The People Murmured

Q: What does the Bible say about judging others?

The Bible teaches that we should not judge according to appearance but rather make righteous judgments based on Scripture. In John 7:24, Jesus instructs, 'Judge not according to the appearance, but judge righteous judgment.' This emphasizes that our judgments should not be based merely on outward appearances or the flesh. Instead, we are called to discernment that aligns with spiritual truths from Scripture. The context here is significant, as Jesus points out the importance of understanding the heart and intentions behind actions, particularly in matters of salvation and worship. Righteous judgment seeks to understand the deeper spiritual realities rather than superficial observations.

Q: Why is Jesus' identity important for Christians?

The identity of Jesus as the God-man is crucial because it is through Him that we understand salvation and our relationship with God. Jesus' identity is central to the Christian faith because it reveals how God reconciles sinners to Himself. In John 7:28-29, Jesus proclaims His origin and the authority of the one who sent Him, which points to His divine nature as well as His humanity. Understanding that Jesus is both fully God and fully man is foundational for comprehending the mystery of our redemption. He lived a sinless life as a man, atoning for our sins as our substitute. This dual nature is crucial because it affirms that He can mediate between God and men, fulfilling the requirements of God’s law while bearing the punishment for our transgressions.

Q: How do we know that Christ is God?

The Scriptures testify to Christ’s deity, affirming that He is the eternal God manifested in the flesh for the salvation of His people. The claim of Christ's divinity is substantiated through multiple scriptural references, especially in the Gospel of John. For instance, in John 7:29, Jesus states, 'I know him: for I am from him, and he hath sent me.' This assertion emphasizes His unique relationship with the Father, elevating Him beyond merely a prophet or teacher. Additionally, John 1:14 proclaims, 'and the Word was made flesh, and dwelt among us', underscoring the truth that God took on human form to fulfill His purpose of redemption. Without recognizing Christ's divine nature, one cannot fully grasp the power and efficacy of His finished work on the cross.

Q: Why is it important to worship in spirit and truth?

Worshiping in spirit and truth is vital because it reflects a genuine relationship with God, transcending mere ritual and external observance. In John 4:24, Jesus states, 'God is a Spirit: and they that worship him must worship him in spirit and in truth.' This profound statement indicates that true worship is not confined to external actions or legalistic observances, but rather flows from the heart, anchored in truth. Many contemporary expressions of worship can focus on emotional experiences or traditional rituals, but lack the heartfelt communion with God that is only achieved through the Holy Spirit and the truth of the Gospel. Worship becomes vibrant and life-giving when it is rooted in an accurate understanding of who God is as revealed in Scripture, allowing believers to engage in a participative and authentic relationship with the Almighty.

Q: What does it mean to judge righteous judgment?

Judging righteous judgment means discerning truth based on the Word of God, rather than relying on appearances or personal biases. Judging righteous judgment involves a careful and spiritual discernment of truth as opposed to a superficial evaluation based on outward conditions. In John 7:24, Jesus instructs us to 'judge not according to the appearance, but judge righteous judgment.' This admonition calls believers to align their judgments with biblical principles and the character of God. Righteous judgment identifies the reality of a person's standing before God and the necessity of relying on Christ alone for salvation. It requires humility, an understanding of one's own sinfulness, and a commitment to the truth of Scripture rather than human opinion or societal standards.

So much said here. So very much said here in John
chapter 7. Said by the Lord. And said about the Lord. And each verse could form a message
by itself, but we need to look at the general message concerning
it all. Verse 43, turn, look down there. This could be a title or this
is a conclusive verse to what all is going on here. Verse 43 says there was a division
among the people because of him. That sums up pretty much what
all is going on in these verses. Look at verse 12. There was much
murmuring among the people concerning him. Some said he's this, some
said he's that. And that sums up what's going
on today, doesn't it, in religion. I thought of Scripture that says
he came to his own, his own received him not. It mentions his brethren
according to flesh, his flesh and blood brothers. James and Joseph and his sisters,
you know, they rejected him at the first part of this chapter. And then the Jews, we just read
those from Jerusalem, the Jews, they rejected him. And it said,
all the people. They rejected him, too. He's
his own. You know, he's lord of all. He owns all men. So he came to
his own. His own received him not. And it's no different today. And every crowd of hearers, every
time, every place, when the word of God is preached, there are
mixed reactions. And I expect it probably so in
here tonight. I wouldn't dare presume that
everyone in here knows and believes and wouldn't do it at all. But there are differences of
opinions always when the gospel is preached. Look at verse 24.
This is a good starting point. Let's start right there. Verse
24. Our Lord said, Judge not according to the appearance. But judge righteous judgment.
Now most people can quote. Matthew chapter seven verse one. Can't. What was the judge not
everybody. Quotes that verse very few can
quote John seven verse twenty four. Which our Lord says there
is a judgment to be made. And Matthew seven was talking
about your brother. Right. Talk about a brother. A believer
fellow believer judge not. We read that in Romans fourteen
Sunday morning we looked at that. But here the Lord says there
is a judgment to be made. There is judgment to be made. And here he says, judge not according
to the appearance. The appearance. Now the appearance
is whatever is outward. Right? The appearance is outward. Anything outward. Now he's not
just talking about dress, the way you dress here. That's not,
it goes much further than that. Judge not according to anything
to do with what you see. Appear what appears to your eye. Don't judge anything according
to what you see. That which is seen is. Temporal. Right, we don't live by sight. But by faith. right. And when you talk about the appearance
you talk about the flesh okay. Judge not according to the flesh. Especially now the Lord is talking
about religion isn't he? The Lord is talking about salvation. He's talking about spiritual
things. Everything he said Stan had some kind of spiritual application
right. So, he's talking about religion,
he's talking about salvation, he's talking about standing before
God, a man's actual standing before God, right? He's not just
presenting some general goodwill principle about, don't judge
old Henry because he's whatever, you know. Don't judge old so-and-so
because he wears bibbed overalls, you know, he's a good old feller,
you know. He's not, you see what I'm saying, he's not just talking
about A general principle of goodwill,
he's talking about spiritual matters, deep things. He said, judge not according
to the flesh. Anything to do with the flesh,
true knowledge, true worship of God has nothing to do with
the flesh. Nothing to do with the flesh.
That which is flesh is flesh, didn't he say? That which is
Spirit is spirit. Now, how did he say true worshippers
worship? Spirit. How did Paul say in Philippians
3, he said the three things that true worshippers, the true circumcision
do, they worship God how? In the spirit. God's not worshipped
with what? Men's hands. Now, when he says
lift up holy hands, without doubt, it must mean more than that,
doesn't it? I know who hand whose hands we
need to live. More air and then hurriedly to
that Moses hands than. Long as Moses hands were held
up Israel was safe. And I know whose hands must be.
Held for. for all to see. Remember when
he said, Behold my hands and my side. We must hold up those
nail pierced hands. Well, that's another text. But
worship God in spirit. Rejoice in Christ Jesus and put
no confidence. Where? None. Anything about religion. Anything to do with the flesh.
Anything. Anything to do with ceremony. Now, this is a wonderful ordinance
that we partake of here. The Lord's table. The Lord. I
enjoy these times that we have at this table. Don't you? But there is nothing about this
old table. It's just if it wasn't so vogue,
I'd spit on it. Ain't nothing about that. That
bread, Nancy Parks made it. And nothing holy about that bread.
She makes it every time we eat it. She makes it. I mean, a sinful.
I start to say, oh, young woman makes it. She makes that bread,
nothing holy about that bread, that wine. We buy it at Winn-Dixie. There's nothing holy or sanctified
about those elements or anything. The whole thing is spiritual,
though. And what you get out of it is what's already in there, you
say? That doesn't impart anything
to you. Right? Our Lord said, not what goes
in the mouth defiles a man, and it's not what goes in the mouth
that makes a man holy either. Right? What comes out of the
heart precedes the issues of life. Rituals. Baptism. As much as I love to
see somebody get in the baptismal pool. And that's when I know
when I when I told you before that's when I get excited when
somebody commits enough to get in there because they're saying
they're saying the Lord saved me. They're pretty much renouncing
their past and their religion and their profession and all
that and saying I'm starting all over I'm a babe
in Christ I'm a nothing I'm a nobody I'm just willing to Admit before
the world that I don't know anything. I am nothing. Christ is all. Let's just start over. And I'm
willing to do that now myself. But then nothing about it. As
much as I would love to see people get in there, yet it scares me. It scares me. When somebody does
it. Now, I can't recall very many,
but I know of at least one that I have baptized who's no longer
here. So it doesn't mean a thing. Unless it means something to
God. Right? Unless he's looking on
the heart. Unless it's truly between that
sinner and God. I'm just dunking them. I don't mean anything either.
Ordinances, miracles, signs and wonders. Worship is spirit from
the heart and spirit. He said those who worship him
in spirit are from or by the spirit, the Holy Spirit. And
what is he called? He's called the spirit of truth. OK, they must worship him in
spirit from the heart. and with the aid of, or by, the
Holy Spirit. You're not going to worship God
unless the Holy Spirit, who's the teacher, teaches you something. You can't worship apart from
what? The truth. And that's the gospel. And that's
Christ. So without those two things,
there's no worship going on. I don't care how much, you know,
cheerleading is going on, and how much excitement, and how
much emotion, or how many tears are flowing. right i want to
turn the t.v. on the other day being here don't
tell him i was watching him but uh... i was and for the people
they just turned on the crowd and it was a great big black
rotund black fella who was singing man he could sing he was singing
that song his eyes on the sparrow now that song will will yirk
some emotion out of you and i know he watches me you know and he
and i'm telling you the crowd was they were just weeping But there's no gospel in that
song, really. Did he mention the blood in that
song? Christ? Is his Christ's name
in that song with you? Now, I love the song. I've asked
Jeanette to sing it, but that's for those who know the God that
he's talking about. That's for the children, but
God's not paying any attention to Terry, is he? It says that, oh, Esau sought
repentance carefully, didn't he? With what? With what? Tears. Well, the Lord says judge
righteous judgment, not according to the pyramids. I see religion
today. I see it. But I'm not looking
at what it's doing. I'm listening to what it's saying.
Or not saying. They're right. You know, when
Paul got back from the third heaven, it says he wouldn't.
He's what was he talking about? What he saw in heaven. And it was a job, he said, I
heard things that I can't even repeat. I'm not talking about
the choir. He's not talking about the choir.
He's saying, like Sheba, the half is never, I thought I'd
preached before. That's what he's saying. Paul's
saying, I thought I'd preached before, and I don't think I can
ever do it again. Because I heard that one speak
who's no man speak like this man. That's all those Pharisees,
or those officers could say, Terry, when they got back. Why
didn't you bring him? They came to get him, and that's
my next message. They came to get him, you know,
and they sat there, spelled out, and just walked back. And they
said, well, where is he? Who? Oh, well, Judge Righteous
Judgment, he said. Righteous Judgment. What's that?
Stan, am I going to get past verse twenty-four? Judge Righteous
Judgment. Righteous judgment. Judgment,
the word judgment is discernment or understanding. Judge righteous
judgment. Don't judge according to the
flesh or the outward appearance. Judge right thoughts. Have right
thoughts. And some may think I'm too critical
of modern religion and say too much about it. I'm not saying nearly enough. I'm really not saying it strongly
enough. As a matter of fact, it ought
to be said more strongly out in public, in the papers and
so forth, to such a way that the lynch mob would want to come
in here and take my eye away from me. I'm serious. Isn't that what the Lord is saying?
He said, they'll hate you. He said, I've given unto them
the words and the world hath hated them. That's exactly what
they did to the apostles and the prophets. Because they didn't
have anything nice to say about their generation. And my generation
is a whole lot worse than Isaiah's. A whole lot. A whole lot worse. Sodom and Gomorrah doesn't hold candle to the widespread
perversity of our generation, telling it. Judge right right thoughts of
God based on the Scripture. Yeah I'm not basing cause as
a Methodist. You know that I'm against him
or disagree with him because he's a Methodist. If his methods
are in keeping if he's a Methodist if his methods are in keeping
with this book. I'm a Methodist in that sense.
I mean I want our methods to be just as closer or keep in
keeping. My wife one time told me, said
this. This is Manoah's wife speaking. She said that we ought to conduct
our services in such a way that the Apostle Paul could walk right
in and say, now this is right. This is biblical. This is the
way it ought to be done. Right? That Peter, anybody could
come in and say, now this is the way God This is the way we
worship. No frill, no nothing. Singing,
hymns, reading, preaching. Nothing more, nothing less. No flesh. Get the flesh out of
it. The less flesh, the better. Right? True worshipers come to
see Christ, not the preacher or the choir. Right? Well, right thoughts of God based
on Scripture, right thoughts of self, judge righteous thoughts,
righteous judgment. You know, he said, if you judge
yourself, you won't be judged. That's righteous judgment. Right
thoughts of Christ. Well, here's the question, and
here's what, here's the whole, my last point there was right
thoughts of Christ judge righteous judgment according to the appearance
there is what we're talking about when they saw. This is what this is all about
look at. Verses. Look at verse. Twenty three twenty five through
twenty seven Then said some of them is not this he whom they
seek to kill in this the man they seek to kill. Oh, he speaks
boldly. They say nothing to it. What
do the rulers know? That this is a very crowded. They believe this is the Christ.
Now we know this man when he is. We know this man. We know this
man. We know this man. Oh. You know. We see the whole the
whole theme of what's going on here is what thank you Christ.
That's the theme of salvation and that's the question of all
questions people ask us a lot of questions don't think people
you work with and all friends and all ask you a lot of issue
question about issues about the church. You know what this and
that and the other. How you all have instrument you
all do this. You know why don't you women wear coverings and
you know that sort of thing. You know lots of questions that
those all those aren't. That's not the way to your matter.
That's not the matter of matters. Those don't matter really. This matters. What thank you. And that's where we ought to
turn the conversation just as quickly as we can. What think
ye of Christ? Who is he? Who is he? A couple of those Russellites
came to my door the other day, or came out Monday, I think. Yeah, Monday. I was out on the
dunghill with a pitchfork after it was all over. I felt like
pitching them. But they came anyway to talk
to me, Russell Light. You know who the Russell Lights
are, don't you? They call themselves Jehovah's Witnesses. They're
not Jehovah's Witnesses. I told them I was Jehovah's Witness. But at any rate, we talked, and
about 45 minutes or so, and they had Jesus all figured out. We
know this man. We know we know Jesus. He's a
son of God. Oh, is it? Well, you remember
what the Lord asked the Pharisees? You remember what he asked them?
He said, Christ, whose son is he? And they said, well, he's
the son of David. He said, why David calling the
Lord? You remember that? I had them
turn to Isaiah 9, 6, and read from her Bible. Now, you have
a perversion of Scripture. You need to get your Bible out
and have them close theirs, because it's a perversion. It really
is. John 1, the first couple of verses,
they say, the Word was a God. At any rate, I had them read
where it says, he shall be called the mighty God, the everlasting
Father. It says that. They forgot to
leave that out in their perversion. It was in there. I said, read
that again. She read it again. I said, do
you believe that, that he's the eternal God, the everlasting
Father? She said, I said, you're him
hollering around now. What does it say? Do you believe
that? They got him all figured out. They got Jesus all figured out.
If you have a God that you can figure out, he's no God at all.
Right? If you have a Christ you can
figure out, he's not Christ at all. We know this man. We know this
man. Some of us have been studying
the Lord Jesus Christ, studying his word for years now, and we
still, we don't, we know in part. Right? We've seen his glory. We've beheld his glory as the
only begotten of the Father, full of grace and truth. And
here's what the believer says when he's confronted with things
that he doesn't rightly understand, or doesn't completely understand. He says, I believe. right in
our. So I believe, and he says, like
Joe, these things are too wonderful for me, but I believe. I believe. Well, these Jews thought they
knew Jesus, didn't they? Look at verse twenty-eight. They
thought they knew Jesus, and then cried Jesus in the temple,
as he taught, saying, You both know me. Now, he's saying this
as an irony. Or ironically. You know me. And you know which I am. And
I'm not coming myself. But he that sent me is true whom
you don't know. He says you know me. Jesus imagine. You know me where I came from.
Joseph. But you don't know me. You don't
know my father. Yeah we do, he's Joseph. I don't,
I really don't have a father. He preached forever after the
order of Melchizedek without father or mother, without beginning
or ending of days, huh? He called himself the father. Didn't he? Philip? You've seen me, you've seen the
father. And that's not just in unity,
but in equality in person, they are one. Now listen. He said,
I'm not come of myself. You know him not. Listen to this. Listen to this verse of scripture
over Matthew, Matthew 11, 27. They thought they had him figured
out, just like Russellites and Armenians, for that matter. We
know this man. You know Jesus. They've got Jesus
all figured out. He's just like a man. Right?
Jesus being preached today is just a man like just anybody
else. You understand? They got him figured out. We
know this man. We know Jesus. Oh, do you now? I believe that in that last day
when Our Lord said, many will say unto me in that day, when
they stand before his holy present, the one who's described in Revelation
1. When they stand before him, some
are going to be so blinded, they're even going to say, in that day,
Lord, we've done this, we've done that. They're still going
to plead what they've done for Jesus. They're going to know
it's Jesus. But he's going to say, apart
from me, you workers of iniquity, I never knew you. Didn't it say
that? What does that mean? I never
loved you. I never foreknew you. And you
know what they're going to be forced to say? The same thing. We didn't know you either. We
thought we did. You're not the one I knew. The
one I knew was in my hands. The one I knew was knocking on
my heart. And the one I knew, I let him in. And I let him,
I let him, I let him, I let him, I let him. You're not the one. You're the mighty God who will
work and who will let it. Right? We know Jesus. We thought we knew Jesus while
you're... Like Thomas. Thomas said, I'm not going to
believe until I see. What did he say when he saw?
My Lord, and that's what I told one of those ladies. What did
Thomas call him? My God. You've got a Jesus you can figure
out. He's not the Jesus of the scriptures. Right? He's not. You've got the wrong one. The
wrong one. You don't know him at all. Don't
know him at all. Verse twenty-nine, Christ said,
I know him, I know the one that sent me, I'm from him, and he
hath sent me. I know him, I'm from him, I may
express the image of him. God manifesting the flesh. Now
this is the mystery of it. And here I'm getting ahead of
myself, because John eight, the whole chapter deals with his
deity, doesn't it? Verse twenty-four, if you believe
not that I am, you'll die in your sins. But isn't that the
theme of all the scripture? Who Christ is? God manifest in
the flesh? Call his name Immanuel. What
does that mean? Immanuel God's with us. I love
Isaiah 9, verse 25. This is our God and we've waited
for him. He'll save us. You might as well throw away
scripture or get you a perversion. You don't believe that, right?
That's what they've done. Men ignorantly fail to see, and
like these women I talked to, they ignorantly fail to see.
And I tried to deal with them compassionately and kindly and
teach them a little something, but men and women ignorantly
fail to see that God became a man for men. God became a man for
men as a substitute. You see, he had to. All that
God did was as a man for men. You see? All flesh and blood can't inherit
the kingdom. All have sinned to come short
of the glory of God. By the deeds of the law, no flesh
will be justified. So God came down to do it himself. He was manifest in the flesh.
God came down and became a man so that man could be saved. Everything he did was as a man
for men. Not all, not man, but men. You understand? Not mankind.
That's the reason the scripture says he's one mediator between
God and men. Not man. He's not the mediator
of mankind. But of men, chosen men, elect
men and women. You with me? But Christ came,
God became a man to do what man could not do. What must man do
to gain heaven? Now, no man's going to get into
heaven except Psalm 24. He's got clean hands, pure heart,
and so on. It behooves us, Christ said,
it behooves us to fulfill all righteousness. He said that to
John, didn't he? Now, was he saying, John, help
me out here? Was he saying that? No, he was saying men. Men. It's got to be perfect to be
accepted. A man's got to be righteous before God will receive him.
Who can do it? No man can. God became a man. He said, I can. And he did. And he was a substitute. See,
he was a representative. A representative. A substitute. He did what he
did for us. Who'd have thought it but God. But God. And he became a man. Only God could do. You see, God,
only God can satisfy his own law. Man can't do it. God became a man. And as a man,
he satisfied the law. And here, oh, Israel. Or here,
oh, Centralians. Central-Baptistians. A man, a
point of God. Jesus of Nazareth. There's a
man in glory. There's a man in glory. A man
walked into heaven. The gates opened for this man.
He said, come on in. The Lord is well pleased for
your righteousness sake. Who is this man? Well, it's no
man at all. It's King Glory. Who's behind
him? All those he did it for. They're
coming in with him. And this man can get there too.
Why? If I live like him? No. If I
live in him, him in me. This is a mystery. Explain that
for me. It's a mystery. I just believe. I just believe. Glorified God is a man. And you
know, God can't suffer. God can't die. God can't be punished
for sin, can he? a man can. So God became a man. Scripture says, feed the church
of God which he purchased with his own blood, the blood of God. Wait a minute, God doesn't have
blood. Well, the God-man did. Isn't that wisdom? Well, so, but Henry, they can't
figure that out. How can he be, the woman said to me, said, well,
no man can see God at any time, she said. So, that'd be a lie
if he's God. It'd be a lie, wouldn't it? No, it wouldn't. Job said, in
my flesh I'll see who? Job nineteen, he said, in my
flesh I'm going to see God. That's what he said. These eyes,
not another's, I'm going to behold God. Who are you going to see,
Job? Jesus Christ. I'm still going to have a body
and glory. I'm going to be a man. I'm always
going to be a man. I'm not going to be some ethereal
spirit flower. I'm going to have a body. Well,
God is spirit. I can't see spirit. Can you see
spirit, Stan? If I'm going to see God, I've
got to see a body. Well, in him dwelleth all the
fullness of the Godhead in a body. I can see God. God, all God did
was just veil himself. He just veiled himself in flesh. Veiled in flesh, the incarnate
three. What does that psalm say? Veiled
in flesh. Well that's that's a mystery
and then just cause I can't figure it out. To me it's not so does
Roberta. If I could that would mean it's
not so. Now they sought to take him.
No man laid hands on him his hour was not yet come they sought
to take him his hour was not yet come that was the hour of
his crucifixion this is when You know, one time there was
one moment in time when God put Jesus
in the hands of men to see what they do with it. You know, I
know preachers like to say that, don't they? Today, what will
you do with Jesus? Well, there was a time when God
did put him in the hands of men to see what they do with Jesus. Well, now, sweet Jesus preached
today. The sweet Jesus, the healer,
the provider, the lover of all, you know, when they asked, what
will you do with Jesus? Sweet Jesus, now everybody accepts
him. They love him. They make him
Lord. Well, they let him in their heart.
Sweet Jesus. But the sovereign Lord and King. What they say what they want
to say about that one today. Same thing they said back then.
Away with him. We won't have him. He's just
a man. He ain't God. Isn't that right? More things change more they
remain the same. Right? Only one who hasn't really
changed is Jesus Christ. He's the same yesterday, today,
and forever. Verse thirty-one said, Many of
the people believed on him, and said, When Christ cometh, will
he do more miracles than these which this man hath done? I don't
know whether these are truly saved people or not. I don't
know. I don't think so. They said it
says they believed on him and I know. We we looked at that once before
and the principle holds true when you believe on him. That's
the difference. Believing on him and believing
in him. But. Don't get hung up there. That
doesn't mean that these people I know a lot of people who say
they believe on him. Right? Who don't? Because Christ
is not in them. Verse 32, the Pharisees heard
that the people murmured such things concerning him, and the
Pharisees and chief priests sent officers to take him. You may
wonder why I included this verse, because it starts a new paragraph,
but I did it for this reason. The Pharisee, and I wish this
religious world could hear this. But the Pharisees and the chief
priests, it said, now these were men who devoted their lives to
their religion. I'm going to deal with this again
Sunday morning, so I hope we have some visitors. But the Pharisees and chief priests
were men who devoted their lives to their religion. They looked
religious. If I'd been standing beside a
Pharisee, you'd have said, the Pharisee, now he's religious. He looked they looked religion.
They sounded religious if you heard the Pharisees pray you've
been. They acted religion everything
they did but do you remember where we started this. You remember
where we started this whole message. What verse do we start this whole
mystery we see if anybody's listening. First point for what he's saying
Don't judge after the outward appearance now. This is where
we're going to end up, this message. Pharisees. Pharisees. What did Christ call these fellows
that looked religious, sounded religious, acted religious? He
called them whited sepulchers. Now, if someone takes offense
at what I say about modern religion, they'd have been in the crowd
saying, crucify Christ. Because they all took he he didn't
he everything he said was offensive about religion when everything
he said about religion was offensive. He called John Christ told him
why did sepulchre. Woe unto you scribes Pharisees
hypocrite John called them a bunch of snakes. much a sneaky snake by first
that's a rougher term and by first Lord call them why did
separate what's the why did separate. What's the why did separate this
a grave in the whitewash gray we don't have them here in the
United States and Mexico they do they don't have real fine
polished granite down there they have rocks that they put there
and they whitewash They can't afford a big polished granite
sandblasted headstone, so they get an old
rock and set it up, and they give them some paint and they
whitewash it. That's what they did back there. He called them
whited graves. He said they looked good on the
outside, but what's on the inside of a grave? Bone, dead man's
bone. And the religious leaders heard
These fellows heard that some of the people were believing
in this Jesus and they didn't like it, so they tried to take
him away. They sent these fellows to take
him. Now let me ask two questions and I'll quit, OK? I've got two
more minutes. It's twenty-seven, twenty-eight
after, all right? Two questions, one minute per
question. Why did they hate Jesus? And why didn't they want folks
to hear him? Why did these religious people hate Jesus Christ and
why didn't they want folks to hear? They did not want these
folks to hear him. Number one, why did they hate
Jesus? Look quickly at John 15, verse 22. OK, John 15. I haven't
had you turn anywhere, have I? So I'm not working you too hard.
John 15. Look at verse 22. This is what our Lord said about
these Pharisees, about religious people in general, our generation. Verse twenty-two, John fifteen,
twenty-two, If I had not come and spoken unto them, they had
not had sin. But now they have no cloak or
covering for their sin. He exposed their sin. That's why they hated him. He
exposed their sin. What sin did he expose? The worst
sin of all. The sin that he told the people
to beware of more than anything else. You know what that was?
Huh? Beware of something of the Pharisees,
he said. What's that? What's that? Self-righteousness. He said, I didn't come to call
the righteous Can you think of a Pharisee he saved other than
the Apostle Paul? Say Nicodemus? Don't know that
for sure. Boy, we know the names of lots of sinners, though, don't
we? He lists a lot of sinners. They're in his lineage. They're
in his family tree. As a matter of fact, some harlots
are in there. This man received the center
not righteous. He won't take of righteous. He
won't take them. That's positively detrimental.
That's not. That's not. That won't commend
you to him. It can be to him. That's the
most condemning thing of all of us are righteous. He won't take it. It's a stench
in his mouth. It's a sin of all sins. Our righteousness
are filthy rags, he said. He said, listen to this, go and
learn what this means. Christ said, go and learn what
this means. I'll have mercy and not sacrifice. All right, why didn't they want
folks to hear him? Why didn't these Pharisees want
folks to hear Christ? Look at John chapter 8. Look
over the next chapter. I can't wait to get to this.
I've been alluding to this story for the last several weeks. This woman caught in the act
of adultery. I've already preached it, but I can't wait to preach
it. But we were, oh my, folks, you
got an hour, you got any place to go? Well, flesh is weak, but
you know the story here. The Lord rode on the ground.
You know, they brought this woman in caught in adultery. I mean,
a notorious woman. Everybody there said she's guilty.
Everybody there knew she was guilty. She caught red-handed.
And they brought her in and cast her at his feet, and they said,
Moses said, what do you say? Oh, I love that. Moses said,
what do you say? Well you know the rest he wrote
on the ground and everybody. Him and her. Everybody let it says it prick
their conscience is their conscience. This motive. He exposed their
sin. He said anybody without seeing
cast first. And he began to write in the
ground on the ground. Some said that he wrote names
and numbers and and dates and so forth that only those that
were involved knew what he was and they just creeped out said
beginning with the oldest. And all those creeps creeped
out, and it was just Christ in the center. And you know what he did to her?
Why, he set her free. They'd have stoned her right
now. He saved her. That's why they
didn't want people hearing him, hearing the gospel. That's why
Christ justifies a sinner when when he when he saves the center
they no longer report to me anymore. They don't have to answer the
man anymore. They don't have to answer to a Sanhedrin they
answer to the Savior. And the Sanhedrin doesn't like
it. Right? When Christ saves, it's Christ
in the center, and they appeal to Christ. They don't go to a
man anymore and say, what do you think? What do you think?
Am I saved or not? Tell me. They don't do that at all. They
go to the Savior. You tell me. Say unto myself. When Christ
sets a sinner free, he sets them free from sin, Satan, self, and
the Sanhedrin. He sets them free from the Sanhedrin. Some of you have been a part
of that. It's bondage and terrible bondage. He said about the Pharisees he
said they shut up the kingdom of heaven from men and won't
suffer anybody to go in and they themselves won't go in either.
They don't want you free. They're in bondage and they don't
want you free either. That's exactly right. They like
control of people Henry. They want control. All that the sun sets you free.
You free indeed. Remember when he set up verse
seventeen he said now. He that speaketh of himself if
a man wants to know the truth. He'll know the doctrine whether
he's speaking of himself or speaking from God. He that seeketh the
glory of him that sent him now he's true there's no unrighteousness
in him. Now, that's Christ, isn't it? He's true. There's no unrighteousness. In Him is no sin. And that's
the preacher of Christ, too, who is not trying to point you
to himself, but to Christ. Like John the Baptist had two
disciples, and they quit following him and started following Christ. And nothing made him more happy.
He was a Pharisee, he's just an old... Came in back to town to pick
up. That's where John came from. He's from Fairmont, Washington.
Well, I hope that's been enjoyable to you. This man received a sinner,
and this man is no man. Does God receive sinners? does Christ, and God receives
sinners. All right, let's stand. Our Heavenly Father, we thank
you for your Word. Without it, we'd be in darkness, even as others, but Lord, we
dare not boast of our knowledge or our We boast of him who is
our light. And what light we have, he gave
us. We want more light, more understanding. And Lord, deliver us from a judgmental
spirit of one another, yet may we be bold, courageous to tell the truth and even at
the risk of becoming some people's enemies. But it's you we must
glorify and it's you men must hear about. A true God and a
true Christ. Give us courage to do so. Give
us faith to believe in the face of an unbelieving world. In Christ's
name we pray. Amen.

The People Murmured

What does the Bible say about judging others?

Why is Jesus' identity important for Christians?

How do we know that Christ is God?

Why is it important to worship in spirit and truth?

What does it mean to judge righteous judgment?

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The People Murmured

What does the Bible say about judging others?

Why is Jesus' identity important for Christians?

How do we know that Christ is God?

Why is it important to worship in spirit and truth?

What does it mean to judge righteous judgment?

Sermon Transcript

About Paul Mahan

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