John chapter seven. Our vacation Bible school will
be June 12th through 14th. That's the following Tuesday
through Thursday from 1030 a.m. in the morning to 1 p.m. Also tonight, we will observe
the Lord's table and we'll have a fellowship afterwards. for
our graduating seniors bring an appetizer or dessert. I'm
looking forward to that. John chapter 7. Let's begin reading in verse
40 and read through the end of the chapter. Many of the people, therefore,
when they heard this saying, said of a truth, this is the
prophet. Others said, this is the Christ. But some said, shall Christ come
out of Galilee? Hath not the scriptures said
that Christ cometh of the seed of David and out of the town
of Bethlehem where David was? So there was a division among
the people because of him. And some of them would have taken
him, but no man laid hands on him. Then came the officers to
the chief priests and Pharisees, and they said to them, Why have
you not brought him? The officers answered, Never
spake. Never man spake like this man. Then answered them the Pharisees,
Are you also deceived? Hath any of the rulers of the
Pharisees believed on him? But this people, who knoweth
not the law, are cursed. Nicodemus saith unto them, He
that came to Jesus by night, being one of them, Doth our law
judge any man before he hear him, and know not what he doeth? They answered and said unto him,
Art thou also of Galilee? Search and look, for out of Galilee
ariseth no prophet. And every man went unto his own
house. And Jesus went unto the Mount
of Olives. Now, I want you to see what you
would think in that passage of Scripture, that narrative that
I just read, see what you would think would be the verse that
would most accurately describe this narrative. What verse would
you select? Well, here's the verse I would
select, verse 43. So there was a division among the people because
of him. And that's what I've titled this
message. A division because of him. Hold your finger there and turn
to Luke chapter 12. Verse 51, suppose ye that I am come to
give peace on earth, I tell you, no, but rather, what? Division. Division. There was a division among the
people because of him, the Lord did not come to make the human
race one big happy family. That was not his purpose in coming.
He tells us in no uncertain terms, he came to make division. What do you think of that? How do you respond to that? The
word division is where we get the word schism from. You've
heard that word. The word is used for the rending
and the tearing apart of garments. There was a division. A rending asunder, a separation
because of him. Now that doesn't go well with
what this religious world generally thinks of the Lord Jesus Christ,
does it? Every believer is a peacemaker. Every believer. I want to repeat
that. Every believer is a peacemaker. If I'm not a peacemaker, I'm
not a believer. Every believer is a peacemaker,
but His message of peace will provoke the hostility of those
who do not believe his message. While we're not looking for a
fight, we're not looking for conflict, we're still aware that
if we please the natural man by what we say, if we are well
thought of by this religious world, We are not being faithful to
the message of Jesus Christ. That's just the truth. There was a division among the
people because of him. There was a lot of conflict during
the earthly ministry of our Lord Jesus Christ. On many occasions,
people tried to kill him. Because of what he said. You're
in Luke. Turn to Luke 4 for just a moment. Luke 4. Verse 28. And all they in the synagogue,
when they heard these things, these things that the Lord Jesus
said, they were filled with wrath. And they rose up and thrust him
out of the city, and led him under the brow of the hill whereon
their city was built, that they might cast him down headlong."
Now, these people were mad. They were angry. I'm not even going to go into
what he said right now. Look in John chapter 5. Let's look
at several scriptures regarding this. John chapter 5, verse 16. Therefore, did the Jews persecute
Jesus and sought to slay him? Now, this wasn't just, you know,
we believe different things, but we'll get along. No, they
wanted to kill him. They sought to slay him because
he'd done these things on the Sabbath day. Look in chapter
8, verse 56. Your father, Abraham, rejoiced
to see my day. And he saw it and was glad. Then
said the Jews unto him, You are not yet fifty years old. And
I said, I have seen Abraham. Jesus said unto them, Verily,
verily, I say unto you, Before Abraham was, I am. Then took they up stones to cast
at him. Chapter 9, verse 16. Therefore, said some of the Pharisees,
this man is not of God because he keepeth not the Sabbath day.
Others said, how can a man that's a sinner do such miracles? And
here's the word again. And there was a division among
them. Look in chapter 10. Verse 19. There was a division,
therefore, again among the Jews for these sayings, what our Lord
had to say. Look in Verse 31 of the same
chapter. Then the Jews took up stones
again to stone him. Jesus answered, And many good
works have I showed you from my Father. For which of these
works do you stone me? The Jews answered him, saying,
For a good work we stone thee not, but for blasphemy, because
that thou, being a man, makest thyself God. Now, we see that
during our Lord's earthly ministry, there was a lot of conflict,
wasn't there? Somebody is being willfully blind did not acknowledge
that. There was a lot of conflict.
And we know that his life ended up a violent. It didn't end up. He was raised
from the dead. So understand what I'm saying. But when he
died, he died a violent bloody death by men who hated him and
murdered him. Now, I realize that no man took
his life from him. He laid it down of himself. They
couldn't do anything but what he decreed for them to do. But
still, they murdered him. There was a conflict then, and
there is conflict now. And that division is because
of Him. Now hear what I'm saying. That division is because of Him. In this world, in this nation,
in this city, and in this room, there is a division among the
people. And when all the veneer is stripped
off, that division is because of Him. That's the bottom line. The division is because of Him. Now, I want to look at this from
a couple of different angles. A division because of Him. That's
what it says. There was a division among the
people, a rent, a tear, a separation. There was a division among the
people because of Him. Now here's the first thing I
want to say about that. He himself is the division. He himself is the difference
between the saved and the lost. There are only two kinds of people
in this world. Children of God and children of the devil. There's
no in between. Those who love Christ and those
who do not love Christ. Those who see him as all and
those who do not see him as all. Those who trust him and those
who do not trust him. Those who believe and those who
do not believe. There are only two kinds of people
in this world. There's no in-between state. There's no kind of intermediate
somewhere in between. Saved or lost. And He is the
difference between the two. Now, I want you to listen to
me right now as carefully as you can. Ask God to give you
grace to hear what I'm saying. Here is something that I personally
can say with deep, deep conviction. I'm sure of this. And even when I say that, I fear
self-deception. I really do. But I'm sure of
this concerning myself. Talking about me right now, concerning
myself, the only hope I have is in Jesus Christ alone. I can say that for many reasons,
but let me give you this one reason. I don't have any confidence. Except. In him. I do not know of anything I ever
did, thought, or was that I could have confidence in. I know something about what Paul
meant when he said we're to have no confidence in the flesh. I
am driven to trust him only because I have nothing else to trust. If I search my life over and
over again, I cannot see anything But what I would call a filthy
rag. So the Bible calls it too. I
want to read a quote from Charles Spurgeon. Every time I preach,
I always look to see if he preached a message on the passage of Scripture
I'm trying to preach from. And he preached from this passage
of Scripture. And he made this statement in his sermon on John
chapter 7, verse 43. He says, good works and bad works,
so far as mine are concerned, are not worth the trouble of
sorting. So I tie them up in one bundle
and pitch them overboard and just cling to the ever-blessed
life-boy of the merits of Jesus Christ, my Lord and Savior. This is what a believer does.
He trusts Christ. And the unbeliever does not.
And that difference between them makes a division among the people. There's the difference. Let's
take Judas and Peter. What was the difference between
those two men? Was Peter's act of denying Christ
any less sinful than Judas' act? You know it wasn't. What's the difference? Here's
the difference. Christ said, Peter, Satan, has
desired to have you, that he may sift you as wheat. But I have prayed for you, that
your faith fail not." Did he pray that prayer for Judas Iscariot?
Did he say regarding Judas, I pray for you? No, he didn't. As a
matter of fact, he said in John 17, verse 9, I pray for them,
speaking of the elect, I pray for them. I pray not for the
world, but for them which thou hast given me, for they are thine. The difference between Judas
and Peter is Jesus Christ the Lord. He is. He himself is the difference. He himself is the division. Go back to the council halls
of eternity. When God As an act of his own free and sovereign
will, he elected a people to salvation. He chose who would
be saved. As an act of his will, he elected
some and he passed by others. And so is it. What's the difference? According,
Ephesians 1, 4 says, according as He hath chosen us. What are
the next two words? In Him. Before the foundation
of the world that we should be holy without blame, before Him
in love. Why is it that some stand forgiven
before God and some do not? There are some people who all
their sins are forgiven. And if I'm forgiven, sins I haven't
even committed yet that I will commit if I live, they've already
been forgiven. They've already been put away.
There are some people who stand forgiven before God, forgiven
of all their sins. There are some people who stand
in their sins who are not forgiven. What is the difference? The difference
is the blood of Jesus Christ. He said, I lay down my life for
thee, sheep. And other sheep I have which
are not of this fold, them also I must bring." It's the blood
of Christ that's the difference. Why is it that some stand without
fault before God, justified before His thrice holy throne, and some
still stand condemned? What is the difference? His righteousness is imputed
by God the Father. to every single one of His people. And I stand in His righteousness.
That is the difference. Why is it that some people actually
love Jesus Christ and some people have no love for Him? The Spirit
of Christ is the difference. He gave me the love I have. He
gave me the faith I have. He gave me the repentance I have.
All I have, He gave me. God the Spirit is the difference.
What's the difference between the saved and the lost? The Lord
Jesus Christ. And how clearly this will be
seen on Judgment Day, that Jesus Christ Himself is the difference. I love how one wise person answered
this question when asked, Is Jesus Christ really enough? It's
a good question. Is Jesus Christ really enough
to bring you into glory? and to make you stand faultless
before God. And this wise person answered this question like this.
He is, if he's all you've got. If he's all you've got, he's enough. Not only is he enough,
he's everything. If you've got something else,
no, it won't do you any good. Am I wrong in saying union with
Christ is the only difference. As I'm united to Him. That's
the difference. There was a division. There was a separation among
the people. Remember how our Lord separated
the sheep from the goats as a shepherd divided the sheep from the goats?
It says that. He's the one who made that. He Himself is the
difference. Now, I don't have to work very
hard at all at convincing any believer of that. Y'all know
that, don't you? You believe it from the very depths of your
heart. He, himself, is the difference. Now, here's the second angle
I want to look at this from. Jesus Christ, himself, is the
division. He is the separation. He is the
difference. And Christ, himself, is the issue. The division that exists between
people is because of Him. His person. His work, his words
are always the point of conflict. Now, there are certain doctrines
from the word of God that always create division. It just happens. In the previous chapter, in John,
chapter six, the Lord brought a message that caused 5000 people
to separate themselves from him. Look in verse 66 of John, chapter
six. From that time, after our Lord
had delivered this particular sermon, from that time, many
of His disciples, they claimed to be His disciples, they went
back and walked no more with Him. They said, we're not going
to have anything to do with Him after this message. Now, in this one message, the
Lord Jesus Christ preached clearly what has come to be known as
the doctrine of grace. Now, what is meant by the doctrine
of grace? Well, let me show you the high
points in this chapter. Verse 44. No man, our Lord says, can come
to me, except the Father which has sent me draw him. Now, our
Lord says human sinfulness. and depravity is such that we
actually lack the ability to come to the Lord Jesus Christ.
You can't do it. Not unless you're drawn by the
Father. You can't do it. Look in verse 37. All that the Father giveth me
shall come to me. That's what's called unconditional
election. All that the Father giveth me
shall come to me. Look in verse 39. This is the
Father's will, which has sent me, that of all which he hath
given me I should lose nothing. That's what's known as limited
atonement. Christ dying for the elect and actually accomplishing
their salvation. Look in verse 45 of this same
sermon. It's written in the prophets,
they shall be all taught of God, every single one of them. Every
man, therefore, that hath heard and hath learned of the Father
comes to me. There we have what's called irresistible
grace. And look in verse 47. Verily, verily, I say unto you,
he that believeth on me hath everlasting life. Verse 54, whoso
eateth my flesh and drinketh my blood hath eternal life, not
temporary life, but eternal life. And I'll raise him up at the
last day, for my flesh is meat and green. Indeed, my blood is
drinkable. Verse 58, this is the bread which
came down from heaven, not as your fathers did eat man and
are dead. He that eateth of this bread shall live forever. There
we have him. perseverance and the preservation
of God's people. Now, that's all laid out very
clearly in this one message by our Lord. Let me say this. This is not Calvinism. This is the gospel. That word
Calvinism, get rid of it. This is the gospel of the Lord
Jesus Christ. Now, in all of these Do I call
them points of doctrine? It's the doctrine of Christ.
In every one of these things, He Himself is the issue. Let me show you that. When we
talk about total depravity, that means we're born into this
world with a sinful nature that is unable to believe. Unable
to repent. Unable to understand. Unable
to hear. Unable to call upon the name
of the Lord. That's what the scripture says regarding us.
Totally depraved. Totally depraved. Altogether.
Now, the issue of totality, if you loosen up on that anyway,
you know what that means? That means we're not totally
dependent upon Him. That is the issue. If I say, if I deny that
in any way and give man any ability whatsoever to do anything to
save himself, all I say by that is we're not totally dependent
upon Him. And that, my dear friends, is
blasphemy, isn't it? I am totally and completely,
altogether dependent upon the Lord Jesus Christ for all my
salvation. Talk about unconditional election. That's that holy, glorious truth
that God, as an activist free in sovereign will, chose who
would be saved in Christ before time began. What's the issue
of election? Is it that God, He foresaw I'd believe? He foresaw
it? No! I was chosen in Him. United to
Him. And the issue of election is
who's running the show. Who's in control? Our Lord said
to His disciples, you did not choose me, but I chose you. I love the language right there. You didn't choose me. I chose
you. And every believer in here says,
Amen. We know that. That's our experience. He's the issue in election. He
is the issue. Talk about limited atonement.
The fact that Christ died for the elect and accomplished their
salvation and put away their sins. Here's what the issue of
limited atonement is. Who died? Whose precious blood
was shed? Is it possible for Him in His
glorious person to shed His precious blood for somebody and put away
for their sins and then still wind up in hell? Why, the very
thought of that is blasphemy. It's just repugnant to the believer. If he shed his precious blood,
I must be saved. It's Christ that died. That's
the answer to everything. It's Christ that died. Any writer
that's risen again who's even at the right hand of God who
also makes intercession for us. Talk about irresistible grace. Irresistible grace. What's the
issue of irresistible grace? Can His power be resisted? We're
talking about the Lord Jesus Christ. You can tell me He can
intend to do something and somebody say, no, He can't get His work
done. He's invincible in power. And
not only that, when we talk about irresistible grace, He's irresistible. I guarantee you, if you've ever
seen Him, you can't resist Him. You can't not believe. Try it. If you're a believer, try to
not believe on Him. Can't do it, can you? I'm not going to
believe you. It can't be done. Because you find Him irresistible. When we talk about the perseverance
of God's saints. How they'll persevere all the
way to the end and they won't fall away. When we talk about
the perseverance of God's saints. To think that He can elect somebody, He could
die for them, He could draw them by His grace, and they end up
falling away? Why, that's repugnant. He said, I give unto my sheep
eternal life, and they shall never perish. You see the division. The doctrine that I've just stated,
it creates division. There's no question about that.
I mean, people get in conflict over this. But understand what
the issue is. He himself is the issue. The division among the people
was because of him. And all divisions have this as
their essence. It's a division because of him.
Now, here's the one question God has for me and for you. What do you think of Jesus Christ? Whose son is he? What do you
think of his person? Do you believe he's God over
all, blessed forever, and yet bone of our bones, flesh of our
flesh, the man Christ Jesus? What do you believe regarding
his person? What do you believe regarding his work? Do you believe
that He actually put away the sins of everybody He died for?
Do you believe His righteousness? He obeyed God's law and actually
made every one of God's people perfectly righteous in God's
sight by what He did? Do you believe that? What do
you think of His offices? What do you think of His office
as the Prophet, the very Word of God? Does it thrill you? What do you think of His office
as priest. Do you believe if he represents
you before the Father, you're accepted? What do you think of
his office as king? Do you really believe that he
is king of kings and Lord of Lords controlling everything?
Not that he's got the right to be, but that he is. Not that
his will ought to be done, but that his will is done in all
things. What do you think of Jesus Christ?
That's the only issue. There are no other issues. I want to close with this thought. While there is a division because
of him, there also is true unity. Genuine unity. A oneness between God's people
because of him. You know, Paul asked this question
in 1 Corinthians 1.10. He said, is Christ divided? Are there divisions within the
body of Christ? Are there different denominations
within the body of Christ? Some with this emphasis and others
with that. That is all purely man-made,
isn't it? Is Christ divided? The answer
is no. No, Christ is not divided. Oh,
I wish we had unity. We have unity in Christ. It's real. Do you believe that Jesus Christ
is God? Yes. Then you have some unity, don't
we? Do you believe that Jesus Christ
really is man? The Son of Man? Yes, I do. We have some unity, don't we?
Do you believe that Jesus Christ is all in the Word of God? You
really believe that this book is all about Him? Then, beloved,
we have unity. Do you believe that he is all
in salvation? Then we're united, aren't we?
A true union of heart and soul. Do you really believe that his
righteousness, his obedience is the only righteousness there
is? Do you believe that? Then, beloved, we're united.
It's a true union of heart and soul. Do you believe that He
only is the object of faith. Do you believe that He only is
the reason for assurance? I have assurance of my salvation
because of Him. No other reason. Do you believe
that? Then we have true unity. Do you believe that He is all
to be preached. I'm not asking if you know the
right answer to it, but do you really believe that? He is all
to be preached. If you believe that, we have
unity, don't we? There is a true union. And this
unity is more than folks who believe the same thing. It's
not, well, you know, if you agree with me, we're united. That's
not what this is about. It goes much further than that.
Turn with me to John 17. Verse 20. These are the words of our Lord
Jesus as He prays for His people. Neither pray I for these alone,
but for them also which shall believe on Me through their word,
that they all may be one. As thou, Father, art in me, and
I in thee, that they also may be one in us, that the world
may believe that thou hast sent me, and the glory which thou
gavest me I have given them, that they may be one, even as
we are one. I in them, and thou in me, that
they may be made perfect in one, that the world may know that
thou hast sent me, and as love them as thou hast loved me."
Now there is the unity of God's children. There is the oneness
of God's children, truly fellowship, fellows in the same ship, the
Lord Jesus Christ. That is our union. That is our
unity. So we see clearly that the Bible
teaches that there is a division. There is a great gulf. There is a separation. And that
separation is Him. That division is because of Him. Now, I want you to hear me real
clearly. Is there somebody who's thinking,
I'm separated? I'm not one of those people.
There's a big division. I'm not one of them. I feel so
isolated. I feel so by myself. I'm not
one of those people. Boy, it's a horrible thought,
isn't it? But do you know it's a blessed
thought? If you really believe, I'm separated. I'm by myself. I'm unfit. I'm unclean. My sin has separated
me. What a blessed revelation God's
given you. That person who has been separated,
and they see that by your sin, your sin to separate you. You
don't blame God's sovereignty, you blame your sin. That's your
problem. That person who is a sinner, separated, that person is called
upon to believe on the Lord Jesus Christ. You're the one to trust
Christ. You're the one to trust Him as
your righteousness because you really believe you don't have
any personal righteousness. And it is easy, it's simple to
trust Him as your righteousness before God when you don't have
any. I'm doing it right now. You know, right now, by His grace,
faith's an easy thing. It gets hard when I try to believe.
But when I see the obviousness of it, It's easy to believe. For when we were yet without
strength in due time, Christ died for the ungodly. If you are without strength and
ungodly, I can guarantee you Jesus Christ died for you. Isn't
that wonderful? Let's pray. Lord, I ask, we ask, in Christ's
blessed name, that we might be enabled by Your
grace to see that He Himself is the issue, that He is the
difference, And Lord, I ask in Christ's blessed name that you
will enable, by your grace, each person in this room to believe
on thy dear Son. Bless us, O Lord, for Christ's
sake. In His name we pray. Amen.