The Barrier To Belief | John 5:39-47

Opening Remarks: So thankful for the God-honoring music this morning. I’m aware we’ve squeezed a lot in today and there is a time crunch because we have a quick turn around with the afternoon service today at 2:00 instead of 6:00, so I’ll do my best to be efficient this morning.

This is our fourth message out of John 5. The chapter begins with Jesus healing a paralyzed man on the Sabbath Day, which led to persecution from the Jews, which prompted Jesus to defend His rightful authority as the Son of God. He basically preaches a message giving evidence of His identity.

First He talked about “greater works.” He said, ‘You think healing a paralyzed is amazing, just wait. The Father has given me authority to raise the dead and to judge all people.”

Then He talked about three witnesses that pointed to His deity. He says, “If you wonder about my identity, you can have confidence that I’m God based on the witness of John the Baptist, based on my works and miracles, and based on the Scriptures. All three point to me as Messiah.

Then Jesus switches from “Here’s the evidence” to “Here’s the problem.” That’s what we’re looking at today. READ John 5:39-47

The phrase we’re looking at today is found in vs. 40 - “And ye will not come to me, that ye might have life.”

The Religious Crowd had all the signs and evidence they needed, but there was a barrier between the evidence and their hearts. They could have seen it, but something prevented them from believing. I’d like to look today at the The Barrier To Belief. And this isn’t just a Pharisee problem. It’s an us problem.

PRAY

Introduction: It always surprises me how many people who met Christ rejected Him, even with so much evidence backing His claims. They literally watched Him heal people they knew and still said, “I’m not sure.” That’s what Jesus tells them in vs. 40. “You have everything in front of you that you need to believe and have eternal life. But you will not come.”

And I don’t think the issue was that they didn’t want eternal life. Who wouldn’t want eternal joy in the presence of God instead of eternal misery separated from Him?

So the question is not “Do you want eternal life?” The question is “Why don’t you believe in Jesus?”

Truth is, there are many barriers that keep people from God. For some they come from a different religious background, so to accept Christ would mean rejecting everything they’ve ever been taught.

For others, the barrier is a wound or hurt caused by others professing to be Christians. Now, that doesn’t mean every offense makes us a victim, but there are some legitimate hurts that become barriers.

Sometimes people blame hypocrisy or some bad experience. Others are simply too busy. They have different priorities so they put it off. Maybe some are religious skeptic. The point is, there are countless barriers that prevent people from coming to Jesus.

But in John 5, Jesus Christ is talking to the religious crowd. The spiritually elite. They looked the part without the heart. And if they could call fall into that trap, we can too:

Jesus points out four hard-hitting principles why the religious crowd won’t come to Jesus. And let’s be honest, many of us would be called the “religious crowd.” Whether or not we’re religiously active, we claim at least some kind of religious interest. And today’s text is a warning to anyone with spiritual leanings.

Here are reasons why the religious don’t genuinely have a relationship with Jesus Christ:

I. We Treat God’s Word Like An Intellectual Exercise (vs. 39-42)

This is a point we labored on last week, but it bears repeating: it’s possible to know God’s Word and not know the God of the Word.

The Pharisees were Scripture All Stars. They memorized most of the Hebrew Bible. They copied it was great care. They knew it down to the letter.

But the end became their knowledge at the expense of a relationship.

Vs. 39-40 - Jesus says, “In THEM ye think ye have eternal life…but they testify of ME.”

The point of the Scriptures is God. We search the Scriptures to seek God, not as a religious exercise. Not simply to impress with our memory and trivia knowledge.

If you’re raising your kids in church, be careful of this. We can raise a generation of young people that know all about the Bible but miss the God of the Bible.

Illustration: Kings Kids memorization pages of verses in one night. Blowing everyone’s minds.

But it was cramming, not understanding.

The point of this book is the God of the book. Don’t miss Him in its pages.

First, are you studying the Scriptures at all?

Second, are you reading the Bible for the Bible or the God of the Bible?

II. We Create Our Preferred Version Of God (vs. 43)

You might label this point “Idolatry.”

The Pharisees did not like Jesus’ version of God. He came in the Father’s name and with the Father’s authority, but they were looking for someone to deliver them from Rome, not confront them about their sins.

So when someone came along who fit their brand, they embraced them fully. But not Jesus.

The Pharisees were idolaters. They had a God of their own making.

It reminds me of 2 Timothy 4:3–4 “For the time will come when they will not endure sound doctrine; but after their own lusts shall they heap to themselves teachers, having itching ears; And they shall turn away their ears from the truth, and shall be turned unto fables.”

That describes the last days, which is happening right now. People want their own version of God. They don’t want to hear preaching on sin or unrighteousness. They want to hear happy messages. Turn on TV preachers and tell me that’s not happening.

But Jesus came preaching sin. Any lesser version of God is an idol of our hearts. Creating a preferred version of God that caters to our desires will keep us from coming to God.

III. We Focus On Impressing Others Instead Of Pleasing God

Vs. 41-42 - This seems a little out of place until you realize that Jesus is contrasting His motives with the Pharisees’ motives.

He says, “Even I’m not here for attention and glory. I’m just pointing to the Father. On the other hand, your motive is not to please God or because you love God.”

Vs. 43-44 - Jesus pulls no punches. They were motivated by pleasing the people around them. How often does He confront them for doing everything for show?

It’s so easy to become a people-pleaser. For many of us that’s a natural personality thing. We want everyone around us to be happy. And it’s not wrong to be concerned about others, but the moment that becomes your motivation then you are no longer doing what you do for the Lord.

Friends, pleasing people is impossible. People are fickle. Moods go up and down. And even when you do what they expect, the next day things could change.

On the other hand, God never changes. What pleases Him today is what pleased Him in the book of Genesis. Faith. That’s what He asks.

And Jesus has already said it in this passage - He has the authority to judge. You won’t stand before your friends or family in Heaven. You’ll stand before God. So live for Him now so that moment isn’t so devastating.

A person who lives to impress others instead of pleasing God won’t come to God.

And the fourth reason people don’t come to God is more a summary of this whole exchange:

IV. We View Religion As An Act Of Duty Rather Than One Of Love (vs. 42)

This was certainly true of the Pharisees. They were all about carrying the burden of religion on their own shoulders.

Work, work, work. Do, do, do. Earn God’s favor. And whether or not you love God, just perform. That has to count for something.

But they had the wrong view of the Law. The Law was not given for us to try to keep it. The Law was given as a revealer of our sin.

Vs. 45-47 - It’s so ironic that the people who best knew the Law of Moses missed it by a mile. The Law is not a to-do list as much as it is a teacher. It teaches us how sinful we really are.

Galatians 3:24 “Wherefore the law was our schoolmaster to bring us unto Christ, that we might be justified by faith.”

With the law, God doesn’t say, “Keep this,” as much as He says, “You’re guilty. This is my standard and you’ve fallen short.”

What Jesus is saying is “You shouldn’t be driven by the Law. You should be driven by Love.”

He says, “You can’t keep the Law. So stop trying to follow out of duty. Instead, recognize God’s grace in spite of your guilt and follow out of Love.”

I’m afraid far too many of us live much our lives out of duty rather than love. And it’s empty. It’s unfulfilling. But serving and following out of love is the ultimate in spiritual satisfaction.

Don’t exchange Love for the Law. That will keep you from coming to God.

So as we consider these truths, stop and examine what they each have in common:

Intellectual exercise highlights my intelligence

Creating a God that I prefer makes it about me

Impressing others with performance draws attention to me

Making religion a duty means the burden to perform rests on me

What’s at the middle of each of these mindsets?

Me. Pride. Self. And when self occupies our hearts, it leaves no room for God. It’s a barrier.

In reality, Christ is talking about self-love instead of Christ love.

Vs. 42 - Our lives should be driven by our love for God. But we often replace Him with love of something else. Something created. Something lesser. And it could be anything, but it’s often a love of Self. Pride. Me.

And that mindset will prevent us from coming to God. Which means it prevents us from having life.

According to Christ here, the greatest barrier to knowing God is a heart of pride.

Pride will keep even the most religious people from coming to God.

When we get to Heaven, we might be surprised by the number of people whose religious activity kept them from coming to God.

We sometimes assume that the people who don’t come to Christ are the exceedingly wicked. Those deep in sin. Those who live in opposition to God’s Word. The atheists. The humanists. Those who hate God and everything He stands for.

And while those may not come to God, Jesus’ warning here is not to the openly sinful but to the overly proud.

So what’s the answer? Humble yourself before God. Do the opposite of pride.

If pride is the barrier between us and God, then humility is the barrier between us and pride.

It’s time to stop barriers. Trade pride for humility.

Unbeliever

The Lord’s goal here was primarily to convince the lost heart to be humbled and come to Him in faith.

The goal hasn’t changed. The message of the Gospel is still to humble yourself and come to Jesus.

Humility begins with admitting that God is holy and we are sinners.

We have broken His law.

And that guilt means we are condemned already. We deserve to be eternally separated from Him. Which means we don’t have eternal life.

Humility then acknowledges that without help, we have no hope.

And that’s where Jesus steps in. He died in our place to save us from our sins.

But humility is required to come to the end of ourselves and believe. To trust Him to do what we cannot.

A proud heart doesn’t like to admit we can’t.

The religious don’t like to acknowledge that they’re not good enough.

And that’s why pride will likely be what keeps a person from coming to Jesus.

Holding onto pride isn’t worth not having eternal life.

Christian

Even if you know the Lord, pride is often what keeps us from coming to Christ.

Meaning, pride keeps us from seeking Him every day.

Pride keeps us from depending on Him for strength.

Pride causes us to leave Him out of our plans and do our own thing without Him.

So we may have eternal life, but we miss out on the abundant life that He freely offers.

Just a few chapters laters He says in John 10:10 “I am come that they might have life, and that they might have it more abundantly.”

God doesn’t want you to settle for a lesser life. That’s His whole motive. He wants us to experience the life He offers.

Pride keeps us from it. Every time.

Has Pride in your heart become a barrier to your relationship with God?

Has God’s Word become intellectual exercises instead of seeking God?

Have you fashioned God in such a way that He has to submit to your expectations?

Have you been trying to impress others with performance and duty instead of a response of love to your Savior?

The reason we can’t come to Christ is because we haven’t come to the end of ourselves.

Isaiah 57:15 “For thus saith the high and lofty One That inhabiteth eternity, whose name is Holy; I dwell in the high and holy place, With him also that is of a contrite and humble spirit, To revive the spirit of the humble, And to revive the heart of the contrite ones.”

Is it time to humble yourself and remove the barrier of pride between you and God? If you will, James 4:6 says, “God resisteth the proud, but giveth grace unto the humble.”