John chapter 6. I have entitled this morning's
message. The difference between the true. And the false. The difference there is a difference. The difference between the true.
And the false. Verse 66. From that time, after this message
that the Lord preached in John chapter 6, many of His disciples
went back and walked no more with Him. Question, were these disciples true disciples? Or were they false? If they were true, it is meaningless to be a disciple. Because it says regarding these
disciples, they went back and walked no more with him. Verse 67. Then said Jesus unto the twelve, Will you also go away? Do you
also wish to go away? Do you wish to leave? What a
man really is, is what he desires. What a man really is, is what
he desires. Now he says to his disciples,
do you fellows desire to leave? You know, the Lord is not going
to have any unwilling followers. He's just not going to do it. If you don't want to follow me,
he's saying, if that's not your desire, there's the door. Verse 68, then Simon Peter answered
him, Lord. To whom shall we go? Thou has the words of eternal
life. Now, Peter is generally the spokesman
of the twelve and how we love what he said, Lord. Where would
we go to whom will we go? To whom? This is very important.
To whom shall we go? Where would we find anyone like
you? What advantage would it be to
us to leave you? You have the words of eternal
life. Now, these words that as you
look at this passage of Scripture, most of the disciples left him
over these words. They said, these are hard words,
hard sayings. Who can hear them? Peter said,
we find these words to be nothing short of words of eternal life. Our life is in these words and
there is no life apart from these words. Do you find the words
of the Lord Jesus to be words of eternal life? Verse 69. He says, and we believe and are
sure that thou art that Christ, the Son of the living God." Now,
Peter says, we believe. He doesn't say I believe, although
he does, but he says, and I'm thankful he said this. He said,
we believe. At this time, Peter is the spokesman
for every single believer. If you're a believer, you can
say this with just as much depth of conviction as Peter did when
he made this statement. We believe. All of God's elect join in this
noble confession. We believe. This is the confession
of every individual believer and the church at large. This
is not only Peter's confession, this is the confession of every
believer. So if you're one of God's elect,
if you're a believer, you say this too, we believe. We believe. This is what true Christian unity
is all about right here. True Christian unity is not just
fellas, men and women who have things in common and they can
get together and have a good time together and so on. You're
thankful for that, but that's not really what Christian unity
is. Christian unity is right here. We believe. And this is not the first time
that Peter makes this confession. We believe that thou art that
Christ, the Son of the living God. This is everything right
here, but this is not the first time Peter makes this confession.
Turn with me back to Matthew chapter 16. Verse 15, But he saith unto them,
But whom say ye that I am? And Simon Peter answered and
said, Thou art the Christ, the son of the living God. That's the exact same thing he
said in John chapter six. Thou art the Christ, the son
of the living God. And look what our Lord said about
that, verse 17. And Jesus answered and said unto
him, Blessed art thou, Simon bar Jonah. For flesh and blood
hath not revealed it unto thee, but my Father which is in heaven. And I say unto thee that thou
art Peter, and upon this rock, upon this confession of me, I
will build my church." And the gates of hell shall not prevail
against it, now given to thee the keys of the kingdom of heaven,
and whatsoever thou shalt bind on earth shall be bound in heaven,
and whatsoever thou shalt loose on earth shall be loosed in heaven."
Now, I want you to think about what our Lord said with reference
to Peter's confession, thou art the Christ, the Son of the living
God. He said, you're blessed. You're blessed by God Himself.
to be able to make this confession. This is the revelation of God
in your heart. You wouldn't just know this if
it hadn't been for the fact that the Lord revealed this to you.
The only way you can really believe that Jesus Christ is the Son
of God is for Him to make Himself known to you and reveal Himself
to you. That's the only way. You can't figure it out. You
can't be taught this. It's got to be Him making Himself
known. Blessed are you, Simon Bar-Jonah. Flesh and blood didn't reveal
this to thee, but my Father which is in heaven, And I say unto
you, you're Peter, and upon this rock, this confession of me is
what he's referring to, I'll build my church. Now, this is
what the church is built on. The church is no human institution. What we're doing right now, it's
a called-out assembly, people meeting together to worship the
Lord Jesus Christ. This is not just habit. This
is not a human institution. This is supernatural. This is
something sanctioned by God, the church. Upon this rock, This
confession of me, I'll build my church and the gates of hell
shall not prevail against it. In other words, the gates of
hell will try to stay closed and try to keep her inhabitants
trapped. But this is the message that
God will use to bust down the very gates of hell and snatch
his people out and save them from their sins. That's how powerful
this confession is. The gates of hell shall not prevail
against it. He said, I'm going to give you
the keys to the kingdom. What are keys for? To open up
locked doors. This is what's going to open
up the door of heaven, this confession. Thou art the Christ, the Son
of the living God. This is the confession. And he said, whatsoever you bind
on earth shall be bound in heaven, and whatsoever you loose on earth
shall be loosed in heaven. Now, many people got so confused
by that passage of Scripture. Does that mean that Peter has
the power to open up heaven to you? You can get in there if
he opens it up, and if he says, You're not going, you're not
going to make it. Now, what if I had the power to open up heaven
to you or to close it to you? You wouldn't like that, would
you? You wouldn't like that because
I guarantee you, I might open up to you now, but you crossed
me the wrong way and I might just close it. I'm so thankful this is not talking
about Peter. having the ability to let people
in heaven and let people out of heaven. What this is a reference
to is this message. This is the message that opens
up heaven. If somebody rejects this message
here on earth, they'll be rejected in heaven. If somebody receives
this message, the gospel here on earth, they'll be received
in heaven. Now this is the confession. Peter says we believe. Do you? We're sure, are you? Now, what led our Lord to make
this statement? Let's stay in Matthew 16 for
just a few moments. We'll back up in verse 13. When Jesus came into the coast
of Caesarea Philippi, He asked His disciples, saying, Whom do
men say that I, the son of man, am. What are men saying about
me? And they said, well, some say thou art John the Baptist
and some Elijah and others Jeremiah or one of the prophets. They
put you in some pretty high cotton, some pretty illustrious company.
They say some very good things about you. But the opinions are
varied and even contradictory. Now, one thing that's always
true Error is always multiple choice. It's always multiple
choice. Some say this, some say that,
some say the other. The truth is always one thing.
Not even two things to get confused. Not even two things to wonder
which order they come in. The truth is one thing. It's
not multiple choice. It's one thing. So he says to
his disciples at this time, but whom say ye that I am. Now this is the issue. What God thinks of you right
now, when he looks at you, and he's looking at you, he sees
you. What God thinks of you right now is seen in how you answer
this question. What do you think of Jesus Christ? What think ye of Christ? Who do you say that I am? That is the issue. This is the
only issue and nothing else is even important. You believe that? What you believe right here will
determine what you believe concerning everything else. What you believe regarding every
other doctrine will be determined by where you stand right here. When God looks at you, when this
question is posed to you, what is the answer that comes from
your heart? Whom do you say that I am? What you believe will be determined
by who you believe. Who you believe will determine
what you believe. Now listen to this statement.
Listen to this statement. Brother Mahan used to make this
statement all the time, and to be honest with you, I didn't
like it at first. I thought it just didn't make
sense to me. He made this statement so many times. I understand it
now. He said, you don't come to Christ through doctrine. You
come to your doctrine through Christ. Now, what does that mean? You don't come to Christ through
doctrine. I mean, don't you have to hear doctrine in order to
come to Christ? Don't you have to hear the truth
regarding Him before you actually believe and before you actually
come? Of course you do. That's not what that statement
means. When He says you don't come to
Christ through doctrine, you come to your doctrine through
Christ. Here's what it means. When His person is revealed,
when you find out who He is, the doctrine becomes obvious.
It becomes a mute point. It's not up for debate anymore.
Here's an illustration. If you believe that Jesus Christ
is God, you believe He must be successful in whatever He does.
You don't believe it's possible for Him to represent somebody
and save somebody and pay for their sins and live for them
and die for them and be raised for them and then end up being
damned anyway. Not if you believe He's God. If you have a hard
time with it, Of course, you'll have a hard time with everything
else, but if you believe He's God, what you believe regarding
every other doctrine will be determined by who you believe
He is. Whom do you say that I, the Son
of Man, am? And Peter answered, Thou art
the Christ, the Son of the living God, the Son of Man, is the Son
of the Living God. This is a confession of the person
and the work of Jesus of Nazareth. Thou art the Christ. That's His
work. Thou art the Son of the Living
God. That's His person. All the gospel
is contained in this. Thou art the Christ. the Son of the Living God. Now what I'm talking about is
the most important thing I could ever talk about. I hope you see
it as such and I hope you listen as such because nothing could
be more important than what I'm talking about right now. Thou
art the Christ, the Son of the living God. First, His person.
He is the Son of God. Jesus of Nazareth, that one who
was raised up in a carpenter's shop. He's called the carpenter.
He is nobody less than God the Son, the second person of the
blessed Trinity. Turn with me to John chapter
5 for a moment. John chapter 5 verse 18. Therefore,
the Jews sought the more to kill him because not only had he broken
the Sabbath, but said also that God was his father making himself
equal with God. God, the son. Look in John chapter
10. Verse 31, Then the Jews took up stones
again to stone him. Jesus answered them, Many good
works have I showed you from my Father. For which of these
do you stone me? The Jews answered him, saying,
For good work we stone thee not, but for blasphemy, and because
that thou, being a man, makest thyself God. Jesus Christ is the Son of God,
the second person of the Blessed Trinity, co-equal with the Father,
the Man Christ Jesus. Now, all that God is, Jesus of
Nazareth is. Is God holy? So is Jesus of Nazareth. I like His name, Jesus of Nazareth,
the one born in Nazareth, that Jesus. Is God sovereign? Does He control everything? So is Jesus of Nazareth. Is God omnipresent everywhere
at once? You can't go anywhere where God's
not. Is God omnipresent? So is Jesus of Nazareth. Is God omniscient? Is there any
information He learns? Is there anything that He comes
to discover? No, He knows everything. So is Jesus of Nazareth. Did God create the universe?
Well, you know He did as an act of His will. So did Jesus of
Nazareth. Jesus Christ of Nazareth, Jesus
who is called the Christ, Jesus of Nazareth, is God the Son. He said, He that hath seen me,
what? Hath seen the Father. Wow! Good Lord! Do you believe this? Do you believe
that Jesus is God? I surely do. Fully God, all that God is, Jesus
Christ is, just as much God as if He were not man at all, and
just as much man as if He were not God at all. What a glorious
person, Jesus Christ, the Son of God. Now, if you believe this
regarding Him, If you believe who He is, the doctrine is going
to become obvious. If you believe who He is. Jesus
Christ. What did He call Him? We believe
that Thou art that Christ, the Son of the Living God. The Christ
is His work. Christ means anointed. Anointed. Jesus is God's anointed. In the Old Testament, and this
is important for us to understand, in the Old Testament there were
only three people who were anointed. I bet you remember who they were.
The prophet of God was anointed with oil. The priest was anointed
with oil. And the king was anointed with
oil. Jesus Christ is God's anointed
prophet Jesus Christ is God's anointed priest and Jesus Christ
is God's anointed king. First, he's God's anointed prophet.
What is a prophet? A prophet brings men a word from
God. Truly, we believe his words are
the words of God. Thou hast the words of eternal
life, and we believe and are sure that Thou art that Christ,
the Son of the living God. We believe His words are the
Word of God, but more than that, we believe He Himself is the
Word of God. In the beginning was what? The Word. And the Word was with
God, and the Word was God. The same was in the beginning
with God. Not only is He the Word of God,
not only does He speak the Word of God, not only is He Himself
the Word of God, He is the only Word God has to say. This is my beloved Son, in whom
I am well pleased, hear ye Him. He is the Prophet. Not only is He the Prophet, He
is the Priest. He's God's anointed priest. Now,
a prophet brings men a word from God. A priest represents men
to God. He is God's anointed priest. Now, I need a priest. I need
a priest because I'm too sinful to come into God's presence on
my own. I'm not talking about the way I used to be. I'm talking
about the way I am right now. I can't come into God's presence
on my own. I'm a sinful man. I'm not saying
half the truth when I say I'm a sinful man. I can't come into
God's presence on my own. I must have somebody represent
me. I must have a priest come into God's presence for me. He
is my great high priest. Now, a priest has to have a gift
and a sacrifice that God will accept. Christ Jesus has a gift
and sacrifice that God will accept Himself. His own precious blood. This is what He brings into the
presence of God for me. His own precious blood. His payment
for sin. His own perfect righteousness.
He is God's priest and God accepts His sacrifice. God is pleased
with His sacrifice. What does a priest do? A priest
intercedes. A priest prays for me. Can God
accept my prayers apart from Christ? Well, of course not,
because of who's praying them. That's the problem. It's not
just because I have some evil thoughts and so on. And I guarantee
you, you think when you pray, how many times has some kind
of evil thought crossed your mind and you think, how could
God hear that? Well, that's bad, but that's not the main problem.
The main problem is who prayed it. That's the main problem.
But Christ Jesus takes the prayers of his people and he presents
them before the Father. He intercedes for those people
and the Father hears him. He said, Peter, Satan has desired
to have you that he may turn you inside out and twist you
up and down side one down the other. He's going to, he's going
to, Peter, Satan's desired to have you that he may sit you
as weep. But, I pray for you, that your faith fail not. If Christ prays for you, the
Father hears his prayer. He makes intercession. for his
people. Listen to this Romans chapter
8 verse 32 says who shall who shall verse 33 says who shall
lay anything to the charge of God's elect is God that justifies
who is he that can condemn it's Christ that died yea rather that's
risen again who's even at the right hand of God who also maketh
intercession for us. When he said father forgive them
did the father forgive him? Oh the the power of His intercession
for His people. Oh, what a priest He is. And He is the King. He's God's anointed King. That
means He rules, He reigns, and He controls everything. Now,
He's God's prophet. He's the Word of God. He's God's
priest. And He's God's King. He's the
one who controls everything. The best way to understand his
sovereignty, his control, his kingship, his lordship, I think
is seen in creation. When he created this universe,
what was involved? Was there any cooperative effort
going on? Was he working with anybody? Was he working with
anything? No, there was nothing but himself.
All that was involved in creation was his will. He willed it, and
there it was. That powerful, isn't it? He willed
it, and there it was. And it's the same thing in Providence.
You know, everything that happens in time is what? His will being
done. That's just kingship. What about
salvation? If you're saved, why are you
saved? Because He willed it. He is the difference. His will. Thou art the Christ, the Son
of the living God. He is God's anointed King. Jesus answering, said unto him,
Blessed art thou, Simon Bar-Jonah, for flesh and blood hath not
revealed it unto thee. But my Father which is in heaven, and
I say unto thee that thou art Peter, and upon this rock I will
build my church, and the gates of hell shall not prevail against
it. I give unto thee the keys of the kingdom of heaven, and
whatsoever thou shalt bind on earth shall be bound in heaven,
and whatsoever thou shalt loose or set free on earth shall be
loosed in heaven." Now go back to our text, John chapter 6. Now, this confession in John,
chapter six and in Matthew, chapter 16, is the confession upon which
the church is built. The knowledge of this is eternal
life. This is eternal life, they might
know thee, the only true God in Jesus Christ whom thou sent. This is the evidence of the new
birth. Whoso believeth that Jesus is the Christ is born of God. This is really what's required
for baptism. What hinders me from being baptized? If you believe
with all your heart, you may. I believe that Jesus Christ is
the Son of God. And this is the ground of assurance.
And look at our text in John chapter six. This is something
that I don't think I've ever really seen clearly before. Verse
69. Now I want us to notice the order
of this confession. Verse 69, And we believe and
are sure that thou art that Christ, the Son of the living God. Now the word sure in our text
is the Greek word that is usually translated know. We believe and
we know that thou art that Christ, the Son of the Living God. We believe and we know. You cannot
know a thing before you first believe it. And when you believe
it, you will know it. You cannot know a thing until
you first believe it. And when you believe it, you
will know it. Hold your finger there in John
6 and turn to Hebrews chapter 11. Verse one, now faith is the substance
of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen, for by it,
faith, the elders obtained a good report through faith, we understand. You see that? Through faith,
we understand that the Worlds were framed by the word of God
so that the things which were seen were not made of things
which do appear. How do you know that? Through
faith, we understand faith is believing God's word. Now, you've
got to begin with the words of God, he said, thou hast the words
of eternal life. That's the scripture, that's
God's word, that's everything he says. Somebody that believes
the Bible is the Word of God can't possibly believe on the
Lord Jesus Christ or anything else. We believe that you have
the words of eternal life. We believe the testimony of God.
It's believing God. It's believing His Word. Abraham
believed God. He believed what God said. And
it was counted to him for righteousness. It's believing the Word of God. We believe and are sure. that thou art that Christ, the
Son of the living God. The Lord said in John 11, verse
40, said I not to you that if thou wouldst believe, thou wouldst
see the glory of God. You won't see it until you believe.
When you believe, you will most certainly see. What is to be
believed? His Word. We believe, we're relying
upon this. You are the Christ, God's anointed
prophet, priest, and king, the Son of the living God. Now, I
believe that Jesus Christ is the Son of God. I know He is. I believe that the Bible is the
Word of God. I know it is. I believe that Jesus Christ is
all in salvation. I know He is. I believe that when He said,
It is finished, salvation was accomplished. I know it was. I believe, Ephesians 2.8, by
grace ye are saved. I know by grace you are saved. I believe, as Colossians 2.9
says, in him dwells all the fullness of the Godhead in a body. I believe that. And I know that
all the fullness of the Godhead dwells in Him. I believe, as
Colossians 2.10 says, you are complete in Him. I know I am. I know I am. I believe I'm a sinner, according
to the testimony of God's Word. I really believe that. I know
I am. No guesswork here. I know I am. I believe who He is and what
He did is enough to save me. I know it is. I believe even as I speak, He's
at the right hand of the Father, ruling and reigning. I know He
is. I believe He's coming back. after
me. I know He is. I believe He's Lord. I know He is. We believe and we are sure that
thou art that Christ, the Son of the living God. Now, I entitled this message,
what is the difference between the true and the false? We see
these disciples who went back and walked no more with him,
and we see the others who said, where would we go? We believe
and are sure that thou art the Christ, the son of the living
God. What's the difference between the two? Faith. Faith. Some people had faith and some
people didn't. Well, why is it that some have faith and some
don't? Well, let's look back on our text, and this is the
thought I want to close with. Verse 69, We believe and are sure that
thou art that Christ, the Son of the living God. Jesus answered
them, Have not I chosen you twelve?
He didn't say, well, you fellows are better than that other bunch.
He said, here's the reason you believe. I've chosen you to believe. You can't give your free will
the credit. The reason you believe is because I've chosen you to
believe. Who's thinking right now, well,
what about Judas? What about Judas? He says, I've
chosen you twelve. What about Judas? Did Christ
choose him to salvation? No. He's called the son of perdition. He was foretold in the Old Testament
scriptures that he would do exactly what he was going to do. He was
chose to be an apostle, but he wasn't chose to be a disciple
because Christ called him a devil. Look what he says. Jesus said,
have not I chosen you twelve and one of you? One of you is
a devil. You'll prove to be nothing more
than a devil. Now that's strong language, isn't
it? Now he's letting us know that that one who ends up being
a devil and who denies him is not one of his disciples. He
says, one of you is a devil. Let's look at, let's close by
looking at a few scriptures regarding Judas. Turn to John chapter 12. I think this is interesting.
We find out something about the character of Judas here. This is after Marian anointed
the Lord's feet with that precious ointment and wiped his feet with
the hairs of her head. Verse 4, Then saith one of his
disciples, Judas Iscariot, Simon's son, which had betrayed him,
Why was not this ointment sold for three hundred pence and given
to the poor? This he said, not that he cared
for the poor, but because he was a thief. and had the bag
and bear what was put therein. Look in chapter 13, verse 2. And supper being ended, the devil
having now put into the heart of Judas Iscariot Simon's son
to betray him. Look in verse 18 of that same
chapter. I speak not of you all. Now he was talking to the twelve
at this time. I speak not of you all, I know whom I have chosen. Now here he's talking about the
choice of election. I know whom I've chosen. I'm
not speaking of you all. I know whom I have chosen. But that the scripture may be
fulfilled, he that eateth bread with me hath lifted up his heel
against me. And I tell you, before it come, that when it is come
to pass, you may believe that I am he. Verily I say unto you,
Whomsoever I send receiveth me, and he that receiveth me receiveth
him that sent me. When Jesus had thus said, he
was troubled in spirit. and testified and said, Verily,
verily, I say to you, that one of you shall betray me. Then
the disciples looked on one another, doubting of whom he spake. We
know from the other accounts that every one of them said,
Is it I? Is it I? Am I the one? And Judas also
said, Is it I? Knowing he was going to do it.
He said the same thing, but he had a different agenda, didn't
he? Now there was, verse 23, leaning on Jesus' bosom, one
of his disciples whom Jesus loved. Simon Peter therefore beckoned
to him that he should ask who it would be of whom he spake.
He then, lying on Jesus' breast, saith unto him, Lord, who is
it? Jesus answered, He it is, to whom I shall give a sop. When
I dipped it, and we had dipped the sop, he gave it to Judas
Iscariot, the son of Simon. And after the sop, Satan entered
into him, then said, Jesus, unto him, that thou doest do quickly.
No man at the table knew for what intent he spake this to
him. For some of them thought because
Judas had the bag that Jesus had said unto him, buy those
things that we need against the feast, or that he should give
something to the poor. He then, having received the
sop, went immediately out. And there's so much in this statement.
It was night. It was night. Now, what's the
difference between the true and the false? Faith. Well, when you read of Judas
Iscariot, what's the difference between you and Judas? Do you believe that you're as
bad as Judas? What's the difference between
you and Judas? Well, if there's a difference, You know what that
difference is. You know the only difference
is the grace of God. Who makes you to differ from
somebody else? And what do you have that you
didn't receive? The only difference between you
and Judas is the sovereign grace of God. So what's the difference
between the true and the false? Well, faith. Faith. The one has faith. And the other
doesn't. Why is it that one has faith
and one doesn't? What's the difference there?
The sovereign grace of God. Have not I chosen thee? Let's pray.