Turn with me in your Bibles to
John chapter 15. While you're turning there, a
few announcements. First, we're going to observe the Lord's table
tonight. And our Lord said, this do in
remembrance of me. And every believer is to partake
of the Lord's table. Also, Lord willing, next week
we'll meet Lord willing, next week we'll meet in the auditorium.
I think we will. Unless something happens that I don't know anything
about. We're not going to have a midweek service this week because
the pews will be padded for two or three days. It's going to
take them to do that. So nothing this Wednesday. Also, I want
to remind everyone to always supervise your children. In the
building and in the parking lot, the building is not a place to
let your kids run around unsupervised. We have also enlarged the parking
lot, don't want anyone to get hurt, and thank you for your
attention on this matter. John chapter 15. The Lord says,
I am the true vine. Now I have quoted that many times,
I am the vine, but yet when our Lord speaks of himself being
the vine, he calls himself the true vine. I am the true vine. What caught my attention was
the adjective before the word vine, the true vine. I am the real vine. I am the genuine vine as opposed
to the counterfeit vine. Now that's what is included in
this idea. The idea of a counterfeit. How much value is there in counterfeit
money? None. You can't buy anything
with it. And it is criminal to try to
pass counterfeit money, isn't it? People go to jail for that. Now, I want to know if what I'm
hearing is true. That is the issue. I want to know if what I'm hearing
is true. When you hear the news, do you
want to hear the news Or do you want to hear somebody's interpretation
of what took place? You want to hear the truth, don't
you? You want to hear that which is true. If you're sitting on
a jury and you're listening to what they're saying and building
their case, what is it you want to hear in order to make the
proper decision? You want to hear that which is
true, don't you? If you're going to the doctor, you have a certain
sickness and You want to be well. You don't want the doctor to
tell you something that will just simply make you feel better.
You want him to tell you that which is true. So you can take
whatever means are necessary in order to be healed. If I hear
someone preaching concerning how God saves sinners, you know
what I want to hear? I want to hear that which is
true. Not something to make me feel
better. But I want to hear that which is true. Now when you're listening to
me, what is the most important issue? Is what he is saying true? It's either true or it's a lie. And John said no lie is of the
truth. You see, there is always an agenda
behind a lie. A lie is deception by falsehood. And Satan is called the father
of lies. Give me the truth. That's what
I want. Like Ahab said to Micaiah, I
adjure thee, tell me nothing but that which is true. Now is that what you want? Is
that really what you want? The reason I ask that is There
are many people, actually most people, who don't really want
the truth. Do you? Do I? Christ said, I am the true. Fine. Tell me nothing but that
which is true. God's Word is true. There's nothing in it but absolute
truth. David said in Psalm 119.60, Thy
word is true from the beginning, and I'm so thankful for the written
word of God. Oh, I'm so thankful for the written
word of God. It's altogether true, and it tells me of the
only true God. This is life eternal, that they
might know Thee, the only true God, as opposed to the many false
gods. I want to know. The only true
God. John said in Revelation 19-11,
And I saw heaven open, and, behold, a white horse, and he that sat
upon him is called Faithful and True. Capital F and capital T. Faithful and True. Revelation
6-10, How long, O Lord, holy and true. Revelation 15-3, Just
and true. are thy ways, O King of Saints. Revelation 16, 7, Even so, Lord
God Almighty, true and righteous are thy judgments. God the Father,
God the Son, God the Spirit is true, and everything that proceeds
from Him is true. And this is what I want. I want
to hear that which is true. You've heard that saying, give
me liberty or give me death? I believe I can say this just
as genuinely. Give me that which is true or
give me death. Do you want to know that which
is We read in Revelation 21 5 and he that said on the throne said
behold I make all things new and he said unto me right for
these words are true and faithful Revelation 22 6 these sayings
are true and faithful Now I want somebody to give me the true
words of God. Don't you? Would you turn with
me a moment to John chapter 7? Turn back a few pages to John
chapter 7. Or we're going to deal, Lord willing, next week
with what the Lord means by I am divine and you are the branches. But I just want us to think of
this concept, if you will, of truth. Look in John chapter 7,
beginning in verse 16. Jesus answered them and said,
My doctrine is not mine, but his that sent me. If any man
will do his will, if that's what your desire is, to do his will,
whatever that will is, he shall know of the doctrine, whether
it be of God or whether I speak of myself. If you're willing
to do God's will, if that's in your heart, I want to do his
will, whatever it is, you're not going to be deceived. You're
going to know whether that man is telling you the truth. You're
going to know the difference between that which is true and
that which is false. Now look what he says in verse
18. He that speaketh of himself seeketh his own glory but he
that seeketh his glory that sent him the same is true and no unrighteousness
is in him. Now if a man has any other agenda
than the glory of God you're not going to get that
which is true. There's always going to be some kind of slant. You're going to either hear something
added to the truth that negates the truth, or you're going to
hear something left out. It's what you're not going to
hear that is essential to the truth being preached. Anybody,
any preacher, any person, That's not seeking the glory of God.
That's their agenda. That's what their purpose is.
If that's not their purpose, you're not going to hear that
which is true. But if you find somebody, or
if you hear somebody that's actually seeking the glory of God, how
are you going to know if they are? You'll have to figure that
out. I don't know. It'll be true according to the Scriptures.
But here's the point I'm making. If I'm seeking anything other than
the glory of God, I'm not going to tell you that which is true.
But if I'm seeking God's glory, if that's what I'm about, then
I'm going to tell you that which is true. I want to hear somebody
like John the Baptist, of whom it was said, John did no miracle,
but all things that John spake of this man are true. What a commendation. And John
chapter 6 verse 32. I'm just going to consider how
the Bible uses this word true. Verse 32. Then Jesus said unto them, Verily,
verily, I say unto you, Moses gave you not that bread from
heaven, but my Father giveth you the true bread from heaven. That manna that came down from
heaven, it was real. It filled their bellies. It did
them good. That manna that came down was real, but it wasn't
the true bread. He said, I am the true bread. Like Hebrews 8, 2 says, the true
tabernacle, which the Lord pitched and not man. And then Hebrews
9, 24 speaks of those things which were figures of the true.
Now here's the point behind this. I want to know with regard to
the scripture. I read about man coming down and a big tabernacle
being made and all those different things that happened in the Old
Testament. Thank God for these illustrations and figures, but
I want to know the true meaning. I mean, I hear bread coming down
from heaven. I'm impressed. Bread came down
from heaven, but what's the true meaning of that? I want to know
the true meaning of the scripture regarding all these figures,
regarding all the Old Testament, everything about the scriptures.
I want to know the true meaning. I don't want to just know the
letter. I want to know the spirit behind it. I want to know the
true meaning of the Word of God, which is Christ. Look in John
1. John 1, verse 6. There was a man sent
from God whose name was John. The same came for a witness to
bear witness of the light that all men through him might believe. He was not that light, but was
sent to bear witness of that light that was the true light,
which lighteth every man that cometh into the world. Christ
is the true light as opposed to the counterfeit lights. Satan,
according to 2 Corinthians 11, verse 4, masquerades as an angel
of light. Satan's main sphere of operation
is the pulpit. You believe that? That's his
chief area of operation. And he spreads a counterfeit
light and the Lord says, I am the true light. Now what's a
light for? A light is what we see by now.
I don't want to have a counterfeit light that will make me see the
wrong things. I want the true light. Give me the truth. Christ Jesus said, I am the light
of the world. Now, He's the light, the true
light of the Bible. You know, I know whatever Scripture
means. I might not know how to get there, but I know whatever
Scripture means. Christ. Christ. To Him give all the prophets
witness. And I know, I know that's what
it all means. He's the light of who God is. If you want to
know who God is, Jesus Christ. He said, He that has seen me
has seen the Father. That's who the Father is. Jesus
Christ. You want to know who you are?
Jesus Christ. And the only way you're going
to know who you are is by seeing who He is. You see who He is,
you'll see how rotten you are. That's the only way you'll see
how rotten you are. I can talk about it and it'll just seem
like negative, morose speech, but if you ever see who the Lord
Jesus Christ is, if you ever see what the cross means, Him
being nailed to the cross. There you find out how bad you
and I really are. If God left you to yourself,
you'd murder Jesus Christ. Do you believe that? Daniel said,
when I saw Him, my comeliness turned to corruption. I see who
God is. I see who I am. But most especially,
this is the light. The Lord Jesus Christ is the
true light as to how God can love and accept me when I'm so
bad in and of myself. Remember in John chapter 8 verse
12 where the Lord said, I'm the light of the world. I'm the light
of the world. That's not meaningless speech.
I'm the light of the world. What happened right before that?
That's where he looked at that woman who was taken in adultery
in the very act. And I mean she was guilty. And
he said, I don't condemn you. Now how can he not condemn her
if she did it? The only way I can understand that is through the
light of the gospel of the Lord Jesus Christ. You see, He has
made a way for God to be just. Absolutely. Immutably. Just. And yet justify somebody
like me who am guilty. How can that be? How can that
be? Because my sin became His. On
the cross, He became what I am. And His righteousness is mine. Now, Christ is the true light.
of the world. Any other light is a false light. Turn to 1 Peter chapter 5. 1 Peter chapter 5. Peter says in
verse 12, By Silvanus, a faithful brethren to you as I suppose,
I have written briefly, exhorting and testifying that this is the
true grace of God wherein you stand. This is true grace, as
opposed to counterfeit grace, as opposed to false grace. Now, there's a lot of counterfeits
that go under the name of grace, isn't there? A whole lot. You
know, there's not a religious institution. You know, we talk about, we ought
to be careful the way we use the word church. If the gospel's
not preached there, it's not really a church, whatever else
you want to call it. Let's just talk about a religious
institution. There are a lot of religious
institutions that use the word grace and they say, Oh, we believe
grace. We believe in salvation by grace through faith. We believe
that. Salvation by grace through faith. But I think what's interesting
is they fail to finish that verse. For by grace are you saved. As
a matter of fact, look at it with me. Ephesians chapter 2. Ephesians chapter 2. I want you
to see this black and white for yourself. Ephesians chapter 2,
verse 8, for by grace are you saved through faith. Oh, I believe
in salvation by grace through faith. And then they stop right
there, but what's it say next? And that, not of yourselves,
that faith, it's not of yourselves, it's the gift of God, not of
works, lest any man should boast. You see, Most folks look at faith
as a work that gets grace started. Does that make sense? It's almost like the starting
up the engine. You've got to have the faith to start it up,
and that's what puts the grace into operation. And that is a
complete denial of what grace is in the first place. The true
grace of God wherein you stand. Now, there is the true grace
of God What does it take for grace to be true grace? I want
us to think about that for just a moment. Everybody says, you
won't find one person in Lexington, Kentucky, who claims to be religious,
say, no, I believe in grace. Everybody says that. But there's
such a thing as true grace, and there's such a thing as counterfeit
grace. And remember this, counterfeit grace won't save anybody. That
which is not true, it will not save anybody. Now, what is true
grace? You know grace means God's favor.
I won't be saved without the grace of God. God's favor. Now,
for grace to be true grace, for it to be saving grace and not
counterfeit grace, it must first be electing grace. That's where I got to begin.
That's where the Bible begins. God chose who would be saved
before time began. Ephesians 1 verse 4 says, according
as He has chosen us in Him before the foundation of the world,
that we should be holy and without blame before Him. Now why does
it have to be elected grace to be true grace? Because if God
didn't choose me, I will not choose Him. That's why. I won't
be saved without elected grace. I can't be saved without elected
grace. And anybody that doesn't believe in election doesn't believe
in grace. Somebody doesn't preach election,
does not preach the grace of God. It's a counterfeit grace.
I've got to begin right here because I know that if God leads
me to myself, I'll go down. You believe that? It must begin
with God, not with man. My faith doesn't start the engine.
And all of a sudden it makes grace work. No, God's grace is
electing grace. And it must be justifying grace. It must be a grace that actually
makes me to be not guilty. You know, this becomes more glorious
to me the more I think of it. Justifying grace. Justifying
grace actually makes me to where I am Not guilty before God. The Holy God looks at me all
the way through. Todd Thibert. He looks at me
all the way through and he sees nothing but that which is well-pleasing
in his sight. Now that's grace, isn't it? Justifying
grace. The perfect righteousness of
Christ becomes mine so that I'm just before God. I'm perfect
before God. I'm righteous before God. I really
am. Here's what I'm saying. I really
am. If God sees me that way, it's because that's the way I
am. That's what the gospel does. God takes the righteousness of
His Son, makes it mine. He took my sin and made it His.
That's why I died on the cross. Justifying grace. Redeeming grace.
For grace to be saving grace and not be counterfeit grace,
it has to be redeeming grace. It has to pay for my sins. It
has to pay for all of them so as I'm not guilty before God.
Now that is the true grace of God. That's the grace that saves. For grace, to be saving grace
and non-counterfeit grace, it has to be regenerating grace. It has to give me life. Because
I don't have spiritual life by nature. I'm dead. I can't believe.
I can't repent. I've got to have grace that actually
gives me life, that enables me to believe the Gospel, that enables
me to repent and continue in repentance, that enables me to
continue in the faith. I've got to have a grace that
actually gives a dead sinner life. Anything short of that
is counterfeit grace. I need a grace that'll preserve
me, that'll keep me continuing in the faith, that'll keep me
coming to Christ and keep me looking to Him. Because if I
don't have a grace like that, I'll fall away. I know I will.
If you can fall away, you will fall away. No doubt about that. I need a grace that keeps me.
and preserves me. I need a grace that is going
to glorify me and make me perfectly conformed to the image of the
Lord Jesus Christ and anything short of that is counterfeit
grace. This is the true grace of God
wherein you stand. Turn to Ephesians chapter 4 verse
23 We're called on to be renewed
in the spirit of our mind that you may put on the new man which
after God is created in righteousness and true holiness. True holiness as opposed to counterfeit
holiness. Now, how much is there that goes
under the name of holiness that's nothing more than a counterfeit
holiness? It's not real. Touch not, taste
not, and handle not. That's most people's religion.
And it's not true. It's not real. It's not saving. Now here's what came to my mind
when I was thinking about this thing of false holiness. I thought of Matthew chapter
6 where the Lord talks about giving of alms, he talks about
prayer, and he talks about fasting. Remember that passage in Matthew
chapter 6, he says, when you give alms, don't sound a trumpet
before you like the hypocrites do. They do it so they can be
seen of men. He said, no, don't sound an alm,
or sound a trumpet. Let not your right hand know
what your left hand is doing in giving. In prayer, don't be
like the hypocrites are. They love to stand on the street
so everybody can see them pray and see how devoted they are.
He said, don't you be that way. You enter into your closet. And
when you fast, he says, don't be as the hypocrites do. They
disfigure their faces so everybody can see, oh, they're fasting.
They're fasting. They must be really dedicated.
No, you keep your face clean and washed, and you don't appear
to men to fast. And your Heavenly Father, which
sees in secret, He'll reward thee openly. Now, here's the
point. These three things represent
all of the works of human religion. Almsgiving, my acts of charity
toward men, prayer, my act of devotion toward God, fasting,
my discipline, my temperance, my self-control. Now, in every one of these instances,
our Lord tells us that which is hypocritical, that which is
not real, that which is counterfeit, I may give. Why am I doing it? I may pray. Who am I praying
to? I may fast. Why am I doing it? Is it to show everybody how good
I am? False holiness is what that is. I want true holiness, don't you?
I don't want to have a man-made holiness that's actually so evil
and corrupt. The stuff that goes on under
the name of holiness is just so ungodly and corrupt and evil. I want to have true holiness.
Now what is true holiness? It's that which comes from God. That's what true holiness is.
The only way somebody can be holy is for God to make them
holy. Holiness doesn't come to you
from something you do. You don't do something in order
to be holy. God makes you holy. He declared us to be holy. He
set us apart to be holy in eternal election. He declared us to be
holy on the cross. He makes us holy in the new birth.
This is true holiness. That which God does. It can't be separated from righteousness.
I like the way he says holiness and righteousness and true holiness.
If I'm to be holy, it's what God makes me. Not something I
do in order to become holy. Anything I do in order to become
holy is a false, counterfeit holiness. I want true holiness. Turn to John chapter 4. John chapter 4. Verse 22, you worship. Our Lord
says to the woman at the well, you know not what. We know what
we worship for salvation is of the Jews, but the hour cometh
and now is when the true worship. shall worship the Father in spirit
and in truth, for the Father seeketh such to worship him."
Did you catch that? The true worshipers. Now there's a lot of stuff that
goes on under the name of worship that is utterly counterfeit and
false and not real. True worship, let's go on reading
verse 24, God is spirit and they that worship him must worship
him in spirit and in truth. True worship is in the spirit. True worship is by the spirit
of God, inspired by the spirit of God, caused by the spirit
of God. Only those who have God the Holy Spirit have true worship. Well, what is involved in true
worship? The Holy Spirit and truth. They that worship God
must worship Him in spirit and in truth. The truth of the gospel. Where the truth is not preached,
there is no true worship. It's counterfeit. It's false.
It's spurious. It's not real. It's a bunch of
hot air. Let me show you from the scriptures what true worship
is. Turn with me to Matthew chapter 8. In verse 1. Now this is true worship. Are you interested in true worship?
My soul, I am. Whatever true worship is, I want
to worship God. Now look what he says in Matthew
chapter 8 verse 1. And when he was come down from the mountain,
great multitudes followed him, and behold, there came a leper. And this leper, according to
Luke's account, was full of leprosy. He didn't have a healthy inch
of flesh on him, and that represents sin. Full of sin. And behold, there came a leper
and worshipped him, saying, Lord, if thou wilt, thou canst make
me clean. Now according to the word of
God, that is true worship. Here comes this leper, full of
leprosy, full of sin. And you know what he did? He came and worshipped. He worshipped
the Lord for who he was. He didn't know if the Lord was
going to heal him. The Lord hadn't healed him yet. And he didn't know whether
or not he would. He didn't know whether he was going to get the
answer to his prayer, but he worshipped the Lord for who he
was. He knew he was the Lord. Lord. Lord. Dictator. The one who's in absolute
control, Lord, if you will. I can't make myself clean. I
can't decide to be clean. I can't do anything to make myself
clean. I'm in your sovereign hands, if you will. You can make me clean. I need
to be clean and I can't make myself clean. And if you send
me to hell, you're just in doing so, but oh, if you will. You can make me clean. You know
there's never been anybody who came to the Lord like that, that
the Lord turned away. Never happened. If you come like
this leper did, and worship the Lord for who He is, like this
leper did, you're going to hear the same thing this leper heard.
Verse 3, And Jesus put forth His hand, and touched him, saying,
I will be thou clean, and immediately his leprosy was cleansed." Now
that's true worship. I want to know something about
true worship, don't you? Not this counterfeit stuff. Turn
to Hebrews chapter 10. Hebrews chapter 10. Verse 22, let us draw near with a true
heart. A true heart, not a false heart,
not counterfeit, but with a true heart. Now what is this true
heart he's speaking of? This is the true heart that God
gives in the new birth when he says a new heart also will I
give thee. I don't come with my flesh. I come with a true heart, the
new heart that God gives. Now, somebody's asking the question,
how can I know if I'm coming with this true heart? I want
to know if I'm true hearted, and I do. I want to know if I'm
a true heart, don't you? Whether the Lord has given me
this heart that actually comes to Him. Now, how can I determine?
Well, let's see. Verse 19 of this same chapter.
Here's what a true heart does. Having therefore, brethren, boldness,
confidence to enter into the holiest by the blood of Jesus. And here's what a true heart
does. He realizes his only way of entrance into the very presence
of God is through the blood of the Lord Jesus Christ. I don't
come on my own. I don't come because I'm a preacher. I don't
come because of anything in me. There's only one way I come into
the presence of God. It's through the blood of the
Lord Jesus Christ. And I know, it's what I believe
about His blood. It's because of whose blood it
is. It's the blood of the Lord Jesus Christ. This is not mere
man's blood. This is the God-man's blood.
His blood, when He said it is finished, actually washed away
the sins of everybody he died for. And when I come into God's
presence, I come pleading one thing, His blood. Anything else? No. That's it. And anything else is not true. It's a lie. It's counterfeit. Anybody who comes into God's
presence with a true heart comes boldly, that's not presumptuously,
but really believing that the blood of Christ is all I need
to bring me into the very presence of God. You believe that? That's true hearted. Anything
else is false, it's a lie, it's pretense, it's hypocrisy. The
only true heart is that one who comes into the presence of God
through the blood of the Lord Jesus Christ and no other way. Having therefore, brethren, boldness
to enter into the holiest by the blood of Jesus by a new and
living way, which He hath consecrated for us through the veil, that
is to say, His flesh, and having an high priest over the house
of God, let us draw near with a true heart in full assurance
of faith. Now, what is this full assurance
of faith? Now you can be fully assured that you're saved and
not be. You know, there's a lot of folks who have full assurance
of faith. That doesn't mean you're saved. I am fully assured that
the faith, the faith of the gospel is the only gospel. I'm fully
assured that the only way I can come into God's presence is through
this new and living way, the Lord Jesus Christ. And I have
full assurance that He is everything in salvation and I don't need
anything else. I'm not adding anything to it.
Now, is that assurance? Yep, that's assurance. I am fully
assured that He is the gospel. And I am fully assured that if
I come through the blood, I am saved. And I can say, blessed
assurance, Jesus is mine through the blood. of the Lord Jesus
Christ. That's what a true heart does.
Turn to Luke chapter 16. Luke chapter 16, verse 11. If therefore you've
not been faithful in the unrighteous mammon, Who will commit to your
trust the true riches? True riches. The world considers silver and
gold true riches. Got a lot of money in the bank. It can leave mighty quick. That's
not true riches. Well, health is true riches. No, you can be rich without health. I'm thankful for health, but
that's not riches. Well, no, riches is in relationships. Well, relationships are nice,
but those are not true riches either. You see, true riches
is only that which you can take with you when you die. That's
the only thing that's truly rich. Now, what are you going to take
with you when you die? Somebody says nothing. Oh, no.
No, no. I'm taking something with me. the righteousness and merits
of Jesus Christ. Now that's true riches. The grace of God, that's true
riches. Being adopted by God to where
I'm His child, that's true riches. You see, this other stuff is
just temporary. It's not true riches. It's really
valueless. Everything in this world holds
no value. All that counts is what you take
with you when you die. You don't take your money with
you, do you? You don't take your health with you. No, you get
sick and die. You don't take your relationships with you. You know, in heaven, all these
relationships that everybody puts so much emphasis on on earth,
they're going to be dissolved. There's not going to be husbands
and wives and moms and dads and cousins. No! No, those things are no more.
The only true riches is that which you can take with you when
you die, and that is the Lord Jesus Christ. Who's richest,
me or Bill Gates? According to the Scriptures,
I'm a joint heir with Christ. All that Christ has coming to
Him, I have coming to me. Now that's the true riches. The
Lord Jesus Christ. Now I want to close with a true
proverb. Turn to 2 Peter chapter 2. 2 Peter chapter 2. Can you say,
give me nothing but that which is true. That's what I want. I want that which is true. Now
look in chapter 2 of 2 Peter, verse 20. For if after they have escaped
the pollutions of the world through the knowledge of the Lord and
Savior, Jesus Christ. They are again entangled therein
and overcome. The latter end is worse with
them than the beginning. For it had been better for them
not to have known the way of righteousness. What is the way
of righteousness? Who is the way of righteousness? Christ Jesus and His gospel. It had been better for them not
to have known the way of righteousness than after they've known it to
turn from the holy commandment delivered unto them. But it has
happened unto them according to the true proverb, the dog
is turned to his own vomit again, and the pig that was washed to
her wallowing in the mire." Scary scripture, isn't it? Sure
doesn't sound good. Now, if after hearing the gospel, I turn away, I'm described. as the dog returning
to its own vomit and the pig to its mire. You know, hearing
truth is a dangerous thing. It's a dangerous thing. You either
believe or you don't. You either receive or you reject. There's no middle ground. There's
no neutral ground. I don't want to be like that
person described in this true proverb. I want the true light. I want to be a true worshipper.
I want true riches. I want true grace. I want the truth. May God enable you and I to believe
the truth. Give me nothing. Give me nothing but that which
is true. Let's pray together.