Five Reasons For Trusting Christ

Q: What does the Bible say about trusting Christ?

The Bible teaches that faith in Jesus Christ is essential for being born of God and receiving eternal life. The Bible declares that trusting Christ is foundational to the Christian faith, as illustrated in John 5:30-47, where Jesus boldly identifies Himself as the Son of God and one with the Father. Our faith rests on the truth that Jesus is the Christ, the Messiah foretold in the Old Testament. The importance of this trust is evident, as it is through believing in Him that one is born of God, resulting in eternal life. This relationship with Christ is not only pivotal for salvation but also forms the foundation of genuine Christianity.

Q: How do we know Jesus is the Christ?

We know Jesus is the Christ through the testimony of Scripture, His miracles, and the witness of John the Baptist. The validity of Jesus as the Christ is corroborated through multiple witnesses outlined in Scripture. In John 5:31-47, Jesus presents five witnesses to substantiate His claims, including the testimony of John the Baptist, His own miraculous works, the witness of God the Father, the Scriptures, and the law as presented by Moses. Each of these witnesses affirms that Jesus is indeed the promised Savior, whose identity can be verified through historical accounts, fulfilled prophecies, and the transformative works He accomplished during His earthly ministry.

Q: Why is the resurrection of Jesus important for Christians?

The resurrection of Jesus is vital as it confirms His identity as the Son of God and the promised Messiah. The resurrection of Jesus is central to the Christian faith because it serves as the ultimate verification of His claims to divinity and Messiahship. As stated in John 5, the resurrection was witnessed by numerous individuals and is the basis for the assurance of believers' future resurrection. It signifies the defeat of sin and death and establishes the foundation of hope for Christians, affirming that those who believe in Christ will also experience resurrection to eternal life. Denying the resurrection undermines the core of Christian belief, as Paul stated in 1 Corinthians 15:17, 'And if Christ had not been raised, your faith is futile; you are still in your sins.'

Q: What does it mean to be born of God?

To be born of God means to receive spiritual rebirth through faith in Jesus Christ. Being born of God indicates a fundamental transformation that occurs when an individual places their faith in Jesus Christ. According to John 1:12-13, those who believe in His name are given the right to become children of God, not by human means but through divine action. This spiritual rebirth signifies a new life, characterized by a profound relationship with God and a commitment to live according to His purposes. The evidence of this new birth is manifested in a life that bears fruit consistent with the beliefs held in Christ, demonstrating the authenticity of one's faith.

Q: Why are the Scriptures important for Christians?

The Scriptures are essential as they reveal the truth about Jesus Christ and guide believers in their faith. The Scriptures serve as the authoritative word of God, providing guidance, doctrine, and the revelation of Jesus Christ. In John 5:39, Jesus instructs us to 'search the Scriptures,' emphasizing their role in understanding His identity and work as the Messiah. The Scriptures contain the prophecies, laws, and teachings that articulate God's plan for redemption through Christ and equip believers for living a life that pleases Him. In an age where many prioritize personal experience over biblical truth, the call to adhere to the Scriptures as our source of truth remains crucial for sound doctrine and spiritual growth.

God the Holy Spirit declares,
whosoever believeth that Jesus is the Christ is born of God. It is my prayer and heart's desire
to God for you that you may believe that Jesus is the Christ, that
you may be born of God. Our faith declares we believe
and are sure thou art the Christ, the son of the living God. We
believe that Jesus of Nazareth is the Christ, the Messiah, the
anointed one promised of God in all the Old Testament scriptures.
Peter's confession, thou art the Christ, the son of the living
God is the foundation of all that we believe. It is the foundation
of Christianity, the foundation of God's church, the foundation
of the gospel. It is the foundation on which
we are built and the foundation on which we build. Thou art the
Christ, the son of the living God. Now I call on you. to trust your soul to him. That's quite a call. If I dare
presume to call on immortal men and women to trust Christ, to
trust your immortal souls to him, to trust his blood, his
righteousness, his grace, his intercession as your only hope
before God, If I dare presume to persuade you to believe on
the Lord Jesus, it's only reasonable that you should say, well, pastor,
you're going to have to give me some reason for that. It's
only reasonable. We make it our business to go
through all the world proselyting people. That's our business.
We want to make disciples to Jesus Christ of many women everywhere. We want to rob people from the
clutches of idolatry and bring them to trust the Lord Jesus.
If so, there must be some good reason why one should forsake
his idols and trust our Redeemer. Why one should forsake his gods
and trust him who is the only true and living God, Jesus Christ
the Lord. I want this morning to give you
reasons for trusting the Savior. The title of my message is Five
Reasons for Trusting Christ. I hope you want to know reasons
for trusting him. In John chapter 5, our Lord Jesus
performed a mighty miracle at the pool of Bethesda, healing
a man who had been impotent for 38 years. causing him to take
up his bed and walk, and it was on the Sabbath day. Our Lord
declared himself to those Jews who objected to what he had done.
He declared himself to be God the Son, one with the Father
and equal with him, rather than believing him, in spite of the
evidence that what he said was so. Rather than believing him,
those Jews sought to kill him. They accused him of blasphemy.
But the Lord Jesus never backed off when they when they sought
to kill him. He had perfect opportunity to
say, oh, you misunderstood me. I didn't I didn't mean to say
I'm God. They're getting perfect opportunity.
Had that been his intention? Oh, you you didn't understand
clearly. I really didn't mean for you
to understand that. I mean, to to declare that I am God, but
rather he pressed the claims further. He insisted that every
work he had done was the work of God. That all the works performed
by Him were works performed by God. And that the Father had
given Him the authority and the power as the Messiah, as the
Christ, as the Son of Man, as the incarnate God to do what
He did. And then He declared plainly
that He and He alone has in His power as the Christ of God, as
the Son of Man, He and He alone has it in His power to give eternal
life to whom He will, and then to raise men from the dead at
the last day, and to set in judgment over them all. Wow! Now that's a bold declaration.
That is some kind of declaration. Either it's true and can be verified
or Jesus of Nazareth is the greatest imposter who ever lived and I
am a false witness of God and you're yet in your sins. Can
these claims be verified? Is it indeed reasonable to trust
Jesus Christ the Lord? Having made those assertions,
our master then gave five witnesses to his claims. Five witnesses
to himself in John chapter five. We'll begin at verse 30. By these five witnesses, the
Lord Jesus shows irrefutably that he is the Christ, the one
promised in the Old Testament scriptures. Now, as Paul reasoned
with the Thessalonians out of the scriptures, opening and alleging
that Christ must needs have suffered and risen again from the dead,
and that this Jesus whom I preach to you is the Christ, I want
to reason with you from the scriptures, and I want to give you five plain
reasons for trusting Christ. Before I begin to give you those
reasons, let me state clearly, I understand, and I will state
it again as I preach the message. I understand that your faith,
if it just stands in the reason of man, stands on nothing. If I can talk you into a profession
of faith, if I can talk you into believing Christ, somebody slicker
than I am can talk you out of it. And yet we reason with men
from the scriptures, pray that God the Holy Spirit will take
the word spoken and do for you what you cannot do for yourself
and what I cannot do for you, that he will give you faith in
Christ. And as he has given you faith
in Christ, that he will use these things to give verification to
you of that faith on which you are built. Jesus is the Christ,
the son of the living God. All right, let's begin in verse
30. The Lord Jesus first declares, I can of my own self do nothing. As I hear, I judge and my judgment
is just because I seek not mine own will, but the will of the
father which has sent me. The Lord Jesus is here saying
that in all his works, the father's working and he can do nothing
of himself. Is he suggesting here some kind
of an inferiority that he's really not, as he claimed, one with
the father? No, no. He's declaring more fully
his unison with the father. He's saying it's impossible for
me to be separated from the father or the father to be separated
from me. We work in unison. Does the book declare in the
beginning God created the heavens and the earth? Of course it does.
And that same book declares that without this man, Christ Jesus,
was not anything made that was made. For the Father and the
Son in all things are acting together. The Father, the Son,
and the Holy Spirit being fully and completely one cannot be
divided. Men like to attempt, and we often
speak about, and the scriptures indeed speak about various works
attributed to the Father, to the Son, and to the Spirit. And
those things are so in the sense of there being various office
capacities in the covenant of grace which the Father, the Son,
and the Spirit perform. But throughout the scriptures,
the very same things that are spoken of as being specifically
the work of the father are spoken of as specifically the work of
the son and also specifically as the work of the Holy Spirit.
I'll give you some examples. God, the father chose you. So what the book says. And the
Lord Jesus said, You've not chosen me. I've chosen you. We're told
that God, the father raised his son from the dead. And we're
told that Christ was quickened in the Spirit, or quickened by
the Spirit. And we're told that He raised
Himself from the dead. Our Lord Jesus here says, The
Father works hitherto, and I work. I can of mine own self do nothing. Then in the very next verse,
our Lord Jesus asserts, look at verse 31. If I bear witness
of myself, my witness is not true. Hold your finger here,
and turn to chapter 8. John chapter 8, verse 14. God in his great wisdom has caused
this book to be written in such a way as to deliberately confuse
unbelieving men and women. Let me show you. Are you looking
at chapter 8, verse 14? Though I bear record of myself,
my record is true. Now look back at what we just
read. If I bear witness of myself, my witness is not true. Which
one's true? Which one's true? Both are true. But what on earth is the Lord
saying? Here in John 5 31, our Lord is speaking with reference
to the law of God as our mediator. That law which required two or
three witnesses for anything to be established. The law in
any reasonable court to this day requires two or three witnesses
to establish anything as a matter of record. The words of Christ,
the God-man, are true in themselves. But our Lord here speaks not
just as God and not just as an honest man, but he speaks in
point of one who's come to fulfill the law as the God-man mediator. The words of men do need confirmation. The words of the Son of God need
no confirmation. But our Lord Jesus came to fulfill
all righteousness, to fulfill everything written in the book
of the law as our mediator, so that everything he said, everything
he taught, everything he did is established with verification
by at least two or three witnesses. Men object to the teaching of
the resurrection from the dead. Those brilliant scholars at Areopagus
at Mars Hill in Athens, those Greek philosophers, those wise
men, heard Paul preach about Jesus and the resurrection and
they said, why that babbling fool. That babbling fool. And men still do. Men still do.
But the fact is, There is no event recorded in human history
more fully verified than the resurrection of Jesus Christ
from the dead. No event more fully, clearly
verified, and men deny it in the teeth of that which cannot
be denied. It's like folks, you know, they
pretend the Holocaust never happened. Kindly hard to convince those
folks who went through it it never happened. Kind of hard
to convince them. They were there. And the resurrection
was verified by men. 500 at one time saw the risen
Savior. 500 at one time. He was seen
no less than 12 different times after his resurrection. And the
Lord Jesus here says, that which I have to speak here, It's not
just that which I've spoken. If that were the case, then my
record is not true. But this is verified. The law
required these two or three witnesses, so the Lord, in order to establish
his claims as the Messiah, gives these five witnesses. Number
one, verse 32, John the Baptist. I'm not bearing witness of myself.
There's another that bears witness of me. Now, remember, He's talking
now to these Jews, the Pharisees in particular. And he says, there's
another who bears witness of me, and you know very well about
his witness. We read about it in John chapter
1. He says, there's another that bears witness of me, and I know
that his witness, the witness which he witnesseth of me is
true. You sent unto John. Remember, boys? Remember when
John the Baptist was out baptizing? You sent to John. He bear witness
unto the truth But I received not testimony from men, but these
things I say that you might be saved He's not I'm not telling
you this for my sake I'm telling you this because this this receiving
of the witness of John is itself selfish He was a burning and
shining light and you were willing for a while for a season to rejoice
in his light and John the Baptist was prophesied in the book of
Malachi as that Elijah who would come preparing the way of the
Lord. We know that that's talking about John the Baptist because
our Lord Jesus in Matthew chapter 11 tells us that this is Elijah
who must come before the Messiah comes. So John the Baptist was
the forerunner. He was the prophet who comes
in the spirit and power of Elijah and proclaims the way of the
Lord, preparing men for Christ. The Lord Jesus reminds these
Jews how the John the Baptist bore faithful witness to him.
You remember in chapter one, they came out, they sent some
messengers and said, who are you? Who are you? Why are you
baptizing? Are you the Christ? No, no, no,
no. Well, if you're not the Christ,
are you one of the prophets? No, no. Are you Jeremiah? Now listen to this. Are you a
reincarnation of Jeremiah? That's what they're asking. These
fellows were prepared to accept John as a reincarnation of a
prophet, rather than hear his word, which he plainly declared. Explain yourself then. He said,
I'm voice. I'm the voice of one crying in the wilderness, prepare
ye the way of the Lord. There's one standing among you
who is the Christ. And the next day, John saw Jesus
and said, behold, the Lamb of God which taketh away the sin
of the world." Then our Lord says in verse 34,
but I receive not the testimony of man. He's not appealing to
the witness of John as a confirmation of his words and his works, but
rather for their sakes and for ours that we might be saved. John was sent to arouse men's
attention. to produce in them a sense of
their need, to show them that one who would come to meet the
needs of men. John was a famous burning light,
burning with the knowledge of Christ and the love of the light
of the gospel. For a while, these Jews pretended
to accept him. They pretended to. They even
came out, the Pharisees did, asking John to baptize them because
John was such a popular, well-received preacher. But when they saw that
John's purpose, his resolve, his determination was merely
to point sinners to Christ, the Messiah, the Redeemer, the Lamb,
they despised John and they despised him because they despised his
message. They looked for a different kind
of Savior. They looked for a different kind
of Redeemer. They looked for a different kind
of king. They looked for a different kind
of Messiah. They looked for one who would
come with pomp and pageantry, who would be recognized as a
great mighty ruler, who would establish a kingdom over in Palestine
that all men could see and make the Jews head of it. And because
John presented Christ not as some figurehead king, but as
king of the universe, reigning by right of blood redemption.
They despise John, for they despise Christ. I call on you to trust
Christ, because that one to whom John the Baptist gave witness,
that one before whose face John went to prepare his ways, to
give the knowledge of salvation to his people by the remission
of sins, through the tender mercy of our God, is Jesus Christ the
Lord. Second, look back at our text,
verse 36. His first witness, the first reason for believing
him, the testimony of John the Baptist. Second, the witness
of his own works, the testimony of the works he performed. Turn
over to Luke chapter 7. Listen while I read verse 36. I have a greater witness than
that of John. For the works which the Father hath given me to finish,
the same works that I do bear witness of me that the Father
has sent me. I read this. What a wonderful
thing. Our Lord Jesus looks upon the
works The Father sent him to finish as the Father's gift to
him. Imagine that. He considers it
God's high honoring gift to him to save your worthless soul. The works the Father has given
me to do, he calls it the joy set before him. These works that
I finish bear witness of me. Our Lord Jesus performed mighty
works while he walked on this earth, and they bore unmistakable
witness to him, and he often appealed to his works. In John
10, he said, The works that I do in my father's name, they bear
witness of me. He said, Though you don't believe
me, believe the works. He said, The very works that
I do ought to cause you to believe me. And then in chapter 7 of
Luke, John's disciples were sent, these two men. And John said,
you go ask him. Look at verse 19. He called unto
him two of his disciples while he was in prison, sent them to
Jesus, saying, art thou he that should come, or look we for another? Now, many commentators look at
this action of John the Baptist and say, there John is. He's
about to be beheaded and he knows it and he's afraid he made a
mistake. He's afraid he messed up because
there's no evidence that Christ is indeed Messiah. Not on your
life. No, no. John is here showing
concern, Rex, for his disciples. Would the God he give me that
kind of grace with you when I'm about to leave this world? He
wants his disciples. to have verified for themselves
the witness that he bore of Christ. He said, fellas, y'all go to
him and ask him, art thou the Christ and look we for another.
And look what he had the Lord responded. Verse 20, when the
men were come under the Lord Jesus, they said, John Baptist
has sent us under the saying, art thou he that should come
or look we for another. And in the same hour, At the
same time, this wasn't by accident they were here at this time.
While these fellows are standing there talking to him, he cured
many of their infirmities and plagues and of evil spirits. And unto many that were blind,
he gave sight. The Lord Jesus calls the deaf
to hear, the dumb to speak, the lame to walk, the blind to see,
the dead to be raised up You remember how Joel described the
coming of the Messiah? when he said this what he going
to do and The Lord turns to John's disciples and he said you go
back and tell John Jesus answering said unto them go your way and
tell John what things ye have seen and heard and how that the
blind see, and the lame walk, and the lepers are cleansed,
and the deaf hear, and the dead are raised to the poor, the gospel
is preached. Wow. You want reason to believe? Or
reason to squawk? You want reason to believe? Find
me somebody else. Find me somebody else who caused
a blind man to see. Find me somebody else who calls
the man whose legs had been twisted up under him since he was born
for 38 years to get up and walk away. Find me somebody else. You want reason to believe? Find
me somebody else who calls the man who had never heard the thunder
in his life. Be able to hear without a hearing
aid. We're not talking about these fake healers. I didn't
say faith healers, I said fake healers. We're not talking about
these fellas. No, we're not even talking about men given power
from the devil to perform miracles. Find me somebody else who caused
a man who was dead to get up and walk home. Find me somebody
else. Well, he didn't really do that.
You surely don't believe that. I believe that. more than I believe
anything I've ever seen proved in a court of law. It's verified
throughout the book and verified by record. Verified. Find somebody
else. Oh, well, Ninja made those things
up. Well, believe that and go to
hell if you want to. It's exactly right. Our Lord's miracles were
performed in such multitude that nobody could imitate them. They
were such mighty, great works performed in such a public manner
that no one could call them into question. Nobody ever did. Nobody
ever did. And they were works not just
to display power. Every one of them, Larry, were
works of mercy and grace and kindness. Every one of them.
Every one of them. And they had a direct appeal
to men's senses. They were they were real and
visible and they would bear examination. But our Lord is not just talking
about those works. This word is written for you
and me that we might believe. Obviously, he's speaking for
the benefit of future generations, for he speaks of the works which
the father gave him to finish. He said the works the father
has given me to finish. To finish, they bear witness.
What works did he finish? What was it that he finished?
He made an end of the transgression. He finished the law. He finished satisfaction. He finished righteousness. He finished redemption. He finished
the salvation of our souls. I call on you then to trust the
Lord Jesus, because he's finished the work the Father gave him
to perform before the world was. Look back in John 5, 37. Here's
a third reason to trust him. His Father bears witness of him.
And the Father himself, which hath sent me, hath borne witness
of me. You remember at his baptism when
our Lord came to be? Baptized and John said I have
I have reason for you to baptize me I'm not gonna baptize you
and the master said to John said I hold all Suffer it to be so
now for thus it becometh us to fulfill all righteousness baptism
immersion The baptism of believers is a symbolic picture by which
righteousness is fulfilled. In our baptism, we confess symbolically
that we are dead with Christ, buried with Christ, and risen
again with Christ. And thus, righteousness is symbolically
fulfilled because Christ, by his obedience unto death, has
brought in everlasting righteousness, verified by his resurrection
from the dead. And when he did, The Lord God
spoke from heaven, sent his spirit down in the form of a dove, lighted
on him, and abode on him. And he said, this is my beloved
son in whom I am well pleased. He did the same thing again in
Matthew chapter 17 when he was transfigured on the Mount of
Transfiguration. And our Lord God, the Father, bears witness
of the Son throughout the book of God. Turn over to 1 John chapter
5. 1 John chapter 5. Verse 7. There are three that bear record
in heaven. The Father, the Word, that is,
Christ, the wisdom, the revelation, the Logos, and the Holy Ghost. The Father, the Son, and the
Holy Spirit. And these three are one. Verse 8. And there are
three that bear witness on earth, or in earth. The spirit, the
water, the word, and the blood. And these three agree in one.
Verse nine, if we receive the witness of men, do you? Do you? I've only had the responsibility
of sitting on a jury once. And when all the evidence was
presented, when all the evidence was presented, do you know what
we decided? We 12 jurors except for a couple
of, you know, kind of flaky folks. When all the evidence was presented,
we said, no, I don't believe that. I don't believe that because
there wasn't any evidence. There wasn't any evidence. Some
guy was suing the city of Danville, suing a police officer, and there
wasn't any evidence. When the court, when the case
was done and we finally turned in our decision, the lawyer looked
at me, I was a four-person jury, and said, what happened? I said,
wasn't any evidence. That's what happened. Wasn't
any evidence. None. Well, didn't anybody believe
her? No, they just thought, well, I'll do something. Nobody believed
her. Nobody. No evidence. Some of
you have been in courts of law, wasn't evidence. And as much
as you hate to see somebody go to jail, you've got to say, yeah. They're guilty. There's the evidence. Do you receive the witness of
men? Well, not one. No, no, no, no, no. Wouldn't
receive one eyewitness. Not to murder, not to rape. Not
one. Two? Three? Oh, yeah. Now, I've got to receive that.
Got to receive that. The witness of God is greater.
Look at this. He that believeth on the Son
of God has the witness in himself. God the Holy Spirit's come in
you. He bears witness within. He that believeth not God hath
made him a liar, because he believeth not the record God gave of his
son. We believe because we have the
witness within. And that which we believe is
the record of the book, and that which is recorded in heaven itself.
Though the Father bears witness of him, the Lord Jesus said to
these Jews and says to you who refuse to trust him. Look at
verse 37. You have neither heard his voice
at any time nor seen his shape. And you have not his word abiding
in you for whom he hath sent, him you believe not. You've not
heard his voice. You've not seen him who is the
image of the invisible God, the revelation of God. You've not
heard his word, and his word's not in you. You may have it memorized,
but you've not possessed it. None are so blind as those who
will not see. None are so deaf as those who
will not hear. Will you hear the voice of the
Son of God? Will you hear the voice of God
who spoke from heaven? I call on you. Believe on the
son of God, because the father bears witness of him. The voice
that spoke throughout all the Old Testament to the incarnation. Every time there was a voice
that spoke from heaven, every time it was a voice that spoke
who was God and spoke about him who's coming, God in human flesh. in the garden, the voice that
called Adam in the garden, told him about the son. When Moses
heard a voice speaking in the bush, he heard a voice who describes
himself as Jehovah, the mighty I am, the redeemer who revealed
his goodwill out of the bush. When Abraham heard a voice speaking
to him, it was the voice of God speaking to him about that one
represented in the sacrifice who would be his seed. in whom
all the nations of the earth would be blessed. Fourth, John
539. Our Lord gives another witness.
By which I call on you to believe him. I believe all of you have a copy
in your hand. Got what? Search the scriptures. The scriptures. The Holy Oracles. Search the scriptures for in
them. You think you have eternal life. And they are they which testify
of me. Let's look at this line by line
for just a minute. Search the scriptures. He's talking about
the Old Testament. New Testament had been written
yet. It's such the scriptures. Now, what said of the Old Testament?
Certainly is applied to and true of the new the scriptures given
by inspiration of God Holding me and wrote as they were moved
by the Spirit of God You remember how Peter describes? this He
said fellas 1st Peter chapter 1. He said we were with the Lord
in the mount James John and I we were with him Now let me tell
you We saw and heard Moses and Elijah. We saw Moses. Heard him talking. And we weren't drunk. No. Just
as stoned sober as we could be. And we saw Elijah. Folks haven't
seen these fellows in hundreds of years. They've been gone a
long time. We saw them both. and heard them
both and they were talking to the Lord Jesus about the death,
the exodus he must accomplish at Jerusalem. What a strange
word. We saw Moses and heard him. We
saw Elijah and heard him talking to the Lord Jesus about the death
he must accomplish at Jerusalem. And when that happened, the Lord
Jesus was transfigured before us. We saw Christ in his resurrection
glory. Wow. But shoot. Now listen, now listen. He said, boys, that ain't nothing.
That ain't nothing. We have a more sure word of prophecy. You mean that's better than a
vision? You mean that's better than being on the map of transfiguration?
We believe because we have this book written by holy men of old
who spoke as they were carried along by God the Holy Spirit. This book given by inspiration.
And the Lord Jesus says to these Jews, search the scriptures. And it says to you and me, search
the scriptures. Test all doctrine by this book. Test all doctrine. When Susan and Jim first started
coming here, I made a business I do for all of you who've started
coming here since I've been here. I just preach and leave you alone. I just, I don't have a good bedside
manner. If I go visit, I'm going to offend.
I just don't have a good bedside manner. So I preach and leave
folks alone. Let them come. And I remember Susan saying to
me, I ain't never heard those things. And we'd go home and
search it out. There it is. Is that right? There
it is. You do that. If you care for
your soul, you do that. You test everything this preacher
says by this book. And if you find me speaking contrary
to this book, don't you hear me? And do the same with every
other. Do the same with every other.
Every practice of religion, every ordinance of religious worship
tested by this book. If this is not the way folks
were baptized in the New Testament, don't come here. I'm faking things.
We take the Lord's table. This is not the way they did
it in New Testament. Don't you come here. Go somewhere else.
This is a fake. It's a charade. But I'm sure you don't mean that.
David, I'm as serious as I can possibly be. Either these things
are real and true and vital, or they're just a mockery. Like
the churches and religious world around us, these Jews had the
scriptures, they had the Old Testament, the sacred oracles
of God. They held them in their possession. They had little boxes
in the synagogues with copies rolled up. And they'd go down
there every Saturday, just like you come here every Sunday. And
they'd pull out one of the rolls and they'd read them and expound
them. And they'd have the children
to memorize them, just like folks do today. They possessed them,
but didn't have a clue what they said. Didn't believe anything
recorded in them. Look at this. For in them You
think you have eternal life. They presume, just like folks
do today, that by learning the letter of the scriptures and
the facts of the scriptures and the historic evidences of the
scriptures, by practicing the ordinances of divine worship,
they would inherit and obtain eternal life. They adored the
scriptures and would fight you over the scriptures, but despised
the Savior. They reverence the written word.
but despised the living word it revealed and made idols of
ordinances and refused to worship him portrayed in the ordinances.
Sadly, in our day, there are multitudes who profess to be
worshipers of God, who read every dime store novel
and every piece of fiction they can get their hands on. And Some
of you, you'll take this word of God, this book right here,
that you got in your lap. You're looking at it now. And
when you pull your coat off, you'll lay right there on the
table beside your coat, and it'll gather dust until next week while
you read the trash and get everywhere else. I read a statement by a French
reformer by the name of Pierre Boleyn in the 1600s. I read this
yesterday and I thought, what a shocker. He said, while they
burned us for reading the scriptures, we burned with zeal to be reading
from them. Now with our liberty is bred
also negligence and disesteem for God's word. Oh, God forgive such callous
indifference. And they are they which testify
of me. John Trapp said, the babe of
Bethlehem is bound up in these swathing bands. All the books
about him. They testify of me. The Old Testament
scriptures particularly. We know it's in the New Testament
all about Jesus, but the Old Testament is not. Oh, no. Oh,
no. All the Old Testament is about him. He is Jehovah, the
son of God, the mighty God spoken of in the Old Testament. In the
Old Testament, he's described as prophet, priest and king in
Zion. He's spoken of in the Old Testament
as one who would be born of a virgin, born at Bethlehem of Judah, born
of the tribe of Judah. The Old Testament spoke of him
performing those mighty miracles of mercy on the bodies of men.
The Old Testament told how he would be betrayed by a friend. for 30 pieces of silver, how
he would be scourged and beaten, spit upon and mocked of men,
how men would cast lots for his vesture as he was crucified upon
a cursed tree hanging between two things. The Old Testament
told those things. The Old Testament spoke of his
resurrection from the dead and of his coming again in judgment
in power at the end of the days. I call on you to believe him
because the scriptures testify of him. And I call on you to
believe him for another reason. He gives it to us in verses 45
through 47. He said, Moses speaks of me. Moses and the law spoke of him. He said in verse 40, you will
not come to me that you might have life. I receive honor of
men, but I know you. You have not the love of God
in you. I'm coming in my father's name and you receive me not. If another come in his own name,
him you will receive. How can you believe which receive
honor one of another and seek not the honor that cometh from
God only? Do not think that I'll accuse you to my father. There
is one that accuseth you, even Moses, whom you trust. Do you mean these fellas trusted
Moses to be their Savior? No. That's not what he's saying
at all, Merle. They trusted what they knew Moses
represented to be their Savior. Law. Their obedience. Their works. Their goodness. Their doing. While I was trying
to make up my mind whether we'd meet this morning at the regular
time or not, Shelby turned the radio on, tried to get a little
weather, and there's a Campbellite preacher on. I don't care where
he's from, don't know. Doesn't matter which one he was.
And he urged fellas, do good and be good and do good and be
good and do good and be good and do good. He must have said
it a dozen times. Do good and be good, do good
and be good. I want you to do good and be
good. I want you to do good and be good and believe in Jesus
and you'll inherit eternal life. You be as good as you can and
do as good as you can and mix it up with believing in Jesus.
And you'll go to hell just like these Jews. No, no, you receive
not him because of the perversity of your will and the depravity
of your heart. And you claim to Moses, to the
law and the statutes and the works, all of which said not
us. Don't believe me. Don't trust
me. Don't trust the sacrifice. Don't
trust the commandment. Don't trust your doing. Don't
trust your goodness. Don't trust your will. Trust
the Son of God. These things are but shadows
of Him. Believe on the Son of God. I
call on you to do so because the book of God speaks of Him. The witness of John The witness
of his works, the witness of the father, the witness of the
scriptures, the witness of Moses and the law all speak of him. But you won't believe him. You won't believe him. So I send you home. With a prayer in my heart. that bears your name and has
borne your name many days. Lord God, do for these poor sinners
what they cannot and will not do for themselves. Give them
the witness within. Give them of your spirit, your
grace, your salvation. Amen.

Five Reasons For Trusting Christ

What does the Bible say about trusting Christ?

How do we know Jesus is the Christ?

Why is the resurrection of Jesus important for Christians?

What does it mean to be born of God?

Why are the Scriptures important for Christians?

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Five Reasons For Trusting Christ

What does the Bible say about trusting Christ?

How do we know Jesus is the Christ?

Why is the resurrection of Jesus important for Christians?

What does it mean to be born of God?

Why are the Scriptures important for Christians?

Sermon Transcript

About Don Fortner

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