I was reminded this past week
of a very solemn truth that man, old or young, man, rich or poor, educated or
uneducated, religious or non-religious, is in darkness. He's in darkness and ignorance
of spiritual things until God in sovereign grace is pleased
to shine the gospel of His dear Son in His heart. He's in darkness. And you can say what you will.
You can read what you will. And you can persuade and you
can argue and you can give illustrations, but he's going to stay in that
darkness until God be pleased to shine His light in his heart. Turn with me to John chapter
8. In John chapter 8, our Lord is dealing
with a people who had thousands of years of history And their
ancestors were known all over the civilized world as the children
of God. These were not barbarians. He's not over in the middle of
Africa somewhere preaching to a bunch of natives who don't
even know that there is such a thing as a Bible. He's talking
to people here. He's talking to these Jews. who
had thousands and thousands of years of history. They were known
all over the world, all over the civilized world at that time
as the children of God. They had such men in their past
as Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, Moses, Isaiah, Jeremiah, Ezekiel,
and famous men like Elijah. and Joshua and Daniel. This was
a people who enjoyed the covenants of God. God gave to this people
His law, His written law. He gave to them the prophets
who wrote the Word of God. He gave to them the tabernacle
and the service of God, showed them how to worship God. This was a people as concerning
the flesh by whom the Redeemer was promised and by whom He came
and whose churches He attended. These were not heathens. These
were religious men. These were men who were raised
in church, who were raised being taught the Scriptures. They knew
the Scriptures. I was reminded in conversations
this week that men today don't even know the Scriptures. These
men at least knew the Scriptures. They had in their history an
undeniable association with the living God, yet they were a people
like everyone else who walked in darkness, remained in darkness. Our Lord told them, I read it
in your hearing just a few moments ago, in John 8 verse 19, you
neither know me nor my Father. If you'd known me, you should
have known the Father. My friend, whatever association
you might have in the history of your family, past or present,
has no bearing on your standing with God, none whatsoever. Whatever
history your church may have is of no benefit to you so long
as you dwell in this darkness and ignorance of this fallen
world. John said in the opening statements
of his Gospel of Christ, he said, in him, talking about Christ,
was life. And that life was the light of
men. And the light shineth in darkness. Where did it shine? Darkness. And the darkness comprehended
it not. This was the Son of God. Surely
we'd recognize a perfect man if we saw him. Not if you're
in darkness. Not if you're in darkness. You
don't know the difference. You don't know the difference
between true godliness and sin because you're in darkness. You
don't know which way is up and which way is down because you
are in darkness. Men and women are in darkness
and this darkness prevents them from knowing the truth. Paul
said in 1 Corinthians chapter 1 verse 4, I mean chapter 4 verse 3, if
our gospel be hid, it is hid to whom? To the Lord. in whom
the God of this world has blinded their minds, lest the light of
the glorious gospel of Christ should shine unto them. He said,
For we preach not ourselves, but Christ Jesus the Lord, and
ourselves your servants for Jesus' sake. For God, who commanded
the light to shine out of darkness, has shined in our hearts to give
the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face
of Jesus Christ. God has to command His light
to shine. Just the same as He did, if God
had not commanded His light to shine on creation, it would have
went on in darkness forever. Darkness comes by a fallen nature
which is further corrupted by ungodly men who are used of Satan
to deceive the multitudes. That's what Paul's talking about
over there when he said, it's hid to the lost in whom the God
of this world. have blinded the minds of them
that believe not. They said to the Lord, verse
41 here in John chapter 8, look at it. We be not born of fornication. We're not ungodly men. We're
not depraved men. We're not heathens. We have one
Father, even God. Jesus said unto them, If God
were your father, you'd love me. For I proceeded forth and
came from God, neither came I of myself, but he sent me. Why do
you not understand my speech? Even because you cannot hear
my word. Ye are of your father the devil,
and the lust of your father you will know." That's darkness.
Men do not realize that they're spiritual pawns of the devil. They don't understand that. They
won't admit to that. They won't take their place there.
The scripture tells us plainly that we walk according to the
prince of the power of the air, the spirit that now worketh in
the children of disobedience, that we're all by nature children
of wrath, even as others. Why won't they receive it? Because
the natural man receiveth not the things of the Spirit of God.
He's in darkness. He's in darkness. No man, no
woman, no boy or girl can ever break free of the darkness of
this world until by a divine gift of grace, the light of the
glorious gospel of Christ shines in his heart. He can't break
free. It's described when it's talking
about devils and those who shall never be converted. It's described
as chains of darkness. Bound in chains of darkness. And this is what my text is all
about, John 8 verse 31. Then said Jesus to those Jews
which believed on him, if you continue in my word, that is,
in my doctrine, then are you my disciples indeed, and you
shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free. There are two things I want you
to see this morning, two things that are absolutely necessary
to the salvation of your soul and life everlasting. First of
all, the Lord of Glory speaks to His elect and He tells them
this, ye shall know the truth. Now this idea of being saved
and ignorant, I don't know where that comes from, but it's not
of God. When God saves a man, He puts light in his soul. He
puts light in his mind. He gives him the revelation of
God, and he shall know the truth. There's no maybe about it. There's
no ifs about it. He knows the truth. If a man
is ignorant of the truth, he's not a saved man. A saved man
knows the truth. Christ said to those Jews, they
said, well, if you'd be the Christ, my soul, look what they'd seen. They'd seen water changed into
wine. They'd seen leprosy cleansed. They'd seen the dead raised.
They'd seen all of these things. They heard never a man spake
like this man. And after he called Lazarus from
the tomb, they had a business meeting and said, if we don't
do something about him, everybody on earth is going to follow him. Light. Light. That's what He's telling them.
Light. You're walking in darkness. In darkness. Oh, this is what
this text is all about. You shall know the truth. My soul. A world full of darkness. You that truly do believe that
are here this morning, you think about this. A world full of darkness. A world full of ignorance and
superstition and vain philosophy. A world walking in the vanity
of their minds, having their understanding darkened, being
alienated from the life of God through the ignorance that's
in them. A world full of darkness. The window of the soul is the
eye. He said, if that eye be evil and everything that comes
through that eye is darkness, how great is that darkness? You
think about what surrounds you. You think about where you came
from. You think about where the Lord found you. He found you
in darkness. Darkness. But you shall know
the truth. Why? Why will some come to know
the truth while others go on in darkness? Well, somebody says
because they chose to do so. Well, that's true enough. That's
true enough. Our Lord said, you'll call on
me in that day, but I won't answer. You'll seek me early, but you
won't find me, because you hated knowledge, and you did not choose
the fear of the Lord. I'm OK with that word. It don't
bother me. Secondly, somebody go on in their
darkness because they love darkness. That's why men go on in it. They
love it. It appeals to them. They're happy
with it. I don't want to change. I'm happy with myself. I'm happy
with the way things are. I've stood up here and told men
and women the truth and seen their faces frown and seen them
go right back into the darkness because they love darkness. They
love it. They relish in it. They revel
in it. They're happy in it. No conviction in darkness. No
worry, no fear in darkness. Many of these chief rulers of
the Jews believed what they heard because of the Pharisees. They
believed what they heard. They believed what Christ did.
They believed what they saw with their own eyes. They believed
those things. But because of the Pharisees,
they would not openly confess Christ lest they be put out of
the synagogue. Listen to this, John 12, verse
43, For they loved the praise of men more than the praise of
God. They loved darkness. Demas hath forsaken me, having
loved this present world. He said in the Old Testament
back in Jeremiah, he said, The prophets prophesy falsely, and
the priests bear rule by their means, and my people Love to
have it so. Men stay in darkness because
they love it. They love it. And this is condemnation,
our Lord said, that light has come into the world and men love
darkness rather than light. Men and women love darkness because
it appeals to them. They love ceremonialism. They
love spiritualism. They love superstition and intellectualism. They love these things. They
love it. They relish in them. They love
to listen to famous men talk about their conversions and experiences
even though it is totally contrary to the Word of God. But beloved, here is God's promise
to His elect. You shall know the truth. You're going to know the truth.
Why? Because God has ordained it.
He's ordained it. Listen to this. God has from
the beginning chosen you to salvation through sanctification of the
spirit and belief of the truth. You're going to know the truth.
Why? Because God ordained it. He ordained
it. All that He calls, He'll call
through the truth. He's going to tell them the truth. And I'm going to tell you this,
it's the highest privilege in this world to know the truth.
This is a privilege. It's not a curse, it's a privilege
to know the truth. Peter said, the angels which
kept not their first estate, but left their own habitation,
he hath reserved in everlasting chains under darkness unto the
judgment of that great day. They're never going to hear the
truth. There's no opportunity for an angel to repent. He'll
never hear the truth, never, those fallen angels. And there are men who, because
of their persistence in false religion, who are reprobate by
God, giving over to themselves to believe a lie and be damned,
to whom is reserved, that's what Jude said, reserved in the blackness
of darkness forever. And then he tells these Jews
in John chapter 10 verse 26, They said, if thou be the Christ,
tell us plainly. He said, I told you. I told you. But you believe not, because
you're not of my sheep. You're not of my sheep. You see
what he's saying in these few verses? You shall know the truth. Know it in your heart, not just
your head. You're going to know. I'm going
to shine my light in your heart, and you're going to know. You're
going to know me and you're going to know the truth. You shall know the truth, the
truth about sin. I tell you, I never heard so
much ignorance in all my life as I do when I get in a conversation
with an unbeliever and they start talking about God and heaven
and all these things. You're going to know the truth
about sin. Do you know the truth about sin? Do you know what you are by nature?
Do you know that if left to yourselves, there's no possibility of you
saving yourself? Truth about sin. And then the
truth about God. God is not going to compromise
who He is. Not to do anything. He is not
going to compromise His character and His nature. Not going to
happen. And the truth about Christ. Who
is this man? Why did He come? What did He
do? Where is He now? The truth about Him. And the
truth about salvation, what salvation is, it's not a fire escape. It's
not an insurance policy. It's a new creation. He saves
us from ourselves. God saves a sinner, and the first
thing he does is begin to despise himself. He's pretty satisfied
with himself up to that point. And then secondly, First of all,
you're going to know the truth. Now listen to what he says. The
truth shall set you free. Free from what? Free from the superstition and
darkness of false religion. It'll turn you loose. Turn you
loose. It'll set you free. What's wrong
with worldly religion? They visit the sick. They encourage
men and women to live moral lives. They feed the hungry, clothe
the naked, send missionaries to every corner of the globe.
They give shelter to the homeless. They care for the orphans. They
send relief to disaster victims. What's wrong with worldly religion?
They have no light. That's what's wrong with them.
They have no light. They're filled with darkness.
They cry to the people, peace, peace, where there is no peace. They promise life who have no
life to give. They give direction who don't
know the way. They give instruction who have
no knowledge. Our Lord said those who go and
build up these graven images, they have no knowledge. Oh, my soul. That's what's wrong. That's what's wrong. Truth is
a person. It's a person. Our Lord said
to His disciples who were just dumbfounded by all these things,
they were totally in confusion. They didn't know where He was
going. They didn't know why He was going. They didn't know any
of these things. And He said, I am the way, and
I am the truth, and I am the life. Truth is a person. And these Jews have been going
to church all their lives. They've been taught the Scriptures
all their lives. But none of them knew the truth.
They didn't know the truth. And you'll never be free of the
darkness of false religion until God sends the light of His glorious
Gospel to you and commands it to shine in your heart. The truth
of the Gospel will set you free from the darkness of false religion. And then secondly, the truth
of justification. will set you free from the condemnation
of sin. Before God shined His light in
your soul, you were by nature the children of wrath, even as
others. Living, that's what He said,
you were living in the lust of your flesh and fulfilling all
its desires. And you were guilty before God,
condemned of God, owing a debt you couldn't pay. A sinner by
birth, by choice, and by practice, headed for judgment, doomed for
all eternity. Your conscience screamed out
your guilt, and your heart could not produce what God commanded.
And then God sent you the truth. He sent you the truth about one
chosen to die in your stead. one ordained as a substitute,
given a body to be sacrificed on your behalf. He was wounded,
Isaiah said, for our transgressions and bruised for our iniquities,
and the chastisement of our peace was upon him. The Lord himself
laid on him the iniquity of us all. He was cut off out of the
land of the living, for the transgression of my people was his strict And
my guilty soul come to see that it pleased the Lord to bruise
him for me. For me. God put him to grief
and made his soul an offering for sin. And God, seeing the
travail of his soul, was satisfied. Satisfied. And being justified
freely by His grace through the redemption within Christ Jesus,
whom God set forth to be a propitiation through faith in his blood to
declare himself righteous in the free justification of sinners. Oh, my soul, the truth about
justification will set the believer free from the condemnation of
God. Who shall lay anything to the
charge of God's elect? It's God who justified and Christ
that died. And then thirdly, gospel truth
sets us free from the yoke of the ceremonial law. You all don't
keep the Sabbath day? Christ is my Sabbath. He's my
rest. You want to rest in a day? You
go ahead. I'm going to rest in Him of whom
the day only spoke. Christ is my Sabbath. Christ
is my rest. Christ is my firstfruits. Christ
is my priest. Christ is my sacrifice. Christ
is my tabernacle. Christ is my mercy seat. Christ
is my altar. We have an altar, Paul said,
of whom the priesthood not worthy to eat. We have an altar. Christ is our altar. The truth
about Christ sets me free from the yoke of this ceremonial bondage. And the truth of sanctification
sets me free from the yoke of legal bondage. My friend, believers
don't serve God to acquire righteousness or a reward of any kind. Believers serve God because they
love Him. They love Him. That's why they
serve Him. And because of their gratitude
for all that He's given them. They are willing. They were pictured
under that law by the bond slave. Willing. He's free to go. You're
free to go. There's the door. He said, I
love my master. I will not go out. I'm going
to stay. I'm going to stay. And gospel
truth about adoption frees us to become sons of God. I remember down in Louisiana
years ago All the old deacons, they were all truck farmers.
Farmed hundreds of acres. And one of them in particular
had this big sweet potato farm. Boy, he was in a big way. I mean,
he had barns and trucks. He was a big-time farmer. And
I went out to his house. He wanted to show me his operation
out there. And I went out. And he had a
phone call. He had to leave and go answer
the phone. He said, I'll be right back.
He said, now don't leave. I want you to meet my son. And while
he was gone, I was watching these farmhands. They were running
in and out, loading trucks and all this. And he come back. He
said, come on now. He said, I'm going to show you
my son. I said, I think I've already seen him. He said, how
do you know which one? He said, which one of those boys
is my son? I said, the one packing two bags
of potatoes at a time. He said, that's right. I said,
he's got a personal interest in the farm. The truth about
adoption. My soul were joint heirs. These
guys down here in court quibbling over preachers. Paul said, the
world is yours. Don't you understand? We're heirs
of God and fellow heirs of Christ. The world is ours. Preachers
are ours. The church is ours. Freedom is
ours. Heaven is ours. It's yours. You're a son. You're a son. And the truth about adoption,
it sets us free from that old religious bondage. You have to
do this. And you have to do that. Now,
I want to. I want to. And then, sixly, the truth of
Christ's deity, power, and accomplishment sets us free from the fear of
our enemies and gives us the sweet assurance of peace. Listen to this blessed declaration,
Colossians 2.9. For in him dwelleth all the fullness
of the Godhead bodily, and ye are complete in him which is
the head. of all principality and power. He's there. Jesus Christ is God
our Savior. There's just one mediator between
God and men, the man Christ Jesus, the God-man. And seated upon
the throne of glory is one who is both God and man. And because
He's God, there's nothing He can't do. Boy, there's a multitude
of things that we can't do. There's nothing he can't do.
And because he's man, he can be sympathetic with our needs.
He can be touched with the feelings of our infirmities. And because
he's the God-man, he can fulfill his duties as a merciful and
faithful high priest in things pertaining to God. You shall
know the truth, the truth, and the truth will set you free. And then lastly, the truth about
salvation sets me free of all my hope and confidence in this
flesh. Where is boasting, Paul said?
It's out the door. It's out the door. One thing
I can say, no, no, you don't have anything you can say. It sets me free from all my hope
and confidence in this flesh. Salvation is in Christ. all in
Christ. And those who embrace Him have
everything God has purposed to give to sinners. Somebody told
old Scott one time, I think it was this lady, and she'd been
coming for quite a while, and she got aggravated at him that
morning. And she said, Christ, Christ,
Christ, that's all you ever preach is Christ. And he sat there for
a minute, and he said, well, somebody put that on my tombstone.
Just write that on my tombstone. All he ever preached was Christ. May the Lord be pleased this
morning to shine His gospel in your heart. If He does, you will begin to
know the meaning of freedom. Freedom. Free. He set us free. I heard Doug Day talking about
somebody in heaven being free of this and free of that. If
you're not made free here, you're not going to be free there. But
freedom starts right here. Right here. And it comes through
truth. That's how it comes. And I'm
going to tell you something. The only way I can tell you the
truth is to tell you the truth. Ain't no other way to do it. I can't crumble it up. My dogs
hate taking their mosquito medicine. I don't know what it is, but
they know what it is and they ain't going to swallow it. So
we took it and crushed it and got a piece of ham out and mashed
it all down in the ham. And somehow or another, they
chewed that ham and spit out them crumbs. I never seen anything.
You can't. And that's the same thing trying
to take gospel truth and put a little medicine in the milk
and ease it in. Only way I can tell you the truth
is to tell you the truth. And either God will give you
an appetite or He won't. Because anything else I do, you're
still going to spit it out. Still gonna spit it out. Maybe
God be pleased. Open your heart. Give you the
truth.