Plain Words to the Indifferant

Now let's turn again, if you
will, to John chapter 5. I spend a little time on three
things when I'm preparing a message. The content of the message, the
scripture, the text which we use, But I spent some time on
the title of the message also, and I had a little struggle with
the title for the message this morning. I wanted to call it
what it ought to be called, Plain Words to Unbelievers. But I knew
it would be hard, David, to find a congregation to listen to that
sermon because so few today regard themselves as unbelievers. If
I'd have called it Plain Words to the Unbelievers, then not
a whole lot of folks would have listened to it. But that's what it is. It's plain
words to the unbeliever, but I'm calling it plain words to
the indifferent. People today are like the Jews
of old. They're religious. They claim
to believe in God. They claim to believe in the
Bible. They claim to believe in heaven and hell, death and
judgment, life after death. They claim to believe something
about Jesus Christ, so therefore they do not regard themselves
as unbelievers. These people to whom our Lord
was speaking here did not regard themselves as unbelievers. They
didn't consider themselves unbelievers at all. They were deeply religious
people. They were orthodox people. They were folks who read the
scriptures. He said down here in verse 39, you search the scriptures
and they did. You claim Moses and they did.
You have a religious background and tradition and they did. However,
now watch this, here's the key verse, verse 23, however, verse
23, look at it, John 5. that all men should honor the
Son even as they honor the Father, he that honoreth not the Son
of God honoreth not the Father which sent him." Now here's what
the Lord's saying. The person who is indifferent
to the Son, he may be deeply religious, he may be very moral,
he may be very orthodox, he may be very loyal to a denomination,
to a religion, He may be a believer in God, a believer in heaven,
and a believer in hell, and a believer in a lot of these things, but
the person that's indifferent, and you've got them in your household,
and I've got them in mine. And you've got them in your social
circles, and I've got them in mine. And they are your mothers and
fathers and your sons and daughters and your brothers and sisters
and your co-laborers and your fellow laborers. They are people
who believe in God. They believe the Bible is the
Word of God. They believe Sunday is the first
day of the week and the day of God. If you vote wet or dry, they
vote dry. If you vote for Sunday closings
of stores and restaurants, they'd vote to close them. If you had
a vote to whether to keep the churches open and not tax the
churches, they'd vote for that. They're religious citizens. And they believe in life after
death, and they believe in God, and they believe the Bible is
the Word of God, they believe churches are good things, and
they believe the law is a fine thing, and they're not unbelievers
in their minds. But He, now listen to this, He
that honoreth not the Son, I mean honors the Son, glorifies the
Son, adores the Son, worships the Son, believes on the Son, He that is indifferent to the
words of the Son, and the worship of the Son, and the church of
the Son, and the ordinance of the Son, and the glory of the
Son, and the gospel of the Son, and the claims of the Son, does
not honor God. That's what he's saying. Because,
and this is the reason, I read it to you a moment ago, the Father
and the Son of woman You cannot honor the Father unless you honor
the Son. You cannot have God the Father
without honoring the Son. He that honoreth not the Son,
now this is what I'm saying. He that does not honor Christ,
does not, Jesus Christ is not his Lord. Jesus Christ is not
his King. Jesus Christ is not his Prophet,
Priest, and King. Jesus Christ is not his life.
He's indifferent to Christ, and to the claims of Christ, and
to the glory of Christ. He's an unbeliever. It may be difficult for you to
take, but now you listen to what the Scripture says. The Father
and the Son are one. Go back to verse 19. He says,
I say unto you, solemnly, I say unto you, the Son can do nothing
of himself, but what he saith the Father do, for what thingsoever
he doeth, that's what the Son does. In other words, if you
have any dealings with the Father, they're going to be through the
Son. If you have any relationship with the Father, it's going to
be through the Son. The Father loveth the Son, verse 20, and
showeth all things, showeth him all things that himself doeth,
and he'll show him greater works than these that you may marvel.
For as the Father raiseth up the dead, and quickeneth them,
even so the Son quickeneth whom he will. They quicken the same
people. And God hath committed all judgment to the Son, all
righteousness to the Son, all redemption to the Son, all mercy
to the Son. The Son is the sole expression
of the glory of God. The Son is the very image of
God's person. He that believeth on the Son
hath life. What the Father does, The Son
does. They do not operate independently
of one another. The Father loves the Son and
discloses to Him all that He does. He's the wisdom of God.
Those who are quickened from the dead are quickened by the
Son, and the judgments of the Father are based wholly and solely
and completely on a man's relationship to the Son. That's what verse
22 is saying. The Father judges no man. He
has committed all judgment to the Son. The Father's dealings
with you, the Father's relationship with you, the Father's mercy
upon you, or the Father's wrath upon you, depends wholly and
completely and solely upon your relationship with Jesus Christ. Christ enables God to be just
and justifier, and all who have not the Son shall bear their
own guilt. You turn to 1 John. with me a
moment, 1 John chapter 4. Now just hold your place at John
5, but turn to 1 John, it's chapter 5. 1 John chapter 5. Now listen to this. And this
is the record that God hath given to us eternal life. And this
life's in his Son. He that hath the Son hath life. And he that hath not the Son
of God hath not life. Now look at verse 20, And we
know that the Son of God is come, and hath given us an understanding,
that we may know him that is true, and we are in him that
is true, even in his Son Jesus Christ. This is the true God.
This is eternal life. Lord, show us the Father, and
we will be satisfied. Have I been so long time with
you, Philip, and you have not known me? He that hath seen me
hath seen the Father. I and the Father are one. It's impossible
to believe in God and not believe in Christ. It's impossible to
understand the redemption, the mercy, the grace, the judgments
of God without an understanding of Christ. It's impossible to
honor God without honoring Christ, and he that honoreth not the
Son honoreth not the Father that sent him. Indifference to the
Son. Now, we may call ourselves believers.
Of course I believe in God. Of course I believe that there's
a judgment. Of course I believe in heaven.
Of course I believe in hell. Of course I believe the Bible's
the word of God. He that honoreth not the Son, honoreth not the
Father that sent him. Your indifference to the Son,
to the glory of the Son, to the grace of the Son, to the gospel
of the Son, separates you from a holy God. It has to do with
your relationship with the Son. So he that honoreth not the Son
in his redemptive glory, in his eternal deity, in his saving
offices, is an unbeliever in things pertaining to God.
Because no man cometh to the Father, Christ said, but by me.
Now I want you to consider three things as we look at the following
words of our Lord. down here in verse 24. We will
look at three things. First of all, words of invitation.
Secondly, words of witness. And thirdly, words of judgment.
And let this be the foundation. God Almighty will judge a man
so incompletely on the basis of his relationship with the
Son, his faith in the Son, his treatment of the Son, He is glorifying
and honoring of the Son because the Son and the Father act together,
never independently. Everything that God has for the
human race is in Christ. God will not be spoken to nor
will he speak to a son of Adam except in Christ and through
Christ. And the judgment will be solely
based upon our relationship with Christ. All right, words of invitation,
verse 24. Our Lord says, Verily, verily,
I say unto you, I assure you most solemnly, I tell you most
solemnly, that the person whose ears are open to my words, who
listens to my message, who believes and trusts in and clings to and
relies upon Him who sent me, he is the express image of the
Father. The person who hears my words, the person who listens
to my message, who believes in and trusts and clings to and
relies upon Him who sent me, possesses now, has this moment,
eternal life, and shall not come into judgment because he's already
passed over from death to life. Two things are said about these
people. Now listen to it. They hear and they believe. They
hear Him. They hear Him. And this is not
a bare external hearing of the Word. This is an internal hearing
of the Word. This is not just hearing words
and saying, that sounds reasonable, or that sounds logical, or yes,
I believe the Bible is the Word of God. It's not just hearing
His words and His message with these external ears, or even
external mental faculties, but it's hearing Him with the heart. They're not critics of the Word,
they're heroes of the Word. They're not arguers, debaters
of the Word, they're heroes of the Word. They're not examiners
of the Word, they're heroes of the Word. They're not experts
on the Word, they're heroes of the Word. And they hear His words
of judgment, and they're convinced in their hearts of their sins,
and they cry, Lord be merciful to me a sinner. That's the effect. They hear his words of judgment,
they hear his words of condemnation, and they're convinced in their
hearts of their sins and they cry, God be merciful to me a
sinner. They hear his words of sovereignty,
the son quickeneth whom he will. And they cry, true Lord, if thou
wilt thou can make me clean. They hear his words of grace
and mercy. If the Son shall make you free,
you shall be free indeed. And they cry, True Lord, thou
Son of David, have mercy on me. They hear his words of commandment.
You are my friends, if you do whatsoever, I command you. And
they cry, True Lord, my Lord and my God. That's hearing his word. Now let this be established.
These are plain words. This is Christ speaking here
to religious people. You go before those people and
say, you don't believe in God. Yes, we do believe in God. But you don't believe the Scripture.
Yes, we do believe the Scripture. We have Moses and the prophets.
We search the Scripture. You don't read your Bible and
pray. Yes, we do read our Bible and pray. We fast twice a week. We pray three times a day with
our faces towards Jerusalem. That's more in modern Christians'
pray. But our Lord Jesus Christ says
this to them, He that honoreth not the Son, no matter how much
religion, no matter how much prayer time, no matter how much
fasting and ceremonies, He that honoreth not the Son, no matter
how much heritage and background, He that honoreth not the Son,
honoreth not the Father that sent him. That's what he's saying. I can
do nothing of myself. What I hear the Father say, that's
what I say. What the Father purposes, that's
what I do. I and my Father are one. I and my Father are one. The Father quickeneth the dead,
the Son quickeneth the dead. The Father judges no man, not
on the basis of that man's relationship with the Father, The Son. He's
committed all judgment to the Son. It's in the Son. It's through
the Son. It's by the Son. It's because
of the Son. You won't deal with God. You'll
deal with the Son. You'll deal with the Son. You'll deal with
the Son in mercy, or you'll deal with the Son in judgment. You'll
deal with the Son in faith, or you'll deal with the Son in eternal
condemnation. But it's the Son. That's what
I'm saying, Christ said. It's me. You don't deal directly
with the Father. You deal with the Father's priest.
The Father's Mediator, the Father's Redeemer, the one who has the
right to redeem. It's Christ. He's the brightness
of the Father's image. He's the express image of the
Father's glory. He that has seen me has seen
my Father. I am my Father alone. You see
what I'm saying? That's what he's saying to these Jews. That's
what I'm saying to you. We can take our money and write
in God we trust on it, or we want to. and still hear him say
at the judgment, I never knew you. We can put the Ten Commandments
up in our school all we want to and still hear him say at
the judgment, I never knew you. We can draw all the ecumenical
minded people together and all have scripture reading and prayer
at the school and before the ball games and before the city
councils and all these things and still hear him say, I never
knew you. He that honoreth not the Son Christ the Lord, Jesus of Nazareth,
Him who hung on a cross, who was buried and rose again, who
is at the right hand of God. The Pope can carry his crown
and his cross and followed by all his fellows dressed up in
red suits and red hats and they can go through all the mumbo-jumbo,
worshiping God all they want to. They can talk about Mary
and count their beads and rosaries. He that honoreth not the Son
honoreth not the Father." God will spit it out of his mouth.
That's so. I say unto you solemnly, he said,
most solemnly, verily, verily, most solemnly, sincerely, I say
unto you, he that heareth my words, my words, Christ said,
my words, here is God's He that believes in me, believes in God. He who loves me, loves God. He who trusts me, trusts God. He who knows me, knows God. He who loves me, loves God. He who honors not me, knows not
God. That's what he's saying. I'm
God. I believe God demands holiness,
don't you? How many times, the Lord our
God is a holy God. The Lord our God is a holy God.
Isaiah found that out. Holy, holy, holy. He'd run around
talking about his holiness and God shut his mouth. He gave him
a sight of God's holiness. I believe he's a holy God. I
believe he's a righteous God. And so I find his righteousness
and his holiness commended to me in Christ. And outside of
Christ, I don't find any approach to God, because he's holy, and
I can't approach thereunto. Who shall stand in his presence?
He that hath clean hands and a pure heart, which I don't have.
But in Christ I have those things. And so I can call God my Father. I can approach the throne of
grace. I can find myself in his presence, because Christ It takes
me there. He's my righteousness. I gave
him my old tattered garments. He gave me a robe of pure white.
God must punish sin. I know that. The holy God must punish sin.
He says God will in no wise clear the guilty. God has got to deal
with sin. He's got to punish sin. Sin's
got to be paid for. So what am I going to do about
my sins? How can God be just and justify an ungodly fellow
like me or you? Well, I find that answer in Christ.
He is the one who enables God to be just and justifier. He
is the one who enables God to be truth and mercy. He is the
one who enables God to be righteousness and love. He is the one who enables
God to be the righteous judge. And yet the forgiving Father.
I speak that unto Christ, not to God, as He's revealed in His
awesomeness and power and holiness and judgment and righteousness,
but to Christ, the expression of the Father in human flesh,
who understands me and who gives me an understanding. And I know
that God does all things well. He does all things as it seem
good in His sight. And I found that answer in Christ,
who is the wisdom of God. So, his people hear his message,
and they believe on him. They believe on him. All right,
here are, there are words of invitation. He says, solemnly,
I declare unto you, he that hears my word, he who hears my word,
my message, listens to my message, deals with me, believes in him
who sent me, believes in him who's revealed in me, Believes
in him whose righteousness is in me. Believes in him who is
just and justifier in me. Believes in him who is sovereign,
eternal king revealed in me. He has, he possesses now, he's
already passed from death unto life. Alright, here are words
of witness. Now he says, verse 31, If I bear
witness of myself, my witness is not true. In other words,
this is what he's saying. He's saying, if I'm the only
one who tells you this, if I'm the only one who says that Jesus
of Nazareth is the Son of God, is the Son of Man, is the Messiah,
is the Christ, then he said, you don't have to listen to me,
because every word must be established at the mouth of two or three
witnesses. You see, in other words, if I came here today and
I said, I'm the Messiah, well, you can just flip that off, you
know, because I'm the only one that's foolish enough to think
that. And Christ said, He comes and says, I and my Father are
one. You honor me, you honor the Father.
You look to me, you look to the Father. You receive me, you receive
the Father. You reject me, you reject the
Father. You honor not me, you honor not the Father. Now, He
said, if I'm the only one that's got that message, you don't have
to believe it. And then he gives four or five witnesses. First
of all, he says, John the Baptist, you sent to John. He bear witness
of the truth. What did John say when he saw
him coming? The Lamb of God. Behold, the Lamb of God that
taketh away the sin of the world. John was the last of the Old
Testament prophets. And it says in Acts 10.43, to
him give all the prophets witness. To him give all the, to Christ.
And John said, there he is, there's the Lamb of God. And when he
baptized the Lord Jesus and he came up out of the water, the
heavens opened and the Spirit of God descended in the form
of a dove. And John said, God told me, the one upon whom you
see the Spirit descending in the form of a dove, that's the
Lamb of God, that's the Messiah. And then he said, the works that
I do, look at verse 36, I have greater witness than John. The
works that I do, that the Father hath given me to finish, the
same works I do. You know the first thing I thought
of when I read that? Not healing, the blind, the deaf,
the dumb, the lame, raising the dead, but the work of redemption.
The work the Father gave me to do, the work of redemption. I'm
come that you might have life. That's the work that the Father
gave him to do. I'm sure of that. That's the
work that he came to do, and that's the work that he finished.
But also he's referring there to the miracles that he accomplished.
They are witnesses of Christ. They're witnesses. You see, the
work the Father gave him to do, he came to fulfill all the Old
Testament scriptures. He is the priest. He is the tabernacle. He is the lamb. He is the turtle
dove. He is the morning offering and
the evening sacrifice. He is the Passover. He is that
rock. He is the water of life. He's
all those things. And that's the work the Father
gave him to do. He fulfills them, but also the miracles. You know,
let me read you a scripture. Turn to Luke 7. Maybe you'll
be interested in turning over there and reading this. John
was in prison, John the Baptist. He had already said that Christ
was the Savior, the Messiah. But you know, he heard a lot
of reports, and John was a human being, and he might have said
this for the benefit of his disciples, I don't know. But Luke 7, verse
19, John called unto him two of his disciples, and sent them
to Jesus, and said, Are you he that should come, or do we look
for another? Are you he that should come,
or do we look for another?" John had already said that he is the
Lamb of God. And verse 20, when the men were
coming to him, they said, John the Baptist sent us to you, saying,
Are you he that should come, or do we look for another? In
that same hour he cured many of their infirmities and plagues
and of evil spirits, and unto many that were blind he gave
sight. Then Jesus answering unto them, Go your way, he said, and
tell John what things you have seen and heard, how that the
blind see, and the lame walk, and the lepers are cleansed,
the deaf hear, the dead are raised, to the poor the gospel is preached,
and blessed is he whosoever shall not be offended in me. I'm sure
that some of these men, like John the Baptist and others,
were looking for an earthly kingdom. They were looking for an auspicious,
majestic, great restoration of the throne of David and the power
of the nation Israel. And here this poor carpenter,
wandering about the streets, hated, despised, everybody who
was anybody turned thumbs down on him. I'm sure John had second
thoughts, and I can understand why. And he sent these men and
said, all that the Father told me has been fulfilled, I have
trouble. Go ask him, is he the Christ?
And they asked him, and he said, the works that I do bear witness. And then thirdly, he said, the
Father himself, verse 37, and the Father which hath sent me,
he hath borne witness of me. broke the silence of heaven,
spoke and said, This is my beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased."
Even from his birth, the Father put a star up there over his
birthplace. Sent the angels down here, and they said, Unto you
is born in the city of David a Savior, which is Christ the
Lord. Sent the angels there to minister to him when he fasted
forty days. Sent the angels To stand before
His open tomb and cry, He's not here, He's risen! Sent the angels
to the disciples to tell them, this same Jesus which is taken
up from you shall so come in like manner. But now watch verse
39, there's another witness. John the Baptist, the works that
I do, the Father himself, and verse 39, you search the scriptures. In them you think you have life. There they which testify of me.
You hold in your hands, right there this morning, you're holding
in your hands, right there, All the very declaration of all that
God has decreed and purposed and given and accomplished in
Jesus Christ. It's right there. It's right
there. I see people going around door
to door selling Bibles. This is their sales pitch. I'm selling Bibles. This is a wonderful Bible. binding,
good large print so you can see it. And back here in the back,
it has a dictionary and a concordance. And in here, look here, it says,
when you're in trouble, read Psalm 23. When you're in sorrow,
read 1 Thessalonians 4. When you're in doubt, read this.
And here's about airplanes in the Bible. And here's about men
walking on the moon. And here's about, see, World
War I and II. That's in Nevada. That's in Ezekiel.
And Battle of Armageddon. the last days and the millennium
and hogwash. And that's what those fellows
are doing. They're peddling hogwash when they turn people's minds
to those kind of things. This is the book of Christ. That's
what this is. Amen? It's the book of Christ. And if you're reading God's Word
to find out when the Battle of Armageddon is going to be fought
and what's going to happen to Russia and what's going to happen
to the Jews and what's going to happen to something else,
He says that same thing applies to you right here. In here you
think you have life. There they which testify of me.
Of me. Of me. Now you turn to Luke.
Let me show you something. You turn to Luke chapter 24.
Now, we need to get plain with this generation. They're missing
Christ. They're playing church. The judgment,
they're going to come to the end of the road someday and they're
going to say, Brother Man, why didn't you tell me the truth?
And I'll say, well, I didn't want to offend you, you know,
I wanted to keep you coming, didn't want to lose your offering.
And we had these things, you know, we're trying to have more
in Sunday school than we had the Sunday before, so I didn't want to say
anything that would keep you away. Yeah, but you damned my
soul in the process. You look at Luke 24, verse 27. And beginning at Moses and all
the prophets, he expounded unto them in all the scriptures the
things concerning himself. Himself. Not where airplanes
are found in the Bible, and where Russia is mentioned in the Bible,
and where the angels have wings or not, and where King got his
wife. Oh, I wish I could do something
or say something that would deliver you from these unprofitable enterprises. and these unprofitable studies.
Look at verse 44. And he said unto them, These
are the words which I speak unto you, while I was yet with you,
that all things must be fulfilled which are written in the law
of Moses, and the prophets, and the Psalms, concerning me, me,
me, Christ said. Take Christ out of the Bible,
you don't have a Bible. Take Christ out of the Bible,
you don't have a Bible. Christ is the Bible. That's what
it's all about. It's about Him. It's about God
revealing Himself in Christ, and God being merciful to sinners
in Christ, and God besting the earth in the person of Christ,
and God being just and justifier in Christ. I don't mean to be
harsh. I don't mean to offend your delicate,
gentle ears. But oh, sometimes you feel like
just taking a fellow and shaking him good, you know, and saying
you're on the wrong track, you're pursuing the wrong course, you're
walking the wrong road, you're looking in his book for the wrong
thing. missing the whole message of this book. I hear the theologians,
and the college professors, and the seminary professors, and
they'll talk about Tillich, and Barth, and different theologians,
and what they had to say about this, and about when Paul wrote
the book of Galatians, and where Paul was when he wrote the book
of Galatians, and the city there in Galatians, and when it was
founded, and who destroyed it, and the modes and methods of
the people, That's not what this book was written about. It's
Christ. It's Christ. That's what it's
all about. And Satan is so subtle, he is
so crafty, he turns himself into an angel of light and his messengers
into ministers of righteousness, and he'll use any method in this
world in his subtlety to turn your eyes off Christ and get
you taken up with something else, involved in something else. I
mean good things, too. No, I'm not talking about Satan
just get you involved in the wrong kind of crowd and get you
to drinking and gambling. That's not his methods altogether.
He'll get you in a Bible class and get you to study the wrong
things, trying to find the wrong solutions, trying to answer the
wrong questions. He don't care. Yeah, he just
assumed you'd be religious without Christ. But I'll tell you this,
when you start looking in the Scriptures for Christ, who he
is, what he did, why he did it, Where he is now, your relationship
with him, you find Christ on every page. Now, that's different. But David, that's what it's all
about. That's what it's all about. And that's what he's saying here
in John 5 in our text. He's saying, I've got witnesses,
and you're searching the Scriptures. In them you think you have life.
But they are they which testify of me." Now watch this, and in
spite of all this, here's the words of judgment, verse 40.
And he said, "...and you will not come to me that you might
have life." You will not come to me that
you might have life. I receive not honor from men
in asserting my equality with the Father, in producing testimony
to my deity in work, in coming down to this earth. I'm not seeking
men's applause. for the sake of applause. I'm
not seeking the honor of the people of this world. I came
to glorify my Father. I came to accomplish His purpose.
I came that you might have life and have it more abundantly,
but you won't come to me. Look at verse 43. I'm coming
in my Father's name. My Father sent me. I'm a revelation
of my Father, and you won't receive me. Let another come in his own
name. with his words of doctrine, or
his words of tradition, or his words of theology, or his words
of philosophy, or his words of prophecy, or his words of something
else, and him you'll receive, and him you'll follow. But I
come in my Father's name, and you won't receive me. You won't
become my disciple, my disciple. Well, he says, I know. How can
you believe? How can you believe? You receive
honor one of another. You're not seeking the honor
that comes from God only. That's not what we're seeking.
We're not seeking a relationship with God. We're seeking a feeling.
We're seeking an experience. We're seeking the approval of
men. We want everybody to understand that we're religious, that we're
righteous, that we're pious. We're seeking their approval.
He said, when you pray, go in your closet and shut the door
and pray to your Father which is in secret. Don't be like the
hypocrites who pray on the street to be seen of men. Verily I say
unto you, they have their reward. When you give your gifts, don't
sound a trumpet before you. Don't tell people about it so
you can receive their praise. Verily I say unto you, they have
their reward. Let not your left hand know what
your right hand is doing. Give it to your Father in secret,
that he may reward you." What are we seeking? What are we seeking? We want
the approval of men, the honor of men? Are we seeking to know
God, the glory of God? He says, how can you really believe? How can you really enter into
a vital union with Christ? How can you? in a loving relationship affectionately,
how can you quietly enter into a living relationship with me,
a person, when you're not seeking the glory of God and the honor
that comes from God only, you're seeking approval of men. That's what this, now you listen
to me, that's what this separationist, fundamentalist, religion of present
day, walking out, shaking preacher's hand, joining the church, that's
what this type of religion is geared toward, the approval and
honor of men. That's so. How are people going to know
I'm saved by the way if I don't come down front and shake hands
and go through the motions and go through a show? I'm just persuaded
if that happens in here, somehow they'll discover it. I'm just
persuaded they will. You seek the honor that comes
from me and not the honor that comes from God only." Well, he
says, I won't have to accuse you, verse 45. Don't think that
I'll have to accuse you. I won't have to accuse you. There's
one that will accuse you. You're holding it in your lap.
You're holding it in your lap. Even Moses. And he's not talking
about the person Moses. We're talking about the words
of Moses. This is what's going to do it, Christ said. I won't
have to accuse you. I won't have to call attention
to your false profession and your outward show, and I won't
have to call attention to your looking for men's approval and
men's honor and men's glory. I won't have to show that your
relationship with me was not a heart relationship. The very
book you're holding in your hand, he says, will judge you. For
had you believed this book, you would have believed me. That's
right. You'd have looked over here at
Abel's offering as he brought the blood and put it on the altar,
and you said, that's Christ. That's Christ. Paul came, brings
the fruits of the field, and he puts it on the altar, and
God rejects him. And you say, that's me by nature,
going about to establish my own righteousness through my dedication
and religion and preaching and teaching, trying to make God
look with favor upon me and the people with favor upon me. I
come as a sinner with Abel, put the blood on the altar. That's
right. You'd turn over at Exodus, and you'd see Israel down here
in Egypt in bondage, and Moses says, put the blood on the door.
And you'd see that blood on the door, and you'd see Christ, and
you'd say, yes, sir, Christ's blood's on the door of my heart.
I'm inside, resting, trusting, believing. Christ is my Passover. When God sees the blood of Christ,
He passes over me. Not when He sees my feeling,
not when He sees my righteousness, not when He sees my dedication,
not when He sees my tithe, but when He sees Christ. You'd see
old Moses lift that serpent in the wilderness, and you'd say,
that's me, bitten by the fiery serpent of sin, and that's my
Lord, made in the likeness of sin and crucified for me. That's
right, you'd go all the way through the world. In the Psalms, in
the prophets, And then you'd come to John the Baptist, the
last of the Old Testament prophets, see him standing there baptizing
men through the baptism of repentance, and he sees a man coming toward
him, the son of Mary, born without a human father, and he said,
there he is. There's the Lamb of God. There's
the Lamb of God that taketh away the sin of the world. And then
like Thomas, you and I'd fall at his feet, and we'd cry, my
Lord and my God, this is God! I adore Him. I consecrate my
life to Him. I receive Him. I submit to Him. He is my Lord and my God. And
I honor Him. I honor Him. And I go forth preaching Him.
And telling others about Him. And inviting others to believe
Him. And receive Him. And I want to
be like Him. They reviled, and he reviled
not again. And they cursed him and lied
on him, and he didn't open his mouth. And he loved his enemies. And he did good to them that
despitefully used him. And his heart wasn't filled with
hatred for black people or red people or any other people. He
loved all people. And he was submissive to the
Father's will. That's right. And he was patient,
he was forgiving, and he was merciful. They brought him a
woman in adultery and cast her at his feet, and that bunch of
Pharisees were going to stone her, and he said, I forgive you,
I forgive you. That's right, he forgives, he's
merciful. I want to be like him, don't
you? He's the object of my faith, He's my refuge, He's my righteousness,
He's my model, He's my pattern, He's my King, and He owns me. I want to give Him everything
I've got. I want Him to have my family. I'm not talking about
10%, I'm talking about 100%. I want Him to have my family
and my children and this church and me, because He is anyhow.
It's His anyhow. That's the thing. He said, He
that honors not the Son, Honor is not the Father's sin. And
I'll tell you, this is not just some little simple thing. Somebody
says, well, everybody now that hadn't done that, raise your
hand. You want to do it this morning?
We'll do it this... I don't know. I don't know. Maybe you'd better
go home and think it over. And maybe you have. And then if God reveals Christ
to you in the character in which this book presents Him, and you
believe that and you receive Him, You want to follow him in
baptism? You know what baptism means?
It means I'm dying, and I'm buried, and I'm rising to walk in newness
of life. It's a commitment. It's identification with Christ.
It's not to be taken lightly. I don't see how many people I
can run through that water, but I'm glad to have folks be baptized
who've come to find out who he is, and have come to a commitment
to Christ, because that's salvation. And I don't think we have any
right to call anything else salvation. I don't believe we do. Our Father,
we believe thou hast spoken to us through thy word. We know
thou hast spoken to us through thy Son. We know that Christ
is the express image of thy being, thy glory, thy person. He that
honors not the Son honors not the Father. He that loveth not
the Son loveth not the Father. He that glorifies not the Son
cannot glorify the Father. We pray, O Lord, that Thou would
by Thy power bring us to know Christ, whom to know is life
eternal. If the Apostle Paul had to cry,
O that I may know Him and the power of His resurrected life,
how much more we need to cry that? I count all things but
done that I may win Christ and be found in Him. If He had to
say that, how much more do I have to say it? Pass me not, O gentle
Savior, hear my humble cry, while on others Thou art calling, do
not pass me by. Don't leave me in my natural
religion. It seems right to me, seems logical to me, but the
end is death. Lord, do something for all of
us. Be merciful to us. We're a favored
people to even hear this word, let alone be invited to participate.
For Christ's sake we pray. Amen.

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