Sermons from the Gospel of John

HAVE YOU BELIEVED?

JOHN 20:30-31

NOVEMBER 2, 1997

As John comes to the close of his Gospel, he makes a very important observation. There are plenty of attesting miracles which Jesus performed that were not recorded in this Gospel. We know this in a very practical sense when we compare the Synoptic Gospels (Matthew, Mark, and Luke) with the Gospel of John. The Synoptics have many different miracles and teachings which John does not record. I think John's intention is to go beyond even that with his comments at this point. For the idea is that in the limited space of the four Gospels, we do not have everything that Jesus Christ said or did. But we do have enough! We have exactly what the Holy Spirit planned for us to have so that we might understand the Person and work of Jesus Christ.

What is written has been stated so that you might believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God. The other signs were important, but unnecessary for true faith. We see this evidenced on a number of occasions when followers were more enamored with the miracles of Jesus than in the Person and message He proclaimed. He rebuked the evil generation that craved after signs but would not believe the clear revelation of God found in the Person of Christ.

Our own day has had a rise of this kind of mentality that is not satisfied with Jesus Christ and the revelation found in the gospel. They want "signs and wonders," flitting about from one place to another seeking after miracles, healings, signs. Do they need these things to convince them of Jesus Christ and Him crucified, buried, and risen from the dead? I think not, according to the message John delivers here. Instead, they seek these signs to satisfy their curiosity or their impulsiveness or their need for entertainment. As George Hutcheson, the 17th century Scottish preacher stated, "The scriptures are not intended mainly for recording multitudes of signs and miracles for the satisfaction of curiosity, or which might induce idle men to read them for recreation or putting off time, but the great scope of the scriptures is to direct men how to know Jesus Christ and save their own souls" [John, Geneva Commentary Series, 426].

Notice John's emphasis: "but these have been written that you may believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God; and that believing you may have life in His name." John did not stress the continuing need of signs and wonders, but looking instead to the revelation found in the Word of God. John was satisfied that even what was contained in his Gospel was adequate for a sinner to understand who Jesus Christ is, what He has done, and how to have life in Him. We have sixty-five more books to add to this revelation!

Those who are looking for something else to convince them of the necessity of faith in Christ, need look no further! The message of the gospel is here; ready for the response of true faith in Jesus Christ. Two questions face each of us: Have you heard the gospel? Have you savingly believed?

I. Gospel Content: what has been written?

We have noticed on numerous occasions that it is important to understand the truth of the gospel before believing. The gospel first affects the mind, then the heart through faith. The gospel is not simply an experience that somehow by-passes the rational thinking processes and goes straight to our emotions for a response. I will grant you that there are plenty of experiences which people have, religious and otherwise, which by-pass the mind. But that is never the teaching of God's Word concerning our relationship to Him. Remember how our Lord called attention to what He was saying so often with the phrase, "He who has ears to hear, let him hear." This demonstrates the necessity for the mind to be engaged in the spiritual processes. For the mind to be impacted the gospel must be stated in terms that are comprehensible to the human mind. That is why we must give attention to both exposition of God's Word in the pulpit and classroom, as well as explaining the truths of the gospel to those who are unbelieving.

I was waiting on someone in a public place recently where a television was blaring. It was a video of a rock concert with all of the lights, sounds, and movement that characterizes those events. The thing I found amusing was that the fellow who was supposed to be singing could not carry a tune! He was horrible! He rambled through a song that was rather incoherent, yet the crowd listening was yelling, swaying, and raising their arms as if in praise to the man. Now I know that their minds had not been affected! That was virtually impossible due to the lack of logical, understandable content. But their emotions had been swayed to produce a particular response. So hundreds of people were wildly swaying and acting as though this man had met the deepest need of their lives.

My friend, it is not a difficult thing to sway people or to induce them into making some kind of response to outward stimuli. But it is an impossible thing, as far as man is concerned, to convert one sinner from his spiritually dead state. We must rely upon the gospel of Jesus Christ applied by the Holy Spirit for the conversion of sinners! It is just such a gospel that John explains in the pages of his Gospel writing. What constituted the good news of Christ to John? We know that the death, burial, and resurrection describes the essence of the gospel. But what is it that is important for an unbeliever to grasp so that the death, burial, and resurrection has saving significance? Let's take a quick walk through John's Gospel to see what John is pointing out in the phrase, "but these have been written that you may believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God."

The Incarnate Word, Christ's uniqueness as the Son of God--John 1

John begins his Gospel with the startling declaration that Jesus Christ is none other than the eternal God, who created everything that exists. "In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God....All things came into being by Him, and apart from Him nothing came into being that has come into being" (1:1, 3). If that was not enough, he tells us that God the Creator was clothed in humanity, that He took on human flesh so that He might identify with us and our plight, as well as being the infinitely sufficient sacrifice for our sins. "And the Word became flesh, and dwelt among us, and we beheld His glory, glory as of the only begotten from the Father, full of grace and truth" (1:14). As God, Jesus Christ satisfies His own judgment against sinners, giving infinite value to His righteousness on our behalf. As a Man, sinless in every way, He qualified to be the perfect substitute for us before the wrath of God. Do you believe that He is both God and Man?

The Sovereign over nature--John 2

In Cana of Galilee, our Lord attended a wedding in which He turned the water in six stone waterpots into wine for the wedding feast. John comments that this was the "beginning of His signs," and in exercising His prerogatives as Creator over nature, He was displaying His glory so that those who had eyes to see would recognize that He is God Himself. While some notable cult groups deny that Jesus Christ is God in the flesh, John emphasizes our understanding this truth so that we might know the value of Christ's offering on our behalf. Do you believe that He is Sovereign over all creation?

The demand of the New Birth and Christ, the only Savior for the world--John 3

In what has become one of the best known texts in God's Word, Jesus told the Pharisee, Nicodemus, "Truly, truly, I say to you, unless one is born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God" (3:3). He demands the necessity of being born from above in order to have eternal life. This puts the attention of our salvation upon God Himself. We must understand that salvation is not a mere decision which we make whenever we decide that it sounds good to us. The spiritual condition of a man as a desperate sinner, helplessly lost, dead in trespasses and sins, demands that if he is to have life it cannot come from within himself. Do you realize this? Do you understand that you cannot birth yourself into the kingdom of God? Do you know that only the Spirit of God can accomplish this work? This puts us into a position of looking to God for His mercy in saving us. The person who thinks that he will get saved whenever he pleases shows his own foolishness in failing to understand his spiritual condition. A dead man cannot decide to make himself spiritually alive. Have you been born again?

Jesus is revealed as the only Savior of sinners in the balance of John 3. It is God who took the initiative out of the greatness of His love and mercy in sending His Son to die a substitutionary death for all who would trust in Jesus Christ. Is the confidence of your salvation in Jesus Christ alone?

The Water of Life who gives living water--John 4

The woman at the well lived in the depths of sinfulness. At the revelation of Christ, her sins were exposed as was her dependence upon a false understanding of God and what constitutes true worship. Jesus claimed to be the only One who could give her "living water," His own saving life, to quench the eternal thirst of her soul. Has Jesus Christ given you the living water of eternal life?

Jesus Christ, God of very God--John 5

At the heart of the unbelief that persisted among the Jews of the first century was the fact that they could not bring themselves to believe in the deity of Christ. For them, the idea of God coming near and dwelling among them was foreign. Yet to be saved from sin a person must understand that Jesus Christ was not simply a great man; He is "very God of very God," as the 4th century Nicene Creed expresses it. Jesus claimed equality with God, which caused the Jews to resist Him. In claiming equality with God, Jesus is either boasting of something beyond Him, which would be true of anyone but God; or He is stating that which is true in every way. He gave a series of comparisons and simultitudes concerning the Father and the Son in this chapter, so that we might know that He who went to the cross on our behalf is none other than very God of very God. Do you believe that Jesus Christ is God?

The Bread of Life--John 6

John six is one of the most powerful passages in God's Word in terms of describing the inadequacy of every person for salvation apart from Christ and the sovereign pleasure of God in our salvation. Bread is considered to be "the staff of life," the very basic food that supplies life-giving nutrients to the world's population. Jesus uses this imagery to explain His sufficiency for our spiritual emptiness and the need to consume Him by faith. "He who eats My flesh and drinks My blood has eternal life, and I will raise him up on the last day. For My flesh is true food, and My blood is true drink" (6:54-55). In the most shocking of terms, Jesus demands that to have eternal life we find Him alone to be our bread and drink. He alone, through bearing our sins in His own flesh at the cross and shedding His blood in an atoning death, can avail for us for eternity. We cannot drink of the wells of self-trust or man-made religion or idolatry or church service to have eternal life. He alone is to be our food. And He alone is to be our drink. Have you been trying to satisfy your spiritual need through something-plus Christ? My friend, hear the word of the Lord, that it is only those who trust Him as true food and true drink that will be satisfied with eternal life.

Hated by the world--John 7

Because Jesus Christ is very God of very God, because He is sinless, because He speaks nothing but truth, the world reacts to Him in hatred. "The world cannot hate you; but it hates Me because I testify of it, that its deeds are evil" (7:7). Jesus exposes the darkness and sinfulness of this world and those who live in it. "Men loved the darkness rather than the light; for their deeds were evil" (3:19). The glorious light of Christ shows men the wickedness of their own hearts and their desperate condition before a thrice holy God. Can you gladly come to the light of Jesus Christ for Him to reveal to all around you that you are clothed in His righteousness rather than the rags of your sin?

Redeemer of sinners--John 8

Those who are lost in sin are described as being "the slave of sin" (8:34). It is a picture again of our inability to deliver ourselves from spiritual bondage. Do you realize this? How often we find those who think that through some effort of their own they will be delivered from the guilt and bondage of sin. Yet that is impossible! How can sinners be set free? "If therefore the Son shall make you free, you shall be free indeed" (8:36). When Jesus completed the work of redemption on the cross, He accomplished all that is necessary for us to be brought out of the prison house of sin into the glory of sons and daughters of the living God. Has Jesus Christ set you free from your sin?

The Light of the world--John 9

Light exposes darkness. But light also removes darkness! As the light of the world, Jesus Christ removes the darkness that has veiled our lives, so that with the hymn writer we can say, "I once was lost, but now am found; was blind, but now I see." Do you see?

The Good Shepherd--John 10

Sheep are continually wandering and straying away from safety and into grave danger. The sheep have no power to deliver themselves from peril. The Good Shepherd "lays down His life for the sheep" (10:11). It is He, Jesus Christ the Lord, that has laid down His life for us. We have no power to save ourselves. We stand before the peril of eternal damnation, but Christ has laid His saving life between us and God's white-hot wrath. Now He calls us by our own names and we know Him for He knows us. Has the Good Shepherd called you by name to lead you out of sin's penalty and into life?

The Resurrection and the Life--John 11

How far can Jesus Christ carry us? The story of Lazarus being raised from the dead and the declarations which are part of that story, enable us to see that Jesus Christ's saving worth carries us through eternity. Death did not keep Him and death cannot keep us who are in Christ! As our Resurrection and Life, we will one day experience the full value of His mighty power on our behalf as He raises us from the dead, clothes us with a glorified body like His own, and lifts us into the wonder of eternal life in His presence. "Everyone who lives and believes in Me shall never die," Jesus stated. "Do you believe this?" (11:25-26).

Glorified by the Father--John 12

Jesus made some astounding claims! He claimed to be God. He claimed to do only those things that pleased the Father. He claimed to be the light of God in this world. He claimed to come to earth for a particular, saving purpose. How do we know that He accomplished all that the Father sent Him to do? When our Lord prayed, "Father, glorify Thy name," we find that in John's perspective this pointed to Jesus Christ accomplishing the work the Father sent Him to do, i.e., the cross and resurrection. John adds, "There came therefore a voice out of heaven: "I have both glorified it, and will glorify it again"" (12:28). It was a vocal affirmation from heaven that Jesus Christ is who the Word claims Him to be and that He has accomplished all that the Word claims He accomplished. Because He was glorified by the Father, we must give attention to the good news of the His saving work, for there is no salvation apart from Jesus Christ. Are you trusting in Him who accomplished the saving work planned before the world's foundation?

Sovereign yet a Servant--John 13

There is a wonderful paradox found in John 13. While John spends quite a bit of space in his Gospel explaining the fact that Jesus is God, here he shows the wonderful example of service rendered by Christ in the washing of the disciples' feet. Of course, there was much more than just an example of service here. Jesus was teaching that as the Suffering Servant (Isa. 53), He has bathed us in His cleansing blood, so that in our day to day lives we need only to wash our feet in confession for daily fellowship with God. He declared that through what He had done, "you are clean" (13:10), i.e., you have had the guilt of your sin removed, the eternal stain has been blotted out, and you stand whole before the omniscient God. Have you been cleansed by the Suffering Servant?

The Way, the Truth, the Life--John 14

The disciples questioned the way to the Father. How does a mere human, chained to the power of sin, find his way into the presence of the Heavenly Father? Jesus declared that He alone is the Way to the Father, for He alone is the Truth revealing God and His saving work, and He alone therefore is the Life for spiritually dead men. Have you embraced Jesus by faith as the Way, the Truth, and the Life?

The True Vine--John 15

Our Lord often used imagery to help us understand various truths about Him and about our spiritual lives. One of the clearest is the picture of Christ as the Vine and those who have trusted Him as the branches. As the Vine, He has given life to the branches. As the Vine, He continues to supply all that is necessary for us to live out the demands of the Christian life. Sometime we grow weary when we compare our performance to the demands found in the Word. We find our strength failing in the process of spiritual growth. So this text reminds us that all of the strength, energy, power, joy, and life which we need to live unto the Lord is found in the vitality of our relationship to Him. First we must be in Him through faith in His merits on our behalf. Then we can rely upon Him in daily trust and confidence. Do you know Jesus Christ as your very life?

The Giver of the Holy Spirit--John 16

Because He does not dwell permanently among us bodily, but has ascended to the right hand of the Father as our Intercessor, Jesus Christ promised to send the Holy Spirit to every believer. What a wonderful promise from God! The Holy Spirit comes to us to glorify Jesus Christ in us, to teach us spiritual truth, to lead us into the practice of righteousness, to bear witness with our spirits that we are children of God. Paul describes the Holy Spirit as the earnest or down payment of our eternal inheritance (Eph. 1:14). He is the guarantee that we truly belong to Christ and that there is much more ahead for all eternity. Does the Holy Spirit bear witness with your spirit that you are a child of God?

The Great High Priest or Mediator between God and men--John 17

We find Christ praying for us in John 17. It is the most intimate glimpse at the relationship between the Father and the Son. Here we find Him bearing His soul before the Father on our behalf, praying that the Father might keep us in His name so that we might be one with each other in the body, and in doing so, demonstrate the oneness in the Godhead. We are kept in relationship to God forever, not because of our performance, but because of our Great High Priest who mediated before God on our behalf. Do you know that you are kept by His mighty power and the faithfulness of His work and character?

Delivered up for us--John 18

Jesus Christ was not powerless before men. He is the Creator! Yet He was delivered up for us to bear our judgment before God. Paul expressed it like this, "He who did not spare His own Son, but delivered Him up for us all, how will He not also with Him freely give us all things?" (Rom. 8:32). The great love, mercy, and grace of God delivered the Son into the hands of sinners. For the entire period of our Lord's earthly ministry, these same people could not lay a hand on Christ. But in the Father's eternal purpose, at just the right moment, Christ was delivered into the hands of sinners to die the death of one under the horrible weight of an eternal condemnation. Do you believe that God did this for you?

The saving work finished!--John 19

We find Jesus Christ hanging on a cross, bearing God's judgment against us. We deserve that death and eternal agony! We are the sinners, He is the sinless one. We are the guilty, He never broke the law of God. Yet Jesus Christ availed for us before the wrath of God, so that He could declare in His last breath, "It is finished!" (19:30). All that was necessary for us to be declared righteous before God, all that was necessary for God's wrath against us to be satisfied, all that was necessary for God to grant eternal life to us was finished, accomplished without the need of adding any human merit. Have you trusted in the finished work of Christ?

Risen from the dead/Lord and God--John 20

Death could not keep Jesus Christ. He who conquered sin, death, hell, and Satan rose victorious over all through the glory of the Father! When this realization confronted Thomas in his doubts, he confessed that Jesus Christ is "My Lord and My God!" (20:28). From the depths of your own being, having you made this same good confession?

A living, compassionate Lord--John 21

As we will see in the closing chapter of John's Gospel, Jesus Christ demonstrates His continuing compassion for His own. He takes a despondent Simon Peter, who had denied that he even knew Christ, and re-establishes him as one who would tend Christ's sheep. The word Jesus gave to Peter, I pass along to all of us: "Follow Me!" Are you truly a follower of Jesus Christ?

II. Gospel Intent: why has it been written?

We can read the Gospel of John and admire its beauty but remain spiritually dead. The gospel of Christ was not given for our admiration from a literary standpoint. It was given that we might have life! John did not hesitate to identify the singular reason for delivering this Gospel to us: "...that you may believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God; and that believing you may have life in His name." The primary issue that all of us must consider this day is whether or not we have truly come to a saving knowledge of Jesus Christ through faith in Him as He is revealed in the gospel?

1. Response to the gospel

The message of John's Gospel demands a response. We can try to ignore this gospel but what we ignore will judge us in the end. We can try to distort its meaning into some type of universal salvation but the result will crush us for eternity on the day of judgment. We can make excuses for not being earnest in seeking to know Christ but our excuses will do us no good when we stand before the Eternal Judge of humanity. So what is the appropriate response to the gospel contained in this Gospel writing? John states it clearly, "...that you may believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God."

The response of faith is the only appropriate response to the gospel. You will notice that the believing is focused upon the whole revelation of Jesus Christ as He is shown in this Gospel. As the "Christ," Jesus is the promised Messiah whom God said would bear our sins and give us a new life. He identifies the Christ as "the Son of God." As Messiah, John points to the saving work of Jesus Christ. As the Son of God, John points to the Person of Christ as both God and Man. The focus of our faith is upon the Person of Jesus Christ and the saving work He accomplished.

Faith is not a complicated term. It goes beyond a mere mental acknowledgment. It means to trust in, to rely upon, to rest in, to cast yourself in dependence upon. Faith turns away from all other objects of merit, it turns from sin, and rests solely upon the merit of Jesus Christ to give us a right standing before God. Faith sees the offer of eternal life in Jesus Christ and readily embraces it, receiving Jesus Christ in all His saving power and in all His saving offices. Faith lays claim to Jesus Christ and Him crucified.

Have you believed? Have you abandoned all of the efforts at self-trust and rested your whole eternity in Jesus Christ alone?

2. Gift in the gospel

John says that those who do believe receive life in Christ: "...and that believing you may have life in His name." The whole theme of "life" is one that John carries throughout this Gospel and even into his epistles. He views life as being both eternal and full of abundance in the present. To know Christ is to have life. Anything other than this is death.

Have you received the gift of life through faith in Jesus Christ as He is offered in the gospel?

Conclusion

This message is really a quick, thumb-nail review of what John lays before the world to declare how any person might be delivered from the power of darkness and brought into the wondrous light of life in Christ. We review this truth today, not for improving our mental capacities for Bible knowledge, but to confront each of us once again with the saving work of Jesus Christ. My friend, we can talk about the gospel for years, but until you turn from your sin, laying aside the self-trust that enslaves you, and trust in Jesus Christ, you do not have life. I appeal to you to trust in Him who alone is the Way, the Truth, and the Life.

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