All right, I'm turning to John
12, John chapter 12, and I'm going to go back and
read the four verses that we looked at this morning, and then
the five verses, and then begin at verse 42. The title of this message is,
I came not to judge, but to save. I came not to judge, but to save. Verse 37. Though our Lord had
done so many miracles before them, right before their eyes,
yet they believed not on him. that the sayings of Isaiah the
prophet might be fulfilled, which he spake, Lord, who hath believed
our report, our gospel? And to whom hath the arm of the
Lord been revealed? Therefore they could not believe,
because as Isaiah said again, he hath blinded their eyes and
hardened their heart. that they should not see with
their eyes, nor understand with their heart, and be converted,
and I should heal them.' Now, these things said Isaiah when
he saw the glory of Christ. That was in Isaiah 6, when he
said, I saw the Lord high and lifted up on a throne, his train
filled the temple. Seraphim cried, Holy, holy, holy
Lord of hosts. He saw his glory. And this is
true of everyone who sees his glory. The result is they speak
of him. In his temple, everybody gives
him the glory. When a man sees Christ, he'll
speak of him. Now then, verse 42. Nevertheless,
among the chief rulers are so many believed on him. Now, who
are these men, the chief rulers? Well, they were perhaps the Sanhedrin. That was the council, the highest
court among the Jews, the Sanhedrin. And these men were students of
the scriptures. Older men, men who were students
of Jewish history, men with keen minds, reasonable minds, and
judgment, men like Nicodemus. Nicodemus, there was a man called
Nicodemus who was a ruler of the Jews, chief ruler, who came
to Jesus by night, not to be seen, not to be identified with
him. He came at night when nobody
could see him. And he said, Master, Teacher,
I know, we know, you came from God, somehow, some way, because
nobody could do what you do. except God be with him." I got
that much said. That's what he said. He was a
Sanhedrin, a member of the Sanhedrin. I'll read you something else
about him in a minute. But it says here, many of these men
believed on him. Now, what did they believe? Well,
they believed he could be the Messiah. Now, I'm telling you
what I think they believed, because it doesn't say. It just said
they believed on him. But they believed he could be
the Messiah. They knew the scriptures. In
fact, when the wise men came, when the wise men came and asked
Herod, where is he that is born King of the Jews? Well, they
sent for these Jewish scholars, and they said, the King of the
Jews, the Messiah, is supposed to be born in Bethlehem. They
knew that. And these men knew the scriptures. They knew the
prophecies. Isaiah 53, I read to you a moment
ago, they read that dozens of times. And don't you know they
sat around and thought, well, who is he? Who is this he? They
considered the prophecies, and they considered this man Jesus
Christ. Now, they were looking for a
king. They weren't looking for a humble carpenter. They were
looking for an auspicious, majestic character from heaven. They weren't
looking for man born in Galilee. Somebody said nothing good can
come out of Galilee, Nazareth, of all places. But they still
studied his works and studied his brilliant, unanswerable words. He shut their mouths a dozen
times. They asked questions, he'd give
them an answer, and they couldn't answer. They were scholars, the
Sanhedrin, the top men in all the Jewish nation, but they couldn't
answer this man. No man spake like this man, that's
what somebody said. And many of them believed he
could be the Messiah. They believed it right here.
Not in their hearts, but in their minds. This could be the one
of whom Moses spake. Let's look at John 7 and I'll
show you the debate that was going on regarding this man.
Jesus Christ. In John 7, verse 40. Now this
was the debate. These men had their finger on
the pulse of that country and that religion. They knew what
was going on. Many of the people, John 7, 40.
John 7, 40. Many of the people, therefore,
when they heard this saying, said of a truth, this is the
prophet. This is the Messiah. Others said,
this is the Christ. But some said, Shall Christ come
out of Galilee? Hath not the scripture said that
Christ cometh of the seed of David out of the town of Bethlehem,
where David was? So there was a division among
the people because of this him, he and his. Oh, such a division. Some of them would have taken
him, but no man laid hands on him. And then came the officers
to the chief priests and Pharisees, and said to them, Why have you
not brought him?" They said to them, Why have you not brought
him? That's what the chief priests and Pharisees asked these officers. They sent these men out to arrest
this Jesus of Nazareth, came back without him, and they said,
Why didn't you bring him? Look at verse 4 and 6. The officers
answered, Never man spake like this man. Then answered them
the Pharisees, Are you also deceived? Have any of the rulers or the
Pharisees believed on him? Oh, there's a clue. We don't
know of any of the rulers who believed on him, but that's verse
while ago, when they heard him, someone believed on him. But
they didn't tell anybody. They didn't tell anybody. So
they said, this group of leaders said, we don't know anybody who's
believed on him. But this people who knoweth not the law, they're
cursed, these people following him. And Nicodemus, Now, there
he was sitting right here. He came to Jesus Christ a good
while ago. Now, he's sitting with these
Pharisees. He's still with them. So he didn't blame on them, or
he wouldn't have been there. He's still with the enemies of
Christ. He's sitting right there. But he's still thinking. Now,
listen. Nicodemus said unto them, he that came to Jesus by night,
being one of them. He was a high man. Does our law
judge any man before it hears him and knows what he's doing? He's sitting here trying to defend
the Lord Jesus. He doesn't want anything to happen
to him. He's torn. This man could be the Messiah.
This man is from God. I know he's from God. No man
could do what he does except God be with him. But here he
is sitting with these enemies, and they're talking about arresting
them and killing them. He says, Now, don't do that.
Our loss as a man can be heard. And boy, they answered him. Look
at verse 52. They answered and said to him,
Are you also of Galilee? They didn't know he had been
to Christ by night. He didn't tell anybody that.
He didn't tell any of them what he believed. They said, Are you
one of them? Are you from Galilee? Search
and look. Out of Galilee arises no prophet.
But they broke up that meeting and everybody went home. But what about these men? Let's
look at that verse now, verse 42 in John 12. Nevertheless,
among the chief rulers, also many of them believed. But because of the Pharisees,
they did not confess him, lest they be put out of the synagogue,
because of these very men in whose midst Nicodemus was sitting. They had some kind of faith,
a head knowledge, inquiring into who he is. Perhaps he could be
the Messiah, but they didn't confess him. So they didn't believe
him. Not really, not down here. Because
if a person really believes Christ, he'll confess him. That's what
our Lord said. Turn to Matthew 10. If he really believes him, he'll
confess him, Matthew 10. Look at this, Matthew 10, verse
32. Our Lord said in Matthew 10,
verse 32, Verse 32, Our Lord said in Matthew 10, verse 32,
Whosoever therefore shall confess me before men, him will I confess
also before my Father which is in heaven. But whoso shall deny
me before men, Him will I deny, but more for my Father which
is in heaven." If they had really believed Christ,
they would have confessed him. That's what the Apostles said,
anyway. Our Lord preached one day to 5,000, I think there,
and they were offended by his doctrine. He said they all left. left him with his twelve apostles.
And he turned to them and he said, Will you also go away?
And Peter said, Lord, to whom shall we go? Thou hast the words of eternal
life, and we believe, and we believe, and we assure you're
the Christ. Now that's to believe. and be
sure that he's the Christ, the Son of the Living God. These
men didn't believe that. They believed something, but
they didn't believe he is the Christ, the Son of the Living
God, because if they had, they would have confessed him. Let
me ask you this question. You think about it a minute.
See what you think of it, what your reply. What is it to confess
Christ? Our Lord said, He that will confess
me before men, I'll confess him before my Father. What is it
to confess Christ? I'm going to suggest four things.
Four things. Number one is to really believe
in my heart that He is who He says He is, who the Word says
He is. He is the Christ, the Son of
the living God. To actually believe it in my heart so much. that
I confess it with my mouth. I'm going to tell my wife, I'm
going to tell my children, I'm going to tell my best friends,
I'm going to tell anybody that asks me, whatever it costs me,
I'm going to confess it, if I really believe it in Him. Because that's
what it says in Romans 10, If thou shalt confess with thy mouth
Jesus to be Lord, and believe in thine heart God raised him
from the dead, and believe it, thou shalt be saved. But with
the heart man believes unto righteousness, and with the mouth confession
is made unto salvation. So I'm persuaded that's number
one. To believe on Christ is to believe it in here, myself,
personally, regardless of what anybody else does, and state
it. Secondly, it's to follow him
in baptism. It's to confess him publicly,
to go on record. that I'm crucified with Christ,
buried and risen again. That's how people in the New
Testament confess Christ, always. You go through the whole New
Testament. Our Lord told his disciples, go preach the gospel,
and he that believeth and is baptized shall be saved. He that
believeth not shall be damned. Go and preach the gospel to every
creature, make disciples, baptize them in the name of the Father,
Son, and Holy Spirit. At Pentecost, everybody who believed was baptized.
Lydia was baptized. Philip in jail, he was baptized,
all of them. And the eunuch, when God sent
Philip to the eunuch and he preached the gospel to him, from that
chapter I read a moment ago, Isaiah 53, he said, Who is this
man? Who is this talking about here
in Isaiah 53? Is this the prophet Isaiah or
some other man? And Philip began right there
and preached to him Christ Jesus. And as they rode along in the
chariot, this man heard and believed. And he saw a body of water, and
he said, Here, here's water. What does it hinder me to be
baptized? And Philip said, What did he
say? The first thing I said, If you believe in your heart,
you may. The first thing I said, If you
believe in your heart, And the man replied, I believe
that Jesus Christ is the Son of God. So they stopped the chariot,
he was baptized. Philip left him, he went on his
way rejoicing. Thirdly, to confess Christ is
to be identified with his church, to be identified with his people.
I want you to turn to Acts chapter 2. Here at Pentecost, Peter preached
that powerful sermon, and the people believed him. In Acts 2, verse 41, let's see
what they did. Then they that gladly received
the word, and they were baptized. And the same day they were added
unto them 3,000 souls. And they continued steadfastly
in the apostles' doctrine, in fellowship with one another,
in breaking of bread, that's the Lord's table, they met to
break bread, and in prayers. And fear came upon every soul,
many wonders and signs were done by the apostles, and they that
believed were together. They that believed were together
in an assembly. to gather the people of God.
They had all things common. They had a common faith, had
a common doctrine, had a common Redeemer, and had a common goal
and a common reason for being together to help one another.
So to confess Christ is to be identified with his people. And
then fourthly, to confess Christ is to openly and publicly worship
him. Worship him on the Lord's day.
David said in Psalm 121, verse 1, I was glad when they said
to me, Let's go to the house of the Lord. And the early church, the early
disciples, worshiped the Lord. An assembly is a church. And
an assembly must assemble. It's not an assembly if it's
not assembled. And they assembled together.
On the first day of the week, and I'll show you that, turn
to Acts 20. Acts 20, they worshiped on the first day of the week,
the day the Lord rose from the tomb. Acts 20, verse 6 and 7. I'll tell you what they did on
the first day of the week when they assembled. Acts 20, verse
6. And Paul said, we sailed away.
Acts 20, verse 6. We sailed away from Philippi.
after the Days of Unleavened Bread, and we came unto them
to Troas in five days. It took us five days to get there.
And we were both there seven days, upon the first day of the
week, when the disciples came together. And they were together,
had all things common. They came together to what? To
break bread, to celebrate the Lord's table, the Body and Blood
of Christ. They came together to break bread.
It's not talking about the twelve apostles, it says the disciples.
That's Christ's disciples. Believers are disciples. You're
a disciple. I'm a disciple. They met together
to break bread and Paul preached to them. They had a preaching
service. Ready to depart on the morrow
and continued his speech. Now you be thankful this man
preached till midnight. That's what it says in verse
7. He continued to preach till midnight. He had something good
to say, and they were so hungry to hear him preach, they stayed
on. The fellow fell out of the window and broke his neck, and
Paul healed him and kept preaching, I guess. Turn to 1 Corinthians
16. Listen to this. In 1 Corinthians 16, verse 1,
now concerning the collection for the Saints, taking up offering
and alms to help people, help the poor, help preach the gospel.
As I have given the order to the churches of Galatia, even
so do you. When are we going to do it? On
the first day of the week. That's when everybody meets together.
That's when they came to worship. That's the time to receive the
offering. for the work of the Lord, for
the preaching of the gospel, for the good of the poor. On
the first day of the week, let every one of you, not some people,
everybody, preacher, elders, deacons, everybody, have children,
grown people, lay by and store, as God has prospered him. Let
a man have purpose in his heart, so let him give. Let there be
no collections when I come. You do that when you meet together
on the first day of the week. And you know over in Revelation
1, verse 10, turn over there a minute, Revelation 1, verse
10, John was on the Isle of Patmos, on the Isle of Patmos alone in
exile, nobody with him. And it says here in Revelation
1, verse 10, I was in the Spirit on the Lord's day. That's the
first day of the week, that's Sunday. It's not Sabbath, it's
Sunday. It's the Lord's Day. He was in
the Spirit on the Lord's Day. He knew that everywhere that
there was a church, they were meeting together that day. And
he was worshiping himself on that day. That's right. We're
instructed in the word of God to assemble. Paul said in Hebrews
10, forsake not the assembling of yourselves together. as the
manner of some is. Don't you know that? And so much
more as we see the day approaching. Assemble together. When do you
suggest we assemble? Not on the Sabbath day. That's
the Sabbath. I'm not going to go that way.
We're not going to get together here on the Sabbath and resurrect
the law, are we? And walk so far on the Sabbath
day? No. Well, people work Monday through
Friday. So when are we going to get together? On the Lord's
day. That's as obvious to me as anything
in the scripture. Amen on the Lord's day. On the
day he arose from the grave, the day of the victory, the declaration,
the proclamation that God had accepted him and us in him. That's the day. That's the day. Now question my mind about it.
Go back to my text, John 12. Let's see something about these
men, some more things. In John chapter 12. Nevertheless, among the chief
rulers, many believed on him. But because of the Pharisees,
they didn't confess him, lest they be put out of the synagogue.
But they loved the praise of men more than the praise of God.
I give you three reasons why these men didn't confess Christ. They were smart men, logical
minds, keen intellect. And they read the scriptures,
and they thought, this man, this could be so, this man could be
the Messiah. But they didn't confess him.
There are three reasons. Number one, because of the Pharisees.
But they were one of them. Nicodemus was himself a Pharisee,
a chief ruler, a Pharisee, a member of the Sanhedrin. These Pharisees
were their peers. These Pharisees were their old
friends and acquaintances. These Pharisees were people that
they wanted to impress, and they wanted to continue their association
with these men. They were old lodge buddies.
They had been together all these years. And they didn't confess
Christ because they didn't want to get kicked out. They didn't
want these men to become their enemies. They didn't want to
suffer the loss. of the friendship of their peers. I think there are men and women
today that hear us preach, and young people, too, teenagers
and young people, who know in their heads, at least, that this
is the truth. But for them to take a stand
for the gospel of God's grace and the gospel of his substitutionary
death and the hated offense of the cross. It means out of that
circle. That's right. So I ain't going
to do it. That's right. Second reason.
Here it is. Because of the Pharisees, they
didn't confess him. Secondly, lest they be put out
of the synagogue. What was the synagogue? The synagogue is the
Jewish denomination. It's accepted religion. of that
day. Every town that had over 12 Jews
in it had a synagogue. It was accepted religion. It
was approved by the powers that be. It was approved by the masses. It was the traditions of their
fathers. It was where their mothers and
fathers were married and where they were buried and where they
lived and they were traditioned. And if I take this way, I'm out
of that place. They're going to separate me
from their company. You see, this gospel, even here, was the
way, the Hayden way. Let me show you. They referred
to it as that way, the cult. That's right. These fellows looked
on the disciples as being off-brand, brand X, they say, off-brand,
cult. It wasn't accepted. Turn to Acts
9. Let me show you how they referred
to this faith in the grace of God. Acts 9, verse 1 and 2. And Saul, he was a Pharisee,
he was a member of the Sanhedrin. Yet, breathing out threatenings
and slaughter against the disciples of the Lord, went to the high
priest. and desired of him letters to Damascus, to the synagogues,
that if he found any of this way, this way, this way of faith,
this way of belief, this way of salvation, he didn't care
if it was men or women, he'd bring them bound to Jerusalem.
He hated that way. Turn to Acts 19, listen to this.
Acts 19, verse 9. But when divers were hardened
and believed not, they spake evil of that way before the multitude. He departed from them and separated
the disciples, disputing daily in the school of one Tyrannus.
One other scripture over in Acts 24, Paul himself You remember
back there, he went to the high priest, I read you in Acts 9
too, he wanted letters so that he could go to Damascus and if
he found anybody of that way who believed God was sovereign
and elected a people and redeemed them by Christ and called them
by spirit and they were saved by grace, not by works. If he
found any of that way, he would bring them to prison, men or
women. He's converted now, he knows Christ, he's an apostle,
he's a preacher of the gospel. Acts 24, verse 14. And he's talking about these
Jews. Verse 13, he said, "...neither
can they prove the things why they now accuse me. But this
I confess to you, that after the way they call heresy, so
worship I, the God of my Father's believing all the things which
are written in the Law and the Prophets concerning Jesus Christ."
He's in that way now himself. But these fellows, they didn't
want to get put out of the mainstream religion. They didn't want to
get put out of the synagogue. That was a disgrace, to get kicked
out of the synagogue. You remember the blind man God
healed? Christ healed, and they cast him out. They excommunicated
him, that's the word. And his mother and daddy were
there, and these Jews said to his mother and daddy, Is this
your son? They said, He's our son. Did
this Jesus heal him? We don't know. Ask Kim, he's
of age. Why did they say that? The next
verse said they were afraid they would be cast out of the synagogue. One more reason, John 12. Nevertheless, among the chief
rulers, many believed on him, but because of the Pharisees,
their peers, they didn't confess him. Number two, lest they be
put out of the synagogue. Number three, they loved the
praise of men more than the praise of God. I'll tell you something. My Lord
said this. How difficult it is for the rich
to enter the kingdom of God. How difficult it is for the great,
the mighty, the politicians, the men in power to enter the
kingdom of God. How difficult it is for the strong,
the educated, the beautiful, The talented, the great opera
singers, the entertainers, the men who have been blessed with
voices that sway multitudes. Oh, how hard it is for them to
enter the kingdom of God. How hard it is. How hard it is
for these athletes. They've got the money and the
power and the recognition and the... Oh, they've got their
little organization, religious organization that everybody has.
But they're not going to confess the gospel. not going to do it. Because the flesh loves the praise
of men, not the praise of God. The flesh, the rich, the powerful,
the beautiful, the educated, the talented, the athletic, they
love to be held in the favor and esteem of men. And let me
tell you something, if you believe this offensive gospel, You're
not going to be held in their house, Stephen. They're going
to call you a fool." That's what they said to Clare Sharon. Now Todd was preaching
on the television, and somebody worked in the hospital where
he was. He said, You know that man? He
said, Yeah, he's my pastor. You don't believe surely what
he believes. Yes, I forget the next comment,
but it wasn't complimentary. Everybody that was anybody turned
thumbs down on Jesus of Nazareth. And Christ said, if they hate
me, they'll hate you. And James says, Know ye not that
the friendship of this world is enmity with God? Whosoever
will be a friend of the world is the enemy of God. Now, that's
in James 4 verse 4. Know ye not that the friendship
of the world is enmity with God, and anybody who will be a friend
of the world is an enemy of God?" Now, the flesh can't stand that.
That's why our Lord said, how hardly shall they that are rich
and powerful and great enter the kingdom of God. They can't
sacrifice. The flesh loves the honors and
applause of men. Oh, those applause are so sweet. You like to see their name in
print. The flesh wants to be accepted. It can't stand not
to be accepted. It can't stand to offend their
friends. The flesh does not want to be
thought a fool, and to many people the flesh
wins the day over the offense of the cross. It did with these
men. They loved the praise of men
more than the praise of God. Just couldn't confess him. I think he's the Messiah. They
cost too much. That's what it boils down to.
That's what it says. The riches of this world usually win the
day over the reproach of Christ. Charles Spurgeon, pastor 38 years
in London, England. And he said, for every one person
I've seen depart from the gospel because of trial and trouble and sorrow,
I've seen 50 depart because of prosperity. Prosperity and recognition
and acclaim and power is a greater temptation than death. sickness, because this flesh
loves it, loves the praise of men more than the praise of God.
But by faith, Moses, when he was come to years, think of the
power that man had in his grasp, son of Pharaoh's daughter, in
line for the throne, the most powerful nation in the world.
He was a top, top general, top man, next in line to Pharaoh. And when he came to years, 40
years of age, he refused to be called the son of Pharaoh's daughter.
He chose to suffer the affliction with the people of God. That's
that identification. Rather than to enjoy the pleasures
of sin for a season, because he esteemed even the reproach
of Christ, the offense of the cross, greater riches. than the treasures of Egypt.
It depends on what your understanding of riches is. I do know this. The Apostle John
wrote this. Listen. He said, Love not the
world, neither the things that are in the world. If a man love
the world, the love of God is not in him. For all that is in
the world is lust of the flesh. This lust of the eyes, this pride
of life, it's not of the Father, it's of the world. And the world
passes away. And the lust thereof, but he
that doeth the will of God abides forever. Now that's riches, the
kingdom of God. Well, he couldn't do it. So our
Lord in verse 44 The Lord says, they love the praise of men more
than the praise of God. So in John 12, 44, our Lord cried. And the Amplified Bible said
he loudly declared. Loudly declared. Why did he cry
loudly? What to be heard by all that
were there, everybody. Those Pharisees that said they
believed, or wouldn't say it, Second reason why he cried with
a loud voice is because of the unbelief and hardness of heart
of those in the audience. And thirdly, because of the importance
of what he's about to say. He cried with a loud voice. It's
like when he stood that last day of the feast and cried with
a loud voice. If any man thirsts, let him come
to me. Out of his belly shall flow rivers
of living water. And he stood and cried with a
loud voice. He that believes on me, really
believes on me, believes not on me. What does that mean, Preacher? He believes not on me. He believes
not the word of a man. Christ was a man. He's a God-man. But he's not just believing the
words of a man. He that believeth on me believeth
not only on me, but he believes on him who sent me, Almighty
God. He believes God. You see, the
Son and his redemptive work is never considered apart from the
Father and his redemptive purpose. God was in Christ, reconciling
the world to himself. So if a man believes me, he believes
God. He said to his disciples, you
believe God? He neither did, they've all sown me. They've
won. Our God is one God. Our hope
is in him. In Isaiah 61, let's look at that,
Isaiah 61, he said this concerning the Father. In Isaiah 61, verse
1, the Spirit of the Lord God is upon me, because the Lord
God hath anointed me to preach good tidings to the meek. The
Lord God has sent me to bind up the brokenhearted, to proclaim
liberty to the captives, the opening of prison to them that
are bound. to proclaim the acceptable year of the Lord, the day of
vengeance of our God, to comfort all that mourn, to apport to
them that mourn in Zion, to give them beauty for ashes, joy for
mourning, praise for heaviness, that they might be called trees
of righteousness, the planting of the Lord God, that he might
be glorified. These fellows are arguing about
whether he's the Messiah or not. He's saying, he that believes
on me, not just believing on me, what I claim, he believes
in him that sent me. In him that sent me. Read on. And he that seeth me, seeth him
that sent me. You might add, too, he that believeth
not on me, believeth not on him that sent me. He that honors
the Son, the Father will honor him. No man can come to God except
through Christ. Now verse 46, I am come, a light
into the world, that whosoever believes on me should not abide
in darkness. We were in darkness when he found
us, when he called us, when he redeemed us, when he translated
us out of the kingdom of darkness into the kingdom of his Son.
Death and darkness are one. Grace and truth are one. Now, verse 47, if any man hear
my words and doesn't believe them, and there are a lot of
those, aren't there? I wonder how many people I've
preached to in 51 years. I wonder. I'm sure there are
a lot that come under that right there. If any man hear my words
and doesn't believe them, I judge him not. I judge him not. I don't accuse him to the Father,
I don't condemn him, I don't take vengeance on him, not now. Not now. Not now. Our Lord Jesus Christ's mission
now is not to condemn, it's to save. It's not to judge, it's
to redeem. is coming a time someday all
will stand before him and be judged by him, because the Father
judges no man but commits all judgment to the Son. But he says,
Now, I don't judge him. Now, I don't condemn him. Now,
I don't take vengeance on him. I came not to judge the world,
I came to save it. Let's turn to John 3 and read
what he says there about that. John 14, here is the gospel, the remedy. As Moses lifted up the circle,
even so must the Son of Man be lifted up. Here is the result,
that whosoever believeth on him should not perish, but have everlasting
life. Here is the reason, because God
loved the world and gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever
believeth on him should not perish, but have everlasting life. For
God sent not his Son into the world to condemn the world, but
that the world through him might be saved." And that's what he's
saying here. If any man hears me right now
and doesn't believe, I'm not here to judge him, condemn him,
or take vengeance on him. I didn't come to judge. I come
as the Lamb to save. That's my mission. One day he'll
come to judge. One day he'll come as the Lion
of Judah. And he that rejecteth me," listen
to verse 48, he that rejecteth me and receiveth not my word, has
one that judges him, the word that I've spoken. The same will
judge you in that day, the word that I've spoken. Now, you think
of the awesomeness of this right here. If any man hear my word, The
words now, the gospel, preaching of the gospel, it's not a feeling,
it's the words, it's the truth. If any man hears my truth and
doesn't believe it, I'm not going to open the ground and have him
go to hell right now. He may go on prosperous and having
the best of all, everything. I'm not going to judge, I didn't
come to judge right now. I didn't come to condemn or take
vengeance, I came to save. One day, he that rejected me
and doesn't receive these words, these words, these words that
I've spoken, they're going to come to his mind and attention
that day, these words. And you know an interesting thing
I found in one of the old writers. According to a man's dispensation,
he'll be judged. According to different dispensations
and revelations, men are going to be judged. Back before Abraham,
men were under a law of nature. God said, when they knew God,
they glorified him not as God. And they weren't thankful. And
the things that God made left them without excuse. But they
were not submissive to the word of creation. whose line is going
out in every nation, but they pay no attention to the things
that God showed them and through nature told them. And they will
be judged by those words. Then there were those under the
law of conscience, that law which is written on every man's heart.
He may never have heard a gospel preacher, but he has heard the
voice of conscience. Spoke to them. That's what the
scripture says in Romans 2. God writes his law on every man's
heart. You can go to the heathen hot
and tight, and he's never heard the Ten Commandments, but he
knows it's wrong to take a knife and stick it in his neighbor's
heart. He knows it's wrong to steal his neighbor's pig. You
know that. So God says he's going to answer
to that Word someday. He didn't walk in the light he
had. Those under the written law, Moses' law, God gave his
law to Moses. And those people were under the
written law, and that law was given to bring them to Christ.
The gospel was preached to them, but it didn't profit them because
they didn't believe it, not being mixed with faith. They're going
to meet those words. The people who died in Moses'
day is not going to be condemned because they didn't hear me.
They're going to be condemned because they didn't hear Moses.
He said, you brag about Moses. He'll be your judge. But now,
you and me, we heard the gospel. Turn to Hebrews 3, 2. You listen
to this. You listen to this. Hebrews 3,
verse 2. Hebrews 2, verse 3. I got that backwards. Hebrews 2, verse 3. ought to give a more earnest
heed to the things we've heard spoken, lest at any time we let
them get away. For if the words spoken by angels
and prophets in the Old Testament were steadfast, the words spoken
by nature, by conscience, by angels, and every transgression
and disobedience received a just recompense, how in this world
are we going to escape? If we neglect so great salvation,
which at first began to be spoken by our Lord in person, and was
confirmed unto us by them that heard him, God himself also bearing
them witness with signs and wonders and different miracles, gifts
of the Holy Ghost." Every word is coming back. Isn't
that what he's saying here in John 12? He either rejects me,
I don't care what dispensation it's in, and rejects my words. My words are coming back, and
my words are going to judge him. I'm glad in Christ there's no
judgment, aren't there? No condemnation. You've heard
his word, you believe it. Lord, I believe. In verse 49,
I'll close with this, he said, I have spoken of myself. The
Father which sent me, he gave me the commandments, what I should
speak, what I should say. He gave me the words. And I know
his commandments, life everlasting. Whatsoever I speak therefore,
even as the Father said unto me, so I speak. This is the way
life comes, it's through the preaching of the gospel. It pleased God by the foolishness
of preaching to save them that believe. And this is the way
it's going to come. It's not going to come in a secret,
special revelation out in a hail storm or a lightning storm or
wind blowing. It's going to come when men hear
the gospel. And these fellows, some of them
heard. And they gave it some thought, but they didn't confess
him because of these different things. but his word will judge him.