Kingsport Sovereign Grace Church,
located at 905 Yadkin Street in Kingsport, Tennessee, would
like to invite you to listen to a message of sovereign grace
by their pastor, Gabe Stoniker. And now, Pastor Gabe Stoniker. I invite you to turn with me
this morning to John chapter 3. John chapter 3, and let's
look at verse 14. It says, And as Moses lifted
up the serpent in the wilderness, even so must the Son of Man be
lifted up. Someone said John 3 verse 14
is the remedy. It's the remedy. And as Moses
lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, Even so, must the
Son of Man be lifted up. That's the remedy to this great
problem we have. This great problem we sinners
have. The Son of Man must be lifted
up. Jesus Christ, the remedy. And he said verse 15, John 3
verse 15, is the result. It says, "...that whosoever believeth
in Him should not perish, but have eternal life." That's the
result of the Son of Man being lifted
up. "...that whosoever believeth in Him should not perish, but
have eternal life. That's what the remedy brings
eternal life. Then he said, verse 16 is the
reason it says for God so loved the world that he gave his only
begotten son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish,
but have everlasting life. For God so loved the world."
That's the reason. That's why He gave His only begotten
Son to be lifted up. That we sinners should not perish
but have eternal life. It's because God so loved this
evil, sinful world. Now our text is going to begin
in verse 17, John 3, verse 17, and it says, For God sent not
His Son into the world to condemn the world, but that the world
through Him might be saved. That's why Christ came, you know
that? Why did Christ come here to this
earth? And why did He come all the way down into this world
and go through every single thing that He went through? Well, verse
17 says He didn't come to condemn the world. He didn't have to. The world was condemned already.
Turn with me over to Romans chapter 5. Romans chapter 5 and verse 18
says, Therefore, as by the offense of one, judgment came upon all
men to condemnation, even so by the righteousness of one,
the free gift came upon all men unto justification of life."
That word condemnation means to keep bound. It means to lock
up. By the offense of one, Adam,
Judgment came upon all men to condemnation. The Lord told Adam,
cursed is the ground for your sake, because of you and your
sin. Cursed is the ground. In Adam,
all die. All die. A person might say,
well, if you believe God purposed some to salvation, are you saying
God purposed some to hell? No, I'm not saying that at all.
Man rebelled against God willingly. Man sinned against God willingly. God knew it would happen. He
knew it would. And it all happened for His glory,
and it all happened for the good of His elect. But man condemned
himself willingly. What a horrible state for mankind
to be in. Awful, awful state. And our text
back over in John 3 verse 17 says, God sent not His Son into
the world to condemn the world, but that the world through Him
might be saved. Saved. Mankind is condemned in
a horrible state. But Matthew 18 11 says the Son
of Man is come to save that which was already was lost. That's why he came. And that's
what he did. That's what he did. Now let's
look at this question. Who did he do it for? How can
I know if Christ came to save me? save me from condemnation. How can I know? Who did he do
it for? John 3 verse 18 says, He that
believeth on him is not condemned. But he that believeth not is
condemned already, because he hath not believed in the name
of the only begotten Son of God. A person can know whether or
not Christ came to save them based on whether or not that
person believes the Word of God. All of it. All of it. Because faith, believing on and
in the Lord Jesus Christ and His Word, faith is not of yourself. It's a gift of God. And if a person believes, then
that person has already received a gift from God. And he says, he that believeth
on him is not condemned, but he that believeth not is condemned
already, because he hath not believed in the name of the only
begotten Son of God. Now look over at chapter 5 with
me. John 3 chapter 5 and verse 24 says, Verily, verily, I say
unto you, HE THAT HEARETH MY WORD, AND BELIEVETH ON HIM THAT
SENT ME, HATH EVERLASTING LIFE, AND SHALL NOT COME INTO CONDEMNATION,
BUT IS PASSED FROM DEATH UNTO LIFE." Now this is how most people
see and hear verse 24, John 5 verse 24. This is what the natural
mind thinks and the natural heart believes when it sees and hears
verse 24. HE THAT HEARETH MY WORD, and
believeth on him that sent me, will have everlasting life, and
shall not come into condemnation, but will pass from death unto
life." But that's not what the verse says, is it? It says, Verily,
verily, I say unto you, He that heareth my word, and believeth
on him that sent me, hath hath, already has everlasting
life, and shall not come into condemnation, but is past from
death unto life." That's why he hears and that's why he believes. It's because he already has eternal
life. And he shall not come into condemnation,
but is past is already passed from death unto life. Now it's
the same thing with our text, verse 18, John 3, verse 18. The natural man sees and hears
this verse to say, he that believeth on him will not be condemned. But he that believeth not will
be condemned, because he hath not believed in the name of the
only begotten Son of God. If that's the case, then that's
salvation by our works. You know that? That's salvation
based on my belief, based on my decision. But that's not what
the verse says. Faith is not the cause. Faith
is the effect. Faith is the result. Faith is
the evidence. That's what it is. It's the evidence. John 3 verse 18 says, he that
believeth on him is not condemned. But he that believeth not is
condemned already. Condemned to what? What is his
condemnation? Verse 19 says, and this is the
condemnation. That light is coming to the world
and men loved darkness rather than light because their deeds
were evil. This is the condemnation. Light
came. Christ came. And men and women
didn't love Him. Not loving the Lord Jesus Christ
is the condemnation. And I'll show you why. Turn with
me over to 1 Corinthians chapter 2. 1 Corinthians chapter 2 verse 9
says, But as it is written, I hath not seen nor ear heard, neither
have entered into the heart of man the things which God hath
prepared for them that love him. Love who? God. Jesus Christ. Love him for who
he is. He's God. They love the truth
about him. Love his attributes. Love his
holiness. Love his authority. All authority
has been given to him and they love that. Love having him be
true and me being a liar. I'm so thankful for the fact
that the Lord has put a love in me for Him being true and
me being a liar. I'm just flesh. In my flesh,
I'm a liar. Let God be true. Thanks be to
God. I really do love that. It's mercy
to me that He put that love there. It is mercy to me. Turn with
me over to 1 Corinthians chapter 8. 1 Corinthians 8 verse 3 says,
But if any man love God, the same is known of him. If any man love God, the same
is known of him. To some he's going to say, Depart
from me, I never knew you. But there are some people that
he's known from the foundation of the world. How can I know
if he knows me? How can I know? I want to know
that he knows me. How can I know? Verse three again
says, but if any man love God, the same is known of him. If any man loves God, every truth
about God, Pharaoh, back whenever Moses
brought all those plagues, the Lord used Moses to deliver all
those plagues to Egypt, Pharaoh finally had to say, Moses God
is God. He is God. He does what he wants,
with whom he wants, when he wants. And for a person who loves every
truth about God and loves God being God, If any man love God,
the same is known of him. Go with me over to 1 John 2. 1 John 2, verse 15 says, Love not
the world, neither the things that are in the world. If any
man love the world, the love of the Father is not in him.
Now let me put that into perspective. There are a lot of things in
this world that I love. There are. But everything in this world
that I love with a new heart, with a new
spirit, not in my flesh, my flesh loves all of the evil of this
world and all of the sin of this world. But with the new heart
and with a new mind and with a new spirit, The things that I love are in
light of Christ. It's all in light of Christ.
If I love the sunset, it's because I know Christ painted it. And I love that. If I love my
family, it's because Christ gave them to me. Christ blessed me
with them. If I love my wife, it's because
Christ loved the church, His bride. If I love my brothers
and sisters in the Lord, it's for Christ's sake. That's not loving the world.
What this verse is actually saying is if any man is not willing
to give up the world, the love of the father is not in him.
Because the Father loves the Son. The love that God the Father
gives is love for His Son. Love for His Son. Go with me
over to 1 John chapter 4. 1 John 4 verse 7 says, Beloved,
let us love one another, for love is of God. And everyone
that loveth is born of God and knoweth God. He that loveth not
knoweth not God, for God is love. In this was manifested the love
of God toward us, because that God sent His only begotten Son
into the world, that we might live through Him." It doesn't
say, He that loveth doctrine. Nowhere in the scripture do you
see that. I can love true doctrine, and I can love the fact that
I love true doctrine. I can love me for it. And in
spite of that, I can still not be in love with the Lord Jesus
Christ. It's all about Him. Go with me
over to 1 Corinthians 16. 1 Corinthians 16, verse 22 says,
If any man love not the Lord Jesus Christ, and that word Lord means Jehovah,
the mighty God. He's the mighty God. If any man
love not the fact that this man Jesus, that's his name of humanity,
the Lord, the mighty God, Jesus in the flesh, the man, Christ,
the union of both, 100% God and 100% man, the Messiah. If any man love not the Lord
Jesus Christ, let him be anathema maranatha. And that means cursed. Cursed. A sinner's condemnation
is this. He doesn't love Jesus Christ.
That's his condemnation. And it's so sad to say many,
many people believe in their heart they do love Jesus Christ,
but they actually don't know who Jesus Christ is. They don't
know who he has revealed himself to be in his word. And the sad
thing is when they see it, they don't like it. They don't like
it. If it's the Jesus that they've
made up in their mind, then they believe in their heart that they
do love Him. But we're not talking about the Jesus we've made up
in our mind. We're talking about the Jesus Christ of Scripture,
the God of Scripture. And a sinner's condemnation is
he doesn't love the Jesus Christ of Scripture. Because if he did,
If the Lord would shed abroad the love of God in his heart,
he would have eternal life. He would. And I hath not seen
nor ear heard the things that God hath prepared. For the one
who loves the Lord, Jesus Christ, and believes on him, and trusts
him, and looks to him. Now go with me back to our text,
John chapter 3. Verse 19 says, This is the condemnation
that light is coming to the world. And men loved darkness rather
than light because their deeds were evil. Men loved darkness
rather than light. Why do men and women hate Christ?
And they do. The true Christ of Scripture
we were just talking about, they do. Somebody says, that's too
harsh, you're being too harsh. Well, the Word just said men
loved darkness rather than light because their deeds were evil. How can you soften that? God's
Word exposes the truth of a sinful heart for what it is. If a person
doesn't love Jesus Christ being God and having all the say and
all the power and all the authority and salvation being totally in
his hands, and not in my hands at all, if a sinner doesn't love
that, then he hates that. It's one of the two. There's
no middle ground. Man's heart is only evil continually. That's what the Word says. In verse 20 right here says,
for everyone that doeth evil, hateth the light. Oh, that's
so sad. That's a sad reality. God have mercy on our souls.
Everyone that doeth evil, hateth the light, neither cometh to
the light, lest his deeds should be reproved. What is doing evil? It's anything that we do in this
flesh. Anything. Anything. One honest, very honest
preacher said one time, I cannot pray, but I sin. Sin is just ingrained in my prayer
to God. How sad is that? He said, I cannot
preach, but I sin. There's so much pride in me. Oh, that's just being honest.
Sin is mixed with everything my flesh touches. Everything. Turn with me over to Romans 13.
The exhortation is here in the Word.
Romans 13, verse 12 says, The night is far spent, the day is
at hand. Let us therefore cast off the
works of darkness and let us put on the armor of light. I wish I could. I wish that I could honestly cast
off the works of darkness, the works of sin, but I can't. I'm bound to them. Bound to them. By nature, my flesh is nothing
but evil. I'm just being honest. I wish I could. James 1 verse
22 says, Be ye doers of the word, and not hearers only, deceiving
your own selves. For if any be a hearer of the
word, and not a doer, he is like unto a man, beholding his natural
face in a glass. For he beholdeth himself, and
goeth his way, and straightway forgetteth what manner of man
he was. but whoso looketh into the perfect law of liberty, and
continueth therein, he being not a forgetful hearer, but a
doer of the work, this man shall be blessed in his deed." What
is it really to be a doer of this work? What does it mean
to be a doer of what this word commands? Here's what it means. It means we deny ourselves and
look to Jesus Christ. That is a doer of the word. That's what this word commands
us to do. Deny ourselves and look to Jesus
Christ. Outside of Christ, I can't do
anything. I cannot save myself. I cannot
keep myself. Christ must do it all. I deny
myself by the grace of God, and I look to Jesus Christ. Well,
back over in our text, in John chapter 3, verse 21 says, But
he that doeth truth cometh to the light, that his deeds may
be made manifest, that they are wrought in God. His deeds. What is doing truth? It's anything
that Christ does. He that doeth truth. That's anything
that Jesus Christ does. Let God be true and every man,
starting with me, be a liar. We know that Christ is the truth. He said He was. We know that
only His Word is the truth. That's it. Everything other than
the Word of God is a lie. We know that in and of ourselves,
we're condemned. We know that. But we also know
that the deeds of the truth Himself, the deeds that He wrought in
God, have set us free. They have set us free. In my own works, all my deeds
are evil. They're filthy rags. But in the
work of Jesus Christ, because He came here to save His own,
because He came here to take my evil work upon Himself, And
because He came here to give His precious work of truth to
me, substitution. He took all my works and He gave
me all His. Because He caused me to believe
on His name. He put faith in me. He put His
Spirit in me. And He caused me to believe on
His name. He made me. In my sinful flesh,
I never would have. But He made me to. That's the
grace of God. That's the gift of God. Because He caused me to fall
in love with the light. Christ. And He's drawn me to
the light. Which is Christ. Because of His
deeds. Praise be to God, I am not condemned. That is the gospel. The gospel means good news. And it is good news to anybody
whom the Lord will reveal the truth to them of their sin and
their rebellion against God, their willingness to rebel against
God. any person whom they'll open
their eyes to the true Christ of Scripture, not the Christ
who is not God, not the Christ who wants to save but can't,
but the Christ who is God, the Christ who did the work for His
elect and only His elect. Anybody that Christ causes to
come to this truth this truth about themselves, about their
sinful state, about God, about salvation. Anybody whom God causes
to believe on the name of the Only Begotten is not condemned. That's wonderful. That's wonderful. Not will be, NOT CONDEMNED, IS
NOT CONDEMNED. RIGHT NOW. RIGHT NOW. Romans 8 verse 1 says, THERE
IS THEREFORE NOW. RIGHT NOW. NO CONDEMNATION. to them which are in Christ Jesus.
Dear Lord, put me in Christ Jesus. Let me look to Him. Let me believe
on Him. Let me trust in Him. And Lord,
in Him may I find eternal life. May He be my life. May He not
be a big part of my life. Some say Jesus is a big part
of my life. No, Christ is life. And there is therefore now no
contemnation to them which are in Christ Jesus. Until next Sunday morning, may
the Lord bless His Word. You have been listening to a
message by Gabe Stoniker, pastor of Kingsport Sovereign Grace
Church in Kingsport, Tennessee. If you would like a copy of this
message or to hear other messages of Sovereign Grace, you can write
to our physical mailing address at 905 Yadkin Street, Kingsport,
Tennessee 37660 or log on to our website at kingsportsovereigngracechurch.com. If you would like to come and
worship with us, our service times are Sunday morning Bible
study at 10 o'clock a.m., worship at 10.45 a.m., and 6 o'clock
p.m. Wednesday evening at 7.30 p.m. Please tune in next Sunday morning
at 8.30 for another message of God's free and sovereign grace. you