John chapter 13. I want us this
morning to look at a, I don't know if you'd say a dark subject,
a dark darkness, at Judas. I want us to look at Judas and
see if we might, by God's grace, learn some lessons about God's
sovereign grace. The only difference between Peter
and Judas. is God's sovereignty and God's
grace. We've heard that many times,
haven't we? Let's bring that closer to home. The only difference
between me and Judas, the only difference between you and Judas
is God's sovereign grace. Is that right? It is. Chapter 13, we began looking
at this chapter last week. begins with the contrast, the
contrast of the love of Christ compared to the hatred of Judas
and Satan. Now, before the feast of the
Passover, when Jesus knew that his hour was come that he should
depart out of this world unto the Father, having loved his
own which were in the world, he loved them until the end,
his supper being ended, the devil having now put into the heart
of Judas Iscariot Simon's son to betray him. Look over Psalm
109. Christ's love for sinners. He
loved his own. He loved them to the end. Christ's
love for sinners softens the heart of his people. You who
believe, what softens your heart more than the love of Christ? That Christ loved you and he
loved you to the end. That softens the heart of his
people. But Christ's love for sinners
makes the natural man hate God. They hate God for His love. I'll show you that. Psalm 109,
verse 2. For the mouth of the wicked and
the mouth of the deceitful are opened against me. They have
spoken against me with a lying tongue. They compass me about
also with words of hatred. And they fought against me without
a cause, without reason. For my love they are my adversaries
that I give myself unto prayer. Who could hate God for loving
sinners? He says here, for my love, they're
my adversaries. Who could hate God for his love? The natural man who hears what
God's love really is, that's who hates God for his love. God
does not love everyone. God is love, but God does not
love everyone. And the natural man hates that. They hate God for it. God's love
for sinners is a sovereign, particular love for sinners that saves sinners. The natural man hates that. And
Judas hated that too. This beginning here of Psalm
109 is a prophecy of Judas. Judas hated that love. So verse
five, and they have rewarded me evil for good, and they've
rewarded me hatred for my love. Isn't that exactly what Judas
did? He rewarded the Lord evil for good, and hatred for his
love. So, verse 6, set thou a wicked man over him, and let Satan stand
at his right hand. When he shall be judged, let
him be condemned, and let his prayer become sin. Let his days
be few, and let another take his office." And that's exactly
what happened, didn't it? We see already here in that Psalm
109, God's sovereign, even over Judah, Sidney. This was prophesied
many years before Judas was born, and it is Christ's love for sinners
and the elect's love for Christ that Judas hated. Look at Matthew
26. It was that love that made Judas betray the Lord. In Matthew 26, we begin reading
in verse 6. It was Christ's love for his
people and his people's love for him that made Judas betray
the Lord. Now, when Jesus was in Bethany
in the house of Simon the leper, there came unto him a woman,
having an alabaster box of very precious ointment, and poured
it on his head as he sat at me. And when his disciples saw it,
they had indignation, saying, To what purpose is this waste?"
Now, we know from other passages that Judas Iscariot is leading
the other disciples to say that, to what purpose is this waste?
For this ointment might have been sold for much and given
to the poor. When Jesus understood it, he said unto them, Why trouble
ye the woman? for she hath wrought a good work
upon me. For ye have the poor always with you, but me ye have
not always. For in that she hath poured this
ointment on my body. She did it for my burial. Verily
I say unto you, Wheresoever this gospel shall be preached in the
whole world, There shall also this, that this woman hath done,
be told for a memorial of her. Then one of the twelve, called
Judas Iscariot, went unto the chief priests, and said unto
them, What will ye give me? and I will deliver him unto you.
And they covenanted with him for thirty pieces of silver."
That shows you how much value Judas put upon the Lord. He sold
the Lord for thirty pieces of silver. That's the price of a
slave. Judas probably had more pieces
of silver than that in the bag that he was stealing from. But
he covenanted to sell the Lord and betray the Lord for the price
of a slave. And from that time, he sought
opportunity to betray Him. He sought opportunity to betray
Him because he saw the love of Christ for sinners and the love
of the elect for Christ. Now, whenever we think of the
name Judas, What pops into your head immediately? A betrayer,
a dishonest, wicked man. But the disciples, when they're
at this dinner, they don't know that yet. But over time, if you
go back and look, you get a lot of hints as to what kind of character
Judas had. And it's easy for us to see now,
you know, hindsight's 20-20. This is all spelled out for us
in scripture. But over time, we got some clues
about the kind of character that Judas had. Judas was a critical
man. He criticized Mary for annoying
our Lord's body with that precious ointment. He was critical of
her. Look, if you're still there in Matthew 26, look at verse
20. Judas was an insincere man. Now, when the evening was come,
he sat down with the twelve, and as they did eat, he said,
Verily I say unto you, that one of you shall betray me. And they
were exceeding sorrowful, and began every one of them to say
unto him, Lord, is it I? And he answered and said, He
that dippeth his hand with me in the dish, the same shall betray
me. The Son of Man goeth as it is
written of him." Because God is sovereign. He is going to
go as it is written of him. But woe unto him, unto that man
by whom the Son of Man is betrayed. It would have been good for that
man if he had not been born. Then Judas which betrayed him
answered and said, Master, is it I? He said unto him, Thou
hast said. What fake piety, just fake. You'll notice the rest of the
disciples said, Lord, is it I? Judas said, Master, is it I? That word master means teacher.
Now, you can choose to ignore a teacher if you want to. You
kids, it would be very unwise. But you can choose to ignore
your teacher if you want to. And the worst that will happen
to you is you'll fail a grade. You'll probably get in trouble
at home. But, you know, that's the worst that will happen to
you. The rest of the disciples called
the Lord, Lord, God over all, the sovereign Savior. Now, if
you choose to ignore God the Savior, you'll go to hell. The
great difference between calling Him Lord and Master, isn't it?
Judas called Him Master because he would not bow to the sovereignty
of the Lord Jesus Christ. Yet, he makes a hypocritical
show of it. Judas was an insincere man, a
hypocrite. Judas was a thief. Now, they
didn't know it at the time. Later, they learned it. John
chapter 6 points it out plainly. Judas was a thief. He had the
bag, and he stole from it. Now, Judas was such a hypocrite.
Why would you give the bag, the treasury, to a thief? Because he's a hypocrite. He
must have been a good one. He fooled people into thinking
he was trustworthy, and they trusted him to be the treasurer.
And he stole from them. Judas was a man who was full
of pride. There's not a humble bone in
Judas' body. When he betrayed the Lord, how did he betray the
Lord? With a kiss on the cheek. Everybody else we read about
kissing our Lord, kissed his feet. Judas was too full of pride
to do that. Kissed his cheek. If you're still there in Matthew,
look at Matthew 27, verse 3. Judas was unrepentant. He never repented. Matthew 27, verse 3, Then Judas,
which had betrayed him, when he saw he was condemned, repented
himself, and brought again the thirty pieces of silver to the
chief priests and elders, saying, I have sinned, and I have betrayed
the innocent blood. And they said, What is that to
us? Ye see thou to it. And he cast down the pieces of
silver in the temple, and departed. and went and hanged himself.
Now, Judas, it says, repented himself. We looked at this Wednesday
night. That's not true repentance. He
did repent toward God. God didn't grant him repentance.
He repented himself. Judas was sorry he did it. He
wished he hadn't done that. He realized he did the wrong
thing. He even realized something about the blood, didn't he? He realized that's innocent blood.
But he did not repent. I know he didn't repent because
he didn't beg for mercy. He didn't beg for forgiveness.
You know what he'd rather do? Rather than beg for forgiveness,
rather than beg for mercy, he'd rather hang himself. Judas never
repented. Now, before we get too bent out
of shape about Judas, let me ask you this. Bob isn't God in
control. He is. Yes, God's in control. Here's the first illustration
of God's sovereignty. God's in control, even over Judas
and people just like Judas. Judas and every wicked man, they're
doing what their wicked heart wants to do and they're responsible
for it. But at the same time, they're
accomplishing God's eternal will and his eternal purpose. And
that's our comfort. I wish people wouldn't do the
things that they do, but now God's in control and he's working
that together to accomplish his purpose just like he did Judas. Judas had to betray the Lord
so he'd be sacrificed for the sins of his people. God's in
control. He's sovereign. He's accomplishing
his eternal will. Look back in our text in John
chapter 13. Judas didn't take the Lord by
surprise. He's in control. He, Judas, is simply accomplishing
God's eternal purpose. Look at verse 18, John 13. Now, I speak not of you all.
I know whom I have chosen, but that the scripture may be fulfilled.
He that eateth bread with me hath lifted up his heel against
me. Now, Judas knew all the right
words to say. He had the right vocabulary.
He fooled the other disciples. But he never had a heart love.
He never had a heart love for Christ. He was there all that time, and
you just imagine that. There he is. All that time. He never had a heart love for
Christ. And at God's appointed time,
he betrays the Lord. And this was prophesied of All
in the Old Testament, look back at Psalm 41, this is where our
Lord is quoting from. Judas was there, mingled in with
the other disciples. But the reason he hated the Lord,
the reason he did what he did, is the Lord didn't choose He
left Judas alone just to do what he would naturally do, which
is hate God. And this did not take the Lord by surprise. Look
in Psalm 41, verse 7. All that hate me whisper together
against me. And against me do they devise
my hurt. Isn't that Judas going, sneaking at night, you know,
whispering to the chief priests and the Pharisees. They're whispering
together, devising evil, how he could betray the Lord. An
evil disease, say they, cleave fast unto him. And now that he
lieth, he shall rise no more. Yea, mine own familiar friend,
in whom I trusted, which did eat of my bread, hath lifted
up his heel against me." Judas hated Christ so much he lifted
up his heel against him. He lifted his heel up just like
a wrestler does to crush the throat of his competitor, you
know, and triumph over him by holding his foot upon his throat.
Judas lifted his heel against the Lord. But when he did, he
accomplished the eternal purpose of God, to save sinners through
the sacrifice of Christ. Judas hated Christ, that's why
he denied him. But God's going to exalt him
because of it. God in his sovereignty overrules
even the wicked to accomplish his eternal purpose. Now, you
can imagine being at this supper. The Lord's giving his disciples
some very disturbing news, but when he does, Look what he says
back in our text, John chapter 13. He comforts their hearts. In verse 19. Now, I tell you
before it come, that when it has come to pass, you may believe
that I am. One of the greatest proofs that
the Lord Jesus is the Messiah is he fulfilled all the Old Testament
pictures, all the Old Testament scriptures, the types and the
prophecies of the Messiah. He fulfilled them all. Now, when
the world around us goes crazy, Christ is our comfort. He comforted
them with who he is. Isn't that what he's doing? He's
comforting them with who he is. When the world around us goes
crazy, our comfort's the same. It's him. It's not just doctrine
to say God's offering. That's not just doctrine. It's
not just, you know, a saying that we have. God's in control.
No, that's our comfort. Who he is. He's sovereign. That's our comfort. And our Lord
says, I know them that are mine. I'll save them. I will keep them. None of them will be lost because
of who I am. That's our comfort. Now, here
the disciples are. They hear this news and, you
know, it seemed like Judas was a part of them, but he wasn't,
you know. Our Lord tells us. The same thing
is going to happen to us that happened to the disciples. There's
going to be wheat among the tares. The same thing is going to happen.
God sends his servants out to preach. Some are going to believe. Some won't. Some will make a
show of faith and it will be just a show. It won't be real.
And we sorrow. Sorrow. When someone does not
believe. We sorrow when someone who acted
like they had faith, acted like they loved Christ, acted like
they loved the gospel, they leave and they fall away. There was
a man I knew when I was a little boy. We lived in Danville. I
knew this man. Knew him pretty good. And I thought
a lot of him. Really liked him. And I was wondering
the other day, wondering what ever happened to him. And I looked
him up. Googled him. And I found him. And I thought, oh good, I see
where he was. You know where I found him? in the Atheist Society
of Lexington, Kentucky. And he said, he's got his little
profile there, you know, that he left a life of religious bigotry
for more inquiry. Not broken hearted. Just broken
hearted. But not in despair. Not in despair. God's in control. This has happened
according to God's will. And we can't question it. This
is God's will. Look at verse 20. Verily, verily,
I say unto you, he that receiveth whomsoever I send receiveth me,
and he that receiveth me receiveth him that sent me. Now, you can
be comforted in this. Just as the Father sent Christ
to accomplish his eternal purpose, Christ said, I'm sending you
out the same way to be my ambassadors, and you're going to accomplish
my purpose. My purpose for my left to hear the gospel and believe.
And you're not going to fail, just like I'm not going to fail.
You won't fail because I won't fail. Maybe we should put it
that way. The elect are going to hear you and believe you because
they received me. Now, the fact that Judas is going
to betray the Lord, that doesn't make the Lord a failure, does
it? Not at all. And when people don't believe
our preaching and they depart, that doesn't mean we're a failure.
That means that it's just God's will. It makes us sad for them,
but it's God's will. There will always be tears among
the weak. Just leave that to the Lord.
The mission that our Lord gives here is I'm going to send you
out to preach and whosoever receiveth you receiveth me. Our message
is not to divide, our purpose is not to divide the tears and
the weak. You just leave that to the Lord. Just like the Lord
left Judas alone so his The eternal purpose of redemption will be
accomplished. Now, our Lord's telling the disciples, he's telling
us, take comfort in this. Some will fall away. It's inevitable. Some will fall away. But God's
elect will never fall away. And just because some fall away
doesn't mean everybody else is going to fall away, too. Just
like here with Judas, just because Judas is a reprobate doesn't
mean the rest of the disciples are. Just this one fell away.
You see how our Savior is comforting us by turning our attention away
from the traitor to him, turning our attention away from Judas
to him. Now, verse 21, when Jesus had thus said, he was troubled
in spirit and testified and said, Verily, verily, I say unto you,
that one of you shall betray me. I guess they could have thought
back up in verse 18 of someone else who ate bread with He ate
dinner many places, many public places. Maybe they thought it
was someone else, you know. So the Savior makes sure the
disciples understand. It's one of you. One of you. And you can imagine how their
hearts were shaken, how they were troubled by hearing it's
one of you. And the Lord himself was troubled,
too. He knew from all of eternity
this was going to happen. But now the time has come. And
he's troubled. And that just shows us that our
Lord was a real man with a real human body and human soul. Now,
he wasn't troubled because Judas was going to betray him and this
is going to make him suffer. No, he always knew he'd come
to suffer. Matter of fact, he welcomed his
time of suffering so he could redeem the people that he loved.
So he's not troubled because he's going to suffer. He's troubled
because he knows the hearts of his disciples are troubled. because
they hear this awful news. This is the high priest who is
touched with the feeling of our infirmity. And that's so comforting
to sinners. He's touched with the feeling
of our infirmity. The one who intercedes for us is touched
with the feeling of our infirmity. In verse 22, Then the disciples
looked one on another, doubting of whom he spake. No one immediately
thought of Judas. Nobody did. Because Judas was
a hypocrite. He had him fooled. But the other
11 disciples actually all doubted themselves. Nobody immediately
pointed the finger at Judas. They all doubted themselves.
You know why they did that? Because the new man knows exactly
what that old man's capable of doing. I'm capable of doing this. They knew I'm capable of being
the one that would betray the Lord. And I'll tell you another
reason why they didn't immediately think of Judas, and they all
doubted themselves. We're taught to love one another. Isn't that
right? We'll look at that next Sunday. Lord willing, by this
shall all men know you're my disciples. You have love one
to another. Well, love thinketh no evil. It doesn't think evil
about others, but we know ourselves. We think it about ourselves.
So they all doubted. They doubted themselves. They
thought, could the Lord be speaking about me? Now, if I was there,
I'd be asking some questions, wouldn't you? I want to know.
Is it me? Peter was the same way. Look
at verse 24. Simon Peter therefore beckoned
to him. I'm sorry, verse 23. Now there was leaning on Jesus'
bosom one of his disciples whom Jesus loved. Now John wasn't
actually leaning physically on Christ's breast. You couldn't
eat or drink that way. But the way people ate on that
day, they laid like down on one arm diagonally from the table.
And John was laying here next to the Lord. He was close to
the Lord's heart, close to his chest, and they were near one
to another so they could speak to one another. You know, it
seems from what we read, John had a close, loving, intimate
relationship with the Lord. So Peter thought John could ask
this question better than he could. beckons to John, tells
John to ask the Lord who it is. In verse 24, Simon Peter therefore
beckoned to him, that he should ask who it should be of whom
he spake. He then, lying on Jesus' breast, saith unto him, Lord,
who is it? Jesus answered, He it is to whom
I shall give a sop when I have dipped it. And when he had dipped
the sop, he gave the juice of Scariot the son of Simon. Now
the writers all seem to think, I've been reading on this this
week, that the Lord whispered his answer to John. John whispered
his question to the Lord. The Lord whispered his answer
back to John. You know, I hate to argue against somebody like
John Gill or Matthew Henry, but I don't think so. I just, I don't
think so. Peter never would have stood
for that. Peter never, he couldn't have stood for John to know a
secret that he didn't know. John was going to get that, Peter
would get that information one way or another. I think all the
disciples heard the Lord's answer. And this is what the Lord said.
John, I'm going to take a sop, and that was just a piece of
bread, I'm going to dip it into the gravy, and I'm going to give
it to the betrayer. That's who the betrayer is, whoever
I give the sop to. Then, all the disciples watched
the Lord dip the sop into some gravy and give it to Judas. Not
one of them realized Judas is the betrayer. Not one of them.
This is the second illustration of God's sovereignty. God must
give an understanding or will never understand what he says.
If God doesn't give us a revelation of who Christ is, we'll never
understand the rest of God's word. Our Lord said plainly what
he was going to do and what it meant, and they still didn't
understand. Even if he did whisper the answer
to John, John was only one of them. John didn't jump up and
stop Judas, did he? Nobody understood. And you and
I can't understand the first word in God's Word unless God
gives us an understanding. Even Judas wasn't affected by
this. You know, you'd think, oh, I'm
caught. You know, the Lord knows my heart.
He knows what I'm planning on doing. I better not do this.
That's not what Judas thought. He didn't have an understanding.
Verse 27, And after the salt, Satan entered into him. Then
said Jesus unto him, That thou doest, do quickly. Now no man
at the table knew for what intent he spake this unto him. For some
of them thought, because Judas had the bag, that Jesus had said
unto him, Buy those things which we have need of against the feast,
or that he should give something to the poor." Now, salvation
is of the Lord. How many times do we have to
see examples of that? How many times do we have to
hear it before we get this through our thick skulls? Salvation is
of the Lord. Salvation is not in all the advantages
of life. Salvation is not being in true
religion. Salvation is not memorizing passages
of God's Word. Salvation is in Christ. Judas had every advantage. Didn't
Judas have every advantage? Judas heard the gospel directly
from Christ himself. Judas heard things that we can't
imagine. He saw every miracle. Judas himself
preached. Judas cast out devils. Judas
was honored by the Lord. The Lord can honor wicked people
in this world and often does. The Lord washed the feet of Judas.
Isn't that an honor for the Lord of glory to wash your feet? The
Lord gave the sop to Judas. That was considered to be a high
honor when the master of the dinner would dip the sop in gravy
and give it to you. That's a high honor. He honored
Judas with that, but Judas still hated the Lord because God didn't
give Judas a new heart. He didn't give him a heart of
understanding. He didn't give him a heart of faith. Salvation
is of the Lord. No one will be saved unless God
gives that understanding. Now, it's good that we be taught
the scriptures. You know, I say that salvation
is not in all these advantages. Let me tell you, it's good to
have all these advantages. It's good that we've been taught
the scriptures. You children, you don't realize
it right now, but you're so blessed to be raised in a family where
you're taught the scriptures, where your parents bring you
here, you've got memory persons, you've got teachers that teach
you the Word. It's such a blessing to have that head knowledge of
the gospel. But salvation is not that head knowledge. Salvation
requires a new heart. A heart that only God can give.
Only God can make learning go from here to here. But learning
in the head doesn't become learning in the heart. Learning in the
head becomes understanding in the heart. When God gives a new
heart, only God can give understanding. Salvation is of the Lord. The
third illustration of God's sovereignty is this. Our Lord told Judas,
go do what's in your heart. Go do it. Do it quickly. You
see that in verse 27, And after the soft Satan entered into him,
then said Jesus unto him, That thou doest do quickly. Our Savior
never one time hid from being the sacrifice for his people.
He always went willingly. He showed in every instance he's
willing to go. And it's a good thing. If he's
not willing, nobody could take him and nobody could crucify
him against his will. He had to go willingly. So Judas
went, verse 30, he then having received the sock went immediately
out and it was night. Judas went out into the darkness. And what darkness? What darkness
is here in this scene? The darkness of sin, the darkness
of Satan, the darkness of man's nature, the thick blackness of
hell itself. Judas went out into it. And then against that black backdrop
of man's nature and sin and Satan's wickedness, against that black
backdrop, we see the glory of God's sovereign grace. What darkness,
but what glorious light is preparing to shine through that darkness.
Light is a whole lot more glorious and light's a whole lot more
appreciated when it shines through the darkness. And that's what
Christ, the light of the world, does for his people. Look at
verse 31. Therefore, when he has gone out, Jesus said, Now
is the Son of Man glorified, and God is glorified in him. Our Lord doesn't talk about gloom
and doom and darkness, does he? He begins to talk about his glory.
Now is the Son of Man glorified, and God's going to be glorified
in him. He begins to talk about his glory.
What glory is it that he's talking about? It's his glory in saving
his people through a sacrifice. Christ's greatest glory is saving
his people by sacrificing himself for them. The sacrifice of Christ
is God's sovereign grace on display for all to see. If you see Christ
suffering there, you're going to see him in his glory. His
glory, the redemptive glory that saves sinners. So what's the
difference? What's the difference between
John and Judas? John loved the Lord so much.
John was comfortable with the Lord and Judas hated the Lord. Judas was not comfortable being
in the Lord's presence. He gladly went out into the night. What's the difference? What's
the difference between Peter and Judas? Now, we know Peter
loved the Lord. But in a short while, Peter's
going to deny he even knows him. He's going to deny it with an
oath. He doesn't know the man. Judas is going to betray him.
What's the difference? Doesn't look like a lot of difference
between betraying the Lord and denying him, does it? What's
the difference between the two? What's the difference between
me and Judas? It's not that I was born 2,000 years later, I can
tell you that. What's the difference between
you and Judas? If we're honest with ourselves, and I went through
those traits of Judas, that scared every one of us. If we're honest
with ourselves. I'm critical. Judas was critical,
so am I. Judas was a hypocrite. I'm full
of hypocrisy. I don't want you all to see what's
in my heart. I'm full of hypocrisy. Judas was a thief. So am I. I want what's not mine. Judas
was full of pride. I've got a proud heart. Judas
was unrepentant. So am I. I've got a heart that
will not repent, a nature that will not repent. So what's the
difference? What's the difference between
me and Judas? When you describe Judas, you sure describe me.
I'll tell you what the difference is. It's God's sovereign grace. That's the difference. And I'm
going to give you five ways God's sovereign grace makes the difference
between the saved and the lost. The first one is this. God chose
John. God chose Peter. God chose the
rest of his disciples. He chose all of his elect. And
he didn't choose Judas. That's what our Lord said in
verse 18. I speak not of y'all. I know whom I've chosen. I know. I've chosen some people.
I know them. I'm going to save them. I'm going
to keep them. Now, if God Almighty, the holy sovereign of heaven
and earth, chooses any sinner, That sinner's got to be chosen
by grace, because he didn't do anything to deserve it. Chosen
by grace. Secondly, look back at Luke,
chapter 22. The second difference sovereign grace makes is Christ
prayed for Peter. He didn't pray for Judas. In
Luke 22, verse 31, And the Lord said unto Simon, Simon, behold,
Satan hath desired to have you, that he may sift you as wheat. Satan desired to have Peter just
like he desired to have Judas. Satan got a hold of Judas, didn't
get a hold of Peter. What's the difference? Christ
prayed for Peter. But, he says, I have prayed for
thee, that thy faith fail not, and when thou art converted,
strengthen thy brethren. Christ prayed for Peter. And
what Christ did for Peter? He does for all his people that
he chose. He ever lives to make intercession for us. Now, Christ,
the son of God, is going to make intercession for sinners. It doesn't have to be by grace.
Grace must move him to pray for sinners. And he does. He prays
for his people. Third, sovereign grace made the
difference, made the difference between Peter and Judas, because
Christ loved Judas. In John 13, verse 1, having loved
his own, which were in the world, he loved them unto the end. Christ
loved Peter, but he didn't love Judas. And Christ loves all of
his people with the same eternal love. And that love means something. If Christ loves you, it means
something. But God committed his love toward us, and that
while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us. because he loved
us. Now, if Christ is going to love
any sinner, Wayne, it's got to be by grace. It's got to be,
because we didn't do anything to deserve that love. It's sovereign
love. Fourth, sovereign grace made
the difference to Peter and Judas. Christ died for Peter, just like
he died for the sin of all of his elect, so that sin's gone. Christ died for him, much more
than, being now justified by his blood, will be saved from
wrath. through him because he died for us. Now, if Christ dies
for any sinner, if he takes your sin and put it to him, he becomes
sin for you, made sin for you, and he sheds his blood to put
away your sin. He dies the death that you deserve.
It's got to be by grace. It's got to be that sovereign
grace. Christ died for Peter. And fifth, the difference sovereign grace
made between Judas and Peter. Christ granted Peter repentance.
Judas was unrepentant. Christ granted Peter repentance. Peter, do you love me? Peter,
do you love me? Peter, do you love me more than
these? Do you love me more than these
boats and these nets and this fish and all the entrapments
of everything around? Do you love me more than these? Well, John doesn't know it because
he saw the way I acted. But Lord, you know all things. You know my heart. You know I
love you. The deed machine. And that's
exactly what Peter did because he changed man. Repentance is
a gift of God's sovereign grace. It is the will of God, the love
of God, and the death of Christ that made all the difference
between Peter in Judas, between any believer in Judas. It's the
will of God. It's the love of God and the
death of Christ that made the difference. Now, I've got three
questions. I don't think anybody here does,
but maybe somebody listening to this might. To those who believe
in universal salvation, universal atonement, that Christ died for
everybody because God wants to save everybody. To those people,
I've got three questions. Question number one, if God willed
the salvation of Judas and Peter. What's God's will have to do
with salvation? It must have nothing to do with it if God
willed the salvation of Judas and Peter. Question number two. If Christ loved both Judas and
John, Scripture is plain. Our Lord loved John and John
loved the Lord. Well, if the Lord loved Judas
and Peter the same, what's the love of God got to do with salvation?
Absolutely nothing. Question number three, if Christ
died for both Judas and Peter, what does the death of Christ
have to do with salvation? Absolutely nothing. See, we cannot
say God loves everybody and be true to the scriptures, can we?
Can't do it. We cannot say Christ died for everybody and be true
to the scriptures. Who maketh thee to differ? God does, doesn't He? In His
sovereign mercy, His sovereign grace, God made the difference
between the saved and the lost. God did. The whole Godhead, God
the Father, made the difference. In eternal election, He chose
the people unto salvation. Christ, God the Son, He made
the difference. Christ died for His elect to
put their sin away. Christ did not die for the sins
of the rest of the world, so they're still in their sin. But
Christ died for the elect, and oh, their sin's gone. And third,
God the Holy Spirit made the difference. He came and gave
life. He gave understanding. He gave
faith and repentance. The whole Godhead, the Father,
the Son, and the Holy Spirit made the difference. That is
the sovereign grace of God, made all the difference, and we're
thankful. Let's bow in prayer. Our Father, we humbly bow before you. How can human lips with human
language express the thanksgiving of our heart? How we thank you
for your sovereign grace. How we thank you that you chose
us. Even though we didn't deserve
it, even though we'd never choose you, you chose a people. Put
us in your Son. How we thank you that Christ
loves us. He loves His people. We're not
lovable. We didn't love Him first. We
were enemies of Him. We hated Him. But He loved us. And He gave Himself to suffer
and to die for His people. A people that don't deserve the
least of your mercies, but he died for us while we were yet
sinners. And how we thank you that in
your mercy and your sovereign grace you've given repentance,
faith and repentance. And Father, we pray that we would
ever look to Christ. How we thank you for him. We
pray that you enable us to continue to worship him, to praise his
matchless name. Father, I pray to you, bless
your Word. You said that your Word will not return unto you
void. Bless your Word to the hearts of your people. Bless
your Word to give faith to someone here this morning. Bless your
Word to comfort the hearts of your people. That we know this
crazy world looks to us like it's spinning off its axis. God's
in control. God's got a people. He is going
to preserve and protect this world until He calls out every
last one of them. Comfort our hearts by causing
us to look to the Lord Jesus Christ. It is in His matchless
name we pray and give thanks. Amen.