Behold the Lamb #2

Let that trial be to you the defining point in life where you say, Yes, Lord, I will follow you no matter what. You say it through sorrow. You say it through tears. But you say, Lord, no matter what else happens, I'm not leaving.

And rejoice through the tears. My faith is real. Welcome again to the Truth Pulpit with Don Green, founding pastor of Truth Community Church in Cincinnati, Ohio. I'm Bill Wright, and Don is continuing a message titled, Behold the Lamb, part of a series of four portraits of Christ, as painted, if you will, by each of the Gospels. Last time Don began John's account of our Lord, and we were reminded that receiving Christ consists of three distinct aspects, new life, new law, and new Lord. We saw that new life means being born again, out with the old, and in with a new creature in Christ.

Today Don continues expounding on that and also explains what new law looks like to the true believer. So open your Bible to the book of John as we join Don now in the Truth Pulpit. Here's the question, beloved, as you examine yourself in light of God's Word.

And you young people, you old people for that matter, let's be clear and straight and honest with one another. Have you come to Christ? Has your self-confession in the presence of Jesus Christ, who is to judge the living and the dead, is your self-confession one that I come to you as one who is utterly dead in sin? I have no merit of my own. I have no life of my own. If I am to be saved, it must be that you're going to give life to me, and I receive you on those terms. That I need life. I don't have anything to offer to you. I used to work in a pharmacy, and they had a pestle and mortar thing where they'd grind up the medicine.

You put it in, and you grind it until it's a fine dust. Look, that's a picture of what should be your understanding of your human pride and your merit and your deserving of salvation, is that the recognition that you must be born again grinds all of that into the dust of humility, until there is nothing left for you to boast about. Paul said in Galatians, I will not presume to boast about anything except Jesus Christ, except in the cross of Christ I'll boast, not in anything else.

He said in 2 Corinthians, we preach Christ, not ourselves. Your view toward your own soul should be, it's got to be Christ, it's not about me. And so I ask you, as one appointed by the providence of God to be the one speaking here today, you here appointed to hear this today, have you come to Christ like that? Have you come to Him in utter spiritual brokenness and bankrupt of any spiritual claim of your own? Have you come to Christ as one dead in sin and said, I must have new life from you, I must receive new life from you?

Or are you just a nice girl with a lot of religion at a Bible teaching church? Don't miss the difference. Don't miss the distinction, because eternal destiny hangs in the balance of how you respond to this teaching of God's Word from the gospel. To receive Christ means that you receive new life.

To receive new life realizes that you are willing to openly and without reservation confess yourself to be one who is dead in sin. And there are a whole lot more people that want to say good things about Jesus. Out of the subset of those, there's a smaller, a much smaller group that says, I'll say good things about Jesus and I won't say anything good about myself. Because human pride of your heart wants to reserve some kind of credit for yourself. Can't happen. You can have your pride, you can have Christ, you can't have it both ways.

So what's it going to be? Where are you at before this one who says you must be born again? Christ doesn't need proud men to flatter him. In fact, he rejects them. And I can't look into your heart. All I can do is open the Word of God to you and plead with you to listen and to heed it.

Have you believed in Christ as one who needs new life? Secondly, new law. New law. I'll explain what I mean by that.

New law. What rules your thinking? What is it by which you determine truth? What is it that helps you decide what's true and what's false? What is the defining standard of authority in the way that you define your worldview and your view of yourself? True faith, true saving faith receives Christ, receives His Word as the final authority in all things. And someone who is not willing to submit himself completely to that authority has no reason to believe that he's a true Christian.

This is extraordinarily searching. And yet, I can tell you, beloved, and those of you who are true Christians in the audience, I can assure you that if you wrestle through these things as a believer, the spiritual clarity that it brings to your mind and the sense of deep, profound assurance that it gives to you as you wrestle through these areas is worth every ounce of spiritual effort that it takes to do so. There is clarity, there is courage, there is confidence to be found in one who has seriously interacted with God's Word on these points. And the difference, beloved, we talked about subsets, right? Think about the world of those who would follow Christ, those who are in a church today, like ours, maybe not like ours, gathered around a big entertainment show all supposedly in the name of Jesus.

There's a bunch of them there. Look, look, understand that. Understand as a first point of discernment that not all of them are saved. That with the sheep are goats, that with the wheat are tares. And that mere external affiliation with a church, even a church like ours, is no guarantee, is no statement of where a man is truly at with Christ, whether he is a true Christian or not. Mere external affiliation with Christ means nothing if that's all the further it goes. Look at John chapter 6 verse 10, and you'll see exactly what I mean. This is consistent with everything else that Christ has said before. John chapter 6, this is the chapter where Jesus fed the 5,000. And I just want to give you a little bit of context.

We're going to skip over John 6, and we'll save that for sometime down the road when we teach through the Gospel of John, Lord willing. I just want you to see one simple thing. The crowds were attracted to Jesus because he could feed them. They liked the fact that he could fill their belly.

In an age where food was not as readily accessible as it is to us today, to have somebody who could make food happen was cool, and that alleviated a lot of problems that otherwise they were going to face. So, I just want you to see the numbers. John chapter 6 verse 10, Jesus said, Have the people sit down. Now there was much grass in the place, and so the men sat down in number about 5,000. And so Jesus takes these five barley loaves, these two fish, you know the story, I don't need to rehearse it for you. Starts breaking the bread, the disciples distribute it, 5,000 people eat with a whole lot left over.

That was a sign. That was a display of utter deity. To make food out of nothing. To take a little loaf of bread and just multiply it. Is utterly outside the ability of human power.

Okay? So there you are. You've got this huge massive audience that has been hearing his teaching. This huge massive audience that's been on the receiving end of one of his miracles.

One of his signs. And Jesus goes on and continues to teach them. And so, again, if a 21st century church guru showed up there, he'd say, Jesus is doing everything right, man.

The people are showing up. They're calling themselves disciples of Christ. What a remarkable revival we're seeing in our midst, people. Praise be to God. Is that what was happening?

No. That's not what was happening at all. Which is what you see as you continue to read on in the gospel. Look at John 6 verse 53. Here's the point which said, New law, receiving the word of Christ as utter authority, being the mark of a true disciple. Watch what happens. Note how this separates the wheat from the chaff. Jesus said to them, truly, truly, I say to you that unless you eat the flesh of the Son of Man and drink his blood, you have no life in yourselves.

See it? Life, his word, his authority. I'm not making this up. That's the key thing for you to understand.

That's the key thing for you to understand. I am not making this up in anything that I say today. You can see it with your own eyes from the pages of Scripture. You don't have to take my word for it. I'm not a three-year-old kid that went to heaven and came back and telling you fancy tales. We have the word of God in front of us.

That's our authority. Verse 54, he who eats my flesh and drinks my blood has eternal life. He who internalizes me, in other words, I will raise him up on the last day. My flesh is true food, my blood is true drink. He who eats my flesh and drinks my blood abides in me and I in him. Verse 58, this is the bread which came down out of heaven, not as the fathers ate and died.

He who eats this bread will live forever. These things he said in the synagogue as he taught in Capernaum. Verse 60, therefore, watch this now. Out of this massive momentum of this supposedly great external crowd, it was a great external crowd, but out of that momentum, verse 60, many of his disciples, which is simply a word for those who were learning from him, it is not a statement, especially in this context, that they are necessarily converted. In fact, it will be shown that they're not converted. Many of his disciples, when they heard this, said, this is a difficult statement, who can listen to it? They're objecting to the word of Christ. Can you imagine having Jesus Christ right in front of you and saying, I don't think I accept that? Jesus, verse 61, conscious that they'd grumbled, said to them, does this cause you to stumble? What if you see the Son of Man ascending to where he was before? It is the Spirit who gives life.

The flesh profits nothing. The words that I have spoken to you are Spirit and are life. Notice how he's putting the emphasis on the authority of his words. Verse 64, he says, but there are some of you who do not believe. Wow.

Wow. There they are learning from him, having seen the miracles, a disciple at one level, and yet Jesus pierces to the spiritual reality and says, some of you don't believe. Verse 64, Jesus knew from the beginning who they were who did not believe and who it was that would betray him. And he was saying, verse 65, for this reason I have said to you that no one can come to me unless it has been granted him from the Father.

What was the result of that? Verse 66, as a result of this, many of his disciples withdrew and were not walking with him anymore. Beloved, here's the point. From external association, it looked for all the world like these people were true disciples of Christ, genuine followers of him. The reality of it was much different because, follow me here, when Christ taught them things that they did not like, they walked away. They wanted nothing to do with what he taught, really. They accepted it. Think about it this way.

Oh, this is so very, very important. Oh, you must examine yourself in light of what I'm about to say. They followed Christ only as long as he said what they agreed with. When Christ spoke and said things they did not like, they said, I'm out of here. I'm parting ways.

That's not what I signed up for. They did not believe, despite their love for signs and wonders. They just up and walked away when the teaching no longer suited them. Wow. What an exposure of the wickedness of the human heart. What a parallel to the modern signs and wonders movement. Lord, I'll take all of the signs and wonders, not that they're real today, but that's another point. Lord, I'll take what you can give me, but I reserve, not that anyone necessarily thinks this consciously about it, but circumstances and teaching expose it in time, but I'll reserve final judgment about what I will accept and what I won't accept. And when the pressure of truth is put on the soul, they turn and walk away.

You know what that's a mark of? Someone who was never saved to begin with. Their external association with Christ was simply a goat being amongst the sheep.

It wasn't real. They were not truly converted. And the reality of the false condition of their soul will be exposed on the final judgment day. And then they'll cry out, but Lord! They'll say, why are you calling me Lord?

You walked away when my truth was explained to you. In what sense was I Lord? Why do you call me Lord, Lord? And not do what I say, Jesus said. Why this sham? Why this insult of my holy authority?

Why? You see, beloved, true faith can be recognized by the fact that it receives the Word of God, the inscripturated Word of God in the 66 books of the Bible. It can be recognized by the fact that it receives the Word of Christ and brings itself under its authority, mark this, without condition. What rules your thinking?

Don't answer that superficially. But the only thing that could possibly be true about a true Christian is the recognition that my thinking, my understanding of right and wrong, my understanding of truth, my understanding about sin and holiness and the character of God is ruled exclusively by the Holy Word of God. And that which contradicts the Word of God, I reject out of hand. If I have a different opinion, I will conform my opinion to the clear Word of God and not stand in opposition to it. Look at what Peter said in John chapter 6. Jesus said to the 12, chapter 6 verse 67, I want you to see the clarity and the purpose of the Word of God, the Word of Christ, receiving it as law, receiving it as final authority to your soul. Jesus said to the 12, you don't want to go away also, do you? Simon Peter answered him, Lord, to whom shall we go? You have words of eternal life. We have believed and have come to know that you are the Holy One of God.

There they were standing and haven't gone from a crowd that would fill an arena to a crowd that would fit on this platform. And Peter shows the mark of a true disciple when he says, Lord, there's nowhere else to go. I'm all in on your Word.

Where else would I go? It is a recognition of the authority of Christ and an utter submission to it. And let me say a word of pastoral encouragement to you too at this point. As you're walking through trials that are testing you to the limit, there's something going on besides the trial in that time when you're tempted to wonder what God is doing, you're tempted to question it. Some of you, as I've done in times gone by, one time in particular, am I even going to continue to follow if this is the trial and sorrow that following Christ is going to bring me?

You ever feel that way? I have. Let me help you understand what's going on at that point. Trial is not about the trial. The trial is exposing for you to see whether you are truly willing to subject yourself completely to the Word of Christ and close the back door and lock it so that you can't walk out. Have you received the Word of Christ with that level of final unconditional submission?

Or do you have these mental places where you'll give yourself an out? You see, when we call people to Christ, we're calling them not simply to Him as the Savior who can save them from sin, we're calling them to come under the authority of the Word of God as their final disposition of what is true. And unless we tell people that that is what is at stake, we are leaving the door open for them to be deceived. You don't have that door open to you anymore. The question is, do you unconditionally receive the Word of God, the Word of Christ, as your defining spiritual authority? And if you're in that trial that I alluded to, listen, let that trial be to you the defining point in life where you say, yes, Lord, I will follow you no matter what. You say it through sorrow, you say it through tears, but you say, Lord, no matter what else happens, I'm not leaving.

Where else could I go? You have words of eternal life. That is what that profound trial in your life is intended to bring you to, to clarify your attitude of trust and submission in Christ. And if that result is produced by that trial, then that trial has become an avenue of God's blessing to you. You can say and rejoice through the tears, my faith is real.

God has done a real work in my life because otherwise I would have left a long time ago. You see, true disciples continue in the Word. Let's go through these next few passages quickly. John 8 verse 31. The priority of the Word in true faith, the submission to the Word in true faith. John 8 31, Jesus was saying to those Jews who had believed in Him, if you continue in My Word, then you are truly disciples of Mine, and you will know the truth and the truth will make you free.

He says you have to continue. Having just seen people walk away because they rejected certain aspects of His teaching, ironically, when He said, you can't come to Me unless the Father calls you, unless the Father draws you, they took off. Jesus said, if you continue, then you are truly disciples of Mine. This is the mark of a true disciple, they continue in My Word. Those who have taken an exit ramp off someplace, they weren't disciples, they were never disciples to begin with, they were never true Christians. In one of the Apostle John's other writings, 1 John 2 19, he said, they went out from us, but they weren't really of us. For if they had been of us, they would have remained with us, but they went out so that it would be shown that they all are not of us.

Departure is the design not only of defection, but of someone who was never saved to begin with. We'll have to pause right there, but Don Green will have the conclusion to both this message and John and our series Portraits of Christ next time on The Truth Pulpit. Join us then as we study God's precious Word together. Well, Don, this radio broadcast is indeed a valuable tool to help increase biblical understanding, but we have other great tools available too, don't we?

That's right, Bill, we do. Friend, we want to do everything we can to help you receive God's Word into your life, so there's a lot of resources available for you to take advantage of on our website. We broadcast our church services Sunday and Tuesday over our livestream.

All of my weekly sermons are available for easy access via our podcast, and there are also free study guides for some messages to help you or your church group study God's Word on your own. You can find all of those things when you go to the place that Bill's going to point you to right now. Just visit thetruthpulpit.com and follow the links. That's thetruthpulpit.com. And if you haven't yet found Don on Facebook, you'll find a link at the website as well. Get to know Don a little bit better and post some comments while you're there. I'm Bill Wright, we thank you for listening, and we'll see you next time on The Truth Pulpit with Don Green.