I'm going to keep your Bibles
open to John chapter 11. It will serve as our text this
morning. I've titled the message, Believest
Thou This? The Lord has laid this text on
my heart recently, the past few weeks. I determined I wanted
to preach from it, and then I realized that it fits into our series
of questions in Scripture. That's convenient, I reckon.
But I pray this will be a blessing to you this morning, as it's
been to me as I've studied it. Obviously, the subject of the
text, the theme that runs through it is the resurrection. We think
of the resurrection, that's gonna be quite an event on it. I mean,
it's hard to imagine what that is going to look like. The dead. Every human being who has ever
lived and died is gonna rise again from the dead. They're
gonna rise up out of the graves. The dust of their bodies may
have been spread out all over creation or all over the seas
or something. And that dust is gonna be brought
back together to life in their bodies. We're gonna look like
ourselves. We'll know each other. That's
utterly amazing, isn't it? Can you imagine? what that's
gonna look like. But the resurrection is not an
event. The resurrection is a person. That's why I want us to focus
this morning, every time we meet together. Look at verse 24. Our Lord, in verse 23, Jesus
saith unto her, thy brother shall rise again. Martha saith unto
him, I know that he'll rise again in the resurrection at the last
day. Jesus saith unto her, I am the resurrection and the life. Though he were dead, yet shall
he live. And whosoever liveth and believeth in me shall never
die. Believest thou this? You know,
when Martha said, I know my brother shall rise again in the resurrection
at the last day, Martha had the doctrine down. She had the facts
down, didn't she? But Martha was looking for an
event. That's why the Lord told her, I am the resurrection. Christ
is the resurrection. Christ is the life. And whoever
it is that believes on Him shall never die. Now my question to
me and you this morning is this. Believest thou this? Do I believe
on the Lord Jesus Christ? Do I believe Him? Do I believe
Him so that I cast the entirety of my soul on Him? You know,
the Savior's not asking, do you believe in the resurrection?
Do you believe that one day he will rise again from the dead?
He's not asking, do you believe that one day there will be a
general resurrection of the dead? The Savior is asking, do you
believe on him? Do you believe that your spiritual
life comes from him? Do you believe that the obedience
that God demands of you is his obedience? His obedience is your
obedience. Do you believe that righteousness
is received by faith in Christ. It's not by your works of religion
and morality and the law. It's received by faith in Christ,
by trusting him to do all of the work for you. Here's what
the real question is. Do you believe that Christ is
all you need? Do y'all want us to answer, each
of us to answer that question in our hearts this morning. Do
you believe that Christ is all you need? Do you believe that
your spiritual resurrection, your spiritual life, your new
birth, does that come from Him, from His power, from His grace,
from His grace to give it to you? Is your hope of your body
being resurrected again in the likeness of Christ? Does that
hang completely on Christ? Does it? See, the issue is always
Christ. Do you believe? Believest thou
this? Now I'm gonna give you three
points concerning Christ. Christ our resurrection, and
Christ our life. And I pray it'll cause each of
us to run to Him. Number one is this, Christ is
the fountain of life. He's the fountain of all life,
it all springs from Him. First of all, Christ is the fountain
of natural life. All of us have natural life,
only because God's been pleased to give it to us. It seems like
the most natural thing in this world for a young couple to get
married and pretty soon they start a family. This is the most
natural thing in this world. That story's been told millions
and millions and millions of times. But I'm telling you what,
we cannot decide to produce life. We can't do it. Only God can
give life in the womb. Only God can do it. Only God
can give life, cause that life to be born, and only God can
sustain that life, cause that life to grow. Look over to Acts
chapter 17. You know, the apostle Paul, when
he was preaching on Mars Hill, he pointed out to those people
there, even the natural man has some understanding of this, that
only God can give life, only God can sustain life. It comes
from him. Acts 17, verse 22. Then Paul stood in the midst
of Mars Hill and said, you men of Athens, I perceive that in
all things you are too superstitious, you too religious. For I passed
by and beheld your devotions and found an altar with this
inscription to the unknown God, whom therefore ye ignorantly
worship. Him declare I unto you." See, the issue is Christ falls
out, Him, that's who I'm declaring unto you. God that made the world
and all things therein, seeing that he's Lord of heaven and
earth, Dwells not in temples made with hands, neither is worshiped
with men's hands, as though he needed anything, seeing he's
the one that giveth to all life and breath and all things. He
hath made of one blood all nations of men for to dwell in the face
of the earth, and hath determined the times before appointed and
the bounds of their habitation. He's determined when he's gonna
give them life, how long he's gonna give them life, and when
he's gonna take it from them. That they should seek the Lord.
If happily, they might feel after him and find him. Though he be
not far from every one of us, for in him we live and move and
have our being. As certain also of your own poets
have said, for we are also his offspring. Even these poets and
philosophers had some idea we're the offspring of God. We get
our life from him. Now that's true in the sense
that God gives us physical life. He gives us the ability to move
around, live and do things and so forth. That's the life that
God has given us. Physical life all comes from
Christ. And since the Lord is the fountain
of physical life, it ought to be obvious to us that Christ
is the fountain of spiritual life too. You know, if we can't
decide to produce physical life on our own, try as we might,
we cannot make it happen. We sure can't produce spiritual
life in ourselves, can we? Only Christ can give spiritual
life. And he gives it. Only Christ
can give spiritual life. He's not withholding it. He gives
it. He doesn't make you earn it.
He gives it freely. In John 10, verse 28, the Lord
said, I give unto them eternal life. and they shall never perish. They didn't earn it. They didn't
deserve it. I give it to them as a free gift of my grace. Christ
is so gracious. He gives all of his people spiritual,
eternal life. John 17 verse two, as thou has
given him power over all flesh. Christ has power over all flesh
to give his grace, withhold his grace, to give his mercy, to
withhold his mercy, to give life, to withhold it, God's given him
power over all flesh, that, for this reason, he should give eternal
life to everyone that the Father gave to him. Spiritual life is
all because of Christ. It's all in Christ, it's all
from Christ. Christ is the author of life.
Spiritual life began with Christ. He's the author of it. He purposed
to give his people spiritual life before time began. Now the
Lord created man already knowing what man would do. He knew that
man would fall into sin. He knew that man would die spiritually.
The Lord knew that man would sin against him. The Lord knew
that men would rebel against him. Yet the Lord decided to
elect a people to give spiritual life to anyway. Now that's amazing. He's the author. It didn't begin
with us. It doesn't begin with our desire
to have it. Spiritual life all began with Christ. He's the author
of life for his people, and he's the purchaser of life for his
people. Now get this, don't ever forget
this. Oh, I pray the Lord to get this, make us get this. The
Father chose a people to save. He chose a people that he would
give eternal life. But in order for those people
to have life, the Son of God had to come in the flesh and
die in their place. Christ died so that he could
purchase eternal life for his people. The father would not
give that life to his people without the price being paid.
Without the price for their sin being paid, Christ came and paid
it by dying in the place of his people. John 10, verse 15, the
Lord said, I laid down my life for the sheep. He laid it down. Nobody took it from him. He laid
his life down as a sacrifice to purchase life for his people. He died so that his people could
have life. Christ is the purchaser of life.
And Christ is the sustainer of life. Christ gives his people
life in the new birth. And I'm so thankful that he does
not give his people life and then expect us to keep it. Because
I'd lose it again, wouldn't you? The Lord keeps and sustains the
life that he gives his people. Look back in the book of John,
John chapter 10. Show you how secure this life
is. Since Christ is the one that
sustains it. John 10 verse 27. He says, my sheep hear my voice
and I know them and they follow me. And I give unto them eternal
life, and they shall never perish. Neither shall any man pluck them
out of my hand. My Father, which gave them me,
is greater than all, and no man is able to pluck them out of
my Father's hand. I and my Father are one. The
Savior said, the Father gave me a people, and they're in my
hand, and nobody can pluck them out of it. They're also in the
Father's hand. And nobody can pluck them out
of the Father's hand. That's secure, isn't it? Doubly
secure. Kept by the power of God. That life is kept by the power
of God. Now this thing is not just doctrinal
facts. Christ is our very life itself. When Christ who is our life shall
appear. Christ is our life. That's why
he told Martha, I am the resurrection. I am the life. Now there's such
a sweetness to this relationship, this union with Christ and his
people. It's a personal relationship
with Christ because he dwells in the hearts of his people.
Christ is our life and he dwells in the hearts of his people that
they might have his life. I hope I'm using words. To make
that as clear to you as it is in my mind. What a generous,
gracious relationship that the Son of God gives His people His
life by dwelling in them. He's the fountain of life. Number
two is this, we have this life. God's people have this life,
spiritual life through union with Christ, our representative. Now it's sin that causes death.
That's what God told Adam in the garden. Adam, in the day
that you disobey me and you eat of the fruit of the tree of the
knowledge of good and evil, you shall surely die. And that's
exactly what happened, didn't it? Adam took that fruit and
he ate it in open rebellion against God. And when he did, Adam instantly
died spiritually. And about 900 years later, he
died physically because sin finally killed his body. But he instantly
died spiritually. And when Adam died spiritually,
all of us died spiritually too. Because we were in Adam doing
what he did. When Adam sinned, you and I sinned. When Adam died, you and I died. So God's justice demands our
death too. Ezekiel 18 verse 20 says this,
the soul that sinneth, it shall die. There's no doubt about that. This is the demand of God's justice.
There must be death for sin. The soul that sinneth, it shall
die. God's justice not only demands
our physical death. I mean, all of us, unless the
Lord returns first, every last one of us is gonna die. Our bodies
are gonna die because there's sin in these bodies. Sin demands
death. And God's justice demands our
eternal death in hell. It's eternal. It must be eternal
because Our suffering is no count. Our suffering is not worth anything.
Our suffering will never pay for even one sin. God's justice
demands that punishment for sin. So, if sinners like you and me
are gonna be given life, somebody else has to pay our sin debt
for us, don't they? We can't pay it, so somebody
else gotta pay it for us. If we would be given life, somebody's
got to die the death we deserve. Somebody's got to die in our
place as our substitute. And that is the reason the Lord
Jesus Christ, the son of God came into flesh so that he could
die for his people. He laid down his life. He willingly
laid it down as a sacrifice for the sin of his people. And when
he sacrificed himself on the altar of God, the blood of Christ
completely paid the price, paid in full. all of the sin debt
of all of God's elect. The person of the Lord Jesus
Christ is so precious. He's the only holy man that ever
lived, the only righteous man that ever lived. And because
of who he is, his blood is so precious that by one sacrifice,
he sanctified forever everybody for whom he died. Their sin's
gone, it's gone. The death of Christ satisfied
God's justice for all of God's elect. God's justice, who sees
everything, calls everything just as it is, looks at God's
elect, and you know what it says of them? They're innocent. They're righteous. They're righteous
because of what their representative did. I have to tell you, when
I look at myself, I don't see any innocence. I don't see any
righteousness. I mean none whatsoever. But I believe. By God's grace,
I'm righteous because that's what Christ, my representative,
made. Believest thou this? Do you believe this? You're the
whole human race was in Adam, our first representative. All
of us did what he did. He's our representative. That's
how we got in this mess that we're in. When Adam sinned, so
did we. We were there and we sinned in
Adam. I mean, it's not like God charged
Adam's sin to us even though we weren't there and even though
we didn't do anything wrong. God charged Adam's sin to us
anyway. That wouldn't be just. God charged
Adam's sin to us because we did sin in Adam. We were there in
Adam's loins. So when Adam sinned, so did we.
When Adam died, so did we. When Adam became a sinner, all
of us became sinners so that all we can do is sin. But Christ
came as the second Adam. There's a second representative
man, and all of God's elect were in Christ. Now how'd they get
in Christ? The Father put them there. He
put them in Christ. And God's elect, just as surely
as we did what Adam did, all of God's elect did what Christ,
our representative, did. When Christ obeyed the law, so
did his elect. See, that's how we're made righteous,
because we actually did obey the law in Christ, our representative. And when Christ died, he took
the sin of his people and he died. He died to satisfy God's
justice for that sin. When he died, so did all of his
elect. We died because we're in Christ.
In Christ, we've already died to the law's domain. Now, this will relieve your heart
so much if your Lord will enable you to lay hold upon it. Don't
be looking to the law to find out how you're doing. Don't be
looking to the law to see, you know, am I living in a way that
would please God? Don't be looking to the law today,
because if you look to the law, if you see it clearly, if you
see it as it really is, all it's gonna do is depress you and scare
you to death. Listen to me. If Christ died for you, the law
is not looking for you anymore. The law satisfied you already
died in Christ. You have actually paid the price
by suffering and dying in the person of your substitute. Christ
died for the sin of his people. Now when Christ died, he really
died. It's not like, well, he was just
kind of unconscious or, you know, he actually died. After he gave
up the ghost and he died, Nicodemus and Joseph of Arimathea, remember
they went and begged the body from Pilate, and they went and
took a dead body down from that cross, and they wrapped that
body in the spices and the linen, and they took that dead body
and they went and laid it in Joseph's tomb. Joseph was a rich
man, he'd already prepared a tomb, dug a hole in a rock, dug his
own cave to bury himself in, Why did they think to take the
body of the Savior and put it in Joseph's tomb? I wonder why
they thought that. Because 700 years before that, Isaiah said
they would. He made his grave with the rich. He laid in the
tomb of that rich man, because this is what God purposed for
them to do. And they rolled the stone in front of the tomb. Pharisees got Pilate to send
some soldiers there, you know, like they keep the tomb secure.
And there that body lay for three days. I can't understand that. I don't know where the Lord was,
but this is what I know. His body was dead in that tomb
for three days. And on third day, Christ rose
from the dead and he walked out of that tomb. Christ rose from
the dead because the sin, the sin of his people that had been
laid on him demanded that he die. His death, his precious
blood washed all that sin away. So that sin is no more. It does
not exist. And since that sin did not exist
anymore, the Savior could not stay dead. He must rise from
the grave. And when Christ rose from the
dead, all of his people rose from the dead too. Because we're
in him. See, it's all Christ and we're
in him. Let me show you that in Galatians
chapter two. Galatians chapter two. Verse 20. I am crucified with Christ. See, I was in, this is the union
that the believer has with Christ. I was crucified with Christ because
I was in him. Nevertheless, I live, yet not I, but Christ liveth
in me. And the life which I now live
in the flesh, I live by the faith of the son of God who loved me
and gave himself for me. See, the price has been paid.
I've been risen to life in Christ. Now, the price has been paid.
Spiritual life has been purchased by the blood of Christ. And all
that's left is for God's elect to be given life through the
preaching of the gospel. That's all that's left. And I'm
telling you, the Holy Spirit will see to it. He's gonna see
to it all of God's elect hear the gospel, and they're gonna
believe it. They're gonna believe it. Because
the Holy Spirit's gonna see to it. He's gonna give them faith
in Christ. He's gonna give them life so
that when they hear Christ preached, they're going to believe Him.
Now this must happen. This must happen. Spiritual life
must be given to God's elect in their experience, in this
life. because they've already been
given life in Christ our representative. That might sound kind of confusing,
but I think I can explain that. That must happen. It must happen.
Remember I told you when Adam fell, you and I fell. When Adam
sinned, you and I sinned. In our experience, we're going
to sin. I mean, we're going to sin. You
know why? Because we were made sinners
in Adam. I was with my little grandson
last week, and the kid's pretty much perfect. I mean, you know,
I saw that child rebel against his mother, and I thought, oh
my goodness. He had to sin in his experience
because he was made a sinner in Adam. See that? God's elect
have been given life in Christ. Then you must experience that
life now. Does that make sense? Oh, and when Christ comes again,
now if you believe Christ, you know exactly what I'm talking
about. You have this life in you. Yes, we're still carrying
around a dead nature. Yes, we're still carrying around
this carcass and decay and filth and corruption. Yeah, we're carried
around, but you have life and you know it. God gave it, you
know it. Don't you get tired of living
in this prison? Look at Colossians chapter three. I'm gonna give
you something, oh, the joy that awaits God's people. Colossians
chapter three. When Christ comes again, his
people are gonna have this eternal life, both body and soul. Now you've got it in soul, then
you're gonna have it body and soul. Colossians 3 verse 1. If then ye be risen with Christ,
seek those things which are above, where Christ sitteth on the right
hand of God. Set your affections, set your heart, your mind on
things above, not on things of this earth, because you're dead,
and your life is hid with Christ in God, and when Christ, who
is our life, shall appear, then shall ye also appear with him
in glory. When Christ comes a second time,
your body and your soul is gonna be made just like him. Now, that resurrection, that
life, it's Christ, isn't it? See, that is Christ. Believest
thou him? Believest thou this? Then here's the last thing. God's
people have this life by the power of God and by the grace
of God. Look first at Ephesians chapter
two. I think almost every message, every gospel message is preached.
You can, you ought to be able to quote Ephesians two in it
somewhere. You and I are born dead in sin. I mean, we are natural
born rebels against God. And if a dead, Rebellious sinner
is going to be given life by Christ, by the Son of God. It's
going to have to be by grace in it. But we can't deserve it.
We can't deserve it by our sin, our rebellion. If we're going
to be given life, it has to be by God's grace. Ephesians 2 verse
1. And you hath he quickened. Now
you were dead in trespasses and sins wherein time passed. You walked according to the course
of this world, according to the prince of the power of the air.
That means exactly what you think it means. You walked according
to the devil. He walked according to Satan, Satan's way. The spirit
that now worketh in the children of disobedience. Among whom also,
we all had our conversation in times past, in the lust of our
flesh, fulfilling the desires of the flesh and of the mind.
And we were by nature, the children of wrath, even as others. That's
what we deserve, God's wrath. But God, who's rich in mercy,
for his great love wherewith he loved us, even when we were
dead in sin, hath quickened us together with Christ. By grace
you are saved, by grace, by grace, by grace, by grace you are saved,
and hath raised us up together and made us sit together in heavenly
places in Christ Jesus, that in the ages to come he might
show the exceeding riches of his grace in his kindness toward
us through Christ Jesus. For by grace are you saved, through
faith, and that not of yourselves, it's the gift of God, not of
works, lest any man should boast where his workmanship, created
in Christ Jesus on two good works, which God hath before ordained,
that we should walk in them. God gives his people life by
his grace, by his grace. Only God has the grace to give
life to dead sinners. You and I don't have it. If grace
was ours to give or ours to withhold, you know exactly who you'd give
it to. You'd give it to those that love you, wouldn't you?
And you know exactly who you withhold it from. Aren't you
glad God's not like us? He gives grace to undeserving
sinners. Only God has the capacity to
truly love sinners. Now look back at John chapter
11. You know why our Lord came to Lazarus' tomb to raise him
from the dead? because he loved Lazarus. John 11, verse three,
therefore his sisters sinned unto him, saying, Lord, behold,
he whom thou lovest is sick. His sisters knew the Lord loved
them, loved Lazarus. Lord, he whom thou lovest is
sick. Verse five, now Jesus loved Martha and her sister and Lazarus. He loved them. Verse 35, and
the Lord came to Lazarus' tomb, Jesus wept. I think he wept maybe
for the unbelief that was around him. I'm confident of this. I'm
confident he wept for Lazarus. Again, I don't know where Lazarus
was at this time, but the Lord's bringing him back to this world,
to a body of sin, to a world of sin. And the Lord wept for
him. He had compassion on him, wept for him. And the Jew said,
behold, how he loved him. Martha and Mary knew the Lord
loved Lazarus. People who maybe didn't really
know the Lord all that much, didn't believe Him, didn't know
Him, they could tell the Lord loved Lazarus. The Lord loved
Martha and Mary and Lazarus. Here's my question, why? Now I'm interested in finding
out why the Lord loved them, because I sure would want the Lord to
love me, don't you? Well, the answer is God's grace.
Martha and Mary and Lazarus, They didn't do something to deserve
God's love. They weren't less sinful or less
repulsive to God than all the rest of the sons of Adam. God
loved them because he's gracious. He loved them because he would. I wanna tell you, God's love
and God's grace mean something. God's grace and his love are
powerful because God is powerful. I want you to look at the power
of the Savior here. Verse 43, and when he had thus
spoken, he cried with a loud voice, Lazarus, come forth. And he that was dead came forth,
bound hand and foot with grave clothes, and his face was bound
about with a napkin. And Jesus saith unto them, loose
him and let him go. This man, Jesus of Nazareth,
God in human flesh, the savior of sinners, stood outside that
grave, the whole cemetery, I reckon, and he spoke in such power that
Lazarus did the impossible. A dead man got up and walked
out of the tomb. Somehow, they even wrapped him
up and tied him up, and he still shoveled out there. He did the
impossible. The dead came forth, and you
know where he came? to Christ. He came to Christ. Now just think about what the
people there around that tomb saw. They saw a man who'd been
dead for four days. His body was already decaying.
His body was already stinking and the man came back to life
and he walked out of that tomb straight to the Lord. Now that's
the life-giving power of the grace of God. the commandment
of the Savior. And you think, boy, I'd like
to see that. I've seen it. You have too. We've seen it. The same thing
happens spiritually. When God, the Holy Spirit, gives
life to one of his elect. Here's a gathering of people.
They've gathered together to hear Christ preach. Oh, maybe
they've done it many times. Maybe they've been here many
times. This dead sinner heard the gospel and been unaffected
many, many times. They've been dead a long time.
And they're stinking. They're stinking. And suddenly,
they hear the gospel like they've never heard it before. They hear
it in the heart. The Lord, not audibly, But you
hear it just as clearly as if it was spoken audibly. Speaks
to the heart and says, Wayne, come forth. Kendon, come forth. And you come forth believing.
And you know where you go? You go to Christ. Because you
trust Him. All of that is by God's power. The power of His grace. It has
to be God's power, doesn't it? We don't have any. It has to
be by God's grace, because we don't deserve it. That's the
life-giving power of the grace of God. And it's my prayer that the Lord
will make each heart here this morning hear this commandment. Come forth. You come to Christ. See, this thing's a heart matter.
You don't have to get up and walk in the aisle. You do it in your
heart. Come to Christ. Like Brother
Henry said, you come to Christ in the heart, it'll leak out
on you eventually. You come to Christ eventually, we're going
to fill that pool up, and you're going to be baptized. And you
know what you're going to be confessing? My life is Christ. The death,
the burial, and the resurrection of Christ. That's my life. Believest
thou this? I pray we do. All right, let's
bow together. Father, how we thank you for
this clear declaration in your word that Christ is our life. He is the resurrection of his
people. Father, I pray that you would
enable each of us to be able to answer truthfully and honestly
in our heart, yea, Lord, I believe. It's not as strong as I wish
it was, it's so weak, it's so fickle, but Lord, you know I
believe. Lord, I believe, help thou mine
unbelief. I use this message as it's been
preached for your glory, I pray. Use it to show us the glory of
Christ our Savior, and use it to give faith in the hearts of
your people. Father, it's in Christ's name, for his sake we
pray, amen. All right, Chris.