Turn to John chapter 10 for a
little while. It is wonderful. While we're
turning there, just let me say thank you to your pastor and
all of you for having me. It's a blessing and a privilege
and been a joy. Been a delight already. Appreciate these men. Look up
to them and thank the Lord for them. Thankful for that Mexican
food this afternoon. That was delicious. Who all had a hand in that? And
I'm from Texas. When I say the Mexican food is
good, it's because the Mexican food is good. It was good. And everything's done so well
here. I appreciate y'all very much.
In John chapter 10, I know you all are familiar with this chapter,
such a wonderful, glorious display of the Lord's grace as He declares
Himself our Shepherd and speaks concerning the sheep and identifies
them. And then in verse 17, He makes
a statement that says, One of those statements that just stopped
me in my tracks. My mouth fell open and I went
numb for a while just thinking about it. Look at verse 17 with
me. Therefore doth my Father love
me. Now you think about what he's
talking about here. The love of God the Father for
God the Son. Therefore, you want to know why
God loves his son? Because I lay down my life that I might take it again. What? And you might say, Brother Chris,
what can that mean? Didn't the Father love the Son
before He laid down His life? He didn't say here, He began
to love me because I laid down my life, did He? We know that
the Father has never begun to love His Son. He's always loved
the Son from eternity. In John 17, 24, the Lord Jesus
prayed this, Father, I will that they also whom Thou hast given
me be with me where I am, that they may behold my glory which
Thou hast given me. For Thou lovest me before the
foundation of the world. As a man, the Lord Jesus Christ spoke these
words in John 10, 17 as my representative, as the last Adam, as my mediator,
as my substitute, as the man. When Pilate said, Behold, the
man, I'm not sure he knew what he was saying, but we know something
about what he was saying, don't we? The Lord Jesus Christ is
the only real man, the only one who has ever fulfilled what it
means to be a man, a true man before God. And as that man, he speaks these
words and declares that he is loved of his Father for his obedience. There's nothing in us, naturally,
that attracts the love of God. We can't claim that God loves
us because of anything in us. That's what the word freely means.
I will love them freely without a cause. No cause in us. No cause in us that would attract
His love. And notice it from the scripture
now that it's particularly our wickedness that makes us unlovable
by God. And that's important to what
we just read. In Psalm 5.5, the scripture says, The foolish shall
not stand in God's sight. Thou hatest all workers of iniquity. He didn't say thou hatest all
mankind. Although all mankind are workers
of iniquity. But it's particularly as workers
of iniquity that God hates us. That God hates men, sinners.
Now, God has never hated His sheep. We know that. And this
is why. He's always loved His Son and
His sheep and His Son. Always. Always. His love is everlasting. No beginning and no end. I have
loved Thee with an everlasting love. Therefore, with loving
kindness have I drawn Thee. And that word everlasting, no
beginning, no end. Psalm 5.5 speaks generally concerning
mankind as sinners apart from the Lord Jesus Christ, apart
from the grace of God. God hates all workers of iniquity.
He must. He's holy. He must hate sin. And sin is not some ethereal
thing that exists outside of us. We are sin. Sin is what we
are. That's why He became what we
are. that we might become what He is, the righteousness of God.
So this word here, Psalm 55, it speaks generally of mankind. Just as John 3.16, when he says,
God so loved the world, we know that that doesn't include the
entire human race. God's love is in Christ and only
in Christ. And if you read those two verses
together, God hates all workers of iniquity, But he so loved
the world. Well, people like to say, well,
world means world, doesn't it? World means world. Well, does
all mean all? He hates all workers of iniquity. So we're to understand this in
light of the entire Word of God, and not take Scriptures out of
context to prove a point, and understand that all in Psalm
5.5 speaks of those who are not chosen, redeemed, and righteous
in Christ, just as the word world in John 3.16 includes only those
who are. Is that right? But understand here what our
text in John 17, understand if the Lord will be pleased to reveal
this to us, what this means to us as sinners. My Father loves
me because I lay down my life that I might take it again. That
the Father is well pleased with and loves the Son for His obedience
is directly and precisely where His love for us is rooted. He loves us in Christ. He loves
us because He loves His Son, and we are in His Son. And so
we have a vital interest in this, don't we, as believers? Carefully
consider this now. The love of God for sinners is
in Christ. We know that. Nothing shall separate
us from the love of God, which is in Christ Jesus our Lord."
Romans 8.39. Is that right? And the Father
loves the Son as our representative man, as the man, because He laid
down His life for His sheep. And so He loves us because the
Lord Jesus Christ laid down His life for His sheep. Let me say
it another way. If there is no accepted, perfect,
holy, atoning, effectual sacrifice by Christ, then there's no love
of God for sinners. Is that right? Christ wasn't
just showing us how much He loved us when He died. There's a little
more to it than that, my friends. With God, love and approval are
inseparable. Let me show you that in the Word
of God. Proverbs 15, 9. The way of the wicked is an abomination
unto the Lord, but he loveth him that followeth after righteousness. You know who that is, don't you? And us in Him. And us in Him. Them who followeth after righteousness. This is us because of Christ
laying down His life for us that He might take it again. The love
of the Father is said to have for the Son here in our text.
That's His love for us. Right? There's no love of God
for us apart from the Son. We have the love interest of
God only in Christ. Not apart from Him in any form
or fashion. There is no sense in which God
loves everybody. No sense in which that's true.
Though people like to say that. And for Him and us, this word
therefore stands in this text. Is that right? Therefore. John 17, 23, I in them and thou
in me, that they may be made perfect in one, that the world
may know that thou hast sent me and hast loved them as thou
hast loved me. We could stay right there all
night. We'll have to move on. But boy,
as thou hast loved me, God's love is in Christ. That's why
we're jealous over the truth of God concerning the effectual
atonement of Christ. Because if we just randomly say
God loves everybody, then you can find comfort outside of Christ.
We will not let that stand. We will not allow that to be
said on our watch without calling Him on it. I love the way the
Lord used Brother Don to throw down the gauntlet. last night
against the false prophets, those that have a dream and are preaching
a dream. He said, mock them, make fun
of them, laugh at them. Did you know that's perfectly
scriptural? That's exactly what we're to do? What did Elijah
say? Let me read it to you. To the false prophets. You know
the story where the false prophets were going to put on display,
we're going to call on their God. And Elijah said, you go ahead
and then I'll call on the true God and we'll see what happens.
And it says in verse 27 of 1 Kings 18, And it came to pass at noon
that Elijah mocked them and said, Cry aloud, for he is a god. Either
he is talking, or he is pursuing, or he is in a journey. Maybe
he is on vacation. He mocked them, didn't he? The
god of free will, man-centered religion is not worthy of anything
but our mockery and our disdain. And we ought not to let them
spew that nonsense without calling a moment. That's why I'm saying
we're so jealous over the truth of God that His love is in Christ. I have no comfort for you whatsoever
if you hate the Lord Jesus Christ. If you're outside of Christ,
you have not bowed to Him. He that honoreth not the Son,
And they don't, do they? Then they better not use the
name Jehovah. They don't deserve it. They're
not worthy to say they're Jehovah's Witnesses. He that honoreth not
the Son, honoreth not Jehovah. God's love. is in His Son and
only in His Son. Now, I've heard it said, and
truthfully, and you've probably heard this too, that God did
not send His Son that He might love us, but because He did love
us. I agree with the last part of
that. It's both, isn't it? It's both. He sent His Son that He might
love us and because He loved us. That's what our text is saying,
my friends. That's what it's talking about.
But this is true that God sent His Son because He loved us.
We know that. John 3.16, for God so loved that
He gave His only begotten Son. But it's also equally true that
God loves both His Son and us because of the Son's righteous,
sin-atoning sacrifice on the cross. As the eternal Son of God, Christ
is loved of the Father from the foundation of the world. As the
Son of Man, He earned the Father's love for Himself and for you,
if you know Him. How can that be? Christ is both
the cause and the effect of God's love? How can that be? How can
anything be both cause and effect? It defies the philosophy of man,
doesn't it? Christ defies everything about
man. Christ is all. Paul wasn't exaggerating when
he said Christ is all and in all. He is the cause of God's love
because He laid down His life and said, therefore, my Father
loves me and those whom I represent because I laid down my life.
And He is the effect of God's love for God so loved that He
gave. Is that clear? Verse 18, let's look at our text.
John 10, look at verse 18. You see why it stopped me in
my tracks now, when I saw that. Look at verse 18. No man taketh it from me, but
I lay it down of myself. I have power, that is authority,
to lay it down, and I have authority to take it again. It's not just
the ability, although that's included in it, the authority,
the right to do it. This commandment have I received
of my Father. Oh my, the Lord Jesus Christ. Now in human terms, from strictly
a human, earthly standpoint, the Lord was taken by wicked
hands and slain, wasn't he? We know that in Acts 2.23, Him
being delivered by the determinant counsel and foreknowledge of
God, you have taken and by wicked hands have crucified and slain.
We killed the Son of God. Peter preached it, didn't he?
You killed the Prince of Life. How can you kill life? How can
we do anything? Any kind of power over him, well,
because he laid it down that he might take it again. But that
doesn't alleviate our guilt, does it? No. We took the Son
of God with our wicked hands and crucified Him. This is the
condemnation, that light came into the world. And we loved
our darkness and hated Him who is light. That's the condemnation. He is also said to be sent by
the Father. As we just quoted John 3.16,
for God so loved that He gave. He gave His Son. Oh, thanks be unto God for His
unspeakable gift. How can we even speak about the
love of God the Father for His people? That He would send His
precious only begotten Son into this world. He was bruised by
the Father. He was delivered by the Father. Isaiah 53.10, it pleased the
Lord to bruise him. It pleased His Father to give
him. Delivered by the determinate
counsel and foreknowledge of God the Father. Acts 2.23. But
what our text reveals here is that the Lord Jesus Christ was
involved in this willingly. I lay down my life as the Son
of God He had authority over his own life. You don't. God
will give or take life as He sees fit. Job, in all of his
misery and agony, he didn't presume or think for a minute to take
his own life, but he asked God to do it, didn't he? Lord, just
take it. Take whatever miserable days
I have left. But that's God's prerogative,
isn't it? Job acknowledged that. But He had authority over His
own life, both to lay it down and to take it up again. And
He exercised that sovereign authority to save us by His precious, semitoning
death, that infinite cost to Himself. I lay it down. I freely give it. Verse 17, can
only be fully understood by considering the Lord Jesus Christ as the
Son of Man. You think about it. Therefore
doth my Father love me as a man, as the Son of Man, as the last
Adam, as representative of a people, because I lay down my life, that
I might take it again." Verse 18 can only be rightly understood
by considering the Lord Jesus Christ as the Son of God. I have authority to lay it down. And I have the authority to take
it up again. Looking unto Jesus, the author
and finisher of our faith, who for the joy that was set before
Him endured the cross, despising the shame. You know, if you ever
looked that up and saw what that means, despising the shame, that
word despising means to count it a small thing. It doesn't mean it was a small
thing. But He considered it as such for the joy of saving you,
if you know Him. For the joy of redeeming His
elect. For saving His sheep. And He
sat down at the right hand of the throne of God. That's the
Son of God coming down here. He didn't come down here to try
something, to do His best. He came down here with authority. to lay down his life and to take
it up again for a purpose that he might save his people from
their sins. And that's what he did. He finished it. He did it. He accomplished it.
His death being voluntary, willing, doesn't mitigate our guilt in
killing the Prince of Life. Nor does it diminish the love
of the Father in sending Him." Oh, no. In fact, that's the very
definition of love in the Scripture, is the Father's love in sending
His Son. Did you know that? That's how
love is defined by God. Herein is love. Not that we love
God. We do love God, don't we? But
if you want to know what love is, don't look at my love for
God. Here it is. Not that we love
God, but that He loved us and sent His Son to be the propitiation
for our sins. Love is defined by... I don't even know what to call
it. The emotion? No. The attribute? I guess that's
about the best we can do. Of the Father in sending His
Son for you and for me. So that's not diminished at all
by Christ's willingness in laying down His life. But what this
truth does do, it causes us as His sheep, as His brethren, as
his people to rejoice, to know that our Savior, as our mediator,
as a man, as our brother, as our representative, loved us
boundlessly and gloriously. Greater love hath no man than
this, that he lay down his life for his friends. And you are
my friends, he said. You are my friends. And then Christ's death here,
He declares it to be an obedience. He said, this commandment have
I received of my Father. He laid it down and took it up
again in obedience to the covenant of grace. In obedience to His
Father. Having authority to lay it down
and being obligated by covenant. to lay it down as our everlasting
surety. He obediently did so. Philippians
2.8, being found in fashion as a man, he humbled himself and
became obedient unto death. Obedient. Therefore doth my Father
love me, because I lay down my life. And I might take it again,
even the death of the cross. And then verse 19, there was
a division therefore again among the Jews for these things. Division among the Jews. There
always is when the gospel is preached. This is the Lord Jesus
Christ preaching the gospel of divine love. And it caused division. There will almost certainly be
a division tonight here in this place because of these things. It's simply the gospel, and it
always divides. Verse 20, and many of them said,
he hath a devil and is mad. Maybe you'll say that tonight.
This man doesn't know what he's talking about. Why hear ye him? Why? Others said, these are not
the words of him that hath a devil. Can a devil open the eyes of
the blind? Well, you know, is that better than calling him
a devil? Not much, is it? These others here, they're apparently
not believers. You may not go so far as to call
the Lord Jesus Christ the devil. That doesn't mean you love Him.
That doesn't mean you have any interest in Him, really. That's
like saying, well, I don't believe I'll spit in God's face today,
you know. I almost didn't spit in God's
face today. Almost, almost. Almost, I'll
persuade it's me. to be a Christian. There's one hope for sinners.
Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ. Trust Him. Abandon all other
hope and fall upon Him because He is the mercy of God. Fall
upon God's mercy on Christ. That's your only hope. Well,
you know, it's worth talking about. Let's talk about it. The
house is on fire. What is there to talk about? If I told you, oh, this place
is on fire, it's time to go, and you said, well, I don't disagree
with you. You're either insane or stupid. And that's what we
are, aren't we? That's what I am. I'm stupid
by nature. Without the grace of God. Absolute
idiots. Verse 22, And it was at Jerusalem
the feast of the dedication, and it was winter. And Jesus
walked in the temple in Solomon's porch. And then came the Jews
round about him and said unto him, How long dost thou make
us to doubt? The Lord Jesus Christ from chapter
2 to chapter 10 has over and over been telling these same
Jews who He is. Christ preached Christ
to these Jews. And they said, well, how long
are you going to confuse us and make us doubt and hide the truth
from us? If thou be the Christ, tell us
plainly. How many ways could he say it? I am, I am, I am,
I am. If you believe not that I am,
you'll die in your sins. If you're the Christ, why don't
you just tell us outright? You know, they didn't say that
because they didn't understand what he was saying. They wanted
him to come out and say it so they could publicly accuse him
and arrest him, didn't they? That's what they've been trying
to do from his birth, was kill him. Tell us plainly. You know what the Lord said?
I told you. And He had, hadn't He? And you
believed not. You know there's a difference
between believing not and not believing? You can never hear
the Gospel and not believe it. But to believe not is to willfully
reject the Son of God. Christ's answer here to them
is both offensive to the flesh and instructive. I told you.
And you believe not. This is the same thing that blind
man said in John 9, wasn't it? They said to him, What did he
to thee? How opened he thine eyes to tell us? And he said,
I told you already and you didn't hear. You wouldn't hear me. People
do not reject the Gospel because they don't understand it. Sinners
reject the gospel because they hate Him who is the gospel, the
Lord Jesus Christ. I told you, you believe not.
But you believe not a cause. There's a reason why you don't
believe. And you know, you could answer
this question several ways if somebody asked you, why don't
sinners believe on Christ? Why don't sinners believe on
Christ? You could answer that several ways from the Scripture,
couldn't you? First of all, because of pride. That's what Paul said
in Romans 10.3, for they being ignorant of God's righteousness,
and going about to establish their own righteousness, have
not what? Submitted. We will not submit
to the righteousness of God. Why not? Because we got our own,
thank you very much. We don't need Christ. We're doing
fine, doing well on our own. Our good outweighs our bad, doesn't
it? If we had any good, then it might. We got no good. We have no righteousness. Got
no goodness. Because of pride. We have not
submitted and we're not going to. until he brings us down in
the dust like he did Saul of Tarsus. Well, because of self-righteousness.
Why don't men believe on the sun? Because of self-righteousness.
That'd be a pretty good answer, wouldn't it? I thank thee, God, that I'm not
like other men. Oh, boy. The Lord Jesus said
that man went down to his house with his sins on him. And the
one who would not lift up so much as his eyes to heaven, but
beat on his chest so far off, said, Lord, be merciful to me,
the sinner. The sinner. God said he went
down to his house with no sin. No sin. Not like he hadn't sinned,
but justified. That's no sin. You never have
sinned. But we don't believe on the Son
of God because we're self-righteous. And then the Scripture says that
sinners don't believe on Christ because of the love of this world.
The rich young ruler. Oh, one thing thou lackest. Thou knowest the law. Oh, I know,
yeah, I'm familiar with the law. I've kept these from my youth
up. The Lord Jesus Christ confronted him with the first phrase of
the law. Thou shalt have no other gods
before me." Isn't that what he confronted him with? Go and sell
all your gods. Sell everything that's worth
more to you than I am. And give it to the poor and come
follow me. And he went away sorrowful. Because
he had a lot of things. He had a lot of wealth, a lot
of riches. The love of this world. That's why sinners don't believe
on the Lord Jesus Christ. It would cost too much. But what
about you that know Him? If he asks you not to sell everything
you have and give it to the poor, how long would it take you to
get that done? You that know the Lord Jesus Christ. Oh boy. By nature, the love of
this world. But the Lord gives here the root
cause of unbelief. It's not because of how you are. Those are the symptoms of the
promise, because of what you are. And specifically here, the
way he words it is, because of what you are not. But that defines
what you are, doesn't it? That's what we are by nature.
We're not his. We're not his sheep. We're not
his elect. We're not his chosen. We're not the objects of this
love that he spoke of earlier in the text. And because we're
not, we will not believe. Because that's the effect of
his love. That's the gift of his love.
Faith is the gift of God. The Lord was brutally honest
with them, as always, with regard to their inability. He said in John 8, 46, Which
of you convinceth me of sin? If I say the truth, why do you
not believe me? He that is of God heareth God's
words. You therefore hear them not,
because you are not of God. Is that the reason? John 8, 43,
why do you not understand my speech? Even because you cannot
hear my word. Blessed are your ears, he told
his disciples, because they hear. It is not given unto them to
know, but to you it's given. That's the reason now. He told
them, he said, you're of your father the devil, and the lust
of your father you'll do. In John 8, 44, well, verse 27,
I'll be brief here. My sheep hear my voice, and I
know them, and they follow me, and I give unto them eternal
life, and they shall never perish, neither shall any man pluck them
out of my hand. My Father, which gave them Me, is greater than
all. And no man is able to pluck them out of My Father's hand.
Here they are. Here's those ones that He loves
and for whom He earned the Father's love by laying His life down
for them. You see, He did that for us.
The Father loved God the Son before there was ever a world,
my friends. He didn't have to come down here
and earn the Father's love, but He did it for us. Is that right? Six things about the sheep, very
briefly. They hear my voice. And not just
as you hear my voice now. There'll be those who hear the
preaching of the Gospel who'll never hear the voice of the Son
of God. But it'll be by the preaching. Faith cometh by hearing, and
hearing by the Word of God. The hour is coming, Christ said
in John 5.25, and it is right now, when the dead will hear
the voice of the Son of God, and those that hear will live.
If you hear that voice, you will live. It didn't say you may live,
or it will be up to you, or life will be available to you. Those
that hear His voice will live. That's what He said. Secondly,
I know them. I know them. I know them by name. Zacchaeus went up that tree to
see Jesus, who He was. The Lord already knew who Zacchaeus
was. He came to that tree and said what? Zacchaeus, you come
down. He said in this chapter, chapter
10, I call them by name. Oh my, isn't that precious? The
Lord Jesus Christ. I know Him because He knows me. He said to those in Matthew 7.23
who profess to have done many wonderful works, I never knew
you. Get away from me. Can you imagine
the Son of God saying, get away from me? So it wasn't just that He was
aware of His sheep, He knows us intimately, intimately. And
then they follow me. He didn't say, I'm trying to
get them to follow me. I do anything, you know, I've
done my best to get them to follow me. They follow me. How many men did the Lord Jesus
Christ say, follow me to when he was calling his apostles?
And how many apostles does he have? That's the effectual call,
my friends. I don't read anywhere where anybody
said, you know, I've just got too much else to do. No, not
when he says, follow me. They follow me. It's not up to
them. It's up to God. The God who said, I know my sheep,
and they follow me. Number four, I give unto them
eternal life. Not they chose it, not they earned
it, not they deserve it. I give it to them. I give it
to them. For as the Father raiseth up
the dead and quickeneth them, even so the Son quickeneth whom
He will." The Lord Jesus Christ gives life to whom He will. You
know who He wants to give life to? In talking about His sheep,
hear what He said, I give unto them eternal life. He can give
it to whoever He wants to. He said, I want to give it to
them. We're going to praise Him forever for that, my friends.
We're going to praise Him for that. What was it Paul said? Both now and forever. To whom
be glory right now. Let's glorify Him now and just
don't ever quit. You reckon? For loving us and
giving Himself for us. And they shall never perish,
number five. They'll never die. He that eateth
of this bread will never hunger. He that drinks this water that
I give you, you'll never thirst again. He that liveth and believeth
in me shall never die. My sheep will never perish. He
to whom Christ giveth this life will never die. It's eternal
life. And then number six, now we have
the reason why we will never perish here. And the sweet assurance
that comes with his promise. Neither shall any man pluck them
out of my hand." We're in the hand of the Lord Jesus Christ.
That's why we can never perish. Oh, there's a sense in which
those for whom I'm responsible, my family, are in my hand. And if anybody ever comes after
them, they'll get a little glimmer of an understanding of what it
means for somebody to be in somebody's hand. You've got to get through
me to get to them. You have to kill me, because
as long as I have a breath, you won't get to it. Well, that's
a pitiful illustration, isn't it? The difference is in the
hands. My hand, there's not much to
it, but we're talking about the hand of the Son of God. My sheep. or in my hand, and He said, you
won't get to them. You can't harm them. And they
can't get out, even if they wanted to. And we don't, do we? By His grace, we don't. I'm in
the hand of God Almighty, in the persons of both the Father
and the Son. This is what it means. He's talked
about Himself as the Shepherd. Here, He's the Bishop. He's got
the responsibility of us. He's both the shepherd and bishop
of our souls, Peter said, didn't he? He's the bishop. He has the
responsibility of us. Have you ever looked up that
word bishop? I know some of you have. One of the definitions
of the word is, he that sees that what is done by those for
whom he is responsible is done well. He makes sure we can never perish,
my friends, because He's our Bishop. He's got the responsibility
of us. Not that we ever do anything
well, but I'll tell you this, if He's your Bishop, when you
meet God, He'll say to you, well done, thou good and faithful
servant. And then at the end, verse 30,
I and my Father are one. Now having distinguished between
Himself and the Father, and saying in regard to the security of
the sheep, they're in my hand and they're in my Father's hand.
Being in Christ's hand as a man, as surety, as mediator, as high
priest, as shepherd and bishop of our souls. And then also in
the eternal hand of the Father, who purposed all this, and who
loves us in, through, and by, and because of His Son. We're
in His hand because we're in Christ's hand. And vice versa. In case we get confused by that
and lean to our finite understanding and begin to lose sight of this
truth because of him distinguishing between himself and his Father,
he reminds us, I and my Father are one. Oh, if you've seen me,
you've seen God the Father. Christ preached Christ. And may
He enable us to do so indeed. to praise Him forever for this
wonderful truth. God loves us because the Lord
Jesus Christ died for us. And the Lord Jesus Christ died
for us because God loves us. That's beyond me, but I like
thinking about it, don't you? Amen.