You may want to be opening your
Bibles to the book of Luke. We're going to look at a few
verses in Luke before we look at our text in John 7. Now, at this time of year, the title
of the message this morning is Christ the Division. Christ the
Division. Now, it's very common for us
to hear at this time of year, Peace on Earth, a favorite Christmas
special bars, we watch one of these cartoons every year, actually
says this. If we were all more like Santa,
we really would have peace on earth. I assure you we would
not. I assure you we would not. Because
peace in a world of sin is an impossibility. It's impossible. Man has declared war on God. So it's impossible to have peace
on this earth. Men crave warfare with men because
of sin all the time. We will not have peace on this
earth until our Lord comes again. Look at Luke chapter 2 verse
13 first. This is where the folks who talk
about peace on earth, this is where they get this from. Verse
13, And suddenly there was an angel, with a multitude of the
heavenly host, praising God, and saying, Glory to God in the
highest. And on earth, peace, goodwill toward men. Now you
notice these angels didn't say peace will not be had on earth.
That's not what they said. They didn't say, oh, men are
all going to have peace now. No. They sang on earth, peace. Peace himself is now appeared
on earth. That's what their message is.
The one who will make peace with God through the blood of his
cross has now appeared on earth. But peace personified, the Lord
Jesus Christ, that's who he is, he is peace personified, did
not come to this earth so that men would have peace among themselves. If you look over in Luke chapter
12, actually he came to bring division among men. Luke chapter 12, verse 51. He says, suppose ye that I am
come to give peace on earth, I tell you nay, but rather division. For from henceforth there shall
be five in one house divided, three against two, and two against
three. The father shall be divided against
the son, and the son against the father, the mother against
the daughter, and the daughter against the mother, the mother-in-law
against her daughter-in-law, and the daughter-in-law against
her mother-in-law. Our Lord came to bring division
among men. Now, God's people, we preach
the gospel of peace, don't we? That's our gospel. But we do
not preach peace among men or peace with men. We preach the
gospel of how a sinner has peace with God through our Lord Jesus
Christ. Believers are peacemakers. Believers
aren't people going out picking a fight. Now, if we do, that's
the wrong attitude. That's Adam's nature. That's
not the nature. that God gave us in the New Birth. Believers
are peacemakers, they're peace-loving people. But the message of peace
in Christ will always divide men. It will always divide the
sheep from the goats. The gospel of peace in Christ.
The gospel of peace through the sacrifice of Christ will never
unite men in peace, ever. It always divides men. Men will never be united around
the gospel of the Lord Jesus Christ. Men are divided over
the gospel of Christ. Now, that's a fact. But let's
never fall into this trap of trying to cause division, trying
to glory in the fact that we're divided from people. You know,
let's not glory in the fact, well, we're at war with this
one and that one and the other one. Don't ever try to cause division.
Now, that's God's work. Christ is the division. Let's
not call it the division because of our bad attitude and our,
you know, just our flesh. Let's be peacemakers. God would
be the one to separate us from the tares, right? We never want
to be personally the cause of division. However, there's something
wrong if we're not divided from the religious world because of
our doctrine. If everybody out there loves
us, something's wrong. Look at Luke chapter 6. I don't want to cause division
now. We'll let God do that. But if the religious world is
all in love with us, something's wrong. Look at Luke 6, verse
26. Woe unto you when all men shall speak well of you. So did
their fathers to the false prophets. So there's something wrong here
if everybody in the religious world is in love with us. Because
everybody in the religious world, our Lord says, is in love with
false prophets. But let's let Christ himself be the division. Christ himself, personally, must
be the division, or the division's wrong. Now, look in our text,
John chapter 7. Let's see if we can't see this
in our text. John 7, verse 40. Many of the
people, therefore, when they heard this saying, said, Of a
truth, this is the Now, John Gill says these folks here are
saying that the Lord Jesus was the prophet. They're not saying
he's that prophet. They weren't saying he's the Messiah. John
Gill says that they thought that our Lord was some extraordinary
prophet. You know, he's one, maybe he's
one of the Old Testament prophets come back to life. And this is
what they expected. The people of Israel, they expected
some sort of prophet like this to appear before the Messiah
appeared. He did. John the Baptist has
appeared. And what did they do? They killed
him. They put him to death. His message
caused division. His message of repentance caused
division. The forerunner had come, but
they missed him. They put him to death. You see,
these folks had some understanding of prophecy, but they didn't
know Christ. So they must be divided from
him. Does that sound familiar? The
whole world today is interested in what? Prophecy. And they're
using Scripture. They say they've got some Scripture
to back up their claims. The problem is this, however.
They're using Scripture to try to predict future events instead
of reading the Scripture to find the Savior that the Word reveals.
That's the problem. And that's why people are so
interested in prophecy or divided from you. It's not because you
don't have some interest in what's going to happen in the future.
It's Christ himself is the division. You desire to hear Christ preach.
They don't. That's the division. Look, and let me give you this
statement from Pink. This is really good. He says,
unless our hearts are affected and our lives are molded by God's
word, we're no better off than a starving man with a cookbook
in his hand. The recipe don't feed you. It's food. It's Christ who feeds. And if
we don't have a heart knowledge of Christ. We'll be divided from
him. Look at verse 41. Others said,
Well, this is the Christ. But some said, shall Christ come
out of Galilee? Hasn't the scripture said that
Christ cometh of the seed of David and out of the town of
Bethlehem where David was? Now, see, some, they thought
the Lord was a special prophet. Others said, you know, this could
be the Christ. Look at the miracles that he's doing. Who could do
these miracles except the Christ? His miracles seem to give evidence
he's the Christ. Could be he's the Christ. And
then there's another group. These are the smart people. They're
well taught in Scripture, you know, they read and they find
all the secret meanings of all the Scriptures. And they said
this man is not the Messiah because the Messiah is going to come
from Bethlehem, the town of David. Now, that's true, but they read
that Scripture and they expected a Messiah very different from
who our Lord Jesus Christ actually was. They were looking for someone
to appear as a royal figure like David appeared, conquering the
world like David did. Now, They were right to say Christ
would come from Bethlehem, weren't they? Scripture says that. Of
course He's going to come from Bethlehem. But they took that
and assumed that Christ would live in Bethlehem, that He'd
grow up there, that He'd be known in Bethlehem, and then He'd follow
David's, you know, rise to political power and establish an earthly
kingdom. And they didn't think it was
possible for Christ to have come yet for this reason. Hundreds
of years before this, Adrian had conquered Israel. And Adrian
made it illegal for any Jew to live in Bethlehem. So they said,
well, no Jews can live in Bethlehem, so the Christ has not appeared
yet. He will not, couldn't appear until this law, you know, was
changed. Christ couldn't have come yet,
couldn't appear yet because no Jews are living in Bethlehem. Well, they don't know God. They
never bothered to find out Jesus of Nazareth was actually born
in Bethlehem. Because the very Roman government
that made it illegal for a Jew to live in Bethlehem ordered
his pregnant mother, who's great with child, to ride a donkey
to go to Bethlehem to be taxed where the Lord was born. They
didn't think the Christ had come because they don't know God.
Now, they knew some historical facts about the Christ, didn't
they? They knew some scripture prophesying about Christ. They
even had some right doctrine about Christ. But they did not
know the person of Christ. They didn't know why he would
come or what he would accomplish when he came. So they must be
divided from him. Verse 43. So, because of their
thoughts, there was a division among the people. Because of
him. See, that's the key. Because
of him. Let Christ be the division. Verse 44. And some of them would
have taken him, but no man laid hands on him. I mean, it's obvious
the Pharisees are divided from Christ here. They hated him.
They wanted to take him and kill him. So, I mean, of course they're
divided from him. Now, these are the legalists
of the day. They meant to take the Lord,
even if it meant doing it illegally. They didn't care by what means.
They wanted him put to death because they're divided from
him. So, verse 45, Then came the officers to the chief priests
and Pharisees, and they said unto them, Why have you not brought
him? Now, people are divided from
Christ. One way you can always identify them is they ask the
wrong question. The question is not why. That's not the question. The
question that they should have asked is who. Who is he? Not why haven't you brought him,
but who is he? The gospel is a person. Now,
my friend, we'll never understand God's word until we understand
this. The gospel is a person. And if you don't know that glorious
person, you'll be divided from Christ. And this struck me as
very interesting. Now, this is the great day of
the feast, right? This is the day they put the
most stock in. This is the day of high worship. When they go through this ceremony,
we looked at it last week, with the pouring out of the water.
This is the day with the most religious significance. Where were the leaders? They weren't down here at the
most important part of worship, were they? The thing they had
elevated to the most important part of worship of the feast,
they skipped it because they had something more important
to do. Take the Lord and kill Him. Now, this is a very, very
serious problem. And this doesn't just apply to
them. It applies to you and me. This can happen to us. It's a
very serious problem when religion becomes something other than
worship. If he becomes anything other than worship, we got problems. That true religion is worship.
And it became something else to him. And look where it led.
Now, verse 46, the officers answered them, never man spake like this
man. You know, they said, well, why
didn't you arrest this Jesus and bring him to us? Because
never man spake like this man. I've never met anybody like him.
You think about these officers. They had never in their lifetime
heard anyone teach the Scriptures like our Lord did. Our Lord opened
the Scriptures and taught them a message of grace. They never
heard that before, did they? All they heard from the Pharisees
is law-keeping. But from Christ, oh, they heard
grace. From Christ, they heard the true
meaning of these sacrifices. They are the true meanings of
the feast. He opened the Scriptures. They could understand what He
was saying. I never heard that before. They never heard anyone
speak with His message before. And they never heard anyone speak
with His manner either. Our Lord spoke in kind, soft
terms that sinners could understand. The Pharisees spoke in hard,
mean terms. They talked about theological
issues that the common man could never understand. And truth is
they didn't understand it either, but they use big words. So, you
know, they sound impressive. Our Lord spoke in terms they
could understand and his manner was gracious and kind like he
could understand them. Isn't it wonderful if you could
actually understand what the preacher is telling you from
God's word? Isn't that wonderful? They never heard that before.
They never experienced that before. Well, verse 48, they answered,
if any of the rulers or of the Pharisees believed on him, but
this people know it's not the law, they're cursed. Oh, this
is the hard language. You see how hard they are? The
hard language of the Pharisees. They're very different from our
Lord. Well, verse 50, here's Nicodemus. He's one of them. Listening to all this go on,
Nicodemus saith unto them, this is the man that came to Jesus
by night, being one of them. Doth thou law judge any man before
it hear him, and know what he doeth?" Now, Nicodemus is a very
interesting character to me. I kind of like him, and I really,
really hope the Lord saved him. I don't know if he did or not,
but I hope so. At least, Nicodemus is in this group, and he's at
least trying to keep these men from illegally taking the Lord
and killing him. At the very least, he doesn't
want to see the Lord put to death. At least he wants to see some
due process here. Now, I mean, you know, is it
lawful to condemn a man for, you hear him, what he's got to
say for himself? Well, you know that message went
over like a lead balloon. You know, don't let the facts
get in the way of what I'm wanting to do. That's what they tell
Nicodemus. And he just frustrates him. So
what they do, well, they just throw the worst insult they can
think at him. Verse 52, they answer and said unto him, Are
thou also of Galilee? Are you one of those stinking
Galileans? Search and look, for out of Galilee
ariseth no prophet." Name-calling. That's still a favorite of those
divided from Christ. You know, you're a heretic. You're
a radical. You're just, you know, whatever.
You're a Calvinist. Worst names they can think of
throw at you. But see their error? Error is common with them as
name-calling. They say this man can't be the
Christ. Because no prophet ever arrives
from Galilee. Look it up, they said. Well,
it's not true. Look it up. But even though it's
error, say it with enough authority and people believe it, even if
it's not true. Todd Nyberg told us, Eric, you
might remember this. He said this about your outline. Greg Elmquist says, he puts in
his note, weak point, yell. You know, just say it with enough
authority and people believe it. This is not true. You check
it out. Jonah came from Galilee. Last
I checked, Jonah's a prophet, came from Galilee. Isaiah 9,
verses 1 and 2 actually prophesies that the Messiah himself will
come from Galilee. Well, what are you going to do
with that? They just throw it away. They ignore the scripture
that doesn't suit their need, that doesn't match their error.
They just throw it away. And if you bring it up, they
say, well, I don't mean that. Well, they can't tell you what it means,
but they just throw out the scripture that doesn't suit their need.
And religious people who are divided from Christ haven't changed
from this day till today, 2,000 years later, they're still the
same. So the division is over Christ. is over Christ himself,
his person, who he is, and what he did and nothing else. I'm
going to give you four points that will drive home this truth
that division is over Christ himself. First, Christ is the
division. When the Lord Jesus Christ is
declared to be God, not like he's God, not someone who looks
like God, not someone who acts like God, but when he is declared
to be God himself, you've got a problem. There's a division.
Look at John 8, verse 56. Our Lord speaking to the same
Pharisees. He said, Your father Abraham rejoiced to see my day,
and he was glad. He saw it and was glad. The Jews
said unto him, Thou art not yet fifty years old, and hast thou
seen Abraham? Jesus saith unto them, Verily,
verily, I say unto you, Before Abraham was, I am. The name of God himself, I am. Oh, now there's a division. They're
going to take him and put him to death for that. But they couldn't
lay hand on him. Why couldn't they lay hand on
him? Because he is God. Look at John chapter 10, verse
30. He says, I and my father are
one. Well, then the Jews took up stones again to stone him.
And Jesus answered them, many good works have I showed you
from my Father, for which of these works do you stone me?
The Jews answered him, saying, for good work we stone you not,
you can do all the good works you want, but for blasphemy,
because of thou being a man, makeest thyself God. Now, you
can stone me if I try to make myself God, because I'm not.
They couldn't stone him, because he made himself to be God, because
he is. He is God. You preach that. You tell folks, Jesus of Nazareth
is God. There'll be a division. There
always will be a division. And here's what divides. Because
the Lord Jesus Christ is God, that means he's sovereign in
all things. He's sovereign over every event
that's ever happened in his creation. The Lord Jesus Christ is the
one who created this world. By Him were all things made to
be made. They're made by Him and they're made for Him. He's
God. And since He made it, it's His. And He can do with it as He pleases.
Whatever He pleases, He can do it because it's His. It's right.
And everything that happens, I don't care what it is, everything,
whether we think it's good or it's bad, whether we think it's
significant or insignificant, everything that happens, happens
at His will because He willed it. He's God. Now, men hate that. I can do with my own as I please,
but God can't. Men hate the fact that Jesus
of Nazareth is God because they won't have him be sovereign over
them. Second, Christ himself is the division because Christ
himself is the only difference between the saved and the lost.
The only difference. I mentioned this in the class
this morning. Judas and Peter. Judas betrayed the Lord. Peter
denied him three times. What's the difference? What's
the one and only difference between Judas and Peter? Our Lord prayed
for Peter. That's the only difference. Christ
prayed for him, and he didn't pray for Judas. If you're still
there in John, look at John 10, verse 14. Christ is the difference
between the saved and the lost. He's the difference between eternal
life and eternal death. I am the good shepherd, and I
know my sheep, and I am known of mine. As the Father knoweth
me, even so know I the Father, and I lay down my life for the
sheep, and other sheep I have, which are not of this fold. Them
also I must bring, and they shall hear my voice. There shall be
one fold and one shepherd." Now look at verse 26, "'But you believe
not, because you are not of my sheep, as I said 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." I give them eternal life, and
you don't have eternal life because I didn't give it to you. Christ
is the difference between eternal life and eternal death. Christ
is the difference between the sheep on the right hand and the
goats on the left. In Matthew 25, the sheep are divided, right
and left. Who divided them? Christ himself. He's the division. He's the difference
between the saved and the lost. Third, Christ himself is the
division in every point of doctrine. Now, brethren, it's not doctrine
that divides. It's not. It's Christ that divides. You know, people think the five
points of Calvinism divide us from the rest of the religious
world. Well, it better not be. That better not be. The doctrine
of TULIP is not what divides us. Christ is the division. And I'll show you that in what
we call the five points of Calvinism. It's not doctrine that divides,
it's Christ. T, total depravity. The question is not if men sin.
Yeah, men sin. That's not the question. Here's
the question. Who can save sinners? Now that's
the question. Can a sinner contribute something
to salvation or is salvation done by Christ alone? That's
the question. Total depravity divides. Because
if total depravity is true, I'm unable to do anything but sin
and that makes me totally dependent upon Christ to save. It's Christ
who's the division. Look at John chapter 6. Verse 44, no man can come to
me, except the Father which has sent me draw him, and I will
raise him up at the last day. Now that can't be any more clear,
can it? By nature, we don't have any
ability to come to God because we're dead, and we're dependent
upon Him to draw us. Look at verse 64, same chapter. are some of you that believe
not. For Jesus knew from the beginning who they were that
believed not, and who should be trained. And he said, Therefore
said I unto you, that no man can come to me, except it were
given him of my father. And from that time many of his
disciples went back, and walked no more with him." The truth
of who he is, that we are dependent upon Christ to save, made those
people divide themselves from him. Not because of total depravity
per se, but because that truth means we're dependent upon the
Lord Jesus Christ. He's the division. You, unconditional
election. The question is not if salvation
is a choice made by somebody. The question is who makes the
choice. Who's king? Who's in control? That's the
question. And Christ is the division when
Christ is declared to be king. You declare him to be sovereign
in salvation, you've got division. You're going to have problems
with sinful man now. Christ came to save his elect.
He did not come to die for everyone and make salvation possible for
as many people as would decide to accept him. That's ridiculous. Christ died to save his elect,
the people that God gave him. Look in Luke chapter 4. In our Lord's first public message,
this is what he made plain. In Luke 4, verse 25, I tell you of a truth. Many widows
were in Israel in the days of Elias, when the heaven was shut
up three years and six months, when great famine was throughout
all the land. But unto none of them was Elias sent, save unto
Sarepta, a city of Sidon, a Gentile city, unto a woman that was a
widow. And many lepers were in Israel
in the time of Elisha the prophet, and none of them was cleansed,
saving Nahum and the Syrian. And all they in the synagogue,
when they heard these things, were filled with wrath. And they
rose up and thrust him out of the city, and led him under the
brow of the hill, whereon their city was built, that they might
cast him down headlong. And he passing through the midst
of them went his way." Again, they couldn't trust him, or couldn't
put their finger on him, because He's God. Now, our Lord made
plain He came to save His elect, didn't He? But it's not the doctrine
of election that divides. The Jews believed in election,
so it wasn't election that divided. No, they believed they were elect
because they descended from Abraham and everybody else was not elect.
And our Lord told them salvation is of the Lord. That's the dividing
point. God chooses whom He will. And more than that, God chooses
the worst sinners. He chooses the worst. He didn't
just choose some Syrian Gentile. He chose the captain of the host.
He chooses the worst. And that means every one of us
is in God's hands to do with as he pleases. And there's nothing
we can do to make God save us. Now, we can beg for mercy, but
there's nothing we can do to make God save us. Salvation is
of the Lord. Mercy is sovereign mercy, and
it's God's to give and it's his to withhold. That's why our Lord
told his disciples, you didn't choose me. I chose you. It's not the doctrine of election. It's not choosing that makes
the division. It's who did the choosing. I chose you. Christ is the division. L, limited
atonement. Again, the question is not if
Christ died. Everybody knows Christ died. Here's the question. Who died and what did his death
accomplish? Is it possible that the Son of
God, that we have established this, Jesus Christ is God himself,
that is it possible that the Son of God died for someone and
that person still be condemned to perish in hell anyway? That's
absurd if it's Christ that died. It all depends on who died. Who
is he that condemneth? It's Christ that died. No one
can condemn you if Christ died for you. See, the question is,
who died? The one who died is the division. I, irresistible call. Again,
the question is not doctrine. The question is, who saves? And
who does the calling? If God the Father is the one
doing the calling, we'll come running. That's what our Lord
said. If my Father calls you and teaches you, you'll come
to me. It just depends on who does the calling. Now, it's easy
for you to resist me. It's easy for you to resist my
powers of persuasion. It's easy for you to resist my
doctrine and my preaching. But my friend, if the Lord Jesus
Christ would reveal Himself to you, you'll come running. I mean, you'll come running.
If He reveals Himself to you, you will be powerless to resist. I remember being a boy, people
talking about hanging on to the pew and not coming. Buddy, you'd
be letting go of that pew as fast as you can if you see him.
Because not only are you powerless to resist the one who has all
power, you're powerless to resist his beauty. You're powerless. He is altogether lovely. I don't know if we're such a
thing as love at first sight or not, humanly speaking. But if Christ reveals himself
to you, there'll be love at first sight. You're powerless to resist
his beauty. Every believer knows who called
who. I do call on him, but only because
he called me first. He's the division. P. Perseverance of the saints. Again,
the question is not doctrine. The question is, who did all
the saving and who did all the keeping? The question is this,
does Christ give temporary life or does he give eternal life?
That's the question. Does Christ give you eternal
life that then somehow you've got to manage to keep going and,
you know, keep it living until you get to the end? Or does Christ
give you eternal life? Oh, Christ gives eternal life. Thank God he gives eternal life. Christ is the one who gives the
life. He keeps the life. He preserves the life because
He personally is the life. Well, that ends the question.
That answers the question. If you know Christ, you know
whether or not He's got the power to keep you. Look at John chapter
10 again. Verse 28. We read this a minute
ago. Let's read it again. What kind of life? Eternal life. And they shall never perish,
neither shall any man pluck them out of my hand. Well, if you're
in his hand, you know whether you're secure or not. Look in
Jude, chapter or Jude, verse 24. Chapter 24, verse 24. Now
unto him. that's able to keep you from
falling. And He's able to present you faultless before the presence
of His glory with exceeding joy. To the only wise God our Savior
be glory and majesty, dominion and power both now and ever.
Amen. So be it. Now you know He's able
to keep you from falling. You know He's able to present
you faultless if you know Him. If you know Him, that ends the
question of perseverance of the saints. Christ is the division
in religious traditions. Now, we know the Pharisees taught
for doctrine the commandments of men. And men today do the
same thing. They just make up their doctrines
and teach them as a commandment. Religious flesh loves that stuff. Religious flesh loves to celebrate
Jesus' birthday. I have a party for Jesus on the
25th of December. They love to celebrate Jesus'
resurrection on Easter Sunday. Buddy, you've got a fight on
your hands if you tell them Jesus was not born on December 25th.
Now, I don't know what day he was born, but I guarantee it's
not that day. It may be the 24th, it may be the 26th, it may be
April. But I'm telling you this, he
wasn't born on December 25th. You tell people that, you've
got a fight on your hands. You tell people Lord David wasn't
raised on Easter Sunday. That's ridiculous. It's not even
the same day every year. He wasn't raised on Easter Sunday.
You've got a fight on your hands because the religious flesh loves
that. Now you remember this, the question's never when, ever. The question is always who. Even this thing of prophecy,
when they're talking about the Lord's return, the question's
not when, the question's who's coming back. That is always who. And the moment you look at when,
you've created an idol. I'm telling you the truth, you've
created an idol. Because an idol is anything that takes your eyes
off of the Lord Jesus Christ. He's the division in all these
religious traditions. People got religious traditions
concerning baptism and the Lord's table and church membership.
All those questions concerning baptism, the Lord's table and
church membership are answered the moment you see Christ. He's
the division. He's the answer. The only question
in salvation is Christ. What think ye of Christ? It's
not what think ye of the preacher. What do you think of the historical
stance of the church? What have they always preached?
The question is, what think ye of Christ? Whose Son is He? What
do you believe about the life of the Lord Jesus Christ? If
His life is perfect, then I'm perfect in Him. What do you believe
about the death of Christ? If He died for me, I'll never
die. Isn't that wonderful? It's him. What do you believe
about the resurrection of Christ? I don't care what the date on
the calendar was, but if he rose for me, I'll have eternal life
because I'm justified in him. See that? Christ himself is the
division between the saved and the lost, the sheep and the goats.
But this is not just a negative message. Christ himself is the
union between God's people. 1 Corinthians chapter 1. Christ
himself is the union between God's people. I told you this
last week. We have unity and peace here
because we're all in love with the same person, the Lord Jesus
Christ. He's our union. 1 Corinthians 1 verse 11. For it
hath been declared unto me of you, my brethren, by them which
are of the house of Chloe, that there are contentions among you.
Now this I say, that every one of you say it, I'm of Paul, I'm
of Apollos, I'm of Cephas, I'm of Christ. Is Christ divided? Was Paul crucified for you? Were
you baptized in the name of Paul? No, no, no, no, no, no. Every believer says the same
thing about the Lord Jesus Christ, because they're all united to
him. Look up here in verse 10, Paul says, Now I beseech you,
brethren. by the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, that you all
speak the same thing, and that there be no divisions among you,
and that you be perfectly joined together in the same mind and
of the same judgment. You know how we'll be perfectly
joined together in the same mind and the same judgment? When we're
both looking to Christ. That's when that happens. He
is our union. Believers are united together
because every believer has one point of glory. Just one, look
at verse 31 here, 1 Corinthians 1. Every believer has the same
point of glory, that according as it's written, he that glorieth,
let him glory in the Lord. Look at John chapter 17. Christ himself is the believer's
unity. He's the division between the
sheep and the goats, but he is the unity of the sheep. John
17, verse 20, Neither pray I for these alone,
but for them also, which shall believe on me through their word,
that they all may be one. Now, how one are they? What kind
of unity do they have? As thou, Father, art in me, and
I in thee, that they also may be one in us, that the world
may believe that thou hast sent me. And the glory which thou
gavest me I have given them. that they may be one, even as
we are one. Why are they united? I in them,
and thou in me, that they may be made perfect in one, and that
the world may know that thou hast sent me, and hast loved
them, as thou hast loved me." We are united together because
we're both united to Christ. That's why He is our union. Now,
there's a division. Christ himself is the division.
He's the great divide. Which side of the division are
you on? I want you to answer that question in your heart.
Which side of this division are you on? Are you separated from
God because of your sin? Your sins have separated you
from your God. Do you think, I see what you're saying? I see
that. You read it from God's Word.
I can read English language. I see what you're saying. But
I must still be separated from God. I must be. Because I can't be one of those
people. I can't be. God would never do something
so wonderful for a wretch like me. He wouldn't do it. I spent
all these years being in rebellion to Him. God would never do that
for me. I must be divided from Him. Is
that you? My prayer every day is that it
is. that God would make it so. Romans
chapter 5. I hope and pray that that's so
for this reason. These are the people, the person
I just described is the person that Christ came to save. Romans 5 verse 6. For when we were yet without
strength, in due time, according to the time, God's appointed
Christ died for the ungodly. See, the question is, when? At
God's appointed time, who died? Christ died. He died for the
ungodly. For scarcely for a righteous
man will one die. Yet, for a venture, maybe for
a good man, some would even dare to die. But God commended His
love toward us, and that while we were yet sinners, Christ died
for us. He died for sinners. Much more,
then, being not justified by His blood, we should be saved
from wrath through Four, if when we were enemies we were reconciled
to God by the death of His Son, much more, being reconciled,
we should be saved by His life. By His life. See, Christ is the
division. If you would have life, come
to Christ. If you would not be divided from
Christ, from God, come to Christ, the Savior of sinners. Our Father, how we thank Thee
for this Thy Word. And we pray that You would give
us a heart belief, a heart knowledge, a heart love for the Lord Jesus
Christ. How we do realize we do not deserve,
not one of us here deserves the least of Thy mercies. But our
plea is Your Word. You said You came to save sinners. Oh, Father, we're sinners. Wretched. Vile. And we beg your mercy for
Christ's sake. We beg that you'd hear us for
Christ's sake. That you'd see us in Him. And
that you would keep us in the Lord Jesus Christ. Keep us looking
to Him. We look to Him for salvation.
Keep us looking. We come to Him for salvation.
Keep us coming. To whom? Coming. Deliver us from
getting caught up in the trinkets and distractions of religion
and set our affection on the Lord Jesus Christ. For it is
in his blessed name we pray.