Religious confusion and tomfoolery
and ignorance to clearly identify a true prophet from one who is
a false prophet. The Spirit of God tells us to
try the spirits, whether they are of God. Well, how can we
do so? There are many, many clear instructions
given in the Word of God about how to identify a false prophet
and how to identify the true. I want you to turn with me to
John's Gospel, Chapter 1, and I want to tell you, or show you
rather, three questions that identify a true prophet. Three questions by which true
prophets are identified. Answer these three questions
with regard to that prophet and you will know whether he is a
true prophet or false No one can question the fact that John
the Baptist was a true prophet The Son of God our Lord Jesus
Christ declared that he was the greatest prophet ever to be born
of a woman Now that's some commendation He was the first Baptist to walk
upon the earth, the very first Baptist preacher in the world.
I say that with emphasis because there are many who foolishly
imagine somehow that John was something other than a Baptist
preacher. He was the first immerser of
men in the name of Christ. That's what the word Baptist
means, immerser. Very properly translated, we
would say his name is John the Immerser. Both Isaiah and Malachi
foretold the coming of this man. They both described his ministry,
the kind of character he would be, and he was sent in the spirit
and power of Elijah, just as Malachi said he would be, to
prepare the way of the Lord. This man, John, John the Baptist,
had the unique distinction, we read of no other in the New Testament
or the old of whom this is specifically said, he had the unique distinction
of being filled with the Holy Spirit from his mother's womb. Now, when I was a young man,
that caused me great consternation. because it just didn't fit any
system of theology that I could find anywhere, especially my
own. And you know what? It still doesn't. And that causes me great joy.
You see, God Almighty just will not fit your little box or mine. And every time you think you've
got it figured out, I promise you if you'll read this book,
Stop reading what men say about this book long enough to read
the book, and every time you think you've got God figured
out, every time you think you've got all your ducks lined up in
a row, God will throw a monkey wrench in it and mess the whole
thing up. John the Baptist, we are specifically
told, was filled with the Holy Ghost from his mother's belly.
What all does that mean? It means he was filled with the
Holy Ghost from his mother's belly. It's exactly what it means.
When this man John was born, God Almighty sent an angel from
heaven to explain the mystery of his birth. He was born by
the supernatural intervention of God to his old father and
mother, Elizabeth and Zacharias, and they were themselves instructed
by the angel of God concerning his birth. This was without question
a remarkable man. In our text, verses 19 through
29, the Holy Spirit holds John the Baptist before us and tells
us that John was specifically asked three questions. His answers
to those questions identify him clearly as a true prophet. And they identify every preacher
who follows him as a true prophet or false. Let's read the text
together. John 1, 19. And this is the record,
John the Apostle speaking by divine inspiration, giving us
the inspired history and explanation of the ministry of John the Baptist.
This is the record of John when the Jews sent priests and Levites
from Jerusalem to ask him, question number one, who art thou? And he confessed and denied not,
but confessed, I am not the Christ. And they asked him, what then,
art thou Elias, Elijah? And he saith, I am not. Art thou
that prophet? And he answered, no. Then said
they unto him, Who art thou that we may give answer to them that
sent us? That's a sermon in itself. Religious
folks bound in religious customs, traditions, and denominations
have got to give answer to their religious superiors. Religion
forever treats men that way. I said, who art thou then that
we may give answer to those fellows who sin us? Here's the second
question. What sayest thou of thyself? Now, I promise you, I promise
you, you listen to what a preacher says about himself and he's told
you who he is. I promise you, especially if
you catch him when he's not speaking deliberately. What sayest thou
about thyself? Verse 23. He said, I am the voice
of one crying in the wilderness. Make straight the way of the
Lord, as said the prophet Isaiah. And they which were sent were
of the Pharisees. And they asked him and said unto
him, why baptizest thou then? Question number three. If thou
be not that Christ, nor Elias, neither that prophet, John answered
them, saying, I baptize with water, but there standeth one
among you whom you know not. He it is whose coming after me
is preferred before me, whose shoes latch it I am not worthy
to unloose. These things were done in Bethabara,
beyond Jordan, where John was baptized. The next day, John
seeth Jesus coming unto him, and saith, Behold, the Lamb of
God, which taketh away the sin of the world. Who art thou? That's the first question. Just
as Isaiah had prophesied, John appeared in the wilderness preaching
Christ. Calling sinners to repentance
because Christ the Messiah had come and the kingdom of God was
at hand So much then for those who would have you look for some
future day yet to be when the kingdom of God is coming John
the Baptist said the kingdom of God the kingdom of heaven's
at hand because the Messiah the Christ the King himself Has come
he is here And he called men and women to repentance. He called
them to believe on the son of God who had accomplished the
turning of his people as the lamb slain from the foundation
of the world and who would yet accomplish the turning of his
people by his blood at Calvary and by his spirit in the new
birth. Multitudes heard John preach. and being moved to repentance
by the Spirit of God, they were converted and baptized by this
man John the Baptist in the River Jordan. All of this, John's preaching,
the announcement that the Messiah is here, that the kingdom of
God is among you, that the Lord Jesus Christ, the King, the Savior,
the Messiah has come into the world and has accomplished redemption
by the sacrifice of himself, even as the Lamb slain from the
foundation of the world. And the multitudes following
John. That's the real catcher. Multitudes,
all the people heard John. All the people respected John
as a prophet. All the people were talking about
this man John and his message and his baptism. And they went
out to be baptized by John. Now this caused no small stir
among the people and no small disturbance in Jerusalem among
the religious leaders of the day. The elite in Jerusalem,
the religious politicians, the muckety-mucks in the Jewish church. So the priest and Levites sent
out from Jerusalem a delegation. A delegation to ask John to tell
them who he was. Look at it. We read it in verses
19 and 21. 19, 20, 21. They sent these priests
and said, who are you? Verse 20. Before they could say
any more, John cut them off. He said, I'm not the Christ.
I'm not the Christ. And they asked him, what then?
Are you Elijah? And he said, no, no. Are you
that prophet? Are you are you Jeremiah? Are
you that prophet that Moses spoke about who would come like him,
the Messiah, who is the prophet of his people? No, no, I'm not
him. Are you a resurrected prophet? Elijah or Jeremiah or Isaiah? No. No, I'm not. The Messiah's
forerunner stood before them. One who was clearly identified
as the forerunner of Christ. When he was born, he was identified
as such. The angel from heaven had declared
him to be such. That fact was obvious to everybody
around Jerusalem. Everybody. except the folks who
ought to have known." It was obvious to everybody around Jerusalem,
except the folks who ought to have known. When these men asked,
who art thou? And John cuts them off and tells
them plainly that he's not in any way a man to be honored and
esteemed and elevated before them or by them. Because the
people were honored. or because they honored John,
the religious leaders came out to meet John, determined to honor
him. Now that's the meaning of all
that transpires here. They didn't come out to meet
John so they could get into a fight with him. They came out to pull
John into their elite category. They came out to pull John in
among them. These are the Jewish Sanhedrin.
These are the Jewish Sanhedrin. These are the big wheels of the
big wheels. These are the fellows that everybody
revered and esteemed almost as much as they revered and esteemed
themselves. These fellows were the ivory
tower theologians who knew everything. They professed to be looking
for the Messiah. They professed to know the prophets. They professed to believe God,
to understand his will, to understand his law, and they were teachers
of the law. And they come out to John and
said, now John, just exactly where was it you went to seminary?
What kind of degree did you get? Who was it that ordained you?
Where on earth did you come from? Where did you get your training?
And where did you learn to preach like that? You see, the fact
is, self-serving preachers, and most are, self-serving preachers,
and most are, are men who promote themselves and will do anything
to promote themselves, even promoting one whose message they despise,
if in doing so, they advance themselves. Every now and then, I will be
in a circumstance or situation where somebody has been influenced
by the minister of this assembly, heard a message or heard several
messages, read something, God may have converted them, and
they start to talk to the preacher or the preachers. And you know
what happened? Either they will see clearly
for themselves the distinction between free will and free grace,
between works and grace, between legalism and liberty, between
faith in Christ and religious activity, and those who are converted
will just simply leave those synagogues of Satan. Or the preacher will call or
write and Seek in some way to get me to identify with him. Sometimes I'll hear fellows make
excuses for their alliances and say, I'll go anywhere, preach
the gospel to anybody. Me too. Me too. But I'm not going to
go be identified with somebody who opposes the gospel. And there's
a huge difference. There's a huge difference. I'll
be happy to pay my way, go to Vatican City, and preach the
gospel in the citadel of Satan in this world at my own expenses
to anybody, anytime. But I'm not about to sit down
on a platform with the Pope as if somehow I thought he was somebody
to be honored as God's servant. There's a huge difference. These
fellows came out and wanted John to participate with them in their
activities. These men, the great Sanhedrin,
were the leaders, the intellectual hierarchy, the brilliant, well-trained
theologians. Everybody looked up to them.
Everybody. Everybody. I mean, if Larry King
were going to interview anybody, he'd choose one of these. If
anybody were going to be on the O'Reilly show, it'd be one of
these fellas. Anybody. Everybody honored these fellas.
But you know what the scriptures show us here? They were totally
ignorant. They were totally ignorant. They
didn't have any light. Oh, they had lots of carnal learning,
lots of carnal knowledge, lots of learned, wrote memory, lots
of things filled their heads, but they did not understand anything
spiritual. They understood the letter of
the law. They could go back to the Old Testament scriptures,
and they could start counting from the prophecy of Daniel right
up to this day. And, oh, well, there's no question
this is the time Messiah is supposed to be here. I mean, it's not
hard to do. All you got to do is get your
calculator out or a piece of paper, if you're a good mathematician,
and add them up. Not any problem to realize that
from the time that Daniel received his vision to the time that John
the Baptist came Announcing the Messiah. This is the time he's
supposed to be here But they couldn't see anything. They knew
it was time for him to come but the Lord Jesus stood in their
midst and They didn't have a clue who he was They didn't have a
clue who he was Turn over first Corinthians chapter 2. Don't
you see something? I've tried to show you this numerous times.
I Pray that God the Holy Spirit will teach you spiritual knowledge. I'm not talking about memorizing
scripture. I'm not talking about figuring out a system of doctrine.
I'm not talking about figuring out some kind of a prophecy scheme.
I'm not talking about religious morality. I'm not talking about
legal duties. I'm talking about spiritual knowledge. The living knowledge of the living
God in a living soul comes by divine revelation. You can't
get it any other way. I can't give it to you. We teach
our children, instruct them from their youth up, and that's proper.
But all we can do is fill their heads with facts. We can't fill
their hearts with knowledge. Can't be done. 1 Corinthians
2, verse 14. How come? Because the natural
man, the natural man receiveth not no exceptions, the things
of the Spirit of God for their foolishness unto Him. I'm preaching
to some of you this morning, and you look at me like, well,
that's a bunch of foolishness. That's just foolishness. I expect that
from you. That's what I expect. How come?
Because you're natural. And the gospel of God's grace
can never be undisturbed by a natural man. The preaching of the cross
is foolishness to them that perish. The foolishness to it. Neither
can he know them. How come? Because they're only
discerned by the Holy Spirit. They're spiritually discerned.
But most of you sitting here understand exactly what's being
preached to you. How come? Because he that is
spiritual judgeth all things. He understands everything. Everything
spiritual. He understands the book of God,
the message of God, the word of God, the gospel of God. He
understands. He judges. He discerns these
things. Yet he himself is judged of no
man. Now, Darwin, that doesn't mean
no man can pick up rocks and throw them at him. That means
no man is going to understand you. They don't understand what
makes us tick. They don't understand what motivates
us. They don't understand why on this earth you'd get up early
on Sunday morning, come out here on a cold day when it looks like
it might rain outside, and you're not feeling good, and you're
tired, and what are you going to do? I'm going to go down and
see if God will speak to me by His Word and worship Him. Well,
you could do that another day. Yeah, but God might not speak
another day. He's not disturbing anybody.
Nobody. Sons and daughters, mothers and
fathers, husbands and wives don't understand the spiritual man
unless they too are spiritual. Verse 16, for who hath known
the mind of the Lord that he may instruct to him? But, oh,
what a wonder, we have the mind of Christ. I listened to some
of my friends, some of you talk about things that are profound. Hear my friends talk about mathematics
and physics and science and this thing and that, mechanics, building
houses. And it's all like a bowl of spaghetti
to me dumped out on the floor. I don't understand a thing about
it. I don't understand anything about it. I'm not a brilliant
man. Make no claim to brilliance.
But I know God. And I know this book, and I know
his grace, and I know his salvation. Now, what was it you wanted to
know? Here's the proof of Paul's doctrine in 1 Corinthians 2.
The Lord Jesus, the Son of God, the Messiah, was standing in
the midst of these men. He came unto his own, and his
own received him not. John declared in verse 26, there's
one standing right He's standing right here in the crowd. There's
one right here in the midst of you, and yet you don't know him. They saw him, but couldn't see
him. They knew much about him, but
never knew him. They lived in his company continually,
but they knew him not. And that which is true of these
men is true of men today. Many of you are sitting here
exactly where they stood. Christ is set forth evidently
crucified among you, but you can't see him or hear his voice. Why? The natural man receiveth
not the things of the Spirit of God. Oh, Spirit of God, let
this be the day of their visitation. Let it be the day of our visitation. Give light to the darkened heart,
eyes to the blind soul, ears to the deaf, and cause the glory
of God in the face of Christ our crucified Redeemer to shine
forth in their hearts to give the light of the knowledge of
the glory of God. Job said, Thou hast granted me
life and favor And thy visitation hath preserved my spirit. Now,
look at John the Baptist. Who are you, John? They were willing to receive
him as a reincarnation. I'm not talking about folks running
around in New Guinea or Africa with a bone in their nose and
big hoops in their ears. I'm not talking about folks who
worship stumps and drink stump water and call it holy water.
I'm talking about learned, highly educated, brilliant, masterful
theologians. Kind of folks you'd elect to
be president of the country. Kind of folks you'd want to be
head of the denomination. Kind of folks you'd be proud
to say, boy, I sat down there with old Joe Farrisee. You know,
I got to talk to him today. That's the kind of folks I'm
talking about. They were prepared to acknowledge John as a reincarnate
prophet or as the Christ himself if he would just accept their
praise. You see, false religion always
breeds superstition. These fellows, they had been
taught better. They would never publicly talk
about believing in reincarnation. No, they just read every article
they could and listened to every fool on television who talked
about it. And they, well, maybe it's so. Maybe this is the reincarnate
Elijah, the reincarnate Jeremiah, the reincarnate Isaiah. Well,
nobody believes that. I beg your pardon. I went to
school in two of the most reputable Baptist Bible colleges in this
country, two of the most reputable in the world. And all the time
I was there, every professor taught reincarnation. No, they
did not. Did every one of them say Elijah
was coming back to this earth physically? Every one of them. Every one of them. Get your Schofield
Bible out and you can read it for yourself. Every one of them. Superstition is the illegitimate
child of false religion, always is. But John was a true prophet. He wouldn't have their honor
and he refused to take any honor to himself. Rather, he immediately
turned the light away from himself to Christ 19 times, 19 times. In this short passage, he uses
a double affirmation to make himself crystal clear, to make
certain that he was not misunderstood. You see, God's servants will
never align themselves with God's enemies. You can't bribe them
with money or power or fame or recognition. And they don't seek
the praise of men or even the approval of men, not God's servants.
God's servants desire No honor, but his honor, the honor of his
son. They studiously turned the light
away from themselves to Christ. As John the Apostle said, he
must increase, but I must decrease. That's the way we want it. All
right, look at verse 22. Here's the next question. Then
said they unto him, who art thou? that we may give answer to them
that sent us. What sayest thou of thyself?
John, what do you have to say of yourself? Well, let me tell
you what he could have said, all of which would have been
true. He could have said, I am the miraculously given son of
Zacharias and Elizabeth. That'd been true. I'm the child
of their old age. I was born in this world. I was
conceived in my mother's womb by a direct act of God Almighty
that was demonstrated to be his act. And the angel of God said
that was where it was. When I was born, God sent an
angel from heaven to explain my mission in this world. I have
been filled with the Holy Spirit from my mother's belly. Not one
of you has. I was distinctly set apart from
other men. I have been sent here and raised
up by God as Elijah running before him to prepare the way of the
Lord to make straight his path to turn the hearts of the people
to God's Son, the Messiah, our God and our Savior. I come here
in fulfillment of Isaiah chapter 40 and Malachi chapter 4. He
could have said all those things and would have been telling the
truth. Instead, verse 23, he said, I'm the voice. Oh my God, make me that. I'm
the voice. The voice. What's a voice look
like? You don't see it. You just hear
it. I'm the voice. What's a voice do? Nothing. Nothing. The voice is just a sound. The
one speaking by the voice is the one doing something. I'm
the voice. What power does the voice have,
no? I'm the voice. Identify that for us. I'm the
voice of one crying in the wilderness. Not in the temple, because God
wasn't in the temple. Not in Jerusalem, because God
wasn't in Jerusalem. Crying in the wilderness. because
Judaism had become nothing but an empty shell. Their religion
had become nothing but idolatry. They had turned the house of
God into a den of thieves. And so I come, God's voice, cry
in the wilderness, make straight the way of the Lord, as said
the prophet Isaiah. There was no place for John in
the religion of his day. and he didn't want any place
in it. I had been for 40 years on the
outside of all religion with which I had ever been connected
when I was growing up, on the outside of the religion of my
family, the outside of the religion of all who had taught me anything
growing up. for 40 years on the outside,
but I haven't been on the outside looking in. I don't want in.
I left it deliberately, purposefully. John said, I'm the voice of one
crying in the wilderness. He was a true prophet. He had
nothing to say for himself or about himself. He refused to
promote himself or even to defend himself. He had no cause but
the cause of Christ. He said, I'm a voice crying in
the wilderness. Make straight the way of the
Lord. Isaiah put it this way, used exactly the same words John
did. He spoke of it and said he's a voice. 700 years earlier,
you can read it when you go home, Isaiah chapter 40. Make straight
the way of the Lord. You remember, you'll be reading
it this week in your daily Bible reading. Moses appointed, and
Joshua gave six cities of refuge when the children of Israel went
into the land of Cadan. And this was by divine arrangement.
God told them to do it. And those cities of refuge, one
on this side, one on the other, so that anyone who was found
guilty of killing another man without intentionally murdering
him could, within a day's journey, easily get to one of the cities
and there be kept safe. And they were required, the elders
of the city were required, year by year, to send out a crew so
that every place that kind of had got washed out with rain
and wrecks of folks traveling in it and this thing or that,
they'd elevate that, smooth it out, so there weren't any bumps
in the road. Every obstacle, a tree limb or
rocks falling in the road, they'd take those out of the way. Every
hill, every difficulty be moved out of the way, and there'll
be signposts pointing, Refuge! Refuge! Refuge! Refuge! Refuge! Refuge! John said, that's
me. That's me. I'm the voice of one
saying, Refuge this way! Refuge here! And I keep the way
plain and simple, so that wayfaring men, though fools, shall not
err therein. Now watch this, verse 24. John
knew exactly who he was dealing with. And they which were sent
were of the Pharisees. You can read about them in Matthew
23. If you think I'm a little scathing, listen to the master. The Pharisees were thoroughly
orthodox heretics. self-serving religious politicians,
pretentious hypocrites, cruel, persecuting, self-righteous legalist,
blind as bats, leading folks who were blind as bats to the
slaughter. All right, here's the third question.
These proud Pharisees kept pressing. because God's faithful servant,
this true prophet, refused to accept their honor and refused
to take any honor to himself because he made no pretentious
claim of earthly religious authority. They challenged his right to
perform any religious ordinance, let alone a new one. John was
doing something nobody had ever done. He came immersing folks
in water upon repentance. Now lots of folks practice all
kinds of religious washings. John came immersing folks in
water because they believed the Christ. Nobody ever did anything
like that. Where did you get that authority?
Why do you baptize, John? He didn't think they're bold.
He wasn't a liberal Sadducee. He wasn't a reformed Pharisee.
And he wasn't a heretical Herodian. So they said, why baptize us
now? They asked him, verse 25, and said unto him, why baptizest
thou, if thou be not that Christ, nor Elijah, neither that prophet? And I looked at that, looked
at that, and I thought, that's a question every preacher ought
to have to answer. In just a few minutes, I want to baptize Frank
and Stacey Hall. We're going to join them as they confess
Christ in believers' baptism, just as I have many of you. Answering is not how but why. There could be no question about
how baptism is to be performed. Baptism is immersion. It is not by immersion. It is
immersion. Anything else, dipping, sprinkling,
whatever else you might invent is not baptism. The word with,
John said, verse 26, John answered him saying, I baptize with water,
but there standeth one among you whom you know not. That word
with is translated by our King James in a terribly poor way,
the word that's translated with. It's the Greek word in. If you
were spelling it out in English, you'd spell it E-N, in. It is
a preposition, and Greek prepositions indicate various things. This
particular preposition is an indication of position. John did not say, I baptize with
water. He said, I indeed baptize in
water. There's a huge difference. But
look at verses 26 through 28, just a minute before we get to
this. The ordinance is meaningless apart from the Savior. Christ
is all, not baptism. Not the church, not you, not
me. In all things, he must have the preeminence. John answered
and said, I baptize in water, but there standeth one among
you whom you know not. He it is who coming after me
is preferred before me. He's going to appear on the scene
in just a little bit. But he's preferred before me. He's preeminent. Whose shoe latchet I am not worthy
to unloose. These things were done in Bethabara,
beyond Jordan, where John would baptize him. He stood his ground. He wanted all to know who Christ
is. These men were raising questions
about church authority and baptism, just like multitudes do today,
debating and arguing side issues, leaving undecided the one thing
that matters. What think ye of Christ? That's the vital matter. Paul
said, Christ sent me not to baptize, but to preach the gospel. There
standeth one among you whom you know not, this one who is David's
seed, the woman's seed, Abraham's seed. And then he said, with
the strongest words he could find, he it is who's coming after
me, coming to be revealed after me, is preferred before me, and
I'm not worthy to stoop down and untie his shoes. But why
did John baptize his people? Let me give you three answers
given in the Word of God, and I'll give them very briefly.
I may come back to these another day. Why baptize these new converts? Why? These to whom God's given
faith. Is it to confirm them as God's
children? No. That's what false prophets
do. Is it to convey some grace to
them? No. Baptism can't do that. That's
what false prophets do. Is it to have them regenerated?
Oh, no. Oh, no. That's the reason false
prophets baptize. Is it to somehow make them more
holy? No. No. It won't do that either. If they weren't perfectly holy,
they got no right to the ordinance. False prophets baptize folks
to get them to be more holy. Is it so that they can be saved?
No, no, no. False prophets baptize folks
to save them. It's all over the place. Is it to seal to them
all the blessings of the covenant? No, baptism can't do that either.
Well, why baptize? I had a fellow just the other
day who, I've even forgotten who it was, what the course of
conversation was, but he said, well, baptism is really not that
important. I said, I beg your pardon. I beg your pardon. It's very important. for three
reasons given specifically in the New Testament. Number one,
Matthew chapter three, our Lord Jesus came to be baptized in
John. And John said, whoa, no, no, no, no. I need for you to
baptize me. I'm not about to baptize you.
And the Lord Jesus said, now, John, you do what you're told. For thus it becometh us to fulfill
all righteousness. You mean baptism is the way we
accomplish righteousness? No. But that's how we show it. That's how we show it. By baptism,
we symbolically declare to the world how that the Son of God
fulfilled all righteousness as our substitute in our room instead. When he lived on this earth,
he died as our redeemer and substitute and he was buried and he came
out righteous. He went into the grave. a man
bearing our sins as one judged guilty and he was buried out
of sight and he rose again justified in the spirit and by that deed
we are made the righteousness of God in him Acts chapter 2
verse 38 Peter said men and brethren arise and be baptized and wash
away your sins every church of Christ Talking about the Tom
Harding last week. He said, around here we call
them Church of Crud. That's a pretty good name. They'll have Acts
238 on their literature. Some of them have it posted on
the outside of the building. Arise, be baptized, and wash
away your sins. Baptism does the same thing the
blood of Jesus does. It washes away sins. So says
every false prophet. No. But by baptism, we testify
to the world how our sins are washed away through the sacrifice
of our substitute, the Son of God, who has made sin for us,
that we might receive the promise of the Spirit, the blessing of
Abraham. Then you get to Romans chapter
6. Why baptizes thou? What right do you have? Why is
this necessary? We've been justified. And now
by baptism, We make a public identification of ourselves with
Jesus Christ, with his people, with his gospel. And we publicly
avow our consecration, devotion, and commitment to him. Therefore,
we are buried with Christ because we died with him. And we arise
with Christ. quickened together with him.
And now we walk with Christ in the newness of life. Every time
I think about the subject, every time I baptize a newborn child
of God, every time I watch the work being performed by someone
else, I try my best to remember my own. And in my heart, this
is what I do. Like Jephthah of old, I've lifted
my hand to God. I can't go back. I'm His, lock, stock and barrel,
to live with Him in new life until the resurrection day. Now,
go back to our text for just a minute. Verse 29. I'll come back to this real soon. John says, the next day, behold,
the Lamb of God that taketh away the sin of the world. I got this
from Brother Mayhan yesterday. He wrote me a letter and sent
me four points. John tells us that Christ is the object of
all true faith. Behold. Oh, God help you now. Behold Him. I can't make you
interested in beholding Him. You can easily ignore me. Oh,
God make you to behold Him. Behold, look unto me and be you
saved. Second, Christ was ordained,
given, and sent by God. He is the Lamb of God, that which
God Requires God gives and that which God gives God accepts number
three Christ is the one sacrifice for sin just water the lamb Father,
where's the lamb? My son God will provide himself
a lamb for a burnt offering here is behold the Lamb of God and
forth this blessed lamb the Lord Jesus is the only remover of
sin Behold, the Lamb of God, I love this next word, that taketh,
that taketh away, taketh away. Murray took our sins away 2,000
years ago, took them away, and he still keeps taking them away.
The sin, what we are, what we do, all about us, the sin of
the whole world. Yes, of His people wherever they
are in all the world. Of course, you're not saying
He takes away the sins of everybody in the world. If He did that,
the whole world would go to glory. No, no, no. He takes away the
sins of His people throughout the world. Now listen, if right
now you look away to Him, behold Him, Behold the Lamb of God, behold
Him, He takes away your guilt. Is that profound? That simple
and that good. Behold Him and go home justified. Behold Him and go home forgiven. Behold Him and go home righteous. Behold Him and go home Holy,
behold Him, and go home. Amen.