We are looking at the Gospel
of John, chapter 8. John, chapter 8, if you want
to follow along, let me read one verse in John, chapter 8,
verse 30. John 8, verse 30, it says, As
he spake these words, many believed on him. As the Lord Jesus Christ
finished speaking, it says, many believed on him. Now, what did he just say? Well,
in verse 19, some of them asked him, Where is thy father? Jesus
answered, You neither know me nor my father. If you had known
me, you should have known my father also. Over in John chapter
10, he said something similar. He said, I am the Father, are
one. In John chapter 14, he says this,
He that hath seen me hath seen the Father. Well, up in verse
23 and 24 of this chapter 8, he continues, He said unto them,
You are from beneath I am from above. Ye are of this world. I am not of this world." The
Lord says, I am not of this world. Though I am a man, I am not like
men. I am other than a man. He was, Scripture says, holy,
harmless, separate from sinners, undefiled, the sinless one, the
holy one, the Son of God, well-pleasing, the only one well-pleasing to
God, the only righteous man who ever lived. I am not of this
world. And he goes on to say in verse
24, ìI said therefore unto you that ye shall die in your sins. For if you believe not that I
am, ye shall die in your sins.î He said, ìIf you believe not
that I am, you shall die in your sins.î And they said unto him,
ìWho? Who art thou?î And Jesus saith
unto them, Even that I said unto you from the beginning." Who? He said, the same. I'm the same
that said unto you from the beginning. The same. There's a passage that
says, Jesus Christ, the same yesterday, today, and forever. Now, he just said, if you believe
not, that I am. He spoke that name which Moses
heard on Mount Sinai, the same name which God revealed to Moses,
the living and true God, when Moses said, Who shall I say hath
sent me? God said, Tell them, I am hath
sent thee. I am that I am. Jesus Christ,
that man named Jesus of Nazareth, said, he called himself, I Am. The very same name. And he said,
if you believe not that I Am, you shall die on your sins. Well,
over in Isaiah, it says in chapter 7 of Isaiah's book, his prophecy,
unto us a child is born. I'm sorry, chapter 7 says, a
virgin shall conceive and bear a child, bear a son, and thou
shalt call his name Emmanuel, which is interpreted God with
us. And in chapter 9, it says unto
us, A child is born, a son is given, the government shall be
upon his shoulder, that means the reign, the rule, and his
name shall be called. This is the name of the child.
Wonderful, with a capital W. Counselor. the mighty God, the
everlasting Father, the Prince of Peace." That's what it said. And over in Hebrews 1, the Lord
inspired the writer of the Hebrews to write down, "...until the
Son, he saith, thy throne, O God, is forever." Jesus Christ is
none other than God Almighty. The Word that was made flesh
was God. The Word that was made flesh. And we beheld his glory as the
only begotten, that is, bodily offspring of God the Father. The Word that was with God, the
Word was God. All things made by him, without
him was not anything made that was made. In him was life. That's
God. God is life. That word was made
flesh and dwelt among us. And as Thomas said, ìMy Lord
and my God.î ìIf you believe this not,î our Lord said, ìif
you believe not that I am, you shall die in your sins.î Why
is that important that we believe Jesus Christ is God? One time
there was a man lowered down to where he was on a bed, and
the first thing the Lord said to him was, ìThy sins be forgiven.î
And all the crowd were so irate, these Jewish religious fellows,
that is, and they said, they thought he was blaspheming. They
said, ìWho can forgive sins but God?î Thatís right. Who can forgive
sins but God? Well, Christ went about saying
to his people, Die sins be forgiven thee. Only God can forgive sins. Only God can satisfy his own
law. God became a man to satisfy his
own law. Man couldn't do it. But man who
broke that law had to die. The penalty of breaking that
law is death. He had to die. Man can't satisfy
God's law. God can't die. So God became
a man. Someone says, I don't understand.
Well, I don't either. But that's who He is. Jehovah. Only God can satisfy the law. That's why He's called Jehovah
Sidkenu, the Lord, our righteousness. The psalmist says, ìThe Lord
is well pleased for His righteousness sake.î There were some people
who came to my door one time claiming to bear witness of Jehovah,
and I said, ìHave you ever heard of Jehovah Sidkenoot?î ìNo, we
havenít.î ìHave you ever heard of Jehovah Nissi?î ìHow about
Jehovah Rapha?î ìNo.î ìHow about Jehovah Jireh?î ìNo.î ìJehovah
Rea?î Hurrah? No. Jehovah Shama? No. Jehovah Shalom? No, we haven't. Well, I said, I have, and I bear
witness of Him. I am the true witness of Jehovah,
and His name is Jesus Christ. Those names mean Jehovah, our
Provider, God, our Provider. Christ is the one who came and
provided all that we need. Genesis 22 is where that is found,
Jehovah-Jireh, where Abraham said to his son, My son, God
will provide himself a lamb for a burnt offering. God will provide
himself a lamb. He himself is the lamb. God is
the provider of the lamb, and God himself is the lamb, Jehovah-Jireh. And I could go on with that,
but we must get back to our text. He said, if you believe not that
I am, you shall die in your sin. He that cometh to God, Hebrews
11 says, Hebrews 11, verse 6, he that cometh to God must believe
he is. Who is? Must believe Jesus Christ
is God. Salvation is of the Lord. Salvation
belongeth to the Lord, the scripture says. Who? the Lord Jesus Christ,
his work, his righteousness, his blood. That is why he is
called Jehovah Jireh. He will provide these things.
He will provide. God will provide. Verse 30 in
our text, ìThen Jesus said to those Jews which believed on
him, ìIf you continue in my word, then are you my disciples indeed.î
It says, ìMany believed on him.î Well, did they? He says, As he
spake these words, many believed on him. No, they didn't. It says
this several times throughout the Scriptures that many believed
on him when they saw this or saw that or saw the miracles
or whatever. But when it came time for our
Lord to leave this earth, to be crucified, to do what God
had determined before to be done, all the people, Both Herod and
Pontius Pilate and all the people. Who killed Jesus Christ? Everybody
did. Jew and Gentile. Male and female. Herod, Pontius Pilate, but now
chiefly it was God. Isaiah said, it pleased the Lord
to bruise Him. Verse 10, well, but all the people
nonetheless, they crucified Him. They believed Him before, but
no, they really didn't because they crucified Him. In verse
31, the Lord said, if you continue in my word, then you truly believe
me. Then you are my disciples indeed.
A disciple is one who loves and admires and believes his master,
the one he is studying under, the one whose word he takes as
truth. He says to all who profess to
be believers, and there are many listening right now who whom
I'm sure profess to be Christian, who profess to be believers.
And the Lord says to all of us, if you continue in my word, then
are you my disciples indeed. The word continue means to stay
or abide in a given place, to stay where you're told to stay,
to abide, to dwell there, to live there. If you stay in my
word, he says, then are you my disciples indeed. Stay in a given
place or stay where you're told to stay. Like a master tells
his dog. A master teaches a young dog
to sit, to lie down. Scripture says he maketh us to
lie down in green pastures. That is his word. To stay. A master tells his dog, stay. Don't run off. Don't chase rabbits.
That's a good description of this religious world. Chasing
rabbits. Chasing spiritual rabbits. Scripture says they follow after,
they heed evil men and seducers. They heed those men. They follow
after them. They turn away their ears from
the truth unto fables, Scripture says. It says in Acts 17 of the
Athenians, the cultured Greeks who are much like our modern
day Americans, they loved nothing more than to tell and hear of
some new thing. Boy, oh boy, turn on your TV. Some fellow, some new so-called
prophet or preacher has got a new revelation, a new anointing.
He's got a new way to do this and that, a new way. Well, our
Lord said, if you continue in my My word. Our Lord said the sheep
shall hear my voice. A stranger's voice they won't
hear. My word. God's word. Christ's word. If
you continue, abide, live in His word. Not the words of another,
but Him. Not the interpretation of another.
His word. His word. Then are you my disciples
indeed. The word continue means to abide,
to live. Someone says, God is a big part
of my life. Well, that's not salvation. You never read that in the scriptures.
You never read somebody saying that in the scriptures. God's
a big part of my life. No, the scripture says, Colossians
3, if you be risen with Christ, if you're truly risen with Christ,
that is, quickened by Him, then Christ is your life. You're dead
until He gives life. He doesn't change your life,
He gives life. You're dead in trespassing and
sin until He gives life. A baby in the womb doesn't say,
my mother's a big part of my life. No, in her, she lives and
moves and has her being, that baby does. And when that child
is born, it begins to grow up into the image of that one who
gave it life. If God's Word, if God's gospel,
if the worship of God, fellowship of the saints, is just a part
of one's life. They're not in Christ by faith. Christ said, if you continue
in my word, then are you my disciples indeed. My word. Christ said, I am the way, the
truth, and the life. No man cometh unto the Father
but by me. You go to him. Perhaps we will
continue this message at another time where the Lord says you
shall know the truth and the truth shall set you free, make
you free. Until next Sunday, may the Lord bless these words
to your understanding. Amen.