Now it says in that passage of
scripture that I just read that these people believed in his
name. They had a kind of faith. They believed he had the authority
to do what he did in driving the people out of the temple.
Remember the way he did that in earlier in this chapter? They
believed he must be the Messiah because they saw the miracles
that he performed. That's a pretty impressive resume,
they believed on his name. But the scripture says he didn't
believe in him. He didn't commit himself to them. They believed in him, but he
did not believe in him. You'll find this interesting
in verse 24, the word commit, but Jesus did not commit himself
unto them. That's the exact same word that's
translated believed in verse 20, 30. They believed in him,
but he did not believe in them. He refused to commit himself
to them. He remained at a distance from
them. That's a sobering thought, isn't
it? They believed in him, but he did not believe in them because
he knew them. Look what verse 24 says. Jesus
did not commit himself unto them, Because he knew all men, and
he needed not that any should testify of man, for he knew what
was in man. Now, what I see first in these
verses is that there is a kind of faith that is not saving faith. These people had a kind of faith,
didn't they? It says they believed on his
name, but he refused to commit himself to them He would not
entrust himself to them because he knew them through and through.
Now, let's examine their faith. It says in verse 23, when he
was in Jerusalem at the Passover in the feast day. Many believed
in his name when they saw the miracles which he did. Now, whatever this faith was
that they possessed, it came as a result of what they observed,
what they Saul. They saw the miracles that he
did, you know, in this same chapter, he changed the water into wine
and they saw it. Everybody knew about this. It's
hard telling how many different miracles he performed that they
actually saw and observed. And they concluded, God must
be behind this. They concluded that by what they
said. They believed in his name when they observed these miracles
that he performed. It's pretty much the same faith
that Nicodemus had. Look in chapter 3, verses 1 and
2. There was a man of the Pharisees named Nicodemus, a ruler of the
Jews. The same came to Jesus by night
and said unto him, Rabbi, we know that thou art a teacher
come from God, for no man can do these miracles that thou doest,
except God doeth it. He saw the miracles the Lord
performed and he concluded He must be something special. God must be in what he is doing. That's the kind of faith they
had. Now, this kind of faith is the product of man's reasoning,
intellect, and will. That's the kind of faith they
had. It's the product of man's reasoning, man's intellect, and
man's will. For instance, if you said to
me, I could pick up that piano and hold it over my head. I wouldn't
believe it. I just wouldn't believe it. But
if you walked over there and lifted up that piano and held
it up over your head, I'd say, well, I believe you. I see you. I believe now. And that faith
would be based upon what I observed, what I There's a scripture in 2 Corinthians
chapter 5 verse 7 that says we walk by faith and not by sight. A faith that comes because of
what I see is not saving faith. They observe the miracles that
the Lord did, and they said, surely God be must be with him. The evidence points to that fact
that this is no mere man. Now, this is the faith that could
be called the faith of the sin. I see this. I have to believe
it. I don't have any choice to believe
it. I see it. Therefore, it must be true. But
did you know that the demons themselves have that kind of
faith? You believe there's one God,
James said. You do well. There is only one
God. That's accurate. You're believing
the truth. But the devils also believe and tremble. But wilt thou know, O vain man,
that faith without works is dead, being alone? A faith that is
nothing more than an acknowledgment of the truth of something because
the evidence points to it is not saving faith. That's scary, isn't it? It makes
me ask myself the question, what kind of faith do I have? Do I
have saving faith? You see, saving faith is a committal. Did you notice where it says
Jesus would not commit himself to be saving. Faith is a committal. There's a committal. There is
an entrusting. There's an actual reliance upon
the objects of faith that causes you to do something. There will
be works that prove you really believe what you say you do. Now, here's here's an example. Somebody says, I love. The Tawdry
Grace Church, I love coming there, I love what's preached. That's
a good thing to say. But let's say they seldom come.
What do their works say? Their works say that they don't
really mean what they say they mean. It's one thing to say something. It's another thing to have the
works that prove you really believe what you say you do. Let me give
you an example of this. Turn over to John, Chapter 12. Chapter 12, verse 42. Nevertheless,
among the chief rulers also many believed on him. Says they believed. Because of the Pharisees, they
did not confess him, lest they should be put out of the synagogue.
For they loved the praise of men more than the praise of God. Now it says they believed. But
because they were afraid of what it would cost them to confess
Christ, they wouldn't confess it. They were more concerned
about what men think than what God says. And they did not truly
believe. Said they believe, so we see
that there is a type of faith, a kind of faith that is not saving
faith. You see, true faith, saving faith,
and please listen to this very carefully. This is very important.
Saving faith is based, is not based upon a man weighing the
evidences and deciding the belief. True faith, saving faith is the
work of God. in the heart. It's a miracle of God. It's the
gift of God. It's the product of God. It's
a supernatural thing altogether beyond human nature. Ephesians 2, 8 and 9 says, By
grace are you saved through faith. And that, that faith, it's the
gift of God. Not of works, lest any man should
boast. There has never been a bigger
lie than that of man having a free will that he can use to decide
to believe. There's never been a bigger lie
told than that. If the faith that you have is
the product of your will or your decision, it'll never save you. That's a sobering thing to think
about it. That kind of faith that comes from your will and
you weighing the evidences and deciding you're going to believe,
that kind of faith is not saving faith. Now, back to our text
in John, chapter two. It says when he was in Jerusalem
at the Passover and the feast day, many believed in his name
when they saw the miracles which he did, but Jesus did not. commit himself unto them. He refused to commit himself
unto them. And remember, this word commit
is the same word that's translated believe in verse 23. He refused
to commit himself to them. He didn't believe in them. He
wouldn't entrust himself to them. So you see, where there's real
faith, it's not simply an assent. Well, I agree with that. I see
it there. I read it. And therefore, I believe
it. That really is not faith. That's
no more than a sin. That's the devil believes that
way. Faith is a committal. It's an entrusting. If you really
believe, you commit. Now, let me show you this in
the scripture. Turn to 2nd Timothy, chapter one. This has been a
verse of scripture that has helped me to understand so much what
faith really is, because I can remember times when I would continually
ask myself, what does it mean to believe? What is faith? What
does somebody do when they believe? I want to know because I want
to know if I have faith. Well, look at this passage of scripture
in 2nd Timothy, chapter 1, verse 12. For the which cause I, this is
Paul speaking, he says, for the which cause I also suffer these
things. And he wasn't like those fellas we read about in John,
chapter 12, who believed that they wouldn't confess because
of what it would cost them. No, he suffered because of what he
believed. He was persecuted because of what he believed. He proved
he really believed it by coming out in spite of what it was going
to cost him. Now, for the witch cause, because
I preach the gospel, I also suffer these things. Nevertheless, I'm
not ashamed. You know, people probably said,
you know, the Lord's blessing is gone on Paul. Look at all
the bad stuff that happens to him. Paul says, I'm not ashamed. And here's why. for I know whom
I have believed, and am persuaded that he is able to keep that
which I have committed unto him against that day." Now, I see
the essence of what true faith is in this passage of Scripture.
Now, we've already seen it's the gift of God. It's a supernatural
working of God. If you have faith, you know it's
because God gave it to you. I don't have to argue with anybody
about that. If you have faith, you know, sure, you're a foot
and a half high. The reason you got it is because God gave it to
you. There was a time when you didn't believe and you believe now and you know
it's because God worked that faith in you. Because you used
to didn't know what it meant to believe. What in the world does it mean
to believe? I mean, I believe the sky is blue. Is that faith? But you know God gave you this
faith. Now, notice what Paul says in this verse. He says,
I know whom I have believed. Now, here's the first thing I
want to point out. Paul didn't say, I know what
I believe. He said, I know whom I have believed. You see, what
I believe is determined by who I believe. It's impossible to
believe Him and not believe in His absolute sovereignty. It's
impossible to believe Him and not believe His control of all
things. He's the King of kings. He's
the Lord of lords. You believe Him, you believe
everything about Him. He didn't say, I know what I
believed. I know whom I believed. And notice
this. He said, I know whom I have believed. You see, there is a
true saving knowledge in saving faith. I know whom I believe.
I've heard people say, well, their head's wrong, but their
heart's right. That's foolishness. Nothing less. You can't believe in your heart
what you don't know in your head. That's impossible. You can just
as soon come back from places you've never been as believe
in your heart what you don't believe in your head. It's not
going to happen. Paul said, I know whom I have believed. There is
knowledge. I know whom I have believed.
But notice, it goes farther than that. He said, I know whom I
have believed, and I am persuaded that he's able. to keep that which I committed
to Him against that day. I am persuaded, this goes beyond
correct information, I really believe that He is able to save
me. Do you really believe that? I
know you have the right information, the correct doctrines and so
on, but do you really believe, when God looks in your heart,
does He see this, do you really believe that Jesus Christ is
able to save you without any help from you? I love that passage
of scripture where those two blind men came up to the Lord. And the Lord asked them what
they wanted. They said that we might receive our signs. And
he asked this very simple question. Do you believe that I am able
to do this? Do you believe he's able? Well,
you've got to know who he is before you can believe he's able,
don't you? I know whom I have believed. And I'm persuaded,
I'm convinced that he is able to keep that which I've committed
to him against that day. And here's the clincher regarding
what true faith is. It's not just an assent to some
things and say, well, I agree with that. I believe it's true.
There's knowledge. Yes, I believe it's true. There's
persuasion. I really believe he's able, but
there's commitment. He said, I know whom I have believed
and I'm persuaded that he's able to keep that which I have committed
to him against that day. Beloved, I have committed the salvation
of my soul to the Lord Jesus Christ. I am relying completely on Him. If who He is and what He did
alone is not enough to save me, then I will not be saved. I don't
have a plan B. I don't have an ace in the hole. I don't have some other option. If who He is and what He did
alone is not enough to save me, all my eggs are in this basket.
I'm not looking anywhere else. If who he is and what he did
alone is not enough to save me, then I won't be saved. I have
committed the salvation of my soul to him. I'm so persuaded in his ability
that I've got no plan B. Let me show you an example of
this or an illustration of this in Scripture. Turn to Genesis
39. We looked at this a couple of Wednesday nights ago. But
if you want to know what committal is, here it is. And Joseph is that great type
of Christ. And we read in verse one of Genesis
39, and Joseph was brought down to Egypt and Potiphar and Officer
Pharaoh, Captain of the Guard, an Egyptian, bought him of the
hands of the Ishmaelites, which had brought him down to there.
And the Lord was with Joseph and he was a prosperous man and
he was in the house of his master, the Egyptian. He he was a very
prosperous servant. Everything he did worked. He
was making money on Joseph. And his master saw that the Lord
was with him, and that the Lord made all that he did to prosper
in his hand. And Joseph found grace in his sight, and he served
him, and he made him. The potter, or the master, made
him overseer over all his house, and all that he had, he put in
his hand. And it came to pass from the
time that he made him overseer in his house, and over all that
he had, that the Lord blessed the Egyptians house for Joseph's
sake. And the blessing of the Lord was upon all that he had
in the house and in the field. And he left all that he had in
Joseph's hand. Now, beloved, that's what I'm
doing right now. I'm leaving every hope I have of being saved,
of being brought into glory in the greater Joseph's hand, the
Lord Jesus Christ. I'm depending on him. And he
knew not aught that he had, save the bread which he did eat. And
Joseph was a goodly person and well favored. Look down in verse
21. Now, this is after Joseph is thrown into prison. Same thing
happened. And Joseph is in prison. And
remember, Joseph is a type of the Lord Jesus Christ. But the
Lord was with Joseph and showed him mercy and gave him favor
in the sight of the keeper of the prison. And the keeper of
the prison committed to Joseph's hand all the prisoners that were
in the prison, and whatsoever they did there, he was the doer
of it. The keeper of the prison looked
not to anything that was under his hand, because the Lord was
with him, and that which he did, the Lord made it to prosper.
You see, the keeper of the prison trusted Joseph for everything. He didn't do a thing. He was
hands off. He backed out of this thing.
He trusted Joseph completely to take care of everything. Now
that's what faith is. Faith is a commitment to the
Lord Jesus Christ. I have committed the salvation
of my immortal soul to him. And I am relying on him only. Now that's what saving faith
is. It's a commitment to the Lord Jesus Christ. You see, if
Joseph fails, That prison keeper is in trouble, isn't he? But
if Joseph is successful, all the interests of that prison
keeper are in good shape. I've committed the salvation
of my soul to him. Now, when the Lord saves somebody,
here's what he does. He gives them a new heart and
he commits himself to them. Turn back to our text. I want
you to look in John chapter 2. It says in verse 24 that Jesus
did not commit himself unto them, because he knew all men, and
even not that any should testify of man, for he knew what was
in man. Now, he wouldn't commit himself to these people. He remained
at a distance from these people because he knew what they were
about. He knew that they did not really believe. You see,
when the Lord saves somebody, he gives them a new heart and
he commits himself to them. And this is a sacred trust. As a matter of fact, that's what
I entitled this message, the sacred trust. The Lord commits and trusts himself. To those who believe now, how
awesome. How humbling. To every child
of God, everybody that does actually believe the gospel, who's entrusted
the salvation of their soul to Christ, do you know that he has
entrusted himself to you? Now, I can't think of a more
awesome thing than that. If you're a believer, the Lord
Jesus Christ has entrusted himself to you. He has entrusted to you
that which is most precious to himself. Himself. What a sacred trust. Listen to
this. First Timothy 111 says, according to the glorious gospel
of the blessed God, which was committed to my trust, Paul said. I can say this to every believer.
God has committed to your trust. That which is most precious to
him. Now, you want to talk about purpose
in life and meaning in life. You know, people always struggle
for purpose and meaning. Everybody does. What's the purpose
of my life? What's the meaning of my life?
What's this all about? What's the meaning? Oh, listen, if you're
a believer. What meaning there is in this?
God has entrusted to you individually that which is most precious to
himself. There's purpose. There's meaning. And what meaning this is that,
you know, if something is valuable to you. I went to the bank this
week and got out the money. I'm going to take to Mexico.
And I'll tell you what, whenever I got a lot of money in my pocket.
I'm nervous. I'm careful. I'm feeling around
my wallet, make sure somebody doesn't take it. I'm nervous. You know, when something's valuable
to you, you're cautious, aren't you? And that money's not sacred. If I lose that, that's all right.
But this is so infinitely more than a sacred trust. You're careful. You're cautious. You want to
you want to honor him because he's entrusted you with something
that's so precious. What an honor it is to be a believer.
What an honor. What a sacred trust. Now, the
Lord didn't commit himself to these people because he knew
they didn't really have faith. When the Lord commits himself
to you and gives you faith, he's giving you such a privilege.
Don't feel meaningless. Paul said that good thing to
Timothy, that good thing which was committed unto thee, which
was entrusted to thee, keep it, guard over it, watch it by the
Holy Ghost, which dwelleth in us. And our Lord refused to entrust
himself to these people. And here's the reason we're given
in our text, verse 24, but Jesus did not commit. He did not entrust
himself. He didn't believe in them. How
come? Because he knew all that. And
he needed not that any should testify of man, for he knew what
was in man. He knew these people had no love
for his person. If you're going to entrust something
that's precious to you, that's of great value to you, you're
not going to give it to somebody that doesn't love you, are you?
You wouldn't dare do that. You wouldn't take the chance.
I mean, they don't care about me. They're not going to take
care of it. You only entrust what is of great value to you
to somebody that loves you. Would you entrust your children
to some stranger on the street that doesn't care anything about
you? Would you entrust your children to your enemies? Of course not.
You only trust what's truly valuable to you to somebody that loves
you. And the Lord knew what was in
these people. He knew all of them. Turn over
to John chapter 5 for a moment. Listen to verse 37. He says to these people who did
not believe him in verse 37, and the father himself, which
has sent me, hath borne witness of me. You've neither heard his
voice at any time nor seen his shape, and you have not his word
abiding in you. For whom he has sent, him you
believe not. Search the scriptures. You search
the scriptures. In them you think you have eternal life, but you've
missed it altogether. There they which testify of me,
and you will not come to me that you might have life. I receive
not honor from men, Listen to this. I know you. I love it when the Savior says
this to these people. I know you. That you have not
the love of God in you. I'm coming in my Father's name
and you receive me not. If another shall come in his
own name, him will you receive. How can you believe? Which receive
honor one of another and seek not that honor that cometh from
God only. Those are powerful words. Back
to our text in John 2, verse 25, it says, He needed not that
any should testify of man, for he knew what was in man. You
see, the Lord knows all men altogether. He doesn't need for somebody
to bring evidence against a man because he already knows that
man. He knows him altogether, and he doesn't need a witness
to testify. He knew what was in Now, we're
going to think about that for a few moments. He knew what was
in man. Now, remember, 1 Samuel 16, verse
7 says, The Lord seeth not as man seeth. Man looketh on the outward appearance,
but the Lord looketh on the heart. And what does the Lord see when
he looks within the natural man's heart? He knows you. He knows
me. He knows us all together. What
does he see when he looks in the natural man's heart? And
what do I mean by the natural man's heart? I'm talking about
the heart that we're born with, the way we all are by nature,
the way we come into this world, our human nature. When the Lord
looks in the heart of the natural man, what does he see? Well, let's look at God's testimony.
Turn to Genesis 6. I love this scripture. Tells things as they really are.
Genesis chapter 6, verse 5. This is what God sees when he
looks in the natural man's heart. Genesis chapter 6, verse 5. And God saw that the wickedness
of man was great in the earth and that every imagination. Now he's not talking about the
works right now, he's talking about the imaginations. He's
talking about that which passes through the mind and the heart.
This is what God sees when he sees every man. He saw that every
imagination, not 99% of them, but every imagination, even the
supposed good things they're thinking, the religious things,
the good intentions. He saw that every imagination
of the thoughts of his heart was only evil. That's what God says. And how
often were they only evil? Continually. Now that's God's
testimony of what he sees. The Lord knew What was in man? He didn't have to have any new
information or evidence brought out. He knew what was in man.
He knows what's in my heart. He knows what's in your heart.
Look in Romans, Chapter 3. Now, this is a quotation from
Psalm 14. We're going to look at a New Testament verse, Romans,
Chapter 3. You know, when the Bible is talking
about these things of human sinfulness, it seems so negative, doesn't
it? Negative and morose and depressing. But if you say who the Lord is,
you know it's true concerning yourself. If you ever see who God is, you
won't have any trouble with this. You'll give your hearty amen
to it. But if you never find out who
God really is. You're not going to like this. Look what Romans
chapter three, verse 10 says, as it is written. Quoting from Psalm 14, and this
is our I want to remind you, this is always an important reminder,
why do we believe what we believe? Because it's written. No other
reason. It's written. The Bible is God's
Word. As it is written, there is none
righteous, no, not one. There's none that understands. Even understanding the truth
is beyond the grasp of the natural man. There's none that seeketh
after God. He may seek other things. He
may seek to be religious, but he's not truly seeking the living
God. They are all gone out of the way. They are together become
unprofitable. There's none that do it good.
No, not one. And this is what God sees. He
knew what was in man. Look over in Romans chapter eight. Verse seven. Because the carnal mind, now
that word carnal means fleshly. Fleshly. It doesn't simply mean
someone who is participating in fleshly sins, drunkenness,
sexual sins, and so on, although that's certainly included. But
it just means the mind you're born with. The mind you're born
with. The carnal mind is enmity against
God. And you know what that word enmity
means? Hatred. Hatred. The natural man, the
way I was born, I was born into this world hating the living
God. Now, I might not hate the God
that I feel comfortable with, but I'm talking about the God
of the Bible, the sovereign God, who's in absolute control. That
God the natural man hates. The carnal mind is enmity against
God, for it's not subject to the law of God, neither indeed
can it be. It lacks the ability to be subject
to God. So the invader in the flesh cannot
please God. You know, the cross is proof
of that. All I got to do, you know, the
one time God left men to themselves to do what they wanted to do,
what did men do? They nailed Jesus Christ to a cross. Now,
I want to ask you a question. Do you believe that you would
have done that if God hadn't done to keep you from it? Do
you believe that is what you would have done? Believe it. The Bible teaches it. That's
the condition of the natural man. Lord didn't need anybody
to testify about man because he knew what was in man. Back to our text. Now this serves, we're going
to consider this next time, but this serves as an introduction
to chapter three. This will make chapter three
altogether different. He knew what was in man. Verse
1, there was a man of the Pharisees named Nicodemus. He was a ruler
of the Jews. This fellow was a religious fellow.
He was a Pharisee. That means a separated one. He
thought something he did separated him from others. He had a high
opinion of himself. He was somebody. He was a ruler
of the Jews, a member of the Jewish Sanhedrin. The same came
to Jesus by night. This fellow was in the dark.
He didn't know it. Yes, he was ashamed to be identified with
Christ, but it means more than that. This man was in utter darkness. As religious as he was, he was
in utter darkness. The same came to Jesus by night
and sat unto him. He expressed the same faith these
fellows had in verse 23 of chapter 2. Rabbi, we know that you're
a teacher come from God, for no man can do these miracles
that you do, except God be with him. Jesus answered and said
unto him, Thanks for your confidence in
me. He said, Nicodemus, you don't
know anything. Except a man be born from above. He cannot see the kingdom of
God. I've heard preachers say, give
Jesus your heart. He doesn't want it. What would
he do with it? Ask him for a new heart. That's
what I need. A heart that he gives. David
said, create in me a clean heart of God. Renew a right spirit
within me. Now, the Lord will not entrust
Himself to any natural man. Here's what He does. He gives
a new birth. He gives a new heart, a new nature,
something that was not there before. He doesn't change the
old heart. That old heart's beyond change.
He gives a new heart, something that was not there before, something
that He can entrust Himself to. You see, He's not going to Take
the precious wine of the gospel and pour it into those old bottles,
is he? No, he gives a new heart and a new nature that he pours
his gospel within. And he commits himself to that
man that he can trust. Do you? Now you answer this question. Do you trust the Lord Jesus Christ? Have you committed the salvation
of your soul to Him? And you're not looking at anything
else. You really believe that if who
He is and what He did is not enough to save you, you won't
be saved. You really believe that. You're relying on Him. Do you trust Him only? Or did you know that if you do,
It's because he has committed to you that which is most precious
to himself. He's made that commitment. He has entrusted that to you. What a sacred trust. Ask for special grace. To live
up to that trust. Don't be saying, oh, what's my
purpose in life? Your purpose in life is right
here. What a sacred trust. May God give us all grace to
trust Him completely. Is He not worthy of complete
trust? Let's pray together.