The name of the message is the work
of God. The work of God. Now in the chapter where our
text is found, which is John chapter 6, before our text, our
Lord had in verses 1 to 15 fed the 5,000. He had performed a miracle that
only God could do. He had performed a miracle that
only God could do. Beating 5,000 people. 5,000 people. With 5 barley loaves
and 2 small fishes. And having 12 baskets of leftovers
of bread when it was done. And our Lord had manifested His
power right there. He had manifested His power right
there before them. The fact of His deity, the fact
that He was God incarnate in the flesh by walking on water. We see that in verses 16 to 21. I'd like us to read from verses
22 to 37. Verse 29 will be our text for today. And take note that the people
whose hearts were set on making this miracle work with their
king began to search for him. They knew that he had not entered
the boat that his disciples had taken to the other side. And
when they did not find him, they got on boats and went to Capernaum,
asking him when they found him, Master, when and how did you get here?
Look at verse 22. Day following, when the people
which stood on the other side of the sea saw that there were
none of the boat there save that one, whereunto his disciples
were entered, and that Jesus went not with his disciples into
the boat, but that his disciples were gone away alone. Halibate,
there came other boats from Tiberias nigh unto the place where they
did eat bread after that the Lord had given thanks. When the
people therefore saw that Jesus was not there, neither his disciples,
they also took shipping and came to Capernaum. They didn't find
him on the other side, so they jumped in some ships and came
to the other side, came to Capernaum, and it says they were seeking
for Jesus. When they had found him on the other side of the
sea, they said unto him, Rabbi, when comest thou hither? When
did you get here? Notice in our next verse our
Lord does not tell him that he walked on water. He didn't tell
him that. He doesn't tell him that when
he walked on water and he found his disciples in distress. Note
he did not gratify their curiosity because he knew that they followed
him to fill their bellies. Now outwardly they appeared ready
to honor him. But he read their hearts, beloved,
because he's God. He knew the thoughts and intents
of their heart just like He knows the thoughts and intents of the
heart of every person in here. Nothing that we say or do or
think is hidden from God. Nothing. But they sought the Lord Jesus
Christ with regard to their own bellies more than the honor and
glory of Christ, even more than the good of their immortal souls,
their eternal souls. And note how the Lord answers
them in verse 26, He says to them, Verily, verily, I say unto
you, you seek me not because you saw the miracles, but because
you did eat the loaves and were filled. Now the Word of Faith, Name It
and Claim It movement is all like this. They have made
a profession of religion with worldly advantages in mind. with
worldly advantages in mind, and not the spiritual and everlasting
good of their souls. It's all about what they can
get. And the false preacher says,
give me your seed money, and God will bless it, and you'll
get more. See, their eyes are on the things
of the world, not on eternal things. Not on eternal things. Not on the spiritual and everlasting
good of their soul. It is Christ Jesus our Lord who
should be the real interest. The real interest. He is the
only Redeemer of sinners. He's the only Redeemer of sinners.
And take note of the next verse. We see that our Lord brings forth
that in Him is everlasting life. Look at verse 27. Labor not for
the meat which perisheth, but for the meat which endureth unto
everlasting life. He's saying, don't labor for
the food that you're going to eat and drink every day, but
now he's talking about himself, beloved. Because who does God's
people feast on? We feast on Christ. He's the
bread of life for us. He's the water of life for us.
He says, labor not for the meat which perishes, but for the meat
which endureth unto everlasting life, which the Son of Man shall
give unto you. For him hath the Father sealed. Now again, always remember that
when we read the words of our Lord, remember who's speaking. Always remember who's speaking
when you read the words of our Lord. It's God. God incarnate
in the flesh is speaking these words. The Son of God. the Word of God, and he says,
labor not for meat which perishes, but for that meat which endureth
unto everlasting life, which the Son of Man shall give unto
you. For him hath God the Father sealed. I like what Brother Henry Mahan
brings forth about the word labor here. In verse 27 he says, the
word labor is used figuratively and signifies the intense and
earnest desire and effort toward obtaining that which is of great
and eternal value. the bread of life, the bread
of life or the salvation of our souls. A man is foolish to be
overly concerned about earthly treasure and comfort, which will
all perish, which will all perish. Turn if you would to Mark chapter
eight and then put your finger in Matthew chapter six, Mark
chapter eight and Matthew chapter six. See, natural man is concerned
about the things of the world. They're concerned about how much
they can get. But you know they're not going to take anything with
them when they die. Nothing. It's going to go to
someone else. It's going to go to someone else.
Look at this and look what the scriptures declare in light of
people being concerned about earthly treasure, which will
all perish. Mark chapter 8, we'll read verses 35 to 37. Listen
to what the scriptures declare here. For whosoever will save
his life shall lose it. But whosoever shall lose his
life for my sake and for the gospels, the same shall save
it. For what shall profit a man if
he shall gain the whole world, the whole world, everything in
this world, and lose his own soul? What will it profit a man
to have everything, all the gold, all the silver, all the riches
in this world, and to perish and go into a Christless eternity?
It profits him nothing. Nothing. We can't buy our salvation. It says, or what shall man give
in exchange for a soul? What shall a man or woman give
in exchange to God to deliver his or her soul? All the riches of the world would
not redeem your soul or mine. We could never give a sufficient
ransom to God for the salvation of our souls. Never. Because
everything we do is what? Tainted with sin. Everything
we do is tainted with sin. We can never deliver our souls
by our own works. So we could never give enough,
what shall profit a man if he should gain the whole world,
everything in the world, and lose his own soul. We could never
give enough to redeem our soul, And we could
never work enough to save our soul from damnation and ruin.
Never. Never. Nothing in this world
that we, who are sinners, could do or could give would redeem
our souls before God. Nothing. Now I'll turn to Matthew
chapter 6. Matthew chapter 6. And again,
take note of who's speaking. God incarnate in the flesh, the
Lord Jesus Christ, the Son of God, the Word of God,
who came to this world to save His people from their sins. Look
what He says here, starting in verse 31, and we'll read to 34. Therefore take no thought, saying,
What shall we eat? Or what shall we drink? Or wherewithal
shall we be clothed? For after all these things do
the Gentiles seek. For your heavenly Father knoweth
that ye have need of all these things. Look at this. But seek ye first the kingdom
of God and His righteousness. Where's
His righteousness? Who's His righteousness in? Christ. Amen. Christ. Seek ye first Christ. and all these things shall be added unto you. Do you
know that the poorest believer in Christ is richer than the
richest man in this world? It's true. Because of the everlasting
riches we have in Christ Jesus our Lord. But seek ye first the
kingdom of God. and His righteousness. Seek Christ. Seek Him first. And this is the
Master speaking these words. This is God. Take therefore no thought for
the moral, for the moral shall take thought for the things of
itself. Sufficient unto the day is the
evil thereof. Now let's go back to John chapter
6 and we'll read verse 27 again in light of those two portions
of Scripture. Labor not for the meat which
perish, but for the meat which endureth unto everlasting life,
which the Son of Man shall give unto you, for Him hath the Father,
God the Father, sealed. Note how our Lord tells the people
here before Him, the meat which endureth to eternal life, the
Son of Man shall give you, for Him hath the Father sealed. Salvation
is not by our labor, and not by our works, It's a gift of
God, beloved. It's a gift of God. It's all
based upon the complete, finished, perfect work of Christ. And Christ alone. The Father
has given Him all authority. All authority. And it is He alone
who gives eternal life to those whom the Father hath given Him.
We see that in John 17. Turn, if you would, just quickly
over. We'll just read that real quick. John 17. Look at verses
one to three. Again, speaking these words,
God incarnated in the flesh, the Son of God. And look what
he says. These words speak Jesus and lifted
up his eyes to heaven, verse one, and said, Father, the hour
has come. Glorify thy son that thy son also may glorify thee
as thou has given him. Christ, Christ, power over all
flesh. Christ has all power. The Father
has given Him all power. The great white judgment throne,
men will be facing Christ. Christ has given Him power over
all flesh, that He should give eternal life, look at that, that
He should give eternal life to as many as thou hast given Him.
Christ gives eternal life to His people. And this is life
eternal. He's going to define it. That
they might know thee, the only true God in Jesus Christ, whom
thou hast sent. So Christ has all power. And
God's people, his elect, are granted faith to believe. The
unwilling are made willing. The sinful are made holy. The sinner is forgiven. All in
Christ. And all by the power of Christ.
And God's people come willingly to Christ. By the power of the
Holy Spirit of God. And we feast and feed upon Christ. Again, who is the water of life.
And the bread of life to His people. And we call upon Him,
don't we? We call upon Him. We call upon
Him and we're saved and then we just keep calling upon Him.
The whole time we journey through this world, beloved. We seek
Him. Next we see natural man's response
in verse 28. They know not the Savior. And they think that they can
work the work of God. They think that they can labor
for eternal life. And there's a lot of folks that
are still thinking that way even today. There's nothing new under
the sun. Man's not changed. Man's not changed. Look at verse
28. Then said they unto him, What
shall we do? Well there, look at that. There's
their heart exposed right there. What shall we do? What shall we do? that we might
work the works of God." And our Lord's response to them,
and we'll read from verses 29 to 37. Look at our Lord's response.
Jesus answered and said unto them, This is the work of God,
that ye believe on him whom he hath sent. They said, therefore, unto him,
What signs showest thou then that we may see and believe?
What doest thou work? Our fathers did eat manna in
the desert, and as it is written, he gave them bread from heaven
to eat. Then Jesus said, Verily, verily, I say unto you, Moses
gave you not that bread from heaven, but my Father giveth
you the true bread from heaven. For the bread of God is he which
cometh down from heaven and giveth life unto the world. Then said
they unto him, Lord evermore give us this bread. And Jesus
said unto them, I am the bread of life. It is one of the great
I am statements. I am the bread of life. He that
cometh to me shall never hunger. He that believeth on me shall
never thirst. But I said unto you, that ye also have seen me
and believed not. All that the Father giveth me,
look at this, shall come to me. Shall. They're made willing in
the day of God's power, beloved. And him that cometh to me, look
at this, what peace, what security, what comfort this can bring the
child of God. And to him that cometh to me
I will in no wise cast out. Let's read verses 28 and 29 again. Then said they unto him, what
shall we do that we might work the works of God? In our Lord's response, Jesus
answered and said unto them, this is the work of God, that
you believe on him whom he has sent. Now, oftentimes, when you
speak to people who are religious, you may have heard them speaking
about the Lord's work. You hear it all the time. The
conversation always turns to what they're doing for the Lord. Always. As they tell you about
the Lord's work, it's always about what they're doing. Always. And when they tell you they're
doing the Lord's work, again, they talk about what they are
doing to persuade men or women to help them to do the work or
send them some financial support in order for them to do it better.
There's always a motive behind them telling you about what they're
doing. And ultimately, again, the conversation boils down to
what they're doing. What they're doing. Religious
folks love to tell you what they're doing for Christ. And they're
nothing but worksmongers. There's nothing but works mongers.
They have a God who cannot save on his own. He needs their assistance. He needs their assistance. And
there are multitudes of people who believe this. And when confronted by the fact
that God does all the saving from beginning to end, when confronted
with this fact, that salvation is a work of God and of God alone,
they oftentimes become quite heated. And the man or woman who is not
born again or who has never been convinced of their sinful state
by nature will entertain the thought that through some kind
of work of their own they can please God. Man is wired for
works, beloved. And most deny that they are sinners, but they will all be quick to
point out sin in others. Remember the publican and the
sinner? And that proud Pharisee said,
I'll thank you God that I'm not like that publican over there.
I do this and I do that. Oh, he's telling God about what
he does for him, supposedly. And there's that poor publican.
He won't as much lift his head up. He says, God, be merciful to
me, a sinner. And the Lord said that publican
went home justified for love. And that Pharisee, he probably
perished in his sins if the Lord didn't save him. God be merciful to me, a sinner. Most religious folks, they think
that they can keep the law of God. Turn if you would to Romans
chapter 7. Romans chapter 7 and then put your finger in Galatians
chapter 3. Most religious folks think they
can keep the law of God and this only proves that they've never
been slain by it. Because the law of God is our
schoolmaster, beloved. It slays us. And what does it
do? It points us right to Christ.
It points us right to Christ. Romans chapter 7 and verses 7
to 14. What shall What shall we say then? Is the
law sin? God forbid! Nay, I had not known
sin, but by the law... See, man doesn't know about sin,
don't know what it is, but by the law it reveals to us that
we're sinners. It reveals to us that we're sinners.
For I had not known lust, except the law had said thou shalt not
covet. But sin, taken occasion by the commandment, rotted me
all manner of conspicuousness. For without the law, sin was
dead. For I was alive without the law once, but when the commandment
came, sin revived and I died. And the commandment which was
ordained to life, I found to be unto death." The law just leads to condemnation
and death. For sin, taken occasion by the
commandment, deceived me, and by it slew me. Wherefore, the
law is holy. The law shows us the holiness
of God, beloved. And shows our sinfulness. Because we can't even keep one
law, let alone all the laws. Wherefore, the law is holy, and
the commandment holy, and just, and good. Because God's just,
and good, and holy. was then that which is good made
death unto me, God forbid, but sin, that it might appear sin,
work in death in me. By that which is good, that sin
by the commandment might become exceedingly sinful. For we know
that the law is spiritual, but I am carnal, sold under sin. Now turn, if you would, to Galatians.
I'm going to read what I put in the bulletin this week about
the true demerit of sin. Listen to this in light of this.
Never was sin seemed to be more abundantly or abominably sinful
than when the burden of it was upon the shoulders of the Son
of God. Would you then see the true demerits
of sin? Take the measure of it from the
cross of Christ." My, our sins was laid upon Christ. The sins
of His people. And He bore it all. Look at Galatians
chapter 3 verses 21 to 26. The law of God shows us our sinfulness. It shows us our utter need for
Christ. It's our schoolmaster, beloved,
and it brings us to Christ. Look at verse 21. Is the law
then against the promises of God? God forbid! For if there
had been a law given, which could have given life, verily righteousness
should have been by the law. But the Scriptures hath concluded
all under sin. Now that means what it says,
even if you don't believe it. You're a sinner. We're all sinners.
Everyone in this world is a sinner. The law hath concluded all under
sin, because we all fall short, beloved. We've all broken the
law multiple, multiple times. The scripture hath concluded
all under sin, that the promise by faith of Jesus Christ might
be given to them that believe. Again, them that believe. But before faith came, we were
kept under the law, shut up unto the faith, which should afterwards
be revealed. Wherefore the law was our schoolmaster. What? To bring us unto Christ,
that we might be justified by faith. And never forget that
faith is a gift to God. But after that faith has come,
we are no longer under a schoolmaster. Look at that. Why? Because Christ fulfilled the
law in our place. The penalty of the law was poured
out upon Christ in our place. For ye are all the children of
God by faith in Christ Jesus. So let's go back to John chapter
6 with that in mind. Those who think they can keep
the law of God are like these men who ask here in this verse,
what shall we do then that we might work the works of God?
They're the same kind of people. There's nothing new under the
sun. There's nothing new under the sun. Natural man still thinks
this way. They still think that it's possible
for men to do the work of God. Look at verse 28. Then said they
unto him, what shall we do that we might work the works of God? These men in our text openly
and without guilt or embarrassment asked the Lord what deeds they
could perform in order to find favor with God. Obviously, they expected to be
instructed to adopt some routine of religious activity. They thought
the Lord would say, well, you need to do this and this and
this and this. Because that's what the Jews did, didn't they?
The commandments of man. Some, they thought that he would
tell them some routine of religious activity or to offer some sacrifice
which would be pleasing in his sight. That's what natural man
thinks and that's how a natural man acts. Remember Abel bought
the proper sacrifice? And Cain bought the fruit of
his own hands. And it's never changed. It's
never changed. Abel represented salvation by
grace alone through Christ alone because the proper sacrifice.
And Cain represented man's works-based religion. Trying to approach
God on something that he's done. And it's not changed. There's
only two religions. I mentioned this on Wednesday
night. There's only two religions in this world. Grace and works. That's all. It boils right down.
Boils right down to that. Now, nowhere in the scripture
is the work of salvation in any way attributed to man or man's
labors. Nowhere. Nowhere. There is not a deed that a man
or woman can perform that will make them suitable for salvation. Not one. Because all of our deeds
and the thoughts and intents of our heart is tainted with
sin and misses the mark which God requires. God requires what? Perfection. Perfect righteousness. Perfect
holiness. And we are imperfect. When Adam
fell, we all fell with him. And remember that God's ways
are not our ways, beloved. And his thoughts are not our
thoughts. And often when I think of that
scripture, I think of what the Lord said to Job. Where were
you when I laid the foundations of the world? Declare if thou
hast understanding. Oh my. He is so far above us, beloved.
His thoughts are not our thoughts, and His ways are not our ways. In Psalms, God says, If I were
hungry, I would not tell thee, for the world is mine in the
fullness thereof. His ways are not our ways, and
His thoughts are not our thoughts. And God is quite capable of performing
His work, His own work, without the aid of man. Nebuchadnezzar
discovered that, didn't he? Nebuchadnezzar was one of the
greatest kings of his time. He had a vast kingdom. He said,
look what I've got. Look what I've done. And he was
humbled by eating grass like an animal. God bought him love. Do you know
what he said after that? He said this, I bless the most
high and I praise and honor him that liveth forever, whose dominion
is an everlasting dominion. And his kingdom is from generation
to generation. And all the inhabitants of the
earth are reputed as nothing. And he doeth according to his
will in the army of heaven and among the inhabitants of the
earth. And none can say his hand or say unto him, what doest thou?
And the man who spoke that was one of the greatest kings of
his times. He knew what it was to be a sovereign. And he said, God's not anything
like us. Now look at our Lord's response
again in verse 29, to those who asked what they could do to work
the work of God. Jesus answered and said unto them, this is the
work of God, that ye believe on him whom he hath sent. Notice that. This is the work
of God. It's God's work. That ye believe
on him whom he hath sent. It's not man's labors. It's not
God's wringing his hands waiting for you to make a decision. That's
what's told out there. That's not what this text says,
is it? Not at all. It says, this is the work of
God, that ye believe on Him, whom He has sent. And God is
still performing His work. He's still performing His work,
as He's done in every age and shall continue to do, long after
the mountains have crumbled and the seas have become dry land.
He will still be King, beloved. He will still be King. Now he's
upholding all things by the word of his power and he will from
eternity to eternity. Let's consider some of the work
which he performs. It's God alone who humbles the
pride of man. Now we're proud beings. We're
proud beings. But it's God himself who humbles
the pride of man, most especially his elect. Oh my, turn if you would to Daniel
4.37. Again, we know that he did this with Nebuchadnezzar. And he does this with his people.
He does this with his people. We were once a proud people in
our natural state. I know I was. Oh, we were a proud people in
our natural state. But we're about low, beloved.
We're about low. to bow before the mighty King
of the universe and to confess Him as Lord, Lord over all, and we proclaim
Him as the only Savior of sinners. Listen to what Nebuchadnezzar
confessed in Daniel 4.37. Now I, Nebuchadnezzar, praise
and extol and honor the King of heaven, all whose works are
truth, In this way is judgment. And those that walk in pride,
He is able to abase. We who are God's people being
bought low. And there be one day when those who are proud and
hate God and die in their sins will one day face the great God. and there stand in front of Him, clothed in their own self-righteousness. He will say, depart from me,
you cursed, you workers of iniquity, I never knew. They'll be gone
into everlasting torment. He's able to abase those who
walk in pride. He does, beloved. One word from
the King of Kings, one word from the Lord of Lords can bring down
the mightiest man. One word. Another work which God performs
is He alone can awaken His elect from the deadness of our sin
in His own time. In His own time. Turn if you
would to Ephesians chapter 2. Now we know that a dead man cannot
bring themselves back to life. It's impossible. So Paul gives
us an illustration here of how this was our natural state.
Ephesians 2 verses 1 to 7. Hath he quickened? Notice who
did it. God. This is a work of God. Remember
our text. Jesus said unto them, this is
the work of God, that ye believe on him whom he hath sent. Remember
that. And you, Paul's writing to born-again,
blood-boshed believers, and you, hath he quickened? It's a work
of God, beloved. Who were dead in trespasses and
sins. Dead. No lie. We were alive physically,
but spiritually dead. Where in times past ye walked
according to the course of this world, according to the prince
of the power of the air, the spirit that now worketh in the
children of disobedience, among whom also we all had our conversations
in times past in the lust of our flesh, fulfilling the desires
of the flesh and of the mind, and were by nature the children
of wrath, even as others. Now if it ended there, we'd still
be in that state. If the scripture stopped there,
that'd be in our state. But we know it doesn't, because
we know that Paul's writing to those who've been born again
by the Holy Spirit of God. But left to ourselves, have you
noticed there, there is no, we're dead. We're full of sin and enjoying
sin and loving sin. And then look at verse four,
though. But God. There's the key phrase right
there. But God. Remember our text? Jesus answered and said unto
them, This is the work of God, that ye believe on him whom he
has sent, but God, who is rich in mercy. Who's he rich in mercy
to? His people. Those he chose in Christ before
the foundation of the world. Those who are born again by the
Holy Spirit of God, by God who is rich in mercy, for His great
love wherewith He loved us, we've been loved with an everlasting
love, an eternal love, beloved. When we let that sink in, that's
incredible. That God has loved us from eternity. And knowing
that it's God who loves us, that's a great love. And this would fill Paul's heart
with joy. It fills the believer's hearts
with joy, doesn't it? To know that we're loved with a great
love. Even when we were dead in sins,
hopeless, helpless, with no way to change the state that we were
in. Again, even when we were dead
in sins, hath quickened us together with Christ, by grace ye are
saved. Again, it's a work of God. and hath raised us up together,
he's done it, and made us sit together in heavenly places in
Christ. He's put us in Christ, beloved.
We who are dead, hopeless, helpless, with no way to change our state,
but God, who is rich in mercy for his great love wherewith
he loved us. This is the work of God. Why did he do it? That in the ages to come he might
show the exceeding riches of his grace and his kindness towards
us through Christ Jesus. This is incredible. What a wondrous
salvation. As Brother John said, it should
just fill our hearts with joy. If we're one of his people. And notice in verse 5 again,
it's the Holy Spirit who gives life. And we know that's the
regenerating work of the Holy Spirit of God. Born again. And God does not use any means
but His own Spirit to give life to dead sinners. And it's the same power of God
the Holy Spirit which raised Jesus from the dead on the third
day, beloved. In no way and in no manner can
a man who is dead spiritually participate in this work of making
the dead sinner alive. It is wholly, 100% completely
accomplished by God and God alone. It is a work of God. And again,
this is the work of God, that you believe on Him whom He has
sent. One second we don't believe in
Him, and the next we're born again by the Holy Spirit, and
we're praising His mighty name for what He's done for us. My
goodness. Incredible. It's a work of God. It's a work of God. And we know,
we know, That this occurs in God's time. In God's time. All in God's time. All according
to His purpose. And why does it occur in His
time? Because it's He who saves. It's
His work. It's His work. Next thing is God sends His messengers
with the Gospel. God sends His preachers where
He wills. And we have a message. And nothing
can overturn either the mission or the message of anyone whom
He sent. And the Scripture says this,
So shall my word be that goeth forth out of my mouth. It shall
not return unto me void, but it shall accomplish that which
I please, and it shall prosper in the thing whereunto I sent
it. God's word goes forth with power. and it accomplishes what
He is pleased to have it accomplish. Turn, if you would, to Acts chapter
28. His sent preachers proclaim the
message of Christ and Him crucified. We proclaim that salvation is
in Him and Him alone. And some that hear are born again
and believe, and some that hear are hardened. Some that hear
are born again and believe. and some that hear are hardened."
Acts chapter 28 verses 24 to 28. And some believed the things
which were spoken and some believed not. And when they agreed not among
themselves, they departed after that Paul had spoken one word. Well spake the Holy Ghost by
Isaiah the prophet unto our father, saying, Go unto this people,
and say, Hearing ye shall hear, and shall not understand, and
seeing ye shall see, and not perceive. For the heart of this
people is waxed gross, and their ears are dull of hearing, and
their eyes have they closed, lest they should see with their
eyes, and hear with their ears, and understand with their hearts,
and should be converted, that I should heal them. Be it known
unto you, therefore, Be it known therefore unto you that salvation
of God is sent unto the Gentiles, and look at this, and that they
will hear it." The Word of God is effectual, and it goes forth with power,
and it will not return void unto the Lord. And it will accomplish
that which He has sent it to accomplish. And God's preachers, we just
preach and proclaim Christ. We preach and proclaim Christ,
and God's Word again will accomplish that which the Lord has ordained. And it'll be accomplished by
His almighty hand. It'll be accomplished by His
almighty hand, and all according to His purpose. And remember,
His purpose can in no way be thwarted. In no way be thwarted. Next, it's the work of God to
give Some faith to believe the Gospel. It's a work of God to
give some faith to believe the Gospel. Go back to Ephesians chapter
2, we read verses 8 and 9 there. To believe in Christ is saved
by grace through faith. Saved by grace through faith.
Remember again, I'll read our text. Jesus answered and said
unto them, This is the work of God, that ye believe on him whom
he hath sent. Will those who have been granted
faith to believe, believe on Christ? Look at this. For by grace are
you saved through faith, and that not of yourselves. Again,
it's stressed again. And that not of yourselves. It is the gift of God. It is
the work of God, not of works, lest any man should boast. Ephesians
2, 8 and 9. For by grace are you saved through
faith, and not of yourselves. It is the gift of God, not of
works, lest any man should boast. And then he says this. John pens
these words in John 1. Verses 12 and 13, he writes this,
but as many as received Him, being Christ, to them gave He
power to become the sons of God. It's the work of God, beloved.
Even to them that believe on His name. God's people are granted
faith and they believe on Christ. You ever been to a funeral and
you know the person didn't believe on Christ and they say, well,
he's in glory or she's in glory. No, they're not. Why? It says here, but as many
as received him, to them gave he power to become the sons of
God, even to them that believe on his name, which were born
not of blood, nor the will of the flesh, nor the will of man,
but of God. So again, it's stressed in John
chapter one, that salvation is a work of God. I'll read it again. But as many as received him,
To them gave he power. Remember the one who has all
power, the Lord Jesus Christ, to become the sons of God, even
to them that believe on his name. Well, faith is a gift from God. Which were born not of blood,
nor of the will of the flesh, so it's not decisional regeneration. which is being peddled nowadays.
Bow your head and repeat this prayer and you're saved. You're
good now. That's called decisional regeneration. No, salvation by
grace and grace alone is a work of God. It's not of the will of the flesh.
It's not. Our will is bound to our nature.
And we just saw in Ephesians 2 that our nature is dead. nor the will of man, but of God."
Again, back to our text, Jesus answered and said to them, this
is the work of God, that ye believe on Him, believe on Christ, whom
He hath sent. Salvation, beloved, is all according
to the free grace of God. And God's elect are redeemed
from death and sin to life and glory in Christ. election, redemption,
calling, repentance, faith, sanctification, and eternal glory are all ours
by the free grace of our Lord, according to His almighty purpose
and will, and they all come to us in and through Christ, not
by works of righteousness which ye have done, but according to
His mercy. He has saved us. Mercy. Faith is a gift from God,
beloved. And what does faith do? Faith
trusts Christ. Faith believes on Christ. He's
the object of our faith. We don't look to our faith to
save us. We look to Christ who's the object of our faith. And always remember you who are
the redeemed of the Lord. Always remember that you are
washed clean by the precious blood of the Lamb of the Lord
Jesus Christ. And it's God which worketh in
you. both to will and to do of His good pleasure. We are His workmanship, Paul
penned, created in Christ Jesus, unto good works which God hath
before ordained that we should walk in them. It's a work of
God, beloved, from beginning to end. And it's God who shall keep his
elect from falling and preserve them faultless to the end. That's
God's work. We can't preserve ourselves.
Just think how much we fall daily in our sin, in our sinfulness.
Oh my. But praise God for this wonderful
truth that it's the Lord who should deliver his people from
every evil work. It is the Lord who will preserve
me. and preserve you if you're one of His people. And it's the Lord who we will
be with forever. The believer in Christ says glory
to our great God. Glory to His name forever and
ever. And it's God who gives eternal
life to His sheep. It's God who does this. It's
the work of God. They shall never, never, never,
not ever perish. Never. What a hope. What a hope we have
in Christ. What a hope the believer has
in Christ. It is He who saves us from our
sins. by a substitutionary death on
Calvary's cross. And it is He who keeps us. Lastly, it is God Himself who
has redeemed us, who has redeemed His elect with His own precious
blood. It's a work of God. It's a work of God from beginning
to end. This is the crowning work which
God has performed, beloved. All the benefits which we who
are the sons of God have is because of what Christ has done for us
in our place. Redemption, redeeming His elect,
saving His elect is His crowning work, beloved. Christ, the Word
of God. The second person of the Trinity. Becomes a man. Fully man. And yet fully God. That should just leave us in
wonder and awe. But it doesn't stop there. He became a man to die as our
substitute. To die as the substitute of his
people. to redeem his people, to purchase
them with his own precious blood, to give his life a ransom for
our souls. And he did it willingly. he had all the wrath of God that
was deserving us, that was deserving of all his
elect of all the ages, poured out upon him. The fury of God's
wrath poured out upon him to save our
souls. This is a work of God, that ye
believe on Him whom He hath sent. God the Father sent the Lord
Jesus Christ. Sent Him to die as our substitute. For as much as ye know that ye
were not redeemed with corruptible things as silver and gold, from
your vain conversation received by tradition from your fathers,
but with the precious, I know how precious it is, but with
the precious blood of Christ, as of a lamb without blemish
and without spot, totally sinless, sinless in thought, word and
deed, the total opposite of what we are, yet fully man and fully God. who verily was foreordained before
the foundation of the world, but was manifest in these last
times." And Peter's writing to believers, for you. For me as a believer. Manifest
in these last times for you, who by Him do believe in God. See, there's that word believe
again. that raised him up from the dead and gave him glory,
that your faith and hope might be in God. That your faith and
hope might not be in yourselves like it used to be, but be in
God. And the Lord Jesus Christ is
God incarnate in the flesh. Our verse, our text says this
again. Jesus answered and said unto
them, this is the work of God, that you believe on Him. that
you believe on him, believe on Christ, whom he has sent. Believe
on the Lord Jesus Christ, and thou shalt be saved. May God
grant your faith to believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, if you
do not know him. Heavenly Father, we thank you
again for your mercy, goodness, and grace, which has been bestowed
upon we who are your people, in and through Christ. Oh, we
know and we believe that salvation is a total work of thee, O Lord,
a work of God, This work of God is that we believe on Thee, O
Lord. And all we who are your people, we believe, we trust,
we rest in you, O Lord. Help us with our unbelief, Lord.
Help us when we struggle through this world. Help us, Lord. Give
us grace and strength in time of need. We've cast our eternal
souls upon Thee. You are our only hope. And we
pray, Lord, that if there's one that do not know you, that if
there's a lost sheep of yours that will either hear this message
or or here with us, oh Lord, that you draw them to you. Oh,
that you grant them faith to believe on thee, oh Lord, that
you would work the work of God, which only you can do. In Jesus'
name, amen.