the moment, what's he doing? He's praying for you, Simon,
Simon. Satan hath desired to have thee.
Sift thee as wheat, but I have prayed for you. Thy faith fail
not. And you see, friends, all those
hours our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ was found here upon this
earth praying, praying upon the mountaintops, praying when his
disciples were in bed at night, praying when they were found
eating. We read in one place in Mark's
Gospel he spent so much time praying he didn't have time to
eat. Who was he praying for? He was praying for his disciples.
He was praying for all his dear people. He was praying for you,
dying soul, here tonight. But his prayers didn't cease
here, did they? He ever lives to make intercession for us.
See any continueth ever, says the apostle in the Hebrew, based
on the fact that he has not died, based on the fact that he ever
lives, based on the fact that because he ever lives, because
I am the resurrection and the life, he has an unchangeable
priesthood. And based on that unchangeable
priesthood, the Apostle builds this tremendous argument, therefore,
able to save unto the uttermost all them that come unto God by
him. You see, friends, as he lives tonight, he makes intercession
for you. He pleads his merits there before
the Father for you. He pleads grace for you. Ah,
the Spirit sent forth to revive, the Spirit sent forth to work
those fruits of righteousness of faith and grace within our
hearts. Ah, all based on the ground of His resurrection, of
His intercession. You see, our Lord and Saviour
Jesus Christ had to die, He had to rise again, He had to ascend
into glory before the gift of the Spirit was poured out upon
us. Why? Because that gift follows on
the death of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ. But as the Spirit
is poured out upon us, as we find the proof of this Word,
Jesus said unto her, I am the resurrection and the life, we
live. We live through the benefits of his death and his life. His life when he was here below,
his life now in glory to come. And you know, friends, our life
in the future, our life in glory to come, will still depend upon
the fact that I am the resurrection and the life. You know, don't
think, dear child of God, when you get to heaven, you'll be
independent of this one who says, I am the resurrection and the
life. You know, friend, when you get to heaven, you live as
dependent upon him. as what you do here. You read
in the Revelation what the apostles saw in the vision there of heaven,
the lamb which is in the midst of the throne. Ah, he shall lead
them, he shall feed them, he'll guide them beside living waters,
and ah, the condescension of God even in heaven, he shall
wipe all tears from off their faces. You see, friends, the
saints in heaven, they live dependent upon his life. They still live
dependent upon his life. This is what we'll be praising
him for in glory. Every day we're there. This fact.
I am the resurrection and the life. Ah, the reason we're found
in heaven. The reason we're sustained in
heaven. Because I live, you shall live also. You know, friends,
heaven is only co-existent with Jesus. If it could come to pass
that he should die, if it should come to pass that he should pass
out of existence, you know, friend, heaven would cease. But you see,
this is what the Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ tells us. Our life
is joined to his life. While Jesus lives, we can't die.
Here in time and here in eternity to come. What a prospect, sustained
now, unsustained in glory to come through him who said, I
am the resurrection and the life. I am the resurrection, I am the
life. Now you see friends, this one is the life. He's a creator
of life naturally. He's a creator of life spiritually.
John gives that testimony, doesn't he, concerning this one, in the
opening of his gospel, in the beginning was a word. The word
was with God and the word was God. The same was in the beginning
with God. All things were made by him and without him was not
anything made that was made. In him was life. And the life
was the light of men. And the light shineth in darkness
and the darkness comprehended it not. You see, friends, it's
as we receive life. As we receive life, as we receive
life from Him, the source of life we live, we see Jesus. We see Him to be the I Am, the
Word made flesh dwelling among us. As we receive life from Him,
we behold His glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the
Father, full of grace and truth. And then, friends, you see that
life. That life which was in him. In
him when he was entered into this world as the life. He said,
didn't he, I am the way, the truth and the life. Those two
expressions, you see, both of those, the I am expressions,
those two I am expressions are the only two that are repeated.
I am the life. I am the way, the truth and the
life. I am the resurrection and the life. He is the life. He is the life of his people.
And you see, friends, our eternal life springs from this fact that
he is a resurrection. Now I just want to notice before
I pass on the order here. Though in the original we can
interchange the resurrection and the life, we can say, I am
the life and the resurrection. Our translators here, you know,
I believe they had grace in their heart when they put it in this
order. I am the resurrection and the life. Why? Because life
depends on resurrection. Life depends upon the resurrection.
What would it be to us if I told you, what would it be to you
if I told you, oh, you'll be OK all the while I live, but
you knew that one day I was going to die. But you see, friends,
he rose again from the dead. He rose to die no more. He rose
to die no more. And therefore, friends, our hope
of life must bring on this, that the life that we receive through
him is resurrection life. It's life post-resurrection.
It's life that has no end. And therefore our translators
were very judicious when they put it in this order. I am the
resurrection and the life. All that life that comes forth
from him is resurrection life, friends. It springs from the
fact that he is risen from the dead. That he is risen from the
dead. This is what Jesus declares about
himself. I am the resurrection and the
life. The life of all them that live. Outside of me there is
no life. Our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ
preached a gospel which is repulsive to the modern man. Why? Because
it was an exclusive gospel. He declared himself to be the
only saviour of sinners. He declared himself to be the
only source of life. But our friends, what a precious
gospel it is. You see, there's nobody outside
Christ that can make the same declaration. There's nobody outside
Christ that can declare themselves to be the I Am, the uncreated,
the self-existent God. but our gospel is based upon
such a truth. And therefore, friends, we have
such a firm foundation upon which faith builds. Upon which faith
builds. You see, friends, oh, if you're
like me, we're apt to measure our foundation by the strength
of our faith. Thomas Boston, in his memoir
somewhere, he gives an account of his wife and he describes
her as being like a bird. her claws, the claws of her faith
just clinging on to the rock face. Well you know when you're
found just clinging on, you're apt to measure the strength of
the rock face to hold you up by how well you're clinging on. But you know friends, that's
looking at the wrong thing. That's looking at the wrong thing. Oh,
if we could fall off, the rock face would still stay there,
wouldn't it? You see friends, we need to look beyond ourselves.
We must not measure Christ by our faith. We must not measure
Christ by our faith. Ah, friends, here is a rock.
Here is a rock. Though we tremble upon the rock,
the rock cannot move. Though we feel to be dead, though
we feel to be dying, ah, friends, it does not change the fact that
I am the resurrection and the life. no and therefore friends
what an encouragement it should be when we feel ourselves to
be dying to be applying unto this one that says i am the resurrection
and the life that he may grant us fresh supplies of life out
of his exhaustive store because it is exhaustive for it pleased
the Father in him, all forniture dwell, and our friends at that
forniture dwell there for the poor and the needy, those that
are bought by the Holy Spirit to fill their need, that they
might apply freely unto it, and they might find, friends, that
it isn't exhaustive, it's a store that can never run out. I am the resurrection and the
life. Well, friends, what are the blessings that flow from
this for the Lord's people? He that believeth in me, though
he were dead, yet shall he live. And whosoever liveth and believeth
in me shall never die. Well, the commentators are divided
upon these two couplets, if I may put it that way. These two, what
some of them regard as parallelisms, they see them repeating the same
thing. And they see them referring to the resurrection of the dead.
And so the first is read as the second. Those that believe in
him, though they die, they shall be raised. They shall be raised. And I believe my, I cannot speak
authoritatively on the language, but I believe there's some linguistic
reasons why it might be said that is the best interpretation.
But friends, I find myself here siding with Calvin in believing
that this first expression, He that believeth in me, though
he were dead, yet shall he live, refers to that first gift of
life that we receive. Ah, when we were found dead in
trespasses and sins, then that we were raised there to life
in Christ. You see, friends, we only have
hope of life hereafter. We only have hope of resurrection
life. If we've lived here? If we've never lived here, we've
got no hope in the resurrection. And therefore, however you may
interpret these verses, I feel I'm not rested out of context
to take you back there to the first gift of life before we
come to the resurrection life. Because I live, you shall live
also. I am the resurrection and the life. This is the first benefit. We receive from the fact that
he is the resurrection and the life. We receive life in our
souls. Though he that believeth in me,
though he were dead. Though he were dead. And friends,
dead here, you know, it's a verb, it's not an adjective. It describes
a state of dying. And that describes us, doesn't
it? As we're brought forth into this world, we're dying creatures.
We die daily. Every time we sin, friends, if
I may put it this way, we die. We're searing home. We're putting
our sear upon the fact that the soul that sinneth it shall die.
We're signing, as it were, again and again our death warrant.
We're dying creatures. The moment we're born into this
world, you see, friends, no but further conceived in sin, shape
and iniquity. Oh, we're found sinners in that.
And the strength of that imputation, friends, is as strong, you know.
The apostle makes this quite clear in the Romans. The strength
of the imputation of Adam's sin to us is as strong as the imputation
of Christ's righteousness unto us. We touch, friends, the imputation
of Adam's sin unto us at the peril of the doctrine of the
imputation of Christ's righteousness. We're born into this world as
sinners. We sinned in Adam. And therefore, the moment we
begin to live, As the hymn writer says, we all begin to die. And
we're dying creatures. And the Lord's people feel it
painfully to be so, don't they? Though the outward man died daily,
says the apostle. Oh, he felt that dying. He felt
that dying. What did he say? Oh, when he
struggled with the good thing that he would do, he found himself
not doing, and the evil thing that he would not do, he found
himself doing that. And he said, who shall deliver
me from this body of death? What was he confessing? He was
a dying creature as to old nature. As to old nature. And it's written
over every one of Adam's children as we're born into this world.
The wages of sin is death. The wages of sin is death. It says appointed unto men once
to die and after that the judgment. What hope can there be then for
dying sinners? What hope can there be? There
might be a way found whereby we might be saved from that death. And friends, I'd remind you that
death, as I've already said, oh, that death is not just what
the world calls death today. You know, the world has a wonder,
or the devil, I should say, has a wonderful way of minimising
the punishment due unto sinners. You see, you speak about the
world as death. What do they talk about? They talk about the
moment you cease to breathe. They talk about the moment your
soul is separated from your body. You don't hear them talking much
about the death, the eternal death that the wicked enter into.
That's death in the scripture. When we read the wages of sin
is death, that's not just that moment, not just that hour and
article of death. The Lord's people have to pass through that
too. No, it's the eternal death that we enter into in hell. The removal of God's comfortable
presence. That's death. That's the death
that's due unto us. Now friends, How can we be spared from that?
How can we be delivered from this death? Through this one
who says, I am the resurrection and the life. This is the only
source of life. How are we delivered? How are
we delivered, friends? We're delivered through his death.
We're delivered through his life. We're delivered because all that
atonement, that perfect atonement offered on the cross at Calvary.
In that moment, he cried, it is finished. And there, bore
that oblation into the holy place, it was received. And what does
the apostle say? He was delivered for our offences.
Yes, friends, it was our sins that nailed him to the tree there.
He who knew no sin made sin for us. Made to bear the curse of
sin, which is death. He tasted death, he passed through
death. delivered for our advances, risen
again for our justification. You see, friends, what is the
resurrection? What is the resurrection? It's
a token unto us that the atonement's been received. It's the evidence
of the fact that death could have no dominion over him. The
grave could not hold him. Why? Because the payment had
been made. The payment had been accepted.
Death was taken away. You know the high priest on that
day, Great Day of Atonement, he entered into the holy place
in those plain robes. He laid aside the robes of glory
as he made atonement, representing the coming of the Lord and Saviour
Jesus Christ into this world, laying aside, not that he was
any one witness glorious. We could say, wouldn't William
Gadsby say in that 514th hymn, would you see his highest glory,
see it shine in Jesus' face? You know, there is a sense in
which we truly see the fullness of the glory of God in all his
holiness and all his mercy revealed in the suffering Son of God at
Calvary. But nevertheless, it is true he humbled himself, made
of no reputation. entered into this world, was
made sin for us. So the high priest laid off those
bright robes of glory and bore simply that white robe, setting
forth the humanity of the person of the Lord and Saviour Jesus
Christ. And there in that robe he took the blood of the slain
goat and entered into the holy place, there to sprinkle it upon
the mercy seat. You know, friends, when he entered
into that holy place on the Day of Atonement, The people outside
had no testimony of what was going on inside. The other days,
when he entered into the holy place, he had those robes on.
They had at the bottom the bells and the pomegranates. The people
sitting outside, they could hear the bells ringing. They knew
the high priest was alive, that he was making intercession for
them. But on the great day of atonement, when he entered in,
he didn't have the bells. He couldn't be heard outside. After
the poor trembling sinner outside, whose hopes hung on that atonement,
the high priest had entered inside. What was going on? What was going
on? It was hidden from them. But
having made atonement, he put on again the bright robes of
his glory, and he came out of the holy place and stood before
the people. Friends, that was the token of
atonement to be made. That was a token to the people.
And so it was that Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ, you know, from
the moment he cried, it is finished. His disciples laid a lifeless
corpse, though still the Son of God, because the divinity
was still united inseparably with his body in the grave as
much as it was with his soul in paradise. Though still the Son of God,
nevertheless they laid a lifeless corpse in the grave. Their hopes
were dead, weren't they? Oh fools, slow of heart to believe. But you see, when the Lord was
revealed unto them as risen, when he was made known unto them
in breaking and bread, what do we find those fools slow of heart
to believe doing? They ran, but returned to Jerusalem
with great haste, didn't they? They said, the Lord is risen.
The Lord is risen. What was it, friends? The atonement
had been made. Death had not held him. He was
released from death. That was their justification.
That was what faith centred upon. The atonement had been received.
Death had been taken away. Because he'd risen again. Because
he was living again. Oh, we've got hope that we shall
live. Friends, more than hope. Oh, we need more than hope, don't
we, in a dying day? The Lord gives to his people
assurance. Because I live, ye shall live also. There's no doubt
about it. I am the resurrection and the life. I am the resurrection
and the life. He that believeth in me, though
he were dead, yet shall he live. Now you see, friends, this is
the source of our life. This is the source of our life.
And when the Lord passes by us, though we be dead, ah, just like
that one that we read of in Ezekiel, cast out in the field, unswaddled,
unsalted, in our blood, under the law, ceremonially, filthy,
unclean, as good as dead. And yet he passed by and he said,
unto I live. And that's what happens, isn't
it, in the moment of regeneration, though we're dead. Though we're
dead, born again. The Lord told Nicodemus she must
be born again. And as he passes by and he says
to a dead sinner here and a dead sinner there, live. We live. We live. You know, regeneration's
not just renovation. Remember that, friends, we're
dead. You're dead, tonight, here, if the Lord's never passed by
and said, live. There's no vestiges of life in
you. It's not what the Pelagian would like you to believe, that
there's still something in you. No, you're totally dead. The
new birth, friends, that describes regeneration. You see, it's the
implanting of new life. We live where we were dead before. It's a new existence. This is
a life we receive that hangs upon that justification, that
hangs upon the fact that he is the resurrection and the life.
And you see, friends, in the moment he passes by and says,
live. Though the Lord's people oftentimes struggle to date,
oh, the moment when he passed by and said unto them, live.
And you know, I feel many of us, we may know the time we first
heard the Lord's voice, but you know, I believe we were living
before then. We, you see, we're just like
a child. We know when we were born because we have a birth
certificate. But in some of the countries in the world, they
have no birth certificate. What's the proof they're living?
What's the proof they're a human being? Well, because they have
the evidences of grace, the evidences of life within them. They need
their food, they need their water. Of course they're living beings.
So it is with grace. You know, we don't always know
the hour and the moment that the Lord passed by and said unto
us, live. But I tell you this evening, you have those evidences
that you're living if you are living. There'll be the hunger
and thirsting after righteousness. There'll be those evidences that
are given us in the Word of God. We know we pass from death unto
life because we love the brethren. That's another evidence of the
work of grace within the soul. But you see, the Lord passes
by and He says, live. He says, live. And our friends,
what a moment that is. What a moment that is. John speaks
about, in his epistles, about the seed. the seed remaining
in you. Ah, friends, that's what's born
in us. Ezekiel calls it a new heart.
I'll take away the stony heart, I'll give you a heart of flesh.
It's new life, friends. It's new life. And you see, friends,
that life begins to live. It begins to live. He that believeth
in me, though he were dead, yet shall he live. We begin to live
spiritually. We begin to desire after Christ.
We begin to breathe after holiness. We love his word. We love his
people. We love his laws. He that believeth in me, though
he were dead, yet shall he live. This is the life we receive.
And you know, friends, it is. It is new life. The taste is
changed. The will's renewed. The mind's
renewed. We see things in a way we never saw them before. The
change is so complete, it's as Berish sums up in that hymn,
when Jesus' gracious hand, that's the hand of regeneration, has
touched our eyes and ears. Oh, what a dreary world this
world misappears. You see, friends, then there's
no goodness in the things we once sought goodness in. But
now we're found seeking after that thing we once hated. once
despised, once lost, the person, the Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ.
He that believeth in me, though he were dead, yet shall he live.
Yet shall he live. But you see, friends, that's
where our life begins. That's where our life begins.
But hanging on this fact is this, whosoever liveth, whosoever liveth. You see, friends, that life,
where we regenerated into life, where we're brought into life,
you know that life can never die. Doesn't matter how you feel
this evening, dear child of God, that life in you can never die.
Can never die. And therefore it hangs on this,
whosoever liveth and believeth in me shall never die. Shall
never die. You see, friends, that seed that
is found within us, if I may put it this way, is a little
piece of heaven. The Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ
said, my kingdom is not of this world. But where did he say his
kingdom was? My kingdom is within you. My
kingdom is within you. That's the new heart of grace.
That's the new heart of grace. And you know that life, that
that heart begins to live in the moment that we're regenerated,
in the moment that the heart of grace begins to live within
us. You know that new man will never die. It will never die. And so the life that we've begun
to live here will enter into the fullness of in glory above.
But you know there's no death separating the life here below
for a believer and the life above. You say to me, but I've got to
die. You've got to die. yes friends unless the lord returns
first we have got to die we got to pass through death but what
does the lord call death concerning lazarus he calls it sleeping
he calls it sleeping the disciples didn't understand him but that's
the term the lord used he said lazarus sleepeth our friends
our bodies will sleep in the dust they will sleep They're
not dead. No, they will be raised again.
Mortal shall put on immortality. Corruption shall put on incorruption.
Why? Because he's the resurrection
and the life. As he's risen, all his people must rise too.
He told his disciple, his father, didn't he, in John 17, that all
that had been given unto him he'd kept. Nothing had been lost
save the son of perdition. And our friends, if he'd kept
those things, every one of us, Every one of
his people, their bodies, must be also kept. Raised incorruptible
at that last day, we shall live again. For our bodies, friends,
it is asleep. But come back to our regenerate
souls. You know, in the moment of death
we pass immediately into the presence of God. immediately
into the joyous presence of our Redeemer, immediately into the
blessings of life evermore. And friends, what a moment that
will be. The psalmist said, I'll be satisfied when I awake in
thy likeness. At thy right hand are those rivers
of Pleasures evermore. I can't quote the text, it's
just gone from me. I started to quote it. You know
it. Ah, friends, the fullness that we'll enter into there.
Have you ever marvelled at what the Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ
said? He said, I am come that they might have life. They might
have it more abundantly. You say to me, life and death,
they're binary things. You've got them or you haven't
got them. How can you have it more abundantly? Well, friends,
we have life more abundantly as we live in Christ, you know.
We have life more abundant as we live in Christ. Why? Because
first of all it's a life that can never die. But then it's
a life that's in Christ. Our life is hid with God in Christ.
That's what the apostle tells us. Oh friends, what is it to
live in Christ? It's to be made a partaker of
all the blessings that are in Christ Jesus. What does Rutherford
say? The streams on earth I've tasted,
more full I'll drink above. You see, friends, here we have
life, but there, oh life more abundantly. You see, friends,
here our life, our life within the new man is fettered by the
man, by the old man of sin. It's fettered by these bodies
of clay. Here, oh, we can't get beyond those things. Here we
have to say, oh, we've got lisp and stammer. But what did the
hymn writer say? But when this wisp in stammering
tongue Lies silent in the grave, Then in a nobler, sweeter song
I'll sing thy power to save. That's life more abundant, isn't
it, friends? That's life more abundant. Ah, friends, that life
that we will enjoy there, Where we shall see his face and never,
never sin, But from the rivers of his grace Drink endless pleasures
in, It's beyond our comprehension. It's beyond our comprehension.
and in the moment of death we'll pass immediately into it. I tell
you, dear child of God, the fear that you've got concerning death
is common to man. It's common to man. The separation
of body and soul, the end of our mortality here below is something
that is innate to nature, to fear. You know, we see a blessed
proof of the humanity of the Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ
in that cry, in the garden of Gethsemane, Father, if it were
possible, let this cup pass from me. Nevertheless, not my will,
but thy will be done. But what does the apostle say? He was made flesh. Came into
this world to take away the ordinance of death. What end? That those
who are subject all their lifetime to bondage because of the fear
of death. That that bondage might be taken
away. And it is taken away for the child of God. Death has lost
its sting. Why? Because I am the resurrection
and the life. Death has lost its sting. Yes,
dear child of God, the moment we pass through death, you know
it will be as a twinkle of an eye. As a twinkle of an eye. The soul, oh, immediately freed. And you know, friends, I don't
think we fully understand what the prophet tells us. The closing chapter of Isaiah,
he says there will be, the former things shall be remembered no
more. The former things shall be remembered no more. And you
know, when the soul there, released from everything here below, we'll bless him, we'll praise
him for his sovereign grace, for his love and for his mercy.
But you know, the passing through death won't worry you. It'll be nothing to you. The
former things shall be remembered no more. Then we shall just be
found in that life, light and immortality, which springs directly
from the fountainhead. I am the resurrection and the
life. These are the things that spring from this for the believer.
Life here, grace, life in the soul, and our friends inseparably
from that. Eternal life in heaven to come.
If you've got the one friend, you must have the other. They
can't be separated. And you know, if you've got the
one, the life of grace in your soul will be kept alive. Many
waters cannot quench love and friends, you'll have to prove
it in your own experience. Ah, not all the wonderings of
your heart, nothing can wean you from the love of Christ.
Jesus having loved his own which were in the world, he'll love
them unto the end. He that hath begun a good work
in you will perform it unto the day of Jesus Christ. You know,
friends, that includes keeping your soul alive. He'll keep you
alive in famine. He'll keep you alive in drought.
He won't let you die. What does the hymn writer say?
In heaven there's ne'er a vacant throne. He hates to put away.
You know, friends, the hymn writer doesn't go far enough there,
does he? He can't put away. He can't put away. Once in Him,
in Him forever, thus the eternal covenant stands. If we once begin to live here,
regardless of what will be poured against us, oh I think we're
going to sing it in our closing hymn if I remember rightly, all
the many things that seem to be reviled against the life of
grace in the soul. But we must be kept, our souls
shall be kept alive, and we shall be brought to Him. and enter
there into the fullness of life. Why? Because I am the resurrection
of the life. Now, friends, I just must come
to this in closing. The fundamental, the vital necessity
of faith. You see, friends, here, believing
is joined to life. Accept your beliefs. You should
all perish. That's what the Word of God tells
us. Now friends, I'm not here tonight
to tell you it's your duty to believe. Oh friends, that's not
what the Word of God declares. But the Word of God does join
our believing. It joins faith, essentially with
salvation. You know, there can be no everlasting
life, no eternal life. There can be no life in our souls.
Oh, but it'd be for faith. Now friends, that's not faith
as a word. That's not faith as a word. Oh, there are many out
there today that preach justification by faith as though we have to
believe in order to be justified, as though we have to exercise
faith. Oh, faith, friends, is a very real agent by which, wrought
out in our hearts by the Holy Spirit, the soul does lay hold
upon Christ. But, you know, faith in our hearts
is a fruit of the fact that I am the resurrection and the life. We receive faith. through that life that he gives
us, because he lived and died for us and lives to die no more.
But you see, friends, this makes this an important question. It
makes it an important question. Oh, can our testimony be with
dear Martha in the following verse? Yea, Lord, I believe that
thou art the Christ, the Son of God, which hath come into
the world JC Ryan, his comments, I think he's always rather harsh
on Martha. He's got no time for Martha,
you can see that in his Three Marys. But he writes off this
confession of faith and says it's evident that it was a false
confession of faith because when she came to the grave, Martha
said, Lord, by this time he stinketh for he'd been dead here four
days. But you know, friends, I see my own soul here. Berridge
says in one of his hymns, hot and cold in half an hour. Don't
you find that? The Lord draws near to you, He
blesses you. He grants you a realization,
I am the resurrection and the life. Your soul goes out to Him.
Lord, I believe. I believe. But you see, the Lord
begins to withdraw Himself. Where are we found? Our unbelieving
fears crowd in again. Unbelieving fears crowd in again.
And where are we then found? We're found looking to everything
around us. We're found filled with fear. Fear that we shall
be overwhelmed. Where's your faith then, dear
child of God? Where's your faith then? Well, you see, if we measure
things, if we measure things as we measure things naturally,
you know, we'll always be running to despair. But you see, that's
why we're found looking within ourselves. But what does dear
Joseph Hart say? Pour not on thyself too long,
lest it sink thee lower. Look to Jesus, kind and strong,
pity joined with power. You see, friends, that's what
faith has to do. Faith ventures unto Christ. Faith ventures unto
Christ. The Lord's people have to prove
all their hopes and fears, alternate rise, comforts mingle with their
sighs. But dear child of God, if you've
ever been found with faith in your heart, it's this faith which
it must be inseparably joined with this life. You know you
can't die regardless of your unbelief. You can't die regardless
of your unbelief. But I must come back to this
question that the Lord puts here. Believe this thou this. You know,
everything, friends, everything that's important in this life
and in the life to come, regardless of what the world may tell you,
regardless of what your parents will sometimes tell you. Yes,
friends, your daily calling is important. Your education is
important. Being able to make a way in this life is important.
The apostle tells Timothy that he that provided not for his
own house is a fool. Oh, friends, It's a very narrow
way to heaven, you know. A very narrow way, but the sum
of things all comes down to this. What think ye of Christ? What
think ye of Christ? That's the only fundamental question
they found before us this evening. It's the only fundamental thing
that stands between us and death. What think ye of Christ? Whose
son is he? As John Newton says, what think
ye of Christ is a test, that try both your state and your
scheme, ye cannot be right in the rest, unless ye think rightly
of him. Now, friends. Is he your only
hope this evening? Is he the only source of your
life here? Is he the only source of your
life to come? Do you have to come and say, Lord, I've got
no life within myself, I can't live of myself, but I must draw
life from thee? Friends, if you are, are you
a fan with Martha here? Yea, Lord, I believe thou art
the Christ, the Son of God, that should come into this world.
I believe thou art the resurrection and the life. And ah, friends,
if you are, you see, you've got that life within your soul, a
life that shall never die. But if you say all these things
are idle tales, what strange thing to be talking about. Ah,
definition of death, definition of life. Well, friends, I can
only come and put this question to you again. Believe it's how
it is. Believe it's how it is. There are many, aren't there,
set before us by that solemn character, the rich man in the
scriptures. who are found in hell this evening,
having to consider this question long and hard then. Oh, that
the Spirit might bring us this evening to be found seeking afterlife,
finding life in Him, finding it more abundantly, life that's
made known in our soul through the work of faith. Believest
thou this? Jesus said unto her, I am the
resurrection and the life. He that believeth in me, though
he were dead, yet shall he live. And whosoever liveth and believeth
in me shall never die. Believeth thou this? Amen.