You don't have a Bible? Well,
you'll find one there in the pew. Go on chapter 5, and let
me read again 35-38. What the Lord said to this man
that he had opened his eyes. Jesus heard that they had cast
him out, and when he had found him, he said unto him, Dost thou
believe on the Son of God? And he answered and said, Who
is he, Lord, that I might believe on him? And Jesus said, Thou
hast both seen him, and it is he that talketh with thee. And
he said, Lord, I believe. And he worshipped him. What a
question is this the Lord put to this man. Dost thou believe
on the Son of God? And this was the most glorious end the most happy end,
to an incident that had begun here in the temple at Jerusalem. Christ had determined, He had
absolutely determined to show His mercy and reveal His truth,
to reveal Himself here at this place, but He met with all kinds
of opposition. But none of this opposition deterred
him. He was determined to reveal himself, to reveal his truth.
And every way he turned, he was opposed in doing so. But nothing
stopped him. Nothing stopped him. We'll look
here in just a minute at the opposition. But isn't it a wonderful
truth that when the Lord purposes to do something, He gets it done? Because truth is a stubborn thing,
isn't it? It's absolutely a stubborn thing.
It may be opposed on every hand, but you can't defeat truth. It's
light that gets a crack, that finds a little crack to begin
to shine through into, and darkness cannot resist it. God who commanded
the light to shine out of darkness has shined in our hearts. And remember how dark your heart
was the first time He shined His light in? And it was almost
like a little crack. Have you ever been in an old
house that's got some cracks in the logs of the walls and
there's a little crack of sun shining through? Sometimes that's
all it takes for Him. He said, I'm the light of the
world. And when he gets a crack to shine into it, the darkness
cannot stop it. It cannot stop it. Light comes
irresistible. And we have an example of that.
Look all the way back in chapter 8 of John. Look back in chapter
8. This is where the opposition
had began when the Lord Jesus was preaching a message all the
way back in the 8th chapter of John. And look here in verse
56. Here is the way the Lord was
preaching. He said, Your father Abraham rejoiced to see my day,
and he saw it and was glad. The Jews said unto him, Art thou,
you are not yet fifty years old, and hast thou seen Abraham? And he said, verse 56, Verily,
verily, I say unto you, Before Abraham was, I am. He was a man in his early thirties. They knew who his mother was.
They knew who his supposed father was. They knew his brothers and
sisters. And now he's telling them before
Abraham was, I am. And you know who they took that
to be? That's God. Who is the I am in the Old Testament? That's God. Tell them, I am,
as said me. And hear this Jesus of Nazareth
saying before Abraham was, I am. What was the reaction to that?
Well, look in verse 59. Then took they up stones to cast
at him. But Jesus hid himself and went
out of the temple, going through the midst of them, and so passed
by. He was rejected there in the
temple. And isn't it amazing, while in this temple, they picked
up stones to throw at Him. What were stones doing in the
temple? Did you ever wonder about that?
Where did they put stones in the temple? And they grabbed
them up to throw at Him. Doesn't it make you wonder, on
this Lord's Day, when we're gathered here tonight, don't it make you
wonder? where the most stones are being
thrown at Jesus of Nazareth. If you go today to some worldly
amusement, which you have no business going to, if you go
to some open and profane place today, I bet you won't find in
those places as many stones thrown at the Son of God as you'll find
in the average pulpit across our country. You know where the
stones are being hurled at the dear and blessed Son of God?
Out of pulpits. Is that not so? They picked up
stones in the temple to cast at Him. But you know something? This didn't deter Christ from
His saving purpose. Did this send Him away defeated? Did they defeat Him? Well, absolutely
not. Look in verse 1. They said, He
passed through the midst of them, and so passed by. But verse 1
said, And as Jesus passed by, He saw a man who was blind from
his birth. Their rejection. This gave Him
the opportunity to fulfill the purpose that He was going to
do to begin with. He said, for judgment I'm coming
to this world that they which see not may see. That's why I've
come. And here's a man that can't see,
and I'm going to give him his eyesight. And that you fellows
who say you can see, that you'll be left blind and be in your
sins. You know what this tells us? Truth is a stubborn thing. It's
a stubborn thing. Mercy is a sovereign thing, is
it not? I will have mercy upon whom I
will. He passed by them. The Bible
says he hid himself from them. And he turns right around and
reveals himself to this man whom he had just given his eyesight
to. A stubborn thing, truth is. You may oppose it, but you cannot
defeat it. And look here in verse 16. Look
at this opposition. Look at the opposition in verse
16. Look at these Pharisees. Well, they look to be confused
by the plainest truth. The plainest truth confused them
to death. Look in verse 16. Therefore,
says some of the Pharisees, this man is not of God, because he
keepeth not the Sabbath. Boy, if you're so prejudiced
and you're so full of self-interest, you can blind yourself to the
plainest of truths. Here was a man who was born blind.
Nobody had ever been born blind and had their eyes opened before.
And this poor man knew that. He'd probably had people doing
research on this. He asked his parents, go to the
Pharisees, go to the scribes, and find out if anybody was ever
born like I'm born that ever was able to see. And they said,
son, it's never happened. It's never happened. Even God's
never given a miracle like that. And here, this man had his eyes
opened the first time it's ever happened. And these Pharisees
talked their self right out of it by saying, you can't be a
God because you don't keep the Sabbath. If a man is looking
for a reason to deny the truth, he'll find it. And they had this
self-interest. What was this interest? If we
leave him alone, we're going to lose our positions. We'll
lose our money. The Roman government will come
and take our positions away from us. We can't let him keep preaching
and doing these miracles. We got too much involved. So
what did they do? They didn't believe him. But
did that stop his purpose? No, it didn't, did it? You can't
stop His purpose. If He's pleased to show mercy,
He's sovereign in that, and He will show mercy. And here in verses 18 through
verse 22, this is sort of sad, isn't it? These poor parents
exposed their son to an awful temptation here. They called
the parents. The parents knew who gave him
sight. But they said he's of age. Asked
him. We're not sticking up for him.
He'll have to stick up for himself. I mean, boy, they just put him
out there to be chewed on, didn't they? They knew he was a poor,
ignorant man. He'd never been able to. He didn't
even see his parents. He'd never been able to see them.
Couldn't read the Bible. Couldn't see anybody all of his
life. The poor man was ignorant. And
here they just cast him to the wolves and said, he's of age,
ask him. Why did they say that? Because
they feared the Jews. The Jews said, if you confess
him to be the Christ, we're going to put you out of the sin of
God. And they said, we fear they'll put us out of the sin of God.
So we're just going to let our son have this himself. Did that stop the purpose of
Christ in revealing mercy to this man? It didn't, did it? All the fear of man, all the
self-serving of religious people cannot hinder Jesus Christ from
showing mercy when He's pleased to do it. I will have mercy. Look at the ignorance of this
man himself. He says here in verse 24 and
25, he was so ignorant, he said, were these a sinner or no? I
don't know. He's telling the truth of what
he didn't know. Jesus had opened his blinded eyes, but he didn't
know who he was. He says he's a man, he's a prophet,
but he didn't know who he was. He was ignorant. Can truth prevail
over ignorance? Can truth shine into such a dark
heart as this man has? You bet it can. You bet it can. And finally we're told there
in verse 24 that they cast him out. They cast him out. They
said, you were all together born in sin as if they weren't. And they cast him out. And you
know something, that would have been the end of the story if mercy had been defeated. If
Christ had been overcome in his purpose, if truth could be defeated,
that would have been it. But that's not it. That brings
us to our question, doesn't it? Jesus finds him in verse 35,
and he asked him this question, Doest thou believe in the Son
of God? What a searching question that
is. Do you believe in the Son of God? Now, this ain't a searching
question if you take for granted that you believe. If you say,
Oh, I've believed all my life, this is not a searching question
for you. But for a man who has just got his eyes open, for a
man who is awakened and he takes the question with all seriousness,
oh my goodness, this is a heart-searching question. This is the most important
question anybody's ever been asked in their lifetime. Believest
thou the Son of God? Do you believe in the Son of
God? Do you believe Him? Isn't that a searching question
though? Was there not a time you didn't believe? And if you believe now, do you
ever doubt that you believe? Why is that? This is a searching
question. This is the most important question
anyone could ever be asked because of the importance of it, because
of the preciousness of the object. Doest thou believe in the Son
of God? What is the object of faith?
Who is the object of faith? The Son of God. Oh, don't that
make it a searching question? Don't that make it a precious
question? The Son of God. Do you believe
in the Son of God? Jesus is not a mere man, is He? He is more than a great man.
He is more than a prophet. He is the eternal Son of God. He's God the Son. He hanged the
sky. He hanged all the planets. He
put the moon and the stars in the sky. He made this great world
and hang it upon nothing. He's the eternal Creator. This
is the Son of God. You know, before Him, the kingdom
of darkness trembled. When He commands them, they obey.
He walks on water. He speaks to a raging storm,
and it settles down. And only He can do poor, guilty
sinners any good. This is the object of this faith. Believest thou the Son of God? He opens the eyes of a man that
was born blind. Who can do that? The Son of God.
What makes this question so important is because of who the object
of faith is. Dost thou believe in the Son
of God? What an important and searching
question. To you who believe, He is precious. How precious is He? Who can tell
how precious He is? It seems like the more faith
you have in Him, the more precious He becomes. The more this question
would stir us up for an honest answer if we realize more of
who the object of faith is. Oh, I want an affirmative answer,
don't you? I want to say, yes, Lord, I believe
because I know who he is and I believe. Old Newton said this,
am I his or am I not? Do I love the Lord or not? Do
I believe Him or do I not? Do I believe the Son of God?
Why did Newton get so anxious in asking himself these questions?
Because of the seriousness of the matter. What makes the matter
so serious? What makes the question so important?
It's because of the object of faith. Doest thou believe the
Son of God? If you say, do you believe Bruce
Crafter, you may just shrug that off. Do you believe Clarence
Poole? You strike that off. But do you
believe in the Son of God? That's a searching question,
isn't it? I tell you, it's the most important
and serious question because of this, because of the benefits
of believing in the Son of God. Think of the benefits of believing
in the Son of God. What must I do to be saved? I've got to be saved. If I'm
not saved, I'm going to lose my eternity-bound soul. What must I do to be saved? Believe
on the Lord Jesus Christ and you shall be saved. Believing
in the Son of God will save a man's soul. Go thy way, thy faith has
saved thee. Do we live? How do we live? We must live or we're dead in
trespasses and sins. How do we live? Paul said, I
live by faith on the Son of God. We live by faith. There's no
life apart from believing in Him. That's a benefit that comes
through believing in the Lord Jesus Christ. Do we walk with
God? Ain't it walk with God? How do we walk with God? We walk
by faith in the Son of God. and not by sight. Can you walk with God without
faith in the Son of God? No. No. This is a benefit. Dost thou believe in the Son
of God? Do we stand? Do we stand against
hell? Do we stand against flesh? Do
we stand against this world? By faith in the Son of God, we
stand. Are we victorious? How are we
victorious? By faith we overcome the world. This is the faith that overcometh
the world. He that believeth that Jesus
is the Christ overcomes the world. You want to know how the world
overcomes people? We see it all the time, don't
we? And you know why it does? They have not believed that Jesus
Christ is the Son of God. How are we justified from all
things? Listen to this. We have believed
in Jesus Christ that we might be justified. We have believed
in Christ. Justification comes by believing
in the Son of God. Believest thou the Son of God?
Are we sanctified? Listen to this. Being sanctified
by faith that is in Him. Are we joyful? Well, listen to
this. Though now we see Him not, yet
believing, we rejoice with joy unspeakable and full of glory."
See the benefits in believing the Son of God. See what makes
this question so serious, so important. All the benefits that
comes through believing in Him and only through believing that
Jesus is the Son of God. It's only believing that we receive
Christ as the gift of God. It's only by believing in Him
that we enter unto Him as a refuge, and it's only by believing in
Him that we apply this balm to our poor, sin-sick soul. And
it's only through believing in Him that we feast upon Him, the
bread of life. Believest thou in the Son of
God? Do you know what makes this question
all important? because of what unbelief exposes
us to. Believing in the Son of God brings
all of these benefits to us, but unbelief exposes us to the
very curse of God. He that believeth not is condemned
already. He that believeth in the Son
of God hath life. He that believeth not the Son
of God shall not see life, but the wrath of God abideth upon
him. He that believeth shall be saved. He that believeth not
shall be damned." See the seriousness of the question? One side we
have all the benefits, salvation, justification, sanctification,
eternal life. On the other hand, we have the
wrath of God. We have condemnation. We have
damnation. And he that believeth not has
made God a liar because he believes not the record that God gave
of His Son. Isn't that a reproach on God
that sent His Son from heaven out of great goodness and love
now to throw in His face to reproach His wisdom and His goodness and
His love by saying, I don't believe you? Faith in Christ. Do you believe
the Son of God? Does thou believe in the Son
of God? Boy, think of it this way. What
a surprising and exciting question when you consider who was asked
this question. Who was asked this question?
Was he speaking to an angel? Was he speaking to a great prophet?
Was he speaking to an apostle? Why, no. He was speaking to a
poor beggar who had lived his whole life in darkness. One whom
his own parents rejected and exposed to persecution because
of their slavish fears. One whom this religious world
had cast out and one who still retained a great deal of ignorance
and confusion. Could it be that this man, a
man like this, could obtain a saving interest in the Son of God? Do
you believe in the Son of God? Do you, poor man, that has been
despised and rejected even by your parents, that are so full
of confusion and darkness, do you believe in the Son of God? Could all of these benefits belong
to you? Could I be precious to you, you
poor wretched beggar? Oh, that's what makes the question
so precious, is it not? So wonderful, so exciting. Could it be that such a one as
this could believe in the Son of God? Or could it be that such
a one as you and me could believe in the Son of God? Isn't that
wonderful when it's brought home to you? Believest thou? Oh, could it be, Wesley said,
that I should gain an interest in the Savior's blood? Died He
for me who caused His pain? Me who Him to death pursued? Amazing love, how could it be
that thou, my God, has died for me? Amazing grace, how could
it be that I, poor poor sinner that I am could believe in the
Son of God. Ain't that amazing? Oh, no wonder
Mr. Newton said how precious did
that grace appear the hour I first believed. How does this faith come? How
does it come to the heart? We're not born with it. We spend
our whole life as unbelievers. How did this faith come? It comes
by revelation. You can't muster it up. It comes by revelation. Look
here in verse 36, And he answered and said, Who is he, Lord, that
I might believe on him? If you show him to me, if you
tell me who he is, I'll believe on him, because he's a great
one. You're talking about the Son
of God. Show him to me, and I'll believe on him. Tell me who he
is, and I'll lay hold upon him. Well, look what he said in verse
37. Thou hast both seen him, and it is he that talketh with
thee. Don't that come so simple? Don't
it come so easy? It wasn't some big emotional
stirring. He said, Lord, who is the Son
of God? And He says, You're looking at Me. I am He. And with that came the revelation.
And with that revelation came faith. Because He says in verse
38, and He said, Lord, I believe. I believe. I tell you, it's the
easiest thing in the world to believe when He reveals Himself
to you. It's impossible to believe until
He does. This is why some of us doubt
our salvation sometimes, because this revelation comes so easy
sometimes. Sometimes, I'll agree, it's like
the Apostle Paul on the Damascus Road. Here this light shines,
and he's stricken down, and Jesus speaks to him, and it has this
emotion attached with it. But, boy, it's not always like
that, is it? Sometimes here you're set. And you may have had all
this doubt and this guilt and confusion and darkness in your
mind. And then just so easy, there
it is. He's made Himself real to you.
And you say, I do believe. Yes, Lord, You are the Son of
God. I believe. It comes by revelation. And you know, it comes vitally
linked to the Gospel. It's always vitally linked to
the Gospel. Remember Acts chapter 8 when Philip was preaching to
the eunuch and he was reading Isaiah chapter 53 about the sufferings
of Christ? And he said, is this man speaking
of himself or somebody else? He's obviously a man. He's suffering
like we could suffer. And Philip began at the same
place and preached unto him Jesus. And as he was preaching to him,
Jesus, he said, here's water, why can't I be baptized? He said,
if you believe with all your heart, you can be. And he said,
I believe that Jesus is the Son of God. And see how that comes? Sometime while Philip was preaching
Jesus, the substitute for sinner, the one who had satisfied the
demands of God's justice upon the cross by his sufferings and
his death and his life given up, Jesus was revealed to that
man's heart. And what did he say about him?
I believe he's the Son of God. Brothers and sisters, let me
say this. If you believe that Jesus is the Son of God, you
have saved man. You have saved man. You say,
Bruce, ask just about anybody that. I don't care what people
say. I'm talking about what people believe. I'm talking about what people
believe. Do you believe that Jesus Christ is the Son of the
Living God? You believe Him? You believe Him because He's
revealed Himself to you. He's made Himself known to you.
That's why you believe Him. You can't believe in an unrevealed
Christ. What's the effects of such faith?
Those who count faith a little vain and don't think very highly
of it, well, look at the effects it had upon this man. He worshipped
Him. It's a pretty big effect, isn't
it? He never worshipped Him before a day in his life. But as soon
as Christ was revealed to him, as soon as he found this faith
in his heart to believe, He bows and he worships him. That's the
effects of faith. That's the effects of this faith.
He worshiped him. It's not a believer who merely
thinks he's a believer. He's not a believer who professes
himself to be one, not necessarily, but he's a believer who acts
like one and who lives like one. who worships the Master, who
serves the Master, who follows the Master. Only faith justifies
the soul, and only works can justify faith and prove it to
be the object of God's operation in the heart. You get that? Only faith justifies the soul. And only works can justify faith
and prove it to be the operation of God in a man's soul. How did anybody know this man
had faith? What was the evidence that he
did indeed believe in the Son of God? He worshipped Him. He
worshipped Him. And if you've got faith in Christ
the Son of God, it's going to tell on you. It's going to tell
on you. What made Abel take an old bloody
lamb and lay it between his guilt
and the justice of God? What made him do that? He believed
in the Son of God. That was it. What made Enoch
walk with God in an ungodly world? By faith. He believed in the
Son of God. Why did Noah get him a hammer
and nail and some saws and go to build him an ark? Because
he believed that Jesus Christ is the Son of God. That's why.
Why did Abraham leave his family and his possessions and go to
the land of Canaan? The Scripture says by faith.
By faith in who? By faith in the Son of God. Why
did Moses keep the Passover and the sprinkling of blood? Because
he believed in Him who was at that time invisible, in the Son
of God. Oh, people lay little worth to
faith, don't they? Well, it's not so much they lay
little worth to faith, they lay little worth to faith's object.
That's it. The Son of God. Believest thou
the Son of God? Searching question. Search your
question. I hope you asked yourself that.
I hope you go home this afternoon asking yourself, do I really
believe? And I hope before the day is
over, if you have any doubts about it, the Lord can settle
those doubts. And you can say with the Apostle Peter, I know,
I'm sure, I believe that thou art the Christ. the Son of the
Living God. And boy, when you answer that
question in the affirmative, what a blessing it will be. Just
thou believe in the Son of God. Let's pray.