How Not To Die In Your Sin (John 8:21-30)
Sermon • Submitted • Presented
0 ratings
· 91 viewsNotes
Transcript
[SLIDE 1] Introduction
If you have your Bible, then please turn to John 8:21-30.
Illustration
Many years ago, I received an email from a believer about how sin is not preached often enough at churches.
So, this week, I tried to do a little bit of research to get a sense of where preaching is at in North America regarding sin.
Like...How often is sin preached about in North American churches.
To summarize my findings, Pew Research appears to say that less than 1/10 evangelical sermons (like less than 10%) would mention terms like “eternal hell” or “damnation.”
This might imply that sin is not talked about as much because you can’t really talk about hell without talking about sin.
If sin is not preached about that much on the pulpit, then perhaps we shouldn’t be surprised by the survey done in 2022 by Ligonier Ministries (a ministry started by the late R.C. Sproul).
In the State of Theology, here are some of the results of the survey conducted on many professing evangelicals:
70% agree that we are naturally born innocent in the eyes of God.
66% agree that everyone sins a little, but most people are good by nature.
69% disagree that even the smallest sin deserves eternal damnation.
We are talking about evangelicals. Generally, conservative - maybe Bible-believing- Christians.
Based on the summary of my findings, let me ask you some questions:
Are you in danger of not knowing the depth of your sins?
Have you grown comfortable with sin?
Have you become stone cold toward the seriousness of your sin?
Biblical Theology
Context
We should talk about sin because Jesus talks about sin.
If you don’t exactly know the depth of your depravity, you might die in your sins.
If I and other preachers don’t talk about sin, then it’s like a doctor who has discovered a deadly cancer in your body, but he doesn’t tell you about it because he doesn’t want to make you feel uncomfortable.
That would make him a terrible and wicked doctor, and he should give up his license.
But if he does tell you about it, then there should be some form of way to treat it so that you might not die in your cancer.
In the similar way, I talk about sin not to judge you without hope, but to point you to the source of remedy: the grace and mercy of Jesus.
In this context, we recall that Jesus has been dialoguing with the Jews in the temple at Jerusalem during the last day of the Feast of Booths.
We recall how the Feast of Booths was a Jewish festival. They celebrated it at the beginning of John 7.
Jesus made extraordinary claims about Himself at this festival.
37 On the last day of the feast, the great day, Jesus stood up and cried out, “If anyone thirsts, let him come to me and drink. 38 Whoever believes in me, as the Scripture has said, ‘Out of his heart will flow rivers of living water.’ ”
12 Again Jesus spoke to them, saying, “I am the light of the world. Whoever follows me will not walk in darkness, but will have the light of life.”
Those claims had connections with a couple of the rituals that the Jews performed at the Feast of Booths.
We also remember that the Jews have been greatly hostile towards our Lord Jesus.
Jesus was their long-awaited Messiah, the Christ, but over and over again, they rejected Him because they hate Him and couldn’t believe His claims...
Even though Jesus has given them enough reasons to believe in Him, such as His teachings, His miraculous signs, and His witnesses.
The Jews have been given the remedy and hope for their sin-sickness, but they rejected it.
Therefore, our loving Saviour will give some terrible words to them and to you: “Unless you believe that I am He you will die in your sins.”
[SLIDE 2] Main Idea: Believe in who Jesus truly is, or you will die in your sins.
Based on this passage, there are broadly five instructions on how not to die in your sin.
I pray and encourage you to do deep self-examination of your heart this morning because there is hope for you!
Exposition
[SLIDE 3] First, Don’t Die In Your Self-Righteousness (John 8:21-22)
21 So he said to them again, “I am going away, and you will seek me, and you will die in your sin. Where I am going, you cannot come.” 22 So the Jews said, “Will he kill himself, since he says, ‘Where I am going, you cannot come’?”
Verse 21 has some familiar words if you have been paying attention to the series on John’s gospel.
[SLIDE 4] Jesus is circling back to what He said earlier.
33 Jesus then said, “I will be with you a little longer, and then I am going to him who sent me. 34 You will seek me and you will not find me. Where I am you cannot come.” 35 The Jews said to one another, “Where does this man intend to go that we will not find him? Does he intend to go to the Dispersion among the Greeks and teach the Greeks? 36 What does he mean by saying, ‘You will seek me and you will not find me,’ and, ‘Where I am you cannot come’?”
The Jews couldn’t figure out what Jesus meant (John 7:36).
Earlier, they wrongly assumed that Jesus might be going to the Diaspora where the Greeks were.
They took Jesus’ words and twisted them in a way that mocks Him.
But, we’re not told that Jesus clearly explained to them what He meant.
But, we know what Jesus meant.
When Jesus is saying, “I’m going away...where I am going, you cannot come...” Jesus is talking about returning to His Father.
They will try to seek Jesus but cannot find Him.
Jesus actually told the Jews that He’s going back to the One who sent Him, except, the Jews didn’t understand that.
We see that Jesus returns to this topic of going away, except He adds a rather ominous line in the middle of verse 21.
“You will seek me, and you will die in your sin.”
We’ll return to what Jesus meant later on when we get to verse 24.
[SLIDE 5] After Jesus said, “Where I am going, you cannot come,” the Jews respond to Jesus in verse 22: “Will He kill Himself.”
Now, it seems like the Jews didn’t get the part about dying in their sins.
Instead, they seem to misunderstand Jesus again.
Here, they interpreted it with a sinister outlook, which is assuming that Jesus is going to commit suicide.
It seems to be a deliberate and malicious misinterpretation of Jesus’ sobering warning with a rather sarcastic insult or joke.
Their self-righteousness has led them to be smug, arrogant, and conceit.
Even later on, they would accuse Jesus of being demonic (John 8:48, 52).
For the Jews, they considered suicide a dark sin.
The irony behind their statement is that Jesus will in some sense get Himself killed.
Not in a form of suicide.
But, in a sense where He voluntarily and joyfully lays down His life for His sheep in obedience/submission to His Father’s will. [SLIDE 6]
17 For this reason the Father loves me, because I lay down my life that I may take it up again. 18 No one takes it from me, but I lay it down of my own accord. I have authority to lay it down, and I have authority to take it up again. This charge I have received from my Father.”
[SLIDE 7] Everyone in the world carries a sense of self-righteous attitude.
A person who is self-righteous pride themselves as being morally superior to others.
They adhere to some form of human standard of moral achievement.
They based their hope and their salvation on perfoming good works.
Now, they may acknowledge that they’re imperfect, but at the very least they were a good person.
Therefore, by their standard of self-righteousness, they should go to heaven.
What self-righteous individuals may do is comparing themselves with others.
They love talking and gossiping about others at the expense of their failures and downfalls so that they feel like they have a moral high ground.
The truth is this: no one can be saved and go to heaven by their self-righteousness.
It is only the righteousness of Christ imputed into you that can achieve salvation.
Moreover, it is true that good people can go to heaven.
However, the bad news is that Scripture teaches that none is good because all have sinned and have fallen short of the glory of God.
The only One who is good is God alone.
The only good works that can save sinners is the work of Jesus Christ, not your works.
For the Jews, due to their pride and outward religiosity, their self-righteousness is going to lead them down a path of eternal hell.
We need to be humble and be like the tax collector in Jesus’ parable in Luke 18:13: “God, be merciful to me, the sinner.”
We need to recognize our moral and spiritual bankruptcy.
Jesus said, “Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.” (Matthew 5:3)
Only those who acknowledge their spiritual poverty will come to Jesus in true repentance and faith.
So, I encourage you to consider checking your spiritual inventory:
Are you trusting in your righteousness and works?
Or, are you trusting in Christ to accomplish the work of salvation for you? Are you reminding yourself of the gospel, the good news of Jesus?
If you’re trusting in your self-righteousness in order to achieve salvation, then ironically, you will die in your sins.
[SLIDE 8] Second, Don’t Die In Your Worldliness (John 8:23)
23 He said to them, “You are from below; I am from above. You are of this world; I am not of this world.
Jesus now addresses their ridiculous nonsense and mockery.
He essentially tells them that he and them come from two different worlds. Or two different realms.
The Jews come from below and are of this world.
They are worldly.
What I mean by worldly is that they belong to the system of this world that rejects their Creator.
In fact, even later on in John 8:44, Jesus says that they belong to the devil because that’s who their father truly is.
Also, since they’re of the world, they do not always understand what Jesus is teaching.
Jesus, however, is from above and is not of this world.
He doesn’t belong to this world that is in rebellion against their Creator.
He doesn’t belong to this Fallen world because He did not come from this world as the Jews wrongly assume and imply.
Instead, Jesus came from heaven.
He came from His Father.
He’s the light who came into the world.
He’s the Eternal Word who incarnated and became a man (John 1:14).
[SLIDE 9] We remember John’s comment in......
31 He who comes from above is above all. He who is of the earth belongs to the earth and speaks in an earthly way. He who comes from heaven is above all.
For believers, however, we live in this world, but we are NOT of this world because Christ has sovereignly chosen us out of this world. [SLIDE 10]
18 “If the world hates you, know that it has hated me before it hated you. 19 If you were of the world, the world would love you as its own; but because you are not of the world, but I chose you out of the world, therefore the world hates you.
If we desire not to be of this world, then what we would that look like?
Surely, we’ll seek to please our Lord and seek His approval.
[SLIDE 11] Surely, we’ll not love the world that hates our God.
15 Do not love the world or the things in the world. If anyone loves the world, the love of the Father is not in him. 16 For all that is in the world—the desires of the flesh and the desires of the eyes and pride of life—is not from the Father but is from the world. 17 And the world is passing away along with its desires, but whoever does the will of God abides forever.
We’ll desire to have our minds renewed by the word of God and the Holy Spirit, and not be conformed to this world (Romans 12:1-2). [SLIDE 12]
1 If then you have been raised with Christ, seek the things that are above, where Christ is, seated at the right hand of God.
This is the tension we’re living in as believers.
We’re already not of this world.
We don’t belong to this world.
The world has been crucified to me and we to the world.
Yet, we also live in this world with all its temptations, such as sexual immortality, drunkenness, materialism, self-ego, and living for the praise of others.
However, if you want to belong to this world, then what does that look like?
You would want to please the world and seek its approval.
You’ll be worldly and seek worldly desires.
[SLIDE 13] You will serve your earthly master instead of your heavenly master.
24 “No one can serve two masters, for either he will hate the one and love the other, or he will be devoted to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve God and money.
In our Tuesday night Bible study, (and I encourage you to attend this summer at 7 PM), we have been studying the letter of James since we began during the Fall season.
[SLIDE 14] We came to James 4:4 where James gives some strong and harsh teachings.
4 You adulterous people! Do you not know that friendship with the world is enmity with God? Therefore whoever wishes to be a friend of the world makes himself an enemy of God.
James is saying that if you want to pursue worldliness, you make yourself an enemy of God.
If you profess to be a Christian, and yet you are chasing worldly things, then you need to figure out which side you are truly on.
Are you a friend of God? or are you an enemy of God?
You cannot be a friend of God AND ALSO a friend of the world.
If you’re an enemy of God, then truly truly I say to you, you who are worldly will die in your sins.
[SLIDE 15] Third, Don’t Die In Your Unbelief (John 8:24)
24 I told you that you would die in your sins, for unless you believe that I am he you will die in your sins.”
Jesus returns to the point that He made in verse 21.
Have established that Jews truly do not understand Him because they’re of the world, Jesus is emphasizing that they’re going to die in their sins.
Notice that back in verse 21 that Jesus uses a singular noun, “sin.”
However, Jesus uses a plural noun, “sins.”
Why is that? Why did Jesus go from sin to sins?
To answer that question, we should discern what particular sin Jesus was referring to in verse 21.
Maybe, most likely, verse 21 may be referring specifically to the sin of unbelief.
Out of that sin of unbelief will come many other sins.
Just like a diseased tree produces diseased fruit, so a heart hardened by unbelief will inevitably bear many sins.
What does it mean to “die in your sins?”
And it is a kind of death whereby you cannot be where Jesus is.
He’s talking about dying in unrepentance and unforgiven sins because of unbelief.
However, there is a sweet hope.
Notice that there is the word “unless.”
Dr. John MacArthur says that word, unless, introduces the only hope of escape from God’s wrath and judgment on sin.
Jesus says, “Unless you believe that I am He.”
Jesus is directing the object of your faith in Him.
Notice that Jesus doesn’t explicitly say, “unless you believe in me...” although that would have been theologically correct.
He says, “unless you believe that I am he.”
The “he” actually doesn’t exist in the Greek. It’s added by the translators for grammatical smoothness in our English sentences.
Since the “he” isn’t in the Greek, it would be rendered as this, “Unless you believe that I AM.”
Why is that important you may wonder?
Jesus is claiming His deity in this verse.
In the Old Testament, God revealed Himself as “I Am Who I Am.”
That’s God’s personal name, YHWH: “I Am.”
So, Jesus is claiming emphatically to the Jews that I am the One I claim to be YHWH.
And Jesus is giving the Jews a conditional statement or a spiritual consequence.
Jesus may sound harsh, but He is being direct and stern. Take that as tough love.
Jesus is not playing games here.
He’s not giving you an option to be on the fence.
If you do not believe that I Am YHWH - the God of Israel - you will die in your sins.
There is certainty of divine judgment for the sin of unbelief.
This is an indictment from Jesus to all who refuse to believe that He is God.
This is a judgment against all false religions, heresies, and cults that deny the deity of Christ.
Such as Mormonism, Jehovah Witnesses, Unitarianism, Islam, Buddhism, Atheism and so forth.
Those who reject Him as the great “I Am” cannot be saved.
However, if you do believe in Jesus as the great “I Am”, then the implication is that you will not die in your sins.
Our Lord Jesus is calling you not to perish in your sins, but to believe in Him so that you may have eternal life.
That describes the heart of our God.
He does not wish any of you should perish, but to reach repentance.
[SLIDE 16] Hear these words from our LORD in the book of Ezekiel.
23 Have I any pleasure in the death of the wicked, declares the Lord God, and not rather that he should turn from his way and live?
32 For I have no pleasure in the death of anyone, declares the Lord God; so turn, and live.”
11 Say to them, As I live, declares the Lord God, I have no pleasure in the death of the wicked, but that the wicked turn from his way and live; turn back, turn back from your evil ways, for why will you die, O house of Israel?
However, if you choose to reject faith in Christ and give your life to Him, then you who are unbelieving will die in your sins.
But, if the Holy Spirit has done a supernatural work in your life and has awaken your heart to saving faith, then come to Christ and submit to Him as your Lord and Saviour.
Trust in Him and in His word.
Believe in Him as the only One who can save you from your sins and from God’s wrath.
[SLIDE 17] Fourth, Don’t Die In Your Willful Ignorance (John 8:25-26)
25 So they said to him, “Who are you?” Jesus said to them, “Just what I have been telling you from the beginning. 26 I have much to say about you and much to judge, but he who sent me is true, and I declare to the world what I have heard from him.”
Despite Jesus’ explanation and stern warning, the Jews responds, “Who are you?”
Now, it’s not like the Jews had a sudden alzheimer's and forgot who Jesus was.
They continue with their scorn, mockery, ridicule, and crude sarcasm.
The meaning could also be rendered as “Who do you think you are?”
Who are you to tell us that we are going to die in our sins?
This is just characteristics of the Jews who continue to be antagonistic towards Jesus in various ways.
Jesus responds to them with an obvious statement: “Just what I have been telling you from the beginning!”
From the beginning of His public ministry.
In verse 26, Jesus has much to say about the Jews. Jesus has much to judge.
Jesus has given them enough information about Himself.
Yet, they refuse to believe in Christ, and they will be held accountable and responsible for their sin of unbelief.
They cannot excuse themselves based on their ignorance because they’re not. They’re being willfully ignorant.
They chose to overlook the important message from Jesus.
They intentionally turn their blind eyes from the truth because of their prejudice and hatred against Christ.
However, instead of speaking about the Jews and judging them, Jesus speaks about God the Father.
Even if they refuse to believe in Jesus, even if they die in their sins, whatever Jesus taught is true because it’s from His Father.
We should know that by now because Jesus continuously brings back His relationship with His Father.
God the Father and God the Son had an intimate and eternal relationship with one another for all eternity.
This explains the depth of Jesus’ intimacy with His Father.
He knew His Father perfectly well.
He was sent from His Father on a divine mission.
He came to deliver a divine, authoritative message to the world given by His Father.
[SLIDE 18] If they reject Jesus’ message, they reject the Father. (1 John 2:23, 4:15; 2 John 9)
9 Everyone who goes on ahead and does not abide in the teaching of Christ, does not have God. Whoever abides in the teaching has both the Father and the Son.
So, what should we do about this?
Being willfully ignorant is not just having a lack of knowledge.
It is a stubborn refusal to listen and respond to the truth of God’s word.
The Jews heard Jesus, but didn’t truly listen to Him by heeding His call to faith.
The Jews claimed to know God but they rejected the One God sent.
And you can fall into the same danger.
You can say that you believe in God, but are you ignoring God’s words during the week?
Like you know you’re supposed to be in God’s word, and your conscience is telling you and it’s giving you a warning sign, but you choose to ignore it as if there’s nothing wrong in your life.
Brothers and sisters, don’t assume that you’re doing okay spiritually.
Don’t pretend that your relationship with God is well if you have been sinking deep into darkness because you are not close to the light of the world.
Don’t lie to yourself, and your brothers and sisters.
Let us walk alongside you and encourage you in your faith.
It’s important to be in community with God’s people during the week so that we can build up each other spiritually.
However, if you choose to be willfully ignorant of God’s word, then don’t be surprised that you will die in your sins.
[SLIDE 19] Lastly, fifth, Don’t Die In Your Hardheartedness (John 8:27-30)
27 They did not understand that he had been speaking to them about the Father.
As expected, the Jews are spiritually blind and dead in their sins to hear what Jesus is teaching them (John 8:27)
Under the guidance of the Holy Spirit, the Apostle John is aware that the Jews did not understand that Jesus had been speaking to them about the Father.
Why do they not understand?
The answer to this question explains why I chose to talk about hardheartedness, which overlaps with willful ignorance in some ways.
[SLIDE 20] Jesus answers that question later on in verses 43 and verse 47.
43 Why do you not understand what I say? It is because you cannot bear to hear my word.
47 Whoever is of God hears the words of God. The reason why you do not hear them is that you are not of God.”
They do not understand because they cannot bear to hear the word of Jesus.
Many other Bible translations do not include “bear” in it.
They simply say that they cannot hear Jesus’ word.
But, the Greek language might carry both the idea of the inability to hear AND the unwillingness to tolerate or accept what is being said.
They have harden their hearts against Jesus because they hate Him and hostile towards Him.
[SLIDE 21] This is something that the prophet Jeremiah experienced.
10 To whom shall I speak and give warning, that they may hear? Behold, their ears are uncircumcised, they cannot listen; behold, the word of the Lord is to them an object of scorn; they take no pleasure in it.
Their ears have grown more spiritually deaf.
Their ears are uncircumcised (or closed).
Or, to put it more graphically, their ears have too much wax in them and their spiritual ears aren’t clean.
They’re spiritually deaf because of their rebellion against God.
And they do not understand because they are not of God.
They do not belong to God.
They’re not truly born again.
They’re not understanding and perceiving who Jesus is because the god of this world has blinded them (2 Corinthians 4:3-4)
[SLIDE 22] So, Jesus continues in verses 28-29
28 So Jesus said to them, “When you have lifted up the Son of Man, then you will know that I am he, and that I do nothing on my own authority, but speak just as the Father taught me. 29 And he who sent me is with me. He has not left me alone, for I always do the things that are pleasing to him.”
Because the Jews were willfully ignorant about Jesus, and because Jesus has been telling them about Himself despite their mockery, they will one day know who He is and the great “I Am?”
When will that day be when the Jews will know that Jesus is the great “I Am?”
It would be the the time when the Jews would lift up the Son of Man.
This is talking about the crucifixion of Christ. (John 19:18)
[SLIDE 23] The phrase “to lift up the Son of Man” reminds us of John 3:14-15
14 And as Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, so must the Son of Man be lifted up, 15 that whoever believes in him may have eternal life.
Jesus uses the phrase, “Son of Man,” which is a title for Himself, and a reference to Daniel 7:13-14.
When the Jews know Jesus that “I Am He,” this doesn’t mean that this recognition necessarily leads to salvation for all who witness it; rather, it could also mean condemnation for those who rejected Him.
After Jesus’ death, a lot of things happen.
There was an earthquake (Matthew 27:50-54).
The curtain in the temple was torn from top to bottom.
There was darkness in Jerusalem.
Most likely, the Jews should have been experienced those events.
Eventually, after Jesus’ resurrection and ascension, the Apostle Peter preached a powerful sermon about Christ to the Jews in Acts 2.
And many Jews came to believe, but not all of them.
And Jesus says to the Jews that they will know that I do nothing on my own authority, but speak just as the Father taught me.
And the Jews should know that Jesus does nothing on His own authority despite Him bringing that up over and over again (John 5:19, 30; 6:38)
Rather, He came to speak exactly what the Father has taught Him.
Hence, Jesus repeats again the idea that He was sent by the Father in verse 29.
This is such an important theme in John’s gospel.
[SLIDE 24] In verse 29, not only did the Father send Jesus, He is also present with Jesus.
God the Father and God the Son have a union and intimate relationship in the Godhead.
Therefore, Jesus is never alone.
He has a witness (His Father) with Him and in Him.
Why is the Father always with Christ?
It’s because Christ always do the things that are pleasing to the Father.
Jesus always keeps and obeys His Father’s words without fail. (John 8:55).
Hypothetically, if Christ sinned (which is impossible because Jesus is God, and God cannot sin) and displeased His Father, then His Father will take no pleasure in His Son.
As a result, as Jesus was saying these things (verses 21-29), there seems to be some good news.
Here is how John concludes this section.
30 As he was saying these things, many believed in him.
Many - Jews - believed in Jesus.
Now, it seems like they have genuine faith in Jesus, perhaps initially.
In previous passages, we have noted several times that many people believed in Jesus because of His signs (John 2:23-25, 4:48, 6:26-30).
Here, they believed because of His teachings.
Yet, we also discover later on that the Jews who believed in Him seem to be weak or insincere.
We’ll learn whether their faith was genuine or not.
I want to return to verse 27 and consider some reflections and applications.
I wonder if this verse describes some of you today.
How many of you do not understand because you’re hardhearted?
There are three groups of people I want to speak to
First, those of you who have been to church for a long time, but still do not understand because maybe you’re just going through the motion.
You’ve been listening to sermons even since you came to church.
You’ve been in Bible studies.
You might have grown up in Sunday school.
And yet, you still do not understand the Scriptures and the message of the gospel.
(Unless, of course, the problem is my lack of clarity, which I pray is not the case.)
You hear the words, but they don’t land on your heart.
You may be listening but you do not understand.
You may be hearing the preaching of God’s word, but you are resisting it.
Maybe, whenever you come to church, you put your brain in the closet, and then put it back on when you leave.
If that’s you, then maybe you have grown hardhearted.
Here’s the thing you need to know about hardheartedness:
Sometimes, it doesn’t come from a lack of exposure to truth.
They come from years of resisting the truth.
Imagine your heart like this:
It’s like putting a giant cube of water into the freezer.
What happens to the water?
It turns into ice.
Ice is hard.
The harder it is, the harder it is to prick it open.
You can be hearing the truth and be near the truth, yet you have put your heart in the freezer for years whenever the truth of God’s word is exposed to you.
You can hear about grace and never receive it.
You can listen to sermons and still die in your sins.
If that is you, ask the Lord to soften your heart so that you would receive His implanted truth.
Ask the Lord to break through the numbness of your soul.
Open up your heart to the Lord and let the love of Jesus melt your heart.
Second, those of you who are new to the church, and still non-believers. And we welcome you here this morning.
Maybe you're here exploring Christianity.
You're hearing truths for the first time.
But you’re still on the outside looking in, and you're not yet born again.
I urge you: Ask the Lord to open your eyes and ears.
Pray for spiritual sight.
Plead with God to help you understand what your soul desperately needs.
That you’re a sinner in need of Jesus to save you from your sins and from the wrath of God to come.
Third, those of you who are believers, but for whatever reason you are still not understanding the word because maybe there is a sense of resistance from your flesh.
I don’t expect new believers to know everything about the Bible because we all start somewhere.
However, let me speak the truth in love.
If you have been a believer for a long long time, and yet you still have a maturity of a spiritual infant in your knowledge of God, as a pastor, I’m concerned that there may be a problem in your spiritual life.
[SLIDE 25] Hebrews 5:11-14 describes the Jewish believers who have been dull of hearing.
The word dull means being lazy or sluggish or apathetic.
You have been a Christian for a long time, you should be spiritually mature in your faith.
You should be eating solid food like an adult, but you’re still drinking baby milk.
And you still do not know how to handle the word of God.
Perhaps, some of you may have grown spiritually sluggish or lethargic in your walk with Christ.
Maybe, you’ve plateaued.
Maybe, you’ve gotten too comfortable.
Maybe, you’ve regressed in the work of sanctification.
Perhaps, you pride yourself by thinking that you’re okay spiritually, but you have lost your first love.
Perhaps, you’re distracted by the worldly things of life to the point that God’s word has no place in your life.
Your ears are no longer eager to hear from God, and your heart is no longer tender to receive it.
To which I say in the words of Jesus in Revelation, brothers and sisters, wake up and repent and remember from where you have fallen.
Plead with the Lord’s mercy to open up your heart again.
Beg Him to clear out the wax of sins in your spiritual ears so that you can hear God’s word afresh.
“You cannot repent too soon, because you do not know how soon it may be too late.” (Thomas Fuller)
Humble yourself. Pray and ask the Lord to give you that understanding.
Paul said to Timothy to think about these things and the Lord will give you understanding in everything.
Find every opportunity to seek to understand God’s word, and not grow spiritually dull.
[SLIDE 26] Application
Brothers and sisters and friends, there is so much I want to say, but time doesn’t permit me to go further.
Please remember this main idea: Believe in who Jesus truly is, or you will die in your sins.
Don’t die in your self-righteousness.
Don’t die in your worldliness.
Don’t die in your unbelief.
Don’t die in your willful ignorance.
Don’t die in your hardheartedness.
Go to the Lord now.
Turn your eyes upon Jesus.
Jesus ready stands to save you
Full of pity love and power
And if you tarry until you're better
You will never come at all.
So Go to Jesus.
He will embrace you in His arms
And in the arms of your dear Savior
Oh there are ten thousand charms
[SLIDE 27] Benediction
23 Now may the God of peace himself sanctify you completely, and may your whole spirit and soul and body be kept blameless at the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ. 24 He who calls you is faithful; he will surely do it.
