And I want to continue on from
where we left off last week. We saw last week Nicodemus, one
of the rulers of the Jews in the respect of religious authority. He was a member of the Sanhedrin,
the Jewish religious council of Pharisees that ruled the Jews. And he came to Jesus by night
because he said, we believe, we know that you are a teacher
come from God. No man can do the things you
do unless God be with him. And so He came to Jesus and Jesus
told him, you can't understand anything except you are born
again, unless you must be born again, he said. You must be born
again. You must be born again because all of God's elect must
be born again. You must be born again because
you must have that new life of the Spirit of God implanted in
you to see the things of the Spirit of God, to be able to
see spiritual things, and to be able to hear unlike the natural
man who cannot see or understand these things but it's all of
the sovereign grace of God right in the middle of this chapter
where is the best love verse for evangelistic preaching verse
16 God so loved the world that he gave his only begotten son
that whosoever believeth in him should not perish but have eternal
life the context of that is that the wind blows where it listeth
the spirit blows where he wants. He does, by his sovereign will.
Verse 8, the wind blows where it listeth. You hear the sound
of it. You cannot tell where it comes from or where it goes.
So is everyone that is born of the Spirit, by the sovereign
grace of God. 4, Romans 9, 16, echoing the
Old Testament again and again. It is not of him that wills,
nor of him that runs, but of God who shows mercy. this is
this man he's come to we believe you're a teacher he's come to
him we want to know a bit more about you I want to know what
this is all about and Jesus says you can't even understand the
beginning of it unless you are born again unless a new man a
new man the offspring of the Spirit of God is planted within
that old dead sinful flesh to give you spiritual life that's
the one that you know we read Psalm 119 in those early verses
and it says that that one does no iniquity now we know that
that cannot be true of us as a whole for if we say we have
no sin the truth is not in us we deceive ourselves the one
that can do no iniquity is that new man planted by the Spirit
of God and he wars constantly with this old man which most
definitely can and does sin until our bodies go to the grave that's
the case of it but why should Nicodemus listen to this man
who was in front of him why should he listen to him where did Jesus
get his knowledge? well look at verses 11 to 13
Jesus says to him in verse 10 are you a master of Israel and
you do not know these things verily verily truly truly I say
to you we speak that we do know and testify that we have seen
yet ye receive not our witness if I have told you earthly things
and you believe not In other words, if I've spoken to you
in parables, which are earthly stories with a heavenly meaning,
and you don't understand and you don't believe, how shall
you believe if I tell you of heavenly things? No man hath
ascended up to heaven, but he that came down from heaven, even
the Son of Man which is in heaven. Where did Jesus get his knowledge? Well, in these verses, he claims
unique authority regarding spiritual light. And when I say unique,
I mean unique. You can't have a fairly unique
and quite unique. No, unique. Unique means one
only and one only means no others at all. Our Lord Jesus Christ
is claiming to be the unique authority regarding spiritual
light and spiritual darkness. He talks here about that light
and that darkness. He talks about how is that gap
bridged between darkness and light and he talks about the
results the awesome results of being in the light of Christ
and remaining in the darkness of unbelief. He's the source
of light. You know, in this world, when
you want to know anything about a complex subject, you go to
an expert. If you, I can't imagine why many
of you sat here this morning would have the slightest interest
in nuclear physics, but let's say you did, you'd go to a nuclear
physicist. And not just anyone, but one
who has a reputation. and a track record in the subject.
And what he says about it comes true and is not known to be a
fallacy. You go to the expert. Spiritual
truth? What do we do as a people in
spirit? You see, we live in a society which is absolutely ridden with
experts. Many would say we put far too much reliance upon experts
in legal matters. You know, the ones who know about the triple jab and all that fuss
that there was about whether it was true or not the climate
science and all that kind of thing we're always relying on
experts but when it comes to spiritual truth people don't
go to the expert who is the Lord Jesus Christ who is the unique
source of truth they ask just anyone what's your opinion what's
your you know the way the BBC does a documentary on such things
is to go and ask every opinion and put them all in a great big
melting pot and stir them round and you take out of it which
bits you want. You get this great big soup of ideas and, oh, I
don't like the onions so I'll just eat the sweet potatoes.
And so it is with spiritual things. That's how we deal with things
as a society. We just weigh opinions. We compare
arguments. We decide our preferences. And
what we end up with, I remember Bill always used to call it this,
shared ignorance. We end up with shared ignorance.
It's like a blind man, and anybody listening to this believe me
I have the greatest respect and awe for people who cope through
this life with the physical condition of blindness I really do but
nevertheless the scripture uses blindness as an illustration
of not being able to see things that are spiritual in the way
that a blind person cannot see things that are visible cannot
see that because that sense is not presence and so it is the
scriptures talk about a blind man is not a very good guide
to another blind man. I remember not long ago finding
a blind man at King's Cross tube station. And sometimes you don't
want to interfere because there's a great deal of confidence that
they know the way and can do it themselves. But this man clearly
didn't look like he knew where he was going. And I said to him,
excuse me, I hope you don't mind, but do you need any help? And
he gladly grabbed the help and got hold of my arm. And I led
him down the escalator and onto the platform he wanted to be
on. It wouldn't have been much use to him if somebody just as
blind as him had happened to bump into him and say, do you
want some help? Because they would have been equally unable
to find their way. But so it is with spiritual things.
Men and women all around us will ask anyone other than come to
the source of truth and light and knowledge. For in him dwell
all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge. We need to ask the
only one. Who knows? And that's the Lord
Jesus Christ. If you want to understand this
life, and oh, don't we want to understand this life? What is
it all about? Who am I? What is this consciousness
in me that is thinking? What does death mean? What happens? What's it all about? You need
a heavenly perspective. You need the view from a heavenly
perspective. And here, in verse 13, Jesus
tells Nicodemus that no man No mere man has ascended up to heaven
but He that came down from heaven even the Son of Man which is
in heaven. No mere man has ascended up to
heaven to come back and tell us spiritual truth. The only
one who has is the Lord Jesus Christ. He is the Son of Man
in heaven. He is omnipresent. He is in eternity
at the same time here as a man in time. He is the Son of Man
in heaven. We cannot understand these things
because we're bound by time and everything that goes with it.
But he is the only one. Or you might say, what about
Enoch? Who walked with God and he was taken and he didn't die.
And what about Elijah who was taken to heaven in that chariot
of fire? What about those? Didn't they ascend to heaven?
Yes, they did. They bypassed death for the purpose
of illustrating the fact of eternal life. They bypassed death but
they didn't come back to tell a spiritual truth. Only the Son
of Man did. Only Christ the Word of God did.
He is the one who has come to tell us these things. The Son
of Man who was in heaven. In verse 2, Nicodemus acknowledged
Jesus was a teacher sent from God. But Jesus stressed here
that he was the only bearer of truth from God. The only one
who bears the truth from God. He says it again and again in
this Gospel of John. He is the one who came down from
heaven with the knowledge of eternity of spiritual life, because
He is God. He's the Son of Man. The Son
of Man means He is the God-Man. He's God in human form. And He
came to earth with a heavenly message. The message of the covenant. He is the messenger of the covenant. He shall come. Behold, He shall
come. The messenger of the covenant. And He came with a message. What
was His message? A message of salvation from sin. And how did He bring that message?
it was on the basis of salvation from sin in the person and works
of himself as the substitute for sinners that you can be right
with God if you're in him because in him the law is kept perfectly
and in him your sins are paid for absolutely the last penny
of them let's just read a couple of scriptures first Corinthians
sorry well first of all look at Acts chapter 20 the next the
next book after John Acts chapter 20 and verse 28. And then we'll look at 1 Corinthians
chapter 2 and verse 8 and see what the message of those two
verses is. This is the elders of Ephesus
on the beach saying goodbye to Paul and he says to them, take
heed therefore unto yourselves and to all the flock over the
which the Holy Ghost hath made you overseers, to feed the church
of God which He hath purchased with His own blood." Feed the
church of God which He hath purchased with His own blood. Now turn
over, pass the book of Romans to 1 Corinthians and in 1 Corinthians
look at chapter 2 and verse 8 says that none of the princes
of this world knew about the wisdom of God. Verse 8, for had
they known it, they would not have crucified the Lord of glory. The Lord of glory. What are those
two verses saying that backs up this? They're saying that
the Lord God came to earth. The Lord God came to earth. The
Lord of glory came to earth. and was crucified in the place
of His church. His church is His people. He
was crucified in the place and as the substitute for His people
whom He, the church, whom He, as God, purchased with His own
blood. Isn't that clear? You know when
you get these knocking on your door who tell you that Jesus
is not God? It's quite clear it was God who
purchased his church with his own blood. Who purchased his
church? The Lord of Glory. Who is the Lord of Glory? God
says that he is a jealous God and he will not share his glory
with any other person. Not at all. And yet Jesus, the
man, says restore to me the glory that I had with you before the
beginning of time. He's the Lord of Glory. The scriptures
call this man who came the Lord of Glory. He's God. in human
flesh and therefore He is the Word made flesh. He is the Word. In the beginning was the Word
and the Word was with God and the Word was God. John 1 verse
1 and John 1 verse 14 and the Word was made flesh and dwelt
among us. He became a man and dwelt among
us with flesh and blood in the likeness of sinful flesh looking
like an ordinary man full of grace and truth whose Word is
light For as we read, Psalm 119, 105, Your Word, and He is the
Word, is a lamp to my feet and a light to my path. This is a
dark world. Spiritually, we're in complete
darkness, but this Word, which is the Word of the Lord Jesus
Christ, is that lamp to our feet. It enlightens our path. It shows
us the way. When all else around us tells
us other things, when all else around us go their own way in
darkness, this Word shines the light of the knowledge of the
glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ. So where else would you
go? Where else would you go? As Peter said to Jesus in John
6, 68, to whom shall we go? You have the words of eternal
life and we're convinced. We've lived with you a while
and we're convinced. We've heard you. We've seen and
we're convinced that you are the Christ. You're the promised
one. You're the promised substitute
who would come and save us from our sins, and fit us for eternity,
and prepare us for heaven, and deal with the judgment of God
in our place and on our behalf. Where else would you go? Do you
know something? I want to tell you that we live
in days where it's very difficult to stick to the true gospel of
sovereign grace. It would be so easy to compromise
it. It seems to me that the majority
of that world which called itself the reformed Calvinistic world
of English reformed churches is going lock, stock and barrel
overboard in the direction of throwing these doctrines out
and they're basically preaching a message of Arminianism dressed
up as Calvinism and there's so many doubts and we look at our
numbers and there's so few of us and we see the darkness all
around us and you know I'm flesh and blood and I have serious
doubts and I worry and I have concerns but when I come to prepare
the message for this time each week I always end up I always
end up saying to whom shall we go? You have the words of eternal
life I can't do anything else These are the words of eternal
life. This gospel of particular redemption, this is the effectual
gospel that saves sinners from their sins because it doesn't
depend on me and my will and whether I've accepted Jesus properly.
It depends on Him who came from heaven as the word of life, the
light of the world who came to save me from my sins. In my place
He stood, in my place condemned and bore my sins. He is the source
of light. That's why we listen to Him.
That Nicodemus is why you need to listen to Him. Now look at
the contrast with darkness. Here is light. This is the light
of the world. He said in another place in John's
Gospel, I am the light of the world. I am the light of the
world. That's an amazing claim. Only
God can make that claim. He is the light of the world.
The one who in the beginning said, let there be light and
there was light. He is the light of the world.
But oh, what a contrast with darkness. What a contrast. It always amazes, you know, I've
lived on this planet for nearly 59 years and some of you a bit
longer than me, but, you know, it still amazes me how light
it is when it's daytime and how incredibly dark it is when it's
nighttime. You know, in a space of half
an hour, if you're out in the country away from streetlights
and it's a cloudy night, it goes from being very, very light to
incredibly dark. I remember once years ago walking
down a country lane at night with some friends going back
to our boarding house where we were staying down near the Navy
down in Weymouth and I remember walking down the country lane
and you know they talk about darkness that's so dark you can
feel it I mean it just didn't get any better you know normally
you go into a dark room and your eyes get used to it after a while
well after 10 minutes of walking down this lane it was still absolutely
black absolutely black there's a tremendous contrast between
light and darkness. And so there is in everything
around us. In the physical world, the physical
world is full of contrasts. In the realm of science we have
matter and antimatter. It's not science fiction, it's
true. We have electrons and we also have positrons, which are
the antiparticles of electrons. We have North Poles and South
Poles, not just geographically, but magnetic ones. North Poles,
little Timmy knows about it with his magnetic train when he puts
the carriages together. You can see him now, he instinctively
knows, oh no, that's the wrong way around and turns it the other
way around to make them stick together. Full of contrasts,
we have good and evil that we see all around us. We have love
and hatred. We have truth and lies. We have
selfishness and selflessness. We have holiness and sin. We have God and Satan. Huge contrasts, but the natural
mind The mind of men and women as we are by nature is naturally
darkness. Isaiah 9 verse 2 says, the people
that walked in darkness have seen a great light. People naturally,
you and me, as we are by nature, we walk in spiritual darkness. We walk in darkness. We're as
able to comment on spiritual things as a blind man blind from
birth is able to comment on the beauty of a glorious scene in
nature it's something that's beyond their experience and so
spiritual things are beyond our experience look at what the scriptures
say about the darkness of the heart of man look at Ephesians
chapter four just turn over there Ephesians and the fourth chapter Ephesians chapter four and verse
17 this I say therefore and testify
in the Lord that he henceforth walk not as other Gentiles walk
in the vanity the futility the pointlessness of their mind having
their understanding darkened being alienated from the life
of God through the ignorance that is in them because of the
blindness of their heart You see what that's saying? How dark
is the natural mind concerning the things of the Spirit of God?
In 2nd Corinthians chapter 4 and verse 4, Paul writes there that
the God of this world, Satan, has blinded the minds of people. He's blinded their minds. And
look, while you're turning to 2nd Corinthians, look in 2nd
Corinthians chapter 3 and verse 14. You see, surely Being in
religion gives you some sight of these things, doesn't it?
You know, those who are serious about their church, well, they're
bound to have a reasonable view of these things, aren't they?
Surely they are. Surely they know quite a bit,
those that are serious about their religion. I mean, you have
to give them some credit for their sincerity. They're bound
to know a thing or two about religion and about spiritual
truth. Look at chapter 3 and verse 14. Paul is talking about the Israelites. who had the oracles of God who
had the scriptures as they were but their minds were blinded
verse 14 their minds were blinded for until this day remaineth
the same veil untaken away in reading of the Old Testament
you see as they read the scriptures it was as if a veil was over
their eyes so even though they read it mechanically they couldn't
see the spiritual truth of it because that veil is done away
in Christ and even to this day when Moses is read the Old Testament
books of Moses the veil is upon their heart nevertheless when
it shall turn to the Lord the veil shall be taken away that
veil is taken away in Christ for in Christ we have all the
treasures of wisdom and knowledge in Christ we have the understanding
that we need in Christ turning over to chapter 4 and verse 6
The God who commanded 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. And what is the glory of God?
What is the glory of God? What is it to know the glory
of God? Show me your glory, said Moses. I'll show you my glory.
I will be gracious to whom I will be gracious and I will have compassion
on whom I will have compassion. The glory of God, the greatest
glory of God is His grace to sinners. It's that which the
angels desire to look into. That is the light of the knowledge
of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ. For in the face
of Jesus Christ we see heavenly justice satisfied. We see peace
made with God. We see light. We see life. We
see acceptance with Him. We see hope. We see peace. We
know God through the grace of God by the substitution of Christ
on behalf of his people but in darkness we know nothing of these
things we're without Christ and without hope in this world without
any hope for eternity without any hope for this life oh yes
we eat drink and be merry for tomorrow we die but we're in
a lost state a lost eternity you see it's just like sight
and blindness as I've been saying the blind can't sense the sight
of a beautiful view and without faith we cannot see eternal things
there's a huge chasm so how is this chasm bridged we'll look
back in John chapter three in John chapter three there's a
huge chasm between the spiritual darkness of the natural mind
and the natural heart of man and the glorious light of eternal
life of joy of the glory of God, of the spiritual treasures in
heavenly places that are in Christ. How can those who by nature are
darkness be brought to light? How can those who by nature are
in the blindness of their heart spiritually be brought to see
the truth of God and acceptance with Him? How can they be qualified
for that? How can they be qualified? Well,
look in verse 14. Jesus says this. He's come with
the message. Now he's talking about how this
chasm can be bridged. As Moses lifted up the serpent
in the wilderness, even so must the Son of Man be lifted up that
whosoever believeth in Him should not perish but have eternal life. For God so loved the world that
He gave His only begotten Son that whosoever believeth in Him
should not perish but have everlasting life. For God sent not His Son
into the world to condemn the world, but that the world through
Him might be saved. How can darkness be made light?
How can those who are in darkness be qualified for light? Jesus
says it's the pattern of Scripture. It's the pattern of Scripture.
It's just as Moses in Numbers chapter 21, the children of Israel
had rebelled and God had sent among them fiery serpents, poisonous
snakes, fiery serpents, and they bit the people and the people
were dying of these snake bites and so he told Moses, you know
the story well, he told Moses to make an image in bronze, a
brazen image of the serpent, of the snakes that were biting
the people and make that image and put it on a pole and set
it up in the middle of the camp that whosoever would look at
that image believing that God would heal them would be saved
and those that did were saved and those that didn't and wouldn't,
they died. from their snake bites. That's
what happened to them. So it is with Christ on a cross.
Just as Moses lifted up that serpent, even so must the Son
of Man be lifted up. Even so must the Son of Man,
the Lord Jesus Christ, be lifted up on a cross to bear the wrath
of God for the sins of His people. For without it, this is why it's
must, this is why it's must, must be lifted up. He must be
lifted up because without it There is no peace with God. There
is no satisfaction of justice. He must be lifted up. The serpent,
which was Satan, the embodiment of Satan, in the Garden of Eden,
the serpent was the embodiment of Satan. In the curse of Genesis
3 and verse 14, the serpent is the only creature... We know
the whole creation was cursed as a result of sin, but the serpent
was singled out particularly for a curse. That serpent was
singled out for the curse. Cursed are you, and on your belly
you shall go. That's what Genesis 3.14 says.
The serpent was the cause of death for the rebellious Israelites. But look at that which was in
the form of it and live. And so the sinless Christ came
in the likeness of sinful flesh, says Romans 8.3. He came in the
likeness of sinful flesh, yet without sin, and he bore the
sin of his people. He bore it. He was made sin for
us. He was made sin for His people. And being made sin, as all the
Psalms say, pouring out His anguish of soul bearing the sins of His
people, He bore the curse. For cursed is everyone that does
not continue in all things which are written in the book of the
law to do them. Cursed. Cursed. And cursed is everyone
that hangs on a tree, is what the Old Testament says. And Galatians
3 verse 13 quotes it. For our Lord Jesus Christ bore
that curse. He bore the curse of the law
for us, for His people. He shed His blood. He shed the
blood of God to pay the sin debt. His own blood to pay that sin
debt. And for whom did He do that? God so loved the world. That's
what it says. That whosoever believeth in Him
should not perish but have everlasting life. For whom? You see Nicodemus
like all the other Pharisees, was absolutely convinced that
when the Messiah would come, he would do his work for the
Jews only. Only for them. You had to be
amongst the Jews, the chosen people of God in this world.
You had to be amongst them, but that is not and never was the
teaching of the Old Testament. For many times, the Old Testament
speaks of the Gentiles coming to faith in God, coming to the
truth of God in Christ. He says the Gentiles, Isaiah
chapter 60 in verse 3, the Gentiles shall come to thy light. And
there were no end of examples. Some of them got Jesus into serious
trouble in his own synagogue in Nazareth. They wanted to kill
him for it because he said, in the days of Elisha, the prophet,
there were many lepers in Israel, but to whom was Elisha sent?
To none other than Naaman, the Syrian, the non-Jew, the Gentile. And there were many widows who
were starving in the days of Elijah in the three and a half
years of drought. There were many widows starving
in Israel, but to whom was Elijah sent? To that Gentile widow who
fed him with that cruise of oil and that little barrel of meal.
She fed him in those days. It's always been the case that
it wasn't just for Jews. God so loved the world The world
of God's elect without distinction. This is it. The world of God's
elect without distinction of racial or cultural differences. For Revelation 5 verse 9 we see
that vision in eternity of that multitude that no man can number.
And where do they come from? Every tribe and kindred and tongue
on the face of the planet in all ages. That's where they're
from. They're all the children of Abraham. the seed of Abraham
if you look at Hebrews chapter 2 and verse 16 Hebrews chapter
2 and verse 16 the writer who I believe is Paul
here is saying for truly when Christ came he didn't take on
him the nature of angels in order that they might be a savior for
fallen angels he didn't do that he didn't take on him the nature
of angels, but he took on him the seed of Adam." Oh, hold on.
No, it doesn't say that, does it? It doesn't say the seed of
Adam, does it? It doesn't say the seed of Adam,
all men in general. It says the seed of Abraham.
That's whose form he took in coming to save his people. The
seed of Abraham. Well, who are the seed of Abraham
then? Oh, surely they're the Jews, aren't they? Aren't the
Jews the seed of Abraham? Galatians 3 and verse 7. Therefore, let's look at it.
Turn it up. Galatians 3 and verse 7. Let's see, who are the children
of Abraham? Doesn't the scripture tell us,
do we have to work these things out by having a big committee
and a debate? Know ye therefore, Galatians 3 and verse 7, that
they which are of faith, of that same faith as Abraham, they which
are of faith, the same. Have you got the faith of Abraham?
Have you got that same faith in Christ, the substitute, as
Abraham? then you're the children of Abraham.
You're a child of Abraham. And if you're a child of Abraham,
you're one of those for whom Christ took that nature of the
children of Abraham that he might stand in their place and establish
justice on their behalf. No, this is the world of which
it speaks, the world of his elect from every tribe and kindred.
But the Christ still goes out to all the ends of the earth,
all the ends of the world, to look unto me Isaiah 45 verse
20 he is a just God and if he's just he cannot overlook sin but
yet he's a Savior a justifier of those whose faith is in Christ
and he says look unto me all ye ends of the earth without
distinction of race or culture look unto me all ye ends of the
earth and be saved for I am God and there is no other there's
no other way in him alone is that darkness made light. Now
what's the result? That they might have eternal
life. That they might have everlasting
life. The bridging of the gap, the
chasm from darkness to light, is that His people might have
everlasting life. This is why He came. That they
might have abundant life. Abundant life in the Son of God.
That they might live forever. That they might live in eternity
that they might be in the presence of the living God accepted and
rejoicing and in paradise and in bliss of the comfort of going
to the grave knowing that is well with my soul in those things
this is such a tremendous thing electing Christ before the beginning
of time all of these people the father gave them to the son on
one condition that the son would become a man to live perfectly
under His own law, to bear their sin, to establish justice, to
satisfy justice, and then the Spirit of God comes and works
in time as we saw in verse 8, and He gives the new birth, and
He plants the new man inside to hear and believe the Gospel
when a preacher comes along with that message, with the Scriptures,
that all who call upon the name of the Lord shall be saved, to
look to God in Christ as He is lifted up, making reconciliation. Reconciling a holy God to fallen
man. Believing. Believing in Him. You apprehend. You appreciate. You know. It becomes your possession. That eternal life. The good of that eternal life
in the Lord Jesus Christ. That's why He brings His people
to believe on Him. To know it. You know, it's one
thing to have a million pounds in the bank, but what if you
haven't got a clue that you've got a million pounds in the bank?
It's only any good to you if you know it. And by belief we
know it. We know these things. Believing. And whosoever? Whosoever believeth
in Him? Whosoever? God's elect. That's
whosoever. All of them. Who are they? I
don't know. They're known only to the Father.
So this is why we proclaim the Gospel to all who will hear it.
We proclaim a Gospel of salvation accomplished in the Lord Jesus
Christ. And we trust the Spirit to give
eternal life, to give the new man to give the sight of the
soul to see the things of Christ and in believing there is life
in believing there is life he that believeth on him verse 18
is not condemned but he that believeth not is condemned already
because he has not believed on the name of the only begotten
Son of God light came into the world but men loved darkness
rather than light because their deeds were evil in rejection
is condemnation And the message of Scripture is this. The message
of Scripture is this, that if you reject the gospel of His
grace, you are the one who is held responsible for that rejection.
That's the message of Scripture. I don't understand it. I don't
understand how salvation can only be of the grace of God.
But yet the Scriptures are clear, that the judgment is for rejection. And rejection of your own will
and your own volition. And that is the unforgivable
sin. God can forgive all sins but he cannot forgive that sin
of rejecting the gospel of grace. It's the unforgivable sin because
it's the only name. Christ Jesus is the only name
given among men under heaven whereby we must be saved. Acts
4 and verse 12. But in Christ there is therefore
now no condemnation. Romans 8 verse 1. There's no
condemnation for those who are in him. How do you know if you're
in Christ or not? How do you know? Well, do you
hear His voice calling you in the Gospel? So you hear His voice
calling, but you think, it may not be for me. I might not be
one of the elect. I might not be one of those who
He'll bring to know Him and trust Him. And you fear that perhaps
you'll try it, but He'll turn you away and not enable you to
trust Him. Well, come to Him. Come to Him
believing and see if He turns you away. He said, come unto
me, all you who labor, and are heavy laden, and I will give
you rest. He said, whoever comes to me, I will in no wise cast
out. He's promised that he won't cast
out those who come to him in faith, trusting, and believing,
and seeking eternal life. He said to those who are seeking,
seek and you shall find. He's promised, and he always
keeps his promises.