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Well, you can turn with me in 
your Bibles to John's gospel. We're in John chapter eight. John eight, our focus this morning 
will be verses 30 to 36, but I wanna read beginning in verse 
21. So John chapter 8 beginning in 
verse 21. Then Jesus said to them again, 
I am going away and you will seek me and will die in your 
sin. Where I go, you cannot come. 
So the Jews said, will he kill himself because he says where 
I go, you cannot come. And He said to them, you are 
from beneath, I am from above. You are of this world, I am not 
of this world. Therefore, I said to you that 
you will die in your sins. For if you do not believe that 
I am, you will die in your sins. Then they said to Him, Who are 
You? And Jesus said to them, Just what I have been saying 
to you from the beginning. I have many things to say and 
to judge concerning you, but He who sent Me is true, and I 
speak to the world those things which I heard from Him. They 
did not understand that He spoke to them of the Father. Then Jesus 
said to them, when you lift up the Son of Man, then you will 
know that I am, and that I do nothing of myself. But as my 
Father taught me, I speak these things. And He who sent me is 
with me. The Father has not left me alone, 
for I always do those things that please Him. As he spoke 
these words, many believed in him. Then Jesus said to those 
Jews who believed him, If you abide in my word, you are my 
disciples indeed, and you shall know the truth, and the truth 
shall make you free. They answered him, we are Abraham's 
descendants and have never been in bondage to anyone. How can 
you say you will be made free? Jesus answered them, most assuredly 
I say to you, whoever commits sin is a slave of sin. And the 
slave does not abide in the house forever, but a son abides forever. Therefore, if the son makes you 
free, you shall be free indeed. Amen. Well, let us pray. Our 
Father in heaven, we thank you for the written word of the living 
and true God. We know that all scripture is 
given by inspiration of God, and it's profitable for doctrine, 
for reproof, for correction, and for instruction in righteousness. So grant us ears to hear and 
hearts to receive these things, and may your Holy Spirit guide 
us and teach us and lead us into all truth. As well, God, we pray 
that you would be merciful to sinners, to those still dead 
in their trespasses and sins. We know it's not by works, it's 
not by effort, it's not by moral reform, but it comes by grace 
alone, through faith alone in Christ alone, that sinners receive 
that forgiveness and that righteousness they desperately need. And as 
well, Father, forgive us for all of our sin and everything 
that darkens our minds and hearts, and we pray through Jesus Christ 
our Lord. Amen. Well, remember, this is the day 
after the Feast of Tabernacles, so in John 8, Jesus goes to the 
temple, and many people draw near to hear him, and then, of 
course, he engages in some dispute with the religious leaders. And 
that's the context that we find ourselves in this morning. They 
continue to question his identity and his authority. and he continues 
to answer them on both counts. He says that he is the one sent 
by the father and that then justifies or rather corroborates the authority 
with which he speaks. He is the sent one from the one 
who sent him. John tells us in the prologue, 
in the beginning was the word, the word was with God and the 
word was God. The word became flesh and dwelt 
among us. Now at this point, the unbelieving 
Jews are resisting that, the unbelieving Jews do not see that, 
and the unbelieving Jews are growing in their animosity and 
their enmity toward him. In fact, notice what he says 
specifically there in verse 28. And Jesus said to them, when 
you lift up the Son of Man, then you will know that I am and that 
I do nothing of myself. Christ knows the purpose for 
which he came. He knows that there's going to 
be a crucifixion. And he knows that ultimately 
it is these people that are culpable or responsible. Certainly Pilate 
gives the order to execute the Lord Jesus Christ, but he does 
so at the bidding of these godless men, these men that rejected 
the Messiah sent by God to save his people from their sins. Now, 
as we continue in this section, I wanna look at the blessedness 
of spiritual liberty in verses 30 to 32. That's what Christ 
speaks on there. And then secondly, the wretchedness 
of spiritual slavery in verses 33 to 36. So that's sort of an 
overview of the section. So let's look first at the blessedness 
of spiritual liberty in verses 30 to 32. I should say there's 
a contrast that we see obviously stated by our Lord. Notice back 
in verse 24, he says, if you do not believe that I am, you 
will die in your sins. And when he says, I am, as I've 
tried to show you, that goes back to the book of Exodus chapter 
three in verse 14, when God manifests himself through the burning bush 
to Moses and at the question of Moses, who shall I say sent 
me? He says, I am who I am. So Christ says that he is of 
the same nature as the father. That's another emphasis in that 
whole idea of the one sent by the Father. He has the same nature. 
He's the Son of God not by creation, He's the Son of God not by adoption, 
but He is the Son of God by nature. He is the only begotten of the 
Father. So the contrast is between the 
condemnation of those who do not believe on the Lord Jesus, 
and then the freedom for those who receive the Lord Jesus. That's 
the emphasis in verses 30 to 32. Notice the persons addressed. We see this in verse 30. As he 
spoke these words, many believed in him. And then in verse 31, 
then Jesus said to those Jews who believed him. Now, in terms 
of a probable identification of this particular group, go 
back for just a moment to chapter 2. Chapter 2 in John's Gospel 
tells us or alerts us to the reality of false disciples, or 
false professors, or false followers. We see that in our own day. We 
live in what's so-called a Christian nation, or at least it used to 
be identified that way, but the abortion rates soar, euthanasia 
is going off the charts, we see sexual perversion, all that sort 
of thing. So not everyone who says that 
they're a Christian is necessarily a Christian. Jesus deals with 
that in Matthew chapter 7 relative to the day of judgment. Not everyone 
who says to me, Lord, Lord, shall enter into the kingdom of God. 
Now when we look at chapter 2, we see this caution or this alert 
that there may be those who falsely profess faith. Notice in 2.23, 
now when he was in Jerusalem at the Passover during the feast, 
many believed in his name when they saw the signs which he did. 
But Jesus did not commit himself to them because he knew all men 
and had no need that anyone should testify of man for he knew what 
was in man. And then turn over to John chapter 
six. John six is an extended narrative where Jesus teaches 
in a synagogue in Capernaum. And there are a multitude that 
are following after him. And as we sort of close out the 
chapter, we see that many followed him, not because they received 
him as the bread of life, but because he fed them. He gave 
them physical bread. And once that physical bread 
ran out, and then he places demands upon them in terms of discipleship, 
they fall away. They don't want him anymore. 
They're only in it for what they can get at the temporal level. 
And so we see this false discipleship or this false sort of profession 
in John 6. Notice in verse 60, Therefore 
many of his disciples, when they heard this, said, This is a hard 
saying. Who can understand it? When Jesus 
knew in himself that his disciples complained about this, he said 
to them, Does this offend you? Notice he doesn't shrink back 
from declaring truth. He doesn't say, well, let me 
change my message to make it more palatable for you, to make 
it more easy for you to digest. No, he doubles down on the sovereignty 
of God and on the necessity for faith in him for salvation. So 
as he doubles down, notice the response in verse 66. From that 
time, many of his disciples went back and walked with him no more. So when we get to chapter 8 with 
this reference to the many who believed his words in verse 30, 
and then Jesus said to those Jews who believed him in verse 
31, we acknowledge the reality that there are false professors. 
But I'm going to suggest that these aren't necessarily false 
professors. Look back at chapter eight, specifically 
at verse one. Jesus went to the Mount of Olives. Now early in the morning, he 
came again into the temple and all the people came to him and 
he sat down and taught them. So out of all the people that 
came to him, There were those who believed on him. Now, obviously, 
it's not the religious leaders because Jesus is going to continue 
to go head to head with those men. He's going to continue to 
condemn them. In verse 44, he says, you are 
of your father, the devil. But within the midst of Jerusalem 
at that time at the temple, as Jesus is teaching, it is not 
out of the world to suspect that many did believe in him. Why 
do you think the religious leaders were outraged against Jesus? 
It wasn't, again, a question of theology, though it was to 
some degree. It was ultimately a question 
of politics. If everybody follows him, they're 
not going to follow us. If everybody comes after him, 
then that's going to give us less advantage in terms of our 
position. And so I would suggest that there 
were many that did believe in him. that received the truth 
that he was the one sent by the Father in order to save his people 
from their sins. And so he looks at that particular 
subset now, amongst the many in Jerusalem, amongst the religious 
leadership, and he addresses them on matters of faith. And so after looking at the person's 
address, notice the blessing described in verses 31b and 32. Again, the blessedness of spiritual 
liberty. It's going to deal with the wretchedness 
of spiritual slavery in a moment, but here specifically, he wants 
to speak concerning faith in him. And there's two things that's 
going to occupy our time. First, the consequence of faith 
at the end of verse 31. And then secondly, the power 
of the truth in verse 32. Notice the consequence of faith 
in verse 31. So we have that reference in 
verse 30, as he spoke these words, many believed in him. Then Jesus 
said to those Jews who believed him, if you abide in my word, 
you are my disciples in deed. Now notice what he says there, 
if you abide in my word, and you have to see the close connection 
between the word of Christ in verse 32 and the person of Christ 
in verse 36. You don't have Christ apart from 
the word. These churches, these peoples, 
these persons, these professors of faith today that want to try 
and advance the cause of Jesus Christ, apart from the word of 
truth, are engaged in a fool's errand. It is not entertain people 
into the kingdom of God. It is not social justice people 
into the kingdom of God. It is to preach the truth of 
Jesus Christ, our Lord, for the advancement of the cause of God 
and truth. He says, if you believe in or 
if rather you abide in my word, you are my disciples indeed. 
The language here means to remain or stay, right? You get that. 
If you abide in your neighbor's house, you've remained there 
or you have stayed there. It is used of someone who does 
not leave a certain realm or sphere. It means to remain, continue 
or abide. So again, look at the text. If 
you abide in my word, you are my disciples indeed. Sometimes 
people wonder, how do I really know if I'm a believer or not? 
Well, what's your response to the word of God? How do I know 
if I'm actually saved? What's your response to the word 
of God? How do I know if God has opened my heart and given 
me life eternal? What's your response to the word 
of God? Do you abide in it? Do you remain in it? Do you stay 
in it? Are you saturated with it? Is 
it your joy and your delight? One commentator, Edward Klink, 
says, the term communicates the sense of presence, a permanent 
residing in a specific location. Just as the Father remains in 
the Son, 1410, and the Spirit remains upon Jesus, 132 and 33, 
so also must believers remain in the Son and He in them. And again, the connection is 
strong. It is to abide in his word. There is simply not a Christian 
that has disdain for the word of God. Now, all of us, as God's 
people, need more love for it. We need more abiding in it. We 
need more staying with it. We need more remaining with it, 
to be sure. But somebody that is opposed 
to the scriptures of the Old and the New Testaments is not 
somebody that is in Christ. He is not somebody that has found 
the Savior. He is not somebody that has believed 
the gospel because the telltale sign of somebody who has believed 
on Jesus is that they will abide in that word of truth. Notice 
the emphasis on the word in the remainder of this discourse. 
Notice in verse 37, I know that you are Abraham's descendants, 
but you seek to kill me because my word has no place in you. Notice in verse 43, why do you 
not understand my speech? Because you are not able to listen 
to my word. Notice in verse 51. Most assuredly, 
I say to you, if anyone keeps my word, he shall never see death." 
Notice in verse 52, then the Jews said to him, now we know 
that you have a demon. See, that's absolutely positively 
a betrayal of those who have the word in their hearts. They're 
not abiding in the word when they accuse Jesus of having a 
demon. Notice, Abraham is dead, and 
the prophets, and you say, if anyone keeps my word, he shall 
never taste death, and then drop down to verse 55. 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. Now again, the Son of God by 
nature, His word is the Father's word. There's no difference, 
there's no distinction between words there. And in terms of 
the particularities of the words, Gil says, if you continue in 
my word, meaning the gospel, called His because He was both 
the author and preacher and some and substance of it. Now, I want 
to pause for just a moment and note something concerning the 
order, the theological order, because there's persons out there 
that say, well, you have to obey the Word in order to be saved. 
You have to do what God says in order to be saved. No, that's 
not what the Bible's teaching is. Now, just hear me out, because 
I think that sounds counterintuitive. What do you mean? Abiding in 
the Word means doing what Jesus calls us to do. But in terms 
of the theology, in terms of the overarching rule of Scripture, 
the analogy of faith, When Jesus talks about belief in Him, that's 
the means by which justification occurs. In other words, we're 
justified by grace through faith in Jesus Christ. When we believe 
the gospel, wonderful things happen. If you have not believed 
the gospel today, may I encourage you to do so, because wonderful 
things happen. When you believe the gospel, 
the message about life, the life, death, and resurrection of our 
Lord Jesus Christ, when you believe, you are forgiven of your sins, 
and you receive the righteousness of Christ, whereby you'll enter 
into the presence of God most high. Those are wonderful things. Those are the bestest of things. 
Those are the most excellent things, forgiveness and a righteousness 
that avails with God. So it is by grace through faith 
in Jesus Christ. That's been the emphasis thus 
far in the discourse. Notice in verse 24, Therefore 
I said to you that you will die in your sins, for if you do not 
Believe that I am, you will die in your sins. Verse 30, as he 
spoke these words, many believed in him. Verse 31, then Jesus 
said to those Jews who believed in him or believed him. So how 
do we know now whether we have believed or not? Because you'll 
abide by my word or abide in my word. You'll remain there. 
You'll stay there. You'll have your presence there. 
The theological order is clear. We're justified freely by grace 
through the instrumentality of faith. We receive the forgiveness 
of sins and the righteousness of Christ, and then by grace 
we abide in him. So the emphasis is not, obey 
me and then you will be saved. That's the emphasis in every 
other religion out there. Do what you're supposed to do 
and then you'll be rewarded at the end by God. That's not the 
teaching of scripture. The teaching of scripture sees 
us as slaves of sin. He's going to say that. Whoever 
commits sin is what? He's a slave of sin. He's dead 
in his trespasses and sins. Dead men don't obey the Bible. 
Dead men don't do what God say. We must be born again. We must 
be regenerated. We must have the graces of faith 
and repentance to close with our Lord Jesus Christ. The religion 
of man says the command and then the blessing. Do this and you 
will live. The religion of Christ says, 
I did this, believe on me and live. And as a result of that 
life, the consequences abiding in his word, doing those things 
that are pleasing in his sight, walking in obedience to him. Again, not unto salvation, but 
because we've been saved. So the abiding in the word of 
Christ is a consequence of faith in Christ, not the condition. 
That is a huge difference. And unfortunately, many people 
don't get this. And they teach a religion of 
works. They teach a religion mixed of faith plus works when 
the Bible's emphasis is grace alone through faith alone in 
Christ Jesus alone. How do I know I'm a believer? 
Because I abide in his word. Not, I'm going to abide in his 
word so that I can become a believer. It is a consequence of faith 
in our blessed Savior, the one who believes and abides in Christ. Notice what he says in verse 
31. If you abide in my word, you 
are my disciples indeed. In other words, there's no question, 
there's a certainty. John writes his gospel so that 
we might believe that Jesus is the son of the living God, and 
that believing in his name we might have everlasting life. 
Do you know why he writes his first epistle? He writes so that 
we may know. so that we may have that assurance, 
so that we may have that confidence, so that we may understand that 
certainty. How do we gain that confidence? 
How do we gain that certainty? How do we know for sure? Well, 
if you are my disciples, you will abide in my word. If you 
have believed the gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ, you will walk 
in obedience to him. And again, not an obedience so 
that I might be saved, but an obedience because I have been 
saved. There is a huge distinction between 
faith or rather abiding in Him as a condition for salvation 
versus as a consequence of salvation. And the emphasis in the entirety 
of scripture is that it's a consequence of our salvation. Turn back to 
John 1. You see this in the prologue, 
or at least you see this order somewhat. at least by way of analogy. Notice 
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. John bore witness of him and 
cried out saying, this was he of whom I said, he who comes 
after me is preferred before me, for he was before me. And 
of his fullness, we have all received and grace for grace. Now notice this contrast between 
the old covenant and the new covenant. That's what verse 17 
is. It isn't a suggestion that there was no grace and no truth 
in the time of Moses. That's not what he's doing. And 
it's not a suggestion that there's no command or no law in the time 
of Jesus. He is simply contrasting covenant. Verse 17, for the law was given 
through Moses, but grace and truth came through Jesus Christ. So if you take that sort of framework, 
grace and truth, we, by God's grace, are conquered through 
the instrumentality of his truth, and once we come out of darkness 
into marvelous light, we recognize that truth for what it is, and 
we, by grace, abide in it. We remain in it. We stay in it. We love it. Now again, we don't 
love it like we ought. We should get better for sure, 
but there is this affinity in the heart of God's people for 
his word. His commandments are not burdensome. They're not grievous. We don't 
hear the word of God come to us as disciples of Christ and 
say, oh, come on. There's about, you know, seven 
of those commandments that I actually like. There's three of them. 
I just don't want to have any truck with whatsoever. That's 
not the child of God. David imitates this disposition 
when he says, oh, how I love your law. It is my meditation 
day and night. What does Jesus say later on 
in the upper room discourse? If you love me, what? You will 
keep my commandments. Not out of drudgery, not out 
of a slavish mentality. Remember, you're free now. You're 
sons of the living and true God. You've been brought out of darkness 
into marvelous light, and this is your joy and your delight. 
And so when it comes to this statement, if you abide in my 
word, you are my disciples indeed. The one who believes and abides 
in Christ is, in fact, a disciple, and the one who abides in Christ, 
having believed on Him, is one who's received grace and truth 
as a blessed provision of the covenant of grace. Now notice, 
secondly, the power of truth in verse 32. Verse 32, he says, 
"...and you shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you 
free." Beautiful, isn't it? I remember hearing a message 
by Dr. Greg Bonson. He died in the mid-90s, 
but he was a graduate of USC. He got a master's degree in philosophy, 
and he says that in the pavilion or the quad area at USC, University 
of Southern California, they quote John 8, 32. but only half of it, the truth 
shall make you free. Well, that's a truism to be sure, 
but you do not want to divorce it from, and you shall know the 
truth, and the end there connecting us to the Word of Christ. Of 
course, generally speaking, truth makes you free. Lies are not 
good. Deception is not good. Gaslighting, 
not good. No bueno. These are bad things. 
But in terms of the truth, Christ isn't speaking here in some generic 
sort of a way, two plus two, you know, the principles of, 
you know, light of nature, sorts of things. He's talking about 
himself. He's talking about his word. Again, notice the close 
connection between verse 32 and verse 36. You shall know the 
truth and the truth shall make you free. Verse 36, therefore, 
if the Son makes you free, you shall be free indeed. So back 
to verse 32, you shall know the truth and the truth shall make 
you free. Notice he highlights the knowledge of the truth. We 
must know the truth. Again, brethren, this is why 
you come to church. This is why you read the Bible. 
This is why you are exposed to truth. Faith comes by hearing, 
and hearing by what? It comes by the Word of God. 
It doesn't come by osmosis. It doesn't come by connection. 
It doesn't come by any other way than through the vehicle 
of God's truth. It is absolutely paramount. It 
is absolutely crucial. It is absolutely necessary. And 
Christ highlights that principle, that when by grace we believe 
on Him, we abide in that truth, the more that we experience that 
truth, the more the Holy Spirit confirms to us that truth. The 
Spirit is an on-board confirmation that the Word of God is in fact 
true. That's why it doesn't matter about all the particular evidence 
we can give to people about the veracity of Scripture. Those 
things have their place. Our confession acknowledges those 
things, but the ultimate testimony is the Holy Spirit working in 
and with our hearts, confirming it to us. This isn't the Mormon 
burning in the bosom. This isn't some, you know, feeling 
or experience. It is the ministry of God the 
Holy Spirit to confirm that truth in the hearts of God's people. 
Those who come to Christ in faith receive the blessing of the Holy 
Spirit. So Christ speaks concerning the 
knowledge of the truth. But then notice that he highlights 
the power of that truth. Verse 32, you shall know the 
truth and the truth shall make you free. The truth shall make 
you free. So when you look at a statement 
like that, you see power, you see efficacy, you see an emphasis 
upon the necessity for that word of truth. Now, for anybody that's 
keeping track of the time, we're probably gonna end at verse 32. 
So I don't think you're gonna miss your lunch. We're not gonna 
be here till three, going through all of these verses. You can 
blame J. Gresson Machen. My beloved and 
I read an article by him last night. He was emphasizing the 
truth. And I thought this would be a 
good place in the life and ministry of our church to revisit that 
wonderful thing called truth. And again, I don't mean in the 
political sphere, though we are like to and gas lit a lot. I'm 
talking about the religious realm. I'm talking about spiritual things. 
I'm talking about the church's response to society at large. As I mentioned before, it's not 
entertainment that are gonna win people, that is gonna win 
people to the kingdom of God. It is not, you know, the most 
powerful orator. It's not, you know, Benny Hinn 
with his gifts and his healings. It's not Joel Osteen and his, 
you know, everybody's happy all the time mentality. Brethren, 
that stuff is not truth. That stuff does not advance the 
kingdom of God. Our blessed savior tells Pontius 
Pilate that truth is the vehicle by which he extends his kingdom. 
Turn to John chapter 18. John chapter 18, you shall know 
the truth and the truth shall make you free. Notice in John 
18 at verse 36, Jesus answered, my kingdom is not of this world. 
That doesn't mean it doesn't involve this world. It doesn't 
mean he's not controller of this world, but rather it means it 
does not originate from this world. He's not voted in. It's 
not that there's a primary, it's not that there's a general, it's 
not that, oh, everybody cast their ballot for Jesus. When 
he says, my kingdom is not of this world, do not interpret 
that to mean that Christ has no concern for this world. Christ tells us in the Lord's 
Prayer to pray that God's will be done where? On earth as it 
is in heaven. Psalm 103 says that God's kingdom 
is over all things. So this, my kingdom is not of 
this world, means it doesn't originate here. It's not a democratic 
process. He wasn't voted into office. 
There's no term limits that are over the Lord Jesus. Notice the 
conclusion or the implication he draws from that. If my kingdom 
were of this world, my servants would fight. A couple of weeks 
ago, we looked at the legitimacy of self-defense in Holy Scripture. 
In our Wednesday night Bible study, there's a group of professing 
Christians who don't question their profession, but they're 
called pacifists. Well, Jesus legitimizes the use 
of violence in the civil sphere, if it is necessary, just like 
Romans 13 legitimizes the use of the sword in the civil sphere, 
if it is necessary. Look at the implication. My kingdom 
is not of this world. If my kingdom were of this world, 
what would he do? My servants would fight and my servants would 
win. My servants would make a bloodbath 
because they're my servants. But on to the rest of the passage. 
Notice, so that I should not be delivered to the Jews, but 
now my kingdom is not from here. Pilate therefore said to him, 
are you a king then? Jesus answered, you say rightly 
that I am a king. For this cause I was born. The 
only reference to Christ's birth in the gospel of John. There's 
a reference to the incarnation in the prologue at 114, the word 
became flesh and dwelt among us. But there's no birth narrative 
like we have in the other gospels. There's no nativity scene. This 
is the only reference to Christ's birth. And what is the referent? He says, you say rightly that 
I am a king for this cause I was born. You usually preach, you 
know, approach the incarnation season with a heavy emphasis 
on the babe Jesus. And certainly he was a babe at 
point in time, but he was born to be a king. That season of 
incarnation should remind us of the King of kings and the 
Lord of lords and the glory and the power of his might and dominion. Now notice, he says, for this 
cause I was born and for this cause I have come into the world 
that I should bear witness to the truth. Everyone who is of 
the truth hears my voice. What advances the kingdom of 
Jesus Christ on earth? It's not entertainment. It's 
not social justice warriorism. It isn't any of the emphases 
that we have seen over the last couple of generations. It isn't 
on field goodery. It's not on Duke goodery. It 
is on the proclamation, the propagation, the defense of, and the maintenance 
of God's holy truth. Genesis to Revelation is our 
weapon. It is the sword of the spirit. 
The apostle says the weapons of our warfare are not carnal, 
but they're mighty for the pulling down of strongholds. What are 
those weapons? Prayer and preaching. Perhaps 
this is why we don't see power in the church today. Why we don't 
see the gospel going forth, conquering and to conquer. Because we put 
the weapons on the shelf and we've adopted other means. Now, 
in terms of the church's response to the truth, we've got the book 
of Acts, we see the emphasis there. The apostle would go to 
a particular city, he would find himself in a synagogue, because 
in the synagogue there'd be religious-minded folk, and there would be God-fearing 
Greeks. So there'd be unbelieving Jews, and there'd be God-fearing 
Greeks. So Paul would go to those synagogues, and what would he 
do? Let's just feel Jesus, let's just receive him into our hearts, 
let's just have a love and an experience. No, he would reason, 
he would explain from the scriptures, he would go to the texts, he 
would expound the texts, he would apply the texts, and then he 
would call them to repentance and faith in our blessed Savior. 
And then the apostle Paul, in his writings, tells us the church's 
response to that truth. Turn to 1 Timothy 3. 1 Timothy 
3. Several observations from Paul's 
writings concerning the church's responsibility to the truth. 
Because if you shall know the truth and the truth shall make 
you free, it's almost like Christ is giving us information as to 
what we are to do in this world on his behalf. Does that make 
sense? In other words, we aren't supposed to just, you know, kind 
of come up with, you know, let's get this business model, let's 
have a CEO, let's have movers and shakers, let's hire a marketing 
company, let's brand ourselves. Because once we do that, then 
we'll advance the kingdom of God. Brethren, the kingdom of 
God doesn't need our branding. The kingdom of God doesn't need 
our CEOs. The kingdom of God doesn't need 
the razzmatazz of pep rallies and leaders that aren't knowledgeable 
in Holy Scripture. The kingdom of God has built 
into it a mechanism for its advancement. For this cause, I was born. And 
for this cause, or by this means or reason, I advance my cause. It's through the word of truth. 
So notice in 1 Timothy 3, the identification of the church. So 1 Timothy 3.14, 
these things I write to you, though I hope to come to you 
shortly. But if I am delayed, I write. I write so that you 
may know how you ought to conduct yourself in the house of God, 
which is the church of the living God, the pillar and ground of 
what? The truth. It's not the pillar 
and ground of entertainment. It's not the pillar and ground 
of feel-goodery. It's not the pillar and ground 
of therapeutic moral deism. It is the pillar and ground of 
the truth. That's the emphasis that the 
apostle highlights. Notice as well the function of 
the church is to propagate the truth. Turn to 2 Timothy chapter 
4. 2 Timothy 4, verse 1, I charge you, therefore, before God and 
the Lord Jesus Christ, who will judge the living and the dead 
at his appearing and his kingdom. No soberer words could be found 
in Holy Scripture, could there be? Paul is going to die, he 
tells us that in this passage, he knows his time is short, he 
knows his departure is at hand, and he has a final command for 
Timothy as a public person, not as a private person. The private 
commands come later. Timothy, when you come, bring 
the cloak I left in Troas, bring the books, especially the parchments. Timothy is a private person. 
Come and visit me in the poky and bring me good stuff, because 
it's cold in here and I want to read, I want to study, I want 
to strategize, I want to extend the kingdom of God most high. 
So that's commands to Timothy in the latter part of chapter 
4 that are as a private person. But 2 Timothy 4, 1 and 2 comes 
to him as a public person. It is the last official command 
issued by the apostle Paul with reference to the church and her 
conduct, with reference to the church and her function. So the 
solemnity in verse one, I charge you therefore before God and 
the Lord Jesus Christ, who will judge the living and the dead 
at his appearing and his kingdom, makes you wonder what's coming 
next. What's so important? What matters this much to the 
apostle that he's going to issue this charge to Timothy the public 
man on behalf of the church of Jesus Christ? What is it that 
demands that kind of reverence, that kind of solemnity? We all 
know what that command is. It is preach the word. Again, we are the pillar and 
ground of the truth. So what do we do with that truth? 
Do we just keep it to ourselves? No, we take those claims everywhere. We go and press the blessed gospel 
of Jesus Christ upon the consciences of all men everywhere. He says, 
preach the word, be ready in season and out of season. And 
it's not just preach, but he gives them the manner in which 
to preach. Notice that. Preach the word. 
Convince, rebuke, exhort with all longsuffering and teaching. 
If it was Timothy's shopping list, he could preach it however 
he wanted. If it was Timothy's wish list for his birthday, he 
could preach it however he wanted. If it was Timothy's private letter 
to his wife or his children, he could preach it however he 
wanted. But the Word of God, the truth of God, the people 
of God, and those who hope to be or we want to be the people 
of God, don't have the right to not pay attention. Convince, 
rebuke, exhort. Do it with all longsuffering, 
because it's a difficult cause, it's a difficult task, and do 
it with teaching. The people of God should learn 
the Word of God from the pillar and ground of the truth. Imagine 
that. And then notice as well, the church's responsibility. We're gonna jump out of Paul 
for a moment over to Jude, Jude three. Again, a familiar passage 
of scripture. I hope all of this is a reminder, 
but the church's function, we've seen our identification is the 
pillar and ground of the truth. The church's function is to propagate 
the truth. We're now on the church's responsibility 
is to contend for the truth. Notice in verse three of Jude's 
epistle, beloved, While I was very diligent to write to you 
concerning our common salvation, I found it necessary to write 
to you, exhorting you to contend earnestly for the faith which 
was once for all delivered to the saints." Why did he do that? 
He says very clearly at the beginning of the verse, I was very diligent 
to write to you concerning our common salvation. I just wanted 
to write to you about justification by faith alone. I wanted to write 
to you about the divinity of Jesus, the triunity of God. I 
wanted to write to you about the blessedness that we share 
in Christ Jesus, our Lord. But I found it necessary to kind 
of change directions. I need for you to contend earnestly 
for the faith that was once for all delivered to the saints. 
And if we were to ask the question of Jude, well, why did you change 
directions? Why did you go in this particular 
manner? Well, he answers. Look at verse 
5. I'm sorry, verse 4. For certain men have crept in 
unnoticed. If these apostates, if these 
defectors, if these heretics had not crept into the churches, 
then Jude's purpose to just write concerning our common salvation 
would have been realized. But the fact that these heretics, 
the fact that these devils in men's clothes, the fact that 
these unorthodox persons, the fact that these new Judases have 
crept into the church unawares necessitated Jude's exhortation. To do what? To contend earnestly 
for the faith that was once for all delivered to the saints. 
Brethren, this is a duty of the church. This is a responsibility 
of the church. You often hear it, oh, let's 
just love Jesus. Doctrine divides. It most certainly 
does. It divides the children of God 
and the children of the devil. We don't divide over eschatology. We don't divide over some of 
the other certain things that we find in the Bible. But we 
divide when it comes to theology proper. We divide when it comes 
to Christology. We divide when it comes to justification 
by faith alone. We don't have truck with Rome. 
We don't have truck with the New Perspective. We don't have 
truck with the Federal Vision. At the level of faith plus works, 
we divide brethren because faith alone is the resounding emphasis 
in the pages of God's holy word. We are to contend earnestly. Now lovingly, of course, we're 
not supposed to be morons and baboons and beat everybody up 
that disagrees with us, but we're supposed to contend. We're supposed 
to fight. We're supposed to see that truth 
as so important that we will hold onto it come what may. The apostle Paul sets the example 
for us in the book of Acts in Acts chapter 20. None of these 
things move me. The thought that he's gonna go 
to Jerusalem, that he's going to be arrested and that he's 
gonna be turned over to civil authority. No, I have a particular 
mission and it is to preach the gospel of Jesus Christ our Lord 
to extend the kingdom of God most high on the earth. were 
to contend earnestly for the faith, which was once for all 
delivered to the saints." Back to Paul, notice in chapter, or 
2 Timothy chapter one. So we've seen the identification 
of the church as the pillar and ground of the truth, the function 
of the church is to propagate the truth, the responsibility 
of the church is to contend for the truth, and then the church's 
stewardship is the protection of the truth. This contend earnestly 
seems to envisage those wretches coming in amongst us and us meeting 
them, not with, come on guys, can you just leave? Come on guys, 
can you just leave us? No. you meet them with the truth. If you do not sign off on this, 
if you do not confess this, if you do not believe this, if you 
do not repent from your sins, then again, we have no truck 
with you. Again, this is just so offensive 
today. Oh, come on, Butler. We just 
ought to be ecumenical. We ought to have a big tent. 
Everybody ought to come and be a participant. Everybody who 
confesses that Jesus Christ has come in the flesh, everybody 
who confesses that he is the sent one from the one who sent, 
who lived, who died, and was raised again, oh yeah, they come 
into the tent. And those who confess that by 
grace through faith in him, oh yeah, they're in the tent. But 
if you mess up on those things, you're not in the tent. It's 
intriguing because the early creeds in Christianity were called 
the ecumenical creeds. And I think, I don't want to 
speak out of line, but I think at least a lot of them, I will 
say, ended with a series of anathemas. Now anathema is a Greek word 
that is the Greek version of a word that occurs in the Old 
Testament. The word in the Old Testament is harem. And harem 
simply meant something devoted to destruction. Something under 
the ban. The children of Israel in the 
sacking of Ai, or in Jericho, were forbidden to take any of 
the booty, to take any of the loot. It is under the ban. It 
is devoted to destruction. So we get to the New Testament. 
The apostle Paul co-ops that term. Again, he uses Greek, so 
he says anathema. He uses it in Romans 9. He says, 
if it were possible that I could be anathema from Christ for the 
sake of my countrymen, I would take it. 1 Corinthians 12, he 
says, no man can say that Jesus is accursed or anathema if he's 
led by the Spirit. He uses it in Galatians chapter 
1 as well. If any man preaches another gospel 
that I haven't preached to you, let him be anathema. And so this 
idea of anathema is what the early church creeds pronounced 
on persons that didn't confess that creed. For them, that was 
ecumenical. That was the tent. You can certainly 
have habitation in the tent, provided you profess the truth. Ecumenicism today goes about 
like this. Well, can they say Jesus? Because if they can say Jesus, 
we've got communion with them. Now, sorry, at some point we've 
got to ask the question, which Jesus are they talking about? 
I mean, if you think about it, just in the last, I don't know, 
few months, they invoke Jesus to endorse abortion. At least 
some, they endorse, or they invoke Jesus to endorse, you know, the 
whole host of things. Well, brethren, that's not the 
big tent that the Scripture calls us to. So the Jude 3 contend 
earnestly for the faith with those who creep in. But in the 
common everyday sort of maintenance of the truth, of the defense 
of the truth, look at 2 Timothy chapter 1. Again, Paul writing 
to Timothy here as a public man. Certainly there's a private application 
for Timothy, but notice what the church's function is. in 
terms of the protection of the truth. 2 Timothy 1.13, he says, 
Hold fast the pattern of sound words which you have heard from 
me, in faith and love which are in Christ Jesus. Hold fast. not 
let go, not be such a wimp, not be such a coward, not be such 
a compromiser that when they want to abort babies and euthanize 
everybody, when they want to engage in sexual perversion that 
includes the mutilation of children, you say, well, you know, I guess 
Jesus would be okay with that. Jesus would not be okay with 
that. Jesus condemns that unequivocally from Genesis to Revelation. If 
we are Jesus' disciples and we abide in his word, there is a 
clear-cut dividing line. There is a distinction between 
the children of the devil and the children of God Most High. 
Hold fast the pattern of sound words which you have heard from 
me in faith and love which are in Christ Jesus. Now notice verse 
14. That good thing which was committed to you, keep by the 
Holy Spirit who dwells in us. Don't let it go. Not just say, 
well, it's not that important. Brethren, I dare say the truth 
is The most important, this is the deposit that has been carefully 
given to us by God most high. The apostle says in 2 Corinthians 
4, 7, we have this treasure, gospel treasure in earthen vessels 
so that the excellence of the knowledge may be of God and not 
men. Tonight in Ephesians 3, he's gonna talk about his ministry 
as a steward of the gospel. When he talks about the proclamation 
of what? searchable riches of Christ. This is our calling. This is 
our task. This is what we're about. Can 
we have other things? Should we perhaps do other things? 
Is there more that we can undertake? Yes, absolutely, positively, 
draw up your plans, make your suggestions, take them to the 
deacons, and we'll see what we can do. But the primary emphasis, 
as long as there's breath in our lungs, and we confess our 
faith in Jesus Christ, and we band together as the Church of 
Jesus, truth must be everything. In a world of lies, in a world 
of deception, in a world of darkness, what's going to make the difference? 
It's not our power of persuasion, it's not our experience, it's 
not our thoughts, it's the Word of God Most High. The church 
has this particular responsibility, and dare I say, this particular 
privilege, What is the church's joy? It's to see the people of 
God abiding in his word, right? Isn't it wonderful to share the 
gospel with somebody and by grace they believe it? Doesn't it make 
you happy? Jesus says that the angels in 
heaven rejoice over one sinner who repents in Luke 15. Well, 
the church does that too. It's nothing more encouraging 
for a pastor than to hear at the prayer meeting or to hear 
in private council, oh, I shared the gospel with this work associate 
and perhaps he's not saved yet, but boy, he's really thinking 
about that. Praise God, that's awesome. What's the name so I 
can pray for them? Or we hear of God's blessing 
in other churches. We hear of other people coming 
to the Savior. We hear of people embracing the 
truth. Doesn't that make you happy? Isn't that what it's about? 
Isn't that our function as well as our privilege? There's a must-do-ness 
about this, but there's a get-to-do-ness about this as well. The privilege 
and the joy of witnessing people not only receiving the gospel 
by grace and believing on it, but seeing God's people grow, 
seeing God's people grow in the grace and in the knowledge of 
our Lord Jesus Christ. To hear them say something like 
John Newton, you know what? I'm not what I ought to be. I'm not what I want to be, but 
by God's grace, I'm not what I once was. That's the power 
of truth. The truth is everything. The 
church has been given this as a stewardship. And may God Most 
High encourage and strengthen and help us to remain faithful 
in that stewardship of it. And then finally, go back to 
John chapter 8. John chapter 8, the Lord Jesus 
Christ makes this definitive statement in verse 32, you shall 
know the truth and the truth shall make you free. What's that 
mean? Shall make you free. What if 
the government continues to clamp down on Christians and they throw 
people in jail? Oh, that'll never happen in Canada. 
I suppose they probably said that at one time in Pakistan. 
I suppose they probably said that at one time in China. I 
suppose they probably said that at one time in Saudi Arabia. 
But as history has taught us, it's not always the case. We're 
going to always enjoy freedom in the temporal sphere. So when 
Jesus says, you shall know the truth and the truth shall make 
you free, and then we turn to the book of Acts, for instance, 
and we turn to Paul's letters, Paul's not free. In fact, we 
looked at that last week in Ephesians chapter 3, verse 1, a prisoner 
of Jesus Christ for you Gentiles. What's Jesus mean here? Well, 
it's pretty obvious. I think all of you would say, 
okay, I get it. Whoever commits sin is a slave of sin, the wretchedness 
of spiritual slavery. So what he's obviously referring 
to in verse 32 is the blessedness of spiritual liberty, the blessedness 
of spiritual freedom. So what are we free from? What 
have we been released from? You go back to the Old Testament. 
It's pretty obvious. What was the Exodus about? The 
Exodus was about deliverance from bondage. The children of 
Israel at the end of Genesis end up in Egypt. The king dies 
or the pharaoh dies, a new king or a new pharaoh comes on the 
scene, and he has no concern for the Israelites whatsoever, 
except as a slave force. I mean, they're pretty helpful 
for that. I can lash them on their backs, and I can make them, 
you know, build my stuff, and I can have them, you know, extend 
my kingdom. So when we look at the Exodus, 
which means departure, when we look at the Exodus that deals 
with the theme of liberation, not liberation theology, the 
commie version, but liberation or deliverance, it's obvious 
from the bondage of Egypt. So what do we have freedom from 
in our situation? Well, I would suggest we have 
freedom, first of all, from the curse of the law. Freedom from 
the curse of the law. Now, time is going, so I just 
will call out the passages that you should refer to later. In 
Galatians 3.13, Christ became a curse to free us from the curse 
of the law. Galatians 4, in the fullness 
of time, God sent forth his son, born of a woman, born under the 
law, to do what? To redeem those under the law. The law as a covenant of works 
drove us And the law as a covenant of works smashed us. And so we were under the law. And yet Christ, having become 
a curse, frees us from the curse of the law. So we have freedom 
from that. Secondly, we have the freedom 
from the condemnation of sin. Freedom from the condemnation 
of sin. Last Sunday night, we had a bit of a going away for 
a young man, if you're just visiting tonight or today, for a young 
man that had been in our church for many years and sad to see 
him go. And he was asked, what was his 
favorite hymn? He was one of our pianists and 
Cam asked him, Cam came up with one of his camisms. I think we 
probably sang, you know, about 6,500 hymns, you know, since 
you were born and brought up in the context of the church. 
Okay. I just, I'll take that by faith. I'm not, I didn't go 
home and check the map. And he says 580. 580 in the Old Hymn 
Book. 580 in the Old Hymn Book has 
a stanza that says, my sin, oh the bliss of this glorious thought, 
my sin not in part but the whole is nailed to the cross and I 
bear it no more. Praise the Lord, praise the Lord. It's a good 
hymn for a young man to hold on to. It's a good hymn for all 
of us to hold on to. It's a good hymn for anybody 
that has that burden of sin, that has that weariness and heavy 
ladenness, even this morning, of sin. You know your conscience, 
you know the Word of God, you know where you are at odds. And 
the only means by which we get freedom from that sin is through 
the blood of Jesus Christ, His Son. Come to Him in faith, you 
receive forgiveness. Again, one of the chief boons 
of our religion is the forgiveness of sins. So you're free from 
the condemnation of the law, you're free from the condemnation 
of sin, you're free, thirdly, from the wrath of God Most High. Romans chapter 3, verse 25 and 
26, the Apostle tells us that God the Father set forth His 
Son as a propitiation. Now that's a word that perhaps 
we don't use in everyday language. Propitiation presupposes the 
wrath of God. And propitiation means that that 
wrath is spent. It's not diverted, it's not sent 
away, but it was spent upon the Son of His love. When Christ 
goes to the cross, He's not there for an example. He's not there 
just to teach us something about love. He is there bearing in 
himself the curse of God most high for us men and for our salvation. He was set forth through his 
blood as a propitiation for sin. And so when by grace we receive 
this freedom, we're free from that curse of the law, that condemnation 
of sin and that wrath of God most high. But then the final 
observation is we're freed from the tyranny of the devil. The 
devil himself, he's active. John 8, 44. You are of your father 
the devil. The deeds of your father you 
want to do. Don't ever think or suspect that there's no devil. 
There's a devil. He roams about like a roaring 
lion, seeking whom he may devour. He is the prince of the power 
of the air that works in the sons of disobedience, according 
to Ephesians 2, 2. But when, by God's grace, we 
believe that gospel, we're freed from that tyranny. So even if 
we're in a jail cell, even if we're in a gulag, even if we're 
in a plane plummeting out of the sky, I'm not trying to scare 
anybody, we have that freedom from. And the scriptures are 
replete with that emphasis concerning freedom from the tyranny of the 
devil, such that the apostle John can say later in 1 John 
4, greater is He that is in you than He that is in the world. 
We have been freed from the tyranny and from the bondage and from 
the misery of being bound by the devil. There's a freedom 
from and there's obviously a freedom to. The freedom to enjoy God 
and to glorify Him forever. the freedom to do those things 
that are pleasing in His sight, and the freedom, ultimately, 
to go to Emmanuel's land, where we will be in the presence of 
our blessed God, Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, world without 
end. Amen. Well, let us pray. Our 
Father, we thank You for Your Word. We thank You for the clarity 
of our Lord's words here. And help us to appropriate that 
truth. Help us to see first and foremost 
that Christ is the only Savior for sinners. And God, give the 
graces of faith and repentance so that sinners may come to Him. 
As well, all of us, we pray that we would abide in His Word, that 
we would love that Word, that we would call it our delight 
as individuals, as families, as a church. I pray that we'd 
love it but as well as a church, I pray that we would propagate 
it, that we would defend it, that we would protect it, that 
we would rejoice in its reception and that we would be faithful 
to you and for your glory as you have called us to do. We 
thank you for this day. We pray for your blessing upon 
us. And we ask these things through Jesus Christ, our Lord. Amen. Well, you can turn with me in 
your hymn books to number 568. We'll stand as we sing together. 568. ♪ Praise him, all ye citizens of 
Israel ♪ ♪ Praise him, the God we have heard of ♪ ♪ Praise God with song and holy voice ♪ Now may the God of peace, who 
brought up our Lord Jesus from the dead, that great shepherd 
of the sheep, through the blood of the everlasting covenant, 
make you complete in every good work to do his will, working 
in you what is well-pleasing in his sight, through Jesus Christ, 
to whom be glory forever and ever. Amen. Thank you, Lord God 
Most High, for the word of truth. I pray for your blessing upon 
each one here that we Have a wonderful Lord's Day, that you would bring 
us together tonight to worship you in spirit and truth. We pray 
that all over this earth, as your gospel is proclaimed, that 
word would run swiftly and be glorified. Advance your kingdom, 
revive your people, awaken those dead in their trespasses and 
sins. And we pray through Jesus Christ, our Lord. Amen. Well, 
please be seated for a brief time of meditation.