Our text shall be the question
that Peter answered our Lord's question with in verse 68. To
whom shall we go? That's the title. That's the
text. To whom shall we go? Multitudes,
as we mentioned in the reading, have followed the Savior. Outwardly,
that was a very encouraging picture, wasn't it? But they followed
him not because they were converted by his grace, but because they
had eaten the loaves and the fish. They got hungry again. They were religious because they
found religion was profitable to them. They followed Christ
outwardly. Salvation is a matter of the
heart, son, God says, give me your heart. A new heart will
I give them. These folks followed Christ outwardly
because they thought it was gain, at least at the time, to do so. But then our Lord preached the
message, and that message offended the crowd. We read here in verse
66, from that time, from that time, many of his disciples went
back The majority. Can the majority be wrong? Has
anybody ever said that to you? Absolutely so. They are wrong. From that time many of his disciples
went back and walked no more with him. What did our Lord preach? We only touched on it in the
reading. What did he preach? What was it that so greatly offended,
angered this multitude? He preached God's free and sovereign
saving grace. That's what he preached. He said,
no man can come to me. No man ever will come to me.
He's not willing to come. He's not able to come unless
this happens. Otherwise, he'll never come to
me in a saving way, except my father do something for him,
unless my father fetches him. unless my father draws him to
me by his sovereign grace. The same message offends lost
religious crowds throughout the world today. Nothing's changed. God hasn't changed. Man hasn't
changed. And the message of the gospel
hasn't changed. Why should it? It's the everlasting
gospel. This message that he preached
was the declaration that salvation is by the will of God alone. He also went on to preach that
fallen man, natural man, because of his total depravity, makes
salvation by the will of man impossible. It's just impossible. Isn't it interesting that so
many people that use Romans The Romans road, they call it, to
drag people down, to get a decision out of them. They always take
a detour in chapter 9. They just go all the way around
because in there we read that salvation is not of him that
will it. or of him that runneth. But salvation
is of God. It's all of God from beginning
to end. It's of God that showeth mercy. The Master went on and declared
that salvation is altogether the work of God's free and sovereign
grace. And this salvation can only be
experienced can only be possessed, can only be realized by faith
in Jesus Christ. This is what he meant by eating
and drinking the flesh and drinking the blood of the Son of God.
And they said, how's that possible? We're not cannibals. He meant
a spiritual eating. If so, be ye have tasted that
the Lord is gracious. Trusting his righteousness and
his atonement is the only ground of our acceptance before God.
He went on to preach that that salvation was obtained by Christ
laying down His life for chosen sinners scattered throughout
the world in verse 51. And again, Mark well, the character
of those who are said to have gone back and walked no more
with Him. Not a single one. Oh, little
flock, this should be good news to you. Not a single one that
turned their back and walked away from the Son of God, not
a single one in that multitude included one whom the Father
had given to Christ. Christ himself said afterwards,
that will never happen. That'll never happen. I won't
allow it. Nothing, no one shall pluck my
sheep out of my hand. Not one of those walked away.
that were given to the Father by the Son, or rather given to
the Son by the Father, and in whose hearts a saving work of
God the Holy Spirit had been wrought. It'll never happen. None of these are in the least
hinted at, but the persons alluded to are the carnal and the mere
nominal question, or disciple. Those that are disciples, believers,
in word only, in word only, never having really experienced that
life-changing miracle of grace in the salvation of a sinner.
Nothing less than that can do it. They ate the loaves and the
fishes, and some of them evidently seemed to think that Christ would
soon set up another kingdom. an earthly kingdom, and bring
them out from under the power and the bondage of the Roman
rule. That wasn't his intent. And when
these objects were in view, while they thought these things were
so, they were ready to follow Christ. But when Christ said
no, you're dead wrong. You're mistaken. All their hopes
of a temporal kingdom. Instead of this world's crown,
when our Lord spoke of a cross, and self-denial, all which would
follow Him, their Hosannas, wanting to make Him king, soon turn to
a cry of crucifying. We don't want Him. We don't need
Him. There's no place for Him. Away
with Him. And our Lord asked the remaining
12, will you also go away? Will you
also go away? Well, if we don't, Why not? Remember even the sweet singer,
the sweet psalmist himself, what he wrote in Psalm 73? Listen
to these words, verses 1 through 3. Truly God is good to Israel,
even the such as are of a clean heart. There's no question about
that. God's Israel. He does everything
for His Israel. everything for His people. He's
loved them with an everlasting love. He didn't love them when
He saved them. He loved them. He saved them because He already
loved them. The death of Christ didn't enable
God to love His people. Christ died because God already
loved His people. There's never been a time that
God didn't love His people. I have loved you with an everlasting
love, therefore, because of that, I have drawn you. But as for
me, now that's a different story altogether, is it not? Oh God,
Christ, I find no fault in Him. He's never gave me reason to
not trust Him. Oh, for grace to trust Him more.
Oh, but as for me, let's not talk about me. No, let's not. Earlier, before service, we were
in the back and somebody mentioned, or I mentioned something about
we wanted to take Delilah to the doctor. Robin and I offered
to do it, but you know how hard-headed she is. And somebody reminded
me a few years ago when I was too hard-headed to go. And I
said, let's not talk about that. As for me, David said, my feet
were almost gone. My steps had well now slipped. Why, David? I was envious at
the foolish. I envied the foolish. I envied
the unbeliever. I envied people that don't know
God. When I saw the prosperity of
the wicked. David's just being honest with
us. He's just telling the truth. We sang it a moment ago and it's
the truth. Prone to wonder, Lord I feel
it. Prone to leave the God I love. Paul, writing as a believer after
many years, writing as an apostle for many years, said, wretched
man that I used to be in Romans 7. You know better than that.
That's not what he said, Billy. Not wretched man that I used
to be. You ever hear religious folks say, you know, I did that
when I was a sinner. I don't do that anymore. But
when I was a sinner, I did. No, Paul didn't say, O wretched
man that I used to be, but O wretched man that I am. Even now, as I
pen these words, being moved to do so by God's Holy Spirit,
even now I'm a wretched man. David, Paul, Larry, what hope
do we have? If all that's true as for me,
O wretched man, What hope does such a creature as I have? The
hope that doesn't trust in self. The hope that's not built upon
anything that I do, or anything that I am. The hope that falls
down, lock, stock and barrel, on the foundation that God has
laid and not man, the Lord Jesus Christ Himself. That's my hope. Nothing else. I am a poor sinner
and nothing at all and Jesus Christ is my all in all. This
is my hope that he would never ever leave me or ever let me
quite leave him." David went on and said that very thing in
that same Psalm 73. After his confession of ignorance,
no better than a beast before his God, he went on to say, It's
all over for me. God's cast me off. There's no
hope now for me. I've gone too far. I've crossed
the line." No, you know better, man. Even though he confessed
and his confession was true, he said, nevertheless. Don't
you like that word? Nevertheless. It's like those
blessed butts we find in God's Word. In spite of ourselves,
Nevertheless, I am continually with thee. Thou hast holden me
by my right hand. Nevertheless, prone to wonder,
but nevertheless, he won't let me go. He refuses to let me go. Thou shall guide me, David wrote,
with thy counsel, and afterward receive me to glory. Whom have
I in heaven but thee? Lord, to whom shall we go? And
there is none upon earth that I desire beside thee." Much like
what David wrote. In spite of the false teaching
of false prophets, he told Timothy in 2 Timothy 2, nevertheless, Nevertheless, the foundation
of God standeth sure, having this seal, the Lord knoweth them
that are his. He knows thee. Compare that to
verse 35 here in John chapter 6, verses 35 through 40. We know
these by heart. Jesus said unto them, that multitude
that followed him, because they got hungry again, I'm the bread
of life. He that cometh to me shall never
hunger, and he that believeth on me shall never thirst. But
I said unto you that ye also have seen me, and believe not."
Believe not. Would God's will, would God's
purpose be made void by their unbelief? Oh, no. Nevertheless, All that the Father
giveth me shall come to me. Man, I've had people tell me,
if I believe what you believe. You believe election? Yeah, I
believe election. You really do? You don't believe God gives
everybody a chance? No, salvation's not by chance,
it's by God's deliberate purpose of grace. Well, if I believed
that, I wouldn't preach, I mean, totally. If I didn't believe
it, I wouldn't preach. John, if I didn't believe that
God Almighty had purpose to save a people, and those people must
be saved. They must be saved. In time,
God will call all of his sheep to their shepherd. I know that
he will. Oh, what a reason. What a reason.
Did it discourage Paul when he was in Corinth, that wicked city? And he looked around. I don't
know what Paul was afraid of. He was afraid of something. Maybe
he thought the gospel of God's grace wouldn't reach those people. They were so wicked. I read somewhere
one commentator claimed that if you wanted to insult somebody
in that day, you would tell them you act like a Corinthian. My
mom would say, man, you act like a heathen. I found out later
mom was right. I was a heathen. I was a heathen. Did it discourage Paul when God
spoke to him at night and said, Paul, don't you be afraid? Don't
you be afraid. Speak. Speak. Preach. Don't hold
your peace. Why? Because I have much people
in this city. Oh yes, there is even now a remnant
according to God's election of grace. All that the Father giveth
me shall come to me. Oh, they'll come. And they'll
keep coming. Every day that the world stands,
it's for this reason. Because all those that the Father
gave His Son in that eternal covenant of grace are coming
to Him. They're coming to Him. And they'll
continue to come. And Christ says, Him that cometh
unto Me, I will in no wise cast out. For I came down from Heaven,
not to do My own will, but the will of Him that sent Me. And
this is the Father's will. God the Father that has his way,
the Father's will with it sent me, that of all which he hath
given me, I should lose nothing, but should raise it up again
at the last day. And this is the will of him that
sent me, that every one which seeth the Son, and believeth
on him, may have everlasting life, and I will raise him up
at the last day. Oh, nevertheless, on Christ's
salvation rests secure. Where else would it rest? Where
else would it rest secure? The rock of ages must endure. Nor can that faith be overthrown
which rests upon the living stone. Peter, I've prayed for you that
your faith fail not. You're going to deny me. You're
going to lie and say you never knew me. But your faith's not
going to fail, Peter. You can't quit believing. You
can't turn off that gift of God. The gifts and calling of God
are without repentance. Once were His, were His forever,
and nothing from His love can sever. I prayed for you that
your faith fail not. On Christ's salvation rest secure. The rock of ages must endure.
Nor can that faith be overthrown that which rests upon the living
stone. No other hope shall intervene.
To Him we look, on Him we lean. Other foundations we disown and
build on Christ the living stone." Did it cross your mind as we
consider this chapter and this multitude and turning their back
upon the Son of God because He said some hard things? This expression,
the more things change, the more they stay the same. Is that not
so? Oh, we're not like that. We're
enlightened today. We're in 2020. We've learned
so much more. No, no, no. No, we're just as
fallen, just as depraved, just as prone to wonder as these.
It's the same today. Many, many, our Lord taught that. Many profess faith in Christ,
faith in a Christ, I should say, that will heal all their physical
ailments. A Christ that will make them
wealthy. And there's men, these hucksters,
these tele-evangelists, are getting filthy rich preaching a health
and wealth gospel. But tell those same people that
Jesus Christ didn't come here for that. Christ didn't come
here. The Word of God, the eternal
everlasting Word, wasn't made flesh and live among us and died,
suffered for the sins of His people. He didn't come here to
make people wealthy and healthy. That's not the reason He came.
That's another Jesus. And people that trust that imposter
are trusting another Jesus. And they can't be saved. That
wasn't the mission of a son of man. He came to do something
much greater than that. He came to do this. How does rather being healthy
or wealthy compare to this? Jesus shall save his people from
their sins. Wow! What compares to that, Billy? What is equal to that? That's
the issue. My sins. My approach to Christ
must be as a sinner needing a savior. I don't come to Christ for physical
healing, I come for spiritual healing. That's how I come, or
I don't come at all. And that's what he told this
multitude. You follow me for the natural
bread, and you're not hungry for the real bread. the bread
that came down from heaven that gives his life for a world Jew,
Gentile, of needy sinners. In verse 44 and then again in
verse 65 he told them, coming to him was not a physical coming. It's not physical. Coming to
Christ has got nothing to do with physical. It's a spiritual
act by a renewed man. It's a physical coming, or rather
a spiritual coming, not a physical by someone who's been born again
from above. Look again at verse 63. Our Lord
says, it is the spirit that quickeneth, gives life, makes alive. What about the flesh? What part does the flesh play
in this? Nothing. Zip. Zero. Whoa, now, wait a minute. Did we hear him right?
Did he just say that our crossing the sea, coming here to Camp
Arlington, it took time. It took effort. He's telling
us it amounts to nothing? That's exactly it. They didn't
like it. The flesh profits nothing. You
want to hear some belly aching? Go into every church today and
say, coming to Christ is not something you do with your feet.
It has nothing to do moving from the back pew up to the front.
It's got nothing to do. Coming to Christ is not that. And you'll hear the same sort
of murmuring. Coming to Christ is a spiritual
coming. It's not done with your physical
hands and feet. It's a moving of your heart.
The new heart that God gives in the new birth, only God can. In other words, This book teaches
that salvation's not the easy, simple, easygoing thing that
it's made out to be. It's not simple as ABC. It's
not as simple as me repeating words put in my mouth. And some
preacher telling me, well, you're saved now. I went down that road. And it profited me nothing. Nothing. Christ says it's the spirit that
gives life. Salvation is a glorious miracle
that can only be performed by the glorious God and Savior,
Jesus Christ. Nothing less can do that. Nothing
less can raise dead sinners to life. The flesh profits nothing
in this. It's the Spirit that gives life
to dead sinners. It is then, and only then, that
men really and truly come to Christ. John chapter 5 verse
25, our Lord said, Verily, verily, truly, truly, pay attention,
He said, I say unto you, the hour is coming, and now is, when
the dead shall hear the voice of the Son of God, and they that
hear shall live. I think I've already told you
a few months ago we sat up here just before service And it was
like today, somewhere, missing. It's pretty noticeable in our
congregation. And I mentioned something to
John. He said, oh, but Larry, he said,
you know, God keeps this place open, keeps a gospel witness
here, because I'm convinced that one of these days, one of his
legs is going to walk through that door. and they're going
to hear the glorious gospel of the blessed God and he's going
to quicken them, quicken them, and they'll be made alive. Oh,
fear not, speak and hold not thy peace. In John chapter 11,
our Lord said to Martha standing before the tomb of her dead brother,
Jesus said to her, I am the resurrection. Martha, your brother shall rise
again, he had told her. Oh, I know that he will someday
in the resurrection. It meant nothing to Martha. It
was just a word. And our Lord said, oh, Martha,
you don't understand. I'm not talking about a word. I'm not talking about a dead,
lifeless, dusty doctrine. Martha, look again. I'm the resurrection. The resurrection is standing
before you. I am the resurrection and the
life. He that believeth in me, though
he were dead, yet shall he live. and whosoever liveth and believeth
in me shall never die." Martha, do you believe this? Do you believe
this? We read on down in the chapter
when he had, when he thus had spoken he cried with a loud voice. Remember what he said in John
5? The hour now is when the dead shall hear the voice of the Son
of God and they that hear shall live. Here's a picture of that.
And when Not when the preacher speaks. When he cried with a
loud voice, Lazarus come forth. Not the preacher talking. Not
the priest pronouncing some mumbo-jumbo. No. But when HE speaks, this
is what happens. Every time, John. And he that
was dead. Glory to his name. Lazarus, you're
not dead anymore. He that was dead came forth,
bound hand and foot with grave cloths. And his face was bound
about with a napkin. And Jesus said unto them, Loose
him. Get those rags off of him. That's not fit for a living man.
Loose him and let him go. That's what the Son of God does.
That's a picture. What happened to Lazarus literally
is a picture of what happens to dead sinners spiritually when
Christ gives them life. You had he quickened. Oh my,
aren't you a blessed person? You had he quickened who were
dead in trespasses and sins wherein in times past ye walked according
to the course of this world, according to the prince of the
power of the air. the spirit that now worketh in
the children of disobedience, among whom also we all had our
conversation the way we lived in times past, fulfilling the
desires of the flesh and of the mind, that's all that we cared
for, and were by nature the children of wrath, even as others." Well,
what happened? What changed? Did I go forward? Did I go to an altar? Did I make
a decision? Oh no, this is what happened,
but God. But God performed a miracle of
His mighty grace, who is rich in mercy. For His great love
with He loved us, even when we were dead in sins, hath quickened
us together with Christ. Lazarus, come forth, by grace
you are saved, and have raised us up together, made us set together
in heavenly places in Christ, that in the ages to come He might
show the exceeding riches of His grace in His kindness toward
us, through Jesus Christ. Here's the second thing. The
Lord's teaching concerning God's sovereignty in salvation and
man's utter helplessness in that salvation calls this. Again,
verse 66, from that time many of his disciples went back and
walked no more with him. His message calls the parting
of the ways. That's what the gospel does.
The gospel does that. Many went back, we told. I wonder
what they went back to. Back to the ceremonies? Back
to some dead religious tradition? Did they turn back to the law?
Nothing there but a curse. Did they turn back to religious
organizations and the Pharisees? Nothing there but dead works
and superstition. Did they turn back to their own
wisdom? Their own righteousness, nothing there but filthy rags. I know this, I know this. No
matter what they went back to, no matter what it was, they would
never be saved by it. No matter what they went back
to, they could never be saved. Because they had just left the
only God and Savior. They're only one. The only name
given among men by which we must be saved. They turned their back
on Him, the only Savior. They could not be saved by any
other. Verse 67, Then said Jesus unto
the twelve, Will you also go away? Will you also go away? I know this, I've seen it happen.
If religion is all I want, the answer is yes, I'll go away.
If anything less than the real union with the Son of God can
satisfy me, yes, I'll go away. I'll go with the crowd. Last
of all, O believer in Christ, I hope God will be pleased to
speak to your heart, give you a fresh appreciation. If you
can say with Peter, if your answer is Peter's answer, and it is
the answer of every true believer, is it not so? Verse 68. Then Simon Peter answered him,
Lord, to whom shall we go? It was a question, but really
Peter was speaking in the affirmative to our Lord's question. You have
the words of eternal life. To whom shall we go? Who else
can we go to? Whom shall we follow? Which teacher
can we learn from? Who shall guide us, be our guide
to heaven compared to you? What shall we gain if we forsake
you? What scribe, what Pharisee, what
Sadducee, what priest or rabbi can show us, speak to us such
words of eternal life as you have? Shall we go back to a world
that will deceive us? Shall we return to sin that will
destroy us? Shall we leave the fountain of
living waters? and go to broken cisterns of
man-made religion? Shall we go to the heathen philosophers
and become their disciples? Shall we go to the scribes and
Pharisees and sit at their feet? What can they teach us other
than making us two-fold more the child of hell than they are
themselves? No, we need one greater than
that. We need the Lord Jesus Christ. Where shall we find peace and
hope? and real solid comfort other than at the feet of Jesus
Christ. Where should we find a better
Savior? That's what Paul asked those
Corinthians that were being tempted by false teachers to disregard
Paul. Don't even listen to him anymore.
Don't even consider him a disciple. He's just in it for what he can
get. That's what was going on when Paul wrote these words in
2 Corinthians 11, verse 4. For if he that cometh preacheth
another Jesus, whom we have not preached, or if you receive another
spirit, which ye have not received, or another gospel, which we have
not accepted, ye might well bear with him. Seems kind of strange,
doesn't it? Why would Paul tell them to bear
with him, preaching another gospel? another spirit, another Christ,
you might well bear with Him. Paul was saying this, if they're
giving you, if they're preaching to you a better Jesus than what
I did, take Him. Take Him. But Paul knew that
was impossible. There's no other Savior but Christ
to look to. There's no other mediator between
God and man but the man Christ Jesus. There's no other physician,
great physician of any value, for diseased, Sin sick souls,
but the Son of God. There's no other fountain filled
with blood, drawn from Emmanuel veins that sinners can plunge
into. Oh, that fountain, and lose all their guilty stains.
There's not another city of refuge strong enough to hold the souls
that run into it, to flee from the wrath to come. There's no
other to come to as the bread of life, where hungry souls can
be fed. eat, eat and live forever. No other place of rest for those
that are weary and heavy laden except at the feet of the Son
of God. Only Jesus Christ has the power
and the authority to dispense eternal life for it's in His
hands. It's in His hands. Is that not
what He prayed in this same Gospel chapter 17? as thou hast given
him power over all flesh, that he should give eternal life to
as many as thou hast given him. And this is life eternal, that
they might know thee the only true God, and Jesus Christ whom
thou didst send." He is life and he gives life. He's that
bread which every sinner needs and without which he will perish.
Christ in this same chapter, how many of those great I am's
that he utter. I am the light of the world,
chapter 8, without him we walk in darkness. I am the door, chapter
10, the only door that enters into the kingdom of God, the
door of the sheep. I am the good shepherd, chapter
10 again and verse 11. The good shepherd gave his life
for his sheep and he knows his sheep and he gathers his sheep
and he'll keep his sheep. I am the Son of God, chapter
10. Christ Jesus asserted his divinity,
his eternality. Chapter 11, Martha, I am the
resurrection. Those that believe on me shall
never, ever die. One preacher many years ago told
a congregation, one of these days you're going to pick up
your paper and turn to the obituary and you'll see that I died. Don't
you believe it? He'll say, I will at that moment
never have been so much alive. in my life, eternal life. Christ said, I am the way, without
him we cannot come to God. I am the truth, without him we
cannot know God. I am the life, without him we
cannot live before God. Your bulletin article about your
pastor says, be not moved away from the hope of the gospel which
ye have heard. Ever moving. Sadly, I've known
some ever moving. Never satisfied. Ever moving. There will always be those who,
like the Athenians, spend their time in nothing else but either
to tell or to hear some new thing. Stay put. Just stay put. Why should I move from Him? The Word of God tells me that
if I'm in Christ, I'm accepted by God. Why go anywhere else?
The truth is that I'm complete in Christ. Why would I move?
Why would I move? 1 Peter chapter 2 verse 9, But
ye are a chosen generation, a royal priesthood, and a holy nation
of peculiar people, that ye should show forth the praises of him
who hath called you out of darkness. Aren't you thankful? Called you
out of darkness into his marvelous light. And we say with Peter,
we can't go back. We've got nowhere else to go.
Oh, thank God that that's true. We've just got nowhere else to
go. And here's the good news. The
righteous shall hold on his way, and he that hath clean hands
shall be stronger and stronger. They go from strength to strength,
every one of them. In Zion appeareth before God.
And one of the elders answered, saying unto me, who are these
which are arrayed in white robes? Where did they come from? Sir,
thou knowest. And he said to me, these are
they which came out of great tribulation. You're not going
to perish. You'll come out of great tribulation
and have washed their robes and made them white in the blood
of the lamb. Let me share this with you. I
found it reading a message of Mr. Spurgeon's. He said, I must
tell you an antidote of a good Welsh lady who, when she lay
dying, was visited by her pastor. And he said to her, Sister, are
you sinking? She answered him not a word,
but looked at him with an incredulous eye. He repeated the question,
Sister, are you sinking? She looked at him again as if
she could not believe that he would ask her such a question.
And at last, rising a little up in her bed, she said, sinking,
sinking. Did you ever know a sinner to
sink through a rock? If I had been standing on the
sand, I might sink. But thank God I'm standing on
the rock of ages, and there is no sinking there. Is that not
so? And Spurgeon said, oh, how glorious
to die. Oh, angels come. Oh, ministering
spirits come. Stretch out your broad wings.
and left us up from the earth, bearers far from the reach of
these inferior things, so that we can sing, saying, Jesus is
mine, I'll not fear undressing, but gladly put off these garments
of clay. To die in the Lord is a covenant
blessing, since Jesus to glory through death led the way. Now
unto him that is able to keep you from falling, and to present
you faultless. Wow. Before the presence of his
glory with exceeding joy, to the only wise God our Savior,
be glory and majesty and dominion and power both now and ever. Amen. Amen. God bless you.