Now for one more message, I want
to direct your attention back to Jeremiah chapter 31. Jeremiah
chapter 31. Tonight I'm going to preach the
third and final message in this matter that I've been dealing
with entitled, They Shall All Know Me. You see that in verse
34. Concerning this prophecy of the
New Testament, the prophecy of the coming of Christ, given by
Jeremiah. One thing you need to understand
about this passage is at this point in time, the nation of
Judah, the southern kingdom of Judah, was about to be overrun
by the Babylonian army, the Babylonian empire. They were going to be
taken captive and stay there for many years. I think it's
somewhere around 70 years altogether. Jerusalem, the city, the temple,
all were going to be destroyed. King Nebuchadnezzar came in and
just obliterated the place. And Jeremiah had been warning
these people over and over and over again of the impending danger.
And he really stood alone, basically, as the prophet of God. Now, there
were many false prophets in the land during Jeremiah's tenure
as God's voice here upon this earth. told the people that everything
was all right. They cried peace when there was
no peace. That's related two times in the book of Jeremiah.
Jeremiah 6 and Jeremiah 8. So they told a lie. They told
the people what they wanted to hear. I'm sure if you would rather
hear a message of peace than a message of warning and danger,
that's what we naturally want to hear. That's not what we need
to hear. We need to hear the truth. We
need to hear the bare truth. And so Jeremiah kept telling
them that God's wrath is coming. God's wrath is coming. And they
made fun of Jeremiah. They called him a burden. He
was a burden to them. Jeremiah called it the burden
of the word of the Lord. There is a burden to preaching
the word of the Lord, the gospel. Because the gospel not only reveals
the right way of salvation by God's grace in Christ, it also
exposes and denounces all wrong ways. Isaiah said it that way
in Isaiah 28, the refuge of lies must be swept away. And you know,
people don't like to have their security systems, their religious
securities tampered with. You see, I've been, somebody
told me one time, said, well, I've been believing this all
my life, you know. Well, you've been believing a
lie all your life if you're not looking to Christ. And so people
just don't like to have their apple carts upset, you know.
They don't like to have their boats rocked. Well, Jeremiah
was a boat rocker. And he kept telling them, he
said, the wrath of God is coming. And so they made fun of him.
They said, here comes the burden of the Lord. Here comes the burden.
That's what they called him. One time they threw him down
a well. He had to make his pulpit down at the bottom of a dry well.
Can you imagine trying to preach the gospel that way? But he did.
But here's what's happening here in Jeremiah 31. What Jeremiah
is teaching these people is that this, Just because God's wrath
is coming down upon that nation for their sins and their disobedience
and their idolatry and their unbelief, that doesn't mean that
God's purpose and God's plan of salvation, which was purposed
before the foundation of the world, that doesn't mean that
that plan and purpose was going to fail. It's going to be successful. Here's how it's going to be successful.
Verse 31, Behold, the days come, saith the Lord, that I'll make
a new covenant with the house of Israel and with the house
of Judah. And as I taught you in the first message, that's
talking about spiritual Israel there. The spiritual people of
God, God's elect out of every tribe, kindred, tongue and nation
described and called spiritual Israel. Spiritual Israelites,
the circumcision spiritually in the New Testament. And he
says in verse 32, this new covenant won't be like the old covenant,
not according to the covenant that I made with their fathers
in the day that I took them by the hand to bring them out of
the land of Egypt, which my covenant they break. See, they broke that
covenant. That covenant, the temporal blessings and provisions
of the old covenant were all conditioned on the obedience
of the nation. You see? And that's why it was
not in and of itself a covenant of salvation, eternal salvation,
because eternal salvation cannot be conditioned on the sinner.
It cannot. It'll fail. In every case. Somebody says, well, not with
me. I'll do better. You're just lying to yourself. And so he
said they broke it. But you see, that in and of itself
was not a covenant of salvation. Any sinner, even any Israelite
who lived during the time of that old covenant, If they were
saved eternally, it was not according to the terms of the old covenant.
It was according to the terms of the gospel covenant, the everlasting
covenant of grace, Christ, looking forward to Christ. But they broke
it. He said, although I was a husband
unto them, saith the Lord, God had joined himself to that people
for a while. But he says in verse 33, this
shall be the covenant that I will make with the house of Israel.
After those days, saith the Lord, I will put my law in their inward
parts and write it in their hearts." There's the new birth. See, this
is a spiritual matter, not flesh, not with nations, not with groups,
but with the heart. And he says, and I'll be their
God and they shall be my people. That's adoption. That's the special
relationship that God's elect, the redeemed of the Lord have
with him. They shall teach no more every man his neighbor,
and every man his brother, saying, Know the Lord." Now listen to
this now. The problem with the nation Israel under that old
covenant and most, the majority of the time, is that the majority
of the people did not know God. They had the means, they had
the revelations there, they had the tabernacle, they had the
commandments, they had all of those elements that were types
and pictures of the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, the Jehovah
God, the God of salvation. They were there, but they failed
to see the reality of it. You see? Now let me show you
why. Turn to Romans chapter 9. Keep your finger there in Jeremiah
31. Now let's interpret Scripture with Scripture. What was their
problem? We'll look at Romans chapter
9 and verse 31. And here's an explanation. Now
see, here's what I'm saying. Jeremiah's message basically
was pointing sinners to Christ who was to come in the future,
the prophesied Christ, the typified Christ, the pictured Christ.
There's one coming who is going to save his people from their
sins. He is God and man in one person. He is the Lord our righteousness.
That's what Jeremiah's message was. And everything about the
Ten Commandments was given to the nation Israel to show them
their need of grace, their need of salvation, because it exposed
their sin. By the law is the knowledge of
sin. Moreover, the law entered that sin might abound, Romans
chapter 5. And so it was given to show them
the disease, their need of grace. And then all the ceremonial law,
the types, the pictures were given to point them to Christ,
the schoolmaster to lead them unto Christ, to his blood. for
the forgiveness of sins and to his righteousness for their standing
before God, their justification. They were never instructed or
motivated to look to their own works for salvation under the
old covenant. They were never instructed. They
were forbidden to do that. Always. That whole covenant was
set up to show that a sinner cannot be saved by works. He
can only be saved by grace and mercy in Christ who was to come.
So they, and so Jeremiah would say, you don't know God, you
think you know God. That was the problem. And here,
what were they doing? They were trying to be saved
by their works. Well, if you're trying to be
saved by your works, now think about it this way, and I'm not
trying to make this thing over complicated, but think about
it this way. If you're trying to be saved by your works, The
God whom you have in mind who will accept such offerings is
no God at all. He's not the God of the Bible.
He's not the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. Because he
won't accept that. So those who are seeking salvation
by the works, what's the problem? They don't know God. They don't
even know themselves. They certainly don't know Christ,
you say. And so the prophets will come.
You've got to know God. You've got to seek the Lord.
Well, what were they missing? Well, look at Romans 9, 31. But
Israel, which followed after the law of righteousness, hath
not attained to the law of righteousness. They were trying to be righteous
according to the law. Now, I want to be righteous according
to the law, too. So do you. Now, here's the problem. Look here. It says they didn't
attain it. They didn't make it. Why? Verse 32. Wherefore, why
didn't they make it? Because they sought it not by
faith. but as it were by the works of
the law. Now here's a key that this generation needs to learn.
What does it mean to seek righteousness by faith? What does that mean? Listen to the word of God now.
He says, verse 32, they stumbled at that stumbling stone. As it
is written, now he's talking about a prophecy from the Old
Testament, as it is written, behold I lay in Zion, Zion that
mountain outside of Israel which is the type of the church, I
lay in Zion, a stumbling stone and rock of offense and whosoever
believeth on him shall not be ashamed. That stumbling stone
is a hymn. That's quoted from Isaiah chapter
28, talking about the coming of Christ. Do you know what it
is to seek righteousness by faith? It's to seek righteousness in
Christ. Believing in the Lord Jesus Christ.
It doesn't mean my faith, my believing is my righteousness.
Oh no. It means that I believe in Christ who is my righteousness.
So look at verse 1 of chapter 10. What does he say? He goes
on. He says, Brethren, my heart's desire and prayer to God for
Israel is that they might be saved. That's what Jeremiah was
seeking in his day. They didn't know God. He said,
I bear them record, they have a zeal of God, but not according
to knowledge. Now, you see, that's what we're
talking about. They shall all know me, Jeremiah says. What
are they going to know? Well, he says they had a religious
zeal, but not according to knowledge. There are a lot of people who
claim they want to serve God, they love God, they want to worship
God, but do they have the right knowledge? Now, this is not a
knowledge. that man has by nature. It's
not a knowledge that comes by human persuasion or human intellect
or manipulation or psychology. One of the most popular religious
authors today in one of his books, and it's a big seller, he made
the statement in this book, he said, I can lead any person to
Christ if I can find the key to their heart. Now what's wrong
with that statement? Well, my friend, You can't find
the key to anybody's heart. You know, you can't even find
the key to your own heart. It takes the Spirit of God to
do that. That's right. The heart's deceitful, desperately
wicked. Jeremiah said that in chapter
17. Who can know it? What that man meant is, if I
can get at your emotional heartstrings, I can get you emotional enough
to make a decision. That's what he meant. Well, that's
not salvation. You see, this is not knowledge
that's given by human persuasion, manipulation, or psychology.
It's a knowledge that's given by God in revelation. It's a
knowledge that God teaches His people by His Spirit, through
His Word. And if He's pleased, as God says
He is, to take a human instrument like me or any other preacher
of the gospel and communicate that knowledge by His power,
to your heart, then so be it." So he says here they have a zeal
of God, but not according to knowledge. Well, what do they
not know? Verse 3, they being ignorant of God's righteousness.
Now, what is that? That's God's justice to punish
all sin. That's what that is. God's justice to punish all sin. All sin. Not just some sins,
but all sin. Now, my question to you and to
myself, are we sinners? Are we? The Bible says we are. You say, well, I don't feel like
a sinner. Well, you're just deceiving yourself. It doesn't have anything
to do with how you feel. You can feel saved one day and
feel lost the next day. That has nothing to do with this
knowledge. Did you know that? You can feel
good, feel bad, feel happy, feel sad. I think it was Martin Luther,
feelings come, feelings go, feelings can be deceiving. You see, that's
not the kind of knowledge that God gives. Nothing wrong with
feeling good if it's got a good foundation of knowledge. So he
says, they're ignorant of God's righteousness. God's going to
punish all sin. Listen, even the sins of the
best men and women who are trying to do their best to keep the
law. Because you know why? because by deeds of law shall
no flesh be justified in his sight." It's impossible. Man at his best state is altogether
vanity. So he says, and how do you know
they're ignorant of God's justice to punish all sin? He says, well,
they're going about to establish their own righteousness. They're
trying to make themselves righteous by their works. And they have
not submitted themselves unto the righteousness of God. Now,
what is the righteousness of God? Look at verse 4. For Christ
is the end of the law for righteousness to everyone that believeth. My
friend, you must know, having been taught of God by the Spirit
through the Word, that Christ and Him alone is the only righteousness
that we have before God. That's what he's saying there.
It's not my works, it's not my efforts, it's Christ and Him
alone. Go back to Jeremiah 31, verse
34. Now that's what Jeremiah was
trying to teach these people. They didn't know God. If you
don't know that Christ, who He is, the God-man mediator, the
one and only Messiah, the way, the truth and the life, and that
He alone is your only righteousness before a holy God to save you,
to keep you, to bless you, to entitle you, to glorify you in
every way, you don't know God. You're ignorant of God's righteousness,
His justice, His holiness. You say, but God's merciful.
Yes, He is in Christ. He's gracious. Yes, He is in
Christ. He's loving, yes he is, in Christ. You see what I'm saying? Without
Christ, what are we? Less than nothing. Doomed forever. So he says in this New Covenant
now, those who are the recipients of this New Covenant, now listen
to me now, if you're a recipient of this New Covenant, if you're
a participant in this New Covenant, that means you're a sinner saved
by grace, you're a believer in the Lord Jesus Christ, you've
been born again by the Spirit. Doesn't mean you've just joined
a denomination. or you've just got your name
on a church row. There are a lot of people who join denominations
and have their names on a church row who are not participants
in this new covenant. You can join a church and still
be lost. You can be baptized and still be lost. Hey, you can
stand behind a pulpit and still be lost. You can tithe everything
you've got and still be lost. One who is a recipient, a participant
of this new covenant is one who knows the Lord. He says, for
they shall all know me from the least of them unto the greatest
of them, saith the Lord. And I will forgive their iniquity
and will remember their sin no more. You have to know that the
forgiveness of sin is based on the blood and righteousness of
Christ. That's what God teaches His people. Now, look back at
the text that I read before John chapter 6. How does this come
about? Again now, salvation cannot be
attained by human intellect and endeavors. Now that's so. Salvation is a revelation from
God. And it's a teaching that God
does by His Spirit through His Word in His preachers. Yet please
God by the foolishness of preaching, to save them that believe." Now
listen to this in verse 44. Remember, he said there in verse
37, all that the Father hath given me shall come to me. That's
a statement of the Lord. If God gave you to Him, you're
coming to Him. That's what he says. And he's
not being fatalistic there. Somebody said, well, it doesn't
matter what I do then. If God gave me to Him, I'll come
to Him. No. Now listen to it. And him that cometh to me I will
in no wise cast out." You're going to come to him? Now how
is this going to be brought about? Well, look at verse 44. He says,
No man can come to me except the Father which hath sent me
draw him. That word draw there is literally drag. It's kind
of like the net that they would put down in the water and they'd
catch the fish and bring it up. You see, when Christ told His
disciples to go be fishers of men, He didn't mean pole fishing
with a little bait. He's talking about letting down
the net. And the fish get caught in the net. And so that's what
happened to you when God brought you to this knowledge. You got
caught in the net. That's what happened. And He
drug you in. That's the drag bed. And that's what that's talking
about. So God's going to draw him. And
He said, I'll raise him up at the last day. That means he's
not going to lose his salvation. God saves you, you're going to
stay saved. There's no such thing in the Word of God, in this covenant
of grace, in the new covenant, as a sinner being saved and then
lost again. You see? He's going to raise
you up again. He said, this is the will of
Him that sent me, that of all that He has given me, I should
lose what? Nothing, but raise it up again at the last day.
Now, that's the doctrine of Christ, you see. Any other doctrine is
not a doctrine of Christ. And so he says in verse 45, now
here's the process. Now listen to this. He says,
it is written in the prophets, and they shall be all taught
of God. Now, God's going to teach you.
If you know the Lord, if you're submitted to the righteousness
of God in Christ, you've been taught of God. Now, it may have
been a preacher. It may have been Brother Mayhem.
It may have been me. It may have been several others
that we know that preach the gospel. Whoever it is, it doesn't
matter. In fact, get them out of the way. Because you're coming
to Christ for salvation. And he says, they shall be all
taught of God. Now, how are they going to be
taught? Every man therefore that hath what? Heard. Faith cometh
by hearing, and hearing by what? The Word of God. Now, let me
ask you this. If you heard it, who gave you
those kind of ears? Who gave you spiritual ears to hear it? What did Christ tell His disciples
when He began teaching in parables in Matthew 13 and 11? He answered,
they said, why are you teaching him parables? And he said, basically,
I'm paraphrasing here. He said, it's a condemnation
on those who refuse to believe. But he answered them and said,
because it is given unto you, to what? You know what the next
word is? To know the mysteries of the kingdom of heaven. But
to them, it is not given. Now, there's a gift here. A lot
of gifts we can talk about that are matters of grace. We can
talk about the gift of life. We can talk about the gift of
faith. We can talk about the gift of
repentance. We can talk about the gift of
love. But my friend, it also includes the gift of knowledge.
It is given to you, unto you, to know the mysteries. You know
what those mysteries are? It's how God saves a sinner. A sinner like me. That's what
he's talking about. That's covered up before the
natural man. The natural man cannot see and understand the
things of the kingdom of God. That's why Christ told Nicodemus,
you must be born again or you can't see, you can't know and
understand the kingdom and enter the kingdom of heaven. It's given
unto you. This is saving knowledge. It's
what God gives and teaches. So every man that hath heard,
heard what? Heard the gospel. That's the terms of the new covenant.
And then he says, and hath learned of the Father. What does that
mean? It's learning how God can be both a just God and a Savior. Isaiah chapter 45, we read it
last week. Look unto me and be ye saved,
all the ends of the earth. For I am God, there is none else.
A just God and a Savior. How can God be both a righteous
judge and punish all my sins and still be a loving Father
and have mercy on me? He must be both. Well, learn
of the Father. Learn. You remember what Christ
told his disciples? If you've seen me, you've seen
what? The Father. No man knoweth the Father, save
the Son, and he to whomsoever the Son reveals him. If you're
going to know God as a Father, you must know Christ the Son.
That's right. And then he says, those who have
heard and learned of the Father, they'll come unto me. They'll
come knowing the Father. They'll come knowing how God
saves sinners, you see. Now look over at Hosea. Turn
to the book of Hosea. If you don't know where Hosea
is, it's right after Daniel. I'll give you the page number,
but you probably don't have the same Bible that I have. Look at Hosea 4. The prophet Hosea was a contemporary
with Isaiah, who was before Jeremiah several hundred years. Hosea
mainly preached to the northern kingdom of Israel before they
were obliterated, but now he preached to some in the southern
kingdom too. But listen to what Hosea says in Hosea chapter 4. Look at verse 1. It says, Hear
the word of the Lord, ye children of Israel. For the Lord hath
a controversy with the inhabitants of the land. God's got a matter
against you. Because there is no truth, nor
mercy, nor knowledge of God in the land. Now, under the new
covenant, it won't be that way. Now, again, now, understand,
that doesn't mean that in different groups of people and denominations
and churches, there may be some here tonight that you don't know
the Lord. You don't really know Christ, you say. But I'll guarantee
you, everyone under this new covenant, you'll know Him. You
know Him. But He says there's no knowledge
in the land. Look over at verse 6 of Hosea
4. He says, My people are destroyed,
that is cut off, for lack of knowledge, because thou hast
rejected knowledge, I will also reject thee. Now how important
is this knowledge? He says that thou shalt be no
priest to me, that is, you won't have access to God without this
knowledge. Seeing thou hast forgotten the
law of thy God, you don't have any respect or regard for the
word or the law of God without this knowledge. And I will also
forget thy children." He says, "...as they were increased, so
they sinned against me. Therefore will I change their
glory." My people are destroyed for lack of knowledge. Do you
see that? God teaches His people. And he gives them what Paul described
by inspiration of the Spirit in 2 Corinthians 4-6, this knowledge. When he said, 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. You've got to know Christ. Look
at John chapter 16 with me. I told you, sometimes when we
get to talking about what a person must know, many times we get
into trouble. Because a lot of times, instead
of going to the Scripture, we go to systematic theologies of
men. And I listen, I like systematic
theologies, but they have their place. And some people say, well,
you've got to know point one, point two, point three, point
four, and some of them It might be .550, I don't know. But it
just keeps going. And that's bad. That's not a
good thing. Others go the other way too far. They say you don't
have to know anything. Well, God says, you'll know some things. They shall all know me from the
least of them to the greatest. Well, I think it falls, and he
says God's going to teach them, they're going to learn of the
Father. I believe it falls under the head, even what the Holy
Spirit teaches us when he brings us under the preaching of the
gospel and gives us ears to hear. What does he do? Well, look at
John 16 and look at verse 7. Now, the Lord is getting ready
to go to Jerusalem. He's going to be arrested. He's going to be put on trial.
He's going to be He's going to suffer under the persecution
of men, and he's going to ultimately go to the cross to die for the
sins of his sheep for us. And so he's getting ready to
go away. He told the disciples these things before, and they
grieved, and they knew it was true, but they're human. They're
weak human beings, just like we are. And they hated the thought
of losing his physical presence. And I expect if we lived back
in that day and we were suffering under the kind of persecutions
that true believers were suffering under at that time, we would
have been the same way. Don't look too far down on them and
say, well, those idiots, you know, why are they acting like
that? Well, we're all idiots in that way. But here he says in verse 7,
well look at verse 6, I'll show you what I mean. He says, but
because I have said these things unto you, sorrow hath filled
your heart, because I've told you I must go away, I've got
to go to Jerusalem, I've got to be arrested, I've got to be
killed. All of that. Sorrow hath filled your heart.
If they were walking perfectly by the Spirit and in faith, they
would have rejoiced and said, this is our salvation. But they're
human. We pitiful human beings. So he
says in verse 7, listen, he says, nevertheless I tell you the truth,
it is expedient for you that I go away. That word expedient
means it's needful. It's necessary. This is no option
here. This is not just something I
choose to do, it's something I have to do. You remember back
in John chapter 4 when he told his disciples, I must needs go
through Samaria. I've got to go through Samaria.
And you know why he had to do it? Because one of his sheep
was down there in Samaria. What a place for one of the sheep
to be. That's exactly where she was. And he's going to go, the
good shepherd's going to get his sheep. He dies for the sheep
and he's going to go get them. That's what scripture says. And
they're going to know Him, and He knows them, and they're going
to know Him. He said, I know mine and am known of mine. There's
that knowledge. And so He says, it's expedient
for you that I go away. If Christ didn't go to the cross,
we wouldn't be saved. If Christ didn't go to the cross,
we wouldn't be forgiven. If Christ didn't go to the cross,
we wouldn't be justified. Isn't that right? If Christ didn't
go to the cross, we wouldn't be born again. We'd have no life. That's what He's going to talk
about here. If Christ didn't go to the cross, we wouldn't
be glorified. But He went. And he did the job. He did the
work. He says, For if I go not away, the Comforter will not
come unto you. But if I depart, I will send him unto you. He's
talking about the Holy Spirit here. And he says, When he is
come, he will reprove. Now that word reprove, it can
either mean convince or convict. All right. In other words, he's
going to convince you of something. He's going to convict. He's going
to bring you to a conviction that you didn't have before.
He says he's going to convince the world of sin and of righteousness
and of judgment. Here's three things he gives.
Number one, in verse nine, of sin, because they believe not
on me. He's going to cause us to come
face to face, knowing who we really are, sinners, without
any hope. without any goodness, without
any righteousness. And he says it this way, because
they believe not on me. That's not just the sin of unbelief,
understand. Now, unbelief is a sin, don't
get me wrong. It's a great sin. It's the mother
of all sins, really. It's what brought about the fall
in the garden. Adam didn't believe God, he believed
Satan. He took sides with his wife and Satan against God. So
he's not just saying he's going to convince you of the sin of
unbelief, even though that's part of it. Here's what he's
going to convince you. If you're going to know, he's going to
teach you and convince you that without Christ, you and I are
nothing but sin. All we are is sin without Christ.
In God's sight now, not talking about in man's sight, not in
mama's sight, grandma's sight, we're good little boys and girls
today, but in God's sight now, Without Christ, without having
been washed in His blood and clothed in His righteousness,
in God's sight, I am nothing but sin. Even my best works are
nothing but sin in God's sight. And you're going to know that
because God's going to teach it by His Spirit through His
Word. That's what the Holy Spirit does.
And then secondly, verse 10, of righteousness, because I go
to my Father and you see me no more. Now, when did Christ go
to the Father? You know when he went to the
Father? It's when he finished the work, he was buried, rose
again the third day, and he ascended into the Father. He didn't go
to the Father as our mediator, as our advocate, until he finished
the work of bringing forth righteousness. And here's what Christ is telling
you this time. The Holy Spirit is going to bring
you face to face that the only way that you can be made righteous
before a holy God is by the blood of Christ. And that's it. Your
words? No, sir. You're going to know
better than that. You're not going to be like Cain.
You're going to be like Abel. Abel knew something. He knew
he was a sinner, and he knew his only hope was the blood of
the Substitute, the promised Messiah. You're going to know
that, and God's going to teach it to you by His Spirit, through
His Word. And then he says in verse 11,
of judgment, because the prince of this world is judged. In John
chapter 12, he tells us when Satan was judged at the cross. What's he talking about? Well,
what is Satan? What is the devil? The Bible says he's the accuser
of the brethren. He's the accuser. And when he
accuses you, here's the point. You know, if somebody accuses
you of something, are they right or are they wrong? Does the accusation
stick or does it fall in dead air? Does it hit the mark? Well, now, when Satan accuses
the people for whom Christ died of their sins, does that accusation
stick? No. And you want to know why?
Because Christ died for my sins. The prince of this world was
judged right there. His accusations cannot hit me
anymore. For who shall lay anything to
the charge of God's elect? It's God that justifies. Who
can condemn us? It's Christ that died. Yea rather
is risen again. That's what he's talking about
there. I've already been judged for all my sins. Where? On Calvary's
cross. When my sins were imputed, charged
to Christ. When he was made sin. I stand
before God holy and righteous, not in myself, but in Christ. And therefore any charge that
Satan brings against me, it will not hit the mark. Because Christ
took my sins. You see, this is a knowledge
of God. It doesn't mean you know everything about God. It doesn't
mean I know everything. We don't know everything about
God. Who ever heard of such a thing? A creature knowing everything
about the Creator? That's impossible. But I'm going
to tell you what we do know. We know what God tells us. We
know what God reveals to us. We know what God teaches us about
Himself as the God of salvation, about our sinfulness, and about
Christ. No, we don't know everything. If we could know, let me tell
you something, if we could know everything about God, you know what that
would mean? It means He in God. I heard one old guy say one time,
in his religious studies over the years, he's learned two things.
He said, there is a God and I'm not Him. Well, we know more than that.
And the reason we know more than that is because God's told us.
He teaches us. They shall all know me from the
least of them to the greatest. This is a knowledge of our sinfulness,
who we really are. We know that. Now, listen, we
haven't even seen all of that. I believe if we would, it would
sicken us. It really would. But we know
this, we have no hope of salvation in our best. Let me put it to
you this way, and I know this may seem like a shocking statement,
but it's scriptural. was no more saved by the grace
of God when he wrote Psalm 23 than he was when he committed
adultery with Bathsheba. That's what I'm saying. Now,
it was glorious and it was good, profitable that he writes Psalm
23 by inspiration of the Holy Spirit. David didn't really write
it. He was just a pen that the Holy Spirit used. But it was
wretched and awful and depraved that he committed adultery with
Bathsheba. And he suffered many consequences here on earth. We've
been studying that. But as far as his standing before
a holy God, it never changed. He lost the joy of his salvation.
He lost the joy of fellowship with God in communion. His family
suffered greatly. But my friend, he's a sinner
saved by grace at all times. And so are you if you know Christ.
Christ said this in John 17 3. Listen to this. He said, This
is life eternal, that they might know thee the only true God and
Jesus Christ whom thou hast seen. That's the knowledge. He said
in John 10 and verse 14, I am the good shepherd, and know my
sheep, and am known of mine. They know the good shepherds.
The sheep know the shepherds, boys. You've heard that before
in these countries where that's a prevalent occupation, that
those sheep, you could put a lot of sheep from different herds
in the same fold, And then the shepherd, the particular shepherd,
would come and he would call a certain call and his sheep,
his particular sheep, would come out and separate themselves out
from the fold because they knew the shepherd's call. And that's
the way it is with Christ's sheep. We know the shepherd's call.
And we won't follow another, he said. Won't follow another. We read there in Philippians
3, 8, Paul wrote, Yea, doubtless I count all things, but lost
for the excellency of the knowledge of Christ my Lord, for whom I
have suffered the loss of all things, and do count them but
dung that I may win Christ. God taught Paul some things.
Listen to 1 John 5, 20. Listen to this one. It says,
And we know that the Son of God is come. Now, do you know that?
That the Son of God is come. I'm not just talking about Christmas
or Easter or anything like that. I'm talking about do you know
the Son of God has come? Do you know Christ? That's what
the God-man has come. And has given us what? An understanding. That we may know Him. That is
true. That we may know the true and
living God through Him. The God who justifies the ungodly.
Who saved me through Christ. And we are in Him that is true,
even His Son, Jesus Christ. This is the true God and this
is eternal life. That's knowledge. And we must
get our knowledge from the Scriptures. The Holy Spirit teaches us through
the Scriptures. The Lord told His adversaries
in His day, He said in Matthew 22, 29, you do err not knowing
the Scriptures nor the power of God. Peter wrote, to the church. He said, but grow in grace and
in the knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. To him
be glory both now and forever. You see, God teaches us some
things and then we never stop learning. You know, that's what
a disciple really is, a learner. It's what Christ said. Look at
Matthew 11. I'll close with this. Listen to what he says back here.
We read one verse here, but let's read from verse 27. Listen to
this. He says in verse 27, all things
are delivered unto me and my Father. Matthew 11, 27. No man
knoweth the Son, but the Father. Neither knoweth any man the Father,
save the Son, and he to whomsoever the Son will reveal him. Now,
how are we to react to that? Well, look at verse 28. Come
unto me, all ye that labor on our heavy laden, and I'll give
you rest. Are you labored down, heavy laden
with the burden of sin? Are you burdened down with false
religion that's trying to get you to work hard to earn your
salvation? That's a burden. That's a heavy
load. Are you tired of that? If you
want rest and peace, you're only going to find it in Christ. That's
right. And he says, take my yoke upon
you and learn of me. For I am meek and lowly in heart
and you shall find rest unto your souls. For my yoke is easy
and my burden is light. You see, he's not going to put
a yoke upon his people that they cannot bear like the law preachers
do. Do this, do that, get right,
do this, give this, give that. No, he's not going to put, no.
The yoke that the master puts upon his people is a yoke of
love and mercy and grace in the knowledge of Christ. All right. Let's sing Blessed
Assurance as our closing hymn. Blessed Assurance. Hymn number
255.