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You can turn with me in your 
Bibles to John's Gospel. We're in John Chapter 8. Our focus this morning will be 
verses 42 to 47, but I do wanna begin reading in verse 37. So John chapter eight, remember 
Jesus is teaching in the temple the day after the Feast of Tabernacles. He comes to the temple early 
in the morning, according to chapter eight at verse two, and 
then all the people come to him. And in the midst of his discourse, 
we see some believe, many believed on him, but there were those 
who continued to oppose him and resist him and reject him. And 
that's the target audience in the section before us, specifically 
the religious leadership, those charged with the place of leadership 
within Israel in terms of theology or religion, but also in the 
political realm. So Jesus is very forthright in 
his condemnation of these particular individuals. We'll notice that 
specifically in verse 44. But as I said, I want to read 
beginning in verse 37 to the end of the chapter, just so we 
can see how this controversy or this enmity continues to grow 
against our Savior. So beginning in John 8, 37, I 
know that you are Abraham's descendants, but you seek to kill me because 
my word has no place in you. I speak what I have seen with 
my father, and you do what you have seen with your father.' 
They answered and said to him, Abraham is our father. Jesus 
said to them, if you were Abraham's children, you would do the works 
of Abraham. But now you seek to kill me, 
a man who has told you the truth which I heard from God. Abraham 
did not do this. You do the deeds of your father. 
Then they said to him, we were not born of fornication. We have 
one father, God. Jesus said to them, if God were 
your father, you would love me. For I proceeded forth and came 
from God, nor have I come of myself, but he sent me. Why do you not understand my 
speech? Because you are not able to listen to my word. You are 
of your father the devil, and the desires of your father you 
want to do. He was a murderer from the beginning 
and does not stand in the truth, because there is no truth in 
him. When he speaks a lie, he speaks from his own resources, 
for he is a liar and the father of it. But because I tell the 
truth, you do not believe me. Which of you convicts me of sin? 
And if I tell the truth, why do you not believe me? He who 
is of God hears God's words. Therefore you do not hear, because 
you are not of God.' Then the Jews answered and said to him, 
Do we not say rightly that you are a Samaritan and have a demon? 
Jesus answered, I do not have a demon, but I honor my father 
and you dishonor me. And I do not seek my own glory. There is one who seeks and judges. 
Most assuredly, I say to you, if anyone keeps my word, he shall 
never see death. Then the Jews said to him, Now 
we know that you have a demon. Abraham is dead, and the prophets. And you say, if anyone keeps 
my word, he shall never taste death? Are you greater than our 
father Abraham, who is dead, and the prophets are dead? Who 
do you make yourself out to be? Jesus answered, If I honor myself, 
my honor is nothing. It is my father who honors me, 
of whom you say that he is your God. Yet you have not known him, 
but I know him. And if I say I do not know him, 
I shall be a liar like you. But I do know him and keep his 
word. Your father Abraham rejoiced to see my day, and he saw it 
and was glad. Then the Jews said to him, you 
are not yet 50 years old, and have you seen Abraham? Jesus 
said to them, most assuredly I say to you, before Abraham 
was, I am. Then they took up stones to throw 
at him, but Jesus hid himself and went out of the temple, going 
through the midst of them, and so passed by. Amen. Well, let 
us pray. Our Father in heaven, we thank 
you for this wonderful day. We thank you that we have the 
privilege to gather in the house of God, on the day of God, with 
the people of God, to worship you in spirit and in truth. To 
that end, we pray that you'd send forth the Holy Spirit to 
guide us, to direct us, to lead us as we consider Holy Scripture 
now. We know it is not a dead word, 
but it's a life-giving word, and we pray that you would give 
us ears to hear. and hearts to receive these things. We rejoice 
as well, Lord God, not only in special revelation and the redemption 
that you have wrought, but in the realm of creation. We rejoice 
in your goodness to Austin and Amy. We thank you for this little 
baby, Layla. We just pray, God in heaven, 
that you would be merciful to her, one day that she would be 
born again by sovereign grace to call upon the name of the 
Lord Jesus Christ. And even now, God, forgive us 
for all of our sin and unrighteousness. And again, lead us by the Holy 
Spirit as we consider the passage before us. And we pray through 
Jesus Christ, our Lord. Amen. Well, as we look specifically 
at verses 42 to 47, we see that this controversy has arisen. The way that the Lord Jesus addresses 
his opponents is quite shocking, actually. He doesn't say you're 
a little off. He doesn't say you're a little 
wrong. He doesn't say you missed that lesson in Sunday school. 
He says that you are of your father, the devil. He ascribes 
to these religious leaders, these Jews in Israel, the covenant 
people themselves, when they claim that Abraham is their father, 
and then they claim that God is their father, the Lord Jesus 
refutes those claims on both occasions. And not only are you 
not Abraham's children, and not only are you not God's children, 
but you are children of the devil himself. So it's a very shocking 
display of our Lord's forthrightness in terms of rebuking and refuting 
his theological enemies. Notice in the first place, and 
I want to give you sort of the map as we go through this section. I'm not sure we're going to make 
it all the way to verse 47, but I want you to consider with me, 
first, the rejection of their claim in verse 42. Secondly, 
the affirmation of their inability in verse 43. Verse 44 indicates 
the identification of their father, because that's the issue at stake. 
Who is their father? And then finally, the confirmation 
of their paternity. In other words, he confirms what 
he says in verse 44, by holding up in clear demonstration their 
conduct toward him. And he uses the same sort of 
illustration that he used previously. If you are Abraham's sons, then 
you would do what Abraham did. If you are the sons of God, then 
you would indeed love me. So let's look first at this rejection 
of their claim in verse 42. Their two-fold claim is simple. 
We're the sons or seed of Abraham. They say that in verses 33 and 
39. And then in verse 41, they say, we have one father, God. So Jesus said to them in verse 
42, if God were your father, you would love me. For I proceeded 
forth and came from God, nor have I come of myself, but he 
sent me. Now he refutes their claim and he does so by setting 
out some glorious theology along the way. But in the first place, 
note that test. If God were your father, you 
would love me. He uses the same test in verse 
39. If you were Abraham's children, you would do the works of Abraham. 
It's a simple if-then statement. If you are of God, then you would 
love me. And as our brother reminded us 
during the scripture reading, love to God, love to Christ, 
election, regeneration, justification by faith alone. Where does it 
end up? It ends up with the people of 
God loving Jesus. It's all about Jesus. It's all 
about Christ. We have the Song of Solomon in 
the Old Testament. We have this reality that the 
bride, sees the bridegroom as the one who's altogether lovely 
and chief among 10,000. In that old covenant setting, 
obviously it's Yahweh and Israel, but prophetically it's the Lord 
Jesus Christ and His church. So how does the church, how do 
the conquered, how do the blood-bought children of God see their Savior? 
They see Him that way, altogether lovely and chief among 10,000. 
They are the ones who are in love with Christ. That distinguishes 
us from the world. There was a time when we were 
dead in our trespasses and sins. We didn't love God. There was 
a time when we were dead in our trespasses and sins. We hated 
God. We despised God. We weren't honest 
enough to admit that, but our conduct demonstrated that. When 
we engaged in idolatry, or blasphemy, or Sabbath breaking, or insubordination, 
or murder, or adultery, or theft, or lies, or covetousness, all 
of that exhibited clearly our enmity against God Most High. And so when it comes to that 
salvation wrought by God, received by grace, believing on the Lord 
Jesus Christ as granted the ability by the Holy Spirit, what's the 
end game? We love Christ. We don't love 
him as we ought. We want to grow in our love. 
We want to grow in our knowledge. We want to excel still more in 
terms of love to Christ, but we love him in a way that we 
never loved him before. And so this is the litmus test 
for these people who claim to be children of the living God. 
The test is quite simple. The test is quite clear. Notice 
in verse 42, Jesus said to them, if God were your father, you 
would love me. If then, if God were your father, 
you would love me. Just like in verse 39, if you 
were Abraham's children, you would do the works of Abraham. 
But now you seek to kill me, a man who has told you the truth, 
which I heard from God. Abraham did not do this. Abraham 
did not try to kill innocent men. Abraham did not try to kill 
prophets of God. Abraham certainly, if he could 
have stood in the presence of the Messiah here in the temple 
in John chapter 8, he would have never expressed a desire to actually 
kill or murder or liquidate or exterminate our blessed Savior. So they are faulty. Their claims 
are absolutely incorrect. So he makes that test, 42A, and 
then he gives the proof in 42B and C. Notice how he describes 
himself. He speaks to two particular things 
that we should expect by this time in our study in John's gospel. 
Remember, John not only tells us concerning the economy of 
redemption, behold the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of 
the world. In other words, he not only points to the life and 
ministry of our blessed Savior, including his death and resurrection, 
what we in theology call the economy of salvation, but he 
also goes behind the veil, as it were, and teaches us something 
about theology. Before John 1, 29, behold the 
Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world, you have John 
1, 1 to 18. In the beginning was the Word. 
The Word was with God. The Word was God. And then in 
verse 14, the word became flesh and dwelt among us. And we beheld 
his glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the father full 
of grace and truth. So it's not only the whatness 
of what Christ accomplishes, but it's the who-ness. It's the 
blessed reality that the second person of the triune God has 
come into this world, sinners, to save. So along the way in 
Christ's life and ministry, he continues to emphasize that the 
Father is the one who sends and that Christ is the one who is 
sent. And he uses that convention twice in verse 42. Notice, he 
speaks of proceeding forth from the Father, and then he speaks 
of the Father having sent him. And I think this encapsulates, 
again, two things we've seen all along the way that we proceeded 
through John's Gospel. This first reference, for I proceeded 
forth and came from God, refers to the eternal generation of 
the Son. We saw that doctrine again in John chapter one, in 
the beginning was the word, the word was with God, the word was 
God. No one has seen God at any time, 
John 1, 18, but the only begotten son who is in the bosom of the 
father has declared him. John 3, 16, God so loved the 
world that he gave what? His only begotten son. This emphasis 
on the eternal generation of the son is what we see in verse 
42B. for I proceeded forth and came 
from God. This is seen in 118, 316, but 
then notice in chapter five at verse 26. Chapter five at verse 
26, for as the father has life in himself, so he has granted 
the son to have life in himself. This again refers to the eternal 
generation of the son from the father. The Nicene Creed puts 
it this way, God from God. Light from light, true God from 
true God, begotten not made, one in being with the Father, 
through whom all things were made. Christ is emphasizing that 
now for this particular reason. If Christ is the same substance 
as the Father, If he is the one described in John 1.1, in the 
beginning was the word, the word was with God and the word was 
God. If he is consubstantial with the father, then their claim 
to love the father, but want to murder the son is absolutely 
faulty. It is incorrect. How in the world 
would you ever want to kill the one who has the same nature as 
the father you claim is your own? That's the function in this 
particular passage. He appeals to theology to make 
his case that they're not the sons of God Most High. Cyril 
says, the words I came from God indicate his ineffable and timeless 
birth from the father. Another man says, I proceeded 
from God from eternity as the only begotten of the substance 
of the father. So the emphasis here is that 
Jesus is the son of God, not by creation, not by adoption, 
but by nature. And since he has the same nature 
as the father, for them to reject the son, Guess what that means? They reject the Father also. 
So their claim that they are children of God Most High, they 
are children of Yahweh. When Yahweh sends His only begotten 
Son into this world, and they resist Him, and they reject Him, 
and they despise Him, and they ultimately crucify Him, Their 
claim that Yahweh is their father is absolutely faulty. It is absolutely 
flimsy. They do not have a case to make, 
either in terms of Abraham being their father, because Abraham 
didn't want to kill Messiah, but also in terms of God being 
their father. Because the Lord Jesus has the 
same nature as the father, and yet they want to murder him. 
They want to destroy him. So he speaks concerning the eternal 
generation of the Son in 42b, but then notice the mission of 
the Son as the mediator in 42c. He not only doesn't stop at theology, but 
he goes on to the economy. He says, for I proceeded forth 
and came from God, and then notice, nor have I come of myself, but 
he sent me. This refers to the John 1.14, 
the Word became flesh and dwelt among us. The sending of the 
second person by God the Father into this world to save us from 
our sins. This speaks to the mediatorial 
office. speaks to the assumption of our 
nature. It speaks to His life, His death, His resurrection, 
His identification with us in all things and yet without sin. 
As the Creed says, He came down from heaven for us men and for 
our salvation. So this is a reference to the 
economy. I think John Gill is absolutely right here. But He 
sent me, not by force or against the will of Christ or by change 
of place, but by assumption of nature. So in summary, with verse 
42, you might not get all the distinctives involved in terms 
of theology and the economy, but know this, when they claim 
that God is their father and they resist the only begotten 
son of God who has the same nature, who was sent by the father in 
order to serve as mediator to save his people from their sins, 
when they resist him, when they reject him, when they despise 
him, when they forsake him, when they later will cry out, away 
with him, away with him, crucify him. Any thought that they were 
children of the living God is absolutely gone. It is evacuated. It is proof positive. In the 
rejection of the son, you do not have the father. Turn back 
to John 5. Jesus makes the same emphasis 
in 5.23. He says that all should honor 
the son just as they honor the father. Don't miss the significance 
of this. In the prophet Isaiah, Yahweh 
speaks and he says, I will give my glory to no other. And yet 
Christ comes and he receives glory. Christ comes and he doesn't 
despise or reject or resist glory. In fact, he prays in a high priestly 
prayer, Father glorify me. And yet there's no word from 
heaven saying, how dare you ever, you know, arrogate to yourself 
the place that belongs to me alone. The doctrine of the Trinity. 
There is but one only, the true and living God. And this true 
and living God exists eternally as Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. 
Consubstantial. They're of the same substance. 
They are the same in that regard. And so he says that you are to 
honor the Son. Again, not with a little bit 
of honor like you give to the Father, but in honor of the Son 
that is just as the honor that you give to the Father. Who could 
say that if he wasn't actually legit? Who could say that if 
he wasn't actually the God-man? If he wasn't actually the second 
person of the Trinity who took on our humanity? Could any of 
us say that? I want you to honor me just as 
you honor God. I want you to honor this person 
just as you honor God. You do understand what just as 
means, right? It means just as. It means on 
the same level. It means equally. It means the 
same way. And for Jesus to say this, again, 
you can see why his opponents didn't like him. You can see 
why they bucked against his teaching. You can see why they ultimately 
want to pick up stones and throw them at him because he being 
a man makes himself out to be God. It's intriguing because 
they understood exactly what he was claiming. And yet there 
have been those attached to the church that have missed this 
somehow. There's a whole sect called Jehovah's Witnesses that 
have missed this somehow. Jesus is the second person of 
the Trinity. Jesus is the Word became flesh. Jesus is the one who comes down 
for us men and for our salvation. But notice in 523 that all should 
honor the Son just as they honor the Father. He who does not honor 
the Son does not honor the Father who sent him. So it wasn't new 
data, it wasn't new information in the temple. In John chapter 
8, he's not throwing them a curveball. Now, well, I can't believe he's 
saying this. Oh, they can believe he's saying 
this. They just despise the fact that he's saying it, and then 
he's pressing it upon them. Notice as well in John 8, same 
temple setting, same day, same consistency, same discourse, 
same teaching, same everything. Notice what he says in 8.19. 
Then they said to him, where is your father? Jesus answered, 
you know neither me nor my father. If you had known me, you would 
have known my father also. So going back to verse 42, it 
makes perfect sense, doesn't it? Verses 37 to 40, he tells 
them that you're not Abraham's seed. And then in verse 41, he 
says, you do the deeds of your father. And then they, of course, 
arrogantly boast, we were not born of fornication. We have 
one father, God. So Jesus applies this very simple 
task to them. If God were your father, you 
would love me. For I proceeded forth and came from God, nor 
have I come of myself, but he sent me. Now, before we move 
on, it's a good time for us to reflect, good time for us to 
take a bit of an inventory, good time to ask ourselves, is there 
love to Christ in our hearts? Is there that same appreciation 
that the bride had for the bridegroom in the song? Is He our altogether 
lovely? Is He our chief among 10,000? 
Again, brethren, I'm not suggesting any of us love Him as He is worthy 
of. I'm not suggesting that our love 
is perfect, that our love is unblemished, that our love is 
absolutely pure. I know that. Believe me, I've 
got a heart too. I've got a redeemed heart, but 
it's a faulty one, brethren, at this level. We all need to 
grow in not only the grace and knowledge of our blessed Savior, 
but in our love to the Savior. Look at the epilogue in John's 
Gospel. Turn to chapter 21. John chapter 
21. I think the book ends formally 
in John 20, and it ends where it began. It begins with the 
divinity of Jesus in John 1.1, in the beginning was the word, 
the word was with God and the word was God. It ends on that 
same high note in the confession of what was called or who was 
called Doubting Thomas. 2028, Thomas answered and said 
to him, my Lord and my God, So those bookends call us as the 
church to reflect upon that grand theme, the divinity of our Lord 
and Savior, Jesus Christ. So the formal end is chapter 
20, but 21 is given by inspiration of the spirit. It belongs there. 
It's written by the apostle John, but it's an epilogue. Gives some 
sort of parting comments, parting statements, parting things and 
instructions in terms of the disciples. Notice in John 21 
at verse 15. So when they had eaten breakfast, 
Jesus said to Simon Peter, Simon, son of Jonah, do you love me 
more than these? Now you've probably heard preachers say, well, he 
uses a couple of different words in the Greek that mean love, 
and there's some significance there. No, it isn't. Love is 
love. There's times where the one is 
applied to God and Jesus, and times where it's applied to man. 
So if you've heard that, it's an exercise in futility. Well, 
you know, he's using the strong verb for love, and he's using 
the not so. He's talking about love, okay? Just let's get right 
to it. Simon said, Jonah, do you love 
me more than these? Have you ever asked the question, 
what does he mean by more than these? What does he mean? More than what? The fish? They just caught a great multitude 
of fish. Simon Peter was a fisherman. 
Do you love me more than these fish? Probably not. I think anybody 
would say or conclude that's probably not where he's going. 
Perhaps it means more than these other disciples. You love me 
more than these men. It's Jesus calling him to. Allegiance. You're going to be my spokesman 
when you go out to proclaim the truth on the day of Pentecost. 
When you lead this small resistance into the world to turn it upside 
down for me. There needs to be that reality 
that you love me. that there is no sort of contender 
in terms of the priority of your life. I think that's probably 
the way that he's going. But notice, Simon, son of Jonah, 
do you love me more than these? He said to him, yes, Lord, you 
know that I love you. He said to him, feed my lambs. 
He said to him again a second time, Simon, son of Jonah, do 
you love me? He said to him, yes, Lord, you know that I love 
you. He said to him, tend my sheep. He said to him the third 
time, Simon, son of Jonah, do you love me? Peter was grieved 
because he said to him the third time, do you love me? And he 
said to him, Lord, you know all things, you know that I love 
you. Peter's love for the Lord Jesus Christ would facilitate 
Peter's ministry as an apostle for Jesus Christ. You're not 
in this the way other men are into their jobs. You plum, you 
electric, you do whatever, not because you have supreme love 
for your boss, not a bad thing to love your boss, but you apostle, 
and you preach, and you shepherd, and you minister. Why? because 
you love the Savior. He is chief in your heart. He 
is the High King of Heaven that has come by the grace and power 
of God Most High to dwell in your heart. Love to Christ, brethren, 
not only in the apostolic ministry, but for each and every one of 
us. If we claim to be children of God Most High, if we claim 
that God is our Father, we need to ask ourselves this question, 
what think we of Christ? Do we love Him? Do we want to 
understand Him more? You know, when you're married, 
or when you have a boyfriend or a girlfriend, or you get a 
new item, you love it! And what happens when you love 
it? You want to learn about it. You want to know it even more. 
Brethren, if we had to judge the love for Christ seen in the 
modern church in terms of theological ability, we'd probably conclude 
there's not a lot of love for Christ. I mean, men don't understand 
simple, basic biblical truth. I'm not picking on anybody here. 
I'm using the broader analogy of the church at large. If we 
love Him, then what does that necessarily imply? We grow in 
our understanding of Him. We don't miss the public worship 
of Him. We don't sacrifice anything for 
Him. We sacrifice everything for Him. 
He's a priority. What's he saying in that classic 
passage in Matthew chapter 6 when he prohibits the people of God 
from unneeded worry? He's speaking to people like 
me in that passage. Don't worry about this. Don't 
worry about that. Don't worry about this. Don't worry about 
that. Why does he speak that way? Because in this world, brethren, 
there are things that grieve and perplex and confuse and produce 
downcastness on the part of God's people. But what's the grand 
principle that Christ brings to deal with that needless worry? 
He says, seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness, 
and then all these things will be added to you. You'll get your 
food, you'll get your clothes, you'll get your ability to function 
without losing your mind when you prioritize things in the 
proper sense. When God comes first, when His 
righteousness comes first, There is a pecking order in scripture, 
and it's not you first, it's not even your wife or your kids 
first, it is Christ first. For those of you who have read 
the autobiography of John G. Peyton, that man is very instructive. He tells us about the time in 
his youth when his father would go into his closet, his prayer 
closet, and the kids all understood that God came first. That's a 
great lesson, brethren, to teach your children. That is a fantastic 
lesson to educate your little ones on. God comes first. We seek God first, and then His 
righteousness, and then these things will be added to us. I've 
always thought I want my wife to love Jesus more than she loves 
me. I hope she would agree that I 
should love Jesus more than I love her. And when I say more, that 
doesn't mean I kick her or she kicks me, but it's a matter of 
priority. It's a matter of allegiance. 
So that when these Jews say, oh, God's our father. Well, if 
God were your father, you would love me. It's a no-brainer. That's the litmus test. That's 
a good way to understand whether we have been conquered by sovereign 
grace. The one who at one time we resisted, 
the one who at one time we rejected, the one who at one time we despised, 
we now love him. We see him as altogether lovely 
and chief among 10,000. Back to John 8, notice in verse 
43, he affirms their inability. Now by inability, I'm speaking 
again theologically. When you hear the word inability, 
you should understand depravity as well. Depravity is sort of 
the fountainhead, and inability is an implication of that. We are totally depraved as we 
come out of the womb. Not, I mean, when we're conceived. 
What does David say in Psalm 51? When he's tracing back his 
depravity. He says, in sin my mother conceived 
me. Doesn't mean the conjugal relationship with his father 
and mother was a sinful act. It means as soon as David was 
a David, he was a sinner. We die in Adam. And yet, when 
it comes to the case or when it comes to this reality of total 
depravity, we misunderstand that. We hear those words and we think, 
well, that means every man is as bad as they could possibly 
be. Every man is Stalin. Every man is Mao. Every man is 
Pol Pot. Every man is the wicked Hitler. Everybody is Charles Manson. 
That's not total depravity. Total depravity means every bit 
of us is affected by sin. I mean, we could look good, we 
can look upright, we can look like those who got it together, 
but we're totally depraved outside of a saving relationship with 
our Lord Jesus. And notice that Jesus doesn't 
sort of shrink back from telling these truths to his hearers. 
Remember, we saw that, the Capernaum Synagogue in John chapter 6. 
What happens to his disciples? These are hard sayings. This 
is tough. John 6, 44, no one can come to 
me unless the Father who sent me draws him. Well, when they 
draw back and they say, this is hard, who can understand it? 
Does Jesus change his message? This is one of the faults of 
the church today. One of the faults of the church 
through the history, and I love the church. I'm not saying this 
because I hate the church. I don't criticize the government 
because I hate government. God instituted government. God 
instituted church. We love those institutions, but 
we ought to be able to appreciate when they have not served the 
Master well, and with reference to this doctrine of depravity. 
Well, they'll be offended if you tell them how bad things 
are. You gotta pat them up. You've got to be an encouraging 
voice. You've got to help them be all 
that they can be. When Jesus is confronted by a 
group of people and say, these are hard sayings. Guess what 
Jesus does? He doubles down. He doesn't relinquish. He doesn't shrink back. He doesn't 
say, well, I guess you'd be more sympathetic to Arminianism or 
Pelagianism, so I'm going to tailor my message, my doctrine 
of sin, based on that. No, he doesn't do that. And in 
this particular instance, notice what he says in verse 43. He's 
talking about inability. He's talking about a cannot. 
Verse 43, why do you not understand my speech? Because you are not 
able to listen to my word. Why do you not understand my 
speech? It's obviously a rhetorical question. He's not asking them 
in terms of information because he answers it right off the bat. 
Why do you not understand? Notice the difference in terms 
of, in word choice. Why don't you understand my speech? 
The emphasis all along has been on the word. Probably the manner 
of his speaking, because they resist and reject the content 
of what he's speaking, the word that is true, they resist and 
reject his manner of speaking. And this indicates that he knows 
exactly what's going on in terms of his audience. He's not a confused 
teacher at this point. Whether you know it or not, your 
faces tell a lot during sermons. Now everybody's going to smile. 
Yeah, that's right. You're interested. You're happy. 
You know, when you do this kind of a thing, there's something 
indicative about that posture. Or the child at least has the 
guts to turn back and actually look at the clock. We do it, 
you know, just kind of see the watch there. Jesus knew what 
he was dealing with, brethren. You don't think he understood 
that? Why do you not understand my manner of speaking? Well, 
because you cannot receive my word. You've got problems. Another proof, another affirmation, 
another nail in their coffin. God is not your father. If God 
was your father, you'd receive the truth. That's another indicator 
for the people of God. What do we think in terms of 
Christ? Do we love Him? But what do we think in terms 
of His Word? Do we hear it? Do we understand 
it? Do we internalize it? Do we live 
according to it? And these Jews would have to 
answer, no, they don't understand the manner of his speaking because 
they hate his person and they've resisted and rejected his word. 
Why do you not understand my speech? Because you are not able 
to listen to my word. What does this emphasize or what 
does this demonstrate? It's always interesting to me 
as a preacher through books, that's our practice here in our 
church for the most part, take a book and preach through it. 
It's called expository preaching. Take a bit of the passage and 
open it up and try to draw some application out. So hopefully 
the people of God can grow in the grace and in the knowledge 
of our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ, and be helped and furnished 
along the week. That's why we do what we do. 
But once in a while, it comes to my head that we're in John 
8, it's been a long time since we're in John 3. But when John 
writes, and when we read, we typically remember stuff in close 
proximity. So I want to remind us, what 
are these Jews demonstrating? They're demonstrating truth that 
has already been opened up in John's gospel. Remember when 
that man Nicodemus comes to Jesus, he comes from the Sanhedrin. 
He's not some earnest seeker who comes at night because he's 
afraid of the Sanhedrin. He's a spokesman for the Sanhedrin 
to vet Jesus, to find out about this Jesus. And when he comes 
to Jesus, according to John 3, 3, Jesus' first words to him 
is, truly, truly, I say to you, unless a man is born again, he 
shall not see the kingdom of heaven. So in John 8, what are 
these unbelieving Jews who claim that God is their father and 
yet don't love Jesus and yet don't receive his truth because 
they're not able to, what do they demonstrate? They demonstrate 
that you must be born again. They demonstrate that the spirit 
of God is absolutely crucial in the matter of salvation. They 
demonstrate that to go from death to life, you need powerful intervention. not from a pastor, not from a 
spouse, not from a loving member in the church, but you need the 
powerful intervention of God Most High. Because you see, that's 
how desperate the condition is. That is how bad sin is. We have this concept, and we're 
gonna investigate this in just a moment, Yes, sin's bad, but 
it's not like those preachers, say, or especially those Calvinistic 
preachers, those reformed guys, total depravity. I mean, my baby's 
beautiful. She's gorgeous. I'm not picking 
on any new babies, by the way. My baby's wonderful. What does 
the psalmist tell us about babies? that we could go estranged from 
the womb speaking lies as soon as they're born. Now, I don't 
say that, well, not hold the baby. I say that, and I think 
the psalmist says that, to underscore the great problem of sin. and 
to show the great necessity of the Savior for sin, and to show 
the emphasis on the need for born-againness or regeneration. And in this particular instance, 
that's what's true of these Jews. Why do you not understand my 
speech? Because you are not able to listen to my word. Now notice, 
thirdly, the identification of their father. Verse 44. Now, there's three things here. 
I don't think we're going to get through all three, just so 
you know that. I want to show you first his 
declaration, secondly, the demonstration, and then thirdly, we'll pick 
up, God willing, next week, the description. So there's three 
Ds here in verse 44. Three Ds in verse 44. The declaration, 
the demonstration, and then the description. But notice first 
his declaration. This is where it's been going. 
This is where we've been coming. This is what is going to offend 
them in a way that it's a bell you don't unring. This is, yeah, 
you don't come back from this one. You don't sort of throw 
this out there and expect to have coffee the next day unless 
God miraculously saves the person. So Jesus, again, knows what he's 
dealing with. He's infinitely wise. He's the one in whom all the 
treasures of wisdom and knowledge are found. So we can trust his 
navigation as he moves through this particular situation. We 
should never second guess, well, you know, maybe he was a bit 
hasty with that devil thing. Maybe he could have softened 
that blow a little bit. I find that at times. The pagans 
just outright hate what God does. Christians get a little bit shaky 
at times with what God does. You know, when God says to the 
children of Israel, yeah, I want you to go into Canaan, and I 
want you to utterly destroy every moving thing. Again, pagans just 
say, oh, that's genocidal, how dare Yahweh at his behest, these 
people have to go in and commit genocide, that's just terrible. 
But you find the people of God kind of like that too. They don't 
use the same language, they don't sound so pejorative, but it kind 
of bothers us a little bit when God is God, and it really shouldn't 
because God is God. is God. And instead of second-guessing, 
questioning, we ought to bow and worship Him. There ought 
to be fear and reverence and trembling before Him. So let's 
look at the declaration that Jesus makes based on what He's 
already said in verse 41. You do the deeds of your father. 
We were not born of fornication. We have one father, God. Verse 
44, you are of your father, the devil. Now, there are other indictments 
that Jesus makes in terms of the religious leadership in Israel. 
I mentioned this last week, Matthew chapter 23. Matthew chapter 23 
is a key passage in Holy Scripture because it connects to Matthew 
chapter 24. And lo and behold, in Matthew chapter 24, Jesus 
is going to announce the destruction of the temple. He's going to 
announce the destruction of the city of Jerusalem. He's going 
to announce something that the Jews were quite familiar with 
because they'd already reaped this in the 8th century BC when 
Assyria decimated the northern kingdom. and in the 6th century 
BC when Babylon decimated the southern kingdom. And again, 
this was in accordance with what had been written, Leviticus 26, 
Deuteronomy 28. When you go into the land, you're 
supposed to obey God. When you go into the land and 
you obey God, guess what? Good things happen. Nuggets will drop 
out of heaven for you. You'll eat, you'll not have disease, 
you'll have blessing and benefit, you'll have lots of children, 
you'll have lots of vineyards, you'll have a happy life in Israel. 
Do they do that? Of course they don't do that. 
They get in there, and they start acting like the Canaanites. They 
get in there, and they start going after other gods. The scripture 
uses the language, they went a-whoring after other gods. That 
shows their infidelity. Probably what they mean, the 
Jews mean, in verse 41. We were not born a fornication. 
We have not gone a-whoring from God. Oh, absolutely, positively 
you have, because you've rejected his son, the only son, the only 
begotten son of his love. So with reference to this declaration 
in Matthew 23, moving up to this prophecy concerning the destruction 
of the temple, he gives a bit of background, gives a little 
rationale, just like he does here. He doesn't come out of 
the chute. In John 8, 2, everybody comes to him, the religious leaders 
show up, and he points his finger at them and says, you're of your 
father, the devil. He doesn't do that. He builds his case. 
I tried to show you that last week. He builds his case with 
reference to their claim that Abraham is their father. He made 
that case pretty sufficiently, absolutely sufficiently. If Abraham 
were your father, you would do what your father does. You wouldn't 
try to kill him. And now he's built his case, and now he's 
dropping the bomb, as it were. So in Matthew 23, he does the 
same thing. And he pronounces a series of 
woes upon the religious leaders. He cautions the disciples. He 
cautions the people around. He says, when they tell you things, 
true things, that Moses commands, do it. But don't follow their 
practice. Don't follow their example. Don't 
follow the way that they conduct themselves. And then on the heels 
of that, he pronounces these woes. And he makes some particular 
statements concerning that. He refers to them as hypocrites. See, we're terrified to use that 
kind of language today. Oh, you can't call anybody a 
hypocrite. Even if they're a hypocrite, you can't call anybody a hypocrite. 
I mean, after all, that might offend them. That might hurt 
their feelings. Well, they're hypocrites. Maybe 
their feelings need to be hurt. Maybe they need to be offended. 
Maybe they need a bit of the hard truth of Jesus so that they'll 
see the error of their ways. But he also refers to them as 
blind guides. I mentioned that last week. You 
happen to fly to Arizona. You've always wanted to go to 
the base of Grand Canyon, almost at that big hole that's in Arizona. 
You want to go to the base of the Grand Canyon. Well, you need 
a guide. If your guide's carrying a walking stick and he has a 
seeing eye dog, That might say, well, you know, is there another 
guide? Is there somebody else that has possession of their 
sight? So when Jesus calls them blind 
guides, that's pretty pointed. It's pretty hard. He also says 
to them in Matthew 23, very specifically, inside you are full of hypocrisy 
and lawlessness. Now, brethren, those are harsh 
statements, hard statements, pointed statements, statements 
that none of us would want to hear. Has anybody ever had to 
come to you or tell you that, man, you're a hypocrite. Wow, 
you're a blind guy. You're filled with hypocrisy 
and lawlessness. Do you say, great, that's awesome. I love you too. Isn't that wonderful? 
The response today is, you seem nice after they let you have 
it like that. But in many ways, brethren, That's 
kind of a walk in the park to you are of your father. The devil. They claim that Yahweh, God, 
is their father. And then Jesus says, no, you 
do the deeds of your father. He says that in verse 41. Probably 
they're interested at this point. Where's he gonna go with this? 
Who's he talking about here? What does he mean, we do the 
deeds of our father? We've said that Abraham's our 
father. He's shown us that really we aren't of Abraham, spiritually 
speaking. He's now dealing with our response 
that God is our father. Well, here's where he goes. You 
are of your father, the devil. Edward Klink says the illegitimate 
origin of the opponents of Jesus has been expressed with the most 
graphic and offensive terminology possible in this context, using 
the most biblical depictions of evil recorded in scripture. 
You can search the prophets, brethren, and there's a lot of 
pointed language in there. Take the NAS, you all have phones, 
you all have Bible programs, you all have multiple ways to 
read the Bible. We're still, again, I'm not picking 
on anybody here, but generally speaking, Bible literacy is probably 
not the strong point in the church today. And we all got phones 
in our pockets and you have access to every Bible translation that's 
ever been penned. Take the NASV sometime and read 
Ezekiel 16. If you want to see an example 
of a prophet letting a people have it. Well, again, Ezekiel 
16 is a bit of a walk in the park compared to this. You are 
of your father, the devil. Now this is serious because these 
people claim that Abraham was their father. These people claim 
that God was their father. In fact, these people have their 
employment based on that reality. They're part of the Sanhedrin. 
They're the religious leadership. They're the guys that adjudicate 
matters in Israel concerning theology and religion and concerning 
politics and ethics. This is the final court of appeal 
in the nation. And when you think about that, 
there's a lot of talk about this today, about distrust in our 
institutions. Really? Yeah, there's distrust 
in our institutions. Imagine that. When you lie to 
people perpetually and continually, they come to a place where they 
don't trust you. Think about this scenario, brethren. 
Talk about distrust in your institutions. The Lord God Most High sends 
His only begotten Son to come to the covenant people to save 
them from their sins. And instead of receiving Him, 
instead of embracing Him, instead of believing on Him, instead 
of bowing to Him and worshiping Him, He comes to His own and 
His own do not receive Him. And here He is dealing with them 
in this temple setting. So their claim is that Abraham 
and God is their father. The reality is, is that they 
are in fact sons of the devil himself. Now, remember, I mentioned 
this last week too, he's not talking to the harlots. He's 
not talking to the publicans. He's not standing on the street 
corner with a sign that says, everybody in this city is a child 
of the devil. John chapter four, he comes to 
that woman at the well. He deals with her very graciously, 
very compassionately and very kindly, doesn't he? He offers 
her living water. Oh yeah, there's that bit about 
her husband, but that wasn't done in a vicious way. He just 
simply said, go call your husband. Well, I don't have a husband, 
she says. Yeah, you don't, you've had several, 
and the one you're with isn't your husband. And even in that, 
he doesn't just cut her down and lay into her. This is the 
religious leadership. And the seriousness of his claim 
is that you are of your father, the devil. Now notice the demonstration 
of this. Notice how he demonstrates this 
in the next clause. You are of your father the devil, 
and the desires of your father you want to do. Consistent with 
the context, isn't it? Look back at verse 39. If you 
were Abraham's children, you would do the works of Abraham. 
Verse 42. If God were your father, you 
would love me. See what he's doing? He's using 
the same argumentation, but he's building, each and every way, 
along the way, to bring this point home. You are of your father, 
the devil, and the desires of your father... Now listen to 
what he says, because I think we have a misunderstanding here. 
The desires of your father, you want to do. Not you fell into 
it, you kind of like it. You do it with this mixed sort 
of feeling. You want to do what the devil 
does. You want to do what the devil 
says. Now, I think that outside of 
the church, man in sin doesn't understand the power of his sin. 
That's pretty obvious in the discourse. How can you say or 
his interactions with the Jews? How can you say? How can you 
say? What does that indicate? They don't understand their sin. 
They don't know the nature of remaining or of reigning sin. 
They don't get it. They don't get total depravity. 
They don't get total inability. But brethren, I want to say this 
in as nice a possible way as I can. The church misses this 
too. There are people out there. I'm 
not saying every single one. Notice again, he's not talking 
to the woman at the well. He's not talking to the harlots and 
the publicans. He's not talking to all of them. 
And I don't know the exact correlation, who gets this moniker and who 
doesn't. That's outside of my pay grade. But in this instance, 
he is speaking to the religious leadership and he says, the desires 
of your father you want to do. See, brethren, we need to understand 
that there is garden variety sin. It's the sort of sin that 
you and I engage in all the time, as believers, remaining corruption. 
For the most part, we don't go out and cut people's heads off. 
For the most part, we don't embezzle large amounts of money. For the 
most part, we don't go run over people that are gathering together 
for a Christmas parade. Those would be not garden variety 
sorts of sins. wanting to terminate the Messiah 
sent from God, wanting to murder the one who has come from God, 
sort of exceeds the garden variety sin-ness that we see all throughout 
our world. Now, with reference to the church 
of the Lord Jesus Christ, we need to appreciate this. I'm 
sure you get this. You all have jobs. You've all 
been in business. You've all had professions. You 
all have, you know, that area of expertise. Be honest. In your area of expertise, in 
your job, in your career, in your profession, there's some 
dim bulbs. There's some guys that really 
aren't good at it. I mean, your job might be making 
widgets and you do a hundred a day and the guy down the line 
from you makes, you know, 30. He's just not that smart. So 
I don't want to pick on anybody, but that happens in the church. 
It happens in pulpits. It happens where guys just aren't 
that bright. I don't mean to sound callous and cruel and harsh 
and all that sort of thing, but it is true. Guys, just not that 
bright. But the church needs to understand 
There are guys that are bright that want to ruin you. They want 
to destroy you. They loathe you. You're a means 
to an end. Now that's a powerful statement 
to make without any demonstration. Well, here we have it. You are 
of your father, the devil, and the desires of your father, you, 
what? You want to do. Turn to the book 
of 2 Corinthians. 2 Corinthians, where we see this 
threat in the church. 2 Corinthians chapter 11, specifically 
at verse 12. But what I do, I will also continue 
to do, that I may cut off the opportunity from those who desire 
an opportunity to be regarded just as we are in the things 
of which they boast. Now, before we read the next 
couple of verses, know this. 2 Corinthians, Paul is in defense 
mode. Paul is defending not the gospel 
per se, but the gospel indirectly. Paul is defending Paul. The reason 
why Paul is defending Paul is because these people have come 
into the churches that Paul has ministered to and tried to create 
distrust in Paul. Distrust your institutions. He's 
not in it for you. He's a money-grubbing guy. He 
wants glory. He wants prestige. He wants all 
this stuff. This is why, in 2 Corinthians, 
Paul defends himself. Because it's crucial. If he doesn't 
defend himself, and the Corinthians no longer trust him, what are 
they going to do with his message? They're going to abandon it. 
They're going to disregard it. They're going to jump ship. So 
he defends himself in order to defend the gospel. Now, he describes 
the opponents. He describes the sorts of guys 
that come into churches and do these disservices. Notice what 
he says in verse 13. He says, for such are false apostles, 
deceitful workers. This isn't a dumb preacher. This isn't a guy who struggled 
to get out of Bible school with C's and just doesn't do that 
well in his pulpit ministry. That's not what he's talking 
about. He's talking about men. that 
are desirous to do the work of the devil. For such are false 
apostles, deceitful workers, transforming themselves into 
apostles of Christ. And no wonder, for Satan himself 
transforms himself into an angel of light. Therefore, it is no 
great thing if his ministers also transform themselves into 
ministers of righteousness, whose end will be according to their 
works. You mean, Paul, there's a class of guys that will plague 
the church in such a way as to ruin the people of God for their 
own ends? Yeah. That's what I want you 
to know. That's what I want you to understand. Look at Galatians. 
Galatians chapter 1. We know the context of this great 
epistle of the apostle. It's all about justification 
by faith alone. If anybody distorts that truth, 
let him be anathema. Let him be cursed. You don't 
deny the doctrine of justification by faith and things go well with 
you theologically. No, you need to denounce that 
error. But notice what he says in 1.6, I marvel that you are 
turning away so soon from him who called you in the grace of 
Christ to a different gospel, which is not another, but there 
are some, notice, who trouble you and want to pervert the gospel 
of Christ. Again, not a dumb preacher who 
just doesn't get it. If a guy just doesn't get it, 
he should get out. But this is a person that actually wants 
to pervert the gospel. Why would they do that? I could 
think of a few reasons. Money, prestige, some sick fascination 
with being a lord over people. There's a whole host of reasons 
why men ate the devil at this level. Now, go on with me because 
you need to see that understanding that not everything that glitters 
is gold is always a helpful corrective for the people of God. Look at 
2 Timothy chapter 3. 2 Timothy chapter 3. Verses one and following. Notice 
that in the last days, perilous times will come. He describes 
those perilous times. It sounds like Romans 1. Romans 
1 deals with the unchurched Gentile. This deals with the professing 
church, and we know that because of verse five. Notice they have 
a form of godliness, but denying its power, and from such people 
turn away. Now notice verse six, for of 
this sort are those who creep into households. Who creeps? 
Who creeps, brethren? Who lies incessantly? Who deceives? It's the people that don't have 
the truth. When they wanna censor you so that you can't speak your 
truth, it's not because they have better arguments, it's because 
they have no arguments. He says, these are the sorts 
of people who creep into households, and I don't wanna pick on anybody 
here this morning, but look at what he says. They make, or they 
creep into households and make captives of gullible women. Have 
you noticed that? You see it with shootings, mass 
shootings. They go into schools where nobody's 
armed. They don't go to shooting ranges 
where everybody's armed. Why is that? Because they know 
they'll be rebuffed at the shooting range. They won't at the school, 
especially when we've effectively taken any protection away from 
the schools. So where do these men go to pray 
on? Or who do these men go to pray on? Do they go to pastors 
conferences? Do they go to theological seminaries? Do they go to fraternals made 
up with men who are committed to sound theology? No, they go 
to gullible women. They go to gullible widows. They 
go to those who are easily captivated and easily preyed upon. Well, 
why is that? Because they're of their father the devil and 
they want to do the desires of their father. Again, you need 
to make the distinction between a dumb preacher and a wicked 
preacher. A dumb person and somebody that 
has wicked ends in view. The apostles acknowledge, as 
our Lord Jesus Christ does, that there are wicked persons that 
will try to plague the churches of Jesus Christ. Now, notice, 
doesn't stop there, turn to the book of Jude. I'm sorry, 2 Peter 
and then Jude. 2 Peter chapter two. specifically 
verses 1 to 3. 2 Peter chapter 2, verses 1 to 
3. But there were also false prophets 
among the people, even as there will be false teachers among 
you. See, the Bible doesn't lie to you. The Bible doesn't shade, 
spare the truth from you. It's gonna be great. You're born 
again now. Everything's gonna be great. 
Everybody's nice to you. Everybody's kind to you. Everybody 
loves you. It's just a happy love fest, 
being a Christian. The Bible doesn't do that. The 
Bible's not a used car salesman. I'm not picking on used car salesmen 
per se, but you've gone to buy one. Well, let's not use a used 
car salesman. You bought one from the guy in the paper. Oh, 
yeah, that's great. And you get, you know, 90 feet down the road 
and something falls off. Well, I guess it wasn't that 
great. The Bible tells you what life in the Christian faith is 
going to be like. In this world, Jesus says, you 
will have tribulations, but be of good cheer, I've overcome 
the world. So notice, even as there will be false teachers 
among you who will secretly bring in destructive heresies, even 
denying the Lord who bought them and bring on themselves swift 
destruction. And many will follow their destructive ways because 
of whom the way of truth will be blasphemed. By covetousness, 
they will exploit you with deceptive words. For a long time, their 
judgment has not been idle and their destruction does not slumber. 
Go back to 1 Peter 5. 1 Peter chapter 5, I mentioned 
Jude and Acts, we'll go there and we're going to end there. 
But notice in 1 Peter chapter 5, verse 1, the elders who are 
among you I exhort. I am a fellow elder and a witness 
of the sufferings of Christ and also a partaker of the glory 
that will be revealed. Shepherd the flock of God which 
is among you. That's the word pastor. Pastor the flock of God 
which is among you. How do pastors do that? Do they 
do that, you know, tribunally? Do they do that magisterially? 
Do they do that with, you know, a sword? They do it with the 
word of God. They do it ministerially. They 
serve Christ by preaching his word in order to pastor the people 
of God. So pastor the flock of God, which 
is among you, serving as overseers. That's the word elder, you know, 
elder overseer. That's their function, their 
practical applications is shepherding. Now notice, not by compulsion, 
but willingly. Why do you think he says that? 
Well, the apostles aren't superfluous. They usually deal with stuff 
that's a reality. Could somebody be serving by 
compulsion? It happened in previous generations. I mean, in Puritan England or 
post-Puritan England, if you were, you know, raised in a particular 
family, you would be a lawyer or perhaps a doctor or perhaps 
a reverend, a minister. They didn't have to be born again. 
They didn't have to have any experiential understanding of 
the truths of the gospel. It was just another profession. 
I'd suggest that's serving by compulsion. Mommy wanted me to 
be a church of Anglican rector, so that's what I'm gonna be. 
No, you don't serve by compulsion. You do it willingly. Now, notice 
what he goes on to say. Not for dishonest gain, but eagerly. Why do you think he says that? 
Well, I'm going to be frank, there was money to be made in 
religion. There was money to be made in philosophy. There 
was money to be made on the backs of hardworking folks who wanted 
answers to life's issues. Just like today, just like today. And there are a class of men 
out there that have figured out a way to fleece the sheep. Now, 
I'm not suggesting, especially as a pastor in the church of 
Jesus Christ, that all ministers have to live in huts and have 
no shoes and eat gruel. I'm not saying that at all. 1 
Timothy 5, verse 17 says, honor the elders who rule well with 
double honor, especially those who labor in the word and doctrine. 
But with reference to money making, with reference to padding your 
bank account, with reference to having as your end game a 
billion dollar mansion that's out in the middle of nowhere 
and you're surrounded by your attendants or servants, there 
was a propensity toward this in the first century. That's 
magnified how many fold in the 21st century. There's guys out 
there with planes. There's guys out there with $1,000 
sneakers. I've told you about the Instagram 
site, Preachers in Sneakers. And it's all about guys with 
expensive watches and shirts. I can't even imagine thinking 
that way, brethren. But there's a class of men out 
there fleecing the sheep of Jesus Christ, taking their hard-earned 
money and buying $1,000 sneakers with that. There are those who want to pervert. So in all of our love for Christ 
and our love for the church, let's not be naive. And then 
Jude 4. Jude 4. We've seen this passage 
many times. Verse 3, I was very diligent 
to write to you concerning our common salvation. I found it 
necessary to write to you. Why? Exhorting you to contend 
earnestly for the faith, which was once for all delivered to 
the saints. He gives 4, verse 4. Four is the reason, four is 
the rationale, four is the explanation. Why do I want to write to you 
so that you can contend earnestly for the faith which was once 
for all delivered to the saints? Well, for certain men have crept in 
unnoticed who long ago were marked out for this condemnation, ungodly 
men who turned the grace of our Lord God into lewdness and deny 
the only Lord God and our Lord Jesus Christ. So going back to 
John chapter eight to conclude our message this morning, the 
Lord Jesus Christ makes this declaration. which as Klink says, 
it's expressed with the most graphic and offensive terminology 
possible in this context, using the most biblical depictions 
of evil recorded in scripture. He makes this declaration and 
then he gives this demonstration. And before we conclude, brethren, 
I would be remiss if I did not mention this. It's not only a 
problem that occurs internally within the life and ministry 
of the church, it happens externally. I will remind you that when these 
Jews come to the time when they deliver up Jesus, it's not a 
religious argument, it's not a theological argument, it's 
a political argument. He makes himself out to be a 
king and he evokes or provokes from people tax evasion. We must understand, just as there 
are diabolical forces operative in the context of the church, 
so there are in the civil government. We read about a handful of them 
this morning. The common threat of our brethren 
in terms of persecution all over the earth doesn't come necessarily 
from internal forces. It comes from the state exercising 
that kind of oppression. And it's not the case that Paul 
Potter or Joseph Stalin, they just got a little off the mark. 
They just got a little wrong. These men were corrupt. These 
men were diabolical. These men were vicious. There 
is a class of men out there that want to destroy. They're in the 
church, they're outside the church. Christ has told us to be on guard 
in terms of internal threat and to be on guard in terms of our 
external threat. And you know the best antidote, 
you know the best remedy, you know the best blessing for all 
of us is to love Him. to adore Him, to honor Him, to 
praise Him, to rejoice in Him, to worship Him, and to never 
shrink back from growing in the grace and knowledge of our blessed 
Savior. Because it's in that place, that 
arena, that we're protected. We're protected from enemies, 
foreign and domestic. We're protected from all those 
forces that would seek to upbraid us and would seek to ultimately 
ruin us. It is Christ who is our life. 
It is Christ who is our love. It is Christ who is our hope. 
It is Christ who is our protector, our defender, our friend, and 
our king. That's the emphasis for the church 
today. If God were your father, then 
you would love me. You would love Jesus, you would 
bask in that love, and you would grow in your understanding of 
His love for you. Remember Ephesians 3? Paul prays 
that they would be strengthened. Paul prays that they would be 
knowledgeable. Not knowledgeable about their 
love for Christ, but the knowledge of Christ's love for them. Brethren, 
may God bless, may God protect, may God keep, and may God enable 
us to go forward in the fear of the Lord and in the comfort 
of the Holy Spirit. Well, let us pray. Our Father 
in heaven, we thank you for your word. And this is indeed a powerful 
passage of scripture where Jesus takes aim at the religious leaders 
of his own generation. And God, if we didn't have a 
New Testament, if we didn't have these words of the apostles, 
we couldn't just continually rejoice at the thought that no 
threat will ever come our way or no danger will ever be in 
our path. But we know within and without 
there is enemy forces at work against the Church of the Lord 
Jesus Christ. We rest ultimately in His promise to build the Church, 
knowing that the gates of Hades shall never prevail against it, 
and knowing that there will always be a Church where the glory of 
God Most High is manifested unto the ages to come. And may you 
encourage us, and may you build us up in our most holy faith, 
and may you cause us to grow in our love for Jesus and to 
grow in our understanding of Jesus' love for us. And we ask 
through His most blessed name. Amen. Well, we'll stand and sing 
or close our service today by singing number 564. Number 564. 
♪ O God, the God of Israel ♪ ♪ 
Who only doeth wondrous works ♪ ♪ In glory ever true ♪ ♪ Who 
only doeth wondrous works ♪ ♪ In glory ever true ♪ ♪ Blessed be his glorious name 
to all eternity ♪ ♪ The whole earth let his glory fill, amen 
♪ is is The Lord make his face shine 
upon you and be gracious to you. The Lord lift up his countenance 
upon you and give you peace. Father, go with us now and may 
these things be true in each of our hearts and lives. And 
we pray through Christ Jesus, our Lord. Amen. Well, you may 
be seated for a brief time of meditation.