A year before I came here as
your pastor, while I was still pastoring in West Virginia, there
were about 20 or so college students from Bible College, Appalachian
Bible College, who started coming over to the church at lookout
and I was allowed to minister to them. And God opened the door
of ministry to a good many of them. The next fall, the only
church In the world that was off limits to the students at
Appalachian Bible College was the church where I pastored.
They didn't want folks hearing what they were hearing. And then
when I moved down here with my family, two or three of them
moved down within a few months after we did, after they graduated
from college, and were with us for a while. One night, I was
over here packing my bag to go preach somewhere, One of the
young men who had been sitting under the ministry by that time
for about three years came up and was obviously disturbed and
concerned and we chatted a little bit and finally he said to me,
I've had something on my mind. I said, what's that? He said,
I think we need to start studying and preaching other things. I
thought that was a little peculiar. I said, what do you mean other
things? All the time preaching the gospel of Christ and those
things, we know we need to study and preach other things. I said,
what other things? He said, things we don't understand.
I thought that was real peculiar. And I said to him, what was I
preaching when you met me? He said, same thing you are now.
I said, what was I preaching when you moved to Danville? He
said, same thing you are now. I said, that's what I'll be preaching
tomorrow. If you want to hear other things, you're going to
have to go somewhere else. And he did, and I guess he's still
looking for other things. I haven't heard from him since.
But I ran across this passage of scripture weeks ago in John
21 and verse 25. I want to open your Bibles there
if you will. This is John's last inspired
concluding statement concerning his gospel, the gospel narrative
he was directed of God to write. And this is the very last thing
God the Holy Ghost inspired his servant to pen about the earthly
history of our Lord Jesus Christ. John 21 and verse 25. And there are also many other
things which Jesus did, to which if they should be written, every
one, I suppose that even the world itself could not contain
the books that should be written. Amen. other things. That's my subject this morning.
What are these other things our Lord Jesus did while he walked
on this earth as a man of which we are told nothing at all in
the book of God? Why aren't we told about them?
Why are we told about so many things but not told anything
about these other things? Certainly these other things
do not refer to our Savior's doctrine. That doctrine is fully
revealed in Holy Scripture. The doctrine of God, which is
able to make us wise unto salvation, is revealed here in the book
of God. But there are many things that were done by our Savior
which are not written in this book. much about his childhood,
about his early life as a young man, much about his family, much
about his life as a man on this earth. Many other things simply
and wisely are kept from us by our God. There are many other
things done by our Lord which the Holy Spirit chose not to
have the inspired writers to tell us about. Matthew, Mark,
Luke, and John just don't tell us about Many of the discourses
and sermons our Lord preached, some are recorded, many are not.
Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John don't tell us about much of his
life in prayer as he knelt before God and sought his face as a
man on this earth. Much that transpired between
our Lord and other people is not told us here in the book.
Many of the private conversations our Lord had, we know nothing
at all about them. Now, there are a good many books
written called The Life of Christ and I've read some of those and
they're interesting and they're profitable in their own way.
But as far as scripture is concerned, we're told very, very little
about our Lord's childhood, His family, those things Shelby and
I were talking about the other day, it's coming down the road,
wonder what it was like living in the house with the Son of
God. We're just not told. Wonder what
the relationship was? We're just not told. Wonder how
the family got along? We're just not told. There are
many other things done by our Savior not written in this book.
Had our Savior done so, or had the Spirit of God done so, He
could have given us much, much more detail than He has. Had
all that our Savior done, however, been written on paper with all
the details relating to them, and explained clearly, John says,
I suppose that even the world itself could not contain the
books that should be written. That's some statement. That's
some statement. If you were to write down all
the other things, I suppose the world itself could not contain
the books that should be written. What does that mean? What does
that mean? We know that the world cannot
and will not receive the things of God. God has wisely given
us the record of the Redeemer's incarnation, His life, His ministry,
and His doctrine in this blessed book, the Word of God. He's given
it to us in this book that may be easily read and comfortably
read by anyone who can read. I know there's lots of efforts
being made by men to put the book in modern language, make
it easier to read, I defy you to find any edition, any translation
easier to read than what I'm holding in my hand. It's very
easily read if you want to read it. It can be read within a reasonable
period of time and read very comfortably. God's given us everything
needful for us to know to make us wise unto salvation in this
book. But the world will not receive
it. The world despises it. The world
rejects it. The book tells us about our Lord's
eternal deity, God. Tells us about Him coming into
the flesh, God incarnate. Coming here to redeem and save
His people. The book tells us about our Savior's
life of perfect righteousness and obedience by which He as
a man brought in everlasting righteousness of infinite worth
for men because He's God. This book tells us how that the
Lord Jesus by His death upon the cross, suffered all the hell
of God's wrath, to put away sin by the sacrifice of Himself,
and by that sacrifice obtained eternal redemption for all God's
elect, secured the salvation of every sinner for whom He died,
and guarantees that all who believe on Him shall have everlasting
life and be brought into heavenly glory. This book tells us. of
our Lord's resurrection. His time on this earth after
the resurrection, scene of many, many, many witnesses after his
resurrection. The book tells us how that our
Lord publicly ascended up into heaven, was exalted at the Father's
right hand and where he sits now in heaven with the reins
of the universe in his hand, governing the world to save his
people and making intercession for us according to the will
of God. These things are plainly written, they cannot be refuted,
and yet the world cannot and will not receive them. The natural
mind cannot and will not bear them. Rather, the world rejects
them, the world despises them, the world laughs at them, and
the gospel of God is foolishness to them. But still John's statement
here, I suppose that the world itself could not contain the
books that would be written. It's not a hyperbole. In addition
to all that I've said already, in addition to all these wonders
of mercy, love, and grace, John began his gospel with this statement. All things were made by Him. All things were made by Him. All things that have been, all
things that are, And all things that shall be were made by Him,
by His decree, by His order, by His will, by His hand. Now
should just those things be summarized, all the works of creation and
providence, the volumes that would be written could not be
contained by the world. But what about these other things?
Turn back to John chapter 20 if you will. The last two verses
of John 20. And see what God the Holy Ghost
tells us and would have us to learn by the omission of these
many, many other things from the Book of God. Why did He leave
so many things out? So many things that might easily
have been included in the written Word of God. Why did He leave
them out? Things that just intrigue men's minds. Things that just
intrigue their minds. You know, like, where did Cain
get his wife? Well, let's study that. Things like, where is the Ark
of the Covenant? Let's make a movie about that.
Maybe we can find it. Who were the wise men who came
at the Lord's birth? Isn't it amazing? You read about
the incarnate God. The incarnate God come here to
redeem and save his people. And folks say, well, who are
the wise men? I don't give a flip who they were, do you? I'm not
even interested in knowing who they were. I'm not a bit interested
in them. But folks get intrigued with
other things. When's the Lord coming again? Oh, now we got
something everybody's intrigued with. Folks write books about
it every day. Every day. All of my life as
a believer, All my life as a believer, folks have been predicting when
Christ is going to come again. All my life. Some have been foolish
enough to announce the very day. All my life folks have been doing
that. They've all been wrong, but they keep on doing it because
this is something we've got to study. We've got to find out.
God didn't tell us. It's sufficient. It's sufficient. It's sufficient to know He's
coming. It's sufficient to know at the
appointed hour He shall be here. It's sufficient to know there's
a day coming when God's going to set this world on fire and
everybody is going to stand before the bar of God in judgment. And
all God's elect shall enter into glory. Every believer saved with
Christ and every unbeliever justly damned. And folks want to know
when's it all going to take place. Why are so many, many other things
omitted and only very specific things revealed in the Word of
God? Hear what John says. Hear what God says. John 20 verse
30, And many other signs truly did Jesus in the presence of
His disciples, which are not written in this book, but these
are written, that you might believe that Jesus is the Christ, the
Son of God, and that believing you might have life through His
name. Now I hope you've got a piece
of paper with you and a pencil in your hand. I want to tell
you something. This is the one message, the
one point, the one thing I want you to get. The Word of God,
this book, the Word of God was written so
that you might believe that Jesus is the Christ and that believing
you might have life through his name. Imagine that. Rex, God gave you this book. He gave you this book that you
might know that Jesus is the Christ and that believing He
might have life through His name. What a declaration. What a declaration. All right, let me show you three
things with regard to this passage of Scripture, these other things.
Number one, John tells us plainly that the purpose, the design,
the intention of God in giving us Holy Scripture is that we
might believe. That we might believe that Jesus
is the Christ, the Son of God. The Scriptures are not the mother
of doubt, but of faith. The book of God was written to
give us confidence toward God by revealing to us a sure, indisputable
line of fact and truth. an indisputable revelation of
fact and truth. And so, Brother Don, you can't
say that everything written in this book is indisputable. Oh,
yes, I can. Oh, yes, I can. Nothing written
in this book has been or can be denied or repudiated by anyone. No, no, this is an indisputable
record of fact and truth that we might know. that we might
believe that Jesus is the Christ and believing we might have life
through his name. Now obviously John is referring
here specifically to the person and work of our Savior as recorded
by himself and by Matthew, Mark, and Luke in the four Gospels.
But what John tells us here is equally true of the entire volume
of Holy Scripture. Turn back if you will to Luke
chapter 24. Luke 24. I want you to turn. I want to
read something to you. That which is written here is
so precious, so sweet, so delightful that it hardly needs any explanation. Indeed, it can't be explained
to any who hasn't experienced it for himself. But let's begin
at verse 13, Luke 24. Our Lord is risen from the dead.
And behold, two of them, two of his disciples, went that same
day to a village called Emmaus, which is from Jerusalem about
three score furlongs. They're walking along on a long
journey together. And as they talked together of
all these things which had happened, and it came to pass that while
they communed together and reasoned, Jesus himself drew near and went
with them. They're walking along the way.
talking about what the Lord had done, talking about what the
Lord had spoken, talking about what the Lord had promised, and
then talking about the Lord's death, and talking about the
declaration of His resurrection. And then the Lord Jesus drew
near and went with them. Verse 16, But their eyes were
holden, that they should not see, or should not know Him.
And He said unto them, What manner of communications are these that
ye have one with another as ye walk and are sad? And one of
them, whose name was Cleopas, answering, said unto him, Art
thou only a stranger in Jerusalem, and hast not known the things
which are come to pass there? Are you just a stranger and you
don't know what's happened in Jerusalem in these days? Verse
19, He said unto them, What things? And they said unto him, Concerning
Jesus of Nazareth, which was a prophet mighty indeed, and
word before God and all the people, and how the chief priests and
our rulers delivered him to be condemned to death and to crucify
him. But we trusted. We trusted. We believed him. We trusted him. We trusted that it had been he
who should have redeemed Israel. He said, we believed that this
is the Messiah, the Redeemer, the one who would deliver us
and save us. Yea, I'm sorry, and beside all
this, today is the third day since these things were done.
Yea, and certain women also of our company made us astonished,
which were early at the sepulcher, And when they found not his body,
they came saying that they had also seen a vision of angels,
which said that he was alive. We trusted that he would come
and redeem us. And now he's been dead for three
days, and these women have told us that the angel said, he's
risen, he's alive. Verse 24, And certain of them
which were with us went to the sepulcher, and found that even
so, as the women had said, but him they saw not. Then the Lord
Jesus said unto them, O fools and slow of heart to believe
all that the prophets have spoken. He had told them repeatedly,
repeatedly, repeatedly. He said, I'm going to Jerusalem,
I'm going to be delivered into the hands of the Gentiles, and
I'm going to be put to death. And after three days I'll rise
again. He told them over and over and
over and over again. And they just didn't hear it.
They just didn't hear it. He said, O fools and slow of
heart to believe all that the prophets have spoken. And this
is what the prophets spoke, verse 26. Ought not Christ to have
suffered these things and to enter into His glory? This is
how the Messiah will enter into His glory. This is how He will
claim His throne. This is how He will show Himself
indeed the Messiah. He will suffer and enter into
His glory. And beginning at Moses, that's
beginning in Genesis chapter 1 verse 1, and all the prophets,
that's including everything between Genesis 1-1 and Malachi chapter
4, everything. Beginning at Moses and all the
prophets, He expounded to them, that is He told them what the
Scriptures say, what the Scriptures say. The things concerning himself,
verse 28, And they drew nigh unto the village, whither they
went, and he made as though he would have gone further. But
they constrained him, saying, Abide with us, for it is toward
the evening, and the day is far spent. And he went in to tarry
with them. And it came to pass, as he sat
at meat with them, and took bread, and blessed it, and break it,
and gave to them, and their eyes were opened, and they knew him. Oh God, open your eyes that you
may know him. And he vanished out of their
sight. And they said one to another, did not our heart burn within
us while he talked with us by the way, and while he opened
to us the scriptures? Oh, Son of God, by your Spirit
open to us the Scriptures. And they rose up the same hour
and returned to Jerusalem, and found the eleven gathered together
and them that were with them, saying, The Lord is risen indeed,
and hath appeared to Simon. And they told what things were
done in the way, and how he was known of them in breaking of
bread. As these two disciples walked
together, our Lord opened the Scriptures to them. Moses, and
in all the prophets he expounded to them things concerning himself."
Robert Hawker, commenting on those words, made this statement,
"'Hence we are taught, as plain as words can make it, that the
whole body of Scripture is concerning the Lord Jesus Christ.'" The
whole body of Scripture is concerning the Lord Jesus Christ. Our Lord
Jesus is the pearl of great price in this field. As he drew near
to these two disciples in the way, may he draw near to us now. As he opened the scriptures,
may he open the scriptures to us now. As his presence and his
doctrine cause their hearts to burn within them, oh may his
presence and his doctrine cause our hearts to burn within us.
We have read this book with no profit. We've just begun
again reading through the scriptures if you're following the calendar
I've prepared for you. But we've read the book with no profit,
no profit to our souls. We've read this book with no
understanding of its message until we realize that the message
of Holy Scripture is the person and work of the Lord Jesus Christ. That's the message of this book. The person and work of the Lord
Jesus Christ. The book of God was written for
this purpose that you might believe that Jesus is the Christ and
that believing you might have life through his name. Martin
Luther said, there's not a word in the Bible which can be understood
without reference to the cross. He said, as we go to the cradle
only to find the baby, so we go to the scriptures only to
find Christ. How I wish that were so. Most of the time folks go to
the scriptures to settle an argument or to investigate a theory. We
go to the scriptures rightly, only when we go to the scriptures,
only to find Christ. Robert Murray McShane lived a
long time before anybody ever dreamed of inventing an electric
light bulb. But he said to his church in
Scotland, in Dundee, Scotland, when you're reading a book in
a dark room, you take it to the window to get more light. He
said, when you read the word of God, take it to Christ and
get light to understand it. Christ is the scope of scripture. Christ is the sum and substance
of divine revelation. Take Christ out of this book
and all you have left over is processed wood with gilded edges
and leather covers. Without Christ crucified, You
may as well have the book of Koran and call it your Bible.
Without Christ crucified, you may as well read the writings
of Confucius and call that a Bible. Without Christ crucified, you
may as well take the teachings of any man about anything and
call that religion and call that Christianity. Christ crucified
is the message of this book. I want you to see this and see
it clearly. how I wish every man who claims
to be a preacher could see this. With regard to the book of God,
Christ is the key of knowledge. And without the key, men can
never unlock the chest and discover its riches. They just fumble
around. And I've heard a lot of preachers
just fumble around. Now some of them can fumble impressively,
some of them can just dazzle you with their brilliance, and
dazzle you with their oratory, but they're just fumbling around.
This book, I repeat to you what I've said a thousand times from
this pulpit, this is not a book about science, it's a book about
Christ. It is not a book about morality,
but a book about Christ. This is not a book about history,
politics, philosophy, or law, it's a book about Christ. This
is not even a book about prophecy, church dogma, or theology. This is a book about Christ. This is a hymn book. An H-I-M book. It's all about him. The message
of Holy Scripture is Christ crucified. It's not enough just to preach
the book. You can preach the letter of
the book and never preach Christ. Our business is to preach the
message of the book. We're sent to declare Christ
crucified and there's not a page in the book, not a page in the
book that doesn't speak of Christ. The Son of God tells us this
plainly. Turn over to John chapter 5, John 5. We read in Luke 24, beginning
at Moses and in all the prophets, He expanded unto them in all
the Scriptures things concerning himself. Here in John 5, verse
39, the Savior says, Search the Scriptures. Search the Scriptures. For in them you think you have
eternal life. People make a profession of faith
or get talked into it. They join the church. They start
having Bible studies. They go to Bible studies and
go to Bible studies and go to Bible studies. They get online,
and they go to Bible study chat rooms, and they have Bible studies,
and they have Bible studies, and they have Bible studies.
You search the scriptures because you think that in religious activity
and in religious knowledge, you have eternal life. He said, but
you're missing something. These are they which testify
of me. You think you have eternal life
in your religious activity and knowledge and pursuits and studies.
Search the scriptures. These are they which testify
of me. Preaching of Christ, the preaching
of the gospel, is synonymous with preaching all the counsel
of God. You remember what Paul told the
Ephesians? Acts 20 he said, He said, I am pure from the blood
of all men, for I have not shunned to declare unto you all the counsel
of God. But he said to the Corinthians,
I determine not to know anything among you save Jesus Christ and
Him crucified. Unlike many, unlike many. Paul didn't preach one thing
at Ephesus and another thing at Corinth. He preached the same
thing. He preached the same thing. You
say, well, unlike many. What do you mean, Pastor? There
are a good many people, a good many preachers. Should I invite
them to come here and preach any service or one of our conferences?
They'd come here, and if I asked them to preach on limited atonement,
they'd preach it, or unconditional election, they'd preach it. But
where they are, that's another story. They don't think about
preaching such things. They don't think about declaring
the truth of God. It costs too much. And many are
just like that. They'll preach one thing, one
place, one place, one thing, another. They find out what you
want to hear, and that's what they preach. I actually had a
fellow tell me one time, and some folks had confronted him,
and he said, well, what I preached I thought was a very generic
message. Anybody would like it. He said, what should I have preached? Oh, my soul, not God's service. Paul said, I determined to know
nothing among you save Jesus Christ and Him crucified. That's
all the counsel of God. That's the message of God. All
the Old Testament scriptures point us to Christ and call us
to faith in Christ. They all speak of Christ. All
the types and prophecies and pictures of the Old Testament
speak of Him. I read specifically Genesis chapter
6 this morning. There's one very clear picture
of our Redeemer, that ark that God commanded Noah to make. He
said, He said, I'm going to destroy all flesh, but you build an ark.
You make it of gopher wood and you pitch it inside and out.
Cover it up with pitch. That is, make atonement. Cover
it all. Cover it all. You cover the whole
thing. And you come into the ark and
Noah went in the ark and God shut the men and they stayed
in the ark and then all the fury of God's wrath fell upon the
earth and all the fury of God's wrath fell on that ark. Can you
imagine what it must have been like being in that ark during
that storm? Can you imagine what it must
have been like being in that ark in that storm? Say well Noah
was a believer he's alright I got news for you. Believers still
get upset in the midst of a storm. Believers still get upset. Even
believing God, they quake in fear in the midst of a storm.
Noah and his family in that ark and that ship is tossed about
with turbulence that destroyed the whole world. Can you imagine
what it was like? That ark absorbed all the fury
God's wrath and not a drop of water and not a bolt of lightning
fell on Noah or his family. They're shut up in the ark. That's Christ our Redeemer. That's
God's salvation by Him. And that's what all the Old Testament
prophecies and pictures and types are all about. And that's what
all the miracles and wonders performed by our Lord while He
walked on this earth are all about. It's all the picture and
preaching of Christ crucified. The American Puritan Cotton Mather
instructed his preacher students with these wise, needful words. Among all the subjects with which
you feed the people of God, I beseech you, let not the true bread of
life be forgotten, but exhibit as much as you can of the glorious
Christ unto them, let the motto upon your whole ministry be,
Christ is all. Oh, what a blessing it would
be if every man who claims to speak for God, who claims to
be a Gospel preacher would heed those words. How blessed the
Church of God would be if those who fill her pulpits were determined
like Paul to know nothing but Jesus Christ and Him crucified. Any man who's sent of God is
sent of God to preach Jesus Christ crucified. Paul wrote to the
Corinthians again in that same epistle in the first chapter.
He said, God didn't send me to baptize. I thank God I didn't
baptize any of you except this one and that one and the other
one. God didn't send me to baptize. God sent me to preach the gospel.
God sent me to preach the gospel. That's my business. Christ is
the singular subject of the Scriptures and He ought to be the singular
subject of the pulpit all the time. The Word of God is rightly
compared to that alabaster box that that woman brought to Simon's
house in Mark 14. She brought in an alabaster box
of spite and very precious. It was worth a year's wages,
300 pence. And she came into the room and
broke the box open. And when she broke open the box,
the perfume, the rich fragrance of that spikenard filled the
room. This book is the box. My business is to break open
the box. That the rich fragrance of Christ
fill the room and flood your souls. That's the preacher's
business. In the Book of God, Christ is
everything. But Brother Don, we have doctrines
to teach men. We do indeed. And I'll let you
verify for yourself whether or not I've been faithful in doing
that work. But the doctrine we preach is
Christ crucified. We talk about divine sovereignty.
When we do, we're simply declaring that Jesus Christ is God our
Lord. When we proclaim God's glorious work of predestination,
we're showing how sinners have been predestined by God to be
conformed to Jesus Christ perfectly in everlasting salvation. God's
election is His choice of sum to everlasting salvation by Christ.
Total depravity, a thoroughly biblical doctrine, Total depravity
is God's declaration of our need of Christ. Limited atonement
is the biblical assurance of effectual redemption and grace
by Christ. The declaration of full salvation
for all for whom Christ died. Irresistible grace, well that's
effectual calling. It's the almighty, irresistible
revelation of Christ in the soul by God the Holy Spirit. I call
you to Christ. I urge you to believe on Christ.
I call you now to come to Christ. But you won't come. You won't
pay any attention to me. You won't pay the least bit of
attention to me unless God the Holy Ghost reveals Christ in
you. And if ever you see Him, you'll
come gladly. If ever you see Him, you'll gladly
believe Him. Regeneration. That's Christ.
being implanted in us. Justification is just the imputation
of Christ's righteousness to us. Faith is trust in Christ. People talk about, folks, he's
a man of faith. I have great faith. Faith is
trust in Christ. Faith is trust in Christ. It's
not believing something. Some folks believe in witches
and others don't. Some folks believe in Easter and others
don't. Some folks believe in Christmas and others don't. Faith
is believing Christ. There's a huge difference. Sanctification
is having Christ formed in us, begun in regeneration, consummated
in glorification. Perseverance is Christ holding
our hearts by His grace. Baptism is the believer's confession
of Christ. The Lord's Supper is our remembrance
of Christ. Eternal life is knowing Christ.
Heaven is being with Christ. Preaching is telling folks about
Christ. Anything else is not preaching.
Call it what you may, it's not preaching. Begin in Genesis and
go straight through the book of Revelation. God the Holy Ghost
tells us, these are written that you might believe that Jesus
is the Christ. the Son of God. The Bible is
a wonderful library of 66 books. The greatest standing miracle
in the earth is the book you hold in your hand. 66 books written over a period of
1500 years by many different men, many of whom never knew
each other, never knew one another's names, never spoke to one another.
And yet the book, this marvelous, marvelous book, this library
of 66 books is so perfectly one that it's one book. It's called
the Holy Book, the Holy Bible, the Holy Book of God. And it speaks all together about
Jesus Christ and Him crucified. The whole thing is written that
you might believe that Jesus is the Christ and that believing
you might have life through his name. What a lesson for all who
write and preach and teach about this book. The book was not written to promote
a creed or build a denomination or maintain religious history.
And it certainly wasn't written to promote me or you, all of
us combined. The book of God was written that
you may believe that Jesus is the Christ and that believing
you may have life in his name. I try to study and prepare to
preach and I come here to preach and I pray for grace to preach.
And everything I write, every hymn, every bulletin article,
every letter I write, my purpose is this. That you may believe
that Jesus is the Christ. And that believing you might
have life through his name. I don't try to govern your lives.
I don't try to order what you do. I don't interfere with those
things. That's not my business. Not my business. I recall when
folks moved here a while back, reformed church that came from
him called me one day. He said, Are you prepared to assume responsibility
for governing their lives? I said,
For what? I'm not here to govern their
lives. I'm not here to govern your life. I'm here to preach
the gospel to you that you may know that you may believe that
Jesus is the Christ and that believing you may have life through
His name. Every other labor and effort
in religion is but vanity. It's just spinning your wheels
in the sand making a show for somebody else. Whether or not
a lot of fellows will be offended by that, they need to be. They
need to be. I've deliberately spent the bulk
of my time on this first thing. But second, let me briefly show
you the singular object of faith. Jesus is the Christ, the Son
of God. The singular object of faith
Lord Jesus, the Christ, the Son of God. Hold your hands here,
John, and turn to the last epistle of John. I'm sorry, the first
epistle of John, 1 John chapter 2, verse 22. Faith is believing Christ. Faith is believing Christ. Now if you ask, what does that
mean? I'm glad you asked because not many folks have a clue. Not
many folks have a clue. Walk across the street. Walk
right across the street. Wait for folks to come out at
the services and ask them, what is it to believe Christ? Ask
them. Ask them, I dare you. Ask them.
Go downtown. Go down to that Baptist church,
that Presbyterian church, that Methodist church. Go downtown.
Folks come out to church to ask them, what is it to believe Christ? What is it? What is it? What
is faith in Christ? I dare you to ask them. you will
be absolutely dumbfounded by the answers. What is it to believe
Christ? Let's see what God says. First
John chapter 2 verse 22. Who is a liar but he that denieth
that Jesus is the Christ? He is an Antichrist. He is Antichrist
that denieth the Father and the Son. He who denies that Jesus
is the Christ denies the whole Godhead and denies everything
about God. Look at chapter 5, verse 1. Whosoever believeth that Jesus
is the Christ is born of God. And everyone that loveth him
that begat loveth him also that is begotten of him. Anyone who
denies that Jesus is the Christ, he's anti-Christ and he denies
everything about God. Whosoever believes that Jesus
is the Christ He's born of God and he's part of the family of
God and he loves the children of God because he's born of God
What is this thing faith in Christ to trust Christ is to believe
that the man Jesus of Nazareth Actually is the Christ of God
Is to believe that he is the Christ of God To trust Christ
is to believe that Jesus of Nazareth effectually accomplished everything
the Old Testament Scriptures and all the prophets said that
He would accomplish. That is, He actually redeemed
His people. He actually put away sin by the
sacrifice of Himself. He actually brought in everlasting
righteousness. He actually saved His people
from their sins. Most everybody says to believe
is to believe that Jesus is able to save you if you'll let Him.
Jesus provided redemption for you if you'll have it. Jesus
made it possible for you to be justified if you'll accept Him.
Jesus made salvation possible if you'll just take it. No. To believe is to believe that
Jesus, that man, is God in the flesh. that he is the Christ
of God and everything he did is effectually accomplished in
the saving of his people. Brother Tom Harding in his bulletin
this week reminded us of an incident that happened with Mr. Spurgeon
once. Spurgeon walked one day by a church that was well known
in London for denying and mocking the gospel, but they never preached
it. And the sign out front announced the title of the message for
the week. It read like this. Crucifixion. C-R-U-C-I-F-I-C-T-I-O-N. Crucifixion. Crucifixion. Now, crucifixion, C-R-U, C-R-U-F,
I'm sorry, C-R-U-C-I-F-I-X-I-O-N. And crucifixion, F-I-C-T-I-O-N. Sound exactly the same. They
sound exactly the same when you pronounce them, but they're spelled
different because they're different words. For most folks, the death
of Christ was a crucifixion. It's just all fiction. It's just
all fiction. They tell of a redeemer who died
to redeem but didn't redeem. They tell of a justifier who
died to justify but didn't justify. The tale of a sanctifier who
died to sanctify but didn't sanctify. The tale of a Savior who died
to save but didn't save. The tale of a Lord who failed
in what He came here to do. It's all fiction. It's all fiction. It's all fiction. Crucifixion revealed in this
book. The death of Christ. The crucifixion
of the Son of God. declares the accomplishment of
atonement, the accomplishment of righteousness, the satisfaction
of justice, the redemption of God's elect, everything done
that God said the Christ would do. To believe on the Son of
God is to believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God,
the Son of God. And believing, you have a life.
through His name. Now, briefly, let me give you
the connection of life with faith. These things are written that
you might believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God,
and that believing you might have life through His name. Let
me give you four statements and I pray God will seal the message
of this book to your heart. Faith in Christ doesn't give
you eternal life. No. No. If you could believe,
you don't need God to do anything for you. Dead folks can't believe. Faith in Christ doesn't give
you eternal life. Number two, the gift of life eternal brings
with it all the bounteous grace of God the Holy Spirit. So that
when God gives the sinner life, He gives the sinner faith. When
God gives the sinner life, He works faith in the sinner. When
God gives you life, He gives faith in Christ Jesus. You find
yourself believing God, trusting Christ. But understand this,
you will never have eternal life if you don't believe on the Son
of God. You must believe. You must believe. So, Brother John, you talk like
I have to make a choice. You do. You do. Yeah, you do. Right now, you choose to do one
of two things. You choose not to believe or
you choose to believe. Right now. Right now. Faith is
the gift of God, but you must believe. If you don't believe,
you'll go to hell. But if you believe, if you believe, right where you
are, right now, if you believe, eternal life is yours. He that believeth on the Son
of God hath eternal life. But he that believeth not the
Son shall not see life, but the wrath of God abideth on him. Oh, God help you. to believe
on Christ. May he give us grace to seek
Christ and ignore all those other things by which folks are damned. Amen.