Pick it up next week. It would be a great crime to rush through Christ saying, before Abraham was, I am. So we're going to take it in speed and stride and try to do the very best that we can with it. But I wanted to give you a tip off if it stops abruptly and I say we're going to pick up next week that that will be the case. John chapter 8, verses 48 through 59. This is God's holy, inerrant, and inspired word. The Jews answered him, are we not right in saying that you are a Samaritan and have a demon? Jesus answered, I do not have a demon, but I honor my father, and you dishonor me. Yet I do not seek my own glory. There is one who seeks it, and he is the judge. Truly, truly, I say to you. If anyone keeps my word, he will never see death. The Jews said to him, Now we know that you have a demon. Abraham died, as did the prophets. Yet you say, If anyone keeps my word, he will never taste death. Are you greater than our father Abraham who died and the prophets died? Who do you make yourself out to be? Jesus answered, If I glorify myself, my glory is nothing. It is my father who glorifies me, of whom you say he is our God. But you have not known him. I know him. If I were to say that I do not know him, I would be a liar like you. But I do know him and I keep his word. Your father, Abraham, rejoiced that he would see my day. He saw it and was glad. So the Jews said to him, you are not yet 50 years old. And have you seen Abraham? Jesus said to them, truly, truly, I say to you, before Abraham was, I am. So they picked up stones to throw at him. But Jesus hid himself and went out of the temple. The grass withers and the flower fades, but the word of our Lord stands forever." A popular saying that people have adopted to describe evangelistic effort in the South goes something like this, Before you can get a person saved in the Bible Belt, you've got to get them lost first. Basically meaning this, in a culture that is so drenched in a form of religiousness, where every single person would claim some form of religious affiliation to some branch of some church somewhere throughout some part of their life, that you have a multitude of confused people who think they're going to heaven, but live lives that betray a heart and a soul that is completely otherwise. hearts that do actions that say this, I don't know God and I don't honor his law. I don't have a heart for Christ. He's not my Lord. In fact, I'll do whatever I want and nothing that the Lord wants. Friends, Jesus was very much in an ancient Near Eastern Bible belt. John chapter eight has had a lot of very difficult sayings. It's because he was dealing with a people very similar to southern Mississippians or maybe Delta folk. folk that had been raised up in homes that had read the Torah, folk that had been on the Sabbath day in worship, folk who dressed upright and did the right thing, folk who came into the house of the Lord clean, who had always done what they were supposed to do, who thought they lived moral lives, yet who had hearts and lives that were very, very, very far from God. Hearts that may be I'd never even come close to knowing him. And so whenever we look at our neighbors and we look at our friends and we look at our families, often the case is simply this. We'll find ourselves saying it is much harder to do evangelism with people you know. Isn't that the case? Can you agree with that? It's so much harder to press into the heart of my brother. It's so much harder to press into the heart of my coworker, my high school friend, my best friend. It's hard to touch their lives. My fraternity brother, my sorority sister. It's harder to press into the heart of my child. I don't know what to do. I don't know how I'm supposed to do this work. How am I supposed to see those people nearest me know what is so precious to my heart and soul? How do I do it? Well, friends, in John chapter 8, we see Jesus doing specifically this. He's going to His people in His time, people who are just like the folk nearest to you. And He's having to do specifically this single task, pursue their soul. And so He does three things. clear, unambiguous things. Jesus in John chapter 8 speaks in some of the clearest tones as if a bell is ringing throughout the land. First off, He speaks with words of conviction. He speaks with words of conviction. I don't mean just that He believes what He says. I mean words intended to convict the hearts of sinners of their sins. Secondly, Jesus speaks with words aimed at their salvation. Jesus is unambiguous about his relationship to those friends. It's not for coffee. It's not for frivolity. It's not for keeping up the appearances It has a single, solitary, eternally important goal. That they may not be consumed by the ravages of sin and hell. And thirdly, Jesus speaks with words of revelation. He speaks with words of revelation. Jesus' work has a unique goal. It's one of the great goals of the whole Gospel of John. And that is to paint a picture of God so large that the eyes of the watching world, when they consider the Lord in heaven, would see the face of Jesus. Would see the face of Jesus. And I'll just go ahead and let the cat out of the bag and let you kind of understand this. And so when we work through it, You'll be picking it apart. The things I want to convict you of this morning and convince you of is that when you do evangelism, don't be too cowardly to aim for the soul to be convicted of sin. It's so easy and it's so hard. It's so easy for us to back down from that challenge because it's costly and it has an effect and no one receives it well, but it's necessary. Secondly, your relationships can't be casual friends. They can't be. If you really care about the person that you claim to be a friend or a family member to, you gotta know that their soul is at stake. Yeah, you may get 30 years with them. Long life is a blessing that you do get to bear. 50, 60. But how about eternity? That day that never ends. Salvation has to be your central concern. And if it is, I'll tell you this, you'll be an evangelist that would put even the greatest evangelist to shame, if that's what your concern is. And this idea of revelation, you say, well, preacher, I got good theology. The Lord alone is the one who reveals, and absolutely, and amen. But the thing that I want to say to you is this. in your conversations and in your interactions, a single goal needs to dominate the way you do things. That they see Jesus clearly in your life, in your words, in your ethics. Jesus needs to be seen. God needs to be made large and the face of Jesus needs to be beheld. That means words need to be spoken about who He is. That's what Jesus does in our passage this morning. He touches their hearts and he says, this is who I am. This is who I am. So let's dig into the very first one, this idea of conviction that Jesus speaks words of conviction into the hearts and into the souls of his people. If you're taking notes and you want a nice outline, verses 48 through 50 are our key or our main verses that we'll pay attention to. But there's 48 through 50. We're gonna look very briefly at verse 52, at verse 55, at verse 57, and verse 59. Conviction has a progressive and a continual effect on people. And so as we read the first verse, verse 48, we're reading it in the context of verse 47. So if you'll indulge me for a moment, I'm gonna read verse 47 so that you can understand why the Jews respond the way they do. Verse 47, Jesus says, to the hearing of these Jewish men, probably Pharisees. He says, whoever is of God hears the words of God. That's simple enough. But then he gets personal. Then he gets to the dirty work of conviction. The reason why you do not hear them is that you are not of God. There are no kid gloves on with Jesus here. If he's with the people that he wants to see saved, the thing that he's doing is he's saying, you, there's a problem in your hearts. The reason why you can't deal with my words are that you are not a child of God. We live in a culture that doesn't like to speak in these sort of terms, don't we? Especially young people. The last thing and the most cultural sin that any one of you can ever do is look somebody in the eye and say something to this effect, do you know what your problem is? You just can't do that, can you? There are safe spaces on college campuses and in dorms and in apartment buildings where you can't say you, am I right? There are understandings in certain friendships where you can't look someone in the eye and give a real sincere heaven or hell criticism that is a benefit to their soul, where you say something about them in an unambiguous way, isn't it? It is a hard thing, but friends, I want to tell you, it is peculiarly necessary. Don't think for five minutes that Jesus had any quibble about looking into the eyes of people and very seriously touching their soul and saying this simple three-letter word, you have a problem. You need me. You are a sinner. You ought to be desperate if you aren't. Jesus's ministry cut to the heart. It cut to the heart. And it did it because it looked at the person. Verse 48, read how the Jews respond. They say, are we not right in saying that you are a Samaritan and have a demon? The answer that Jesus could have simply said was this, no. No, you're not right. But I want to stop for a moment before we go to see how Jesus responds and really look down deep into their response. Because friends, this is a whole lot like what you're going to experience. Do you know that whenever Jesus leaves this wonderful pathway before his saints, marked in the crucified blood steps, of His satisfaction for you as a Christian, and then He calls you to go and evangelize the whole world? Do you know that He was saying, I want you to do the same kind of ministry that I did on this earth? That means the same sort of sneers that I received you're going to get? This is what you should expect? Whenever Jesus touches the hearts of these people and He levies this heavy conviction, Against them, the thing that they can do and the only thing they can do is slander him. They come out of left field. There's nothing in the scriptures before this verse that says anything remotely like what they have said. Jesus is all of a sudden a Samaritan. Where did that come from? Where did it come from? Jesus has a demon again. Where did that come from? Well, friends, I think it comes from the heart that receives the conviction of their sin and then responds wrongly to it. I wonder if you've ever gotten into a debate with someone. Adults, maybe you've done this where you've had a friend, maybe a work relationship or something like that, and it gets down to some serious issue. It could be things of the faith. It could be other things. And you've got the moral high ground, right? And the argument goes. And as it progresses, there's a weak argument on the other end. And you've got the strong vantage point. And again and again, as the conversation and the debate goes on, you win and you win and you win and you win. And what happens on the other side? But at the end, whenever all logical arguments have been exhausted, name-calling begins to happen. Is that right? You're just a bigot. You're a fool. Boy, you're stubborn. Why do you have to be so hard-headed? You're so difficult to deal with. It gets very personal, and friends, I want to tell you this. I think that that's what's happening with Jesus and these Jewish men. They don't have a good response, so all they can do is lash out at him with some sort of petty extent of anger. That's all that they can give. That's all they have. You're going to receive that if you go about to evangelize the world and your friends and they have no response and they don't want to receive that sort of conviction. I don't know if they're going to call you a Samaritan, probably not. They'll probably call you, well, small minded, ignorant, They may call you a homophobe. They may call you a number of things, an idiot. They may spit at you. They may curse at you. I don't know that they'll say that you have a demon, but they'll say something is wrong with you. What is wrong with you? And I want to tell you this, it's because whenever conviction of sin hits the heart, that it shows them something they cannot escape. You see, the person that lives in this world that's apart from Christ, they live in a world that is like this great funhouse. It has low lights, strange pictures painted upon the walls, and they have mirrors that distort the reality of what actually is. And whenever a person entrenched in their sin walks through the funhouse of this life that is threatening to consume them and eventually be their grave, the thing that they never get is an honest look at their souls. What's the culture of the world but the culture of sin? Sin always approves of sin. It always validates those who are also and likewise entrenched in its working. It wants to tell the sinner and whisper into its ear, it's okay that you're doing what you're doing. There's no danger. Surely he won't kill you if you take the fruit. to whisper lies in their ears and to convince them of falsehoods about who they are, and to send them on their merry way, comfortable to remain, where they never have to look at the ugliness of what sin does in their souls. That's the problem. Because what conviction of sin does is it goes through that house of fun mirrors and it shatters each one of them with the scepter of Christ. seeing them fall to the floor, and at the very end of it, when they're being brought out from it, there is a great sober mirror of the righteousness of God that shows them an adequate and an equitable account of their souls. This is who you really are. Friends, I want to tell you this. For those who are apart from Christ, if it was your friend or if it was you. For a person who doesn't know that there is salvation in the blood of Christ and the blood of Christ alone, an honest look at your soul is altogether an unbearable thing. It's sober. It's one word. written in bold letters, like chiseled in stone, buried in the ground, death. When the Jewish men respond to Christ and the conviction that he offers to their soul, and they flail and they fight against him, it is because they have heard and they have received some measure of conviction But they have not even remotely grasped the grace that is offered to them in Jesus Christ. They've seen it. They've received the words. They know what he says. They have nothing else. And so their only hope is to shut his mouth. I want you to take a moment to realize one thing about this specifically in the ministry of Jesus. Jesus was not hung upon a cross because he encouraged people with his sermons. Jesus was not hung on a cross because he came. and he conjoled and he had jolly friendships with sinners and he hung out in a bar and he had friends with prostitutes or anything like that. It wasn't because Jesus was with them and out and about having a good and a cultural life that was fulfilling and that had friendships that were beating in a worldly sense. Jesus was hung on the cross because he showed those whom he would save who they really were and they couldn't bear it. They couldn't bear it. The nails at the angry hands of Roman soldiers pounded deep within his hands when the bulls of Bashan surrounded him like dogs with their tongues wagging, casting lots for his garments. They did it with a heart of hatred because Jesus had unequivocally shown them who they were. They didn't know the gospel. Why does Jesus aim at this sort of conviction? Well, Jesus tells us specifically why. Verse 49, Jesus answers them. He rebuffs them. I don't have a demon. But I honor my father and you dishonor me. Jesus is strong and resolute in his pursuit of the conviction of the souls of men because conviction of sin honors God. It shines the holiness of the triune God in heaven into the life and the heart of a person like a great beam of light that shows sin and leaves them with no corner within which to hide. Jesus did this and had continued to do it so that God's honor would be known by every man, and there would be no shadow for the sinful man to hide within, but he would have to reckon with the Lord, the God of heaven." That's why Jesus did what He did. That's why His ministry was colored in the way in which it was. Conviction of sin was central, because if a man must be saved, he must be saved out of a heart that despairs over his sin. central of Jesus's ministry. The cross makes no sense apart from the conviction of sin. It is a great depiction of the godly, holy, eternal God-man bearing our conviction for sin. Some of you may think this is harsh, describing Jesus's ministry in this way. This chapter alone has so many different examples. Verse 21, again, verse 21, Jesus says very soberly, I am going away and you will seek me and you will die in your sin. Unambiguous, simple. Verse 24, again, Jesus says, I told you that you would die in your sins for unless you believe that I am he, you will die in your sins. Jesus, again, is very unambiguous. Verse 24 is so very clear. So clear. Verse 34. Jesus says, Everyone who practices sin is a slave to sin. Everyone who practices sin is a slave to sin. He's not playing around with our hearts. He wants them to know it, to feel its weight. Verse 44, Jesus says, unambiguously, you are of your father the devil and your will is to do his desires. He then goes on to call Satan the one who desires to lie and to murder. Verse 47, as we've just read, you are not of God. Verse 55, If I say I do not know him, I would be a liar like you are. Jesus's ministry was aiming at the conviction of sin, not just for the sake that a person would feel bad or be overwhelmed, but it was so that they would despair in their sin and in their effort and run to his grace and forgiveness. A thirsty man may be thirsty, but he will not move a single foot if he does not know that he has a problem and that there is a remedy. Conviction of sin is so central to the gospel that without it, no man would come to Christ. Every man would feel as if they are sufficient to be their own saviors. The party of the Pharisees are suspect number one and the greatest example of the single idea that apart from a knowledge of an indwelling sin in the whole heart of man, that he will never come to Christ. The Sadducees, again, another example of this exact thing. Jesus has to get them lost before he can get them saved. He has to convince them they need Him before they will run to Him. You see, friends, if people don't know the dire circumstances of their souls, they will be like blind men approaching cliffs 200 feet tall. with craggy, jagged, and razor-sharp rocks at its base. They will never know they're off the ground until they have reached terminal velocity on their trip down." It's so desperately important. What's our application? I'll say this. We ought not fear conviction, but see it as an intervention of God's grace. I want that to hang on you for a moment. When I was in seminary, I had a professor, I won't tell you his name, but he said simply this, the surest way to get run out of a pulpit is to preach on sin. Maybe you could write it another way. The surest way to get hung on a cross is to preach about sin. Friends, we ought not fear conviction of sin, but see it as an intervention of God's grace. Whenever we feel the sting, when we feel the heavy pain of the sort of preaching that Jesus did with these men, our ears ought to perk up. And though it hurts, we ought to know that one wonderful thing is being offered to the heart of the believer, that their sin be mortified and put to death. that they cling more to the life of Jesus. Rejoice, rejoice to have all of our hidden sins exposed so that the wonderful grace of Jesus can pour into them and see them overwhelmed in the victory that he has in resurrection. Do not despise this sort. Conviction. Hunger for it. Hunger for it, Christians. This is important in you getting saved and in you getting sanctified. Do you really want to stand before the Lord of glory on the day of glorification and say, you know, Jesus, I'm saved and I know I had no hope apart from you, but I'm coming with a lot of baggage. Here it is. Here it is. Or do you want to say, Lord, I heard your word and I heard its warning, but I heard your promise. I heard the mercy. I heard the quivering in your voice when you pled for my soul and you said, oh, Saint, don't hate the chastening hand of the father. But receive it with gladness. Run from sin and run to Christ. When we know there's sin in us, it is like knowing that a wolf is on our heels with sharp, ravenous teeth and that we know he's there. So we run faster and faster to the shepherd's arms. Do not despise conviction of sin, Christians. Another quick application. Friends, do not entertain for a moment a cowardly heart towards conviction of sin. If we say we love our neighbors as ourselves, but we know that they're in some form of sin that's public and open and known, and we don't speak grace into that, we hate them with the furor of hell because that is where we are resigning them to. Be bold, be gentle, be kind, but be honest because their souls are at stake. We don't have the luxury of playing with sin. Sin does one thing and one thing only, kills. It kills. It demolishes. It overwhelms. It destroys. It causes rot in the soul that devours the whole man. Be bold. Be bold, Christians. Be bold. Call it out if you love them. Call it out like a parent seeing their child in their sin running into traffic. What's a parent to do? Stop, stop, stop. Don't go there. The truck is bearing down on you. And then running to the child and grabbing him by the nape and pulling him back into the arms. Don't do that. You'll die. Let me submit this to you, Christians. If you love your friends who don't know Jesus, you must evangelize them in this way. Or you surrender them to the grips of Satan and hell. It's central. It's important. It may cost you dear pain. But that pain is just for a moment. What does it matter if they hang you upon a cross? You will have a day of resurrection. Jesus hanging in the midst of the sinful world that he was to save knew they were going to put him to death, knew that they were so offended that it would cost him everything. But you know what else he knew? That he was accomplishing a world of salvation for their souls. There was a purchase being made. Your words are worth a few months of silence. Their souls are worth their insults that they will cast at you. You love your children, parents? Speak into their lives. Or else they're only yours for just a little while, but they won't be in glory with you. If you love them, You'll tell them this. If you love them, you'll be courageous. You'll be an evangelist like Christ. We're not even close to being done with the sermon. I still have two more points. We'll see him in the next few weeks. Let's pray. I ask the Lord to bless us. Our Father in heaven, we thank you for your word, for its power and for its compassion. Lord, we pray that you would work in us, help us to be your people, help us to be doers as Christ was a doer of your will. Lord, would we seek your honor and your glory, none of our own glory in this world. Lord, would we desire to see those saved whom you are saving. Lord, would you give us courageousness, make us a people that would walk as Christ walked, that would do the things that he did, that would be willing to lose everything Lord, if we were to take on any moniker of radical, that we would be those who are radical in the way that we preach and speak the gospel freely into the lives of people. Lord, we pray that you would knock off the edges of our offense, that the gospel and its offense would be the only offense that we offer. Father, we pray that you would make us to be gentle as doves and wise as serpents. That, Lord, we would love you with our whole hearts. That, Father, we would do the work that you have sent us to do. that we would carry out your will upon the earth, that we would see you to be glorified above all. Oh, Lord, would you be saving those whom we love, making us instruments