Welcome to Reign of Grace. This
program is brought to you by Reign of Grace Media Ministries,
an outreach ministry of Eager Avenue Grace Church in Albany,
Georgia. It is our pleasure and privilege
to present to you the gospel message of the sovereign grace
and glory of God in the person and work of the Lord Jesus Christ. We pray that today's program
will be a blessing to you. Thank you for listening and now
for today's program. I'd like to welcome you to our
program today. I'm glad you could join us. And once again, we're
going to look at the scriptures. That's what this program is all
about, going through the Bible. And I'm talking about Christ
as he is presented both in the Old Testament and in the New
Testament. This book is a book of Christ. I wrote a book concerning interpreting
the scriptures. It's called Rightly Dividing
the Word. And the first chapter in that
book, it talks about rules of scriptural interpretation. The
first chapter is entitled The Rule, Rule Number One, The Rule
of Jesus Christ, Crucified and Risen from the Dead. Because
if you're gonna understand the scriptures at all, you have to
understand it's a book of Jesus Christ from Genesis to Revelation,
not just parts of it. Well, today I'm gonna talk to
you about Searching the scriptures. Search the scriptures. That's
the title of the message. And last week I began on, from
Luke 24, on things concerning Christ, from that passage. So
if you didn't hear that message, get a copy of it, because I believe
it'll help you in your understanding of the scriptures. But here in
John chapter five, that's where we're going. John chapter five,
if you'd like to follow along in your Bibles. And in verse
39, What happens here is Christ is speaking to religious people,
the Pharisees, who claimed to believe and to keep the law of
Moses. And that's what they boasted
of. I've often told you in this program, if you read the scriptures,
especially in the New Testament, but you can see this in the Old
Testament too, the unbelieving Jews basically boasted in three
things. that they claimed, by which they
thought proved that they were saved, that they were safe in
God's sight, that they were children of God, and that they had a right
relationship with God. The first one was their physical
connection with Abraham. And I'll talk about that in a
later message. Their physical connection with
Abraham. They said, we're Abraham's seed. The second was their physical
circumcision. Because that was a command that
God gave to Abraham and was perpetuated throughout the Old Covenant as
a physical sign of their physical connection with Abraham. So they're
circumcised. The males were circumcised and
the males represented the whole family. Firstborn, for example,
and all that. And then the third thing they
boasted of, as far as having a right relationship with God
and being children of God, was their keeping of the Law of Moses.
They kept the Law of Moses. Well, they did not keep the Law
of Moses. They had to pervert it, they
had to water it down, and they had to de-spiritualize it in
order to get to where they could claim to keep it. But they didn't
keep it. They claimed to, but they didn't,
but they thought they did. And they thought that's what
made them righteous in God's sight. Well, Christ here is talking
to them who rejected Him and rejected the gospel of God's
free and sovereign grace in the salvation of sinners by the blood
of Christ, the righteousness of Christ imputed, the righteousness
of God. You see, that's what we need
to be saved. Our law keeping will not save us. Let me tell
you, son, our law keeping will not earn us favor with God or
blessings from God. Our law keeping is not good enough
to do that. Righteousness is perfect satisfaction
to God's law and justice. And I can't do that and you can't
do that. Even as a sinner saved by grace, we cannot render forth
in our obedience perfect satisfaction to God's law and justice. That's
why we need grace. Grace reigns through righteousness
unto eternal life by Jesus Christ our Lord. Not by our law keeping. You see, my salvation, my right
relationship with God is not based upon what I do or don't
do. It's based upon what Christ did,
what He finished on the cross in His obedience unto death.
And what I do and don't do as far as obedience is the fruit
and the effect and the result of God's grace in Christ. It's
not the cause of my salvation. It's not the ground of my salvation.
Only Christ is. Well, here he is speaking to
these Pharisees who had rejected him. And he says in verse 38,
now this is John 5, 38. He says, and you have not his
word, that's God's word, abiding in you. Now, how did he know
that? Well, he says, for whom he hath
sent him you believe not. If you don't believe in Christ
as your only way of salvation, as your only way of forgiveness,
as your only way of righteousness before God, I can tell you right
now, you don't have God's word in your heart. You see, if you
think salvation is conditioned on you, and not on Christ and
him alone, as he fulfilled all those conditions to ensure and
demand your salvation. If you don't believe that, you
don't have God's word abiding in your heart, because you don't
believe in him. And so he directs them where?
Look at verse 39. Search the scriptures. Now, there's
two ways of looking at this passage in the original. And as he says,
search the scriptures, that's a command. We are to search the
scriptures. In fact, somebody said, where
am I gonna find Christ? Where am I gonna find the gospel?
Where am I gonna find salvation? Well, this book tells us, Paul
wrote it to Timothy. He said, the scriptures are able
to make you wise unto salvation. Now how do they do that? Well,
the scriptures, when God gives you eyes to see by the power
of the Holy Spirit, he drives the sinner to Christ for salvation. And so it makes you wise unto
salvation because Christ is salvation. So it is a command, search the
scriptures. But some translations would put
it in this light, Christ looking at these Pharisees and he's saying
this, saying this, you do search the scriptures. Now, I know you
read your Bibles. There might be many of you out
there. You do read your Bibles, don't you? You look at it, you
study it. You know, these Pharisees, they
prided themselves on knowing the Scriptures. They prided themselves
on studying, memorizing. You've heard of the term phylactery.
They used to sew the Scriptures in the hems of their garments
so people could see that they were religious. Kind of like
people with bumper stickers today. They've got scriptures all over
the place. I saw a car going up the road
that had all kinds of different scriptures on it. And so he says,
you do search the scriptures, the scribes, you remember the
scribes, they were the lawyers. They weren't lawyers like we
have, like attorneys today. They were students of the law
of Moses and they recorded things about the law, they discussed
the law, they debated the law, they interpreted the law and
they wrote commentaries on the law. That's what they did. So
these were the type of people in that day that if somebody
wanted to know what this verse meant or that verse meant, these
are the type of people that they would go to. The teachers, the
rabbis, the masters, all of that. And so Christ is saying, you
do search the scriptures. Now, I believe that's the crux
of what he's saying here, even though we can look at it as a
command. Yes, I am commanded by God to search the scriptures. That's what I do on this program.
That's what this program is all about. It's not about just religion
and making you feel good. It's about studying the word
of God. And that's what people need to
do. I told someone one time, I said, he had a false view of
Christianity. And I told him, I said, well,
do you know how to have a true view of Christianity? Read your
Bible. And whatever it says is true. So look at verse 39 now. Search
the scriptures. He says, for in them, in these
scriptures, you think you have eternal life. And he says, and
they are they which testify of me. They are they which testify
of Christ. Which part? The Old Testament
or the New Testament? Just the book of Genesis or the
book of Matthew, Revelation? All of it. Testify of Christ. And I brought this out last week.
They tell us who He is as God manifests in the flesh. He is
God-man. Why did He have to be both God
and man? Because in order for me to be saved, a sinner, I'm
a sinner, and I cannot save myself. I cannot bring forth the righteousness
that God requires. for me to be saved, for him to
justify me. Listen, if salvation's conditioned
on me, then I'm gone. Somebody said that they went
into a church building and they saw written on a mirror in the
bathroom. And it said, when you look in
that mirror, it says you're looking at the person who is responsible
for your own salvation. Well, my friend, if that's true,
then I'm gone. I have no hope. If you're looking
at the person who's truly responsible for salvation, you're gonna look
to Christ. Looking unto Jesus, the author
and the finisher of our faith. And so he says, they are they
which testify of me. Now search the scriptures. What
are you searching for when you read your Bible? Some people
are searching for some kind of assurance. Some people are searching
for ways to make money, a financial book. Some people are searching
for ways that they can be saved. Well, let me tell you, if you're
gonna be saved, if the scriptures are gonna make you wise into
salvation, what are you searching for? Search for Christ. Search
for who he is. Search for what he has done,
why he did it, where he is now. Search in him to get a picture
of yourself. Here's the mirror that you look at, and here's
what you'll find. Romans 3 and verse 10. There's
none righteous, no, not one. There's none that understandeth.
There's none that doeth good. No, not one. That's us, sinners. And we're nothing but sinners.
Even at our best, even the most moral, the most religious, the
most sincere, the most dedicated, we're still sinners. And we all
fall short of righteousness. that can only be found in the
Lord Jesus Christ in his obedience unto death as my surety and substitute. And that's the only way of salvation.
Well, he says, in them you think you have eternal life. They were
they which testified me. Look at verse 40. And you will
not come to me that you might have life. Now understand now,
these were men who searched the scriptures, read their Bibles,
People today search the Scriptures, read their Bibles, memorize it.
Some even write commentaries. But if you miss Christ, the reality
of who He is, the reality of what He accomplished on Calvary,
which is the doctrine of Christ, which is the righteousness of
God revealed in the Gospel, if you miss that, what's the problem? You don't have life. You will
not come to Christ that you might have life. Now verse 41, he says,
I receive not honor from men. Pharisees didn't honor him. Man
by nature will not honor him. Verse 42, but I know you that
you have not the love of God in you. Verse 43, I am come in
my father's name for the glory of the father, not the glory
of men, not to brag on men. I'm come in my father's name
and you receive me not. If another shall come in his
own name, him you will receive. You know, people, one of the
most deceptive tools of Satan throughout the ages, and today
too, is the reputations and honor of men. You take some famous
preacher whom everybody respects and loves, and whether or not
he preaches the gospel, is not an issue. He's just somebody
that everybody loves and respects. And so he may not say I'm coming
in my own name, but he is. If he's a true preacher of God,
he'd tell you, he'd say, don't look to me, don't honor me, look
to Christ, honor Christ. I can't say John the Baptist
said that. He said, I'm not even worthy to untie his shoes, the
Messiah. He said, I'm not the Christ.
He said, I must decrease, Christ must increase. And so when somebody,
a true believer, challenges or questions this man whom everybody
honors, everybody, they just go crazy. Well, my friend, listen. Christ said, I'm coming in my
Father's name. He says in verse 44, he says,
how can you believe which receive honor one of another and seek
not the honor that cometh from God only? Now, how do you seek
the honor? that comes from God only. What
kind of honor is he talking about? Well, here's a person. Let's
say they get religion. They make what people call a
decision today, a decision for Christ. They accept Christ as
their personal savior. And then they determine from
then on they're gonna live a godly life, live a Christian life.
And when they come before God, they're gonna get rewarded for
their works. Even though they're saved by
grace, they're gonna, let me tell you something. That's not
the honor that comes from God only. That's the honor that comes
from men. That's a person who's proud of
their own works. The honor that comes from God
only lies in the person, the glorious person, and the finished
work of Christ. What's the proof of that? Well,
when Christ was baptized, he showed in picture what his work
was. He died, he was buried, he arose
again the third day. That's what his baptism was all
about. And when he finished his baptism,
the Lord, the Father spoke from heaven, and he said this. He said, this is my beloved Son
in whom I'm well pleased. Hear ye him. Listen to him. My friend, if you want the honor
that comes from God only, plead the blood, the righteousness
of the God-man, the Lord Jesus Christ. Paul said it this way
in Philippians 3. He said that I may know him,
Christ, and be found in him, not having mine own righteousness,
which is of the law, but that which is through the faith of
Christ, his faithfulness to do the work that the Father gave
him to do. So look at verse 45, John 5,
45. He tells these religious people,
do not think that I will accuse you to the Father. There is one
that accuseth you, even Moses, in whom you trust. What does
he mean by that, Moses? Does he mean that they're gonna
stand before God's court of justice and Moses, the person, is going
to be there to accuse them? No. What he means is they trusted
in Moses. What does that mean? That means
they trusted in their law keeping, the law of Moses. But he says
this, he says, if you trust in your keeping of the law for salvation,
the same law is going to accuse and condemn you. For by the deeds
of the law shall no flesh be justified in God's sight. Why
was the Law of Moses given to the nation Israel? Well, the
Bible tells us in Romans chapter 5. It was given that the offense,
the sin, might abound. It was given because of the transgression
in Galatians 3. It was given as a way to show
them, show Israel, that they are sinners and that it's impossible
for them to be saved by their law-keeping. And those who insisted
on salvation, on righteousness, on being justified, being forgiven
by their keeping of the law, they will be condemned by that
same law. In Romans 9, Paul described that. He said, Israel, which followed
after the law for righteousness did not attain it. Why? Because
they sought it by works and not by faith. You see, to seek righteousness
by faith is to seek righteousness in Christ. Do you understand
that? Today, people think that faith
itself, their believing, makes them righteous. It doesn't. It
doesn't because our faith is yet imperfect. Our faith, while
on this earth, if we even have true faith, God-given faith,
it comes through this sinful flesh and it's imperfect. I don't
have faith in my faith. I have faith in Christ. Righteousness by faith means
righteousness in the Lord Jesus Christ based upon who He is and
what He accomplished. And so what He's telling them
there is that the same law that you trust will condemn you. Now look at verse 46. For had
you believed Moses, if you had believed what Moses wrote in
the scriptures, you would have believed me, for Moses wrote
of me. And verse 47, but if you believe
not his writings, how shall you believe my words? Moses in the
law wrote of Christ. And everything about Moses, was,
listen, it was either a promise of God to send Christ into the
world to put away the sins of his people and establish righteousness
for them. It was either a promise, a prophecy,
or a type or a picture of Christ. You think about Moses. Moses
was a mediator, but he was a mediator under the law. But he typified
Christ, who is the mediator of grace. There's one God. and one
mediator between God and men, the man Christ Jesus. Moses was
a prophet, but Moses was not the ultimate prophet, the embodiment
of the word of God, Christ was, but Moses typified Christ. Moses
was a leader of his people and God used him to build a whole
nation. Well, Christ is the builder of
a spiritual nation, the church. He told Peter, he said, and the
disciples, upon this rock I will build my church. What was the
rock? It wasn't Peter. No, it was Christ. He's the rock. We stand upon the rock, Christ
Jesus. If we're Christian, we don't
stand upon the rock, Peter, because that was a mere man. Peter was
a sinner saved by grace. Christ is the rock. My hope is
built. on nothing less than Jesus' blood
and righteousness. Dare not trust the sweetest frame,
but wholly lean on Jesus' knife. On Christ, the solid rock, I
stand. All other ground is sinking sand.
When Moses went up to get the law, well, first of all, Moses
led the children of Israel out of the bondage of Egypt and crossed
the Red Sea. Well, that was a type of Christ.
Christ led his people out of the captivity, the bondage of
sin and Satan and the law, and he crossed the Red Sea was his
blood. It was by his blood, by way of
his blood that he led his people out of the bondage of sin. were
redeemed by the precious blood of Christ. He purchased his church
with his own blood. Christ went up on the Mount Sinai
to receive the law, and it was Christ who gave him the law.
And he gave him the law to show the condemnation of sin and their
need of Christ, the grace of God, and righteousness in him.
He gave them the law of the civil law, the ceremonial law, the
tabernacle, you know, everything in that tabernacle. is a picture
of some way of Christ in his person and in his finished work
and his people who are saved by God's grace in him. Do you
remember when they were going through the wilderness and they
got thirsty and a rock appeared? God told Moses to strike the
rock and water come out. That rock was Christ, is a picture
of Christ. And the water is the water of
life, the water of truth, the water of salvation. You remember
the serpent on the pole when the people rebelled against God
and he sent fiery serpents to sting? Man, that's a picture
of sin and depravity. And the people were dying, and
he commanded Moses to make a serpent of brass, put it up on top of
a pole, and tell the people, he that looks will live. And
that serpent of brass, that's a picture of Christ that Moses
lifted up. Lifting up Christ before the
people. and we could go on and on, but the law itself was a
condemning law. Later on, I'm gonna preach a
message from 2 Corinthians 3, where Paul the apostle, in showing
the greater glory of the gospel and the new covenant over and
above the old covenant law that Israel as a nation was under,
that the law was called the ministration of death, and condemnation. That's what it was. That's what
it was meant to be. It was meant to show them their sin. It was
meant to show them the impossibility of being saved and being made
right with God, being justified based on their works. It was
meant to show them, it was a schoolmaster to lead them to Christ. In other
words, God gave them that law to keep them together until Christ
came and then it was finished. We'll talk about that too. But
here's the point. The Old Testament, whatever period
of time it was in, you're talking about. If you're talking about
the time of the patriarchs, if you're talking about the time
of the judges, if you're talking about the time of the old covenant
law, whatever, even the first four books of the New Testament,
where Christ come and walk the earth, and then the epistles
of Paul, and the book of Revelation, all of it, it's all about Christ. Search the scriptures, he said,
verse 39. For in them you think you have
eternal life. Well, they are they which testify
of me. And I'm here to tell you, I don't care what part of the
Bible you're studying, I don't care what part you're reading,
memorizing, preaching from, if you're not seeing Christ in the
glory of His person and in the power of His finished work, you've
missed it. That's what He was telling His
disciples. Back in Luke 24, He said, Are you so blind that you
don't know what the Scriptures have said all along? That I must
come, I must suffer, I must bleed, and I must die. Why? For the
sins of His people. That's what Moses taught. That's
what David taught in the Psalms. That's what all the prophets
spoke of. Even the historical books are given to show the history
of Israel and how God sovereignly and providentially kept them
together until the time of the Messiah. Until Christ would come
and do that great work of establishing the only righteousness whereby
a sinner can be justified and forgiven under God. That's the
whole book. They are they, which testify
to me. And never forget this, what he
said here, for had you believed Moses, you'd have believed me,
you would have believed me, for he wrote of me, but if you believe
not his writings, how shall you believe my words? Now search
the scriptures in the light of that truth. And I hope you'll
join us next week for another message from God's Word. We are glad you could join us
for another edition of Reign of Grace. This program is brought
to you by Reign of Grace Media Ministries, an outreach ministry
of Eager Avenue Grace Church in Albany, Georgia. To receive
a copy of today's program or to learn more about Reign of
Grace Media Ministries or Eager Avenue Grace Church, write us
at 1102 Eager Drive, Albany, Georgia. Contact us by phone at 229-432-6969
or email us through our website at www.TheLetterRofGrace.com. Thank you again for listening
today and may the Lord be with you.