Alright, turn back with me to
John chapter 3. John chapter 3, the text is verse
17 to 21, but I want to lead into this by looking at verses
14, 15, and 16. Verse 14, somebody said, I don't
know who it was, but somebody said that John 3 verse 14 is
the remedy. The remedy. It says, and as Moses
lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, even so must the
Son of Man be lifted up. That's the remedy. The remedy to this great problem. As Moses lifted up the serpent
in the wilderness, even so must the Lord Jesus Christ be lifted
up on a cross. That's the remedy. This same
person said, verse 15, is the result It says that whosoever believeth
in him should not perish, but have eternal life. That's the
result. That's what this remedy brings.
Whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have eternal
life. Then he said verse 16 is the
reason. 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 why He gave His only begotten Son to be lifted up, that we
sinners should not perish, but have eternal life. So now our
text verse 17 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. That's why He came. Now the thought
has really hit me before. I know why Christ came, to save
my soul. But the thought has really hit
me before, why did Christ come to this earth? Why did He come? Really, why did He come? Why did He come all the way into
the world and go through everything He went through? The Lord, everything
is a word with Him. The whole earth was nothing and
then it was because of a word with Him. A man could be blind
and he sees. He could be deaf and he hears. Why did He come all the way down
here and live here for so long and do the things that He did?
Why did He come? Well, verse 17 says, He didn't
come to condemn the world. He didn't come to do that. He
did not come to condemn this world. He didn't have to. the world was already condemned. Turn with me over to Romans 5. Romans 5 and look at verse 18. It 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, it means
to keep bound. It means to lock up. By the offense
of one, that's Adam, sinning in the garden, judgment came
upon all men to condemnation. The Lord told Adam, cursed is
the ground for your sake, because of you. Cursed is the ground.
1 Corinthians 15 says, in Adam,
all die. In Adam, all die. Now, a person
is going to say, because I recently heard somebody say this, if you believe that God purposed
some to salvation, and we believe that, don't we? God purposed
some to salvation. If you believe that, are you
saying that God purposed some to hell? No. I'm not saying that at all. Man rebelled against God on his
own. Willingly. Now, God allowed it
to happen. It happened for His glory. It
happened for our good. And nothing happens without God's
permission. But He's not the author of evil.
He's not. Man condemned himself on his
own. So our text back in John 3 verse
17, it says, God sent not His Son into the world to condemn
the world. but that the world through Him
might be saved. The Son of Man, now listen to
this verse, we know this, it's Matthew 18 and 11. The Son of
Man is come to save that which was already was lost. Already. So that's why He came and that's
what He did. Now who did He do it for? Who
did He do this for? How can I know if Christ came
to save me from condemnation? That is important to me. How
can I know if Christ came to save me from condemnation? 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 he or
she believes the Word of God. All of it. In context. In truth. All of it. Now let me show you something.
Turn with me over to John chapter 5 and look at verse 24. It 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 religion sees
and hears this verse. Okay, they read this verse, they
hear this verse, and this is what the natural mind thinks
and the natural heart believes when it sees and hears John 5.24. Now listen to this. Verily, verily,
I say unto you, 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. That's not what the verse says.
That's exactly right. That's not what the verse says.
That's what they hear. I'm going to read it to you again.
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. Do you see how subtle that
is? Now let me read it to you for
what it says. It says, Verily, verily, I say
unto you, He that heareth my word, and believeth on him that
sent me, hath everlasting life, not will have, and shall not come into condemnation,
but is passed from death unto life. Hath means already has. Hath. Currently. Already has it. Eternal life. That's why He hears. That's why
He believes. It's because He already has eternal
life. That's the difference in the
truth and the lie. And it's a big difference. It
says, "...and shall not come into condemnation, but is passed."
Has already passed from death unto life. Big difference. Now it's the same thing with
our text back in John 3 verse 18. Look at John 3 verse 18.
It 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.
Alright, now the natural man sees and hears this verse to
say this. He that believeth on him will
not be condemned. But he that believeth not will
be condemned. Makes sense, doesn't it? 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. Now if that's the case, then
that is salvation by my works. That's salvation by works. Salvation
based on my belief. It's based on my decision. But
it does not say that. Here's what it 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. Alright, so when a person believes,
it's because that person is not condemned. Belief is the result. It's the result. Alright, now
condemned to what? He that believeth not is condemned
already. Condemned to what? What is his
condemnation? Verse 19, this is an awful condemnation. This is an awful, awful condemnation. Terrible. Verse 19 says, and
this is the condemnation. Okay, if we want to know what
it is, here it is. This is the condemnation. That light is come
into the world and men loved darkness rather than light because
their deeds were evil. This is the condemnation. Now, I hope we never enter into this. I hope we cannot enter into this. This is the condemnation. Light
came. Christ came. And men and women
did not love Him. That is the condemnation. They
didn't love Him. Can you imagine not loving Jesus
Christ? Can you imagine that? Not loving
Jesus Christ? Now, if I ask that, if I get
invited to every church in this town and I ask that question,
not one person in the room is going to say, I can imagine not
loving Jesus Christ. Every person there is going to
think, oh, yeah, I love Jesus Christ. Who doesn't love Jesus
Christ? But then you start to open this
word and tell them who Jesus Christ is. The fact that he's
God, the fact that he's holy. The fact that he cannot clear
the guilty, the fact that he will kill sinners. The fact that
He's going to get all the glory and He's not going to share that
glory with anybody and He's a jealous God and you have no say in the
matter. Boy, they don't like that. They
don't love that Jesus. This is the condemnation. Light
came and men and women didn't love Him. Not loving the Lord
Jesus Christ condemnation. What an awful condemnation. Here's
why. Turn over to 1 Corinthians chapter
2. 1 Corinthians chapter 2. And look
at verse 9. 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. That's wonderful. That's wonderful. Now, I love
my family. And I just cannot do all the
things I wish I could do. But every now and then, I like
to, you know, do what I can and make it a surprise and all those
kinds of things. And you prepare things. It was
our anniversary last week and we went out to dinner. And I,
you know, it's so simple, but I spent a long time preparing
for that, making calls. Can you imagine the things that
God hath prepared? Can you imagine the things? For
them that love Him. The condemnation on a sinner
is, he doesn't love Christ. That's the awful condemnation.
Because I hath not seen, nor ear heard, neither have entered
into the heart of a man the things which God hath prepared for them
that love him." Truly love him. Love Jesus Christ, God. Love him for who he is, the fact
that he is God. I love, by the grace of God,
the fact that our God is actually God. I love that. I love the
fact that I don't have to be in control of anything. I don't
have to be in control of anything. He is in control. I love that. Love the truth about Him, about
His attributes, His holiness, His authority. Love having Him
be true and every man, starting with me, be a liar. Love that. I'm so thankful for the fact
that the Lord has put a love in me for the fact that I want
Him to be true and me to be a liar. That's unnatural. It's unnatural. It's mercy is what it is. That's
mercy. All right, turn over to 1 Corinthians
8. Verse 3 says, If any man love
God, the same is known of him. Now to some, He's going to tell
them, Depart from Me, I never knew you. But there are some people that
He has known from the foundation of this world. How can I know
if He knows me? Verse 3 says, If any man love
God, I'm not talking about Jesus. There's a difference. I'm talking
about the Lord Jesus Christ God. If any man love God, the same
is known of Him. Turn over to 1 John chapter 2.
1 John 2, look at verse 15. It says, Love not the world, neither the things that are in
the world. Man, that's hard to do. If any man love the world, the
love of the Father is not in him. That's convicting. That's what it is. 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. I do. But everything in this world
that I love is in light of Jesus Christ. Anything. If I love the sunset,
is because I know that Christ painted it. Honestly. If I love my family,
it's because Christ gave them to me. 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. It's because
of Christ. That's not love in the world.
What this verse is actually saying is if any man is not willing
to give up this world, the love of the Father is not in him because
the Father loves His Son. He loves His Son. And if the
love of the Father is in us, we love His Son. We love the
Lord Jesus Christ. All right, go to 1 John chapter
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 does not
say, He that loveth doctrine. It doesn't say that. Now, I can
love true doctrine. And I can love the fact that
I love true doctrine. I can love me for it. You know
what I'm saying? I know something you don't know. And in spite of that, I can still
not be in love with the Lord Jesus Christ. Now, if I am in
love with the Lord Jesus Christ, I will love every word of His
doctrine. but I can still not be in love
with the Lord Jesus Christ. Now turn with me to 1 Corinthians
16. 1 Corinthians 16. And look at verse 22. It says, If any man love not
the Lord Jesus Christ, let him be anathema maranatha. And what
that means is cursed. Cursed. Condemnation. Cursed. How could we not love
the Lord Jesus Christ? Consider Him what He did. Consider
Him what we are, what I am, and what He left, and where He came,
and what He did, and now how He has brought me with Him. How
can I not love the Lord Jesus Christ? If any man loved not
the Lord Jesus Christ, let him be cursed. A sinner's condemnation
is he doesn't love the Lord Jesus Christ. It's a terrible, terrible
condemnation. Because if he did, if the Lord
would shed abroad the love of God in his heart, he would have
eternal life. He would have it. And I have
not seen nor ear heard the things that God has prepared for him.
Alright, let's go back to our text. John 3, the end of verse 19 says,
Men loved darkness rather than light because their deeds were
evil. Why do men and women hate the
Lord Jesus Christ? And that's the honest truth,
they do. Hate is a strong word, but they do. Why do they hate
the Lord Jesus Christ? It's because men loved darkness
rather than light, And it's because their deeds were evil. Man's
heart is only evil continually. And verse 20 says, Everyone that
doeth evil, hateth the light. Man's heart is only evil continually. It's only evil continually. And everyone that doeth evil,
hateth the light. Neither cometh to the light,
lest his deeds should be reproved. What is doing evil? He that doeth
evil. What is doing evil? It is anything that we do in
this flesh. Anything. That old preacher said,
I can't pray, but I sin. I don't care what we're doing.
I can't preach, but I sin. Anything we do in this flesh,
it's evil. Go over to Romans 13. Our exhortation is here in the
Word. Romans 13. Look at verse 12. It 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, but I can't. By nature, I'm nothing but evil.
I can't. Go to James chapter 1. James 1 verse 22 says, But be ye doers of the Word, and not hearers only, deceiving
your own selves. 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. Now what is it really to be a
doer of this Word? What does it mean to be a doer
of what the Word commands? It means we deny ourselves and
look to Christ. I can't do anything in this Word.
I'm evil. It means we deny ourselves and
we look to Christ. That is a doer of the Word. That's all the Word tells us
to do. You're evil. Deny yourself and have faith
in God. That's all it tells us to do.
That's a doer of the Word. Now our text, John 3 verse 21
says, He that doeth truth cometh to
the light, that his deeds may be made manifest, that they are
wrought in God. Alright, now think about this
verse. This is our last verse in the
text. 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? First of
all, what is doing evil? It's everything that I do in
this flesh. Everything I do is wrong. I am
the anti-holy. What is doing truth? It's anything
that Jesus Christ does. If He does it, it's true. If He does it, it's true. It's
the truth. Let God be true and let me be
a liar. We believe that Christ is the
truth. We believe that only His Word
is the truth. We believe in and of ourselves
we're condemned. But we believe the deeds of the
truth Himself. The deeds that He wrought in
God, they've set us free. We believe, don't we? Don't we
believe that? In and of myself, I can do nothing.
In my own works, all my deeds are evil, 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 to me. Because He caused me to believe
on His name. And because He has caused me
to fall in love with the Lord Jesus Christ. Because of His
deeds, I'm not condemned. Not condemned. And anybody that
Christ calls us to come to this truth about themselves, about
their sinful state, anybody whom God calls us to believe on the
name of the Only Begotten, and only believe on the name of the
Only Begotten, is not condemned. Is not condemned. Belief of the
truth is an evidence of no condemnation. That's our evidence. Now I want
to close with the wonderful verse Romans 8 verse 1. Let's go to Romans 8. Romans 8 verse 1 it says, There
is therefore now no condemnation to them which are in Christ Jesus,
who walk not after the flesh, but after the Spirit." No condemnation. There's no condemnation. We grow
dull of hearing that. I do. I admit it. Isn't that
sad? Isn't that sad? There's no condemnation
to them that believe, that are in Christ Jesus. There is no
condemnation. Free from the law. Here's our
condemnation. Light came. Men didn't love light. They loved darkness. But thanks
be to God, God put a love in our hearts for the light, for
the truth. I love Him. We love Him. Thanks
be to God, there's no condemnation. To them which are in Christ Jesus
who walk not after the flesh, but after the spirit. All right,
stand together with me.