I've been thinking a lot about
the Philippian jailer who in Acts chapter 16 asked the most
important question that a lost sinner could ever ask. Paul and
Silas were in prison. They were under his watch, and
the Lord, as you remember, sent an earthquake. The prison doors
were open. The jailer, seeing this, supposed
that the prisoners had fled. And the jailer drew his sword
to kill himself, for if they had escaped, those in charge
would have killed him. But Paul stopped him, and broken
and trembling and humbled, this man asked, what must I do to
be saved? I wish folks today would seriously ask that question.
The answer's always the same. We can do nothing. We can do absolutely nothing.
Simply believe on the Lord Jesus Christ and thou shalt be saved. The beloved John wrote, that
which we have seen and heard declare we unto you. That's what
preaching is. We're just declaring unto sinners
how God saved sinners. telling sinners what they must
believe in order to be saved. And then John goes on to say
that you might have fellowship with us. And truly our fellowship
is with the Father and with His Son, Jesus Christ. You see, believing
the gospel of Jesus Christ and Him crucified is the only way
to be saved and reconciled to God. When God tells sinners something
from His Word, now hear me on this. When we hear His words
to believe on Christ, it's not a request for us to accept or
reject. It's a commandment to be obeyed.
To ignore it comes with great consequence. It's not something
to simply consider. It's not something to decide
or to make a decision about. It's not something to be simply
for or against. It's to be believed. We are commanded
to believe it. Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ
and thou shalt be saved. And the consequences of not believing
is eternal condemnation. Now that's just how serious of
matter this is. Oh, how I pray that God would
show you the seriousness of this. To some of you, He has. The commandment
of God demands to repent and be baptized, and that is followed
by every one of you. This commandment is for everyone.
Every one of you, you, me, and everyone else. Repent, repent
of your sin, believe on Christ, be baptized, confess Him publicly,
and you shall be saved. Repent and be baptized, how?
In the name of Jesus Christ. Why? For the remission, the forgiveness
of sins. What happens if we do? He said,
and you shall receive the gift of the Holy Ghost. You'll receive
the gift of salvation. And if you don't, you won't. Now, if you want to perish, then
ignore God's command. The Lord Jesus said, look unto
me and be ye saved. Who is that commandment to? All
ye ends of the earth. Why? He says, for I'm God and
there is none else. There is salvation in no other.
God himself must die to put your sin away. God says what he means
and he means what he says. And to ignore God's commandment
is eternal damnation. Why must we believe on Christ?
God commands us to do so. It's the only way for us to provide
what God requires. It's the only way for alienated
sinners. to be reconciled to God. Now,
do you wanna be reconciled to God? This is the only way. No
other hope, no other way. And that's what I hope to show
you again this morning. In the heat of this past summer,
Teresa and I went to a local restaurant and parking is in
the rear and there's a dumpster there near the parking. And as
we walked into the restaurant, the smell was atrocious. The
heat of the day and that trash, extremely unpleasant, repulsive
to say the least. It'd take your breath away. It
nearly ruined our appetite, but my appetite's not easily ruined.
It was a stench of corruption. We couldn't hurry past it fast
enough. Have you ever had food go bad
in the refrigerator? Well, we all have. There's nothing
worse than the smell of rotting food. With that in mind, let
me ask you this question. When was the last time that God
gave you a whiff of yourself and your sin? Or has he ever? By nature, we are a stench in
God's nostrils. In Job chapter 42, verse five,
Job said, I've heard of thee by the hearing of the ear, but
now my eye seeth thee. Wherefore, or now because I see
you as holy and righteous, God that you are, he said, I abhor. Now that word, that's a strong
word. That word abhor means in disgust,
I hate myself. And Job said, I repent in dust
and ashes. You know, we live in a world
today that we're taught to love ourselves. Popular songs are
like learning to love ourselves. Well, when God reveals himself to a
sinner, two things immediately happen. They abhor themselves
because of their sin, and they repent in dust and ashes for
their sin. That's just the way it is. To
repent in dust and ashes is to humble yourself, fully humble
yourself before God. That's what it means, to surrender
everything that you are to Him. is to take sides with God against
yourself. We say that all the time. That's
a great definition of what salvation is. To take sides with God and
say, yay, Lord, a dog is what I am. I don't deserve anything. But even as a dog, please, just
give me some crumbs from your table. That term, dust, is used
16 times in the book of Job. The idea connected with dust
is that it's nothing. Like the dust of the scales balance. It's not enough to influence
the accuracy of the scales at all. That's what we are. Dust
is associated with lowliness, with humility. When Job repented
in dust and ashes, he was repenting in humility. He was sorry for
his sin. I mean, really sorry for it. That term ashes also has an interesting
usage throughout the book of Job. Job sits in ashes following
the start of his painful sores. You remember that? Job later
declares the words of his friends are ashes, meaning that they
only partly covered the truth. Later, Job says, God throws me
into the mud and I'm reduced to dust and ashes, meaning I'm
reduced to nothing. Sinner, God will reduce you to
nothing before He saves you. He'll show you what you are,
and He'll show you who you need. Later, Job says, I repent in dust and ashes. In great humility, he repents
of his own unbelief. Now, turn with me to Psalm 51
first. I want to show you this again
from the Scriptures. I want you to see this one more
time. The first thing that a saved
and redeemed sinner learns when God reveals Himself to them,
they humble themselves under the mighty hand of God that He
may exalt them in due time. He's the only one that can. A
sinner that has not yet humbled themselves before God because
of their sin has yet to see God in His holiness and strict justice. You know, when the prophet Nathan
came to David after he sinned with Bathsheba, David wrote here
in Psalm 51 these words. Verse 1, first thing out of his
mouth, Have mercy upon me, O God. That's what every sinner needs.
We need mercy. David said, have mercy on me.
He knew that he had sinned because God showed him that he had sinned.
God revealed him. God sent his prophet to him to
tell him, remind him of what he had done. And David cried
for mercy. And David says, not according
to my goodness, not according to my righteousness, and not
even according to my humility, but according to God's loving
kindness. That's what we base our cry for
mercy upon. His loving kindness, according to the multitude of
God's tender mercies. David said, Lord, blot out my
transgressions. One that has seen the Lord high
and lifted up is regretful and sorrowful for their sin, so much
so that they hate themselves, abhor themselves over their sin. They repent over their sin. They
hate themselves because of it. They want their sin to be gone. And they do and they say what
David did. Verse two, he said, wash me throughly for my iniquity. Lord, wash me. David cried, cleanse
me from my sin. Verse four, David knew that his
sin was against God and against God only. He knew that he had
done evil in God's sight alone. God sees everything we do. God
knows everything that we think. David said, Lord, you're justified
in condemning me. That's what I deserve. Lord,
you're clear when you judge me in your wrath." God showed David
these things about himself. Has God shown you the same things? When it comes to me, I don't
want justice. I want, need, and must have mercy. God have mercy on me. David said,
I was shapen, I was formed in iniquity. In Psalm 58, verse
three, David said, the wicked are estranged from the womb.
They go astray as soon as they're born, speaking lies. That's talking about every one
of us. David said, in sin did my mother
conceive me. And what was his request? It's
the same for every enlightened sinner. David gives us several
things here. Verse six, he said, make me to
know wisdom. Jesus Christ is our wisdom. Purge
me with hyssop and I shall be clean. The blood of Christ cleanses
us from all unrighteousness. Wash me and I shall be whiter
than snow. And if the Lord Jesus washes
you, you will be whiter than snow. Verse 8, make me to hear joy
and gladness. Lord, cause me, enable me to
hear the gospel of your mercy and grace. What joy and gladness
that brings. Verse 9, hide thy face from my
sins. Blot out my iniquities. Verse
10, create in me a clean heart. Renew a right spirit within me.
Mine is all wrong. Oh, may God be pleased to teach
us this. Now listen, one that is not sorrowful
over their sin, one that doesn't beg God to remove their sin,
one that doesn't really see themselves as wicked, one that does not
believe that they're by nature evil, has yet to see God in a
saving way. God has yet to reveal himself
to them. Verse 11, Lord cast me not away
from my presence. Take not your Holy Spirit from
me. Verse 12, restore unto me the joy of thy salvation. Uphold
me by thy free spirit. And verse four, deliver me from
blood guiltiness. And again, friends, please hear
me when I say, only the one who we have sinned against can truly
grant us forgiveness. Now let me say that again. Only
the one that we've sinned against can truly grant us forgiveness. And our sin is against God. All of it. The apostle Paul said,
for I know that in me, that is in my flesh, dwells no good thing.
No good thing. The child of God wants and wills
to do good. They do so out of love for the
one who loved them and died for them. But Paul said, for to will
to do good is present with me. But how to perform that which
is good, I find not. That's our dilemma. It cannot
and will not be found in us. Christ is our goodness. Christ
is our righteousness. Christ is our only acceptance.
And it's only found in Him and Him alone. And it always comes
back to that. I heard some amazing preaching
because it was the gospel that was preached. Bruce Crabtree
preached three messages and it just broke my heart. And at the
same time, they comforted me because he shut me up again to
Christ. That's what I want to do in my
preaching. I want to shut you up to Christ.
We see our helplessness and hopelessness because of sin, and yet we see
Christ who loved us and gave Himself for us. And in Him, we're
perfect before God. That's our only hope. That's
our only acceptance. It's found in Him. Paul said,
I find within me a law. And Paul is referring there to
the corruption of His nature. And because of its corruption,
its force, its power, and its prevalence, Paul calls it a law
because it forcefully demanded compliance to its lust. Have
you ever been resolved in your mind and your heart to never
engage in a particular sin again? I cannot tell you how many times
I thought, I'm not going to do that anymore. Only to do it again
and again and again. You couldn't keep from doing
it. You couldn't help yourself from doing it again. That's what
Paul's talking about here. We cannot not sin. We don't want to sin, but we
do. Paul said, what I want to do, I don't. And what I shouldn't
do, that I do. Does that describe you? It certainly
describes me. And I abhor myself because of
it. But I am, by God's grace, beginning
to see that only God can make you and I to differ. I think it would be wise for
us to seek Him. Concerning himself, Paul concludes,
oh, wretched man that I am. Oh, that word wretched, oh, miserable,
brokenhearted, unhappy, sorrowful, grieving, mourning, anguished,
distressed, despairing, devastated man that I am. Not was, but I
still am. And this is why so many people
today are on medication and antidepressants. I know there are many reasons
that people give as to why. But the real reason is sin. That's
right, and it ought not be with the child of God. And some will
say, but preacher, you know, I have a chemical imbalance.
I know you do, and so do I, and it's called sin. Too much darkness,
not enough light. Too much self, and not enough
Christ. Paul asks, who shall deliver me from this body of
death? Who shall deliver me from this
sin within? I thank God, he said. It's in,
it's by, and it's through Jesus Christ. What think ye of Christ? Only Christ can do for me what
must be done. Only Christ can put away my sin. Only Christ can reconcile me
to God. Only Christ could give me the
perfect righteousness that I must have to be accepted. Only the
Lord can provide for me these things. Why would God do such
a wondrous thing for unworthy sinners? Turn with me to John
chapter three. And that's where we'll remain
for the remainder of time. John 3, verse 16. Well, I can't
believe you're going to preach from John 3, 16. Well, I am. And let me say in the beginning,
as we read these blessed words, for God so loved the world, I'm
not going to debate with those who claim that God loves the
whole world. I'm not gonna argue with those
who claim that this verse means that God loves everybody in the
world. If he did, there'd be no need
of hell. There's no hell needed for those that Christ died for.
And if he died for everyone, why would there be a hell? If
Christ died for everyone, hell will be empty. And if God can
love a sinner, and if Christ can die for that sinner, and
that sinner still wind up in hell, then God's love means nothing,
and Christ's blood means nothing. It's ineffectual. Such a notion
frustrates God's sovereign love, mercy, and grace. And Paul said
Christ is dead and vain. Could God love everyone in the
world, Pray, I pray not for the world? How ridiculous is that? The Lord said, I pray for them. He's praying for somebody. He
said, I pray for them. I pray not for the world, but
for them, which thou, God the Father, has given me, for they
are thine. God had a people before the foundation
of the world. He foreknew them. He loved them. He foreknew them. He predestinated
them. He predetermined them to be saved. He gave them to Christ. Christ
is the Lamb slain from the foundation of the world. And every single
one of them, Chris, is going to be saved. Every one of them. You were His before the foundation
of the world. You didn't know it until time
revealed it, in the fullness of time, in the time of love. I remember it well. Who is included in this world
which Christ speaks of? Them. Them that the Father gave
to Christ. They are those that Christ died
for. The world is referring to God's
people in the world. Every time I read, for God so
loved the world, I immediately think, His people in the world. Not the whole world. His people
in the world. We've got to compare scripture
with scripture. The world is referring to men
and women out of every kindred, tongue, tribe, people, and nation
in and of the world. For God so loved His people,
His elect in the world, that He gave His Son for them and
to them. And they are those that God foreknew
and that God predestinated and that God chose and called and
justified them who He will one day very soon glorify. And some
will say, election shuts sinners out. I'm so tired of hearing
that. Election never shut any sinner
out. Election shuts chosen sinners
in. Men shut themselves out. God
just lets them have their own way. Scripture talks about the Lord
hardened Pharaoh's heart, and then it talks about Pharaoh hardened
his own heart. Which was it? It was both. The
Lord just simply let Pharaoh have his own way, and he hardened
his own heart. A person who will not have Christ
to be their Savior is shut out by God just simply giving them
their own way. And that's why we pray, Lord,
don't give me my way. We don't want our way, do we?
We want His way. God doesn't choose sinners to
condemnation. Sinners by their own obstinate
unbelief are condemned already, as we'll see. God just lets them
go the way they want to go. The difference with Son, those
whom He knows, chooses, and calls, and says, is that He divinely
intervenes. He divinely butts in. And He doesn't let them have their
own way. Lord, don't let me have my way. Look at verse 17. For God sent not His Son into
the world to condemn the world, but that the world through Him
might be saved. He that believeth on Him, Jesus
Christ, is not condemned, but he that believeth not is condemned
already. Why? Because, this is why, He
hath not believed in the name of the only begotten Son of God.
That is the sin that will keep you out of heaven's glory, not
believing, unbelief, not believing, in and on and by through the
Lord Jesus Christ. Christ didn't come into the world
to condemn the world. He came into the world to save
sinners in the world. If you believe on Christ, you
won't be condemned. You'll be saved. Why wouldn't
anyone and everyone believe on him? Why are men and women lost? Why
are sinners condemned? Verse 19. And this is the condemnation. This is why lost sinners are
condemned. Light. Light has come into the
world and men loved darkness rather than light because their
deeds were evil. Jesus Christ, the light of the
world, came into the world and men loved darkness rather than
Him. Men preferred to remain in darkness
rather than to believe on Christ. Why? Because by nature, they're
evil. They prefer to provide their
own righteousness because they're ignorant of God's righteousness,
and they go about to establish their own righteousness. Isn't
that what the Lord says? They will not submit, they will
not bow, they will not believe, they will not trust in Christ
who was made to be sin for them, but they might be made the righteousness
of God in Him. And that's just how messed up
we are. We're messed up. We need help. We need mercy. God doesn't shut
anyone out of salvation. If a sinner wants to be saved,
they can be. And I don't have any problem
with saying that. Well, I thought you were a Calvinist.
I am. But I'm first and foremost a
believer, and I know that God doesn't shut anyone out. Nobody
ever came to the Lord Jesus for mercy and really wanted it. Really desired it, Tom, that
he didn't give it to. Not one. You can't find it in
the Scriptures. If you really wanna be saved,
God will enable them to be saved, and they prove to be the elect
of God. God's never turned down a pleading
sinner begging for mercy. Men are shut out of heaven and
sent to hell because they love darkness rather than light. No
man can come. No man's able to come to Christ.
No man will come. They're unwilling. Why? Because
they're dead. Does a dead man have any will?
Have you ever had a dead man talk to you and say, you know,
I want to go down to the grocery store and get something to eat.
I think I'm going to will myself to do that. No, he's dead. Men
and women don't have a free will. Their will is in bondage to their
sin. Their will is in bondage to their nature. Only God can
make them able, and only God can make them willing. And this
is the condemnation, that men love the darkness that they're
in, rather than the Christ who is the light. Now, keep your
place here in John 3.16, but turn with me to Genesis chapter
one. I want you to see this. You know this passage well. God
tells us from the very beginning of His Word something about our
hearts and our nature. Right in the very beginning of
the Word of God. There's no better illustration
and example of men and women's heart by nature than that which
is found here in Genesis chapter 1. Verse 1. In the beginning God, In the
beginning, God created the heaven and the earth. Now look at this,
verse two. And the earth, flesh, dust, was
without form, and void, and darkness was upon the face of the deep,
and the Spirit of God moved upon the face of the waters. The earth
was without form. The Hebrew phrase without form
means desolate, means worthless, vain, empty, waste, wasteland,
wilderness. That's exactly what our hearts
are by nature. Desolate. Worthless. Vain. Just an empty wilderness
of desolation. The earth was void. The Hebrew
word for void means empty and ruined. What a picture of every
man and woman's heart by nature, birth and practice. Void. Empty. Ruined. Darkness was upon
the face of earth's deep recesses, and so it is with our hearts.
And the Hebrew word for darkness means full of destruction and
misery and death, full of ignorance, sorrow and wickedness. What hope
is there for such a heart? The last part of verse two tells
us. And the Spirit of God moved. The Spirit of God moved upon
the face of the waters. And God said, let there be light. And there was light. Our hearts
were without form. Our hearts were void of life,
empty and ruined, darkness, destruction, misery, and death filled our
hearts. And God said, let there be light. And there was light. For God,
who commanded the light to shine out of darkness, has shined in
our hearts to give the light of the knowledge of the glory
of God in the face of Jesus Christ. That's our only hope of light
and life, is the God-speak light. In Him was life, and the life
was the light of men. Verse four, and God saw the light
that it was good and divided the light from the darkness.
Did you hear that? Only God can divide the light
from the darkness. Only God can give light. Only
God can cause light to shine out of darkness. Only God can
divide the light from the darkness. Salvations of the Lord. Verse
five, and God called the light day and the darkness he called
night. And friends, within every child
of God, there is Christ the light, but there is a war going on in
the dark recesses of our hearts and our members, and it longs
to bring us into the captivity of sin. And it's a war, it's
a battle that we'll fight until the day that we die and we lay
down this flesh, this body of death. And God gives us a glorified
body, one without sin. So what are we to do in the meantime? Where can we find true rest? Where is the peace that Christ
has promised? Are we gonna look to ourselves?
No. Are we gonna keep looking to
Christ? Okay, back in John 3. I won't keep you much longer.
In verse 26, John's disciples came to John and they told him
that the Lord Jesus, of whom John himself bear witness, was
now baptizing. And they said, all men come to
Him. And John, he's putting us out
of the baptizing business. And John gives some invaluable
information here. Oh, God enable us to hear. In
verse 27, we're reminded, first of all, that a man can receive
nothing except it be given him from heaven. Boy, that's invaluable
information. You and I are nothing, and we
can do nothing unless God give it to us, unless God do it for
us. We certainly can't save ourselves.
Everything must be given to us from God in heaven, especially
eternal life. And then John reminds his disciples
in verse 28 what he had told them before. He said, I am not
the Christ, but I am sent before him. Why are you surprised that
all men are coming unto him? He's the light. He's the light
of the world and the life of the world. And then in verse
29, he says, he that hath the bride is the bridegroom. The
church, Christ's bride, they belong to Him. We receive everything
we have, and we receive everything that we need, and we receive
everything that God requires from Christ, our beloved bridegroom. A preacher can't do anything
for you. A priest can't do anything for you. No man can do anything
for you, and you cannot do anything for yourself. Only Christ, the
bridegroom, can. John said, as his friend, I simply
rejoice in his words. They are spirit, and they are
life. So what are we to do? Well, we're
to do the same thing John did. Verse 30. He must increase, but
we must decrease. Such a simple statement, yet
impossible with men. But all things are possible with
God the Son. He must increase, and I must
decrease. Verse 31, He, Christ, that cometh
from above is above all. We are of the earth. All we speak
is earthly. We've descended from Adam. Adam
was made from the dust of the ground. We dwell in houses of
clay and earthly tabernacles. Naturally speaking, we're going
to return to the dust of our origin. Natural men speak of
earthly things. We speak in an earthly manner.
The Christ, who came from above and is above all, He speaks of
spiritual things. He speaks of eternal things. No wonder God said, This is My
beloved Son, hear ye Him." We better hear Him. And like Peter
said, where else would we go? Thou art the Christ, the Son
of the living God. You alone have the words of eternal
life, and that is so true. He alone has the words to eternal
life. We better hear Him. Verse 32. And what He, Christ, hath seen
and heard, that He testified, and no man received it, His testimonies. The Jews didn't receive His testimony,
His word. The Scripture says He came unto
His own, and His own received Him not. No man or woman does
by nature. But when God saves a sinner,
that sinner is taught of God. Verse 33, he that hath received
his testimony hath set to his seal that God is true. God has stamped and sealed the
saved sinners in. They're stamped justified. Their account is stamped paid
in full. They themselves are stamped the
elect of God. and they believe the words of
Christ. Verse 34, for he whom God has
sent speaketh the words of God, for God giveth not the Spirit
by measure unto him. The Father loveth the Son and
hath given all things unto his hands. And friends, by God's
grace, those whom God gave to Christ and those whom God gave
Christ to, believe, rest, and have total assurance that what
God has promised, He's able to perform. Do you believe that?
I know you do. In verse 36, we're right back
to where we began. He that believeth on the Son
hath, hath, right now, hath everlasting life. And he that believeth not
the Son shall not see life, but the wrath of God abideth on him. So let me ask you in closing,
do you believe on the Son of God? If you do, you have everlasting
life. But if you don't, you shall not see life. Why wouldn't you
want So child of God, keep believing,
keep looking to Christ, and may you continually be comforted
by these words. And lost sinner, whoever you
are, may God be pleased to cause you to trust Him and to save
you by His mercy and His grace. For His own glory, for our good,
and for Christ's sake. Amen.