 Our sermon title this morning is believe and be saved believe and be saved and we are in John chapter 3 and Looking at the section of scripture that runs from verse 17 through verse 21 Where the Bible says for God did not send his son into the world to condemn the world But that the world through him might be saved You know he who believes in him is not condemned But he who does not believe is condemned already because he is not believed in the name of the only begotten Son of God And this is the condemnation that the light has come into the world and men loved Darkness rather than light because their deeds were evil for everyone practicing evil hates the light and does not come to the light Let's his deeds should be exposed But he who does the truth comes to the light that his deeds may be clearly seen that they have been done in God As we've worked through this passage Recounting for us a conversation between the Lord Jesus Christ and Nicodemus in John chapter 3 We've been swept along through a a very very important transition In verses 1 through 8 we saw God's sovereignty Beautifully displayed in the work of the spirit as it relates to the new birth or birth from above God's sovereignty in the new birth We are born not of the will of flesh nor of the will of man, but born of God It's not something that you do It's something that God does in you something that God does to you the wind of the spirit so to speak Blows where it wishes you hear the sound of it You cannot tell where it comes from and where it goes and so is everyone who is born of the spirit So that is clearly and inarguably an example of the sovereignty of God In salvation now as we work through the passage however We've been confronted with a corresponding truth that is also very clearly taught in the word of God from verses 9 to 21 An obvious emphasis woven into the fabric of this passage as we've as we've been working through it Is the emphasis on the responsibility of man the responsibility of man to believe In the Lord Jesus Christ to be saved Now you put those two things together God's sovereignty man's responsibility And you get a passage scripture many passages of scripture that beautifully depict that foundational truth of our Christian faith that we have been saved by grace Through faith that one sentence encapsulates that truth God's sovereignty man's responsibility for by grace You have been saved through faith now think about the last three sermons that we've sat through let's listen to One you must believe Two you must believe in him and today you must believe and be saved This is man's responsibility to believe to exercise faith woven into this passage It's not going to be by works of righteousness, which you have done But according to his mercy that you are saved It won't be because of your morality that Jesus saves you It's not going to be because you're a good person and that you're good is somehow going to outweigh your bad Nicodemus was obsessively moral You won't go to heaven because you're religious Nicodemus was obsessively religious It won't be because of some experience you had or some prayer that you prayed Or some candle that you lit or some bead that you rubbed or some saint that you invoked Not some sacrament you performed. It's not going to be because of some isle that you walked some tears that you shed Not going to be because of some vision you had or some gibberish that came out of your mouth Or because you helped a little old lady across the street or because you imagine in your own mind that god would never send you to hell You must believe on the name of the lord jesus christ to be saved For by grace you have been saved through faith And the wondrous truth of that Is that both the grace and the faith are not of yourselves They are the gifts of god and not of works lest anyone should boast Philippians 129 says for to you it has been granted on behalf of christ not only to believe in him But also to suffer for his sake and listen To be sure that you are saved To be sure that you are saved you must not only believe in him But you must know what that faith is and what it looks like little children the bible says let no one deceive you Please have not least of all don't let your heart deceive you that heart Which is wickedly deceitful above all things and desperately wicked in verses one through eight Nicodemus is confronted with the necessity Of new birth from above he must be born again He must be made alive in christ from being dead in trespasses In verses nine through 21 Nicodemus is confronted here with his own unbelief he's not received the witness of jesus christ And here he is pressed by the lord with the necessity that men believe to be saved So we dig in today into verses 17 through 21 It's important that we see those verses within their context as we work through john 3 16 We witness the immeasurable love of god Immeasurable certainly in its scope that it extends to all the mass of humanity the immeasurable scope of the love of god But also in its perfection So immeasurable in its perfection as to be completely independent completely unconditional Originating within the will and good pleasure of god alone in other words not motivated by anything in its object Its object is Unlovely its object is thoroughly undeserving And then lastly god Wondrously demonstrating that immeasurable love in providing an indescribable gift That indescribable gift wouldn't be a bull or a goat That indescribable gift is his own unique Radically distinctive matchless unequaled only begotten son And for the bible says in verse 16 god in this manner Loved the world so that he gave his unique unequaled radically distinctive unmatched son That all believing ones in him should not perish but have everlasting life And we know from verses 14 and 15 in the passages that we've looked at That this involved the raising up of the son of man and like the serpent in the wilderness and this is speaking of The crucifixion of god's own son He is the only savior Raised up for anyone and all who would look to him in faith to be saved The gospel call is a general call to all In that sense he is the savior of the world the propitiation for the sins of the world And as paul said there is one mediator between god and men the man christ jesus who gave himself a ransom for all So he was sent So that all who would look to him in faith would be saved But he died For all believing ones in him That all believing ones in him should not perish but have everlasting life if you're going to escape the wrath of god If you're going to have everlasting life You must believe and be saved. So as we work through verses 17 to 21 We're going to see this one in the mission of the sun The mission of the sun The mission of the sun and his first coming is to seeking to save that which is lost rather than to judge rather than to condemn Now is the time for all men everywhere to repent. Now is the time to believe and be saved There will be a time when the lord jesus christ comes back to execute judgment act 17 Says that god has appointed a day on which he will judge the world in righteousness By the man whom he has ordained and he has given assurance of this to all by raising him from the dead Now is the time today is the day for you to believe and be saved And that is on the authority of god's word seen in the mission of the sun But two we'll see the condition of the world in verses 18 and 19 The sun comes into a world that is wandering around blind and stumbling in the darkness a world that loves darkness Rather than the light because its deeds are evil. It's a world that does not know him And thirdly we'll see all of this in the exhibition of your heart in verses 20 and 21 We'll see the effects or the fruits of both saving faith And unbelief in the practitioners of evil and in the doers of the truth The mission of the sun the condition of the world in the exhibition of your heart Examine your heart before him This morning ask yourself do you see fruits of genuine saving faith? The fruits are there for you to see whether you are in god or not Whether the works that you do are in god or whether they are of your father the devil And lord by his grace and mercy makes that abundantly clear in the fruit that are wicked or righteous hearts produce Are they done in god or are they done in your flesh? Are they done in the power of the spirit? You must believe and be saved Right, let's take a look at point number one the mission of the sun and this comes in verse 17 Where the bible says for god Did not send his son into the world to condemn the world but that the world through him might be saved So now god in a glorious Act of immeasurable love toward humanity Sent his son into the world on a mission That mission described by jesus himself in luke 19 is to seek and to save that which was lost Not to judge the world, but that the world through him might be saved You know paul said to young pastor timothy This is a faithful saying and worthy of all acceptance that jesus christ came into the world to save Sinners of whom i am chief i think about that for a moment jesus christ came into the world to save sinners And yet there are those who think to themselves my sin is too great the lord jesus christ certainly couldn't save me Or they think to themselves God is just propping me up like pharaoh so that he can glorify himself in my condemnation. Those are un Bibla that's stinking thinking that's not the god of the bible and that's not the mission for which christ came Jesus christ came into the world to save sinners in that if you are not saved today If you've not put your faith and trust in jesus christ You should rejoice that the lord Holds out for you that free will free grace offering of his love and mercy So that you may be saved in the lord jesus christ if you put your trust in faith in him Not that he's come into the world to condemn you or to judge you Believe on the lord jesus christ and be saved now that mission Would have been new news to many jews All right, they didn't they didn't expect that jesus would come into the world to save They expect the the messiah to come to judge They weren't expecting the suffering servant. They were expecting a ruling king who would rule with a wrought iron a rod of iron And crush all of those gentiles and all of those romans and all of those pagans They wouldn't have expected the messiah to come in judgment But secondly, they would have never expected to find themselves under judgment or under condemnation The jews by and large believed themselves to be righteous Um, they were god's chosen people. They were keeping god's laws. They were descendants of abraham They were not like those filthy gentiles or those half breed samaritans, right or those pagan romans those idolatrous romans So the jews believing themselves to be righteous were vengeful They were racist. They were self-righteous hypocrites They couldn't bear the thought of god actually showing an immeasurable love and mercy toward Gentiles sort of had the attitude right of jonah on the hillside overlooking the city of neneva Just couldn't imagine that these people were going to be saved The pagan nations around the jews weren't any better off They were idolatrous. They were murderous. They were blind Paul and aphesians 2 calls them far off Strangers from the covenants of promise having no hope and without god in the world. That's the bible's assessment of everyone else The world of today Is no better either is it? No better off rampant wickedness romans 1 says we're given up to uncleanness The world in the lusts of its heart idolatry sexual immorality homosexuality read the other day 45 million babies Aborted on an annual basis worldwide since 1980 1.4 billion that's billion with a b Babies murdered So would god be just To send jesus christ into the world to judge it Absolutely Absolutely. He's done it before right Jude 14 warns behold The lord comes with 10 thousands of his saints to execute judgment on all To convict all who are ungodly among them of all their ungodly deeds Which they have committed in an ungodly way and of all the harsh things which ungodly sinners have spoken against them You get the point In fact, all of judgment all of this judgment has been committed Into the hands of christ flip the page to john chapter 5 john chapter 5 And drop down to verse 22 John chapter 5 look down at verse 22 listen to this For the father judges no one but has committed all judgment to the sun There will come a day when jesus christ will come back to execute judgment now. It's not that time There will come a day when he'll come back to execute judgment verse 23 That all 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 Most assuredly I say to you he who hears my word and believes in him who sent me has everlasting life You see the repetition That's the message and he shall not come into judgment, but is passed from death into life Most assuredly I say to you the hour is coming and now is When the dead will hear the voice of the son of god and those who hear will live For as the father has life in himself So he has granted the son to have life in himself and has given him authority to execute judgment also Because he is the son. Excuse me of man Do not marvel at this for the hour is coming in which all who are in the graves will hear his voice and come forth Those who have done good To the resurrection of life and those who have done evil to the resurrection of condemnation Now listen to those words for a few moments. This is exactly what pastor jimmy was talking about this morning In the call to repentance the connection will see this in this passage between faith and works unbelief and works Those who have done good to the resurrection of life those who have done evil to the resurrection of condemnation I can of myself do nothing as I hear I judge and my judgment Jesus christ says is righteous because I do not seek my own will but the will of the father who sent me To anyone who Doesn't believe that god would do this that doesn't believe that jesus christ would come to execute judgment peter tells them to remember the flood Right. He's done it before This world is no better off than that one which was destroyed by water Scoffers come and they mock say where's the promise of his coming? Listen, jesus christ is coming back and when jesus christ comes back. He's coming back to judge this wicked world So that leads us To an obvious answer to a very obvious question verse 17 Says that jesus christ has come not to condemn the world, but that the world through him might be saved Save from what? Saved from what exactly? You're saved from the wrath of god Saved from god saved from god's wrath Saved from that judgment from the condemnation and judgment of god at the hands of the lord jesus christ I want you to notice something Thinking about that. I want you to notice something from the train of thought that we see In verses 17 through 21 and that is this The loving purpose of god In sending his son on a mission to seek and to save that which was lost is emphasized And thought of within the context of a deserved judgment The loving purpose of god in sending his son on a mission to seek and to save that which is lost is emphasized and thought of within the context of a deserved judgment salvation And judgment are flip sides of the same coin and this is going to be important to understand It should be the thought of divine judgment That drives you It should be the thought of a deserved divine judgment That drives you to ponder the great love And grace and mercy and compassion and patience of god in salvation It is a reality no matter how hard people try to suppress this truth No matter how people strive to do away with the reality of hell Every one of us must contend with the reality of god's impending judgment Have you ever been to a funeral and talked to family members? Everyone is in heaven. Yeah, yeah, I felt like I was an axe murder. Yeah, he's in a better place now Everyone goes to heaven. They do away with hell He said the sinner's prayer when he was 12 So we know he's a christian even though he murdered I was waiting to swing to a young lady last week Out at ucf and this is extremely common Believes in god does not believe in hell believes in heaven does not believe in hell Listen to these two concepts put together in paul's sermon in axe chapter 13 verse 38. Listen to these words. These are both these concepts put together Therefore paul says let it be known to you brethren That through this man through jesus christ is preached to you the forgiveness of sins amen Right through jesus christ is preached to you the forgiveness of sin and by him Everyone who believes Is justified from all things from which you could not be justified by the law of moses And then the next verse beware Therefore lest what has been spoken in the prophets come upon you Behold you despisers Listen if you don't believe in the lord jesus christ You are a despiser of the lord jesus christ. There is no middle ground Behold you despisers marvel and perish for I will work a work in your days a work Which you will no means believe the one were to declare it to you People just don't believe in the judgment of god the condemnation of god. How could a loving god send anyone to hell? I believe in heaven. I don't believe in hell. I believe in god, but I don't believe in his judgment God says god says in jeremiah chapter 19 verse three that he will bring a Traffi of judgment so shocking and so severe that whoever hears of it both of his ears will tingle So what's the point? What's the point? You need to understand The reality of the one so that you will flee to the other You need to look upon the horror Of judgment so that you will run to the cross So that you will flee to christ Look upon what you deserve Look upon what you deserve and stand in awe of the immeasurable love of god Look upon the one that you deserve and stand in awe at the indescribable gift of god in the lord jesus christ Whom he sent in the world to save your wretched soul You should be overwhelmed with gratefulness If you're in christ For what god has done You lose you lose a pen And you suffer the loss of that pen Someone returns your pen. You know you rejoice. Thank you for returning my pen You walk out in front of a runaway bus And someone pushes you out of the way of that bus You rejoice That your life has been saved thank you for saving my life But when the lord of glory comes And dies when you deserve the punishment Demonstrating an immeasurable love toward you taking upon himself the wrath that you rightly deserve And saves your soul your eternal soul from an eternal hell You cry out praise beats of god and you rush to christ you flee to the cross for salvation You trust in him alone Leaving your sin behind Repenting turning from your sin hating even the the the garment defiled by the flesh Do you get it Listen to god sending his own Son into the world So that lost and wretched sinners could escape The condemnation that hangs over your head Can escape the judgment of almighty god who is holy and who is just What wondrous mercy What amazing grace right God sending his son into the world on a mission to seek and to save that which is lost Does not delay that judgment it actually brings it closer Does not delay that judgment it brings it closer in the parable Of the wicked vine dressers from matthew 21 Jesus himself said and last of all He sent his son Last of all What happens next in that parable is that the owner comes bringing a final judgment on those wicked vine dressers There's nothing Nothing today There's nothing that stands between you and the imminent return of the lord jesus christ to execute judgment on this wicked world Observe the judgment That is coming and flee to christ Observe the condemnation that if you are outside of christ today that hangs over your head and flee to the cross for salvation If you're here today and you're a christian Then glory In the overwhelming work that god has done to save you from that judgment and serve him this life is a vapor You have an inheritance waiting for you in heaven Let jesus when jesus comes find you working in faith That judgment too that we see in verse 17 alluded to there Isn't only a future expectation That judgment's not only a future expectation. It's also a present concern if you're not in christ If you're not in christ that judgment that condemnation must be a present reality to you a present concern John 3 18 says that he who does not believe is condemned already Condemned already if you've never turned from your sin and put your trust alone in christ to save you from the wrath to come Will you do it now? Listen, will you do it now? If you've never believed do it now god extends to you a free offer of his grace and his mercy in christ jesus Secured by the shed blood of his own son on the cross And hell lies beneath you as jonathan net worth says its mouth is gaping open underneath you to receive you Receive you that moment that god Decides to take your life your foot will slip in due time Run to christ for mercy You must believe and be saved If you're a genuine bloodbought disciple of christ here today Rejoice in what the lord has done. Praise be to god for this indescribable gift Rejoice in what the lord has done don't grumble Like those in the wilderness who died Hebrews 10 39 says we are not of those who draw back to perdition But of those who believed in the saving of the soul Don't retreat and neglect Don't act as though live as though you have already attained the prize you press on Look at what the lord has done Persevere to the end and be saved But secondly, you know, we We see the condition of the world. We see the mission of the sun. We see the condition of the world And that's in verse 18 here in verse 18 the bible says he who believes in him Is not condemned But he who does not believe is condemned already because he has not believed in the name of the only begotten son of god And this is the condemnation That the light has come into the world and that men loved darkness rather than light Because their deeds were evil and we see the problem Clearly stated in verse 18, right He does not believe he's condemned already. We see the problem clearly stated in verse 18 We see the explanation clearly stated in verse 19 because men love darkness rather than light Their deeds were evil So the condition of this world The condition of every person in it apart from a saving belief or apart from saving faith in christ Is that they are condemned And it's very important to understand They are condemned Already that word condemned in the greek there is in the perfect tense It is a completed done deal. It's done condemned already. You've been condemned if you're not in christ You are condemned already because you've not believed your default position From the point of your conception Is condemnation David said in sin my mother conceived me You came into this world as an unbeliever You came into this world as an unbeliever. You were born a child of adam And therefore you are of your father the devil You are already even now if you're not in christ Sentenced to hell you were a citizen of hell It's ridiculous right absurd to think that somehow On judgment day your good is going to outweigh your bad. You've already been sentenced There's not another Verdict that's going to be rendered The judgment is taking place you are condemned Why Why It's because you have not believed in the name of the only begotten son of god So no matter how you feel about it. That's what the bible teaches Ultimately the one Unforgivable sin is unbelief All sin flows from that one Because of unbelief you are condemned already And if you continue in unbelief you will eventually perish eternally So think about it this way Everyone in the world is born on the green mile Right death row walk in the mile Everyone is born on death row walk in the green mile if three On the green mile Are saved Because god causes them to be born again of his spirit Draws them to himself makes them alive in christ grants them repentance and faith Nothing changes with the other seven. They're on the green mile. They're condemned already. Does it make sense? They're condemned already there is great hope though For them at the beginning of verse 18 Even though there's this condemnation. They're already condemned There's a great hope a great promise even in verse 18 at the beginning Where it says he who believes in him is not condemned that word believes there is a present active participle It's an ongoing. It's a current reality A believing that keeps on believing that's believing that's believing. It's just believing it's living a life of belief He who is believing in him is not condemned Romans 8 right there is therefore now no condemnation for those who are in christ jesus No condemnation if you're in christ jesus So that brings up a very important question. What is the what does it mean then to believe? What is faith? What's faith? your theologians for Centuries now have talked about faith in three parts. There's knowledge or noticia in the latin There's a scent or a census and then there's fiducia Knowledge is the intellectual part of faith if you will It's a knowledge of the faith who christ is What christ is done the content of our faith? It's a knowledge of faith a census or a scent Is believing that knowledge believing those facts jesus christ came he lived a perfect sinless life perfectly Satisfying the just demands of god for righteous obedience to his law He went as a perfect Sinless sacrifice to the cross where he died Bearing both the punishment that sinners rightly deserve for their own sin and satisfying the wrath of god becoming a Propitiation for those who would repent and believe if you believe all of that is true god raised him from the dead That is a scent that is belief that all of that is true But knowledge and a scent is followed up by fiducia followed up by commitment If those things are true and you believe them Then that component of faith is a commitment then to him to follow him. It's an entrustment of yourself I entrust my eternal soul to my only hope who is the lord jesus christ He's the only one who can save me. I have no righteousness of my own I must have the righteousness of jesus christ to be right with god and to flee the wrath to come It's an entrustment of all that I am to all that he is It's a commitment of myself to him to follow him to obey him to live for him to follow what he says Fiducia and we see this understanding of belief Clearly in verse 18's connection to verses 19 through 21 And I want to impact this for us beginning with verse 19 In verse 19 we see an explanation for the desperate Condition of this world Although light has come into the world that's jesus's incarnation Men loved darkness instead and that's speaking of the condition of man's heart. They love darkness. It's natural Right. They love the darkness And then it says because their deeds were evil speaking of the fruit Of that condition Why don't people believe in christ to be saved? Why don't people believe in christ to be saved because they love their sin? They love their sin. That's their nature Outside of christ your nature is bent towards sin It loves has no interest in the things of god has every interest in pleasing itself Indulging itself reveling in wickedness, right? They need a new heart They need the new birth they need to be born again from above they need god to change their nature change their heart Take out that heart of stone and put in a heart of flesh. They need grace They need the grace of god and it's that grace of god that teaches us to deny ungodliness. We need that grace from god Just as faith Always bears on its surface the marks of the grace of god in obedience and the obedience of the of the believer unbelief always bears on its surface The marks of disobedience as the fruit of unbelief The unbelieving one with a heart for darkness is revealed or exposed by evil deeds That's why the bible says ultimately That we will be fully and finally judged by our works We'll be fully and finally judged by our works Unbelief in the heart is revealed by her wicked children. Okay in revelation 20 john describes The great white throne judgment listen to these words john says i saw the dead small and great standing before god and books were open And another book was open which is the book of life And the dead were judged according to their works By the things which were written in the books The sea gave up the dead who are in it and death and hades delivered up the dead who are in them And they were judged each one according to his works. You get that? And death and hades were cast into the lake of fire. This is the second death And anyone not found written in the book of life was cast into the lake of fire This very thing this idea of being judged by works explained by jesus himself in matthew chapter 25 turn there with me matthew chapter 25 This is with respect to the judgment of the sheep and goats Judged by works matthew chapter 25 And looked at verse 31 Matthew 25 31 here jesus says When the son of man comes in his glory And all the holy angels with him Then he will sit on the throne of his glory All the nations will be gathered before him and he will separate them one from another As a shepherd divides his sheep from the goats He'll set on the on the sheep on his right hand But the goats on his left Then the king will say to those on his right hand come You blessed of my father Inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world Why why? For I was hungry and you gave me food. I was thirsty. You gave me drink. I was a stranger You took me in I was naked and you clothed me. I was sick and you visited me. I was in prison. You came to me And the righteous are going to answer him and saying lord When did we see you hungry and feed you or thirsty and give you drink? When did we see you a stranger and take you in or naked and clothed you? Or when did we see you sick or in prison and come to you? And the king will answer and say to them assuredly I say to you In as much as you did it to one of the least of these my brethren. You did it to me Well, that's is that that jesus christ preaching a salvation by works No, this is a salvation that works What are the works here? They did good Those things as john three will say here in a moment those things done in god works done as a fruit of faith And they're judged if you will according to those works those works are the evidence That they are in christ by repentant faith Those fruits demonstrate genuine saving belief in christ It's the fruit on the tree Also works the other way look at verse 41 Then he'll also say to those on the left hand Depart from me you cursed Into the everlasting fire prepared for the devil and his angels. This is judgment This is judgment For I was hungry and you gave me no food. I was thirsty. You gave me no drink I was a stranger You did not take me in naked and you did not clothe me sick and in prison and you did not visit me Then they also will answer him saying lord Right lord lord Right from matthew chapter 7 When did we see you hungry or thirsty or a stranger or naked or sick or in prison and did not minister to you? Then he will answer them saying assuredly I say to you in as much as you did not do it to one of the least of these You did not do it to me and these will go away into ever lasting. You don't believe That hell is eternal these will go away into ever lasting punishment But the righteous into eternal life, you know that that doctrine Of soul sleep or annihilation It's just another way That self-justifying people Not understanding the depravity of their own heart and the holiness of almighty god try to do away with the concept of hell it's A judgment so severe it's caused their ears to tingle and they cannot believe it Right acts 13 though. Someone were to tell it to them. They cannot believe it So what are your works? Examine yourself. What are your works? Your deeds good or evil It's important That you understand the connection Between belief or unbelief with good or evil works They have the relationships pastor jimmy said Of fruit and the tree the tree and its fruit if the tree is genuine saving faith Its fruit will be good fruit good works If the tree is bitter wormwood then its works will be its fruit will be evil We looked at the mission of the sun We looked then at the condition of the world Next we have to look at the exhibition of our heart Verse 20 Back in john chapter 3 Everyone practicing evil hates the light does not come to the light less as deeds should be exposed But he who does the truth Comes to the light That his deeds may be clearly seen that they have been done in god The first thing I want you to notice here is the absolute lack of any neutrality at all There is no third option. There are two options here, right? There is no third There is no such thing as the carnal christian. There are two options here Two contrasting positions and two positions only Everyone verse 20 practicing evil. That's all of those in a habitual lifestyle of sin Everyone practicing evil those in unrepentant sin Those who practice evil hate the light They're not indifferent They're not unconcerned. It's not that they dislike the light Everyone who practices evil hates the light. That's God's diagnosis of your whether you think it or not. You think well, I don't hate. Yes, you do That's what the bible says that describes the condition of your heart. Yes, you do. I'm not a hater of god. Yes, you are You're outside of christ. You've not believed in the lord jesus christ all the lord jesus christ has done You are a hater of the lord jesus christ. You are a despiser of the lord jesus christ. There is no middle ground It's an act of hate to not believe in the only begotten son of god Everyone practicing evil hates the light. He doesn't come to the light lest his deeds should be a lengthy exposed That means exposed with conviction and shame proven or shown to be guilty The light of christ exposes our deeds The light of christ exposes our deeds You know as a christian you might have experienced that at one time or another You know you walk into your office at work Into a conversation with all kind of cussing going on and when you walk into the room it stops Are the ring becomes silent, right? Guy who tells dirty jokes all his friends Won't tell us dirty jokes around you because you're a christian and he knows it because your fruits go before you There's evidence of your faith A genuine christian Can be a walking rebuke to a lost world They don't come into the light Because their deeds Would be exposed it doesn't it isn't only a fear of being exposed That is the only motivation here remember the darkness is natural to him So yes, he doesn't want to come into the light because his deeds will be exposed There's also a natural proclivity toward darkness a natural state a natural bent a natural disposition In his heart to revel in the darkness. He wants Darkness if you're not in christ you Have no interest in the things of god Which means you're a hater of the things of god you want things just the way they are You want your darkness over the light because you love your sin But here's the second position by contrast He who does the truth verse 21 Not simply hears not simply understands But does right we're used to hearing of Telling the truth speaking the truth hearing the truth But this is not one who hears or understands or tells only this is one who does the truth This is referring to obeying the truth of god's word Goes to speak of that fruit of obedience the fruit of genuine saving faith He who does the truth comes to the light I'm not in the sense of showing off. He doesn't go you know It flaunt his works showing off his good works but In union with christ right in communion with him Don't we with our our deepest desire The deepest intentions of our heart want to be pleasing to him, right? You come to christ in union with christ Hating your sin Turning from your sin wanting to be rid of your sin Come to christ just desiring that god would see the work of his spirit in you, right? Desiring that your fruit would be pleasing to him That you would be more like your savior more like your lord you would be conformed more into the image of christ You want god to see That your life that your works that fruit is that they're done in god You come to the light didn't david pray right in psalm 139 verse 23 search me This is the prayer of a believer, right? Search me. Oh god and know my heart try me and know my anxieties and see if there is any wicked way in me And lead me in the way everlasting It's the prayer of the christian's heart God Test me try me God rip that sin out of my heart Lead me in the way everlasting. That's not the earnest prayer of the wicked The believer wants their deeds to be seen as done in god Not done in our own strength when we stand before god god's not going to look at bill or nancy or jill or fred and say Look at those marvelous works that they did No, he's gonna look at them and say look at the marvelous work of my spirit in them Those works are not done in our own strength. They're wrought by god's spirit in the genuine believer This reveals a very important point Because one avoids the light And another comes to the light or because one practices evil and another one practices righteousness is not as a result of physiology Not as a result of psychology It's not because one is dumb and the other one is smart It's not as a result of environment It's not because of baptism Or because you participated in some sacrament It's not because you made a decision to accept christ and someone else did not Why? Why did you accept christ if you believe that and someone else did not? Is it because you're smarter than they are? No, no, no, no not smarter than they are Is it because you're more righteous? Oh, certainly not every no christian would say I'm more righteous than they are Why isn't it? You've done the smart thing. They've done the dumb thing Right, you've done the righteous thing They've done the unrighteous thing See if you believe that you have something about which you can boast And it is not of works less anyone should boast before god God gets the glory for that salvation is of the lord Salvation is not of works as anyone can boast it all comes down to whether or not you were in god In christ you were only in christ through repentant faith in christ Turning from your sin and believing him to be saved This biblical reality That disobedience is the fruit that bears evidence of an unbelieving heart and the biblical reality That obedience and the power of the spirit is the fruit that bears evidence of a believer's heart Is why the bible can say things like this first john chapter 2 verse 3 Now by this we know that we know him if we keep his commandments He who says I know him and does not keep his commandments is a liar And the truth is not in him first john chapter 3 verse 4 Whoever commits sin also commits lawlessness and sin is lawlessness And you know that he was manifested to take away our sins and in christ in him There is no sin whoever abides in him does not sin whoever sins has neither seen him nor known him Little children john pleads with you listen little children Let no one deceive you he who practices righteousness is righteous just as he is righteous He who sins is of the devil for the devil has sinned from the beginning For this purpose the son of god was manifested that he might destroy the works of the devil Whoever has been born of god born from above right new birth Whoever has been born of god not of the will of the flesh nor the will of man But of god whoever has been born of god does not sin or make a practice of sin For his seed remains in him and he cannot make a practice of sin Because he has been born from above. He's been born of god In this the children of god and the children of the devil are manifest Whoever does not practice righteousness. They can't be any clear right cannot be any clear Whoever does not practice righteousness is not of god nor is he who does not love his brother This is the grace of god to you if you will honestly judge yourself now You know we read romans chapter 8 verse 1 a little while ago There is therefore now no condemnation to those who are in christ jesus Listen to the rest of that verse Who do not walk or live right make a lifestyle who do not walk according to the flesh But according to the spirit If you walk according to the spirit you're going to put to death the deeds of the body and you're going to Be sentenced to that genuine saving faith by fruits of the spirit Listen to paul Speaking of those in the last days God's going to send them strong delusion. This is the great apostasy right god's going to send them strong delusion That they should believe the lie that they all may be condemned Who did not believe the truth? But had pleasure in unrighteousness see the connection there They were condemned because they did not believe in the son of god Their unbelief is evidenced by their pleasure in unrighteousness their pleasure in evil deeds Their pleasure in godless works Flip over to john chapter 3 quickly and look at verse 36 john chapter 3 down at verse 36 Very interesting here This will be interesting to those who have a king james bible in their hand John chapter 3 verse 36 Listen, he who believes peace to you on believing He who believes peace to you on is believing He who believes in the sun has everlasting life Same teaching right same point if you believe in the sun you have everlasting life And he who does not believe A pay phone that's a different word You look at in english he who believes in the sun has everlasting life He who does not believe the sun shall not see life. It's a different word peace to you on means believe a pay phone means obey obey He who believes in the sun has everlasting life and he who does not obey The sun shall not see life But the wrath of god abides on him. Is that a salvation by works? No, it's a salvation that works. This is a faith that produces fruit This is the testimony of god's word. Do you see it? This is a teaching of salvation that works. It is a salvation It is a faith It is a grace and spirit empowered belief that produces good works The bible says in ecclesiastes chapter 12 verse 14 For god shall bring every work into judgment with every secret thing whether it be good or whether it be evil You can't look at some prayer you prayed. You can't look at how you feel professing christian You can't rely at all on past obedience Or past faithfulness Or past fervency I could grab some of you by the collar and shake you out of your lethargy. We would do it if that would work, right? But the spirit of god through the word of god must do that work on your heart Will you believe on the lord jesus christ and allow him to do that? Don't rely on past fervency live for christ faithfully fervently now Look at your life now first kranz 11 Verse 31 paul says for if we would judge ourselves we would not be judged But when we are judged we are chastened by the lord that we may not be condemned with the lord with the world Judge yourself now remember The gospel is so glorious in its extent That everyone even the most wicked of sinners who believes Will be saved but it is narrow so narrow that That most moral Of unbelievers is condemned already If you're outside of christ today, you are condemned But the great grace and mercy of god is not fully and finally condemned God in great love toward you in great mercy In compassion has made a way of escape You're condemned if you're not in christ, but it's not necessary that you stay there It's not necessary that you stay there Maybe you say to yourself i'm gonna think about it Thinking about it won't do This is charles virgin said you'll think your way into hell Maybe you say i'm gonna pray about it. The bible doesn't tell you to pray about it The bible doesn't tell you to pray about it Now is the accepted time god says behold now is the day of salvation Sin and belief are irrational sin and unbelief are irrational sin and unbelief are self destructive They are deceptive If you're in sin Here today you need to if you're a christian and in sin you need to doubt whether you're in christ You're not entitled to assurance when you're in unrepentant sin Repent now trust christ now Commit to him Follow him in faith Bearing the fruits of faith It's an old hymn Today the savior calls For refuge fly The storm of justice falls and death is nigh Amen Let's pray Father in heaven god praise you and thank you for these these verses This truth god thank you that it's so clear god thank you Even still our hearts are so deceptive god i pray that you would Lay these truths on our heart with such clarity That the unbelieving here today one here today Would not be able to sleep a wink Would not be able to escape their accusing conscience Would not have rest Until they flee the wrath of god and believe in the lord jesus christ to be saved I pray here for that Christian who may be Lethargic or in their sin Lord that they would Press on Living wholeheartedly for you persevere to the end and be saved God do your mighty work through your word honor your word today god glorify yourself in Working in the hearts of your people Working on the stony ground heart of that unbeliever for your eternal praise and worship in jesus name. We pray amen