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Turn to your Bibles, please, 
to John chapter 20. John 20. Our focus this morning is going 
to be primarily on verse 31. We want to read in John 20, picking 
up at verse 19. Remember what's going on here. 
resurrected Christ has appeared to His disciples, and He appears 
to them, of course, on Sunday, which would become the Lord's 
Day Sabbath. He appears to them here again 
in the evening, as we pick up in verse 19. And when we get 
to verse 24, we see that He appears one week later on the same day, 
the first day of the week, the New Covenant, New Testament Sabbath, 
the second time to Thomas in order to, if you will, confirm 
his faith. We want to pick up reading in 
John 20, beginning at verse 19. Once again, the Word of God. 
Then the same day at evening, being the first day of the week, 
when the doors were shut where the disciples were assembled 
for fear of the Jews, Then the disciples were glad 
when they saw the Lord. So Jesus said to them again, peace to you. As the Father has sent me, I also send 
you. And when he had said this, he breathed on them and said to them, receive the Holy Spirit. If you forgive 
the sins of any, they are forgiven them. If you retain the sins of any, they are retained. Now Thomas called the twin, one 
of the 12, was not with them when Jesus came. The other disciples, therefore, said to him, we have seen the 
Lord. So he said to them, unless I see in his hands the print of the nails and put my finger into 
the print of the nails and put my hand into his side, I will not believe. And after eight 
days, his disciples were again inside and Thomas with them. Jesus came, the doors being shut, 
and stood in the midst and said, peace to you. Then he said to Thomas, reach your finger here and look 
at my hands, and reach your hand here and put it into my side. Do not be unbelieving, but believing. 
And Thomas answered and said to him, my Lord and my God. Jesus said to him, Thomas, because you have seen 
me, you have believed. Blessed are those who have not 
seen and yet have believed. And truly, Jesus did many other signs in the presence of his disciples, which 
are not written in this book. But these are written that you may believe that Jesus is the Christ, the 
Son of God, and that believing, you may have life in his name. Amen. Well, let's again go to the Lord in prayer. Heavenly Father, we rejoice that 
we can now engage in this act of worship, the preaching of the Word. Again, God, we would pray that you'd 
help us to engage in that, this act, with great joy, that we would be attentive. Throughout this exercise, we 
pray that You would come and that Christ by His Spirit would 
strengthen our hearts, would illumine our minds, that we might 
know our Christ more. And Lord God, that Your saints 
would be instructed, that sinners would be saved, and that this 
would be an occasion for Your glory's sake, that the Lord Jesus 
Christ as well would be exalted upon the praises of this gathered 
assembly. And it's in Christ's name that 
we pray. Amen. Well, when we come to the Holy 
Scriptures, there are some things that can be hard to understand. 
Peter himself recognizes that with respect to the Apostle Paul's 
writing. There are things that can be 
hard to understand. They are to be understood, but 
nevertheless, they can be hard to understand. Our confession 
puts it this way, all things in Scripture are not alike plain 
in themselves, nor alike clear unto all. Yet those things which 
are necessary to be known, believed, and observed for salvation are 
so clearly propounded and opened in some piece of Scripture or 
other that not only the learned but the unlearned in a due use 
of ordinary means may attain to a sufficient understanding 
of them. What it's saying is that while there are some things 
that are hard to understand, they are to be understood, but 
nevertheless hard to understand, there are things that are so 
clearly propounded, they are clear, there is an aspect of 
clarity, they're easy to understand. We have such a thing here that 
not only is it easy to understand, but the author of the Gospel 
here, John, even augments the clarity of understanding by giving 
a purpose statement for the entirety of his book. We have an instance 
of this as well in Hebrews 8.1, where the Apostle Paul, or the 
author to the Hebrews, says, this is the point of the things 
that we have been saying. He brings a kindness to us dumb 
pupils of Christ in order to make the point and to make it 
clear. And the Apostle John does that 
here when he gives this summary statement, if you will, in John 
20, 30 and 31, which I'll re-read now. And truly, Jesus did many 
other signs in the presence of His disciples which are not written 
in this book. But these are written that you 
may believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God, and that 
believing you may have life in His name. This is an instance 
of condescending divine kindness. By revelation, John gives a purpose 
statement. Kids, that means words that give 
a reason for something. And here John is giving a reason 
as to why he wrote this book. These things are written that 
you may believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God, and 
that believing you may have life in His name. Ryle uses the language 
something like this, there are many weak children in Christ's 
family. There are many dumb pupils in 
His school, many raw soldiers in His army, and many lame sheep 
in His flock. And He condescends with the revelation 
of Himself with clarity of words in order to make known that He 
is the Christ, the Son of God, and that all who believe in Him 
will not perish, but have everlasting life. You see, when we come to 
the Bible, We come to a book that is not shrouded in mystery. It's not shrouded in some sort 
of incoherent babble. It's not esoteric. That means 
it's not some sort of Gnostic, hard-to-understand thing that 
only a few can understand. But rather, the Bible comes to 
us, and with clarity of words, it holds forth the Christ, the 
Son of God, and the blessed truth that all who believe in Him will 
have everlasting life. We want to look at John 20, 30 
and 31 under two headings. And perhaps Don Lindblad would 
be proud of the alliteration. The first is the deliberate divine 
design of gospel revelation. And the second is the clear Christocentric 
character of Gospel revelation. We'll define what those things 
mean, but it's fun to alliterate. Now, first off, we want to note 
the deliberate divine design of Gospel revelation. That simply 
means that God had a particular purpose in revealing Himself 
in the 66 books of the Old and New Testament. There is a divine 
design in God's revelation to us. The Bible comes to us, and 
it comes to us with a divine purpose in the background and 
in the foreground. Now, we have this statement in 
verse 30. Not all things were written. 
Notice what it says. And truly Jesus did many other 
signs in the presence of his disciples which are not written 
in this book. Now, there are a couple ways 
we could look at that. First off, we have Matthew, Mark, 
and Luke. Some of the things written there 
are not recorded in John. And so there may be something 
here where John, aware of the other gospel authors, comes and 
he says, truly Jesus did many other signs in the presence of 
His disciples which are not written in this book, but they are written 
in the other books. And there is an element of truth 
to that. But it does not stop there, and we cannot confine 
that statement there, because notice what we find in John 21-25. 
And there are also many other things that Jesus did, which 
if they were written one by one, I suppose that even the world 
itself could not contain the books that would be written. 
Amen. And so we have in view here the 
reality that God superintending the inscripturation of the Bible 
so revealed things after a particular purpose. There was a deliberate 
divine design in gospel revelation. The Bible is not a detailed manual 
for all things. Pastor Lindblad talked about 
that in his preaching last Lord's Day morning. We do not have in 
the Bible an extensive opening up of the history of the world, 
though everything it does say about history is inspired, infallible, 
and inerrant. We do not have in the Bible a 
science manual. It's not a manual for science 
or the sciences, though everything it says with respect to science 
is inspired, inerrant, and infallible. All of this to say, the Bible 
has a peculiar design. While it might not say everything 
about everything, what it does say is wholly trustworthy. Are 
the Scriptures trustworthy in all that they affirm? The Scriptures 
of the Old and New Testaments being inspired are therefore 
inherent and infallible in all that they affirm concerning history, 
science, doctrine, religion, ethics, and every other thing. 
There is a trustworthiness to the Scriptures because they are 
God-breathed, but there is a peculiar design behind them. Not all things 
were written, but the things that were written come to us 
and they are sure and certain. Again, the text reads, and truly 
Jesus did many other signs in the presence of His disciples 
which are not written in this book, but these are written. 
So not all things are written, but some things are, because 
there is a grand divine purpose in revelation. Remember, our 
Bibles don't come to us as some sort of haphazardly slapped together 
collection of ancient documents for our edification. for having 
a better life in this lower world, or for a veiling of preaching 
that will introduce 17 golf analogies on how to be more religious in 
this lower world. The Bible comes to us not haphazardly 
put together, but put together by God for a purpose, and that 
purpose we're going to get to, but we'll say it now, to set 
forth His glory in the salvation of sinners through Jesus Christ, 
the blessed Redeemer. And so we have a grand divine 
purpose in Revelation. We see this in other places in 
the Gospel of John as well. You can turn with me to John 
19 for a moment. the deliberate divine design 
in Gospel revelation, in the Scriptures. Notice what we have 
in John 19. This is the occasion of the crucifixion 
of our Lord Jesus Christ. And notice in verse 35 of 19, 
And he who has seen has testified, and his testimony is true, and 
he knows that he is telling the truth, so that you may believe. You see the grand divine purpose 
of Gospel revelation there, so that you may believe. We have 
this blessed divine purpose in the Bible given to us, and we 
have to understand and we have to draw the application of the 
importance of the written Word. You hear that a lot in this church. The importance of the written 
Word of God. And hopefully you never roll 
your eyes because we have in God's revelation to us all that 
is sufficient for faith, for salvation, and for our life in 
godliness. We have in the written Word God's 
revelation to men concerning His will and His purpose and 
salvation by so rich a Christ. The written Word and the importance 
of it is set in view quite clearly, and hopefully you see that in 
the occasion of Thomas. You see, we are not to seek after 
signs. Jesus Himself, in His earthly 
ministry, says a wicked and perverse generation seeks after a sign. 
A wicked and adulterous generation seeks after a sign, instead of 
availing of the written, given revelation from God. In the occasion 
of Thomas, what do we have here? Notice what we have. And this 
speaks to the importance of the written word. Notice the obstinate 
rejection of apostolic testimony by Thomas. In verse 24, now Thomas 
called the twin. One of the twelve was not with 
them when Jesus came. The other disciples therefore 
said to him, We have seen the Lord. So he said to them, unless 
I see in his hands the print of the nails and put my finger 
into the print of the nails and put my hand into his side, I 
will not believe. Perhaps we don't get the weight 
or the import of this reality. Thomas is often called Doubting 
Thomas, and doubting that modifier, I think, reduces the severity 
and the gravity of Thomas' transgression here. He has rejected the apostolic 
testimony of his fellows. Remember what John just wrote 
in John 19.35. He who has seen has testified, 
and his testimony is true, and he knows that he is telling the 
truth so that you may believe. In this week, between Christ's 
resurrection appearances, John would have testified to Thomas, 
I saw the Lord. He ate broiled fish and honeycomb 
before me. I put my hand into the print 
of his nails. I cast my eyes upon the risen 
Christ. And yet Thomas rejects apostolic 
testimony. And it's not just that. Remember 
what we read in 2 Timothy 3. The Old Testament Scriptures 
are able to make you wise unto salvation through faith which 
is in Christ Jesus. The Old Testament comes and it 
promises a Christ who would be crucified and who would rise 
again. And Thomas, in the face of the 
written revelation of God, in obstinate rejection, opposes 
those things. Now, we do have to have a measure 
of kindness here, because our Christ is kind to Thomas. He 
was weak and beaten, if you will, by the reality that his Savior 
had been put to death by lawless hands. And so, no doubt, there 
is grief, there is lament, there is loss. But nevertheless, in 
the face of the Scriptures and in the face of apostolic testimony, 
he rejects and he demands a sign, he demands these evidential proofs. All of that to come back to this 
point, the importance of the written Word. We have the written 
Word, the testimony of those who laid eyes upon Him. Prior 
to that, the testimony of those who promised that this One would 
come, and that many would cast eyes upon Him. We have that testimony, 
and we are to avail of it. We are not to demand signs, we 
are not to demand evidential proofs, but we are to avail of 
the Word that God has committed to us. And we are to thereby 
and therein believe in this Christ who is proclaimed, who is preached 
in this inferent, inspired, and infallible word. The importance 
of the written word is brought out in these simple words. These are written. Avail of your 
Bibles. Kids, read your Bibles. Adults, 
read your Bibles. I know it's the simple admonition 
and exhortation by preachers throughout the years, but why 
do we say, read your Bibles? It's not to check off a list, 
but it's to glory in your Christ. It's not to check off a list, 
it's to adore your God. It's not to check off a list, 
it's to read of the fact that by God's grace you have been 
brought forth from darkness to light, from deadness to life. 
in this Savior and by this Savior. If you're outside of Christ, 
read the Bible. Why? Because these things were 
written that you may believe that Jesus is the Christ, the 
Son of God, and believing have life in His name. There is a 
clear statement delivered by John in this same Gospel, and 
it ought to strike fear in the heart of everyone who is outside 
of Christ. Those who believe in Christ have 
life, but those who do not believe shall not see life, but the wrath 
of God abides on them. The wrath of God. And this revelation 
comes to you, and it sets forth a glorious Christ, the Savior 
of sinners. Believing in Him, you will have 
everlasting life. And brethren, when we tell you 
to go to the Scriptures, When anyone tells you, a parent, a 
mother, a father, a brother, a sister, an uncle, an aunt, 
or whoever tells you to go to the scriptures and to read them, 
what a glorious book in the manner in which it reads. There's a 
statement in our confession that speaks about the attributes of 
Holy Scripture. You see, we don't come to a dry 
tome of antiquated truths that just rehearses these ethereal 
truths to just take in and have a head full of knowledge. The 
statement in our confession, speaking about the attributes 
of Scripture, says the heavenliness of the matter, the efficacy of 
the doctrine, the majesty of the style, the consent of all 
the parts, the scope of the whole which is to give glory to God, 
the full discovery it makes of the only way of man's salvation, 
and many other incomparable excellencies and entire perfections thereof, 
are arguments whereby the Scriptures testify to their own authority 
and inspiration, their own glory. It's not a dusty tome of antiquated 
truths. It is the rich and the excellent 
word from on high. That's why we call you to go 
to the Scriptures. What a book! What a book! And in this book is set forth 
for you the Christ, the Son of God. So the deliberate divine 
design of gospel revelation, it is not to give us information 
on all things, but it is peculiarly in its inspiration, infallibility, 
and inerrancy to disclose certain things concerning the purpose 
of God for the salvation of His elect through Jesus Christ, the 
blessed Redeemer. And that brings us then to the 
second and last heading here with regards to this passage, 
the clear, Christocentric character of gospel revelation. Hopefully, 
we all know what clear means. Christocentric, kids, and everyone 
else, just means Christ-centered. The Bible is Christocentric. It sets forth Christ as the heart 
and the center of its revelation to men. And so, we have in John 
20, 31, the clear, Christocentric character of gospel revelation. 
Again, I read, but these are written that you may believe 
that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God, and that believing 
you may have life in His name." The first thing we want to observe 
is the scope of the book of John is herein stated. If we ask John 
the Revelator, if we ask John here the Gospel writer, why did 
you write the book of John? Why did you write the Gospel 
of John? so that you might believe that Jesus is the Christ, the 
Son of God, and that believing you may have life in His name." 
It's Christocentric in its character. This is Cyril of Alexandria on 
this particular point of Jesus the Christ, the Son of God, and 
the Gospel of John. For all the signs, he says, that 
is John, are not written in this book, but those only have been 
inserted by me which I thought best able to convince my hearers 
that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God. This is what the 
inspired evangelist says, and I think too, that it may be of 
use to make the following observation. For the whole meaning of the 
record is directed to producing in us this faith, and is well 
calculated to make us steadfast in the conviction that the child 
of the Holy Virgin, who was called Jesus by the voice of the angel, 
is the very Christ whose coming was proclaimed by Holy Writ. And if He be, indeed, very Christ 
and none other, Not merely a son, but the Son of God in a unique 
and special sense. The scope of the book of John 
is Jesus the Christ, the Son of God. We come to this book 
and we see this purpose statement given, that our eyes are to be 
drawn in a collection of all of the data, in a collection 
of all of the signs, in a collection of all of the truths. Our eyes 
are to be drawn and to be focused upon the Christ, the Son of God, 
that we might believe in Him and have life in His name. Nehemiah 
Cox is speaking about Christocentricity. Again, kids, the Christ-centeredness 
of our Bibles, the Christ-centeredness of the Gospel of John. He says, 
for in all our search after the mind of God in the Holy Scriptures, 
we're to manage our inquiries after Christ, this one, the Son 
of God, this one who gave his life for guilty sinners. In a 
sense, actually not in a sense, but really, this is the scope 
of the book of John, but it is also, Christ is the scope of 
the whole of the Scriptures. The full discovery it makes concerning 
the only way of salvation, the only way for men to be saved. Christ is the scope of Scripture. He is the intended end, the target, 
the goal. All of the washings and the ceremonies 
and the sacrifices foreshadow Him. All of the promises and 
the types and the proclamations have Christ as their glorious 
intended terminus, their ending point. Notice what we have in 
John 5 on this very point. From the lips of the Savior Himself, 
In John 5, we have these words beginning in verse 38. Notice what Christ Himself speaks. But you do not have His Word 
abiding in you, because whom He sent, Him, you do not believe. You search the Scriptures, for 
in them you think you have eternal life, and these are they which 
testify of Me. But you are not willing to come 
to Me that you may have life. I do not receive honor from men, 
but I know you that you do not have the love of God in you. 
I have come in My Father's name, and you do not receive Me. If 
another comes in his own name, him you will receive. How can 
you believe who receive honor from one another and do not seek 
the honor that comes from the only God? Do not think that I 
shall accuse you to the Father. There is one who accuses you, 
Moses, in whom you trust. For if you believed Moses, you 
would believe me. Now note, for he wrote about 
me. But if you do not believe his 
writings, how will you believe my words? Jesus Christ, in two 
places here, speaks with regards to the reality that He is the 
focus, the target, the end goal of the revelation from on high. 
Verse 39, you search the Scriptures, for in them you think you have 
eternal life, and these are they which testify of Me. Verse 47, 
but if you do not believe His writings, that is, Moses' writings, 
how will you believe My words? He wrote about Me, Christ says. 
You think about that. You go back to the Pentateuch. 
You go back to the book of Genesis. Moses wrote about Christ. From the outset of Revelation, 
brothers and sisters, we have the promise of Christ. The hero 
born of woman who would crush the serpent with his heel. And 
from there on out, Revelation follows a trajectory Christward 
in setting forth the promises, the prophecies of this one who 
would come. A very simple summary of the 
Bible by William Ames. The Old Testament promises Christ 
to come. The New Testament testifies that 
He has. We have these things written 
so that we might believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son 
of God, and that believing we might have life in His name. 
The scope of John, the scope of Scripture is salvation through 
Jesus Christ the Lord. It is Christocentric. It is Christ-centered. Brethren, that wonderful language 
that we have in this summary statement, in this purpose statement, 
that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God. John takes pains 
throughout his gospel to stress the identity of Jesus Christ, 
to press the blessed identity of Jesus Christ. This is no regular 
man. This is not Jeremiah. This is 
not Elijah. This is not John the Baptist. 
This is not some other prophet. This is the Christ, the Son of 
God. This is the promised Messiah. 
This is the promised Anointed One. This is the promised Savior. This is the promised one of Genesis 
3.15. This is the promised one of Psalm 
22. This is the promised one of Isaiah 
53. This is the one that the angels cried out before His glory. Holy, holy, holy is the Lord 
of hosts. The whole earth is filled with 
His glory. This same one that was a babe 
wrapped in swaddling bands, lying in a feed trough. It's the King 
of kings and Lord of lords, wonderful counselor, mighty God, everlasting 
Father, Prince of peace. This is the Christ. He's the prophet, priest, and 
king of the church. Those three offices of the Lord 
Jesus Christ are not theological impositions upon the Scripture, 
prophet, priest, and king. The Old Testament had what three 
offices primarily? Prophet, priest, and king. Multitudes 
of them. Separate individuals, but in 
Christ they all converge into one glorious prophet, one glorious 
priest, and one glorious king. And unlike the prophets of old, 
this Christ is both messenger and the content of the message 
preached. I am the way, the truth, and 
the life. No one goes to the Father but by Me. Unlike the 
priests of old who were one after the other, he is both priest 
and sacrifice offered. And unlike those sacrifices of 
old which could never take away sin, which were offered time 
and again, year after year, this one, once and for all, offered 
one sacrifice for the quick and the dead. And a perfect one, 
and the only one that can forgive sins and offer that blessed salvation. and He's the King. Remember what 
we looked at a number of Sundays ago, the blessed and only potentate, 
the King of Kings and Lord of Lords. There is one King. There is one monarch. There is 
one potentate. There is one true ruler who has 
it, essentially, originally, and non-derived, and that is 
the Lord Jesus Christ, the King of Kings and Lord of Lords. This 
is the Christ, the Son of God. That language of Son of God is 
rich. It's not simply Son of God by 
virtue of His incarnation and divine bestowal of blessings, 
but Son of God really and essentially. He is true and essential deity. As we've studied in our Christology 
sessions, Christ is true and essential deity, coessential 
with the Father. It means He's of the same substance, 
of the same glory, of the same essence. He's not lesser than 
the Father. He's equal to the Father. I was 
thinking about this as I'm reading this. For those who have been 
in the Christology session, there are some high things that we've 
covered that really, with my apology, sometimes have not been 
opened up to adequacy. We say statements like, Christ 
is true and essential deity, coessential with the Father. 
You see, when we say those things, though, We are to then mount 
to Thomas' declaration, my Lord and my God, because that's what 
that means. Sometimes affirmation, apprehension 
of a theological truth, and the affirmation of it, it's not supposed 
to stop there, but it's to lead to adoration. Christ is true 
and essential deity, coessential with the Father. That leads us 
to my Lord and my God. You see, Thomas is to be prototypical 
of every true Christian throughout the ages. We are to be cast down 
in humility before the King of kings and Lord of lords. And 
with eyes of faith, unlike Thomas' eyes of sight, with eyes of faith, 
we look upon an exalted Redeemer with the print of the nails in 
His hands, with the wound in His side, now exalted, given 
dominion and glory and a kingdom. and we cast down before Him our 
faces to the ground and we say with Thomas, my Lord and my God. He is the Christ. He is the Son 
of God. Blessed King. Blessed Redeemer. The end goal then, we're looking 
at the clear Christocentric character of Gospel revelation, the scope 
of the book of John, and we can say truly the scope of Scripture 
is Christ Jesus the Lord, and now the end goal of the book 
of John. So if the scope of the book of 
John is Jesus the Christ, the Son of God, then what is the 
end goal of the book of John? Well, first it is that sinners 
believe in Jesus. Sinners believe in Jesus. But these are written that you 
may believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God, and that 
believing you may have life in His name. The end goal of the 
book of John is unto this end that sinners would believe in 
Jesus. Isn't this our hope? Hopefully it's our hope as Christians 
that sinners believe in Jesus and we pray to that end. We even 
have opportunities sometimes set before us by God that we 
can preach Jesus unto that end. It should be our hope as parents 
that our children would believe on the Lord Jesus Christ. Children, 
if you're here this morning and you haven't believed on the Lord 
Jesus Christ, believe on the Lord Jesus Christ. John wrote 
this gospel, yes, to his first century audience that they might 
believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God, and that believing 
they would have life in His name. But it comes to you today by 
the guiding and glorious and condescending providence of God. 
You've been planted time and again before preacher, before 
parent, before whomever. You've had these truths opened 
up to you. You've had the glory of Christ 
set before you. Yes, sometimes, yes, always, 
veiled behind the fallibility of the preacher. But nevertheless, 
the infallible Word comes to you and it sets forth this glorious 
Savior that saves you from your sins. Believe on Him. And you 
will have everlasting life. Notice just a few places in John 
here to rehearse that brings this out. If we were to... work through the Gospel of John 
and sort of highlight two words or two synonymous themes related 
to those words that come up a lot. It's two that come up in verse 
31. It's believe and it's life. There's other words to be sure, 
but there are those two things that come up throughout the Gospel 
of John. Believe and life. Believing unto 
life. Jesus is the life, and we are 
to believe in Him as the only one who can and does give life. Notice in John 3, beginning in 
verse 12, on this reality that the gospel of John is set forth 
that we might believe. Jesus excuse me John 3 beginning 
in verse 12 if I have told you earthly things and you do not 
believe How will you believe if I tell you heavenly things? 
No one has ascended to heaven but he who came down from heaven 
that is the Son of Man who is in heaven and as Moses lifted 
up the serpent in the wilderness even so must the Son of Man be 
lifted up and that whoever believes in Him should not perish, but 
have everlasting life. For God so loved the world that 
He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him 
should not perish, but have everlasting life. For God did not send His 
Son into the world to condemn the world, but that the world 
through him might be saved. He who believes in him is not 
condemned, but he who does not believe is condemned. You see, 
the gospel of John comes and it brings forth those things 
of blessed clarity. See, the gospel of our Lord Jesus 
Christ boils down to this. God is holy, He's just, He's 
righteous. He is infinite, eternal, and 
unchangeable in His holiness, righteousness, and justice, and 
all other things. Man has sinned and transgressed 
His holy law, and you know that, each and every one of you, don't 
you? This doesn't come as a mystery to you. Your conscience speaks 
to this reality that you have transgressed the mighty laws 
of a holy creator, a holy God. Again, the language of Spurgeon, 
that if we peruse the diary of our memories, there the witnesses 
of our guilt have faithfully recorded their names. Your transgressions 
against the high and unrivaled majesty are like witnesses who 
have written down their names upon the book of your memory. 
They're there. You violated His law, and you 
know that it is righteous with Him to not only punish you in 
this age, but eternally in the age to come. And yet, God, through 
His Christ, through His servants, pen these things of divine superintendence. They come to us and they disclose 
the remedy, the answer, the blessed answer. Jesus Christ died to 
save sinners. He rose again to save sinners. 
He ascended to the right hand of the majesty on high to ever 
live, to intercede for those self-same. Believe on the Lord 
Jesus Christ and you will not have the eternal hauntings of 
those signatures of your transgressions throughout eternity. A damned 
eternity. You come to the One who was set 
forth by John and you have life. You have life. Not death and 
condemnation eternally, but life eternal in the presence of God 
and the holy angels. Wonderful, wonderful truth. The 
end goal of the book of John is that sinners believe in Jesus. We have this blessed progression 
throughout the Gospel of John. What a majestic opening to the 
Gospel of John. It's Christocentric, and it's 
designed so that you will believe that Jesus is the Christ, the 
Son of God. In the beginning was the Word. 
The Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was in the beginning 
with God. Later on, the Word became flesh 
and dwelt among us, and we beheld His glory as of the only begotten 
of the Father, full of grace and truth. That same Christ is 
the one who brings dead sinners to life by His Spirit, by virtue 
of His perfect saving work. We follow the Gospel of John, 
and we see these mighty signs that He truly did do. You see, 
we don't need to seek after our own signs. We go to the written 
Word and we find the faithful testimony of those who witnessed 
the signs that He did. We therein believe the Word of 
God. But Christ did these mighty signs. As Peter says, He was 
a man attested to you by miracles, wonders, and signs. The Gospel 
of John, He turns water into wine. He heals the nobleman's 
son. He heals blind men. He raises 
Lazarus from deadness to life. We have after His resurrection 
that miraculous catch of fish. Testimony after testimony that 
this is the Christ, the Son of God. And in sum, John brings 
before us who Christ is, what He has done, and the blessed 
exclusivity of salvation by Him alone. From the lips of Christ, 
I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the 
Father but by me. You see, those are fearful words 
of exclusivity. No one can come to the Father 
but by this Christ. If anyone who does not come to 
this Christ, he will not go to the Father, but rather will be 
damned eternally. But you see, there's blessed 
hope and blessed things in that statement as well. Christ, with 
the clarity of which there is no greater clarity, Christ says, 
I am the way, the truth, and the life, so why any of you? 
Are you going after any other way? Any other truth? Or any 
other life? First off, there are no any other 
ways, truths, and lives. They're false. They're phony. They're counterfeit. If anyone 
tells you they have another way other than Jesus, they're wrong. 
Run away. If you have the vigor and the 
strong heart of an apologist, you can say, not even an apologist, 
just someone who's firm in their faith, you can say, no, you're 
wrong. Christ is the only way, the only truth, and the only 
light. Don't bring me that madness. I'll tell you of the way, the 
truth, and the life. There is only one way, and only 
one truth, and only one life, and it is in Christ, and with 
a raging and blessed clarity. He gives that to us by His own 
lips, so why do you go anywhere else? Come to Christ, all you 
who are weary and heavy laden, and He will give you rest. The 
end goal of the book of John is that sinners may believe in 
Jesus, and secondly, that the believing have life in His name. Again, the text reads, but these 
are written that you may believe that Jesus is the Christ, the 
Son of God, and that believing you may have life in his name. 
Blessed life. We are brought cursed death by 
our association with Adam outside of Christ. Cursed death. And 
yet, in the second Adam, in Christ, we have blessed life. And it's 
because he did. everything that Adam failed. 
He upheld the covenantal responsibilities. He performed the perfection of 
obedience. He bore the wrath of God on Calvary's 
tree in our stead, and in Him we have everlasting life. And 
let's not confine this only to eternal life in the age to come, 
though it most blessedly includes that. The language we have here, 
that believing you may have life in His name, it's spiritual life 
in this present age, and it's eternal life in the age to come. 
It's two blessed things concerning the life that Christ brings to 
sinners, those who believe in Him. We have spiritual life in 
this present age. We're brought from deadness to 
life. We're brought forth, we're born 
again by the power of the Spirit and brought forth from darkness 
to light and deadness to life. Isn't this the language of the 
Apostle Paul? You can turn here with me. Speaking of the life, 
we have in Ephesians chapter 2, notice what we have there. 
In Ephesians 2, a passage of scripture, well familiar, but 
hopefully every time it's rehearsed, it causes your heart to skip 
with joy. Notice the language of Ephesians 
2.1, on this very reality. Life in Christ in this present 
age. Ephesians 2.1, "...and you He made alive who were dead in 
trespasses and sins, in which you once walked according to 
the course of this world, according to the prince of the power of 
the air, the Spirit who now works, and the sons of disobedience, 
among whom also we all once conducted ourselves in the lusts of our 
flesh, fulfilling the desires of the flesh and of the mind, 
and were by nature children of wrath, just as the others." But 
God, who is rich in mercy, because of his great love with which 
he loved us, even when we were dead in trespasses, made us alive 
together with Christ. By grace you have been saved. 
See, we noted earlier the consent of the parts of Holy Scripture, 
and that might just sound like a confessional statement that's 
sort of reserved for people who study confessions and stuff. 
Notice the blessed consent of the parts here. in Christ, in 
John 20, 31, so that all who believe might have life in his 
name. And here we have another apostle, 
the apostle Paul, not contradicting John, but upholding with blessed 
clarity and harmony that we are made alive together with Christ, 
even when we were dead in trespasses. Christ brings life. We're brought 
from death to life and regeneration. Our minds no longer seek after 
the death of vain philosophy and the deadness and the madness 
of lives of sin, but are made alive after the image of Christ 
to seek after righteousness and holiness. This spiritual life 
in this present age would have in view all of those blessed 
things of salvation, regeneration, Faith and repentance. Justification. Adoption. Sanctification. Perseverance and holiness. The 
ultimate and blessed end of glorification. All of those things that has 
in view the stuff of Romans 6. That Christ has brought us from 
deadness to life so that we might walk in newness of life. Brethren, 
if you're here this morning and you believe on the Lord Jesus 
Christ, you are no longer dead, but you are alive. And you are 
alive in Him. And it's not because you're awesome. 
It's not because of deeds of righteousness and holiness which 
you have done. No Christian pats himself on 
the back, but he says, God forbid that I should boast, save in 
the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ. You've been brought from deadness 
to life by the grace of God. Amazing, sovereign, victorious. Irresistible. We have this blessed 
truth that we have spiritual life in this present age. And just very quickly, before 
we close, notice in John 6, and this connects many of the things 
that we've talked about, including the importance of the Word of 
God. believing and life in His name. Notice in John 6 in two 
places. First, John 6 and verse 63. Notice what we find there. It 
is the Spirit who gives life. The flesh profits nothing. The 
words that I speak to you are Spirit and they are life. And verse 68, But Simon Peter 
answered Him, Lord, to whom shall we go? You have the words of 
eternal life. You see the importance of the 
Word of God, the words of Christ, and everlasting life. Jesus Christ 
has the words. Jesus Christ has the life because 
He is the way, the truth, and the life. And we have eternal 
life. in the age to come. We have blessed 
spiritual blessings and life in this lower world in this present 
age as Christians, but we have that life eternally, that blessed 
eternal life in the age which is to come. Notice in John 5, 
John 5, what we have there at this very point, life in the 
age to come, connected with the Lord Jesus Christ. John 5, verse 
24, "...most assuredly I say to you, he who hears My word 
and believes in Him who sent Me has everlasting life and shall 
not come into judgment, but has passed from death to life." What a beautiful statement, a 
number of observations, and when I mean that I don't mean a half 
hour, I just mean very briefly. These blessed words, notice Christ 
says, most assuredly I say to you. You see, there is certainty 
in the Word of God. There is surety in the proclamation 
of the Gospel of Jesus Christ. From the lips of the Lord Jesus 
Christ only ever dripped verity and truth and certainty. And 
He says, most assuredly, I say to you, he who hears My Word 
and believes in Him who sent Me has everlasting life. Blessed assurance, Jesus is Mine. Christian, if you're here this 
morning, you can say that by the authority of the very words 
of the Lord Jesus Christ. If you believe on Him, you have 
everlasting life most assuredly. Believe His words and rejoice 
in them. This language of chapter 5, verse 
24 here, shall not come into judgment or condemnation, but 
is passed from death to life. Calvin says there is here an 
implied contrast between the guilt to which we are all naturally 
liable and the unconditional acquittal which we obtain through 
Christ. Brethren, if you're here this 
morning and you are in Christ Jesus, you have no condemnation. There is now therefore no condemnation 
for those who are in Christ Jesus. You deserved condemnation by 
virtue of sin after sin, transgression after transgression. You know. There is no condemnation for 
those who are in Christ Jesus. If you're in Him, fear not. Do 
not, like the Catholics, have guilt upon guilt loaded up. Do 
not have, as many in other, you know, even Christian traditions, 
those who fly the banner of Christ, go off on seasons of inordinate 
guilt where you're doing everything and anything to atone and to 
feel bad for your own sins. Should we feel bad for sins? 
Yes, really, genuinely, but momentarily. and immediately fly to the King 
of Kings and Lord of Lords, the Redeemer of men who died to bear 
the penalty for your sin. In Him is forgiveness. In Him 
is remission, not in your own sorrow and guilt. Fly to the 
Savior, who alone is the salvation, the forgiveness, the redemption, 
the reconciliation, all those things of blessed salvation. So lastly, we want to close with 
two brief observations. The Bible is not simply so that 
you may have knowledge. The Bible is that you may believe 
in Jesus Christ, the Son of God, and that believing you may have 
life in His name. Let us never stop at the Bible 
as a thing wherein we take in knowledge so that we can beat 
up others with less knowledge upon their noggins. We don't 
come to the Bible as a fount of knowledge, only it is absolutely 
a sure fount of knowledge. But let us move from affirmation 
to Thomistic, and by that I mean Thomas, of the Bible, adoration, 
my Lord and my God. We believe on the Lord Jesus 
Christ because the deliberate divine design of Gospel revelation 
is that we would believe on Him. This revelation that is Christ-centered 
in its proclamation to men, we come to it, and we are to believe. Let us come to the Bible, and 
yes, gain knowledge. Gain knowledge that we might 
do many things. Preach to others the riches and 
the excellencies of Christ. Rejoice ourselves after the joy 
of our regenerate hearts in the things of the revelation concerning 
Christ who came into this world, sinners to save. We might rejoice 
in song, return prayer and praise unto God. We might have and enjoy 
life in Christ Jesus the Lord. And we have the certainty of 
the things written concerning Christ. This goes two ways, and 
then we close in prayer. The certainty that we have in 
the revelation concerning Christ for you, believer, blessing. Joy. Peace. Confidence in the 
things that are written. Most assuredly, Christ says. 
You read the Gospel of John. You read the Bible. Christ is 
therein proclaimed. And if you believe on Him, you 
have everlasting life. Praise God. Wow. But you see, 
with certainty upon certainty, most assuredly comes from the 
lips of Christ to you. And if you reject His Word, There 
is no everlasting life, but only everlasting death and loss. Those 
witnesses of your guilt will haunt you forever. Transgression 
upon transgression. When you die, there is no more 
forgiveness for sins. You die outside of Christ. It 
is eternal condemnation and judgment, away from the glorious presence 
and grace of God, holy in loss and darkness. The hot justice 
of God tormenting you forever and the wholesome severity of 
God tormenting you forever for your rejection of such a glorious 
Christ. It's madness. It's the height 
of sin. It's the height of human rebellion 
to reject the Son of God, the second of the blessed triune, 
the brightness of the Father's glory, the express image of His 
person, who upholds all things by the Word of His power, who 
came into this lower world, who willed to enter the womb of the 
Virgin Mary, to be wrapped in swaddling bands and lie in a 
feed trough, to live a life of rejection, to that ultimate rejection 
upon Calvary's tree, yet by it, He's victorious, giving His life 
for guilty sinners, rising again in power and in great victory, 
ascending to the right hand of the Majesty on high. If you're 
here this morning and you leave these two doors saying no to 
Christ, you're mad. It's colossal folly. The Bible comes to you by the 
most sure words of Christ. by the blessing of Almighty God, 
and it discloses a Savior, the only Savior for sin, who is glorious, 
who is beautiful. Believe on Him, and you will 
have everlasting life. Reject Him, and He doesn't come 
as one in sweetness and beauty, but He comes in one in the hot 
justice of His holiness and in His righteousness. And He comes 
as judge and condemning king. Believe on Him, and you will 
have everlasting life. I know my eyebrows slant when 
I talk about that and hopefully you understand it's genuine and 
you understand the severity of the matter. Blessing in Christ, 
cursing outside of Christ, don't reject such a glorious one. As 
I try to lift my eyebrows up, believe on him. You'll have everlasting 
life. Don't tarry, don't dangle upon 
these propositions and these blessed truths and say we'll 
consider them another time. A bus might hit you. Affliction 
might curse you. Something could happen to you 
before you consider these things when you have more time. Consider 
them now, the holiness of our God, your own sinfulness, but 
the glory of Christ as the Savior of men. Believe on Him, and these 
things will be sure of you, that in believing, you will have life 
in His most blessed name. Let us pray. Heavenly Father, 
we thank You for the truths of John 20, 31. We rejoice in our 
Savior, the Christ, the Son of God. We pray that You would help 
us, Lord God, to rejoice in Him daily, to find in Him our all 
in all, the way, the truth, and the life. We do pray, God, that 
You would be with all of us here, your saints, that we would be 
strengthened by your word and for your glory, that we would 
go out from this place seeking to live in light of a glorious 
gospel. We do pray, God, that you would, by your grace, save 
many here who came in this morning outside of Christ, even all, 
Lord God, because it is possible only with you, that you would, 
by your grace, cause them to leave this place singing the 
praises of our Savior. And it's in his name that we 
pray. Amen.