This is a transcript. It may contain small inaccuracies.

We saw last Lord's Day evening, as we were studying together this portion of the Word of God, that one of the many characteristics of a true minister and a true ministry—a true servant, whatever that ministry may be, wherever the Lord may have placed you in your sphere of responsibilities and influence—is that which Paul focuses on in the 11th verse, namely, fatherly direction. Not only is the mark of a true, faithful, trustworthy ministry, whether it's a parent to his children, an apostle to those whom he ministers, an undershepherd to his people, a Sunday school teacher, a youth leader, etc., etc., or as a witness to one's neighbor, for that matter, or one classmate or co-worker, not only must there be the gentleness of the nursing mother mentioned in verse 7—that beautiful feminine characteristic of gentleness—but there must be that masculine characteristic of fatherly direction, so little understood in our day in the natural realm, and sadly, sadly, the same can be said in the spiritual realm.

Now, we saw last week that Paul exercised this fatherly direction, which had three aspects. Number one, just to refresh our memory, there was individual attention. There was individual attention: “how we were exhorting and encouraging and bearing witness to each one of you” (1 Thessalonians 2:11), and you remember in the original, it is very strong—each and every single one of you, one by one. And secondly, that fatherly direction was exercised with varied instruction according to the need of the child of God. We were exhorting, we were encouraging, we were bearing witness.

And then the third thing we said about the fatherly direction is—but we could not expound, we could not expound it, we deferred it to today, tonight—it was that it had a clearly defined goal, a clearly defined end in view. Sure, he was giving individual attention to every single one of those believers. Sure, he had varied instruction for each one of them, but did he have an overall plan? Did he have an overall objective? Yes, he did, and he tells us what that plan was here in our text this evening, verse 12.

"So that"—see that? That's a purpose clause. "So that." “So that you would walk”, or we could translate it, to the end that you would walk. That's the end in view. To the end “that you would walk in a manner worthy of the God who calls you into His own kingdom and glory." So, we see that if we as parents, if we as Sunday school teachers, as witnesses, whatever our ministry is, if we would be biblical, faithful to the Scripture, if we would have the ministry that is owned of God, well, it must not only have this aspect of fatherly direction that deals with people individually, one by one, that varies the instruction to them according to their own need, but it must have a clearly defined objective, a clear goal, a direction to which all of this is really moving.

So, as we think our way through this text this evening, let us consider in the first place this end or goal described by the Apostle. The end, the goal described. That's the first main heading. And notice in the first place under that heading that his goal in all of his fatherly direction and instruction was a goal with respect to the walk of these people. It had to do with the walk of these people. We were exhorting, encouraging, bearing witness to each one of you as a father would his own children, so that—to the end that—you would what? Walk. The goal that he had in mind was directly related to the walk of these people. And so the question naturally we have to ask: what does the word *peripateo* (περιπατέω), translated walk, mean? What does it mean? Well, this word is used throughout the Scripture to describe—and we've come across this, and so this is just to refresh us—this word is used throughout the Scripture to describe the general direction, the general tenor, the climate of a person's life. You remember our Lord Jesus said in John chapter 8 and verse 21, "I am the Light of the world; he who follows Me will never"—and here's our word—"walk in the darkness.". “Walk in the darkness”.

Paul says in Galatians 5:16, "But I say, walk by the Spirit and you will not carry out the desire of the flesh." In the first John chapter 1 verse 7, "But if we walk in the Light as He Himself is in the Light." What does that word walk mean? Well, I think if you were to sit down and try to work out a definition, you'd come up with something like this: it's used to describe the general direction of a person's life, taking in his deeds, his thoughts, his motives. It takes in the whole spectrum of a person's life, and whenever it's moving in a given realm, we say, well, that's his walk. That's the tenor of his life. That's the climate of his life.

And so to use the Scripture—to walk in the light as He Himself—if a man walks in the light, you have a man whose thoughts, whose motives, whose actions are characterized in the main—let me underscore that—in the main, not completely, not with mathematical perfection, but in the main, they are characterized by what? Light. That's the pattern. That's the tenor, the direction. A man who walks in darkness is a man who in his thoughts, his motives, his deeds is characterized by what? In the main again, characterized by darkness.

So to walk by the Spirit means that in my thoughts, in my motives, in my deeds, in the main, my life is one depicted by the realm of the Spirit. And so Paul's concern as he instructs these people in the ministry touches their walk. In other words, his goal in all of his doctrinal instruction is what? The practical living of his hearers. And that is really key. The goal in all of his doctrinal instruction is the practical living of his hearers.

And there's a tremendous principle, beloved, involved here: that the goal of all biblical instructions is to alter the walk of those who receive it. It's not just, you know, to go through one ear and out the other ear. It has a purpose—to alter the walk of the one who's receiving the instruction. Paul says we did all these things, all of them, exhorting you, verse 11, encouraging you, bearing witness to the end that in the realm of your thoughts, the realm of your motives and of your deeds, it might be evident that the truth has filtered down and it's actually affecting and impacting the totality of your life as a result.

Now, why was this goal particularly—why was it Paul's goal? Why was this Paul's goal? Well, for the simple reason, we could say this: the reason why Paul has or had as his goal the godly walk of his hearers is simply because Paul had realized this was God's goal in redemption. That's why. That's it. This was God's goal. God's goal in redemption must be Paul's goal in ministry. That makes sense, doesn't it? Of course it does. What God has pledged to do, His servants must be earnest to do.

And we read in very simple categorical language that the goal of God in redemption is what? The godly walk of His redeemed people. We read that in a verse like Ephesians 2:10: "For we are His workmanship,”  God's workmanship, “created in Christ Jesus”, for what purpose? For what purpose? “For good works, which God prepared beforehand so that we would”, what? “walk in them." That's God's purpose. We are created in Christ Jesus with what end in view? That we should walk in those works which God had beforehand prepared for us, even those works of godliness and true piety, biblical piety.

Peter states it with a a bit of a his own way and a bit differently when he says in his first letter, quoting from the Old Testament, 1 Peter 1:15 and 16: "But like the Holy One who called you, be holy yourselves also in all your conduct.” What is that? All your conduct. That's your walk, right? It's your walk. The whole tenor of your life, your thoughts, your motives, your deeds. “Because it is written, "YOU SHALL BE HOLY, FOR I AM HOLY."”

And Ephesians 1, verse 4, Paul tells us, "He chose us in Him before the foundation of the world, that we would be holy and blameless before Him." In love. So Paul's goal is to be nothing less than God's goal. Why did God put redeeming truth in Paul's hands? Why did Paul then dispense that truth by way of exhortation, by way of encouraging, by way of bearing witness? Well, the whole end for which God committed that truth to Paul was to make His people holy.

So God's goal in giving the truth to Paul is Paul's goal in giving that truth, truth to his hearers. He states it beautifully, so beautifully and so simply, in Titus 2, in verse 10, where he says that the people of God must be careful—and I love, I love that word, that is the way it is put there. He says that the people of God must be careful to adorn the doctrine of God our Savior in everything. "You and I must be careful to adorn the doctrine of God our Savior in everything." To put that truth on, to adorn is to put it on, to put that truth on, to wear it, to wear it in the realm of my everyday walk and experience. Is that beautiful? Isn't that beautiful? To adorn the doctrine of God, to wear it, to put it on in the realm of my everyday walk and experience.

Now, will you notice how Paul did this? So the goal was to walk, and yet what was the means by which that goal was to be attained? So that's the goal, the goal is the walk, well how is that goal to be—what's the means to attain that goal? By this instruction that came essentially to where? To the mind, to the mind. Remember last week we mentioned that these three things—exhorting, encouraging, bearing witness or charging—are done with words, words addressed to the minds of God's people.

Now let us not miss this and stick with it now, it's a vital principle, beloved. We exhorted, we encourage, he says, we bore witness to the end that you should walk worthy of God, and we long that God's goal in redemption would be realized in you, Paul is saying, but the only means we had at our disposal was instruction addressed to the mind. We exhorted, we encouraged, and we charged, we bore witness. The old writers used to talk about, quote, "the primacy of the mind in the work of redemption," end of quote.

The primacy of the mind and the work of redemption, and what they meant was simply this—and this is very vital—that when God deals with us, the way He approaches us is not directly to our feelings, not directly to our will, but He approaches us directly to our minds. We are made in the image of God, we are made rational beings, and so when God is going to save a person, how does He do it? He gets His word to that person, and what does His word do? It tells that person some facts about God, it tells him some facts about himself, it tells him some facts about sin, it tells him some facts about how sin can be cleansed and purged, it tells him some facts about Christ, who Christ is and what He came to do and what He's done, some facts about repentance and faith and some facts about regeneration, doctrine, instruction, facts.

And then mingled with that there is the appeal to the affections and to the will, but the will and the affections, which must be changed before the life can be changed, are never dealt with directly by God. They're all dealt with through the mind, the truth comes to the mind, and remember what holds the mind molds the life. "How will they believe in Him whom they have not heard? And how will they hear without a preacher?" Romans 10:14. It's got to be someone to teach them.

Now what is true in getting men into the Christian faith is true also with their development in the Christian faith. How are people to be sanctified? Well, our Lord tells us the main instrument of sanctification. Our Lord delineates that very clearly in John 17:17: "Sanctify them by the truth; Your word is truth." Well, how does the truth sanctify? How does the truth sanctify? As it comes to where? To the mind. As it comes to the mind.

Exhorting, encouraging, comforting, charging, instructing, illuminating the mind. And so the Apostle Paul joins together in a beautiful way the principle that every child of God and every stable ministry must recognize, and if you miss either one of them you will fall into an area on this side or this side of terrible religious blight and even a curse, to be honest with you, because there are those who would say, well yes, yes, we must seek to be holy, we we must have God's end to our end, we must seek to have a walk that is worthy of God, and here's error number one.

So what do they do? Well, they're doing everything in their power to get people to walk worthy of God, and so they set up a list of regulations—do's and don'ts. Or they may try to move people by manipulating the emotions. They may try even at times to to clobber them over the head and and move the will and get them to do this and that and the other, and they miss the principle that the way people walk worthy of God is to be exhorted, encouraged, and charged by the word of God. The mind must be instructed before the life can be altered. So where you have all this pressure and emphasis for the life without doctrine, you have a true—you don't have a true Christian godliness if you don't have that.

At this point, there may be an objection in someone's mind: all this talk about doctrine, doctrine, doctrine, doctrine. I mean, the thing people need the most is not doctrine—they need Jesus, they need Christ, and we just got to be concerned only about getting Christ to people. Christ is the life, and we gotta get Christ to them. Enough of this doctrine. Well, here's the question: what Christ are you talking about? What Christ are you talking about? Well, the Christ of the Bible. Well, who is He? Who is He? And when they begin to define Him, what what are they doing? That's doctrine. That's doctrine. You can't have Christ without doctrine because Paul says 2nd Corinthians 11 verse 3 and 4 “But I fear that, as the serpent deceived Eve by his craftiness, your minds will be corrupted from the simplicity and purity of devotion to Christ. For if one comes and proclaims another”, *allos* (ἄλλος), “another of a different kind an”, *heteros* (ἕτερος) excuse me “another of a different kind of Jesus” “another Jesus of a different kind whom we have not proclaimed, or you receive a different spirit which you have not received, or a different gospel which you have not accepted, you bear this beautifully." That's why it's important.

So may God keep us from that sentimental pursuit of holiness which looks down upon the place of truth—truth addressed to the mind and to the understanding. That's error number one.

Error number two—and they've got the other side of the coin, where people say, well, oh yes, oh yes, indeed, we need exhortation, we need encouragement, we need bearing witness, and we need to be taught the word of God. We need to be grounded in the word of God. We need to have the doctrine come to the mind and have it straight. But then they fall short of realizing the end of all of this. It is what? Not to pat your head, but to change your life. Not to pat your head, but to change your life. Not to walk around and say, well, I know, I know the Westminster Confession of Faith, and I know the doctrines of grace, and I can... But how is it impacting my life? How's my walk?

We exhorted, we encouraged, we bore witness to the end that you should walk worthy of God. And so Paul lays out the end that he had in all of his instruction, and we see that it touched the walk of God's people, the godly walk of God's people, and that, beloved, must be our goal. That must be our goal.

We must hurry on to see how he describes that walk, that godly walk, in the second place. So let's look at the godly walk now described. The godly walk described. Verse 12: "so that you would walk in a manner worthy"—axios—"worthy of God." This word, axios, can be used in an absolute sense, or it can be used in a relative sense, and certainly here, it is used in a relative sense, not an absolute sense.

An absolute sense—well, there was nobody worthy of anything but God, right? That's the absolute sense, and the absolute sense, nobody was found to be worthy or is found to be worthy of anything but God. In the book of Revelation, you find that description of praise in the fifth chapter. There was none found worthy to open that sealed scroll, but then the voice came, "Weep not, for there is one found who is worthy"—none other than the Lamb of God, Christ Jesus, our Lord. He is the worthy one. Worthy is the Lamb. And in the absolute sense, only one is worthy, and that is our God, but in a relative sense, the word worthy, axios, is used to describe a manner deserving something.

It is used throughout the Scripture in this way. Christ said, "He who loves father or mother more than Me is not worthy of Me" (Matthew 10:37). He's conducting himself in such a way that he does not deserve the privilege of My lovingkindness, My mercy, My grace. Verse 38: "And he who does not take his cross and follow after Me is not worthy of Me."

So Paul, what Paul seems to be saying in this passage, then, is this: the end of all of my instruction is that your walk should be one that is worthy of God. That is, that you would walk like a people who belong to such a God, and therefore, express His virtue in your lives. Ephesians 4:1 and 2, actually, would be a good commentary on this: "Therefore I, the prisoner in the Lord, exhort you to walk worthy— the same expression— of the calling with which you have been called, with all humility and gentleness, with patience, bearing with one another in love."

Furthermore, we could say this: to walk worthy of God means to walk suitably to the great mercies that you've received from God. Suitably, to walk suitably to the great mercies that you and I have received from God. Walk worthy of God. Walk in a way that is commensurate with the great mercies that you've received from Him. I received amazing grace, mercy, forgiveness, lovingkindness. And then I need to walk in a manner that actually is commensurate with that.

Let me illustrate it. Trying to picture a young man, maybe his late teens or early 20s, living in a situation of absolute destitution, squalor, filth, poverty, ignorance, impending death because of his condition. His parent died when he was little. He had no home to call his own. Helpless, hopeless. Except that a man who sits upon a throne of royalty, who is a king by birth and by position, takes pity upon this young man in all of his destitution, squalor, and filth, and loneliness. He takes him out of that situation of squalor, and filth, and loneliness, and destitution, brings him into his palace, not only to set him at his table, but to receive him into the circle of his own household, his own family. And he does whatever is needed, whatever is necessary to make this young man legally adopted, a legally adopted son. And having no children of his own, this young man now becomes the legitimate heir to the throne of his father.

Now, once he's thought, and once he's brought into the court, and all of the legal transactions are settled, they're done, they're complete, he is in reality now a son of the king. He's become a son of the king. He's in reality a prince, an heir to the throne. But, but, he doesn't overnight learn what it is to walk, to think, to act, to react, to plan in every area of his life as a prince, does he? Some of his old ways still carry over with him, so from here on out, in every situation, he must now learn to bring his thinking to this perspective: How do I act in this given situation that will be worthy of my new position?

I no longer am a disinherited pauper, homeless. I'm no longer a nobody amongst other homeless men and squalor and filth. I am now a prince. I am a son of the king. I must walk, what? Worthy of my new position. I must carry myself like a prince, and whenever I would think of being ungrateful, I must think back of the mercy that has been brought to me and brought me into this position of a prince. And to walk worthy then of this calling into which he has been brought means that he will walk in such a way as to bring honor to his father, the king. Walk in such a way that will bring praise to his father's kingdom. Walk in such a way that will give no legitimate reproach to his father, the king. It means to walk in such a way that will show that he really appreciates the mercy that has been brought to him and brought him into that status of a prince and into the great inheritance of his kingdom.

Well, in a little way, that's what God has done to us, and illustrations like all of them break down in that we were not just in filth, you and I, not just in squalor of our sin, but we're actually under the wrath of the King and His judgment hanging over our heads. We were the very children of the devil, according to John 8, and wonder of wonders, God in His mercy put forth His hand and called us unto Himself and made us His own adopted sons and daughters and made us joint heirs with Jesus Christ.

But simply because we're brought into the kingdom and into the place of sonship and heirship does not mean that we automatically now conduct ourselves in every realm in a manner that is worthy of our new position in Christ. So that the whole goal of the instruction of the Scriptures, as we understand more and more about our Father and what would please Him, more about ourselves and what would displease Him, the whole end of all of this instruction, whether it's exhortation, encouragement, bearing witness, whether it is the reproving, the rebuking, the exhorting that we read about in 2 Timothy—it doesn't matter what it is—what's the whole end of it? That we might more and more walk worthy of this God who has called us.

That we who are princes might more and more be princely in all of our actions, all of our reactions, our dispositions, our attitudes, that we who are the children of God might be more and more like our Father who has adopted us into His family. This is what Paul means when he says the end of all of our instruction was this, that you might walk worthy of God.
And then will you notice with me how he describes God in this verse? Look at the text, this is incredible. Will you notice the latter part of the verse, the text? "Worthy of the God who calls you"—and the LSB translates it properly in terms of the tense, it is a present tense—"calls you into His own kingdom and glory." Now, literally, out of the Greek, here's the way to translate it in terms of the sequence, and this is marvelous. Paul is saying that you would walk worthily of calling you into His kingdom and glory, God, and you'd have hyphens between them.
And here's the point: He's described God, is described as the calling you into His kingdom and glory, God. Did you catch that? What God? The calling you into His kingdom and glory, God. Everything's hyphened. It's one long description of the God Paul's talking about. He said the God of whom you are to walk worthy of is the calling you into His kingdom and glory, God. That's the God. When you think of walking worthy, think of Him as this God. Now, He's many things to His people, but at this point, Paul says, I want you to think of Him as that God who calls you into His kingdom and glory.

So somehow the whole exhortation must be bound up in an understanding of this phrase, and I believe it is. So let's try to take it apart for a few minutes. When he says He is the God who calls you, what does this mean? What does he mean, who calls you? Does it simply mean He invites you? No, no, we've studied this word before, *kaleo* (καλέω). It means something more than that. It means more than simply summon.

These Thessalonians had not simply been summoned into the kingdom of God. They were in, they were in, in. The gospel came to them, how? In power and in the Holy Spirit, and they turned to God from their idols, and they were serving now the living God and waiting for His Son from heaven. This calling here is nothing less than that effectual call of God. Not only the summons, but the power that makes the summons powerful and draws sinners into vital relationship with Jesus Christ. 1 John 2:9, 1 Peter 2:9, “him who has called you out of darkness into His marvelous light." He's actually brought you out of the darkness into light. In Romans 8, verse 30, "and these whom He predestined, those whom He called, He also justified; and these whom He justified, He also glorified."

So when Paul uses the term—he uses the term "call"—he wants these Thessalonians, as they think of walking worthy of God, to think of Him as the God who took the initiative in their salvation. Who not only brought the gospel to them in word, but who made it actually, in fact, effectual in their hearts by the power of the Holy Spirit. The God who sought the wandering sheep and laid the sheep upon His breast and brought them home to the fold of God.
Think of Him as the God who calls you into what? What, Paul says, two things: into His kingdom—His own kingdom—and then glory. Two things. Look at His kingdom first. His kingdom. That's the place, the realm of His present blessing. Jesus said in John 3, "Truly, truly, I say to you, unless one is born again he cannot see the kingdom of God." He cannot enter into the kingdom of God. But when he's born again, he sees, he enters the kingdom of heaven.

And what is the mark of that kingdom? Romans 14:17: "For the kingdom of God is not eating and drinking. It doesn't consist in a lot of religious regulations,” do's and don'ts—no, no. What does it consist in? Present spiritual reality right now. One day, we will see the full expression of it, literally. But right now, it is a present spiritual reality. "For the kingdom of God is not eating and drinking, but righteousness and peace and joy in the Holy Spirit."

So what is His kingdom? It's that realm of the present enjoyment of all of the redemptive blessings of God that He's marked for now. Now, what is He marked for now? Well, many things—the fruit of the Spirit, right? Love, joy, peace, long suffering, peace with God, the peace of God. All of these present blessings are found where? Within the kingdom.

And he says, you people, I want you to remember all the charging, all the exhorting, all the encouraging I did had as its goal: walk worthily of God. Walk worthily of God. That God, that God—not just any—that God, the God who called you into all the present blessings of the gospel. Think of them, you Thessalonians, just like the king would say to the adopted son, think of what I brought you into when you're tempted to walk unworthily of your position. Think of what I brought you into: heirship with Myself, all of My kingdom is Yours, the smile of My face, the spread of My table, the love of My heart.

That's what Paul is saying to the believers. Think of Him as the God who calls you into His kingdom, present blessings of redemption. But that's not all. He calls you into His own kingdom and—he says—glory, glory, *doxa* (δόξα), glory. Speaking of the place of future blessing and culmination of all the present blessings of redemption.

As our Lord Jesus prayed in John 17:22 for His own, that as He Himself was to be glorified, this is what He prayed for His own. Verse 22: "And the glory which You have given Me I have given to them, that they may be one, just as We are one." Verse 24: "Father, I desire that they also, whom You have given Me, be with Me where I am, so that they may see My glory which You have given Me, for You loved Me before the foundation of the world." What a tremendous statement.

Now we sang earlier about seeing, beholding His face. Colossians 3:4 says, "When Christ, who is our life”, “Christ who is our life is manifested, then you also will be manifested with Him” -where? Where?- “in glory." “In glory”. The glory everlasting, the presence of God, heaven, the eternal state where all of the joys that we now know in germ form will come to full expression, where all of the holy longings we now have in germ seed form—the longing after God, longing for holiness, longing after purity—all of that will come to its full blossom.

Paul says to these Thessalonians, I want you to walk worthy of the calling you into His kingdom and glory God. God—that's the God I want you to walk worthily of. That's the God whom I want you to regard in every respect of relationship of life. This God to whom you're indebted for all your present blessings in the kingdom now and all the future prospects of the glory to come, the glory everlasting.

So in a most powerful way, Paul in his text lays out their gospel duty. Now keep in mind what we studied this morning, right? He lays out their gospel duty: walk—and he does it in a powerful way—walk worthy of God. Then he undergirds it and enforces it with tremendous gospel privileges and motives. You're called to His kingdom and glory. You see that? You're called to His kingdom and glory. In the light of that, in the light of the privileges, love so amazing, so divine, walk worthily. Of such great God.

Well, so much then for the text and its meaning. What does it say to us in a very practical way in this few minutes that are remaining for us? What does this text say to us as we sit here this evening, seeking to be true servants of God? Well, first of all, in the first place, it says, well, you better have a clear goal in whatever ministry you're serving. You better have clear goals or a clear goal. You better have a clearly defined goal.

Paul said, we did all of this, but we weren't just doing it to keep busy in the Lord's service. No, no, he said, I had a plan. I had an end in view. And no matter how busy I became in encouraging a saint here and charging a saint there and teaching a saint here, in all of this, I never lost sight of my goal, my end in view. And my goal, my end in view was this: I want to see the people of God walking worthy of the God who calls them into His kingdom and glory.
Do you have any clearly defined goal in your ministry? As a parent, as a classmate, as a neighbor? The goal is not just to put a little milk on the cereal and see your kids happy and go their way to school and wash their clothes and put them on their... No, no, the goal is summed up in Paul's words. Galatians 4 and verse 19: "My children, with whom I am again in labor until Christ is” -is what?- “formed in you." “Formed in you”—it's a clearly defined goal.
The goal is to labor and strive, admonishing and teaching them with all wisdom so that you may present each one of them complete in Christ. Your neighbors. Your classmates. Your work associates. What's the goal that every child of God should have for those that he labors with, prays with? What's the goal I, as an under-shepherd, should have for this beloved church, along with my fellow under-shepherds? I mean, is there any higher goal than this—that we should walk worthy of God? Can you find any higher than that? To walk worthy of God? To so walk in every relationship of life that we reflect that indeed we are sons of the King and daughters of the King?

We're not living in the squalor and the sordidness of our past. We're showing forth the virtues of Him who called us out of darkness into life, as Peter describes it. We're living not only so as to reflect the virtues of our King, but we're living under the continued sense of indebtedness for the great mercies that we have received. The God in whose light we seek to walk worthy is the God who has called us out of darkness, put us into His kingdom now, and will lend us safely in glory in the future. That's the first principle we see here. Well, that's the first principle we see here.

Secondly, second principle that we see here by way of application—and this is, by the way, the test of a true servant, a true minister, and a true ministry—namely that His goal, referring to the minister, its goal, referring to the ministry, will be the glory of God in the holy walk of the people of God. The glory of God in the walk of the people of God, the holy walk of the people of God. That was Paul's goal.

How are you going to judge a true servant? Well, you ask this: what is his goal? What is his goal? That by the teaching, exhorting, comforting ministry of the Word of God, we might have a people walking worthy of God, that God might be glorified in the worthy walk of His people. That's the goal of a true minister and a true ministry.

Beloved, the goal is not to have a full church. The goal is not to have a going church. The goal is not to have a financially lucrative church. And the goal is not even to have a busy church. But the goal is to have a people walking worthy of God to the glory of God. That's the goal. That's the goal according to Paul.

One of the old saints really caught this because he realized that it's only this that will commend the gospel to a given community. Listen to what he said: quote, "It is of no use"—he's telling one of his proteges, one of the younger ones that he's mentoring—he says, "It is of no use that we walk anywhere to preach unless we preach as we walk." —let me say that again—"It is of no use that we walk anywhere to preach unless we preach as we walk." Isn't it said beautifully? "It's of no use to walk anywhere to preach unless we preach as we walk."

That's what Paul's burden was, that the people of God would so adorn the doctrine of God that wherever they walked, they preached. The things that Paul preached were powerful things. They changed people's lives indeed. They not only declared them to be sons and daughters, they made them also act like sons and daughters. Not only declared them to be princes, but made them conduct themselves like princes. That's the mark with a true ministry. It has as its goal the holiness of those who embrace it.

And then the third principle that I see in this text, and here it is: the gospel motives alone form the driving power for gospel duties. And that connects us with the morning service, right? Gospel motives alone form the driving power for gospel duties. What are gospel duties? Here it is: walk worthy of God. Walk worthy of God.

Now what motive does Paul give to it? What motive does he give to it? Well, you see, he doesn't bring to it the motive of fear. Isn't that interesting? He doesn't bring to it the motive of fear. If you don't walk worthy of God, God might chasten you with a rod, right? Well, that's true. God does that. Hebrews 12, right? And elsewhere in Scripture, that's true. But here, in this instance, he didn't bring that motive in here. He doesn't bring in the motive of reward. If you do walk worthy of God, there might be some reward. And that's a truth taught in Scripture. But it's all in the background.

Do you see what he uses as a strong point of motivating these people in this instance? And we preach the full counsel of God. Gospel motivations here are what? Gratitude. A sense of indebtedness to God. A sense of indebtedness to God. You saved me? Really? God really saved a wretched sinner like me? A rebel? God, I wanted nothing to do with You. I was blind, dead. I was heading down that path to hell. And You saved me. Lord, why? Why out of all my family? You saved me. You brought me out of all of this. You opened my eyes. You cleansed me from my sins. You transformed me by Your power.

Walk worthy of the calling you into His kingdom and glory, God. Do you Thessalonians find that you don't have much gas to move in that direction of walking worthy of God? Paul says, I tell you what will fill your tank. I'll tell you what will fill your tank. Here it is. You just stop and think of what God did when He called you into His kingdom, brought you out of darkness by power, took you out of the clutches of the devil and the grip of sin and brought you into His kingdom. You think about that. And if that doesn't do too much for you and only gets your tank half filled, you just think about what He's called you to. You just read the last couple of chapters of the book of Revelation and read about His people looking upon His face and sorrow and sickness and sighing, gone. And joy unspeakable and full of glory, enjoying the presence of God without any of the remains of corruption and sin.

Paul says, as you think of the great privileges of the gospel, these will act as a motivating power to move you in the direction of performing the duties of the gospel from the heart. Now, the church, you see, is using all kinds of motives in our day to try to get people to do things. Entertainment, motivational feel-good sermonettes, putting together a rigid circus, as it were, to get a Sunday night audience or audience period, audience, even the name, the word audience. Offering some scintillating program, dashing, outstanding, dramatic title, some unusual speaker who's been to hell and back. It's really just absolutely nauseating.

Why? Because, you see, it's using motives that appeal to the flesh and you reap exactly what you've sown and you'll get exactly what you pitched for. Beloved, if gospel motives can't move us to gospel duties, then we won't be moved at all. That's why we're not those who come and hold over the head of God's people threats that if you don't come on Wednesday night and if you don't—no, no, no. It's just simply this way: we're privileged to meet together to pray and seek the face of God. And if you love God and love His Son and His kingdom and you're not providentially hindered, then you'll be with us.

Now, if that can't move you, then I'm sorry, you won't be moved according to God's way on any given area, in any given area. So the great third principle in our text is that gospel motives alone can lead to the performance of gospel duty, obedience from the heart. Isn't that what Paul does in Romans 12, verse 1? "Therefore I exhort you, brothers”, -by what? the what?- “The mercies of God, to present your bodies as a sacrifice—living, holy, pleasing to God." Think of the mercies. And if that doesn't move you to say, “Here, Lord, I give myself away"—Paul says, I'm sorry, I've got no lever to move you. If I can't move you with mercy, you just won't be moved.

He does that in Ephesians. After laying out all those godly doctrines in the first three chapters, he begins chapter 4: "Therefore, in light of all of this, I, the prisoner in the Lord, exhort you to walk worthy of the calling with which you have been called." I, therefore, in the light of these gospel privileges, motivate you to gospel duty.

So when our heart for the gospel duty begins to lag, meditate on your privileges. When that young man begins to be lagging in his desire to walk worthy of his princely position, he needs to sit himself down and begin to think of what his Father did when he took him out of this and brought him into his kingdom and promised him all of his kingdom in the future. He needs to remember his Father as the one who called him out of his squalor into blessing and pledged future blessing. And beloved, we need to sit ourselves down somewhere and think of what God has called us out of and what He has called us into.

Let's pray.

This is a transcript. It may contain small inaccuracies.

By the grace of God, what I would like to do this morning is simply to underscore some of the main lines of Biblical truth relative to the responsibility that we have one to another in our Father's house. This is an area of Biblical concern that ought never, never to recede from the realm of our present consciousness, never. For we must never forget that it's truth that holds our minds, that molds our lives. The truth which holds the mind is the truth that molds the life.

That's why the Apostle Peter writes and says these words: "Therefore, I will always be ready to remind you of these things, even though you already know them, and have been strengthened in the truth which is present with you. I consider it right, as long as I am in this earthly dwelling, to stir you up by way of reminder"—2 Peter 1:12–13.
And so, this is not an area that will come as something new to you. It is one of those things that is constantly set before us, but we need to be reminded of. It needs constantly to be set before us simply because it is so vital, so vital, so important an area of Biblical truth.

And as we consider the subject, I shall do so along the following lines. First of all, I want us to see together or seek to establish with you the nature of our relationship one to another because we are related as we are in the fellowship of this body of Christ that we are to act as we are to act. And then, in the second place, I will seek by the grace of God to set forth the primary responsibility that we have one to another. And then, the leading or major ways in which this responsibility is to be worked out in practical ways. And then finally, the source from which the grace needed for this responsibility is to be derived. So that's what we're going to do and that's where we're heading, Lord willing.

First of all, what is the nature of our relationship one to another in our Father's house? What is the nature of our relationship one to another? Let me state it negatively and then positively.
Our relationship one to another negatively in the fellowship of the church is not—let's begin with the negative—it's not.
 
It's not a relationship like unto that which exists between members of the local Conservative or Liberal or NDP parties. You see, they are bound together in a closely knit relationship, but they are bound merely by a common cause, a common political philosophy.

Our relationship is not like that which gathers together maybe a local astronomy club. They're bound together. They do some very specific things together, looking at certain stars and planets and clusters of stars, and they do things together. They share common sympathies, but that which binds them together is a common interest that is a hobby to them. And certainly the church must be something more than that.

And it is not like the relationship which exists between a group of avid cyclists. They get together, learn new skills from experienced riders, and they ride together and they share stories. You see, the church is not a relationship of this nature, nor is it like the relationship that exists perhaps in the Greek Canadian Community Association, where you have a group of Greek immigrants settled in a particular area, wanting to preserve their cultural background, cultural, religious practices, and so they banded together to form the Greek Canadian Community Association.

Now you see there's something different in all of these relationships, but none of them begin even to touch on the uniqueness of the relationship that Christians sustain one to another in the body of Christ. Are we bound together in common cause as the Conservative or Liberals or the NDP parties? Yes, but the church is something more, much more. Are we bound together by common interests as the Astronomy Club? Yes, but something more. Are we bound together like the cyclists by common hobby? Yes, but something more. Are we bound together like the Greek Canadian Community Association with a common heritage? Yes, but something more.

And when you press the thing down to its irreducible minimum, and you try to, as it were, to extract the living nerve of the uniqueness of our relationship in the light of the Word of God, what you will find is this: the nature of our relationship is nothing less than that of a living, throbbing, organic entity, where we are bound together by a common life—the life of God in Christ Jesus our Lord. The church is a society of people bound together by a common life, the life of God.

Statements such as 1 Corinthians 12—turn with me to 1 Corinthians 12. 1 Corinthians 12,  verses 12 and 13—are really a wonderful or an eloquent declaration of that fact. 1 Corinthians 12:12 "For even as the body is one and yet has many members, and all the members of the body, though they are many, are one body, so also is Christ. For also by one Spirit we were all baptized into one body, whether Jews or Greeks, whether slaves or free, and we were all made to drink of one Spirit."
 
So here's the concept of the church as a body, constituted members of that body by the life-giving power of God the Holy Spirit, apart from Whom—Whose operation—we are never members of that body. But when He has worked in us and upon us, well, we are brought into that body.

And then Paul changes the figure. The Spirit is not only the powerful, efficient agent working upon us to put us into the body, but then we have come to drink of that one Spirit, and so we share a common life. Also, Paul in Romans chapter 12—Romans chapter 12—uses this terminology. Look at verses 4 and 5. Romans 12:4 and 5: "For just as we have many members in one body and all the members do not have the same function, so we, who are many, are one body in Christ, and individually members of one another."
 
There is individuality, yes, but there is also corporality. There is this shared life, this common life.

Our Lord Himself underscores it in that extended metaphor in John 15, where you remember He says, "I am the true vine"—verse 1—"and My Father is the vine grower," and "you are the branches;" (John 15:5) and the branches all share in a common life. Peter uses the analogy of living stone in 1 Peter. He says, "You also, as living stones, are being built up as a spiritual house"—1 Peter 2:5.

Now granted, this is not a common life without doctrinal substance. This is not a common life without organization, without structure, without discipline—granted, all of these things are certainly true and must be true. And a reading of John 17 and Ephesians 4 indicates that just as surely as there is one body, one Spirit, there is also one faith and one body of truth. And here in this place, this body of Christ, we do not by any means downgrade the importance of doctrine, but a gathering is not necessarily a church, ‘ecclesia’, simply because a group of people subscribe to the same doctrinal standards. No, no, it is something more than that, and the New Testament is clear with reference to the doctrine of the church: the church is this throbbing, living, organic entity bound together in a common life, the life of God.

Now then, our responsibilities grow out of the uniqueness of that relationship, and the Apostle Paul, when touching on some of the most practical areas of duty, reminds us of this. Look how practical this is. I will give you but one example as we conclude our consideration of this first point. In Ephesians chapter 4—turn with me there for a second and you can see it for yourselves—in Ephesians chapter 4, here are some people who came out of a pagan background, where they are living immersed in a pagan lifestyle, where there is lying and deceit at every level: in the political sphere, in the economic sphere, in every sphere, in every realm—lying, lying, lying. And beloved, nothing changed in our day, has it? But this was true of the pagan world in which the gospel came in that first century, and so Paul says in Ephesians 4 verse 25, "Therefore, laying aside falsehood, speak truth each one of you with his neighbor." Why, Paul? Look at the reason he gives: "for we are members of one another." Do you see it? "For we are members of one another."

What a terrible thing if my finger begins to lie to my hand on this side, or my eye begins to lie to my foot. You see what Paul is doing? Taking the most practical exhortation to ethical, moral behavior, and he says the necessity of this behavior arises out of the nature of your relationship one to another. Don't lie, but speak truth because of the relationship you sustain one to another in the body of Christ.

And of course, you have this in Romans 12 and in 1 Corinthians 12, and I don't want to belabor the point. I just want to underscore it—something that I'm sure many of you, if not all of you, are aware of: the nature of our relationship as believers in the body of Christ one to another determines our duty and our responsibility to one another. We are bound together in a common life, joined to Christ, the Head of this church, Head of this body, joined to one another, joined by the Holy Spirit, and we're constituted members of the household of God.

Alright then, having established, I trust, the nature of our relationship, well, what is the primary responsibility that we have one to another? What is the primary responsibility that you and I have one to another? Now, if you have any acquaintance with the New Testament, you know that you and I have many responsibilities to one another as believers, right? There are many one another's in the New Testament, and beyond that, in fact, you read through the epistles and you read what? Do this, don't do that, do this, don't do that, do the other, do the—oh, what a great complex of responsibilities.

So whenever you find a little booklet, a 35-page booklet or book that says "The Christian Life Made Simple," don't waste your money on it. We have the whole Bible to spell out the whole duty of the whole Christian for the whole of his life, and the people that have been best at applying the whole Bible to the whole of their life, when they came to the end of their life, would say something like this: I've just begun to learn and to do it. So I'm not saying what is your only responsibility and my only responsibility; I'm addressing myself to this question: what is our primary responsibility one to another?

Now, do you have something coming to your mind, anything that comes to your mind? If you have this, that's the heart of it. If you have this, that's the heart of it, and everything else flows out of it. Everything else flows out of it. All the other one another's, they flow out of it.

Okay, well, just tighten your seatbelt and we're going to go from Romans to 1 John very quickly. Not the whole, by the way, not the whole, but just a few passages along the way. Turn to Romans 13, first of all, Romans 13. In this section of great doctrinal presentation or dissertation on the gospel, laying out to God's people the responsibilities that rest upon them as bearers of the name of Jesus, the name of Christ, Paul in Romans 13 verse 8, he says, "Owe nothing to anyone except to"— what? — "love one another; for he who loves his neighbor has fulfilled the law. For this, 'You shall not commit adultery, you shall not murder, you shall not steal, you shall not covet,' and if there is any other commandment, it is summed up in this word, 'You shall love your neighbor as yourself.' Love does not work evil against the neighbor; therefore love is the fulfillment of the law."

You see what Paul is doing, did you grasp it? He says now there are many duties, but if we have to reduce them all to one central duty, a duty which is a delight for the Christian and all the others flow out of it, he reduces it to the duty of love one to another. Love one to another.

Turn to Galatians 5, the passage that we opened up with, verse 13. Galatians 5:13, "For you were called to freedom, brothers; only do not turn your freedom into an opportunity for the flesh, but through love serve one another." Not just serve one another, but through love serve one another. "For the whole Law is fulfilled in one word, in this: 'You shall love your neighbor as yourself.'" That is the whole section referring of the law applied to horizontal relationship or responsibilities, not the entirety of the law, which is in its first part deals with our vertical responsibilities, but the whole law as it impacts my relationship to my brothers and sisters, he says, is fulfilled in one word: "You shall love your neighbor as yourself." But if you bite and devour one another, beware that you are not consumed by one another.

Turn to Ephesians 5, turn to Ephesians 5, and as you do that, all we're seeking to remember, all we're seeking to do is to see if the Bible approaches this matter of our responsibility one to another in terms of a concept of primary duty. Ephesians 5, verses 1 and 2: "Therefore be imitators of God, as beloved children, and walk in love, just as Christ also loved us and gave Himself up for us, an offering and a sacrifice to God as a fragrant aroma." He says be imitators of God, be imitators of—imitate God, be imitators of God. What does that involve? Well, many things, but primarily involves what? Walk in love, walk in love, even as the God who is revealed in Christ has loved us.

Now, the book of Colossians, chapter 3. Colossians chapter 3, again, the Apostle's giving us many practical exhortation, he brings it, as it were, to a summary and sharp focus in verse 12. Colossians chapter 3 and verse 12: "So, as the elect of God, holy and beloved, put on a heart of compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness, and patience, bearing with one another and graciously forgiving each other, whoever has a complaint against anyone, just as the Lord graciously forgave you, so also should you."

Now, stop here for a moment. You look at these verses, and bound up in these verses you have a big hunk of duties laid upon us—I mean, this is tremendous, that's an awful lot of responsibilities laid upon us as God's people—but notice what he says next. Now, (verse 14) "above all these things" — you see that? — "Above all these things put on love, which is the perfect bond of unity." You see, he doesn't say forbearance is the perfect bond of unity, he doesn't say forgiveness is the perfect bond of unity, or a heart of compassion. You see, these are all but what? Manifestations of love, right? The fruit of the Spirit is first love, right? Love—and then everything else comes after, and these are all but manifestations of love. And so he says, above all these things put on love, and as love is indeed put on, then love in its exercise will be manifested in what? Humility and compassion and forgiveness and long-suffering, even as we read in 1 Corinthians chapter 13.

Now then, turn over to 1 Thessalonians. He's exhorted them concerning many things, now he says in chapter 4, 1 Thessalonians chapter 4 and verse 9, verse 9: "Now concerning love of the brothers, you have no need for anyone to write to you, for you yourselves are what taught by God to love one another; for indeed you do practice it toward all the brothers who are in Macedonia. But we urge you, brothers, to excel still more"—excel still more, more and more in what? In this love one to another, which was taught to them by God's mighty work in their heart in regeneration by the Holy Spirit.

Then go over to 1 Peter chapter 4. Again, the apostle has been giving many exhortations, warnings against conformity to the former pattern of life, exhorting them to so walk that unbelievers—unregenerate believers, unbelievers—may see the difference, their different lifestyle, and ask a reason of the hope that is in them. Now he says in verse 7, 1 Peter 4:7, "The end of all things is at hand; therefore, be of sound thinking and sober spirit for the purpose of prayer." — Verse 8: — "Above all" — you see there is a supremacy to this duty,  a primacy — "above all keep fervent in your love for one another, because love covers a multitude of sins." And then he goes on to tell us what love will do, all the way from the opening the door of my home, the opening of the door of my heart to my brothers and sisters, to finding out what my gift is and investing it for the good of my brothers and sisters, not wrapping it in a napkin of selfishness, burying it in the earth of my own apathy and indifference. He says above all things keep fervent in your love.

And then we come, of course, to the first epistle of John, 1 John. It's so full of this, so much so you don't know where to begin and where to end. 1 John chapter 3, verse 11. 1 John chapter 3, verse 11: "For this is the message which you have heard from the beginning, that we should love one another." Same chapter, go down to verse 16: "By this we have known love, that He laid down His life for us; and we ought to lay down our lives for the brothers. But whoever has the world's goods and sees his brother in need and closes his heart against him, how does the love of God abide in him? Little children, let us not love with word or with tongue, but in deed and truth."

Then, of course, the capstone passage over all of these takes us back to John 13. John 13 and verse 34 and verse 35. John 13:34. "A new commandment I give to you, that you love one another, even as I have loved you, that you also love one another." For by this all will know that you are My disciples, if you are unwavering, unbending defenders of the truth. Is that what He says? Now let me say this. If you come to this place any length of time, you know we're absolutely, absolutely not downplaying the centrality of truth. Absolutely. It's a hill to die on. So if you're visiting with us, don't put what we say today in any other context than the context of the total ministry of this congregation. We do believe we need to be precise and fastidious about the truth. And to obscure any area of God's truth is to obscure some aspect of the glory of Christ, who is the sum and substance of that truth.

But Jesus here does not say, "By this shall all will know that you are My disciples, if you are unwavering, unbending defenders of the truth." Nor does He say, "By this shall all will know that you are My disciples, if this or that." Rather He says, If you have love one to another or for one another. Indicating that it must be a love expressed in visible deeds—visible deeds that even the godless can see and discern. Right? By this all will know that you are My disciples, by the love that you have for one to another. Well, they can't know it if it's simply something that is supposedly resident in the heart. But they know it in its visible expressions in the life and in our interaction with one another.

Now I don't think anyone would dispute the conclusion that the primary responsibility that we have one to another within this unique relationship of being members of one another is this: it is to abound in love—this biblical love. It is to abound in love to one another, and increasingly to manifest the fruit of that love in our relationship to one another in the real world in which we live. May I give it to us again? What is your primary responsibility to me as your brother in Christ? And vice versa? What is your primary responsibility one to another in the body of Christ? It is this: to abound in this love. To abound—abound to overflow—to abound in this love, in love one to another, and increasingly to manifest the fruit of that love in our relationship to each other in the real world in which we live.

That is love doing the thing that love demands in every situation given. And that may vary a hundred times in any given day. But the demand is that we love not with word or with tongue but in deed and truth. And having established something of the uniqueness of our relationship one to another—we are members of one another, we share a common life—having established, I trust, that the primary responsibility we have one to another is to love one another.

Now in the third place, what are the essential activities of this brotherly love? What are the essential activities of this love? Now there is no great significance in the order in which I am going to give them. Picture them not as a pyramid—the top one being the most important and then the bottom is the lesser one or the least one—but picture them rather as a pie. It is all cut up in slices and it does not matter where one begins. The same pie, same slice. The points are slices in a pie. So take them as that.

And the first one we are going to deal with is—well, I am going to split them under positive and negative. So let us deal with the positive ones. The essential activities of this love which is paramount. Number one, the first activity of this brotherly love in a positive vein is this: it will constrain us. It will constrain us. The love of Christ constrains us. It will constrain us to mutual forgiveness and to be blanket makers. Mutual forgiveness and to be blanket makers.
Ephesians 4:32: "Be kind to one another, tender-hearted, graciously forgiving each other, just as God in Christ also has graciously forgiven you." Earlier in this chapter, in verse 25. "Therefore, laying aside falsehood, speak the truth each one of you with his neighbor, for we are members of one another."

It will constrain us. You go back to Peter's word in 1 Peter 4:8,  "Above all" —here is the primary grace, here is the fundamental grace—"keep fervent in your love one to another,". Now notice, having underscored fervent love as the primary grace, he then is going to underscore the primary activity of this primary grace. And what is it? "Because love covers a multitude of sins."
Love will cause you to be a blanket maker. It will constrain you to cover a multitude of sins. If love is the primary grace, then Peter assumes that that grace will come into its primary demand as fellow sinners redeemed. But redeemed sinners live with one another. And guess what? Fall short of perfection before one another. And of necessity, they need to let go and throw the blanket of love over mild offenses in their relationship one to another.

And if we abound in this love. This love that we saw is our primary duty. We will find ourselves constrained to not only mutual forgiveness, but also to be blanket makers. We're all beloved. All of us. You look around and you see all of us are in a state of imperfect sanctification. We call it progressive sanctification. And love is that blessed grace that will enable us, by the grace of God, instead of focusing upon each other's faults and warts and moles, and amplifying those faults, and parading those faults, and allowing them to become breaches in our relationship one to another—we'll have that ability to cover them and put them out of sight.

Now, is Peter saying that if there's a scandalous sin, we ought to just act like it isn't there? No, no, no, no, no, no, no. That's not what he's saying. There are other passages in the Word of God that teach us: if we see a brother's sin, the nature of that sin is such that demands a rebuke, that we are to go and tell him his sin and bring that rebuke. We're to rebuke him. In Luke 17 verse 3, our Lord tells us. In Matthew 18 verse 15 and following, there's ample instruction to do that.

But, beloved, that which ruins churches—that which ruins churches, that which brings internal blight, when God has promised that all the armies of hell cannot assail the church from without—that which brings internal blight again and again is not the presence of those scandalous sins that need to be dealt with by mutual reproof and discipline. It's allowing those many little areas of common fault to become festering sores in our relationship one to another. And if false doctrine and scandalous sin has slain its hundreds, the absence of love that caused people to cover a multitude of sins has slain its ten thousands.

Oh, I entreat us, brothers and sisters, beloved, as our family grows, the capacity to sin in the house of God grows. Because every person attending or brought into the membership is a partially sanctified sinner. And the more partially sanctified sinners you have, the more possibility for sin you have. So the more love there's got to be to cover a multitude of sins. And without that—without that—do you know what's going to happen? We're going to become unglued at the seams. We will become unglued at the seams, and we will find ourselves with those attitudes that drive us farther apart rather than draw us closer together.

Well, in the second place, the essential activity of this brotherly love that's described in scripture—this primary grace—is that which not only constrains us to mutual forgiveness and being blanket makers, but also it constrains us to mutual forbearance. Mutual forbearance. Forbearance. Turn with me to Ephesians 4, verse 2. Start with verse 1. Verse 1.
 
"Therefore I, the prisoner in the Lord, exhort you to walk worthy of the calling with which you have called, with In love all humility and gentleness, with patience, bearing with one another" — But how? How? "In love". In love. ‘Anechomai’, the word translated bearing. ‘Anechomai’ It is the right response to the faults and the weaknesses and the flaws of other brothers and sisters. The Greek word literally means to hold oneself back. To hold oneself back. It came to mean in Greek—in the Greek language—what we often say in English, and that is put up with someone. Put up with someone.

Paul is saying, put up with one another in love. Put up with one another in love. You know sandpaper people, right? Sometimes, put up with one another in love. I just can't put up with that any longer. I mean, yes, I mean, yeah, but that one person—God says, well, you just better have a little more putter upper put in you. You need a little more putter upper put in you. Work on that. I will help you. Work on that. Bearing with one another in love. Forbearing one with another.

Now, what is the whole assumption? What is the whole assumption of this exhortation? Well, just as Peter assumes that there will be multitude—a multitude of moral imperfections amongst the people of God—here Paul is assuming there will be a multitude of things that will demand that I put up with you and you put up with me in love.

If that's not the assumption, then the exhortation is meaningless. Is senseless. By the way, there will be no need for forbearance in heaven. No need for forbearance in heaven. You'll be so perfect, I couldn't help but love you all the time. And I'll be so perfect, you couldn't help but love me all the time. There will be no need. No need. That's one grace that won't be needed in heaven. That's a sinner's grace. Forbearance. Right? It's a sinner's grace. Any wife here has got a perfect husband, you don't need to forbear with him. Any husband in here got that perfect—don't answer. That's why we need to forbear with one another. Well, that's true in the house of God. And what is it that motivates us to forbearance? What is it? It's love. It's love. It's the love of God. The love of God has been poured out within our hearts through the Holy Spirit.

Now this is true because not only are there moral imperfections, but there are also intellectual imperfections here. Let me explain. Our understanding of the application of the truth of God is different in a body of Christ like this. You see, we're moving in areas of sanctification at different rates of speed. We need to be aware of this. And we, by God's grace, perhaps have gone 60 kilometers an hour down this particular avenue of sanctification, and our brother or sister who has been on the road as long as we have, they've been only moving at 20 kilometers an hour in that area. And we tend to be what? Impatient. Impatient.
But keep in mind there are areas where he's been going 60 and you've been going 10 kilometers an hour. Perhaps you're reminded of what forbearance is when you walk with your loved one, perhaps your spouse.

 Or perhaps you're taking your little one for a walk and you have to put up in love with their speed. Now love demands that you do. Right? You may be trying to teach your son or daughter how to drive and they don't seem to catch on and you just want to hold on. You need to bear with their slowness in love. That's what we're talking about.

And what is it that will give us grace to do so? Love. The scripture says, "bearing with one another in love." When you find yourself unable to bear with your brothers and sisters in these areas where their thinking lags behind yours, their experience, their advance in grace, then cry out to the living God. Cry out to the living God. Oh God, flood my heart with love that will enable me to forbear with them.

It constrains us to mutual forgiveness, covering a multitude of mild offenses. It constrains us to mutually forbear with one another. And thirdly, this love flowing out along biblical channels will constrain us to mutual burden bearing. Mutual burden bearing. Romans 15 and Galatians 6, pivotal passages. And I want to clinch it really. I want to hook this one and clinch it with two rather than one passages because they balance out each other.

Romans 15. Romans 15. You're familiar with this passage. Romans 15 verse 1: "Now we who are strong ought to bear the weaknesses of those without strength and not just please ourselves. Each of us is to please his neighbor for his good, to his building up." — His edification, the building up —  "For even Christ did not please Himself, but as it is written, 'The reproaches of those who reproached You fell on Me.'"

The context, very briefly of course, is the matter of Christian liberty. And here's the man who's coming into such clear light of the truth of the gospel that in Christ all that he has and all that he is, is indeed redeemed. There's no such thing as an unclean meat and a clean meat, clean drink, unclean drink. He can take all of God's gifts, receive them with thanksgiving and partake in them with joy or of them with joy. And here's this poor, scrupulous brother. He's all the time wrestling in agony, wondering, will this please the Lord if I eat this? Will this please the Lord if I drink this? He's always just so full of scruples.

Now what's the tendency? The tendency of the strong brother is to say, come on already. Come on. Just get with it. Don't you understand the gospel? You're free in Christ. Now why are you going around like you're still half under the ceremonial law? Scruples about this, scruples about that, scruples about the other thing. Enough of this already.

Paul says, wait a minute. Just wait a minute. Are you strong? Are you strong to understand all of your great inheritance in Christ? Then you ought to be strong to understand that you're a Christian because Jesus Christ stooped to bear your burden. He could have looked upon you in your sin and in your filth and rebellion and wanted nothing to do with you, but He condescended, stooped to you in your ignorance, in your darkness, in your blindness, in your wretchedness and rebellion.

He says, now can't you do that with someone who is your brother? "Now we who are strong ought to bear the weaknesses of those without strength." Paul intends us here to understand that we are not to just put up with those who disagree with us. We put up with love, obviously, but not just to put up in terms of being angry with them and have a weak, overly sensitive conscience. Instead, we are to shoulder the load. We are to help carry their burden.

Now that doesn't mean—let me in parenthesis—it doesn't mean that we are to let those with weak consciences control how the church operates entirely. All the decisions in the church were all bound by their scruples. No, no, no. Paul says we ought to bear their weakness. Don't put them down. Don't criticize them. Don't come down hard on them. Don't dismiss them. We ought to bear with their weakness and we ought to be measured in the exercise of our liberty. As we interact with them, we ought to carry their weakness with us. We are to make sure that we consider them and come alongside of them and help them have a sanctified conscience that aligns with the word of God and that takes time and patience. To make sure that that weak conscience becomes informed with the truth of God's word.

And I say again, beloved, the more our church family grows, and God brings into it more and more cultural diversity, backgrounds that have conditioned our consciences, traditions that have molded our thinking, there are going to be more and more areas where we're going to need that grace to bear each other's burdens in the realm of Christian liberty.

But then in Galatians chapter 6, we have another line of burden-bearing. Galatians 6, look at verses 1 and 2, and this is wonderful. "Brothers, even if anyone is caught in any transgression, you who are spiritual, restore such a one in a spirit of gentleness, each of you looking to yourself, so that you too will not be tempted. Bear one another's burdens, and so fulfill the law of Christ."

Now, we need to understand that the nature of the burden that we're to bear in verse 2 is colored by the instruction given in verse 1. Don't separate the two. I love what Pastor MacArthur said concerning this quote, "The second responsibility of a spiritual believer who seeks to restore a fallen brother is to help hold him up once he's back on his feet. In this context, the reference suggests burdens that tempt a sinning believer to fall back into the trespass from which he has just been delivered. A persistent oppressing temptation is one of the heaviest burdens a Christian can have."

Does it ever occur to us, beloved, that maybe some of the sins that you see so evident in your brothers or sisters are really a burden to them? If they're Christians, truly Christians, those sins are a burden to them, because no Christian can carry sin lightly. The greatest burden to a true Christian, if he's five years old or 50, if he's been on the way a day or 20 years, his greatest burden is his sin. His sin. The sin that adheres to him, that clings to him, and, sad to say, at times overtakes him, cripples him, and how easy it is to throw stones at the brother who's been wounded, crippled by his sin.

Beloved, if we're joined together in a common life, then your burdens are mine and mine are yours. And brothers and sisters, when that happens, that's costly. That's costly. When you begin to make other people's burdens yours, that's costly. He doesn't say, bear one another's light straw loads. He doesn't say that, right? Bear one another's what? ‘Varos’, the Greek word. ‘Varos’ refers to a heavy load, heavy load, that is difficult to lift and carry. And when thing, the thing that bows my brother, my sister over, is now on my shoulders, it's going to bow me over. It's costly to bear each other's burdens.

To have a hearing ear, a sympathetic heart for the needs of your brothers and sisters is costly. Costly. But isn't that the nature of true love? To spend itself for the sake of the object loved? It's the very nature of love to spend itself for its object. And I pray that God would give us fervent love among ourselves. Love constraining to mutual forgiveness and blanket making. Love constraining to mutual forbearance. Love constraining to mutual burden bearing.

And fourthly, love constraining to mutual exhortation and admonition. One of the things that is such a joy for us who are, by the grace of God, given this privilege, undeserved privilege, to be undershepherds, elders of this congregation, is that there is the recognition that the official admonishers and exhorters of the flock are the undershepherds. "...know those who labor among you, and lead you in the Lord and admonish you." First Thessalonians 5:12.

But we must never allow that to cloud this other clearly taught biblical principle that you have a responsibility of exhortation and admonition one to another without any official bearing capacity. And two texts that come to mind. Romans 15 verse 14. Romans 15 verse 14: "But I myself am also convinced about you, my brothers, that you yourselves are full of goodness, having been filled with all knowledge and being able also to" — here it is — "admonish one another."

I love this. Paul here says that as they grow in knowledge, right, as they grow in knowledge, that is what we might call the intellectual development of the Christian. You know, your knowledge of who God is in the Christian life and all of that. And as they grow in goodness, that's the growth of virtue. As there is enlargement, we can put it this way, of heart and head. How will it find expression? "Able also to admonish one another." You see it? "Able also to admonish one another."

You see a man who comes to admonish you who's got an empty head, lack of biblical knowledge, has nothing worthwhile to admonish you about, right? The man who's got a full head but an empty heart, well, he's not in the proper frame to admonish you, right? But when he's full of goodness and filled with knowledge, he comes with the proper attitude to grant you the necessary insights. That's a wonderful balance.

Go over to Hebrews chapter 3, a similar exhortation. Hebrews chapter 3, the writer to the Hebrews warns in verse 12, "See to it, brothers, that there not be in any of you an evil, unbelieving heart that falls away from the living God." The first steps of apostasy are always steps of unbelief, always. And unbelief always is a step away from God. That's why he says, "unbelieving heart that falls away from the living God." We must dread as the plague, the plague of plagues, an evil heart of unbelief that would cause us to turn from our God.
But now by what means? What are the means that God will use in helping us that we will not fall away? Verse 13, but here's the opposite: "But encourage one another day after day, as long as it is still called 'Today,' so that none of you will be hardened by the deceitfulness of sin."
 
So here we are, all of us in our uncommon place of danger. The seeds of unbelief are part of the remaining corruption within all of us. And now he says beware, take heed, there must be constant vigilance lest the spirit of unbelief gain ascendancy and wreak havoc.
Now he says there's a wonderful preventative at your disposal. What is that? He tells us mutual exhortation.

Now you see why this is laid upon all the people of God? Because it is impossible for the recognized, duly appointed, official, exhorters, the undershepherds, the elders to have the kind of intimate and close proximity to every single member of the flock, that the members of the flock have various ones with each other. And many times when an issue has developed to a place where the undershepherds have discerned it, the gangrene has already spread. And it could have been dealt with so much sooner by some brother or sister who saw the thing months before, but who either out of a false sense of timidity or out of a lack of love did not perform their biblical responsibility.

Now I know this is liable to abuse. I know. You're always going to get someone who thinks he's the Lord's chief high inspector, going around sure that he sees in this one and that one the evil heart of unbelief, but such a person is self-condemning and the whole congregation recognizes him or her and they just learn to live with him and forbear with him or her in love. You have them in every congregation. You have to live with them. You know what I call them? Moss. M-O-S. Means of sanctification that God uses in our lives. They think they're full of knowledge but they lack goodness and sometimes they think they're full of knowledge when they're just full of hot air.

Now granted this is open to abuse, but beloved, beloved, let not the abuse of it keep us from the proper use of it. Right? And periodically this exhortation must be given. You have a responsibility to each other to exhort one another. You have this God-given responsibility. We as elders are not the only ones who have this responsibility and this undeserved privilege of doing that. You have that responsibility one to another.

And if you're in the home, for example, of a brother or sister and you notice over a period of time a pattern of unruliness among the little ones—and it may be months and months before one of the elders or pastors before they would have that opportunity to observe that pattern—you prayerfully, over time, as you see this is a pattern. It's not a one-on-one time off. Just giving an example. You take that brother aside, put your arm on his shoulder—if he's a brother—and say, "Brother, I know you want to please God, don't you?" You don't come out and say, shame on you, you're failing as the head of your household. No, no. You come with humility, with kindness and tenderness. You put your arm around him. "I know you want to please God, don't you?" "Of course I do." "And you want God to bless you in your role as a father." "Well, of course I do." "I know you do. Has it ever occurred to you that perhaps—" and then you bring the loving, gentle exhortation.

"Do you realize that that pattern in your child is willful rebellion?" "Oh no, I never realized it. I just thought that was a stage of kids go through." And you sit down with him and you open up the scripture, and maybe he wasn't reared in a home where there were patterns of biblical discipline. You see, beloved, love will constrain us to exhort, to admonish one another in love, in kindness, in humility. Love constrains us to do so.

You see, love is willing—love is willing to jeopardize the friendship. Love is willing to jeopardize the friendship when it's done in this context. Proverbs 27 verse 6: "Faithful are the wounds of a friend, but deceitful are the kisses of an enemy." And may the Lord grant us this abounding in love that will constrain us to this mutual exhortation.

And one more of the positive things this love will do, very briefly: it will constrain us to the mutual sharing of our substance when necessary. We share what God has blessed us with, right? Acts chapter 4 is the classic example. Now let me clarify something. It's not put there as a pattern to follow. It is not prescriptive, it is descriptive. It's just put there as a statement of what happens when love—biblical love—just breaks over its banks.

Acts 4:34, "For there was not a needy person among them, for all who were owners of lands or houses would sell them and bring the proceeds of the sales and lay them at the apostles’ feet, and they would be distributed to each as any had need."

The situation was dire. Many of the pilgrims converted to Christianity and faced persecution, loss of jobs, and all of a sudden you had this crisis. You had a tremendous need that needed to be met all of a sudden, and the church came along to do that.

The next verse does not say—when you read this, "and they lay them at the apostles’ feet, and they would distribute them to each as any had need"—the next verse does not say and you go and do likewise. This is simply a statement of what happened. The love they bore one to another moved them to meet their brothers and sisters needs. Do you see what their love did? That's the point. Their love caused them to move to the tangible needs of their brothers and sisters and that's the exhortation that we read from 1 John chapter 3 and verses 17 and 18. "But whoever has the world's goods and sees his brother in need and closes his heart against him, how does the love of God abide in him? Little children let us not love with word or with tongue but in deed and truth."

And think of God's love to us in Christ. What we needed was someone to come amongst us to live as a man, a perfect man, a perfect life to live that perfect life of obedience to the law and as a man to die the cursed death that the law demanded. And yet he needed to be something more than man to give an infinite worth both to his obedience and his sacrifice, his death that could apply to an innumerable company of the redeemed. And so our need was precisely that and the Lord Jesus Christ, God the Son came and met that precise need because he loved us. And so if we have this love abounding one to another it will compel us, it will constrain us even to the sharing of our substance where this is needed. And may the Lord grant to us that measure of love that will constrain us to practical expression.

Well, I was hoping to deal with the negative—what this love will restrain us from. You see, love not only constrains us to certain things, but it restrains us as well. But my time is gone, so I'll just give you one point of the many that I had hoped to give. I'll leave it at this, and this is really self-explanatory: this love will restrain you from harming your brothers and sisters. It will restrain us from harming our brothers and sisters.

Romans 13 verse 10: Love, he describes it negatively here, "Love does not work evil against a neighbor." It doesn't—it doesn't. Love works good, that's the positive, but now he states it negatively: "Love does not work evil against the neighbor." You see, love will be the monitor, the rein upon my tongue. Love will be the monitor upon my attitudes. Love will be that great purgative that will keep me from harboring bitterness and resentment. Anything that harms my brother, my sister—love will restrain me from moving in the direction of that which will harm my brother or my sister.

And what is the source of this brotherly love? Well, we've seen that our relationship is that of a shared life. Our primary duty is that love—love for one another. We've looked at five channels that love will cut in the life of God's people.
 
What is the source of this brotherly love? Well, in conclusion, number one: the presence, the presence of this love is an indispensable accompaniment of regeneration. The presence of this love is an indispensable accompaniment of regeneration. It's part of being a Christian. It happens at conversion.

That's one of the primary lessons of the book of 1 John chapter 2 verses 9 through 11, chapter 4 verses 7 through 8, chapter 3 verse 14, where we read, "We know that we have passed out of death into life" —how?—"because we love the brothers." You see it? You see, we are brought into the body of Christ, the body of that shared life, and there's that reflex sense of responsibility and attachment to those who share that same life, and it's an indispensable accompaniment of regeneration.

Paul could say to the Thessalonians, I don't need to write to you to love one another, you are already taught of God to love one another, right? 1 Thessalonians 4:9. That's one of the blessings of the new covenant: They shall all be taught of God. Isaiah 54:13. You read that quote also in John 6 and verse 45.

We love one another because we're Christians, because we're born again by the Spirit of God. The Spirit of God is shed abroad in our hearts—this love—Romans 5:5, by the Holy Spirit.
And if you're here this morning and find, well, I'm in this building, I can sense that these people here sitting around me, you know, share something in common, something special in common together as they sing, as they listen, and the truth is being taught, and obviously their hearts are being—I can sense it, I can see it, people responding, there's something going on here—but I feel I'm like on the outside. Am I talking to someone like that today? You feel that you're on the outside because you are on the outside.

That's why a Christian can go into a group of people who don't even talk his language and in 30 seconds feels that he's on the inside. Their shared life—even though they can't share the same language—and they're conscious of that shared life, they click, they mesh. And you may be here today and feel like you're out, you're not part of what's going on here—that is a shared life. My friend, the reason you're not part of it is because you're not part of it, and you'll never be part of it until you are born again by the Spirit of God, and until the life of God becomes in your heart, comes into your heart, into your soul. And it cannot be until you have direct dealings with the One who's given that life, the Lord Jesus Christ, who said, "I am the way, and the truth, and the life; no one comes to the Father but through Me." And so I point you to Him this morning.

Seek Him, call upon Him, come to Him.

And then finally, then for you and for me who are Christians, the growth and increase of that love is the consequence of walking in the Spirit. I'll close on that. After Paul exhorts to this love in Galatians 5, his next word is what? Walk by the Spirit, for the fruit of the Spirit is—what?—love.

You see, many times next to coldness in our vertical longings, our love for the Word and for prayer, the first manifestation that we've grieved the Holy Spirit of God is that we begin to have problems with our brothers and sisters. Things that we could overlook suddenly now begin to be magnified. Burdens that once were such that we felt we had to bear them and we bore them in love, now we can behold them with polite indifference, at times feel aggravated.

Oh, may God speak to us and cause us as His people to abound in this love more and more to the end that all men will know that we are His disciples. Is it too much to believe that our growth numerically need not be the relinquishment of the intensity of mutual love? Is God's grace able to extend itself, and I speak reverently, to the new dimensions of His body? Does He give the increase in order to give decrease of spiritual life and vigor? Unequivocally I say absolutely not. Let us look to Him for the grace needed that we may abound in love one to another.

Let's pray.

This is a transcript. It may contain small inaccuracies.

What characterizes a ministry that can be trusted? That's what we're learning together in this second chapter of 1 Thessalonians. Paul began to sow the seeds of what he's explaining in chapter 2 all the way back in chapter 1. But now in chapter 2, he's getting into the details, and he's sort of working out the details of what he began to talk about in the first chapter.

We noted already that wherever you have faithful ministry, you are going to encounter opposition—at times, fierce opposition. Sooner or later, it's going to happen. You're going to face it. And understand that standing behind the fierce human opposition is the enemy of our souls—the devil himself. Which explains the fierceness, the viciousness of what we meet with at the hands of people. Because standing behind their viciousness is the devil's viciousness. He hates God. He hates the people of God. He hates the church of God. And so we can be sure that we're going to face opposition.

This is also an opportunity, however, for what God does—when He does what He does—to be proven. To be validated. Every bit of opposition that we face is sovereignly watched over. Never forget that. It's sovereignly regulated. And it all serves as an opportunity for proven character. An opportunity for proven obedience. No matter what.

And so it was that Paul often faced the need to set the record straight when it came to the slander, the accusations, the innuendo that he had to deal with in the course of ministry. He faced much opposition. Much slander. Ascribing to him ill motives. Slandering his name. His reputation. And as we've noted, you remember he had to leave—he and the missionary team had to leave Thessaloniki on short notice. And the result is that you have these spiritual sharks, these spiritual wolves, taking advantage of that. They began to question his motives to the minds and the hearts of the Thessalonians themselves.

And so of course he cannot let this stand—this infant church—for the sake of the church, for the sake of his role with the churches as an apostle of Jesus Christ. And he needed to protect the sheep, he needed to protect the flock. For the sake of their souls, for the sake of the truth, he had to answer the opposition. And he does that here in chapter 2.

But as he does that, we can be so grateful because what we have then is a divinely inspired, divinely authored demonstration of what it means to have a trustworthy ministry in general. I mean, what characterized Paul's ministry should characterize all ministry—all ministry, formal or informal. And so as he sets forth and what made his ministry trustworthy, we can examine ourselves, we ought to examine ourselves and ask, are we characterized by the same? Are these characteristics to be found in our ministry? Each and every one of us. And you can examine any ministry you want to examine and ask this question: is it characterized by the same? That's how you evaluate, you learn how to evaluate ministries around you.

So we noted that in verse 1 through verse 12 we have the true marks, the true characteristics of a true trustworthy ministry—true trustworthy servants of Christ. And this is referring not only to the one who stands in the pulpit or goes out as a missionary or as in the case here as an apostle like Paul, but whether that ministry is found in the home as a parent, a neighbor to your neighbors, one in a place of employment to your work associates, or even a student to your fellow students, regardless. Wherever the Christian is, that's your sphere of influence. He's not only there as a Christian but also as a servant of Christ—in fact, as an ambassador of Christ. We are salt and light. Therefore, what was true of Paul as a servant, as a minister, should be true of us. And what was true of his ministry by the grace of God ought to be true of us and ours, our ministry.

Now, last week in studying verse 2, we discovered that the first two marks of a true minister, true ministry, true servanthood, true service of Christ—number one is opposition. Opposition, and bound up in this, really, suffering and boldness. That's unfettered freedom leading to a full disclosure of the truth of God.

So we're told, "but after we had already suffered and been mistreated in Philippi, as you know, we had the boldness in our God to speak to you the gospel of God amid much struggle." So opposition is one of the marks that really characterize true ministry, true servants. But in the midst of that, you have boldness. You have full disclosing of the mind of God.

And we saw together that this is not a boldness that is rooted in personality or in experience, but in our relationship to God. Notice what he says, "we had the boldness in our God." This is not boldness in my abilities, boldness in my experience, boldness in my cleverness. No, no, this is boldness in our God to speak to you the gospel. That's the mark of a true servant, the mark of a true ministry.

Well, tonight, beginning with verse 3, the apostle lays out some more of these marks of true ministry in a series of negatives and positives—negatives and positives. So he'll say our message and ministry was not this, but it is this. It was not that, but it was this. Well, this evening, as time permits, we shall study verses 3 and 4 as the first series of negatives and a positive.

Notice verse 3 with me: "For our exhortation does not come from error or impurity or by way of deceit." —That's the negative. That's the negative. Now the positive, verse 4:— "But just as we have been approved by God to be entrusted with the gospel, so we speak, not as pleasing men, but God who examines our hearts." So let us now, with the help of the Spirit, seek to understand what the apostle is saying.

Let's begin with the negative. And the negative is found in verse 3, particularly the first series of negatives, begins in verse 3 with these words: "For our exhortation does not come from…” —this, this, or that. Paul summarizes his whole ministry as an apostle under this descriptive word, our exhortation—our exhortation, paraklēsis. This is a very broad word, Greek word. Sometimes this word means instruction. Sometimes it means admonition. Sometimes it means comfort. Sometimes it means entreating. Sometimes it means encouragement. Well, sometimes it takes in all of these things. All of them.

So Paul describes the whole discharge of his ministry, his labor, under the heading paraklēsis. It's a very flexible term. And he uses this all-embracing word. Now he says, our exhortation, that is, the whole substance of our ministry, of our labor in the Lord, he says, does not come from planē, error translated. It's a word which in its root means to wander away from the proper path, planē. It's wandering out of the right way.

In Matthew 18, verses 12 and 13, it is used that the sheep that goes—what?—astray. It wanders from the proper path. It wanders from the right path. And when a sheep goes astray, what does he do? Well, he moves out of the path marked out for him by the shepherd. Now the root word has that concept of leaving the beaten track. Leaving the proper path. And then when it's transferred into the realm that Paul is using it, it's used as the exact opposite of the truth. The truth.

For instance, in 1 John 4, verse 6, John says, "From this we know the spirit of truth,”— and notice the opposite now,— “and the spirit of”—planē,— “error." Error. Same word. So what's the opposite of truth? Error. So it's properly translated here in the LSB.

Now Paul says our exhortation does not come from error. Now why does he bring this at this point? Why does he mention this at this point? Well, for the simple reason that suffering and boldness are not of themselves sufficient marks of a true minister and a true ministry. They're not sufficient by themselves.

For instance, Joseph Smith, the leader of Mormonism, suffered great opposition. In fact, he was killed and certainly was very bold. And he would pass the first two marks of a true servant, with the exception that he cannot say we had boldness in our God. The real God, at least. The God of the Bible. Maybe an heteros God, another of a different kind, his own imagination. While he was bold, he suffered opposition.

Judge Rutherford and Charles Taze Russell, the founders of Jehovah's Witnesses, they certainly were bold. And Jehovah's Witness movement to this day bears the shadow and the imprint of the brazen boldness of its founders. These men were bold. They suffered opposition. So if the only two marks of a true servant, true minister, true ministry are opposition and boldness, then these men would qualify.

But now we move into verse 3 and we immediately confront this third mark of a true ministering, the ministry, the true ministry. Namely, that his ministry is rooted not in error, but in objective truth. So the apostle declares of himself, our exhortation was not rooted in, drawn out from a source that was wrong, that was false. It was not, to use the word under inspiration, it was not a ministry framed by leaving the beaten path of revealed truth. It wasn't a ministry framed by leaving the beaten path of the right way.

But everything we preached, everything we appealed, every appeal we made, everything we delivered was found to be right smack, dead center, in the path of the truth that God revealed in Holy Scriptures, consistent with the mind of the Holy Spirit. That's what he's saying.

So then we're confronted with this third mark of a true ministry, the third mark being this: its content is one characterized by truth. By truth. Now, we live in a day that likes to downplay any concept of objective, revealed, definable truth. We live in a day where the whole thrust is, we've got to love one another, hold hands, sing kumbaya, we've got to be kind, we've got to be concerned about this and that and the other and with the mess of the world that the world is in. We've got to really just kind of love each other, and we've got no time to sit around and debate whether a certain statement is wrong or right, true or false. We've got to put all that behind us, just all syrupy, gushy, sticky love.

Paul would say no, no, for the simple reason that what you believe may damn your soul if you believe error. Truth matters. So then the mark of a true minister is that he is committed to that pathway of truth, which is the Holy Scriptures. "... Your word is truth," our Lord said. John 17:17. And by way of extension, the mark of a true parent discharging His ministry as a parent is that He discharges it within the framework of the truth of God. The mark of a true witness as he stands in his neighborhood, in his classroom, on college campus or university campus, seeking to be a witness to his neighbors, to his fellow students, is that he does so within the framework of revealed truth, objective truth.

Now if that's to be true of you and me, then a tremendous responsibility lies upon us that we know then what the beaten path is, right? How are you going to tell if somebody is ministering to you outside of the beaten path if you don't know what the beaten path is? Right? How are you going to tell if somebody is doing that? I mean, the only way to preserve the truth of God in the church is by the grace of God to make theologians out of everybody sitting in a chair or the pew. That's what R.C. Sproul said. Now, not theologians in the sense that they understand all of the technical terms and all of the refined aspects of theology, that's not what is meant. But when they hear a statement like justification, they know what it means. They know what it means.

And if someone stands up and says, well, justification has to do with a just life, they'll immediately say, absolutely not. That is false. That's wrong. That's an error. Justification has nothing to do with how you live. Justification has to do with something God declares. God declares to be true of men in the courts of heaven when they put their trust in His Son, when they believe in His Son. And they'll be able to know the difference between justification and sanctification. Yet, knowing the difference, if someone should say, well, it's perfectly possible for a person to be justified and have a right standing in heaven, but not be sanctified and be living like the world, then they'll be able to say, absolutely not. That's out of the beaten path. It's out of the beaten path.

Although justification has to do with the court of heaven, sanctification has to do with the heart of a man, and the two, according to Scripture, are never divorced. They're always joined together. And what God has joined together, let no man separate. This is what I mean by making theologians out of people in the pew or chairs, so that if someone comes and says, well, you know, really, maybe you people have been told that what you need to be faithful is to be faithful to the words of Scripture. We need to be faithful to the very words of Scripture. But certainly you realize it's not the words that are important. It's really, really the thoughts behind the words. You'd be able to see right through that and say, wait a minute. That's impossible, because thoughts are framed by words, and if you change the words, you change the thoughts.

Do you know that whole denominations have gone down the drain of liberalism as a result of putting lies into the hands of people in the name of truth? And people are taking it in, assimilating it into their very bloodstream, and being damned and poisoned with lies. Why? Because people who sat in the pew figured, well, only the preacher needs to know theological distinctions. That's not important to me. Just— I want to love Jesus. Beloved, it is important, for if you're to know the difference between a true ministry and a false ministry, you've got to know what the beaten path is before you can discern when someone's gone out of that path and went off on a tangent.

And so the apostle declares, our ministry, our exhortation does not come from error. But by contrast, it was what? What is he saying? It was one of truth. It was one of truth.

Then he says in the second place, and this is the second negative now we find here, it does not come from impurity. It doesn't come from impurity. Akatharsia. Akatharsia. This word, in almost every instance in the New Testament, it is used in the connotation of sexual impurity. In Romans 1, for example, in that terrible list of perversions, it's mentioned in verse 24. In Ephesians 5:3, it speaks of the impurity, uncleanness, along with the sexually immoral person. In Ephesians 5:5, it is used as an adjective connected with the sexually immoral person where we read, "For this you know with certainty, that no one sexually immoral or”—here's the word, akatharsia,— impure or greedy, who is an idolater, has an inheritance in the kingdom of Christ and God."

Now here's the question. Why would Paul ever use such a word as this here in our text? Well, I mean, he says, for our exhortation does not come from error or akatharsia, impurity, uncleanness. What meaning would this have to the Thessalonians? Well, beloved, it would have a very real meaning to them. Remember, many of them had been what? Idol worshipers. How you turn from idols to worship, serve the living God, right? Chapter 1, verse 9. This is how Paul spoke concerning them, how they turned from that. They were idol worshipers and one of the marks of many of the heathen idols in the day in which Paul lived in the Roman government under Roman rule.

In these heathen temples, you remember, the deities, the gods who are worshipped were notorious for their sexual escapades. In fact, many of the gods had little gods by illicit relationship with other goddesses. And so it was not uncommon for heathen temples to be filled with prostitutes and to have immoral acts as part of the worship of the heathen deities. It's only logical that if your gods are like that, the ultimate is to be like your God. Therefore, unclean gods produce unclean worshipers. So Paul, by contrast, says, our exhortation does not come from error or impurity. This would have had real meanings to these people.

The opposite, of course, of impurity is what? Purity. Holiness. And by the way, the two things are used as opposite. In chapter 4, where Paul says in verse 7, "For God did not call us to,”— and here's our word,— “impurity,”—akatharsia— “but”— look at that,— “in sanctification." Our message, rooted in truth, and our motive under God to see purity and holiness produced in the hearts and the lives of people.

The apostle recognized, as we must recognize, the fourth mark with a true ministry is this. It will not only be a proclamation of truth, but a proclamation of the truth that leads to purity and godliness of life. Titus 1:1, he uses a term, the truth, which is according to what? Godliness, godliness. Truth and holiness are always joined together, and conversely, error and impurity are generally joined together.

Listen as I read several passages that show the relationship between error and impurity, and this is fascinating, fascinating. Revelation 2, verse 20, the Lord Jesus says to the church of Thyatira, you remember, "But I have this against you, that you tolerate the woman Jezebel, who calls herself a prophetess"—you see, she's claimed to speak truth, right? That's what she claimed, to be speaking truth in the name of God. She claimed to be speaking inspired truth, and you know, a prophet was one who spoke as the mouthpiece of God, right? And Christ says to this church, you've allowed that woman who calls herself a prophetess to deliver so-called truth in the name of God, but what was the result? What was the result of that? What was the practical outworking of that? Here it is. He goes on to say,— “who calls herself a prophetess, and she teaches and deceives My slaves so that they commit sexual immorality and eat things sacrificed to idols." You see? You see, the error proclaimed was inseparably joined to impurity of life, which followed an embrace of the error, always.

In the book of Jude, you have the same thought. The theme of this chapter, of course, dealing with false teachers and their influence upon the people of God. Notice what he says about them in verses 10 through 13. Jude, verse 10, "But these men blaspheme the things which they do not understand, and the things which they know by instinct, like unreasoning animals, by these things they are destroyed. Woe to them! For they have gone the way of Cain, and for pay they have poured themselves into the error of Balaam, and perished in the rebellion of Korah. These are the men who are hidden, who are hidden reefs in your love feasts"—see, they attend the church, they're part of the church—"when they feast with you without fear, caring for themselves; clouds without water, carried along by winds; autumn trees without fruit, doubly dead, uprooted; wild waves of the sea, casting up their own shame like foam; wandering stars, from whom the black darkness has been reserved forever."

Drop down to verse 16. "These are grumblers, finding fault, following their own lusts." And in verse 19, he describes them as what? “...worldly-minded, not having the Spirit.” They have their own lusts, and they're worldly-minded. So you see that there's connected with false teaching, false uncleanness, and immoral living.

So the Apostle Paul vindicates his ministry by saying that his message was not only rooted in truth, but the whole motivation, the proclamation of that message, was that it might produce purity, holiness of heart, and holiness of life.

Now, notice how history bears out this principle. Joseph Smith claimed to be a prophet, didn't he? Right? And he claimed to have special gifts to interpret and to read these golden plates that were buried near Palmyra. But wonder of wonders, when he reads the plates, he finds that it's all right for a man to have a bunch of wives. Of course, you've gotta do this in the name of God. But what was he doing? Finding justification for giving himself over to the flesh. That's it. The uncleanness of the flesh was inseparably joined to the error that he proclaimed.

And so the Apostle Paul, in vindicating his own ministry and in giving the marks to the true minister, he says that our exhortation was not in its content of error or in its motive of impurity or uncleanness. Nor, in the third place, he says, was it in deceit. That's the next negative. In deceit. And the word deceit is the Greek word dolos. It means guile, crafty, deceitful, deceitful talk, cunning conduct.

Maybe I can best illustrate it with a little humor story. Perhaps I may be silly, but I hope it makes the point clear. Think of a little fox. And foxes are known for their wily, guile ways. So this fox sneaked into farmer Brown's chicken coop. Creative, farmer Brown, right? So one night he sneaks into farmer Brown's chicken coop by a little hole that he just about barely could squeeze himself through, the corner of the chicken coop. And so he's got in and just had the best feast on chicken that night. And when he was all done, he was so stuffed up that his side was so swollen, he couldn't get out. The hole now is so tiny for him.

So he said to himself, oh my, oh my, I'm in a bind. I'm in a tight spot here, I'm in a fix. When farmer Brown comes out to the coop in the morning to check for eggs and he finds me in here, I mean, I'm done. So this has really been my last meal. That's it for me. So the fox figured, well, what shall I do? Well, he came up with a plan. So that morning while he was looking out the chicken coop, he could see through the little hole. Though he couldn't squeeze out, he saw farmer Brown coming. In the midst of all the feathers that have been flying around and the chickens there now inside his tummy and the other chicken, the rest huddled over in the corner, scared.

As he drew near the chicken coop, farmer Brown, the fox lay down right in the middle, played dead. And so farmer Brown came in, saw that fox lying there, looking dead, saw the evidence of what had happened, what had been done, and in his anger, he picked it up by the tail, threw it, what he thought was dead carcass, out the front of the chicken coop front door. And no sooner than he'd done that, that that little wily fox ran away with his tummy full. You see, the fox caught farmer Brown with guile. He deceived him. He was sly, we say, as the fox. He was being true to his fox nature.

Well, that's the thought behind the word dolos. That which is deliberate, planned, deceit, cunning, guile, craftiness, and now the Apostle Paul says, my ministry, my preaching was not in its content of error. My message was truth, nor was my motive to produce impurity, but conversely holiness, and now he seems to be touching not so much on the message, not so much on the motive, but now on his methods, he says it was not by way of deceit. He uses a different preposition here. First, he uses ‘ek’, now he uses ‘en’. He said, for example, it was not ‘ek’, literally out of a source of error, or out of a motive of impurity, but ‘en’, in the context of honesty and openness.

Here, there was no deceit, no guile, there was no craftiness in my ministry. And as I mentioned, it seems that Paul here is referring to his method. Now, notice the relationship. When he came with a message that was rooted in objective truth, revealed truth, with a motive that God would so work as to produce holiness, he didn't have to use any tricks. He didn't have to be underhanded. He didn't have to be sneaky. He could come right into the synagogue, open up the scriptures, and proclaim that Jesus was the Messiah.

And if people say, well, what are you doing here? Well, what do you want, Paul? And you could say, as we'll study later on, I really don't want anything from you, absolutely nothing from you. I've come to do nothing but to give the message of life to you, that's all. No tricks, no gimmicks, none of the arts and crafts of the false teachers, that's it.

When you read 2 Corinthians 11 about false teachers, this very word is used about the false teachers, that they're marked by their cunning craftiness, by their guile, by their deceit. We read in 2 Corinthians 11, verse 13, “For such men are false apostles, deceitful workers, disguising themselves as apostles of Christ." And no wonder, for even Satan disguises himself as an angel of light.

This is true of the so-called religious teachers who stand in the name of Christ and truth, and will give things that are not in the beaten path of the revealed will of God. And frankly, beloved, it's a deep concern. With so much of the popular methods that we hear concerning evangelism today, they're marked by the craftiness, the wildness of the false teacher. The modern gospel invitation—much of it is psychological manipulation, craftiness.

You see this whole idea of using psychological pressure and gimmicks and tricks, the tricks of the sales world to somehow get a response out of people—beloved, this is entirely foreign to the ministry of Paul. He said that my ministry, my exhortation, was not by way of deceit. I stood among you in my motives and my message and my method; we're all above board, and we're disciplined by the word of God, regulated by the word of God, rooted in the word of God.

May God grant that you and I can say that as parents, that you and I can say that as witnesses, salt and light to our neighbors, to our friends, to our fellow workers. What a tremendous thing, by the grace of God, at the end of one's life, to be able to say, in spite of all of my failures, in spite of all of my shortcomings, by the grace of God, what I sought to tell my neighbors, to tell my children, to tell my friends, to tell my work associates, to tell the people to whom I ministered, was rooted in the truth of scripture, had as its motive the producing of purity, and was carried out in the realm of absolute honesty and openness. There was no deceit, no guile, no craftiness.

That's the negative. Well, we get to the positive. He doesn't leave us with a negative. Verse four—he turns in verse four to the positive, and the reason why verse three is true is because of verse four, because of verse four. What keeps a man sticking to the beaten path of the Word of God? What keeps a woman sticking to the beaten path of the Word of God? What keeps a person, a child in his motive, pure, longing to see the truth produce purity? What keeps a man from tricks and gimmicks and guile in his witness, in his ministry, in his service? Verse four is the answer.

"But just as we have been approved by God to be entrusted with the gospel, so we speak, not as pleasing men, but God who examines our hearts." And here's the first positive statement. Paul says, I speak as a man who has been approved by God, appointed of God. Why don't I swerve from the truth? Why don't I swerve from the beaten path of revealed truth? Why, I dare not? Well, because the God of truth has appointed me to proclaim His truth. He's approved me. He's appointed me.

Why will I not swerve in my discharge of my duty, my responsibility in the ministry, as a witness, as a parent, as a friend, as a brother, as a sister? Why? Because I have been appointed and approved of God. Notice a larger statement of this in 1 Timothy chapter 1, allowing the scripture to interpret scripture. 1 Timothy 1:11 through 14. I want you to see that with me.

1 Timothy chapter 1, verse 11. Paul says,  "According to the gospel of the glory of the blessed God, with which I have been"—same word—"entrusted." —And we'll take up that thought in a moment, this whole idea of a trust.— "I am grateful to Christ Jesus our Lord, who has strengthened me, because He regarded me faithful, putting me into service, even though I was formerly a blasphemer and a persecutor and a violent aggressor. Yet I was shown mercy because I acted ignorantly in unbelief, and the grace of our Lord was more than abundant, with the faith and love which are in Christ Jesus."

He's saying God has counted me faithful, putting me into the ministry. And the question that arises: is Paul saying that God looked down, as it were, watched his conduct for a period of time, and said, well, you know, by the way you're living and acting, Paul, you qualify, therefore, I'm going to put you in the ministry? No, that's not what happened. That appointment came by an act of divine sovereignty in the context of what? Mercy and grace. Mercy and grace.

Notice this so clearly stated in Acts 9, verse 15: "But the Lord said to him, 'Go, for he is a chosen instrument of Mine, to bear My name before the Gentiles and kings and the sons of Israel.'" A literal translation would be, he's a vessel of election unto Me. He's a vessel of election unto Me. He's a chosen instrument of Mine. I have chosen to lay hold of him and to make him a minister to the Gentiles. And it's all by the grace of God, sovereign grace.

Paul understood this, for he says in 1 Corinthians 7:25 that he gives a judgment as one who—by what? The mercy of the Lord—is trustworthy. By what? By his own cleverness, by his own holiness, by his own trustworthiness? No, by the mercy of the Lord is trustworthy. The Lord's mercy is what makes me faithful.

And then 2 Corinthians 3:5: "Not that we are sufficient in ourselves to consider anything as coming from ourselves, but our sufficiency is from God, who also made us sufficient as ministers of a new covenant." So Paul then recognizes, I have been approved by God. God has laid hold of me. He has appointed me to this task with responsibility as a minister, as a servant.

Therefore, I dare not do anything other than speak the right message from the right motive and use the right method. That's what he's saying.

God has laid hold of me. God has appointed me. God has approved me. And secondly, He says, I have been entrusted. I have been given a trust. He says, we have been approved by God to be what? Entrusted with the gospel.

Now, when you are made a trustee of something, what do you have? What kind of responsibilities do you have? You have two basic responsibilities when you've been made a trustee of something. First of all, you are to preserve that which is put into your trust. And secondly, you are to rightly administer that trust.

Now, Paul had a tremendous sense of this concept. I have been entrusted by God with the gospel. We read about it in 1 Timothy 1. I have been allowed of God to be put in trust with the gospel. Something has been committed to me that I might first, first of all, preserve it and preserve it as is, preserve it in its entirety, and that I may also administer it God's way, the way God wants it to be administered, not my way.

Oh, beloved, if God would burn this into our hearts, then a sense of responsibility comes upon us just to stick by the direction of the Word of God, that it would grip our hearts in every area of our ministry. As you're a parent and you think of your responsibility, how are you going to discharge it? If you are worthy of the name parent, you're going to discharge your parental responsibility, conscious of these two things. I've been appointed of God. He has given me this privilege of parenthood. He has put in my trust this responsibility.

I am not to determine how I should administer it, how it should be administered. I am not to determine how I should discharge the trust. I am to come to this beaten path. I am to come to the Scriptures. I am to glean from the Word of God all the principles involved in the administration of the trust, and then I am to preserve it, and I am to discharge it in its entirety without any reference to the smiles or the frowns of my children or society or the world about me.

I am put in this neighborhood there as a witness, there by the appointment of God as His child, as His witness, as His ambassador. How am I to discharge my trust? I'm to discover from the Scripture what that trust is, how to discharge it, and then discharge it without any reference to the smiles or the frowns of those about me, and so forth and so forth. You can see the wide-reaching impact of the application.

Paul could speak as a man conscious that he was chosen by God, given a trust from God, and then notice this third principle that comes into the text. So we speak, not as pleasing men. Not as pleasing men. Paul did not love the glory of men more than the glory of God, right? He didn't. Not as pleasing men. If I was still pleasing men—meaning as I used to be before I came to know the Lord, that's my lifestyle, that's the pattern of my life, right?—I wouldn't be a servant of Christ, he says. I'm no longer that. So we speak, not as pleasing men, but God who examines our hearts.

In other words, I've been appointed by God, I've been given a trust from God, and I am a servant accountable to God. And when you get those three things together in the heart of a man or a woman, then, guess what? He is immovable. She is immovable. You can't budge them. You can't budge them. They become filled with a sanctified stubbornness and immovability.

God has laid His hand upon me. God has given something to me, and I shall stand before that God. Here I stand. I could do no other. Now Paul recognizes, you see, that much of what he has given, much of what he has been given as a trust in the gospel, is not pleasing to men. He knew that. That's why he says we speak not as pleasing men. Of course.

God has charged me to proclaim to men what the Bible says about them, the full counsel that they're dead. They're dead in trespasses and sins, blind, wretched rebels, sinners who deserve the wrath of God, the curse of God. I've been charged to proclaim to them the glorious gospel that says the only hope of sinners is in the cruel, bloody Roman cross upon which the Son of God died and shed His blood. And I'm to declare to men that unless they're walking in holiness, they have no grounds to claim they are Christians, because when God transforms a life, when God saves a life, He transforms a life.

I'm to proclaim all these truths, every one of which is repulsive and distasteful to the natural heart, for the natural man does not accept the depths of the Spirit of God, for they are, what? Foolishness to him. So Paul says, if as I take this trust, the gospel committed to me, and as I begin to administer it, and I check my approval ratings, he said, something's going to happen if I do that. If I'm worried about my approval ratings, something's going to happen. I'm going to find that I'm going to begin to alter the message. I'm going to begin to somehow change not only the message, but ultimately my methods in order to suit the desires of the people.

But he says, I dare not do that. I cannot do that. I dare not do that, because I've been appointed of God, given a trust from God, and I will stand before God one day accountable to Him.
 
Therefore, therefore, therefore, only His smile, only His frown is what matters in the discharging of my ministry.

I say to anyone contemplating the Christian ministry, there's nothing that will keep you faithful to your trust except these things being burnt into your heart by the power of the Holy Spirit. Now, when you stand before men and women, conscious that you stand here not because your parents had ambitions that you would be a pastor or a preacher, or one day you're sitting around somewhere in your mind, you thought, well, it would be nice to do this. And, you know, I've been told I have the gift of gab, so why don't I preach? No, no.

When you stand conscious I've been appointed by God, you realize that you've been appointed to discharge and preserve a trust. He has committed to you His holy Word, the living Word, the whole counsel of His truth to be proclaimed, the bitter and the sweet, the promises and the threatenings, the commands and the exhortations, the truth of human responsibility, and the truth of divine sovereignty, the truth of men's ruin in the fall, and the redemption by Christ. This is the awesome trust committed, and it must be preserved, and it must be discharged faithfully. And then the recognition that in the discharge of that trust I stand before God who examines my heart.

Then you realize when you stand to teach or preach, the eyes of the people to whom you're speaking don't matter. It's His eye that counts. It's in the present tense, by the way. So we speak not as pleasing men, but God who examines, who proves, who tests, who tries our hearts. His eye is upon me.

And so if there's the look of anger in the eyes of those to whom you serve or minister, that doesn't matter if you know that the look of delight is in the eye of God, your God, right? And if there's look or a smile of delight in the eyes of your hearers, that doesn't satisfy if you're not sure that there's a glint of delight in the eyes of your Heavenly Father. That's the thing that shapes and molds and disciplines the servant of Christ, to be bold in the Spirit.

That will make you a true Sunday school teacher, a true nursery teacher. Beloved, that will make you a true parent in the discharge of your responsibility to your neighbors, to your friends, as a witness, as a testimony. Oh, this sense that being accountable to God is what will keep you from ever tampering with His truth. Your message will be pure from the right motive, and it will be a motive of holiness, and it will keep you from moving aside from a right method. It will not be by way of deceit, but in honesty and in openness with unfettered freedom.

And so, beloved, we have in these verses some of the marks of a true servant and true ministry. We found together in verse 2 that that one will be marked by opposition, marked by boldness, unfettered freedom. In verse 3, the negative, his message will not be of error, but of the truth, not of impurity, but of purity, not in deceit, but in honesty and openness. In verse 4, you have the positive. He will discharge that ministry conscious that he has been appointed by God, chosen by God, given a trust from God, and stands accountable to God.

In closing tonight, may I ask you a couple of very personal questions, I hope searching questions. The ministry that God has given to you, and He's given a ministry to every one of us who are His children, no question, He has. Of that ministry, can you say before God, my exhortation was not from error or out of error? Do you know that what you're saying to your neighbors is truth because you've searched it out? Do you know that what you're saying to that Sunday school class is truth because you've searched it out? Do you know that what you're doing as a parent in the context of truth is in the context of truth because you've searched it out?

Is it of impurity or purity? Does it have as its motives that it should produce holiness of life, or is it being done in deceit, or is it in honesty? Do you have a consciousness in the discharge of your ministry this evening? Do you stand ministering as one chosen by God, given a trust from God, and that you are discharging your ministry under the eye of God? Oh, for such a God-consciousness to grip our hearts, beloved, and then we shall be true servants of Christ to the praise of His glory.

Let us unite in prayer.

This is a transcript. It may contain small inaccuracies.

I want to begin by asking each and every single one of us here, sitting in this place within the sound of my voice—every man, every woman, every young person, young adults, youth, junior youth, whoever you are alike—a very personal question, and in some ways a very simple question, but a question, perhaps more than any others, if not more than really any question that you can think about, will help you to know exactly where you stand before the Living God. And that simple personal question, that simple, personal, pointed question is this: Who are you living for? Very simple. Who are you living for? Who are you living for? It's not a complicated question, is it? Who are you living for?

According to Scripture, every single one of us is living for one of two persons. Every single one of us. Whether you want to admit it or not, acknowledge it or not, it's a fact. Every single one of us is living for one of two persons. You're either living for someone who is tiny, puny, small, insignificant, and in reality unworthy of being the object of your own life, or you're living for one who is great, glorious, magnanimous, infinitely worthy of being the one for whom you live.

So here's the question again: Who are you living for? The youngest child who can take this question and process it in his own brain, and the least who's able to grasp this question and at least grasp what it means, that one is living for someone—someone worthy to be lived for, or someone unworthy to be lived for. The oldest person in this place, in this room, is living for someone—someone worthy to be lived for, or someone unworthy to be lived for.

And we're going to answer that question together, looking at our text, particularly verse 15. 2 Corinthians 5, “And He died”--Christ–“And He died for all, so that they who live would no longer live for themselves, but for Him who died and rose again on their behalf.” No longer live unto themselves, but unto Him. Here we have the two persons for whom each one of us is living, one or the other. And you know what? You can't straddle the fence. There's no middle ground. It's either the one or the other.

Sitting here this evening, everyone who's here, regardless of age, regardless of background, regardless of understanding, regardless of upbringing, education, every single one, you’re either living for yourself, or you're living unto Him who died and rose again. And as we attempt to wrestle with this question and the guidance this text gives us, will you please note with me, first of all, who we all live for by nature. Who we all live for by nature.

When Paul writes these words, he's explaining what makes him and his fellow laborers in the gospel really tick. He's explaining to these Corinthians what makes him who he is as a servant of Christ, as a man of God, as a ‘doulos’, a slave of Jesus. And in that setting, he says in the previous verse, verse 14, "For the love of Christ controls us, having concluded this, that one died for all, therefore all died." The love of Christ controls us. That is, the love of Christ holds us in its vice grip. The love of Christ seizes hold upon us. So much so, he says, that there are times when we may appear that we're not all together up here in the penthouse.

Notice, he says in the earlier part of the text, verse 13, "For if we are out of our mind, it is for God, or if we are of right mind, it is for you." There are times, he says, so constrained by the love of Christ in selfless service, in devotion, that people accuse him of being insane—insane, Christ-obsessed, having something less than a full load up here. And he says if that's so, then you must understand that something—oh something—has taken hold of us. And you know what it was? The love of Christ. Love of Christ. The love of Christ has taken hold of us. And that love, having taken hold of us, has changed us from what once we used to be. For we once were what all men were by nature.

What was that, Paul? Oh, we were creatures who lived unto themselves. Now, that's not the way God designed us to live. That's not the way God intended us to be. You go back all the way to the beginning, Genesis 1 and 2. Read the account of the original creation. What do you see there? You see God creating Adam and Eve, man and woman, in His own image, and placing them in a perfect environment, perfect relationship with each other, giving to them a standard of obedience that was wholesome and reasonable. And the creature, Adam and Eve, in the perfect environment, with no bent to evil, found their delight and joy in living unto God, the God who made them. Sweet fellowship. And it was their joy. It was their delight. Doing His will, enjoying intimate communion with Him, seeking to glorify Him in His world was the deepest delight of Adam and Eve. It was their blessedness as well as their pure joy and delight.

But then sin entered. Sin entered. And when sin entered, all of that turned inward upon themselves. And from the tragic fall recorded in Genesis chapter 3 to this very hour, each and every single one of us by nature is a creature who lives unto himself. Sin brought about nothing less than this horrible, wretched tyranny called self-centeredness. When God was pushed out of the place of being the one unto whom Adam and Eve were living, rushing into that empty place came a new god called what? Self. Self.

And, so, when Paul writes these words, you can rightly assume that all men without distinction in terms of who they live for by nature, they live unto themselves. And very early, very early, this manifests itself—and you could really nod your head really here—this really manifests itself, shows itself very early in what? Little ones, cute little babies, toddlers. You see it in a petulant, pouting self, in a toddler, in hot-tempered tantrum self. You see it in their greedy, selfish self. And soon it merges into lying, manipulative self, into whining, sneaky self.

And as a human personality and mind develops the ability to express this obsession with living unto self, it multiplies in tragic and horrible ways. No wonder the prophet Isaiah could say, "All of us like sheep have gone astray, Each of us has turned to”--what?--“his own way.” His own way. Isaiah 53:6. In other words, we have all turned to living unto the god of self. It's all about me. Because you deserve it. You're worth it.

Now, in some people, living unto self finds expression in a life of open, evident, obvious, and in many cases, a disgusting lifestyle of lawlessness and debauchery. In others, it expresses itself in a moral, upright, cultured, refined self-centeredness. But the common denominator of every son of Adam, daughter of Adam, is that by nature, he, she lives unto himself–hiis own things, his own pleasure, his own satisfaction, his own selfish ambitions, seeking his own ends, pursuing his own happiness by his own rules, with his own standards, he lives unto himself. So that the apostle can write, "And He died for all, so that [they] who live would no longer live for themselves"—because he knows that by nature each of us does indeed live unto himself.

So, who are you living for? Unless you've been transformed by the grace of God, I can say of you, based on the authority of the Word of God, that you live unto yourself. You live for yourself. Who we all live by nature? Who we all live for by nature? We live for this idol called self.

But I want us to note secondly, who some live for by the power of God's grace. Who some live for by the power of God's grace. According to this text, our text, there are some like Paul and his companions who live unto Christ, who for their sakes died and rose again from the dead. Some by the power of the grace of God no longer live for themselves, but they live for Him. They live unto Him. And the “Him” in this passage, obviously to the crucified, risen, exalted Savior. He's referred to as the One who died and rose again on their behalf. A clear reference to the Lord Jesus, who died.

‘Apo thenesko’. ‘Apo’--that first part of the word, it's a marker of disassociation, implying a rupture from a former association, separation, departure, cessation. And ‘thenesko’ is to die, in the aorist tense, indicating a past completed action. In other words, the death of Christ is indeed a historical event. In the active voice, Jesus made the volitional choice, a choice of His own will to die for us as we saw this morning. And the indicative mood is the mood of reality. Jesus really did die a physical death. And as in the previous verse, verse 24, death describes His literal physical death on the cross.

Christ Jesus, the Lord, He was the subject of verse 14. "For the love of Christ controls us, having concluded this, that one died for all, therefore all died." And so Paul is saying that with respect to himself and his companions, and as we shall see, this was true of him, not because he was an apostle, but because he was a child of God, he was a Christian. Because in the language of verse 17, he was “in Christ” and being in Christ meant that he was what? A new creation. And so when he says, "so that they who live would no longer live for themselves, but for Him who died and rose again on their behalf," he's not referring to himself because he's an apostle, but simply because he's a Christian. He's a child of God. He's a true Christian. And the one for whom some live for by the power of God's grace is none other than the Lord Jesus Christ who died and rose again on their behalf.

And so His person is lived for in a loyalty that exceeds the loyalty to any other person. His will is chosen as a way of life. His ways are desired, embraced as the pattern of life, not with perfection, not with equal constancy, but according to our text and according to the scripture, the baseline of their lives is this: when you ask them the question, who do you live for? They are enabled by the Spirit of God to answer honestly and to validate it by the pattern of their own life, they live unto Him who died and rose again on their behalf.

So that, you have this expression, “so that”, ‘ina’, which is a conjunction, serves to introduce the purpose for a previous action or truth, and in this case, the purpose for the death of Jesus Christ and for the sinner's death with Christ on Calvary's cross was that he or she would be buried with Christ, raised with Christ, to walk in newness of life, the quality of life in which they no longer live just to please themselves, but now they live for Him.

Earlier in the same chapter, look at verse 9, Paul wrote, "Therefore we also have as our ambition”--what a wholesome ambition. It's a single-minded ambition, there's a singularity of focus, not two ambitions, not three ambitions, we make it, we have it “as our ambition, whether at home or absent, to be”--what? Pleasing to self? No, “to be pleasing to Him.” In other words, they can say with Paul, in the language of Philippians 1:21, "For to me, to live is Christ and to die is”--profit–”gain"—gain, gain—I live unto Him. He is the object of my life's focus, my desires, my ambition, my standards, my goals, my purpose–they all focus and center on Christ and they all flow out of Christ and back to Christ. "For to me, to live Christ"—He's everything. I don't live for anything else or anyone else, He's my life, He's everything.

It speaks to the very reason and purpose of one's life, it speaks of that which is supreme in one's life, that which is dominant in one's life, that which is overshadowing one's life. It speaks of what is driving one's life, what compels, what controls, what constrains one's life, the sum and substance of one's life—Christ. Verse 15, our text: "so that they who live would no longer live for themselves, but for Him who died and rose again on their behalf." And the question is, what does Paul mean by living unto Him who died and rose again? What does that mean?

And I want to suggest there are at least four ways that Paul could assert this, at least four ways. Number one, when Paul said that “they who live no longer live for themselves, but for Him who died and rose again on their behalf”, involved in that first and foremost is faith in Christ. To live unto Him—involved in that first and foremost is faith in Christ. Galatians 2:20, Paul declares, "I have been crucified with Christ; and it is no longer I who live, but Christ lives in me; and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave Himself up for me." Who loved me, who loved me–a wretched rebel, a vile sinner, a hell-deserving sinner—and gave Himself up for me.

In other words, faith in Christ was the dominating, animating principle of his life. And note the language in Galatians 2:20, "the Son of God, who loved me and gave Himself up for me," that's sacrificial language. That's the language of substitution. That's the language that embodies the heart of the gospel, that Christ stood in the place of guilty, hell-deserving sinners and bore the wrath of God against sin that they themselves deserved.

Secondly, when Paul said that “they who live would no longer live for themselves, but for Him who died and rose again on their behalf”–involved in that is love for Christ. Faith in Christ, but also love for Christ. You see, the great preoccupation of true faith is Christ—it's Christ, all about Christ, all about Christ. You know, Paul chained to a Roman soldier 24 hours a day, seven days a week, you know, he writes this letter to the Philippians, and what do you find him doing? I mean, it's all about Christ, he's proclaiming Christ, he's speaking about Christ, he's telling the next soldier chained to him about Christ, and then they change shift, the next one comes and he says, have you heard about—let me tell you about Christ—he was Christ obsessed.

The great preoccupation of true faith is Christ, Christ in His love to the sinner, but never is there—mark it down—never is there a believing reception of the love of God in Christ to sinners without the heart that receives that love, responding in love to the object of its faith. Always the case. 1 Corinthians 16:22, "If anyone does not love the Lord, he is”--what?--“to be ‘anathema’", to be "accursed." 1 Peter 1:8, "and though you have not seen Him, you love Him, and though you do not see Him now, but believe in Him, you rejoice with joy inexpressible and full of glory." Whenever there is a genuine faith in Christ, there is love to Christ. Love delights to please its object.

Thirdly, when Paul said that “they who live would no longer live for themselves, but for Him who died and rose again on their behalf”--involved in that is communion with Christ, communion with Christ. As surely as faith in Christ always begets love to Christ, so love to Christ always gives birth to a desire for and a delight in communion with Christ. You can't have enough of Christ. You want to be in the words of Christ. You want to pray and talk to Christ. You want to hear from Christ by reading His word.

Notice the language, Colossians 3 and verse 4, that is oozing with this desire and delight in communion with Christ. Paul says, "When Christ, who is”--what?--“our life”. He's my life. You want to know? You want a definition of my life? Christ. And in Philippians 3—you studied this, right, young people?—Paul says, my passion, my great desire, what I long for is that “I may know Him.”  And this is after many, many years in the faith. I want to know Him more. In other words, my knowledge of Him is not what it ought to be. I am not satisfied. This is a wholesome, sanctified discontentment. I want more of Him. I want to know Him more. The fellowship. The communion of His sufferings.

And lastly, when Paul said, “so that they who live would no longer live for themselves, but for Him who died and rose again on their behalf”—involved, beloved, in that is also devotion to the service of Christ. Devotion, devotion to the service of Christ. From the moment of his conversion, the great passion that burned within Paul's heart was a burning devotion to the service of Christ. In Acts 22, verse 10, what was his first question? "Lord, what will You have me do?" What will You have me do?

And so the apostle could stand before the Ephesian elders in Acts 20 and declares this: "I do not make my life of any account nor dear to myself, so that I may finish my course and the ministry which I received from the Lord Jesus, to testify solemnly of the gospel of the grace of God." And in 2 Corinthians 12:15, he declares those wonderful words: "I will most gladly”--not just gladly, but most gladly–”spend and be fully spent for your souls. If I love you more, am I to be loved less?” In other words, no task too difficult to undertake for the service of Christ my Lord. No burden too heavy to bear for the sake of Jesus Christ my Lord. No affliction too pressing to endure for the service of Christ Jesus my Lord. And no pain too much to bear in the service of Christ Jesus my Lord.

Paul was a man who lived not unto himself but unto Christ. "And He died for all, so that they who live"—that's the first verb—"would no longer live"—second—"for themselves, but for Him who died and rose again”. Live, ‘zao’ describes natural physical life, the quality that distinguishes a vital being from one that is dead. And both uses of the verb ‘zao’, live, here in this text, are in the present tense describing continuous action.

Now I want us to note this: the first use of the word “live” refers more to the literal physical life, and the second use of “live” refers to a believer's way of life, manner of conduct. Living in the light of His death for us. Living in the light of His cross. "Having loved His own, He loved them to the end." What end? Calvary's cross. And living in the light of His death for us serves to motivate a daily life for the Savior rather than for the self. So Christ died that we might live through Him and for Him and that we might live with Him.

So let me ask you again, who are you living for? Who are you living for? By nature, you with me must answer, if we're thinking biblically, we live for ourselves. So who are you living for? If you can say, I'm no longer living for myself, but unto Him who died for me and rose again, it is because the grace of God, the power of God, has come into your life and changed the whole focus and the whole direction of your life, and there was a tectonic change.

Now, note with me, lastly, in the third place, what it is that makes the difference. What it is that makes this difference. We saw who we live for by nature. We live for self. We saw who some live for by the power of God's grace. They live unto Christ. Well, what makes the difference? What makes the difference?

Well, if we read this whole section beginning with verse 14, where Paul says, "For the love of Christ controls us"—constrains us, compels us—we see that the death of Christ on behalf of sinners is the central theme of this whole section, culminating in Paul's words in verses 20 and 21: "So then, we are ambassadors for Christ, as God is pleading through us. We beg you on behalf of Christ, be reconciled to God. He”--God the Father–“made Him”--God the Son–“who knew no sin to be sin on our behalf, so that we might become the righteousness of God in Him."

What makes the difference? What makes the difference? Sitting here tonight, there are men and women, young people, various backgrounds, degrees of knowledge, and some may be living for themselves. Some may be living for Christ. Some of you may be living unto self. Some unto Christ. What makes the difference? What is the issue that divides the two groups? According to Paul, in this passage, it is the truth of Christ crucified brought home to the heart by the power of the Holy Spirit. It is the truth of Christ crucified brought home to the heart by the power of the Holy Spirit. That's the difference. And Paul could say in verse 14, "For the love of Christ controls us." The love of Christ constrains us. Christ's love for us holds us in its gracious pressure, in its gracious grip, because we thus judge. It holds us in its pressure because we think in this way, having concluded this, "that one died for all, therefore all died." And those who receive life by that death should no longer live unto themselves, but unto Him, who for their sakes died and rose again.

And what does that language mean? All of that language mean? Listen carefully, beloved. It means this. When we contemplate, when we truly contemplate what the death of Christ signifies, it is our understanding of the significance of His death that has brought us to the place where we no longer live unto ourselves, but unto Him, who for our sakes died and rose again. This is what we understand, beloved. This is what we understand. That living for self is such a wretched, abominable, and disgusting thing in the sight of God, so provoking His wrath, so provoking His displeasure, that it demanded the enfleshment of the second person of the Godhead. It demanded that Jesus Christ, the God-man, be handed over to death to die under the billows of the wrath of God and become the curse on our behalf.

Now surely if living unto self is such a disgusting, abominable, wretched thing in the sight of God, that nothing less than the blood shedding of the incarnate deity can satisfy the justice of God against living unto self, then surely anyone who says, I see in a crucified, risen, exalted Christ my only hope of acceptance with this holy God, my only hope of pardon for my sins, my only hope of being right with God. Surely then, if I receive life from the death of Christ on behalf of sinners, that life is not to be lived to the end which demanded His death. Right? Surely the life received because of His death is not to be lived unto myself. It was living unto self that provoked the wrath of God, the anger of God. And surely, beloved, if I received life from the death of Christ, it must be life no longer lived unto myself, but unto Him who for my sake died and rose again.

Do you see the reasoning in Paul's mind? "For the love of Christ controls us, having concluded this, that one died for all, therefore all died"—that is, all died in Him—and what died in Him and with Him in His death spells now the death to living unto self. "And He died for all, so that they who live would no longer live for themselves, but unto Him who died and rose again on their behalf." Oh, this passage clearly teaches that whenever the Spirit of God shows us what we are as sinners and shows us something of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ crucified for sinners, there is the constraint of the love of Christ, and there is the awareness of the purpose of the death of Christ that we no longer consciously, deliberately live unto ourselves, but unto Him, the Christ who died for us and rose again.

And we learn from this passage that all professed faith in the Christ crucified that leaves people still wedded to themselves is unauthentic faith. It is spurious faith. A professed faith in the Christ crucified, a professed reception of pardon and forgiveness from a crucified, risen, exalted Christ that leaves someone still living for himself as a pattern is not biblical faith. So who are you living for? You see, the faith that is unto salvation, the pardon of our sin is a faith that brings each and every one of us into this attachment to the person of Christ. And Christ does not take second or third place in the life so attached to Him, but that life is found being lived unto Him.

Listen to what one commentator said concerning all of this. "Christ's death must change the way we live here and now on earth. Not simply ensure our entrance to God's eternal presence. Anyone who expects to live in the resurrection must respond properly to Christ's death. This response requires more than intellectual assent to the proposition that Christ's death atones for sins. It must mold how one lives." Let me say that again—It must mold how one lives. "This response provides the essential criterion for discerning who truly belongs to Christ and who does not. Those who belong to Christ do not live for themselves. In societies given to self-promotion, self-fulfillment and self-indulgence, Christians will stand out as distinctively different. They live only for Christ and give up their own rights for the good of others and do not insist on having their own way."

Do you see the tremendous, weighty relevance that this text has for so many matters that we get so really bogged down with, hung up on? Some of you, particularly young people in this place—high schoolers perhaps—you're wrestling with the question, am I really attached to Christ in faith? Is my mom's faith, my dad's faith, the body of Christ's faith, is it really my faith? May I give you one way to come rather quickly to an accurate answer? Who are you living for? Who are you living for? Who are you living for?

You may respond, well, that's vague. Well, okay. How about we get more specific? You and mom and dad are having a discussion over the kind of music you're going to listen to. And at the end of the day, isn't really this—this is the issue? Isn't really this the issue? Do you want nothing to come into your ears but that which is pleasing unto Christ? Isn't that the issue? At the end of the day, the question is not what kind of music do I like, but the real issue is what kind of music I can listen to and know that it actually pleases Christ. Rather simple, isn't it?

You see, something else is at the focal point of your decision about the music that you're going to listen to. It isn't whether or not it fits here or there on the scale of what others say is acceptable or not. The issue, bottom line, is this: you want to please Christ, who is Lord over your life. And, you know that whatever is pleasing to Him is the thing that is good for you. And this is just a simple example, one example, but this applies to every area of your life.
Regardless of the issue in discussion, the real question, the real matter, the real issue is this: I am not my own. The cross of Christ has constrained me. I am now committed to no longer live for myself. The issue is not what pleases me but what pleases my Lord. And I know, He says, "Whether, then, you eat or drink, whatsoever I do, to do it all to the glory of God." And, so, the issue is not whether I will be considered on the cutting edge of the latest style or the latest fashion. It doesn't matter what it is. The bottom line is, am I living in such a way that pleases Him? Is He my ambition? Am I living unto Him or unto myself?

You see, this subject, this theme, this text forms a penetrating, insightful index of the state of your own heart. Can you authentically say, “I am living unto Christ?” Do you love Christ? Be careful. The question is not, “Do you love Him as much as you know you should?” That's not the question. Or as much as you desire that you could? Or as much as one day you shall love Him? The question is, “Do you love Christ?” Do you love Christ? Any indication of that love in your life? Do you delight in His fellowship? What about devotion to His service?

And, you see, when that begins to be the focal point of your life, you carry about with you a constant internal means—the means of finding the right standard in your life—and it is living unto Him, who for your sake died and rose again. And that has ripple effects in the choice of your friends, the company you keep. This begins to be the litmus test. What will the Lord think about my choice of these friends? Will they be instrumental in His hands to help me in my walk with Jesus, to spur me into greater godliness, mutual edification?

Now, I am not talking about friendships, deliberate friendships, that you prayerfully establish with the purpose of being a witness, a light, to the transforming power of the gospel. I'm not talking about those kinds of friendships. I'm speaking about the kind of friends in whom I find delight and with whom I will have voluntary companionship because they welcome what I have to impart to them, and I know I welcome what they have to impart to me, and we do each other good on our way to heaven. He died for all, that they who live should no longer live unto themselves in their choice of their friends, but unto Him, who for their sake died and rose again.

And when you can say, “For to me, to live is Christ—pleasing Christ, doing the will of Christ, knowing what advances the honor and the glory of Christ—that's what I live for”, then I am living unto Him. I say this resolves many of the issues that believers struggle with. To have a passionate obsession to live unto Jesus Christ, the Christ who rescued me from the horrible, nagging guilt of an accusing conscience, the dread and fear of hell, the sense of no purpose, no direction in life, the panic mode that I was in in this life, wondering, what am I going to do in life? What's life all about? Where am I going? All that purposelessness, fear, confusion, lack of direction, an accusing conscience—all of that was swallowed up in Him who died for me and rose again.

And, when you begin to live unto Him as a transformed person, then it is relatively easy to choose your friends–relatively easy to make choices about this and that, what I listen to, what I watch. Relatively easy to make choices about a host of other issues over which I see so many people, especially young people, constantly struggling until these things become almost an obsession.

Can it be that the problem is you're dealing with rules and regulations, but you've never known what it is to be wonderfully arrested and blessedly obsessed with the amazing Christ who alone is worthy to be the One you live for? You see, you're really not that big and wonderful a thing to be the object of your own life. Neither am I. And it's a tragic thing to live unto self because you and I are a small, insignificant thing. You're not worthy to be the object of your life. Apart from Christ, all we are is decorated dust.

But there's someone infinitely worthy. It's the glorious Son of God, whose beauties cannot be described, whose glories cannot be spoken of by mortal tongues. The one who is even now the object of the adoring worship of all of the intelligent creatures in heaven. God pulls back the veil in the book of Revelation and gives us a peek of those that cry with a loud voice, "‘Worthy is the Lamb that was slain to receive power and riches and wisdom and strength and honor and glory and blessing.’ And every created thing which is in heaven and on the earth and under the earth and on the sea, and all things in them, I heard saying, ‘To Him who sits on the throne, and to the Lamb, be the blessing and the honor and the glory and the might forever and ever.’" He is absolutely magnanimous, glorious.

And you may think you're a pretty special person, and a handful of people think that you're pretty and handsome and nice and attractive and well-built, and you look in the mirror and you think you're God's gift to the world. You can't even draw your next breath unless God gives it. "He Himself gives to all life and breath and all things." Acts 17:25. Who do you think you are to be made the object of your own life? Dependent upon God for your next breath. I mean, God could stop that heartbeat in a split second. And what a tragic folly to make yourself the object of your own life, the one to whom you live.

Our text contains a glorious proclamation of the excellence of Christ, and we've seen that. And Christ is an infinite ocean of knowledge that stretches the most brilliant mind to its fullest with no fear that it will ever find the shores or reach the bottom. So, in eternity, I mean we're constantly knowing more. Oh, the depth of Christ. I mean, listen to what Paul says, “in whom in Christ are hidden all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge." Colossians 2:3. "For in Him all the fullness of Deity dwells bodily." Colossians 2:9. Paul says, I’ve found all in Christ. I’ve found everything in Christ, all of it–not in vain philosophy, not in empty creed–but in Christ my Lord, my life, my all.

So, let me ask you, do you have that estimation of Christ? Can you say, I’ve found Christ to be an exhaustless fountain of life, a shoreless, bottomless ocean of the knowledge that fully satisfies—the very knowledge of infinite, perfectly holy God? “[T]his is eternal life, that they may know You, the only true God, and Jesus Christ whom You have sent." John 17:3.

The idea of living for yourself has so overwhelmed the world today, our culture today, our age, this age, this present, that it's seen in every possible arena. It's what fuels marketing, advertising. It's what determines education, philosophies in schools. It's what determines the counseling of psychologists and every possible professional counselor and life coach. The solution they proclaim: self-esteem, self-esteem. And, by definition, self-esteem is to make the object of that esteem yourself. That is so antithetical to what the scripture teaches.

You love and exalt yourself, pat yourself on the back, brag about yourself. You know, your weekly or monthly meeting with your manager, you have to brag about yourself. Brag about yourself. Here's how we're told today by professionals to boost self-esteem. You know, you're down, you're sad, you're depressed, and here's how you do that. You use affirmation to boost your self-esteem, and you can take little cards and you write statements like this: I like myself, I accept myself just the way I am. Or, I am the master of my own destiny, another statement says. It gets better. Here's another statement: I am somebody. That's profound, isn't it? They get together in groups. Let's say that together: I am somebody. Wow. I mean, right now, it's been raised, your self-esteem, you can feel it. You're right, I am somebody, I love myself. I believe in myself. So, you choose a statement, put it on a card, carry it around with you, repeat the statement several times during the day, especially at night, before going to bed, and when you get up in the morning, same thing. Now, it says this: whenever you say the affirmation, allow yourself to experience positive feelings, positive energy about your statement.

But, beloved, God in Christ is ready and willing in His love and mercy to deliver us from that horrible tyranny of self-centeredness and to set us free into the glorious liberty of a Christ-centered living. "For the love of Christ controls us, having concluded this, that one died for all, therefore all died." That is, all died in Him. So wretched, so vile, so unworthy a thing is this living unto self, that those who have thus lived are judged in the death of Christ, so that all who by faith behold the glory of God in the face of a crucified Savior no longer live for themselves, but for Him who died and rose again on their behalf.

And, that is so fundamental and a radical change that it's called in verse 17 what? A new creation. A new creation. "Therefore if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; the old things passed away.” That includes living unto myself. “[B]ehold, new things have come." And how new they are with this whole new center of life and existence. Listen to this marvelous language.

"Now all these things”--verse 18–”are from God, who reconciled us to Himself through Christ and gave us the ministry of reconciliation, namely, that God was in Christ reconciling the world to Himself, not counting their transgressions against them, and He has committed to us the word of reconciliation. So then, we are ambassadors for Christ, as God is pleading through us. We beg you on behalf of Christ, be reconciled to God. He made Him who knew no sin to be sin on our behalf, so that we might become the righteousness of God in Him."

Give up the god of self. Be reconciled to the God who made you. The God to whom, in Adam in Eden, you were related as the center of your life and existence, but you turned aside and turned to your own way. And Paul says that's the great plea of the gospel, and it is this: be reconciled to this God because this God has done an amazing work in Jesus Christ, and He has done it not only that we might have a righteous pardon, but that we might have a radically new center of life.

And I come around full circle to where I began with a simple, pointed, personal question. Who are you living for? Who are you living for? Are you living for yourself? Are you living for yourself? If the answer is yes, then you have a tiny, shriveled, damning god. Are you living unto Him who died and rose again for sinners? Then you have a glorious, majestic, saving God worthy of being the one to whom you live.

May God help you to ask and realistically answer that question, and may you have no rest if that is you until you are able to say with Paul, "For the love of Christ constrains me, controls us, compels me, having concluded this, that one died for all, therefore all died." God put His death sentence upon living unto self and receiving life from a crucified, risen Savior. I now joyfully say, I no longer live unto myself, but unto Him who died for me and rose again. And you too will be enabled to say, "For to me, to live is Christ and to die is gain."

Let's pray.

This is a transcript. It may contain small inaccuracies.

I trust by now we remember that Christ has been clear. He's been clear. He has been clear about where He was heading. He's told us, He's told the people back then, He's going to die. He's going to the cross. In fact, He's been clear enough that the crowds understand that He's talking about dying, about His crucifixion. And He's been clear about the fact that this hour that has has come has been preordained. He's been appointed for this hour.

And this hour, He's been clear about this hour, that it's deeply troubling to Him. He's not just going to die. He's going to die a death unlike any death ever experienced before or since on Calvary's cross. He's going to die as the Lamb of God slain for sinners. The Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world. He's going to die as the sin bearer. God's sin sacrifice to save His people from their sin. And yet, He does not ask to be delivered from it. He doesn't. He makes it plain that even though this troubles Him, His spirit, His soul is dismayed, yet He has chosen to do it. He has chosen it. This is voluntary. He has come to this hour not only according to the will of the Father, but by His own choice.

"I lay down My life of My own accord." (John 10:18) And He looks into the face of the suffering that is looming, that is coming, and He chooses it deliberately. His one desire is that the Father is glorified. That His name will be glorified. That the Father is exalted. And the Father here, you remember, affirms. He affirms His Son's desire by saying in verse 28 (John 12), from heaven, "I have both glorified it and will glorify it again."

Let me pause here and really ponder this together. Isn't it wonderful to know that the glory of God is not depending upon the will of man? Now think about this. Isn't that wonderful? The glory of God doesn't depend on the will of man. God is able to say, "I have glorified it and I will glorify it again." God will glorify God.

Christ has also made clear that the outcome of His death is already settled. There's no ifs and buts. Settled. It will mean the judgment of the world as we saw last time. It will mean the casting out of the ruler of this world, the defeat of Satan. It will mean salvation of the world, because as He's lifted up, He will draw all people to Himself. That is, men and women, boys and girls, will be saved from all over the world, all without distinction. Again, this isn't dependent upon the will of man. This has been determined by the will of the sovereign God, by the sovereign will of God.

Christ speaks in settled terms. This will take place. Period. Paragraph. He's been clear, but in spite of His clarity, in spite of His clarity, you find confusion on the part of the crowd. Those who are listening to Him now, I mean, they're confused. They're confused. Look at the text. “The crowd then answered Him,” verse 34, "We have heard from the Law that the Christ is to remain forever; and how do You say, 'The Son of Man must be lifted up?’” How can you say that? How can you say you must die? Our understanding is that the Son of Man, that the Messiah, the Christ, is going to remain forever. How can you say He must die? “Who is this Son of Man?"

Now, we should understand the crowd's response in verse 34 to be a defiant challenge. Not a sincere question. This is not a sincere question. It's a defiant challenge. Look at this. The we and the you are emphatic in the Greek text, pitting them against Jesus. That they answer Jesus, "We have heard from the Law that the Christ is to remain forever; and how do You say, 'The Son of Man must be lifted up'?"

This morning, in the context of their confusion, there are four lessons that I want us to see together. A lesson about spiritual darkness, a lesson about spiritual light, a lesson about spiritual opportunity, and a lesson about spiritual judgment. Let's begin.

Spiritual darkness, verse 34. The first thing that we see here has to do with darkness. This has to do with unbelief. John is setting before us once again—and this is not the first time he's done this, John the Apostle, under inspiration; it won't be the last time—he's setting before us the complicated reality of unbelief. That from a human point of view, unbelief can be very confusing. Very confusing.

Back in verse 18 in this text, when you look back at verse 18, you remember that what takes place as Christ makes His triumphal entry into Jerusalem, we're told that the reason why the crowd went to meet Him was that they had heard that He had done this sign. Remember the sign, right? The raising of Lazarus from the dead? And now it seems like, it appears as if they're convinced. He's the one. He's the Messiah. They've understood the sign that Jesus has wrought in raising Lazarus from the dead, and so they go out to meet Him. It seems because they believed in Him. He's the one.

In fact, this is how the Pharisees interpreted it. Look at verse 19. So the Pharisees said to one another, "You see that you are gaining nothing; look, the world has gone after Him." It seems that they have understood. It seems that they have rightly interpreted the sign. It seems that they have understood that He's the Messiah. But now, in light of His teaching, they're confused. They cannot reconcile belief in Him with what He said about dying. Now they don't know who He is now. You're confusing us, Jesus. Who is the Son of Man? Who is the Son of Man who's going to be crucified? We thought you to be the Messiah, but now you're talking about dying? Who are you?

Beloved, despite some encouraging signs, despite from our vantage point what would have seemed to be encouraging signs, the unmistakable theme of these verses is that these people don't see. They don't see. Verse 37, "But though He had done so many signs before them, they still were not believing in Him." See that? So for a time, you see some encouraging signs. They come to meet Him. They come out to greet Him. They're waving palm branches, declaring Him to be the Messiah, and it's not long after that, that when He's taught them the truth about His death, about His crucifixion, now they don't believe anymore. Now they're unsure. Now they're doubting.

Do we realize this morning that non-saving faith can look encouraging at certain points and still not be saving faith? Or to say it another way, do you realize that unbelief wears more than one face? And it can be deadly. It is deadly. Unbelief has more than one behavior. It has more than one behavior. Sometimes unbelief is antagonistic. Sometimes it is indifferent. Indifferent. There were people who opposed Christ, and there were people who just didn't pay Him any attention.

Sometimes unbelief can show initial interest. In fact, sometimes it can show extreme interest in Jesus. Example? Exhibit A, the rich young ruler. Remember him? Running to the Lord Jesus. I mean, he falls down on his knees before Jesus. I mean, publicly. I mean, think of this. This is this noble, rich, young ruler with all the pride that he has. He comes, and he falls on his knees before Jesus publicly, unashamed to fall down on his knees before Christ, and he asked this question, “good teacher, what shall I do to inherit eternal life?” (Luke 18:18) Sounds like a great question, doesn't it? Extreme interest. Yet the Bible says he walked away from Jesus grieved, because he had much wealth, unwilling to believe in the Lord Jesus Christ to the extent that he would leave, turn away like the Thessalonians, turn away from his idol, his wealth, to follow Christ.

Sometimes unbelief is like that. It shows extreme interest. Sometimes it is revealed by unmistakable hostility, the Pharisees. Sometimes it wears the face of friendship. Sometimes unbelief shows up at the point where it's offended. It follows for a while, interests for a while, but then comes that truth that drives it away, the truth that brings offense, that stumbling block that it cannot get over. What? Messiah dies? Sometimes it's not revealed by offense, it's revealed by sorrow, again like the rich young ruler, because it has other loves, things too precious to let go of in order to follow Jesus. Darling sins.

So what I'm saying to us this morning is this. Unbelief is something that from our vantage point is very confusing at times. Ultimately what marks the true believer, the true child of God, the true safe person, is that they believe the truth, they believe all of the truth, and they persevere in the truth. They hear the truth about Christ, all the truth about Christ, they receive the truth about Christ, and they follow Christ, and they keep on following Christ.

They follow Him daily. Unbelief, a false belief, is temporary. And what you also find many times in unbelief is a mixture. Spurgeon calls it an unprofitable mixture. It's a mixture of knowledge and ignorance. In unbelief—again I will say this—many times you'll find a mixture of knowledge and ignorance at the same time. There's some truth in the unbeliever's mind, but there's also darkness, lack of understanding.

You see that here in the text, don't you? You see that what they're stumbling over? Look at that what they're stumbling over. Verse 34, “the crowd then answered Him, ‘We have heard from the law.’” We have heard from the law. In other words, we've heard from the Scriptures, God's Word. "We've heard from the law, from the Scriptures, that the Christ is to remain forever." The Messiah will remain forever.

Now question, question: were they altogether wrong in their mind? Were they altogether wrong in their thinking? Did the Old Testament teach—does the Old Testament teach—that the Messiah will remain forever? Well, you can see where they got that from, right?

Isaiah 9, verse 7: "There will be no end to the increase of His government or of peace, on the throne of David and over His kingdom, to establish it and to uphold it with justice and righteousness from then on and forevermore. The zeal of Yahweh of hosts will accomplish this."

Ezekiel 37, verse 25: "They will inhabit the land that I gave to Jacob My servant, which your fathers inhabited, and they will inhabit it, they and their sons and their sons' sons, forever; and David My servant will be their prince forever."

Psalm 89, verse 35: "Once I have sworn by My holiness; I will not lie to David. His seed shall endure forever, and he's thrown as the sun before Me. It shall be established forever like the moon, and the witness in the sky is faithful."

So as you can see, the people know these verses and verses like them, and so they say, wait a minute, wait a second, wait a second, Jesus, You're talking about being lifted up from the earth, You're talking about the manner in which You're going to die, and our understanding from the Scriptures, from the law, is that the Messiah is going to remain forever.

What they didn't understand, however, were the Old Testament passages that spoke just as clearly about the suffering and the death of the Messiah. They had a part of the story, right? Part of the story—they didn't have it all—they had part of the picture, they didn't have all of it. They couldn't see a crucifixion and a resurrection and an ascension and then a second coming and then the establishment of a kingdom that is forever and ever and ever. They couldn't put the two together, and yet it was something that was available for them to know.

In fact, you don't have to go outside of our context here to see some some verses that they should have been able to know and should have been able to see and recognize. Look at our text—just the chapter, actually—verse 37, we'll get to it: "But though He had done so many signs before before them, they still were not believing in Him, so that the word of Isaiah the prophet might be fulfilled which he spoke, 'Lord, who has believed our report? And to whom has the arm of the Lord been revealed?'" Well, that's from Isaiah 53, verse 1. This is what He's quoting here, and that whole section, Isaiah 53, you know it speaks of the suffering Messiah, and we're told in advance that they won't listen, they won't hear, they won't believe, they won't come.

Verse 39: "For this reason they could not believe, for Isaiah said again, 'He has blinded their eyes and He hardened their heart, lest they see with their eyes and understand with their heart, and return and I heal them.'" That's Isaiah chapter 6. And we can think about Psalm 22, other places like that in the Old Testament where the Bible clearly spoke of the suffering Messiah and the rejection of the Prince of life—the fact that He would be pierced for our transgressions, for our iniquities, and that He would not be abandoned, however, to Sheol, that that He'd be raised from the dead—Psalm 16:10. All of these are Old Testament passages that the New Testament writers, under inspiration of the Holy Spirit, end up quoting, and the children of Israel had those verses, those passages, available to them, but they did not see them, they did not understand them.

So they had only partial understanding of the Messiah, partial understanding—that is, some knowledge—but it was mingled, mixed with ignorance, mixed with darkness. And doesn't that continue even to our own day? Doesn't it? Doesn't it continue even to our own day? I mean, that's not foreign to us, is it? When it comes to sharing the gospel, when it comes to evangelism, we meet with people all the time who don't have a saving knowledge of Christ, they don't have a saving understanding of Christ. But we also meet with people who know part of the story, right? They have a partial understanding of Jesus, but they still don't have it straight in their thinking.

Someone says, well, you know, I believe in Jesus, but I'm also a good person. Yes, Jesus is the Son of God, but I'm a good person also. How are you going to heaven? Well, I believe that you have to, of course, believe in Jesus, but you also must live a good life. You have to believe in Jesus, but you have to keep the Ten Commandments. Look, you can't have two more contrary thoughts, can you? Can you? Why must we believe in Jesus? Because we are wretched rebels, we're wretched sinners. There's none good, no, not even one. There's none who works righteousness. We've all sinned, fallen short of the glory of God.

That's why Jesus had to come. That's why He lived the life that He lived, that perfect life that is required of us that we can never, ever live, and die the death that we deserve to die on our behalf, as our substitute, to pay for our sins. If we could be good enough to go to heaven, there was no need for Jesus Christ to come. So when someone says, I believe in Jesus plus I'm a good person, I believe in Jesus plus I live a good life, I believe in Jesus plus I keep the Ten Commandments and that's how I'm going to heaven, they have no understanding of Jesus at all and why He came.

Someone says, I know I'm going to heaven because Jesus died to pay for all of our sins. And some people get this sin part right, but then they think of His death as producing universalism—everybody's going to heaven because Jesus died for all of our sins. That's how some people think. And again, they don't understand that there's no salvation apart from repentance and personal faith and personal commitment to the Lord Jesus Christ.

You know who Jesus died for on the cross? Let me put it this way: in the language of the Bible, really, that's the meaning—He died for sheep, for believers. He died only for believers. He died only for those who repent of their sins and personally commit their lives to Him. He died for those unbelievers who will believe—that's what I mean—they will they will believe, they will come to saving faith, they will come to repentance and faith. There will be no salvation apart from faith, personal faith in the Lord Jesus Christ. And where there's personal faith, there's what? Repentance. There's repentance from sin, and repentance is what? Turning from the way I thought about God, the way I thought about myself, the way I thought about getting to heaven all my life—which is what? The airpoint system, right? The air mile system works, doing good. I must turn from that, all of that, and put my trust, the weight of my soul, exclusively on the Lamb of God, Jesus Christ, and Christ alone—His merit, His doing, His dying on Calvary's cross.

Salvation is by grace alone, by faith alone, in Christ alone, plus nothing. And until that's my vision of Jesus, until I understand He came to die for sinners who would trust in Him, I don't understand Jesus. Some people still have a more generic view than even that. They say, I believe in God. Do you believe in God? Yeah, I believe in God. I'm going to heaven because I believe in God. In fact, they don't understand that there's no coming to God apart from Jesus: "I am the way, and the truth, and the life; no one no one comes to the Father but through Me." (John 14:6) You can't go to God directly because your sin prevents that.

There must be a mediator, and there's only one mediator given who will bring men to God. That's His Son, the Lord Jesus Christ—1 Timothy 2:5. It's by His cross, it's by His death, it's by His shed blood that men and women are reconciled to God by the payment of their sins, justified by His being raised from the dead. A living Christ saves us. And we come to Him, for He brings us to God.

So someone who just approaches God in this generic fashion and says, I believe in God, they don't understand. They don't understand who Jesus is. Now, we could go on, go on with other viewpoints like that. But the point, beloved, is this: if what you have is a partial understanding of Jesus and you hold—and I'm talking about the essentials, the essentials, the things that are indispensable, necessary for salvation—if you only have a partial understanding of Jesus, you have a damning understanding. You will not be saved.

And something you'll notice is that all of these partial views of the gospel, all of these partial views of God and of Christ, they all have something in common. And this is really important. They all appeal to the sinful nature of man. All of them. They appeal to the sinful nature of man. These partial gospels reflect—they have their source in—the sinful perspectives of the fleshly mind. And what is that? Well, men want to believe that they're good. Men want to believe that they have a part in their salvation. They play a part in their salvation. Men want to believe that there are many ways to God. Men want to believe that there's some system that they can live out in order to achieve salvation.

These partial gospels are another of a different kind. Ἕτερον (heteros) gospel, not an ἄλλο (allos) gospel. It's not another of the same kind, but another of a different kind. And they all have an appeal to the sinful nature of man. And they all also agree with the blinding suggestions of Satan, because Satan has a lot of different gospels to offer you. And you can always find one that appeals to your particular taste.

What all this gets to is, beloved, if people are left to their partial views of Jesus, they're going to perish. They're going to perish, and they can be blinded by their partial views. And let me say this: in order to receive Christ, you're going to have to abandon your partial view of Him and to embrace the total view of Him—the biblical view of Him, which is a saving view of Him—the biblical Christ.

These people here had a partial view of Messiah. They understood that He was to be a ruler forever. But to be saved, they were going to have to abandon their partial view of the Messiah to embrace the total view of the Messiah, which is He's also going to suffer for sinners on a cross, die on the cross, and be raised from the dead. And they're going to have to abandon their partial view to embrace the total view in order to be saved by Him. And as long as they were unwilling to do that, as long as they are going to hold on to their partial view, they were going to be blinded from the total view.

If your view is Jesus plus works, Jesus plus baptism, Jesus plus the Ten Commandments—oh, dear one, listen—until you're willing to let go of your partial view of the gospel and to embrace that it is by grace alone, by faith alone, in Christ alone, you're going to be blinded by your religion. Christ can't benefit you at all.

Remember the book of Galatians? There in the book of Galatians, Paul had a presentation of the danger of some who only embraced a partial view of Jesus, a partial view of the gospel. They were reverting to that. They were saying that you had to believe in Jesus, but that wasn't really quite enough. It has to be plus something else. They said, what's plus circumcision? Be circumcised. You had to believe in Jesus plus keep the law of Moses. We'll include Jesus, you know. He's important. We'll include Him. We believe in Him, but we won't embrace the total view, which is He became a curse for us to deliver us from the curse. We won't embrace that.

And what Paul's take on it was—remember what it was? Galatians 5 verse 2. He says, "Look, I, Paul, say to you that if you accept circumcision"—if you buy into this partial view of Jesus, in this partial view of what His death accomplished, and you say you've got to add to it circumcision—"if you accept circumcision, Christ will be of no advantage to you." He says in verse 2, "Behold, I, Paul, say to you that if you receive circumcision, Christ will be of no benefit to you. And I testify again to every man who receives circumcision, that he is under obligation to keep the whole Law. You have been severed from Christ,” you cut yourself off from Jesus. “You who are being justified by law; you have fallen from grace."

You've separated yourself from the grace of God when you want to substitute with your works. You're going to have to abandon your view of the gospel—your view of the gospel—and embrace the true gospel and receive the Christ of the Bible for all that He is and all that He's done.

There's a lesson here about spiritual blindness. Sometimes it looks encouraging from a human point of view, but then where the rubber meets the road, it's exposed as what? Just simply unbelief. Unbelief. Initial interest, maybe even extreme interest, but then comes that truth that challenges it in terms of what it really believes, and there's what? The departure. Right? Like we've seen earlier in the Gospel of John, right? Many, many of His disciples walked with Him no more because they'd found His teachings so hard to swallow. And they walked away.

Sometimes it's a mixture of knowledge with ignorance. You have a partial view and everything else is mixed in ignorance. In order to be saved, you have to abandon that partial view in order to accept the whole truth. So that's the first lesson, spiritual darkness.

The second one I want us to see together is spiritual light, spiritual light. How would Jesus respond to their confusion? Look at verse 35. So Jesus said to them, "For a little while longer, the Light is among you. Walk while you have the Light, so that the darkness will not overtake you; he who walks in the darkness does not know where he goes. While you have the Light, believe in the Light, so that you may become sons of Light."

So how did our Lord respond to their confusion? How? And I have to say, this is almost startling to me when I really was studying it. You would think, I mean, you would expect that what Jesus would do is say something like this: “Wait a second. You only have a partial view of the Old Testament. You only have a partial view of the truth concerning Messiah. Well, let me tell you what the rest of the story is. Let me shed some light as to the rest of the story.” But He doesn't do that. You see that? He doesn't do that. He doesn't do that. He doesn't even engage their questions straightforwardly, does He? He doesn't. He doesn't.

Jesus realized that answering their question would not get to the root problem. If their problem had been theological, Jesus could have replied, “Haven't you heard Isaiah 53 concerning Messiah dying for the sins of His people? Well, let me exposit Isaiah 53. Haven't you read Psalm 22 about Messiah's death? Well, how about Daniel 9:26, which says that the Messiah will be cut off?” But beloved, their problem was not theological. It was moral. It was a moral problem. They were walking in spiritual and moral darkness.

They say, who is this son of man? Well, He doesn't even go there. He doesn't even address that. He doesn't address them based upon what they wanted Him to talk about. He addresses them rather from the standpoint of His authority. And He says, in effect, “I'm not here to debate with you. I'm here to demand your allegiance. You don't need more information. You've had enough information. You must follow Me.” That's what He's saying.

John puts it this way, verse 37: "But though He had done so many signs before them, they still were not believing in Him." These people want to debate Old Testament passages, Scripture about the Messiah, and they had already seen more than enough to know that He is indeed the Messiah. And if you can't understand Him, all that means is that your understanding—your understanding—is deficient. The deficiency is not in Him. You've seen enough to know the deficiency is in you.

So just follow Him. Listen to Him. Obey Him. Submit to Him. This is what you must do. That's what He's saying. And again, that's not at all removed from what we deal with every single day in evangelism and witnessing to others and sharing the gospel. I know this offends the sinful nature of man, but it is the truth.

There comes a time when you, when you have heard the gospel, you've been exposed to the truth as it is given in God's Word. You know what it means to be a Christian, to be converted, to be a child of God. That your need is not to listen again and again and sit down and have someone discuss with you one more time the truthfulness of the gospel. If that's you, your need is simply to repent of your sins and follow Christ—and follow Christ. You've heard enough.

How many people are like that? They sit service after service after service after service. They grew up in a Christian home. They attend a Christian school. They've been to Sunday school. They've read the Bible. They've heard the Bible. Heard enough. You know enough. You don't need another Bible study. You don't need another religion discussion. You need to repent and obey the gospel, turn from your sin and follow Christ. And that's what must you do. And recognize that the deficiency is not in Jesus. The deficiency is in you. In you.

If you can't make sense of it all, if you can't understand it all, what you can understand is that God has given you the gospel and given you the opportunity to come to His Son. Now follow His Son. Follow Him. Isn't it amazing? After someone is saved, how clear everything becomes for the first time. Isn't it amazing how the clouds all of a sudden roll away and the sun shines through, and now we could see, now we understand, now it makes sense? And all that was so confusing, so troubling to us—as soon as we come to Christ, as soon as we follow Christ—all that troubled us, what? Melts away. It's gone.

So He gives them here a reminder. He's spoken about this before, but He reminds them again of the fact that He's what? The light. He's the light. He reminds them of it. And He's spoken to them before about this. He's the light. And there are three definite articles here used, by the way, in this text when speaking of the light. And you know what that means? All in reference to Christ. He is not just a light. He is the light. He is the light.

Look at the text: "For a little while longer the Light is among you. Walk while you have the Light, so that darkness will not overtake you; and he who walks in the darkness does not know where he goes. While you have the Light, believe in the Light, so that you may become sons of Light." Who is Jesus? He is the Light. He's the Light.

The Apostle John emphasized this already in his gospel, all the way back in the opening chapter. Chapter 1, verse 4: "In Him was life, and the life was the Light of men. And the Light shines in the darkness, and the darkness did not overtake it. There was a man having been sent from God, whose name was John. He came as a witness, to bear witness about the Light, so that all might believe through him. He was not the Light, but he came to bear witness about the Light. There was the true Light which, coming into the world, enlightens everyone." Who is Jesus? Oh, He is the true Light. He is the Light of the world.

Jesus said this in John 3, in verse 19, in that conversation with Nicodemus. Verse 19: "And this is the judgment, that the Light has come into the world, and men loved the darkness rather than the Light, for their deeds were evil. For everyone who does evil hates the Light and does not come to the Light lest his deeds be exposed. But he who practices the truth comes to the Light, so that his deeds may be manifested as having been done by God." Christ is the Light. And what does someone do when the Lord saves them? Well, they come to the Light. They come to the Light.

And John 8, verse 12—you remember that passage? "Then Jesus again spoke to them again saying, saying, 'I am the Light of the world; he who follows Me will never walk in the darkness, but will have the Light of life.'" And John 9, verse 5: "While I am in the world, I am the Light of the world." And John 12, this chapter, in verse 44: "And Jesus cried out and said, 'He who believes in Me, does not believe in Me but in Him who sent Me. And he who sees Me sees the One who sent Me. I have come as Light into the world, so that everyone who believes in Me will not remain in darkness.'"

He is the Light of God's life. He is the Light of God's wisdom. He is the Light of God's truth. The Light of God's holiness. The Light of God's righteousness. He is a Light that shines in the darkness, and the darkness cannot overwhelm it, cannot put it out. He has come to be the Light of the world. He is the Light of the world. And He said it before, and He's saying again here.
He's also reminding them of something else. He's just going to be here—to use this language here—a little while longer. A little while longer. His time is short. Brief. Verse 35: "For a little while longer the Light is among you." Just a little while. And then the day of salvation for that generation of Jews came to an end.

And so He reminds them. Not only He reminds them, He also challenges them. And there are two imperatives here in this, in these verses.

In verse 35, there's an imperative—a command. He says, "For a little while longer the Light is among you." Here's the imperative: walk. That's the first one. “Walk while you have the Light.” Walk. This is a challenge to act on what they have already seen, what they have already witnessed, what they have already heard. Don't debate with Me. Don't question Me. Don't spar with Me. Walk. Follow Me. That's what He's saying.

To walk is to move, to take action. To walk is to act. To walk is to follow. To walk is to do something. What's the action that I'm to take? Verse 36: “while you have the Light.” Here comes the second imperative. Here's the action: believe. “Believe in the Light, so that you may become sons of Light.” It's a command. Believe in the Light.

Remember back in John chapter 6, verse 27: "Work for the food which endures to eternal life." What should we do so that we may work the works of God? And Jesus answers and says—He says to them what? "This is the work of God. You want to do the work of God? Here's the work of God. You want to do something? Here's what you need to do. believe in Him. Believe in him. whom He has sent." He's saying to these people, you've seen enough, you've heard enough. I'm not going to debate your view of the Messiah. I'm telling you simply: follow Me. The Light is going to be here just a little while longer. Time is short. Walk. Believe.

So there's a reminder of who He is, and His time is short. There's a challenge, and there's also a warning. There's a warning—a warning about the fact that they have limited opportunity. They have limited opportunity. For a little while longer, He says, I'm here. I'm here for a little while longer.

In verse 36: “while you have the Light, believe.” While you have the Light. While He's here. While He can be followed. While He can be responded to. And if you won't follow Him when He's standing right there before your eyes, what makes you believe that you will follow Him when He's gone?

Now you might be asking in your mind: Jesus speaks in terms of limited opportunity. Would they have no further opportunity? Listen. Listen. No opportunity that they could presume upon. I can't tell you that everyone who heard Him on this day is in hell today. I can't tell you that. What I could tell you is that not one person listening to His voice that day had the right to presume that they would have another opportunity. Which is why He says: believe now. Believe. Come to the Light. Come to Christ. You become a child of Light, a son of Light. You don't have much time. Receive Him while you are able. Receive Him. He is the Light. But the opportunity is coming to its end. The Light is here. Now is the time to believe.

And there may be people who are sitting under the sound of my voice this morning, that you've heard the gospel multiple times—multiple times, multiple times—and you're not a Christian. And you keep presuming that there will be another day, another Sunday—another Sunday. You have no right to presume such a thing. Which is why you are commanded by the Scripture: "Today if you hear His voice, do not harden your hearts." If today you hear the gospel, repent and follow Christ. Walk. Believe.

But He also mentions something else in the way of warning. He tells them of the devastating consequences of rejection. And this is really a warning. He reminds them, He tells them of the devastating consequences of rejection. He says in verse 35, "Walk while you have the Light, notice, so that the darkness will not overtake you; and he who walks in the darkness does not know where he goes."

So what is the judgment for rejected Light? What is it? Here it is: the judgment for rejecting the Light is intensified darkness. Intensified darkness. What happens when there's Light set before you and you say, no—but no thanks? And you won't walk into it? And you walk away from it? What happens is that darkness overtakes you, and you find that you are lost. You don't know where you're going. You're groping in darkness.

I love what Spurgeon said concerning this: "What a sad condition to be in. What a sad condition to be in, not to know where you are going. Are there not some of you whom I am now addressing," he says, "who do not know where you are going? Yet if you would but take the trouble to look, you might easily know that. So long as you continue in the paths of sin, you are going down to the chambers of death. Oh that God's Holy Spirit would give you sufficient light to enable you to see where you are going. You surely do not want to take a leap into the dark. Oh that you may have the grace to turn from the downward way and to seek the heavenward road," end of quote.

May I tell you something? Some people—some people ought to be deeply troubled that they are not more troubled. They were troubled in the beginning, but they're not so troubled anymore. You know what's even more tragic? They almost congratulate themselves on it. I think, you know, I've become more intellectual about this. I've become more mature about this, and I think that all the Christianity stuff is simply a myth, and at one time it troubled me, but now I'm at a place where it just doesn't trouble me anymore. You know, oh how I see now. No, no—oh how more darkened you become, how more darkened you become. It's not that you walked into greater Light, it's that you walked into greater darkness, and what should trouble you doesn't. What once troubled you doesn't. That's not progress, that's descent, and apart from the grace of God, apart from repentance and faith in Jesus, you will descend all the way to hell and discover that you've lost your way.

Spiritual darkness, spiritual light. There's a third thing that I want us to see, I want us to notice: spiritual opportunity. I've alluded to it very briefly.

Verse 36: "While you have the Light, believe in the Light, so that you may become sons of Light." What a gracious invitation, isn't it? What a gracious invitation, what a gracious, loving, merciful promise. "Believe in the Light, so that you may become sons of Light." Can you imagine? Trust in Christ and you will be brought into the light, you will walk in the light, you'll follow the light, you'll follow Him who is the Light, you'll become a son of light—that is, His light will be in you. His light will be in you.

Isn't it wonderful, isn't it amazing to recognize that salvation is nothing artificial, and it's nothing merely external, that when God saves a sinner, He makes them indeed a new creature in Christ, and they go from darkness to light? Not only in terms of a kingdom, not only in terms of a realm—He transferred us from the kingdom of darkness into the marvelous light of the Son—but in addition, we, we become light. God floods us with light, He gives us life, Christ's life is a light of men, and we see, we see.

Today, if you're outside of Christ, you can go from darkness to light. Today, you can go from under Satan's realm into a kingdom ruled by God's Son. Will you believe? Will you walk? Will you act on what you've heard and what you're hearing?

Spiritual darkness, spiritual light, spiritual opportunity, and finally, spiritual judgment. Spiritual judgment.

Verse 36: "These things Jesus spoke, and He went away and He went away. This is no accidental language here. He went away and hid Himself from them. Isn't that powerful language? You only have the light for a little while, and He says to them, walk, act, listen, obey, believe, and they hear Him. But if we take verse 37 seriously, and we must, they did not believe. They heard, but they did not believe. And He went away.

ἀπέρχομαι is the Greek verb. ἀπέρχομαι —He departed, He withdrew Himself, and the language chosen to express this is, notice the next few words, "and hid Himself from them." What a—what a sad, tragic statement.

Would you like for Jesus to go away? Some of you, you have people who love you. They witness to you. They pray for you. They continue to set the light before you, and it troubles you. It offends you. It bothers you. You wish they would stop. How many times you've met with somebody, a family member, a friend, and you're trying to share the gospel with them, and they tell you, could you please stop? Can you not talk about this?

So here's the question to ask. Do you really wish they would stop? Do you want Jesus to leave you alone? I want to ask them that. Do you really want Jesus to leave you alone? Would it be okay with you if He just hid Himself, never to trouble you again for the rest of your life here on earth? Do you realize what the consequences of that will be?

Do you know that there's not going to be a single person—not a single person, not one—who doesn't one day bow the knee and confess with their mouth that Christ is Lord to the glory of God the Father? You will either know Him as Lord in this life and then in heaven, or you will know that He is Lord one day when you are in hell.

Do you want Him to just leave you alone? If you say no, that's not what I want, then let me ask you, what will you do with the light that He has already given you? What will you do with it? Will you walk in it? Will you believe in Him? Will you act on the light now?

Do you really need another Bible study? Do you really need another discussion on religion? Do you want to debate things that really aren't that meaningful to you anyway? It's just one of the ways that you use to escape the truth? Or will you repent of your sins and come to the Son of God?

And do you understand, unbeliever, if that's you, that your opportunities are limited? Limited! Who limits them? God Himself does! And we're going to see this next time, Lord willing, that God actually sends judicial blindness upon people. What will you do with the opportunity you have this day, this day, today?

And then, I want to talk to us believers for a moment. Oh, beloved brothers, sisters, you've seen, you've seen, you've beheld the light! You are sons and daughters of light! Do you realize what a miracle this is? Are you gripped by that? Aren't you dumbfounded? Do you realize that, that if but the grace of God, right here is all of us. All of us, all of us, all of us, every single one of us. Partial knowledge, which would have been damning knowledge, hostility, or indifference, or initial interest, or even extreme interest, that fell short of true belief. That was every single one of us, child of God.

And the only explanation for the fact that you are a son or daughter of light, and you have seen the light, have trusted in God's Son who is the light, is simply the grace of God. That's all. God's grace. It's called regeneration. It's called the granting of eternal life, so that in this room there is no room whatsoever for pride, there is no room for boasting. And we must all fall on our knees before our Sovereign, saving God, and bless His name, and give Him thanks that He's allowed us to see and sing with all of our hearts: "Amazing grace, how sweet the sound, that saved a wretched, vile, rebel, sinner like me. I once was lost, but now I'm found. Was blind, but now I see." Amazing grace.

Amazing intelligence. Is that what it says? Amazing soft-heartedness. Amazing wisdom. You know, if I believe what Armenians believe, that's how you ought to sing the song. Oh, how intelligent I was. How soft-hearted. How good nature I had. No, no, no, no, no. No, no. Listen. Amazing grace. Amazing grace that God would save someone like me.

Let's pray.

This is a transcript. It may contain small inaccuracies.

We come back one last time, I think. It's a definite, I think, this time. So, to 1 Thessalonians chapter 1, and we're considering the last verse and the last part of verse 10: "Jesus who rescues us from the wrath to come." We come to consider this tremendous church that received the word of the gospel with warm welcome. They received the word with open arms. It was a reception with delight. It was an eager reception, and it really brought a genuine transformation in their lives.

This was not a quasi-reception. This was a full embrace, and you could see the transformation wrought by the power of the gospel in the lives of these people, so much so that Paul says—he says, we give thanks to God always for all of you, verse 2, making mention of you in our prayers, remembering without ceasing. He said, we remember without ceasing your work of faith, labor of love, steadfastness of hope. He sees all the fruit of what the gospel has wrought in their lives. This was a genuine reception of the word of God. There was a transformation of life. There's the fruit of righteousness, and then he talks further about really the fruit of repentance and conversion.

He talks about how they became imitators of him and of the Lord, how they received the Word in much affliction with the joy of the Holy Spirit, and how they became a model to all the believers all around, and how the Word of God sounded forth from them, reverberated all throughout the region of Achaia and Macedonia. In every place, he said, your faith toward God has gone forth so we have no need to say anything. And he said, they themselves, verse 9, report about us, what kind of an entrance we had with you. And he said, you've turned from idols. When you receive the word, here's the fruit, here's the proof. You actually turned your back on your idols, and now you turned and face to face with the living God in an intimate communion and relationship with Him.

And not only that, but now you are a second coming people. You live here in the light of there. You live now in the light of then. And by the way, as a second coming people, as they were waiting for that glorious hope, they didn't sit on their hands. They were laboring for the Lord. It really was the fuel to the fire of their zeal and passion for the Lord. And so as they lived—as they lived in anticipation of the coming of the Lord—they were arduous in their labor. They were working so hard to honor the Lord, to serve Him, to make much of Him.

And as they're waiting for the Lord to come, we learned concerning waiting for the Son of God to come from heaven, six marvelous truths: that Jesus is coming again, verse 10, that He will descend from heaven, that He will appear in bodily form, that He could return today, and that His return demands our readiness. And we have been considering the last one: Jesus rescues us from wrath, the wrath to come.

And we saw last Lord's day how this doctrine of the wrath of God is taught in Scripture. We learned together that not only this wrath of God is the wrath of God—He is the author of it. He is the dispenser of it under the heading, the fact of divine wrath. We saw together that God is the author of this wrath. Thirty-five times this word wrath or He is used in the New Testament, and at least twenty-five of those times it refers to a wrath that has its origin in the heart of God. God is a God of infinite wrath. Just like He is the God of infinite love, He is the God of infinite wrath. He is the author of it. He is the distributor of it as well. And it is a frightful thing to fall into the hand of the living God.

God's wrath, Pastor MacArthur writes, is crucial to who He is. All of His attributes are balanced in divine perfection. If He had no righteous anger, He would not be God. Apart from His wrath, the concept of His love is rendered meaningless. End of quote.

We saw together the creatures will be the object of His wrath, and this is really frightful—the object of His wrath. And as we will see shortly, really, salvation fundamentally is being saved from the wrath of God. Whereas before our coming to know God, God was our number one enemy. But now He is our friend. He is our Savior. He is our Lord. We're reconciled to Him. We are saved from the wrath of God. He is our Lord. We're reconciled to Him.

And under the fact of this wrath, thirdly, we learned together last Lord's Day that the infliction of divine displeasure is the essence of this wrath. What will that infliction of divine displeasure involve? We saw this last time. Three simple phrases really explain to us what is involved in this infliction of divine displeasure, the wrath of God.

Number one, it will be a shutting out from heaven. Revelation 21:26–27. A shutting out from heaven. Number two, it involves a shutting up to misery and torment. Matthew 10:28. And in the third place, it means being shut in to that state for all eternity, and there are no redos. It is forever. It is forever.

Who can understand such anger and wrath that shall come from an infinite God, which, when it funnels from the head up—or on the head of the wicked—will shut them out from heaven, will shut them up to misery, and will shut them into that state for eternity? And fourthly, we saw together that the day of judgment will be its revelation. It is coming. The day of wrath is coming. The books will be open. The wicked will be judged.

We'll pick up where we left off. Let us consider in the second place—and this is really the wonderful truth bound up in this verse—that only Christ Jesus can rescue from this coming judgment. Only Christ Jesus can rescue from this coming judgment: "and to wait for His Son from heaven, whom He raised from the dead, Jesus, who rescues us from the wrath to come." And would you note that it is in the present tense? It is in the present tense: "who rescues us," or literally, "who is rescuing us from the wrath to come."

And this word “rescues” means to deliver, to bring someone out of the state of danger. It's the same word used by Paul when he said, "I was rescued out of the lion's mouth." Get the picture of someone who was just about to be devoured by a raging lion and suddenly whisked away—saved, delivered. That's the picture. It means escape, unusual escape from impending doom.

And in this passage before us, in 1 Thessalonians 1:10, Paul not only declares the fact of divine wrath, but he declares that the only way for deliverance from divine wrath—and he identifies that deliverance, first of all, as coming through Jesus Christ, the Christ of biblical revelation, the Christ of scripture, the Christ of biblical revelation—who rescues us from the wrath to come. He answers. He answers the question, well, who rescues us from the wrath to come? Well, "to wait for His Son." To wait for His Son. He is the Son of God, able and mighty to deliver. No human deliverer, but this is God the Son, the Son of God, God manifested in the flesh. He is the God-man.

But He is not only the Son of God, God able and mighty to deliver, but notice later he identifies Him, Jesus. That peculiar name that is attached to His humanity: "You shall call His name Jesus, for He shall save His people from their sins"—Matthew 1:21. And so the only Christ whom Paul acknowledges as the deliverer, as the rescuer from the wrath to come, is the Christ of biblical revelation, who is the Son of God, who is God the Son, who is the Son of Man, who is the only God, the Son, but who is Jesus, joined together in one person.

And then he identifies Him, in verse 10, as the one "whom He raised from the dead." The one whom God the Father raised from the dead. This is the Christ who actually died. This is the Christ of scripture. And this is the Christ who actually died. This is the Christ who was buried. He died such a complete death that there is needed a supernatural resurrection to take place, to raise Him from the dead. Paul knows no Christ but the Christ of biblical revelation: Son of God, Jesus, died, buried, raised from the dead.

This is the Christ who brings deliverance. And then Christ alone delivers. The Christ of biblical revelation and the Christ who has formed the basis of deliverance. How is it that only Jesus can rescue us from the wrath to come? How is it? How is it? Because only Jesus was sunk beneath the billows of divine wrath that He might deliver us.

That's why if sinners are to be delivered from that coming wrath, which is their just due—God being holy, the sinner being what the sinner is, God being just, a God of inflexible justice, His law being what it is—He must inflict punishment upon a broken law, otherwise He wouldn't be a perfectly just God. And so the Lord Jesus came to the realm, to the very realm of man's failure and sin and rebellion, and so identified Himself with us that the Scripture says, 2 Corinthians 5:21, "He made Him, the Father made the Son, who knew no sin to be sin on our behalf." Christ redeemed us, Galatians 3:13, from the curse of the law. How? Paul tells us, "having become a curse for us—for it is written, 'Cursed is everyone who hangs on a tree.'"

Perhaps this will give us a little bit more, really, appreciation of the cross, for what our Lord bore upon Calvary's cross was nothing less than the divine wrath of which we're speaking. That's what He bore. He bore it all, nothing less than the positive outgoing of divine wrath upon His beloved, sinless head. He took it all—all of the billows of the wrath that we explained last Lord's Day, the fact of the wrath of God—all of that, all of that He bore. That's what He experienced.

Do away with the divine doctrine of divine wrath and it won't be long before you're ready to jettison the doctrine of the cross, and the only context in which the cross of Christ will be loved is a context in which the wrath of God is feared. And when one goes, the other inevitably goes—always, always, always. On the cross the Son of God became swallowed up in the billows of divine wrath, and that's what we've been seeing in John 12, right? "My soul is dismayed"—has become dismayed, troubled—because He knows what awaits Him, how He's going to become the sin bearer, how the billows of the wrath of God will come down upon His blessed head. And on the cross the Son of God became swallowed up in the billows of divine wrath, and yet, wonder of wonders, He was swallowed up in wrath that He might deliver us from wrath.

Very often, as we remember when we gather around the Lord's table, we declare and remind ourselves that He drank the cup of wrath that yours and mine will be a cup of mercy. And so Paul identifies Him as the Christ of biblical revelation, who formed the basis of deliverance by Himself—Himself taking upon Himself the wrath that we sinners deserve in order that we might be rescued.

Now, how does He do this work of rescuing? How? How does He do this work of rescuing? Paul says, Jesus who rescues—present tense—who is rescuing us from the wrath to come. Well, He does it initially when He takes away the sentence of wrath, when, like these Thessalonians, we are effectually called by the gospel, drawn—to use the word this morning—by the gospel. We are brought into a living fellowship and relationship with Christ, that the first great blessing is the imputation of His righteousness, His righteousness become ours, the putting to our account of the perfect righteousness of Christ, so that Romans 8 verse 1 is true—blessedly, gloriously true—"Therefore there is therefore now no condemnation, And what is condemnation? It is the sentence of divine wrath, it is the sentence of divine wrath, it's upon every sinner, for the wrath of God abides on him who does not believe. John 3:36, "He who believes in the Son has eternal life, but he who does not obey the Son will not see life, but the wrath of God abides on him." And what turns away that sentence? What turns away that sentence? When the sinner is joined to Jesus—savingly joined to Christ—and the perfect righteousness of Christ is put through His account, there is now no sentence of divine wrath to those who are where? In union with Jesus, Jesus who rescues from coming wrath initially by taking away the sentence of wrath.

And then He delivers continually by taking away what we might call the fitness for wrath, the fitness for wrath. Why is God angry with sinners? Because of our wicked deeds, because of our rebellion to His holy law. That's why Ephesians 5:6, having listed the sins of the flesh, says, "Let no one deceive you with empty words, for because of these things the wrath of God comes upon the sons of disobedience." Now what is God doing? Well, He's delivering us through His Son from the fitness for wrath. He's taking us off the course of being willful rebels against His law, and He's putting us in the course of obedience—imperfect but nonetheless real, real. He's put us in the path of holiness—imperfect but nonetheless real. He has broken the dominion of sin, and He is at work to clear out the remains of sin. Day after day after day we are moving forward from glory to glory.

And so the Lord Jesus, by His intercessory work and by the supply of the Spirit, He's rescuing us from wrath, not only in taking away the sentence of wrath, but in taking away the cause, the fitness for wrath. He's making us more and more like Himself. And then, bless God, bless God, bless God, He delivers us from the wrath to come when one day He will deliver us from the very reality of wrath. When we shall be like Him and see Him as He is, to know that wrath is an utter and complete impossibility—impossibility—that we shall be, as the theologians say, confirmed in righteousness and holiness on a footing far more stable than Adam ever had, a footing which grace has produced, in which we shall be like Him for all eternity.

I want to bring this thing to a very practical conclusion tonight. And again, I wish I had more time really to do so, but I trust the Holy Spirit will make up in power, in pointedness, what I feel I can't do in time.

The third great principle of our text: the fact—divine wrath, number one; number two, Christ alone delivers, He's the deliverer of divine wrath. But in the third place, number three—number three, only those who are converted are being rescued from divine wrath. Only those who are converted are being rescued from divine wrath.

Let me ask you this question: on what basis could Paul rejoice that these people there in that city at Thessaloniki were being rescued from the wrath to come? Was it that he had some false notion of human perfection? Well, these people are all so nice, so good, I mean God is, you know, so nice that He just couldn't judge them. They're nice, they're good, they're nice people. Was it that he had some vague notion of universalism, as we alluded to this morning, that everyone is eventually going to be saved from divine wrath? No.

You know what was the root of his conviction, that they were being delivered from divine wrath? I'll remind us of what it was. It was the evidence of the genuineness of their conversion. It was the fruit, the evidence of the genuineness of their conversion. The fact that he already said—just let your eyes actually see this with me—the fact that he already said, verse 5, "our gospel did not come to you in word only, but also in power and in the Holy Spirit." Verse 6, "you became imitators of us and of the Lord." Verse 7, "you became a model to all believers." Verse 8, "the word of the Lord has sounded forth from you." And verse 9, "you turned to God from idols to serve a living and true God."

The reason, beloved, Paul is confident that they have been rescued by Christ and they were being rescued by Christ from the wrath to come was the undeniable evidence of the genuineness of their conversion. And I say to everyone in the sound of my voice this evening, this is the crux of the whole thing. None will be rescued from the wrath to come except those who are soundly converted. None will be rescued from the wrath to come except those who are soundly, genuinely converted.

And to be soundly converted means that the things are true of you that they were true of these people in Thessaloniki. That's what it is. That's the crux of the matter. That the Word has come to you in something more than verbiage—words, words. Christ and the Bible and God and heaven and hell are something more than words that you've collected like a great kind of a storehouse in your head. But rather they've come with power—power. And you've trembled at the thought of your sins. You've trembled at the thought of hell and judgment and the wrath of God. And you fled, broken, pleading to the cross of Jesus, and you've embraced Him and Him alone as your hope of mercy. The Gospel has come in power.

And you turn. You indeed turn from your idols. You turn to God. You turn with a disposition to serve Him. And your will has been brought subject to King Jesus. And any hope that you will escape divine wrath apart from the evidence of true conversion is but a delusive hope, a mocking hope. It's the hope of the hypocrite, of which the Scripture says shall ultimately perish.

Who is Christ rescuing? He's rescuing those whom He saves. He's rescuing those whom He saves. Who does He save? Who does He save? Those who are soundly converted. Is He rescuing you from the wrath to come? Are you under the canopy of His mercy or under the awful canopy of His wrath tonight? A canopy of wrath about to break over your head, mixed with long-suffering and forbearance. That's the only reason, perhaps, you aren't in hell today. It's that God is long-suffering. And if you're outside of Christ, that's the only reason. Just the fact that you're here to listen to this invitation and warning.

The only reason some aren't joining that rich man who cries out, "Father Abraham, I am tormented in these flames," is only one reason. Only one reason as you sit here and listen: the forbearance of God, called in Romans 2 verse 5, "the riches of His kindness and forbearance and patience." That's why. That's the only reason.

But one day, one day, that will all be past, and judgment and wrath shall come down unmixed with mercy, undiluted. Isaac Watts, who was wonderfully used of God in the conversion of many, said this, I quote, "The love of God is"—now listen carefully to what he called it—"the love of God is the suasive power, suasive power. It is the power that draws a sinner to embrace God's mercy. But the wrath of God is the awakening power." End of quote.

Do you know what's going to awaken some, perhaps, in our midst here in this place from the slumber of your sleep of sin? The thought of divine wrath. The doctrine of divine wrath. And you've been able, perhaps, to sleep through many a gospel sermon. All your eyes have been awake, but your spirits have been slumbering, sleeping. You haven't come to the word saying, oh God, oh God, speak today, speak. I see myself lost, undone, Lord, speak Your word, Your word of power to me, to my heart today.

No, you've been able to come very indifferent, very careless, calloused. Oh, may God send an arrow tonight to awaken you to the thought of His coming impending wrath. Wrath is coming. May God take this phrase of His word, the coming wrath, the wrath to come, and I pray that He will so etch it upon your conscience and in your mind that it will follow you wherever you go this evening—to your home, to your dinner table, to your evening activities, follow you to your bed, meet you in the morning, meet you through the day—until you begin to cry out, oh God, oh God, deliver me from the wrath to come.

You see, the doctrine of divine wrath is the awakening proof. And then the doctrine of divine love becomes the suasive, the drawing, the wooing truth. And may I say to you who by the grace of God can see yourself in verses two through nine, by the grace of God, you say, oh yes, blessed be God, yes, the gospel has come in power, yes, by the grace of God, I have become a true child of God, a true believer, I've turned from my idols to serve the living and true God. I do wait for His Son from heaven. Oh beloved, oh what motive to gratitude it should be in our hearts this evening.

We don't think of it often, do we? That we have been delivered and are being delivered from the wrath to come. How long has it been since you thanked God that you're not in hell? How long has it been since you thanked God that that wasn't your hopeless destiny? Shut out from heaven, shut up to misery, shut in for eternity. And how we need to obey the exhortation of Scripture, to look to the rock from which you were hewn and to the quarry from which you were dug, Isaiah 51. And this would produce a motive of gratitude.

What drove John Wesley continually when people stood amazed at the passion with which this man poured himself into the work of preaching the gospel? He said, quote, "I am as a brand plucked from the burning," end of quote. And he never could forget it—never, never. I am as a brand plucked from the burning.

And then what motive of a debtorhood to others—neighbors, loved ones, friends, some of your own children, husbands, wives—they're under the canopy of divine wrath. What motive to pray? What motive to plead? What a motive to cry to God that they might be delivered through the Lord Jesus Christ? Oh, may God compel each and every one of us in our hearts.

But having looked at this first chapter, what a marvelous chapter. We learn from the example of the Thessalonians in this first chapter of Paul's letter, we learn this: that churches, congregations just like this one, have the privilege of pointing people to God's true work by their own obedience. If the Thessalonian church, if the Corinthian church, and all of those New Testament churches, if these churches become the best evidence to answer Paul's critics—and he had so many, he had so many—then these churches themselves point to a true work of God.

Remember this, remember this: what is the church according to Scripture? "The pillar and support of the truth." The church, this body of Christ, the called out ones, is the pillar and the support of the truth, 1 Timothy 3:15.

Is there a place in the world where the truth is upheld? Is there a place in the world where I can find Truth? The New Testament answers this way: yes, yes, the true church. That's where you find the truth—yes, the true church. And where you find the true church, you find the truth. You find the truth upheld, you find the truth defended, and you find the truth displayed.
What Paul is saying to the Thessalonian church when he says you're the best evidence of the genuineness of our ministry—look at what he said here, verse 9, "for they themselves report about us what kind of an entrance we had with you." That's what he's saying. What he's saying to the Thessalonian church when he says you're the best evidence of the genuineness of our ministry is the change God has wrought in you points to the true, genuine, authentic work of God.

Find out what the Thessalonians heard, what they believed, what they devoted themselves to, the message they're sharing, the way they're living—discover that and you will discover what Jesus does in saving sinners, in redeeming sinners. And that means that churches like ours have the privilege of having a standing in the world by which you could hang a sign over this place, over Grace Chapel—you just put it right outside in front of the building—a sign that reads, the truth is found here. The truth is found here, not just here but wherever you find churches that are faithful by the grace of God to God and His Word, the truth is found here because the church is the pillar and support of the truth.

And here's what I want to challenge us with as we conclude this chapter. That's true of us by the grace of God congregationally as we strive, we strive. But that takes place individually, that takes place individually, doesn't it? One heart at a time, one life at a time.

And so what I want to challenge you and myself with is this: are you, am I, are you and I living in a way that when we come to this place, to this church, we are contributing, we are taking advantage of the privilege to say to a watching world, the truth is found here. The truth is found here. The way you believe, the way you talk, the motives that drive your life, the hope on display in your life—you're living today in light of tomorrow that God has promised—the holiness that marks our lives, turning from a life of idolatry, which involved all sorts of immorality, to a life of devotion to the one true and living God.

When someone looks at my life, at your life—yes, yes, it's a rescued life, it is not yet a perfected life—but is it a genuine life? Is it a genuine life? Do they find in your testimony that there's a real, true, living God, a real, true, living Savior, therefore a real, true, living gospel message—that God's power is indeed at work in this world, transforming human lives through salvation in Christ Jesus? Does your life and mine say that's true?

Did someone say to you, to me, you're exhibit A for the genuineness of the gospel ministry that we engage in? They look at your life and mine, and you're proof of the genuineness of the ministry of this body of Christ. Someone looks at your life as an individual—if they would just follow you around—does it speak of Jesus? Does it?

Someone watches how you interact with your spouse, your marriage at home, your kids, your friends, your siblings, your interactions with others—does it say that Jesus lives? Someone's watching the way you're interacting with brothers and sisters in the body of Christ—does it say that you belong to that church which is the pillar and the support of the truth? Someone watches how you conduct business versus how other people conduct business, and they understand you're not living for now, you're living for ever, for eternity.

The only reason you can have congregational commendations like this one here in verse 9—and we'll see it throughout the rest of the epistle—the only reason you can have congregational commendations is because God's work is real, and God's people are the proof that God's work is real, and what a privilege that God would make use of our small lives to speak to the reality of His presence and His power, and His Son, and His truth.
Do you need proof that what you met with was indeed from the Lord? Paul says to the Thessalonians and to us, just look at your own life, just look at your own life.

Let's pray.

This is a transcript. It may contain small inaccuracies.

Last week, as we began to look at this portion of the Word of God, we began to look at the motive and the motivation of our Savior as He makes His way to the cross. We saw that there was the dread of that unique suffering that He was about to undergo. His spirit was deeply troubled—’tarasso’—dismayed, agitated. He says that His soul has become dismayed.

Spurgeon, commenting on this, said, "In anticipation of Calvary, His soul was full of trouble, not that He feared death, but His death was to be a very peculiar one. He was to die, the just for the unjust. He was to bear our sins in His own body on the tree, and His pure and holy soul shrank from contact with sin. To stand in a sinner's place, to bear His Father's wrath, this bewildered Him."

John Calvin, commenting on the same, said the following: "Moreover, it was useful and even necessary for our salvation that the Son of God should be so affected. The chief thing to consider in His death is His expiation, by which He appeased the wrath and the curse of God. But He could not have done that without transferring to Himself our guilt. Therefore, the death which He underwent had to be full of horror, since He could not perform the satisfaction for us without apprehending the dreadful judgment of God in His own senses. From this, we learn better the enormity of sin, which the Heavenly Father exacted so dreadful a punishment from His only begotten Son."

Christ has come to His hour, and it troubles Him—deeply troubles Him. And yet, far from asking to be delivered from it, He looks into the face of it, and He chooses it. He deliberately chooses it. And He tells us what His motive and motivation is in choosing it. What was it that really was the driving force behind His choice, His willingness to come to this hour? He says, "for this purpose"—verse 27—"I came to this hour." Verse 28: "Father, glorify Your name."
Beloved, when we're struggling with powerful emotions, it is always right to submit your feelings—my feelings—to God's purpose to glorify Him, to glorify Himself. Our Lord is our example here in how to deal with our feelings. Jesus, the God-man, had human feelings, but He was free from all sin. And here, He honestly expresses His revulsion at the thought of the cross, but He quickly submits to the will and the glory of the Father. And, beloved, you and I ought to do the same.

If you're facing a difficult trial, and you are overwhelmed with powerful, powerful feelings, so that you don't even know what to pray, you can always pray, "Father, glorify Your name." Father, glorify Your name. Your aim, like Jesus' aim, should be to glorify the Father in everything. "Father, glorify Your name." This is His chief desire. This is the overarching motive and motivation—that His Father will be glorified.

But today, in the verses that follow, we find that there's something else that moves the Son of God. This is the chief thing. We saw it together. This is the overarching thing. This is the way that sums it all up, that the Father, indeed, would be glorified. "Father, glorify Your name." That's it. We see it here. It's captured beautifully, powerfully, succinctly, but in that is also the knowledge of what the product will be of His dying, what the outcome of His death will be, bound up in this.

We can put it in the language of Hebrews 12, verse 2: "for the joy that was set before Him"—for the joy that was set before Him. He knows what His death will do. He knows what His death will accomplish. He knows what His death will produce, and that moves Him to the cross. That compels Him to the cross. For the joy that was set before Him, He endured the cross.

I want to begin this morning where we left off last Sunday: the desire of Christ for the glory of the Father. The desire of Christ for the Father's glory. Verses 28-30: "Father, glorify Your name." And we see that the Father gave Him assurance of this. The Bible says, "then a voice"—verse 28—"came from heaven: I have both glorified it and will glorify it again." The Son's desire is met now with the Father's assurance. And the Father tells us that He has been glorified. And I take it to mean in His Son. In His Son's life. The Son of God has already glorified the Father. He has been glorified.

Have we not seen the Father in His Son? If you've seen Christ, you've seen who? The Father. And Christ has made known that to us.

In John 14, verse 8, "Philip said to Him, Lord, show us the Father, and it is enough for us. Jesus said to him, Have I been with you all so long and have you not come to know Me, Philip? He who has seen Me has seen the Father; how can you say, 'Show us the Father'?"
Or the Apostle John tells us in the opening of this Gospel, John 1, verse 18—you remember those words—"No one has seen God at any time; the only begotten God" — the only begotten God —  "who is in the bosom of the Father, He has explained Him."

Christ, the ‘Logos’, the Word, has made God known to us. He has exegeted Him. He has revealed Him. He has revealed God to us. In Christ we see God incarnate. So that already in the Son's life, before the cross, before the garden, before the resurrection, the Father already has been glorified. His name has been made known in His Son.

As Lewis Johnson writes, "What a glorious view of God we would have obtained even if the Son of God had passed into heaven at this point." In other words, if I can insert this, has the Father already been glorified? Yes. So much so that even if the Son of God had passed into the heavens at that point, man would have already had a glorious view of God. But he goes on to say this: "We, however, would never have been able to profit from it. For lost in our sins, we would have never grasped the true meaning of His life and been able to receive the life that brings illumination and salvation."

The Father has already been glorified, seen in the life of His Son, seen in the teaching, preaching of His Son, seen in the miracles performed by His Son. He has made the Father known. Clearly known. I have been glorified, the Father declared. I have been glorified. I have glorified My name. The Father has glorified His name.

But, He doesn't just say that He has been glorified, but He says also what? He will be glorified. Verse 28: "I have both glorified it and"—what?—"will" —will— "glorify it again." Looking to the future. Looking to where the Son of God is headed. The Father will be made known. His name will be glorified. Even as His Son is humiliated and dishonored. Even as mankind, sinful mankind, wicked man, dishonors the Son, the Father will be made known. His name will be glorified. He will be revealed.

And the Father will be made known, seen in the love of His Son. The love of His Son, displayed on Calvary's cross.

You remember John 13:1, right? "Now before the Feast of the Passover, Jesus, knowing that His hour had come that He would depart out of this world to the Father, having loved His own who were in the world, He loved them to the end." He loved them to the end. That lets us know who God is. God so loved the world, right?

Seen in His Son's suffering, He suffers in such a way at His mock trials, at the places where He was mocked and beaten and scorned and spat upon and dishonored. The way that He conducts Himself there, the way that He responds to all of it, speaks to us of God. The way that He suffers on the tree—so much so that people are converted. Truly, truly, this is the Son of God. And they come to faith as they witness all of this.

He will be glorified in His Son's suffering, in His Son's death. He will be glorified in His Son's resurrection. The Father will make His name known by raising His Son from the dead, demonstrating that He is the Lord who saves sinners, and that all that is claimed concerning Himself has been true, vindicated, validated, by raising His Son from the dead. The Father will testify to it by raising His Son from the dead.

And so, in the agony of Gethsemane, the agony of the cross and His death, the victory of His resurrection, the victory of His ascension, the victory of the outpouring of the Holy Spirit, the victory of the much fruit that has flowed down to this present day. And every single child of God in this place, you are that much fruit that has come from when the Lord God said from heaven, "I have both glorified it and will glorify it again." So He has been glorified and He will be glorified.

But there's something strange about the voice that comes from heaven. The voice that comes from heaven and says this, but notice what Christ says. He says concerning this voice down in verse 30—look at it—"The voice has not come for My sake, but for your sake." For your sake. The voice is for your sake, not mine.

But here's what makes this really curious. Apparently, people didn't understand the voice, right? They didn't get it. How did they respond to it? Verse 29: so the crowd of the people who stood by and heard it were saying that it had what? Thunder. I think I hear thunder, some of them said. Others hear it. They recognize something supernatural in it. There's something supernatural. This isn't something explained by nature. We read others were saying an angel has spoken to Him. They don't attribute it to God. They don't attribute it to the Father. They attribute it to an angel. It must be an angel.

What do we make of this? What do we make of this? This voice comes. They don't understand it. They don't recognize it, and yet Christ says it wasn't for Him. It was for them. You know, I think that we have here sort of a divine object lesson. That's what we have here. A divine object lesson. The Son has clearly exegeted the Father. He's revealed the Father clearly. The Son has clearly explained the Father. The Son has clearly revealed the Father. The Son has clearly made the Father known.

The Father has clearly testified to His Son by His life and through His teaching and through His miracles, the miracles wrought by the power of the Holy Spirit. The Father has testified of His Son. God has been glorified. God will be glorified. But get this. That doesn't mean that all men will recognize it. The Father has been glorified. The Father will be glorified, but we're not to conclude from that that all men will recognize that glory just like this voice.

Some are going to witness the glory of God and attribute it to something explained by nature, and some are going to witness the glory of God and they may even be willing to acknowledge something supernatural to what they've seen, but they will not attribute it to God. Don't we see this in our own day? Don't we? I mean, we see it in our own day. You've experienced it, no doubt. Some look at Christ and they say, well, He was a good man. Nature. Natural. He was a good man. He was a good teacher. A wise teacher. Others see in Christ something supernatural, but they will not say this is God in human flesh. They will not say this is the Savior of the world.

And in both cases, when you fall short of a right biblical understanding of Christ, whether you take Jesus, you reduce Him to something explained by nature, or you take Jesus and you explain Him by something supernatural, but not God in human flesh, the only Savior given to mankind—when you fall short and you're understanding in either direction—what have you missed? You have missed the glory of God. You have missed the glory of God.

2 Corinthians 4:6 tells us what happens when God shines His light into a human heart so that for the first time, people rightly see, rightly understand the Son. What do we see? "For God, who said, 'Light shall shine out of darkness,' is the One who has shone in our hearts to give the Light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Christ."

When you rightly see Jesus, when you biblically see Jesus, the Christ of Scripture, what do you see? You see the glory of God. The glory of God.

"Father, glorify Your name." "I have both glorified it and will glorify it again." I have glorified it in You, My beloved Son. I will glorify it again in You, My beloved Son. But that doesn't mean everybody is going to recognize it. You can have clear testimony and it still be attributed to nature or to angels and not understood by sinful men.

And when the gospel goes out, there are some people who simply say, it's a noise. It's a noise. That's all. That's all there is to this. You're making noise. It's noise. It has no real sense of meaning to them at all. And the Apostle Paul puts it plainly when he says, "But a natural man does not accept the depths of the Spirit of God, for they are" —what?— "foolishness to him," —foolishness— "and he cannot understand them, because they are spiritually examined." 1 Corinthians 2:14.

And then there are some individuals who sense that there is meaning in the gospel, but they haven't really grasped it for themselves.

Spurgeon applying this says, "They did not understand the voice of God or the cause of the voice speaking to them. If the men of the world in our Savior's day did not understand the Father's voice to the only begotten, do not expect that the men of the world today will understand the divine voice in your heart. They will reckon that you are in error and that God has not spoken to you. It has only thundered. They will be ready to invent all kinds of stories of angels and I know not what so as to get rid of the voice of God to you. But you know it. If you are God's children, you know His voice and you also know what He means when He speaks."

And the question I would ask is whether the mission of the Son of God encompassed this. Did Christ anticipate this? Would He have been disillusioned by this? And we know the answer. Yes, His mission accounts for this. Yes, He anticipated this. No, He wasn't disillusioned by this. He never came to this earth thinking that all men would recognize the glory of God. He came to this earth to accomplish a specific salvation mission, and that mission would be accomplished, and nothing—absolutely nothing—was going to derail it.

He would save His people from their sins. He would lay down His life for His sheep. His sheep know His voice. He would gather into one both Jews and Gentiles into one flock. The desire of God's Son, the desire for Christ, is to glorify the Father.

Now, the second thing that I want us to see: not only His desire to glorify the Father, but also notice that He's going to die for the glory of the Father. The death of Christ is for the Father's glory, and we see this in verses 31 to 33. His death will glorify God. He's speaking of His death. Look at verse 31: "Now judgment is upon this world; now the ruler of this world will be cast out. And I, if I am lifted up from the earth, will draw all men to Myself.  But He was saying this to indicate the kind of death by which He was about to die."

He's going to be lifted up. In other words, He's going to be lifted up on the cross. He's going to be crucified. He's going to die on a tree. But what's going to be accomplished there? The glory of the Father? Yes. Yes. But there's something else embedded in that. To the glory of the Father. Again, the joy set before Him—the joy set before Him.

What is going to accomplish, to be accomplished at the cross? Well He mentions—three things. Three things are mentioned.

Number one, look at them with me. There's going to be a great demonstration. We might even say a great declaration of something. Verse 31: "Now judgment is upon this world." Now judgment is upon this world. There's going to be a demonstration of what? Judgment. There's going to be a demonstration of judgment. There's going to be a declaration of the cross, of the judgment of this world.

Question: In what sense was judgment accomplished at the cross? Beloved, in this sense. The cross is your condemnation. It is God's witness against you if you reject Christ—if you reject Christ. At the cross, not only does it speak of salvation, it also speaks of judgment. Judgment. It is the testimony of God to the world that there is a way for man to be reconciled to God. But it's also a testimony from God to the world that if you reject His Son, His only begotten Son, this is the judgment of sin.

The cross speaks to the real guilt of our sin. The cross speaks to the real hardness and impenitence found in the hearts of men, wicked men, that they would crucify the Prince of life. It speaks of man's real hatred toward God. It speaks of the real crime committed against the Son of God. At the cross, the world's hypocrisy is stripped away. Who we really are spiritually by nature, left to ourselves by nature from Adam since the fall, is exposed at the cross.

Let me ask us today, what would mankind in his natural condition since the fall—what would mankind do to God if God will allow it? Answer: he would kill God. He would murder God. The Bible says that man's a God hater. Man is a God hater. Is that not true? I mean, is man really a God hater? Since the fall, do people really hate God? What's the answer? How do you know? Look at the cross. Look at the cross. The cross reveals it, doesn't it? There's what man would do to God if given an opportunity: Crucify Him. Crucify Him.

As if, Spurgeon says, "as if in Christ's death the world was judged and condemned—and so it was. Nothing ever so convicted the world of high treason against God as when men said of the Lord Jesus Christ, God's well-beloved Son, ‘This is the heir. Come, let us kill him and the inheritance shall be ours.’ The shedding of the blood of Christ upon the cross is the crimson evidence of the deep transgression of human nature. Now is the judgment of this world."

Crucify Him. My heart was gripped at this point. I marveled, and I trust you'd agree with me. Isn't it the wonder of wonders that at the very time man was expressing his hatred toward God, God was expressing His love toward man? How can this be? How can this be? Isn't it amazing? Romans 5 verse 8: "But God demonstrates His own love toward us, in that while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us."

But the cross also strips away the hypocrisy of sinful man in another way, because man wants to imagine that he's a God lover. Man wants to say, you know, you know what, if there was a way for me to come to God, I would. If there were a way for me to please God, if there was a way for me to approach God, I would. I would come. The cross cries out, here's the way. Here's the way. Here's the way opened by God Himself, the shed blood of the Son of God, and anyone who wishes to be reconciled with God, let them turn from their sins and come to the Son of God and you will have fellowship with God. Here's the way. Will you come? Will you come?

So that when man walks away from the truth of the gospel, he what? Exposes himself. You don't love God or else you would come. The cross represents the judgment of the world in that the cross will take away every lost man's excuse. Every single one. And it shows us, shows us all for what we are by nature apart from the grace of God. It shows us that we would, what we would do with God if given the opportunity. And it shows man that he doesn't really want to be reconciled to God, for the way is open and if left to himself, man will not come.

Spurgeon goes on to say, "I dare say you have heard people use pretty phrases about the dignity of human nature and so on. These, they are lying phrases, for human nature is as bad as it can be. If you want proof of that assertion, behold how God Himself came here among men, incarnate virtue robed in love. Did men love Him? Did they fall down before Him and do Him homage? The homage of the world was, ‘Crucify him. Crucify him.’" —He goes on to say— "The world hates virtue. It cannot bear perfection. It might endure benevolence, but absolute purity and righteousness it cannot. Away with. Its native instincts are wrong. It is not towards the light that men are going. Their backs are to the sun. They are journeying into the thick darkness."

That was revealed at the cross. That was revealed at the cross. Now judgment is upon this world.

The cross would demonstrate the sinfulness of men, but there's a second thing that's going to take place there on the cross when Christ would be crucified. And looking at it from from the standpoint, of course, of John 12, looking to the cross, the second thing is there's going to be, from our vantage point, a great victory, and looking at it from Satan's vantage point, there's going to be a great defeat.

"Now judgment is upon this world," verse 31. "Now the ruler of this world will be cast out." Who is the ruler of this world? Who is the ruler of this present present age? Satan. Satan the deceiver. And at the cross—at the cross—Jesus says he's going to be defeated. At the cross, he was defeated.

Pastor MacArthur writes, "Satan was dethroned at Calvary. Again, this is a reversal of what you might think. It looked like Satan won. It looked like Satan triumphed, and the devils of hell thought there was a triumph. Satan had conquered Christ at the cross, they thought. But in reality, Christ had crushed his head, dealt him the death blow. Now Satan fights from death row. He is a vanquished enemy. He has nothing on Christ. He has nothing on us. He is a conquered, defeated foe."

In the death of Christ, beloved, Satan was stripped of any claim against believers—mark it down—any claim. And when we come to the Lord Jesus Christ, the rule of sin is broken. Sin has no longer dominion over us. The rule of sin is broken in our lives. Satan has no claim upon us, for the blood of Jesus answers for all of our sins. Satan is the accuser of the brethren. He can accuse us day and night before God, but he has no solid ground upon which to accuse us because the Son of God has answered for our sins.

You see, that by which Satan held men—the guilt of their sins—is now borne by the Lord Jesus Christ on the cross and dealt with permanently, once and for all.

And so in Christ, now we can sing with Horatio Spafford, "My sin—oh, the bliss of this glorious thought—My sin, not in part but the whole, Is nailed to the cross, and I bear it no more, Praise the Lord, praise the Lord oh my sou!l"

And we can sing with Martin Luther, "And though this world, with devil filled, should threaten to undo us, we will not fear, for God hath willed His truth to triumph through us the Prince of Darkness grim we tremble not for him his rage we can endure for lo his doom is sure one little word shall fell him".

He was defeated there but also was demonstrated the cross his final defeat at the cross and in the resurrection of Christ was demonstrated the fact that Satan is a defeated foe.
Revelation 12:10,  "Then I heard a loud voice in heaven, saying, ‘Now the salvation and the power, and the kingdom of our God and the authority of his Christ have come, for the accuser of our brothers has been thrown down, he who accuses them before our God day and night. And they overcame him because of the blood of the lamb and because of the word of their witness, and they did not love their life even to death. For this reason, rejoice, O heavens and you who dwell in them. Woe to the earth and the sea because the devil has come down to you, having great wrath knowing that he has only a short time."

One commentator said, "The cross and the resurrection spelled Satan's defeat. These events marked the glorification of all He renounced and the reversal of all He sought to attain."  You know the prophecy back all the way back to Genesis chapter 3 to that protoevangelium, that first gospel God said, I will put enmity pronouncing this to the serpent, "I will put enmity between you and the woman, and between your seed and her seed; he shall bruise you on the head, and you shall bruise him on the heel." And the offspring of the woman came the Lord Jesus Christ the God man, God incarnate the deliverer for mankind came and indeed His heel was bruised, He was wounded for our iniquities. But at the same time at the cross while He was wounded for our iniquities, what was He doing? He was crushing the serpent's head, He was crushing the serpent's head and our victory was attained by the Lord Jesus Christ a great demonstration of the world's sin, a great demonstration of Satan's defeat.

Colossians 2:13, those precious words remind yourself every time you face temptation; "And you being dead in your transgressions and the uncircumcision of your flesh, He made you alive with Him, having graciously forgiven us all our transgressions.  Having canceled out the certificate of debt consisting of decrees against us which was hostile to us, He also has taken it out of the way, having nailed it to the cross." When you would crucify someone you would take their offenses and you would nail it to the tree and God is telling us here that all of our offenses were nailed to the tree of Jesus, all of them, all of them so verse 15,  "Having disarmed the rulers and authorities, He made a public display of them, having" —what?— "triumphed over them in Him."

There at the cross is our forgiveness, there the cross is a demonstration, a powerful demonstration of the victory of the champion of our faith the Lord Jesus Christ.
Hebrews 2:14 puts it this way, "Therefore since the children share in flesh and blood, He Himself likewise also partook of the same, that through death He might render powerless him who had the power of death, that is, the devil and might free those who through fear of death were subject to slavery all their lives."

He took to himself flesh and blood, the Word became flesh that He might set us free and conquer the enemy of our souls and He did he did and this is set before Him, John 12, this is what He knows is coming he says in verse 31, now this hour now "Now judgment is upon this world;" —this world— "now the ruler of this world will be cast out."

But there's a third thing he says here in terms of what would be accomplished on Calvary's cross, the third thing that moves him to the cross, there's a third thing that he's looking forward to,  it is the joy set before him, in verse 32 particularly if I am lifted up, "And I, if I am lifted up from the earth, will draw all men to Myself."

Our Lord endured all of this because He looked beyond all of this to what lay on the other side.  The joy the joy set before Him. What is that? The joy of seeing His offspring come to faith in Himself through the merit of His own finished work on Calvary's cross. He looked beyond beyond the shame of the cross, beyond the horror of the cross to the joy that would come to the Father whereby He would purchase a people through His own precious blood.

Again back to Spurgeon quote, "The Pharisee said the world has gone after Him, but Jesus says no not while I am riding in state through the streets of Jerusalem but when I am lifted up and hung upon the cross then it shall indeed be true I if I be lifted up from the earth will draw all men unto me. The crucified Christ of Calvary is the mighty magnet that is to attract multitudes of trembling doubting ruined sinners who by grace shall be drawn unto Him and find eternal life in Him."

"And I, if I am lifted up from the earth, will draw all men to Myself." This is most interesting isn't it? You see the word draw in this verse, it's the Greek word ‘helko’. Every time by the way this word is used in the New Testament, every time it's used in the New Testament, the drawing is successful, the drawing is successful. There's never a time where you see this word used, something is drawn and there's resistance sufficient to withstand the drawing, you never see that. You do see resistance sometimes but every time the resistance is overcome and the drawing is effectual and there's obedience from the heart, it's effective, it accomplishes what it set out to do.  Always, the drawing is successful. I will draw all men to myself.

Now Jesus says that if He's lifted up from the earth dying in this fashion on Calvary's cross suspended between heaven and earth the result will be that all men all men will be drawn to Him and if the use of this word is consistent with the rest of its usage in the New Testament it doesn't just mean drawn like an interest, but it means brought to Him by faith.  All people will be brought to him. What is He saying? Well certainly remember I trust He cannot mean all people without exception, He cannot mean every single person will be drawn to Him.  If that's true what do you have? Universalism, universalism. Did the death of Jesus Christ on the cross mean that every single human being ever born will be in heaven one day? No. So what does he mean?

This word, all, does not mean all men without exception. He means all men without distinction. That is, when He's lifted up on Calvary's cross, it's going to mean the salvation of the world. In other words, all people, people will be drawn to Him from every tribe, every race, every nation, every tongue. It's going to be the salvation of the world. He's troubled, dismayed, but what moves Him forward, what motivates Him, what His motive is, the glory of the Father, and included in this is the result of His death, which is the judgment of the world, the casting out of the ruler of this world, and the drawing of people all over the world to salvation in Him. And what strikes me in the language here, when He talks about each of these three things, is not one of them—not one of them—is described as potential. Not one of them is described as potential. Not one. Every single one is described as something that is what? Definite. Definite.
Look at the text: "Now judgment I" —is— "upon this world"; now the ruler of this world will be cast out. And I, if I am lifted up from the earth," —what's the next word?— "will draw all men to Myself."

Now we've talked about it before—I'll say it again, beloved—Jesus did not die a vague death intended to accomplish a vague result, just hoping that someone would take Him up on it and be saved, hopefully. He came to this world with a definite mission in mind, and He accomplished it. He finished it so that we can trace our salvation, yes, back into the eternal counsels of God, the electing purpose of God, but we can also say that we can trace our salvation to the cross. He died to save us.

And let me say this, dear friend, do you realize that the cross of Jesus Christ has settled the destiny of every single one of us in this place? Do you realize that? Do you realize that the cross of Jesus Christ has settled—settled—the destiny of every one of us in this place? It speaks of all of our destinies. The question is, in what direction? In what direction? And so I ask, will the cross one day speak to your judgment? Or will the cross speak to your salvation?
At the cross, were your sins atoned for? At the cross, were your sins paid for? What's the answer? The answer is, only—only—if you embrace the Son. Only if you repent of your sins and come to Jesus and look to Him for life. Only if you come to Him as Lord and Savior will the cross ever speak of your salvation. And for every other man, woman, young person in this place, the cross will one day speak to your judgment—your judgment.

Can you say that your motive is the same as God's Son today? We've looked at that last Lord's Day, 1 Peter chapter 4: we're to arm ourselves with the same purpose, the same mindset, the same thinking that Jesus had. "Father, glorify Your name." Is that your passion this morning? "Father, glorify Your name." We talked last time about some ways that God may choose to glorify His name—maybe in sickness, maybe in times of leanness, maybe in great difficulty. And you know what? He may even choose to glorify His name in your dishonor here on earth.

Have there been believers slandered for their good works? Absolutely. And did God work through all of that in many instances to magnify Himself and to make His gospel known? Yes. And can you, can we honestly say—again, not flippant words, glib cliché—can we say, Lord, that is my chief desire. Glorify Yourself. Lord, it troubles me to think of certain ways that You may glorify Yourself. But just like my Lord, not asking to be delivered from it, but instead looking right into the face of it, I will say, "Father, glorify Your name."

Can you say that because you've seen God's Son in the gospel suspended on Calvary's cross. You've seen Him in the tomb. You've seen Him raised from the dead. And you said, He is the Christ. He is the Savior of the world. And I've turned from my sins to Him. I've given my life to Him. For to me, to live is Christ. And so to die is gain. Is that your story?

If not, if not, well, the good news is that this very day, right where you sit, right now, if you will turn from your sins to Christ, He will save you. He will save you. He is the Savior given to mankind. He's the one who can reconcile you to God. Will you come to Him? Will you turn to Him? Will you be saved today? Will you live for Him? Will you follow Christ? And wherever He's at, will you be found to be His servant? Will you serve Him?

And then if you say no today, if you say no, then realize there's a witness against you that speaks to the fact that you're a God-hater. You're a God-hater. It speaks to the fact that you don't really want to be reconciled to God. That witness is the same thing that witnesses to our salvation, and it is the cross of Christ. It speaks of your judgment.

May every soul listening to me in this place today come all the way to Jesus Christ, that the cross would speak of your salvation. That's my prayer. That's my prayer.

Come to the child of God, dear child of God, dear beloved of God. The joy set before Him was the great harvest of redeemed men and women to the glory of the Father. The joy that is set before us is Christ. It's Christ. He is our joy. He is our exceeding joy. He is our satisfaction. He is our everything.

Everything in this book that it says about Him intensifies our love for Him and our desire for Him to be our final reward. Behold Him, look to Him, the joy set before you, beloved, and before me, Christ Jesus. He is God's final revelation. He is the heir of all things. He is the creator of the world. He is the radiance of God's glory. He is the exact imprint of God's nature. He upholds the universe by the word of His power.

He took on human flesh. He made purification for our sins. He sits at the right hand of majesty on high. He is God enthroned forever with the scepter of uprightness. He is worshiped by the angels. He rules and reigns and His rule will have no end. He was crowned with glory and honor because of His suffering. He is the founder of our salvation. He destroyed the one who had the power of death, the devil. He delivered us from the bondage of fear. He is a merciful and faithful high priest. He made propitiation for our sins. He is a sympathetic high priest because of His own trials. He never sinned. He became the source of eternal salvation. He appears in the presence of God on our behalf. And He will come back one day to take His people home. And He is the same yesterday, today, and forever. And He is the King of kings and Lord of lords. Blessed be His name.

Let's pray.

This is a transcript. It may contain small inaccuracies.

One of the points toward which God is taking each one of us who are His is to get us to the point where we are beyond flippancy, that we would be free from that which is glib, from that which is casual, from that which is cliché, from that which is mundane, from that which just represents words, from that which we haven't really fully, seriously, soberly considered. One of the things we must be very careful about, whether it's in our praying, whether it's in our teaching, or in any realm, any area of our life, is using mindless words. Pulling words out of our brains that sound right and not really thinking about it, so that what we say ends up being heartless—heartless. We say things that sound right, but what should attend those words is absent. It's absent because it's not really coming from our hearts; it's mechanical—mechanical. We don't really think about it, we haven't really weighed what we're saying, we haven't really considered what we're saying.

Still, we can come to the point where, God forbid, what we say is actually hypocritical, because we say the right things, but we don't really mean it. We sing songs steeped in lofty theology. What happens Monday morning? We get a call and we act like practical atheists. We say the right things, but we're not ready to live it. And God is bringing us, as His children, to the point where we would be free from that—free from empty, mindless speech.

And Christ is not only our Savior and our Shepherd, He is also our model, He is our example. Now we're to imitate Him. He's our Redeemer and He's our example. He has not only given us life, but He has demonstrated in His own life how we are to live this life that He has given to us. He is the way and He also tells us how to live while being on the way. He's been speaking here of His death. You remember in these verses, particularly the verses that precede the text that we just read together. He's been thinking of His death. He's talked about it, how a kernel of grain must die in order for there to be harvest. He must die in order to bring us salvation. And if He dies, we will surely be saved. Those of us chosen for salvation before time would be saved through His death. He's been talking about that.

And He's not only been talking about His death, He's also—you remember last week—He's been also talking about our death. To be His followers, we must also die. We must die to ourselves. We must die to our way. We must die to our own selfish ambitions, self-centeredness. We must die to our life. If we seek to save our lives in this world, we're going to lose them forever. But if we will lose our life in this world, or in the language of this text that He uses here, our Lord, in John chapter 12, if we hate our life in this world, we will keep our life for eternity. We will keep it for eternal life.

He's told us that to serve Him means what? To follow Him, right? Look at verse 26. He says, "If anyone serves Me, he must follow Me; and where I am, there My servant will be also; if anyone serves Me, the Father will honor him." To serve Christ means that we follow Him. Wherever He is, we are. His lot is our lot. His friends are our friends. His enemies are our enemies. That's what it means to walk with Christ. And His Father, who is our Father by faith in Christ, who is our Father by spiritual birth—His Father, who is our Father—honors those who serve His Son that way. That's a promise here. And people who don't serve His Son that way reveal that they don't serve Him at all—at all.

So He's been talking about His death. His death, our death. But now in verse 27 and following, we see that these words that were uttered from the lips of our blessed Lord have not been lightly spoken. No, not lightly spoken. Jesus isn't just talking about death. He has deeply, deeply, deeply felt the weight and the weightiness of every single word that He spoke. What He's talking about is real—real. What He's talking about involves real cost. And what He's talking about, He has given real, deep considerations.

So in these verses, we see both His motive and His motivation for laying down His life. His motive and His motivation for sacrifice, for the cross. Why? Why is Christ willing to die? Why is Christ willing to lay down His life? Why is Christ willing to shed His blood? What moves Him toward Calvary? Why should we be willing also to die? And what should move us to follow Him? Weighty words, not mindless, not flippant, not cliché, not glib, not superficial—fully, fully considered.

1. Christ’s Troubled Soul, v. 27

And the first thing I'd like us to see together this morning, as we look in verse 27, is Christ's troubled soul—my soul. "Now My soul has become dismayed," He says. Look at His troubled soul.

Now, I want to admit at the outset that there is a mystery in that statement that you and I will never be fully able to really delve into. It's just unfathomable. You can get to a certain part and just can't go beyond that. What went on in the mind and the heart of our Savior as He went to the cross, as He made His way to the hour, His hour of suffering, only God can fully know.

But what I do know is that what God revealed to us in Scripture, and what I do know is that our Savior was genuinely, deeply troubled in view of His coming death. And this tells us something. He was troubled, deeply troubled, dismayed before the garden of Gethsemane. We think of the garden, we think of that scene in the garden of Gethsemane, don't we? We see Him there wrestling. We see Him there sweating great drops of blood. We see Him—if not for being sustained by the Father, sending an angel—He could have perished in the garden under the weight of it all; aversion to the cup. We see Him in the garden of Gethsemane. We think of that being as agony, and we don't recognize, perhaps, what John lets us in on here in this text, that Christ was troubled, deeply troubled, before even He got to the garden of Gethsemane.

Luke, by the way, gives us the same picture. In Luke, chapter 12, verse 49—12:49 of Luke—Luke tells us, he writes, our Lord saying, "I have come to cast fire upon the earth; and how I wish it were already kindled! But I have a baptism to undergo, and how distressed I am until it is finished!" There in Luke's account, we see something of what's going on internally, something inside of Him, *synecho*, distressed, literally to press together. But here in John, in our account in John 12, the word used, translated "dismayed," is a very, very strong word—*tarasso*, *tarasso*, troubled, dismayed. Literally, it means to be stirred up in the inner person, to be agitated, like a stirring of water, to get it really muddy, stirred up in the inner person, to be disturbed with various emotions, stirred. In some places, it even means to be terrified, to be in great distress, to be distraught. Well, this word was used of Herod in Matthew 2, in verse 3, when he heard that the King of the Jews had been born, he was—we're told—*tarasso*, troubled, dismayed. In Mark, chapter 6, in verse 50, it was used of the disciples being terrified when they thought they were seeing a ghost when Jesus was walking on the water. In Luke, chapter 1, it was used of Zechariah, the father of John the Baptist. Verse 12, it says, he was troubled—same word—when he saw the angel and fear fell upon him. That's the word, *tarasso*. It's used in Luke 24 of the startled reaction of the disciples. Remember, Jesus had visited with the men on the road to Emmaus after His resurrection, and after the conversation with Him, at a later time, Jesus suddenly appears in the midst of His disciples, and they were startled and frightened. And we read in verse 37 and 38 of Luke 24, they were thinking that they were seeing a spirit, a ghost. And He said to them, "Why are you *tarasso*, troubled, troubled?" It's used in Acts 17 twice of the disturbing—disturbing the crowds, stirring up of the crowds against the apostles. Stirring up is the word, *tarasso*, to be stirred up in your inner man, to be troubled, to be greatly distressed, to be startled. This is the word, Jesus says in verse 27, "Now My soul has become dismayed," *tarasso*. He's not just been talking about death. He feels it. He deeply feels it. He senses it.

Now, what does it say to us? Well, a few things. This says to us a few things. One, it speaks of the true humanity of Jesus. The true humanity of Jesus, doesn't it? It's possible for people to recognize in their minds the humanity of Jesus and not get a grip on the fact that He was divine. But it's also equally possible for people to think so much about the divinity of Jesus, the deity of Jesus, that they don't grasp the fact that He was really a man, the perfect man, the God man; that He took to Himself a true humanity; that in Jesus Christ, you have someone who was fully God and fully man. And He is to this day in heaven, the God man, the God man. That He really had a human soul. He had thoughts and emotions on this earth. He considered things. He weighed things in His heart. He felt this, "My soul has become dismayed." “Now is My soul deeply troubled.” And it was.

But it also speaks to us—this speaks to us of the horror of His death, of the horror of His death. It says to us that when Jesus speaks of laying down His life for His sheep, when He speaks of the kernel of grain that must die in order for there to be a great harvest, it is something weighty that He's talking about. It's not something casual. It's weighty. It's something weighing on Him heavily, deeply, something costly—costly.

There's something in His death, there's something in this death that He's going to die that is worthy of the perfect man who is God being dismayed, troubled by. There's something so heavy, so weighty, so horrible about this death that it is worthy of Him being deeply troubled. And may I just say this as well? Just to keep it in mind. You know, He allowed Himself to be troubled. He allowed Himself to feel this. Christ was never controlled by emotion. He was in control of every aspect of His life. So there's a lesson for us in the fact that He was troubled.

You say, well, what troubled Him? But why? Why was He dismayed? Well, what? Well, He makes it clear in His next statement, doesn't He? "Now My soul has become dismayed; and what shall I say? 'Father, save Me from this"—what?—"hour." It is the hour that troubles Him. The hour that troubles Him. It's His coming death. That's what troubles Him. It's His coming crucifixion.

And I have no doubt, no doubt, that the omniscient, the all-knowing Son of God, God the Son, the God-man was fully aware of the prospect of the physical suffering that awaits Him. That He would undergo enormous, enormous physical agony. And there was no more cruel way to die than by crucifixion. And He will be beaten without mercy. He knew that. He knew that. He's the omniscient Son of God. He knew that He would be beaten without mercy, flogged, bruised, a crown of thorns thrust on His blessed head. And that He will be crucified, nailed hands and feet, gasping for air, for breath on that cross, pushing Himself up to breathe, the pain of His torn flesh on His back.

I don't doubt for a second that He was fully aware of the immense physical suffering that He would undergo. But I submit to us, based on the Word of God, that is not why His soul has become dismayed. No, that is not why His soul was deeply troubled. What deeply troubled Him is an aspect of His death that no human being has ever, ever endured. The spiritual aspect of it, the spiritual reality of it. And ultimately, He alone would know all that is contained in those mysterious words: "My God, My God, why have You forsaken Me?" What does all that mean? I don't think we can fully comprehend it, but He could. And He knows, He knows it's on the horizon. It's coming very near. His hour has arrived, and He knows that He's going to suffer as a sin sacrifice. He's going to take upon Himself our guilt, and He's going to be crushed by God for our salvation. Commenting on this, Pastor MacArthur says, quote, "His trouble came not from anticipating physical suffering, but anticipating divine wrath, spiritual suffering. That was a terrifying reality. Though the nails must have gone through His hands and feet thousands of times as He thought about it, the agony of the sinless Son of God was not that He would be nailed, but that He would be judged by the wrath of God." And he ends with this: "Not that He would be stained with blood, but that He would be condemned for sins He had not committed. The sins of all who would ever believe, those tortured His soul with a fierceness."

So it speaks of His true humanity. It speaks of the horror of His death, but it also speaks to something else. It speaks of the trouble of His soul. It speaks of the trouble of His soul. It says to us that it's not always sinful for a soul to be troubled. It's not. Christ was sinless, but He's troubled. He's dismayed. And so you can have something set before you, something set before you by God Himself, something that you genuinely desire to accomplish, and without sinning, you still feel the weight of it. You're troubled. You still feel the weight of it. And I think too often people, Christian people, want to leave the impression that doing the will of God is the easiest thing in the world. But we really do a disservice when we leave that impression that doing the will of God is just something really easy, no weightiness to it, no difficulty associated with it, no trouble in the soul as you go through it, just sort of like you float through obedience. You glide, easy-breezy—lest, you know, people think you're unspiritual. I want to ask this morning, do we think that we're superior to Christ? Now, I grant you, His obedience involved a dimension that none of us will ever, ever know. His obedience will purchase our obedience, but it's still true to say that you have the sinless Son of God voluntarily choosing a mission given to Him by His Father, knowing the end of that mission from the beginning, having no doubt about the outcome of this mission, desiring it with all of His being, and yet, He still feels the weight of it. And the cost associated with it is real. It's not imagined. He is troubled, dismayed.

And I want to say to us this morning that our obedience has a cost associated with it, beloved. And there are going to be times that you and I are going to feel the weight of what it will mean to obey God in a given situation. If I obey God here, this will be the cost. And yes, God has set it before me, and yes, I must follow Him, and I want to follow Him, and ultimately from His Word, I know the outcome of it, but I still feel it, and it troubles me. Can that happen in our lives, and you and I not be guilty of sinning in that circumstance? Yes, yes.

Christ's troubled soul.

2. Christ’s Triumphant Perspective, vv. 27-28a

The second thing I want us to see together as we look at this portion of God's Word is Christ's triumphant perspective. Not only His troubled soul, but His triumphant perspective. How is He going to respond to this trouble in His soul, to this dismay in His soul? And we can state it negatively and positively. How does He respond?

Well, first of all, negatively. Negatively. He doesn't ask to be delivered from it, does He? Does He? We need to notice that because He Himself brings it up. That's why we bring it up, because He Himself brings it up. Christ brings it up. He wants us to recognize this, that He's not asking to be delivered from it. "My soul has become dismayed, and what shall I say? 'Father, save Me from this hour?'" Is that what I should say? Deliver me from this? And what is clearly implied is what? The implied answer is, of course not. No. No, no. That's not what I should say. That's not what I will say. In fact, He goes on to say, to put it this way, "But for this purpose I came to this hour." In other words, I've arrived at an hour that I aimed at. There's a purpose for me to be here, so I'm not asking for deliverance. I have marched to this hour. I'm troubled by it, but I'm not asking to be delivered from it.

It's an amazing thing, isn't it? When you really think about this. Because elsewhere, Jesus pointed out that He could have asked for deliverance in Matthew 26. Remember that account? They came to arrest our Lord. Matthew 26, verse 52: Jesus said to him, to Peter, "Put your sword back into its place." And you remember what this was about. The previous verse, verse 51: Peter drew out his sword, struck the slave of the high priest, cut off his ear, the ear of Malchus. Christ says, "Put your sword back into its place, for all those who take up the sword shall perish by the sword. Or do you think that I cannot appeal to My Father, and He will at once put at My disposal more than twelve legions of angels? Therefore, how will the Scriptures be fulfilled which say that it must happen this way?" Isn't that amazing? Did you hear that? Peter, don't you know that I could ask my Father and in just a moment, more than twelve legions of angels would be at my disposal? But if I were to do that, the Scripture will not be fulfilled, so I choose not to. Let that sink in. He could have asked to be delivered from this, but He didn't. This was something voluntary on the part of the Son of God - voluntary. John 10:17, "For this reason the Father loves Me, because I lay down My life so that I may take it again." A mission given to Him by His Father, yet it is just as true to say chosen by the Son.

And in another sense, it was non-optional for Him to ask for deliverance, and what made it non-optional is the very nature of the Son of God. He is God incarnate, and God keeps His Word.

And what is happening to Christ is prophesied. It is given in Scripture. He's marching down a road set forth by God, marching according to the will of God. And how then should the Scripture be fulfilled if He were to ask for deliverance? So this is something that He must do in order for the Word of God to be fulfilled, and God will always fulfill His Word. And the only way for the Son of God to be delivered from it was at the expense of the fulfillment of Scripture, and the nature of God, the very nature of Christ, completely ruled that out.

Christ is troubled, but how does He face it? Negatively, we can say this: He doesn't ask to be delivered from it. He could have, but He didn't. In another sense, He couldn't have because He's God. I'll leave it at that. You're on your own with the rest.

But the second thing we could say about His triumphant perspective, to state it positively, what does He do? He looks right into the face of it, understanding the horror of it, understanding to the extent that He could have desired another way, He looks right into the face of it, and He chooses it. It was the very purpose for which He had come.

All the way back to John 3, remember when He performed His first sign, turning the water into wine at the wedding in Cana, and when Mary requested that He do something, He said, "My hour has not yet come." So all the way back to the beginning of His ministry, He has this hour in view. And so here over this 3-plus year period of time, He's been marching toward this particular hour. Would He march all the way to the hour and then ask to be delivered from it? No. It is for this purpose that He's come to this hour, and now He chooses it willingly, voluntarily. He looks straight into the face of the horror of it, and He chooses it. He's going to drink it all. He's going to experience every drop of what is required for us to be saved. He's going to drink that cup to the last drop.

So how does He do that? How does He do that? How does someone with a troubled soul—not asked to be delivered from what troubles Him—look straight into the face of the weightiness of it, understanding it perfectly, knowing exactly what it's going to cost to such an extent that His holy soul shrinks from the idea of it, and yet He chooses it? He answers the question for us here. He answers this question for us.

Look at the text, and this is amazing. "But for this purpose I came to this hour." What purpose, Lord? What purpose, Lord? What purpose, Lord? Verse 28, "Father, glorify Your name." This is it. "Father, glorify Your name." As His soul is troubled, what is His greatest desire? What is His one and only desire? The glory of God. The glory of God. The glory of the Father. And this is characteristic of our Lord: "Father, glorify Your name." No matter what it costs, glorify Your name.

What a magnificent illustration of committal into the hands of the Lord. The purpose Jesus said He came for was to glorify the Father. I only do what the Father tells Me to do, He said all along in His ministry, right? Repeatedly. What the Father wills for Me to do, I will do. What the Father shows Me to do, I will do. I only do what glorifies the Father. And here, this is the driving—the driving engine. This is the purpose. This is it. This is the answer to the question, why? "Father, glorify Your name." We read that all through the Gospel of John. He desires that the Father's name—the character of God, that is, the Father's name is all that is bound up in who God is, the character of God, the attributes of God, the purpose of God, the plans of God, the wisdom of God, the power of God—all of that to be put on display. He said, "Father, glorify Your name."

I love what Pastor MacArthur said here concerning how the Father will be glorified through the hour of death, the cross of Jesus Christ. Listen to what he says. He says, “The cross glorifies the Father in several ways. The cross puts on display all God's attributes. On the cross, you see God's love in action. You see His grace in action. You see His mercy in action, His justice, His wrath, His judgment. You see His wisdom. You see truth being vindicated. You see prophecy being fulfilled. His word is affirmed. You see righteousness declared. You see power declared. All of that is on the cross. God is putting on display more of His attributes in a concentrated form at the cross than in any other event in redemptive history. God is glorified in the event itself, the event of making Christ a substitute for sinners who bears our justice, our wrath, God's vengeance on us in our place. But the glory of God is further displayed at Calvary in the fact that it is by the death of Christ that God is able to redeem humans from all human history, bring them to heaven to forever glorify Him. It was the death of Jesus Christ that formed the hallelujah choir that occupies heaven.

So the Father will, by means of His revelation in the Son, cause the radiance of His own majestic attributes to become publicly displayed at the cross in order that He might redeem people from all human history who will forever gather into His presence and give Him glory by ascribing to Him the honor that He deserves.” End of quote.

Father, glorify Your name. Your name refers to all that God is. The name stands for the person of God, the character of God. And that's the strength of His resolve. That's the motive and that's the motivation that takes Him to Calvary, that takes Him to the cross. Let me put it this way, beloved. The chief end of the life of the Son of God is the glory of His Father. The chief end of the life of the Son of God is the glory of His Father.

Do you realize this morning that's the chief end of God? What is the chief end of God? What's the chief end of God? What's God's chief end in all that is made, in all that is created in your life, in my life? What is God working toward? What is His chief end? What is the answer? The glory of God. The glory of God. God's chief end is the glory of God.

Do we really understand that? Does it really sink in? Do we get that into our minds and hearts that God's chief end for your life and my life is not our happiness? God's chief end for my life and your life is not for our comfort, is not for our ease, is not for smooth sailing? Do you ever wonder why we go through so much trouble in this life? God, is it Your goal for me, for me to be happy and healthy and go in this life smooth sailing? Now certainly, certainly we can and ought to be joyful because we have everything when we have Christ. But we do face and endure trials and go through many troubles.

Why does God allow us to go through things that strain us and pressure us and trouble us? Because His chief end is His glory and His glory is my good. And we will never be able to deal with those troubles in an obedient way, not running away from them, but willingly, submissively face them knowing it's the will of God. We will never be able to live our lives that way until our chief end is His chief end. Father, glorify Your name. Let that sink in, beloved. It's for this purpose that I've come to this hour that You would be glorified. That's the right motive, isn't it? That's the right motivation. The Father affirms it and we'll talk about it more next week, Lord willing. Then a voice came from heaven, "I have both glorified it and will glorify it again." But Christ's chief end is the Father's chief end. Christ's desire is the Father's desire. What Christ has voiced, the Father will do, has done and will do.

Now, with the remaining time that we have this morning, I want us to take this and apply it. Let's apply this together. This is very important. Let's apply it.

First of all, by way of application, I would ask us, do we ever underestimate—do we ever underestimate—the unfathomable difficulty of our salvation? Do we ever underestimate the unfathomable difficulty of our salvation, what it took to save us? And I say this reverently, but are we guilty of thinking that our salvation is something that was easy for God to do? I think we're guilty of that at times, more often than not. We understand that God is almighty, He's all-powerful, and that He's utterly sovereign, and so we speak—we speak—we get used to that, we speak mindlessly, and at times, it grieves my heart to say this flippantly, flippantly: Christ came into the world to save sinners, He died on the cross, He was raised from the dead, that's how I'm saved. And we think of it and we speak of it as if it were easy for the Son of God to do it.

Do we dishonor the blood of Christ by making it, in our minds, something easy, something flippant, something light, something without much thought or without much cost? Or do we take these statements of God's Holy Word soberly, seriously? We take them to heart, and do we realize that sin—sin is something so heinous to God and that it would require death on the part of the Son of God, that in His perfect humanity as the God-man caused Him so much trouble. How wicked are we? How heinous is our sin? So heinous that Christ would die—that would have to die—the kind of death that, as He considered it, caused Him to sweat great drops of blood in the garden. That's how great.

And I want to say to us this morning, it was no easy thing for us to be saved. It was very, very difficult. If the Son of God understood the horror of it; if He understood the horror of what He must suffer to save you and me, do we understand the horror of it? Do we understand that sin is no light thing, that it cannot be dealt with easily? One sin, one sin. Genesis 3, one sin. The wages of sin, singular. It required something that the angels in heaven look upon with wonder, that God would take to Himself sinless humanity, suffer on a tree, becoming a curse for us that we might be delivered from the curse.

Go back to Good Friday and that cry of dereliction. If the angels look upon it with wonder, then what should your response and mine be to it? And how often we treat it as if it was a light thing. And do we understand if Christ saw the horror of what He must suffer in order to save us? Do we understand the horror of what sinners—what sinners will experience for the rest of eternity if they reject Christ?

Hebrews 2, verse 3: "How will we escape if we neglect, what is the word of God say? so great a salvation?" That God would do such a thing to save sinners, that sinners would look into the face of it and say, no—thank you, but no. How will anyone escape who has that attitude toward what Christ suffered to save sinners? And in Hebrews 10, verse 31, we read, "It is a terrifying thing to fall into the hands of the living God." Do we understand the difficulty of salvation?

Secondly, by way of application, second question: do we take seriously that His response to His troubled soul was meant by God to be a lesson for us? Do we take seriously that His response—Christ's response—to His troubled soul was meant to be by God a lesson for us? Do you look at Christ and how He responds to His troubled soul and you admire Him, you adore Him, you worship Him in view of it, but then you don't make the connection that the way He responded to His troubled soul is to be a lesson for you and for me as we live our lives on earth?

Do you realize that God meant for this to be an example for us? That we should imitate, that we should follow? Think about it. Why does Christ even mention that His soul is troubled? Why is it recorded for us? Because He wants us to know, doesn't He? He wants us to know. He wants us to know, and there's a lesson in it for us.
In fact, you know the Bible makes a direct connection. I want you to look at 1 Peter chapter four with me. 1 Peter chapter four. And look at verse one: "Therefore, since Christ has suffered in the flesh, arm yourselves also with"—what does the Bible say?—"the same purpose." The same purpose. The same *anea*. The same way of thinking. The same intention. Same purpose, same way of thinking, same mindset. "Because he who has suffered in the flesh has ceased from sin, so as to no longer live the rest of the time in the flesh for the lusts of men, but for the will of God."

“Since therefore Christ suffered in the flesh”, he says, look at His suffering, behold His suffering, and arm yourselves also. Have as your weapon in this warfare—is the idea—you be armed with the same thought, with the same way of thinking, the same purpose. You see, I must understand His thinking to be armed in my thinking.

I must understand what He saw, what He thought, what He felt, what His motive was, what His motivation was, in order for me to be armed with the same way of thinking as I face suffering in this world and in this life. Now, let me say at this point, there are two ways to take this passage. Let me give you both.

One way is this. What is being said is this: "Since therefore Christ suffered in the flesh," verse one. Now, what did Christ suffering in the flesh mean for Him? This view says, well, it meant death. It meant death—He suffered in the flesh, that's death. Now you arm yourselves with the same way of thinking, that is, you be ready to die. And realize this: whoever has suffered in the flesh—he goes on to say, i.e., died—whoever has suffered in the flesh has ceased from sin. And that's a perfect tense in the Greek language. It's something that is finished, done with, ceased from sin. So the idea is, realize the worst thing that could happen to you is you die. You die as a martyr. Someone is going to kill you because of your association with Christ. The worst thing that could happen to you is actually the best thing that will ever happen to you, because the moment you die, this current relationship you have with sin, this battle that we have with sin—guess what—it's over. And it's true, isn't it? It's over. No more struggle with sin. If you're killed in the name of Christ, there's no more struggle with sin. You have ceased from sin. So there's nothing for you to fear in death. There's nothing for you to fear in martyrdom. And the worst thing that could ever happen to you will be, in fact, the best thing that has ever happened to you.

How many believers here this morning will be glad when your struggle with sin is over, right? No more fighting with the remaining corruption. No more being distracted and pulled away and failing and disappointing God and grieving the heart of God. So the worst thing that can happen to you is actually the best thing that will ever happen for you.

And in view of that, verse two: "so as to no longer live the rest of the time in the flesh for the lusts of men, but for the will of God." In light of this understanding that I am to arm myself with the same mind, the same purpose that Christ had, understanding that the worst thing that could ever happen to me will be the best thing that ever happened to me—now, how should I live my life now in light of that, with the rest of the time that I have in the flesh? How should I live? He says, not for the lusts of men, not for human passions, not for what I would most want from my human point of view, what would be most comfortable, most pleasant, most self-satisfying, but rather I'm living—I'm to live—for the will of God, not for sin. You see, look, if what I really desire is to be free from sin, why do I want to live in sin right now? If what I say, if what I say I look forward to is to be sinless one day, then why would I want to live my time on this earth pursuing sin? Let me instead live for the will of God. And if you look at Christ, if you look at Him in John 12, He expresses that in His incarnation. There's something in this hour that He dreads, but He's not living for human passions, He's living for the will of God. "Father, glorify Your name." That's one way to take this passage.

But there's another way to take this passage—not to completely discard the first view, but to not really restrict it. And let me explain. And I'm compelled, and I think this is a more natural way to understand it, a more transparent way to understand it, and that is that the first part of the equation stays the same: "Therefore, since Christ has suffered in the flesh," now, not necessarily—this is where I would really slightly move away—not necessarily the, though He did die, of course, not just necessarily tying it to death only. Because if you look at the context here, a lot of what Peter's talking about has to do with slander, people attacking us verbally, mistreating us, and so He's not just talking about death. All our sufferings as a Christian—I take it to be broader. We look at how Christ endured His suffering, and we're to arm ourselves with the same purpose, the same mind. Now, get this, because "he who has suffered in the flesh has ceased from sin." Whoever has done this has ceased from sin. You say, well, what does that mean? It means, beloved, that the rule of sin has been broken in their lives. The rule, the mastery, the dominion of sin has been broken in their lives. Show me someone who's a genuine follower, a genuine disciple of the Lord Jesus Christ, who is where their Master is, whose lot is His lot, whose friends are His friends, whose enemies are His enemies, who would be willing to follow Him wherever He is, even if it does mean death, and I'll show you someone who is saved. They're not a slave to sin anymore. The rule of sin has been broken in their life, and in that sense, they ceased from sin as a pattern. Their old relationship to sin, where they were a slave to sin, has been broken forever. They've been set free.

And the reason why, verse two, so as, so as. The reason why this rule of sin has been broken in their life by God is so as—so that they would no longer live on this earth pursuing the lusts of men, but to live for the will of God. Do you realize, beloved, God has saved you, He has set you free from the rule, the dominion of sin, and He has broken your old relationship with sin forever. Why did He set you free? Not so that you can live for yourself, but so that you would live for Him. Not according to your human passions, but according to His will.

And so we see Christ, our Savior and Lord, troubled in His soul, but choosing the will of God, for His chief end is God's chief end, and that is to glorify His Father. And we're told in this verse here by Peter that we must be armed by the same purpose, with the same purpose, the same thinking, the same mindset, or I will never follow Him wherever He goes and be wherever He is and do the will of God. And I say this this morning on the authority of the Holy Scripture, that if we're not armed with that mindset, we will not go where God wants us to go. We will not do what God wants us to do. We will not glorify Him, as I know it's in our hearts to glorify Him.

We must look at the Lord Jesus Christ in John 12 and say He mentioned it for a reason. He wants us to know about it for a reason, and Peter tells us why. We must be armed with the same purpose, with the same thinking, with the same mindset, and so our motive, our motivation must be the same motive and motivation that Christ had. What is that? To glorify God, to glorify God.

Why would I obey God if it would cost me my job? Because my chief end is not to have a job, my chief end is to glorify Him, right? Why would I obey the Lord if it means it will cost me my family relationships? Because my chief end in life is not to be pleasing to my family, but to be pleasing to God. Why would I choose to obey God if it means that I have to break off a friendship or a romantic interest? Why? Because my chief end in life is not to maintain a friendship or get married at any cost. My chief end in life is to glorify God, and if obedience to God means a denial of human passions, then let me deny all of that to the glory of God.

That's how we've been saved to live, which gives the last and third question:  Do you find that you share the same motive and motivation of Christ, beloved? Do you find that you share the same motive and motivation of Christ? Are we, beloved, willing to get beyond flippancy? Are we willing to get beyond the cliche? Are we willing to get beyond the empty, mindless words? Are we willing to think and really weigh what we're saying, what we're singing?

And can we honestly say, I am living for the will of God? Can we honestly say, I have one ambition, that my heavenly Father and my Savior would be glorified, and in comparison, nothing else matters to me. Nothing. Whatever the cost, whatever the trouble, no matter how weighty, no matter how horrific, Father, glorify Your name. If You choose to glorify Yourself in me through sickness, glorify Your name. If it means to glorify Your name in me through financial leanness, glorify Your name. If it means that You are to glorify Your name in me through me being, whatever the situation, whatever the circumstances, I have to find satisfaction only in You, Lord, glorify Your name. Whatever it means, that's what I want, for You to be glorified. Are those just words, or do you mean it? Do I mean it?

Show me someone who's armed with that mindset, and I'll show you someone who has ceased from sin, in the sense that their old relationship to sin has been broken, they're truly saved. The pattern of sin is broken. Can we say this is the fuel and the focus of our lives, to glorify God?

I know this, you can be raised in church, you can hear the gospel all your life, you can know a lot of Bible verses, you can be able to tell the gospel as well as an evangelist, but until a man, a woman, a young person has genuinely been converted, genuinely been saved, that is until they are born again, they will not have in their hearts to glorify God. They won't.

The pressure that we live with, that moves us to live for Christ, is not external, beloved. Now God may use externals, but I give Him praise, it is internal. It comes from within, it is in the hearts of His people, to live for Him. It is in the hearts of people to cry out, for to me to live is Christ, and to die is gain.

Has that miracle of new life been worked in you? Have you looked to Christ in such a way that with genuineness, you gave Him your life, all of you, so that now for the rest of your life, it is in you to live for Him? Not from mom, not from dad, not from husband, not from wife, not from friends, not from people, or what people think, in you to live for Him. And if nobody else ever motivated you, God motivates you, your new nature motivates you. Do you know anything about that?

Now my soul has become dismayed. What shall I say? "Father, save Me from this hour? But for this purpose I came to this hour. Father, Father, glorify Your name."

May we be armed with the same purpose, with the same way of thinking.
Let's pray.

This is a transcript. It may contain small inaccuracies.

In this paragraph of praise and thanksgiving by Paul, expressing his praise and thanksgiving to God for the work that He's done in this body of Christ, this body of believers, believers there in Thessaloniki, and he really gives God praise for their genuine conversion, for their genuine, meek, joyful, delightful reception of the Word of God. And you see the effect of that reception, that welcoming embrace, that warm embrace of the Word of God, really expressed in genuine repentance—how they turned from idols, they turned to God from idols, and they turned to serve the true and living God. And of course, from them, as a result of their genuine conversion, you see the effect of it, how the Word of the Lord sounded forth, reverberated, all throughout the region around them.

Not only the Word of God really sounded forth, but also reports went out how truly their life has been transformed by the power of the Gospel. And that's always the case. When there's genuine reception of the Word of God, there's always, always, always the fruit of that being transformed lives to the glory of God.

And tonight we come to this third, really, element that is found in a genuine repentance and transformed lives. Really, he says, "and to wait for His Son from heaven," and to wait for His Son from heaven. Beloved, this is so much what was driving this church, that this was really the engine beneath the hood of this church. This is what really put this church into overdrive. They were waiting for the Son of God to return from heaven. They were a second coming people. They lived every moment of every day with this bright hope and expectancy of the second coming of the Lord Jesus Christ.

It prevented them from being lukewarm. It prevented them from being laid back, apathetic. I mean, they were laboring. I mean, he mentions earlier in this chapter, he says, I “give thanks to God always for all of you," – he says, – "remembering without ceasing your work of faith and labor of love and steadfastness of hope in our Lord Jesus Christ." They were far from being apathetic. They were far from being lukewarm. Really, they lived on the edge of the coming of the Lord. They lived with this bright hope and expectancy that the Lord Jesus is coming again, and this prevented them from being laid back, apathetic.

And it prevented them from just simply shuffling through life, going through the motion, going through mindless routine and rituals. It kept their hearts bright. It kept their hearts on fire for God. It brought a sense of urgency to their Christian walk, Christian life. It brought a sense of urgency to their witness. The Word of God sounded forth, sounded forth with power and with reach, and it was comprehensive. We had no need to say anything, to add anything to what you already were doing. It brought a sense of urgency to their witnessing. They had only so much time to share about Christ because He was coming back again. He was returning.

And it brought a sense of unity to their fellowship as they came together, and they were waiting for the return of Christ. This truth from Scripture so fills our tank with a sense of passion and urgency to be about the work and the service of the Lord Jesus Christ. They turned to God from idols to serve, to serve.
 
Remember, a disciple is one who serves Christ, serves Christ. And let me say, beloved, every believer needs to be a second coming believer, and every church needs to be a second coming church. And we should carry out our ministry and live our lives as if the Lord Jesus Christ is in the process of coming back to us right now. Understanding this truth really has powerful, very powerful implications on our lives, powerful effects on our lives.

Because as a result, there's no doubt when we are gripped with this truth of Scripture that Jesus Christ is coming back again, we begin to see the world differently. We begin to see people differently. We begin to see people around us—would they be one of those who would be taken? Or would they be left behind? We begin to see life in light of eternity, life in light of the return of the Lord Jesus Christ, and what effect, what an effect this truth of the second coming has upon the heart of the child of God.

The truth of the second coming also has a restraining effect, a restraining effect upon the heart, upon the soul of the child of God, because you wouldn't want to be in sin when the Lord comes back. You wouldn't want to be dabbling with prohibited things when the Lord comes back. It keeps you on the narrow path, it keeps you keeping short accounts with God, it keeps you on the right path, it keeps your feet pure. We all need that today, the sense of urgency, the sense of eternity that produces purity, that produces holy living, and that would cultivate till the ground of the fear of God in our lives.

And as we come to this last verse in this first chapter, Paul confronts us, really, with the truth concerning the coming of the Lord. And what I want to bring our attention to is that this book, this little epistle, 1 Thessalonians, is a second coming book. It is. And it is, actually, in fact, throughout the entire letter. In fact, you'll find this quite really interesting. Each chapter of this book ends with the second coming of Jesus.

Look at it with me. First of all, here, you find it here in chapter 1: "and to wait for His Son from heaven, whom He raised from the dead, Jesus, who rescues us from the wrath to come." Now move forward to chapter 2, and look at verses 19 and 20: "For who is our hope or joy or crown of boasting? Is it not even you, before our Lord Jesus Christ at His coming? For you are our glory and joy."

Paul saw people in the light of the second coming. He saw people to whom he ministered as His crown, and when Christ comes back, Paul is saying all the reward that I need is to see you rewarded at the second coming of Jesus. That's all the reward that I need, to see your Christian life built up, to see you encouraged in the faith, to see you walking with the Lord, and when the Lord comes back, for Him to put a crown on your head—that would be my crown, to see the Lord crown you. What a perspective for ministry. What a perspective for servanthood, for us to have that as we serve Christ, as we serve others under Christ, that the only reward that I need is to see you rewarded in that final day because you've been walking with Jesus faithfully.

Look at the end of chapter 3. Verse 13 really is a kind of a benediction, a doxology, beginning in verse 11, and in verse 13 offers like really a prayer for the Thessalonians. We read in verse 13: "so that He may strengthen your hearts blameless in holiness, before our God and Father,” – what's next? – “at the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ with all His saints."

And what Paul is saying is that my ministry is about preparing you for that day, that last day. Everything that I'm teaching you, everything that I'm imparting to you, and living before you simply to prepare you for that day when He comes back.

At the end of chapter 4, of course, we read the very same thing, that classic portion of the Word of God concerning the rapture of the church. We'll get there and see that in more details, Lord willing, when we get there. Verse 16: "For the Lord Himself will descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of the archangel and with the trumpet of God, and the dead in Christ will rise first. Then we who are alive and remain will be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air, and so we shall always be with the Lord. Therefore, comfort one another with these words."

Paul comforted the believers with these words as they've lost loved ones to death. He comforted them with this truth: there's going to be a day of great reunion one day. The dead in Christ will rise first, then we who are alive and remain will be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air. And what a glorious day this is going to be when Christ comes back to take His church.

And then to end at chapter 5, the end of chapter 5, verses 23 and 24: "Now may the God of peace Himself sanctify you entirely, and may your spirit and soul and body be preserved complete, without blame at the coming of the Lord Jesus Christ. Faithful is He who calls you, who will also will do it." Paul is telling us, if God has begun the process of sanctifying you, and that begins the moment that you are converted, that you are saved, that you are regenerated, he said God will complete what He had started in your life.

Just as he says that also in Philippians 1:6, "For I am confident of this very thing, that He who began a good work in you will perfect it until the day of Christ Jesus." That's what he's saying in this verse. Faithful is He who has called you out of darkness into fellowship with His Son, and faithful is He to bring it to pass. He will fully sanctify you one day. He will fully prepare you one day and present you to stand faultless and blameless before the Father. What He started, He will finish. What He began, He will complete.

We unmistakably saw that if your faith is genuine, it's been inseparably joined to true repentance. We've seen it here, even in this first chapter, and you remember the first elements of repentance are these: a turning away from all false gods and a turning to the true and living God. That's always, always the case in Scripture—turning from, turning to. We are the church, the called out ones, called out of the world, out of darkness, but we're called unto, unto Christ, unto God, the service of God, the service of Christ, to live for Him. So from, to, that's always the case.

And so the elements, these first elements of repentance, are found here. Paul reminds us: a turning away from all false gods, idols, and a turning to the living God. And then here now, he says, you turn not only from the false god to the true God with a disposition to be submissive to Him, but notice now, he says in verse 10, and to wait for His Son from heaven. If you put it together, it reads like this: "You turned to God from idols to serve a living and true God, and to wait for His Son from heaven, whom He raised from the dead, Jesus, who rescues us from the wrath to come."

In other words, this radical change in their lives, this radical change in their worldview, didn't just have to do with the present; it also had to do with their view of the future, what is to come. Whereas prior to this reception of the gospel, the report of which has gone forth everywhere, their lives were earthbound—they were earthbound. The things of eternity were a thing of no concern to you whatsoever, but having turned to the true God, having become believers in God, your whole sphere of interest has shifted tectonically from earth to heaven, radically.

So 1 Thessalonians 1:10, as we look at this verse tonight, I want to draw your attention to the six truths that really are bound up in this verse that were taught here by the Apostle Paul. Truth number one, I'm going to state the obvious, I'm going to state the obvious, and sometimes we miss the obvious because we become too familiar with the obvious. Number one, Jesus is coming again. Jesus is coming again. Jesus is coming again.

We can be so earthbound and so really focused on the here and now, we can't think beyond—well, you know, tonight, after the service, I have this, this and that, and tomorrow morning, Monday morning, first thing in the morning, and I have this and that, and this week is going to be busy—and Jesus is coming again. Jesus is coming again, and so this is so obvious here, "and to wait for His Son from heaven." They were waiting for His Son from heaven.

If this verse, beloved, says anything, it says to us that Christ is coming again, and He's coming to this planet earth for His bride, the church, church of the redeemed saints, to take them back to heaven, and beloved, this truth ought to dominate our thoughts. When you get up tomorrow morning, you need to be reminded that Jesus is coming again. I need to be reminded that Jesus is coming again, and when you go to school, and when you go to work, you need to be reminded that Jesus is coming again, and when you come back home from school, and come back home from work, you need to be reminded that Jesus is coming again, because Jesus is coming again.

Jesus Himself said this to His disciples. In John 14:3, "I will come again and receive you to Myself, that where I am, there you may be also." And this was not a figure of speech. Jesus was saying literally, I'm coming back. I will come back for you, and you will be with Me, and right now I am preparing a place for you.

The angel said He was coming back again. Remember in Acts 1:11, "Men of Galilee, why do you stand looking toward heaven? This Jesus, who has been taken up from you into heaven, will come in just the same way as you have watched Him go into heaven." The angel said to these disciples, who were really distraught, and just, I mean, everything is just moving quickly and changing, they said to them, He's coming back, and the apostle Paul repeatedly said that as well, that He's coming back.

In Titus 2:13, I love this: "looking for the blessed hope"—looking. We live our lives looking. We serve looking. We do what we do looking—"looking for the blessed hope and the appearing of the glory of our great God and Savior, Jesus Christ." This is a tremendous verse concerning also the deity of the Lord Jesus Christ. "Looking for the blessed hope and the appearing of the glory of our great God and Savior, Jesus Christ." And this is what we need to do. Jesus is coming again.

We read in Revelation 1:7—I love how John puts it, or the Holy Spirit puts it, of course—"Behold, He is coming with the clouds." And that doesn't even say He will come. It's not a future tense. It says He is coming, present tense. His return is so close, it is spoken of in the present tense. He is in the process of coming back to planet Earth. How exciting this is.

The Bible ends with Jesus making this statement: "Behold, I am coming quickly." "I am coming quickly." How the Lord wants this truth to flood our minds, to saturate our thinking—better yet, to marinate our thinking. We ought not to be so attached to this world, earthbound, that we lose sight of what's going to happen from heaven, that the Lord is coming back. This truth ought to transform every decision we make. It ought to have an effect on each and every one of us, His children.

This tells us there's a work for the Lord to be done in our sphere of influence, in our schools, in our works, in our homes, in our relationships, and whatever we can do for the Lord, we must do it. As God gives us strength, Jesus is coming again.

The second truth we find in this verse: Jesus will descend from heaven. He will descend from heaven. Look at the text: "And to wait for His Son from heaven," simple. "and to wait for His Son from heaven." Now I want to underscore this word, heaven—"from heaven," the Greek word ‘ouranōn’ for heaven. Ouranos literally means heights or lofty place, elevated place. That's what the word means.

But what we need to know is that the Greek word here in the text is not singular, it is plural. It is ‘ouranōn’. It is translated in our Bible singular, heaven, but the reality is it is plural and it should read "to wait for His Son from the heavens." From the heavens. You say, what does that mean? I thought there's only one heaven. Well, to put it in the plural really intensifies the heights of heaven and it is the way that Paul conveys to us that when Christ comes back, He will come from the heights of heaven, from the very highest heights of heaven.

And the Bible speaks of the outer atmosphere, the sky above us and of the earth, and then there's the outer space and beyond outer space is what Paul referred to in 2 Corinthians 12 as what? The third heaven. Meaning the third layer beyond the earth's atmosphere, beyond the outer space, planets, galaxies, beyond all of that is heaven. In other words, beloved, heaven is a real place. It's a real place. It's a real place on God's map. Heaven is not just a mystical, nebulous place in our thinking, concocted in our own mind, wishful thinking.

No, no. It is a real place. It is a real geographical place on God's map. It is where Jesus is right now. It's where the redeemed saints are right now. Their souls are right now there. It is where many of the angels are right now. It is a real place on God's map.

And there is a layering in heaven, and at the very apex of heaven, you have the throne of God above at the heights of heaven. And what this is saying is that when Jesus Christ comes back, He will come back from the very heights of heaven, from the highest place of all created matter. Even heaven itself was once created by God. God always existed, existed always as God. God was alone, Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, alone in the sense that nothing else was there, but He was never alone because there was Father, Son, and Holy Spirit.

And then God created, and when God created the planets, He also created the heavens, and at the heights of the highest point of heaven, that's where the Lord Jesus Christ is. Here are some verses, really, that will help us amplify this. For example, in Luke 24:51, it says, "And it happened that while He was blessing them, He parted from them and was carried up into heaven." Was carried up into heaven. Jesus ascended and left the earth. It says that He was carried up into heaven.

Hebrews 4:14: "Therefore, since we have a great high priest who passed through the heavens, Jesus the Son of God, let us make, let us take hold of our confession." That means He passed through the earth's atmosphere. That means He passed through the solar systems. He passed through the galaxies. He passed through all that there is throughout space, and He kept passing through the heavens.

In Ephesians 4:10, "He ascended far above all the heavens"—plural. In Hebrews 7:26, it says that He is “exalted above the heavens." In Hebrews 8:1, He “sat down at the right hand of the throne of the Majesty in the heavens." He passed through everything that was created all the way up to the very apex of heaven, the very heights of heaven itself, and He's now seated at the right hand of the Majesty on high, the throne of the Majesty on high.

Beloved, there is no one higher than Jesus. No one. And when Jesus comes back at the second coming, He will arise from the throne, and He will descend from the highest of the heights of heaven all the way down to the atmosphere of the earth. And the Lord Himself shall descend from heaven with a shout, with the trumpet of God, and the voice of the archangel, and we, the church, will be caught up to meet the Lord in the air.

Oh, what a glorious day. Christ will descend from heaven Himself. You know what that tells us? He's not sending a representative. He's coming Himself. He's not sending a special envoy to represent Him. He'll come back Himself to receive us. I'm coming back for you, to receive you to Myself so that you will be where I am.

Third, third truth that we see in this verse, Jesus will appear when He comes back in bodily form. He is coming back in bodily form. He will appear in bodily form. We need to read in verse 10, "and to wait for His Son from heaven"—and here it is—"whom He raised from the dead." Whom He raised from the dead. I mean, it seems at first glance almost out of place in the middle of the verse. And we're talking about the second coming, and all of a sudden, Paul throws in sort of like the resurrection of Jesus, but there's a reason for everything in Scripture. There's a reason for everything in Scripture. And the Holy Spirit, who is the author of the Scripture, has interwoven this letter as well as this book so perfectly.

And again, let me remind us—just a parenthesis here—when we have difficulty, when we have trouble, when we are confused, the fault lies in us, in our limitation, not the Word of God. Because the Holy Spirit has interwoven this book so perfectly. And the reason Paul now writes, "and to wait for His Son from heaven, whom He raised from the dead," is to remind us that Jesus Christ was bodily raised from the dead.

That it wasn't the Spirit of Jesus, as Jehovah's Witnesses and the liberals would want us to believe. No, no, we believe in the bodily resurrection of the Lord Jesus Christ. We believe that the tomb was empty on the third day, and when the angel rolled back the stone, it wasn't so that they would let Jesus get out of the grave. No, no, it was simply to let the women and the disciples go in. He could have walked right through that stone in His glorified body, but He was raised from the dead.

And I believe the reason this is inserted here in verse 10 is to remind us that the same Jesus who was raised physically, bodily from the dead, will come back in just the same manner—bodily, physically, and victoriously. And when He comes back, it will not be the ghost of Jesus. It will be the same Jesus who was taken up from the Mount of Olives, who was raised from the dead bodily. This same Jesus is coming back, beloved—bodily, visibly, victoriously, and physically.

Acts 1:11: "Men of Galilee, why do you stand looking toward heaven?" Can you imagine that scene that day? Their jaws dropped as they stared up into the heavens, as they watched Jesus being lifted up supernaturally, up into the sky, up into the clouds, taken up into heaven until they could see Him no more. It was mind-blowing, mind-boggling for these disciples as they were amazed, stunned, unfounded, dazzled, staring up into the clouds. And then two angels appeared and they say, "Men of Galilee, why do you stand looking toward heaven? This Jesus, this Jesus who has been taken up from you into heaven, will come in just the same way, in just the same way as you have watched Him go into heaven."

However He went up, that's how He's coming back down to take His people. He went up in a glorified, resurrected, physical, visible, touchable, tangible body. That's exactly how He's going to come back. And I want to also tell you, beloved, if you're a child of God, that's how you're going to go to heaven as well at the rapture. The Bible says that in that split second when Christ returns, there's going to be an immediate transformation of your body, mine, and your body will be transformed in that moment into a glorified, resurrected body in a twinkling of an eye. And you will be caught up to meet the Lord in the air.

You see, you and I could not look upon the glorified Christ in our fallen body. We would be incinerated. We would burn up. God has to give us a glorified body so we could look and behold Him in His glorified body. 1 John 3:2, "Beloved, now… we will be made like Him, because we will see Him just as He is." No wonder in that vision John fell flat on his face as though dead. In order to see Him just as He is, you must be made like Him. And how this speaks of our transformation as it awaits us at the coming of the Lord.

Truth number four, Jesus rescues us from wrath. We're going to skip that because we're going to come back to it next Lord's Day. He rescues us from wrath. What a glorious truth. It is found here at the end of the verse, "who rescues us from the wrath to come." What a glorious truth.

Truth number five, Jesus could return today, tonight. Jesus could return tonight. There's one word that jumps off the page as I look at verse 10. And it may be the least noticeable word in verse 10. And look at it. It's the word “us”. You see that? Little word "us," us. Paul actually believed that Christ was perhaps coming in His lifetime. And then not just him, but all the believers—"us" is in the plural. And these Thessalonians were waiting for Jesus to return, anticipating His return, watching and waiting. And there is this sense of imminence about the return of Jesus Christ, that Christ would come back, could come back at any moment. Any moment.

Paul lived this way. Paul never told us to be looking, watching for the appearance of the Antichrist. He never. He gave us details about the Antichrist, but he never said wait and look for the appearance of the Antichrist. He always tells us to be looking for the appearing of who? Jesus. Jesus.

Beloved, the next event on God's prophetic calendar is the catching up of the church of the Lord Jesus Christ to meet the Lord in the air. And we need to live every day as if Christ will return in my lifetime. And Paul lived that way 2,000 years ago. And how much more we ought to be living on the edge of the return of Jesus Christ, you and I. And I believe, beloved, that the strongest argument for the pre-tribulation rapture of the church is the doctrine of the imminence—of imminence that Christ could come back at any moment. That we're not looking for the Antichrist. We're not looking for any of that. We're looking for Christ to appear and take us home.

So Christ could return today. And I want to tell you, beloved, there isn't a single prophecy that yet needs to be fulfilled that would prevent Christ from coming right now. You say, well, what about the building of the temple over in Jerusalem before Christ can come? No, that only needs to be built in the first half of the tribulation. There's not yet one single verse that needs to be fulfilled that would prevent Christ from coming back in the middle of my next sentence.
How do we need to live? We need to live as if Christ were going to come back tonight. To live for Him. To love Him. To adore Him. To serve Him. To make much of Him. And to sound forth His word like these Thessalonians.

Truth number six. By way of extension, obviously then, Jesus' return demands our readiness. His return demands our readiness. If Jesus could come back any moment, if there's that doctrine of imminence, then we need to be ready. We need to be ready. And look at it. It's found in the text, actually, this last truth. Look at the beginning of verse 10. You see the verb there? "and to wait." To wait. You could just draw a circle around the word "wait." "To wait for His Son from heaven." Now, you may find it interesting that it's the only time this Greek word, ‘anamenein’, is used in the entire New Testament. It's only found here. It's a very special word. It's a strong word. It's a word that means to wait expectantly. To look forward for something with great eagerness. With great expectation and anticipation.

It's not merely that you need to believe in the second coming of Jesus Christ. You need to be waiting for the second coming of Christ. Longing for the second coming of Christ. And looking for the return of Christ. It's almost like, and maybe this is the best illustration that we could identify with—even though it pales into comparison—it's almost like when you have a dear, dear beloved family that are coming to your house to spend a few days with you. What do you do? You get everything ready. Everything ready. At least you ought to. You get the guest room fixed up. You get the bathroom fixed up. You get the refrigerator full to the brim. You get the house cleaned up. You scrub the floors. You dust everything. I mean we should be doing this every day. But even more so. Especially.

And you eagerly wait for them to come. And the day of coming you eagerly wait by the window to see the car coming into the driveway. So you could run out and meet and embrace your family member and receive them. There's excitement. There's eagerness. And there's that warm welcome. That's what it means to wait for His Son. The Lord Jesus Christ. That your life and my life would be in order. That your heart would be ready. That your whole would be ready. That you would be ready for the Lord to descend from heaven with a shout, and for you to be ready to be caught up to meet the Lord in the air. We are always, always, always to live this way.

And would you please note with me that this is a present active infinitive: to wait for His Son. In other words, to be always waiting for His Son. To be always in readiness waiting for the return of Jesus. And like I said, this verb is in the active voice, which means it is something that I must do. I must do. That means I just can't sit back and wait for Him passively. I can't just sit on my hands and be passive, laid back, nonchalant. I must prepare myself. I must be active in getting ready for the return of the Lord Jesus Christ.

That tells me that waiting involves activity. Waiting involves ministry. Waiting involves serving. Waiting involves doing, laboring. Waiting involves purity. And all within biblical balance that we be spending time with God and that we be sitting at the feet of the Lord Jesus Christ. But there's more than sitting at the feet of Jesus. Yes, we ought to do that. We must be also serving and doing the work of the Lord. And this we will do if we are waiting for His Son from heaven. We will be the perfect balance of Martha and Mary.

And we see the beautiful balance here exemplified by the Thessalonians themselves. Look at verses 9 and 10, “how you turn to God from idols to” – what? To do what? To sit on your hands? No. – “to serve”. Right? To serve. Remember that verb. We get from the word ‘doulos’, slave. Serving a master. "to serve a living and a true God, and to wait"—see the balance?—"to wait for His Son from heaven." They weren't waiting sitting on their hands. They were waiting serving. Doing. Laboring. Laboring. Doing. Working. Eagerly. Working hard. Working to the point of exhaustion. And when they have nothing more to give, they give more.

This radical change in their lives, this radical change in their worldview, didn't just have to do with the present. It also had to do with their view of the future. Whereas prior to the reception of the gospel, the report of which has gone forth everywhere, all around, your lives were earthbound, he says, prior to that. Things of eternity were a thing of no concern to you. But having turned to the true and living God, having become believers in Christ, your whole sphere of interest shifted from earth to heaven. You have a heavenly mindedness.

Now your sphere of activity was not shifted. You still had to get up in the morning and make your Greek coffee there by the sea in Thessaloniki. You still had to get up in the morning and shine your sandals and prepare breakfast for your kids and wash the clothes. No, no, he said, life itself in terms of what's necessary to make up life and human existence, well, that didn't change. He didn't say you all of a sudden became monastics. No, no, no. But he said in the midst of all the normal routine of life, an entirely new focus came in.

Having turned from idols to the living and true God to serve Him, your expectations, your longings were now fixed not upon the passing things of time, but upon the great issues of eternity—to wait for His Son from heaven. What does that mean? Sit back, put on a white robe and find the highest hill and wait for the Lord to descend from heaven with a shout? That's the way some interpreted it. And they've actually done that and Paul had to correct them. And it doesn't mean a passive kind of waiting as I mentioned. This is not the kind of waiting in the sense of passing time. When we talk about waiting for the Lord Jesus, we're not just letting the calendar run, letting the clock run as we live our lives just like everybody else lives life.

Our beliefs about Jesus' return ought to be affecting how we're living right now. That's what it means to wait for Him, to wait with anticipation, to wait with expectation, to wait with burning devotion. Decisions made today in light of what He's promised tomorrow. And tomorrow's coming. And I know it's coming. He's told me what's coming. So I'm going to live today in light of what God has told me is coming tomorrow.

Waiting for His Son means that in the midst of all of the responsibilities and all of the activities—and later on He mentioned some of them, very practical things about working with your hands and providing for yourself and for your family, very practical things—but in the midst of all of this, you're not bounded to it. You're not tied to it. This is not your end. This is not your goal. This is not what you're living for. No, he said, in the midst of all of this, you're longing for that day when the work of grace that has been begun in you will be completed. That day when we shall be like Him, for we shall see Him as He is.

Radically different lifestyle in the present. Because they've embraced a radically different perspective about the future. Living their lives with expectancy. Living their lives—and I love this—in a new fellowship. In a new fellowship. I love how Paul puts it in verse 10. It's right here, "and to wait for His Son" –do you see it? Do you see it right here? – "for His Son from heaven." Not just waiting for heaven. Not just waiting for paradise. Not just waiting for a better world. And sometimes, you know, certainly the Bible talks about that too. Looking for a better city. That's true.

Oh, we look forward to that day. To be in a place when there's no sin and no suffering and no pain. Of course. But look how Paul puts it: "to wait for His Son." To wait for His Son.
Living in a new expectancy. Living their lives in a new fellowship. He says, at the center of our hope, at the center of our waiting, is Jesus Himself. Jesus Himself. We have come to know Him. We have come to fellowship with Him. We love Him. And we want to be with Him. And Peter writes, "And though you have not seen Him,” – you what? – “love Him, and though you do not see Him now, but you believe in Him”. 1 Peter 1:8; and we “rejoice with joy inexpressible and full of glory.” And look toward the day when we meet our Savior face to face.

That's one of the attendance of true saving faith. For it's one of the inseparable attendance of repentance. And I want to tell you, beloved, as I speak to my own heart: If your life is not in order, then you're not waiting for His return. If you're not serving God today, you're not waiting for His Son. If there's sin unrepented of in your life that needs to be dealt with and confessed, if you need to go and turn in a new direction and you haven't done that, then you are not waiting for the return of the Son of God.

You're not truly waiting for Christ's return unless your life is dressed with readiness—ready, prepared to go and be with the Lord this very moment should He come right now. If there's a need for repentance, then do it tonight. Confession of sin, do it. Do it right now. Service for the Lord. Why are you holding back? Serve Him today. If there's someone to whom you need to go and reconcile and ask for their forgiveness, do it. Do it today. If there's an act of kindness and mercy that you need to do, then do it. Do it today.

Our lives are like vapor—here today but gone tomorrow. And the second coming brings the necessary sense of urgency to our Christian walk, Christian life. What do you need to do in your life to be ready to meet the Lord in the air should He come tonight? Whatever it is, do it now. Do it tonight. Do not procrastinate.

The devil will always tell you, you have tomorrow to get right with God. You could do it later. But God the Holy Spirit is saying, "Behold, now is the acceptable time; behold, now is the day of salvation." If you've never come to faith in Jesus Christ, I want to tell you tonight—tonight is the night. Today is the day that you need to come to faith in the Son of God because you may not have tomorrow. You may not have even tonight.

God has brought you into this place to hear this truth proclaimed from God's Word. And you are not here by accident. Remember, this is a truth we recently were reminded of. There are certain times designed by God, and this is one of them, that you're here by divine appointment. God wanted your heart to be impacted by this truth.

And if you've never committed your life to the Lord Jesus Christ, I call upon you to believe upon the name of the Lord Jesus Christ, and to give your life to Him, to repent of your sin, turn from your idols—whatever those idols may be—and turn to the true and living God and come to Him in the name of His Son, the one and only mediator, the Lord Jesus Christ. And then and then only you shall find forgiveness, and you shall find mercy and grace and acceptance. His name means Jehovah saves, and He will save you, and He will forgive your sins, and He will pardon you, and your sins may be washed away in the blood of Jesus Christ. And so if that is you tonight, I beg you—I beg you—turn to Him. Enter through the narrow gate. Come to Christ. Believe on Christ. He's coming, and He's coming soon. Are you ready?

Let's pray.

This is a transcript. It may contain small inaccuracies.

The Apostle said in 1st Timothy chapter 1 and verse 15, "It is a trustworthy saying, deserving full acceptance, that Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners, among whom I am foremost." Christ came into the world to save sinners. The Shepherd came to lay down His life for the sheep.

When He came to this earth to give His life for His sheep, He was not only coming to save the lost sheep of the house of Israel. He had other sheep not of that fold, and He must also bring them into the fold. When He said those words—you remember when we studied that in John chapter 10—He was speaking of the fact that He would not save Jews only, but He would also save Gentiles. That explains why we're here today.

Indeed, as He says here in verse 32, "And I, if I am lifted up from the earth, will draw all men to Myself." Meaning all categories of men. "For God so loved the world, that He gave —His one and only Son,— His only begotten Son." In these verses, we're getting a small glimpse of the end of the ages, the age that was to come as Jesus encountered this request made by the Greeks to meet Him, these Gentiles. A glimpse of an age that was to come, the very age that we're living in right now, known as the time of the Gentiles.

This is the connection between the request of the Jews, the Gentile proselytes to see Jesus, and our Lord's proclamation that His hour had come, had arrived. He's come to save the world. Not every man without exception, but every man without distinction. But the saving purpose could only be accomplished one way and one way only. And there is no other way. There is no other option. There is no other alternative.

There would be no salvation without a sacrifice. There would be no life without death. It had to be accomplished that way. It had to be accomplished by death, the shedding of the blood. There had to be the death of the Son of God, the shed blood of Christ, the Lamb of God for there to be life indeed.

But we also discover here that not only would Christ have to die in order for us to be saved, there's also a sense in which we have to die in order to be saved. And I want us to see this together this morning. The first thing I want us to notice in verse 24, to pick up where we left off, the clear illustration.

Last week we considered the coming of some Greeks, verses 20 to 23. Then we consider the contrast with the Pharisees, verse 19 and verse 21. This morning we will consider together the clear illustration, this clear analogy that Jesus uses. And that's found in verses 24 through 26.
Look at the text with me. Verse 24: "Truly, truly,”  — amēn, amēn. He's saying something here when he says that, this formula, this expression, amen, amen. He's saying something here that he wants us to particularly pay careful attention to. We can't miss this. We can't afford to miss this. This is underscored, underlined, bold italics. “Truly, truly, I say to you, unless a grain of wheat falls into the earth and dies, it remains alone; but if it dies, it bears much fruit." Very simple agricultural example that He uses to make His point that there would be no wheat harvest apart from His death. No harvest apart from His death.

The grain of wheat, the seed of the wheat, doesn't produce anything whatsoever until the process of sowing and death takes place. Once the grain is sown and it dies, then from that death will come out a harvest, life. That's the illustration.

You say, well, what's the point of the illustration? It's a great question. Well, beloved, the point is clear. Despite the response of the crowds and the day of His triumphal entry into Jerusalem, there wasn't going to be a kingdom without a cross. There wasn't going to be a kingdom without a cross.

He had not entered into the city to bring about a political kingdom that so many of the Jews envisioned. To be set free from the bondage to Rome. That is not why He came. He's come to bring about a kingdom not of this world. And that kingdom required that the King also be the Lamb of God.

You remember that, right? The Lamb of God. The Lamb of God that delivers His people by His very death, deliver them from the domain of darkness, that they may come into His marvelous light. Beloved, He came to die. Jesus came to die. He came to save His people from their sins.
And the first part of this explains, number one, under this heading, the clear illustration, the necessity of His death. He came to die. He came to lay down His life. This explains the necessity of His death. The first part, He says, "Unless a grain of wheat falls into the earth and dies, it remains alone." In other words, apart from the death of this grain of wheat, there will be no harvest. There is no harvest. This is the explanation of how disciples will be made. It's the only explanation how disciples will be made. Apart from Christ, apart from His life, His perfect life, His death, apart from His death on the cross, there would be no disciples. No disciples whatsoever.

There is no sheepfold unless there's a shepherd who gives His life, who lays down His life for the sheep. There's no way to approach a holy God if Christ doesn't die. And though that's simple for those of us who've been in the faith for some time, this is something we must declare to the world, that sinful man, lost, condemned, sinful man, cannot come to the thrice holy God directly. You don't just simply walk into the presence of the thrice holy God. Apart from reconciliation through the blood of the Lamb of God, there is no access to God. There is no reconciliation with God.

Jesus said that very plainly, didn't He? John 14, verse 6: "I am the way, and the truth, and the life; no man, — no one, no one. That means absolutely no one — comes to the Father but through Me." And in 1 Timothy 2, verse 5, the apostle Paul echoes the same truth: "There is one God, and one mediator also between God and men, the man Christ Jesus.” And apart from Him, there is no way into the presence of God. There aren't different ways into the presence of God. There's only one way, and that's through Jesus Christ our Lord.

So apart from the death of Christ, there would be no harvest, there would be no kingdom, there would be no church, there would be no disciples. That's the meaning of the illustration. "Unless a grain of wheat falls into the earth and dies, it remains"—what?—"alone." There is the necessity of His death. Apply it to Him. Apply it to Him, the Redeemer. There's the necessity of His death—no death, no harvest. No death, no harvest.

J.C. Ryle puts it this way, commenting on this truth concerning the death of Christ: "The death of Christ was the life of the world. From it, as a most prolific seed, was to spring an enormous harvest of blessing to souls and of glory to God. His substitution on the cross, His atoning death, were to be the beginning of untold blessings to a lost world. To wish Him not to die, to dislike the idea of His death, as the disciples evidently did, was as foolish as to keep seed corn locked up in the granary and to refuse to sow it. I am the corn of wheat, Jesus seems to say. Unless I die, whatever you and your private opinion may think, My purpose in coming into the world will not be accomplished. But if I die, multitudes of souls will be saved."

But not only is there that in that illustration, the necessity of His death that we see here very clearly. There's also in that illustration, that clear illustration, the certainty of life. Not only the necessity of life, of death, but the certainty of life. Look at the text: "Unless a grain of wheat falls into the earth and dies, it remains alone." Now notice, “but if it dies,” — what happens, Lord? What happens?— "It bears much fruit." You see it? "It bears much fruit." Christ speaks in such a way as to teach us that if He dies, if He lays down His life, there will be a harvest. There'll be fruit. There will be fruit.

He puts it plainly, the verses we read now more than once last week and even this morning. Look at verse 32 and verse 33: "And I, if I am lifted up from the earth, will draw all men to Myself.” But He was saying this to indicate the kind of death by which He was about to die.” He will draw all people to Himself. There will be a harvest. There will be fruit from His death. There is no doubt about it.

We understand, don't we, that Jesus Christ did not come to this earth to die only to make salvation potential. Right? No, no. He didn't come here to die only to make salvation possible, available. No, no, beloved. He came to die in order to make salvation actual. He came to die in order to actually save His people from their sins.

His atonement accomplished redemption for all those who were given to Him as a gift by the Father before time. The Father before time gave a people unto His Son for redemption. And Christ came into the earth to lay down His life for the sheep, His sheep. And when He died on the cross, the harvest was secure. Make no mistake about it. They were all brought to Him. We were brought to Him through the preaching of the gospel and the powerful, effectual, regenerating work of the Holy Spirit.

There must be, of course, repentance and faith in the Lord Jesus Christ in order for there to be salvation. But mark it down. His death secured not only the end, but the means to the end. He accomplished redemption by His death. There will be a harvest. He's saying if there's this death, then inevitably, unmistakably, there'll be fruit.

Do you realize, beloved, if God is not sovereign in salvation, if salvation is not of the Lord, if indeed salvation is something like this—this is purely hypothetical, it's impossible—but if salvation were to be like this, you know, God says, I'm going to do my part. But it's not going to be effectual. It's not going to accomplish anything apart from man in his natural condition joining his will to Mine. I'm going to do everything from My end to save sinners. I'm going to set it before them, and then I'm going to leave it up to them. Can these dead bones, dry bones, live?

Do you understand that if that's the way salvation is, there was absolutely no guarantee that the death of Christ would bring about even one person to salvation? In fact, I would put it bluntly, biblically, there would be absolute guarantee that no person would be saved left to himself. Christ would have to come, shed His precious blood on a tree. He would have been raised from the dead. The gospel proclaimed to the ends of the earth. And no one received Him. No one would receive Him—which is impossible. Absolutely impossible.

But when you read the Word of God and pay attention to what it says about the work of Christ, you find that there was something far more certain than that. There will be much fruit, actual fruit. Salvation is actual, not potential. Why? Because God not only accomplished in Christ all that is necessary to save sinners from the standpoint of the adequate, finished sacrifice, but God has also promised and proclaimed and declared and determined to do everything necessary to bring those people to His Son whom He has determined. He has determined to bring them before time and to save through the preaching of the gospel and through the work of regeneration, granting them as a gift, repentance and faith.

Salvation is of the Lord, beginning to end. Only Jesus saves. So the first way that this illustration is applied is to the Lord Jesus Himself. It speaks of the necessity of His death. It speaks of the certainty of life that will come from His death. He will draw all people to Himself and there will be fruit as a result. There will be a harvest as a result of His death.

But then He does something interesting. He takes this analogy, the same illustration, and now He broadens out the application. And this is amazing. This paradox of life coming out of death, life coming through death, doesn't just apply to the Savior. It also applies to those who are saved. Obviously, we're not talking about applied in a redemptive fashion.

You see, because He died, we have life. That's the primary cause of our life. His death—His death secured for us all of the benefits and the gifts through which He has brought life to us. But it is also true to say that He's brought us this life in such a way by the Holy Spirit that His disciples are made to die in order that they may have life.

Let me put it this way. We are saved by grace alone. Grace alone. Grace plus nothing. Alone. Grace plus nothing. By faith alone. Faith plus nothing. Christ alone. Christ plus nothing. But the faith that is the product of God's grace to us in Christ is a faith that brings about a willingness to die in order to have life. In fact, we are called upon through the gospel to surrender our lives, to lose our lives in order to have life that is found only in Christ. Exclusively in Christ. We're called to die. We're called to lose our lives in order to live.

What will be true? What will characterize a true disciple of Jesus Christ? Someone who is made alive indeed through His death, through the death of Christ. What will mark them? What will characterize them? What will characterize such an individual? Look at the text. Verse 24: "Truly, truly, I say to you, unless a grain of wheat falls into the earth and dies, it remains alone; but if it dies, it bears much fruit." Then He says this: "He who loves his life loses it, and he who hates his life in this world will keep it to eternal life. If anyone serves Me, he must follow Me; and where I am, there My servant will be also; if anyone serves Me, the Father will honor him."

Four things. Four things we have here. Four characteristics that will mark a true disciple of Jesus. And the first one we meet with is this. Number one. A disciple of Jesus has lost his life. A disciple of Jesus has lost his life. If you are truly saved, you've lost your life.

Look at the text. He says in verse 25, "He who loves his life loses it, and he who hates his life in this world will keep it to eternal life." He who loves his life. Let's start there. "He who loves his life loses it." This is an absolute statement of truth on the part of our Lord. No wiggle room. Absolute statement of truth. He wants us to know this in no uncertain terms. "He who loves his life"—whoever loves his life—what? "Loses it." Loses it.

What is He talking about? Look at the word life. The word life here is the Greek word psychē. Psychē. The soul. The soul of man. The personality of the man. Who he is. The man himself. If anyone holds on to—this is what He's saying—if anyone holds on to life as he has always known it, if he holds on to his life as he's always assessed it, if he holds on to his life as he's always lived it, if he wants to hold on to that life, Jesus says, he will what? Lose it. He'll lose his life. That is, he will perish without God. He will spend eternity separated from God. If he seeks to hold on to this life, his life, he will lose it. If he loves his life in this world, he'll lose it.

What kind of a man is it who holds on to his life? Clutches to his life? Well, this is the man who lives according to the way that seems right to him. You know, this is the way I've always lived my life. This is the way I look at life. This is the way I was raised to look at life. This is the way my parents looked at life. Or, I live my life differently than my parents. I have my own way. My own thinking. Life as it seems right to him.

To say it another way, this is the man who lives his life using the language of Ecclesiastes: under the sun. Under the sun, life lived without a heavenly perspective. Life lived as though God were not there. Life lived under the sun. This is the man who walks according to Ephesians 2. According to the course of this age. According to this world. According to the mindset of this age. This present age. This is the man who lives his life indulging the desires of the mind and of the flesh. Living according to the boastful pride of life.

And then at some point, this man is confronted with the claims of the gospel. Here is this man living life the way he has always lived it. He comes face to face with the truth of the gospel. The truth of who the Lord Jesus Christ is. And this demand that if he wants life—true life—then he must be willing to relinquish his life and come all the way to Jesus, empty handed, Christ who is able to save. He must be willing to turn from life as he has always known it. Turn from his own ways and come all the way to Christ. Believing that the death of Christ is enough to pay for his sins. That Christ's merits are enough to make him right with God. Losing his life to gain Christ.

But, tragically, this man responds and says, no, thank you. No, thank you. I love my life like this. I want it to stay like it is. I love my darling sins. I love myself. He looks at his life and he thinks this life that he's lived out of fellowship with God, this life that he's lived in this godless fashion, he thinks it's a life worth keeping. I don't want to lose this. I don't want to give up this and that and the other. I don't want to give this up. I don't want to forfeit this. Oh, the pleasures of sin.

Isn't it amazing? I mean, if you've paid attention to this at all. Isn't it amazing that men think—what men think to be more valuable than their soul? Have you ever considered that? I don't want to stop getting high. I don't want to stop being promiscuous. I don't want to stop living for the stock market and accumulating wealth. Because that's their idol. It's not like having money. It's money has them.

Friend, have you noticed that your body is wasted away? Have you noticed that you've lost your relationships? Have you noticed how your children have turned out? What are you holding on to? What is so valuable? I don't want to lose this relationship. I don't want to lose this. I don't want to lose that.

This man says no. I love my life. Jesus says that man will lose his life. The way that seems right to a man ends in what? Destruction. Death. Proverbs 14:13: "There is a way which seems right to a man, but its end is the way of death." The life that is lived under the sun indeed proves to be vanity of vanities. All is vanity. The life that is lived according to the course of this world is the easy path that ends in what? Destruction. Horrible tragedy. And the man who seeks to save his life, our Lord says, loses it.

Mark 8:35: "For whoever wishes to save his life will lose it." He will be eternally lost. He will be lost without God. He will be lost without Christ. He'll be lost without forgiveness. And he will be lost without hope.

And you know the word "lose it"? The word "lose" is a powerful word. Apollymi. Literally, it means to destroy. To perish. Given over to eternal misery in hell, to use the biblical definition. "For whoever desires to save his life”  —will destroy it, will cause it to perish in hell,— “will lose it." People lose their wallet. They lose their rings and important documents. But the greatest loss of all is to lose one's soul. And it's permanent.

Jesus speaks in absolute terms. And He says if you continue to live your life your own way and do your own thing, what seems right in your own eyes, you will lose your life forever. Eternally. He speaks in absolute categories. There are only two options here: to accept or to reject. You're either saved or lost.

But notice the second part of the statement. In John 12:25, He says, "He who loves his life loses it." And now, just as certain as this statement—"and he who hates his life in this world will keep it to eternal life."

Second, a disciple of Christ has kept his life. Has kept his life. A disciple of Christ has kept his life. What does it mean to hate your life? Well, it is the opposite of loving it. It is the opposite of loving it. It means that the one for whom Christ died is the one who recognizes that he desperately needs a new life. The one for whom Christ died is the one who realizes that he doesn't have a life worth keeping, a life worth holding on to. He doesn't have a life worth clinging to in comparison. He hates it. And he's willing to forfeit it. He's willing to let go of it—all of it. He's willing to walk away from it.

We can say it this way: he has been awakened. His eyes are wide open. Now, it's not that his life is different all of a sudden than it was before. And he says, you know, for a while I had a life worth keeping, but now I realize I need a new life. You know, this life has kind of gotten worn out a bit. And if it was like it used to be, I would hang on to it and hold on to it. But now I'm willing to let go of it. It's not worth much anymore. No, no, it's not like that at all. That's not what we're talking about.

What has happened is he's been awakened to what his life has really been like all along. He just couldn't see it before. But now he sees it. He sees it. He sees it for what it is. He sees himself for what he is. “Amazing grace, how sweet the sound that saved a wretch like me. I once was lost, but now I'm found. Was blind”—oh, “but now I see.” I see.

He sees his sinfulness. He sees his emptiness. He sees his guiltiness before a thrice holy God. And he sees his utter helplessness. And he can't do one thing to save himself. He can't do one thing to change himself. A leopard can't change its spot. And a man can't change his own sinful, wicked, wretched heart. Deceitful heart.

But he also sees something else. Oh, he sees the hope that has been set before him by God. He sees that God has opened a way through the death of His Son for all of his sins—all of them—to be forgiven. To be canceled. And for this man to be made a new creature in Christ. And to be reconciled to a holy God. He sees this. He sees it for the first time.

And because he sees this now, the demand of the gospel that we repent and believe on the Lord Jesus Christ—that demand that says lose your life or forfeit it, lose your life for the life of Christ—that demand now no longer seems like a demand. Now it sounds like the most unbelievable, glorious, precious, gracious, merciful offer in the entire universe. And it is. It is.
God, You mean You will take me? Ha! I can't believe it. You will take me? Here's my life. Ruined. Undone before You. Not worthy to stand before You. Clothed in filthy rags. All my righteousness as filthy rags in Your sight. You mean You would receive me just as I am and transform me? Forgive me? Reconcile me to Yourself? Clothe me with the perfect righteousness of Your own beloved Son? Take my heart of stone and give me a heart of flesh? Make me a new creature? You would do this for me, God?

This is not some difficult demand, is it? It's glorious. It's a glorious offer of mercy, of grace.
I wonder, I wonder, have you ever seen that? Where are you at today? Are you one who's holding on to your life? Or are you one who has hated his life? And Jesus says here—look at verse 25—that "he who hates his life in this world will keep it to life." A different Greek word than psychē. This word is zōē. Often associated with eternal life. Divine life.

Hold on to life as you've always known it and you will never know divine life. You will never know the life that is in Christ. You will never know eternal life. Hate life as you've known it. Turn from it. Abandon it. Forfeit it. Turn to Christ and God will give you life in His Son. Real life. Zōē life.

A disciple of Jesus has lost his life. That's what it means to be a disciple. We've lost our life. That's what the Lord does. He brings us face to face with whatever is most important to us. Whatever is your life, your god, He brings us face to face with that. And when He brings you to faith in Himself, the one thing that stands out to you is this: Are you prepared to turn away? To abandon? To forsake your idol? And follow Me? Just like the Thessalonians did. How you turned to God from idols. To serve the living God.

Are you prepared to turn away? When He brings you to faith in Himself, the one thing that stands out to you is this: Are you prepared to let go? To abandon? To forsake your idol? And follow Me? Now who do you choose? What do you choose? Will you lose your life? Will you lose what you've held on to all your life as making you important, significant, giving you meaning, giving you pleasure? Will you turn away from all of it?

And you know, you may be one who was brought up in a Christian home, grew up in Sunday school, Bible studies, memorized scriptures, been many times to different Christian retreats and nobody thinks you're lost, but you know, you know you're lost. Jesus says, you know you don't have Me. Now in order to have Me, you're going to have to admit that you don't have Me. Are you willing to lose the impression in the minds of others that you're My disciples, my disciple? Are you willing to be honest about your spiritual condition in order to have life?

And you know what? Even after the Lord saves us, beloved, even after He rescues us, doesn't He down the road of His discipleship of us, this road of discipleship, down this road of sanctification and conformity to the image of Christ, doesn't He continue to bring us face to face with who is more important and what is more important? We're cut from the same cloth. I know I need that reminder. Don't we go on choosing Him above all else?

And there are times in our lives, if we'll be honest before God, that we allow things to creep in that ought not to be there in terms of greater priority than they should have. And what happens is that we experience the coldness that comes into our lives when that occurs. And all over again, we must repent and place Him above all else because Christ must have the place of preeminence. Will you lose your life to have Him?

Look at Colossians 3 for just a moment. Turn with me to Colossians 3. We see a living example of this in verse 1 and following: "Therefore, if you have been raised up with Christ, keep seeking the things above, where Christ is, seated at the right hand of God. Set your mind on the things above, not on the things that are on the earth. For you died, and your life has been hidden with Christ in God. When Christ, who is our life, is manifested, then you also will be manifested with Him in glory. Therefore, consider the members of your earthly body as dead to sexual immorality, impurity, passion, evil desire, and greed, which is idolatry."

Now let me make the obvious point. You realize, don't you, that he's saying this to believers. He's saying this to believers. You've died with Christ. Your life has been hidden with Him. Now seek the things above. You must go on putting to death what is earthly in you. Keep your foot pressed down on the pedal.

And realize this also, verse 6: "On account of these things, the wrath of God is coming upon the sons of disobedience. In them you also”—past tense—”once walked when you were living in them. But now you also, lay them all aside." —You don't walk anymore in them, but you fight with those pockets of resistance. Lay them aside, all of them:— “wrath, anger, malice, slander, abuse of speech from your mouth. Do not lie to one another, since you put off the old man with its evil practices and have put on the new man who is being renewed to a full knowledge according to the image of the One who created him."

That's what we must do. Put to death these things that are earthly because now our life is in Christ.

Our life is Christ. We must seek the things above. This was Paul's attitude about it himself. Turn over to Philippians 3, that familiar portion of the Word of God. Philippians 3. Notice this is his attitude about it.

Verse 1. Philippians chapter 3 and verse 1: "Finally, my brothers, rejoice in the Lord. To write the same things again is no trouble to me, and it is a safeguard for you. Beware of the dogs, beware of the evil workers, beware of the mutilation. For we are the circumcision, who worship in the Spirit of God and boast in Christ Jesus and put no confidence in the flesh, although I myself might have confidence even in the flesh. If anyone else has a mind to put confidence in the flesh, I far more.” —Verse 5— “Circumcise the eighth day, of the nation of Israel, of the tribe of Benjamin, a Hebrew of Hebrews; as to the law, a Pharisee; as to zeal, a persecutor of the church; as to the righteousness which is in the law, found blameless. But whatever things were gain to me, those things I have counted as loss for the sake of Christ."

You know, I could have held on to all of that, life as I've always known it, Saul of Tarsus. I could have held on to all of that from an earthly point of view, but blessed be God, from a sovereign point of view, we couldn't have. He couldn't have. It was Christ's purpose to save him, and he would be saved.

But notice what he says in verse 8: "More than that, I count all things to be loss because of the surpassing value of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord, for whom I have suffered the loss of all things, and count them but rubbish so that I may gain Christ, and be found in Him, not having a righteousness of my own which is from the Law, but that which is through faith in Christ, the righteousness which is from God upon faith, that I may know Him and the power of His resurrection and the fellowship of His sufferings, being conformed to His death, in order that I may attain to the resurrection from the dead."

This is the value system. This is the set of values that is produced in the heart when God does His work. When God brings awakening. Now all that stuff that I thought was valuable, now I see it as rubbish. To be more specific, as dung. The stuff that the world would count to be righteousness. The stuff that the world would count to be reputation. It's all a trash heap compared to having that righteousness that comes from God, that is by faith in Jesus Christ. It's trash. It's dung compared to knowing Christ, and I am more than prepared and willing to lose it all, to have Christ my treasure.

Whoever hates his life in this world, whoever is willing to lose it all to have Christ, will keep it. Life eternal. 1 John 5:12: "He who has the Son has the life; he who does not have the Son does not have the life." Matthew 16:25: "For whoever wishes to save his life will lose it; but whoever loses his life for My sake will find it. For what will it profit a man if he gains the whole world and forfeits his soul? Or what will a man give in exchange for his soul?"

A disciple of Jesus has lost his life. A disciple of Jesus has kept his life. He hasn't lived his life in this world. He's hated it, and as a result, he hasn't loved his life in this world. Pardon me. He's hated it, and as a result, he's kept his soul. He has been saved, redeemed. God has given him life in His Son.

Back to John 12. There's a third thing that I want us to see concerning a genuine disciple, the characteristics of a genuine disciple. He's lost his life. He's kept his life. Thirdly, a disciple of Jesus is a servant of Christ. He's a servant of Christ. Look at verse 26: "If anyone serves Me, he must follow Me; and where I am, there My servant will be also; if anyone serves Me, the Father will honor him."

What does it mean to be a disciple of Jesus? What does it mean that you've been saved, have life? Well, you've become a servant of Christ. You've become a servant of Christ. And this service, by the way, is spiritual. It's spiritual service because you see the words there? Anyone serves, diakoneō, my servant, diakonos. We get the word deacon. Deacon. It's a spiritual service.

We're living for Christ in this world, in an active way, in concrete decisions. It's a spiritual service. It's worship unto God. It's worshipful. We worship Him as we live with Him and for Him. This service is spiritual. It's a spiritual service.

But it's also, the service is perpetual. It's perpetual. This is in the present active. If anyone keeps on serving Him, if anyone keeps on serving Me, it's a perpetual service, ongoing, 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. We live for Him all the time. We live for Him as a pattern of life.

And this service also, look at it, is submissive. If anyone serves Me, he must what? Follow Me. Follow Me. It is a pursuit. We follow Him. And how do we know where to go to follow Jesus? We find it here in His Word. It means to follow Him and no longer to walk according to the course of this world, but to live in such a way that you follow Christ step by step.

It means that you no longer follow the crowd, but you follow Christ. It means to follow Him if everyone followed Him or no one follows Him. By the grace of God, I will follow Him. It means to no longer follow the majority. It means to no longer follow the minority. It means to follow Christ submissively. It means to pursue Him. It means to love Him, to adore Him, to obey Him. It means to walk as He walked, an imitation of the very righteous lifestyle of the Lord Jesus Christ.

In other words, I would speak as He spoke. I would live as He lived. I would rejoice in what He rejoiced over, and I would weep over what He wept over. I would make His priorities my priorities. I would make His goals my goals. I am to follow Christ.

This service is also personal. Personal. Who do we follow? We follow Him. If anyone serves Me, he must follow Me. It's personal. It's a personal pursuit that we may know Him. It's in the context of fellowship, knowing Christ, walking with Christ.

And this service that we offer is exclusive. Exclusive. “If anyone,” —verse 26,— “serves Me, He must follow Me. And where I am,” —notice,— “there My servant will be also.” Whose servant are you? He says, My servant. Whose servant are you? Nobody's but Christ. Nobody's but Christ. Then under Christ, we serve others. Unto the Lord. But we serve Christ. We are His servant. And this service, notice with me, is loyal. It is loyal service. If anyone serves me, He must follow me. And where I am, there my servant will be also. The disciples of Christ, as a pattern, where are they? They are wherever the Lord is. They're loyal to Christ. Where would we go? He has the words of eternal life.

Now, along the way, we may stumble. We may fall. We may be like Peter sometimes and stumble and fail. But at the end of his life, Peter was faithful, ultimately gave his life for Christ. These are the disciples of Jesus. They've lost their life. They found their life in Him. And they serve Him in this world. They serve Him perpetually. They serve Him submissively. Personally, exclusively, loyally, they serve Him.

I love how, S. Louis Johnson summed it up, and there's an application for us. Listen to what he said. Quote, "So what does this life come down to? Following our Lord. What does it come down to, following our Lord? He says, witnessing. He answers, no. Praying, no. Teaching, no. Singing, no. Preaching, no. Giving, no. Working, no. Following Him. All of these things flow out of following Him. Following the church, no. Following Him. It's very simple, isn't it? He says, follow Him. The rest will flow.”

He goes on to say, “what kind of path did He take? What kind of path did He take? He fell into the ground and died.”— Building on the analogy. That was the path. He fell into the ground and died. In other words, what God the Father wished Him to do was His determining principle.— “And I suggest to you,"— he goes on to say,— "you who are Christians in this audience, that the determining principle of your fruitfulness as a Christian, and your ultimate happiness as a Christian, will be the extent of which you follow Him and follow Him in death. Death to your pleasures. Death to your ambitions. Death to your goals. Those things are peculiarly yours, in which you put other things before the Lord Jesus Christ." End of quote.

Well, I must hasten. That brings us to the last thing He says here. He says in verse 26, "If anyone serves Me, the Father will honour him." Fourthly, a disciple of Jesus will be honoured. Will be honoured. Honoured. And it's a personal honour. I mean, if it's something that God is involved in personally, the Father will honour him. This is something the Father does.

And it's a promised honour. It's a promised honour. Not a wishful thinking honour. This is a promised honour. Christ promises this. "If anyone serves Me, the Father will honour him." He's holding out this promise to us. Whose acceptance are you interested in? Whose pleasure are you living for? Do you realize that if you follow Me, you have pleased the Father? This is acceptable to the Father. This is something the Father honours. God honours.

And notice it's a future honour. This is a future active "will honour." "Well done, thou good and faithful servant. Come into the kingdom prepared for those who love My Son." And it may also be a martyr's honour. Maybe the same kind of glory that Jesus speaks of in verse 23 when He says, "The hour has come for the Son of Man to be glorified." How is He going to be glorified? On a tree.

Look over to Mark chapter 10. Mark 10, look at verse 28. Mark 10, verse 28, Peter began to say to Him, "Behold, we have left everything and followed You." Remember what was Peter's concern? This is right after the rich young ruler encounter. He's come to Christ. Jesus told that young man he had to take all of his possessions, sell them, give to the poor, follow Him. Then he would have treasure in heaven. The young man was saddened and went away grieving, the Bible tells us. And he was one who owned—for he was one who owned—much property. Jesus put His finger on his idol.

And Jesus talked about the difficulty in verse 23. “Jesus, looking around, said to His disciples, “How hard it will be for those who are wealthy to enter the kingdom of God." Why is it difficult? Well, because what is required to enter the kingdom of God is the loss of one's life to have His. Faith in Christ is that—the surrender of one's life to Him. And how many people who have much wealth think that it's real treasure. And compared to the value of knowing Christ, they consider it to be of a greater treasure and it causes them to live relying on their sense of independence from God, being dependent on no one else except their own wealth and power. That's why it's hard.

Verse 24, “the disciples were amazed at His words. But Jesus answered again and said to them, “Children, how hard it is to enter the kingdom of God! It is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for a rich man to enter the kingdom of God.” And they were even more astonished, saying to Him, “Then who can be saved?" If this is what is required—the loss of one's life in this world, hatred of one's life in this world to follow the Son of God—then who can be saved?

And verse 27, “looking at them, Jesus said, With people it is impossible, but not with God; for all things are possible with God." Do you realize, do you realize, beloved, you, believer, are a human impossibility? That I'm a human impossibility? But you are what you are because it was possible with God. Who brought you to see the relative trash value of your life compared with knowing Jesus? Who brought you to the place of surrender to Him, brokenness, repentance from sin, turning to Him for life? Who did that? You didn't do that. God did that. No preacher did that in you. No pastor did that in you. No one did that. God did that in you. No amount of persuasion could have ever done that in you. God did that in you. He gave you sight. He shined His light into your heart. He made you know who Christ really is and what you really were. He did that.

“And Peter,”— verse 28,—”began to say to Him, "Behold, we have left everything and followed You." Lord, what about us? What about us? This is us. This is what's been done in us. What about us?

Look at verse 29. “Jesus said, Truly I say to you, there is no one who has left house or brothers or sisters or mother or father or children or farms, for My sake and for the gospel's sake, except one who will receive one hundred times as much now in the present age—houses and brothers and sisters and mothers and children and farms, along with persecutions—and in the age to come, eternal life." Isn't it wonderful that when you lose everything for the sake of Christ and the gospel, at that very moment, you gain everything? That is, you have fellowship with God, and in terms of all that you've lost, you've gained a hundredfold.

You say, what do you mean? Well, I mean that in this precious body, for example, I have houses. I mean, if something, God forbid, were to happen to my family, would you not take care of us? Well, you could say the same thing yourself. I have brothers and sisters. Maybe somebody here in this congregation, because of your relationship with Jesus Christ, you've lost your relationship with your earthly brother. Do you realize you have brothers here? You have sisters. You have fathers.

Some of you, you don't have any grandparents for your kids. They don't want anything to do with you because you walk with Jesus, but you have fathers, and mothers, and grandfathers, and your kids have people in Christ who love them, and are willing to teach them, and look out for them. You lost everything, but you gained everything. And let us not miss the point. Let us not miss the note—end of verse 30—along with persecutions. It's listed among the blessings of God.

Matthew 5:10–12, right? Makarios. “Blessed are you when you are persecuted for my name's sake.” You receive. You gain that, too. And this may be how the Lord chooses to glorify Himself and honor you, honor your faith in Christ, and in the age to come, eternal life. The Gospel presents a great apparent paradox. To have life, there must be death. Christ had to die in order for there to be a harvest. His death ensured a harvest. We had to die in order to enter His harvest, and that was not from us. That was a gift from God. The repentance that we experienced and the faith that we had in Christ was a result of regeneration, but then there's also this truth. We may have to die in order to see more into the harvest. We've lost our lives to gain Christ. Now, would we be willing to lose our life to see others gain Christ? We've gained houses and brothers and sisters and mothers and children and lands, but are we willing to receive, also, persecutions for His sake and the Gospel's sake? And if in God's wisdom and sovereign plan, it becomes really difficult to be a Christian, if it really begins to cost more than it ever cost to be a disciple, will we be found where our Master is? Will we be found following Him? If we're truly His servants, we will buy the grace of God. Only buy the grace of God. As I close this morning, I wonder, what is it today that is more important in your life than Christ? What would you say that is? Let me put it this way. What would He put His finger on Himself and say, is it Me or is it that? Is it Me or is it them? Is it Me or is it her? Is it Me or is it him? Is it Me or is it that job, that career? Is it Me or is it acceptance of your family, acceptance of your peers? Is it Me or is it your reputation? Is it Me or is it that gain? Is it Me? Is it Me? And may we all be able to say today, “for to me, to live is Christ.” —and only then we would be able to say,— “and to die is” —what?— “gain.” Let's pray.

This is a transcript. It may contain small inaccuracies.

We return to our study in the Word of God, the section of God's Word. We're studying verses- particularly verses 2 through 10 slowly, which is in a very real sense, could be called a Paul's paragraph of praise to God, as he thinks about those believers there in Thessaloniki. He recounts the different things which give him occasion when he seeks the face of God and thinks of the people there at Thessaloniki. He finds it easy to give thanks to God, as he says in verse 2, "We give thanks to God always for all of you, making mention of you in our prayers," remembering,”-verse 4- “knowing.”

So as we studied together; he rejoiced in remembering certain things, three, particularly three cardinal virtues, those three crowning jewels manifested in them, verse 3, and then he rejoiced because of something he knew. And we saw last week that when the gospel of Jesus Christ comes in power, it will always—always, inevitably—produce this glad, warm reception of the Word. Verse 6, "You also became imitators of us and of the Lord, having received"—that beautiful word, dechomai, to receive with warm embrace and welcome—the Word of God.
They rejoiced at the Word of God. They embraced the Word of God with joy in the midst of affliction, and not just affliction but much affliction, with the joy of the Holy Spirit. And the first indication of the effectual call of God, the call of God that is more than an invitation, but is a powerful laying hold of the sinner, drawing him into a living relationship with Jesus, is that he suddenly welcomes the Word of God with delight. The Word perhaps prior to that he's regarded with indifference or with mere intellectual objectivity suddenly becomes the Word for which his soul thirsts… yearns. "Your Word came to me and I ate them."

Now when the Gospel comes in power and that Word is received, there will always be two immediate effects, Paul tells us. Always, always. No ifs and buts. Verse 6 and 7 describe those effects for us. In verse 6, "You became imitators of us and of the Lord." That's the first effect. And the second one is in verse 7, "You became a model to all the believers." When the Word is received in such a way that it is a spirit, raw reception of that Word, then men will become imitators of the faithful servants of Christ and Christ Himself.

And that word, imitators, is the Greek word from which we get the word mimic, mímos. It's the word mimic we saw last week. Literally, they became mimics, imitators. And in turns, having become imitators of the proper model, they became themselves models to others.
Now in verses 8 through 10, Paul—and this is where our focus is tonight—Paul enlarges upon that thought and tells us in telling them what it means to be a model to all the believers. Now why could Paul say that these people had become a model to all the believers? Why? Paul answers that question in verses 8 through 10. And the first thing that confronts us is this phrase in verse 8, "For the Word of the Lord has sounded forth from you."

So let us consider first the fact that there was a sounding forth of the Word in verse 8. And then in verse 9, we'll consider the manner of this sounding forth of the Word. And then verses 8 through 10, we'll put our arms around them. We will see some of the important lessons contained in the sounding forth of the Word. We'll see how far we will go-we will get.
So verse 8 then declares to us the fact that from that group of people in Thessaloniki, the believers there, the Word of the Lord, Paul says, "has sounded forth." And I want us to really zero in on this expression, “sound forth.” This word in Greek, exēcheō, is an interesting word. This is the only instance in which this word is used in the New Testament. And it's a word that you would use if you were trying to describe the blast of a trumpet. It has the connotation of a clear ringing sound.

Well, you remember it's a trumpet that was used even in the midst of the battle of foot soldiers, and the clanging of swords, and shields, and armor upon armor. But when one of the leaders would sound his trumpet above all the tumult and the noise of the battle, the trumpet is piercing. The trumpet could be heard, make no mistake about it. And so Paul says, amidst all of the ruckus and all of the confusion of human life, and human existence, and human conflict, from you people there at Thessaloniki, there went out this clear ringing, discernible, penetrating note of the Word of the Lord. A very strong word.

Well, the question we must ask: what sounded forth? What sounded forth? Well, he tells us. The text tells us. He describes it here as the Word of the Lord. From you people there in Thessaloniki went out, like the clarion call of a trumpet, the Word, the message of the Lord.
Now, why does he call it the Word of the Lord? Well, to put it simply, because God is the author of it. He's the Author of it. Whatever went out from them, it was His Word. It was God's Word, not man's word, not man's opinion. It was God's Word. He gave it. And it was deposited in them as a church by the Apostle. And it was a word that pointed toward Him, toward the Lord. It was a word from the Lord, and a word that pointed to the Lord. It was the Word of the Lord.

And it's particular. It's particular. It was the Word of the Lord. There aren't six words of the Lord, or seven. We can pick and choose what we like, what we don't like, what suits us best. This is not a buffet. All of that is bound up in the way Paul writes this, for "the Word of the Lord has sounded forth from you."

Here's another question to ask. Well, where was it sounded? Well, he tells us again. Look at verse 8: "not only in Macedonia and Achaia"—that is, northern and southern Greece—not only in these places. It was sounded forth, as he mentioned in verse 7: you became a model to all the believers in Macedonia and in Achaia. But also, verse 8, he tells us- "in every place your faith toward God has gone forth."

Paul is saying, wherever I go, I find that the Word of the Lord has already gone out from you people. He said, I can't go anywhere, but I hear about you people, how the Word of the Lord sounded forth from you. I go into Macedonia, there I hear about you, sounding forth the Word of God. I go into Achaia, there I hear about you. I go somewhere else, I hear about you. The trumpet apparently was blown quite loudly, very intensely. Paul could hear it all over that section as he would carry out his missionary journeys.

Now, what in particular was sounded forth—and this is really interesting—for "the Word of the Lord," look at the text, "has sounded forth from you, not only in Macedonia and Achaia, but also in every place." Now, what was the particular note that was sounded? Here it is: "your faith toward God has gone forth." Amazing. Wherever Paul went, he heard the report that these people had become indeed true, genuine, authentic believers in the living and true God, and in His Son, Jesus Christ.

Paul said, from this place has gone out the Word of the Lord, and the message that you people, who were idolaters, have become believers in the true and living God, the only God. And the report was so widespread, so powerful, he concludes that verse by saying, "so that we have no need to say anything." We have no need to say anything. In other words, the Word of the Lord sounded forth from you comprehensively. I don't need to add anything to your witness, and when I come into a new town, I don't need to tell them what wonderful things God had done in Thessaloniki. The reports beat me there.

You will find several times in the book of Acts that Paul and his companions, when they were making their rounds of the churches, would report what God had done among the Gentiles. But he said, I didn't need to make a report. I didn't need to do anything like that. I go there, I stand up in the assembly, and one of the elders perhaps recognizes me, and I say, I'd love to tell you people what God has done in Thessaloniki. They say, well, sit down Paul, we've already heard it. No need to say anything. I don't need to say anything, anything. The report has preceded me. Everywhere I go, the message has gone out.

So in verse 8, you have this fact established that from the center, that center at Thessaloniki, the Word of the Lord has sounded forth like a clarion trumpet.

By way of application, mark it down, beloved. You can mark it down. A transformed people, a genuinely transformed people, genuinely saved people, transformed by a saving reception of the gospel, will always become a testifying people. Always. If you know the Lord, it's in your heart to make the Lord known. You wrestle, you struggle, you become timid at times, you fight the good fight, but it is in your heart so that transformed people become testifying people.
And he says, this was on display in the church at Thessaloniki. They received the word, then they sounded forth the word. They didn't receive it and keep it to themselves. They received it and they sounded it forth. Now verse 9 answers the question, what was the manner in which this word of the Lord was sounded forth? The manner of the sounding forth, verse 9, he tells us there that their witness was demonstrative. Their witness was demonstrative. Their witness says something not only about the work of God in them, but about God's work that had come to them. It says something about Paul. It says something about his missionary theme. It says something about the legitimacy of the work that God had done in and through him.

Look at verse 9: "For they themselves report about us." They're giving a report about you, but as they give a report about you, what's also happening? They are reporting about us—what kind of an interest we had with you and how you turned to God from idols to serve a living and true God and to wait for His Son from heaven, whom He raised from the dead, Jesus, who rescues us from the wrath to come." What had come out of Thessaloniki spoke of what had arrived in Thessaloniki.

They are an evangelistic people. They are an evangelistic people. This is an evangelistic church, and again I say, beloved, a transformed people become a testifying people, and the reality of their transformation on display in the reality of their witness, the reality of their testimony, as they're spreading the word of God faithfully, vibrantly, expansively, comprehensively, it all becomes demonstrative of what had come to Thessaloniki with Paul and his missionary team.

How do the Thessalonians testify to the legitimacy, the genuineness, the trustworthiness of Paul's ministry? By the very change that God had wrought in their lives, and I want us to see this. This is quite important. It's not just their message, the word sounded forth, but it wasn't without being accompanied by something else. It's the transformation of them, their lives, accompanied by that radical transformation.

Paul says, the message of the Lord has sounded forth from you, not only in word, but also by the powerful eloquence of your transformed lives as a result. For he says, wherever we go, this is what we meet. In Macedonia, Achaia, every place, your faith toward God has gone forth, not just your message about God, not just the fact that you're teaching people about Him and pointing to Him, but your faith toward God has gone forth as well. So that the manner in which the Gospel or the word of God, the word of the Lord, to use the term here in verse 8, has sounded forth from this church was not just verbal communication of the Gospel, but it was also accompanied by this powerful eloquence of transformed lives, always.

And there is a great theological or what we might call doctrinal lesson here for us, and it is this: mark it down, don't forget it, put it down, saving faith is inseparably joined to true repentance.
 
Let me say that again, saving faith is inseparably joined to genuine repentance, true repentance.

Notice carefully the connection, and it's here in the word of God. Verse 8, it says, "Also in every place your faith toward God has gone forth." What has gone forth was that these people had become believers in the true God. Now, how did people describe their faith? Verse 9: "For they themselves report about us what kind of an entrance we had with you, and how you turned to God from idols to serve a living and true God and to wait for His Son from heaven." Verse 8, "In every place your faith toward God has gone forth." Verses 9 and 10 describe that faith as a faith that produced something. Produced what? Look at it—a turning to God from idols to serve the Lord and to wait for His Son from heaven, indicating that in the thinking of these people, there was an inseparable relationship between saving faith, faith toward God, and true repentance, turning from idols to serve the living and the true God.

Do you have faith in God? You can sit here and say, oh, I believe in God. Do you have faith in God? You know, that's sort of—let me say this—that's a sort of an anemic phrase in our day, unfortunately. It's an anemic phrase in our day. You know, everybody, oh, I have faith in God, sure, sure, I have faith in God, of course, of course I have faith in God. Do you have faith in God? Let me say it again. Do you truly have faith in God?

Listen, if it's biblical faith, biblical faith in the biblical God, then these things will be just as true of you as they were of the Thessalonians. If your faith toward God is that faith, which is the gift of God, spoken of in Ephesians 2, then the report should go out from you that you too have turned to God from your darling idols to serve the living and true God and to wait for His Son from heaven. For true faith is inseparably joined to biblical repentance.

Conversion, true conversion, involves a turning. Always. Notice, notice verse 9, how Paul puts it—how you, what? Turned. Turned. Epistrephō is the verb, and it's a powerful word, which means to turn around, turn completely around—not just a little bit here, a little bit, no, no, it's a turning around. It means to turn around in the opposite direction. Like if you're going downtown, but you're going 404 north, you're going the wrong direction. Repentance is when you actually exit and take southbound 404 towards DVP. You can't be going northbound and say, you know, “oh, I'm so sorry, I feel horrible. I feel horrible. I'm going to be late, and I know I'm going the wrong direction. I feel terrible.” But you keep on going north. You have to exit, and you have to turn around. You have to turn around. It means to turn around in the opposite direction.

Their lives had been turned around by the power of the Gospel of the Lord Jesus Christ. And I want us to see this, how the word, this word, is used in the scripture, used physically in the scripture, and you get a sense of the meaning. Mark 5:30. Mark 5:30. You remember one time Jesus was going through a crowd of people, and a man named Jairus came up to Him and said, my daughter, Lord, my daughter is at the point of death. Would You come and heal my daughter? And she will live. Jesus said, I will. I will come, yes.(Mark 5:22-24) And it was so tight, packed around Him, that He began to walk through the crowd, could barely get through the crowd of people.

And you remember how that woman with the issue of blood reached out, and just, she was desperate for the tip of the hem of His garment, and touched Him. And the Bible says, verse 30, "And immediately Jesus, perceiving in Himself that the power proceeding from Him had gone forth, what did He do? Epistrephō. Same verb. turned around in the crowd and was saying, 'Who touched My garments?” Same word. So Jesus stopped in His tracks. He was going in this direction. He stopped, and He turned completely around in the opposite direction. This is precisely the word, Epistrephō.

1 Thessalonians 1:9. Use that word. Same word. Paul uses it under inspiration, when he says, how you turned. How you turned. "You turned to God from idols"—your life was dramatically changed. This verb, Epistrephō, also is in the Aorist tense. And if you're familiar with the Greek language at all, you will see that this is very precise language, and far more precise than our English language, especially when it comes to verb tenses. And this is an Aorist tense verb, which indicates that this turning was an immediate, decisive change. It was definitive. It was decisive. It was life-altering encounter. They turned.

Conversion, beloved, always involves a complete change over. Complete change. Here's the word that we can use, really, to describe this turning around. It was a radical change. Radical change. Let me put it this way: God never half-saves anyone. Never, never, never, never. Conversion is not the turning around of an 18-wheeler in a tiny area, where you can't turn completely around. Conversion is the turning around of a, maybe, smart car, where there's plenty of room for that life to be turned around.

Conversion involves the changing of the entire person at the deepest level. It involves a change of mind. It involves a change and a turning of the heart. It involves the turning of the will. All three. Not one, not two out of the three, but all three. All of me. The entirety of the person's innermost being is turned in conversion. Their mind is turned from one way of thinking, the worldly thinking, to another way of thinking, a Gospel way of thinking. Their heart is turned from simply being cold and apathetic to now being broken and sorrowful over sin. And there's a turning of the will, a decisive dramatic change of the inner person that affects a turning of the outward life. It's radical transformation.

So it's a turning of the mind, the emotions, the will that results in the turning of the outward life, the direction of the life, the conduct of the life, the conversation of the life. You turn the heart, you turn the life. Right? The Bible says, "As a man thinks in his heart, so is he." The essence of any person's existence is what they are in their heart and in their soul, for out of the heart, Jesus says, "proceeds the issues of life." Conversion is a turning of the heart that in effect turns the entirety of life. The entire life is turned around.

And I want to say to us this evening that you cannot be converted without your entire life being turned. This is not perfection, but this is a complete radical change of direction. Total radical change in a person's life that turns them in a new direction.

Come with me to 1 Corinthians 6. I want us to see an example of this. 1 Corinthians 6. Oh, this is, beloved, very important. 1 Corinthians 6. We'll start with verse 9, that familiar portion of God's Word: "Or do you not know that the unrighteous will not inherit the kingdom of God? Do not be deceived; neither the sexually immoral, nor idolaters, nor adulterers, nor effeminate, nor homosexuals, nor thieves, nor the greedy, nor drunkards, nor revilers, nor swindlers, will inherit the kingdom of God. And such were some of you, but you were washed, but you were sanctified, but you were justified in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ and in the Spirit of our God."

This is who you were, but you're no longer that. Something dramatic took place. There was a radical transformation. There was a turning around in the opposite direction. What this is saying is that there's no way that someone can continue down that path as a pattern—all those sins and any sin, as a matter of fact—and can say, I'm a Christian, and not have their life dramatically turn around.

You cannot come to Christ and not be changed, for if you truly come, you will be a new person. It's not a decision that's just an empty decision. It's a life-changing encounter with a living, risen person, the Lord Jesus Christ. That's what conversion is.

So let me ask you before we move on tonight, has your life been changed? Has your life been changed? You say you're a Christian, has your life been changed? You see, every single one of us ought to have our autobiography in two volumes—two volumes—and volume number one is B.C., before Christ, and at the moment of conversion, that starts volume number what? Two, and you become a new person in Christ, and there's a new nature, new heart, new disposition, new ambitions, new desires, new direction.

"Behold, if any man be in Christ, he is"—what?—"He is a new creation; the old things have passed away; behold, new things have come." Not just the temporary laying aside for a couple of weeks where you will pick it up again later on when it fades away. No, no, passed away. New things have come.

And this is not to say that we do not wrestle with temptation. This is not to say that there will not be entangling sins and besetting sins that we have to battle with day in and day out by the grace of God, but we are fighting from victory, not for victory, because we are no longer under the dominion of sin. What the Scripture is saying loud and clear, there will be a turning.
Now, let's go back to our passage, and let's now break these things down briefly. Turning, number one, turning to the living God in faith—this repentance, this turning around, turning to the living God in faith—meant, first of all, according to verse nine, a turning away from all false gods. When you turn to God, you're turning, inevitably, from other things, and Paul says turning to the living God in faith meant, first of all, according to this verse, a turning away from all false gods.

Verse nine: "For they themselves report about us what kind of an entrance we had with you, and how you turned to”- from-” how you turned to God from idols.” When the apostle Paul went into a pagan situation, he didn't have this idea that, well, you know, we must be careful. We must not disturb the existing structures. You just can't go in and just be negative. We must go in and be positive, right? And so I'll just go in with a nice, sweet, positive approach, and I'll so enamor these people with the truth that just by some automatic process, their false gods, and the rest will just kind of drop off.

Paul didn't have that philosophy of ministry. Actually, it's not even a philosophy of ministry. That's the philosophy of much, what passes in the name of Christ in our day, but when he went into a pagan situation where there was idolatry, what did he do? Well, what did he do? Well, we know. We know from the analogy of Scripture.

Turn with me to Acts 14. Acts 14, we have a clear answer to that question, and no doubt he probably did the same thing here because that's the pattern. That's his approach. Acts 14, verse 15. Here these people were about to worship Paul and Barnabas, in fact, gave them names after several of their Greek gods, but back up to verse 14, Acts 14:14: "But when the apostles, Barnabas and Paul, heard of it, they tore their garments and rushed out into the crowd, crying out and saying, crying out,”-verse 15- “and saying, Men, why are you doing these things? We are also men of the same nature as you, proclaiming the gospel to you that you should turn from these,”- what?- “Vain things.” mataios, empty. Puff of wind, chasing the wind, pursuing one's own shadow. That's what the word means. You should turn from these vain things to a living God, who made the heaven and the earth and the sea and all that is in them.

He came with a very negative message. He said, we have to come and tell you and to preach to you that you should turn from these vanities. Turn your back upon all of them and acknowledge the true and the living God and approach Him through His Son, the Lord Jesus Christ, and apparently there was the substance of Paul's message to the greater body of the Gentile community at Thessaloniki. This was his message there.

Acts 17 gives us the record of his initial evangelism amongst the Jews and the proselytes in the synagogue. But here from this context in 1 Thessalonians, the text that we're studying, we see that there was this idol worship and that their faith in God, being inseparably joined with true repentance, meant in the first place a turning away from every single false idol.

So I want to ask a very simple question this evening. Have you professed faith in the living and true God? You say “yes.” Wonderful. Has your professed faith in the living and true God been attended with a turning away from every false god? Oh, but you say we aren't idol worshipers. Aren't we? What is an idol? Any person or thing that is set up in the place of the true and living God as revealed in Scripture, that is revered, that is worshiped, that is served, that is honored.

And you don't need to frame your idol in wood or jade or stone. You don't need to shape him with a hammer and chisel. All you need to do is concoct a god out of the stuff of your own imagination, a god of your own making, and out of the prejudices and predisposed notions of your friends and peers and worship that god. That's idolatry. The greatest of all of those idols is the idol itself. And I'm convinced that great segments of professing Christendom are nothing but refined idolatry.

For the moment you begin to declare what the Scripture says about God, that He is the God Who sits upon the throne of absolute sovereignty, Who does according to His will in the armies of heaven and earth, they say, no, no, no, no, no, no, no. My God's not like that. Well, who is your god then? The minute you begin to declare the God of the Bible, that He is the God revealed in this very passage who has reserved wrath for all of His enemies and Who will punish them with everlasting destruction in a place called hell, people say, no, no, no, no, no. My God wouldn't send people to hell. Who is that god then? Who is your god? He's an idol. He's not the living and true God.

For the God revealed in Scripture is the only true and living God. And He's the God revealed as the absolute Sovereign, the judge of the universe, and as the God who will punish with everlasting destruction those who defy His rule, who reject His Son. “I don't know, but my God is not that exclusive. You know, Jesus, I'm the way, the truth, all, there are other roads. I mean, there are sincere people all around the…”-Then you're worshiping an idol.

Have you turned from idols to the living and true God? Or is your god simply the concoction of your own theories about Him? Maybe your sweet, old Sunday school teacher's theories—who knows nothing about God, who knows about Christ, but doesn't know Christ—and the world's ideas about Him. All sort of, you know, meshed together, thrown together so that what you have is like Aaron when he gave into the demands of the people and said, "Tear off the gold rings which are in the ears of your wives, your sons, your daughters, bring them to me." And they threw it all into a pot and then came out and was shaped into the golden calf and the product of all of their contribution of the people of Israel.

Is that your god? Just a product, the sum total of the contributions of your thoughts and your pseudo-Christian parents, perhaps thoughts of professing Sunday school teachers, or is He the God revealed in the Word of God? So I ask again, have you turned, apo-from. Apo- literally away from? It's a decisive turning away. Apo, of separation. Turning away of location, local separation, departing, fleeing, any kind of separation of one thing from another by which the union or fellowship of the two is destroyed, one Greek lexicon puts it.

If your faith is genuine—genuine faith—it's been inseparably joined to true repentance. And the first element of repentance, or the elements of the first elements of repentance are these: turning away from all false gods and a turning to the living God. And I love that, turning to the living and true God. You see, you turn from, but you're turning to. We're called out from the world, but we're called out too. We're holy, saints, meaning separated ones, separated from, separated unto. It's always like that.

And by the way, this phrase, turning to the living God, is pregnant with meaning. Now, here's the positive aspect of conversion, and it always, always, always, always, beloved, involves a turning to God. Allow me to state the obvious. It's never a turning to religion. It's never a turning to a reformation. It's never a turning to rituals. It's never a turning to a friend. It's only a turning to the living God, the true God.

And in the strictest sense, it's not just a turning to the Word of God, but a turning to the God of the Word through the Word of God. The Word of God points us to the God of the Word. You see, you can have the Bible and not have God, because you can read the Bible for the sake of reading the Bible, but if you read the Bible because you want to meet God, you want to see God, you want to know God, then blessed be God. It's a turning to God.

And I want to comment on this word, too, to God, found in our text. Tiny preposition, familiar with. It's that Greek preposition, pros. The expression itself is pros ton theos . It means, in many contexts, face-to-face with. Intimate relationship. Remember our passage in John 1:1: "In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God." Right? "In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was pros ton theos." Face-to-face with God. It means face-to-face with, in closest, most intimate relationship, in closest fellowship with, and John tells us that the Son of God, God the Son, was in intimate, face-to-face relationship with God the Father. Closest fellowship with God the Father.

It's the same word, pros, used here in 1 Thessalonians 1:9, how you turned pros ton theos. You turned to face-to-face fellowship with God. You entered now into an intimate, personal, loving relationship, and at that moment, you began a sweet fellowship with God. And at the very deep level of your heart, down in your soul, down in your spirit, you were face-to-face with God for the very first time in your life.

Before that, you knew about false gods, idols, and in that moment, when you were introduced to the living God, the true God, you came to really know God. John 17:3: "Now this is eternal life, that they may know You, the only true God, and Jesus Christ whom You have sent." That's what conversion is. It's a turning to God that enters into the deepest, personal relationship with God. Religion is external, relationship is internal, and that's what conversion does.

Come with me to the book of Acts, Acts 9, verse 35. I'm gonna be reading at verse 32, but verse 35 is what I want us to see. Acts 9:32: “Now, it happened that as Peter was traveling through all the regions, all those regions, he came down also to the saints who lived at Lydda, and there he found a man named Aeneas, who had been bedridden eight years, for he was paralyzed. And Peter said to him, Aeneas, Jesus Christ heals you. Rise up, make your bed. Immediately he rose up.”-Verse 35:- "And all who lived at Lydda and Sharon saw him, saw the paralytic,”- and now watch this- “and they turned to the Lord." They turned to the Lord.

Miracles in the New Testament serve to authenticate the message and the messengers, and not to underwrite their financial expenses. Just a side note, every conversion involved a turning. And second, it involved a turning to the Lord, a turning from, turning to.

Acts 11, verse 21. It says in verse 19, they were speaking the word to Jews only, and it says in verse 20, they were preaching the Lord Jesus Christ. Verse 21 says, "And the hand of the Lord was with them, and a large number who believed turned to the Lord." You see, again and again, saving faith is never passive intellectual acknowledgement of some facts. It's always an active, volitional choice of the will by the grace of God, whereby the sinner turns to God and embraces God by faith and receives His Son, the Lord Jesus Christ.

And when Paul says to the Thessalonians, how you turn to God, it speaks about a whole new focus in the direction of their lives. Whereas once their interests, their standards, their morals, their goals, their ambitions, were either framed by their understanding of the wishes of the false god, or by their depraved notions of their own hearts, now their ambitions, their standards, their morals, their conduct, all of life was framed because of this new directive: you turned to God.

Life was now lived in the context of face-to-face relationship with the true and the living God.
It's always one of the attendance of true faith. Your faith toward God has gone forth. Verse nine, “you turned to God from idols,”-and then he says,-”you turned with a disposition not only to receive the benefits of His salvation, but also to submit to the implications of His rule."

Look at it, verse nine: "you turned to God from idols to serve a living and true God." And again, we see here very clearly, true repentance, biblical repentance, authentic repentance, repentance according to Scripture, always, always involves not only a turning away from false gods and all mental allegiance to that god, that false god, but also a turning away from volitional allegiance to the false god, and now the swearing of allegiance to the living and true God.

"You turned to serve a living and a true God." He didn't say you turned to get away from the wrath of the living God, to go scot-free, to do as you please, live your life the way you want to live it, and then at some subsequent point in time, you thought maybe it's nice—a nice idea—that I ought to begin to serve this God. No, no, this is just teaching the basic doctrine of the lordship of Jesus Christ. Being involved in the response of true faith, using different terminology, but the same concept that all true faith in God is inseparably joined to basic subjection of the will to this God.

In fact, the verb translated serve, douleuō, comes from the Greek noun doulos, doulos, which is translated means slave, which means one in this context -biblical context- one who would be willing, or who would willingly, made willing by the grace of God to serve his master. In other words, it's an obedience from the heart. The willing slave is one who could have been set free to do something else, but he chooses—by the grace of God, be compelled—to stay and serve his master out of love and devotion for the master. That's the word used here, but it's in the verb form. So he takes doulos, slave, he turns it into a verb, and he says, you now serve God voluntarily. He's your Master, He's your Lord. You belong to Him, He bought you with a precious price.

Now you serve Him from the heart. You don't need to be manipulated to serve Him. You don't have to have a pep talk to serve God. The Lordship of Christ is so real in your life, and the sacrifice of Christ upon Calvary's cross, so real that there flows out of your soul the desire from the heart to serve Him willingly and with delight. Because of what God has done for you in Christ, you find yourself wanting to invest all of you in serving Him, living for Him, in this life and in eternity.

Child of God, can you relate to that? Does it resonate with you today, the desire to want to serve God? The love of Christ constrains us. I will gladly spend and be spent. I just want to serve Him. I want to live for Him. He's my life. He's not a compartment in my life, He is my life.
It begins a dynamic relationship whereby you invest your life serving others because you serve Christ. You turn from your idols, you turn to God. It's not static position. That's what Paul is saying here, and he describes it in greater detail in Romans 6, verse 17: "But thanks be to God that though you were slaves of sin, you obeyed from the heart that pattern of teaching to which you were given over," and having been freed from sin, you became slaves of righteousness.

"But now having been freed from sin"—he says in verse 22, Romans 6—"and enslaved to God, you have your benefit leading to sanctification, and the end, eternal life." And then he says you turn not only from the false god to the true God, the living God, with a disposition to be submissive to Him.

But notice verse 10, the first part of verse 10: "and to wait for His Son from heaven." And in order to exposit that, you have to also wait until next week, Lord willing. Let's pray.

This is a transcript. It may contain small inaccuracies.

God will be glorified. God will be glorified. He will be glorified because He is worthy of all the glory, every ounce of it. And He will be glorified because He is God. He's sovereign. He's utterly sovereign. He's almighty. And it is His will that no one can thwart—that He will put His glory on display. And so He will be glorified. And His glory He will not give to another. God will be glorified.

Christ said here, “‘It was for this purpose that I came to this hour. Father, glorify Your name.’ Then a voice came from heaven, ‘I have both glorified it and will glorify it again.’" (John 12: 27b, 28) He will be glorified, and He will be glorified whether men wanted Him to be glorified or not. He will be glorified even if all the nations and all their armies were joining together to somehow try to stop it. He will be glorified. And He will be glorified in ways that men would never imagine.

In fact, there are times when God glorifies Himself even in man's desire to refuse to give Him glory. Even in that, He glorifies Himself. God is so powerful, so sovereign, that even from the lips of men who have no desire in their hearts to glorify God, God is able to glorify Himself nevertheless. We saw an example of this, right? In Caiaphas, when he unwittingly prophesied the meaning of the death of Jesus on behalf of the nation.

And I want to suggest that we see another example of that right here in these verses that we have before us that I want us to see this morning. And where we begin this morning is this: the request of some Greeks, or the coming of some Greeks. Let's begin with the coming of some Greeks.

Look at verse 20, "Now there were some Greeks among those who were going up to worship at the feast; these men came to Philip, who was from Bethsaida of Galilee, and began to ask him, saying, 'Sir, we wish to see Jesus.' Philip came and told Andrew; Andrew and Philip came and told Jesus. And Jesus answered them, saying, 'The hour has come for the Son of Man to be glorified.'"

The coming of some Greeks. And as we look at these verses, as I looked at these verses this week, I always begin with some questions. One of the best ways that you could study the Bible is, in dependence on the Holy Spirit, to ask questions. Ask questions.

And the first questions I had were, who were these Greeks? Who are these Greeks? "There were some Greeks among those who were going up," the text says, "to worship at the feast." Who were these Greeks? And the answer is, they were simply Gentiles. They were Gentiles. I make the distinction because these were not Greek-speaking Jews, Hellenistic Jews. These are Gentiles.

The word that John uses under inspiration here is Ἕλληνες (Hellēnes). It's a word that is most often used for Greek people, particularly used even beyond that to Gentiles. There's another word, Ἑλληνιστής (Hellēnistēs), used for the Greek-speaking Jews, translated Hellenist—a Hellenist, a Jew by birth. For example, Acts chapter 6 and verse 1, you see an example of that word being used, but that is not the word that John uses here. The word he uses is Ἕλληνες. It's a word used for Gentiles. These are Greek people.

Well, if these are Gentiles, well, what are they doing at the feast? A Jewish feast. Well, we're told that they went up to worship. And that indicates to us that they were God-fearing Gentiles. They were proselytes. They were worshiping Gentiles—Gentiles who joined themselves to Jews in worshiping the one true God, Yahweh. And so here they are. They've made their pilgrimage to the Passover, and they're there to worship.

Another question: When did this request take place? Where were they when this request took place? Well, we're not told. The text doesn't tell us. John doesn't tell us. He doesn't give us any time indicators here. So it's unlikely this was on the day of the triumphal entry. It's probably the day after or another day after that. It's possible this took place at the temple—perhaps, most likely, even at the court of the Gentiles. We're not told, however.

Another question: Why do they want to see Jesus? Why? They asked to see Him. "Sir, we wish to see Jesus." Why? Why do they wish to see Jesus? I think when you look at the passage as a whole, when you hear the answers that we're going to hear in a moment that Jesus gives, I think it is right to understand that they do have a genuine authority and they do have a genuine, authentic desire—interest, really—in the Son of God. This was an authentic, genuine desire to know Jesus. They have some knowledge of who He is. They've heard something about Him. And they want to meet Him. They want to know Him.

And so even in their request—and we'll get into this in a moment—I think even in their request, there's a foreshadowing of the purpose for which Christ had come into this world. File that for a moment. And so these Gentiles are asking to see the Son of God.

Here's another question: Why do they approach Philip? They go to Philip. Philip goes to Andrew. Together they go to Christ. Well, why did they approach Philip? I mean, it could have been just the fact that he was the one available at that moment. It could have just been, as we would say, you know, accidental that they went to Philip. But we know nothing is accidental.

It's interesting, though, that John tells us—well, why does he tell us that Philip was from Bethsaida? There's a point that he's making under inspiration. It's interesting, though, that John tells us that he was from Bethsaida. And by the way, Andrew is from there as well. James Montgomery Boyce points out that Bethsaida was near a Greek area of the ancient east known as Syrophoenicia. It's all part of the Decapolis, ten cities there that was replete with Gentiles and Greek population. And so it may have been, it's even possible that there was some acquaintance perhaps here, that they knew Philip perhaps.

Now, what we know is that Philip's name is a Greek name, Φίλιππος (Philippos). And Andrew's name is a Greek name, Ἀνδρέας (Andreas), as well. And so it just may be that these men overheard the name. Perhaps they feel an affinity for these men because of their Greek names. Whatever the reason, they come to Philip in a very respectful way. "Sir, we wish to see Jesus." A respectful way that reflects their respect for Philip's master, for Philip's teacher. And so they have a knowledge of His teacher and they have a genuine interest in Christ.

I love what S. Lewis Johnson said at this point. And I agree with him. He said, quote, "I'd like to suggest to you before we go on, that the fact that the Greeks or the Gentiles came to the apostles and said we want to see Jesus, and it's safe to say that it is for spiritual instruction, that that suggests to us the failure of everything that is Gentile apart from Christ." He goes on to say, "I would suggest to you that it suggests the failure of intellect. Remember 1 Corinthians 1:22, Greeks search for what? Wisdom. If these were really Greeks and they were, of course, the thinkers of the ancient age,"—he goes on—"it would suggest the failure of intellect, but at least it would suggest the failure of the intellect of the Gentiles and finding truth. It would suggest the failure of culture, the failure of refinement, the failure of beauty, the failure of wisdom. In fact, the failure of man, the failure of Gentile men to find the answers to the questions of life. Sir, we wish to see Jesus."

The coming of these Greeks. That leads us to a second thing that I want us to see here, the contrast. The contrast with the Pharisees. And this is really amazing. Think about it with me. Think about it with me. One of the things that we notice in the Gospel of John is John is pretty good at time indicators. I mean, over and over again, you'll see things like, and “on the next day”, or as we saw it earlier here in this chapter, “it was six days before the Passover.” Verse 1. John is very good about time indicators, yet he doesn't give us any indication of time here. He doesn't tell us what day it occurred on, doesn't tell us what hour of the day, doesn't even tell us where they were when this occurred.

Well, that says something to us. And I believe what it says to us is that what is utmost in his mind is not the time or the location, but rather something else. There's something else far more significant. It's not the time when this happened. It is the place where John is going to put it in his account under the guidance of the Holy Spirit. Remember, there were many things that occurred during the time that John spent with Jesus that he did not record in this Gospel. Many things, many conversations, many events. In fact, John himself tells us in John 21:25, he says that if I were to put all of what Jesus did and said down, he said that “the world could not contain all the things that he could have recorded.” (John 21:25)

So right away, you know, whatever you find in the Gospel of John, it has a strategic purpose. It's meant to lead us to a right knowledge of Jesus. It's meant to lead us to an understanding of our Savior, of the Savior. He said, I'm writing these things. These are for the purpose that you may know that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of the living God. And knowing this, that you believe in His name.

So what is most important here is not when it occurred, but where John puts it. And notice, you notice he puts it right on the heels of something that the Pharisees said back in verse 19. They said, "You see that you are gaining nothing. Look, the world has gone after Him." The world. The world has gone after Him.

Now, of course, when they say the world, they don't mean the world, the entire world. They're thinking in terms of the response of the Jews as He's making His way into the city of Jerusalem. The triumphal entry, people singing Hosanna. They're singing praises to Christ. And they look at the response of the Jews and they say the nation, that is what they mean. The nation, the entire nation has gone after Him. The world has gone after Him. Everybody is going after Him.

But I want to suggest this morning that by the strategic placement of this account, that John sees in their words—that the Holy Spirit rather sees in their words—again, one of those unconscious statements that means much more than they ever realized, that out of their mouths come words that glorify God, that speak the truth. The world has gone after Him. And right after this, we're told, Greeks, Gentiles, they come seeking to know Him. "Sir, we want to see Jesus.” We wish to see Jesus. There's a contrast.

And the Holy Spirit is presenting us with the irony that is present in the response of these Gentiles to Jesus, compared to the response of the Pharisees. Notice with me, first of all, there's a contrast in attitude. A contrast in attitude. The Pharisees are resentful. They are resistant. They want to eliminate the Lord Jesus. They are defiant. They are hardened. But the Gentiles come on this occasion and they are drawn. They're attracted. They're interested. And they desire to seek out the Lord Jesus, not eliminate Him. They want to know Him. Contrast in attitudes.

There's also a striking contrast in terms of access. Now you know the Pharisees were Jews. To them belonged all the privileges and all the advantages that God in His sovereign plan had provided for that people. Romans 3 verse 1, Paul says, "Then, what advantage has the Jew? Or what is the value of circumcision?" Verse 2, "Great.” This is Paul's response—”great in every respect.” Great in every respect. He says, great in every respect. And then he says this: "First of all”, that is, above all, we talk about their privileges, "above all, they were entrusted with the oracles of God."

The Jews were given divine revelation. The divine revelation of Scripture. So that they had all the prophecies that proclaimed what they were going to see when their Messiah arrives on the scene. They had all that for preparation. And the Gentiles didn't have that. None of it. Romans 9 verse 4 says, "Israelites, to whom belong the adoption as sons, and the glory and the covenants and the giving of the Law and the temple service and the promises." To them belong the patriarchs, verse 5, "whose are the fathers, and from whom is the Christ according to the flesh, who is God over all, blessed forever. Amen."

What divine preparation has been given to these people, so that they may recognize their Messiah when He comes. And yet, yet we see again and again, especially here, despite all of that preparation, all of the privilege, the Pharisees don't know who He is. They don't recognize Him. They don't love Him. They don't submit to Him. They had access to Him, even in terms of His earthly ministry. They had access—in fact, they had amazing access to Him. If they wanted to know Him, they could have easily entreated Him. There were many interactions with them and Jesus. They could have easily spent time with Him. They could have easily asked Him questions.

In fact, notice how Jesus Himself puts it in Mark 14, when Jesus is being arrested, verse 48. You read the following, Mark 14, verse 48, “And Jesus answered and said to them, ‘Have you come out with swords and clubs to arrest me? As you would against a robber?’” Verse 49, “‘Every day I was with you within the temple teaching and you did not cease me, but this has taken plan in order that the scripture would be fulfilled.’”

Jesus says, Was I not with you every single day? Didn't you have access to me every single day? Wasn't I in the temple teaching, and you every day? I mean, what amazing access the Jews had to Him. What amazing privilege the Jews had. And yet, they don't see Him. They don't see Him. They don't recognize Him.

And yet, here are these Greeks, Gentiles, who had none of this, none of these advantages by birth. In fact, they had to request to meet Him. And here's another evidence that they were indeed Gentiles. You notice the hesitancy on the part of Philip. Philip says, let me go and talk to Andrew. Maybe he was the head deacon, I don't know, or usher. And Philip and Andrew go to Jesus. Here are people who, when they wanted to worship the true and living God, didn't have the same access in the temple area that the Jews had. I mean, after becoming a proselyte, even after a circumcision, there was, what? A section dedicated to what? To Gentiles who actually become God-fearer. It's called the Court of the Gentiles. And there's that partition wall, that wall of separation between the two. They didn't have the same access.

So there's this contrast in attitude. And what makes the attitude contrast so amazing is that there's this contrast in privilege. This contrast in access. This contrast in terms of availability and familiarity with that which should make someone receive Jesus. And the Pharisees had it all. All of it. And they missed Him. They completely missed Him. The Gentiles had little. And they desperately seek Him. They seek Him.

You know, beloved, we see the same sort of amazing thing in salvation history throughout, don't we? We see it to our own day, even. You'll see people who are raised around the gospel all their life. They hear it all their life. They're surrounded by the gospel. They hear it inside their homes. They hear it inside the church, the Sunday school, kids camp, and Christian schools. They're surrounded by the gospel. And yet, they do not come to the Savior. They miss Him.

And then there'll be someone who had very little privilege in terms of familiarity with the gospel and being trained up in the arena of sound doctrine, and they hear the gospel. And the Lord saves them. And what is God doing when He does this? You know, He's reminding us that He saves sinners. He saves sinners. And He's not limited either, is He? He can save them in strange places. There's been people saved sitting in weak, anemic churches and the Lord just in His grace and mercy visits them and saves them. In fact, there are people sitting here this morning who were saved in churches that they would never sit in today, but the Lord saved them. The Lord is a Savior.

So you have a contrast in attitude, you have a contrast in access. There's another contrast here that's being put before us. There's a contrast in terms of the ages. Contrast in terms of the ages. That is, there's a new age about to dawn as Jesus speaks His words here, a new era, a new time in terms of the working out of God's salvation purpose. God is about to turn from Israel to the nations. He's about to set the nation of Israel aside for a time. God is about to bring about a new thing. God is about to do something new. Jesus is going to build His church and that church will mean the inclusion of the Gentiles. And very soon the Lord is going to build His church and in that church Jew and Gentile will stand on equal footing at the foot of the cross.

I said that in verse 19 you have words that mean more than they knew. “The world”, they say, “is going after Him.” And here right after those words you have what is a foreshadowing of the coming of the world to Christ, the coming of the Gentiles to Jesus. Do you realize, beloved, that we're living in a new age? We're living in a new age. Do you realize that we are living at the end of the ages? 1st Corinthians 10:11. “Now these things happened to them as an example, and they were written for our instruction, upon whom the ends of the ages have arrived.” We're living in a distinct time.

Turn with me to Romans 11. Romans 11. Romans 11 speaks of this. Look at verse 7 now. "What then? What Israel is seeking, it has not obtained, but the chosen obtained it, and the rest were hardened; just as it is written, 'God gave them a spirit of stupor, eyes to see not and ears to hear not, down to this very day.'” And David says, “'Let their table become a snare and a trap, and a stumbling block and a retribution to them. Let their eyes be darkened to see not, and bend their backs forever.'"

I say then, did they stumble so as to fall—notice this national rejection, not every single Jew rejected Christ, the elect were saved, but you look at the nation of Israel as a whole and they rejected their Messiah—and what does that mean in terms of the future? Paul asked the question in verse 11, what does it mean in terms of the future? He says, "I say then, did they stumble so as to fall?” That is, is God completely done completely finished with a national ethnic Israel? And what's the answer he gives? The strongest negative reply in the Greek language μὴ γένοιτο (mè genoito) “May it never be! But by their transgression salvation has come to the Gentiles, to make them jealous. Now if their transgression is riches for the world and their failure is riches for the Gentiles, how much more will their fullness be!"

How much more will their full inclusion mean? This is a time we're living in right now, the time of the Gentiles. God is—God is is gathering in Gentiles through the preaching of the gospel in great numbers. Jews are being saved in small numbers. You go back to the Old Testament, Jews were saved in great numbers, Gentiles were saved in small numbers. We're living in a distinct, different age. But this age will come to an end, and when it comes to an end, there's going to be a great salvation work of God in the nation of Israel, and there's going to be a full inclusion. God is going to do this.

Look at verse 13, "But I am speaking to you who are Gentiles in as much then as I am an apostle of Gentiles, I magnify my ministry, if somehow I might move to jealousy my fellow countrymen and save some of them. For if their rejection is the reconciliation of the world, what will their acceptance be but life from the dead?"

It looks like the nation of Israel, from the standpoint of salvation, it is dead right now—dead. But God is able to bring about a resurrection, and He's going to do it because He promised it, and God will never rescind His promises. Never. But right now, you see what it means is the reconciliation of the world. Paul tells us their rejection is the reconciliation of the world. God is reaching right now Gentiles for His Son in great numbers, and beloved, that is what is in view here. There's this foreshadowing of it right here by the coming of these Greeks, these Gentiles, to Jesus back in John 12.

And one of the ways that we know that we're understanding this correctly is how Jesus responds to their request. Now think about it, this is fascinating. Is it not a strange response? "Sir, we wish to see—to see Jesus." Philip says, well, let me look into this, let me look into this. He talks to Andrew. Philip and Andrew go to Christ. They inform the Lord that these Greeks want to see Him, they want to meet Him. Now, you might think that the Lord would say, well, go back and take with you enough supply of the Four Spiritual Laws and give them to them. No. Or you might think that He would say, well, of course, you know, bring them in, let's set an appointment to meet them—9, 10, 11, whatever the case may be.

Well, the interesting part is that John, under inspiration, really never tells us whether they saw Him or not. That's not recorded here for us, at least. He doesn't even record that. Why? That's not the matter of interest here. That is not the matter of interest. That's not what's important here. He doesn't tell us whether they they ever got to see Jesus or not. What does he tell us? He tells us of an unexpected response. He tells us about an unexpected response.

I mean, think about it. If a friend comes to you and says, well, there's a Greek person who wants to meet you, would you like to see—to see him? Well, you'd have usually one of two responses: "No, I'm not—I'm not seeing Greeks, I'm not seeing anyone." That's one response. The other would be, "Yes, bring him in, let's meet him." But you don't find either of those here. Interesting. Not a no, not a yes. What you have is a theologically significant response. That's a theologically significant response. His reply reflects a profound impression made upon Him by this request from the Greeks, and this signals something in the Lord Jesus.

Look at verse 23. "Jesus answered them he answered Philip and Andrew saying, 'The hour has come for the Son of Man to be glorified.'" What's the connection? If we were to put another heading in our outline, we'll say the connection—the coming, the contrast, the connection. The connection. What's the connection between their request and what He says, "The hour has come"? Well, what is the hour of which He speaks here? We've come across this expression, right? The hour. The hour has come. What is this hour? It's the hour of His death. It's the hour of His death. It's the time for the death of the Lord Jesus Christ. It's the time for His arrest, His trial, His crucifixion, His burial, His resurrection, His appearance, and ultimately ascension, and then the preaching of the gospel to the world. The hour has come. His hour has come. The time for which He has come into the world has finally arrived.

Verse 24, "Truly, truly, I say to you, unless a grain of wheat falls into the earth and dies, it remains alone; but if it dies, it bears much fruit." Verse 27, "Now My soul has become dismayed; and what shall I say? 'Father, save Me from this hour'? But for this purpose I came to this hour. Father, glorify Your name." Verse 31, "Now judgment is upon this world; now the ruler of this world will be cast out." Verse 32, “‘And I, if I am lifted up from the earth, will draw all men to Myself.’ But He was saying this to indicate the kind of death by which He was about to die.”

What is this hour? Well, it is the hour of His death. It's the hour of the cross. It is the purpose for which He has come into the world. And He says that when He is lifted up from the earth, He's not just going to save some Jews, but all people are going to be drawn to Himself. That's the connection between their question—the question of these Gentiles—and His response. He's seeing already what is going to come to pass after He's accomplished what He has to accomplish in order to save sinners, the likes of us.

More than once in the Gospels we have found that it wasn't His hour yet. You remember that, right? Back even in the Gospel of John, back in chapter 2, when He performed the first sign, the changing of the water into wine, when the wine ran out, the mother of Jesus said to Him, "They have no wine." And Jesus said to her, ‘Woman, what does that have to do with us? My hour has not yet come.’" Chapter 7, verse 30, "So they were seeking to seize Him; and yet no man laid his hand on Him, because His hour had not yet come." Chapter 8, verse 20, "These words He spoke in the treasury, as He was teaching in the temple; and no one seized Him, because His hour had not yet come."

Now comes this request from the Gentiles, and He says in verse 23, "My hour is here." My hour is here. He also says here, "The hour has come for the Son of Man to be glorified." The Son of Man to be glorified. How is the glorification going to take place? What is the glorification of which He speaks? He's going to be glorified at the cross, through the cross. That which was an instrument of shame would be to Him an instrument by which all men would be drawn to Himself. The Son of Man is going to be lifted up from the earth. He's going to be glorified on a tree. It would allow His glory to be put on display, to be seen by men.

You even get a picture of that at the cross, at the foot of the cross. Mark 15:39, “When the centurion, who was standing right in front of Him, saw the way He breathed His last, he said, ‘Truly this man was God's Son.’"

His glory on display. He's going to be glorified at the cross, but He's also going to be glorified in what we have a foreshadowing of here. He's going to be glorified by the world coming to Him. Verse 32, He says, "And I, if I am lifted up from the earth, will draw all men to Myself."

And we'll get to this portion at some point, but only to say this: that does not mean every single individual. When He says "all men”, Πᾶς (pas), the context is very important. The analogy of Scripture is really important, and we see that word used with different meanings. This is not "all" meaning every single individual. "All" doesn't mean all without exception, but rather all without distinction. "All" doesn't mean every single person. He means all peoples, all in terms of national distinctions, all in terms of racial distinctions, all the world, all people will be drawn to the Son of God from every tribe and tongue and nation. The mission for which Christ came to the world was a global mission.

Why does He express this in association with their requests? Because even in this request you have a foreshadowing of the nations that would come to know God as a result of the death that He was about to die. If He doesn't die, there will be no fruit. But if He does die, many will be saved, and there will be a great harvest.

We're reminded, aren't we, that the only, that only the crucified Savior—only the crucified Savior—saves. Only the crucified Messiah can save. The example of Christ does not save. The example of Christ does not save people. You can preach the Word of God and say, "Now you do like Jesus did," and nobody's ever going to be saved. You can't, first of all, and second, that is not why He came. He didn't come just to give you and me an example of how to live. And the teaching of Jesus Himself—the teaching of Jesus—unless the teaching of Jesus leads you to Him as Savior, as Lord, will not save you. He didn't say, "I will show you the way." He said what?, "I am"—I am—"the way." I'm the way to God, and apart from Me there is no way. There is no access to God. No, it's not the example of Christ that saves. It's not the teaching of Christ that saves. It is the death of Christ that reconciles the world to God.

The Son of Man, He says here in verse 23—”the Son of Man”, messianic term found in Daniel 7. They're familiar with that passage, no doubt. This vision in Daniel 7—you remember, the Son of Man comes, He has power, dominion, authority, and He crushes all His enemies, and He sets up His kingdom. And we read in Daniel 7:14, "And to Him to the Son of Man the Son of God was given dominion, glory, and a kingdom, that all the peoples, nations, and men of every tongue might serve Him. His dominion is an everlasting dominion which will not be taken away; and His kingdom is one which will not be destroyed."

So when they hear that, I I suppose there was there must have been some excitement, some exuberance. But then He gives them this illustration that we will look at next time, Lord willing—this analogy "Truly, truly, I say to you” and this must have been shocking to hear “truly truly I say to you unless a grain of wheat falls into the earth and dies, it remains alone; but if it dies, it bears much fruit." What does that mean? I mean, we have in our mind Daniel 7. Why are you talking about death?

Before we press on with the application, just a couple of side quick side notes that have their own application as well. Would you notice with me how God uses common temporal associations to advance His glory? Common temporal associations to advance His glory. God is God uses that. In other words, Philip and Andrew got to be used by the Lord to bring this whole account about. The fact that these men lived near to an area where Gentiles lived—they were from where? Bethsaida. That's not there for no reason. The fact that they lived in an area close to Gentiles, where Gentiles lived, the fact that their names were Greek and invited this—this sort of approach—this, beloved, I submit, was used by God to bring this request to Christ and thus to glorify the Son of God.

But Philip and Andrew, mark it down, never aimed at that, did they? We don't find anything that tells us this in the text, that they aimed at that. They didn't. They didn't say, "Well now, hey brother, we've got—you and I have Greek names, we come from Bethsaida, we need to really be on the lookout for Greeks." No, they didn't aim at it. They're just being themselves for Christ. They're just being themselves for Christ. They're just out there living for Christ, and God used these temporal associations that He brought about to advance the glory of His Son. They did not aim at it. They just lived for Christ.

And we're living in a day, beloved, when everyone is wanting to separate the church, break us out into our distinctions, and magnify the distinctions instead of magnifying the oneness—one family, one name by which we're called. In fact, one race of men redeemed—redeemed, that's it.

Do you realize that there are only two races of men on the face of the earth? In Adam or in Christ. In Adam or in Christ. There's nothing else in between. Are you in Adam or are you in Christ? Are you in the first Adam or are you in the second Adam, the Lord Jesus Christ?

Now, you may happen to be Italian, you may happen to be Irish, you may happen to be Chinese or Greek or Egyptian, and that doesn't mean that you've got to start a ministry for wherever you come from. It means you live for Christ. And if God is pleased to use that for His name, guess what? He's going to use it. He's going to use it. But you don't aim at it as your purpose, that you just live for Him.

And you know, someone comes and says, "Well, you know, I was raised on a farm. Maybe we ought to start a farmer's fellowship for Christ." Or, "You know, I enjoy hockey. Maybe we ought to start a hockey fellowship for Christ." Beloved, you don't find anything like this in the New Testament. Nothing. Absolutely nothing. You just live for Christ. And if He wants to use those temporal things in your life to draw others to Himself, guess what? He's going to do it.

Another important note is how God is working out a salvation plan that spans across all human history. And there are certain times for certain things. There are certain times for certain things. Christ has come first to the lost sheep of the house of Israel. But even now, there's beginning to dawn this new age when God would gather in the Gentiles in great, great numbers. And you see a foreshadowing of it right here.

Certain times for certain things. So in light of all of this, let me finish this morning with some questions. Listen carefully, beloved.

Question number one. Do you realize that today is a certain time? Do you realize that today is a certain time? Just as surely as God had a plan and has a plan for Israel, and God has a plan for His church, and God has a plan for the time of the Gentiles? Do you realize that today is a certain time in God's sovereign plan? That before the foundation of the world, it was God's plan to have you sitting here in this building this morning hearing this sermon, and He has a reason for it? Do you realize that? Do you live your life with that awareness that things are not happening accidentally, incidentally in your life, but there is a divine purpose for this moment?

And for some of you here this morning, this is God's certain time for you to hear the gospel, to receive the gospel, and to respond savingly to His Son as Lord and Savior if you just hear Him and if you won't harden your heart. "He again determines a certain day,” Hebrews 4:7. “He again determines a certain day “Today”, saying through David after so long a time just as has been said before, 'Today if you hear His voice, do not harden your hearts.'" Today—today. For some here this morning, this could be the day of your salvation. Will you hear the gospel? Will you heed the gospel call? Will you come all the way to Christ? This could be the day of your salvation. Will you come all the way to Christ?

Not enough to come all the way until your toes are right up to the narrow gate. That is not enough. Come all the way to Christ. Enter through the narrow gate. Leave your sin behind, your old life behind, and come through the narrow gate with repentance and faith in the Lord Jesus Christ. And you have to repent, leaving your darling sins behind because the gate is so narrow that you have to come in empty-handed. “Nothing in my hands I bring. Only to Thy cross I cling.”
Will you approach Him the way these Gentiles approach Him? Will you say today, I wish to see Jesus. I wish to behold His glory.

Second, do you realize what mercy we have been shown as Gentiles? Do you realize how mercy—what mercy—we have been shown as Gentiles? How many here this morning, how many of you are a Gentile? You don't have to raise your hand, but you get my point. Anybody here is not Jewish? Do you realize that there was a time when we were without hope, without God in this world as Gentiles? God was dealing primarily with Israel. He always had a plan to reach the world. And even in the Old Testament times, you see pictures of that.

But Paul says in Romans 3, “there is advantage to being a Jew.” To the Jews were entrusted, first above all, the oracles of God. And they were given the adoption, the glory, the covenants, the patriarchs. And through them came the Messiah. But right now, we're living in a time when God has turned His saving attention to the world, to Gentiles. And we're told in the book of Romans that we're not to be puffed up by that. We’re not. We're to be humbled, rather, by that knowledge. Humbled.

I mean, do we look at the unbelieving Israel right now and do we say, oh my, oh my, how foolish they are and how wise we are. Do you understand the only reason you and I are seeing, that we have seen, is God. God. God's saving plan. God's saving grace. His mercy. He planned to save you. That's why you see. That's why I see. So the fact that He's turned for this time to the world and He's gathering in Gentiles in great numbers, that you're among them, that I'm one of these, ought to humble us before God and to say, oh Lord, You have a saving plan that was settled before time and You're working it out. And it's not being thwarted and every one of Your elect will be gathered to Your Son and I'm living in this time when You have turned Your attention to us and You have saved even me. What mercy that is.

Third, do you realize God isn't finished with the Jewish people? God isn't finished with the Jewish people. Do you realize that God does have a saving plan that will be fulfilled that includes salvation coming to national ethnic Israel? And do you glory at the sovereign saving promises of God that they will be fulfilled? Let me put it this way. Beloved, pre-millennialism is taught by Scripture. And it's on the fact that if you take God's word at face value, you have to believe that there is a saving plan that is going to be fulfilled to the Abrahamic covenant and that is going to include salvation for national ethnic Israel. Do you realize that, beloved? Do you glory in that? Do you rejoice in the wisdom of God and how He's working out His saving plans? His promises will be fulfilled—every single one of them.

Have you ever seen the Son of God glorified? Christ said He's going to be glorified. The time has come. The hour has come for the Son of Man to be glorified at the cross, through the cross, and beyond. Have you seen the glory of God's Son at the cross? Do you see the glory of God? What do you see when you see the cross? Do you understand the purpose for it? Do you understand the fullness of it? Do you understand what happened there at Calvary? That there at the cross, on that tree, O child of God, there at the cross, on that tree, you—you were being reconciled to God through the shedding of the blood of the Son of God, the Lamb of God. Yes, it would be brought to you through the preaching of the gospel and the acknowledgement of faith, but it was accomplished there over 2,000 years ago. I could trace my salvation to that tree.

Romans 6. You died with Christ. You were buried with Christ. That's where my sins were paid for. Do you see the glory of God's Son there at the tree? And have you ever seen His glory in your heart, beloved? Because this is how men and women are saved. They see the glory of God in the face of His Son. They understand who Jesus is and why He came to this earth and what He did in His living and what He did in His dying and what was accomplished in His glorious resurrection so that they see Him—they behold Him—they love Him. Sir, we would see Jesus. And that would be the cry of the heart of every single child of God ever since.

Guess what? We have seen Jesus. If we've been saved, we have seen Jesus. We've met Him. We've come to know Him. And we love Him. Is that you this morning? Is that you? Or is all you know is religion? Can I just say there's no one more miserable in this world than someone who only has religion? Miserable. Miserable. And I don't doubt that there's somebody here this morning. If you just can be honest with your own condition, you will have to admit that you really don't have a saving personal knowledge of Jesus. What you have perhaps is a church life. What you have is religion. What you may even have is a Baptist life. But you don't know God. You don't know Jesus.

And that's why you don't have any desire whatsoever for His word. That's why you don't even want to spend a minute of your time in prayer. That's why you never share the faith with anyone—never ever. And that's why you have compartmentalized your life where you come to church on Sunday morning, even Sunday evening, and perhaps even sometimes you might show up to prayer meeting on Wednesday. But the rest of your life is in a different category. And you live your life daily as if Christ doesn't even exist. That is not Christianity. That is not what it means to have eternal life. That is not what it means to be saved.

Beloved, when someone is saved, Christ is not a part of their life. He is their life. “For to me, to live is Christ.” (Philippians 1:21)  He's not on the periphery edges of my life. He is the core of my life. The point of my life. He is at the center of it. He is my life. I live for Him. I live for Him. Do you know that kind of Christianity? Have you ever been saved?

Finally, I must hasten. Do you realize that God's plan is for the salvation of the nations? God's plan is for the salvation of the nations, not every single human being, but every category of human being. Do you realize that? That God has a plan for the salvation of the nations so that you have a burden to see all peoples reached with the gospel for the glory of God?

We're not to be a people, as Christian people, who only have a burden for one person here, one person there. Maybe, you know, my neighbor right beside me. No, no, beloved. We are to realize that we are heavenly citizens and this gospel that we're entrusted with is to go to the ends of the earth, and through our prayers and through our giving and through our activity, we are to desire to see the salvation of all peoples for the glory of God.

And do you realize that whenever salvation comes to a heart, God is glorified? And as His people, isn't that what we desire? For Him to be glorified so that our motivation for evangelism and missions isn't some silly statistic put on a page somewhere for someone to pat us on the back or give us an award. But the motivation for evangelism and missions is that we love God. We love God. We love Jesus Christ, and we want Him to be glorified. And when sinners are saved, He is glorified. And we desire to see Him glorified—not glorified like a rock or tree would glorify Him unconsciously, but glorified consciously from hearts that truly love Him. And that only happens where there's salvation.

Do you desire for your neighbor to glorify God like that? Do you desire for your co-workers to glorify God like that? Do you desire for your mom, your dad, your brother, sister, aunt, uncle, children who are unsaved to glorify God like that? I know this. Unless you glorify Him like that, you don't have any burden for them. How could it be that a so-called Christian has no real burden to share the Gospel with others? How? Answer: they're only a so-called Christian. And I'm not talking about struggling with that desire and being intimidated and praying for boldness and wrestling. I'm talking about no desire whatsoever, no burden whatsoever—ever.

I want to close with Spurgeon concerning the desire to see Jesus, to know Jesus, to love Jesus. Quote, "If Jesus be a soul's desire, it is a blessed sign of divine work within. Such a man will never be content with mere ordinances. He will say, 'I want Christ. I must have Him. Mere ordinances are of no use to me. I want Himself. Do not offer me these. You offer me the empty pitcher while I am dying of thirst. Give me water or I die. Jesus is my soul's desire. I would see Jesus.'"

And then he asked, "Is this thy condition, my reader, at this moment? Has thou but one desire and is that after Christ? Then thou art not far from the kingdom of heaven. Has thou but one wish in thy heart and that one wish that thou may be washed from all thy sins in Jesus's blood? Canst thou really say, 'I would give all I have to be a Christian? I would give up everything I have and hope for if I might but feel that I have an interest in Christ?' Then despite all thy fears, be of good cheer. The Lord loveth thee and thou shalt come out into daylight soon and rejoice in the liberty wherewith Christ makes men free." End of quote.

Next week, Lord willing, we're going to come back and we're going to see that there's no life apart from death. And we're going to see that Jesus takes an analogy, an illustration, and broadens out the application. He doesn't just apply it to Himself. He applies it as well to us. We had to die to live. And even now, we have to die to be used for life. And we'll see that together next Lord's Day, Lord willing. Let's pray.

This is a transcript. It may contain small inaccuracies.

You remember the founding of this church set forth for us back in Acts chapter 17, when in a very brief period of time–possibly just a period of three weeks, a little bit more, perhaps longer–a company of believers was called out by the grace of God and formed this assembly of God known as the Church of the Thessalonians. And in its infancy, Paul had to leave—you remember—that church quickly, knowing and knowing that persecution not only attended him while he was there, but also attended the people of God after he was gone. He's deeply concerned about the state of this infant church under much affliction.

So, Timothy's dispatched to check on them, and then word comes from Timothy that all is well and the work of God is flourishing there in Thessaloniki. And, in his mingled attitude of joy and yet fatherly concern for his church or this church, he writes this letter. Having considered the general introduction and then what we might call the beginning verses in this paragraph of praise—really, for it is nothing short but a paragraph of thanksgiving and praise—we have seen where Paul commends this church for the three cardinal virtues manifested in them as we read in verse 3: remembering without ceasing your work of faith, your labor of love, and your steadfastness of hope.

These things mentioned in 1 Corinthians 13:13, "But now abide faith, hope, love–these three." And these things were manifested in the church and increasing, and Paul delighted to hear that report and he rejoiced in hearing that report and praised God for it. Then he stated in verse 4 that he also rejoiced because not only of something that he remembered, those three virtues which are the work of the Spirit, but because of something he knew—knowing. Not only remembering but knowing as well. Brothers, beloved by God, your election.

And he was confident that they were peculiar—they were the peculiar objects of God's redemptive distinguishing love, the love of God—and that they were also the chosen of God, the elect of God, beloved of God or by God and elect of God. Then he tells us in verse 5 why he's convinced that they were beloved of God and elect. For he says in verse 5, "for our gospel did not come to you in word only, but also in power and in the Holy Spirit, and with full assurance." In other words, he's confident of their election because of their effectual call.

The gospel came not just as a lot of religious verbiage, it came as a powerful transformative word from heaven that laid hold of them and radically transformed their lives. So, as Paul saw the working of God in the effectual call of God, then he was confident of their election, their election of God. Then, this produced many very practical results or fruits. And we are considering those things together now in verses 6 and 7.

And in our last study we looked at the last part of verse 6, which we called one of the first results of the effectual call of God. And what was it? That one of the first results—the first result, one of them—of the effectual call of God, he says, “having received the word in much affliction and with the joy of the Holy Spirit.” Whenever the gospel comes in power, whenever truly the gospel comes in power—the power of God through the Holy Spirit of God—the indication that it comes in power is that men and women receive that Word. And, the word for receive here, you remember, that word is a strong word, ‘dechomai’, which means to receive with a warm welcome, to receive with glad abandonment, to receive and to retain with joy, with delight, with tenacity, with open arm. It's a warm appropriating of the Word. And so the effectual call of God comes to light when men embrace the Word as the Word of the living God and as the Word of their own salvation.

Now, that in turn, will always, always, always, inevitably produce some wonderful things. The gospel comes in power, men receive it, then what happens? What happens? Well, having received it, Paul says there were two wonderful effects from this spirit-wrought reception, ‘dechomai’—this warm welcome, the spirit-wrought reception—two wonderful effects. First part of verse 6, that's the first one: “You also became imitators of us and of the Lord.” And the second one is found in verse 7: “so that you became a model to all the believers in Macedonia and in Achaia.”

Notice now the connection. Trace the connection with me. Verse 5 says, the gospel came in power, they received it. They received that word biblically with welcome, with delight. Even though it meant affliction and opposition, they welcomed the Word gladly. They rejoiced in the Word, in receiving the Word, because the Spirit of God had effectually worked in their hearts. Now, having welcomed the Word, a spirit-wrought reception of the Word then had two blessed effects–verse 6: you became imitators, verse 7: you became a model. You became imitators, you became a model.

So our study this evening—and there's so much meat here for us—our study this evening will be on the theme of the two inevitable effects of a spirit-wrought reception of the Word. The two inevitable effects, and I would underscore the word inevitable. Inevitable effects of a spirit-wrought reception of the Word. Are you receiving the Word? Are you ‘dechomai’ the Word? Have you received the Word? You say, ‘well, yes, I have.’ If so, these two inevitable effects will be undoubtedly true of you.

If we, as a church, have received the Word, if we are receiving the Word every time we meet and hear the Word read and taught and exposited, if we are receiving the Word in all the richness of that biblical meaning of receive, then these effects will be true of us, and should be increasingly true of us the more of the Word we receive as it comes to us in the Holy Spirit.
Very simple. You became imitators. You became models. Simple. So, not only do you have the theme, but also the outline that we're gonna follow this evening.

So, first of all, you became imitators as a result of receiving the Word. You became imitators. Now, what does this word imitators mean? Imitator is a good word. It's a good translation. Literally, the word—the Greek word—we get the English word from it: mimic. Mimic. Mimic. ‘mimētḗs’ is the Greek word. So, we get that word mimic in English. So, we say of someone, oh, look at him, he's mimicking his dad. He's mimicking his dad, or he's mimicking so-and-so. Well, that's the word we use. You also became literally mimics of us and of the Lord.

Now, of course, today, if we use the term mimic, very often we think of it as something perhaps humorous or negative. You know, "Stop mimicking me," kids say to one another. "Stop mimicking me." But it was intended here to be positive, a good thing, a compliment. Imitation is one of the highest forms of flattery, really, and admiration.

Now, what is an imitator? What does it mean to imitate something or someone? An imitator is one who closely observes a fixed pattern of voice, speech, action, or of a certain substance, and studiously attempts to duplicate it. When you speak of imitation vanilla flavor, you expect it to taste like real vanilla bean. If it tastes like cinnamon, you're in trouble. You've missed it. It's poor imitation. Imitation vanilla flavor is supposed to so closely approximate the true thing, so that you won't know the difference, that you won't be able to tell the difference. And when you talk about imitation mink, they take synthetic artificial fur, they dye it, they try to fix it so that to the untrained eye, it looks as close as possible like mink. If it looks like something else, like a fox or a rabbit, you've missed it. You've missed the boat.

You see, imitation has this connotation of, here's a fixed standard, the ideal, and then you're trying to, as closely as possible, to approximate that ideal. You know, in a talent show, you have people who are imitators of popular singers, and it's amazing how some of them can really approximate so closely the real thing, that if they just sang a few bars, you wouldn't be able to tell the difference.

Now, I don't need to press this. I think you've got the idea of the word and its meaning. And Paul said, as Paul said of these people, and he commends them for it. This is a commendation. When the gospel came in power, you received that word, and you received it though there was much affliction that you were enduring. The first effect it had on you was to make you a mimic, to make you an imitator, to bring you into this place where you became involved in seeing a certain standard, and you were determined by the grace of God to approximate that standard as closely as possible by the grace of God and by the power of the Holy Spirit.

Now, of what did they become mimics? That's the next question. Or, rather, more particularly, of whom? Of whom did they become imitators? Well, notice the text. He tells us, you also became imitators–mimics–first of all, of us, of us, and secondly, of the Lord. Now, this is a strange sort of a statement, isn't it? You know why? Because we have been brainwashed by this familiar cliché: We don't put our eyes upon man, we put our eyes upon the Lord. Don't put your eyes upon man, put your eyes upon the Lord.

How often, when faced with inconsistent Christian profession, has this little cliché sort of been a general blanket to cover all forms of ills, lacks, in the professing people of God? Well, God doesn't expect us or ask us to look at men. He tells us, keep your eyes upon the Lord. I think Paul had a different perspective. He's actually commending them for the fact that they did put their eyes on men. And furthermore, they followed men. He's commending them. He's not scolding them here, is he? He's not. He's not scolding them, saying, well, the Gospel came in power, but you Thessalonians botched things up by looking at us. No, no. The text is clear. He says, the Gospel came in power, you received that word, and the first effect was you became mimics of us. You became studious to discover how we walked, how we behaved, how we lived our lives. Then you applied yourself to walk in the ways that we, the servants of God, walked.

So the first object of imitation, or actually I would have liked to title this message, sanctified mimicry, sanctified mimicry. The first object of the sanctified mimicry are the faithful servants of Christ, the faithful servants of Christ. Now notice Paul says, verse 6, “you became imitators of us.” Us, not just me. This is not something peculiar then to apostles, but you also became imitators of us, Paul and Silas, or Silvanus–the ones who were there at the formation of the church. And then he says that the letter comes from him and his associates, Timothy and Silvanus, or Silas. So this idea that we're not to follow men immediately runs aground on this reef of Paul's statement.

Now what is the principle involved here specifically? Why did Paul commend them for being imitators of him and of his associates? Well, the principle is this: man as a creature is an imitative creature. We're made by God and we're imitative creatures. We're imitative creatures. You take our kids. Long before they know how to consciously say, well, so-and-so is doing something this way, I want to do it like them. Well, what? What do they do? They pick up our characteristics. Just like that. We talk about this. We say more things are caught than taught. Right? They mimic us. Your son didn't sit down and say one day, ‘Well, I want to be like my daddy, therefore I'm going to…’ No, no. He didn't say that. But you see, just the presence of another human being. We are imitative creatures and subconsciously we pick up these characteristics and these attitudes as well as habits.

And God, who made us, recognizes this, this imitative quality that is true of all of us and now God, in working His work of redemption, takes into account what man is and how man is. So, as He works out His purposes of redemption, which are not only to bring us into saving relationship with Himself, but to make us like His Son, He uses, He employs this principle that man is an imitative creature and He seeks to teach us what it is to obey Him, to love Him, to serve Him, not only—follow closely—not only by giving us a precept and say, ‘Well, this is what thou shalt do,’ but then by having that precept embodied in a life, a flesh and blood, so that God says, this is what you're to do, but this is what it will mean in actual experience if you do what I've told you.

So that, just as we need the law in its precept form to guide us, so we need the law in its flesh and blood form of actual experience to guide us. Hence, the fellowship of the body of Christ.
Hence, one of the elements that really underscores the importance of the church. What did it mean to love God? These Christians wanted to know. And Paul says, you looked at us and you learned what it means to love God. Well, what does it mean to follow Christ at any cost and be a disciple who counted the cost? Well, he says, you people looked at us and you saw us, you actually saw us being run out of town in the midst of all the jeerings and the pressures and the threats of our very lives and seeing us loving God nevertheless, even if it meant our necks, our lives. You learned something of what it was to love God and not being just simply fair-weather Christians. So the principle that God takes into account in His dealings with His people is this principle here.

Now, having said this, of course we know, and the Scripture is clear, we are not to venerate the faithful servants of God, worship them. We are not to pray to them. We are not to trust in them. He doesn't say anything about, you prayed to us, you trusted in us, you worshiped us. None of it. He said, ‘You mimicked us. You followed us. You followed our example.’

Now, would it shock you if I told you tonight that it's part of your Christian duty and mine to mark the faithful godly saints of God and to studiously seek to imitate their lives? Do you know that's part of your and my Christian duty? You ought to have in your mind faithful saints of God whose walk is a commendable walk, and you ought to be working at imitating their walk before God. This is a Christian duty. Oh, well, you say, isn't that a bit strong statement? Isn’t that heavy-handed?

Well, let's look at several passages together and let's see what God says. Let's see if there are those passages that clearly indicate that this is a Christian duty. Turn with me, 2 Thessalonians, chapter 3 and verse 7. Chapter 3 and verse 7. 2 Thessalonians chapter 3 and verse 7. "For you yourselves know how you”--and what's the next word?--”ought.” Is that a suggestion? Is that a suggestion? Ought. Ought–something you ought to do as a duty. “For you yourselves know how you ought to imitate us.” In the original, it's the same word in verbal form. How you ought to mimic us. You ought to follow us. You ought to imitate us “because we did not act in an unruly manner among you." Verse 9: "not because we do not have the authority, but in order to offer ourselves as a model for you, so that you would”--what?--“imitate us." Paul said the example we set is not to be lightly regarded, but rather it is to be studiously followed.

Then, if you will please turn with me to Hebrews chapter 13. You know that passage. Chapter 13 of Hebrews, verse 7. Hebrews 13 and verse 7: "Remember your leaders, who spoke the word of God to you; and considering the result of their conduct,”--and what's the next word?--”imitate their faith." Imitate their faith. Same word in the original. Mimic their faith. Follow. Imitate their faith.

Now, speaking now not of apostles, but in this context speaking of those who had been spiritual leaders in the assembly there in the church to the Hebrews. Remember them. They've spoken unto you the word of God. Follow their faith. Mimic. Imitate their faith. What does it mean to be a believing man? A believing woman? The Scripture tells us in precept that we are to be believing men and women. Paul says, you look at those people who stood among you, ministered in your midst, and there you see what it means to be a believing person. Now imitate their faith. Mimic their faith.

And then several other passages. I mean, it's not like one or two. 3 John verse 11. 3 John. 3 John verse 11: "Beloved, do not imitate what is evil, but what is good.” And how are we not to imitate what is evil, but to imitate what is good as abstract principles? No. He tells us, “The one who does good is of God; the one who does evil has not seen God. Demetrius has received a good witness from everyone, and from the truth itself.” In verses 9 and 10, he was speaking about the negative example. Speaking of this, “Diotrephes who loves to have the place of preeminence.” He had a disease. This man Diotrephes. He had a big shoddy-itis. He wanted to always feel like he's a big shot in the assembly. And John speaks about his negative example. And then he then follows with Demetrius as a positive example. And in the midst of it he says, imitate not that which is evil, but that which is good. How? In terms of its embodiment in human beings. Don't be a Diotrephes, but rather be a Demetrius. That's what he's saying. So here the command again.

And then of course 1 Corinthians 11 verse 1. 1 Corinthians 11 verse 1. "Be imitators of me, just as I also am of Christ." Be followers. Same word. Mimics. Imitators of me. And one last passage. Philippians 3:17. “Brothers.” Philippians 3:17. “Brothers, join in following my example.” Join in following my example. One word in the Greek. Same word. And then he says, “and look for those who walk according to the pattern you have in us." What a tremendous statement. What a tremendous statement. Look for, ‘skopeo’. It means to spy out. Look intently towards an object. Contemplate. Not just a glance. Contemplate. Give attention to. Mark. Mark those who walk according to the pattern you have in us. Paul says, ‘You look around. You spy out. And look around. And see people who are walking before you as we did. And mark them. And set them there as an example to imitate, to follow.’

Now, how did this idea that we're not to look at men, follow men, ever invade the church the way it did? I thought about this. And I have a sneaking suspicion that the standard of piety, I believe, has been so low, and the standard of practical godliness at such a low end, that we didn't dare hold forth this duty of following the example of the saints of God. And, so, we've covered over our low degree of piety by saying we shouldn't look at man, we should only look at the Lord. And we discover together that this is an unscriptural concept.

It has an element of truth, as we're going to see, but it's been pushed way out of proportion. Paul really gives the balance: "Imitate me, as I imitate Christ." Right? So Paul then commends them, that they became mimics. They became imitators of the faithful servants of God. And then he says in verse 6, back to our text, "and of the Lord." And of the Lord. They became imitators of the Lord Jesus Christ Himself. And of course, He is the only perfect example.

And again, we have been invaded in the church with some really erroneous ideas. Whenever you speak of Christ as our example, immediately, we're traumatized and so we have a knee-jerk reaction. And we react because liberals have had nothing but a Christ who was just an example—nothing more, nothing less. So much so that we've thrown out the baby with the bathwater.

But you see, Jesus Christ is just as much as your example in Scripture as He is your Savior if you're a Christian—and my Savior. They just got—you've got to get the order right. You don't follow His example in order to come into a saving relationship with Him, but coming naked and stripped of any grounds of hope in yourself, and embracing the Lord Jesus Christ in a penitent faith as He's offered in the gospel, He becomes our Savior, our Sovereign. But once He has become our Savior and our Sovereign, He then becomes our example—the perfect example for the child of God. He is the God-man, the perfect man—the perfect man, fully God, fully man.

And, so, the Scripture not only commands us, as part of our Christian duty, to follow the example of the faithful servants of Christ, but it also commands us, as part of our Christian duty, to follow the example of our blessed Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. And here are some scriptures that really underscore that for us. 1 Peter 2 verse 21. 1 Peter 2 and verse 21: "For to this you have been called, since Christ also suffered for you, leaving you an example that you should”–and here it is–“follow in His steps." Follow in His steps. He suffered that He might bring us to God—that's chapter 3 and verse 18—but here this passage says He also suffered to leave an example for the saints of God, that we might know how to walk here on earth in the face of all that we encounter. He left us an example.

And then in 1 John 2:6, 1 John 2:6: "the one who says he abides in Him”--referring to Christ–“ought himself to walk in the same manner as He walked." And of course, Matthew 10:25, our Lord Himself says, "It is enough for the disciple that he become like his teacher, and the slave like his master." The whole concept of Christ being the supreme exemplary figure for the Christian, and that he studiously—the Christian seeks to discover how the Lord Jesus acted and reacted in given situations, and then seeks to imitate—that is a Christian duty, beloved.
And, you see, the difference between that and empty morality is that a Christian—the Christian, the believer, the genuinely saved—imitates from an indwelling power of the Holy Spirit that enables him more and more to be made more like his Savior. Whereas the unregenerate, the religious but lost, in trying to imitate Christ, they try to do it simply going through the motions—sort of like the motions of a puppet. Unreal. They have the semblance of the real thing, but they lack the flow of true life and power.

And, so, Paul commends these people, that they become mimics, that they become imitators of the faithful servants of God and of the Lord Jesus Christ Himself. Now, let me pause here at this point and ask this question in a practical way: How does one do this? How does one do this? Let's get very practical. How do we do this?

Well, the way the Thessalonians became imitators of Paul was what? To watch him. To watch him. If we're going to imitate something, you've got to watch it. If you want to make an imitation mink, you've got to study what a real mink is. If you want to imitate somebody's voice, you've got to listen again and again until you know all things—all things that make, for example, Matt Boswell's voice different from Matt Papa's voice. If they all sound the same to you, you won't be able to imitate with any distinction.

So, our responsibility is to watch the faithful servants of Christ in the Scripture and out of the Scripture. And when you read the biographical section of the Scripture, we are to study these things, not just to know the history—Elijah did this and Elisha did that—but now, how did they act? How did they react in a given situation? And where we see their action and reaction, and their attitude and their disposition, there's the example that we are to follow. And we say, Lord, there's the pattern, but I'm so unlike that. But Lord, by Your grace, help me be like that servant of Yours in a given situation.

You study that. You study the life of the Shunammite woman, and you see her stillness, her steadfastness, that how she did not do in the time of Christ is anything different than what she did when the sun was shining. And you learn. You imitate. This is why you read Christian biography. Wonderful things happen in the reading of Christian biography. Literally, whole nations have felt the impact of, for example, a 300-page book called “The Life and the Diary of David Brainerd”.

It's when Henry Martin, the English missionary, came near to the heat and passion of Brainerd's heart in the pages of his biography, that something was kindled in his own breast that made Henry Martin, with all his brilliance, turn his back on everything else, and his passion was to go out and establish an opening for the kingdom of God in the land of India. John Piper writes concerning the biography of David Brainerd and the impact of David Brainerd. He says concerning Henry, the impact on Henry Martin: "Pursuing the life of David Brainerd, his soul—Henry Martin—was filled with a holy emulation of that extraordinary man, and after deep consideration and fervent prayer, he was at length fixed in a resolution to imitate his example." He goes on to mention different names: William Carey, and Edward, and Robert Morrison, and Robert Murray McChain, and John Mills, and Frederick Schwartz, and many others. And he says, “All of them count David Brainerd a teacher, a model, and stand in awe of him, and find inspiration from him.”

That's the benefit of it, beloved. You see? That's the legitimate use of being a mimic, being an imitator—the faithful servants of Christ. But not only in Christian biography, but here today, as we rub shoulders with our brothers and sisters. You parents, for example—again, this is very practical—you ought to mark those men and women who have, as you're in their presence, a real sense of openness and good communication as husband and wife. Those husbands and wives who apparently, amidst all the problems that you face, they've learned how to communicate together. When they face a problem, they've learned how to ride through storms together and talk out their differences. And you have to get near those people and watch them and see how they operate and imitate them.

Homes that are well ordered, whose children are well disciplined—it didn't just happen. They didn't just go to bed some night with a book under their pillow on how to communicate effectively and influence your kids, and suddenly woke up the next day and their home was well ordered and their kids were well behaved. Didn't just happen. Somebody's sweat, somebody's work, somebody's wrestled with issues and problems and on the knees of prayers.

And Paul says in Philippians 3:17, look for—look for—mark those people, mark those people's walk, and then imitate them. Find out how they do it and imitate them. Mark out where you see a home where there's a beautiful relationship between a husband and wife, and they really have learned the art of communicating together. They move as one. You sense when you're in their presence, though they're two, they're one. They're not just under the same roof, sleeping in the same bed, sitting and eating at the same table—they've been fused together as one. And that doesn't just happen. Look for, watch, watch, and then learn and imitate.

Others in the body of Christ—you look to older, more mature, really, not simply older, but mature men and women in the season of singleness, and you look at their example, and you look at their resolution and how they live their life to the glory of God, devoting their time and energy to the things of God. And you go up to them and you say, ‘I look at your life and I see your devotion in the midst of all of…how do you do it? Because I want to do the same.’

It's obvious. It's obvious when you see those virtues in someone or in a family, that this is the work of God. And you and I are responsible to look for, to mark out godly examples to imitate. Wait a minute. Wait a minute. You're sitting maybe here and thinking, Wait a minute. I have to humble myself and go to someone in the church and say, ‘Look, it's obvious that you. You are walking in the good of the gospel. Or to go to a couple and say, It's obvious that you and your wife have a relationship that me and my wife would like to cultivate. Would you please tell us how you…’—that's why we're here for, beloved. This is the family of God. That's why God incorporates us into the body of Christ, the family of God, that we might help one another.

But, it means that you've got to pull away that mask behind which you live, pull away that facade, and you know you botched it up in your relationship with your brothers and sisters, with your wife, with your husband, with your friend, and you need help. Let us have the humility and sanctified resolve to go and say to godly, faithful Christians, ‘Look, the Bible says mark those that are walking as an example and imitate them. And you've got something that I see—how you carry yourself, how you walk with Christ, how you love Christ, how you serve Christ’ and, if married, ‘how you treat your wife, how you treat your husband’, or ‘in this season of your singleness is an exemplary attitude’, ‘your attitude in the face of affliction is exemplary’, ‘your attitude in the face of sickness is exemplary’. ‘Tell me how you do it. Tell me what you wrestle with. Tell me how you overcome.’

Beloved, is that unreasonable? Or is that a valid application of this scriptural principle? "You also became imitators of us." The principle of following the faithful saints of God. And then he says, you became imitators of the Lord. And how do you do that? Again, let's be practical. How do you become an imitator of the Lord? Well, we've got to get ourselves under conviction, you see. If I'm to imitate the Lord, I've got to know what the pattern is. Well, how do you know what He is like? You read the Gospels. You start with the Gospels. How did He act in a given situation? You read the Gospels. How did He react? What was His attitude? You read the Gospels.

The Gospels then become this beautiful, many-sided portrait of the Lord Jesus. And as you see Him as the great example, then you cry out, ‘Oh God, by the Holy Spirit, give me grace to imitate my Lord.’ “You also became imitators of us and of the Lord." Seek to know those that you can mimic to your profit as an adult, as a student, as a church, as a parent, etc. Read the book of Acts. Read those great periods in the history of the church when God has broken in with power, and you will see that we know so little about zeal, so little about worship, so little about holy abandonment to God. And we need desperately to read those who walked so as to leave us an example, and to imitate them by the grace of God.

Now, if you are one who is not savingly joined to Christ, never been born of the Spirit of God, obviously this is not a word to you. Remember, this was a fruit, not a root–a fruit, not a root. They had received the Word, then they became imitators. So, God's Word to you is not to be an imitator, but rather tonight God's Word to you is to be a receiver of the Word. Hear the Word of salvation and embrace that Word that comes with His promise of mercy to all who repent, to all who believe.

But I want to say a word particularly to those who profess to be believers. Now, we must believe in order to learn, right? We must believe in order to learn. And if you haven't believed, you don't start by learning, you start by believing. You must believe in order to learn, and you must learn in order to follow. But if your believing and your learning is not leading to following, it's not true faith. It's not.

For our gospel came, Paul said, “in power”. That's what the text says. Now, how did he know it came in power? Not because they went on and stood up on a Wednesday night or a Sunday evening service and gave their testimony at a prayer meeting or an evening service, but because they became imitators of the Lord and of His servants. Paul knew that the gospel had come in power and had been truly believed and embraced because of the fruits of belief, namely a holy imitation of the Lord and of His servants.

I must hurry on to the next phrase and touch on it very briefly. You became not only imitators, but he says in verse 7, “so that you became a model”--I love that–"you became a model to all the believers in Macedonia and in Achaia." Now, what's this word model, ‘tupos’? What does it mean, this Greek word? Well, it's an interesting word. The verb form of it means ‘to strike’. So it's the mark left by a blow. When Thomas said to the other disciples, "Unless I see in His hands the imprint of the nails, and put my finger in the place of the nails, and put my hand into His side, I will not believe"—the word he used, the imprint, the mark left by the blow of the nails, literally. The word he used is this, and Paul says you became a ‘tupos’--a model, an imprint. The word came, it left its mark upon you, and then that mark became a pattern for others to follow.

I thought of Plaster of Paris–a powdered gypsum cement. You take an object. Let's say, suppose you want to reproduce that object in Plaster of Paris. Maybe you've got a little bust of Alexander the Great and you want to reproduce it, so you smear upon it some Vaseline or some greasy stuff, oily stuff, so the plaster doesn't stick to it, and then you mold the Plaster of Paris around the mold, and then you split it down the middle. You take it off and you have a form, you have a mold, and then into the mold you can then pour some more plaster, and out will come another bust of Alexander the Great, and then he could do the same thing with the reproduced bust until you can keep on reproducing.

You see, beloved, here's the point. As one thing conforms to the pattern, then it becomes itself a pattern to which others can conform. That's the idea. A father begets a son who in turn grows up and becomes a father who begets a son who in turn grows up and becomes a father who begets a son. That's the process that Paul is talking about here. He said you became mimics when you became imitators of us and of the Lord. A wonderful thing happened when that happened. As you followed the pattern we set for you and the Lord set for you, without even knowing it, you yourselves became a pattern for others to mimic, to follow. You see, they didn't seek to become an example. They were seeking to be what? Followers. Followers. But in the becoming followers, one of the blessed by-products is what? They became a model. They became an example, and that's what Paul is talking about here. So these two things are inseparably joined.

Beloved, this is so rich for us. There's so much meat for us here. Notice Paul uses them in one verse in several places. We will only look at one of the instances, 2 Thessalonians 3:9. He uses the two words together. They're inseparably joined. You'll see them. "[N]ot because we do not have the authority,"--he says, 2 Thessalonians 3 and verse 9–"but in order to offer ourselves as a model"—that's the same word, ‘tupos’—"for you, so that you would"—what? ‘mimētḗs’-- “imitate us”--mimic us. Now, what do you mimic? What do you imitate? You imitate the model, the example.

So Paul says in this passage, ‘we are the model you are to imitate, and as you imitated us, you became an example, a model that others began to imitate and began to mimic.’ Now there are negative examples we're warned against. 1 Corinthians 10:6 speaks of the children of Israel in their idolatry, their immorality, and it says, "Now these things happened as”–‘tupos’--“examples for us, so that we would not crave evil things as they also craved." An example here to what? To shun, to avoid. But, this is speaking about being an example in a positive way as Paul says in Philippians 3:17, mark–“look for those who walk according to the–‘tupos’ you have in us–" the pattern you have in us.”

Now in a very peculiar way, this responsibility of being an example is intensified for those who would aspire to places of spiritual leadership, and I want to say a word about that. It's interesting that the same word for model, example, is used three times with reference to those who take leadership in the church of the Lord Jesus Christ. Paul says to Timothy in 1 Timothy 4:12, "show yourself as a model"—‘tupos’, same Greek word—"to those who believe in word, conduct, love, faith, and purity." Be an example, Timothy. Be a model, Timothy. Be an embodiment of the truth you preach so that others following you will, in reality, be following Jesus Christ.

Titus, he says Titus in Titus 2:7, "in all things show yourself to be"—same word—"a model of good works, with purity in doctrine, dignified." 1 Peter 5:3 says to the elders, "nor yet as lording it over those allotted to you, but being"—what?—"examples,"--‘tupos’--"to the flock."

Now, do you see why the first requirement for the elder, the under-shepherd in the church is this? Titus 1, “if any man is”—what's the next word, the first word?—“if any man is beyond reproach”--blameless, no just cause of censure. Paul under inspiration puts at the top of the list the manner of life: beyond reproach, the husband of one wife, having faithful children, not accused of dissipation or rebellious, for the overseer must be beyond reproach as God's steward, not self-willed, not quick-tempered, not addicted to wine, not pugnacious, not fond of dishonest gain, but hospitable, loving, so forth and so forth. And then you get to verse 9 and he speaks of doctrine, holding fast the faithful word, holding fast the faithful word.

Beloved, Paul does not disregard or undermine or push aside doctrine, it's quite the opposite. Look at the first half of Ephesians: all doctrine. But he says in essence, you might have a church full of men who've got their doctrine straight, full of them, but if that doctrine can't be preceded by a life that is exemplary, they are disqualified at the outset. They are disqualified at the outset.

And I say to any young man considering the ministry, don't forget the biblical order. A life beyond reproach is at the top of the list, and to cultivate a life beyond reproach means that you are determined by the grace of God that you're going to be a man of prayer, you're going to be a holy man, you're going to be a man of consistent life, a man when he stands to teach in the presence of his wife and children, they will listen to him because they know there's no contradiction between what comes over the pulpit and what they see in the living room and in the kitchen. That's why, at the top of the list, you became a model. It's not only the truth conveyed by spiritual leaders, but by the life in which that truth is couched that is of tremendous importance.

I must close tonight. Let me close by asking, are you a model? Are you an example? Now, you're being an example to others regardless–either a negative or a positive, a good or bad example. What kind of an example are you? Fathers, mothers, young people, married, single, older ones, are you being the example that your younger brothers and sisters follow, a path of blessing? They're following either for good or for evil.

Oh beloved, may the Lord help us to so receive His word as His people that, becoming imitators of the Lord and of His servants, we may in turn become models, models for others to follow. So, as Paul rejoices in the Thessalonian church that the gospel came not only in power but in the Holy Spirit, he rejoices that having received the Word, they became imitators of the Lord and of His faithful servants. In turn then, they became examples, models for others to follow. May God grant that as we receive the Word from week to week, that it will be producing more and more in us this twofold effect by becoming imitators and then models. May God grant that it will be true for His glory and for our profit.

Let's pray.

This is a transcript. It may contain small inaccuracies.

We began to look at this account last Lord's Day, this account known as the triumphal entry of our Lord Jesus Christ into the city of Jerusalem, just four days before He would be suspended between heaven and earth, impaled upon Calvary's cross, before He would offer Himself up as the Lamb who would take away our sins. And last Sunday, we focused primarily on the manner of His coming into the city, and we saw together that He came as a king. He came as the king. The way that He rode in spoke of the fact that He was Israel's king, just as Zechariah the prophet prophesied in Zechariah 9:9. This is how He rode into the city.

John tells us, the Holy Spirit, through John, presents it to us this way, verse 15: "Fear not, daughter of Zion; behold, your King is coming, seated on a donkey’s colt." So He rode in on that colt that had never been ridden before, reserved for royalty, reserved for a king, and so the way He rode in spoke of Him as the king who is to come, the king of Israel.

The way the crowd were treating Him as well. We saw that last Lord's Day, laying down their garments in front of Him, laying down palm branches in front of Him, gathered together with this great exuberance, great rejoicing, and crying out, Hosanna! Salvation has come! Salvation is here! And this spoke of Him as the king of Israel, and it bothered the Pharisees so much—so much—that they called upon Jesus to rebuke His disciples, tell them to stop! This isn't right! And Jesus said that if these were to be silent, even the rocks would cry out. No way to silence this. This is fitting. This is proper. This is right.

So Israel is without excuse, because the very way that Jesus comes into the city cries out from God, behold, your promised King. This is your promised King. He came as the king, and He came also, we saw together, as the deliverer. Zechariah says, rejoice, but the Holy Spirit, through John here in this account, interpreting Zechariah 9:9, says, “fear not”. “Fear not”. Your fears now are able to be removed. Your sins will be now forgiven, gone, dealt with, the wrath of God averted for all of those who put their trust in this promised King. For all of those who look at this King as their Savior, you will be forgiven. The wrath of God, which is due you, is averted.

He comes to deliver them from the wrath that is coming by the shedding of His own blood. He comes as the Lamb. He comes as God's Passover Lamb, our Passover Lamb. We talked last time about how the very day that He entered Jerusalem, the 10th of Nisan, was the day of the Passover lambs were selected. And He rode in, and as He rode in on His colt, no doubt before Him, lambs being driven into the city of Jerusalem, behind Him, around Him, and here He is, the Lamb of God, the Chosen One who would save us, making His way into Jerusalem, not coming under any illusion of national repentance and faith in Him as Savior, but rather coming knowing fully—fully well—that He's making His way to Calvary, to die.

Indeed, this is the reason why He's come. He's come to give His life a ransom for many. He's come to lay down His life for the sheep, the manner of His coming.

This morning, I want us to begin with the 16th verse and see the meaning of His coming, the meaning of His coming. The Bible says, verse 16, "These things His disciples did not understand at the first, but when Jesus was glorified, then they remembered these things, that these things were written about Him, and that they had done these things to Him." John tells us something very interesting here, very interesting. He tells us that the disciples, and John was among them, that the disciples took part in all of this. They're with Him. They took part in all of this, they witnessed all of this firsthand experience.

This was something that they witnessed firsthand, but at the time that it was happening, they did not understand it. They had no clue. They didn't understand what was happening. They never really perceived. They never really grasped. They never really understood what was happening, what was really happening, until after the death and the resurrection and the glorification of Christ. And what this means is that the Holy Spirit of God, at a later time, gave them insight into the events that they were a part of at an earlier time.

It's the Holy Spirit sort of saying, do you know what you witnessed? Do you know what you were a part of? Do you know what you participated in? And He gave them insight. He gave them understanding. This happened just as the Lord Jesus, by the way, said it would happen. In John 14 and verse 26, we'll get to this verse, Lord willing, in the future, Jesus said, "But the Advocate, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in My name, He will teach you all things, and bring to your remembrance all that I said to you." And when the Holy Spirit is given, He will interpret for you what you have seen. He will shed light on what you have heard. He will bring it to your remembrance, and He will make sense of it for you. He will enable you to grasp it, to understand it.

That's what the Lord is doing as John writes this gospel. The Lord is giving him insight. This is done under inspiration, under the guidance, the superintending guidance of the Holy Spirit. This is not the only place, by the way, where you see the Lord opening the scriptures to His disciples after the event that they participated in. Turn with me to Luke chapter 24, that familiar account. This is fascinating. You find an example of this after the resurrection of Christ, before His ascension.

All of this information was there in the scriptures for them. All of this was there for them to understand, to get it, but they didn't get it. They didn't understand it. They didn't perceive it. And the Lord had to open their eyes. It just didn't dawn on them just like this in the future. It wasn't like something, oh, you know, oh, oh, oh, we get it now. No, it wasn't like that. The Lord Himself opened their understanding so that they could perceive these things.

Look at verse 13, "And behold, two of them"—Luke 24:13—"Behold, two of them were going that same day to a village named Emmaus, which was sixty stadia from Jerusalem. And they were conversing with one another, with each other, about all these things which had happened. And it happened that while they were conversing and debating, Jesus Himself approached and was going with them. But their eyes were prevented from recognizing Him. And He said to them, 'What are these words that you are discussing with one another as you are walking?' And they stood still, looking sad."

By the way, have you ever had someone ask a question that just makes your jaw drop? That's sort of a sort of thing that happened here. Jesus asked this question, and they just stand still, and they just look at Him, and they look sad.

Verse 18, "And one of them, named Cleopas, answered and said to Him, 'Are You the only one visiting Jerusalem and unaware of the things which have happened here in these days?' And He said to them, 'What things?' And they said to Him, 'The things about Jesus the Nazarene, who was a mighty prophet in deed and word in the sight of God and all the people, and how the chief priests and our rulers delivered Him to the sentence of death, and crucified Him. But we were hoping that it was He who was going to redeem Israel. Indeed, besides all this, it is the third day since these things happened. But also some women among us astounded us. When they were at the tomb early in the morning, and not finding His body, they came saying that they had also seen a vision of angels who said that He was alive. And some of those who were with us went to the tomb and found it just exactly as the women also said. But Him they did not see.'"

“And He”, the Lord Jesus, “said to them, 'O foolish ones and slow of heart to believe in all that the prophets have spoken.'" In other words, if you just understood the scriptures, if you just understood the scriptures that you have in your hand, you would know. You would know what's going on.

Verse 26, "'Was it not necessary for the Christ to suffer these things and to enter into His glory?' Then beginning with Moses and with all the prophets, He interpreted to them the things concerning Himself in all the Scriptures." Wouldn't you have loved to have been in on that conversation?

“And they approached the village”, verse 28, “where they were going, and He acted as though He were going farther. But they urged Him strongly, saying, ‘Stay with us, for it is toward evening, and the day is now nearly over.’ So He went in to stay with them, and it happened that when He had reclined at the table with them, He took bread and blessed it. And after breaking it, He was giving it to them. Then their eyes were opened, and they recognized Him. And He vanished from their sight. And they said to one another, ‘Were not our hearts burning within us while He was speaking to us on the road, while He was opening the Scriptures to us?’ And they stood up that very hour, returned to Jerusalem, and found gathered together the eleven of those, and those with them, who were saying, ‘The Lord has really risen and has appeared to Simon.’ And they were relating their experiences on the road, and how He was recognized by them in the breaking of bread.”

Back to John 12. In the same sort of way, beloved, the disciples didn't understand what they were witnessing on this day, when Jesus rode in the city of Jerusalem. They didn't understand, they didn't get it, they didn't know, until later, when the Holy Spirit opens to their understanding exactly what they had been a part of.

Do you realize, beloved, do you realize something very similar to this is happening down to our own day? Do you realize that? That there are people every day exposed to the power and the working of the Spirit of God. There are people who are exposed to the teaching of the Holy Spirit in the Scriptures, but what they see and what they hear is completely lost on them. Even to this day, they see, but they do not perceive. They hear, but they do not understand, they do not comprehend, until that day—until that day that the Lord brings them salvation.

That day, when the Lord removes the scales from their eyes, and then the lights are turned on. Then those things that they heard, but did not hear prior to this, now they understand. And the things they saw, but they did not see before, now they are able to perceive with the eyes of faith. It happens all the time. It happens all the time when someone is saved. They look back and they say something like this: Oh, you know, I heard the gospel. I sat Sunday after Sunday and I heard the gospel, but I never really heard it. But I never really heard it. And I saw the working of the Holy Spirit, but I never recognized that working for what it was.

Let me put it this way, beloved. There's a depth of truth present in these events that we're reading about. There's a depth of truth there that the people who witnessed these things did not grasp, did not understand at the time. And that even now as we read these things, even today as we read these things now, as we're doing this together, we won't understand the depth of truth that is present apart from the enlightening work of the Spirit of God. We won't.

One of the things they didn't understand at the time we began looking at last Lord's Day is that Jesus was entering Jerusalem, not just as the King, but also as the Passover Lamb of God. And I want us to think about this, the meaning of His coming, the Lamb of God. We need to get a hold of this. We have to understand something about the Passover if we are to understand the meaning of His coming. So with that in mind, please, let's go back to Exodus 12. And this is really important for us because He came in not only as the King of Israel, He came as the Passover Lamb on that day when the lambs that sacrificed are being selected. Behold Him, the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world.

You know the feast we keep reading about here, for example, it says in verse 12, by the way, of John 12. “On the next day, the large crowd who had come to the feast”, the feast talked about is the Jewish Passover, followed by the Feast of Unleavened Bread. And so we need to understand that. So Exodus chapter 12, you remember, the Passover has to do with the way that God, Yahweh, delivered the children of Israel out of their bondage there in Egypt.

Look at verse one. We're going to read, by the way, quite a few verses. So stay with me, read with me, follow with me. And this is absolutely important. And it is for our edification, it's for our profit. So this is really important.

Exodus 12, verse one: "Now Yahweh said to Moses and Aaron in the land of Egypt, 'This month shall be the beginning of months for you. It is to be the first month of the year to you.'" So this is now Nisan in our calendar, March, April. "'It is to be the first month of the year to you. Speak to all the congregation of Israel, saying, ‘On the tenth of this month they are each one to take a lamb for themselves, according to their fathers' households, a lamb for each household. Now if the household is too small for a lamb, then he and his neighbor nearest to his house are to take one according to the number of persons in them; according to what each man should eat, you are to apportion the lamb. Your lamb shall be a male without blemish, a year old; you may take it from the sheep or from the goats. And you shall keep it until the fourteenth day of the same month; then the whole assembly of the congregation of Israel shall slaughter it at twilight. Moreover, they shall take some of the blood and put it on the two doorposts and on the lintel of the houses in which they eat it. And they shall eat the flesh that night, roasted with fire, and they shall eat it with unleavened bread and bitter herbs. Do not eat any of it raw or boiled at all with water, but rather roast it with fire, both its head and its legs along with its entrails. And you shall not leave any of it over until morning, but whatever is left of it until morning, you shall burn with fire. Now you shall eat it in this manner: with your loins girded, your sandals on your feet, and your staff in your hand; and you shall eat it in haste—it is the Passover of Yahweh. And I will go through the land of Egypt on that night and will strike down all the firstborn in the land of Egypt, both man and beast; and against all the gods of Egypt I will execute judgments—I am Yahweh. And the blood shall be a sign for you on the houses where you are; and I will see the blood and I will pass over you, and there shall be no plague among you to destroy you when I strike the land of Egypt. Now this day will be a memorial to you, and you shall celebrate it as a feast to Yahweh; throughout your generations you are to celebrate it as a perpetual statute. Seven days you shall eat unleavened bread, but on the first day you shall remove leaven from your houses; for whoever eats anything leavened from the first day until the seventh day, that person shall be cut off from Israel. Now on the first day there shall be a holy convocation, and on the seventh day there shall be a holy convocation for you; no work at all shall be done on them, except what must be eaten by every person, that alone may be done by you. You shall also keep the Feast of Unleavened Bread, for on this very day I brought your hosts out of the land of Egypt; therefore you shall keep this day throughout your generations as a perpetual statute. In the first month, on the fourteenth day of the month at evening, you shall eat unleavened bread until the twenty-first day of the month at evening. Seven days there shall be no leaven found in your houses, for whoever eats what is leavened, that person shall be cut off from the congregation of Israel, whether he is a sojourner or a native of the land. You shall not eat anything leavened; in all your places of habitation you shall eat unleavened bread.’

“Then Moses called for the elders of Israel and said to them, ‘Bring out and take for yourselves lambs according to your families and slaughter the Passover lamb. And you shall take a bunch of hyssop and dip it in the blood which is in the basin, and touch some of the blood that is in the basin to the lintel and two doorposts; and none of you shall go outside the doorway of his house until morning. And Yahweh will pass through to smite the Egyptians; and He will see the blood on the lintel and on the doorposts, and Yahweh will pass over the doorway and will not allow the destroyer to come into your houses to smite you. And you shall keep this event as a statute for you and your children forever. And it will be when you enter the land which Yahweh will give you, as He has promised, you shall keep this new slavery. And it will be when your children say to you, 'What is the meaning of this new slavery to you?' that you shall say, 'It is a Passover sacrifice to Yahweh who passed over the houses of the sons of Israel in Egypt when He smote the Egyptians, but delivered our homes.'" And the people bowed low and worshiped.

Then the sons of Israel went and did so; just as Yahweh had commanded Moses and Aaron, so they did.”

Verse 29: "Now it happened at midnight that Yahweh struck all the firstborn in the land of Egypt, from the firstborn of Pharaoh who sat on his throne to the firstborn of the captive who was in the dungeon, and all the firstborn of cattle. Then Pharaoh arose in the night, he and all his servants and all the Egyptians; and there was a great cry in Egypt, for there was no home where there was not someone dead. Then he called for Moses and Aaron at night and said, 'Rise up, get out from among my people, both you and the sons of Israel, and go, serve Yahweh, as you have spoken. Take both your flocks and your herds, as you have spoken, and go, and bless me also.'"

That's the Passover.

Keep your thumb here, and I want us to briefly go to Leviticus 23, but keep your thumb here. You want to come back to this.

Verse four: "These are the appointed times of Yahweh, holy convocations, which you shall proclaim at the times appointed for them. In the first month, on the fourteenth day of the month at twilight is the Passover of Yahweh. Then on the fifteenth day of the same month, there is the feast of unleavened bread to Yahweh. For seven days, you shall eat unleavened bread. On the first day, you shall have a holy convocation; you shall not do any laborious work. But for seven days, you shall bring near an offering by fire to Yahweh. On the seventh day is a holy convocation; you shall not do any laborious work."

Back to Exodus 12. Here's what I want us to notice. I want us to notice some things, some of the details about the Passover. First of all, from this portion, first of all, a lamb—notice with me—was to be selected according to each man's need. A lamb was to be selected according to each man's need. There was an individual element to this. There was an individual element to this.

Notice it says in verse four, notice what it says: "Now if the household is too small for a lamb, then he and his neighbor nearest his house are to take one according to the number of persons in them; according to what each man should eat, you are to apportion the lamb." So there's an individual element involved in the Passover. Even though it involves families and it involved the children of Israel as a whole, there's still this individual element—”according to what each man should eat.”

Secondly, notice with me, the lamb was to be a young male, a year old, the Bible says, without blemish—without blemish. Verse five: "Your lamb shall be a male without blemish, a year old."

Thirdly, the lamb was to be selected on the tenth day of the month, the tenth of Nisan, and then kept until the fourteenth day of the month. Verse three says, "Speak to all the congregation of Israel, saying, 'On the tenth of this month they are each one to take a lamb for themselves, according to their father's household, a lamb for each household.'" Verse six: "And you shall keep it until the fourteenth day of the same month."

The fourth thing I want us to notice together is that the lamb was to be killed at twilight. The lamb was to be killed at twilight. Verse 6b: "Then the whole assembly of the congregation of Israel shall slaughter it at twilight"—at twilight of that fourteenth day. Literally, in the Hebrew text, it is "between the evenings," twilight—between the evenings.

Now, there's some discussion as to what exactly that meant. Some say it had to do with the descent of the sun towards sunset, somewhere between 3 and 5 p.m. Some say it was from the setting of the sun until dark. But all of the evidence points to the former one to be the way to be taken. Because one, number one, it allowed time for all of those lambs to be sacrificed. And also, we know from Josephus, the Jewish historian, who tells us the Passover lambs at the time of Christ were being sacrificed at about 3 p.m. in the afternoon. And by the way, that is when Jesus released His Spirit, when He gave up the Spirit and died—3 in the afternoon on the fourteenth of Nisan. Exactly the time when the Passover lambs were being sacrificed.

Fifth, the blood of the lamb was to be applied to the house where the lamb was eaten. Verse 7: "Moreover, they shall take some of the blood and put it on the two doorposts and on the lintel of the houses in which they eat. In which they eat it."

Six, the lamb was to be roasted and eaten along with unleavened bread and bitter herbs. Verse 8. The bitter herbs are a reminder of the slavery in Egypt and the bitterness of it. And someone might ask, why unleavened bread? Why unleavened bread?

Pastor MacArthur was asked that question, and here's his answer. Quote, he said, "I'm not a baker now, but I know a little bit about unleavened bread. That's about all. I won't try to make any, but I can describe it a little bit." He says, "Bread is made out of dough. And of course, when you make a batch of dough, if you were to take out a piece of the dough, you don't bake the dough, you just keep one little piece. It sours. The next time you make bread, you put that sour dough in it, acts as a leavened bread. It causes it to rise and we eat leavened bread. Leavened bread is bread and unleavened bread is crackers. That's about a close parallel you're going to get. It's flat," end of quote.

Now, in those days, Israel normally, according to Hosea 7:4, they normally ate leavened bread. They ate bread that was rising. They would enjoy that. That was their regular bread. But unleavened bread was enjoined upon them because they were what? In a hurry. They were in a hurry. God was saying, make the bread of haste because you've got to get out of town. You've got to get out of there. Don't take the time to let your bread rise. Bake it, eat it, you're going to leave. You're going to go. And that was done at Passover.

So in the memorial to the Passover in Egypt, when they made their bread in haste and got out of there, in memorial to that, God said, whenever you celebrate Passover, whenever you look back and remember what God did in Egypt, as a memory that you left Egypt in haste, in hurry, and didn't have time for your bread to rise, you eat unleavened bread. And so if you wonder why, why was it unleavened? Well, they didn't have time for their bread to rise. It was in haste that they left. Remember that you're to eat it in haste.

And by the way, that's the seventh thing that I want us to notice. The lamb was to be eaten with haste—with haste. We were told in verse 11, it was to be eaten with your loins girded, your sandals on your feet, your staff in your hand. And God promised that He would be at work in this. He would pass through the land of Egypt that night, and He would strike all the firstborn in the land of Egypt, both man and beast. And whenever the blood had been applied, He tells us, He would watch over, and He would pass over, and watch over so that death would not actually come into that home. Those homes would be spared from the plague.

Look back, back to John 12, back to John 12. Now I want to see the connection. What I'm saying to us, based on the word of God, last Sunday and today, is that when Jesus entered Jerusalem, when He rode into the city of Jerusalem on the 10th of Nisan, He was entering not only as the promised King of Israel, but as the Passover lamb, the true Passover lamb that was pictured in the Passover that we just read about in Exodus 12. Behold the Lamb of God.

Now stop for a moment and think about it. Think about the Passover in Exodus 12. Isn't that a strange way to save people? I mean, why all the ceremony? Why? Why the careful selection of the lamb? Why? And why does the lamb have to be unblemished? Why does God want this to be a memorial practiced throughout the generations? Why would the blood of an animal, a lamb, would be instrumental in delivering the people who believe God and actually did what He told them to do? Why? Why would God choose to save His people that way?

The answer is because that was pointing to something far, far, far greater. This was simply an object lesson, an object lesson. This was something just to teach them, to give them faith in the One who was going to come to die for their sins, to die for our sins. Jesus was being pictured all the way back then. What happened in Exodus 12 was a giant arrow pointing to the Lamb of God.

Stephen Charnock, Puritan preacher, recognized that. Listen to what he said, and I quote, "'And indeed, if we consider all the circumstances in the institution, they seem not worthy of the wisdom of God.'" Let's just stop for a second and let that sink in. He said, you know, if you just looked at the Passover without the Lord Jesus, it wouldn't be worthy of the wisdom of God, it wouldn't. If you were to look at the Passover without Jesus.

He goes on to say, "'Nor are capable of having any reason rendered for them, if they be not referred to some other mystery, and what can that be but the Redeemer of the world represented thereby? Why should so much care be in the choice and separation of a lamb? What virtue had the blood of a poor animal to secure the house, and the life of the firstborn against the sword of a strong and an invisible angel?'” I love this. “'Was the sprinkling of blood upon the post a necessary mark for the angel, as though he had not understanding enough to distinguish between the houses of the children of the Israelites and the Egyptians?'” And he goes on to say, “'How can we think God should appoint so many ceremony in it, lay such a charge upon them for the strict observation of them, if he designed it, not as a prop to their faith, a ground to expect a higher and spiritual deliverance by the blood of the Messiah, as well as a test of their obedience and a memorial of their temporal deliverance.'" End of quote.

And he's right, he's right. It wasn't just about the temporal deliverance, it was pointing to a greater deliverance to the Lamb of God whose blood would deliver us, those who believe in Him, who would deliver us, redeem us, and keep us from the wrath of God. I know he's right, because God's word says he's right. Isn't that what we read in Hebrews 10, for example? Really, Hebrews 10, 10 and 12: "By this will we have been sanctified through the offering of the body of Jesus Christ once for all. And every priest stands daily ministering and offering time after time the same sacrifices which can never take away sins, but He”, Christ, “having offered one sacrifice for sins for all time, sat down at the right hand of God."

And last week we read 1 Corinthians 5:7. Paul writes, "Clean out the old leaven so that you may be a new lump, just as you are in fact unleavened. For Christ our Passover lamb, also was sacrificed." That settles it, doesn't it? He's the fulfillment of the picture. He's the substance. All of that was the shadow. He's the substance. He is our Passover lamb.

And think with me about how the Lord Jesus was pictured in the Passover. Think with me. All of those things that we noticed together from the account in Exodus 12. Jesus was the lamb chosen, set apart for Passover, and chosen not by us, but by God for us. God said, I will provide a lamb. And He did. He did. And Christ died in the prime of His life. He was without blemish, without any sin, without any deceit. There was nothing to be found wrong or blemished in Him. He was the Lamb of God, a lamb without blemish.

This is why God told the Israelites, find a lamb without blemish, because it was pointing to the sinless Son of God. He was presented to Israel on the tenth day of Nisan, and He died on the fourteenth day of Nisan at three o'clock in the afternoon, just when the lambs were sacrificed. And only those to whom His blood is applied will be delivered from the wrath of God, just like the blood had to be applied on the doorpost, on the lintel, in order for those people to be spared.

So the shed blood of Jesus must be appropriated. That is, we must trust in Him by faith, embrace Him by faith. His blood applied on our behalf. Now I want to underscore this, beloved, all those for whom Christ died will be saved. All those for whom Christ died will believe, will appropriate His death on the cross for them, and the reason why they will is the sovereign God who gave these people to His Son before time and sent His Son into the world to redeem them is the same One who will do that monergistic work of regeneration in their hearts, granting them through the new birth repentance and faith in Jesus.

Everyone for whom Christ died will apply that blood—so to speak—to their house, their life, their soul. Everyone for whom Christ died will trust in Jesus. They'll be saved.

Isn't it a glorious thing, beloved, to know why you have believed? Isn't it? Isn't it? That you can't ascribe your faith to yourself? That you can't say, "I'm a believer today because I was smarter than somebody else"? "I'm a believer today because I had a softer heart than someone else"? "I'm a believer today because I was just somehow more naturally wise than another person"?

No. No, no, I'm a believer today because God in His grace saved me. He did a work in my soul that brought me to His Son, and now I understand that I was actually given to His Son before I was ever born, and Christ came into this world to give His life a ransom for many to save His people from their sins—Christ our Passover Lamb.

And another way that Jesus fulfills this picture is they didn't just sacrifice those lambs, they ate them. They ate them. And they were to so take note of who was in the household that nothing was left over. Right? That's what they were told. The lamb was to be completely what? Consumed. Christ is not just our sacrifice, beloved, He is our feast. He is our feast, He is our food, His blood is our drink, His flesh is our meat. We live on Him. What a glorious Savior we have. We live on Him. He satisfies our souls. He is our satisfaction. Not only He's our sacrifice, but He's our feast, and His death for us results in a people who spiritually have left Egypt, and now we're ready to travel for God.

Turn to 1 Corinthians 5 for a moment. I know you've seen it. I trust you understand, but I want us to see it again—again—how Paul applies this in a very practical way to the Corinthian fellowship. Here they are allowing sin to go on in the congregation, and he says to them in verse 6, "Your boasting is not good. Do you not know that a little leaven leavens the whole lump? Clean out the old leaven so that you may be a new lump, just as you are in fact unleavened. For Christ our Passover lamb, also was sacrificed. Therefore let us celebrate the feast, not with old leaven, nor with the leaven of malice and wickedness, but with the unleavened bread of sincerity and truth."

How do you celebrate the Passover? Not with the leaven of sin, but with unleavened bread, sincerity, and truth. We are a people, beloved, who have been redeemed by the grace of God, by the shedding blood of the Lamb of God, redeemed out of Egypt, and now we are walking with God, leaving Egypt behind in haste, ready to walk with God. This is who we are. This is how we're to live.

And if we really understand that Christ is our Passover, if He really is our Passover, then we're ready to travel with Him, aren't we? To leave behind our old life, to leave behind the world, the pleasures of sin, and to walk with God, and to live for God.

Back to John 12. So we see the manner of His coming. He comes as a King. He comes as a Deliverer. He comes as a Lamb, the Lamb of God, who takes away our sins. We see the meaning that's bound up in it in His coming, deeper than just what lies on the surface. His own disciples didn't understand the fullness of what they were participating in until later, and now we, with the help, with the teaching ministry of the Holy Spirit, as we look in the fullness of the revelation that God has given us in His Word, we're able to behold it, to look at it, and see that there's a depth to it, there was a fullness to it. He came not just as the King of Israel, but as the Passover Lamb, our Passover Lamb. And now, blessed be God, we're able to see that.

The third thing I want us to know is, very briefly, the message of His coming. Verse 17 and 18, "The crowd who was with Him when He called Lazarus out of the tomb and raised him from the dead, continued to bear witness about Him. For this reason also the crowd went and met Him, because they heard that He had done this sign."

Even as He's coming, making His way into Jerusalem, He's coming and there's this expectation there, because those who witnessed the sign, the miracle, just continued to talk about it. They continued to bear witness—the message of His coming. This sign that He had done concerning Lazarus, they continued to talk about it. Some of them have been converted as a result of seeing it. We've seen that in our studies before. But most of the people who were gathered here, with all of this enthusiasm, had no real idea of who Jesus was and why He'd come.

This group largely consisted of those who gave a claim to Jesus because they thought of the temporal benefits that He could provide for them. They thought that He could usher in the age of freedom from Roman tyranny, peace, and prosperity. And their hopes were fueled by those who had seen Jesus call Lazarus from the tomb, telling others about the spectacular miracle. In their mind, if Jesus had done this for Lazarus, surely He can meet all of our needs.

Which leads to the last thing that I want us to see in verse 19: the misunderstanding of His coming. So the Pharisees said to one another, "You see that you are gaining nothing." Now stop right there. "You see that you are gaining nothing." Isn't it amazing? They don't cease to amaze you. They still think they're somehow in control. They still think somehow they're in control. You know, fellows, we should have listened to Caiaphas long ago, because we've got nowhere with this tact we've taken. We're going to have to change our strategy.

Do you realize, beloved, that within the sovereign plan of God, the very way that Jesus enters Jerusalem is going to be used by God to goad these evil men into action—to express their evil heart? So they say we must act. We must act. We must do something. Notice how they've misunderstood His coming. "Look, the world has gone after Him."

Remember what they said, what Caiaphas said—actually, what they said and Caiaphas responded to it earlier, in the previous chapter? "If we let Him go”, John 11:48, “like this, all will believe in Him, and the Romans will come and take away both our place and our nation." And now here they are. Watch Him. They watch Him coming into the city of Jerusalem, and they see the enthusiasm. They see the fervor. And they are coming to the conclusion that what they feared is coming to pass and that He's coming as some political figure and they're going to lose their influence.

They had no understanding whatsoever at all of why Jesus was coming. In fact, we find out from the synoptics that on His way into Jerusalem, He wept. He wept. He wept because how He would have gathered them together, but they would not. They could not see. They did not understand. I wonder, oh, I wonder if the Son of God would weep over you. I wonder. I wonder who's here this morning that He would gather you, but you will not.

Listen, God is sovereign in salvation. Salvation is of the Lord. Every person who is saved, it is God's doing alone. But when a man or woman or young person resists the gospel and they are lost, I say to you this day on the authority of the Word of God, it is their responsibility. When someone is saved, it is God's doing. When someone remains in unbelief, it is their own doing—completely, solely.

You've heard the gospel. You've heard the gospel. Christ died for sinners. He's been raised from the dead. The way is open. The arms of the Savior are wide open. The invitation is issued. If you will turn from your sins and believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, you shall be saved. You will be saved. Now will you come? Will you come? You won't come until you understand. You won't come until God's light has shone in your heart to give you the knowledge of His glory in the face of His Son.

Have you ever come to Christ as your Passover, your Passover lamb? Have you ever seen that if you die in your natural condition, that you will spend eternity in hell? And there is no way out. There are no redos. And that there's the only way—the only way, only way—for your sins, those sins that have brought you under the judgment of God, that there's only one way for your sins to be forgiven. Jesus Christ, the Lamb of God, died for sinners. He died for people just like you.
And would you even today, right now, acknowledge your true condition? And with a broken heart, cry out, O Lord Jesus, I will turn from my sins to follow You, trusting in You and You alone as the Lord who saves. Trusting in Your shed blood, Your sacrifice for the forgiveness of my sins. Trusting in that righteousness that You clothe me with as I believe, as You promised.

Trusting in Your righteousness for a right standing before a thrice holy God. Not trusting in any way whatsoever in myself and my doing to make myself acceptable to God, but placing all of my weight for all of eternity on the doing and the dying of Jesus Christ and Him alone.

I'll tell you today, if just Jesus is not enough to make a man, woman, boy, or girl right with God, then I will perish one day because there's nothing—absolutely nothing—I have to offer. But I'm thankful that He is enough. He is enough. That His shed blood has answered for all the sins of all of those who have ever and ever will trust in Him as Lord and Savior.

And every believer can say, I have trusted and so I'm saved. I love Him because I'm saved. I see Him for who He is because the Holy Spirit has worked salvation in my soul. Have you ever understood? Have you ever come to Him? We said it last week, when someone really understands the gospel, grasps the gospel by the enablement of the Spirit, they don't come to Jesus reluctantly. They don't come to Jesus half-heartedly. They don't come to Jesus with reservations. They run to Him. They see who He is and they run to Him—flee from the wrath that is coming.

Where do you run if you flee from wrath? Where do you run? You run to the One who delivers you from wrath, Jesus Christ. You run to Him. Have you ever run to Him, holding nothing in your hands, with nothing to offer, just running with your poor, broken life, knowing that He'll receive you as you are, but He won't leave you as you are? Have you ever come to Him? Even today, even right now, you can look to the Lamb of God and be saved.

And those of us who have been saved, oh, how we should bow low. How we should live for Him. He gave His life for us. He called us out. That's what the church means, the word ekklēsia—called out—to leave the Egypt of the world and to walk with God and to shed and leave the leavened bread of sin and to live for Him. Is that too much to ask? Behold the Lamb of God.

Oh, how you and I, with a renewed, resolute heart, that we would say, oh Lord, here's my life, body, soul, all of my faculties, mind, heart, will, it's all for You. Oh, how we should bow low and say together, all glory be to God that He has saved such a wretch like me. How we should be like Mary. Here, Lord, You are worth it. I give You my all. I give You the best of me, all of me. My time, my energy, my faculties, my thoughts, my words, my all. I give You my life, this all that I could do.

Let's pray.

This is a transcript. It may contain small inaccuracies.

We're back to this incredible epistle, 1 Thessalonians, where Paul writes this epistle to this beloved church, and he gives thanks to God. He tells them, always, for all of you, and he does this because he remembers some things, and he knows some things, and he remembers, without ceasing, their work of faith, their labor of love, steadfastness of hope. And then he knows that these brothers, beloved by God—he knows, first of all, they're beloved by God, and secondly, he knows they are the elect of God. The reason he knows that is not because he was able to peek into the secret counsel of God and read that into the secret counsel of God, but rather, he knew that he could read their election through their effectual calling, and he could really affirm and confirm the effectual calling by what it produced in them, namely, all of these virtues, all of these wonderful evidences of grace that he lists in the rest of this chapter.

We began to look at this together the last few weeks. Tonight, we come to verse six, and I want us to zero in on this clause: “having received the word in much affliction with the joy of the Holy Spirit”, and we'll pick up the rest next Lord's Day, Lord willing. Having received the word, he says, "'For our gospel did not come to you in word only, but also in power, having received the word,'" and that gospel coming, coming in power—he said—"'produced in these people a receiving of the Word.'" You need to see the connection.

Now, what does this little phrase, having received the Word, mean? What does it mean? There are two main words used in the New Testament that can be translated as receive or receiving or received. One of them simply means to accept something, to take something into one's possession without any indication of how it is taken. That Greek word is the Greek word *lambano (λαμβάνω )*. You might receive, for example, a ticket from a police officer when you're stopped. I doubt that you'd receive that with joy or any relish. You just simply receive it. One word in the New Testament that means simply to take something, to receive it, you accept it regardless, *lambano (λαμβάνω) *.

Another word is used which has a strong, strong overtones of receiving rather with delight. To receive with delight. It's a welcoming, appropriating reception. That's the word *dexamenoi  (δεξάμενοι )*, and that's the word that is used here by Paul under inspiration—to accept an offer deliberately, readily, to accept something with open arms, to welcome it, to rejoice in it. He said you received with a welcoming, with an appropriating reception, the Word. In much affliction and with the joy of the Holy Spirit.

This is the word used when it speaks of Simeon in the Gospel of Luke, chapter two, verse 28, translated took—he took, he *dexamenoi  (δεξάμενοι )*, he welcomed, he received with delight—Him, the babe, Jesus, into his arms and blessed God. You recall when Mary and Joseph brought Christ up to the temple according to Old Testament law and Mary came with her sacrifice and he, Simeon, received the babe into his arms. There was a welcoming reception and then that wonderful burst of praise to God for His so great a salvation. That's the word.
Same word is used in Hebrews 11:31, where Rahab, we're told, welcomed the spies. She received the spies. She didn't simply open her door for them. You remember, she cared for them. She hid them. She welcomed them into her home and it was an appropriating reception. Same word used in Acts, chapter three, in verse 21, where it says of our Lord Jesus Christ, to whom heaven must *dechomai*—receive, welcome—until the period of restoration of all things about which God spoke by the mouth of His holy prophets from ancient time. How had heaven received our Lord Jesus Christ? Well, He was received with joy, with delight as the King of Glory.

Well, that's the word used and it's in that connotation that Paul says here, having received, having received, having welcomed, having welcomed. You received, you welcomed with open arms. Your hearts, in fact, went out and embraced with an appropriating reception. What? Well, notice the word: having received, the Word, the Word. Now, we could spend, really, three, four weeks on just this little phrase, the Word. It's the very word used for the title of our Lord Jesus Christ in John 1:1, *Logos (Λόγος) *. "In the beginning was the Word, the Logos, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God." But here, in this passage, as in many others, the term here, *Logos (Λόγος) *, or that phrase, the word, speaks particularly in context of the message of the gospel, the saving message.

Many usages, but here and elsewhere, it means the message concerning salvation, the attainment of salvation, the obtaining of salvation in the kingdom of God through the person Jesus Christ. It's a message that comes declaring man's absolute ruin by the fall. It's included in that message. It's a message which comes declaring man's redemption by none other than the Lord Jesus Christ, the one and only Mediator. It's a message that comes declaring the necessity of regeneration by the Holy Spirit. It's a message that comes with overtones demanding repentance and urging men to believe in the Lord Jesus Christ.

It's the message that Paul proclaimed wherever he went, the message of the gospel. In fact, it's the word used in 1 Corinthians 1:18 for the—some translations have it the message of the cross, but it is—the Word of the cross, the *Logos (Λόγος) * of the cross. He says, "For the Word of the cross is foolishness"—he's referring to the message of the gospel. It's foolishness to those who are perishing, but to us who are being saved, it is what? It is the power of God." It's the same word used in Colossians 1:5, where we read, "because of the hope laid up for you in heaven, of which you previously heard in the word of truth"—and then he specifies—"the gospel," the message of the truth of the gospel. It's the gospel.

Now, going through the Scriptures and finding these references to the word or message of the gospel, then we must ask the question: what did that word or message contain? What is bound up in that Word, in that message? And the only way to find out is to go to the men that preached it. And when you turn to the book of Acts, for example, you turn to the epistles, you find that it was a distinct message. It was a distinct message that had specific ingredients. And you find out also that it was a final, absolute, unalterable message.

So final, so unalterable that the apostle Paul said to the Galatians in chapter one—you remember that passage—he said, even if I come back to you or you have an angel stepping out of heaven and proclaiming to you any other gospel, an *heteros (ἕτερος) * gospel, another of a different kind gospel, any other word, any other message, he says, let him be anathema, let him be accursed. And then he says, again, I say unto you, let him be accursed.

So when Paul says that these people received, they welcomed with delight—they welcomed with an appropriating reception—the word, he was speaking of nothing less than that message that comes from God with specific ingredients concerning the rights of God, the sin of man, the redemption of God exclusively in Christ, and the demands of God for repentance and faith in the Lord Jesus Christ. That message committed once and for all for the salvation of sinners. This is what Paul is talking about.

And he says, these people here, there in Thessaloniki—he says, they received the Word in much affliction with the joy of the Holy Spirit. Now notice, he says, having received the Word, the *Logos*, having received the Word—not part of it, every word is inspired—not part of it, not a fraction of it, not most of it, not two-thirds of it, but you received the Word, the entirety of the message, all of it, the full counsel. They received all of it.

You know what that means? That means that they received the negative aspects of that message as well, the negative aspects of that message. And part of receiving the message of the gospel is accepting the bad news that it contains as well. That's the backdrop, the bad news, the bad news concerning man's absolute ruin by the fall. No one receives the word who doesn't welcome—even though it's painful—to welcome that terrible indictment that comes from heaven saying, "Thou art a guilty, wretched, vile rebel, a hell-deserving sinner." And until you know this, you haven't received the entirety of the message.

You see, there's no receiving the Word apart from receiving the awful overtones of man's judgment, the terrible scandal of the cross, that in the bloody form of the Son of God, you find the only hope of salvation. The terrible scandal of the cross, the terrible stumbling block, this thing that was to the Jews, that He who was God became weak, was crucified through weakness. He, though being rich, yet for your sake became poor so that you through His poverty might become rich—2 Corinthians 8:9. And yet they received the whole thing, all of it. That message concerning God's way of saving sinners, and they received it into their heads in the knowledge of it. That's involved in receiving it, to receive it into the head, but also to receive it into their hearts.

That's what also took place in the effectual belief of it, and then into their lives in the practical obedience to it, the surrender of the will, the submission of the will. That's what happened here at Thessaloniki. They received the Word—head, heart, and hands—the entirety of the person, they received the Word. Now, to receive the Word in the biblical sense means nothing less than that, beloved.

And may I draw several observations by way of application at this point before we continue, before looking at the little phrase, how they received it in much affliction with the joy of the Holy Spirit? What is the first indication that God is making His Word come with power and the Holy Spirit into the heart of man? What is the first indication? And the first indication, beloved, by way of application is that he begins to warmly embrace the Word. That's the first indication. He begins—the sinner begins—to warmly embrace the Word.

That is bound up in the meaning of the word, *dékhomai (δέχομαι) *, to welcome with open arms, with joy, with delight, and appropriating of the word with that kind of attitude. The first indication of the effectual calling of God is the hearty embrace of the word. Let me illustrate this from a passage of scripture that joins these two together beautifully. In John 6:44 and 45. Remember that passage? We studied it together. Our Lord says, "No one can come to Me unless the Father who sent Me draws him, and I will raise him up on the last day." Well, how does God draw? How does He draw? How does God draw men to Himself? That drawing without which men will not come, cannot come.

Well, how will He draw? Does He draw by some kind of a magical coercion? No, He draws by a way that is mysterious to us, but it's not magical. For notice the next words, "For it is written in the prophets, or it is written in the prophets, And they shall all be taught by God.' Everyone who has heard and learned from the Father comes to Me." When a man begins to hear and learn from the Father, he is not far away from coming to Christ. So how does God draw? Well, God draws by causing the word to come with power and causing sinners then to begin to welcome the word. There's that warm embrace.

One of the most blessed signs to me as an undershepherd that God is beginning a work of grace is when I see someone who has been so indifferent to the word of God, so indifferent, so laid back, so, well, who cares attitude, to see that person beginning to search the Word earnestly, earnestly, and begin to cry to God that he'd understand the scriptures. Oh, I have high hopes for that person. I don't care how long it takes God to do the work of revealing His Son. He knows what He's doing. You could tell they're hearing, learning from the Father, and when they begin to hear and learn from the Father, won't be too long before they're drawn to the Son.

And that's what Paul recognized in these beloved people there in Thessaloniki. For our gospel did not come to you in word only, he tells them, but also in power and in the Holy Spirit with full assurance, just as you know what kind of man we proved to be among you for your sake. You also became imitators of us and of the Lord. Why? Having received the Word. Having received the Word. The first indication of the effectual call is a warm embrace of the Word of God, a warm embrace of the word of God.  Several examples. We have the principle stated in John 6. Let's look at several examples in the book of Acts where this very word, having received the word, is used. Acts chapter eight, turn with me very quickly. Acts 8:14. I want us to see this together. This is really important for us.

Acts 8:14. We read there, "Now when the apostles in Jerusalem heard that Samaria had"—what? See, the same expression—"received the Word of God." Now, what does it mean, received? Does it mean they simply were exposed to the preaching of the apostles? No, for the same strong word is used here, *dékhomai (δέχομαι)*. They welcomed it with delight, with an appropriating reception. They appropriated the word of God from the heart. They welcomed it.

You can read about it beginning with verse five. If you go, if you back up in the same chapter, they welcomed it. Now, Philip, verse five. "Now, Philip went down to the city of Samaria and began preaching Christ to them. And the crowds with one accord were giving attention to what was being said by Philip." Now, go to verse eight. "So there was"—what?—"great joy in that city." There was a warm embrace. There was joy, exuberance, the reception of the word of God.

You see the Father drawing, how? Not magically, in mysterious ways that we cannot put down and trace them out. One, two, three, four. Yes, for the scripture says the ways of the Spirit are like the wind, right? There's an element of mystery, but it's not magic. It's by the means of the Word of God, the living, active Word of God applied, the power applied through the Spirit. And so as the Spirit of God worked in Samaria, people received the Word, and then these blessed fruits followed.

It's the same word used of the Bereans in Acts 17, while we're still in Acts. Acts 17: 11, we read, "Now these were more noble-minded"—Acts 17: 11, with reference to the Bereans—"now these were more noble-minded than those in Thessaloniki, for they received the word with great eagerness." They received the Word. Same thing, same expression. They welcomed it. They appropriated it to themselves.

And now the Scripture states categorically, and I want us to look at it so that there would be no confusion in anyone's mind. This is crystal clear in scripture. The Holy Spirit-inspired record, 1 Corinthians 2:14, is the text that uses the same word, the same word, *dékhomai (δέχομαι)*, where we read, "But a natural man"—the natural man, what is that man? It's the man devoid of the Spirit's operation. The Spirit's operation. Here's the Word. The natural man does not, what? dékhomai (δέχομαι). Does not accept. Does not receive with delight. Does not embrace from the heart. There's no warm embrace. The depths of the Spirit of God. He does not receive the depths of the spirit of God. There's no joyful, delightful, warm embrace of the things of the Spirit. The natural man, the man who's yet a stranger to the working of God in grace, he does not receive the Word. Oh yes, he may be exposed to the Word. He may even have the Word fall into his mental categories. In fact, he may be able to give back the plan of salvation as he heard it. He may be able to give back some of the substance of the word, but the word used here is that same word, dékhomai (δέχομαι), to welcome, to receive into head, heart, and life. And the Bible says he can't, he can't do that. He says the natural man does not accept the depths of the Spirit of God, why? They are foolishness to him, and he cannot understand them, because they are what? Spiritually examined."

There must be an ability to embrace the Word this way, and this ability is nothing less than the mighty, powerful working of God the Holy Spirit Himself. And so the lesson of this text is tremendous for us. And let me pause and address the parents here in our midst. As you pray for your kids, as you pray for your little ones, what should you consider some signs that God may be beginning the work of grace in them? What should you take as a sign? I believe here's a good one: when those kids begin to show an independent thirst and hunger for the Word of God, they begin to welcome the Word of God with a warm embrace. And you find that even when they know you're not checking on them, and you look out the corner of your eye sitting in a service like this, and you see them sitting beside you or sitting in front of you or behind you, you see them with their mouths open drinking in the preaching of the Word. When you find them of their own accord reaching out after the Word of God, that's when you ought to begin to give thanks to the Lord when you pray for your kids. That's maybe God beginning a work of grace.

Not when they can parrot something. That may be nothing but the work of producing little Pharisees. Not when simply they can model it, but when it is evident that they begin to truly receive it with joy, and there's that warm embrace, and there's that insatiable desire for it. Have you received the Word? Are you receiving the Word this evening, tonight, as you hear? Is your heart reaching out? Are you welcoming it with a glad appropriation? Or are you simply being exposed to it? Are you really receiving it with joy, or are you just can't wait for the service to end? The first indication of God's effectual calling is just that.

Secondly, second application from this little phrase, the primary characteristic of a true Christian is that he has submitted to a specific body of truth. He has submitted to a specific body of truth. Having received the Word, you received it as it came is the implication. You didn't pare off any of the rough edges of the Word, of the message. You didn't tamper with it. You didn't water it down. It wasn't like a spiritual buffet—well, I'll take this, but I'll leave that out. You didn't bring it through the sieve of human understanding. You didn't press it into the mold of human prejudice. You didn't try to shape it after the disposition of carnal desires. No, no, no. Paul said, just as it came to you, you warmly embraced it. And you didn't seek to alter it one bit. That's the reception that he's talking about.

That's a genuine child of God, a man who, among other things, has been exposed to a given message and has embraced that message in total and completely embraced it, and he has sought to receive it as it is, not alter one iota of it. A Christian is a man who has submitted to and embraced a different course of authority, even the Word of truth. Notice what our Lord said in John 17, where He prayed for His own. In praying for His own, He gives us some beautiful descriptions of a Christian, and this is one of them.

In John 17:6-8, we read the following. Our Lord is speaking, I have, or praying—"I have manifested Your name to the men whom You gave Me out of the world; they were Yours and You gave them to Me, and they have kept Your Word." Just as I gave Your Word to them, they kept it. They kept Your word just as I gave it to them. They received and kept it. Now, verse seven: "Now they have come to know that everything You have given Me is from You; for the words which You gave Me I have given to them, The words, the specific words—not just thoughts—but I've given unto them the very words that You have given Me, and what? What's the next phrase? "And they received them." Not some of them, not portions, not bits and pieces, but all of them. That's the Lord's description of a Christian, of a disciple. He has received the words of God. He's embraced the words of God. He seeks by the grace of God to keep the words of God. Fully, completely, all of it.

You don't get to pick and choose. They don't judge those words. They submit to those words. They align their lives with those words. They regulate their lives by the word of God, and under the word of God. They don't tamper with the word. They don't tamper with the message to bring it in line with their thoughts, but they seek to bring their thoughts in line with the message. They don't seek to bring the word to be subject to their own judgments, but they allow their judgments to be subject to the word. They're constantly reforming, aligning with the word, conforming to the image of Christ.

Let me ask you something this evening, dear child of God. Are you convinced—are you convinced—that if you throw off the absolute authority of the Scripture, you have no grounds from now on to even claim that you're a Christian? And I really, I feel myself compelled to speak a word of warning to us as God's people. There's even in our evangelical circles, emerging not a great big red ax over the doctrine of the absolute authority and the inspiration of the Scripture, but you know what there is? There's a little dim gray question mark way up in the right-hand corner, as it were.

Do you see the difference? If somebody came to you this evening after the service with the Bible and had a great big thick red marker and put a big red ax over the whole thing and says, now that's what you ought to do with your Bible, just cancel it out. It is not trustworthy. Discard of it, just get rid of it. It's not trustworthy. I mean, your eyes would be up in horror, wouldn't you? But now if he held it out and said, the whole thing is the Word of God, but a little fuzzy gray question mark over a word here, a word there, and this and that and the other, right-hand corner, you may be tempted to kind of overlook that as pretty harmless, and I feel that's what's happening even in evangelical circles. Little fuzzy question mark.

Oh, yes, that the Bible, you know, seems to teach fiat creation, that God actually broke in and created life, created everything out of the womb of nothing, but there's a question mark. There's a question mark. Maybe the Genesis account of creation really isn't that literal. Maybe it's not that reliable. Maybe evolution is real. You know, God is behind it, but maybe it is, maybe not. The Bible seems to teach this, but, beloved, listen, a Christian is someone who has received the Word as it has come to him in its totality with all of its difficulties as well as with its promises of joy and blessing, and I don't want to belabor the point, but I do want to state it sufficiently to make the point.

Would to God, would to God, that it could be said of us every time we opened the Word, we opened the Scriptures, every time the Scriptures are proclaimed and read. Now, what Paul could say of these people as he does in 2:13—we'll enlarge on it, Lord willing, more when we come to that. Notice what he says. Same letter, 1 Thessalonians 2:13. Would to God, this could be said of us every time we opened the word of God. 1 Thessalonians 2:13: "And for this reason, we also give thanks, we also thank God without ceasing that when you received the Word of God which you heard from us, you accepted it not as the word of men, but for what it really is, the Word of God, which also is at work in you who believe."

What a wonderful thing for a servant of God to be able to say that about a congregation. And he says, this is what makes me thankful to God above all else, that when we came saying, thus says the Lord—now remember, Paul simply opened up the Scriptures, the Old Testament Scriptures. Remember the setting of this in Acts 17, the birthing of the church? He went into the synagogue, he reasoned out of what? Out of his own, you know, imagination? No, no, out of the Scriptures. Verse by verse, phrase by phrase. But he said, when you people saw me, going through the scrolls, and proving from the scrolls that Jesus was the Messiah, you saw beyond the scroll and the parchment, you saw beyond the messenger, you saw the God who made you. Receive the word with joy.

He says, thank God you received it as the Word of God. And I trust, beloved, when you sit here Sunday by Sunday and see beyond the black book and beyond the messenger, and you receive it as the Word of God. Do you? If you do, do you know what's gonna happen? You're gonna be an imitator, an example. And from you, the Word will sound forth. And all these other effects will follow if you have the cause, having received the Word of God.

Two principles, then, I see in that phrase. The first indication of the effectual call is a warm embrace of the word. Secondly, a Christian is one who received a definite body of revealed truth, all of it. And the third thing, I'll only touch on it briefly, because I do wanna get to the little phrase "in much affliction with joy of the Holy Spirit."

Thirdly, the only hope for such a reception of the Word in ourselves and others is what? The only hope to have that kind of reception of the Word, that warm embrace, in us and in others, is the mighty, the mighty work of the Holy Spirit. There's no other way around it. The mighty work of the Holy Spirit. Paul says, our gospel came in power, you received it, and the two are inseparable. If it doesn't come with power, it will not be received like this. Or it may be received in the first sense of that other word, like *lambano (λαμβάνω )* I received a ticket begrudgingly. I'll admit that's true, but it won't be received with the warm embrace and appropriation.

Why? Because the Bible tells us, "But a natural man does not accept the things of the Spirit of God, for they are foolishness to him." Well, let's press on with the remaining time that we have.
What circumstances attended that reception of the Word? What circumstances attended the reception of that Word? Paul touches on them here, there are two. He said, having received the Word, how? This is the first one, in much affliction. That's the first set of circumstances. And the second one, with the joy of the Holy Spirit.

Someone said, and I quote, it's a good reminder, "an age out of fellowship with martyrs is neither noble nor blessed, however prosperous." End of quote. It's hard for us to understand this little phrase, having received the Word, in much affliction. Much affliction. It's hard because most of us, for the most part, do not know experimentally what much affliction means. This is the word used throughout the length of scripture, translated in some places, tribulation. It's the Greek word that we're familiar with, *thlipsis (θλῖψις) *. *Thlipsis (θλῖψις) *. It means to crush, to press, to compress, to squeeze. Which is from the Greek word, *thlao (θλάω) *, to break, trouble, tribulation, affliction. Often a metonym for evils, by which one is pressed, calamity.

Paul, and it's strange to say it, but Paul assured all of his converts that just as surely as they had a common lot in their sinfulness, common lot in their Savior, in their hope of heaven, he always assured them that they're going to have a common lot in their affliction, in their suffering. Notice what he said, new converts there, Acts 14. From a human perspective, what a strange thing to tell a bunch of new converts. If you want to get them discouraged and send them back to the leeks and onions and garlic of Egypt, just tell them what Paul told them. What a way to confirm the disciples.

But look at this, Acts 14: 22. Well, let's back up to verse 21. In verse 21, Luke, under inspiration, said this, that they returned to Lystra and to Iconium and to Antioch, places where they preached the Word of God before. Now, verse 22: "strengthening the souls of the disciples, encouraging them to continue in the faith, and saying, 'Through many afflictions we must enter the kingdom of God.'"

I thought you'd go to new converts and tell them how wonderful it is that everything, you come to Jesus, and everything's gonna be blessed and happy and joyful and peaceful, and it's gonna be, I mean, a smooth ride, a smooth sailing, a walk in the garden. You receive Christ, and you're just gonna be like sitting by the French Riviera, putting your feet up, sipping iced tea. No, no, they went back and strengthened the souls of the disciples by telling them the truth, saying, roll up your sleeves. Through much affliction, you will enter the kingdom of God.

He told the Philippians, in Philippians 1:21, it has been granted, it was a gift of grace to you, not only to believe in His name, but to suffer also for His namesake. He told these Thessalonians in this first letter, chapter three, verses three and four, I'll only read them because we hope to come to them eventually and expound them, "so that no one would be shaken by these afflictions; for you yourselves know that we have been destined for this. For indeed, when we were with you, we kept telling you in advance that we were going to suffer affliction, just as it happened, and as you know."

How could Paul be so sure that everywhere he went, he told these people, sooner or later, face it, you're gonna have a tough time? You're gonna face it. On what basis could he make such an assertion? And I believe, personally, he had conveyed to him the words that our Lord said to His disciples shortly before He went back to heaven.

Remember what those words were in John 16:33: "In the world, you have, *thlipsis (θλῖψις)*, you have tribulation, *thlipsis (θλῖψις)*, afflictions, but take courage; I have overcome the world." And if our Lord Jesus says to His own, "you have tribulation," then Paul had no qualms that wherever he went, saying, listen, sooner or later, if you're not in the crucible now, you will be in it, you will— and remember the word, **thlipsis (θλῖψις)* tribulation or affliction comes from a word which means to put pressure upon, to squeeze, to press. That's what affliction is. It's experiencing the vice-like jaws of pressure.

The pressure may sometimes come through actual physical abuse. That's what happened to those early converts. You remember Paul had been, hardly had been long enough to establish residence when affliction started. They grabbed the fellow who was taking care of him, being his host, they wanted to abuse him, and he had to give them some sort of a surety, sort of a payment to get them off his back, and Paul had to leave town quickly. The gospel was planted in the midst of affliction, persecution. These people knew experimentally that through much tribulation, they had to enter the kingdom of God, and it would seem according to the words of our Lord that just as all believers have a common lot in poverty of spirit, in meekness, in mourning, in hungering, in thirsting, He says in the last beatitude in Matthew 5: "'Blessed are you when people insult you and persecute you and falsely say all kinds of evil against you because of Me. Rejoice and be glad, for your reward is great in heaven, for in the same way they persecuted the prophets who were before you.'"

Now, there are times when perhaps that pressure does not come so much with physical abuse, but it comes, how? It comes through the pressure of what? Being cut off, ostracized, canceled out, pressured out of the circle of friendship, and it's a terrible commentary in Human Depravity how people can be so nice and yet make it obvious that they're so called to us. That's affliction, that's real affliction, that's real suffering.

In fact, I think the suffering of rejection is perhaps the deepest form of suffering there is, is that the inner suffering and affliction that comes with it, why? Because you see, the Christian exposes the world, the worldling, because of his culture pattern, because of the common grace of God restraining in society, he may not feel free to pick up a stone, his culture, his society said, well, you must, you know, smile, but in his heart, you sense the pulse of his heart as well as see his mocking, empty smile, his heart is a heart that says, if I could, I would pick up a stone.

Scripture says all Christians will have a part in that one way or another, the affliction, the tribulation of rejection, openly, overtly, or covertly, it matters not, and perhaps this is why this church was so influential, how the word sounded forth. For you see, when people are recruited in time of war, they don't join the army to see the world through, you know, a vacation or a portal, the 19-year-old who signs up, who knows, who knows in six months' time where he's going to be, and you may not get so many volunteering, but those that do, they know what they're in for, and they make better soldiers.

 And in the history of the church, one of the great principles that unfolds is this, that when the church of Jesus Christ has been at war, and the lines have been clearly drawn, and the forces of hell and darkness have been arrayed against the people of God, and the persecution and affliction break up above ground, you don't have as many, quote, volunteers. Those that know that they're in for blood, possibly for death, they make far better soldiers. And, beloved, it may be true—many of us, where we are, are going to be called upon to prove the reality of our profession, our faith, our reception of the Word, by seeing if we still welcome it in much affliction, however way that comes. Because you know what affliction does? Affliction reveals whether or not you're merely retaining the word on the surface of the life, or whether you've received it into the very fiber of your being.

And, young people, you face this in your university classes, on campus, day in and day out. You have this **thlipsis (θλῖψις)*, the pressure, to conform or be canceled out, and here's what affliction does. Affliction reveals whether or not you've merely retained the Word on the surface of life, or whether you've embraced it, received it into the very fiber of your being. Let me give you chapter and verse to prove that statement. Please turn to Matthew 13.

Matthew 13—and this struck me so forcibly in preparing for tonight. Notice the parable of the sower, and it says that those that received the word on the rocky places, stony ground, that they received the Word with joy. You know, it's interesting. They received the Word with joy. Do you know that the word translated "received" is not the word *dékhomai (δέχομαι)*, it's *lambano (λαμβάνω )*, *lambanō*. They welcomed it, but not with warm embrace, and they're exposed a little bit later, so there's this initial excitement, the surface excitement, forgiveness, eternal life. Oh, wow, this is glorious.

What happened? Well, the sun rose. It wasn't long before the sun beat down upon the little plant. It shriveled up, withered. What happened? It died, it's gone, and our Lord is going to interpret this parable, and then He says in verse—notice verse 20 and 21 in Matthew 13—"And the one on whom the seed was sown on the rocky places, this is the man who hears the word and immediately receives it with joy—*lambanō*, right? Not *dékhomai *—and yet he has no root in himself, but is only temporary, and when affliction or persecution arises because of the word, immediately he falls away." See what happens?

It's the picture of the one who receives the Word, retains the Word, but he's not to the roots of his being attached to the Word, and when the sun of tribulation, persecution arises, what does it do? It reveals clearly that there was no root, no root. There was retention, but no root, and when persecution arises because of the Word, because of his association with the Word, with Christ—but will you identify with Christ if it means your skin, your wife, your children, your life, your possessions, your work? Wait, wait a minute, wait a minute. I'll save my skin. You can have my Jesus. You can have my Jesus.

I'm deeply concerned for professing Christians whose whole Christian experience has not a single trace of self-denial, not a single trace. They can never say no to a plan, to pleasure, to anything for the sake of Christ. I fear that they are merely retaining the Word, and when the real tribulation, persecution comes because of the Word, they'll fall away. Beloved, let's not wait till it rises to see whether or not we have roots, but let us ask the Lord to show us, Lord, have I truly received the Word?

Well, they received it in much affliction, and all the affliction did was prove that they are truly, really, they have received it, and then you have this wonderful contrast. I just couldn't believe this. This was incredible. My eyes just opened up. Here's the way that this ought to—I mean, you ought to translate it literally this way: having received the word in much affliction, the Greek word, the next Greek word translated "with" is *meta (μετά) *, and really, you can translate, and it ought to be translated here this way: having received the word in much affliction along with, together with—together with—the joy of the Holy Spirit.

Now, whoever heard of such a foolish, unbefitting couple as affliction and joy? I mean, we've come across this, but it just struck me even more. You know, sometimes you see a couple coming down the street and he's like six foot seven and she's four foot eleven, and you say, how in the world did these two people get together? I mean, it just doesn't quite fit, you know, on a human perspective, in a visual way. Well, here comes affliction down the street, and the long side of her is what? Joy, joy. How do you get those two together? You just don't look like a good match. Well, you see, God delights to put things together that only God could ever think to put together. So we might, you and I might, put affliction with a word like endurance—having received the word in much affliction with endurance of the Holy Spirit. Or we might put together having received the word in much enthusiasm and joy. They fit together. But affliction and joy? How do you get those two together? Well, you see, God just likes to put together things that we human beings would never put together.

Who would ever have thought of God becoming a man, right? And choosing to breathe His first breath amidst the acrid smell of a stinking stable. Who would ever have dreamed of a thing like that? What does God put together? Deity and the smell of dung. And God joins them together. You see, His ways are not our ways—"as the heavens are high above the earth, so His thoughts are above our thoughts and His ways are above our ways." And now He wanted to bring these Thessalonians into joy. How does He do it? He doesn't do it by stepping up the anti-poverty program, giving double benefits of welfare—no, no. He lets them come to the Christian faith in the crucible of suffering.

Why? Because He knows that there's an inseparable relationship between joy and affliction. You say, I don't understand. Well, stick with me just the remaining few minutes and I hope maybe you will. You see, the Word that came to them offering salvation in the Lord, demanding absolute submission to Christ—that's the Word which, when they received it, led them into the arena of suffering and affliction. The moment they received the Word—you read about that in Acts 17—the Jews became jealous, began to persecute them and afflict them and harass them. Why? Because they received the Word about Jesus Christ and about the gospel. But that Word to which they adhered, even though it meant affliction, was also a Word that promised something.

What did it promise? "I will never leave you nor forsake you." A Word that promised, "He that has the Son has life." A Word that declared that "their sins, iniquities will be remembered no more." A Word that says, "In My Father's house are many mansions; if it were not so, I would have told you; so I go to prepare a place for you." A Word that says that there's a glorious inheritance of the saints. So for the first time, they had that in the midst of suffering, which they never had in the midst of peace.

Sure, everything was going fine. Thessaloniki was a thriving port city. No doubt, many of these people were feeding on the affluence of the city in a state of idolatry. And now they turn from their idols to serve the living and true God. And they enter into the crucible of suffering and yet joy. Why? Well, for the first time, they had something the idol could never give them. They knew what it was to say, Abba, Father. They knew what it was to say, Hallelujah, found Him whom my soul so long has craved. They knew what it was to say, my sins are gone, gone, gone—yes, my sins are gone. All of them.

No need to come before the idol day after day, week after week, hoping, yearning somehow to get a little bit of peace of conscience. Now in the midst of persecution—I mean, you make them look up and say, Father, the persecution really drives them to look up and say, Father, I thank You that through the blood of Your Son, my sins are gone forever. And they are buried in the depths of the sea. See, that's why they had joy. In the midst of affliction, the affliction came because of the Word, but the Word brought with it the very thing that raised them above affliction and gave them joy in the Holy Spirit.

Does man reject me? It's all right, because God accepts me. And that's a cause of joy. Does man take my earthly inheritance? That's all right. God has prepared for me a heavenly, glorious inheritance that produces joy. Does man frown upon me? That's all right, as long as God smiles upon me, and that produces joy. God is for me, no matter who is against me, and He will right all wrongs—sorrowful yet rejoicing.

So you see, in the midst of affliction, joy. What kind of joy? Oh, he tells us, joy of the Holy Spirit. Oh, the tremendous lesson in this, and I say it tenderly to some of us who may be sitting here tonight feeling, if I only could find the secret of joy. If only I could find the secret of joy. Beloved, here it is. Here it is, beloved. Here it is.

Joy doesn't have one atom to do with your circumstances. Let me say that again. Joy doesn't have anything, not even one atom to do with your circumstances or with your possessions or with having someone in your life or not having someone in, or anything that relates to this life—not a single thing. Joy has solely to do with your relationship to God, to Christ, to heaven, to things eternal, and to the world to come. Joy has nothing to do with what you have here and now. Happiness does. Happiness does. Happiness has everything to do with what you have here.

Now, thank God, in various instances, He gives His children not only joy but happiness as well. Happiness is based upon pleasant circumstances, being around pleasant people, living in health, living in relative prosperity, and the world can have happiness as well as sorrow, but the world can never have joy. Joy is a quality produced by a right relationship to God. That's why it says the fruit of what? The Spirit. The Spirit is joy. Nobody else can give it but God the Holy Spirit. No one else.

Therefore, no one has this gift of joy except the person indwelt by the Holy Spirit. And when he's got it, it's not depending on circumstances because it's the result of what? A right relationship to God, the world to come, spiritual realities. That's why you read in the book of Acts after they let loose Peter and the others, after beating them, in Acts 5:41, what do we read? "So they went on their way from the presence of the Sanhedrin, how? Rejoicing. Rejoicing. Rejoicing that they had been considered worthy to suffer shame for the name."

And this is what has got the ire of unregenerate men up to its boiling point. Whenever there's open persecution, the more they persecute the people of God, the more joyful the people of God become. And they can't get it. They can't understand it. They can't understand this. Why? Because they think if we take away things, we'll kill that fanatical joy. So they take away possessions. And guess what happens? Their joy rises a few degrees. They take away loved ones. Their joy rises a few more degrees. They take away life itself and they die doing what? Like so many of the martyrs, they die, what? Singing the praises of God.

Why? Because all men can do is release them from the prison of this body to go into the presence of God. Oh, beloved, you know, anything of the joy of the Holy Spirit, it has nothing to do with things, circumstances. That's how these people receive the Word, in much affliction, with joy of the Holy Spirit. Oh, may God grant that as they thus receive the Word, that we too, by the grace of God, shall receive the Word.

Every time we open this book, have you received the Word? Are you receiving, welcoming the Word in a warm, hearty embrace? Or are you simply tolerating it, simply retaining it up here in the head until such a time it will be convenient to flop it off? May God grant that we shall be receivers of the Word, that it may be written of us, having received the Word in much affliction, with joy of the Holy Spirit.

And may it never be said that when tribulation and difficulties arose, they fell away. May God deliver us, each and every one of us, from fair-weather Christians. May we serve our Lord, if necessary, even when it means the sealing of our witness with our own lives, to serve Him faithfully, to serve Him consistently, and to serve Him with delight.

Let's pray.

This is a transcript. It may contain small inaccuracies.

The time has come for the public ministry of our Lord Jesus Christ to culminate in the cross. It has reached its climax, and He will now present Himself as the King of Israel in the most public and most official way. This is one of the very well-known events in the life of our Lord Jesus Christ on this earth, known as His triumphal entry. But while it is well-known, it is also an event that has often been misunderstood. Because while it is true—and it is—that our Lord clearly presents Himself here and meant to present Himself as the King of Israel, He knew all along that He was also presenting Himself as the Passover Lamb of His people. Behold the Lamb of God.

He entered Jerusalem this day not expecting that there would be massive national repentance and that Israel would embrace Him as her Savior King, but He understood this entering into Jerusalem will ultimately lead to His death on a cross. This is His first step towards the crucifixion. What He's doing here, He's doing it in a very deliberate way. Very deliberate. The purpose of what He's doing, the timing of what He's doing—it is all in accordance with the divine plan that is unfolding with precision.Can't help but think of His selflessness, His love for us—love so amazing, so divine—love for us that is utterly selfless, sacrificial.

He's enjoyed two great days in Bethany among friends. They held a dinner in His honor, and there you remember He was anointed by Mary, an expression of her love, her devotion, her understanding of His mission. The next day, great crowds come out to see Lazarus, whom He had raised from the dead, and to see Jesus, and many believed. And so the shepherd is seeing His sheep gathered to Him, even those for whom He would soon lay down His life, gathered to Him. It had to be a two days of great satisfaction to Him, great joy, peace, rest.

But now on this Monday, He willingly leaves this place of rest and joy to enter Jerusalem and to do it in a way that would ultimately lead to the cross. So we come to the triumphal entry of Jesus, and as we come to this account, there are some issues that we come face to face with that you can't really avoid if you really study the Word of God. And I have to tell you that in my study this week, when you consider all of the Gospel records about this final week of His life, and when you read all of the faithful, godly expositors and scholars, you discover there's disagreement about the timing.

What day did this occur on? Some actually say—some minor position—but some say, well, it took place on the Sabbath, that it was on a Saturday. Most have said that this occurred on Sunday, Palm Sunday. Thus we have Palm Sunday, the observance of the idea that He entered Jerusalem on a Sunday. Some have said this happened on a Monday. So much disagreement about the timing among godly expositors, so many arguments involved, so much counterpoint, that we literally could have spent the entire day today just talking about timing and setting forth the various arguments and presenting the various positions.

And I have to tell you, in preparing this week it was difficult to decide exactly how I wanted to approach it, because I do like to think through these issues together with you. But after thinking about it prayerfully, I don't think that would be the most profitable use of our time. There are few places where this is going to really affect the interpretation in a very, very insignificant, minute way. And I believe when you see so many godly people taking different positions, that's always an indicator to me at least that there must be something here more central that the Holy Spirit intended for us to lay a hold of. And that's what we want to do. That's where I want to spend our time—not talking so much about the timing of the events as getting to the meat that is found here and learning really together what our Lord really wants us to understand, wants us to learn.

I will say however, however—parenthesis—that after looking at the issues, the position that I've reached is that our Lord entered Jerusalem on Monday, 10th of Nisan, and that He was crucified on Friday, the first month of the year, their year, Nisan the 14th day. Now, if you want to do more study on your own and you want to really look into this further, I encourage you to do that. I think this is the case for this position that has been set forth thoroughly, convincingly, and thoroughly by Harold Hohner, H-O-E-H-N-E-R, in his book *Chronological Aspects of the Life of Christ*. And so, if you are interested in it, you can get that book and look into it—*Chronological Aspects of the Life of Christ*—connecting it to the prophecy in Daniel 9 and so forth.

But following this timeline, let me set forth the events that we're going to meet with in the four Gospels as we look at this final week of our Lord's life leading to His crucifixion and then the resurrection. So here's the timeline. On Saturday evening, Jesus is anointed at Simon the leper's house. On Sunday, a great crowd comes out to Bethany to see Lazarus and to see the Lord. On Monday, our Lord enters Jerusalem. He visits the temple, looks around, and then returns to Bethany. The day that He enters Jerusalem is Nisan 10. And this is a significant day because it is the day when the lambs were selected for the Passover. And we'll talk about that in a minute more today and next Lord's Day, Lord willing. On Tuesday, He leaves from Bethany to come again to Jerusalem and curses the barren fig tree and cleanses the temple. The religious leaders begin to seek how they might destroy Him, and then He goes back to Bethany.

On Wednesday, the disciples see the withered fig tree, the tree Jesus had cursed. At the temple, Jesus has a day of controversy with the religious leaders of the Jews. That afternoon, Jesus makes His way to the Mount of Olives, and there He gives that well-known discourse, the Olivet Discourse. He predicts that in two days He'll be crucified at the time of Passover, and it was on Wednesday that Judas plans the betrayal of Christ with the religious leaders.
On Thursday, He had His disciples prepare the Passover lamb. They observed the Passover meal according to the Galilean time frame. We're going to talk about this as we get further into it. The Judeans reckon time differently than the Galileans, and so literally there were two Passover observances, one on Thursday and one on Friday. Jesus celebrated the Passover with His disciples on Thursday. They had their Passover meal in the upper room, and leaving the upper room, Jesus had a discourse with His disciples and then He offered intercessory prayer for them.

Then they get to the Garden of Gethsemane, and there Jesus suffers in agony as He contemplates the cup that He will soon drink—the cup that awaits Him, the wrath of God. Later that night, He's betrayed, arrested, and during the night He is tried, first by Annas and later by Caiaphas, with the religious leaders. Early in the morning on Friday, Jesus is tried by the Sanhedrin, Pilate, Herod Antipas, and then Pilate again, and then He was led to the cross and was crucified at 9 a.m. Six hours later, 3 p.m., at the very time when the Passover lambs were being slaughtered, sacrificed, He died. He gave up His spirit, and He was buried later that day.
On Saturday, His body is lying in the tomb during the Sabbath, and the Pharisees secure Roman guards to keep watch of the tomb. Then Sunday, Christ was resurrected from the dead, fulfilled the type of the offering of the firstfruits which was offered the day after the Sabbath. He is the firstfruits of those who will be raised from the dead. This is what we're going to see in this final week from Monday to Sunday, Lord willing.

You'll notice when it comes to the triumphal entry itself, John gives us in his account a rather brief summary of this day compared with the synoptic Gospels. So we're going to keep our attention here in John's account. So if you want to look at more of the details of His triumphal entry, you'll find them in Matthew 21, Mark 11, and Luke 19. But this morning we're going to focus, and next Lord's Day, Lord willing, we're going to focus particularly with some cross-references, but particularly on John's account.

And there are four things that we want to consider together as we begin to really look into this account of the triumphal entry of Jesus. Number one, we're going to look together at the manner of His coming. And secondly, we're going to look at the meaning of His coming. Thirdly, at the message of His coming. And fourthly, the misunderstanding of His coming.

So let's begin this morning with the manner of His coming. That's all we will do this morning, the manner of His coming. And we'll pick it up where we leave off today, next time, Lord willing. The manner of His coming, and this is bracketed by verse 12 and verse 15. Let's look at these verses together now.

"On the next day, the large crowd who had come to the feast, when they heard that Jesus was coming to Jerusalem, took the branches of the palm trees and went out to meet Him, and began to shout, 'Hosanna, blessed is He who comes in the name of the Lord, even the King of Israel.' And Jesus, finding a young donkey, sat on it; as it is written, 'Fear not, daughter of Zion; behold, your King is coming, seated on a donkey's colt.'"

The manner of His coming. He entered Jerusalem on this day, Nisan 10. And the first thing I want to point out here is that He came as a King. The manner of His coming, He came as a King. He came as the King. He came in such a way that it was evident He was and is the King, the King of Israel. Everything about His entry was designed to point to Jesus as the true and promised King of Israel.

The way He rode into the city, He came in on a young donkey, a colt. The disciples found this colt. Jesus told them that they would. He gave them specific instructions. He sent them into a village, and He said that they would find it there, and they did, and were told in the other accounts that this colt has never been ridden before. And you know, kings don't use used things, they don't. And so in keeping with royalty, this colt has never been ridden before until Jesus Himself rode it into the city. And so this colt was especially set aside for this purpose, this royal purpose.

And what Jesus does here is a literal fulfillment of the Messianic prophecy given to us in Zechariah 9 and verse 9. John notes that in verse 14, Jesus, finding a young donkey, sat on it as it is written, quoting Zechariah 9:9. Verse 15: "Fear not, daughter of Zion; behold, your King is coming, seated on a donkey's colt." And so when He came in riding on this donkey, it was a literal fulfillment of the prophecy concerning Israel's King.

The prophecy there in Zechariah 9:9, we read the following: "Rejoice greatly, O daughter of Zion! Make a loud shout, O daughter of Jerusalem! Behold, your King is coming to you; He is righteous and endowed with salvation, Lowly and mounted on a donkey, Even on a colt, the foal of a pack animal." And so He comes in such a way as to say, this is the King of Israel. This is the long-awaited King.

We also note, we need to note, not only does He come in a way that really displays Him clearly as the King, but the way that He entered spoke of what kind of a King He was. It spoke of what kind of a King He was. He doesn't come with a sword. He doesn't come as a King might enter with a sword, with pomp, with power. He doesn't come riding on a horse ready for battle. He doesn't come riding on a chariot. Rather, He comes humbly. He comes peaceably, not to conquer with a sword, but to conquer by His shed blood. The blood of His death.
And so, the way that He rode in, He said clearly that He was the King.

Not only that, but the way that the crowds were treating Him. Also, if you look at all the accounts, the picture that really emerges is that Jesus is traveling to Jerusalem from Bethany with people, with an entourage of people. And after He's seated on this colt, they begin to break out in praise. There is this enthusiasm. And in fact, they're so excited, they're so enthusiastic, they put their garments on the colt and then they begin to lay their garments before Him.

As He makes His way down the Mount of Olives, they begin to lay their garments in front of Him. And then John tells us these palm trees are being waved. And by the way, palm branches—not trees, rather, branches—in the Scripture are a symbol of joy. We find them in Revelation 7:9. They're throwing down these branches before Him, a symbol of joy. You are our deliverer. You are the source of joy. You are our triumphant King.

The chief priest had already said, if you see Jesus anywhere, report to us because we want to arrest Him. We're going to arrest Him. Well, they had long forgotten this warning and they were caught up in the emotion, the hysteria of the moment. The entire place is lit up with enthusiasm, with expectation. The long-awaited hour has now come. The Messiah from God has come to us. And they are literally paving the way ahead of Him, ahead of His entrance, His path for His entrance. And they are receiving their King with open arms.

Spurgeon makes the observation that it's not insignificant. He said it is significant that John is the only one of the four evangelists who mentioned the palm branches. Others refer to branches, but not particularly palm branches. And he makes the connection. He says, and it was to John that the vision was given in Revelation 7:9 of the great multitudes which no man could number, of all nations, kindred, and people, and tongue, who stood before the throne and before the Lamb, clothed with white robes and palms in their hands, and cried out with a loud voice saying, saying, salvation to our God who sits upon the throne, and unto the Lamb.

So you have this group of people now coming with Jesus from Bethany to Jerusalem, laying their garments before Him, palm branches, this excitement, this joy, jubilance. And then you have now another group coming out from Jerusalem now to meet Him. And together now, you have this outbreak of praise and enthusiasm as Jesus makes His way into Jerusalem. And they're shouting. They're shouting what? What are they shouting? A portion of Psalm 118.
When they began to shout, verse 13, John 12, "Hosanna! Blessed"—blessed— "is He who comes in the name of the Lord, even the King of Israel." And the verb "began to shout" is in the imperfect tense. And it really pictures the crowd beginning to shout, kept shouting, crying out, and continuing to shout over and over and over and over again the following Old Testament passages.

Of course, the bitter tragedy, the ironic, the tragic irony is that here the Jewish crowd is welcoming the long-awaited Messiah and King, but only a few days later the same crowd would cry out—using the same verb, imperfect tense—away with Him, away with Him, crucify Him. John 19:15. The fickle crowds went from crown Him to crucify Him.

But here they're shouting a portion of Psalm 118. When they began to shout, verse 13, "Hosanna! Blessed is He who comes in the name of the Lord, even the King of Israel." Psalm 118, verse 25 says this: "O Yahweh, save! O Yahweh, succeed! Blessed is the one who comes in the name of Yahweh; We have blessed you from the house of Yahweh." And so they're shouting out scripture that has to do with the coming of the King of Israel.

And by the way, Psalm 118 was the benediction psalm for the Passover meal. So even the very scripture that they're citing, that they're shouting, that's going on is a foreshadowing of the very purpose for which our Lord was coming. He had come to be what? Our Passover lamb. He had come to be our Passover sacrifice, coming not only to present Himself as the King, but to present Himself as well in a moment, as we will see, as the lamb, the Passover lamb, the Lamb of God.

And so you have the celebration, people enthusiastic. They're shouting out with joy, Psalm 118, verse 25, "Hosanna." And by the way, the word Hosanna means save, please. Save, please. Or save now. Lord, save, please. Or save now, Lord. But this word, as it began to be used, pretty soon it came to mean not only would you save, but salvation is here. Salvation has arrived.
John Piper, illustrating this, said, and I quote, "it's like if you could swim and you fell into a pool of water and you were saying, someone please save me. That's how the word was first used. But as it came to be used, pretty soon it would be what you would cry out after the life preserver has been thrown to you already. And now you say, I am saved. Salvation has come. Salvation has come."

And so Jesus is making His way into Jerusalem. This is what they were shouting. Salvation is here. Salvation has come. Here is the King of Israel. He is—here comes our Savior King.

Now the people did not understand what they were saying. Most of them didn't. They had no idea really exactly what they were saying. Because as we know, by the end of the week, most of the crowd will turn against Him and they cry out for His crucifixion.

But nonetheless, God designed this. God designed this to magnify His Son, to exalt His Son. These people were speaking true words, whether they realized it or not. And as we've already seen, haven't we, that God can be at work in someone's mouth, that they would say what's right, even though they don't fully understand it or absorb it. And we saw that in the case of who, you know, Caiaphas, right? When he prophesied the death of our Lord for the salvation of the people, and Caiaphas had no idea what he was saying truly, the full meaning of what he was saying.

In the same way, they're speaking here true words, proclaiming Him to be the King of Israel, proclaiming the fact that He had come to usher salvation, to bring salvation. Powerful words. In fact, these words disturbed the Pharisees, so much so. And some of the Pharisees were present; they were witnessing this, and they were utterly disturbed, offended, in fact.

And in Luke 19, verse 37, we read, "And as He was going, they were spreading their garments on the road. Now, as soon as He was approaching, near the descent of the Mount of Olives, the whole multitude of the disciples began to praise God, rejoicing with a loud voice for all the miracles which they had seen, saying, 'Blessed is the King who comes in the name of the Lord. Peace in heaven and glory in the highest.' And some of the Pharisees in the crowd said to Him, 'Teacher, rebuke Your disciples.'" Jesus, do you hear what they're saying? Do you hear? Do you hear what they're saying about you? They're proclaiming you to be the King of Israel. Do something about it, rebuke them.

Listen to how Jesus, in verse 40, responds: "But Jesus answered and said, 'I tell you, if these were silent, the stones will cry out!'" Stones will cry out. In other words, they're not saying anything wrong. What they're saying is exactly right. It is true. And if these were silent, creation itself would cry out.

So this is designed by God, this is deliberate, this praise that should be given, and God has designed in such a way that Israel will be without excuse. Jesus is coming, just as it was prophesied that He would come, and He's coming in such a way that it screams out, here is your King. Behold your King, O Israel. The way that He's riding in, the way the crowd is responding to Him, clearly, clearly screams, this is your King. This is the King.

So He came as the King, the manner of His coming, the way that He comes, also speaks in another direction. He came not only as the King, but He also came as the Deliverer. He came as the Deliverer. We said earlier that He came in such a way that it not only said that He was a King and the King, but also what kind of a King He was. The way that the Holy Spirit interprets this event through John speaks of this fact, and I want us to see it this morning.

You will notice if you look back at the prophecy of Zechariah 9 and verse 9 and compare it with the verse as the Holy Spirit gives it through John, in John chapter 12, you will notice there's a slight difference. And it was deliberate. Look at verse 15. How does it begin? What are the two words? Fear not. Fear not. "Fear not, daughter of Zion; behold, your King is coming, seated on a donkey's colt." Fear not.

But if you read Zechariah 9:9, you don't find "fear not." Zechariah 9:9 begins how? This way: "Rejoice greatly." Rejoice greatly, O daughter of Zion. Don't believe any of the liberals. Say, ah, you see, a mistake. No, no. This was deliberate. This was deliberate. Let me explain.
"Rejoice greatly, O daughter of Zion! Make a loud shout, O daughter of Jerusalem! Behold, your King is coming to you; He is righteous and endowed with salvation, lowly and mounted on a donkey, even on a colt, the foal of a pack animal." Zechariah says rejoice greatly, but here the Holy Spirit interprets this event in the light of Zechariah 9:9 and says fear not. Fear not.

Why does He say fear not? Because this is the nature of the joy that the King brings. This is the nature of the joy that the King brings. He brings deliverance from the wrath of God. He brings deliverance from the wrath of Almighty God. The wrath that we looked at Good Friday, that really expresses the character of God. He is the God of burning holiness and inflexible justice.

This is the nature of the joy that the King brings. He brings salvation from sin. He brings salvation from the judgment of God upon sin. And this is what Zechariah says when he goes on to say He's righteous, endowed with salvation. "Behold, your King is coming to you; He is righteous and endowed with salvation." This is why the people are to rejoice. Not because He's bringing political deliverance, throwing off the Roman tyranny. No, no. As He entered Jerusalem, that's not the case. It's because He's bringing spiritual deliverance, not political deliverance. He's coming to accomplish salvation.

And all of those for whom salvation is accomplished, they no longer have any reason to be afraid whatsoever. Why? Because their sins are forgiven. They are right with a holy God. They're no longer under the wrath of God. They're no longer under the judgment of God. They are right with God, with the holy God, the thrice holy God, through the death of the Passover lamb, being clothed with His righteousness.

Now they are at peace with God. Whereas before there was enmity with God, now there's peace with God. No longer fearing the wrath of God. No longer having to fear the judgment of God upon their sins. So now they can rejoice and rejoice greatly—yes, in the language of Zechariah 9:9. But you could also say they don't have to be afraid anymore. Fear not. No reason to be afraid, because not only is your King here, but He is the Savior King and He's come to deliver you from your sins and from the wrath of God and put you at peace with God, reconciled with God, adopted by God.

So He comes as the King, He comes as the Deliverer, and thirdly and gloriously, He comes as the Lamb. He comes as the Lamb. The manner of His coming says that He's come to present Himself—this is deliberate—as the Passover Lamb.

You remember when John the Baptist first pointed out the Lord Jesus Christ? How does he speak of Him? John chapter 1 verse 29: "Behold," — what did he say? — "The Lamb of God." "Behold, the Lamb of God." And what does that mean? "Lamb of God." "Behold, the Lamb of God." Well, the Lamb sent by God, the Lamb chosen by God, this is the Lamb of God's choosing, this is the Lamb of God's electing choice. Now He's our Lamb—our Lamb in terms of the benefit of His death—but He is God's Lamb in terms of His being chosen to lay down His life on our behalf, our substitute.

If you look over to 1 Corinthians 5, 1 Corinthians 5, one of the things that I see in this passage is how practical theology is, how practical doctrine is. Here's Paul, 1 Corinthians 5, having to deal with a very practical matter in the Corinthian assembly. There's this open sexual immorality going on, the church is not dealing with it properly, there's no church discipline, and so here he is dealing with a very practical matter, and yet how is he going to deal with this very practical matter? Now follow closely. He's going to deal with it in a very theological, doctrinal way, and that's an important principle for us.

You see, doctrine applied is how the church is to live. Doctrine applied is how the church ought to live. Doctrine understood, doctrine known, then doctrine applied. That's why we strive by the grace of God not only to be a Bible-believing church, but a Bible-living church. Doctrine applied, that's how we live.

So he's dealing with immorality, and I mean we've got to stop and think about that. How would you deal with an immoral situation? It ought to be the same way, doctrine applied. Look at what he does in verse 6: "Your boasting is not good." They'd actually taken the situation, turned it into something that they were glorying in. Now we could speculate, we don't know exactly how. Maybe they thought of themselves as being very patient or very loving. I don't know how they thought of it exactly, but in some way they were boasting in the fact that this man was still present in fellowship, still living in this way, and they're boasting in the fact that they are the church of Jesus Christ, and all of this is going on, and Paul says it is to their shame.

Pastor MacArthur put it this way, quote, "Look where your arrogance and your boasting here have brought you, because you still love human wisdom and human recognition and the things of the world, you are completely blinded to the blatant sin that will destroy your church if you don't remove it,"
 
"Your boasting is not good," verse 6. "Do you not know that a little leaven leavens the whole lump? Clean out the old leaven so that you may be a new lump." Stop here for a moment. Passover. Passover. Nisan 14. Do you know what began at the same time, then went on for seven days afterwards? It was the feast of what? Unleavened bread. Unleavened bread. We'll talk about that next week, Lord willing. We'll deal with it next week, but here it is. Unleavened bread.

But what Paul has in mind here, the Passover, he says in verse 7, "Clean out the old leaven so that you may be a new lump, just as you are in fact unleavened. For Christ"—what does he say?—"our Passover lamb also was sacrificed." Christ, our Passover Lamb, and everything going on in His life, in His ministry on this earth, all of it—what?—fulfilling Scripture. Fulfilling Scripture. All righteousness must be fulfilled, right? He's our substitute. All righteousness must be fulfilled. Walking according to His Father's plan, doing what He's doing at precise times, precise reasons. Scripture is deliberately being fulfilled. Deliberately.

And in fulfilling the Old Testament Scriptures, He is fulfilling the types, the foreshadows, pictured in the Old Testament. And on the 10th day of Nisan, according to the biblical observance of Passover, on the 10th day, the lambs that were to be sacrificed for Passover were selected. Selected. And for three days, those lambs would be kept with the families, and then they would be sacrificed on the fourth day. And so on Nisan 10th, they're chosen; Nisan 14, they are sacrificed.

On Monday, Nisan 10, Jesus made His way into Jerusalem, and realize that on that day, that very day, thousands of lambs were driven into the city of Jerusalem for selection. Thousands. So it's not unreasonable, in the least, to think that as Jesus made His way into the city, that before Him would have been lambs coming into the city, driven into the city. Behind Him, there would have been lambs driven into the city. Perhaps even surrounding Him, along with the crowd, would have been lambs driven into the city.

And so as He made His way into the city of Jerusalem, you have not only the King, the Deliverer, but here is the presentation of God's selected Lamb. The Lamb of God. Our Passover Lamb.

James Montgomery Boyce captures this beautifully. He says, and I quote, "It was on that day that the thousands of Passover lambs that were to be sacrificed were taken up to Jerusalem and kept there three days in the homes of those who were to eat them. Josephus, the Jewish historian, tells us that one year a census was taken of the number of lambs slain for Passover and that the figure was 256,500. 256,500. In other words, with numbers this large, lambs must literally have been driven up to Jerusalem throughout the entire day." He goes on to say, "Consequently, whenever Jesus entered the city, He must have done so surrounded by lambs, Himself being the greatest of lambs. Four days later, at the time the lambs were killed, Jesus Himself was killed. He laid down His life, thereby becoming the ultimate Passover Lamb on the basis of those of whose shed blood the angel of spiritual death passes over all who place the trust in Him."

Can you see why the Holy Spirit says, fear not? Fear not. There's a spiritual angel of death. The wrath of God is upon sinners. But don't be afraid because the Lamb is here. The selected one is here. The Lamb whose blood will deliver you, the Lamb who brings salvation, the Lamb who is also the King.

I want to ask you this morning, is He your King? Is He your King? Have you received Him for who He really is? Is He your King? Is He your Savior King? And you cannot divide up Jesus. You cannot divide Him up. You can't cut Him up into pieces and only respond to aspects of His person and of His ministry that you're comfortable with, that you can live with. Jesus is both Lord and Savior. He is King as well as the Lamb of God who takes away the sins of the world.
And so when someone comes to Christ, they come to Him not only looking at His sacrifice as the answer for their sins—His shed blood for the remission of their sins—but they also at the same time recognize Him as their King, the Lord, their Master, their Sovereign. They come losing their life to gain His. They come bowing before Him, and they come counting the cost and realizing they are not worthy to be His disciples if they won't take up their cross and follow Him daily.

When was it? When was it in your life? What was the time? What was the day when God impressed upon you that you were lost, facing His wrath, because you are a wretched, vile sinner, unable to deliver yourself? But you understood that God has provided the Lamb for Himself, that God took the step necessary to deliver you from God—God from God—and from His holy and just wrath, that He chose His own Son, that He would come to this earth and live a sinless life, and then die a horrible death on the cross, bearing our sin, bearing our shame, bearing the wrath of God to deliver His people from their sins. The Passover Lamb of God.
And you saw this, so that you look not to yourself, but to Him alone for forgiveness of your sins. And you came not standing up, but you came bowing down, not still in control of your life, but losing your life, not wanting your own way, but surrendering your way to Him. You came to Him as the Lord who saves. When has it ever happened in your life? Has it happened? Do you realize that you could have intellectual knowledge that Jesus is the Savior and not know Him? And no one knows Him. No one knows Him who hasn't lost their life to Him.

Are you like the crowds that came out singing Hosanna, but later crucify Him? Maybe you have a surface enthusiasm about Jesus, or maybe you just have a surface allegiance to Him. And you come here Sunday after Sunday. Maybe even you come in midweek and you name the name of Christ and the label disciple is given to you. You have a name that you're alive, but in reality you're dead. And though you're called a disciple, you're not a disciple. Your life exposes you.

Listen carefully. You can know who you really are if you just take an honest stock of your fruit, as we learned last Sunday evening. And there are many, the Bible tells us, many, not a few, many according to Jesus, Matthew 7, who will one day say to the King, Lord, Lord, have we not done all these things in Your name? Have we not preached in Your name? Have we not performed this and that in Your name? Haven't we done this? Haven't we done that? And He will say to them, "Depart from Me." And here's such a key statement: "You who practice lawlessness." So you said you knew Me, but your life told a story. And for a while you said I was your Lord, but you lived for your darling sin, your darling idol habitually as a practice. "Depart from Me, you who practice lawlessness."

And what did He say? I—and what's the next word?—never, never knew you. You were never, ever Mine, never. "I never knew you." You may have sang hosannas. You may have clapped your hands. You may have said you were My disciple, but I never knew you—never, ever. "Depart from Me."

Here He is presented to Israel in a formal way according to Scripture. This is your King. This is your Deliverer. This is God's Lamb. But most of them couldn't see it. Most of them didn't understand it. Most of them never responded to Him in that way. Yet Paul was able to write 1 Corinthians 5:7 that Christ is our Passover Lamb. Whose? Those who have repented and look to Him as their Deliverer.

Next time we're going to come back and we're going to understand this in greater detail. We're going to look at the Passover and see how Jesus is our Passover Lamb. We want to really flush this out. This is really critically important. But today the most important question facing each and every one of us is, is He your Passover Lamb? Are you—or are you still under the wrath of God?

Let us not be like those in the crowd that day. Let us truly know Christ within our hearts. Let us not merely sing to the Lord with our lips. Let us not merely profess His name. Let us not merely put our coats in front of Him and our palm branches. Let us truly, genuinely love Him. Let us put our trust in Him. Let us be repenters who have turned away from dead religion. Let us be true believers who by faith embrace the Lord Jesus Christ. Let us receive His salvation. He is endowed with salvation. He is the King who is the Deliverer. And He is not a reluctant Savior.

Let us lay down the coats of our lives before Him. Let us lay down the branches of our wills to do His bidding, to obey Him. Let us receive Him into our lives. Let us rejoice and receive our King into the palaces of our hearts. Let Him be enthroned in our lives. Let us receive Him and incline our will to Him.

Corrie Ten Boom, a brave Dutch woman, saved many Jews from the Nazis during the Holocaust. A devout follower of Christ, she was asked if it was difficult for her to remain humble. And I love her reply. It was simple but salient. Quote, "When Jesus rode into Jerusalem that day on the back of a colt, and everyone was waving palm branches and throwing their garments on the road and singing praises," she said, "do you think for a moment it ever entered the head of the donkey that any of this was for him?" And she concluded, "If I can be the donkey on which Jesus Christ rides in this world, I will give Him all the praise and all the glory."

Child of God, you and I are like that colt at best. The only good thing about our lives is the One who rides upon our lives—the King, the Lord. And lest any one of us think that any praise or any glory is going to us when we do something in the name of the Lord, it is going to the One riding upon our souls by His grace. Let us lay low. Let us be humble and faithful in carrying Christ our King. And may He increase and may we decrease.
Oh, but let us be sturdy colts. And let it not go into our heads, for apart from Him we could do—how much?—nothing. Because I am what I am by—what?—the grace of God.

This is the entrance of the great King into Jerusalem to begin the last week of His earthly life. The sinful heart can be very interested in Jesus. The sinful heart can be very religious until Jesus exposes false religion. False coronations of Jesus go on all the time, don't they? Well, this was one for the most part. But this had a divine intent and purpose. Didn't justify it. Didn't make hypocrisy right. But God used it to bring about His purpose in the giving of His Son.
God is in charge of everything. His timetable is perfect. And in the future, the Lord Jesus, who entered Jerusalem humble and lowly, will return to earth. But it's not going to be riding on a colt, the colt of a donkey. He's going to come back riding on a steed, a white steed, according to Revelation 19, coming out of heaven, followed by the armies of heaven in white, riding on white horses in an astonishing unleashing of the glorious holy powers of heaven on the earth, led by none other than the King of kings and the Lord of lords.

And when He arrives, He will destroy the ungodly in a massive judgment that will sweep across the planet. And then He will establish His throne in Jerusalem. And He will reign there for 1,000 years in the millennial kingdom. And beyond that, forever and ever, because of His kingdom, there will be no end throughout all of eternity in the new heaven and the new earth.
But here He arrives in Jerusalem riding on a lowly donkey. Yes, He is the true King, King of kings and Lord of lords, Son of Man and Son of God, Messiah, Savior, Deliverer. And no monarch, no president, no leader, no prime minister in all of human history remotely compares to the Lord Jesus Christ. There is none so magnificent. There is none so powerful, so wise, so sovereign, just, pure, holy. And all of the elite and all of the monarchs of all of human history collectively, together, stacked on top of each other, wouldn't go high enough to touch the hem of His all-glorious garment.

And when you surrender and submit to Him, the true King, the only King, when you put your trust in Him, you will, as a true believer, say, Lord, give me what You want me to have. Reign in my life according to Your will and not mine. "Behold, the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world." Behold the King, the Deliverer, who comes, the manner of His coming.

Let's pray.

This is a transcript. It may contain small inaccuracies.

When I come to this account in Luke, Luke's Gospel, this account of the resurrection of our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ, there are four things that really stand out, that jump right out of the text, that we cannot ignore, we cannot escape. And as we walk through these twelve verses this morning, I want us to keep our eyes on the lookout for these four things by way of introduction, because they permeate these verses. In fact, they run through the entirety of the chapter. And so, four things that will stand out this morning throughout the entire chapter.

The first thing to set the stage for us, that we need to be on the lookout for and keep in mind as we begin to take this portion of the Word of God verse by verse, I want you to recognize with me in these verses that none of the disciples—first of all, none of the disciples—expected the resurrection of Jesus. Not a single disciple expected the resurrection of Jesus. Now, that's important because that says to me that the idea that they would make up a resurrection story, or that they would fake a resurrection, is contrary to every account we have of their thought process, of their words, of their attitudes, of their mindset, directly following the death of Jesus and even directly following the resurrection of Jesus.

We don't find, we don't have here a group of people who so want to believe in a resurrection that they would actually come up with one, that they would create one, that maybe even they would take a set of facts like an empty tomb and then somehow exaggerate it into a resurrection story. That's not what we find here. That's not what we have here at all. We have people who did not expect it, and in fact, as we will see when they first were met with it, they did not believe it. They didn't believe it.

The second thing I want us to notice is our Lord's work in them. I want us to notice our Lord's work in them. I'm talking about the disciples of Jesus, those who truly believed in Jesus in this account. Our Lord's work in them, His commitment to them is greater, and we need to keep that in mind. His work in them and His commitment to them is greater than their own faith or understanding. And I love this. God does not cast them away due to their lack of faith or understanding when it comes to the resurrection. They didn't understand, they didn't initially believe, but our God did not cast them away.

Instead, what does He do? What does He do? He takes the initiative to make sure that they get the resurrection, to make sure that they understand what took place, what has happened, to make sure that they believe in what took place, what occurred. Our God is taking the initiative throughout this entire account. He's taking the initiative to make sure that His people believe in the resurrection. And that tells me that His work in them, His commitment to them is not explained by them, but by Him. By Him. Salvation is the Lord's work. Salvation is the Lord's work. He is the author of it, and He is the finisher of it. He's the perfecter of it. He's the author and the finisher of our faith. So they don't expect it. God makes sure they're going to get it.

The third thing I want us to notice together is that He, God, takes pains to make sure that their faith in the resurrection is tied to the Scripture; old Testament Scripture and the words of His own beloved Son. Throughout this entire account, God is taking great pains to connect their faith in the resurrection with His words. They're going to meet with some astounding experiences, but every time they meet with these experiences, what does God do? And this is really incredible. He ties their faith, not to the experiences, but to His own sure word. Always.

And the fourth thing that I want us to notice is that the disciples must believe in the resurrection. If they are going to follow Christ, they must know and believe that He's not dead, but He's alive. He has been raised from the dead. Bodily raised from the dead. Even this morning as we celebrate the resurrection of our Lord, I want to remind us we're not celebrating some concept. We're not celebrating some religious idea. The message of Easter is not new beginnings. We're celebrating what is real, historical fact. He was bodily, physically raised from the dead.

Jesus of Nazareth died and three days after they placed Him in a borrowed tomb, He came out of that tomb alive, physically, bodily, victoriously, triumphantly. It is a fact and God wanted His people to know that. And in fact, if they're going to be followers of Jesus, committed followers of Jesus, they had to know it, they had to believe it, they had to embrace it. That Jesus was raised from the dead bodily and never to die again.

So they don't get it. God makes sure that they are going to get it. God takes the initiative. He ties their faith in the resurrection to His word and they must get it. They must believe it. Now, those four observations that we see throughout, really, these verses and throughout the chapter have lasting meaning for every believer in this place. Lasting meaning for every single believer in this place. It reminds us that God's work in us is not explained by us, beloved. It's not, but by Him. And God's work in us is greater and more certain than our expectations, than our faith, than our understanding, than our maturity.

Aren't you grateful that God doesn't cast you away when your faith is weak? Aren't you? When your understanding is limited, He doesn't cast you away? When your expectations are far too low based on God's promises, aren't you glad that He doesn't cast you away? That He doesn't let go of you, believer, but His work in you is certain? And what He has begun, He's doing, and He will indeed finish. Aren't you grateful for that this morning? That God is doing more in our case than we will ever understand? That He has done more than we'll ever understand? That He's doing more than we will ever understand? That He's at work in us?

It also reminds us in this place today that where God wants our faith stationed and anchored—where's that? Right here. In His Word. He wants our faith stationed, anchored in His all-sufficient Word. You see, I believe in the resurrection of Jesus Christ because I believe the Bible. And the Bible is God's Word. He says it, that settles it. That's it. It's His Word. It's all-sufficient, inerrant, infallible. He wants our faith stationed, anchored in His Word.

And even where we meet with experiences—see, I know that the Lord has transformed my life. At the age of 19, I came to know the Lord Jesus Christ as my Lord and Savior. He transformed my life. But let me tell you this: my faith is not anchored, is not tied to my experience. It's not. My faith is tied to the Word of God. That's where He wants my faith anchored. It's what God wants.

It also reminds us in this place today that the resurrection of Jesus is not an aside. It's not a throwaway item when it comes to the Christian faith. Beloved, the resurrection of the Lord Jesus Christ is central. It is essential. It is non-negotiable. That's it. Non-negotiable. Period. Paragraph. No ifs and buts. If you don't believe that Jesus was raised from the dead bodily, you are not a Christian. That's it. You're not. You cannot be a Christ follower and deny the bodily resurrection of Christ.

Because He was raised from the dead, we know He was who He said He was. Because He was raised from the dead, we know that He accomplished what He said He came to accomplish. Because He lives, all the sins of all of those who trust in Him have been completely forgiven. If Christ was not raised from the dead, we are still in our sins. And because Christ was raised from the dead bodily, we know that one day we're going to be living with Him forever and ever. We are alive now spiritually, but we're going to live one day with Him physically.

And I want to remind us that our hope as believers is not just eternal life in the present, but we know from the Word of God that one day we're going to have a body, a new body, that matches the new us. Philippians 3:20-21, "For our citizenship is in heaven, from which also we eagerly wait for a Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ, who will transform the body of our humble state into conformity with the body of His glory, by His working through which He is able also to even subject all things to Himself." We too will experience one day a physical resurrection, and we're going to live body and soul with our Savior in the new heavens and the new earth forever and ever. That's the hope of the Christian.

Because He lives, our King not only rules in the present from the heavens, but He will rule forever and ever and ever. And we live in the expectation of His return. Because Jesus lives, there is no sting and death for all those who are in Christ. When we die, we go to sleep in death. We close our eyes and we open them in the presence of God. Because Jesus lives, we know the power of sanctification. The same power that raised Him from the grave is the power at work in our lives now, transforming us from glory to glory into the image of Christ.

Beloved, this is not a throwaway doctrine. This is at the heart of the Christian faith. 1 Corinthians 15:14, "And if Christ has not been raised, then our preaching is vain, your faith also is vain." I mean, if Jesus wasn't raised from the dead, then I'm going to stand here right now and say, Church, dismissed. Just go home. No need for a message. No need to sing. No need to sit here.

1 Corinthians 15:17, "And if Christ has not been raised, your faith is” – what? – “worthless” – Empty. Empty. Worthless – “you are still in your sins." If Christ has not been raised from the dead, every person in this room still is unforgiven. You're still laden with all your sins. And we saw Friday that we have a God who is a God of burning holiness and a God of inflexible justice. So this is the most important matter we could ever consider on this Sunday.

This morning, what we witness in these 12 verses is how God begins to establish the faith of His people in the resurrection of Jesus, and we see really the transforming power of the resurrection really at work in the lives of His people. What we have is not, strictly speaking, an account of the resurrection itself. You'll notice by the time they discover the resurrection, it has happened already. The tomb is empty. Jesus is not there. So this is not, strictly speaking, an account of the resurrection itself. Luke doesn't describe that. In fact, none of the gospel writers describe the actual resurrection of Jesus. What he's describing is the aftermath of it, as the people of God come in contact with the knowledge of it, how they initially respond to their knowledge of the resurrection. That's what we have here the initial response to the resurrection of Jesus.

This morning I want to point out in these 12 verses six responses on the part of the disciples. Six. Six responses to the death and then the resurrection of Jesus. So the first thing I want us to see together as we look at the response to the resurrection of Jesus, number one, devotion, verse one. Devotion. So I'm going to use words to describe the response of the disciples to Jesus. The first one is devotion. "On the first day of the week, at early dawn, they came to the tomb bringing the spices which they had prepared."

Now, the word day “they” in that verse, verse one, refers back to the previous chapter, chapter 23 and verses 55 and 56. "Now the women, who had come with Him from Galilee, followed and beheld the tomb and how His body was laid. Then after they had returned, they prepared spices and perfumes. And on the Sabbath they rested according to the commandment." Next verse: "Now on the first day of the week"—that's Sunday—"at early dawn” – these women – “came to the tomb bringing the spices which they,” – those women, – “had prepared."

These women had witnessed, we know from the parallel accounts, Joseph of Arimathea taking care of the body of Jesus, the burial of Jesus. They had already determined that, you will remember, they were going to come back after the Sabbath and do a better job of preparing His body, anointing His body. And so what did they do? Well, they returned to the tomb. When do they do it? The text says early Sunday morning, at dawn, at daybreak, the earliest part of the day.

Well, why were they coming? Well, to prepare His body. Well, they have no expectation of a resurrection. So they come to prepare the body, they're expecting a body there, right? So there's no expectation of a resurrection. But what motivates them to come? What motivates them to come is love. Love.

And I want to say this, I want to say this to us to remember as we look at these verses: these true disciples, even though their faith was weak, these women, and their understanding was off, you still see the marks of genuine faith. You still see that. You still see the marks of genuine salvation. How? They loved Jesus. They loved Jesus. That's what motivates them on this early Sunday morning. They're going back to prepare the body. Why? They love Him. They love their Savior. They love their Lord. And they're devoted to Him even when their hopes have been crushed. Devoted to Him even as they are overwhelmed with grief. And so their faith is weak, their understanding is under-informed, nevertheless they loved Jesus. We see devotion. So these women are devoted to their Savior. And we can learn a lot from them, from their devotion to the Savior also.

The second response that we see to the death and then the resurrection of Jesus is discovery. Discovery, and that's found in verses two and three. "And they found the stone rolled away from the tomb, but when they entered, they did not find the body of the Lord Jesus." So they make their way to the tomb early Sunday morning, and they discover something. They find something, and there's something also that they don't find.

What do they find? Well, they found the stone rolled away. They didn't know, by the way, a Roman guard had been stationed at the tomb. That happened on the Sabbath day when they were resting, and they had no knowledge of that. In fact, the women were wondering how they're going to get the stone out of the way to prepare the body. We know that from Mark's Gospel, 16 and verse 3. They arrive at the tomb, the stone is rolled away, and we know from Matthew's account that there was an earthquake, and we know that an angel rolled away the stone, Matthew 28:2. So they're not aware of this, and they just find the stone rolled away.

And they find in verse 3, going in, what do they find? Well, they find the body of Jesus is not there. The body of Christ is gone, which leads to the third response we see as they initially encounter the knowledge of the resurrection, and we see that in verse 4: perplexity. Perplexity. Devotion, verse 1, they come motivated by love to prepare the body of Jesus. Discovery, they discover the stone rolled away, and they also discover that the body is no longer there, and that leads to perplexity, verse 4: "It happened that while they were perplexed about this"—they were perplexed about this.

Luke, under inspiration, is telling us about their emotional, mental reaction to what they found, and he tells us they were perplexed; ‘Aporeisthai’ is the Greek word, not knowing how to proceed, not knowing how to speak, or act, or to determine. That is, to put it in the vernacular, is they were at a loss. They were confused. They don't know what to make of this. They had no explanation for this. They had no idea what had happened, and the word translated perplexed is used in John 13:22. Remember in that scene, the upper room, Jesus tells His disciples that one of them is going to betray Him, and we read there they were perplexed about that. They didn't understand it. They were confused.

A form of this word is used in the book of Acts, Acts 25:20, when Festus presents Paul's case to Agrippa, and he admits he doesn't know what to do with the charges brought against Paul. He's perplexed—same word about it. And also a form of this word is used in the book of Galatians. When Paul says to the Galatians, in Galatians 4:20, that he is perplexed about them.

So far from expecting a resurrection. When they first meet with the evidence of the resurrection, they don't make any connection at all. They don't see a stone rolled away in an empty tomb and think, ah, resurrection. That's not what comes to their mind. No, they see a stone rolled away, they see an empty tomb, and frankly what they're thinking is, someone must have stolen the body perhaps. They're confused. They're perplexed. They were befuddled. They don't know what to do with this. Utterly baffled by what they find, which leads to the fourth, the fourth response, verses 4 through 9: clarity.

Devotion, discovery, perplexity, and now clarity. Verse 4: "And it happened that while they were perplexed about this, behold, two men suddenly stood near them in dazzling clothing, and when the women were terrified and bowed their faces to the ground, the men said to them, 'Why do you seek the living One among the dead? He is not here, but He has risen. Remember how He spoke to you while He was in Galilee, saying that the Son of Man must be delivered into the hands of sinful men, and be crucified, and the third day rise again.” And they remembered His words, and when they returned from the tomb, they reported all these things to the eleven and to all the rest."

Now under this heading, clarity, I want us to see several things to see about this clarity. I want to say a few things about this clarity. Number one, this is gracious clarity. This is gracious clarity. God is having mercy upon them. God is having pity upon them, isn't He? God is doing this. This is God now. God is doing this. This is God's message to them.

And remember what angels are, right? They're messengers. They're holy messengers. They're messengers of the living God. They are dispatched from the presence of the thrice-holy God. They didn't come on their own initiative, right? They didn't come in some independent fashion. You don't have like two angels, you know, saying to one another one day, you know, we're bored. How about we kind of go down and just explore and see what's... No, no, no. These angels are sent deliberately by God to do His bidding. And so they are His messengers, they are His mouthpiece, and they are giving His message, and God is giving them a clarifying word about what they are witnessing.

He doesn't owe this to them, does He? This is God loving them. This is God instructing them. This is God guiding them. This is God establishing their faith, fortifying their faith, pouring steel in their faith. This is God taking initiative to make sure that His people get what they are witnessing, that they grasp it, that they understand it, that they don't miss it. And oh, this is gracious, beloved. This is gracious.

We did not deserve Jesus. We did not deserve His coming. We did not deserve His living. We did not deserve His dying. We did not deserve his any explanation concerning Him, and we didn't deserve an explanation of His resurrection. And yet, yet, God gives and gives and gives and gives and gives and gives. He's gracious, and that includes the graciousness to guide His weak people into an understanding of what He has done for their soul. That's what He's doing.

Let me show you and tell you what I've done for you, My people. So this is gracious clarity, but this is also striking clarity. Striking. I mean, God does this in a memorable, striking fashion. How? By sending these two angels, because, I mean, look at this, verse 4, their dazzling appearance is noted. They “stood near them in” – what? – “Dazzling clothing”. I mean, their close proximity to the holiness of God, the brightness of the holiness of God, and here they are now.

So God gives them a visual aid to help them understand where this message is coming from, where this information is coming from. So these angels have a human form and appearance, and yet their dazzling appearance also says they're not mere creatures like men. They are created creatures, but they are from the presence of God. They're angels coming to do the bidding of the Sovereign One. So moving is this that the women have a sense now of fear. They're terrified, they're frightened, verse 5, – “and they bow their faces to the ground”. They are now, they realize this is God's doing. This is from God. This is from God.

So there's this heavy, thick sense of the presence of God, and God is making sure that this is memorable, it's striking, driving this message home. So you have this clarity, gracious clarity, striking clarity, but I want us to see also that this is a quizzical clarity, a quizzical clarity. God leads these women into this knowledge through a question, and it's a memorable question. The angel says to them in verse 5, "Why do you seek the living One among the dead?" Don't you love that? Don't you love that? "Why do you seeking the living One among the dead?" It's sort of like a gentle rebuke, isn't it? It almost has a tinge of humor in it.

Didn't you? Didn't you hear Jesus? Weren't you listening? Didn't you know He was going to be raised from the dead? Well, why are you in a graveyard? You're in the wrong place, aren't you? If you want to find the Living Savior, well, He's alive. "Why are you seeking the living One among the dead?" So God wants to be sure at the same time through these angels, He wants to be sure His people don't miss it. So you have emphatic clarity as well. Emphatic clarity, because now He just states it. He just states it. Not just a question. He states it in verse 6. "He is not here, but He has risen." He is risen.

God is so kind through these angels. He doesn't leave any room for misunderstanding. No wiggle room whatsoever. He puts it in a memorable way, but then He puts it in an unmistakable, simple, straightforward statement. "He is not here, but He has risen." He is alive. Alive. But now notice something, and this is what I mentioned earlier about tying their faith to His Word. The Old Testament Scripture, we'll see that later. You see that in the chapter. But here are the words of His Son particularly in verse 6, and so we call this refreshing clarity.

This is refreshing clarity. "Remember how He spoke to you while He was still in Galilee, saying that the Son of Man must be delivered"—and that takes us back to the Old Testament Scripture, right? To Isaiah 53—"He must be delivered into the hands of sinful men and be crucified, and the third day rise again."

This is refreshing clarity as God, through these angels, refreshes their memories. He wants to make sure their faith is tied to His words, the words of Christ. The words of Scripture. In Luke 9, we read that Jesus told them earlier, verses 18 to 22. He tells them after He asked them, “Who do the crowds say that I am?” And they answered John the Baptist, and some say Elijah, and others, one of the prophets of old. And in verse 20 of Luke 9, He says, "And He said to them, 'But who do you say that I am?' And Peter answered and said, 'The Christ of God.'" But He warned them and directed them not to tell this to anyone, saying, "The Son of Man must suffer many things and be rejected by the elders and chief priests and scribes, and be killed and be raised up on the third day."

I mean, this is something that Jesus had mentioned again and again and again. And this entourage of women were around Him, were around the disciples ministering to their needs constantly. So He told them in unmistakable terms, but they had forgotten. He told them on more than one occasion, but they didn't remember. And so here they are, though they are devoted to Him, when they discover this empty tomb in the absence of the body of Jesus, they are perplexed instead of actually believing.

And so God graciously gives them this clarifying word in a memorable, striking, quizzical, but emphatic fashion. "He is not here, but He has risen." Don't you remember? Don't you remember His words? And so what does He do? He refreshes their memories. Don't you remember what Jesus told you when you were in Galilee? You followed Him all the way from Galilee? Ladies, don't you remember what He told you?

So we see devotion, talking now about responses to the initial encounter with the knowledge of the resurrection. Devotion. We see discovery. We see perplexity. We see clarity. But now we see something else that's actually sad. We see unbelief. We see unbelief. Look at verses 10 and 11. You see, these women received this clarifying word from God in verse 8. They remembered His word. When they returned from the tomb, they reported all these things to the eleven and to all the rest, not just the eleven, but to all the gathered disciples, all those followers of Jesus beyond just the apostles. So they shared it with everyone.

Verse 10: “Now Mary Magdalene, Joanna, Mary the mother of James and the rest of the women with them were there; they were telling these things to the apostles.” This is really amazing, isn't it? Amazing. It's amazing that, first of all, that the first people—I mean, this is a message by itself—who had knowledge of the resurrection given by God in this fashion were these women. What an honoring, exalting thing that this was, that women would receive this first testimony, that they would be the first ones to be able to report the resurrection. They were the first messengers of the gospel.

Then they go and report the resurrection to these men, these men who were chosen by Jesus to be the foundation for the church moving forward. I mean, these are—think about this, this is stunning—these are the leaders of the Lord's church. These are the men who have been especially prepared by Him to lead His church into the future. And they're told this report by these women that He's been raised from the dead, and yet they meet with this report of the resurrection. And what's the response? They don't believe. They don't believe. Stunning. They don't believe.

It reminds us again of our weakness, of the fact that salvation is not our work. It's God's work, that what God has done in our case is greater than anything that could be explained by us. Salvation is mercy. It's grace. And their weakness is a testimony of that. In fact, we're told in verse 11 what their attitude was. Look at their attitude, and this is, like, stunning. “But these words appear to them as” – what? What do you have in your Bible? – "nonsense." “Nonsense,  and they were not believing.” ‘Lēros’ is the Greek word translated in the LSV, nonsense, idle tale, tattle, pure nonsense. That is, oh, you know, these ladies have been probably under great stress, and they have been very sad, and their emotions got the better of them, and it must be their imagination. It must be.

You know, I don't know what they were thinking exactly, the apostles. I don't know how they explained this, but in some way they took this to be made up like an idle tale and nonsense. They flat out don't believe it. They don't. But the twelfth verse tells us something more encouraging. There's someone who is, in hearing this report of the empty tomb—well, look at his reaction. Something in these words that drives him to, and this is our last word, hope, hope.

“But Peter”. – I love that. – “But Peter stood up and ran to the tomb”. We know from John's account, it tells us that also the apostle John was with him as well. They “ran to the tomb; and stooping to look in, he saw the linen wrappings only. And he went away by himself, marveling at what had happened.” John tells us that as soon as he himself walked into the tomb and saw what he saw, he followed Peter in, and he tells us he believed. John believed. Peter is ‘thaumazōn’, marveling, to be struck with awe, amazement, astonishment.

I don't know what point he comes to full grips with what he has seen and just everything coming together, but at this point, he is pondering at least what he has witnessed, and he is amazed and gripped by it. You talk about evidence of genuine faith even when there's enormous weakness. Talk about evidence of genuine love for Jesus even when there's a weak understanding. Peter is exhibit A.

Here's a man who has denied the Lord three times. Here's a man who, when he hears the news of an empty tomb, cannot stay in his place. He must go. He must see. He rises, he runs, he runs to the tomb. Why do you run to the tomb, Peter? Well, because you see, he does love the Lord Jesus. He finds the grave closed, and he returns amazed by what he has seen.

With the remaining time that we have, I want to ask a few questions by way of application and implication. What do we see in these verses? What do we have in these verses? What do we see here?

Beloved, we see an almighty and altogether gracious God tenderly leading His people into an understanding that the Lord Jesus Christ, the Lord and Savior, is not dead, but He has been raised from the dead just as He’s promised. His work is greater than these weak little ones that He has saved. They don’t understand. They don’t get it. They don’t remember. They don’t believe. But He Himself has granted them genuine faith. Though it’s not a perfected faith yet, what He has begun, He will complete. He will complete.

And here He is, a tender Father, leading His people into an understanding of what He has done to save them. They will get it because He’s going to make sure they will get it. They must get it. And this is just the beginning of them getting it. For beginning in verse 13, the Lord Jesus will take the initiative to make sure they get it too. One of the most astounding passages we’ll ever read as Jesus teaches about Himself from the Old Testament scripture on the road to Emmaus.

So this is what I ask each and every one of you this morning. Have you gotten it? Have you gotten it? Do you believe that Jesus is not dead, but alive? Do you believe that Jesus is the Son of God, God the Son? Do you believe that He came from heaven to earth, the eternal beloved of heaven, Son of God, took to Himself a sinless human nature, born of a virgin, lived a sinless life on this planet, on this sin-sick planet, lived a sinless life, then died on a cross as our substitute, as a substitute for sinners like us?

Do you believe that God the Father poured out His wrath upon His own beloved Son so that everyone for whom Christ suffered, everyone who trusts in Christ as Savior and submits to Him as Lord, is and will be forgiven? Do you believe that? So that there’s no condemnation for us. Do you believe that three days later, He rose victoriously from the tomb?

When these women came to take care of His body, they found an empty tomb, and the explanation for the empty tomb is not a dream, it is not a made-up story, it is not a fake resurrection, but Christ is indeed alive. And that, in fact, He has made many appearances over 40 days, and then He ascended back into heaven. The same Jesus who ascended back into heaven is coming back again. Do you believe that? Do you?

And can I say something to you as well? Though your faith in Christ may be weak, child of Christ, child of God, though your faith in Christ may be weak, may lack understanding in some places, every truly saved, genuinely saved person in this place, you not only believe in the resurrected Jesus, but you love Him. You love Him. And the resurrection is not something that you celebrate once a year. The resurrection of Christ is something you celebrate every single day because you know why? The resurrected Christ has transformed your life. That’s 24 hours a day, seven days a week.

You see the difference in your life, in a transformed life, that the resurrection has brought to pass. You see, you just don’t know about Him. You know Him. You know Him. You’ve come to know Him by faith, and now you love Him, and you have a relationship with Him. You have fellowship with God through faith in Christ, through the person of Christ, and the resurrection means that your life has been transformed, radically transformed from the day you met Jesus for the rest of your life. You live for Him every single day. You rejoice in His life every single day. You rest in the finished work of His death and resurrection every single day. Is that your story?

I really have a great compassion for those people who come to church twice a year. They’re known as CEO, Christmas Easter only. Well, they might come to church when they’re in trouble. When trouble hits, well, time to get to church. Listen, I don’t condemn you if that’s you sitting here this morning. I don’t, I don’t. I’m so thankful and so glad you’re here. I am, but I call on you today to move from knowing about Jesus to placing your faith in Jesus as the Lord of your life who saves you, and He will save you. He will forgive your sins, and He will transform your heart from someone who had no real interest in Him or a passing interest or a passing curiosity to someone who now loves, adores Jesus, devoted to Jesus.

And if you were to ask believers in this place, they would say something like this. My faith is still weak at times. I still lack understanding in so many areas, so many places, but what I know as a reality is a love for the Son of God that God has produced in my heart that does not let me go. And He will do the same for you. And no longer would Jesus be for you twice a year interest or just when you’re in trouble, but He becomes your life.

It’s only when you can say that to live is Christ, you’ll be able to say that death is what? What, church? Gain, ‘kerdos’, profit, profit. Death is gain, but only when you can say, Jesus is my life, and so I invite you this morning to make Jesus your life. The resurrected Jesus, He really is alive, and you can really know Him by God’s grace.

The gospel commands men and women everywhere to repent, that is to turn from life as you’ve known it, living in your sin, living in your alienation, in your estrangement from God. You repent, you turn from that life, and you believe upon the Lord Jesus Christ. And the Bible gives us this promise that whoever believes on the Lord Jesus Christ is saved. Would you believe this morning? Would you call out to the Son of God, the living Son of God, and ask Jesus to save you?

What a Savior He is. What a marvelous Savior He is. And how does the resurrection change everything? The transforming power of the resurrection? Well, turn to Hebrews 2. I love this portion of God's word, the implication of that day, the power, the transforming power of the resurrection. Easter changes everything. Chapter two, two verses that describe that for us, how the resurrection changed everything. Verses 14 and 15: "Therefore, since the children share in flesh and blood, He Himself likewise also partook of the same, that through death He might render powerless him who had the power of death, that is the devil, and might free those who through fear of death were subject to slavery all their lives."

Beloved, the resurrection changed people. The resurrection changed people from fearful slaves to fearless sons—fearful slaves to fearless sons. You see, this text tells us that Jesus took flesh, He became human so as to die for our sins in our place and then rise again and through His death destroy the greatest weapon and instrument of fear that Satan had—fear of death. Jesus broke the back of all false religion that used the fear of death to keep people enslaved. How? How did He do that? Answer: the power of the resurrection.

The power of the resurrection is freedom from the bondage to the fear of death—freedom. See what made Peter and John, Peter who denied Jesus, Peter who denied Jesus and these disciples who had fled, they shrank back cowardly and fled, what made those cowards such bold witnesses 50 days later before the Sanhedrin? What made them like lions, bold lions? Answer: the power of the resurrection.

Chapter and verse, Acts 4:33: "And with great power the apostles were bearing witness to the resurrection of the Lord Jesus, and great grace was upon them all." Wow. From fearful slaves to fearless sons. What gave Paul, someone who persecuted Christianity, such boldness to face all of his persecutions? Answer: Philippians 3:10, "that I may know Him and the power of His resurrection and the fellowship of His sufferings, being conformed to His death." Fearful slaves had become fearless sons.

You see, this means in every generation in these 2,000 years plus, the same power that made those timid fishermen become unstoppable witnesses is present. It has been present, and the growing amount of time between today and the resurrection of Jesus, the date of Christ's resurrection, has not diminished that power, has not made it fade into a memory because it is omnipotent power. It's renewed and present in every generation.

The truth of the resurrection means this: everyone who embraces Jesus as Savior and King is delivered from the fear of death in two ways. First, if you know your sins are forgiven by the risen, exalted Christ, then you literally have living proof that you're forgiven and that your physical death will not be the end of you. That's why Paul says this: "For to me, to live is Christ and to die is gain." And when losing your life is no longer the greatest threat, the greatest fear—ah, beloved, you are an awesome weapon in the hand of God. You are an awesome weapon in the hand of God.

In fact, Revelation 12 describes how Satan is defeated. In verse 11, we read, "And they overcame him because of the blood of the Lamb and because of the word of their witness, and they did not love their life even to death." You can't stop a group of people like this. That's the first way. The power of the resurrection delivers you from the fear of your physical death because you know your sins are forgiven. And if you die, blessed be God, it's gain. I'm gonna be with Jesus. It's not the end. It's simply continuation, but amplified continuation of intimate, perfect communion with Jesus—communion now perfected.

But there's a second way the power of the resurrection works. Christians who embrace Christ are not only not afraid of physical death—not only we're not afraid of our physical death—they are not afraid of personal death to a worldly life. Let that grip you. We're not only not afraid of our physical death, but we're not afraid of personal death to a worldly life. In other words, we're not afraid of losing life.

Let me explain. You see, when you're a slave to this life, all that matters is that you gather up the experiences of this world as quickly as you can, as much of it as you can. You know, life is short. I gotta live it up. You must get what this world has: riches and children and marriage and family and fame and achievement, promotion, success and status and possessions and love and sexual pleasure and power and other pleasures. And you must get it. You must get it all. You must get it and you must get the money so you can get it. And you must get it while you still have time—ideally, while you're still in your youth and health and you still have years. And what is that, if that's all you live for? Slavery. Slavery.

Paul says, when you become a Christian, God crucifies the old life in you. He puts the resurrection, eternal life of His own Son into you by His Spirit. And you know that new life is not an earthworm life burrowing through this world, scavenging this dying world for crumbs. You know what it is? Colossians 3:1, this new life: "If you have been raised up with Christ, keep seeking the things above." This is where your mind is set as you live here and now. You live here in the light of there. You live now in the light of then. Your mind is set on the things of above where Christ is, seated at the right hand of God.

When you have new life, Romans 6 says, that we were buried with Him through baptism—through immersion—into death, so that as Christ was raised from the dead through the glory of the Father, so we too might walk in what? “newness of life." That's what He puts into you.

And 2 Corinthians 5:15 says, "And He died for all, so that they who live would no longer live for themselves, but for Him who died and rose again on their behalf." And Galatians 2:20, Paul says those words: "I have been crucified with Christ, and it is no longer I who live, but Christ lives in me. And the life which I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave Himself up for me."

You see, beloved, in fact, it's everywhere in Scripture, cover to cover. Believers are those who get new life, God's life. And believers are able to experience a continual death to the world, to a worldly life, to a selfish, self-centered life, to a life lived only for this life. And why can they do that? Because of the power of the resurrection.

The power of the resurrection says, die to that life and you'll really live. Try to have the old life, try to grab at that life, and you will experience a living death. That's why the most repeated words of Jesus in all of Scripture—six times repeated—"Whoever desires to save his life in this world will lose it, and whoever loses his life for My sake will find it." The power of the resurrection.

You see, if I'm not only unafraid of my physical death, but if I am unafraid of dying to what the world tells me, what life is really about, then nothing can stop me from sharing this message of life and light and love with the dying world. I am the freest soul on earth. Free from the fear of death and free from the fear of missing out. Free from being chained to my own appetites and low earthly desires, I am the freest person in the world.

Now, unleash an army of these people in every generation with the power of the resurrection. And you know what you end up doing? You turn the world upside down. You change the world. Because these people are living embodiments of the power of the resurrection. 2 Corinthians 4:10: "always carrying about in the body the dying of Jesus, so that the life of Jesus also may be manifested in our body." The resurrection changed the world. But it didn't change it in the abstract. It didn't change it by accident. It changed it because it changed slaves, fearful slaves, into fearless sons.

Easter's not just a nice Christian holiday. It's quite simply the most important day in human history. But then it has to go deeper than that. It has to go deeper than simply acknowledging that. Have you been delivered from the fear of death? I don't mean, are you blasé about death? None of us is. I don't mean, well, I'm not trying to not think about it. No, no, is death still really an unthinkable thing to you? A deep unknown contemplated with momentary horror?

If that's you, then you need to come to Him who went there and back again. And then have you been delivered from the fear of losing life, the fear that life would slip away through your fingers if you give it to Jesus, that you won't know who you are anymore, that you won't be the person that you wanna be if you give your life to Jesus? If that's your fear, then let me say to you this morning, you've not yet experienced the power of the resurrection because when Christ is yours and you are His, you know the paradox from the inside out. You know that when you die to yourself, you really live. And when He takes your place and His life is your life, it's death—it's a death and a resurrection that you wanna have.

“You are giving up what you cannot keep and gaining what you cannot lose”, Jim Elliot. If you don't know what I'm talking about, then you must still come and embrace the risen Jesus as your King. I beg you, do it today. Today. Today is the day of salvation. Receive the risen King as the end of your old life and the beginning of the new one. That's how you go from being a fearful slave to a fearless son or daughter. Be free from the fear of death and let the power of the resurrection transform you as it transformed those first disciples.

Let's pray.

This is a transcript. It may contain small inaccuracies.

As you know, we've been giving considerable attention to this opening paragraph which begins in verse 2, begins with verse 2 and down through to verse 10, the end of the chapter, where Paul describes those things which caused Him to give thanks to God with reference to this Thessalonian church. He said in verse 2, —"We give thanks to God always for all of you, making mention of you in our prayers,"— and then He tells them, He tells us the things for which He gives thanks. “Remembering,”— verse 3, —"without ceasing your work of faith, labor of love, steadfastness of hope in the Lord Jesus Christ before” —in the sight of— “our God and Father, knowing, brothers beloved by God, your election." It's what Paul remembers and what Paul knows that causes Him to burst in this word of thanksgiving.

Verse 3, he says, "We give thanks…  Remembering," and then in verse 4, "knowing." And what he remembers and what he knows becomes then the occasion of his giving praise to God. He gives thanks as a result. He burst into this really doxology of thanksgiving to God. We've studied the things which He remembered in verse 3: work of faith, labor of love, steadfastness of hope, and last week we began to consider that which He knows, that which he's assured of concerning this people, these precious people, and that becomes the occasion of praise and thanksgiving to God.

And so in verse 4, we have two statements of things that were true of the people there, the believers in Thessaloniki. One is a very direct statement, the other is indirect. Paul says indirectly he knows that they are beloved of God and then directly he says he knows their election. And so we have really two basic doctrines set before us in verse 4. Number one, the doctrine of election, and it's number two related to it, the doctrine of God's distinguishing love for His people. For in this verse, beloved of God is a title given to the people of God in a peculiar way, and we looked at that last Lord's Day.

Whatever kind of love God may have to all men in general, His benevolent love is His love of benevolence. This term beloved of God is a title, a phrase used only of the redeemed of God. And so I want us to think together concerning the fact that it's individual people who are called beloved of God and elect of God. It's a distinguishing love. Notice He's not speaking in a general way, but He's writing to His specific people. He said in verse 1, "Paul and Silvanus and Timothy to the church." There's a church, there's a local church, a real church there in Thessaloniki. He's talking about this with reference to a distinct body of people in a particular place.

He says in verse 2, "We give thanks to God always for all of you,” you there, the people of God in Thessaloniki. So he's talking about specific people. Verse 3, "Remembering without ceasing your,”— your— “work of faith," talking about specific people. And by implication, you continue to add this, you can supply this, your labor of love and your steadfastness of hope. So when he comes to speak about election and about being beloved of God, he's not speaking of a love of God that is general, he's not thinking of an election that is vague, that is indefinite, but he is using these two terms, beloved of God and election, in a very personal way, in a very distinct way, with reference to a specific people.

And I point that out because people who believe the Bible to be the Word of God must all admit that the truth that God, the truth of God's special love to His people and His electing grace are indeed truths taught in the Bible. They can't get away from it. It is there. If they're honest before God, honest with the text, they have to recognize they are here. They are taught in the Word of God, those two truths. They cannot even really think otherwise. They dare not even infer that the terms beloved of God and elected of God are not in the Scripture. So what they try to do is to hold those two phrases and they acknowledge and admit they are biblical phrases, but somehow they bleed them of their true life and their true meaning.

And so in the first place, I want us to observe that it's individual people who are called beloved of God and elect. Now, what does it mean to be beloved of God? What does it mean to be elect? We looked at the first one last Lord's Day, beloved of God. Remember, now Paul is not writing to some people who had behind them ten years in the Lord, ten years of theological education. He's writing to an infant church, babes in Christ, a church that just a few months ago had been called together by the preaching of the gospel as we saw in Acts 17 in our study of the birth of this church.

And to this infant church, Paul writes these words. Just right off the bat, no explanation needed: "Knowing, brothers beloved by God,” —His choice of you,— “your election.” Indicating that the truth of the election, their election, is not to be some kind of a contraband possession kept under the counter, hidden, camouflaged. Paul never treated it like black market goods. No, he treated this glorious doctrine as a wonderful truth, as a marvelous truth, and infant Christians, I mean, he talked to them about the subject of election with great freeness and with deep warmth.

There was no concern, oh well, you know, they're babes in Christ and I don't want them to stumble. No, no. With freeness. And so tonight, I believe I'm in good company this evening, teaching on the subject as openly, as publicly as God enables me to do so by His grace. So we're committed, and as we're committed to a verse-by-verse exposition of the Word of God, when we're here in verse 4, we want to understand what does verse 4 say, and we don't want to bleed the meaning, to bleed it of any of its honest implications.

As I mentioned, last week we considered the phrase, beloved of God, tonight let us consider knowing your election, knowing your election. So to do that, I'm just gonna begin with the first question: what is it to be the elect of God? What is it to be the elect of God? When Paul wrote to these people and said in verse 4, "knowing” —beloved brothers, or— “brothers beloved of God, your election," what did he mean when he chose that word, eklogēn, your election?

As Paul was sitting there thinking of the people back in Thessaloniki, he picks up his pen and writes and he says, we give thanks to God for you all, and his mind reminisces, and he thinks of their work of faith and labor of love and steadfastness of hope, then he says, "knowing brothers,"— and now what does he know? And he chooses a word under the superintending hand of the Holy Spirit,— "knowing your election,”— knowing your eklogēn. Now as Paul took his pen and wrote your election, what meaning did he put upon that word by the guidance and direction of the Holy Spirit?

That's the whole end of our study this evening, what did the Apostle Paul mean as an instrument in the hand of the Spirit when he wrote your election? And beloved, we must stop at nothing short of discovering what he meant. Well, that raises another question, well how can we do this? Well, what we must do is we must go to the other portions of the Word of God, the analogy of Scripture, we must go to the other portions of the Word of God written by different authors, small a, they're all written by one Author, capital A, the Holy Spirit, under the superintendent of the same Spirit, and we need to see what that word means.

For the meaning of the word is determined by its usage, and the usage of the words in the Bible are determined by the will of the Holy Spirit. “For no prophecy was ever made by the will of man, but men being moved,” —nautical term, moved, like a ship in a boisterous sea moved by the wind.— “but men being moved by the Holy Spirit spoke from God,” 2nd Peter 1:21. So what does this word, eklogēn, mean?

Well, first of all, consider with me briefly the general usage of this word. Let's look at a general usage of this word in the Scripture. It's found about 50 times in the New Testament, 50 times in the New Testament, its various forms, various usages, and in the Old Testament when they were translating out of Hebrew into Greek in what we know or call the Septuagint, the LXX, by these 70 men who did this work several hundred years before Christ, the word is used there several times, in fact in very interesting ways, I think begins to give us some idea of the meaning.

For example, when it is said that David went down to the brook, 1st Samuel 17, he went down to the brook, you remember that scene, preparing for the battle with Goliath, verse 40, he came to the brook, he did something, the Scripture tells us. We read, "Then he took his stick in hand and chose for himself,”—eklogēn, same word in the Septuagint,— “chose for himself." Now this is the word, the same word used as we have in 1st Thessalonians chapter 1, verse 4. So, "He took his stick in hand and elected five smooth stones from the brook, put them in the shepherd's bag which he had, even in his pouch, and his sling was in his hand; and he approached the Philistine." So as David came to the brook, the brook was full of stones and out of the many stones David selected, David elected, chose, picked out of the many five stones that he would use in his conquest of Goliath.

Same word is used in Luke 14 and verse 7 where our Lord spoke of those who came to the feast and that they would pick out the places of honor, same word, they would pick out the places of honor at the table, the chief places, the chief seats there at that feast. There were many seats, some of high degree, some of low degree, and these particular people would choose out, they would select out, would, same word, elect the seats of great honor and rank and importance, same word. It's the same word used in Acts chapter 6 and verse 5 where the early church met the problem of managing the widow's necessities by what? Choosing some servants, and the suggestion was that they find some men out of the many full of faith and of the Holy Spirit and appoint them over this task. Verse 5, Acts 6, "And this word pleased the whole congregation and they,”—eklogēn,— “chose”— in verbal form,— “Stephen." They elected, they selected out of the, amongst all of the qualified men, Stephen, a man full of faith and the Holy Spirit, and then Philip and the rest.

Now you begin to get a picture of the use of this word. David selecting out of the many stones five, just five stones to be used, out of the many seats they select some to be the ones upon which they will recline, out of the many they selected these seven who would be appointed over the task at hand. In light of this then, the conclusion we draw from the general usage of this word is that the choice is always, always initiated by the chooser. The choice is always initiated by the chooser. In every instance of the use of this word, eklogēn, the choice is never conditioned or initiated by the chosen, but by the chooser.

In other words, you didn't have five little stones wiggle themselves up out of the brook, stand up on their backside and say, "Well David, I'd like to be part of the conquest, will you choose me?" No, the stones were lying there, either in the brook or alongside the edge of the brook, and all the stones were there and David is the one who took the initiative and made the selection. And these people took the initiative in the choosing of the seats and the multitude took the initiative in the selecting of the seven. That's the first conclusion we draw from the general usage of the word.

The choice was initiated by the chooser, and something that flows from that is this: the thing chosen was in this sense passive in the choice. It didn't have a vote in it, it didn't have a say in it, it was selected by another. That leads us to the second question: what is its distinct biblical or theological use, this word, eklogēn? What is its distinct biblical or theological use? I've looked at its use in general narrative, now how is it used with the relationship to what we would call, you know, theological issues?

Well, very briefly, let me give us three usages, three. First of all, it is used again and again of the Nation of Israel, and we looked at that briefly last week. You remember that passage in Deuteronomy 7, God said there in Deuteronomy 7:6 through 8, "I did not choose you because you were greater or wiser than the rest of the nations or all the other nations, but He said I chose you because I loved you." The Nation of Israel was an elect nation, a chosen nation, and God determined that He would set His affection upon them, and this was in that sense a national election. Isaiah 44 verse 1, He calls Israel His chosen, His elect: "But now here, O Jacob, My servant, and Israel whom I have chosen." And again you come to the New Testament, Acts 13:17, God had to have a nation through which He would accomplish His redemptive purposes, He would build a framework within which He would send His one and only Son to be the Savior of the world, and out of all the nations He chose to use one nation, and the nation that He chose was Israel.

Why? Why? Well, God says why in Deuteronomy 7: "I chose you because”— I chose, period,— “I loved you." Why do you love? Well, I chose you. I loved you.Why?— "Because I loved you.” Not because of anything in you, but because of a purpose that was locked up in My own heart."
 
Another usage, second usage of this word: Christ is spoken of as God's elect, God's elect. Isaiah 42 verses 1 and 2, He's spoken of as God's elect: "Behold My servant whom I uphold, My chosen one in whom My soul is well pleased." And in 1st Peter chapter 2 verses 4 through 6, twice this term is used of our Lord Jesus Christ, "a choice,”—eklektos,— “a choice stone, precious in the sight of God." He was selected, set apart, chosen out for the office of mediator, Messiah, the one who would be the representative of His people, and for His people He would become man, would live, would die, would rise again, ascend to the right hand of the majesty on high.

Now there's another usage of the word elect, and this is the prevailing, and I want to underscore the word prevailing, the prevailing use of this word in the New Testament when it refers to the people of God being elected, and here's the use. It's an election of individual men and women to the blessings of salvation. It's an election of individual men and women to the blessings of salvation, a sovereign selection. It's a sovereign selection of specific individuals to enjoy the blessings of God's salvation. The people of God are called in 1st Peter 2 and verse 9, a chosen family, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people of God's own possession, the church, the called out ones, believers, God's people, God's children have been chosen by God to enjoy the blessings of saving grace and sovereign salvation. And it's in this sense that the word is used in the passage, not only this passage, but passage after passage in the New Testament.

Now the only reason anyone would ever hold to this meaning of the word is because He is compelled to it in an honest handling of the Word of God. That's the only reason. You're compelled to it. You're constrained to it. There's no other choice. If you do honest, if you have honest handling of the Word of God, this is the only conclusion. It's the only one reason why the church, for example, has believed the doctrine of the Trinity throughout its history. The doctrine of God, that God is one, and yet this one Being, to use the only term we have, exists in three persons, —Father, Son, and Holy Spirit,— yet the one is not three distinct gods, but there are three persons, one God, one, three, three, one, and we say we cannot understand it, but we are compelled to embrace that which is a mystery to us.

Why? Because the Word of God leads us there. Leads us there. The Word of God teaches clearly the Father is God, the Son is God, the Spirit of God, yet there are not three gods, but one God. So the biblical teaching, as it were, squeezes us into this position where we hold that truth, one God, three persons, three in one, one in three, and the only reason we believe that is because the Bible leads us there. The only reason the church throughout its history has believed in the doctrine of eternal punishment is that the Scripture takes us there. The doctrine of eternal punishment is repugnant to human understanding that creatures made in the image of God who have sinned in a lifetime should for eternity be the object of the wrath, the wrath of God, the judgment of God, in conscious torment. I mean, everything within the human personality recoils at such a doctrine in our finiteness. Yet the church has held throughout all of its existence this doctrine.

Why? Why? And this is one of the—this is a hill to die on, because the church has been compelled to it by the Word of God. "And these will go away into”— what?— “eternal punishment,"— Matthew 25:46,— "but the righteous into eternal life." If words mean anything, punishment and life are eternal. "To be cast into hell where their worm does not die and the fire is not quenched," Mark 9:47, 48. Revelation 14:11, "and the smoke of their torment goes up,”— how long?— “forever and ever they have no rest, day and night." You see, God's people who are honest with God's Word embrace the doctrine of eternal punishment. Why? Because simply the Scripture forces them to. We're compelled.

Now why does anyone believe the doctrine of election? Beloved, for the same reason that when one's mind is subject—is subject indeed to the Word of God, subject to the truth of God—there is no honest handling of a word such as we encounter in 1 Thessalonians 1:4 except to come to that conclusion. What conclusion? That that word means that God in His sovereign good pleasure has reached down—He took the initiative—He reached down into the mass of sinful humanity, and for reasons known only to Him, has chosen to Himself a great multitude that no man can number. Some out of every tribe and tongue and people and nation, and for that people He sent His one and only Son, and for that people His Son died, and for that people His Son lives, and for that people He will infallibly bring to Himself that people.

Election is a biblical word, it's a biblical concept, and it is not, beloved, to be relegated to the name of any man, really, fundamentally. When people will say of an individual or a church that believes and does not treat as a contraband possession this doctrine, but gladly confesses it as Paul did here, and they say, oh well, you know, they're nothing but a Calvinist. Oh, he's a Calvinist. Or that church is a Calvinist. Or they're nothing but reformed in their theology. You see, this is a biblical concept, and it was around a long, long, long time before John Calvin ever breathed his first breath. It was around a long time before Martin Luther ever breathed his first breath, before Uldrich Zwingli breathed his first breath, before the Puritans breathed their first breath, and before Jonathan Edwards breathed his first breath.

The Word of God declared, "knowing, brothers, beloved of God, your election." It's right here. Right here. And all of these men, all these men did, all of them, all they did was in their return to the authority of the Scripture, sola scriptura, which had been virtually denied, though confessed with the lips by the Roman Church, in their return, having their minds subject to the Word of God, it's only inevitable that the doctrine of election would come to light in the Reformation. Only inevitable. Why? Because the Scripture came to light, and wherever the Scriptures come to light, the doctrine of election will come to light. Why? Because it's found throughout the length and breadth of Scripture. You cannot avoid it.

That's the reason, that's the only reason. That's the only reason some even here in this congregation have come to embrace this doctrine in the last couple of years, because you've come with a new spirit of inquiry to the scripture. You say, what I've been doing is spreading the words of the Bible through my mind, through my eyes, but what I've really been doing have been stamping upon the Bible the meanings that perhaps I've gotten from my childhood. I was really doing an eisegesis, not an exegesis. I haven't really come to grips with what the scripture teaches, and that attitude which has led you to come to grips with the teaching of the scripture and other issues has led you now to come to grips with what it teaches on this glorious doctrine, the doctrine of election, and you find like with the doctrine of the trinity and the doctrine of justification and the doctrine of eternal judgment, I can do no less than embrace the scripture, for the scripture teaches it, and as a Christian I am subject to the words of the living God. My life is to be regulated by it. My conscience is held captive to it.

And so much then for the general use of the word, theological use of the word, the nation of Israel, Christ the chosen one, individual men and women to the blessings of salvation.

Thirdly, what are we warranted to say then by way of sort of a setting out clearly the meaning of this election as found in the scripture? May I very quickly share with you a few thoughts that I trust will be helpful tonight. Here are the few thoughts.

Number one, I'm going to state the obvious. It is God who does the choosing. God who does the choosing. In dealing with sinful humanity, it is God who puts forth the initiative. Mark 13:20 speaks of the elect whom He has chosen. The elect whom He has chosen. I mean, could words be more simple than that?

Let me illustrate. If I were to speak to you about a certain car that Mr. Smith, I'm being creative here, Mr. Smith has chosen, those words have a very obvious meaning. Mr. Smith either went to the showroom or went to the car lot. He looked around, inspected the cars, surveyed all the cars there, and after that he said, you know, I want that car. I want that car. And he chose that car. And as a result of it, he drove it off the lot and took it home.

If I were to say Mr. Smith chose a 2026 Toyota Land Cruiser I-Force Max hybrid powertrain, would you ever put on my words the meaning that as he sat in the showroom, all of a sudden a 26 Toyota Land Cruiser put itself in gear, drove up alongside of him and said, now Mr. Smith, I'd like to go home with you? Is that what you think? And Mr. Smith said, you know, all right, because you decided to go home with me, I will ratify your decision. I will choose you therefore as my car, take you home with me. Would you ever put that kind of meaning on my words? I mean if you would, I'll be very concerned, but if you would, then all meaningful communication will break down and we'd have it. There would be no meaningful communication whatsoever. And if I say Mr. Smith chose a 2026 Toyota Land Cruiser and you would twist my words to mean that the Land Cruiser chose Mr. Smith and he okayed its choice, well, we'd have a problem. All communication would be, I mean, it would be a breakdown of communication. And yet it's amazing what tricks people play with the Bible. Gymnastics. It says, Mark 13:20, "for the sake of the elect whom He chose,”— for the sake of the elect whom He chose. And they say, oh, but that doesn't mean God has chosen them. What this means is they chose Him and God saw that they would choose Him. And so in turn He chose them. That's what election means.

Beloved, that is butchering the word of God. That's substituting, to use the words of Brad Classen, the voice of God for the voice of man. That's unwarranted twisting of the obvious sense of scripture. And if we did it in the realm of normal communication, we'd say, well, how can we communicate if we're going to handle words like that? In the same way the word of God reveals, it's God who does the choosing. The illustration of David and his stones is a classic one here.

Secondly, it's God who chooses individual people. God's election, not sort of looking through a foggy glass and He just sees shapes and forms and He says, you know, I'll choose something called believers. No, no, no. It's a choice of individual people. Individual people. How do we know? Notice Romans 16 and verse 13. And this is what I mean when the doctrines of the word of God sometimes pop out in the most unusual places, really. They just, as you're reading something and it's a record that, and all of a sudden you have this doctrine, you know, popping up.

Here Paul is giving some directives to send greetings to a bunch of Christians in Rome and he's saying, salute so and so and so and so and so and so. And notice verse 13, Romans 16, "greet Rufus." Notice now the next word, "a choice man in the Lord and his mother and mine." He calls a particular individual one who was eklektos, chosen. Same word in the original, elected in the Lord. It's God who does the choosing. Secondly, it's God who chooses individual people.

And thirdly, God chooses unto salvation. He chooses unto salvation. Second Thessalonians 2:13, "but we should always give thanks to God for you, brothers, beloved by the Lord, because God has chosen you as the first fruits for salvation through sanctification by the Spirit and faith in the truth." God's election has reference not just to privilege, not just to opportunity, as sometimes some commentator is trying to pull this gymnastic. In fact, one of them commenting, he says, all that Paul meant by this election, 1 Thessalonians 1:4, was that when the Spirit of God didn't let him go into Asia, turned him down, and so that the vision came, the man of Macedonia saying, come over here and help us, he was just telling them that they had an election to privilege of hearing the gospel. That's all.

You don't, I don't read my Bible right, do I, if I only read it that way or see that. This is butchering the Word of God. Beloved, "He has chosen you from the beginning,"— not just to hear the gospel, not just to be exposed to the gospel, but— "He has chosen you to salvation," 2 Thessalonians 2:13.

So then we conclude from the scriptures. First of all, that God does the choosing, Mark 13:20, "for the sake of the elect whom He chose." He chooses individual people, Romans 16:13. He chooses unto salvation, 2 Thessalonians 2:13.

Number four, He chooses in eternity. In eternity. Ephesians 1:4, "He, God, chose us in Him,"— when?— "Before the foundation of the world." Before the foundation of the world. And then, of course, Titus 1:1 and 2. "Paul, a slave of God, and an apostle of Jesus Christ, for the faith of God's elect and the full knowledge of the truth, which is according to godliness in the hope of eternal life, which the God who cannot lie promised,"— when?— "From all eternity." God's choice is not a choice in time, but one in eternity.

In the fifth place, God's choice always, always, always, always has reference to Christ. Always. We are chosen in Him. God cannot think of having sinners in a saving relationship with Himself apart from His Son. There's no way. Ephesians 1:4, "He chose us,"— where?— "In Him.”— In Him.— “before the foundation of the world." And I trust I'm not irreverent in saying that God cannot think of this. I believe it's an accurate expression of the truth of the Bible. God cannot think of having sinful man in a saving relationship with Himself apart from His Son. So when He chose, it was in Christ, and it was with reference to Christ, we are chosen in Him, in the beloved.

In the sixth place, God's choice is based on no other basis but His sovereign will. But His sovereign will. Romans 9, the great treaties on this. Ephesians 1:5 declares, according, it's all done “according to the good pleasure of His will.” "He chose us in Him before the foundation of the world… according to the pleasure of His will." God has told us, Romans 9:15 and 16, "I will have mercy on whom I will have mercy, and I will have compassion on whom I have compassion. So then it does not depend on the one who wills or the one who runs, but on God who has mercy."

And then in the last place, the seventh conclusion we make in the study of this word is that God's choice has as its end His own glory. Ephesians 1:6, He has chosen us in Christ. Verse 4, verse 5, He's predestined us to be like unto His Son. Verse 6, to what end? "To the praise of the glory of His grace which He graciously bestowed on us in the beloved."

If I'm saved, the scripture says I'm saved because I was chosen to be saved. Why was I chosen? Because it pleased God. Well, why did it please God? No answer comes from the scripture. You know what that means? In light of this, it's time now to put your hand on your mouth, put your face in the dust and worship. That's the only fitting response.

Those seven conclusions, we are compelled to them by the scripture, by an honest handling of the text. God does the choosing, He chooses individual people, He chooses unto salvation, He chooses in eternity, He chooses with reference to Christ, He chooses on no other basis but His sovereign will and He chooses to His own glory.

Well, a few more minutes by way of application, what does it say to us in closing? May I address a word to you, believers, the people of God, to us, the people of God, all of us. How can you know if you are the elect of God? How can you know? How can you know? You know we're going to see that in our next studies, how we know. You see, we're going to see that by looking at how Paul knew and that helps us. You see, Paul didn't say, "knowing brothers, your election of God because God allowed me to look into the secrets of His heart and His eternal counsels. That's how I knew." No, no. He said, "knowing brothers, beloved of God, your election," —and this is a good really intro to next study,— "how our gospel came not in word but in power." That's how we knew. That's how we knew.

He said, I read your election in the fruits of the salvation of God in your life. Isn't it amazing how the Lord connects morning and evening service, not planned, not planned by me, by Him. That's how you can know. That's how you can know if you're the elect of God, not by prying into the eternal counsels of God, which are shut to us, but by looking into your own life and seeing if you have the fruits of His salvation. Just to whet our appetite, has the word of God come to you in power? Has it come to you in power? Has it turned you from self and sin to the Lord Jesus Christ? Has it turned you from idols unto Him? You read the entire first chapter, 1 Thessalonians, and you see why Paul was convinced that these people were the elect of God. Because they were attached to Jesus. They were attached to Jesus. They had severed themselves from all their idols and turned to the living God.

And so I say to you who profess to be the children of God, do you have the marks of God's elect? We read our election not in the secret counsels of God, but in the open evidences of His transforming power in our lives, that radical difference. And if we can read those evidences, oh let us be found this evening at His feet in wonder, in love, in praise, in adoration, in thanksgiving. You see the problem many of us had is that we did not get what these Thessalonians got. And when I say we, I'm not using it editorially. God had wonderfully saved me by His grace 37 years ago, but for the first several years of that time I was trying to build much of my Christian life on the wrong foundation. I thought that I became a Christian because I finally decided it was time I ought to be a Christian. But it wasn't until several years later after my conversion, forced by the scripture, warring and wrestling for a period of time over some of these issues, when I finally was brought to the place where I realized, Lord, Your word is clear, I can't avoid it. I can't fight it, nor do I want to. I can't put my own meaning on Your word.

You said Mr. Smith chose a car, Lord. I don't have a right to say that the car chose Mr. Smith. And Lord, the reason I was saved back in my 19th year of age on the island of Cyprus was because You purposed to save me. And when you begin to establish as your foundation, beloved, free grace, free grace, sovereign grace, the whole superstructure becomes different. You'll find that your worship is different. You'll find your witness in measure is different. You find your praying in certain areas is different. And the problem with us in this day where everyone has built a monument to the sovereign will of man is that when we try to build any kind of superstructure of biblical piety, biblical evangelism on that foundation, everything goes what? Amuck. And Paul wanted this young church at its very foundation to have ingrained into their thinking that their salvation was attributed to the free, free, free grace of God.

And so I say to you as God's people, to all of us, including my own heart, let us pray that we shall have that foundation beneath us, solidly laid by God's Spirit in His word.

And what word do I have for anyone who is not joined to Christ this evening? What word is there to preach to those who are not His? Oh, this is filled with words of exhortation and comfort and warning to you who are not savingly attached to Jesus, not savingly joined to Jesus. Does God owe you anything? I ask. I ask. Does God owe you anything? Maybe you're sitting here saying, well, God owes me salvation. God owes me salvation. Well, it's in His hand. He owes it to me. If you talk that way, you're not ready to get saved. You've never seen yourself.

If you sit here this evening, not joined to Christ, not born of the Spirit, and you say it isn't right, why should God choose some and not others? Friend, you've never seen your heart. God doesn't owe salvation to anyone. There's only one thing God owes you and me. That's damnation. Damnation. The only thing that we can claim as our just recompense is punishment. Why? “For the wages of sin is” —what?— “death.” You know wages? Wages of sin? You know, you get your wages when you work for something. We deserve it. That's what we deserve. It's our wages. If we get anything else, it will be the sheer, free, sovereign grace of God.

And so if you sit here this evening fighting, arguing with the doctrine of election because you say it isn't fair, you've never seen your heart. Rather than argue with God, you need to fall on your face and say, oh God, oh God, show me, show me what an ill-deserving, hell-deserving sinner I am. And if you're in that place, you say, oh I see myself lost, undone. I see that God doesn't owe me anything and He can give and withhold salvation according to His sovereign, His own sovereign will. What hope is there for me? Ah, there's wonderful hope for you. For God says in His word and His word becomes the basis of our approach to Him. He says in His word, "believe on the Lord Jesus Christ and you will be saved." He says in His word, "him that comes to me, I will in no wise, no way, by no means cast out."

What are God's secret purposes? Including election? I don't know. But His promise is, I know, that they are yea and amen in Christ. "Him that comes to me, I will in no wise cast out." Do you see yourself ill-deserving? Do you see yourself as one who has no claim upon God, His mercy, His grace, undone, hopeless, helpless, doomed, damned? Is that the way you see yourself? Then hear the promise, hear it. "Come to me,” —come to me— “all you who are weary and heavy laden," Christ said, "and I will give you rest."

Your coming to Christ from the standpoint has nothing to do with knowing whether or not you are an elect. Your coming has to do with your consciousness of need and His promise to receive needy sinners. Did you hear that? Your coming has to do with your consciousness of need and His promise to receive needy sinners. If you leave this place complaining and whining, then you see you're not conscious of your need and there is no salvation for you. He didn't come to call the righteous who think that they're righteous, who think they've got a claim upon Him. He came to call sinners who know they have no claim, no claim whatsoever. He receives such.

And so I trust as Paul could write to this young church and thank God for them when He remembered their work of faith, labor of love, and steadfastness of hope, and when He could say, "knowing brothers beloved of God, your election," they did not fight the fact that they were chosen by Him. They were the chosen ones. No doubt, no doubt, I like to think that they fell down and worshiped Him. And would to God that you and I should be found in that posture, would be found in that posture, and from that posture of humility and brokenness and an attitude of utter reliance and dependency upon the free sovereign grace of God.

But we should be able to say with the Apostle Paul, "therefore I endure all things for the elect's sake that they may obtain salvation which is in Christ Jesus," that this should fill us with a sense of obligation to proclaim the mercy of our great and sovereign God to all who desperately need Him.

Let's pray.

This is a transcript. It may contain small inaccuracies.

We are considering what may be called Paul's paragraph of praise and thanksgiving to God for these beloved Christians in Thessaloniki, these Thessalonians. Beginning with verse 2, going down all the way to the end of the chapter, verse 10, and you look at this portion of the Word of God that we've been really studying together. In verse 2 He says, "We give thanks to God always for all of you, making mention of you in our prayers." And as Paul gives thanks, He does so, verse 3, “remembering” certain things. And verse 4, “knowing” certain things. And the things which He remembered we have studied together.

You remember those three crown jewels, their work of faith, labor of love, and steadfastness of hope. And the things which He knows, well, we will begin considering this evening. The things which He knows, number one, He knows that they are beloved by God. And number two, He knows their election, God's choice of them. We will then consider in the weeks to come, Lord willing, how He knew that they were beloved by God and how He knew that they were the elect of God. But tonight our focus will be the little phrase in verse 4, verse 4a, knowing brothers beloved by God. He says your election.

Well, let's begin with the first part of this phrase, knowing brothers beloved by God. Now just as other certain words become particular words to describe the children of God, so this little phrase here in verse 4a, beloved by God, is a description of the people of God and belongs to no one else. No one else. The word holy, ἅγιος , and or the word saints became a term applied to the people of God and was never used of anyone else.

As you read the New Testament, New Testament letters, you find phrases like this, for instance, in Romans chapter 1, verse 7, "To all who are beloved of God in Rome, called as saints," ἅγιος, set-apart ones. You see the word saints and the word beloved of God are two particular descriptions of the people of God there in Rome and wherever they are found. In Colossians 3, verse 12, the Apostle says, "So as the elect of God, holy and beloved, put on a heart of compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness, and patience." There are the three terms used only of the people of God, elect, holy, beloved, and they're not used of anyone else. He uses these words in a similar way in 2nd Thessalonians 2:13 where He speaks of the people of God as brothers beloved by the Lord.

Now what conclusion do we draw from this? Well, the very obvious conclusion, very obvious, that if a particular people are given a particular title and no one else is given that title, well that title applies only to them and must signify something that's true of them but true of no one else. So if the people of God are called saints, the word saint becomes a particular title for those who are born of the Spirit of God. Now the same way with the phrase beloved of God or by God, it is used only of those who stand in a state of grace. They are the ones who are beloved by God.

Therefore we conclude that in a special way only the people of God are beloved by God in this very special way and blessed be His name, all the people of God with all their weakness and all their failures and all their struggles are beloved by God. Now this conclusion immediately poses a problem to many of us particularly in this day and age in our generation. Why? For we have for many years thought of God's love simply as a general attitude of goodwill and benevolence to all men without any distinction and without any varying degrees. That God loved all men in the same way and that to question that was in essence to question the truth of the Bible.

My objective this evening is simply to expound those words biblically and it is this, my objective this evening by the grace of God to seek to demonstrate from the Word of God that God's redemptive love is a special kind of love to a special group of people which attains special ends and objectives. And we need to do this because it is right here in the Word of God. These are not just words. They're inspired. That when Paul could write to the Thessalonians and say knowing brothers beloved by God that He was calling those Christians there in Thessaloniki beloved by God in a sense that they were the object of a particular peculiar distinguishing redemptive love of God in a way that others were not.

That's my objective, with God's help. How am I going to seek to obtain that objective? Well, twofold way. Number one, first of all, I want to establish by the grace of God the fact and have you look at a number of scriptures with me to see that there is indeed a distinguishing love taught in the Bible in a general way. And by distinguishing, distinguishing love, I mean a love that makes differences. And then secondly, to establish that this distinguishing love that God has to His own people is the love that is inseparably joined to His elective purposes or electing purposes.

First of all then, can we establish the fact that there is in the scripture clear indication of a different kind of love that God has in different relationships? Well, let us look at this together. The distinguishing love taught in scripture. Distinguishing love taught in scripture. First of all, illustrated from human experience. Suppose I were to say to you in the course of half an hour a conversation, I love the color green. Now, we might move to the subject of food and I might say, well, I love bone marrow. Then I might move in our conversation and talk about where I grew up in Lebanon and say, well, I love the mountains there in Lebanon. And then in the course of conversation, an opportunity comes up and I say, well, I love my wife. And then in the course of the conversation, we might be discussing our Lord and I might say, I love my Savior.

Now, in the course of half an hour, I said I love the color green. I love bone marrow. I love mountains. I love my wife. I love my Savior. All the way from color green to my Savior. Now, it's obvious to you, I trust, and you understand when I communicate to you that the love I have to the color green is qualitatively different from the love that I have for my Savior, from the love that I have for my wife. You would never put the same meaning on the word love when I say I love my Savior. I love the color green. Now, I do have an attachment and affinity to the color green, but you would not put the same meaning on the word when I say I love my Savior. I would never die for the color green. I would never bear reproach for the color green. I would never give of my substance and my time and my energies and, if necessary, of my blood for the color green. By the grace of God, by the grace of God, I'd like to believe that I would do that for my Savior.

So you see, even in human conversations, there are degrees of love. There are different kinds of love, and we see this clearly taught in Scripture. First of all, consider that in the Lord Jesus there were different kinds of love expressed to different people. It is said, you remember, in that account in Mark 10, our Lord looked upon the rich young ruler and looking at him, Mark 10 verse 21, "Jesus loved him." Right? That means that our Lord felt something toward this man, this young man, when He looked at him that He did not feel prior to looking at him, and He felt something to him that He didn't feel to other men who were walking around, or else language loses its meaning. Right? If our Lord had the same affection to every young man in that area, then it absolutely makes no sense that Mark should say, "and looking at him Jesus loved him." If it's all the same across the board. You see, that was a particular kind of love directed to a particular person.

Then we read in John 11 verse 5, and the text that we read, that we studied together not too long ago, that "Jesus loved Martha and her sister and Lazarus." Now, if the love that He had to them is the same love that He had to all men, then John is telling us something that makes no sense whatsoever. Why tell us that He loves Martha, her sister, and Mary, and Lazarus unless Jesus loved in a special way Martha, Mary, and Lazarus? And turning to John 13, you have a similar passage in verse 1, that familiar scripture: "Now before the feast of the Passover, Jesus knowing His hour had come that He would depart out of the world to the Father”, now notice, “having loved His own who were in the world”, “having loved His own who were in the world," separating His own from the world in general, a love which is directed to His own in particular, "having loved His own who were in the world, He loved them," He loved them, excluding others with this kind of love. Whatever love He had to others, this kind of love was directed to a specific group of people, and it says “He loved them to the end.”

Turn to Revelation chapter 3, and by the way, this is by no means an exhaustive list, this is a suggestive list. There were many passages, I have to select a few. Revelation 3 verse 9, the Lord is speaking as He gives these letters to John to send to the seven churches, this one addressed to the church there in Philadelphia, verse 9: "Behold, I am giving up those of the synagogue of Satan, those who say that they are Jews and are not, but lie. Behold, I will make them come," that's one group of people, "and bow down before your feet and make them know that I have loved you." He says, I'm gonna do something to convince men that I have a particular love for you as My particular people. Down in verse 19, you have a similar thing, our Lord speaking these words to the church at Laodicea, and He says in verse 19, "Those whom I love," setting off a group, those whom He loves, He says, "I reprove and discipline." Does He reprove and discipline all as His children, as we shall see a little bit later? No. Therefore, He has a peculiar love to those who are His own. And then we're told of the disciple whom Jesus loved, the beloved disciple John.

Now, what do all of these references in the life of our Lord tell us? Well, they tell us that our Lord had different kinds of love to different people. They tell us that, that much then, and that's the only conclusion that I want us to draw at this point. Now, is it true of the Father? Does the scripture attribute to the Father a different kind of love to different individuals or groups of people? Yes, the scripture says that the Father has a special love to His Son. We know that, the scripture declares it. John 3:35, "The Father loves the Son and has given all things into His hand." The Father loves the Son. The Father has a special love for His Son which has moved Him to give to Him as the mediator all things, all things are entrusted to Him. In John 10:17, you find a similar reference where our Lord says, "For this reason the Father loves Me, because I lay down My life so that I may take it again." And here is a special love because of the self-sacrifice, the laying down of His own life. My Father, He says, has a peculiar love to Me in light of My willingness to lay down My life and to take it up again.

And then the scripture teaches not only that the Father has a peculiar love to His Son, but He has a special love to His people. John 17, that high priestly prayer of Jesus, our Lord is praying, and this is His petition, verse 23: "I in them and You in Me, that they may be perfected in unity, so that the world may know," the world is one group, right, those for whom He prays are another group, "and He says that they may be perfected in unity so that the world may know that You sent Me and loved them even as You have loved Me." So His prayer is that the world may recognize that the Father has a special love to His people, that's His petition.

And then, of course, John 14, you have a number of references, one of them is in verse 21: "He who has My commandments and keeps them is the one who loves Me; and he who loves Me will be loved by My Father, and I will love him and will disclose Myself to him," will reveal, will manifest Myself to him. I don't want to multiply verses, but I want to give you enough to let you know that this is not some kind of a truth that is hidden off in a corner, that there's, there's, there is a real sense, in a real sense, there is a distinguishing kind of love revealed in Christ's own life to others, revealed in the Father's love to the Son, revealed in the Father's special love to His people.

2 Corinthians 9:7, you're familiar with this verse: "Each one must do just as he has purposed in his heart," with reference to giving, "not grudgingly or under compulsion, for God loves a cheerful giver." God loves me as a giver when I give cheerfully. He loves me in Christ, but there is that love here expressed when I give cheerfully. But if I give grudgingly, under compulsion, He doesn't love me as a giver because I'm not being cheerful, not giving from the heart. But when you give with the attitude, bless God that I have life and breath and salvation and all that is given me, Lord, what a joy to give You from what You have given me because it's already Yours to begin with, and God says, I love that kind of a giver. You see, God has a distinguishing love directed to certain people in different circumstances.

And then that familiar text in Hebrews 12 verse 6, where the scripture tells us, "For those whom the Lord loves," what does He do? “He disciplines.” He disciplines, it's an expression of His love. "He disciplines and He flogs every son whom He receives." There's a special love for His children which leads Him to discipline them. And then He says in verse 8, "But if you are without discipline, of which all have become partakers, then you are illegitimate children, not sons," indicating that not all are disciplined by the Lord. It's only those that He loves with a peculiar love that are disciplined by Him. Well, there's a difference made, some that He loves that He disciplines, others that He doesn't love with that special distinguishing love, He doesn't discipline them, and they're not sons, in fact, they are illegitimate children.

Do you get the feeling, beloved, the drift of all of these passages? They teach and establish the fact that there is indeed taught in Scripture a distinguishing love of God. There is a separating or a marking off by differences in the love which God has to different kinds of people in different kinds of situations. The idea that because God is love, He has an identical affection to all men irrespective of their condition is an unscriptural concept.

Well, now, having, I trust, established the fact that there is a there is in general a distinguishing love, I want to, in the second place this evening, to demonstrate that there is a distinguishing love of God to His own elect people. For notice in our text, these are the two things that Paul joins together. Next Lord's Day we will look at the last part, "knowing, brothers beloved by God”, what “your election," distinguishing love, and here's the point that I want to make based on the scripture: distinguishing love inseparably joined to God's electing purposes. You see, Paul joined them together, these two thoughts, these two truths, that the special object of the love of God and the special object of the electing purpose of God, these are to join together in our text, and they are joined in the biblical concept throughout the entire breadth of Scripture, and what God joins together let no one separate.

Will you turn with me to what I really feel are the two key passages, or believe the two key passages, in the Old Testament which teach in the history of God's people, ancient people, this tremendous truth, that the distinguishing love of God, that God has to His chosen people, these two things are joined together, election and distinguishing love, and they're inseparably joined. And, of course, you have to turn to Deuteronomy 7, right? Deuteronomy 7, the context is clear. God is exhorting His people to obedience, promising that if they obey, blessing will come, if they disobey, the curse will come, and now He's trying to give them motive for obedience, and He tells them in verse 6, we read, "For you are a holy people to Yahweh your God; Yahweh your God has chosen you to be a people for His own treasured possession out of all the peoples who are on the face of the earth." So here are all the nations, and God says, I set My choice on you, Israel, I set My choice on you.

Now notice verse 7: "Yahweh did not set His affection, He did not set His love on you nor choose you," do you see the two thoughts joined together, set His affection, love upon you and choose you, distinguishing love and particular election inseparably joined right there in the text, verse 7, "Yahweh did not set His affection on you nor choose you because you were more in number than any of the peoples, for you were the fewest of all peoples, but because Yahweh loved you." As God is trying to humble Israel to move her with motives to obey Him, Moses says, now look, God has chosen you to be a special people above all the peoples, and He didn't do it because you were greater, He didn't do it because you were more in number, but He loved you and He chose you for one reason and one reason only. What is it, Moses, tell us? He loved you. He loved you. What do you mean? The only cause is that God chose to set His love upon them. Is that it? Is that the only cause? Precisely, precisely, that's the only reason He gives. Verse 8: "But because Yahweh loved you," that's the only reason that He gives. And because He loved Israel, He chose her for a particular purpose. He chose Israel because He loved Israel. He chose Israel in spite of Israel. So you see, the concepts of distinguishing love and sovereign election are joined together.

Turn with me, while we're in that book, to chapter 10, and you will see the same thing in chapter 10, Deuteronomy, verses 14 through 16. Again, we have an exhortation to obedience in verse 12, and now He's trying to give them motive to prompt them to obedience, and listen to the motive, beginning in verse 14: "Behold, to Yahweh your God belong heaven and the highest heavens, the earth and all that is in it. Yet on your fathers did Yahweh set His affection to love them, and He chose their seed after them, even you above all peoples, as it is this day. So circumcise your heart and stiffen your neck no longer." Oh, He says, Israel, Oh Israel, be humble, lay low, and be brought to a place of obedience from the heart as you behold the distinguishing love of God which was joined to the particular election of God. "Yahweh set His affection to love you, He chose your seed after you." And so you see, the whole concept of God's distinguishing love and particular election joined together in the whole history of Israel.
So that when Paul is writing about God's dealing with Israel in the New Testament, in that well-known passage in Romans 11 verse 28, we read, "From the standpoint of the gospel they are enemies for your sake, but from the standpoint of” what? “God's choice, they are beloved for the sake of their fathers.” Why? “For the gifts and the calling of God are irrevocable." They will not be rescinded.

You see the two joined together? Now, what is God doing today? Well, because of disobedience, Romans 11:25 and 26, "a partial hardening has happened to Israel until the fullness of the Gentile has come. And so all Israel will be saved." God's focus of concern right now is His Church, the called-out ones, the called-out body of His own. And how are they described in Scripture? Well, turn to Colossians 3 and we shall see these two thoughts joined together.

Like Moses with Israel in the Old Testament, Paul is exhorting believers to Christian duty and He seeks to arm them with motives by reminding them that they were the objects of distinguishing love and particular election of God. Verse 12, Colossians 3 and verse 12: "So as” what? “The elect of God.” As the elect of God, “holy and beloved, put on a heart of compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness, and patience." He says now if you remember what you are, this will arm you with motives to be what you ought to be or better, to be what you are. Remember what you are, Paul says, and when you remember what you are, you'll be armed with the most powerful motives to be what you are.

Well, what am I? What am I? You're the beloved of God. You're the beloved of God. You're the elect of God. Oh, you mean God set His love upon me? Why? Let me tell you why. Because He set His love upon you. And being pressed down in humiliation that God in His sovereign grace and mercy should love me, me, when He may have made up His bride, the church out of many others. What does this do? When I'm pressed down in humiliation realizing all of this, me, why me? What does this do? It arms the child of God with great motives for humility leading to obedience to the will of God.

2 Thessalonians 2:13, "but we should always give thanks to God for you brothers beloved by the Lord because God has chosen you as the first fruits for salvation through sanctification by the Spirit and faith in the truth." Again, the particular love of God, the particular election of God joined together inseparably. And of course the classic passage showing these two joined together, Ephesians 1:4 through 6, "just as He chose us”, chose us “in Him before the foundation of the world that we would be holy and blameless before Him in love by predestining us to adoption as sons through Jesus Christ to Himself according to the” goodness of our works? According to the what? “According to the good pleasure of His will. To the praise of the glory of His grace, which He graciously bestowed on us in the Beloved."

And so we see in these passages that I try to bring to bear upon 1 Thessalonians 1:4 that when Paul wrote to those Thessalonians and said, "knowing brothers beloved by God your election," he was not speaking of that general love of God that God has for all His creatures. The Lord spoke of that general love of God back in the Sermon on the Mount in Matthew 5 where He said in verse 45, "He,” God, “causes His sun to rise on the evil and the good and sends rain on the righteous and on the unrighteous." That's the common grace of God, the general love of God.

Acts 14:17, Paul says, "He,” God, “did good and gave you rains from heaven and fruitful seasons filling your hearts with food and gladness." That's the general love of God. So no, no, He's not speaking of that, of that love that He mentions elsewhere. He's not speaking of the peculiar love that Paul is talking about concerning the elect. That peculiar love spoken of in John 10 where our Lord says in verse 14, "I'm the Good Shepherd. I know My own and My own know Me. I lay down My life for the sheep and I have other sheep which are not from this fold. I must bring them also and they will hear My voice and they will become one flock with one Shepherd." It's the peculiar love of the bridegroom to the bride.

And Ephesians 5, that text often read at weddings, 25 to 27, "Christ also loved the church and gave Himself up for” who? For everybody? For the church, “for her”, the church, “so that He might sanctify the church, having cleansed her”, the church, “by the washing of the water with the word, that He might present to Himself the church in all her Glory, having no spot or wrinkle." You see, that love with which the Thessalonian believers were loved was a distinguishing love. It was a dying, sacrificial love. It was a conquering love. It was the love spoken of in Jeremiah 31 verse 3, "I have loved you with an everlasting love. Therefore I have drawn you with loving kindness." That's a love that is eternal, beloved, a love that is immutable, a love that is efficacious. "Therefore I have drawn you."

It's a love that not only provides redemption, but quickens, quickens a dead sinner. Paul says in Ephesians 2:4 and 5, "But God, being rich in mercy, because of His great love with which He loved us, even when we were dead in our transgressions, He made us alive. He quickened us together with Christ. By grace, you have been saved." Has God quickened all men? Has He quickened all sinners? No, He quickened some.

This is a love that quickens the sinner. This is a love that releases the sinners. Revelation 1:5, "To Him who loves us and released us from our sins by His blood and has made us to be kingdom priest to His God and Father, to Him be the glory, the might forever and ever. Amen." This God who loves, who loves inexplicably, who loves without explanation, who loves unexpectedly, who loves invincibly, this God who loves immutably, without change, this God of love, Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, is at the center of the target of the source of our salvation.

Salvation is only explained by God and His love for us. The scripture contains the theme of God's love for unlovely sinners. How did God express undeserved, unsolicited love for sinners? What did He do? Well, let me sum it up in one phrase for us. Here it is, and you've heard this before: God gave what was most precious to Him, and He gave that which was best for you and for me. God gave what was most precious to Him, and He gave what was most precious to Him, and He gave what was best for you and for me, child of God.

Let me conclude this evening by seeking to establish the practical use of this. Of what practical use was it to write to these people there in Thessaloniki, little babes in Christ? We think about it, little babes in Christ. You say, shouldn't they be concerned with other more practical things than beloved of God, your election? Aren't those mysteries for the theologians, sovereign election? Predestination? Well, apparently Paul didn't think so.

I mean, they were clear on sovereign election, but they were confused on what? Eschatology. Paul had to straighten them out on the rapture, but he didn't have to straighten them out on election. They were crystal clear. I find that interesting. They knew that God saved them, and He saved them on purpose, and He saved them because He loved them with a special love. We're bound to give thanks to God for you, brethren, that God has chosen you from the beginning.

This was a glorious truth.

Now why? Of what practical use is the doctrine of God's particular, distinguishing love for His own? How is that relevant? Well, let me establish very briefly its practical use for the Saints of God. Paul, writing to these Christians in Thessaloniki, and he says in verse 4, "knowing, brothers beloved by God”, beloved by God, brothers beloved by God, “your election." What effect should that have? I mean, some young believer sitting there in Thessaloniki, listening to Paul's letter read by one of the elders perhaps, and he hears, beloved by God. God has a peculiar love to me in Christ. He has a love that I set His affection on me and has chosen me.

What should this do?

I want to suggest it should, number one, it should have its effect of producing deep humiliation in the heart of the Saint of God. It should have its effect of producing deep, deep humiliation in the heart of the Saint of God. That's why God spoke that way to His ancient people. He said, look, there's nothing in you that moved Me to choose you. In fact, it was quite the opposite. In the moment Israel forgot that, she became decadent, as a nation. When she began to think, well, God chose us because of something we were. And no longer walked in humility, recognizing God chose them simply because He loved them of His own sovereign will, sovereign choice.

Israel became proud and haughty and arrogant, and God brought judgment upon Israel again and again. And God said, look, I'm not going to let you choose Me. God brought judgment upon Israel again and again. And decadent Judaism comes to all of its apex in the incident of the man who stands in the temple, lifts up his face to heaven and says, I thank You that I'm not like other men. Why? Well, God, it's obvious why You chose me, isn't it? Why, it's so clear to me and I hope it's clear to You, God. And if it isn't, let me just clue You in, God. You did a wise thing when You chose me to be part of Your family, the family of Abraham. I'm not like other men.Isn't that what he was saying? He was just reminding God that He did a wise thing when He chose him.

Whereas the true sons of Abraham are like that publican who beat upon the breast and see nothing but wretchedness and sin and dare not to look up to heaven, but wonder of wonders, they see that there is grace available. And he cries, God, be merciful to me, a sinner. I know of nothing so humbling to the pride of the human heart than to realize that God has set His love upon me. Not because He foresaw what I would be. Not because He saw something in me that distinguished me from others, but He set His love and affection on me according to the good pleasure of His will.

Paul wanted these saints to walk in the grace of humility, that virtue that's called by many theologians the crown of all virtues, the basis of all virtues: humility.

Remember, every time you wake up in the morning, train your heart and your mind to ask these two questions: What do I deserve, and what have I received? And then it would be, to the saints of God, the basis of comfort and assurance, secondly. The basis of comfort and assurance. For you remember, those Christians were getting kicked around there in Thessaloniki. Little babes in Christ, and they were getting persecuted. They were getting bullied and abused.

And that's why Paul sent Timothy to find out how they were doing. He was concerned about them under pressure, the pressure of persecution and suffering. And that's what prompted him to write a letter when he received the report that in spite of the pressure and the persecution that were going on, they were going on with God. And he wrote this letter. What comfort does that bring? Well, I am beloved of God. I'm chosen by God. If I've been on His heart from eternity as the object of His love and as the subject of His electing purpose, I can look anybody in the face and say, “Who will bring a charge against God's elect? God is the one who justifies, who is the one who condemns. Christ Jesus is He who died. Yes, rather, He was who was raised, who is at the right hand of God, who also intercedes for us, who will separate us from the love of Christ. Will affliction or turmoil or persecution or famine or nakedness or peril or sword?" (Romans 8:33-35)

And you read the latter part of Romans eight, and it's charged through with this very concept. The recognition that Christ loved me with a distinguishing, peculiar love for reasons known only to Him will produce in the child of God the basis of His comfort. The straight, deep roots of His blessed assurance that the God who started to move toward me in eternity will not cut me off in time.

Nothing will be able to separate us from the love of God, which is in Christ Jesus. Oh, the love that sought me. Oh, the blood that bought me. Oh, the grace that brought me to the fold.
You've been singing that, child of God, all your life. Right, that it was grace, it was grace that sought you and bought you and brought you into the fold and blessed be God. It's grace that keeps us there because my name from the palms of His hands, eternity will not erase. Impressed on His heart, it remains in marks of indelible grace.

Yes, I to the end shall endure as sure as the earnest is given. More happy, but not more secure, are the glorified spirits in heaven. The work which His goodness began, the arm of His strength will complete. His promises, yea, and amen, and never was forfeited yet. Things future, nor things that are now, nor all things below or above, can make Him His purpose forgo or sever my soul from His love.

Beloved, that's comfort. That's solid comfort. But God has a distinguishing love to me in Jesus Christ, and in closing, to any of you who are not savingly joined to Christ, I trust that this doctrine will send an air of conviction to your heart. Listen carefully. God's love has been expressed in a general sense to the world, providing a Savior. But what is His present attitude to men who remain in unbelief? Listen to the scripture. Let the scripture answer. John 3:36, the words of Jesus: "He who believes in the Son has eternal life, but he who does not obey the Son will not see life, but the wrath of God abides on him." The wrath of God abides on him.
God in love made provision for sinners, and He bid sinners to flee to His Son. But if sinners do not flee, don't think that the canopy of His love is above your head. The scripture says, "The wrath of God abides on him that does not believe."

Psalm 5:5. "You, Yahweh, God, hate all workers of iniquity." Psalm 7:11. "God is a righteous judge and a God who has indignation every day." And the reference is with the wicked. He's angry with the wicked. Romans 1:18. "For the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men who suppress the truth and unrighteousness." And you remember the words of Paul in Ephesians chapter 2 and verse 3, that “all of us were by nature children of wrath, even as the rest.” That's what John the Baptist meant when he said, "Flee from the wrath to come that hangs over your head." Flee to Christ for mercy.

Oh, dear young person, adult outside of Christ. God in His goodness, God in His benevolence, sends rain and food and provides you with many good things. Romans 2, 4 says, "the riches of His kindness and forbearance and patience." And remember there in scripture, there in Romans 2 and elsewhere. But He says, remember, the whole aim of the goodness of God is to lead you to repentance. Though His wrath hangs over your head, in His mercy, in His kindness, He withholds His wrath and in the meantime showers His benefits upon you. To what end? Why? To make you wake up to your folly. That seeing a God who could judge you in this moment, in this instant, has withheld His judgment in mercy. This should cause you to fall on your face crying out, "Oh, God have mercy. God have mercy." The kindness, the forbearance, the patience of God should lead, Paul says, to repentance.

And so to you outside of Christ, this doctrine should cause conviction to your heart. To think of the love of God as separated from Christ is unscriptural nonsense. Unscriptural nonsense. God so loved that He gave His only begotten Son, His love is joined to the Savior. “God so loved that He gave His only begotten Son, that whosoever believes in Him.” The only comfort in John 3:16 is for a believer. One who believes. To draw comfort from a love that you think is just a general ooze of sentiment, syrupy sentiment, while you remain in impenitence and in unbelief is to butcher the word of God and bring your soul into jeopardy.

But it not only should strike conviction for any of you here who are tonight conscious that you're not in Christ. Oh, what a glorious doctrine that Jesus laid down His life for His sheep. And who are sheep? Those who see themselves in desperate need of the great shepherd. Who see themselves destitute of any righteousness. Who realize that only the righteousness purchased by the bloodshedding of the great shepherd will do. Do you see yourself in that place? No righteousness of your own, no hope in yourself. Then I have good news for you. Then the great shepherd stands ready and He says, "Come to Me, all who are weary and heavy laden, and I will give you rest.” (Matthew 11:28)  I'll save you with an everlasting salvation.

That's a wonderful gospel to preach, isn't it? That's a wonderful gospel to proclaim. The gospel of the great shepherd who dies for His sheep, who gathers His sheep, who keeps His sheep, who feeds His sheep. Will you be gathered tonight? He says, repent. He says, believe. He says, come. Oh, may God grant that you find discovery, the discovery of the love of God as you are in Christ Jesus. And the only way sinners get in Christ Jesus is to repent and to believe. May God grant that this doctrine shall have its desired effect upon the sinner who's out of Christ and upon us who are in Christ Jesus. Who are children of God, beloved of God.

I didn't even get a chance to really begin to scratch the surface, expound the thought beloved of God. But let me say this in closing. Just meditate tonight. Meditate in closing. Just think about this. Meditate, ponder, muse on this. Meditate on the infinite chasm, infinite chasm between man and God. And then if you can, stretch infinity even more. Because it's not a chasm between God and man, but between a holy, holy, holy God and sinful man. And what bridges that infinite chasm? Beloved of God. Beloved of God. Oh, the love that drew salvation's plan. Oh, the grace that brought it down to man. Oh, the mighty gulf that God did span at Calvary.

Brothers, beloved of God, may we revel in His love and may that love produce in our hearts such a love for Him that we shall obey Him and serve Him and extol Him and bear witness to Him that others may know of that love and find refuge under the canopy of the love of God that is in Jesus Christ, our Lord.
Let's pray.

This is a transcript. It may contain small inaccuracies.

Last week we began to look at this section in John chapter 12, the first eight verses, and we saw the occasion, the exact occasion: six days before Passover, you have this feast in Bethany in the honor of the Lord Jesus Christ, and we looked at, then, the extravagant worship of Mary. What does extravagant devotion worship look like? And you remember Mary gives it to us here clearly, and notice in her response, just to remind us, her response really concerning her extravagant devotion. What does it look like? Notice her response to grace. Extravagant worship is really a response to grace.

Mary was feeling overwhelmingly thankful, overwhelmingly grateful. She had her brother back from the dead, a new lease on life, and not only just her brother, but Messiah Jesus had given her life, had given her truth, had given her salvation, so great a salvation–no more under the penalty of death, no more under the wrath of God. And, so, Mary is overflowing with joy, exceeding joy, and, overflowing with joy, she does what she does.

What she's doing, no one is forcing her to do it. She's not dragging her feet. She's not thinking, oh well, the things that I could do with this expensive perfume, but here we go. No, no, instead she's just, “this isn't even enough!” She wants to do this. She wants to do more. You see, that shows us worship is always a response to grace, always. Are you a recipient of the grace of God? Worship is a response to grace, grace, grace. God has done it, so we what? Overflow, right? God has done it, we overflow. He did it all, we overflow. “We love Him because He first loved us”, right?--1 John 4:19. You see, this is not something that we create, initiate, invent, or try to work up. We simply reflect on who God is and what He has done for our soul.

You meditate on what would my life be if God had not intervened? What would my life be if God did not initiate? What would my life be if God didn't open my eyes? What would my life be? You meditate on His salvation, on His provision, His protection, His promises, His presence, His person. And as you meditate on all of that, what wells up in you is what? The spontaneous desire to express that love. It's like a man who buys something very expensive and precious for his wife or wife-to-be to express how much he values her. And even that analogy breaks down, but you get the idea, I trust. Yes, this costs me deeply, but you are worth more, far more than the thing I'm giving you.

Now, that costliness can look very different. The costliness to you in adoring God, in loving God, in worshiping God, that costliness to you might be in time, right? It might be a costliness in time. Time always costs, doesn't it? I mean, it costs Mary. She had to make the time to plan this out, to get the perfume, to plan how she would do it, and so for you, time sacrifice is present if you're going to love God, to love Jesus. Giving time when you're tired and you'd rather rest. Time for God when it's inconvenient and it's interrupting your plans and your comfort. Time for God when it takes over personal time, family time, holiday time, time you could be earning, making money, and you give that time to God.

Instead of spending it on yourself, you take that time, you give it to being in the Word, in communion with God, or time given to prayer, or time coming to be with the people of God, to worship God, to be discipled, or time to serving another person in the body of Christ, or time evangelizing some unsaved person outside of this body of Christ. And you say, yeah, it costs me, but He is worth it. He is worth it.

The cost may be in money, right? Mary certainly spent a lot of money on this perfume [that] she could have spent on herself. She broke the flask and poured it all on Christ. Of course, she could have just put the perfume on herself, or she could have used the 300 denarii in some other way, but she gave it all to the Lord to honor Him.

Money. Yes, this could be giving to the cause of Christ, giving to the church, giving to missions, but it could also be money spent on being hospitable to other people in the body of Christ, to break bread with them, and fellowship with them, and get to know them more, maybe spending your gas money to visit another person in need, or to do a Bible study with that person, to help someone else who need help, even helping with housework, gardening, helping the elderly, the sick, the shut-in. It might be money spent on buying books for another Christian here in the body of Christ, buying a Bible for someone that you see doesn't have one. It might be spending money taking out one of the young people here and have spiritual conversations with them. It might be the money you spend on Christian education, making sure you and your children are educated in the Christian way. It costs money, but you look at it and you say, but He's worth it. He's worth it. Oh, He's worth it.

Money, time, maybe the cost would be to your reputation. You see, Mary knew that what she was about to do might be criticized. People might suspect her for having false motives, that perhaps they would cast aspersion upon her character. Maybe they would think it was unseemly for her to be there on her knees next to Jesus, putting perfume, and even more unseemly for her to show and let down her hair. Besides, she was a wealthy woman. Why was she acting like a slave girl? Costly adoration means it costs your reputation at times.

Maybe one of your friends is gonna think you're fanatic. They may think you're part of a cult. Maybe that you've lost your reasonableness. “Oh, He's got Jesus. Oh, she's into church. Going to church again? What? How many times? She's become a church girl.” “Oh, you're becoming too extreme. I mean, you read the Bible every day.” The cost might be, you know, I'm willing to be embarrassed in front of those old friends. I'm willing to even pray out loud in front of relatives who would never have thought I'd ever do something like that. I'm actually willing to even sing hymns to Christ and speak about the saving gospel of Jesus in front of others. That's gonna cost me looking important and good. Cost me that. It costs your reputation.

But what you say, like Mary, is “He is worth it. Oh, He is worth it. In fact, what I give is less than what He's worth–far less, far, far less than what He's worth.” The money, the time, the reputation, and everything else that you put in there that you can think about, it's absolutely nothing to use the language of Paul, in Philippians 3, that was read earlier in your hearing. It's all what? ‘Skubalon’--dung, excrement–compared to the surpassing knowledge of Christ my Lord, who Christ is. Mary embraced the cost because Christ was worth more to her than everything she could ever spend.

Remember the psalmist, what he says in Psalm 63:3? Remember that statement? Your ‘chesed’--”Your loving-kindness is better than life." You know what he's saying? “I take all of life, all of it, all of it, and I put it on this side of the scale and then I put You, You God, who You are, Your ‘chesed’, Your loving-kindness to me, and the scale goes down. You are still worth more, far more, exceedingly abundantly more.”

C.T. Studd was a British missionary in the early part of the 20th century and he had a famous saying, I love this, I love this. He said this–very simple–"If Jesus Christ be God and died for me, then no sacrifice can be too great for me to make for Him." If Jesus Christ be God and He died for me, there can be no sacrifice too great for me to make for Him. It's just a cost issue–extravagant devotion.

Tragically, unfortunately, sadly, this extravagant devotion, this extravagant worship was not the only sentiment in the room. There was a different sentiment also present in that room. So from Mary's extraordinary devotion, extravagant devotion, look with me at the extreme disdain– Judas' extreme disdain–verses 4 through 6.

You know there's an old saying, one that I know you're very familiar with, “Beauty is in the eye of the beholder.” Beauty is in the eye of the beholder. That is, what is beautiful to one person, attractive to one person, may be unattractive to another person. And the difference can't be explained by the object because the object is the same, the difference is found in the person who's actually looking.

Mary has taken an expensive perfume, ointment, something worth one year's wages and in expression, in demonstration of her love, her devotion, her adoration for the Lord Jesus Christ, and out of the knowledge that He was going to die, she anoints Him with it. She pours it on His head, on His feet, and she wipes His feet with her hair. And Jesus sees what she does and He praises her for it. It was pleasing to Him, it was attractive to Him, it was beautiful to Him. In fact, He says what she did was ‘kalos’--good, beautiful. "It's a beautiful thing," according to Mark 14:6, but the very reason that He had to defend this woman's act of worship is because there was someone else present who doesn't see it as attractive, doesn't see it as beautiful, doesn't see it as good in his sight.

There's a devil present, and his name is Judas Iscariot. He's about to betray the Lord Jesus, and He has witnessed this pure and loving act of worship and found it to be offensive. We said last week that there are those monumental moments that show the great divide between the people who truly know the Lord and love the Lord and the people who don't. You don't always have these moments. Most of the time, the fruit is demonstrated in a very natural way and in the everyday affairs of life, the flow of life, the routine of life, the mundane things of life, but every once in a while you have one of those moments where it just becomes crystal clear.

This is one of those great contrasts when you see what Jesus thought of what she did versus what Judas thought of what she did. And this morning I want us to look at the contrast, that contrast, and again as we do that, just like we did last Lord's Day, I want to ask as we do that, where are we? Where are we? Do we find ourselves worshiping Christ like Mary, the way Mary did? Or do we find ourselves in the position of the disciples? We'll look at them very briefly this morning as well, but we'll get to it. Or could it be even that there are some Judases in this fellowship today among us? You say that you know the Lord, that you are numbered as one of His disciples, but in fact true and authentic worship is not something that is beautiful to you, not something that is attractive to you, not something that you engage in.

I want to begin with the perspective of Judas. Judas. What does he see in what Mary does? What does he see in what Mary does? In fact, we're going to see his perspective about two things this morning. We're going to see his perspective about two things. His perspective about Mary's deed and his perspective based upon that of the Lord Jesus. What does he see in Jesus? Well, let's begin with his view of Mary's deed. His perspective about Mary's deed.

So here's Mary. She's poured out this expensive perfume, this ointment on the Lord Jesus Christ. Well, how does Judas respond to it? Look at the text, verse 4: "But Judas Iscariot, one of His disciples, who was going to betray Him, said, 'Why was this perfume not sold for three hundred denarii and given to the poor?'" "Why didn't you sell it? And why didn't you give the money to the poor?" So the first thing we can say about his view of this is it was, in general, we can say it was offensive to him. He was offended. It was offensive. He looks at the deed of Mary, he looked at it, and he said that was offensive.

Remember, Christ tells us this was an act of worship pleasing to God, but in the view of Judas this is something offensive. He's offended by what she did. He recoils from it. It offends his senses. He just can't believe what he just witnessed. In fact, it bothered him so badly he couldn't contain himself. You almost get the impression that he blurts this out. We know it had to be public enough that Jesus defends Mary. The Bible tells us in Matthew 26, the parallel account, that they were scolding her, and it all begins with Judas' perspective, with his view of it. I mean, we'll find out from the other account that the disciples pick up on it, but he's the ringleader. It starts with him. He's offended.

In fact, the Bible uses another word, the word “indignant.” Mark 14:4, "But some were indignantly remarking to one another, 'Why has this perfume been wasted?'" Matthew 26:8, "But when the disciples saw this, they were indignant, saying, 'Why this waste? For this perfume might have been sold for a high price and the money given to the poor.'" Well, Judas started all of that talk. He was indignant.

He was offended. But why was he offended? Why? Why was he offended? Well, the second thing we could say about his perspective of it is, it was foolish to him. It was foolish to him. It offended him because it seemed entirely foolish to him. It made no sense to him whatsoever. “What a foolish deed”, he thought. He thought it to be, the word that's used in the text is what? "Waste." "Waste." What a waste. He thought it to be a waste, something to be mocked, something to be criticized.

Who would do what you just did? Who in their right mind would do this? I mean, that was his attitude, which gives you a third thing we could say about it. It was wasteful to him. It was wasteful to him. It was foolish to him. It was wasteful to him. That's the estimation of a costly, extravagant service. A waste. He deemed it, waste. Do you know a waste is the very opposite of sacrifice? Sacrifice is high cost for something that's worth it. Waste is high cost for something that's not worth it.

From a practical point of view, without the spiritual perception of Mary, without the spiritual values of Mary, this would seem to be an utter waste of money. I mean, you take something valued at one year's wages and you just squander it. You just pour it out. Just pour it out. Now was it wasteful? Was it wasteful, beloved? No. Of course not. Absolutely not. But from a lost man's point of view, it seemed wasteful–even from a saved man's point of view, wrongly influenced. Because the disciples pick up on it and it seemed wasteful to them.

Oh, but if you had the eyes of Mary, huh? If you had the understanding of Mary, if you had the values of Mary, oh, it wasn't wasteful. It wasn't far enough. And her values apparently matched the values of God because Christ was pleased with it and He memorialized it and said it would never ever be forgotten. And here we are talking about it today.

It's offensive to him, it's foolish to him, it's wasteful to him, and something else that we could say, it seemed misdirected to him. It seemed misdirected to him. This perfume, couldn't it have been used differently? Now we have to ask, “Judas, in what way is it misdirected? And what would you have her to do with it? You think it's wrong that she would express her love for Christ and pours it out on Him? What would you have her do with it, Judas? Please tell us.”

Well, this is where you see that he was a liar. What's the reason that he gives? [Matthew 26] Verse 9, "For this perfume might have been sold for a high price and the money given to the poor." Doesn't that sound pious? Doesn't it sound, like, noble and godly? But was he telling the truth? No. Thanks be to God for this fourth gospel, this fourth gospel writer, because we have insight here that we wouldn't have otherwise. We know why he said what he said. John tells us, well, the Holy Spirit tells us through John–verse 6, “Now he said this, not because he was concerned about the poor." Mark it down, beloved. Mark it down. Realize, just because someone talks about something, it doesn't mean that they really care about it. It doesn't.

He used the poor as his reason to be offended and upset, but he didn't really care about the poor. It wasn't really about the poor. You see, behind this seeming piety, there's actually a heart of cold disdain. Judas had no sympathy for her acts, for her worship, for her acts of adoration for Christ. And here's why. Because he has none. He has absolutely none. You see, beloved, loveless people are turned off by the love of others. Loveless people are turned off by the love of others. It nauseates them because Judas has another love and the text tells you what his other love is.

He loves what? Money. Money. I wonder, couldn't help but wonder, how many times in evangelical churches people have been upset about things that they weren't really that upset about, really wasn't what they said, it was something else. And, in his case here, it was something else, of course. “Now he said this,” verse 6, “not because he was concerned about the poor.” Why? What's the reason? “Because he was a thief, and as he had the money box, he used to take from what was put into it.”

Can I say this? Judas was an influential person. He was an influential person. He had to be. You see him influence all the disciples on this occasion, but you also find that they'd made him the treasurer. He kept the money box. He was in charge of the funds and the Holy Spirit tells us here that having charge over the money box, he used to help himself to what was put into it. On an ongoing basis, he was pilfering, he was stealing, he was pocketing some of the money that was put in the box. And so when he says, “this could have been sold, the money been better used”, he doesn't mean better used on the poor, he means better used on who? Himself. “I could have had that. What a waste.” That's what he was thinking. “I could have had that.” So it seems offensive to him, it seems foolish to him, it seems wasteful to him, and in his view it's misdirected. This is not how it should have been used in his mind. That's his view of Mary's act, her deed, her beautiful deed, but in his eyes it wasn't, it was the opposite.

Now in that attitude, you also see his view of Christ. So not only his perspective concerning Mary's deed, but also you see here his perspective of Christ in that attitude that he demonstrated. What Judas says here reveals his perspective of the Lord Jesus Christ. It tells us two very clear things. Number one, he had no idea about Christ's true mission. No clue. No idea about Christ's true mission. He had no understanding of what Jesus had really come to do.

Now you might at this point say to yourself, “well how could he have possibly known that Mary was doing this because of His impending death? How? How could have Judas or any of the disciples known that she was pouring this upon Him out of an understanding that Jesus would soon die? I mean, could anyone have known that?” Well, do you realize they didn't go straight from Ephraim, end of chapter 11, to Bethany, chapter 12? If you read the other gospel accounts and put them together, you'll find out that before they came to Bethany, they actually first went to Jericho. That's where He met Zacchaeus. That's where He met blind Bartimaeus and healed him.

This is on their way to Bethany and on the road up to Jerusalem through Bethany, Jesus had a very straightforward, unmistakable conversation with His disciples. In fact, knowing that people out there were looking for Christ, ready to turn Him over to the Pharisees for arrest, you would have expected Jesus to kind of be holed out and just kind of walk in the shadows. But as they're walking down the road, He's out in front, nothing to hide, no fear, and He's having this conversation. Turn with me to Mark chapter 10.

This is really helpful–Mark chapter 10. This is the conversation: verse 32, "And they were on the road going up to Jerusalem and Jesus was walking on ahead of them;”--He's just leading the way–“and they were amazed, and those who followed were fearful.” I mean, this is suicidal, right? “And again He took the twelve aside and began to tell them what was going to happen to Him." And what was going to happen to Him? Verse 33, "Behold, we are going up to Jerusalem, and the Son of Man will be betrayed to the chief priests and the scribes; and they will condemn Him to death and will deliver Him over to the Gentiles. And they will mock Him and spit on Him, and flog Him and kill Him, and three days later He will rise again."

So I want to ask you, could you be any more clear than that? I mean, He has told them exactly what's coming, hasn't He? So that when Mary does this, all of those men should have had some understanding. There's going to be something going on here that is unique, there's something going on here that is special, there's something going on here that reflects an understanding of spiritual comprehension. But instead, they missed the boat, they didn't comprehend. In fact, even on the road, they didn't even grasp it. It just like flew right past them.

Look at verse 35: "Then James and John, the two sons of Zebedee, came up to Jesus, saying to Him, 'Teacher, we want You to do for us whatever we ask of You.' And He said to them, 'What do you want Me to do for you?' And they said to Him, 'Grant that we may sit, one on Your right and one on Your left, in Your glory.'" Can you imagine? He's telling them He's about to die. And they're concerned about their position.

Verse 38: "But Jesus said to them, 'You do not know what you are asking. Are you able to drink the cup that I drink, or to be baptized with the baptism with which I am baptized?' And they said to Him, 'We are able.' And Jesus said to them, 'The cup that I drink you shall drink; and you shall be baptized with the baptism with which I am baptized. But to sit on My right and on My left, this is not Mine to give; but it is for those for whom it has been prepared.' And hearing this, the ten began to feel indignant with James and John. And calling them to Himself, Jesus said to them, 'You know that those who are recognized as rulers of the Gentiles lord it over them; and their great men exercise authority over them. But it is not this way among you, but whoever wishes to become great among you shall be your servant; and whoever wishes to be first among you shall be slave of all. For even the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give His life a ransom for many.'"

And He goes on telling them about His passion, about His death, and all they could do is battle amongst themselves over position. Back to John, chapter 12. So when Judas is indignant, influencing the rest, the rest hopping on his bandwagon, he reveals that he has no understanding of the true mission of Christ even though he's about to force the issue, so to speak, by selling Christ, by betraying Him.
 
But he also reveals something else and it's clear to see. Here's the other thing that it reveals. He has no knowledge of the worth and honor of Christ. He has no knowledge of the worth and the honor of Christ, the Son of God, God the Son. Stop and think about what his words did. Here she is in the sight of all, the view of all. She takes this expensive perfume, breaks the flask, pours it out on the Lord Jesus Christ, and they are speaking in terms of waste. Why would you waste that? How did she waste it? On Christ. On Christ–that's the implication. Why would you waste this on Him? Wow.

What is Judas doing? He is dishonoring the Lord Jesus. He's dishonoring the Lord Jesus. If you had any insight at all into the person and the worth and the value of Jesus, you could have never uttered such words. I wonder, I wonder, I wonder, is there a Judas here today? Is there someone here this morning who could never imagine loving Christ and giving for Christ in the way that Mary did? You can't imagine that kind of enthusiasm. You can't imagine that kind of sacrifice. You can't imagine that kind of uninhibited abandon that was expressed in what she did. You think about those people who serve Christ in such an uninhibited way. How does it appear to you? How do you view it? Does it seem like fanaticism? Does it seem like that they sort of got out of their mind?

There are some of you here today that your family, they think that you've gone out of your mind, that they think you've lost it. But maybe there's somebody here this morning that that's how you think of your own family. That's how you think of your friends who have come, maybe, to know Jesus recently. Or that's how you think of someone that you know who is a Christian like you, you know, you say you're a Christian just as they're a Christian, you just don't take it that far, you say. You just don't take it as, you know, fanatically as they do.

Does it in a sense offend you? Does it seem foolish to you? Does it seem wasteful? Does it seem misdirected to you? Examine how you spend your time, examine how you spend your affections, your thoughts, your life. Are you spending yourself on Christ or does that seem wasteful? So that you spend your life on your pleasures, self-gratification–on self. Or perhaps you want a dose of religion, you want a little bit of Christianity, like fire insurance, but the thought of losing your life for Christ, the thought of spending and being spent fully on Him is foreign to you. And those who live that way, they seem to you, you know, fanatical.

2 Corinthians 12:15, Paul writes, "I will most gladly, not just gladly, but most gladly." It's not simply a willingness, it's a willingness from the heart with joy. "I will most gladly spend and be fully spent for your souls. And if I love you more, am I to be loved less?" You see, he's willing to spend and be fully spent on behalf of people who don't really even appreciate it. Why? Because he loves Jesus.

And Philippians 2:17, Philippians 2, verse 17 and following, Paul writes, "But even if I am being poured out as a drink offering”--fully spent, fully spent, right? Fully spent. “But even if I am being poured out as a drink offering upon the sacrifice and service of your faith, I rejoice and share my joy with you all. And you also, rejoice in the same way and share your joy with me. But I hope in the Lord Jesus to send Timothy to you shortly, so that I also may be in good spirits when I learn of your circumstances. For I have no one else of kindred spirit who will genuinely be concerned about your circumstances. For they all seek after their own interests, not those of Christ Jesus." In other words, “I don't have any servant to send to you like Timothy, because most of the people I know,” Paul writes, “the people I know, they're not concerned about your welfare. They are concerned about their own interests, not the interests of Christ.” Christ's interests. Christ's interests.

May I ask you, whose interests are you concerned about? Whose interests [are] you and I concerned about? So you see the perspective of Judas, Mary's deed is not attractive to him, it's not beautiful to him, it's not good to him, it's not attractive to him, it's foolish, it's wasteful, it's misdirected, it's offensive. Why? Because he doesn't have the right perspective of Jesus, he has no understanding of the mission of Jesus, and he has no understanding of the worth, the surpassing worth and honor of Jesus.

So to spend all, take something of supreme value, and spend it all on Christ–to him, that seemed to be what a waste. Could have been better spent, how Judas? Oh, myself. Not even on the poor, he was dishonest about that. He's a thief.

Now how does Jesus respond to the scolding of Mary? Note with me, lastly, the exonerating declaration, that's verses 7 and 8, “Therefore Jesus said, ‘Let her alone, so that she may keep it for the day of My burial.’" We dealt with that last Lord's day, that verse. "For you always have the poor with you, but you do not always have Me."

It's interesting, isn't it? Do you notice what He does? Let me ask you this: does Christ know the true heart and character of Judas? He does, doesn't He? He does. He knew he was a devil from the beginning. So does Christ know that Judas is not really concerned with the poor? Of course He does. But, do you notice what Jesus does here? Notice what He does here. He takes the offense at face value. And, He says in effect, “even if you are really concerned about the poor, you're still wrong on this one, Judas” and to the rest of the disciples. I mean, if I'm going to accept what you're saying, that you think it should have been sold and the money given to the poor, you're still dead wrong. What a dishonoring thing that Jesus would be put in the position of having to even say these things, but He says, you're wrong.

And what is Jesus asserting here in that statement? Well, first of all, by saying this, Jesus is asserting that He has, He Himself, has the place of preeminence–first place in everything. Towering over everything. He is the point of everything. The place of preeminence. That it was better that this should be spent on Him than on the poor because He is God.

And He also says this, He says, "For you always have the poor with you." Now, He's not in any way meaning that we should take the attitude that we don't help the poor whatsoever because the poor were always going to be here. That's not what He's teaching. We see contrary teaching to that all throughout the Word of God. We are called, exhorted, and commanded to care for the poor. What He's saying is this: there are unique opportunities to glorify Christ that won't always be available. They won't always be here. "For you always have the poor with you," which, by the way, also speaks to this utopian point of view that somehow we're going to eliminate poverty all over the world someday. It's not going to happen. This is a sin-cursed world. This is a broken world. And as Pastor MacArthur always used to say, “This is a disposable planet.”

But, He says, "But you do not always have Me." “I'm coming to the end of My time here on earth with you. I will soon be crucified, buried, and she's done this in view of that–a unique opportunity to love Me and demonstrate that love and that understanding that I've given to her. This is right. This is good. This is noble. This is beautiful. I take the place of preeminence.” That's what He's saying.

But He's also showing the primacy of the spiritual over the material, over the social. The primacy of the spiritual over the material and the social. The most important thing when you think about reaching the world, the most important thing, beloved, is not that they be fed and clothed. The most important thing is the spiritual relationship with Christ. What think ye of Jesus, right? That's the most important question. This is being lost, beloved. This is something that is an area where the church is really getting off track in recent years, especially. So much going on today in the name of social gospel, social ministry, social reform, and it's not the most important thing.

Listen to what one commentator said, "To many people, hot and eager about social reform and impatient for the betterment of the material conditions around them, the church seems nothing more or less than an irritating irrelevance. Its labor is a sheer nuisance, distracting people and turning them aside from the real things requiring to be done, inciting them to lose their way among and waste their time upon what does not really count or matter one way or the other, while its worship seems to them an absurdity that gets one nowhere. As a matter of fact, these confident critics have no understanding of what the church is doing."

In other words, the world looks at us and says, “Listen, with so many hurting people out there, with so many poor people out there, why are you people gathered together in this place listening to teaching about the Bible? I mean, that's what's really relevant that's going on in this hour. What is really relevant? Why are you here? Why are you listening to the word of God? What is really relevant that's going on in this hour of worship? What is taking place that will really mean anything? Well, why don't you gather up all your resources and go out to the community and start doing what really needs to be done? Putting clothes on people's back and food on the table. I mean, why don't you take care of the stuff that really matters?”

And the commentator said, as I just read, and I agree 100%, “they have no understanding of what the church is really about and the value of spiritual things.” Remember Matthew 11? When John the Baptist from prison sent word by his disciples and said to Jesus, Matthew 11, verse 3, “‘Are You the One who is to come, or shall we look for someone else?’ And Jesus answered and said to them, ‘Go and report to John what you hear and see: the blind receive sight and the lame walk, the lepers are cleansed and the deaf hear, the dead are raised up,’””--and now watch this–“and the poor"--you'd expect Him to say "are fed."-no–"and the poor have the gospel preached to them."

And here Jesus makes the point that these disciples who were grumbling had no understanding of the importance of spiritual things. It was better that this ointment be poured out upon the Lord Jesus Christ than it to be sold and the money given to the poor. This was more important, and beloved, it is more important for the soul to be fed than the body to be fed. And it's more important that a spiritual life be saved than a physical life be saved.

And that is not to ignore the physical needs. No, no. It is to acknowledge simply the primacy of the spiritual over the material and the social. There are things going on in this hour, here, right now, that have the potential to so profoundly impact a life. And it won't just change one life. It will change generations. And that happens every time the word of God is opened up and exposited. This living and active word, sharper than a double-edged sword. And every time this word is opened and shared and read and learned, it is the dynamite of God of salvation. This isn't a waste of time.

Worship, worship toward God is never, ever a waste of time. He is worthy of it. I'm afraid that the same kind of lack of appreciation for spiritual things is seen in many evangelical churches today. That's the attitude that's done away with preaching the Word. The attitude that's done away with Bible study. “We're too busy for those things”, they say. It just takes up too much time. “Let's be busy about the practical matters, you know.” That's what people say. In the name of striving for the practical, we have sacrificed the profound.

So, the perspective of Judas: wasteful. The perspective of Jesus: it's beautiful. She did exactly right. The poor you always have with you. You will not always have Me. That leaves us with the perspective of the disciples, the eleven. I just want to say a word about the perspective of the eleven. I mean, there's Mary, there's Judas, and there's another group witnessing all of this. Now, I just think about the contrast just to see it vividly. Mary gave, Judas stole. Mary focused on Christ, Judas turned attention away from Christ. Mary only thought about Christ. She only cared for Christ. Judas only thought of himself. Mary was pure, straightforward, honest in her loving act of worship. Judas was a liar about his true motivation.

And present at the scene were true believers who found themselves influenced in the wrong direction. The eleven disciples. Instead of joining Mary in extravagant worship, they joined Judas in his foolish scoffing and scolding. And what I want us to understand this morning, in closing, is this. Right now, in this world, there are still Marys. Right now, in this world, there are still Marys. I mean, there are enthusiastic believers engaged in extravagant worship, who will spend and be fully spent for the Lord Jesus Christ. There still are those people in the world.

And on the other hand, in this world, you still have the Judases. They're still here–externally attached to Jesus, in name known as ‘His disciples’, but with no appreciation for His worth and value because they don't know Him. And to live a sold-out life for Christ, to give our very best for Christ, is something that they can't even imagine. It seems foolish, wasteful. It seems to them fanatical.

And then sadly, there's another group of people. They're not Judases. They're saved, but they're living lives that are not as they were saved to live. They're not on fire for Christ, have no zeal for Christ. They're not sold out for the Lord Jesus Christ. And the question is, who's going to influence them?

Listen to Spurgeon, many years ago, had this to say: "Beloved friends, the Church of Christ needs a band of men and women full of enthusiasm, who will go beyond others in devotion to the Lord Jesus Christ. We need missionaries who will dare to die to carry the gospel to regions beyond. We need ministers who will defy public opinion, and with flaming zeal, burn away into men's hearts. We need men and women who will consecrate all that they have by daring deeds of heroic self-sacrifice. Oh, that all Christians were like this. But we must at least have some. We need a bodyguard of loving champions to rally around the Savior, the bravest of the brave, immortals and invincibles who shall lead the van of the armies of the Lord. Where are we to get them? How are they to be produced?"

He answers, "The Holy Spirit's way to train men and women who shall greatly serve Christ is to lead them to deep thought and quiet contemplation. Thence, they obtain the knowledge and vital principle which are the fuel of true zeal. You cannot leap into high devotion. Neither can you be preached into it, nor dream yourself into it, or be electrified into it by revivalism. It must, through the divine energy of the Holy Spirit, arise out of a hard stern dealing with your soul and near and dear communion with your Savior." And then he ends with this: "You must sit at His feet. You must sit at His feet or you will never anoint them. You must sit at His feet or you will never anoint them. He must pour His divine teaching into you or you will never pour out a precious ointment upon Him."

Where are we at? Oh, Grace Chapel, where are we at? We come and go, business as usual. We sing a few songs, shake some hands, hug some people, share a little bit of our weeks. Is that what it is? Where are we at? Are we full of that kind of burning zeal that says, Lord, wherever You want to send me, whatever You want to do with me, whatever the cost, whatever the sacrifice, whatever it means, I just want to live for You. I just want to be used for Your great name. Here am I, Lord. Use me. Is that where we are?

To use Spurgeon's language, I can't preach you into it. I can't preach myself into it. You can't be electrified into it through revivalism. No, no. It's going to be when you think deeply, when you sit at the feet of the Savior, when you really contemplate who He is, what He has done for your soul, so that the Holy Spirit deals sternly with your soul and mine.

And in light of such a great, magnanimous Savior, in light of such a great sacrifice, don't you realize that He doesn't have part of you? He has it all. You are not your own. Do you realize that you're not your own? You've been bought with a price. Therefore, glorify God in that body of yours. Present yourself a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable to Him every single day.

Oh, may God lead us, who say we're His people, to realize we really are His people. I mean, we're His, His people, set apart, bought with His blood, meant to live peculiar lives in the midst of a lost and dying generation. Not living for Him partially, but completely, entirely, fully, with all of our heart and all of our ways.

Permit me to close with one commentator. He put it this way, and I just couldn't help it, but share it with you. Concerning this account, "Oh, how I want to be like Mary. But oh, how often it is that it is Judas who so readily appears when I look in the mirror." And I would add, the disciples. He goes on to say, "Only the gospel of my Savior is sufficient for my sin. Sick soul, I strongly suspect that were Mary alive today and we were to interview her and ask her the question, ‘What is your favorite Christian hymn, Mary?’ I strongly suspect she would say, that's easy. It was written in 1707 by Isaac Watts. While Charles Wesley reportedly said he would give up all his other hymns to have written this one. Mr. Wesley wrote over 6,000 hymns. Some say he wrote over 9,000. Now the hymn written by Mr. Watts: "When I survey the wondrous cross." I love all four stanzas, but one and four are especially meaningful to me. Listen, and I'll close with this.

"When I survey the wondrous cross on which the Prince of Glory died,  
My richest gain, my richest gain, my richest gain, I count but loss,  
And pour contempt on all my pride.  
Forbid it, Lord, that I should boast,  
Save in the death of Christ my God.  
All the vain things that charm me most,
I sacrifice them to His blood.  
See from His head, His hands, His feet,  
Sorrow and love flow mingled down.  
Did e'er such love and sorrow meet,  
Or thorns compose so rich a crown?  
Were the whole realm of nature mine,  
That were an offering far too small, (because He's worth it, right?)
Love so amazing, so divine,  
Demands my soul, my life, my all."

Let's pray.

This is a transcript. It may contain small inaccuracies.

In our study of this paragraph that begins at verse 2 and extends down to the end of the chapter, verse 10, we have in a very real sense what we would call Paul's prayer of thanks to God for what he discerned to be the work of God in the believers, the people of God, there at Thessaloniki. And at the very top of the list of the things for which he gave thanks to God in verse 3, we have what I have called the three crowned jewels in the diadem of Christian virtue. A Christian is one to whose life God has worked many wonderful virtues by the grace and the power of His Spirit, and yet it would seem in the thinking of the Apostle Paul under inspiration that the three crowned virtues amongst all of those which God really works in His people are those mentioned here in verse 3: faith, love, and hope. The same Paul who said in 1 Corinthians 13, "but now abide faith, hope, love, these three, but the greatest of these is love."

Well, we have gone into some detail in studying each of these separately. You recall the work of faith that he mentions here. Paul was grateful that these believers had a living trust in the living Savior that made them naturally produce works of gratitude, works done not to earn salvation, but as the fruit of salvation received by faith as a gift of God. Then he was thankful for their labor of love, that they had love to the triune God that made them engage in sacrificing, arduous labor and toil for the cause of Christ, the cause of the kingdom, the cause of the gospel. And then last time we were in this epistle together, we looked together at the phrase steadfastness of hope. They had a hope, which is not a mere wishful desire as you and I use the word hope today, but rather a confident expectation of promised blessing. And that expectation produced - epimoni- , endurance, perseverance, bearing up under the pressures to which they were subjected as young Christians.

This evening we want to look at the last two phrases in verse 3, which are very, very instructive to us. This work of faith, labor of love, steadfastness of hope, Paul says, all of these were in our Lord Jesus Christ and before our God and Father. And in these two little phrases we have what we might call in the first place, the object and the cause of these virtues. Toward what or whom is this love directed, this faith, this hope directed? Paul would tell us in this phrase that it was directed toward none other than the Lord Jesus Christ. Well, who causes these virtues to be found? Well, also Paul tells us here as well.

And then in the little phrase, before our God and Father, we have this sincerity and the climate in which these graces and virtues were actually worked out or exercised. Were they something that the Thessalonians just put on as it were to simply impress others and impress the Apostle Paul? No, he says they were not in the sight of men, they were not before men, but they were exercised in the sight of God. They were exercised sincerely and in a climate of God-consciousness. And that is very significant. That is very sanctifying.

So these little phrases are by no means just sort of a, you know, they're thrown in there for the sake of filler. These answer a very vital question. If you have in you today these virtues, the work of faith, the labor of love, the steadfastness of hope, where do they come from? And what will sustain them? That's the question Paul answers. If you seem to have them, are they mere sham virtues or are they the real product? Are they a cheap imitation or are they the genuine issue? Well, we can find out if we understand what Paul means in the little phrase before our God and Father as well.

So let's take the two phrases in that order. First of all, the object and the cause of these virtues, these crown jewels. Now you have, we have a little problem in the structure of this in the original, in the Greek text. Notice verse 3. It could mean that Paul is saying this: "I remember without ceasing your work of faith, your labor of love, your steadfastness of hope in the Lord Jesus," and the "in the Lord Jesus" phrase referring only to their steadfastness of hope. This, then, would be a commentary on the kind of hope they had; it was in the Lord Jesus.

But in the original, the word in is not there. It's supplemented. It is not there in the original. It could very well be translated of or in. It could be both. And I believe it is both, and I'll explain why. It is so structured that it could well refer to the entire passage. And I believe it is. Let me illustrate. I might say to you tonight, I'm very thankful to the congregation for the love, the patience, and the grace which it has shown to me and my family. Well, you see, the "shown to me and my family" applies to all of those things for which I'm thankful, not just the last one. All of them.

So we could read the passage this way: "Remembering without ceasing, your work of faith of the Lord Jesus, your labor of love of the Lord Jesus Christ, and steadfastness of hope of the Lord Jesus Christ, and in the Lord Jesus Christ." And I really believe this is the sense that Paul really communicating here for us. And for the simple reason I say this, whenever the Apostle Paul has opportunity to trace the virtues found in a Christian back to their ultimate source, He delights to trace them back to the Lord Jesus Christ as the ultimate source. The fountainhead from which all of these virtues flow down into our lives, the lives of the people of God, He is the fountainhead and He is the source. He always does that. He traces them back.

You remember in the first chapter of Philippians, Paul prayed for these Philippian Christians that they might be filled with the fruits of righteousness, which he says are, Philippians 1:11, "through Jesus Christ to the glory and praise of God." It is in Christ, of Christ, through Christ. Always. It's always this way. So in this passage, the Apostle Paul is attributing to the Lord Jesus Christ the fact that there was work of faith, there was labor of love, and there was steadfastness of hope. He was the source. He was the object of these virtues.

Now let's consider them together. Christ is the object of all faith. He's the object of love and the object of hope, which is commendable in the sight of God. Today, all around us, you have these inspirational spiritual gurus. They tell us that if you have faith, it doesn't matter who's the object of that faith, so long as you have faith. But if you have faith and if you have hope, it doesn't matter who's the object of that hope. And if you have love, just as long as you have love and if you have those three things, that's the way you will live successfully. You're good, good to go.

But the Bible never told you that having faith, hope, and love is the way to live successfully. For you see, the emphasis of the Bible is not upon faith itself, hope itself, and love itself as entities in themselves. But the emphasis of the Scripture is upon faith, hope, and love in terms of their object. And the thing that caused Paul to rejoice is that these beloved people had a work of faith, faith which had as its object the Lord Jesus Christ. Just faith of itself is no virtue. It isn't. It's not some kind of a magical kind of potion that if you take it and have it or you have it, all will be well with you. It is not faith in faith.

You see, you could talk about faith and hope and love in any circle today and people think, isn't he nice? He's quite religious. That's lovely. This is what even politicians and heads of state do. They talk about faith and hope and love and all the rest. And you see, everybody will embrace this and love it and say, isn't that nice? You end up with a cultural type of a religion. But you see, the emphasis of the Bible is what's the object of your faith? What's the object of your faith? You see, faith in some kind of a nebulous God or faith in the God revealed in the person and work of Jesus Christ, that makes a whole difference. Nebulous God or the God revealed in Jesus Christ? Love to something that you can see to be God or love to the God who's revealed Himself in Jesus Christ? Hope, just sort of a wishful desire that everything's going to turn out all right in the end or hope that is really rooted in the Lord Jesus Christ, the hope of glory in us.

With these Thessalonians, their faith, their love, their hope had as its object the Lord Jesus Christ. You see, beloved, the Christian life is not a self-focused life. It is a Christ-focused life. It is a Christ-centered life. This life, this work of faith, this labor of love, this steadfastness of hope, where it is centered? Where is it experienced? In our Lord Jesus Christ, in Him. One of the great evidences that you've been converted is that your life is not centered on you. It's not centered on you. Faith is not centered on you. Love is not centered on you. Hope is not centered on you. It is not self-wardly focused. It is Christ-wardly focused.

Let's consider them briefly, individually.

Faith, their faith was of or in the Lord Jesus Christ. Well, how do we know this is true? How do we know this is true? Remember back in Acts 17? If you turn back there and find the account, the founding of the church, remember how we saw that together and considered it together? We read that when Paul came among them, he did not come with some kind of a psychological emphasis just saying, you know, well, if you just have faith in something other than yourself, then you're going to be fine. All will be well with you. You sort of needed to trust some sort of a higher power, a higher being.

Does that ring a bell? I think that's what Alcoholics Anonymous use as the term. You've got to have faith in a higher power. Now, is that what he preached? You've got to have faith in some higher power? No, no. Listen to his words. Acts 17, verses 2 and 3, “according to Paul's custom, he went to them and for three Sabbaths reasoned with them from the Scriptures, explaining and setting before them that the Christ had to suffer and rise again from the dead and saying, 'This Jesus whom I am proclaiming to you is that Christ,'" and some of them were persuaded, they believed.

What did they believe? They did not have a nebulous kind of faith and a nebulous kind of a concept of a nebulous God. No, no. Their faith was rooted in the God revealed in Jesus Christ, the Christ of history, who lived, who died, who rose again, who was and is the only way by which sinners could find acceptance before a holy God. Therefore, their faith, which Paul commends, had as its object that unique person, the God-man, Christ Jesus, set forth in Scripture. That Christ, by His work upon Calvary's cross, was set before them. The open tomb and His presence at the right hand of the majesty on high. He's the only Savior of sinners. And they embraced Him.

For notice, he says it was faith of or in the Lord Jesus Christ, giving to Him His full official title, which is a beautiful summary of all that He is and all that He does for sinners. That's what He says to them. It's in the Lord Jesus Christ and He uses the full title. He is Jesus the God-man. He is the Christ, the promised Messiah, prophet, priest, and King, who would teach us by His Word, who would die for us and shed His blood for our forgiveness, and who would rise and be the King of kings and Lord of lords. He is Jesus the God-man. Christ, the promised Messiah, prophet, priest, and King, and He is Kyrios. He is the Lord who sits upon a throne.

And Paul says, we give thanks to God, remembering without ceasing your work of faith of or in the Lord Jesus Christ. Their faith was an intelligent theological faith, and that's the only kind of faith that God will ever commend.

And then their love. Their love was directed to the Lord Jesus Christ. It wasn't directed to just Jesus. You know a lot of sentimental love to Jesus, syrupy love. We like to think of the man of Galilee. It was directed not just to Jesus. And I'm always suspicious of groups or movements who, they talk about Jesus, Jesus, Jesus, and don't give Him the full title. It wasn't just to Jesus, and it wasn't just to the Christ. They weren't just preoccupied with the fulfillment of prophecy in Jesus, the anointed one.

Their love was directed to the Lord Jesus Christ. They loved the one who sat upon the throne, who came to that throne by way of a cradle of a cross of a tomb. They loved Him for who He was. They loved Him for what He had done as the anointed Messiah, God's Son. And Paul says he gives thanks to God for their work of faith, because it was faith which had as its object the Lord Jesus Christ. He gave thanks for the labor of love, for that love had as its object the Lord Jesus Christ, and then their hope had as its object the Lord Jesus Christ.

It wasn't a confident expectation in the betterment of humanity. It was a hope that was in and of the Lord Jesus Christ, and there was that confidence that at His coming, and His triumphant coming, there would be then a full realization of all that He had purchased by His own precious shed blood. Spurgeon got this. He had a Christ-centeredness that sprung from a deep personal relationship with the Lord. He loved Christ deeply, passionately, and his sermons are filled with rapturous exaltation of Christ.

Listen to what he said so eloquently, and this is really helpful for us: "If you leave out Christ, you have left the sun out of the day and the moon out of the night. You have left the waters out of the sea and the floods out of the river. You have left the harvest out of the year, the soul out of the body. You have left joy out of heaven. You robbed all of it. There is no gospel worth thinking of, much less worth proclaiming, if Jesus be forgotten. We must have Jesus as Alpha and Omega in all our ministries." Perhaps Spurgeon never put it more succinctly than when he said, and I close with this, "If you take Christ out of Christianity, Christianity is dead." End of quote.

At the heart of his preaching was a desire to exalt Christ and proclaim Christ and Him crucified and resurrected. For Spurgeon, a sermon whose aim was not to bring the people of God to a deeper love to their Savior was a waste and a crime, he said. In fact, he said this: "A sermon without Christ as its beginning, middle, and end is a mistake in conception and a crime in execution." End of quote.

That's what Paul does here. It is in the Lord Jesus Christ. It is of the Lord Jesus Christ. He is the object. He is the source. He is the fountainhead. It is all about Him. And it's all directed to Him. But not only is the Lord Jesus the object of these virtues, He's the cause of them. He's the cause of them. Where did their faith come from? And literally, if you were to translate this as given in the original, it would be translated this way: your work of faith of the Lord Jesus Christ or from the Lord Jesus Christ. And of course, it is in the Lord Jesus Christ. That phrase is found other places as well. He's not only the object of our faith, but He is the author of it. That's taught all throughout Scripture.

That familiar text in Hebrews 12 verse 2: "Fixing our eyes on Jesus,” who is what? “The author and perfecter." He's the author of our faith and He's the perfecter of our faith, beginning to end. He authors it. He sustains it. He perfects it all the way to glory. Do we not read in Philippians 1:29, "For to you it has been granted." To you it has been what? Granted. It's a grace gift that we don't deserve. "For Christ's sake, not only to believe in Him," you see? To believe in Him is a granted gift, gracious gift from the Lord, but also to suffer for His sake. And so the Lord Jesus is the author of our faith.

As Paul mentions the blessings that come to believers in Ephesians 1, he says that all spiritual blessings are stored up in Christ and they flow out of Christ. And even the faith by which we embrace Christ is one of those blessings that come as His gift.

And love? What about love? Of course, love has as its source the Lord Jesus Christ. In 1 John 4:19, "We love Him because,” what? “He first loved us." “The fruit of the Spirit is love,” Galatians 5:22. Our love to Him is a result of the working of His Spirit in our hearts.

"Now may the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace in believing," Romans 15:13, "so that you will abound in hope by the power of the Holy Spirit." The Holy Spirit, taking out of the fullness of Christ, works even in this matter of hope in the heart of the believer.

Oh, do you see, beloved, the emphasis of the Apostle Paul? Do you see it? As he looks at the Thessalonians and sees the virtues of faith that works, love that toils, hope that endures, he in no way is patting these people on the back. Yes, he's encouraging them, but he's not patting them on the back. What is he doing? He's simply delineating those things which were the evidence. The evidence is to him that the Lord Jesus Christ had become the great object of these virtues and not only the object of these virtues, but the very cause of them so that unto Christ and Christ alone would be ascribed all the honor and all the praise and all the credit.

Think of the application of this principle. It's very clear. Let me say a word to you this evening who are perhaps here, but not savingly joined to Christ. All Adam, human nature, unaided by the Spirit, can produce some cheap imitations of these virtues. We can produce something that may look like the work of faith, labor of love, steadfastness of hope, but they are nothing but empty, hollow imitations if they are severed from a vital relationship to the source, Jesus Christ.

So I want to ask a very simple question of you this evening, and I trust you will listen very carefully. Strip away, strip away everything in your life, all the activity, all the religious activity and everything else until there's nothing left but that work that you do out of living faith in a living Lord, that work which springs out of a true love for the living Christ and that endurance that is rooted in a steadfast confidence that He's coming again. Now you see a Christian has got a lot left if you strip away everything but that. For He realizes, yes, I am laboring because my confidence is in Him because I love Him and because I know that He is coming, I endure, I bear under it. Because I love Him, I toil, because I trust Him, I work.

A very searching little book for the refreshing of one's own soul written by Octavius Winslow for the specific state of the declension of the soul, waning of devotion to Christ, and he says something in that little book that really struck me and I want to share it with you this evening, listen carefully, quote, "perhaps nothing forms a more certain criterion of the state of the soul than this. We would be willing to test a man's religion both as to its nature and its growth by his reply to the question, what think ye of Christ? What think ye of Christ? Does His blood daily moisten the root of your profession? Is His righteousness that which exalts you out of and above yourself and daily give you free and near access to God? Is the sweetness of His love much in your heart and the fragrance of His name much upon your lips? Are your corruptions daily carried to His grace, your guilt to His blood, your trials to His heart? In a word, is Jesus,” now watch this, “is Jesus the substance of your life, the source of your sanctification, the one glorious object on which your eye is ever resting, the mark towards which you are ever pressing? Be not offended, reader, if we remark that a professing man may talk well of Christ and may do homage to His name and build up His cause and promote His kingdom and yet rest short of having Christ in his heart, the hope of glory. It is not the talking about religion or ministers or churches nor an outward zeal for their prosperity that either constitutes or indicates a true spiritual man and yet how much of this in our day passes current for the life of God in the soul? Oh, that among God's dear saints there were less talking of ministers and more of Jesus, less of sermons and more of the power of the truth in their souls, less of I am of Paul and I of Apollos and more of I am of Christ."

Is He the source of your joys, the object of your love, of your devotions? That's the question I had to ask myself afresh. Beloved has the work of the hand somehow weaned the heart from devotion to the person of Christ? Maybe you're busy doing different things. Has that weaned your devotion to the Lord Jesus Christ? You see, Paul would never rejoice that these people were simply busy, simply loving, simply hoping. It was that their working was a work of faith in Christ, that their laboring was a labor of love to Christ. Their hope was one which caused them to endure because it was a hope of Christ. He was the central object of all of these virtues.

And oh, dear brothers and sisters, and I speak to myself as well, we must remind ourselves that these virtues thrive and develop only as they are fed by the streams of vital, vital attachment to Jesus. Am I weak in faith? Am I weak in love, weak in hope? I must go to Christ. And as I view Him as He's revealed in the Scriptures, coming from the presence of the Father, humbling Himself to become a babe in a manger, humbling Himself further to die on a tree, coming out of the tomb triumphant, going back to the right hand of the Majesty on high, as I view the Lord Jesus Christ as revealed in the Scriptures, then faith is strengthened. And when faith is strengthened, I find myself working more diligently, more earnestly, more from the heart.

As I think of Him and His love to me, my love to Him will burn with a deeper glow, and out of that there will be a more willingness to toil for His kingdom. As I think of His promise to come back again, that promise will fill me with endurance and the confidence that all will be well at the end when He comes, that the best is yet to come. But if you cut away vital heart attachment to Christ, contemplation of the person and work of Jesus Christ, you have, as it were, dried up the streams from which these virtues flow.

I confess to you this evening at times those streams were awfully, awfully low in my life and how futile it is to try to somehow pump new water into the streams. You can't do it. I can't do it. You can't correct the stream by concentrating on the stream. You've got to go back to the place from whence all this flows, vital heart attachment to Jesus.

That's why God gives us the Lord's day, one of the reasons that we might in this day as we come together pray, O Lord, O Lord, for fresh revelations of Christ, more of Christ, the worth of Christ, the value of Christ, a higher view of Christ, O Lord, for new love to Christ, new hope in Christ, new faith in Christ, more of Christ. And as God grants those, then the work, the labor, the endurance will be the blessed byproducts.

Must hurry on to the second thought and spend just a few minutes on it. In the little phrase of the Lord Jesus, or in the Lord Jesus, we have the object and the source of these virtues. And then this last phrase, what an amazing phrase, "before our God and Father”, “before our God and Father." We have what I have called the sincerity and the climate of these virtues.

Again, again, you have a problem. What does this little phrase refer to? Some say it could refer to Paul's prayer, saying in verse three, "remembering without ceasing, before God, your work of faith." They would say then that Paul just sort of stuck this on at the end to tell them that where He remembered was in the place of prayer. Others would say, well, it's just a general statement of God's omniscience. God is omniscient, He knows everything. You know, all that they did, their work of faith, labor of love, was beneath the eye of God. God sought, God took recognition of it. Psalm 139, “He knows our sitting down, He knows our rising up."

Well, there's a third possibility, and I believe this is the proper interpretation. What He's saying is that this work of faith, this labor of love, and steadfastness of hope, that only had the Lord Jesus Christ as their object and source, but the consciousness of the presence of God created in these virtues a true, genuine sincerity, and in the hearts of these people, it's what gave them that desire to continue in them—the fact that they were living in the sight of God, God and their Father, Coram Deo.

Now, these virtues were not produced for the eye of men, but rather in the sight of God, before the eye of God, before the presence of God. Remember our Lord in the Sermon on the Mount, He said, don't be like those hypocrites, the Pharisees. What do they do? Well, they do in order to be seen by men. That's why they do. They do to be seen by men. What you do, you should do for one reason, He tells them. And He tells us, remember? “Before your Father.” “Before your Father, who sees in secret”, Matthew 6. Giving, praying, fasting, our Lord emphasizes three times.

The concerns of the true Christian is what? The Father sees. The Father sees. The Father sees before God and Father. It is before God, Coram Deo. That's what concerns me. The Father sees. Well, that produces what? It produces sincerity. That produces honesty. That produces frankness. That produces authenticity. We who've been on the way a while need it. We need it desperately. You get, you see, you're walking with the Lord and it's been so many years and you're a cruise control and you get a reputation of being rather spiritual and maybe rightly so, then all you do is you keep up your reputation. You don't care about the reality of the thing just as long as your reputation is maintained.

Paul says, no, no, no. The work of faith, the labor of love, the steadfastness of hope was in the sight of God. It was in the sight of God and Father. There was a sincerity about it that carried it on even when men were not there to see. Basically, what He's driving at is that this was the climate in which they exercised them. The climate of God consciousness. God consciousness. There was this pervasive awareness of the presence of God, a pervasive consciousness of the presence of God, the eye of God upon them.

You'll notice in verse nine, it says that they turned to God from their idols. That was their conversion. And what will a true conversion produce? What will it produce? When a man truly turns to God, then He will seek to live as in the sight of God. Right? When a man truly turns to God, He then seeks to live as in the sight of God and that thought is not a burden to Him, rather it is what? A delight. A great delight. That's just another way of describing what? Let me give us a synonym. That's another way of describing the fear of God. That's what it is.

What is the fear of God? What is the fear of God? The scripture says in Acts 9:31 that "the church going on in the fear of the Lord and in the encouragement of the Holy Spirit, it continued to multiply." We're told in 2 Corinthians 7:1 to "perfect holiness in the fear of God." Hebrews 12:28, we're told to "offer to God an acceptable service with reverence in awe." 1 Peter 1:17 declares that we're to "conduct ourselves in fear during the time of our sojourn." What is the fear of God? Notice the little phrase. He says, "before our God and Father.” “Before our God and Father."

You see, that fear is not the fear that we should have if God is not our Father through Jesus Christ. If we're outside of Jesus Christ, the fear that we should have of God should be one of pure trepidation, pure dread, pure dread. Moses says in Psalm 90 verse 11, "who knows the power of your anger and your fury according to the fear that is due you?" He's the almighty God who's a consuming fire. And if you're here this evening not savingly joined to Jesus, you ought to fear God with a holy dread for He is a God of justice and wrath and anger. It is a fearful thing to fall in the hand of the living God. And yet, blessed be His name. He pleads, He exhorts, He entreats, flee from the wrath to come by coming to my Son.

But this is the fear that a child of God has. It is walking in the sight of God before God and our Father. He's our Father. It is that blessed godly fear which regards Him as our Father through Jesus Christ. And yet, He is still our God even though He's our Father. And with all His rights to our absolute devotion to the love of the whole heart, mind and soul and strength, He is our God. He is the end of our existence. He should be the object of our desire, the source of our delight. He is our God, but He's not a God against us in His wrath, but He is the God who is for us as our Father through Jesus Christ, our Lord.

Now, to walk as in His sight is to walk in the fear of God. And the fear of God is that fertile soil in which holy living is produced. Where to walk in His sight and to walk in His sight is to walk in the fear of God and to have a constant regard to His demands, to His glory, to His will, to His purposes, to please Him. And that's what delighted the heart of the apostle, that these young Christians had learned to walk in the sight of our Father.

Now, that's entirely opposite to man by nature. For Romans 3:18 says that the natural man, what? "There is no fear of God before their eyes." "There is no fear of God before their eyes." If you have any thoughts of being in the sight of God, if they have any thoughts of being in the sight of God, they want to dismiss those thoughts quickly. They want to dull the conscience. They wanna get rid of it. They suppress the truth in unrighteousness. They want to stifle every remembrance that all that I am is open and naked before the eyes of Him with whom I have to do.

But to the child of God, oh, to the child of God, this is a delight. Do you find it a delight to cultivate the consciousness of God wherever you go? Do you? Wherever you are, whatever you are doing? It's like that person who said to his pastor, I just can't get out of my mind, God out of my mind everywhere I go. I just can't get Him out of my mind as if that was something negative.

That's wonderful. That's wonderful. That's wonderful if what you're doing, you want to be doing in His sight. The only time that's bad is when you try and cheat on God to get away with something. Then it's haunting. It's haunting. Isn't that right? It's a haunting thought.

You see, the child who's doing the things that pleases his father is never bothered that his father might be looking out the window. He's happy that his father cares enough to watch him. Daddy, look, look at this. Oh, look at this. Mommy, look at this. You know how children are. Now, if they're doing something that they shouldn't be doing, they look around and make sure that Daddy and Mommy aren't looking. They don't want to do that in the sight of Mom and Dad. And so the true child of God, he cherishes the thought of the presence of God, the eye of God upon him. And that becomes one of the governing principles of his life.

Like Joseph, when he was being seduced by Potiphar's wife, he said, remember, he said, "How can I do this thing and sin against God?" Well, he knew that he did what he did before God, that he lived Coram Deo. He lived in the fear of God. Oh, Potiphar may not know. My relatives, my family may not know. They're hundreds of miles away, but I am living in the sight of God. I am living before the eye of God. How can I do what is wicked? I am conscious of His eye on me. And this became one of the governing principles in the life of Joseph that kept him in that totally heathen society with no other influences external, but there was that internal influence of the fear of God within him.

Do you have that? Do you seek to exercise these virtues and live as in the sight of God and our Father? That was the thing that brought delight to the heart of the Apostle Paul, that they had this work of faith, this labor of love, this steadfastness of hope, not merely in the sight of the elders of the assembly, so that when one of the pastors was coming to visit, the wife and husband all of a sudden got all sweet and lovey, and they'd just been pouring out some words that had a lot of hostility in them, cutting words, but now all of a sudden, oh, everything's wonderful, everything's sweet.

But we want to have a work of faith, labor of love, steadfastness of hope in the sight of others, but God sees the heart, beloved. God sees the motives. God sees the attitude. You see, that's what the Day of Judgment will reveal, that nothing mattered but what He saw, what He knows. That's basically a definition of the Day of Judgment, a revelation of the truth, that nothing matters but what He saw. Nothing matters but what He saw.

That's why Paul says in 1 Corinthians 4, verses two through five, "It is required of a steward that one be found faithful, but to me, it is a very small thing that I may be examined by you or by any human court. In fact, I do not even examine myself, for I am conscious of nothing against myself, yet I am not by this acquitted, but the one who examines me is the Lord. Therefore, do not go on passing judgment before the time, but wait until the Lord comes, who will both bring to light the things hidden in the darkness and make manifest the motives of the hearts, and then each one's praise will come to him from God."

You know, wonderful relief comes when you're seeking to live in the sight of God and the Father, wonderful relief. You're sitting with your friend, you're sitting with your spouse, you're sitting with, you know, talk about certain things you're deciding to do, and she turns to you and she says, but honey, so and so will think, but how about so and, it doesn't matter what they think. Are you in the revealed will of God doing it? Yes. Are your motives right in doing it? Yes. Do you believe it's yes? Then who cares? You do it. God knows, you know, praise God, nothing else matters. That's wonderful freedom.

Do you know that freedom, beloved? I really pity the person who's got to all times, as it were, be playing to the crowd. Well, I've got to impress this one, and that I am this, and I've got to impress this one, that I'm not this, and I've got, oh, that's terrible bondage. Whom the Son sets free is free indeed. And one of the most blessed liberties with which Christ sets a person free is to live in the sight of God the Father, and if He smiles upon you, then let the world frown. Who cares? Wonderful release. Do you know that release?

And you young people in this place particularly, young people in this place, do you know that? Who cares what your peers think? Who cares what they say? Is it pleasing in the sight of God? That's what's important, isn't it? Does it please Him? That's what's important. Who cares what mere men think? Oh, what a blessed release, and I trust we know it. And if we do, then it's because God in His grace has worked the same virtues in us that He's worked in the Thessalonians.

And I trust that our somewhat detailed and lengthy study of this third verse will prove helpful to us, that we might know that which as Christians we should emulate, that which we should seek to experience by the grace of God. Thank God for this letter. A faith in the Lord Jesus Christ that will produce work, a love for the Lord Jesus Christ that will produce labor, and a hope in the Lord Jesus Christ that will produce endurance. And see them carried out in the climate of a God consciousness that will make us men and women who do not play to the crowd, who do not seek to live a role that will get us in good standing before the eyes of our peers, but that we should walk in the fear of God and in the company of the Holy Spirit.

May God bless His word to our hearts. Let's pray.

This is a transcript. It may contain small inaccuracies.

This morning, we will take a look at this passage before us. And if you have your bullets in hand, you can see the outline for the message. This message is entitled, Who Are You Living For? Who Are You Living For? The outline, as you see there, we will touch on two ways of life. And then the vital expository context for verse 36 is in the verses leading to it.

And as we go through this passage, I pray that you will give your full attention to the Word of God. When we're under the preaching and teaching of God's Word, it is not just for information. It is not just for education. It is not just for our edification, which it is, it's for our transformation. When we come under the Word of God, whether it's right now, this morning, or when you listen to preaching, when you open your Bible and read, when God's Word speaks, it's for change. It's not just information. It's not just head knowledge. It's not so that we can be delighted in knowing the God of the universe and what He’s thinking. And we love that. And these things are good. But what it's really for is change.

In the beginning, God created the heaven and the earth. And He said, He spoke, and change took place. And when you see this through scripture, when God speaks, things change. He spoke reality into existence. So when you are reading your Bible, it's so that you can change. When you read your devotion, it is not just to check a box, I did my devotion for today and I go on my way. And I can say, I did my devotion. It's for change.

And in this passage, we are going to see two ways of life. Two ways of life. And my prayer, as I've been preparing, has been that all of our hearts would change today. That we would be transformed today. That our lives would be different after we leave today. Not because of me. At all. But because of Him. Christ is all. All in all.

So we're going to begin in Mark 8:36, briefly. And then we're going to go to verse 27 and work our way back to verse 36. Let's begin. Verse 36: "For what does it profit a man to gain the whole world, and forfeit his soul?" This verse is our focus today. And it reflects Jesus' point of view on one of the two ways of life. This verse, in its context, contrasts two ways of life. An existential view and an eternal view. An existential view and an eternal view.

This verse is a question, you will notice, and it's a question for the ages. It's a question that every human being who has lived, is living, or will ever live, has to answer. The implications of this question are profound and transformative. And right from the beginning of scripture to the end, underneath this question is another question. Who are you living for? Who are you living for? Implicit in the question of verse 36 is that question. Who are you living for?

Now the contrast in this verse, we can see it's a contrast because it begins with the word for. So what is the for there for? It's because it's connected to the preceding verses. It's inextricably connected to the preceding verses. The context is critical to understand this verse. Now the context is well known, but it's not always associated with this verse. This verse is often taken out of its context, and people will be talking, and maybe it's a believer speaking to an unbeliever, who says, what will it benefit you if you gain the whole world and you lose your soul? And it's thought-provoking in that context, in that conversation. But as I say, it's often wrenched out of its context.

There's a deeper meaning here than the way that it's typically used, and we're going to learn that today. But as I said, we don't want to just learn this. It's for change, change, transformation. So this question in verse 36 that has an implied question underneath it, who are you living for, is what we're going to explore today. So to begin our exploration, for your heart and mine, we want to look at the context, this vital expository context.

So let's now look at verse 27 through to verse 30, and I'll read these verses, and then we're going to go through them one by one. Verse 27: "Jesus went out, along with His disciples, to the villages of Caesarea Philippi; and on the way He was asking His disciples, saying to them, 'Who do people say that I am?'" And they told Him, saying, "John the Baptist; and others say Elijah; but others, one of the prophets." And He continued questioning them, "But who do you say that I am?" Peter answered and said to Him, "You are the Christ." And He warned them to tell no one about Him."

Now in verse 27, you see right away that Jesus and the disciples are headed for Caesarea Philippi. They're on their way, and if you look quickly at verse 22, you'll notice that they were in Bethsaida, and they're heading north within Israel. And actually, if we're honest, what we have to really say is that this is a land that is not in Israel's hands. It's dominated by Rome, it had been dominated by Greece, and before that the Persians, and before that the Babylonians, and before that the Assyrians. It's not their land. But they're moving through, and Jesus has been preaching and teaching and doing miracles in this land, and if you glance back to the prior chapters and based on the headings in your Bible, you'll see He's been doing miracles. But they're moving north towards Caesarea Philippi.

Caesarea Philippi was a region of a lush landscape at the foot of Mount Hermon. It's a lush region, but it's a region that was steeped in Baal worship, and you can see that in Joshua 11:17 and Judges 3:5. This region had been steeped in worship for millennia, for hundreds of years. Even when it was in Israel's possession, it was steeped in Baal worship, the northern part of Israel. Under Greek occupation, the area was related to the Greek god Pan, and you may have heard of this Pan, the half-god, half-goat deity, so-called, who played the pan pipe. We get our English word panic from this god, and he was a frightful god who had a thirst for carnal pleasure. It was a place of pagan worship, a lush place at the foot of Mount Hermon, but a place of idolatry.

Under the subsequent Roman occupation after the Greeks, it was named Caesarea, after Caesar. It was named by Herod's son, whose name was Philip, and he wanted to differentiate between Caesarea that's on the Mediterranean and Caesarea up north, so he called it Caesarea Philippi, to distinguish it. So this is the setting, and we see this in verse 27. The disciples are heading in this direction, Jesus is leading them, and along the way, as we see in verse 27, Jesus asks a question: "Who do the people say that I am?" Jesus is asking the disciples for the people's perspective on who He is. One commentator says, and I quote, "Often Jesus's questions were springboards for new teaching". So He's asked this question, verse 27.

Verse 28, the disciples relate the opinions of the people, so they share. They say Jesus is John the Baptist, Elijah, or one of the prophets. The people believe that Jesus was John resurrected. Remember that he had been beheaded by Herod, and there's a story all pertaining to that. And so the people are wondering, is this John? Has John come back? Is that who this is? Or is He a prophet, an Old Testament prophet? And you can see a bit of this discourse in Luke 9:7 to 9. The people thought Jesus was special. Just like many people today think Jesus is special.

I was recently at an ultrasound, and I was talking with the ultrasound technician that happened to be Iranian. This was probably about five months ago, and through the discussion, it came out that I was a Christian, and she said, "Oh, I love Jesus. He's a messenger. He's a messenger." And I was lying there with gel on me, thinking, okay, I want to say something about this. But she's like, let me let her finish, then I'll bring up what I want to say, because I didn't want her hand to go all over. So afterwards, I started sharing a little bit about who Jesus really is. Well, the people in that day are thinking that Jesus is special, but they don't really know who He is.

And Jesus is now going to challenge His followers, His disciples, with the same question. Clearly, the people are wrong. Verse 29, "But who do you say that I am?" We see that question. "Who do you say that I am?" Jesus is asking the disciples, who am I? Who am I? What's my identity? And Peter answers. We can count on Peter. He's got an opinion. "You are the Christ." "You are the Christ."

Now in Matthew 16:15–19, in a parallel passage, there's more about Peter's answer and Jesus' response. But we'll simply state here and note here that Peter's right. It's been revealed to him by God who Jesus is. Jesus is the Christ, and that word Christ means anointed. He is the chosen one. He's the long-awaited Messiah. The Messiah's arrived. Jesus is here. He's the Christ. He's the anointed one. This is cause for jubilation.

The disciples, the Jews, were awaiting their conquering ruler, a leader like Moses or David, who would defeat their enemies. Just a few moments ago, I went through this litany of empires that had crushed this area of the world, one after the other. And there are prophecies concerning the coming of a Messiah. And Peter, under God's illumination, has identified that Jesus is Christ. But while this is true, this is Jesus' identity, it was not His purpose at that time.
And we see in verse 30 that Jesus admonishes and forbids the disciples from divulging His identity. He warns them. The word, the Greek word, is ‘epitimao’. It's a strong word, and it really speaks to Him restricting them from saying anything about His identity. But then He does tell them His purpose. Look at verse 31 and 32a. He tells them His purpose after strictly warning them not to say who He is.

Verse 31: "And He began to teach them that the Son of Man must suffer many things and be rejected by the elders and the chief priests and the scribes and be killed and after three days rise again. And He was stating the matter openly. Isn't it interesting? Peter, under God, has indicated who Jesus is, and Jesus has said, don't tell anyone. And then He tells them His purpose openly. It's interesting. It's interesting.

Jesus refers to Himself as the Son of Man. And this is essential. This truth is essential. We've just read that Jesus is the Christ. The disciples know this. They heard it, even though they are not to repeat it at that time. And now they're seeing His purpose. But just consider the juxtaposition of knowing who Jesus is as the Christ, having this sense of jubilation, and then hearing this. That the Son of Man is going to suffer and be rejected and be killed, but rise on the third day.

First, Jesus refers to Himself as the Son of Man, a title used here emphasizing His humanity and His humility. Secondly, and vitally, Jesus uses the word must. Don't miss that. Must. Not maybe. Must. Must what? Suffer. Be rejected. Be killed. The Son of Man must suffer. Be rejected and be killed. Yet after three days, rise again. And He was saying this publicly, openly, publicly.

The disciples were incredulous, incredulous, stunned. Here's the Christ. He has come, one like Moses or David, to overthrow in their context the Roman Empire. We're going to have our land back. He's going to suffer, be rejected, killed. One commentator notes, "This announcement stunned the disciples. If He is indeed the Christ of God as they had confessed, then why would He be rejected by the religious leaders? Why would these leaders crucify Him? Did not the Old Testament scriptures promise that Messiah would defeat all their enemies and establish a glorious kingdom for Israel? There was something wrong somewhere and the disciples were confused."
 
And you can imagine that. You can imagine it. They're confused. They're more than confused. They're indignant. And we'll see this. They expected a conquering Messiah. And we won't turn there, but I'll just give you a couple of passages for reference: Jeremiah 23:4-8 and Zechariah 6:12-13. If you read those passages, you will see prophecies of a coming Messiah who's going to rule. It's those types of scriptures they had in their minds.

So they understood His person, but not His work. They understood He was the Christ, but not what He came to do at that time. This was totally destabilizing. And we know this because of what happens next. We don't have to guess. We don't have to posit that they were indignant because we're going to see it. We're going to see it.

Look at verse 32b. "And Peter took Him aside and began to rebuke Him." Peter took Him aside and began to rebuke Him. The word for rebukes is the same word that Jesus had just used in sternly warning them, ‘epitimao’. Jesus had just sternly warned them not to say who He is. Now Peter uses the same word to rebuke Jesus.

Now turn to Matthew 16:22. Let's see Peter's rebuke. Because here in the book of Mark, it says that he rebuked Him, but it doesn't say what he said. What was the rebuke? What was the content of the rebuke? Matthew 16:22: "And Peter took Him aside and began to rebuke Him, saying, 'God forbid it, Lord! This shall never happen to You.'" Peter rebukes Jesus. And look at the language of this. He's speaking to the Christ, who is God. And he says, "God forbid it, Lord." Think about this. Here's a human being saying to God, "God forbid it, Lord." It is almost as if Peter doesn't understand the words he's saying.

God is sovereign over all things. Lord, ‘Kyrios, is supreme. He's actually saying, "God forbid, God." That's how indignant he is. He's losing his mind. That's how indignant he is. It's just not computing. It's not, it makes no sense. You're the Christ and You're going to be rejected and suffer and die? They're stunned.

Notice that language: "God forbid it, Lord." Has there ever been a stranger statement? Peter invokes God to forbid God's plan. The audacity of Peter. He's a follower of Jesus. He's been following Jesus. He has seen the miracles. He just identified that Jesus is the Christ. He just identified that Jesus is the Christ under inspiration. Jubilation turns to consternation and admonition. Jesus is admonishing—sorry, Peter is admonishing Jesus.

Can you sense and feel the tension? Can you imagine if you were one of the other disciples? And you're thinking just like Peter, but Peter's the one who says it. As you look at the language and as you study the text, there's almost a part of you that feels like Jesus should say, "Off with his head." Well, He's going to say something worse, actually.

Verse 23, But turning around and seeing His disciples, He, ‘epitimao’, rebuked Peter and said, "Get behind Me, Satan!"..... "for you are not setting your mind on God's interests, but man's.’" "Get behind Me, Satan."
 
Peter had rebuked Jesus. Jesus now calls Peter Satan and directs him to "get behind Me." Get behind Me. And it's that same word in the rebuke, ‘epitimao’. Jesus refers to Peter's admonition. Jesus refers to Peter's admonition, right, forbid it, as influenced by Satan.
Now, we don't have time to go there. But when you read the broader account in Matthew, and I alluded to it already, Peter had just said that Jesus was the Christ. But in the other account, Jesus says, flesh and blood did not reveal this to you, but the Father in heaven. So here is Peter. He has just identified Jesus as the Christ, illuminated by God. Jesus tells him and them His purpose. Peter rebukes Jesus: forbid it. God forbid. Forbid it, Lord. And now Jesus says, "Get behind Me, Satan." Peter was having a day.
They were having a day, like no other day.

But do you see the two ways of life? You see it? Jesus is the Christ. This is His purpose. Don't go that way, Jesus. Get thee behind me, Satan. You see it? Now, I want you to notice this, because the juxtaposition of these two ways of life is in this verse.

Look at the text. "For you are not setting your mind on God's interests, but man's." This is Jesus speaking. He's speaking to Peter. He's just told him to get behind Me, Satan. You are not setting your mind on the things of God, one way of life, the things of man, the other way of life.
 
God, one way of life, the things of man, the other way of life. Take note. Two ways of life.
This is a contrast for the ages. And this contrast is not just that these are two ways of life, and it's just two options. These are two contrary ways of life. They are diametrically opposed to one another. Setting your mind. Setting your mind.

Turn to Genesis, Genesis chapter 3. And as you turn, remember the title of this sermon. Who are you living for? Who are you living for? Two ways of life. In Genesis chapter 3, we see the origin of this. Look at verse 6. And what do you see in verse 6a? Eve is looking. She saw. And she coveted the fruit. And she took the fruit.

Who influenced Eve? What's in the first five verses of this chapter? In verse 1, it talks about a serpent. Two ways of life. That's where it starts. Genesis 3:6. Eve had in her mind God's direction. Don't eat of that tree. Or what? You'll die. She also had in her mind the serpent's temptation. If you eat of that tree, you will not die. But you will be like God, knowing good and evil. Two ways of life.

You will notice in verse 6, Eve is not saying anything. Where's the epicenter of her decision making? Her mind. Her mind. And you will notice Eve saw. Input to the mind. Input to her mind was the word of God. Don't eat of the tree. The word of the serpent. Go ahead. It's no problem. And that's input. But she looked. Input. Input to the mind. Input to the mind influences the mind.

As an old IT guy, garbage in, garbage out. Garbage in, garbage out. What do you put in your mind? What goes in your mind every day? If we were to pause and hand out sheets to everyone and say, I want you to write what you think about every day. And I want you to write what comes into your mind every day. What is your mind set on? What is your mind set on?
When you make decisions. When you consider your aspirations, your hopes. When you're working, you're at school, in your relationships, in your friendships. Are you setting your mind on the things of God or the things of man?

From the Garden of Eden to that lush foothills of Mount Hermon, to your heart and my heart, God's interests, man's interests. Setting your mind is the pivot point for your life. Setting your mind is three words in English. In the Greek, it's one word, ‘phroneo’. And it means to exercise the mind, to interest oneself. To put another way, self-interest. What are your interests? Because you see, you set your mind on your interests. That's what Peter was doing. But Jesus has just said, don't set your mind on the interests of men. Set your mind on God's interests. You see it? Jesus rebukes Peter for setting his mind on his own interests. God's interests, self-interest.

What's your mindset? What's your mindset? What's your mindset each day? As I mentioned, when you make decisions, what's your mindset? As you think about your life; you're raising your children; you're driving your car; you're on the TTC; you're at home; you've put your head down at night and before you fall asleep and you're thinking about many things. Are those God's interests or man's? Do you see how crucial this mindset is? What goes on in your mind?

So Jesus is now going to powerfully illustrate and exhort the disciples and the people as to the implications. He's called Peter out and He's indicated you're setting your mind on man's interests, not God's. Now, someone might say, okay, so what? Jesus is going to answer that question.

But before we look at that, I want you to turn to Romans 8. Romans 8. The Apostle Paul writing to the church at Rome. I love the way he articulates this very same motif. Romans 8, verse 5. Look at this text. Romans 8, verse 5, down to verse 8: "For those who are according to the flesh set their minds – the same word ‘phroneo’ –  on the things of the flesh, but those who are according to the Spirit, the things of the Spirit."
 
Listen carefully now in verse 6: "For the mind set on the flesh is death, but the mind set on the Spirit is life and peace, because the mind set on the flesh is hostile toward God, for it does not subject itself to the law of God, for it is not even able to do so, and those who are in the flesh are not able to please God."

Peter was displeasing to God, to Jesus, so much so that He said, get behind me, Satan. And just parenthetically, the language of get behind, it's as if Jesus is saying, get behind me and go the other way. Get behind me and turn backwards. And He used that term Satan, and the Greek there is the word for accuser. In effect, Jesus was saying to Peter, you're acting like an adversary. So it's not only that you set your mind on the things of men, you're actually acting against Me.

When you and I set our minds on our own self-interest, we are not serving God, living for God, walking in His ways. Who are you living for? Who are you living for?

So now, back to Mark 8. Jesus is going to illustrate the implications of these two ways of life. In the outline, we're now at the implications of following Jesus. Mark 8:34 and 35. Verse 34: "And He summoned the crowd with His disciples, and said to them, 'If anyone wishes to come after Me, he must deny himself, take up his cross and follow Me.'" If anyone wants to follow Jesus, three things: deny themself, take up their cross, follow Me. God's interests.

First, Jesus' teaching continues. He summons others to listen. You notice that all of a sudden, there were disciples headed to Mount Hermon region. While there clearly were other people around, Jesus actually summons the other people. He says, come on over here. Come. He summons the crowd. He summons the crowd. He summons the crowd to listen. And it's only in this, of the parallel passages, it's only in Mark where there's this unexpected crowd mentioned. The presence of the crowd.

One commentator put it this way: "Mark alone notes the unexpected presence of a crowd up here near Caesarea Philippi in heathen territory. In the presence of this crowd, Jesus explains His philosophy of life and death" – Jesus explains His philosophy of life and death – "which is in direct contrast with that offered by Peter. And it was evidently shared by the disciples and the people. So Jesus gives this profound view of life and death to them all."  There's a crowd. Jesus is going to teach the implications.

Second, notice the word if. If. As you look at the text in verse 34. If. If anyone wishes. If. Why does Jesus say if? Because Jesus is explicating the implications of setting the mind on God's interests and man's interests. If. God's interests, man's interests. Two lines of implications are in the following verses.

Third, Jesus' next word is anyone. If. Anyone wishes to come after Me. Anyone. And it reminds us of John 3:16. Whosoever. Whosoever. Anyone. Jews. Gentiles. Doesn't matter. Anyone. Anyone.

If you're here today, you're an anyone. I'm sorry. I was just thinking all the people out there are anyone's too. Anyone. Anyone. Anyone. Not just the Jews. The Gentiles as well. Again, think of the disciples. They're Jews. Jesus has just said, "If anyone wants to come after Me." Don't miss it. Don't miss it. The Jews in that crowd would have went, what? Anyone? We're Your people. Anyone? Yes, anyone.

So already in this teaching when He says, "If anyone," this is more destabilization. Don't miss it. Don't just keep reading. If anyone. If anyone. If anyone what? What's the next phrase? Wishes to come after Me. Wishes to come after Me. The Greek here is really interesting because it's very similar to the words forget behind Me. Think about it. Someone says to get behind you, they mean get behind them. If someone says come after Me, they mean come behind Me. The language is very similar, but the nuanced difference is that this is coming behind and following Me. Not getting behind like get lost. Or go away.

The two paths of life, either one, you're going to be behind Jesus. The question is, are you going to be following Him or are you going to be going away? Every knee will bow, every tongue will confess that Jesus is Lord. Every knee will bow, every tongue will confess that Jesus is Lord.

Fourth, you see in verse 31 that Jesus, and I said it before, but just catch this, when Jesus was speaking about Himself, He said He must suffer, be rejected and killed. But note where the must is here for those who wish to follow Jesus. They must deny themselves. They must take up their cross, and they must follow Jesus. You see it? The must for Jesus is suffer, rejected, killed. The must for believers is deny yourself, take up your cross and follow Him. There's what Jesus must do. There's what we must do. This is not if here. The if was above that. We're now down the path of following Jesus, and that's where the must comes. Must.

Let us look briefly at each of these three elements, just briefly. Time will not permit us to really dig into each one of them. The first is to deny yourself or deny themselves. The Greek word means to utterly deny, to disown your self-interest. Deny yourself, disown your self-interest. One commentator puts it this way, and it's the same commentator I'm going to quote for this portion and the next. This commentator says, "Negatively, one must deny himself decisively, turning away from the idolatry of self-centeredness. And every attempt to orient one's life by the dictates of self-interest".

To deny yourself is to turn away from the idolatry of self-centeredness. In effect, putting yourself first. Deny that. Deny yourself. And don't orient your life towards self-interest.

Second, take up their cross represents lifting up a cross. Now, is Jesus saying that you're going to have to be crucified like Him? It says take up, it doesn't say take up My cross, it says take up your cross. Figuratively, this means self-denial. Now, you might say, deny yourself and take up your cross. Sounds like they sort of mean the same thing. Listen to the same commentator. "Negatively, the first part, deny yourself, means eschewing self-interest. Taking up your cross positively means decisively saying yes to God's will and way." So just picture this. The believer is one who is shunning self-interest, must shun self-interest. Conversely, is taking up God's interest. Gotta leave one, pick up the other. Put on the Lord Jesus Christ, make no provision for the flesh. Do you see that?

Believers must set aside self-interest, take up God's interest. Come what may, come what may.

The third is "follow Me." And I love the word, the Greek word means accompany, accompany Me. It's not a word we use a lot today, accompany. But it sort of gives the motif of sort of someone putting their arm around you and saying, "Let's go." Let's go together. We're together. I'm leading, you're coming with Me. Accompany.
It's a present imperative. The word for follow is a, the Greek word is a present imperative. It means keep following Me. Keep following Me. Say no to self, yes to God, follow Jesus. And keep following.

Turn to Philippians 3:7. Let's have the Apostle Paul describe this to us a little bit further. Philippians 3, verse 7: "But whatever things were gained to me, those things I have counted as loss for the sake of Christ." You see it? "The things that were gained to me I count as loss for the sake of Christ." Verse 8: "More than that, I count all things to be loss because of the surpassing value of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord, for whom I have suffered the loss of all things, and count them but rubbish, so that I may gain Christ, and be found in Him, not having a righteousness of my own, which is from the law, but that which is through faith in Christ, the righteousness which is from God upon faith, that I may know Him, and the power of His resurrection, and the fellowship of His sufferings, being conformed to His death, in order that I may attain to the resurrection from the dead."

Paul understood what it meant to follow Jesus. Count all things as loss. Self-interest is gone. Took up his cross. God's will is everything. Follow Him. Do you see the self-denial in that passage in Philippians? Do you see him taking up the life of Christ and his willingness even to suffer? Do you see Paul's devotion? It’s God. And what's the benefit? Knowing Him, the power of His resurrection, and being resurrected oneself.

If you're a believer here today, if you're a follower of Jesus, can you put yourself in this passage? Can you put yourself in this passage? Look at it again in Philippians 3:7: "Whatever things were gained to me, those things I have counted as loss." You have a great education, doesn't matter. You have great skills, you've got lots of money, you've got land, property, you're living your best life now, doesn't matter. That's not the purpose of life. Two ways of life. Now those things aren't bad, but they can't have your heart. Two ways of life.
Many of us are pursuing those things out of self-interest, and that is displeasing to God. We are to be pursuing God's interests. So all those things have their proper disposition in our lives. They're not the goal of life. Jesus is the goal of life. That I may know Him, adore Him, love Him, live for Him who saved your soul. Who are you living for? Where are you setting your minds?

Peter and the disciples, they were believers in Jesus Christ, but their minds were set on self-interest, not God's. Not God's. But by His grace, Jesus taught His disciples the mindset required to follow Him. It may sound strong that He says, you've got to deny yourself, take up your cross and follow Me. But that's grace. He's actually saying, you're not stuck going away behind Me, Satan. Here's how to follow Me. Here's how to follow Me. And that same Peter, who was a fisherman, gave up his job. On the day of Pentecost, he preached and thousands were saved. Peter was incarcerated, beaten. Peter learned what these words meant. He denied himself. He took up his cross and he followed Jesus, come what may.

Look at 1 Peter 4. Let's listen to Peter. Let's listen to Peter. 1 Peter 4, verse 1: "Therefore, since Christ has suffered in the flesh," – this is Peter speaking to other Christians – "Therefore, since Christ has suffered in the flesh, arm yourselves also with the same purpose." Notice that. Arm yourself. Jesus suffered. Arm yourself with the same purpose. "Because He who has suffered in the flesh has ceased from sin, so as to live the rest of the time in the flesh no longer for the lust of men, but for the will of God."

Look at verse 12: "Beloved, do not be surprised at the fiery ordeal among you, which comes upon you for your testing, as though some strange thing were happening to you; but to the degree that you share the sufferings of Christ, keep on rejoicing, so that also at the revelation of His glory you may rejoice with exultation. If you are reviled for the name of Christ, you are blessed." – If you are reviled for the name of Christ, you're blessed. –  "Because the Spirit of glory and of God rests on you."

You see the two ways of life? Following Jesus must include disowning your self-interest, pursuing God's interests, His will, His way, come what may, and accompany Jesus through this life to glory. Believers here today, brothers and sisters here today, how are you doing in the enabling of the Holy Spirit? How are you doing in the enabling the Holy Spirit to disown your own interest and to follow Jesus' interests in every area of your life?

Who are you living for? Can you look at your life and see the denial of your self-interest and the taking up of God's interests in every area of your life? And are you doing this continually? Are you following Him? Present imperative, continual action. Conversely, if you're a believer here today like Peter in Mark 8:32, seeking Christ to do your will, seeking God to do your will, because that's what Peter had in mind, right? He wanted Jesus, but he wanted Jesus who's a conquering Jesus. He wanted God to do his will.

If you're a believer who is always praying, God do stuff for me in one way or another, you're on the wrong track. He's God, you're not. You're setting your mind on self-interest. You're setting your mind on the interests of men. And what does that do? It puts you behind Jesus. Get behind Me. What are you setting your mind on each day? What do you read? What do you watch? What do you listen to? What goes into your mind? Remember Eve saw. What goes into your mind? What's your mindset? Do you have a mindset that honors Him? How do you process life? Do you process life biblically or based on your opinion or someone else's opinion? Or on your upbringing? When you set your mind and you do, it's not like, well, we don't. We do every day, all the time. Where are we going to go? What are we going to do? Got to decide about this, decide about that. Constantly. Our minds are going all the time. What do you set your mind on?

What happened to Peter when Jesus' plans didn't fit his plans? What happened to Peter when Jesus' plans, suffer, rejected, killed, didn't match Peter's plans? Jesus rebuked Peter. If you're a believer like the Peter of Mark 32, 8:32, your approach is displeasing to God. It's worthy of rebuke. But there's hope. There's hope. As we see in verse 34, it's a call to repentance, actually. It's a call to repentance. If you want to follow Me, you must turn away from your self-interest. Pursue His will, His interests, and follow Him. That's repentance.

As Jesus continues, He continues to express more implications. Look at verse 35, and we're coming towards the end of our time. "For whoever wishes to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for My sake and the gospel's will save it." Do you see the two ways of life there? Whoever wishes to save their life, man's interests, will actually lose their life. And the one who wants, then the one who is willing to lose their life, set aside their self-interest, actually gains.

This is a word for the crowd. Look at 35a, the first part of this. Implicit in this phrasing is that those who pursue self-interest are doing so to save their lives. Self-preservation. They want to control their life. They're trying to save their life, meaning they're trying to have life go the way they want. What's the outcome of that? They actually end up losing their life. Their lives are self-directed and self-preservation is what's on their heart. Their minds are set on themselves. But Jesus teaches that this pursuit does not lead to actually saving one's life. The thing they're pursuing will not result in what they're seeking.

And the word for lose, look at the text. "Whoever wishes to save his life will lose it." It's almost in the English not strong enough. The Greek word under that word lose is the same word in John 3:16 translated "perish," which means utterly destroyed. It means to destroy fully and by implication in hell. Setting your mind on your interests attracts God's rebuke, and if you're a non-believer, you're headed for hell. You will perish.

If you're a non-believer here today, this is Jesus' message to you. Seeking to live for yourself to save your life is literally a dead end. Literally a dead end. But look at 32, sorry, 35b, "but whoever loses his life for My sake and the Gospels will save it." This is the gospel. In fact, this whole passage is the gospel. Theological, doctrinally, Jesus is preaching the gospel.

There's two ways of life. This is good news. If you repent, turn from sin and self-interest, turn your mind to Jesus. And through believing He's the Christ, and that He suffered and sacrificed and died, which He had just said, you will save your life. Put more accurately, He will save your life. You will obtain eternal life.

John MacArthur puts it this way. "This paradoxical saying reveals an important spiritual truth. Those who pursue a life of ease, comfort, and acceptance by the world will not find eternal life. On the other hand, those who give up their lives for the sake of Christ in the gospel will find eternal life."

Who are you living for? Verse 36. We're back at verse 36. Now you've seen that vital context that helps us to understand really what verse 36 means. "For what does it profit a man to gain the whole world, and forfeit his soul?" You've now seen this verse in its context. What Jesus is saying to those who set their minds on self-interest, what is Jesus saying the implication is for those who set their minds on self-interest? Even if you could have everything under the sun that you like, what good would it be if you lost your soul?

But there's a deeper meaning here in the context. The Jewish disciples were thinking He was going to take over the world. Now think about this. If Jesus doesn't suffer, be rejected, and killed, but He conquers Rome, there's no Savior. Every soul is forfeited. You see it? Did you catch that? If Jesus did what Peter said at that time and did not go to the cross, did not die, every soul is forfeited. What will it profit a man if he gains the whole world and loses his soul? That's the meaning of this verse. It has those two applications.

For the crowd and those here today that are unsaved, if you obtain everything you want, everything your heart desires, as you try to sustain and preserve your life, but you forfeit your internal soul, what benefit is that?

Alexander McLaren quoting here, "The men who live for self are dead." – Very blunt. The men and women who live for self are dead. – "As Christ has been saying, suppose their self-living had been successful to the highest point. What good would it do if they're dead?"

And if you need biblical examples of this, read the book of Ecclesiastes and watch Solomon, the wisest man who ever lived, doing whatever his heart desires. Chapter after chapter. And you'll notice if you read that book as an illustration of this principle, you will see he literally says it. I set my mind to do everything I wanted to do. I went wherever I wanted to go. I did whatever I wanted to do. I built stuff. I bought lands. I did this. I did that. I had wealth beyond compare. I had everything this world had to offer. And I still had my health and I was still the king. Vanity of vanities, all is vanity, says the preacher.

Read Ecclesiastes. If you want another example, in Luke 16, the rich man and Lazarus. Luke 16, you can read it there. The rich man had all that this world had to offer, ends up in hell. Lazarus was poor, took the crumbs off the table of the rich man. He ended up in heaven, Abraham’s bosom. Powerful illustrations, one from the Old Testament, one from the New.

So for the crowd, what will it profit you if you gain the whole world, you lose your soul? If you're here today and you're not saved, what good does it do you if your self-interest leads to hell? If you're here today and you're not saved, what good does it do you if your self-interest leads to hell? If you're here today and you're not saved, what good does it do you if your self-interest leads to hell? Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ and you will be saved. You can do that right now, today. Your life could be transformed today.

Who are you living for? For Peter and the disciples and those here today who are seeking God, you're a believer, but you're also seeking self-interest. You want God to do your will. If Jesus did your will, if Jesus did not go to the cross, we would all lose our souls. What profit is that?

One commentator put it this way, listen carefully: "One who decides to maintain a self-centered life in this world by refusing Jesus' requirements, deny yourself, take up your cross, follow Me, will ultimately lose his life to eternal ruin. Conversely, a person who will lose or deny themself, their life, their preferences, in loyalty to Jesus and the gospel by accepting His requirements will actually preserve their lives forever. If you're a follower of Jesus, you are an heir to eternal life forever with God." So, set your mind on the things of God in every area of your life.

So, as we conclude, may we all ask ourselves this question every day. Ask yourself this question. Who am I living for? When you lay your head down at the end of the day, it's quiet. Ask yourself, who am I living for? When you wake up, ask yourself that question. Who am I living for today? God has just given me the beginning of a new day. Who am I living for today? Set your mind on the things of God, not on the things of men.

This is a transcript. It may contain small inaccuracies.

After giving general greetings to the church there in Thessaloniki, reminding these people, these precious saints, that it was Paul and his companions who were sending this letter, sending the greetings to them in this general apostolic salutation, we have then in verse 2 through 10 what is basically an inscription of thanksgiving to God for particular characteristics which mark the people in the church there in that city at Thessaloniki. And in giving to us these characteristics which caused his own heart to rejoice, the Apostle is giving to us several very valuable things which are really the fruits of the grace of God. He says in verse 2, "We give thanks to God always for all of you, making mention of you in our prayers, remembering without ceasing." And then he mentions those things which caused his heart when he came into the presence of God to rejoice and to give thanks to God.

Now Paul did not rejoice as we saw together and give thanks primarily for those things which are common to all men in the common grace of God, but when he wrote to a church he was giving thanks to God for those particular things which were distinguishing marks of the special grace of God, in the saving power of God, operating in the lives of those precious people. And so we have those things in verses 2 through 10 which are in a peculiar way the fruits of grace, and in giving them to us we also have a standard by which we as a church can evaluate ourselves, a standard and a pattern to follow. We have a goal toward which we should press on by the grace of God to cultivate those fruits of grace in our lives individually and corporately.

Now at the very top of the list of the fruits of grace we have in verse 3 what we have called the three crown jewels in the diadem of Christian virtue. "Remembering without seizing your work of faith," that's the first one, and number two, "labor of love," and the third one, "steadfastness of hope in our Lord Jesus Christ before our God and Father." And we've studied the first one already, the phrase "the work of faith," and the fact that Paul gave thanks to God that here you have people who had a faith that was not mere idle speculative faith, but it was an operative faith that really compelled them to work. And so whatever you find people who have faith that works, well, it is a fitting reason to give thanks to God for. And so, He thanks God that their work was in no way an attempt to earn the grace of God, but that it flowed out of a principle of faith.

And so wherever you find the people who have faith and works and they have them both in their proper relationship, then you have no doubt a wonderful indication that the grace of God is truly operative at work. For left to himself, you remember, man will either have a work that is not a work of faith, rather is a dead work hoping to commend himself to God by his own doing, on his own merit, which is always, always a catastrophe, or he will have a dead faith, a faith that is merely notional in the head, it resides in the head and it accepts certain facts, but it is not a living principle that produces works of holiness and obedience. But when you have both work, faith joined together, and they're always joined together whenever God does a work of grace, for "we are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus unto good works," then you have a cause to give thanks to God.

We then looked at the phrase "labor of love." Paul was grateful to God that these people had a love to the triune God - Father, Son, and Holy Spirit - that was more than a love that caused them to sit in a rocking chair and think warm thoughts about some higher deity. They had a love for the triune God that made them put their shoulder to the yoke of Christian duty or responsibility and produced in them labor, and you remember this word labor, kopos, is the word that is connected with the English word really travail, wearisome effort. This word means sacrificial, arduous, and sometimes even painful work. Paul gives thanks to God that these people had a love to God that, again, was not merely an emotional thing, but it was one that captivated their whole being, the entirety of their whole being, and brought them under the yoke of Christian duty, which is a delight, a delightful duty, not duty out of obligation, kicking and screaming, but it's from the heart.

Well, tonight we come to the third of these virtues that is mentioned in verse 3 in the LSB, translated as steadfastness of hope. Other translation has it patience of hope. So Paul not only gave thanks for their work of faith and labor of love, but here he says also for their steadfastness of hope. Now, as we look at this and consider this, this evening, keep in mind the word steadfastness is not describing the hope, but rather He's speaking of the steadfastness which had its roots in hope. That's important.

Now, notice the parallel through all of these three phrases. They had a faith that produced works. They had a work that was rooted in faith. They had a love that produced labor. They had labor that was rooted in love. And now he says they had a steadfastness which was the fruit of hope and a hope that produced this steadfastness. Now, for us to understand why this should be a cause of rejoicing in the heart of the Apostle Paul, we must first of all understand what the words mean. That's a basic level. He said we give thanks for your steadfastness of hope.

Now, let's define the words. Well, first of all, what does this word hope mean? Hope. For steadfastness, whatever it is, was the baby, the child of hope. Hope was the mother. Steadfastness was the child. Hope was the tree. Steadfastness was the fruit. So let's begin with the mother. Let's begin with the tree. Let's begin with that which gives birth to the other.

Now, when we use the word hope in our everyday conversations and today's culture, we usually use it in the sense of a strong wish, a strong desire. We say, well, I hope to take my vacation, go to Europe, or I hope I will graduate from high school next year. It's shaky, but I hope - I hope it's not shaky for you if you're in high school. Now, when you say you hope, what you're really saying is I have a strong desire. I have an earnest wish that such and such will come to pass. I hope my favorite sports team wins. Strong desire.

Now, we usually use the word hope in terms of the strong wish and earnest desire, but that is not the way the word hope, elpis, the Greek word, is used in the biblical context. There are in few instances cases where this word is used in terms of a strong wish, but the overwhelming, overriding use of the word elpis in the scripture is poles apart from a mere wish or mere desire. This word hope, elpis, in the scripture means nothing less than, if you want to give it a definition, a good definition, it would be something like this: a joyful and confident expectation of a promised blessing. A joyful and a confident expectation of a promised blessing.

Now, there are many illustrations of its use in this sense in the scripture, but let me take a few that are representative this evening that might help us understand what Paul meant when he said steadfastness of hope. Turn with me to Romans 5, Romans 5, where we find the same word used. Look at verses 1 and 2: "Therefore, having been justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ, through whom also we have obtained our introduction by faith into this grace in which we stand," — now notice, — "and we boast in hope," —elpis,— "of the glory of God, in hope of the glory of God." Paul says not only do we have the present tense blessing of being justified and having peace with God and access to God, but He said we boast in hope of the glory of God.

Now, follow closely. Put the word in there, wishful desire. Take the word hope and put wishful desire. "We boast in the wishful desire of the glory of God." How does that sound? Foolish, right? That's the worst kind of torment in all the world. A man who knows that God is holy and knows that he himself is a wretched sinner, who has reason to believe that right now by the grace of God his sins are forgiven through the work of God, through the mighty work of God in justification, yet to think that all of those sins might yet rise up against him and condemn him and press him down to the deepest part of hell, who can only say, well, I wish, I sure hope that one day I'll be with Him and share His glory, that's the most intense kind of misery, isn't it?

But now define it this way, verse 2: "through whom also we have obtained our introduction by faith into this grace in which we stand, and we boast in the joyful and confident expectation of the glory of God." Right? Now, makes sense, and there's encouragement. He said we not only have this present blessing, that the condemnation of our sins is past, done away with, we have present access, yes, praise God, but above and beyond all of this we have, oh, we have a joyful and confident expectation that we shall gaze upon the glory of God as His redeemed, and we shall share that very glory. Amen.

Now the word hope makes sense. Since we're in Romans, turn to chapter 15 and verse 13. You'll find the same word used in another setting. Romans 15 verse 13: "Now may the God of” — elpis,—  “hope fill you with all joy and peace in believing, so that you will abound in hope by the power of the Holy Spirit." Can you imagine Paul trying, praying that the church would be full of people who abounded in this kind of attitude? Well, I sure hope that I'll be saved. I really sure wish, desire, hope that I belong to the Lord. I don't know, I'm not sure, and you're living every day in torment, I'm sure. Can you imagine him praying that the church would be full of people like that?

What Paul is praying is this: that the believers may abound in hope, not just wishful desire, but in joyful, confident expectation through the power of the Holy Spirit. This joyful, confident expectation of promised blessing is something that the Holy Spirit Himself produces in the heart of the believer. You find a similar reference in Galatians 5:5, where Paul speaks of the hope of righteousness by faith, in Ephesians 1:18, where He prays that believers may know what is the hope of their calling, 1 Thessalonians he says, "as a helmet put on the hope of salvation," Titus 1:2, Paul speaks "in hope of eternal life," and then the classic usage, and I want you to look at this, this one with me please, 1 John chapter 3, this is incredible, 1 John chapter 3, where the word know, to know, and this is incredible, is used as a synonym of the word hope.

1 John 3 verse 1: "See how great a love the Father has given to us, that we would be called children of God; and we are. For this reason the world does not know us, because it did not know Him. Beloved, now we are children of God, and it has not been manifested as yet what we will be. We know,”— “we know,” he says, we're assured, this is absolutely certain, airtight certain, no wiggle room. — “We know that when He is manifested, we will be like Him," — not we may be like Him,— "we will be like Him, because we will see Him just as He is. And everyone who has this,"— what,— “elpis, fixed on Him purifies himself, just as He is pure." You get it? We know this hope. We know this hope.

So you see, the word hope is defined as a certain knowledge of future blessing promised by God Himself. There's no ifs and buts. So here you have a very simple and yet authoritative definition given by the Holy Spirit Himself, where John says that this knowledge that we will be like Him is called the hope of the believer. So whenever you come across this word in the New Testament, don't put the 21st century meaning on the word hope, but rather the biblical meaning on it: joyful, confident expectation of promised blessing. Faithful, He will be. Faithful He has been, and faithful He will be.

Now, since most of these blessings that are out there in the future will be realized at the coming of the Lord, it's no strange thing that His coming should be called what? Titus 2 verse 13: "the blessed hope and the glorious appearing of our great God and Savior." For you see, all that is future now, salvation, almost all of it, will become ours in experience when our Lord Jesus comes from the right hand of the Father to take us to Himself, that we might be with Him forever.

And so when Paul thinks of the people there, the believers there in that city, that the Thessaloniki, he rejoices that they demonstrated a steadfastness that was rooted in this joyful and confident expectation of promised blessing. I have to say I was surprised as I got studying this to see how much this matter of hope is an integral part of saving Christianity. In fact, Paul goes so far as to say in Romans 8 verse 24 and 25, "we are saved in hope." He said our very salvation is bound up in the concept of hope. And then he goes on to say, verse 24 and 25, he says, "but hope that is seen is not hope, for who hopes for what he already sees? But if we hope for what we do not see, with perseverance we eagerly wait for it."

Peter asserts essentially the same thing when he says, 1 Peter 1:3, "God, according to His great mercy, has caused us to be born again to a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead." So much for the word hope, elpis. I hope you understand what the word hope means. You get the two different ways now I used it, right? When I say I hope you understand, I'm using in terms of our present use. I hope you understand what the word hope means: confident, joyful expectation.

Well, let's look at the word steadfastness. What does this word mean, steadfastness? We're familiar with this word, the Greek word, hypomonēs. We've come across this word, hypomonēs, right? We've encountered that word in our studies, particularly of James, and elsewhere in Scripture. I love this word, hypomonēs. It's that Greek word made up of two words, two Greek words, hypo, the front means under, and the other, monēs, to remain. So, simply put, to remain under. To remain under.

Literally, the word means, and in the case of the etymology, really, it doesn't lead us astray. It literally means to remain under, to bear up under, to endure. So, really, the translation, patience, is too soft, because it's passive. This word is much stronger. You see, patience is what you do when the person who's supposed to give you a ride to church is 15 minutes late or 20 minutes late. Perseverance is what you exercise as a soldier when you're injured and bleeding and waiting for rescue. And you persevere. Hypomonēs is a far stronger word than patience.

It is, you're familiar, is the word we encounter in the Philippines of an Olympic weightlifter. You know, those guys who weigh too much, eat too much, they sweat too much. They go down, they pick up this bar, and they pull it above their head to their, well, on their way up to their shoulders. And, you know, they're getting ready, and they thrust it above their head with all the energy that they can muster. You have this huge amount of weight, but there's a rule. And the rule says that for it to be valid, they must actually, when they lift it up, they must remain under it for a certain period of time.

And so they stand there, and you can see them, their bodies quivering, attempting to keep that weight above their heads until the alarm has sounded, and then they've held it for the appointed amount of time. That's hypomonēs. During that time that they are under that weight, they are doing what this Greek word describes. So it means something far stronger than sitting in a boat, marking time, waiting for something to happen as you're waiting to catch some fish. Basically means endurance, perseverance, to bear up under intense difficulty, stress.

It's the word used in Matthew 24, verse 13, when our Lord says in that context of the tribulation period, at the end of the age, He says, "The one who,” - this is the word, hypomonēs, - “endures to the end.” - Bear up under to the end. - “He will be saved." The one who endures, who perseveres, the one who's steadfast to the end, that one will be saved. It's used in 1 Corinthians 13:7, describing love. "Love endures,” - hypomonēs, in its verbal form, bears up under - “all things." 2 Timothy, chapter 2, verse 10, Paul says, "For this reason I,” - hypomonēs, in a verbal form, hypomenei, that's the verb. - “For this reason I endure all things for the sake of the elect, so that they may also obtain the salvation which is in Christ Jesus with eternal glory."

Now does that mean Paul sat in jail somewhere, twiddled his thumbs, played solitaire, waiting patiently? No, it meant a day and a night in the deep, scourging, starvation, thirsting, hungering. Read 2 Corinthians 11, we see what it meant. He said, I endure, I bear up under the most intense forms of difficulty, that they may be saved. It's the word used of our Lord Jesus Christ in Hebrews 12, verse 2, where it says of Him that He “endured the cross.” He endured the cross. Did it mean just patience? What did that mean? It meant an active submission to the will of God in the midst of the most intense suffering.

So you have the word hope, joyful, confident expectation of promised blessing. Steadfastness means endurance, bearing up under stress and difficulty.

Okay, now let's put them together, right? We're assembling now. Let's put them together. Paul says, "I give thanks to God when I remember your steadfastness of hope." In other words, your ability to bear up under stress and difficulty and affliction, which was rooted in a joyful and confident expectation of promised blessing. Now that tells us something, that these people in Thessaloniki were not living on easy street.

It's hard for us to interpret 1 Thessalonians against the backdrop of our North American Christianity. Here were people who were born in the midst of conflict spiritually. Remember Acts 17 when we looked at the birth of this church? Paul had been there about two weeks when there was a riot in the town. They ran him out of town, stormed the house of the young convert who was actually hosting Paul. And then when Paul writes back to them, he says, notice in chapter 2 in verse 14 of this letter, "For you brothers became imitators of the churches of God in Christ Jesus that are in Judea. For you also suffered the same things at the hands of your own kind. For you also suffered the same things at the hands of your own countrymen, even as they did from the Jews."

What is he referring to? He's referring to persecution. That persecution that arose and scattered the believers. He said, you're in with them. You belong in the same union of the suffering. In chapter 3 he says, I was so anxious when I knew of your sufferings and wondering if perhaps these tribulations have really turned you aside, notice verse 3, "So that no one would be shaken by these afflictions. For you yourselves know that we have been destined for this. For indeed, when we were with you, we kept telling you in advance that we were going to suffer affliction just as it happened. As you know."

Paul rejoices that these people are demonstrating epimony, endurance, endurance, perseverance, rooted in hope, because He recognized this. He recognized this principle that brings us now to the heart of the message. This is the crux of the whole phrase. Here it is. Paul realized that perhaps nothing more clearly revealed either the sham or the reality of Christian profession as did suffering, tribulation, difficulty, hardship, and affliction. This becomes the laboratory in which the genuineness of the product is either revealed or its ingenuineness, its sham, is exposed and uncovered.

So as Paul thought of those infant professors of Christ there in that city and the suffering that was already their portion before he left them, his heart was filled with deep concern. And he said, I wonder, as I was forced to leave you and thinking about you now, I wondered, do you have the real thing? Were my labors in vain? Is all of this to be wood and hay and stubble? Was your apparent faith a genuine faith? Was your apparent attachment to Christ vital, saving attachment to Christ? Suffering comes along, persecution comes along, and said, I'll tell you whether it is.

And now when Timothy brings back the report that they're continuing on with God, that the suffering has only served to drive their roots deeper into Christ, He says, oh how I give thanks, not only for your work of faith, your labor of love, but your endurance, your steadfastness that is rooted in this hope, this confident expectation of future blessing. He said, I'm so glad that the trial, the persecution, the difficulty simply acted as a laboratory in which your faith has been broken down into its component parts and it's been shown to be the real deal, the real thing, genuine, authentic, dokimos, has character, proven character.

Now that leads us to another principle that is vitally joined to this. Paul saw in these believers the truth that that confident expectation of future blessing was that which produced endurance in present difficult circumstances. What gave them that endurance to face persecution? I mean, just babes in Christ, new believers. What would happen to you, beloved, if after a month, after you professed to be joined to Jesus Christ, you began really to get some serious consequences because of your faith? What would happen? What would happen to us under pressure? Like some face severe consequences in certain parts of the world, serious consequences. It ranges from here to here, from mild to extreme.

I mean, boycotted economically, lose their job and nobody will hire them. They go to buy food, no one will sell food to them. You see your starving kids and your crying, wife, what would you do? I mean, all you need to do is renounce Christ and all will be well. You'll have your job back, you have your tummy full again, your children's tummies full, you'll have your wife smiling again. What would you do? What do they do? Persecuted, ill-treated. You know what they did. They said, well, things may not be good now, but man, oh man, are we going to have glory when He comes? He's going to come back and He's going to right all wrongs. And in the light of what we'll have when He comes, be still my soul. Be still my soul. Let men despise, deride, when our Lord comes back again, all that He's promised will be ours. And in the light of that day, what's a little suffering here? What's a little heartache here?

So their endurance, you see, was fed, sustained, maintained by that confident expectation of future blessings, sustained in the present trial by feeding their souls upon the expectation of future blessings. As we will see later on in the end of the chapter, they were a second coming people. They lived here in the light of there. They lived now in the light of then. They lived on the edge of the return of Jesus. This is one of the clearest contrasts between the Christian and the worldling. The worldling is governed by the now. The now. Here and now. You know this, right? This is called what? Really, this is called the now generation. The now generation. That's the whole pitch in all of the advertisement, social media, social platform. This is the now generation. You've got to live it up now. Everything is now. Everything is live streamed. Everything is like real time.

I mean, you go on vacation. You go. It's like you have to keep even living your life. You always have to update. I woke up this morning. I had cereal. You post the cereal with the bowl and the picture and everything. The now generation. That's the mark of the world. It's a whole concern. The whole concern is now. And now takes in everything involved in time. You see people in the now generation. They're concerned enough about the future to take out insurance and make out wills. But their whole concern is bounded by the little parenthesis of time. And that's all time is, right? But a little parenthesis in the great expanse of eternity.

There is an eloquent description of this in the 17th Psalm. Please turn with me there. Where the Psalm is speaking of the wicked. Notice how he describes the wicked. Verse 14. Psalm 17. He's asking God to deliver him from the oppression of the wicked. And in that prayer he describes the wicked. Now watch this. “From men with your hand, O Yahweh. From men of the world." —Now watch this.— "Whose portion is in this life. And whose belly you fill with your treasure. They are satisfied with children and leave their excess to their infants."

Now take that phrase and write it as the descriptive phrase of our own generation. "Whose portion is in this life." "Whose portion is in this life." We're the now generation. You can live your life by the standards of a God whom you've never seen in terms of values. That you've never seen in terms of a heaven. That you've never seen. You can have all of that. Go ahead, they tell you. But I've got my substance now. And I'm going to live it up now. I'm part of the here and now. The now generation. The Bible says "whose portion is in this life."

That's the worldling. He lives for this life. He will save his life. But by contrast, the Christian is one who in his present existence governs everything. Not by now, but by then. By then. Not by the world that is, but by the world that is to come.

Notice that contrast before we move away from Psalm 17. So you don't have to turn back to it. He says their portion is this life. That's what he's saying. That's all they live for. This life. Their portion is this life. Listen to his cry. “As for me,” verse 15. That's their portion. That's what they live for. “But as for me, I shall behold Your face in righteousness. I will be satisfied with Your likeness when I awake." Men of the world, their portion is now. Me, my portion is there.

See the marked contrast between the true child of God and the worldling? One has his portion now. Therefore, all of his values are determined by now. And here, all of his actions, reactions are determined by now. But by contrast, the Christian has everything now governed by the prospect of the world to come. Treasures in heaven. And that's what hypomonēs, endurance, is. Bearing up under pressure and inconveniences involved in being a child of God in the midst of a wicked and perverse generation.

The Apostle Paul describes this attitude of the Christian so beautifully, in 2 Corinthians chapter 4, I love this. When looking at all of those problems that he had. All of the difficulties that he endured. All of the challenges that he faced. And he had them. You read the extent of them in the verses prior to the one we want to mention. For example, in verse 8, afflicted, perplexed. Verse 9, persecuted, struck down. Verse 10, always carrying about in the body the dying of Jesus. And verse 11, constantly, not once, not twice. Constantly being delivered over to death for Jesus' sake.

And what does he call all of this? What does he call all of this? Verses 17 and 18: "For our momentary light affliction." What? How? He calls this momentary light affliction. Persecution, always going about like a criminal, condemned to die, troubled on every side, perplexed, buffeted, treated like the off-scouring of the world. And he says, light affliction? Light affliction? Why? Well, he tells us. He tells us why in the rest of verses 17 and 18. "It is working out for us an eternal weight of glory.” — Eternal weight of glory,— “far beyond all comparison.” — Not even a close comparison to all that I have been facing and enduring.— “While we look not at the things which are seen, but at the things which are not seen, for the things which are seen are temporal, but the things which are not seen are eternal."

You see, Paul had the steadfastness, the endurance, the hypomonēs that was rooted in hope. And in light of the unseen world, everything Paul bore, everything he endured, he said, in the light of that is a momentary light affliction. Because in the light of that unseen world; weeping, wailing, gnashing of teeth, outer darkness, eternal hell, the torments of the damned, Paul was comparing his suffering to the sufferings of those who are strangers to the grace of God. And he says, in the light of that eternal world, the unseen world, anything that I have borne is a light affliction.

And then furthermore, in the light of what I shall know when I awake with His likeness and look upon my Savior and behold Him, this beaten, pain-inflicted body shall be released from all of the effects of sin. He said, it's just a light affliction, a drop in the ocean of the glory that is promised to me, that inheritance of the saints, that glorious inheritance of the saints.

He looks to that unseen world, and He looks at the glory that is to come. He looks at the world to come, and He looks at what He's been spared from. I've been spared from all of this: weeping and wailing and gnashing of teeth, the torments of the damned forever and ever. I've been spared of this. And I know whatever I endure here is just nothing compared to the torments of the damned, but also I look forward to that glorious inheritance of the saints.

Light affliction. What sustained Him in those present trials? He said in verse 18, “while we look,” was the gaze of His soul upon the world to come? It was His hope, His joyful, confident expectation as a Christian that sustained Him in the present trial. In Hebrews 11, we have this testimony born to the heroes of faith, of the faith. Hebrews 11 verses 13 and 14, we read those wonderful words: "All these died in faith without receiving the promises, but having seen them and having welcomed them from a distance and having confessed that they were strangers and exiles on the earth, for those who say such thing make it clear that they are seeking a country of their own." What country? What country? The world to come. The world to come, the inheritance of the saints. That was their confidence and joyful expectation.

So what did they bear here and now? What did they bear? What did they endure here and now? Well, read the 11th chapter of Hebrews. Let me remind us of what they endured. Some experienced mockings and floggings. Yes, also chains and imprisonment. Verse 36, verse 37, they were stoned. Now watch this, they were sawn into. They were tempted. They were put to death with a sword. They went about in sheepskins and goatskins, being destitute, afflicted, mistreated.

What in the world will make a man do this when all he needs to do is simply take the edge off of his witness and say, well, you know, Jesus Christ is the Savior, but you know, maybe not the only Savior. That's all he needs to do. Just take the edge off of the exclusiveness of his faith and confession of faith in Jesus Christ. All the roads, you know, as long as you're sincere. Why would men endure this? Only one reason: a joyful and confident expectation of that which was to come. It is, to use Paul's words, "working out for us an eternal weight of glory far beyond all comparison."

Beloved, if you and I haven't learned to feed upon the hope, the joyful, confident expectation of promised blessings, we will deny Him in the hour of trial. Are we too distracted with the here and now, beloved? Are we so preoccupied with this life here on earth? Maybe that's why the world to come isn't too precious to us. Maybe that's why that we can sing songs about heaven with dry eyes. That's why perhaps we can go weeks and months and not think of the glorious world to come for the saints.

Do we think about heaven? We don't think about heaven much, do we? Let me ask you, this is between you and God, how much have you thought about heaven this past week? How much have you fed your mind upon those promised blessings that will be yours when the Lord comes back and when you go and be with Him? That's the hope that should mark the believer, and what delighted the heart of the Apostle Paul was this, that these people had that hope, that hope as a living, active principle that gave birth to their endurance in the midst of hardship.

May I conclude this evening with a word of direction, just very briefly. Maybe you're sitting here tonight and you're thinking, Habib, I have to admit I don't have that hope like they have it. I have to admit it. I have to acknowledge when you asked that question during this past week, if you thought about heaven. No, I haven't. No, I haven't. The glorious inheritance of the saints, beholding His face one day, but preoccupied with things here. Stuff, the stuff of this life now, the here and now, and you know, bills, and houses, and cars, and health, and snow. It's been kind of hard for me to think about heaven. How can I have this hope that will give birth to endurance that these settled Thessalonians had?

May I be very practical, suggest a couple of things. First of all, here's how. Number one, by earnest prayer. By earnest prayer, ask God that He may give you eyes to see and a heart to understand that hope. Pray, ask the Lord that He may give you eyes to see and a heart to understand that hope. That's what Paul did for the new Christians in Ephesus. You remember, for he says in Ephesians 1, 17 and 18, "that the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of glory," — He says,— "I pray that He may give to you the spirit of wisdom and of revelation and the full knowledge of Him, so that, the eyes of your heart having been enlightened, will know what is the hope of His calling and what are the riches of the glory of His inheritance in the saints." Paul says, I plead with God that God by His Spirit would bring you, you people at Ephesus, to know experimentally the glorious hope of your calling.

If only you knew that to which God was calling you out there, if only you knew more and more, you will live so much better right here. Some may be thinking, well, but we've got to have social concern, right? Sure we have social concerns. A man's heart filled with love for Jesus and the love of Christ is concerned about the world that is now. But He who lives to the glory of God now is He who lives with the clearest vision and prospect of that which is to come. Biblical, true, vital, saving Christianity is vitally concerned with the world which is to come. And those who've served the present generation best have been those who've most lived with their eyes on the world to come.

But it's only as we pray that God opens our eyes that we know what is the hope of our calling that we should begin to understand. Will you pray this day that God may by His Spirit give to you the spirit of wisdom and revelation that you may know the hope of your calling, that the truth of that to which He's called you may burn like fire within your breast. Secondly, not only we must pray, but by diligent searching out of our hope. Diligent searching out of our hope. God has given us something that even the people at Thessaloniki didn't fully have at that time. The Old Testament contains a very few beautiful rays of light breaking through once in a while about the world to come, immortality, but the scripture says Jesus Christ has brought life and immortality to light through the gospel.

Job saw a glimmer in Job 19: 25 and 26. "As for me, I know that my Redeemer lives, and at the last He will rise up over the dust of this world. Even after my skin is destroyed, yet from my flesh I shall behold God." I know that my Redeemer lives. In latter days I'll be with Him. I will see Him. David said in Psalm 17:15, "As for me, I shall behold your face in righteousness. I will be satisfied with your likeness when I awake." But for the most part, death and the world to come was foggy, misty. There wasn't that clear revelation of the hope of the believer. We have it now with incredible clarity. Christ has brought it to light.

He said in John 14, verse 2 and 3, "In my Father's house are many dwelling places. If it were not so, I would have told you. For I go to prepare a place for you, and if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again and receive you to myself, that where I am, there you may be also." And all those wonderful statements in the book of Revelation, where God Himself shall wipe away tears from our eyes. He shall be with us. He shall be our God. But how often do we feed our souls upon that? It's no wonder that we're so earthbound, for we don't even diligently search out what is our hope.

Let us be found this day, beloved, this Lord's day. That's one of the benefits of the Lord's day. We've been so earthbound during the week, and much of it, I understand, is necessary. Dishes are here on earth. Doing the 40 hours a week to collect a paycheck, to buy groceries, that's an earthly task, and it's a legitimate one. And it honors God.

Now God gives us the Lord's day to get out of that routine and really refocus on Him and on the world to come. So let's take time to pray that we'll understand our hope. Let's take time to diligently search out what is our hope. And thirdly, let us engage in frequent meditation upon this hope. Frequent meditation to ponder this hope, to meditate upon it.

Paul said, "while we look not on the things that are seen, but the things that are unseen." He said, "I fix the gaze of my soul upon the world to come, on what awaits me, what is there for me ahead. I meditate upon that which is to be my portion." It says that those faithful saints in Hebrews 11, oh they looked for that city which had foundations. The gaze of their souls was upon the world to come and longed for the world to come. May I encourage you this day to make this, beloved, your spiritual exercise. Refresh your heart and your mind with what is our hope.

Now is there a word to you here this evening who are not savingly joined to Christ? There is, for the scripture says in Ephesians 2:12, all who are joined to Jesus Christ, well actually it says the opposite. Those who are not joined to Jesus Christ are what? "Without hope." They are without God, without hope. Oh they have lots of wishful desires. They say, well I hope I'll make it. God says they're without hope in the biblical sense.

You may say this evening, well I hope I'll make it, I hope. No, no, that's not biblical hope. You have no joyful, no confident expectation that you will be with Him. And unless by the grace of God you've been awakened to see your lostness, to see that your only hope of mercy is bound up in the person of Jesus, and that you've fled in repentance and faith, laid hold of Him as your only hope of access to a holy God, then and only then you can have a hope, not a hope based upon wishful thinking, but a confident expectation based upon the promises of God, the word of God.

And so I ask you as we close this evening, do you demonstrate this virtue, this steadfastness of hope? Do you find it difficult to bear up under difficult circumstances where the pressure, the heat is on? Well, when you get weak in endurance, it is because somehow we've grown weak in our hope. So the way you strengthen endurance, the way you strengthen your hypomonēs, is not to come directly at endurance and try to pump new strength into endurance. Beloved, you need to enlarge your hope. Enlarge hope. It was the steadfastness, the endurance, that flowed out of hope. And as the strength of our hope is, so the measure of our steadfastness, our endurance will be.

If Paul were writing the letter about you, about me, will He say how I thank my God for your work of faith, for your labor of love, and for your steadfastness of hope? May God grant this virtue shall be wrought in us by the same Spirit who worked it in the hearts of these young believers there at Thessaloniki.

This is a transcript. It may contain small inaccuracies.

Oliver Wendell Holmes once said this, "Bigotry is like the pupil of the eye. The more light you pour into it, the more it contracts." Webster's Dictionary defines a bigot as a person who is obstinately or intolerantly devoted to his or her own opinion and prejudices, obstinately devoted to my prejudices, my opinions, my ways, my prejudgments. I'm so devoted to it, I don't want more light. Obstinately devoted to my prejudices, my opinions, my ways, my judgments, my prejudgments. So much so, I am devoted to all of this that I don't want more light. I don't want it.

As the saying goes, don't confuse me with the facts. I don't want more truth. More truth, more facts might persuade me to change my mind. I don't want it. So bigotry closes and shrinks away from more light, shrinks away from more truth, so as to obstinately hold on to its views and not let go.

That's exactly what we see in our text with the leaders of first century Judaism. The Sanhedrin, you remember last time, believed that they had a problem. They were annoyed. We looked at the annoyance. They were annoyed with Jesus and what was taking place. So they thought they had a problem on their hands because from their vantage point, this man, this Nazarene was winning the day.

I mean His miracles, His signs that He was performing, I mean they were so powerful, so convincing. They could not be disputed. Many were believing in Him and so the fear was that the whole nation would believe in Him. And as a result, life as they knew it under Rome would be lost forever. This is what they were talking about in the council, the Sanhedrin. This is what they were discussing. What are we going to do? What are we doing? Verse 47: "For this man is doing many signs. If we let Him go on like this, all will believe in Him, and the Romans will come and take away both our place and our nation."

Well, there was a man present in their midst, in that council, the Sanhedrin, who believed that he had the answer. So we move from the annoyance to the answer. And that man was the high priest that year. His name was Caiaphas. And though he was thoroughly wicked, we're going to see today that he was unwittingly used as a mouthpiece by God to proclaim the truth of God, the truth concerning the gospel. This is really incredible.

Let's look at verse 49. Let's learn something about this man, this priest, this high priest. "But one of them, Caiaphas, who was high priest that year, said to them, 'You know nothing at all, nor do you take into account that it is better for you that one man should die for the people and that the whole nation not perish.' Now he did not say this from himself, but being high priest that year, he prophesied that Jesus was going to die for the nation, and not for the nation only, but in order that He might also gather together into one the children of God who are scattered abroad."

Now you will notice verse 49 begins this way, one of them, “But one of them, Caiaphas”. One of them. Now that seems to be a strange way to refer to the high priest, also known as the great priest. Just one of them. I think the explanation may be that even though he was the high priest that year, there was another man. There was another man, his father-in-law, a man by the name of Annas, who was still really holding sway, still held a lot of influence in this council.

And by the way, the word high priest, that title high priest, ‘archiereus’, is a compound word. ‘Archi’, first in a series, the leader or ruler, the idea of rank, degree, and then ‘ereus’ refers to priest, refers to the priest that was chief over all the other priests in Israel. Now what is interesting is originally according to Numbers 35, you will see that it seems to be that the high priest was to serve for life. But by this time, it was not uncommon for a high priest to be removed from the office and replaced by another, another person appointed, another man.

Well, the Romans, in fact, did this very often. They used it like a political office, and if they felt that one man was becoming too powerful, a little bit too dangerous, they would remove him and they would replace him by another man, replace into that office. In fact, when you read here in the New Testament of the chief priests, these chief priests, when you come across that in reading the scripture, they were former high priests that were simply removed and replaced. Even though the Romans appointed Caiaphas, by the way, he was in this office longer than most, he was appointed in 18 AD and held the office until 36 AD. That's a long stretch, considering the circumstances.

Now we'll talk about that more in a moment. And I think it speaks to the fact that he was a cunning man. He was devious and he knew the art of survival. But it seems that Annas may have been serving as the president of the Sanhedrin, because even in John's Gospel you see that Annas seems to have a lead role at that time. Annas also was a vile high priest that preceded him, and he was still living, and actually you can really say that he was really the power behind the throne, as it were.

He appears in the Gospels. Annas had five sons who were high priests and also had a son-in-law who was a high priest, and that was this man Caiaphas. He was the son-in-law of Annas. Look over, in fact, to John chapter 18 for a moment. Look at what it says in verse 12. And this is, keep in mind, this is just after the Lord Jesus is arrested. In verse 12 we read, "So the Roman cohort and the commander and the officers of the Jews, arrested Jesus and bound Him," – now watch this, – "and led Him to Annas first." They led Him to Annas first, for He was father-in-law of Caiaphas, who was high priest that year. Now Caiaphas was the one who advised the Jews that it was better for one man to die on behalf of the people.

So Jesus is led to Annas first. Now look down at verse 24. "So Annas sent Him bound to Caiaphas, the high priest." So He's taken first to Annas, and then when you go to the book of Acts, Acts chapter 4, this is after, of course, the ascension of the Lord Jesus Christ. Acts chapter 4, turn there for a moment. This is the early stages of the church, and Peter and John brought before the Sanhedrin, the council, in Acts chapter 4, look at verse 1. "Now as they were speaking to the people, the priests and the captain of the temple guard and the Sadducees came up to them, being greatly agitated because they were teaching the people and proclaiming in Jesus the resurrection from the dead. And they laid hands on them and put them in jail until the next day, for it was already evening. But many of those who had heard the message believed, and the number of the men came to be about five thousand”.

Verse 5. "Now it happened that on the next day, their rulers and elders and scribes were gathered together in Jerusalem." Now notice, "and Annas the high priest was there, and Caiaphas and John and Alexander, and all who were of high priestly descent. And when they had placed them in their midst, they began to inquire "By what power, or in what name, have you done this?" And on the account goes. But you will notice here, Annas is mentioned first. And that tells you something about his prominence, his influence, and his power. So again, he retains a measure of power, even though he's not the high priest that year, but nonetheless, Caiaphas is the one who held that office that year, John tells us, that year, particularly John 11:49.

When he says that year, that is the year of our Lord's passion, the year of our Lord's death. So he's in this position of leadership, he's the high priest, he was a cunning man, he was a ruthless man, and he was a hypocrite as well. Go over to Matthew 26, and you get some insight into this man, Caiaphas, insight into his character, what he was like. Matthew 26 sheds light on his character. Verse 57, "Now those who had seized Jesus led Him away to Caiaphas, the high priest, where the scribes and the elders were gathered together. But Peter was following Him at a distance as far as the courtyard of the high priest, and entered in, and sat down with the officers to see the outcome. Now the chief priests and the whole Sanhedrin kept trying to obtain false testimony against Jesus, so that they might put Him to death."

Now, just stop for a second and let that sink in. Let that sink in. What are they seeking? False testimony! They're actually seeking false testimony against Jesus. They're seeking anything they can find in order that they may put Him to death. But they found none. So they're seeking false testimony.

Verse 60, "And they did not find any, even though many false witnesses came forward. But later on two of them came forward, and said, “This man stated, ‘I am able to destroy the sanctuary of God and to rebuild it in three days.” And the high priest said to Him, “Do you not answer? What are these men testifying against You?” But Jesus kept silent. And the high priest said to Him, “I put You under oath by the living God, that You tell us whether You are the Christ, the Son of God." Jesus said to him, "You yourself said it; nevertheless I tell you, hereafter you will see the Son of Man sitting at the right hand of power coming on the clouds of heaven." Then the high priest tore his garments and said, "He has blasphemed! What further need do we have of witnesses? Behold, you have now heard the blasphemy, what do you think?" They answered and said, "He deserves death." Then they spat in His face and beat Him with their fists; and others slapped Him, and said, "Prophesy to us, O Christ; who is the one who hit You?"

Now, realize a couple of things. First of all, the death sentence against Jesus was pronounced when? In John 11. Now keep that in mind. The council gathered together and Caiaphas, as we're going to see in a moment, and what did they say? Well, this man has to die. He has to die. And they begin to make plans to put Jesus to death. So you have these trials. These trials they go through were what? Mockery. They were a mockery. They weren't real in any way. They weren't genuine. They weren't legitimate. The verdict was already predetermined. So that's hypocrisy.

In addition to that, they're seeking false testimony against Jesus. They don't care whether or not they're true. It doesn't matter. They just want something so that they can put on Him so that they can actually justify their decision that they already made to kill Him. And so that's hypocrisy, which means they're wanting to hear something. They're wanting to hear something that would lead to the death of Jesus. And yet this man, this high priest, when he finally hears something that he thinks gives him a reason to give death to Jesus, when he finally hears it, he acts like he's troubled by it. Can you believe it? I mean, look at the hypocrisy. He tears his robes and he says, Oh, we've heard blasphemy. As if he can't stand to hear it. When what he's hearing is the exact thing he wanted to hear and seeking to hear, that's what? Hypocrisy. Ugly, sickening hypocrisy.

This man, the way that he survived with Rome as long as he did, that tells you how. He's a liar. He's a hypocrite. He's a killer. He's ruthless. And you're going to see that in just a moment in his words. So he's a wicked, wicked man.

Back to John 11. This is the man we're about to listen to, Caiaphas. Now, what does he say? Well, we read a moment ago, but let's go back to it again. First of all, after listening to the going back and forth in the council, verse 49, “Caiaphas, who was high priest that year, said to them, "You know nothing at all." Now, as we're going to see in a moment, part of what he says, I need to maintain the two hand in hand. Part of what he says, he's responsible for 100%. Part of what he says, the part that is prophecy, the part that is really the proclamation of the gospel, God is responsible for.

So let's pay attention to what he's responsible for. The first thing you notice concerning his words, you notice these are proud words. They're proud words coming out of Caiaphas' mouth. "You know nothing at all." This is how he begins his speech. "You know nothing at all." Basically, he's saying, you all can just shut your mouth. "You know nothing at all, because you don't know anything. You're ignorant. You're absolutely ignorant." That's what he's saying. If you're done expressing your mind, you can all now just be quiet, because I have here what we need to clear this whole mess up. I have the answer. I have the answer.

Kent Hughes paraphrases Caiaphas this way, roughly translated, he was saying, "you fools, if you had any intelligence at all, you would see that the answer is very simple. It is better that one die rather than a whole nation. He was a cold, calculating, capable, self-sufficient, shrewd, self-satisfied, ecclesiastical climber.” Proud man.

And by the way, this isn't out of the ordinary. This is how the Sadducees dealt with one another. Josephus, a Jewish historian, talked about the behavior of the Sadducees. Now, you have to bear in mind, Josephus was a Pharisee, so maybe it colored his view a little bit, but here's what he writes in The Wars of the Jews, "the behavior of the Sadducees, one toward another, is in some degree wild, and their conduct with those who have their own party is as barbarous as if they were strangers to them. So they treat each other roughly and rudely, and you see this come out in this man's character, you know nothing at all.” Proud words.

But you know it doesn't stop with pride. They're also hypocritical words. They're hypocritical words. Verse 50, "nor do you take into account that it is better for you that one man should die for the people, and that the whole nation not perish." That is, he puts forward his death plan in the name of what? The greater good. He puts it forward in the name of the nation. He pretends to be a patriot. He says, in fact, you know what? It doesn't matter if a man is innocent or not. It doesn't matter if we have anything real to charge him with or not. It doesn't matter whether he's performed powerful signs or not. Don't you understand? Apparently he felt like they were being somewhat hesitant about what needs to be done. Don't you understand? It is better that one man dies, no matter how innocent he may be, than for the whole nation to perish.

So he puts forward his argument this way. Either Jesus dies or the nation perishes. And he doesn't present any other option. Either Jesus dies or the nation perishes. Now, nothing from a natural point of view could have been further from the truth. There was another option. There was another option. There was a third option. You know what that is? They could repent. They could repent. They could acknowledge Jesus as the Messiah, trust God to take care of them when it came to the Romans. But that wasn't on the table. No. That wasn't about patriotism either, no matter what he says, and you know that as you understand this man's character, you get to see that this was purely selfish. This was about position. This was about position. This was a personal position which they felt was being threatened.

In fact, the discussion prior to what he says captures really what's in all of their hearts. “the Romans," – verse 48, – "will come and take away both our place and our nation." We may lose our influence. We may lose our place, our position. And so when he puts it in these terms, what he's doing is he's putting the face of nobility on what was just purely wicked. And not only does he try to make himself look better in the way he puts it, but you can see how this would be attractive to the rest who want to do the very thing that he's saying, but they also want to believe that somehow they are religious and they are God-honoring. And so they accept these words.

This puts on a good front for them too. Easy on their ears. Yeah, that's right. We're patriots. This is the point. This is the right thing to do for the nation. This is the right thing for our people, even though it's not the nation or the people in their hearts, but rather it's purely themselves.

Don't people do this today, beloved? Don't they do this today? Don't they reject Jesus with the most hypocritical lying words? They say, well, here's the reason why I'm not a Christian. Here's the reason why I reject the gospel. Here's the reason why I don't believe. And no matter what they're saying, it's not really the case. The fact is they have their little kingdom and they don't want it to be disrupted. They don't want it to be disrupted because they love their darling sin and they don't want to let it go. And they would rather hold on to their sin and lose their soul than to let go of their darling sin and have life. Things haven't changed. This is just sinful humanity. This is the wickedness of man. And this is what you see here on display. So they're proud words. They're hypocritical words.

They're also ignorant and self-destructive words. Ignorant and self-destructive words. Do you not understand? "It is better for you that one man should die for the people” not that the whole nation should perish. You see, if we get rid of Him, we won't have trouble with the Romans, with the Romans. All will be fine. If we get rid of Him, the nation won't perish.

John wrote this. God gave this to the apostle John. He wrote this after the destruction of Jerusalem. So He records this. The Holy Spirit has recorded this, and this is the height of irony. I mean, He chose the foolishness of this council that they thought that they would preserve themselves by putting Jesus, the King of Glory, to death, and yet the truth is they lost their place and they lost their nation, their freedom that they were enjoying. They lost all of that in 70 AD. The Romans seized Jerusalem. The temple was destroyed. They lost their place after they crucified the Son of God.

They were ignorant words. They weren't true from the point of view that Caiaphas spoke. He was wrong, dead wrong. How proud Caiaphas is, but how foolish. How certain he is, but how wrong. How strong he imagines himself to be, and yet he doesn'tnknow that even as he's speaking out these strong, arrogant words, "You all know nothing”. Listen to me even as he speaks like this, he doesn't know. He doesn't know it, but is being held as if by a thread in the hand of the sovereign God. As Jonathan Edwards presented the picture, “if God just lets go, he falls into hell, and yet he feels so strong and so confident.”

How influential Caiaphas is. Man, he's influential. I mean, people listen to him, but it's the blind leading the blind, and they both fall where? Into the ditch. And there are people today who reject the gospel, and how proud they are as they reject the gospel, and how certain they are that they are right, and how strong they imagine themselves to be, and how influential they are with others around them. And sometimes they're very bright people, and they have great training, and so they're intimidating if you're actually debating them or talking to them, and they are great at debating, and you would think they win the argument, they win the day, and they don't know. They don't know. But though they win an argument in their minds at least, they don't know they're going to lose their soul forever.

This is what this man is responsible for. These wicked, proud, hypocritical, ignorant, self-destructive words. But, there's a wonderful but. But in the midst of these wicked words coming from this wicked man and from his wicked heart, there was something God was doing. What a powerful God we have! They were pregnant words. Pregnant with meaning that Caiaphas himself was completely unaware of.

Do you notice how the Holy Spirit says it to us in verse 51? This is John's commentary on it under the superintending power of the Holy Spirit. "Now he did not say this from himself." See that? What does that mean, he did not say this from himself? Did he want to say what he said? Yes. Yes, he wanted to. That's not what he means. That somehow Caiaphas didn't want to utter the words that he uttered. No, no. Caiaphas is reasoning, he's thinking, speaking out of his own heart. But God guided him in such a way that the word that he chose expressed truth that he wasn't aware of. What he said had a wicked meaning from his vantage point, but what he said revealed truth from Heaven's vantage point.

Someone as well said, We not only have the gospels of Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John, we have the gospels of Christ's enemies. Because on more than one occasion you see where the enemies of Christ expressed profound truth that they weren't aware of. They were saying what they meant, they just didn't understand the full meaning of what they were saying. And this is, this is our amazing God. And this is one of the ways that God glorifies Himself, isn't it? This is one of the ways that God shows His mightiness, His wisdom, His sovereignty, His power.

There is a throne room in Heaven. And there is a throne in Heaven. And that throne is not vacant in Heaven. There's one who is seated on that throne. And He is sovereign. And He's unfolding the circumstances and decisions and details with precision towards an end in view, His goal. This is one of the ways that God demonstrates mankind's absolute need for God, and for the Savior, and for reconciliation. Because He demonstrates how foolish we are, and how in control, how sovereign He is. God will so glorify His Son that even the enemies of Christ will be used by God to unwittingly pay tribute to His Son.

Even when they don't wish to glorify the Son, they do. They do. In Matthew 27, just give you an example of this. Matthew 27. Look with me there. Verse 41. Matthew 27:41, “In the same way the chief priests also, along with the scribes and elders,” – now as our Lord is hanging on the cross, this is unfolding, –”the chief priests also, along with the scribes and elders, were mocking Him and saying, "He saved others; He cannot save Himself. He is the King of Israel. Let Him now come down from the cross and we will believe in Him."

Did you hear what they said? He saved others! I mean they're saying it in a mocking way, but indeed He did. Indeed He had. As they mock Him, they acknowledge the truth about Him. He saved others. And even as He's hanging on Calvary's cross, what is He doing on the cross? He's saving others. He's saving others. What a glorious thing to cast in, in someone's direction. He saved others. Yes He did!

And in chapter 19, look over there for a moment of John. You see another example of His enemies unwittingly giving Him praise. John 19:16, “So He then delivered Him over to them to be crucified. They took Jesus, therefore He went out, bearing His own cross, to the place called the Place of a Skull, which is called in Hebrew, Golgotha. There they crucified Him, and with Him two other men, one on either side, and Jesus in between. And Pilate also wrote an inscription and put it on the cross. It was written, "Jesus the Nazarene, the King of the Jews." Therefore many of the Jews read this inscription, for the place where Jesus was crucified was near the city; and it was written in Hebrew, Latin and Greek. So the chief priests of the Jews were saying to Pilate, "Do not write ‘The King of the Jews’, but that He said, ‘I am the King of the Jews’." Pilate answered, "What I have written, I have written."

And so for there for all the world to see, three languages. What did it say on the cross? The King of the Jews. Indeed He is. And Pilate was used by God to pay this tribute to Him. Back to John 11. The Bible says now, verse 51, “Now He did not say this from himself.” That is, the Lord was at work. The Lord was at work overruling in such a way that though He was expressing His wickedness, yet He was paying tribute to the gospel. What an awesome God we have.

It ought to settle your heart, even with all that is currently transpiring in the Middle East, to settle your heart, God is in control. God is sovereign. The Lord is at work. Notice what else it says. “Now he did not say this from himself”. – verse 51, – “but being high priest that year, he prophesied that Jesus was going to die for the nation.” That is, even though this man was unsaved, God used the office to declare His truth concerning His Son. This man is the high priest. So God used the man in that office to give forth this word of prophecy. Here's a man who doesn't know God, but is being used by God, nevertheless. He's a man who doesn't deserve to be in the office that God ordained, yet God is using the office.

What Pastor MacArthur writes here is really helpful. He explains that Caiaphas, "did not say this on his own initiative. It does not mean that he was forced to act against his will. He was no puppet. He was responsible for his own wicked words, but God providentially invested those words with a meaning that he did not intend. In his capacity as high priest, and hence technically by office, God's spokesman, God ordained an opposite meaning when Caiaphas prophesied that Jesus was going to die for the nation. He spoke cynical words of political expediency, claiming that Jesus must die to preserve the Sanhedrin's power and the nation's existence. However, Caiaphas unwittingly spoke prophetically of Christ's sacrificial death," – and I love this last part, – "God sovereignly turned his wicked blasphemous words into truth,"

Caiaphas thought he was saying, listen, we've got to sacrifice this one man, Jesus, in order that we all not go under and lose our privileges. That's what he thought, but he was unconsciously summarizing the gospel. One man should die for the people, that the whole nation should not perish. He was unconsciously telling us things that the scriptures tell us with a different sense.

You know there are people who prophesy in the name of the Lord, and who make true prophecies even though they themselves may not believe them. The Lord Jesus speaks about those who prophesy in His name. He will say to them, "I never knew you," Matthew 7, "depart from Me, you who practice lawlessness."

That raises a question at this point for us, by way of implication. How do you want to be used? How do you want to be used? Do we realize that ultimately, when it's all said and done, every human being ever made will in some way be used to tell the truth about God? Do you understand that? Let that sink in. Every single human being ever made will in some way be used to tell the truth about God. Every human being, one day, those who are in hell will be used by God to demonstrate the justice of God, the righteous wrath of God, the holiness of God. We're all going to be used to tell the truth about God. The question is, how do you want to be used?

I thought about this as a servant of Christ, and what a miserable thing it would be to be used by God, to see others come to faith in Christ, and be someone who himself did not know Christ. Wouldn't it be horrible to preach to others and to see others saved and to see others brought into the joy of knowing Christ, others brought into the family, the kingdom of Christ, and yet you yourself not know Him? What a horrible thing.

You, no doubt, have shared the gospel with someone. Those of you who claim to know Christ, you share the gospel, but the question is, have you experienced the gospel? Many years ago, I had someone who asked if they could bring their friend to meet with me so that they could share the gospel with them, and I remember sitting in that coffee shop and sharing the gospel with that individual, that friend, that day. And that friend walked away, but guess what? The person who brought the friend came to saving faith, having heard the gospel.

Have you experienced the gospel? You told someone else about Christ, but do you know Christ? How do you want to be used? I want to be used while loving Him. I want to be used while belonging to Him. I want to be used in a way where I'm willing with my whole heart to serve Him, and I hope that's what you would want, too, as well. Listen, I'd much rather not be a servant of Christ and be a Christian than to be a servant of Christ and not be a Christian. I want to declare the truth of the one whom I love, I know, I serve.

And here's a man, he's in an office, and he's being used, but he doesn't even know God. And what does he say? He tells us why Christ would die. This is the prophecy. Look at it. Verse 51: "Now he did not say this from himself, but being high priest that year, he prophesied that Jesus was going to die for the nation, and not for the nation only, but in order that He might also gather together into one the children of God who are scattered abroad." Why was Jesus going to die? He was going to die so that others would not perish. He was going to die not only for the children of God who belong to the nation of Israel, but for the children of God who did not belong to the nation of Israel, those scattered abroad, talking about Gentiles, Jews and Gentiles.

It was fitting the call to worship portion from scripture. Back in chapter 10:16, remember the Lord Jesus said, "I have other sheep, which are not from this fold; I must bring them also, and they will hear My voice: and they will become one flock with one shepherd." That's included too. The Lord Jesus shall die and also as a result of His death, the children of God who are scattered abroad now shall be gathered together into the family of God. So He's dying for those within Israel. He's dying for those children of God outside of Israel and He's going to die a vicarious death and that is found in this prophecy as well.

That is for the people. That little word for the people. The people. This is what Caiaphas said. Do you not understand? It's better for you that one man die for the people in their place, in their stead. It's how Jesus died. That's why Jesus died. In our place. In our stead. It was a substitutionary death.

I love what S. Lewis Johnson said at this point. He writes, "Well that one man should die for the people, the whole nation should perish not, is to summarize, Caiaphas preaches elimination, but God preaches substitution.” – I love that. He says, “we will eliminate Him in order that we may have our privileges. God says, Yes, the language is the same, but the real meaning is He dies as a substitute. Caiaphas says, Substitute Jesus in order that the nation may live. God says, Substitute Jesus as the sacrifice that men who believe in Him may justly have eternal life because the Lord Jesus pays the penalty for their sins,"

That's what we celebrate today, beloved. Jesus died so that you and I wouldn't. Not only He was going to die a vicarious death, but He was going to die a particular death, a particular death for the children of God. Did you notice how that's put? Who's He dying for? For the children of God who are scattered abroad. They are not yet children of God, and yet in the heart of God they are destined for salvation. And in that sense they are children of God. Same sense in which Jesus said, "I have other sheep, not others fold, and I must bring them also, and they're going to be one fold with one shepherd." Same meaning. Not yet a believer, not yet in the family, yet in the heart and the mind of Almighty God. It has already been planned, settled, and Christ is dying for those who will be saved.

This is particular redemption. This is definite atonement. This is actual atonement. It's not really us who have the limited atonement. It is really the Armenian who has the limited atonement, because we say all those for whom Christ died will certainly absolutely be saved. No limitation in its power, no limitation in its efficacy, no limitation in its saving ability. Those for whom Christ died will be in heaven. Period. Paragraph.

Others would have us believe that Christ died in a general sort of death just hoping that someone would take advantage of it, and so you have millions and millions of souls for whom Christ died according to them, yet they're going to be in hell one day. As Spurgeon once said,"Well they can have their atonement. I don't want any part of it. I believe that the death of Jesus secured the salvation of all those for whom He died. Period."

Isaiah 53:8. You see the scripture, plethora of scripture. Verse 8: "By oppression and judgment He was taken away; And asked for His generation, who considered That He was cut off out of the land of the living, That for the transgression of my people, striking was due to Him?" In Matthew 1:21, "she will bear a Son; and you shall call His name Jesus, for He will save His people from their sins." Matthew 20:28, "just as a Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give His life a ransom for many.” For many. John 10:11, "I am the good shepherd; the good shepherd lays down His life” – for who? –  “for the sheep."

Ephesians 5:25, "Husbands, love your wives, just as Christ also loved the church and gave Himself up for her." The church. Titus 2:14, "who gave Himself for us that He might redeem us from all lawlessness, and purify for Himself a people for His own possession, zealous for good works." He gave His life for us, for the church, for those who know Him. He gave His life so that He might purify for Himself a people for His own possession.

And of course Hebrews 2:10: "For it was fitting for Him, for whom are all things, and through whom are all things, in bringing many sons to glory, to perfect the author of their salvation through sufferings. For both He who sanctifies and those who are being sanctified are all of On; for which reason He is not ashamed." – Now watch this. – "to call them brothers saying, I will recount Your name to My brothers in the midst of the assembly I will sing Your praise. And again” –  verse 13, – "I will put My trust in Him. And again" and I love this, "Behold, I and the children whom God has given Me." Christ is declaring, "I and the children whom God has given Me." For His brothers, for the children of God, for those that He brought to glory. He brings many sons to glory and He appears before the Father and He says, "Behold I and the children whom God has given Me." He dies for them. He saves them by His own death. He redeems them. He purchases them. He sets them free.

Caiaphas didn't know what he was saying but that's what he said. “Now he did not say this from himself,” – verse 51 in John 11 – “but being high priest that year, he prophesied that Jesus was going to die for the nation, and not for the nation only but in order that He might also gather together into one the children of God who are scattered abroad.”

And then God's word says, verse 53, John 11: "So from that day on they planned together to kill Him." And as we read further, we see that the word was put out: If you know where He is, you gotta let us know. We're gonna arrest Him. You gotta tell us. And Jesus retreated until He would make His entry into Jerusalem.

And He retreats because He would give Himself voluntarily at the time appointed by the Father, which leads us now to the aftermath. Back to John 11. The aftermath. Verses 53 to 57. Now the Sanhedrin makes active plans to catch and kill Jesus. In fact, Matthew 26:4 puts it this way: "and they plotted together to seize Jesus by stealth and kill Him." You know what I find really amazing? Think about this. A resurrected Lazarus led to a crucified Jesus. Stunning.

Jesus then made sure that He was not walking in plain sight. He takes refuge in a nearby city, Ephraim. But here's the problem. It's Passover again. It's Passover again. And by the way, this is the third Passover in the Gospel of John. Remember the first? He cleansed the temple in chapter 2. The second, He feeds 5,000, chapter 6. And this is the third Passover. This is why we know Jesus' ministry was at least three years.

Passover requires men to come up to Jerusalem, you remember. So what's Jesus going to do? And you got all this speculation. Speculation is rife and is He going to come up? Will He avoid it? He has to come to obey the law of Moses. But if He does come, He's walking into a trap. Verse 57 puts it plainly: "Now the chief priests and the Pharisees had given orders that if anyone knew where He was, he was to report it, so that they might seize Him."

But you know what? We've seen this before, right? You remember? It wouldn't happen a moment before God sovereignly or God's sovereignty decreed it. Not even one moment. When it was the exact moment, the right time, God used the stubborn unbelief of the Sanhedrin to put Jesus on the cross.

And that's why in Acts chapter 2, Peter looks at the people in Jerusalem who had consented to the crucifixion of Jesus and he says this to them in Acts 2 verse 22 and 23: "just as you yourselves know– this Man, delivered over” – now watch the language – “by the predetermined plan and foreknowledge of God, you nailed to a cross by the hands of lawless men and put Him to death." Sovereignty and unbelief.

And here as we see their plot, we see that the ways that sinful nature, wicked sinful nature, tries to sustain its unbelief. The Sanhedrin have decided Jesus is a threat regardless of whether He's the Messiah. So they set up a system to eliminate Him, to make sure they get rid of Him. Stubborn unbelief finds a way to maintain its unbelief.

Maybe you're sitting here this morning and you think, well, those were terrible, terrible people, weren't they? Well, let me tell you, they were terrible people, but let me tell you something. It's not something in the past, beloved. It's not something in the past. Think about the human heart. It does the same thing today. It does.

Remember Romans 1:18? It says people “suppress the truth in unrighteousness”. Now think about that. They actually actively suppress the truth in unrighteousness. That's the language of what? Censorship. Censorship. People make sure the truth doesn't get out and annoy them again. Remember too much light in the eye?

So what do we do? Want to make sure the truth doesn't get out and annoy us again, they think. So what do they do? We create ways of life that pretend God is not there. That we're not sinners. That Jesus really never came. Large-scale systems that include our educational systems from preschool up to university to adult education, our whole entertainment industry, our media, our journalism, much of our law today is going in this direction. Our political systems, our scientific establishments, they sustain unbelief and they eliminate God.  They make sure: don't mention God, don't refer to Him, don't pray to Him, don't expect Him, don't worship Him.

Why? Because we despise, we attack, and we want to maintain our independence, our autonomy. It's that self-interest that aggravates unbelief, and we will not have this man to reign over us, and we will not let Him take our place. And if you live in that system from the earliest age, that God does seem unreal, far away, mythical, harmless, but beloved, this unbelief is not something that God is unable to deal with. It's not some separate story that God is not writing. It's part of His story. Oh, it is, it is part of His story.

Every story needs protagonists and antagonists, good and bad, and antagonists, good guys, bad guys, heroes, villains. And so if you choose to continue down that path of unbelief, you become by your own stubborn choice the official opposition. To who? How absurd for a puny, tiny creature of the dust to oppose Almighty God.

Remember Psalm 2? Turn with me there as we conclude. We'll wrap up with this. Psalm 2, the very first verse is talking about this ridiculous posture of unbelief. "Why do the nation's rage and the people's meditate on a vain thing?" It's a vain, it's a vain and empty thing. Really, it's a vain, empty thing to oppose God. It says, "The kings of the earth take their stand And the rulers take counsel together” – just like the Sanhedrin, right? – “Against Yahweh and against His anointed, saying, “Let us tear their fetters apart And cast away their cords from us!" We don't want them to rule over us. We don't want them to rule us. They plot, they scheme the self-interest of men.

But here, the next, next verses in Psalm 2, here comes the sovereignty of God, the absolute sovereignty of God that accomplishes His will, no matter what. "He who sits in the heavens laughs. The Lord mocks them. Then He speaks to them in His anger, And terrifies them in His fury, saying, “But as for Me, I have installed My King Upon Zion, My holy mountain." – I am doing what I want. And no one can stop it. God will triumph. And He says this to His son, in spite of all this plotting, He says to the Messiah, verse 8, "Ask of Me, and I will surely give the nations as Your inheritance, And the ends of the earth as your possession. You shall break them with a rod of iron, You shall shatter them like a potter's vessel."

So with all of that ridiculous unbelief and opposition, and with that sovereignty of God on display, what does the psalmist advise us? Look at verse 10. "So now, O kings, show insight; Take warning, O judges of the earth. Serve Yahweh with fear And rejoice with trembling. Kiss the Son, lest He becomes angry, and you perish in the way, For His wrath may soon be kindled. How blessed are all who take refuge in Him." In other words, believe in Him while you have opportunity, before it's too late. Give Him His place. Let Him take your place.

Don't fear that when He takes His place as Lord over your life, that it will be a bad thing or a negative thing, because we read in scripture His yoke is what? It's easy. And His burden is light. It will only, listen, it will only remove from your heart that which should have never been there in the first place. A corrupt nature usurping God's place, saying we will not have Him to reign over us. Unbelievable unbelief, driven by selfish stubbornness. But there is a staggering sovereignty offering you today life and peace.

A.W. Tozer said it well when he said this, "unbelief will destroy the best of us, but faith will save the worst of us."

 I want to finish this morning by asking you this, did Jesus die for you? Did He die for you? This is one of the real problems that people have with the idea of particular redemption, redemption or actual atonement. They say well we can't go to the world and proclaim Christ's death if He didn't die for everyone, but you know what's interesting is that when you see the preaching of the gospel in the New Testament, you don't find the Apostles and the disciples preaching Jesus died for you. You just find them preaching Christ died for sinners and He was raised from the dead and if you will repent of your sins and trust in Christ, you will be saved.

So here's the answer to the question of did Christ die for you? Here's the answer, do you want Him? Do you want Him? Are you willing to repent of your sins and run to Him in faith and trust in Him as your Lord and your Savior, giving Him your life? And if that is your desire, I've got news, good news for you, He died for you. He died for you. But if you don't want Him, why do you care? Why do you care? Why do you complain? If you don't want Him anyway, what, what does it matter? You don't have any great interest in His death anyway.

Anyone who wants Christ genuinely, wants the Lord Jesus, know this, you will not be refused. That's the good news of the gospel. That's the gospel that we proclaim. Whosoever will may come. And once you've come, you will realize He loved you before you were ever born and He gave Himself to save you from your sins. That's good news. So come to Him. Delay no more. This is the day of opportunity. His arms are wide open. Resist no more. Postpone no more. Rationalize no more. Give yourself to Him. Repent and turn to Him and be saved. And He will receive you. And He will forgive your sins. And He will embrace you as one of His own. And He will make you part of His family.

This is a transcript. It may contain small inaccuracies.

It's really amazing, it's an amazing thing, how two human beings, both blessed with the ability to think, both blessed with the ability to reason, to contemplate, can be presented with the exact same information, the exact same situation, the exact same evidence. If a case is being made, they hear the exact same arguments, and yet these two people who are both blessed with the ability to think and to reason can come to completely, completely different conclusions. We see that around us every day, don't we? It happens every day—human beings exposed to the same information yet come to two different conclusions, opposite conclusions.

Think about all that's debated in our culture. People debate politics, they debate issues that are mentioned in the news about this and that and the other, and they talk about court decisions and what they think is right and what they think is wrong. They debate things that are important, they debate things that are completely unimportant, trivial. And what's often startling when you pay attention to these debates is the ability that people have to only accept the information that seems to agree with the position that they already hold.

How often it is that they come to a situation, they've already had a conclusion in their mind, and so the information that seems to accord with what they already believe—well, they accept that. They hold on to that. How often it is that they come to a situation and do exactly the same thing. And how easy it is for human beings to just sweep away the information that would expose their wrong thinking or that could lead them to a different conclusion. And that's something, beloved, that belongs to sinful human nature.

Do we realize today that only God can give an honest heart? Only God can give an honest heart. Do you realize that only God can give someone a heart that really wants the truth? And wants the truth in a way that we could describe as desperate—a desperate desire for the truth. That is, no matter what it means for me, no matter what I have to repent of, no matter what I have to recant, no matter how it would expose me and make evident that I thought wrongly about something, all that I want is God. All that I want is the truth. I just want the truth. That kind of desperate. Only God, only God can produce that in a human soul.

Because what has happened as a result of the fall in Genesis 3 is that we don't have an honest heart. We don't. We don't have an honest heart. "The heart is deceitful, above all else is desperately wicked. Who can understand it?" He does. Men are not born with honest hearts. In fact, men are born with a hopeless bias against light, against the truth. When you talk about spiritual truth especially, understand it. When it comes to the natural man, to man as he's born in Adam, what is right is objectionable to him. What is wrong is pleasurable to him.

In the language of Isaiah, right is wrong and wrong is right and sweet is bitter and bitter is sweet. Everything is upside down, everything is inverted. And so he takes all the spiritual evidence—man in his fallenness, in his Adamic nature—and he sees it all through the prism of a heart that doesn't want the truth. We've seen that before in the Gospel of John, didn't we? John chapter 3 verse 19 puts it this way: "And this is the judgment, that the Light has come into the world, and men loved the darkness rather than the Light, for their deeds were evil. And everyone who does evil hates the Light and does not come to the Light, lest his deeds be exposed." A hopeless bias against the Light, against the truth, and all the information is sifted through this heart and through this mind that doesn't want to see the truth—a dishonest heart, a biased heart.

I bring this up this morning because we see an example of this right here in this chapter. We see the actions of Jesus, we see the attitudes of Jesus, we hear the words of Jesus, and we're going to even see Him raise Lazarus from the dead. And you have a group of people, all of whom are exposed to the same actions, the same attitudes, the same words, and the same miraculous deed. Yet what you will see in this chapter is emerging two conflicting perspectives. Some have faith, others do not. Some believe, others do not. Some, at the end of the day, are going to believe on the Lord Jesus Christ; others are going to leave the scene and tell on Him, report it to the Pharisees. Same information, same evidence, but two completely different, starkly different conclusions. And the way you explain the difference in conclusion is the condition of the heart, the condition of the mind.

We'll see that this morning and next week, Lord willing. But where I want us to begin this morning, I want us to begin with the indignation of Christ to set the context. The indignation of Christ (point number one), the indignation of Christ. And I want us to return to something that was mentioned last Lord's Day because we need to be clear on this, or else we will not rightly interpret the Scripture here, this text. Back in verse 33, when it says that Jesus was deeply moved: "When Jesus therefore saw her crying, and the Jews who came with her also crying," here it is, "He was deeply moved in spirit and was troubled."

There's a Greek word translated "deeply moved," and we have to figure out what it means. I mentioned it last Lord's Day; I want to come back to it because it is critical for us this morning. *embrimáomai* (ἐμβριμάομαι) is the Greek word, and this word is used in extra-biblical Greek literature to refer to the snorting of a horse preparing for a battle—the snorting of a horse preparing for a battle. Calvin views it as Jesus gearing up for the conflict as our champion in the battle against sin and death. Literally, this word means to roar, to storm with anger, to be enraged, to be indignant. It expresses indignation against someone.

And you recall last week that was mentioned concerning this verse, that I believe that has to do with indignation—that Jesus was indignant here. He was angry. There's something here that upset Him. But let me say this at this point: there are some really sound interpreters who don't agree with that—men who we greatly respect and greatly benefit from their work in the Lord. One of them is James Montgomery Boyce. He believes that the word here ought to be just understood as simply strong emotion. Here's his point, here's why he takes this position: he says there's nothing here in the context that would explain Jesus being angry. And so he sees it as just a strong emotion. Jesus is moved by the tears of Mary, moved by the tears of the mourners, he says, and so He's just feeling strong emotion here.

The problem with that is that in every other place where this Greek word is used—aside from the extra-biblical literature—but everywhere, in every place that this Greek word is used in the New Testament, you have the idea connected to it, the idea of indignation or sternness. Every other place. And I want you to see those places with me—three other places outside of John 11.

Turn with me to Matthew 9. Matthew 9:27 and following. We read there (a sweet sound to my ear, these pages being flipped, by the way, I just want to mention that, I don't think I have mentioned in a long time), verse 27: "As Jesus went on from there, two blind men followed Him, crying out, 'Have mercy on us, Son of David!' And when He entered the house, the blind men came up to Him, and Jesus said to them, 'Do you believe that I am able to do this?' They said to Him, 'Yes, Lord.' Then He touched their eyes, saying, 'It shall be done to you according to your faith.' And their eyes were opened. And Jesus sternly warned them, saying, 'See that no one knows about this.'"  The word translated "sternly warned" is the same Greek word we have in our text, *embrimaomai* (ἐμβριμάομαι).

Mark 1:40. Mark 1:40: "And a leper came to Jesus, pleading with Him and falling on his knees before Him, and saying, 'If You are willing, You can make me clean.' And moved with compassion, He stretched out His hand and touched him, and said to him, 'I am willing; be cleansed.' And immediately the leprosy left him, and he was cleansed."
Verse 43: "And He sternly warned him and immediately sent him away."
The word "sternly warned" is the same Greek word.
Mark 14:5:  Mark 14:5, we read: "For this perfume might have been sold for over three hundred denarii and given to the people." And they were, what? "Scolding her."

The word "scolding" is the same Greek word—actually, in this case, translated "scolding" rather than "sternly warning." And so the previous verse, by the way, describes them as being indignant, and as a result of being indignant, they scolded her.

A. T. Robertson, in his Word Pictures in the Greek New Testament, he says this, speaking of this word, this Greek word. He says, and I quote: "It means to snort with anger like a horse. It occurs in the Septuagint in Daniel 11:30 for violent displeasure. The notion of indignation is present in the other examples of this word in the New Testament, so it seems best to see that sense here and in verse 38," referring to John 11.

By the way, notice the same word is used in verse 38 in our text in John 11, where it says: "So Jesus, again being deeply moved,"—same word—"within, deeply moved within, came to the tomb."

Another Greek New Testament scholar, Robertson, says this, and I quote: "Every other place that it is used," referring to this Greek word, "including the Septuagint translation of Daniel 11:30, where it means violent displeasure—in every other instance, there is this flavor of indignation or anger or sternness."

Another one, Alfred Plummer, the Cambridge Greek New Testament, says this of this word: in all cases, as in classical Greek and in the *Septuagint*, it expresses not sorrow, but indignation of severity. It means, number one, literally of animals to snort, to growl; secondly, metaphorically, to be very angry or indignant; and thirdly, to command sternly under the threat of displeasure. Zodiatis says the same things. He says it means to be enraged, indignant, to express indignation against someone. And so, when you say, we're just going to think of it as a strong emotion, understand that that doesn't really capture what is contained in the usage of this word in every other place where this word is used.

Every other place that it's used, it carries the idea of sternness, scolding, or indignation. So, when we come to this verse, really, one is compelled to say, if we're consistent with how this word is used everywhere else, we have to see indignation here. So that raises the question that Boyce dismisses, and that is, is there anything in the context that would explain the indignation of Jesus? If there's indignation here, is there something here that would explain His anger? And of course, His anger is always righteous anger, righteous indignation.

If there's indignation here, so what is it that would explain that? And I believe there is. I believe there's something in the context that would speak of the anger of Jesus, and we touched on it last Lord's Day. There are a couple of things offered as to an explanation that I don't completely agree with, but let me give them to you just so you can think about those things yourself.

Some say that Jesus is angry here, and what He's angry about is death itself, that He's just upset with what death does. B. B. Warfield compared it to a warrior on his way to do battle with a great enemy. S. Lewis Johnson, quoting Warfield, said, it is the opinion of Warfield that Jesus was not moved by uncontrollable grief, but irrepressible anger. And why? He was angry at the violent tyranny of death, and He was advancing against it as, "a champion who prepares for conflict, gazing into the skeleton face of the world. He saw the awful reign of death everywhere, and He was deeply disturbed". So they say, yeah, He was angry, and what He was angry about is the tyranny of death.

Some say—here's a second explanation—some say it had to do with the mourning of all who were weeping. So Jesus, they're saying, Jesus looked at the weeping of Mary, and Jesus looked at the weeping of the mourners, and the weeping of everyone else, and He was troubled because their weeping didn't reflect faith. That is, they were mourning as those who have no hope. Well, I like this one better than the first one because at least there's a direct connection to weeping. I want you to notice with me, if you just look closely at the verse, verse 33, you have to connect His being deeply moved with the weeping. "When Jesus therefore saw her crying, and the Jews who came with her also crying, He was deeply moved in spirit and was troubled."

So I see the deeply moved as being connected with the weeping, but the problem that I have with the second one is knowing what we know of our Savior, right? Knowing how He deals with people throughout the Gospels, I don't believe that He would have been angry with the weeping of Mary since it was a sincere weeping. She was sincere in her weeping, and this is why Beuys rejects it. Because is the Lord Jesus angry with Mary as she weeps over her brother? I don't think that's the case at all.

Which leads to the third explanation and the one that I fully embrace, and that is that this anger had to do with the mourning of the religionists, the hypocrites. There's actually a contrast in verse 33. There's the weeping of Mary, which was sincere grief, and then there's the wailing of the professional mourners, a prescribed weeping. And you remember in our studies of this chapter, right? We saw this last couple of times, and we talked about the funeral traditions in Judaism—dead Judaism at this time—how they would hire professional wailing women, the flute players. They would go through the prescribed ritual of mourning over the dead.

And I believe that Jesus saw in that the hypocrisy that really marked the entirety of this decadent Judaism at this time, embodied in the Pharisees. Plummer expresses it very well. He says, and I quote, "What was He angry at? He was indignant at seeing the hypocritical and sentimental lamentations of His enemies, the Jews, mingling with the heartfelt lamentations of His loving friend Mary. Hypocrisy ever roused His anger." And Pastor MacArthur picks up on this. He says, and I quote, "Jesus appears to have been angry not only over the painful reality of sin and death, of which Lazarus was a beloved example, but also with the mourners who were acting like the pagans who have no hope."

And I believe that's the best possibility. Let me share four reasons why.

It  fully agrees with what we know about the superficial way that Judaism handled everything, including death. Talked about last week how they, or the week before, about how they had prescribed a rending of garments for the mourners. You were to rend your outer garment a hand's breadth. And if you were mourning over a child, it would never be sewn up again. But if you were mourning over someone else, then after 30 days it was sewn up again.

You had 30 days of prescribed mourning. The first three were days of weeping. The seven were days of lamentation. So then you have 30 days of sorrow. All of it, so mechanical, so official, so prescribed, so superficial. And the professional wailing women at times would carry this out to the point where they would start pulling their hairs out. It was all prescribed. And as Jesus was angry with hypocrisy—and you will notice in the Gospel—the harshest things that He had to say, what do they always have to do with? Hypocrisy. Duplicity. The hypocritical, insincere, duplicitous external religion of the day.

This explanation connects His being moved with the weeping. It also connects His being moved in verse 38 with the same group. Look at it. Look at verse 37 first: "But some of them said, 'Could not this man who opened the eyes of the blind have kept this man also from dying?'" These mourners, they come out with this statement in verse 37. And I'm going to submit to you this morning that I believe there was a mocking in the statement. There was at least, at the very least, sinful questioning in the statement.

And on the heels of that, verse 38, we read: "So Jesus, again being deeply moved within,"—same word, again, angry, indignant—"came to the tomb." So just as He would have been angry with a superficial mourning in verse 33, so now He is angry again, righteously indignant with the mocking and the questioning that came out of the same group in verse 37.  This also explains, would explain, the attitude that's present in verse 37. You see, we have to determine what are they actually saying in verse 37? What is their attitude in their words? What's coming out? What is being shown to be their attitude by their words?

This also, by the way, fully accords with what we're going to see in verse 46. Verse 45—this is after He raises Lazarus from the dead—then we read in verse 46: "Therefore many of the Jews who,"—verse 45—"Therefore many of the Jews who came to Mary and saw what He had done believed in Him. But some of them..." I mean, think about this, and we'll get there, Lord willing. After all of this, after all of this, "some of them went to the Pharisees and told them the things what Jesus had done." There's no doubt but that you have enemies of Jesus present in this setting. You have those with close relationships to the Pharisees now reporting back to the Pharisees about what had taken place.

And so to see Jesus indignant, angry with the religionists of the day, fits the picture. And so we see the indignation of Jesus. And now that leads us to, secondly—and I want us to see this morning—the insults of the Jews, the mocking of the scoffers. Verse 37: if we're right in our understanding of the passage, and I believe we are, then what you have here is a statement made to be insulting, to be undermining, to be mocking. Some of the Jews recognize that Jesus had a love for Lazarus. But others looked at the same actions of Jesus, there in Perea, and the attitude of Jesus expressed in His tears in Bethany, and they looked at the same things, but they had a different sentiment—different sentiment. They had an accusation that they wanted to hurl in His direction, that they wanted to cast aspersion on His character.

What exactly was their accusation? Well, I'm going to give you some possibilities. They may all have an element of truth, but some possibilities as to what they mean—the attitude—in verse 37. One, this may be an accusation concerning Christ's abilities. Verse 37, concerning Christ's abilities. You'll notice they reference the blind man: "Could not this man who opened the eyes of the blind man...?" Remember back in chapter 9, the blind man? This miracle must have left a lasting impression on these people. They're still talking about it: "Could not this man who opened the eyes of the blind man have kept this man also from dying?"

Perhaps they were still questioning the ability of Jesus to actually perform miracles. Now, I know that seems astounding that anyone could question it, but we know without a doubt that there were people who still would not attribute the work of Jesus to God, right? They would still not admit that He was doing the works of God. And so it could be that they were saying, you know, where was His power when it came to His friend? Does He really have any? He opened the eyes of the blind, but could He have not taken care of His friend?

You say, would people mock Him that way? We know that they would mock Him that way. You know where my mind is going, right? Because what did they say when Jesus was on the cross? Matthew 27:42: "He saved others; He cannot save Himself. He is the King of Israel; let Him come down from the cross, and we will believe in Him." What were they seeing when He was hanging upon Calvary's cross? Well, they thought they were seeing someone who is powerless, impotent. They thought they were seeing someone who supposedly could save others, but when it came to Himself—well, He can't save Himself. "If You come down from the cross, we'll repent. We'll believe," mocking Him.

That's one possibility. But there's a second possibility in terms of the meaning and the attitude of verse 37. This could be an accusation not concerning His abilities, but concerning His affections. Maybe they were saying, "Look at His tears." Remember, they say in verse 36, "Behold, see, look at the tears," one group said. "See how He loved him. How He loved him." And this other group now would be saying, "Yeah, look at the tears. If He really loved this man, why didn't He keep him from dying? That's real love. Really, real love. Why did He not keep him from dying?" Well, that could be what they were doing—accusing Christ in terms of His real affection for this man. "Could not He have kept this man from dying?"

It could also be an accusation concerning Christ's actions in the third place. Now, you remember Martha and Mary both—they talked about this, no doubt, over the four days. Their brother's dead in the tomb. So that when they come to the Lord, verse 32: "When Mary came where Jesus was, she saw Him, fell at His feet, saying to Him, 'Lord, if You had been here, my brother would not have died.'" Martha made the same statement, you remember, earlier in verse 21. And you remember, we saw together, this was not a statement of accusation on the part of Mary and Martha. They know that their brother died the same day that the messenger was sent to Jesus. And this is actually an expression of faith. A statement of regret really bound up in it. "We know if You had been here," there's a willingness. "You had a willingness to help our brother. We know that You had the ability to help our brother. If You had been here, he wouldn't be dead." That's how they mean it.

But it may be that these religionists, hypocrites, have picked up on the words of Martha and Mary and filled their words with an entirely different meaning. "Why wasn't He here? Why wasn't He here? Why didn't He come? Couldn't He have saved his friend?" So that you have two groups of people who witness the same tears, same emotions of this perfect man, the God-man, the Lord Jesus Christ. But they are seeing the same tears, coming to two different conclusions at the end of it.

Now let me ask you this morning, how do you explain the difference? How do you explain the difference? I said it a moment ago, but let me underscore it. You explain the difference based upon the condition of the heart. You explain the difference based upon the condition of the heart. You have scoffers and you have believers. And then you have a third group. They're not yet believers, but they're not scoffing.

Scoffers. Scoffers. Are there scoffers today? Are there people who see the exact same evidence that the Holy Spirit used to bring you and I to faith in the Lord Jesus Christ? Are there people who see the exact same evidence, hear the exact same arguments, are exposed to the same, the exact same, information, but they don't believe on the Lord Jesus? Absolutely. Absolutely.

So let me close this morning with the remaining time that we have with a word about scoffers. Let's look at the individuality of a scoffer. What marks a scoffer? A word about a scoffer. And if you are a scoffer sitting in one of those chairs here this morning—now you may not be outwardly a scoffer, but maybe you sit here week after week and in your heart you are just scoffing—if you're a scoffer, I pray to God that He would help you to see yourself. To see yourself.

Because there may be a scoffer here with us this morning. There may be someone, a young person who's been brought by their parents, and that's why they're here. That's why you're here. Maybe a husband brought by his wife. That's why you're here. Maybe a wife brought by her husband. Maybe that's why you're here. A friend brought by another friend. You're not a believer, and you scoff at the truth of Christianity. You scoff at the Gospel.

And it's not a lack of information. It's not a lack of evidence that you're not a Christian. It has to do with the condition of your heart. The condition of your mind. And if that's you this morning, I pray, I pray and plead that in the grace and mercy of God that you would be able to recognize yourself. Proverbs 14 and verse 6 puts it this way: "A scoffer seeks wisdom and finds none." "A scoffer seeks wisdom and finds none. But knowledge," and I love this, "but knowledge is easy to one who has understanding." For someone who's been given understanding by the Lord, knowledge comes easy. But for someone who doesn't want to see, they don't see.

No matter how much information, no matter how much evidence, no matter how powerful, undeniable the evidence is—I mean, is this not powerful evidence they're about to see? I mean, how could you ignore that? Is this not undeniable evidence they're about to see? Yet they still go away scoffing, reporting it to the Pharisees. What can we say this morning about a scoffer? Number one, a scoffer takes what is harmless and uses it for harm. A scoffer takes what is harmless and uses it for harm.

If the people in verse 37 are picking up on the words of Martha and Mary, when Mary and Martha said, "Lord, if You had been here, my brother would not have died," their words did not contain any venom. Their words reflected an honest lack of understanding, a limited faith, an uninformed faith—not fully informed. They had no idea even after Jesus told them, and we'll see that next time, Lord willing, they had no idea what the Lord was about to do. But in their frailty, in their limitations, they were still expressing affection for the Lord Jesus and an affirmation of His ability to do what only God could do. They're still expressing faith, but it's still limited.

But those in verse 37 had picked up on the same language, yet their words were filled with something entirely different. There was an accusation. There was venom in what they were saying. And this is what scoffers do. They take what is harmless and they twist it. They use it in their minds to justify unbelief. Have you noticed in our times and days and our culture the attack all around us in the media, entertainment industry against the person, the nature of our Lord Jesus Christ? Have you noticed the attack on the idea that He was sinless? Divine? All of this in search of the "real Jesus" sort of stuff?

Do you notice one of the threads running through many of these things—the idea that Jesus had a romantic interest in Mary? They take the anointing of Jesus. They take the washing of His feet with her hair. They take her sitting at His feet, running to Him, falling down. They take all of these things that were expressions of a pure love for the Lord Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior. And what do they do? They twist it. They twist it to make it something impure. They take what is harmless and they want to use it for harm—to attack the truth concerning the Lord Jesus Christ—and that's what scoffers do. Innocent words, innocent acts, innocent deeds, and they twist it to attack the gospel.

There's a second thing that we could say about scoffers, and that is, and by the way, when you think about that, I think of Titus 1:15: "To the pure all things are pure," right? "But to those who are defiled and unbelieving, nothing is pure; but both their mind and their conscience are defiled." They always ascribe ill motive. But secondly, a scoffer ignores the evidence that would negate his conclusion. A scoffer would always, always ignore the evidence that would negate his conclusion. We talked about it earlier this morning. What does a scoffer do? He does what sinful humanity does. He only accepts the information that agrees with his position, the position he already holds. And he sweeps away anything else that would expose his ignorance and his error. And you see them here exactly doing the same thing. They're attacking the actions of the Lord Jesus Christ. They're saying, why wasn't He here? Why didn't He help His friend? And we've already learned He could not have been here.

Now, let me put in parenthesis, as we know, He could have healed Lazarus with a word from a distance. We know that, but the scoffers don't believe that anyway. So they're not picking up on that. So they're saying, why wasn't He here? Well, you know what? He couldn't have been here. He couldn't have. Lazarus died on the day the messenger was sent. There was no way Jesus could have been there. But we've learned it in our own experience, haven't we? That doesn't matter to a scoffer, does it? It doesn't matter that He could have been this or could have been that. It doesn't matter whatsoever. They seize on anything that they can use and they hold on to it to justify their sinful, unbelieving position.

Let me ask you, I mean, maybe this will resonate with you. You've had discussions, no doubt, with friends, relatives, people you care about, and you make every effort prayerfully to point them to Christ, to lead them to the Lord Jesus Christ. Do you notice how they will grasp at straws to hold on to their unbelieving position? They'll seize on anything reported in the media, any failure of any Christian leader, any failure of any believer they know, whether it makes sense or it doesn't make sense, whether it's valid or invalid. It doesn't matter. Looking for something to hold on to where a person can say, I'm justified in not believing on the Lord Jesus Christ. Why are they doing it? Because they have a scoffer's heart. Because they have a scoffer's heart, a scoffer's mentality. This is what a scoffer does. He ignores the evidence that would negate his conclusion.

Could that be you today, my friend? Is that the kind of heart you have this morning? Not an honest heart, not a good heart, not the kind of soil where the seed falls, takes root, bears fruit, but rather a stony heart, a weed-infested heart, where the Word of God cannot take root because you're looking for reasons to stay in your place of unbelief.

There's a third thing we could say about a scoffer. A scoffer has no appreciation for the beauty that is spiritually appraised. A scoffer has no appreciation for the beauty that is spiritually appraised. A scoffer has no appreciation for the beautiful things of the gospel, no appreciation for the beautiful themes you find in Scripture, the beauty that's found in God, in Christ. That's why we're warned about casting our what? Pearls, precious things, before swine who have no appreciation—no appreciation for the preciousness, the beauty of the things that have to do with the beautiful gospel.

Even in our text here, isn't it a beautiful thing to behold that the Lord Jesus, the Creator of all things, God the Son, wept? Wept. And we talked about the different words here for crying, weeping. One is *klaíō* (κλαίω),it  has to do with wailing, and the other, the cruel, verse 36, the silent burst into tears of Jesus, out of His love for Mary and Martha and Lazarus. And some, in verse 37, were saying, "See how He loved him." They see in the tears of the Son of God something beautiful. They see in the tears of the Son of God something that speaks of His grace, His love, His sympathy, His mercy, His majesty.

And yet you have another group. They look upon the same exact expression, but they see nothing beautiful there. What they see instead is something to be bothered about. Yeah, yeah, tears, tears—why didn't He do? One group sees beauty, the other group sees something to be bothered at. That hasn't changed, has it? The things that touch our hearts for Christ, the things that move our hearts toward God—isn't it true that our people in this world are absolutely bothered by the same things that move us? I mean, it bothers them, makes them angry. In fact, that which is beautiful to us, they mock, they can't stand.

I mean earlier, just standing here and listening—listening to the voices behind me and the praise of God and the enthusiasm, the heartfelt worship. And you have people who are bothered by this. You people gather on Sunday morning and Sunday night. My goodness, once is not enough? You have to come back Sunday night? How boring is that? Then again on Wednesday, and what do you do? I mean, you come and you sing songs and spend time with each other to pray and to sit and listen to someone talk about a book. These things are beautiful to us, they're sweet. They lift us up—but not beautiful to them.

The gospel, the fact that God has given us the truth—do we have the truth? Do we have the truth? We have the truth. God has given us the truth. What is the truth? 1 Timothy 3:15, "The pillar and support of the truth in this world is the church." What is the church? The pillar and support of the truth—that God has given us the truth. The church is the people, the organism, the body, the place where if you want truth, there the Word of God is taught, there you find the truth concerning life and death and heaven and hell and sin and salvation and reality. The church, the church, the pillar and support of the truth in this world—that's why we want to come together. We want the truth. We love the truth. We follow the truth.

But the world scoffs at that idea. Truth? Like Pilate, they ask, "What is truth?" This is the heart and mind of a scoffer. He doesn't believe in truth. The only truth he believes in is his own, and so what is beautiful to the child of God annoys him, bothers him. It bothers him.

Which leads to the fourth and last thing concerning a scoffer. A scoffer—and this is very sobering—a scoffer is left with the fruit of his scoffing. A scoffer is left with the fruit of his scoffing. We're going to see that more later, but there are some people who had the privilege on this day to see something that very few people ever had the privilege to see. Can you imagine being there? Can you imagine what it was like when Jesus said, "Where have you laid him? Remove the stone," and He puts to calm the concerns of Martha, the sister, "Lord, by this time he smells."

And not as the false teachers do, not with great bravado, and not with some kind of showmanship, not singing subjective man-centered songs until our emotions get to a fever pitch—no, no—but in a very simple fashion, "Lazarus, come forth." And a dead man comes out alive.

Can you imagine being there, and having witnessed what very few people have ever witnessed? There were some who said, "We need to tell on Him. We need to go and tell the Pharisees." Still scoffing instead of believing. And you know what? If that's how they died, they are in hell right now, left with the fruit of their scoffing.

Listen carefully. By far the most terrible and just result of scoffing is a divine taste of their own medicine. Proverbs 3:34, "Though He," God, "He, though He scoffs at the scoffers." Remember Psalm 2? Remember what we read there in Psalm 2? "He who sits in the heavens laughs, the Lord mocks them. Then He speaks to them in His anger, terrifies them in His fury." Scoffers.
My friend, where will your scoffing take you? What will your scoffing get you? Where will it get you? According to God's Word, it will get you nothing but condemnation, eternal condemnation in hell. But you're offered life this morning. You're offered life this morning. You're offered life in the One who is the resurrection and the life. Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, and you will be saved.

Do you see the beauty in Him? Do you see the glory of God that's in His face? Do you see here even in His attitudes here in our text, in His actions, the glory of One who is God in human flesh? Do you see the Savior of the world? Do you see the One who is Lord over all? And do you desire Him?

Do you desire Him who is the truth in a desperate way, no matter what it means, no matter what it will cost you, no matter what you have to repent of, no matter what you would have to recant? You just want the truth, and He is the truth. So you'll come running to Him. And I want you to know something. Only God can give you a heart like that. It's not natural to sinful man. Only God. But God is ready and willing to give you, to give you the hope that is all bound up in the gospel—forgiveness of sin. If you turn to Him, will you scoff today? Will you go on scoffing, or will you repent and believe in the Lord Jesus Christ? In the language of the prophet, "Everyone who thirsts, come to the waters. And you who have no money, come, buy and eat. Come and buy wine and milk without money, without cost."

And listen, why do you spend money for what is not bread, and your wages for what does not satisfy? You're wasting, squandering your efforts and life on that which does not satisfy by pursuing this and that and the other. There is no satisfaction apart from Him. "Seek Yahweh while He may be found. Call upon His name while He is near. Let the wicked forsake His way and the unrighteous man his thoughts, and let him return to Yahweh, and He will have compassion on him, and to our God, for He will abundantly pardon." This is the promise available to you today. God will abundantly pardon your iniquity and your scoffing and your sins. Turn to Him and be saved. I beg you, cease and desist from scoffing and turn to the One who is truth, the truth, the life, and embrace Him as your Lord and Savior. Lest you will reap the fruit of your scoffing—eternal damnation in hell.

Why will you die in your sin? Why will you die in your sin, when you have a Savior with arms wide open, ready to embrace sinners who come to Him by faith?

Oh, and beloved child of God, you who love the truth, you who want the truth, we who love the truth and want the truth and God opened our eyes to see and behold the truth, we ought to fall on our knees and give praise to God because you could have witnessed the raising of a man from the dead and if God had not given you an honest heart, you would have never seen the truth. I would have never seen the truth. God did this for us, for you and for me.

We ought to worship God and sing again and again and again and again, "Behold the man upon a cross, my sin upon His shoulders, ashamed I hear my mocking voice call out among the scoffers. It was my sin, my sin that held Him there until it was accomplished." And accomplished it was, blessed be God, and He cried out, "It is finished." His dying breath has brought me life, I know that it is finished, forever finished.  "I will not boast in anything, no gifts, no power, no wisdom, but I will boast in Jesus Christ, His death and resurrection. Why should I gain from His reward? I cannot give an answer. I cannot give an answer, why? But this I know with all my heart, His wounds have paid my ransom."

Let's pray.