Man's Responsibility to the Testimony of God

Q: What does the Bible say about man's responsibility to God?

Man's responsibility to God begins with believing His testimony as revealed in Scripture. According to Scripture, particularly Matthew 12 and 1 Corinthians 2, man's responsibility is to respond to God's Word by believing the testimony He has provided. This includes acknowledging that Jesus is the Christ and placing faith in Him. When individuals reject this testimony, they effectively call God a liar, which is a serious sin. This belief is not a passive acceptance but an active response that aligns with the call to 'walk in the light' that God provides. God requires immediate belief in His Word, emphasizing the urgency of faith.

Q: How do we know the doctrine of the sovereignty of God is true?

The sovereignty of God is affirmed throughout Scripture, demonstrating His authority over all creation. The doctrine of God's sovereignty stands as an essential tenet within Reformed theology, particularly as it relates to salvation and God's overarching plan for humanity. Scripture repeatedly affirms that God is sovereign over all aspects of life, including the actions of individuals and nations. Verses like Romans 8:28-30 illustrate that everything unfolds according to His purpose. Moreover, historical interpretations of God's sovereignty reinforce that He alone has the power to bring about true repentance and belief in the hearts of men, ultimately highlighting His authority and grace.

Q: Why is believing in Jesus important for Christians?

Believing in Jesus is essential for salvation and is the foundation of the Christian faith. For Christians, belief in Jesus Christ is paramount because it is through Him that they receive salvation. Romans 10:9 emphasizes that confession and belief in Jesus' resurrection leads to salvation. This belief acknowledges Jesus as God manifest in the flesh, the only One who can redeem humanity from sin. Furthermore, the act of belief involves a complete trust in His grace and work on the cross. Believers are called to respond to His testimony and to walk in the light of His truth, recognizing that faith in Christ is what distinguishes them as God's people.

Q: What role does repentance play in a Christian's life?

Repentance is a critical response to God's Word, acknowledging one's need for His mercy. In the life of a Christian, repentance is fundamental as it reflects a sincere acknowledgment of sin and the need for God's grace. Throughout the Bible, including Matthew 12, individuals are called to repent not just from actions but from erroneous thoughts about God and themselves. This involves turning away from disbelief and false perceptions and redirecting faith towards the true God revealed in Jesus Christ. Repentance is not merely an emotional response but a transformative act empowered by the Holy Spirit, leading to genuine faith and a life aligned with God's purpose.

Q: How does the Holy Spirit work in a believer's life?

The Holy Spirit empowers believers, guiding them to truth and enabling repentance and faith. The role of the Holy Spirit in a believer's life is multifaceted, involving empowerment, guidance, and conviction. He works within individuals to illuminate God's truth, convicting them of sin and prompting repentance. The Spirit enables believers to grasp the fullness of the gospel, leading to active faith and obedience in their walk with Christ. In John 16:8, the Holy Spirit is described as the one who convicts the world of sin, righteousness, and judgment, underscoring how vital His ministry is in transforming hearts and lives according to God's sovereign will.

It's a delight to be here with
you tonight. I'm so thankful for this privilege and this opportunity
to be here and worship with you tonight. I bring you greetings,
first of all, from the churches in Yucatan, from each of the
pastors. And my mom and my dad, they say
hello. They send you their greetings.
And we're thankful for the work the Lord has called us to in
the mission field in Mexico. And the Lord has blessed the
work there. And we're thankful. We're thankful for what the Lord
is doing there. This preacher school is going
well. And my dad, he said he wanted
me to come back soon. But I appreciate this opportunity
and this privilege to be here with you tonight. One thing I'm very thankful for,
this happened just a few months ago, March the 10th. Brother Elio from Zizantun was
ordained the pastor of the church in Zizantun. I'm so thankful
that they're the church in Xitantun called a pastor. From the time
that I went down there 12 years ago, we're in our 13th year now,
from the time I went down there I had been their pastor and I'm
glad they called me to be their pastor there in Xitantun. Brother Elio is supposed to go
to Cancun tomorrow. He's going to Cancun when I'm
here. The Lord's given him gifts, and
he's a good preacher. He's a faithful man, and I just
enjoy being around him. And I'm speaking of him, but
I could say the same thing of any of the pastors there. Brother
Jose, Brother Gervasio, Brother Rutilio, Brother Gilberto, all
these men you know and you love and you've prayed for all these
years. I'm just speaking of one. We appreciate you, and we're
thankful for you and your fellowship, and your prayers and support
for us for all these years of faithfulness. We're thankful
for you, and we pray for you, and I know you pray for us, and
we're thankful for you. Tonight, I would like for us
to open our Bibles, if you will, to Matthew chapter 12. Matthew chapter 12, and I have
entitled this message, Man's Responsibility to the Testimony
of God. Man's Responsibility to the Testimony
of God. I want us to read a couple of
verses here, and then I'm going to ask a question. Verse 22. I'll start there. Verse 22. Then was brought unto
him one possessed with the devil, blind and dumb, and he healed
him insomuch that the blind and dumb both spake and saw. And all the people were amazed
and said, Is not this the son of David? Is not this the son of David? What is man's responsibility
towards God. Where does man's responsibility
begin? At the Word of God. What God
has said. What God has said. I want us to see that this, what
the Lord Jesus Christ did, these men said, is this not the Son
of David? This was clear testimony to them
that this was the Son of David. This is why they asked that question.
It's clear that He is the Christ, that He is God manifest in the
flesh. It was seen clear to them and
evident to them, and that's why they asked the question. Is not
this the Son of David? The responsibility of man is
to believe God, believe the testimony of God. You know, in Corinthians,
the Apostle Paul said in 1 Corinthians chapter 2, he said, when I came,
I came not with with enticing words. When I came preaching
the testimony of God, this word we preach is the testimony of
God. That's God's Word concerning the Lord Jesus Christ. It's God's
testimony. And man is responsible to believe
God's testimony. And a believer, when he believes
the Word, when he believes, he sets his seal to the Word of
God and says it's true. God is true. And when a man doesn't
believe, he's calling God a liar, because he says God's a liar.
That's what man says when he refuses to believe God's testimony. Man's responsibility is to believe
and believe right now. Man's responsibility, when God's
Word comes to a man, man's responsibility is to believe and believe right
now. It's not to go home and weigh it, consider it. It's to
believe right now. Believe God's Word. In other
words, what I'm saying is walk in the light that the Lord has
given. Walk in the light God gives.
This is what our Lord said, walk in the light while you have the
light, that you may be children of light. Walk in the light that
God gives you. Walk in the light that God gives
you right now. And a man, as he's hearing God's
word, a man or a woman, as he's hearing God's word, he either
at that moment believes God or doesn't believe God. There's
no middle ground. God knows. He either believes
God or he doesn't believe God. But this is the testimony, this
is the characteristic of God's people. They believe God. They
believe God. You know, Nicodemus, I hope this
is coming through clear. These men, when they saw this
miracle, insomuch the man who was possessed, both spake and
saw, they said, is this not the Son of David? Is this not the
Christ? They knew he was. The evidence
was there. Nicodemus said this. Nicodemus,
remember, he came to the Lord by night and he said, Rabbi,
we know you come from God because no man can do the things that
you do except God be with him. Get God's sentence. Nobody can
do this. So they knew that. And this clearly
was a fulfillment of Isaiah 35. You don't have to turn there,
but listen to this. Isaiah 35, speaking of when when
God would come, when the Savior would come. It says, Then the
eyes of the blind shall be opened, and the ears of the deaf shall
be unstopped. Then shall a lame man leap as
a harp, and the tongue of the dumb sing. For in the wilderness
shall waters break out, and streams in the desert. This is a clear
revelation that this is the Christ. This is when salvation is coming.
This is when God came into the world. And then there's another thing.
And then there's another thing. Every miracle that the Lord Jesus
Christ did, he did in the power of the Holy Spirit. He is God. God and man. The Lord Jesus Christ. Jehovah manifests in the flesh.
But this man, the man Christ Jesus, every miracle he did,
he did in the power of the Holy Spirit. And he did to the glory
of God the Father. He never did anything to his
own glory. He did everything to the glory
of God the Father. And this was a clear revelation
to them that this is the Christ. They're responsible to believe,
but they did not believe. This was clearly a fulfillment
of God's prophecy concerning the Christ and the Messiah. But
listen to what these men said in verse 24. But when the Pharisees
heard it, when the Pharisees heard what these people were
saying, they said, this fellow does not
cast out devils, but by Beelzebub, the prince of the devils. And
Jesus knew their thoughts. They weren't saying this out
loud. They were just thinking this.
They were saying it in their minds. This fellow, what I'm saying is there's a
clear manifestation of who he is, and they're saying this fellow
cast out devils by Beelzebub, and he knew their thoughts and
said unto them, every kingdom divided against itself is brought
to desolation, and every city or house divided against itself
shall not stand. We see the rejection here of
life. We see the rejection of light by these men. Rejection
of light. Here, the Lord said, this is
the condemnation that light has come into the world. Men prefer
or love darkness rather than light. They rub darkness rather
than light. And listen to this, the sin that
condemns a man, the sin that condemns a man is not done outside
the man, but is in the man. The sin that condemned the man
is not outside, But what's inside of them? They never did say this. They never did say this outside.
This was in their mind. And the Lord knew their thoughts.
The sin of unbelief. What they said, they said in
their mind. And then our Lord gives these reasons why their
thoughts are just not even reasonable. They're not even reasonable.
What their reasoning is, their enmity towards God But in their
reasoning, they're not even reasonable. I don't know if that makes sense.
They're not even reasonable. Here's what he's saying. If Satan
cast out Satan, he's divided against himself, and how shall
his kingdom stand? That's the first thing. You're
saying that by Beelzebub, the prince of the devils, this is
cast out. Now, that doesn't make sense. In your own reasoning, if he's
casting out, then how can his kingdom stand? Number one. If
I cast out Bob Yeltsin above, your children also cast out devils.
Who do they cast them out by? Who do they cast them out by? They're going to be your own
judges. They're going to be your judges. But now here's the conclusion. Here's the conclusion of this.
If what I'm doing, the Lord said, if what I'm doing, I'm doing
in the power of the Holy Spirit, then the kingdom of heaven has
come to you. And this is true every time God sends a man. The Lord sends his gospel throughout
all the world. And that's what they are, they're
sent. They don't send themselves. But whenever a man sent of God
stands up and speaks God's Word for the glory of God, for the
glory of Christ, and speaks not his own Word but the Word of
God, then here's the truth, the kingdom of heaven has come to
you. And the Kingdom of Heaven has come to everyone that hears
it. And man is responsible to believe. Responsible to believe
God's Word. The Gospel is the Word of God.
And if we're not preaching ourselves, if we're preaching the testimony
of God, then the Kingdom of Heaven has come to us. What an awesome
thing. We're responsible to believe
God's Word. Let me ask you this. How much
does a person have to believe of God's Word, every bit of it. A believer is just that, a believer. He believes God. A believer is
a believer. Abraham believed God. He believed
God. Well, look at this. Seeing that
a man is spiritually dead, seeing that a man cannot believe God,
We read there in Romans chapter 8. Seeing that a man is dead
spiritually, that his thoughts are enmity against God. Seeing
that a man is spiritually dead, blind, deaf, lame, poor, he's
a leper. Seeing that this is the truth
of man, how will he ever be made whole? It says here in the next
verse. Look at this, verse 29. Or else how can one enter a strong
man's house and spoil his goods, except he first binds a strong
man, and then will he spoil his house? The Lord Jesus Christ
has got to deliver His people. He's got to deliver His people
from the power of darkness and translate them to the kingdom
of His dear Son. Man is dead. by spiritually death
cannot. The Lord Jesus Christ came to
set his people free from the kingdom of darkness. He is the
strong man that binds up Satan to spoil his goods. He delivers
his people from the power of darkness and the power of sin
and translates them in the kingdom of his dear Son. And we see this
in our text in verse 29. Verse 30 he says, And he that is not with me is
against me, and he that gathers not scattereth abroad. Wherefore
I say unto you, all manner of sin and blasphemy shall be forgiven
unto man, but the blasphemy against the Holy Ghost shall not be forgiven
unto man. And whosoever speaketh a word against the Son of Man,
it shall be forgiven him. But whosoever speaketh against
the Holy Ghost, it shall not be forgiven him, neither in this
world, neither in the world to come. And listen to the conclusion,
he says here, either make the tree good and the fruit's going
to be good, or else make the tree corrupt and the fruit is
corrupt. In other words, a person, he
either has, he's either a new man or he's not a new man. You cannot bring bad fruit from
a good tree. If it's got a good tree, it's
inside, he's a new man. A man is, by nature, corrupt.
By nature, he's evil. And out of the abundance of the
heart, the Lord is going to say right now, out of the abundance
of the heart, the mouth speaks. And a man is going to do exactly
what's inside his heart. Well, a good tree is one who
is made good by the power of God. A one who is made, one who
is regenerated. One who is given a new heart.
And he's going to have a good fruit. But if the tree is corrupt,
the fruit is corrupt. And the tree is known by its
fruit. Now listen to this, verse 34. Old generation of vipers. How can you being evil speak
good things? It's impossible. Don't play with
a snake. Don't play with a snake. They
got poison. Even the little ones got poison. They got poison.
Generation about how can you be an evil speaker of things?
They cannot. They cannot. For out of the abundance of the
heart, the mouth speaketh. I was speaking to a man just
about a month ago or so in Mexico. And I was telling him about how.
Talking to him about the gospel and saying that this gospel,
if I knew of anybody that here in Medina that preached this
gospel, that believe this gospel, I'd want to know them and I'd
want to have fellowship with them." And he said, he said,
oh yeah, I know some. They get together on Saturday.
He said, they get together on Saturday for breakfast. And that
just surprised me and I thought, really? He said, oh yeah. He
said, they get together for breakfast and if you want I'll invite you
and we'll, I'll introduce you. And I said, did they preach this
message? He said, oh, no. I said, they don't believe it.
They don't believe it. If they don't preach it, it's
because they don't believe it. Out of the abundance of the heart,
the mouth speaks. Whatever a man believes, that's
what he's going to say. And if he's not saying something, it's
because he doesn't believe it. He doesn't believe it. Well,
look here at verse 35. A good man out of the good treasure
of his heart bringeth forth good things, and the evil man out
of the evil treasure bringeth forth evil things. But I say
unto you that every idle word that men shall speak, they shall
give an account thereof in the day of judgment. For by thy words
thou shalt be justified, and by thy words thou shalt be condemned." What is in the heart right now?
What is in the heart right now? Well, the Lord said that. He
said, whatever comes out of your mouth is either going to justify
you or it's going to condemn you. Whatever comes out of your
heart. You know the Lord there in Romans
chapter 10 has said, Romans chapter 10 talking about
the salvation of God's people. He says, with the heart man believeth
unto righteousness and with the mouth confession is made unto
salvation. What's in the heart is going
to come out in confession. What's in the heart is going
to come out And these men, after they heard this, they saw this
miracle of the Lord Jesus Christ, and they clearly testified that
He is the Christ. Clearly testified that He is.
And they said in their heart, they said in their mind this,
and the Lord corrected their thoughts. What you're thinking
is wrong. And then He told them, He said,
what comes out of the mouth is going to reveal what's in your
heart. And what's the first thing that comes out of the mouth?
Look here. Then certain of the scribes and
Pharisees answered him, saying, Master, we would see a sign from
thee. And the Lord said, That's evil. You see that? Lord, we would
see a sign from thee. And the Lord said, That's evil.
That's evil. A man is responsible to believe.
He said, He said unto them, An evil and an adulterous generation
seeketh after a sign, and there shall no sign be given it but
the sign of the prophet Jonah." Jonah. Jonah was in the, it says
here, in the fish's belly for three days and three nights in
the heart of the earth. The Lord Jesus Christ was three
days and three nights in the heart of the earth. And there's
no sign going to be given this world. There's no sign going
to be given. It's already been given. The
Lord Jesus Christ already came. The Lord Jesus Christ already
went to the cross. This is not done in a secret.
Everybody knows that a man named Jesus of Nazareth died outside
of the gates of Jerusalem. Everybody knows that he was buried,
and on the third day he rose from the dead. I mean, it's a
historical fact. There's no sign going to be given.
I was talking to another lady, and she said, if I could just
go back to that time and hear the Lord speak these words, No, no, don't say in your heart
who shall ascend. Don't say in your heart who shall
descend. Don't say this. The Word that we preach is if
you believe right now. Go back over there to Romans
chapter 10. It says, the Moses, Moses described
it, verses 5 says, Moses described it, the righteousness which is
of the law, that the man which doeth these things shall live
by them. But the righteousness of faith, the righteousness that
is by the faith of the Lord Jesus Christ, the faithfulness of the
Lord Jesus Christ, by faith in Him who is the faithful one. The righteousness which is faith
speaketh on this wise." Don't say in your heart, who shall
ascend into heaven, that is to bring Christ down from the above,
or who shall descend into the deep, that is to bring up Christ
again from the dead. He already came. He already went to the cross.
He already died and put away the sin of his people. This is
a done deal. It's finished. Don't say in your
heart, if I could just go back and hear him say, lie, that's
not so. The word of faith which we preach
is what's in your heart right now. This is what this is saying,
but what's saying is that the word is nigh thee. How near is
this word we're preaching? How near is it? It's not even
in thy mouth. It's either there or it's not
there. How near is it? It's right there in you or it's
not in there. But it's now, it's not later. The Word we preach is now you. Even in thy heart, if it's there. It's in thy heart right now if
it's there. And if it's there, somebody put it there because
it wasn't there before. It wasn't there before, but if
you believe right now, it's in your heart. That's the word of
faith which we preach. That if thou shalt confess with
thy mouth the Lord Jesus and shalt believe in thine heart
that God hath raised him from the dead, thou shalt be saved.
You shall be saved of those you were saved. But this is what he's saying
right here. Look over here. He said even an adulterous generation
wants to look for a sign. And there shall be no sign given
to it but the sign of the prophet Jonah. Whereas Jonah was in the,
again over here in Matthew 12, Jonah was in the fish's belly
for three days and three nights in the heart of the earth. The
son of man will be three days and three nights in the heart
of the earth. And now looking here, it's talking about the
responsibility of man and he uses two examples. He uses the
men of Nineveh and he uses the queen of Sheba. As examples of
what? Responsibility of man. To repent
and believe. To repent and believe God's Word,
God's message. It says, The men of Nineveh shall
rise in judgment of this generation and shall condemn it, because
they repented. They repented. God sent them a man. God sent
them a prophet. He was a reluctant prophet. He
didn't want to go. He didn't want to go. In fact,
he ran away. He said, Lord, I knew you were
merciful. That's why I didn't want to go. That's exactly what
he said. But the Lord had him go anyway. And he went in there
with a message that had no hope. A message that was just, it was
40 days and God's going to destroy you. He was three days in the
belly. You know, when he came out of that fish, he must have
looked white like a ghost. With that acid of the fish. He
must have looked white. He looked death-worn dover. And
those people, when they heard Jonah, they repented. And here is a greater prophet,
greater than Jonah, greater than Jonah, the Lord Jesus Christ.
Here's a greater. They're going to rise up. The
man is responsible to repent. Repent of what? Repent of his
thoughts about God. Remember, what they The sin of
man, the sin that condemns man is in his mind, in his heart.
This mind is a God-factoring, and it's not the God of the Bible.
It's an idol-factoring. And when man is called on to
repent, he's to repent towards God, his thoughts about God. His thoughts about God, or I
don't care what they are, they're wrong. If what we know about
God is not what God reveals in His Word, it's an idol and it
ought to be thrown away real quick. No debating it, no thinking
about it, no weighing it. One of the things we know about
God is what God has revealed in us in Jesus Christ. He is
the only God we know of. Well, repent about thoughts about
who God is. Repent about the thoughts about
who the Lord Jesus Christ is. Who the Lord Jesus Christ is?
He is. God manifests. He is the Lord. Men think that Jesus is some
poor that they can just manipulate. That they're going to manipulate
Him. Well, no, He's sovereign. He's
sovereign. And it's not what we're going
to do with Jesus. It's what He's going to do with
us. What's He going to do with us? The Lord. I mean, Paul, when the Lord revealed
himself to him, he fell on his face. Lord, who art thou? Everybody that sees the Lord
Jesus Christ falls on their face. Falls on their face. Even the
Apostle John, the beloved apostle on the Isle of Patmos. He loved
the Lord. The Lord loved him. But when he saw the Lord that
day, the Isle of Patmos, he fell at his feet. Who is the Lord
Jesus Christ? He's awesome. Awesome. God. God. The only God we'll ever see is
the Lord Jesus Christ. That's who He is. Repent about
our thoughts about God and our thoughts about the Lord Jesus
Christ and our thoughts about who we are. Man thinks himself
that he's somebody. and thinks, has high thoughts
of himself. And a man's got to be brought
down to the dust. And know that he has nothing.
Has nothing. If the Lord doesn't do something
for me, I'm a goner. Repent. A man is responsible
when he hears God's Word to repent about his thoughts towards God. Repent towards God. You know,
The Lord said this, when the Holy Spirit comes and convinces
of sin, He convinces of sin in this one respect, that you've
not believed on me. That you've not bowed to me. And then the second example we
have here is the Queen of Sheba. You know, in both these cases,
these men of Nineveh, they heard and they repented. They didn't
even have a They thought, well, perhaps, perhaps He'll be merciful. Well, this is a much better message
than that, isn't it? This is a much, much better message
than that. The Lord Jesus Christ is a God
who delights to show mercy. He will have mercy. It's a wonderful
message. Come unto me, all you that labor
in the heavenly land, and I'll give you rest. Him that cometh
to me, I will in no wise cast out. What a wonderful message.
If a man knows himself a sinner, come to the Lord Jesus Christ.
He came to save sinners. He came to save sinners. But
the other one is this, it says here, the Queen of Sheba. She
heard also. She was off on that far land
and she heard of the wisdom. She heard of Solomon. How that God had blessed Solomon
by And what was her response when she heard? She came. She came. And this is the responsibility. Now man cannot and man will not
repent and man will not come to the Lord Jesus Christ except
God do something for him. No man can come to me except
the Father which sent me, draw him. And I'll raise him up at
the last day. But man is responsible. Man is
responsible. And so we say, come to the Lord
Jesus Christ. Believe on Him. Repent of your
thoughts of who God is and how God may be just and justify the
ungodly. Come to Him. Bow to the Lord
Jesus Christ. Well, I trust that's a blessing.
I know it is to me. This is man's responsibility.
But man can't do it. God's got to do something for
him. He's got to do something for me. That is, He's the one
that's got to work this work. He's a worker of grace. Worker
of grace in man's heart. I appreciate this opportunity
and thank you brother. And Lord bless us for it.

Man's Responsibility to the Testimony of God

What does the Bible say about man's responsibility to God?

How do we know the doctrine of the sovereignty of God is true?

Why is believing in Jesus important for Christians?

What role does repentance play in a Christian's life?

How does the Holy Spirit work in a believer's life?

Sermon Transcript

About Cody Groover

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Man's Responsibility to the Testimony of God

What does the Bible say about man's responsibility to God?

How do we know the doctrine of the sovereignty of God is true?

Why is believing in Jesus important for Christians?

What role does repentance play in a Christian's life?

How does the Holy Spirit work in a believer's life?

Sermon Transcript

About Cody Groover

Comments

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