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. Welcome to our program. I'm glad you could join us.

If you'd like to follow along in your Bibles, I'm going to continue where I started last week in the book of John, chapter five. And this time I'm going to start around verse 25 and 26. And concerning this subject, witnesses of Christ. Now last week, I spoke of the father, God the father's witness of his son, the Lord Jesus Christ. And I'm going to continue that. But I'm going to talk about other witnesses that Christ speaks of here in the rest of this chapter. There are many witnesses.

And whenever we talk about witnessing, what we're talking about, whether we think about it or not, whether we know or not, talking about speaking the truth concerning God, who he is, what he's like, and the only way we know that is from the scriptures now.

A lot of people when they talk about what God is like, what his nature is, what his actions are, what he will do, what he won't do, people all the time talking about finding God's will for their lives. A lot of time what they're talking about is not scriptural. Uh, if I say, if I give you a truth about God and it's not found in this book, the Bible, which is God's revelation of himself, then I'm telling you a lie and a lie can only apply to a false God. And you know, you, you, you hear a lot of things that are not scriptural about God.

And then witnessing is telling the truth about ourselves, what we are by nature, what our problem is. It's kind of like a doctor who is diagnosing a terrible disease. If you're having trouble and you have to, you're wanting to find a cure, you want a doctor who will tell you the truth, not one who will lie to you and say, you're okay, go on. Well, it's the same way in salvation, in eternal life. My problem is that I fell in Adam into a state of sin and depravity, death, spiritual death, all of that.

This idea of the free will of man that people are pushing today. I know we make choices all the time, but what does the Bible say about me and the whole human race by nature. And you need to look at scriptures that tell us that. One that I quote so many times, probably every program is 1 Corinthians 2 14. And that's not the only scripture there is. It's just easy for me to remember. But it says the natural man. Now who's the natural man? That's you and me as we are naturally born. fallen in Adam. We all fell in Adam.

The natural man receiveth not the things of the Spirit of God, neither can he know them, for they are spiritually discerned. The natural man has no spiritual understanding. Now, he can understand a lot of things. He can understand high mathematics and science and philosophy, but he cannot understand the things of the Spirit of God. Neither can he know them, for they're spiritually discerned. And the Bible says there's none righteous, no, not one. There's none that seeketh after God. There's none that doeth good. That's what it says.

Our wills are in bondage to sin and selfishness and self-righteousness. And as I said before, we want salvation, we want the rewards of spiritual life, but we want it our way that will give us some credit and some glory. And that's the way we insist on it. That's why that all false gospels make salvation conditioned on you and what you do or what you decide so that you can have some credit in this thing. But my friend, my salvation is totally by free and sovereign grace in the Lord Jesus Christ. And it's a gift. And there's not one blessing that I can say I've earned or I deserve. It's all a gift from God. And so the witnessing involves telling the truth about ourselves. And then it involves telling the truth about Christ and true salvation. That's what witnessing does. Christ is dealing with this, pointing to himself as the Messiah.

Listen to what he says in verse 25 of John chapter 5. Verily, verily, I say unto you, the hour is coming, and now is, when the dead shall hear the voice of the Son of God, and they that hear shall live. Now, he's the Son of God incarnate. He's the Redeemer, the Savior.

And he says in verse 26, For as the Father hath life in himself, so hath he given to the Son to have life in himself. Now, Christ as the second person of the Trinity, just like the Father and the Spirit had life in Himself. But here He's speaking of Himself as the God-man, the Messiah, the Redeemer. Here is a man who has life in Himself, but not by virtue of His humanity, it's by virtue of His deity.

He's the God-man. And he brought forth the righteousness of God for sinners to be saved and to have eternal life and be justified before God. So it's given unto him to have it as the mediator, as the redeemer, as the savior, the Messiah. And that's what he's talking about here, mediatorial work. So not only does he have life in himself as God, he has life in himself as God-man. Now, no other man, and no mere man, and certainly no sinful man has the ability to create life.

But this man who is God does have that ability. It was given to him by the Father. And that's our salvation scene. He has life in himself. And how does he have life in himself? Well, he's the creator, he's the word, he's the word manifest in the flesh, word made flesh, dwelt among us. And he says in verse 27, and have given him authority to execute judgment also because he is the son of man. He can judge men because He is perfect man who is also God. So He's the Son of Man. He's the Son of Man and the Son of God in a special way. So look at verse 28. He says, marvel not at this, for the hour is coming in which all that are in the graves shall hear His voice That's everybody who's died physically. This is speaking when he comes back to gather his church and to judge the world.

And verse 29 says, and shall come forth they that have done good unto the resurrection of life. Well now, who can we say has done good? Now here's where you'll expose yourself sometimes. You might say, well, I've done good, I did this, I accepted Jesus as my personal Savior.

That's not what he's talking about. Those who have done good are those who have laid hold of the good, who is Jesus Christ. To do good is to believe on him by the power of the Spirit. and they that have done evil unto the resurrection of damnation." He's not talking about that you're going to be given life based upon your works because that's to do evil. He's talking about that you will enter into the resurrection of life because you're washed in the blood of Christ and you're clothed in His righteousness imputed. You believe on Him and rest on Him.

You see, when we come to the final end of things, the only thing that's going to matter is how do we stand with Christ? Do we stand in Him, again, washed in His blood, cleaned from all of our sins, and clothed in His righteousness, imputed to us, accounted to us? That our sins cannot be charged to us, but we have His righteousness charged to us? Or do we stand on our own? That's to do evil. Because by deeds of law, by works, shall no flesh be justified in God's sight. Mark it down. And so, He says, those who have done evil unto the resurrection of damnation. Verse 30. Now listen to what he says here.

I can of my own self do nothing, as I hear I judge, and my judgment is just, because I seek not mine own will, but the will of the Father which hath sent me. Now what he's saying there is that his will and the Father's will are one and the same. He's not acting on his own. The Father is behind him and with him. in a perfect way and the authority of the father he has. That's what he says. He says, I judge what I hear. I judge and my judgment is just. I don't seek my own way. I'm not out here as a renegade, but I'm with the father and the spirit.

And he says in verse 31, if I bear witness of myself, my witness is not true. If he was the only one who bore witness of himself, you could discount it. but he has the witness of the Father, he has the witness of the Spirit, he has the witness of himself, and then he has other witnesses. Look at verse 32. There is another that beareth witness of me, and I know that the witness which he witnesseth of me is true. And look at what he says in verse three. You sent unto John, and he bear witness unto the truth.

That's John the Baptist. Now John the Baptist, when Christ speaks of John's witness, he's talking about the witness of all the Old Testament prophets. And we're gonna see at the end of this how that's true. John was the last of the Old Testament prophets. And he spoke the message that had been handed down all those years from the first prophets on. The first patriarchs, the message of the Old Testament. So what Christ is saying here is that John being the witness and his witness is true. This is what the whole Old Testament pointed to. He is. The Old Testament from Genesis to Malachi was all about Christ in his person and in his finished work. I'll give you one example that it kind of just encapsulates all of it.

And it's in Daniel chapter nine. Now the person of Christ, we could go to Isaiah, chapter 9, unto us a son is given, unto us a child is born, that's His person, that's God-man but here in Daniel chapter 9 and verse 24, listen to this, He's talking about the 70 weeks of Daniel, they're determined upon thy people and upon thy holy city, which is Jerusalem.

And he's talking about the Messiah coming to do what? To finish the transgression, to make an end of sins and to make reconciliation for iniquity, to bring in everlasting righteousness and to seal up the vision and the prophecy and to anoint the most holy. That's what Christ did. He completed every one of those tasks.

And that's what the whole Old Testament had been saying, sometimes in different pieces and sometimes encapsulated like Daniel 9.24, showing the testimony of John and all the other prophets. So look back at John chapter five now.

He says in verse 33, you sinned unto John and he bear witness unto the truth, but I receive not testimony from man, but these things I say that you might be saved. In other words, he's not getting his message from a man, he got it from God, but he's saying these things for the salvation of his people. Verse 35, John was a burning and shining light and you were willing for a season to rejoice in his light. So they had the witness of John, but look at this, verse 36. But I have greater witness than that of John, for the works which the Father hath given me to finish, the same works that I do, bear witness of me that the Father hath sent me. Now you say, what works?

All of his works. You can speak of his miracles, You can speak of the message, and you could speak of the redemptive work that he did, leading up to the cross, going to the cross, dying on the cross. He hadn't done that yet in time, but it was sure to be done. And he talked about it.

And after he gave up the ghost, he died. In three days time, he was raised from the dead. came out of the grave, walked the earth, and then eventually ascended unto the Father, where he now is seated at the right hand of the Father, ever living to make intercession for his people.

And the Spirit is in a special way in the New Testament, come to give life, quicken all of his sheep all over this world. And that's what the Bible means when it says that he died for the world. It doesn't mean he died for every individual without exception. It means that he has a people, his elect, his sheep, all over this world, Jew and Gentile, and they will be saved. They will be saved. That's what he's doing. And that greater witness, it says in verse 37, is the father himself which hath sent me, hath borne witness of me.

You have neither heard his voice at any time nor seen his shape. And you have not his word abiding in you. Talking to these unbelieving Pharisees. For whom he hath sent, him you believe not. They didn't believe Jesus and not believing in Jesus, the salvation of his people, they revealed that they did not have his witness in them. They didn't have the spirit's truth written on their heart. And then he goes to the witness of the scriptures. Now, listen to this verse 39, search the scriptures.

Now, the force of this is a statement of truth. You do search the scriptures. Many of you out there read your Bibles, search the scriptures, maybe memorize a lot of it. For in them, you think you have eternal life. Well, he says, well, they are they which testify of me. They witness of me. The scriptures are a witness of Christ. If you go to these scriptures and you don't see Christ there and salvation by the grace of God, I don't care what it's talking about, you're missing it. He says, they testify there, they which testify me.

Verse 40 says, and you will not come to me that you might have life. They refused to come to him, to bow to him, to believe in him. I receive not honor from men, Man will not honor Christ. Natural man in his natural state will not honor Christ. But he says in verse 42, but I know you that you have not the love of God in you. Now, how did he know that? Well, he knows all, he has God. But here's what he says, verse 43. 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. What does he mean, somebody coming in their own name?

Claiming to be saved by their works or their wills or some other way than sovereign grace in Christ? Verse 44, how can you believe which receive honor one of another and seek not the honor that cometh from God only? There's the key. Mostly in religion, What men and women are seeking for is honor for themselves. But if you're going to seek and find the honor that comes from God only, It's by free and sovereign grace in and by the glorious person and finished work of Christ. I tell people all the time in our church services, I'm not here to brag on me or to brag on you. I'm here to brag on Christ.

And so he says in verse 45, do not think that I will accuse you to the father. There's one that accuses you, even Moses in whom you trust. they trusted in their works of the law. For had you believed Moses, you would have believed me, for he wrote of me. But if you believe not his writings, how shall you believe my words? Moses testified of Christ. How is that so?

The law of Moses was given to show the Israelites the impossibility of being saved and righteous based upon their attempts to keep the law. It was a condemning law. It was to show them their sin. It was added because of the transgressions Paul wrote in Galatians, by deeds of law shall no flesh be justified. That's why that law was so strict.

So it was given to show them their sin and the ceremonial law, the law of sacrifice and the priesthood and the tabernacle or temple, it was given to point them to Christ to be saved by the great, the sovereign grace of almighty God. I have no hope but His sovereign grace, His sovereign mercy, the righteousness that I cannot produce that comes through Christ's obedience unto death.

It's all of grace. That's the gospel. That's the testimony of Christ. That's the witness of Christ from the Bible. And those who are trying to be saved by keeping the Ten Commandments or keeping the law, Moses will judge them because what he'll tell you is, I tried to tell you you couldn't be saved that way. That's hopeless.

For by grace are you saved through faith, and that's not of yourselves, it's the gift of God, not of works, lest any man should boast. For we who are saved are his workmanship created in Christ Jesus unto good works, which God hath before ordained that we should walk in them. You see that good that he spoke of when we're raised again. That's the good that God ordained. It's not that we earned or did or merited at all.

And these are the witnesses of Christ, the God-man, the Savior, the one mediator between God and man, the Lord, our righteousness, as the scripture identifies Him. And we have the greatest witness of all, which is the Father himself. It comes to us by the power of the Spirit through the Word, the Bible, the Word of God, which is Christ crucified, risen from the dead for salvation.

There's no other hope. And think about it. Listen to what he's saying now. How can you believe which receive honor one of another and seek not the honor that cometh from God only? I want to know what God says in his word. And here's another thing. I want to test what I claim to know by the word of God. If you claim to be saved, a child of God, a follower of Christ, you should never be offended or angry at having to check that out with the word of God, having to defend it because it's a good thing. It's like I told somebody one time, I said, I'd rather have my boat rocked now than later on after I die. I want to be challenged. You should want to be challenged.

And that's what Christ did to the Pharisees. And that's why he was so harsh with them when they rejected him. You remember how he told them, he says, you do indeed appear righteous unto men, but it's not according to truth. Inwardly, you're an open grave, dead men's bones. Appearing righteous to men means nothing. That which is highly esteemed among men is an abomination to God.

And so we leave it in the Lord's hands. We go to the scriptures to put our claim, our faith to the test. Does it stand up to the witnesses of Christ? You remember Christ said back in verse 31, if I bear witness of myself, my witness is not true. There's no way it can be. And so he brought forth all these witnesses. And as he went through in his earthly ministry, he continually challenged people, even those who claimed to love him because of the miracles. He wouldn't let them rest on that alone. He told them, he says, you follow me because of the miracles of the loaves and the fishes, but not because you believe the truth. And that truth sets people free. Understand that.

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. 317-07. 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.