Now, John chapter 8. I'm taking the
title for the message from verse 24. Let's read John 8, 24. I said therefore unto you, these
most religious Pharisees, that you shall die in your sins. For if ye believe not, That I
am. That I am. He says this three
times in these verses here. You shall die in your sins. So the title of this message
is, If you believe not that I am. What are the consequences of
not believing the gospel of the Lord Jesus Christ? There is a
terrible and horrible consequence to not believing the gospel of
the Lord Jesus Christ. Our Lord here states it as plain
as words can be. He said, you shall die. Die without
God. Die without Christ. die without
hope, die without life, and you will die in your sin, and you
will spend eternity in your sin, without God and without hope."
Now, what an alarming statement. To not believe the gospel of
the Lord Jesus Christ. Our Lord said, you'll die in
your sin. Now, it makes me cry out in my
heart, Lord, give me faith. I want to, as God's my helper,
to believe the gospel of the Lord Jesus Christ. Lord, give
me faith to believe the gospel. Back in John chapter 3, we find
a similar statement by the prophet of God, John, He said, he that
believeth on the Son hath everlasting life, he that believeth not the
Son shall not see life, but the wrath of God abides on him. Now, in this portion of Scripture,
the Lord Jesus Christ is teaching in the temple, preaching the
gospel, declaring that He is the light of salvation, that
He is the only Savior, God our Savior, And he repeats this word
that we find 11 times in these verses from verse 12 down through
the end of the chapter, 11 times this word, if, if, if, if. Now over the next few weeks,
we'll be looking at these statements closely in this chapter, but
today I want to consider three of these that he states in verse
16. He says, my judgment is true for I'm not
alone but I and my father and then again in verse 19 when the
Jews said to him where is our father and the Lord answered
you neither know me they were in the dark nor do you know the
father and they claim God is our father and the Lord said
you don't know him as he is In truth, God Almighty, know
my Father. If you had known me, you should
have known my Father. I and the Father are one." And
then this third statement that is made here in verse 24, if
you believe not that I am, you'll die in your sin. Now, let's pray that the Lord
will bless His Word to our heart and give me grace to declare
it unto you one more time. As one old preacher said of the
past, I preach as one who may never preach again. For I am a dying man preaching
to dying sinners. But we can also flip that around.
You sit there today, and if God gives you ears to hear this sermon,
this may be the last sermon you ever hear. Because you sit there
today. dying in this flesh. So God give us ears to hear.
The Lord declared to these religious Jews the way of salvation. He
said clearly, plainly, verse 12, I am the light. I am the
light because the Lord is God Almighty. God is light. In Him
is no darkness at all. The Lord Jesus Christ is the
only light and revelation of God's saving mercy. of God's
saving love, of God's saving grace. He is the illumination. If we would know anything of
forgiveness of sin, it's only known in Christ Jesus. Anything
of pardon, it's in Christ Jesus. And they accused Him, the Lord
clearly taught the truth, and what did they say? Later they
pick up stone to kill Him, but what did they say, first of all,
before they attempted to kill him, murder him. They said
in verse 13, Thou bearest record of thyself, thy record is not
true. They accused him of lying. They said, your preaching is
not true. Your record is not true. They were trying their
best to do what? Discredit his ministry, end his
ministry. They were trying their best to
extinguish the light, to quench the light. What a futile, fatal
attempt. What they did right here would
be the same if you walk out that door on a sunny, bright day and
spit toward the sun to try to quench the light of the sun.
Now that's a pretty good comparison, I think. Someone walked by and said, what
are you doing? I'm spitting at the sun. Why are you spitting
at the sun? I'm going to put out that light. How foolish. I mean, they'd lock you up. They'd
put you away. Yet this is exactly what they
were trying to do. They were trying to discredit
the Lord Jesus Christ by calling Him a liar. And the Lord responds. He said, though I bear record
of myself, My record is absolute truth. The Lord Jesus Christ
cannot preach anything but the absolute truth. Can He? Not at
all. Look over here at verse 45. In John 8, 45. He said, Because
I tell you the truth, you won't believe Me. Now could the Lord
Jesus Christ speak anything but the truth? The whole truth? Nothing but the truth? It's impossible. You know what it says in the
Scripture? It is impossible for God to lie.
He couldn't preach anything but the absolute truth. Therefore,
we can say it's always safe for us to believe the Word of Truth. To believe the Christ who is
the embodiment of truth. He said, I am truth. It's safe
for us to believe Him and to trust Him in all things. Said
of Abraham, he believed God. You remember what the Lord said
of those Jews? If you were Abraham's children, you would do the works
of Abraham. What did Abraham do? He believed God. It's safe for us to believe the
gospel of the Lord Jesus Christ. It is safe and it is secure.
Our Lord said in verse 31 and verse 32 of John 8, If you continue
in my word, then are you my disciples, and you shall know the truth,
and the truth will set you free." Look what he says in verse 14.
Though I bear record of myself, my record is true, because He
is the true and living God. Our Lord said, I know where I
came from, He came from glory, the Word was made flesh and dwelt
among us. He knew exactly why He came.
He knew exactly why He came, to put away sin. He knew exactly
where He was going, back to the Father when He by Himself purged
our sin. He sat down on the right hand
of God, but He said to these Jews, these most religious, self-centered,
God-hating, religious Jews, You don't know me nor my father. You cannot tell where I come
from or where I go. They were ignorant of God. Our Lord said in verse 15, you
judge after the flesh. And they did. Remember the Pharisee
prayed in the temple, Lord I thank you I'm not like that man. The
Pharisee said, I'm not an adulterer, I'm not unjust. He had his own
standard. They judge after the flesh. They judge according to
appearance. Our Lord said, I judge no man
that way. He looks on the heart. He knows our heart. And then
He says in verse 16, And yet, if I judge, and He does, When
I judge, my judgment is like my preaching. It's true. It's
absolute truth. For I am not alone, but I am
the Father. I am the Father. He repeats this
over and over again. This identification with God,
His Father, and the Son. They're one. You've seen me,
He said, you've seen the Father. I am my Father, we are one. I
am not alone, but I am the Father. My judgment is true. Not only is the preaching of
the Lord Jesus Christ an absolute truth, but all of His judgments
are true. You see, He judges not. Do you
remember back over here in John chapter 7, verse 24? Our Lord said, Judge not according
to appearance, But judge a righteous judgment. Judge a righteous judgment. And that's exactly what the Lord
Jesus Christ does. Shall not the judge of all the
earth do right? Now look at verse 16. If I judge,
my judgment is absolute truth. For I am not alone, but I am
my Father. His judgment is true. Not like
a self-righteous judgment. His judgment is according to
His standard, which is absolute truth, absolute righteousness.
Look back at John chapter 5. John chapter 5 verse 21. For
as the Father raises up the dead and quickens them, even so the
Son quickens whom He will. John 5 verse 22. For the Father
judged no man, but committed all judgment unto the Son. All
judgment unto the Son. that all men should honor the
Son, even as they honor the Father. He that honoreth not the Son
honoreth not the Father, which hath sent him." Look at verse
26, "...for the Father hath life in himself, so hath he given
the Son to have life in himself, and hath given him authority,"
verse 27, John 5, "...to execute judgment, because he also is
the Son of man." God has given him authority and right as the
God-man mediator to execute all judgment. Judgment. You see,
the standard of judgment turned to Acts 17. If I judge, and He
does, His judgment is true. His judgment is not according
to human standards. His judgment is according to
God's standard. Look at Acts 17. Verse 28, it says, For in Him
we live and move and have our being, As certain also of your
own poets have said, their own wise men in their day, we are
also His offspring, Acts 17, 29, for as much then as we are
the offspring of God, we ought not to think that the Godhead
is like gold, silver, or stone, or graven art by man's device.
And the times of this ignorance God winked at, but now commandeth
men, commandeth all men everywhere to repent, because he hath appointed
a day in which he will judge the world in righteousness by
that man." Who is that man? The Lord Jesus Christ. "...whom
he hath ordained, whereof he hath given assurance unto all
men that he raised him up from the dead." The standard of judgment
is not the best you can do, the standard of judgment is the best
God can do. How do you measure up to that? My judgment, the Lord says, is
true. There is therefore now no condemnation
to those who are in Christ Jesus, but nothing but condemnation
for those who are without the Lord Jesus Christ. Our Lord said,
verse 17 and 18, it's also written in your law, that the testimony
of two men is true. This is John 8, 17. I am one
that bear witness of myself, and the Father that sent me bears
witness of me." Our Lord met the criteria of what the law
demanded, that every word be established in the mouth of two
or three witnesses. And I and my Father are one. Then they said in verse 19, here
we come to the second one, The law of God was honored, the Lord
Jesus Christ honored the law of God and all that He did and
all that He said. And they said unto Him, I am
one, verse 18, let's read that first of all. I am one that beareth
witness of myself, and the Father that sent me beares witness of
me. The Father speaks from heaven
and said, This is my beloved Son in whom I am well pleased.
Then they said unto Him, Where is thy Father? And the Lord answered,
Now this is a scalding, condemning statement. You neither know me
nor my father. What's he doing right there?
Making a judgment, isn't he? A righteous judgment. Not judging
according to appearance, but judging a righteous judgment.
You neither know me nor my father. If you had known me, you had
known my father also. Now what a Powerful statement
look at verse 42 in this same chapter The Lord said unto them
if God were your father you would love me For I proceeded forth
and came from God Neither came I myself but he that sent me
If you were if God were your father, he would love me. You
need to know me nor my father I and the father are one now
what a plane in powerful statement of absolute truth of His deity
and the condemnation of these Pharisees. These men boasted
of their knowledge of God, yet in reality, the Lord said, you
don't know God. They did not know the true and
living God, nor did they believe the Lord Jesus Christ to be the
Messiah, Son of God. Turn over here to John 10 a minute.
John chapter 10. In verse 22, it was at Jerusalem,
the Feast of the Dedication, and it was winter, and the Lord
Jesus walked in the temple in Solomon's porch. Here's another
occasion when the Lord was in the temple. And the Jews came
round about Him and said to Him, How long dost Thou make us to
doubt? If you be the Christ, tell us plainly. And the Lord
said, I told you. I've already told you. And you
believe not. You believe not, and you believe
not. The works that I do in my Father's
name, they bear witness of me. But you believe not, because
you're not of my sheep. As I say unto you, my sheep hear
my voice. I know them, and they follow
me. I give unto them eternal life,
and they shall never perish." They did not believe the gospel. They did not believe and look
to the true and living God. as he's revealed in the Lord
Jesus Christ. You neither know me nor my Father.
If you had known me, you should have known my Father also. Now,
there is no understanding of a true and living God apart from
the Lord Jesus Christ. apart from the record of Holy
Scripture, apart from the revelation of God the Holy Spirit, taking
the things of Christ and revealing them unto us. You see, eternal
life is to know the true and living God. And these folks,
when God was manifest in front of them in the flesh, God Almighty,
manifest in the flesh, they said, away with them, crucifying. We
have no king but Caesar. Look at John 17. John 17, verse 2. Thou has given
him power over all flesh, that he should give eternal life to
as many as the Father hath given him. And this is life eternal,
that they might know thee the only true God, Jesus Christ,
whom he hath sent. Jesus Christ, whom He has sent. I've glorified Thee on the earth,
I've finished the work You gave Me to do." The knowledge of the
Father, knowing the true and living God, and knowing the Son,
and the Scriptures, as they're revealed in the Scripture, all
go together. One cannot know the Father but
through the Son, nor the Son but through the Scriptures, the
Word of God. Turn to Matthew chapter 11. Matthew chapter 11. You see, the glory of God shines
in the face of the Lord Jesus Christ. Matthew 11, Luke verse
25. At that time, Jesus answered
and said, I thank thee, O Father, Lord of heaven and earth, because
thou hast hid these things from the wise and prudent revealed
them unto Babes, even so, Father, for so it seemed good, pleasing
in thy sight. All things are delivered unto
me, my Father, and no man knoweth the Son, but the Father. Neither knoweth any man the Father,
save the Son, and he to whomsoever the Son will reveal Him." You
see, the glory of God shines in the face of the Lord Jesus
Christ. You neither know me nor my Father. Now look back at the text. Verse 20, These words spake Jesus
in the treasury, as he taught in the temple, and no one could
lay a hand on him, for his hour was not yet come. Now we're going
to read over a few chapters when the Lord says, My hour has come.
As he prayed in John 17, Father, the hour has come. But until
that appointed hour, when the Lord Jesus Christ would depart
out of this life according to His purpose, by the way of the
cross, by the way of that death appointed of God as the Lamb
of God, they couldn't lay a hand on Him. At one time they tried
to throw Him off a cliff, and He just walked through the crowd.
They couldn't touch Him. No man laid hands on him." Look
at verse 21, "...then said Jesus again unto them, I go my way,
and you shall seek me, not in mercy, but in wrath." I go my
way. It wasn't the way of stoning. They
sought the stoning. I go my way, the way of the cross,
the way appointed of God. I go my way and you'll seek me. Not in mercy, but in wrath. But
you'll die in your sin. And whether I go, you cannot
come." Now, where's he going? He's going back to the Father.
The Lord said, you cannot come. You cannot come. No one could
harm him until that appointed hour. Here again, we learn a
valuable lesson of the absolute sovereignty of God. The Lord's
death was appointed and ordained of God according to His time,
according to His purpose. And they could not touch Him
until that appointed hour. Now, here's the third one I want
to point out in verse 24. If you believe not that I am,
you'll die in your sin. Now, we'll get to that in just
a minute, but I want to pick up back at verse 22. To their response, the Lord said,
I'm going to go My way, not your way. I'm going My way. Remember,
our Lord said, no man takes my life from me. I have power to
lay it down. I have power to take it again. This commandment have I received
from my Father. I go my way. And you're going
to die in your sin. Then said the Jews, well he's
talking about committing suicide. Will he kill himself? Because
he says, whether I go you cannot come. And the Lord said to them,
Now watch this. You're from beneath, I'm from
above. You're of this world, I'm not
of this world. Now what a tremendous difference
between dying in your sin, the guilt and filth of dying in your
sin, and the difference between dying in the Lord. Now you think about that statement.
Dying in your sin without God, without hope, and without Christ.
And the difference between that and dying in the Lord Jesus Christ. Being one with Him. In Christ. Not guilty. Holy, unblameable,
unreprovable in His sight. Having no sin. Being made the
righteousness of God in Him. Our Lord said over here in John
8, 51, Verily, verily, I say unto you, If a man keep my saying,
he'll never see death. What a difference between dying
in your sin and dying in Christ. This is what the Scriptures teach.
Blessed are the dead who die in the Lord. Revelation 14. Psalm 116, precious in the sight
of the Lord, is the death of His saints. Death to the believer
is not punishment. It's promotion. It's graduation. It's coronation. It's to be crowned
with the Lord Jesus Christ forever. To be absent from the bodies,
to be present with the Lord. And the Jews accused Him of not preaching the truth. And
He said to them, and here's the problem. Here's the problem. Here's their problem and the
problem of all men everywhere, verse 23. You are from beneath,
beneath, beneath. Our Lord said, I'm from above.
He said, you are of this world. And the Lord said, I'm not of
this world. Now here's another contrast.
Another contrast. Here's our problem and the problem
with all men, we're all descendants of Adam. Regardless of our status
or station in life, we're sinners, aren't we? We're sinners from beneath. We're sinners born
so. By nature guilty before God. Our Lord said to these Jews,
verse 44, If we say, here's another, if
we say we have no sin, if we say we have no sin, we deceive
ourselves and the truth's not in us. This is our problem, sin. But thank God that our Lord came
from above to save sinners. This is a faithful saying, worthy
of all acceptation, that He came into the world to save sinners.
The Lord said, I'm not of this world, I'm from above. He was
in the world, but not of it. He said, My kingdom is not of
this world. He was in the world to save the chief of sinners,
but He's without sin. He was manifested to take away
our sin, and in Him is no sin. Now in closing, let's look at
verse 24. I said therefore unto you... You remember these folks were so
steeped in their religious self-righteous way, teaching the tradition of
the Father rather than the truth of God. He said, you'll die in
your sin. If you believe not that I am,
you'll die in your sin. He's saying this, unless you
believe the gospel, unless you believe the gospel of the Lord
Jesus Christ, you'll die in your sin. Except you believe the gospel
of the Lord Jesus Christ, that the power of God into salvation,
you'll die in your sin. If you believe not that I am. You see what he's saying here?
If you believe not that I am God Almighty, if you believe
not that I am God your Savior, if you believe not that I am
God who provides all things in salvation, to reject the Christ
of God is to die in your sin. Our Lord said, if you die in
your sin, you cannot come where I am. Who is this one who speaks
this? This I am. We know from the record of Scripture,
it is clear. It is the same one that we read
about a moment ago in Exodus chapter 3, that spoke to Moses
out of the burning bush concerning the deliverance of God's people.
He said, I am that I am. When Moses asked, whom shall
I say sent me? I am that I am. Same one, same
person, with the same message. I am the one, the only one, that
can deliver. You see, my friend, it's just
not saying, well, I believe that there is a God. That's devil faith. In James 2.19, we read this,
Thou believest there is one God? Thou doest well. The devils also
believe and they tremble. It's just not saying, well, I
believe there's a God. True faith looks to the Lord
Jesus Christ as the true and living God and explicitly, only,
solely trust Him alone for all of salvation as God our Savior,
as God our righteousness. You see what he's saying here?
I am. If you look not to the true and
living God, as He revealed in the Lord Jesus Christ, you'll
die in your sin. That's pretty clear, isn't it?
Who He is and what He accomplished. What did He accomplish? Look
at verse 28. When you've lifted up the Son
of Man, you shall know that I am. John 8, 28. What's he talking
about this being lifted up? As Moses lifted up the serpent
in the wilderness, even so must the Son of Man be lifted up.
He's talking about His crucifixion. Talking about what He would accomplish
at Jerusalem. You shall know that I am, and
that I do nothing of myself, but as the Father hath taught
me, I speak these things. He that sent me is with me, the
Father hath not left me alone, for I do always those things
that please Him. You see, the Lord Jesus Christ,
as the Christ of God, as God manifests in the flesh, He accomplished
all the eternal purpose of God in saving His covenant people.
It's not trusting a Jesus who wants to and can't. That's not
salvation. You see, there's a lot of counterfeits
out there. It's trusting the Christ of God
that cannot fail. The great I Am. Our Lord said, unless you look
to Me alone, who accomplish salvation, you'll die in your sin. That's
serious, isn't it? It's just not being religious.
You know, everybody's religious. Everybody has a God of some sort,
some kind. Peanut God. Puny God. That's not salvation. The trust
of peanut God? That's idolatry. To trust the
Christ of God as He's revealed in the Word of God, this is eternal
life. We read a moment ago, that they
might know Thee, the only true God, Jesus Christ. Now turn to 1 John. As I started
this message out, Lord give me faith to believe Thee. Because
by nature I can't believe. Faith is a gift of God. Turn
to 1 John. Look at chapter 5, 1 John chapter
5. 1 John chapter 5. Look at verse
10. He that believeth on the Son
of God hath the witness in himself. 1 John 5.10. He that believeth
not God hath made him a liar, because he believeth not the
record that God gave of his Son. And this is the record that God
hath given to us eternal life. And this life is in His Son,
who is the great I AM THAT I AM. He that hath the Son hath life. He that hath not the Son of God
hath not life. That's pretty clear, isn't it?
Now, stay right here. 1 John chapter 5, Luke verse
20. And we know that the Son of God has come, and has given
us an understanding that we may know Him that is true, and that
where in Him that is true, even in His Son Jesus Christ, this
is the I Am. This is the true God and eternal
life. Little children, keep yourself
from idols. You see, salvation is knowing the true and living
God. Our Lord said, if you believe not that I Am, You'll die in
your sin. Well, preacher, wait a minute.
I walked the aisle. I made a decision for Jesus. I prayed through the
mourner's bench. Tommy rot. Tom foolery. Dumb. Saving faith looks to the living
Lord right now. looking unto Jesus, the author
and finisher of our faith. If you believe not the gospel
of the Lord Jesus Christ, you'll die in your sin. We see the vital
importance of God-given faith, don't we? Without faith, it is
impossible to please God. Peter calls faith precious in
his sight. Precious. We've obtained like
precious faith through the righteousness of the Lord Jesus Christ. Saving
faith looks to the Lord Jesus Christ alone as God our Savior. Find the book of Acts. Acts 13. This believing the gospel of
the Lord Jesus Christ. You remember John chapter 6,
what it says in verse 28, 29? This believing the gospel of
the Lord Jesus Christ is the work of God. Christ in you, the
hope of glory. God who hath begun a good work
in you. will perfect it. When God gives
us life in Christ Jesus, we cannot help but believe the gospel of
the grace of God. Look what it says over here in
Acts 13, verse 38. This is the first sermon that
the Apostle Paul preached that's recorded here in the book of
Acts. Be it known unto you therefore, men and brethren, that through
this man, And Paul identified who this man is. The holy one
that did not see corruption. The one that God said, I've set
my king upon my holy hill Zion. Through this man, who is the
I am that I am. Through this man is preached
unto you the forgiveness of sin and by him. Now get a hold of
that. By him. all that believe are
justified from all things, but you could not be justified by
the law of Moses." By Him. I am the door, by me if any man
enter in, he shall be saved. By me. I'm saying that faith
is a gift of God, it's not the product of this flesh. And our
Lord, tells us how vital faith is. Faith is a gift of God. Without
faith, it's impossible to please God. If you believe not the Lord
Jesus Christ, you'll die in your sin. Lord, give me faith to believe
The Gospel. I don't want to be just religious. Lord, right now in my heart,
give me faith. to trust God my Savior, the Lord
Jesus Christ.