Sovereign Grace Chapel, located
at 135 Annabel Lane in Beaver, West Virginia, invites you to
listen to a gospel message concerning Jesus Christ our Lord. My text for this morning is John
chapter five. John chapter five and two verses
from John five. John five verse 39 and 40. Our
Lord Jesus Christ said these words. Search the scriptures,
for in them ye think ye have eternal life, and they are they
which testify of me, and ye will not come to me that ye might
have life. Simple words, aren't they? Simple
words, yet how profound. Good morning to this broadcast.
Think about this. These are not the words of some
radical fanatic. They're not the words of some
denominational partisan trying to push his own denominational
beliefs. These are the words of the master
himself, Jesus of Nazareth, the Messiah, God manifest in the
flesh. Also, these words were spoken
to religious people. people who attended synagogue,
people who were Bible-devoted people. He says here, search
the scriptures, and some say, and I have done a little checking
on it, he actually said, you do search the scriptures. They
were Bible people. They liked reading their Bible,
and Christ told them, search the scriptures, for in them ye
think ye have eternal life, and they are they which testify of
me, you see it? And ye will not come to me that
ye might have life. Amazing words. Thank God. These people profess great law
giving. Great law giving. Listen to one
of them. Our Lord give a parable concerning these people. Listen
to what he says. In Luke chapter 18, verse 10, two men went up
to the temple to pray. The one a Pharisee, the other
a Republican. We're gonna concentrate and look at what the Pharisee
said. The Pharisee stood and prayed thus with himself. God,
I thank thee. He said, this was just words.
He prayed thus with himself. He was bragging about it. He
was boasting about it. Two men went up to the temple
to pray. The one was a Pharisee, the other a Republican. The Pharisee
stood and prayed thus with himself. God, I thank thee that I am not
as other men are. Extortioners. unjust, adulterers,
even as this publican. You see, I can see him almost
pointing his finger at that publican. Our Lord gave this parable. Two
men went up to the temple to pray, one a Pharisee, one a publican.
The publican stood right up there and just said, God, I thank you,
I'm not like everybody else. You see it? I'm not an extortioner,
I'm not unjust, I'm not an adulterer, I'm not like this publican. Don't
you see a lot of that finger pointing? I'm not like this publican.
I fast twice in a week. I give tithes of all that I possess. These were religious folk. As
I said, synagogue attending, Bible-devoted people, and Christ
told them, search the scriptures. Or you might say, you do search
the scriptures, for in them you think you have eternal life,
and they are they which testify of me, and you will not come
to me that you might have life. These people professed, again,
great law giving. They prayed long prayers, according
to Matthew, in Matthew six, verse five. They gave large sums of
money to religion, according to Mark, in Mark chapter 12,
verse 14. They spoke of great devotion
of God, Matthew tells us, in Matthew chapter 15, in verse
eight. But the Lord said unto them, they're these people, they're
like the Israelites of old, the Jews of old. They draw nigh unto
me with their lips. with their lips, they say great
religious words, and quote a lot of scripture, and talk about
the Bible, and about synagogue, or about church, but their hearts
are far from me. So yet the Lord said unto them,
search the scriptures, for in them you think you have eternal
life, and they are they which testify of me, and you will not
come to me that you might have life. It's sad to say, It's a
sad commentary on my day, your day, the day in which we live.
But my generation, this generation of today, the same can be said
of them. They do search the scriptures.
They read their Bibles. Some of them even quote the Bible.
Far better than I can. Search the scriptures. They search
the scriptures. For in them, they think they
have eternal life. But they don't realize that,
and they are they, that is the scriptures are they which testify
of me. And ye will not come to me that you might have life.
Do you see it? What an indictment. What an indictment
to any person. To me, if it's me. To you, if that's you. What an
indictment. An indictment from the master
himself. The master himself. It's sad to say, but my generation
is just like this generation. Don't you, don't you stick your
finger up at the Jews and say, well, that's the way those Jews
were. That's the way a bunch of Gentile churchgoers are today.
That's right. They do search the scriptures
for him. They think they have eternal life, but they don't
realize the scriptures are those that testify of Christ, and they
will not come to Christ that they might have life. Sad to
say, sad to say. Also, it's sad but true. of people
today, as well as in our Lord's day, they all have the same threefold
problem. You hear what I said? We're gonna
look at that threefold problems right here in just these two
verses. The same threefold problem that
affected those old religious Jews, those Jews of old, and
these religious people of our day, these professing Christians,
put that in quote, The same thing plagues them today as it plagued
them back then. They all three have the same
threefold problem. And I had that problem at one
time too. I had that problem. Now, I've read my text several
times. And I've just read it over and
over, and I intend that I'm probably reading it some more, because
it's true. Search the scriptures, for in them ye think ye have
eternal life, and there they which testify of me, and ye will
not come to me that ye might have life. Now, first of all,
as I said, three things I'll deal with the third one the most.
Three things. One, here's the problem. Here's
this threefold problem. Here's the first part of this
threefold problem. that all men have by nature,
especially religious people, yes, religious people, good,
moral, sound, Bible-believing people, they do not see Christ
as the sum and substance of all scripture, you see it? All scripture. Hebrews, the writer of Hebrews
put it this way, and he's quoting Christ from the Old Testament,
quoting Christ from the Old Testament in the volume of the book, that's
the whole thing. In the volume of the book, it
is written of me. That's Christ is written of me. They do not see Christ as the
sum and substance of all scripture. Here's the second problem. They
have no life. They have no life, not real life.
These people were physically alive that Christ was speaking
to, but they had no spiritual life. eternal life, God-ordained,
God-given life, a life that worships and loves and honors God and
his dear blessed son. They do not see Christ as the
sum and substance of all scripture. They have no life, no spiritual
life, and they do not see Christ as life. to a lot of people who
call themselves Christians. It's sad to have to say, but
people who call themselves Christians, Jesus Christ is just another
subject amongst many subjects in the Bible. But in the volume
of the book, it is written of Christ. He said it, search the
scriptures, for in them you think you have eternal life, and they
are they which testify of me. You see it, testify of me. But
here, here's the third thing. Here's the third thing. Here's
the third part of this threefold problem that the people way back
yonder had. The same problem people have
today. Our will, W-I-L-L, our will is our problem. I know human will, even sometimes
called free will, This is kind of touted as here's the answer
to all the scripture, your free will. No, sir. Your will and
my will is not the solution. It's the problem. Search the
scriptures, for in them ye think ye have eternal life, and there
they which testify of me, and ye will not. You see it? And ye will not. Your will is
to not come to me. Your will's your problem. That's
your problem. That was my problem until God
made me willing in the days of his power. That was your problem
until God made you willing in the day of his power. And to
some of you out there, that's your problem still today, is
your will, unless God makes you willing in the day of his power.
Their will was the problem. This is true of me, and this
is true of you by nature, all of us. Listen to what John wrote. In John chapter three, and listen
to how John put it this way, and I'm persuaded that John is
actually quoting the Lord Jesus Christ. There's something that
Christ had said. Remember, this is true. Our wheels are a problem.
This is true of me, it's true of you. John chapter three, look
at verse 18. He that believeth on him, that's
on Christ, is not condemned. But he that believeth not is
condemned already. This is not about, oh, you might
go to hell, or you might suffer the lake of fire. Some men will.
Unbelievers will, but that's not the point here. He's condemned
already. He's under this darkness, under
the locks, the grips of unbelief and rebellion against God. He
that believeth on him is not condemned, but he that believeth
not is condemned already because, do you see it? Because he hath
not believed in the name of the only begotten Son of God. Isn't
that what Christ said? And you will not come to me that
you might have life. Look at it, verse 19. Look at
what it says. And this is the condemnation, that light is come
into the world. That's Christ. Remember he said,
I am the way, the truth, the life. He said, I am the light
as well. This is the condemnation, that
light is come into the world. Look at it. And men loved darkness
rather than light. That's what Christ said about
us. That's what we all are by nature. And men love darkness
rather than light because their deeds were evil. For everyone
that doeth evil hates Christ. That's what that says. Hateth
the light. Search the scriptures. For in
them ye think ye have eternal life. Or, you do search the Scriptures. You may be very religious, very
Bible-oriented, and you search the Scriptures, and you try to
find out if this is true and that's true, and you prove your
doctrine from this Scripture, and prove your doctrine from
that Scripture, but what you don't realize is that the Scriptures
speak of Christ, and you will not come to Christ that you might
have life. Is that your problem? Is that your problem? Is your
will your problem? For everyone that doeth evil,
hateth the light, neither cometh to the light, lest his deeds
should be reproved, discovered, showed for what they really are.
Do you see it? I remember being in that position
one time. Oh, when God sent the light of his gospel through the
power of his spirit into me, it began to expose me for what
I really was. Not out here, out here I was
a good religious person, a church goer, a soul winner, a choir
singer, a Sunday school teacher, a preacher. God came and showed
me what I was like down in here, that I hated the light and my
problem was my will. My will, oh, I didn't mind coming
to a Jesus of religion, but not the Christ of God. Not the Christ
of God. For everyone that doeth evil,
hateth the light. Now, this is God's take on it,
whether you and I see it or not. This is what God says about it. Oh, God, show us to see. May
God show us to see this. May we see it. For everyone that
doeth evil hateth the light, neither cometh the light, lest
his deeds should be reproved. So remember, this is true of
you and me by nature. Our will is our problem. Listen
to what the Apostle Paul wrote in Romans chapter three. And
these are astounding words, but listen to what he said. Romans
chapter three, he writes these words. What then? He's answering
some questions he'd ask. What then? Are we better than
they? He's talking about the Jews and
the Gentiles. Are the Jews better than the
Gentiles? What then? Are we better than they? No,
in no wise, not on any account. For we have before proved, both
Jews and Gentiles, that they are all under sin. Under, dominated by it. captive
to it, can't do anything about it. Oh, we might put on some
good religious deeds and say some good things with our lips,
but our heart's by nature still far from it. What then, are we
better than they? No, and no wise, for we have
before proved, both Jews and Gentiles, that they're all under
sin, as it is written, and this is no new thing, it's not new,
as it is written, there is none righteous, no, not one, you see. There's none righteous, no not,
our will's not righteous. You talk, people talk about free
will, free will. It ain't free, it's under sin. You see it? Under sin, there's
none righteous, no not one. There's none that understandeth.
That's what God says. There is none that seeketh after
God, none. They're all gone out of the way.
They're together become unprofitable. There is none that doeth good.
No, not one. Their throat is an open sepulcher,
a grave that's been uncovered. And the rot comes out of us.
The rot comes out of us. Our Lord himself says out of
the abundance of the heart on heaven, the mouth speaks. and
we brag about ourself, that is fleshly corrupt rot. That is carcass rot in God's
sight. Isaiah, my brother Isaiah the
prophet said these words that even our righteousnesses are
as menses cloths in God's sight. Their throat is an open sepulcher,
with their tongues they have used deceit. The poison of ash
is under their lips, whose mouth is full of cursing and bitterness.
Their feet are swift to shed blood. Destruction and misery
are in their ways, and the way of peace have they not known.
There is no fear of God before their eyes. What an indictment
of me. What an indictment of you. Does
this indict you as well? Me as well? Search the scriptures. For in them ye think ye have
eternal life, and they are they which testify of me. Do you see
that? You know, I see that. It's all
about Christ. It's all about him, and ye will
not. There's my problem, my will.
My will's not the answer, my will's the problem. And ye will
not come to me that ye might have life. Our will is our problem. I praise God that he showed me
myself one day. He showed me what I really am.
What about you? What about you? You see, to not
see Christ as the sum and substance of all scripture, Yea, to not
see Christ as the sum and substance of the whole universe, of everything. He created it all. Christ, Christ
spoke this universe into existence. And all that it is and all that
it's still becoming, Christ spoke it into existence. And to not
see Christ as the sum and substance of all scripture, yea, all within
this universe, is nothing more than spiritual blindness. And
listen to what Paul said to the church at Colossae. And let me
read those words, Colossians chapter one. The apostle Paul
writes these words. Colossians chapter one, let me
begin in verse 12. Giving thanks unto the Father,
He's writing to believers here. Giving thanks unto the Father,
which hath made us meet, that is qualified us, as my old pastor
Earl Cochran used to say. Giving thanks unto the Father,
which hath made us meet, qualified us to be partakers of the inheritance
of the saints in light, who delivered us. Do you see it? Delivered
us from the power of darkness, delivered us. He did the delivery. We didn't deliver ourself. We
didn't help him deliver us. He delivered us from the power
of darkness, and it's translated, just boom, taking us from one
place, power of darkness, and translated us into the kingdom
of God's dear son. in whom we have redemption through
his blood, even the forgiveness of sins, who is the image of
the invisible God, that is Christ is. He's the image, the visible
image of the invisible God, who is the image of the invisible
God, the firstborn of every creature for by him. Now listen to this.
That's what the book says about Jesus Christ. And I said, to
not see Christ as the sum and substance of all the scripture,
yea, of all the universe, of everything that we know of, is
nothing than rebellion and unbelief and blindness. Look, for by him
were all things created that are in heaven, that are in earth,
whether you can see them or you can't, visible or invisible,
whether they be thrones or dominions or principalities or powers,
all things were created by him. for him, and he is before all
things, and by him all things consist. They're held together,
you see that? And he is the head of the body,
the church, who is the beginning, the firstborn from the dead,
that in all things, you see it? Or we can just say that in all,
all the scripture, all this world, all this globe, all this sphere
we're on, all the universe, that in all things he might have the
preeminence. Do you see it? You do search
the scriptures. For in them you think you have
eternal life, and they are they which testify of me, and you
will not come to me that you might have life. Why is this?
Why is it that in Christ is all this preeminence, why? For it
pleased the Father. that in him should all fullness
dwell. You see, it pleases God. It pleases
God. So remember again, the problem
with men back then, back in Christ's day, before Christ's day, the
men, the problem with men and women in our day is this. They
do not see Christ as the sum and substance of all scripture.
They have no life and they do not see Christ as life. And thirdly,
their will. Their will is the problem. You
see, to not see Christ as life is the epitome. It's the epitome
of death. Listen to what our Lord himself
said. John chapter three, last verse, 36. He that believeth
on the Son hath everlasting life. He that believeth not on the
Son shall not see life, but the wrath of God abideth on him. Isn't that astounding? The wrath
of God, not the love of God. No, sir, don't you, don't you
let these people hoodwink you. Not the love of God, upon that
person who refuses to, but who will not come to Christ in the
might of life, The wrath of God may well abide upon your head,
hmm? The wrath of God. So again, remember,
to not see Christ as the sum and substance of all scripture,
yea, all within the universe is nothing more than spiritual
blindness. To not see Christ as life is the epitome of death. But not only that, to hold, now
listen to me, to hold that your will is the key to life in Christ,
is to insult the integrity of God himself in the flesh, who
said, our will is our problem. And you know, my saying it, I'm
not gonna cut it for you. If the only words you hear, these
words I'm speaking to you, if you're still listening to me,
For whatever reason, we might say, as we say, you're still
listening to me and you've not turned that TV off yet. Your
will is your problem. My will is my problem. God's
will is my solution. God's will is your solution.
Remember? Our text. Search the scriptures,
for in them ye think ye have eternal life, and there they
which testify of me. And ye will not come to me that
ye might have life. You see it? You see, that's the
problem. Listen to what Paul said about
us in Ephesians chapter two. Now, of course, in this passage,
and if you're following along, please turn to it. Ephesians
chapter two, in this passage, he's talking to people who were
then believers. These people at Ephesus, in this
church at Ephesus. He's talking to people who were
now believers. God had regenerated them by spirit
and converted them by the gospel. And they're now believers, but
look at what he says to them about before they were believers.
Look at Ephesians two. And you, hath he quickened, who
were dead. Do you see that? Dead, no will. no will toward God. Now, a will
toward rebellion, a will toward religion, a will toward unbelief,
a will toward scripture reading, a will toward teaching Sunday
school and preaching, a will toward morality, but not a will
to come to Christ. You hath it quickened who are
dead in trespassing sins. Wherein in time past ye walked,
this was your normal course, walked, you just walked. You
walked this way. Wherein in time past ye walked,
how? According to the course of this world. According to the
prince of the power of the air. You know who that is? Satan himself. Listen to me, I don't mean to
shock you, but not all men are demon possessed. Satanic possessed,
but all men by nature are under satanic influence. According
to the prince of the power of the air, that's how we walked.
We walked, I did too, and you did too, and you still are if
Jesus Christ has not seen his life to you, and you've not come
to him for life. Listen, wherein in time past
you walked according to the course of this world, according to the
prince of the power there, the spirit that now worketh in the
children of disobedience, among whom also we all had our conversation,
that's our way of being, our way of life, in time past, in
the lust of our flesh, fulfilling the desires, and that word right
there, desire, you know what that means? Check it sometime
in concordance, the will, the wills. the desires of the flesh
and of the mind, and were by nature the children of wrath.
Wrath toward God, we hated the light. We didn't come to the
light, lest our deeds should be reproved. And were by nature
the children of wrath, even as others, but God. But God, who
is rich in mercy, for his great love wherewith he loved us, even
when we were dead in sins, hath quickened us together with Christ.
And as my old pastor used to say, Paul just couldn't stand
it anymore. He says, by grace are you saved. By grace are you
saved. Do you see these three problems
in your soul? Do you? Do you realize, man,
I have not seen Christ as the sum and substance of all scripture.
I haven't seen him as the sum and substance of all the universe,
but he is, I see that now. Do you see that? Do you realize
that you had no life in you and you didn't see Christ for life,
but all of a sudden it's changing? You see Christ is life. You know
why? Because God gave you life. God gave you life. Do you see
that your will is your problem? Even after God saves you, your
will is still your problem. We walk in the scripture, doesn't
call it free will, it calls it self will in Colossians. Self-will. Self-will is your will, my will. That's our problem. Do you see
these three problems in your soul? Do you? Can you taste your
own violence? Does God give you a tongue in
a manner of speaking? Does God give you a tongue for
that? Do you taste it? Does he give you an eye for that?
Do you see it? Does he give you an ear? Do you hear it? Does
he give you a heart to perceive that, oh, how wicked I am, how
vile I am? The very thing Christ said wasn't
a problem, I turn around glory in it. Cast yourself upon Christ
for mercy. If you still resist, what do
I mean by you will not? You will not come to him that
you might have life. I pray God opens your heart to
his Christ and your own vileness. Scripture declares this, I've
mentioned it. Psalm 110, turn back some time,
look at it. Thy people, God's people, who's
that, the elect? the sheep, God's beloved ones,
God's loved ones, his people. Thy people shall be willing. Yeah, they shall be willing.
How? When? In the day of thy power.