John chapter 6. Look at verse 66 and following. John 6, 66. From that time, many of His disciples
went back. They went back. They walked no
more with Him. This is the same crowd that said,
many hours before that said, let's take Him by force and make
Him King. One time they were ready to bow
to Him as King. And now it says, many of His
disciples, same crowd, went back, walked no more. They walked no
more, never again with him. Then said the Lord to the twelve,
Do you want to leave? How's the time? Will you also
go away? Simon Peter answered him, Lord,
to whom shall we go? Nowhere else to go. Thou hast
the words of eternal life, and we believe and we're sure thou
art That, notice that carefully, that Christ, the Son, the Son
of the Living God. Now I'm entitling the message,
Nowhere Else to Go. Nowhere Else to Go. Here we see
the response of true faith. The believer looking to the Lord
Jesus Christ for everything. says there's nowhere else to
go. No one else to look unto. You
see, saving faith is fixed, settled, rooted and grounded upon the
Lord Jesus Christ. Settled. The Lord Jesus Christ
alone. Nothing more. Nothing more. Nothing less. And nothing else. Christ is all and in all. True saving faith is continually
looking unto the Lord Jesus Christ, who is the author and finisher
of our faith. Now, in these verses, we see
a sharp contrast, a distinct difference between false, fleshly,
temporary faith and true, spiritual, saving faith. The faith of God's
elect that acknowledges the truth. Now let's consider the first,
false faith. Verse 66, from that time many
of His disciples quit. Disciples, they went back. They walked no more, no more
with Him. Now first thing we learn is this,
false faith, is always ready to quit. Always ready to quit. Will always find a reason to
walk away and to justify itself for doing so, for quitting. False
faith will always find an excuse. These folks did. Didn't they? Surely they did. Look over at
verse 41. And it happened kind of gradually. as they started in their heart
contemplating leaving Christ. At first they murmured at Him
and said, because He said, I'm the bread which came down from
heaven. And then over in verse 52, they began to argue
among themselves. The Jews strove among themselves
saying, how can this man give us his flesh to eat? And then
in verse 60, They got a little bit more involved and they said,
many therefore of his disciples, when they heard this, said, this
is hard, harsh saying. Who can hear it? And then eventually,
when the Lord said, no man can come unto Me except that were
given unto him of My Father, from that time, many walked off. never to hear His Word again,
never to sit under His ministry again, never to fellowship with
the Lord's people. They walked off, little by little. When they could not find what
they were expecting, loaves and fishes, and when the time got
a little bit tough, they quit. They walked off. Now notice carefully
what the scripture says of those who walked off. First of all, it says, from that
time many of his disciples, his disciples, were they truly disciples? No. They were disciples in name
only. That is, they followed the Lord
for a while. They were not his disciples truly,
just in name only. They've never heard and learned
of the Father, as it says in verse 45. Those who have heard
and learned of the Father, they come to the Lord Jesus Christ.
When they did not get what they were after or what they thought
should happen, when they didn't get their way, what did they
do? They quit. They quit. They walked off. They left Him.
Remember, our Lord said back here in verse 26 of this same
chapter, He said, you seek me not because you saw the miracles,
but because you did eat of the loaves and were filled. And when
the Lord said to them, you need to eat of me. You eat of these
loaves and fishes, you're going to hunger again. You eat of me,
the bread of life. You'll never hunger or thirst
again. And when they heard that message, salvation is in Christ
alone, they got upset. They got mad. They said, this
is hard. This is a hard saying. They walked
off. Secondly, it says they went back. They went back. They went back
to where they came from. They turned their back on Him.
Back to the works of the law. Ceremonies of religion. Back
to the things of the world. Back to their feeling, their
tradition, their custom. Back to the flesh. Back to trusting
the flesh. Proverbs 26 declares, as the
dog returned to his varmint, so a fool returned to his folly. These folks went back to their
foolishness, trusting themselves that they were righteous and
despising others. Turn over here to Luke chapter
9. Our Lord said, no man putting
his hand to the plow and looking back is fit for the kingdom of
God. These folks quit. They went back,
back to the law, back to ceremony, back to feeling, back to flesh.
Luke chapter 9, look at verse 57. Luke 9, 57. And it came to pass that as they
went in the way, a certain man said unto him, Lord, I'll follow
thee wheresoever you go. Okay? Seems like a disciple,
doesn't he? I'll follow you wherever you
go." And the Lord said, foxes have holes, the birds of the
air have nests, the son of man had nowhere to lay his head.
And he said to another, follow me. But he said, Lord, suffer,
now underscore these two words. And here we see what false faith,
false faith is all about. Me first. Let me first. Me first. Go and bury my father. And Jesus said unto him, Let
the dead bury the dead, but go thou and preach the kingdom of
God. Another also said, Lord, I will follow thee, but let,
here's those two words again, let me first. You see, you see
his problem? Me first. Me first. Let me first
go bid them farewell, which are at home, my father's house. And
when the Lord said, No man, having put his hand to the plow, and
looking back, looking back, is fit, fit for the kingdom of heaven."
Well, they said they were disciples, they said they were following
the Lord, but by and by they went back, they quit. And then
thirdly, it says of them, they walked no more. You see that? They walked no more with Him. They walked no more. They never
attended His ministry again. They never desire to hear him
speak another word. They never wanted to seek an
audience with him. They never wanted to be in his
presence again. They never wanted to fellowship
with him or his people. They walked off. You know what
we call that? Apostasy. Someone forsaking his
former loyalty. Seldom, if ever, if someone recovered
from apostasy, forsaking and walking off from the gospel.
They walked off. They walked no more with Him. Now, one of the saddest things
that I've experienced while trying to preach the gospel of God,
and this year starts our 20th year together, one of the saddest
things for me to see in the gospel ministry is for people who have
said they were disciples, They were believers who walked with
the Lord for a while, or seemed to, and then to see them walk
away. It grieves my heart. It grieves
my heart. Because I know this, they won't
be back. They won't be back. Seldom if
ever is anyone recovered from apostasy. Now, turn back to Luke
again. Luke chapter 10 this time, Luke
chapter 10, and we see something else here. You remember the Lord
preached that parable of the sower? Some seed fell by the
wayside, and some seed fell on the stony ground, and some seed
fell on the thorny ground, and some seed fell into the good
ground. The stony ground hearer at once
received the word and said, well, I'm a disciple, and then by and
by he left. The thorny ground hearer also
said, well, I'm a believer, and then by and by he loved the riches
of this world, and he left. In Luke chapter 10, Luke chapter 10, Look at verse
16. These folks walked off never
to hear him again. Look what it says here in Luke
10, 16. He that heareth you, heareth me. Talking about gospel
preachers. He that despises you, despises
me. He that despises me, despises
him that sent me. These folks not only despised
the apostles and despised the Lord Jesus Christ, but oh, they
said, we love God. Did they? Our Lord said they
hated God as well. And how is it revealed? It's
revealed by them walking away from the Lord Jesus and any hope
of salvation. John gives us this warning in
1 John chapter 2, they went out from us, but they were not of
us. For if they had been of us, they
would no doubt have continued with us. But they went out, that
it might be made manifest that they were not all of us." There
are many warnings in the Word of God about this thing of false
faith. Turn just one page to John chapter
8. John chapter 8. Look at verse 30. John chapter
8 verse 30. And he spake these words, John
8 verse 30, and many believed on him. Then said Jesus to those
Jews which believed on him, if you continue in my word, if you
continue in my word, then, then are you my disciples and you
shall know the truth and the truth shall set you free. How is this heart of unbelief
made known and revealed? Turn over here to the book of
Hebrews, the book of Hebrews chapter 3. These folks walked
no more." They turned their back on Him and they walked no more
with Him. In Hebrews chapter 3, now the
Word of God is full of warnings on this very thing of apostasy.
He said, you're indeed my disciples if you continue in the Word.
Hebrews chapter 3, look at verse 12, take heed therefore brethren,
lest there be in any of you an evil heart of unbelief And here's
how it's made known, departing, departing from the living God.
But exhort one another daily while it is called today, lest
any of you be hardened through the deceitfulness of sin. For
we are made partakers of Christ if we hold the beginning of our
confidence steadfast unto the end. Turn to Hebrews chapter
10. Hebrews chapter 10, look at verse
38. Hebrews 10 verse 38. Hebrews
10.38, now the just shall live by faith. The just shall live
by faith. They live looking to Christ.
That's in the Word of God four times. But if any man draw back,
my soul shall have no pleasure in him. But true faith is this,
we are not of them who draw back unto perdition or ruin, but of
them that believe to the saving of the soul. True faith continues. There are many warnings in the
Scripture. Our Lord said in Matthew 10, You shall be hated of all
men for my name's sake, but he that endureth to the end, the
same shall be saved. Now look back to the text again.
John 6 verse 67. They went back. They walked no
more with him. They walked off. And our Lord
said in verse 67, now notice what's missing here. The Lord
said unto the twelve, will you also go away? You notice anything
missing there? He didn't have one word for those
who walked off. He didn't turn and say, now wait
a minute, fellas. Don't get upset. He didn't apologize
for the truth. He didn't run after them, begging
them to come back. He said, fellas, to the twelve,
you want to leave? Now's the time. Walk away. If you can, walk away. The Lord said, will you also
go away? Will you also go away? Now notice
here, the Lord was not concerned about them who walked off. You
remember it said in verse 64, but there are some of them, some
of you who believed not, for He knew from the beginning who
they were that believed not. He didn't ask them to reconsider
and come back. He knew their heart, He knew
the grace of God was not in them, and He knew that they were not
His sheep. You remember what He said in
John 10? My sheep, they what? They hear My voice and they follow
Me. The Lord did turn unto His own
and ask a most important question unto those 12 men that He had
chosen. Will you also go away? I want
us to consider, all of us here this morning, I want us to consider
that question personally. Ask yourself that question. Will
I leave? Will I walk off? Will I go back?
Will I go away also? Let us not be afraid to examine
ourselves whether we be in the faith. Are we following the Lord
Jesus Christ, the Christ of God? You remember Paul's exhortation
in 2 Corinthians 13? Examine yourselves, whether you
be in the faith. Prove your own selves. Know ye
not your own selves, how that Jesus Christ is in you, except
you be a castaway, a reprobate. You see, Christ in you is a hope
of glory. Well, there was a Lord searching
question. Will you also go away? I like
the answer. And here's the response of true
faith in verse 68. Simon Peter answered, answered
him, answered the Lord and said, Lord, to whom shall we go? Thou hast the words of eternal
life, and we believe, and we are sure Thou art that Christ,
the Son of the living God. Now here's a response of true
faith. Here's a response of a true heart full of God-given faith. The faith of God's elect. Several
reasons why Peter and all believers will not walk away from the Lord
Jesus Christ. They will not because they cannot.
You see, we're kept by the power of God. But notice several things
that Peter says here. And this is a response of true
faith. First thing he says, first word he says, Lord. Lord. You see that? Lord. You're my Lord. I can't walk
away. You're my Lord, you're my life,
you're my all and in all. Peter shows us that following
the Lord, he's following the Lord Jesus Christ because he's
Lord of Peter's life. Lord of His salvation, Lord of
His righteousness before God. Isn't that your heart's cry before
Him? Lord, there's nowhere else to
go. Peter preached that very thing
on Pentecost that day. He said, this same Jesus whom
you crucified, He is both Lord and Christ. He's Lord. I like the confession of Thomas
in John chapter 20, verse 28, and Thomas said, and called the
Lord Jesus, he said, My Lord and my God. You see, saving faith
is looking unto the Lord. Saving faith cannot quit. Saving faith continually looks
to the Lord Jesus Christ with great expectation of all blessings.
Peter and every believer is in love. They're in love. with the Lord Jesus Christ. To you who believe, He is precious."
Admittedly, the Word of God says we love Him only because He first
loved us. If any man loved not the Lord
Jesus Christ, let him be accursed of God. You see, believers are
in love with the Lord. We're looking to Him. We've been
united to His person. We're taken up with Christ, not
Not the loaves and the fishes. We're not taking up with the
miracles and tradition. We need Him. Salvation is in Christ. And then
he says, secondly, to whom shall we go? Where are we going to
go? To whom shall we go? There's
no one else to look unto for salvation, is there? Is there
anywhere else to go? Anyone else to look unto but
the Lord Jesus Christ? In Him dwells all the fullness
of the Godhead bodily, and in Christ we are complete. He is
made unto us, but of Him are you in Christ? Who of God is
made unto us? Wisdom, righteousness, sanctification
and redemption. There's nowhere else to go, friend.
I don't want to go anywhere else. Neither is there salvation in
any other. You see, true faith, true faith,
It's not fixed on feelings in here. True faith is set upon
an object. True faith is objective. Looking
unto the Lord Jesus Christ. Looking to Him. True faith is
fixed upon Christ. Looking to Him. Nowhere else to go. Shall we
turn back to the law? What do we find there in the
law? Nothing but curses. Cursed is everyone that continues
not at all things which are written in the book of the law to do
him. True faith is fixed upon Christ. If you be risen with
Christ, set your affection on things above, not on the things
of this earth. Shall we return to the religious
organizations of the flesh? Anything back there for you?
Nothing back there for me. Nothing but idolatry and lies.
Nothing there but dead works and superstition. There is a
way that seems right unto men, but the end of that way is death.
Shall we turn to our own wisdom, our own righteousness? There's
nothing there but foolishness and filthy rags. You see what
Peter is saying here? Lord, you're everything. You're
precious. He's altogether lovely. There's
nowhere else to go. To whom? He's everything. He's everything
in salvation. I put this in the bulletin several
years ago. I've run it a couple times. And I may put it in the bulletin
again, but this is a keeper. This is a keeper. This is one
of those bulletin articles that you cut out and stick it on your
refrigerator. Put it in the back of your Bible. Listen to this. There's nowhere else to go. There's
no other Savior But the Lord Jesus Christ to look unto." There's
no other mediator between God and men, but the Lord Jesus Christ
to make use of. There's no other physician of
value for diseased souls. to apply unto. He didn't call
the righteous but sinners to repentance. There's no other
foundation but His blood. His blood alone cleanses us from
all sin. There's no other sacrifice for
sin, is there? There's no other. There's no
other city of refuge or stronghold that we can flee unto but the
one that God has provided for us. There's no other to come
to but the Lord Jesus Christ as the bread of life. as a water
of life, where hungry souls may be fed. There is no other place
of rest for those who are weary and heavy laden, to find plenty
of grace and security from every enemy, but in the Lord Jesus
Christ alone there is no other." There is no other. You see that?
You know that, don't you? You know that so. Simon Peter,
a spokesman for all believers, says, Lord, to whom shall we
go? Thirdly, he says this, not only
Lord, not only there's nowhere else to go, but he says this,
you have the words. You have the words of life. You have the words of eternal
life. Remember from verse 63, our Lord
said, it's the spirit that quickeneth the flesh, prophets, nothing.
The words that I speak unto you, they are spirit, they are life. The word, the word he speaks. Thou hast the words of eternal
life. Christ is our life. Christ is
our righteousness, our all and in all. Christ himself is the
word of life. Remember John chapter 1, in the
beginning was the word. And the Word was with God, and
the Word was God. God's Word unto us is the Lord
Jesus Christ. He is the Word of God. His Word gives life. His Word gives life. We're born
again, not of a corruptible seed, but of an incorruptible by the
Word of God. that lives and abides forever.
The words He speaks, the truth He speaks, they are eternal life. It's found in Christ Jesus. In Acts chapter 5, when Peter
and John were arrested and then sprung out of jail, they broke
out of jail by the doing of an angel. And the angel of God said
to them these words, Go and stand and speak in the temple to the
people all the words of life." Same words he speaks, the words
of eternal life. Christ is salvation. Christ has the power to dispense
and to give life, to give salvation to whom he will. He said that
in John 17, didn't he? Father, you've given me power
over all that I should give eternal life to as many as thou hast
given to me. Lord? You see, saving faith looks
to the Lord. Saving faith has nowhere else
to go. Saving faith believes that everything He speaks and
eternal life is in Him alone. And then, verse 69, and we believe. Now, believing, my friend, This
is not easy believism. Believing the truth is the work
of God. You remember that? We studied
that over here in John 6, 29. This is the work of God that
you believe on Him who He sent. Faith is something that's precious. Faith is the gift of God. Peter
is saying, I believe because you've given me faith. You've
granted me life in Christ Jesus and we believe. And we are sure. That word, they're sure, also
means that we know. We know the Son of God has come.
We know He's given us an understanding. And that eternal life is in Him.
We know He's the only true God. We know, as Paul said, I know
whom I have believed. And I'm persuaded He's able to
keep that which I've committed unto Him against that day. We
know. We believe. And we know. It doesn't say we
know and believe. It says, we believe and we know. Now there's a difference. We
believe and we're sure. Peter's saying, we know you're
that Christ, the Son of the living God. Now notice the order here. Natural men demand to be sure. They demand, they say, seeing
is believing. God reverses the order. It's
impossible to be sure or impossible to have insurance or confidence
until we believe. We believe and because we believe
by the grace of God, what do we have? Assurance. Assurance. Don't seek assurance. You'll
never find it. Believe Him and you'll have assurance. You'll have assurance as found
in Him. Believing to see. You see, saving faith. Believes,
looks to Him. we believe thou art now watch
it we believe and we share we're sure we know we know that you're
the Son of God we know that thou art the Christ we know that you're
the living God God our Savior we know we believe and we know
thou art that Christ now notice that particular that Christ that
Christ every preacher up and down the road that says that
He's trusting Christ. It could be he's trusting the
wrong one. Because there's many counterfeits
out there. Is he the Christ of God that
he's preaching? That Christ. The Christ of God
who cannot fail. The Christ of God that's the
eternal Christ. The Christ of God that brought in everlasting
righteousness. The Christ of God that established
righteousness. The Christ of God that did indeed
put away all the sin of God's covenant people that cannot fail.
I hear of another that tried to and failed, that wants to
and can't. That's not that Christ. That's another. You remember
Paul warned about those who would come preaching another Jesus,
another spirit, and another gospel. He said, you better stick with
me, I've got the true gospel. So beware of that. We believe
and we're sure you're that Christ. Christ promised in the Old Testament,
the Christ pictured throughout the Old Testament, and the Christ
of God that's revealed in the gospel. We believe and we're
sure thou art that Christ. Now remember what Peter said
back in Matthew 16, when the Lord said, Whom do you say that
I am? Peter said, Thou art the Christ,
the Son of the living God. Now, how did he come to that?
How did he know that? Why did he believe that? You
remember what the Lord said? You're blessed, because flesh
and blood did not reveal that to you, but my Father which is
in heaven. You see, it takes God to reveal
God. True faith, true faith, the faith
of God the elect, is the gift of God. True faith comes by the
revelation of God the Holy Spirit revealing Christ unto your heart.
You see Him as altogether lovely. We say with Paul, I know whom
I have believed. True faith is convicted and convinced,
convicted of our sin and convinced that the Lord Jesus Christ put
away our sin. by the sacrifice of Himself.
True faith counts all else lost but Christ alone, that we might
win Christ and be found in Him alone. Now, lastly, why believers
cannot leave Christ? And why believers cannot quit
the gospel, forsake the fellowship of believers? Look at verse 70,
the Lord said, I've chosen you. That's why we cannot quit. He's
chosen us unto salvation. Let me show you that here in
John chapter 15. I've chosen you. John chapter
15, look at verse 16. Our Lord said, you've not chosen
me, but I've chosen you. I've ordained you that you should
go and bring forth fruit, that your fruit should remain, that
whatsoever you shall ask of the Father in my name, He may give
it unto you." I've chosen you. True faith cannot leave Christ
and will not quit the gospel or forsake the fellowship of
believers because the Lord Jesus Christ has chosen us unto salvation. He's given us eternal life and
we're kept by the power of God. Now, a final warning here about
apostasy. And whenever you just mention
the name Judas, I bet on the list of the most popular names
for babies for 2013, I bet you'll find Joshua, I bet you'll find
John, I bet you'll find James, but I bet you will not find Judas. Just his very name sends up a warning flag of someone
who had intimate acquaintance with the Lord, followed His ministry
for three years, saw Him raise Lazarus from the dead, saw all the miracles He performed,
and yet, He too, turned his back on the Lord and walked off."
A final warning about apostasy. Turn to John chapter 13. Judas
sold the Lord for 30 pieces of silver. Judas betrayed the Lord. He said, I know who's going to
betray me. This didn't sneak up on the Lord.
This is ordained of God. John 13, Luke verse 18, I speak
not of you all, I know whom I have chosen, but that the Scripture
may be fulfilled. He that eateth bread with me
hath lifted up his heel against me. He said, you're all clean,
but not all of you. Verse 11, For he knew who should
betray him, therefore he said, you're not all clean. Turn over
to John 17 a minute. John 17. Luke verse 12. John
17, 12. While I was with them in the
world, I have kept them in thy name. Those thou gavest me, I
have kept, and none of them is lost, but the son of perdition,
that the Scripture might be fulfilled." The Lord indeed had chosen him
to be an apostle. He was even in charge of the
finances for the twelve, and yet he walked off, left the Lord
after three years of being with him. He sought opportunity, the
scripture said, to forsake the Lord. Judas was never given eternal
life, never given faith, the faith of God's elect, never kept
by the power of God. He betrayed the Lord for 30 pieces
of silver. He loved money more than he loved
Christ. 30 pieces of silver. You know what that price indicates?
It was the price of a common slave in that day. Remember what
the Apostle Paul writes about money? The root of all evil? The love
of money. He loved his money more than
he loved his Lord. But what a sad end to Judas.
He betrayed the Lord and went out and hanged himself. But I
want to close on a little bit better note than that. But I
wanted to include that. He said, I've chosen you twelve,
and one of you is the devil. And he spake of Judas Iscariot,
the son of Simon, for it was he who should betray him, being
one of the twelve. I want to close this message
by this story of how believers persevere. They persevere. Saving faith perseveres. Saving
faith perseveres in the faith. Saving faith doesn't walk back,
turn away, or commit apostasy. Saving faith continues in the
faith. There was a story of a young
missionary. This was several years ago, a hundred years ago
or so. He was an heir to a great fortune
in this country. His parents were very wealthy.
Very wealthy, very well off. And he was the apparent heir
to a fortune. And the Lord convicted him, and
he was converted, became a believer, and God gave him a desire to
go preach the gospel in foreign land. Well, he went through missionary
training, and he went off to a foreign land, and he was there
just a little while, and was stricken with a fatal disease
and died. Don't know how long he ministered,
don't know how many he preached to, don't know if any were converted
under his ministry. But when they shipped his body
back, or when his parents retrieved his body and some of his belongings,
his father was going through his Bible, wondering to know
something of this man's drive and desire and zeal to walk off
from mom and dad and go and preach to someone he's never met before. And his father, as he thumbed
through his Bible, found These three phrases of this young man
who died. I think this illustrates what
Peter is saying. Lord, to whom shall we go? Thou
hast the words of eternal life. And he found these three phrases
in this young man's Bible. No reserve. No reservation. forsaking all and following the
Lord Jesus Christ. Remember our Lord said, if you
love father and mother more than me, you cannot be my disciple? He walked off from mom and dad.
No reserve. He forsook all and followed the
Lord Jesus Christ. That's what true faith does.
It has no reserve. Secondly, his father found this
statement in the young missionary's Bible, who passed away, no retreat. No retreat. He wasn't going out
to the mission field to preach till time got hard and quit and
go back. No retreat. No turning back. As I read earlier, our Lord said,
No man putting his hand to the plow and looking back is fit
for the kingdom of God. No retreating. No backing down. No compromising. True faith.
We contend for the faith once delivered unto the saints. We
contend. These things are true. Halvation
is all of grace. And the last statement found
in this young missionary's Bible, who died on a mission field,
no reserve, no retreat, and thirdly, no regrets. No regrets. My friend, I have no regrets
that the Lord, by His sovereign purpose, chose me saved me, called
me, and put me in the ministry. I have no regrets. No reserve. No retreat. No retreating. No
looking back. No regrets. You see, we begin in faith, we continue
in faith, and saving faith, these all died in faith. Faith of God's elect. No regrets. May the Lord our God grant it
to be so to all of us here. Saving faith, the faith of God's
elect. I like what it says of Caleb.
Remember Caleb and Joshua? Out of all those that came out
of Egypt, traveled through the wilderness for 40 years, only
two men that were of the age of 20 that came out of Egypt,
And those 40 years, only two men out of all that multitude
entered into the promised land, Caleb and Joshua. Joshua is a picture of the Savior.
That's what his name means, Savior. You know what Caleb's name means?
Faithful dog. It says not only once but twice
in the scripture about Caleb that he followed the Lord fully. That's what saving faith does.
Peter, will you also go away? Nowhere else to go. Nowhere else
to go. We believe and we're sure thou
art that Christ, the Son of the Living God.