We're in John chapter three, isn't it? An exciting chapter. and I appreciate you all being here for it. This is a challenging message for us this morning. It's when Jesus meets the teacher of Israel, Nicodemus. I know I've said this a few times. I'm going to say it again. If you haven't seen the Chosen series yet, you can see the Chosen just for this scene alone. If you've been through John chapter 3, go watch the meeting of Nicodemus and Jesus with him, the compassion that is there. Nicodemus is an excellent character because I think if you watch that episode, watch it to the end, and see some of the wrestle that he had. It's just a beautiful story. And so they've done a good job putting this together. But this is Nicodemus, the teacher of Israel. And he's asking. Who are you? We've seen the miracles that you're doing. You've come forth here. You come right to the temple, you know, because we start out chapter two. He does the first miracle, and then he goes to the temple. He flips over the tables. And then now he's met with Nicodemus after he's performed miracles there for that day. And so this is very early in his ministry. So he's just on the scene, and he's already got the leader of Israel coming to him. That's an entrance. You know, that's making coming out with your ministry. It's kind of not like, hey, we're in Trafalgar in the cornfield. You want to come here? It's like, no, it's just, you know, they came to him to see what he's doing. So Jesus jumps right to the gospel. He says, who sent you? No one could do these things unless God sent him. And he jumps right to the gospel. That's his message. That's his goal, right? He's wanting men to be saved. That's why Jesus came. And he goes right to the gospel, because Nicodemus knows the law. We have other encounters with Jesus where people come to him trying to justify himself, and he takes them to the law, like, oh, how many husbands do you have? You know, showing you that you're not coming to adultery, or, hey, do you love your brother, or do you love money more? And so he uses the law to convict sinners, but someone who knows the law and knows where it is, he jumps right to the gospel. I'm telling you, I'm here, I'm here to save mankind. Jesus doesn't have to take him through the commandments. He knows all these. He knows all the commandments. Matter of fact, that was his job, full-time trying to be a law keeper. They would call him lawyers, different than the lawyers that we would think of. But he's a Pharisee that does this. And Jesus tells him, why am I here? You must be born again. And he gives it to him in such a way that Nicodemus is like, I'm a little confused. We've been born once, how's that happen? And he's like, no, this is a spiritual birth. The Spirit giving you new life. This confuses Nicodemus. And Jesus says it's like watching the spirit work is like watching the wind as it blows things about. You can't see the wind, but you see the effects of the wind. You can watch the leaves blow. You can see the limbs as they move. And you know where the breeze is and the breeze is moving because you can see these. The same thing with the spirit. You might not be able to see him, he's invisible, but you can see lives change. You can see people behaving differently. You can see how they react towards God and their desire to be with him. He goes, you can see the transformation take place. And so he's trying to waken him up to spiritual things by using a natural explanation. Jesus then uses the Old Testament because Nicodemus was struggling. Let me tell you a Sunday school story. So he goes and he gives them the story about Moses lifting the serpent up on the pole. A brief recap of when we cover that is they're in the wilderness. They're going from Egypt to the promised land. And they were complaining, and God sends a plague of fiery serpents, it calls them. They come and bite them, and they quickly repent. And I would, too, if a snake was after me. I'd be like, I gotta get things right. I don't want snakes chasing me all the time. I don't have to be looking at my shoes, looking under my bed, and watching where I'm walking. So they say, we have sinned against you, we have sinned against God, we have said these things. Please do something about these fiery serpents, because it was fatal if you got bit. God gives them a strange way to deal with it. He says, make a brass serpent, put it up on a pole. If you look at it, you live. There's no serpent-killing party. There's no antidote for this. Look at this pole and live. It was an act of faith, an act of trust, an act of taking God at his word. It seemed silly to some. Like, look at a snake on a pole? I'm dying of a snake bite. You know, I don't look at a snake on a pole. And some refused to do it. That just seemed impossible. How could that ever work? That doesn't make any sense to me. It's not logical. That's not always logical. In the sense that we would see things, God has his way. And he said, I'm trying to teach you about faith. Teach you about trusting me. Look and live. And those that looked, lived. So Jesus tells Nicodemus why he's here. So here it is at the start of his ministry. First week maybe, first month at least. He's doing this, I'm not sure how much time has passed. He says, I'm going to be lifted up to save mankind. Look at that, I think it's, John 3 verse 14. As Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, even so must the Son of Man be lifted up. He says, I'm gonna be lifted up. He's talking about the cross first week of his ministry. This is why I'm here. It's no big shock, and I've always watched some kind of movie or TV portrayals of Jesus. It's always like some tragedy. It's like, oh, here he's doing this good, and then they killed him. He knew why he came. He knew he came to die. Here he is early on. Oh, meeting with the teacher of Israel. I've come to die. They're gonna lift me up on a pole. If they look to me, they'll live. He's finishing the Old Testament stories. It's a type. It's a shadow. It's pointing the way to me, that if men would look into me, that they could live, because they're dying because of sin. So I'm going to be lifted up. Then all people through time can look to me, and they can live. Look to him, and he will save them. They'll save them from perishing. He's gonna give them everlasting life. And so the same thing that happened with the serpent. They were dying, if they looked, they lived and they had life. If you're dying in your sin, you'll die and spend eternity in hell. But if you look to Jesus Christ for salvation, you will live. You'll have salvation. You'll live with him in heaven for all eternity. The serpent symbolized sin. We talked about that. He represents that. It's not a hard grasp for us. It's like, I think even in our culture, we use snakes as something evil. and bad, and so that represented sin. There's a fiery serpent, which in the Hebrew actually means a brass serpent, because that was something that they could put in the fire and it wouldn't be consumed. Brass represents judgment to the Jew, and so the fiery serpent on the pole represents sin judged. A serpent made out of brass represented sin being judged, and Jesus says, that's gonna be me. You're gonna look at me, I am sin being judged when I'm on the cross. And matter of fact, when the serpent, the sin being judged is up on a pole, it's between heaven and earth. That's where everything that happened in the tabernacle took place on these silver boards up off the ground. It wasn't like they just built a tent and you walked in. They had a floor in there, silver represents blood. And so they would come in and they would walk on that. Between heaven and earth, this transaction would take place. That's why Jesus Christ was crucified. He's between heaven and earth doing this transaction for us, mediating between man and God, suffering and paying the death penalty for us. All kinds of symbology going on here, all kinds of deeper meaning as we look at this. And Jesus is saying, it's all pointing to me. This is who I am, this is what I'm going to do. Jesus is going to do this. He will die on the cross in three years. He'd be hanging between heaven and earth and he'll be paying the penalty our sin. He didn't sin, but he is there taking the punishment for us. He will be sin judged, hanging on the cross. That's what I think of when I think of, that should have been me. That should have been me up there dying, and he is now doing this in my place. Verse 15, he says, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have eternal life. Anyone who looks to Jesus to save them, he will save them and give them eternal life. Whosoever I've got circled in my Bible so it jumps out at me. I have a passion for the whosoever verses because it was one of the first verses that I understood when I was lost that made me be found is that he died for me. That if Brian believes in him, he should not perish but have everlasting life. Put your name in there. If you haven't repented and trusted in Jesus Christ, you haven't looked to him for life, here's your opportunity, here's what you do. Anyone who looks to him will be saved. Why? Verse 16, because he made it free and available. This is why it could happen. Verse 16, for God so loved the world that he gave his only begotten son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life. He made it free and available. He's published it around the world. He's made it our great commission to go and tell. If you repent and trust in Jesus Christ as your savior, it becomes your job. What do I do for Christ? Go tell others. Go tell them that he died on the cross for them. Go tell them that God so loved the world that he gave his only begotten son. We talked about Tim Tebow using that verse on iBlack and how people Googled it and became one of the number one Google things in 24 hours, 94 million people one time, 91 million people next time about how people who wear it on t-shirts and people put it out there. It's out there. Chances are if a hotel still has a Bible, which sadly more and more hotels are getting where they don't have Bibles, they have other books. But if it's there, if you turn to John 3.16, there's usually a square drawing around it or written from. I've been there, but I'll mark it up and put a Romans row to put in there stick a gospel track It's something that people know, you know, even if they're not necessarily Christians or go to church It's something that they've heard of at least seen it's in our culture. We're supposed to preach it. We're supposed to teach it We're supposed to let people know it's the Commission for us That's the Commission means it's our job that he's given us to go Let people know about this that Jesus Christ has died for their sins. You see it on billboard. You see it on bumper stickers You see it on T-shirts. You see it on YouTube videos. You see it in movies. It's like stuff that is out there that Christians use the creativity that God has given them and say, let's publish this, let's make it abroad. Let people know, here's how they can have their sins forgiven. We fill stadiums and we preach it. We have rock concerts and we insert the gospel. We have all these different ways to present the gospel in this way. We want to let people know that sin has been judged for you. That if you look to Jesus Christ as your savior, you can be saved. Anyone can, whosoever. can be saved, whosoever will look at him can live and have eternal everlasting life. That's the gospel. That Christ died for our sins according to the scriptures and that he was buried and that he rose the third day according to the scriptures. The Old Testament foreshadowed it. Jesus Christ fulfills it. He will save you if you ask him. He does not reject anyone. He does not turn anyone away. Oh, not you. No, no. I know who you are. He knows who you are. He's made it available for you, that's why He came. He came to die for you. Look at Romans 6. Hold your spot here, but learn Romans 6 in verse 23. It says, for the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord. Wages of sin, we don't mostly talk about that, but the payment. I go to my job and they give me wages. Wages for putting hours in there. That is my payment because I've come there. Here, the wages or the payment for my sin is death. That's what I get. That's why there's graveyards. Men die, one out of one, the ultimate statistic. Because all men sin, all men die. The wages of sin is death. But the gift of God, gift, a gift is something that is no charge, no cost, it's a free gift. There's no payment, it's a present. So the present of God or the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ. He dies on your behalf so that you can have salvation. It is free. It cost him everything. He gives you everything. He'll give you forgiveness of sin. He died on your behalf. Free gift. Look at Romans chapter 10. Romans 10 and verse nine. Romans 10, nine says, that if thou will confess with thy mouth the Lord Jesus and shall believe in thine heart that God hath raised him from the dead, thou shalt be saved. I like this verse. Thou shalt be saved. Not might be saved, not maybe be saved, not could be saved, or we'll see in the end saved. No, thou shalt be saved. Repent of your sins, believe in Jesus Christ, know that he's died on the cross on your behalf, that he was buried and that he rose again. You can be saved. You put your faith and trust in him, it's here, it's free, it's available, it's a free gift. Look at verse 13, for whosoever shall call upon the name of the Lord shall be saved. He makes it universal for anyone, anyone who asks for this salvation can have it. It's free, there's no restrictions against it, nothing. Shalt be saved, verse 14. How then shall they call on him whom they have not believed? Or how shall they believe on him whom they have not heard? And how shall they hear without a preacher? They gotta hear about this. Salvation is free of available, so that's why it's our commission. Go tell people about this, that Christ died on the cross so that your sins could be forgiven and you could have eternal life, you can be reconciled with God. Let them know, they gotta hear, the answer is out there. And so that's why we have the Great Commission. We must go and tell them. Jesus is the only way. Downstairs with the kids, we have some sign songs that we like to do. And when Elaine and I used to do them together, I always worked the sign. I'm up here and I don't have my signs. I was gonna bring them, but I didn't. We have one that's called Jesus is the only way. It looks like one way sign. One way, God said to get to heaven. Jesus is the only way. We sing that, we teach it to them, because there's just one way. There's no other way. That's how the course goes. No other way, no other way. No other way I know. There's one way through Jesus Christ. We gotta tell them. How do they hear unless there's a preacher? That doesn't just mean Brian get up there and tell them, that means it's for each and every one of us to tell them when we leave gospel tracks. That's why we put it out there and he puts you next to the neighbor that you're next to and that you work at the job where you work because that's your mission field and the family that you have and the people on your block and all that, that's where you go and proclaim the good news of the gospel of Jesus Christ. Let them hear about this. Look at John 14. John 14, verse six. Jesus saith unto him, I am the way, the truth, and the life. No man cometh unto the Father but by me. One way. No man comes but by him. One way. He uses some different images for us here. There's I'm truth, I'm life, later he'll say I'm the door, I'm the way to enter in. There's only one way, it's through me. I remember talking to a guy at work one time, and he said, he goes, well, we're all trees reaching for the sun, Brian. I'm like, I've never seen a tree make it. They get so tall. There's some tall trees. None of them reach the sun. That's religion. I said, but Christianity is that Christ came down and died for us. It's free for you. It's a free gift. If you repent and trust in him, you can have salvation. It is there. There's one way. A lot of different trees. There's one way to get to heaven is to repent and trust in the finished work of Jesus Christ. Look at Acts chapter four. Acts four, then verse 10. Acts four, verse 10 says, be it known unto you all, and to all the people of Israel, that the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, whom ye crucified, whom God raised from the dead, even by him doth this man stand here before you whole. If someone had been healed, verse 12. Let's skip a verse, verse 12 says, neither is there salvation in any other, for there is none other name under heaven given among men whereby we must be saved. There's one way, Jesus Christ. There's one man, one Savior, Jesus Christ. Habit of mine that I've told you before is that whenever I see a new dictionary or any dictionary, I pick it up and I look up the word Savior. It never let me down yet. Jesus Christ. Even Webster's gets it right. Savior. There's only one. Only one person claims to be Savior. Jesus Christ. Even Webster's points to this. Jesus is the only way. It's not your works. It's not all the great things you've done. It's not all the great acts you've performed. It's not baptism. It's not getting dunked in front of people. It's not getting wet. That is not it at all. And I could take you to verses about that. It's not Krishna. He's not the way of salvation. Lighten yourself on fire in an airport. That's not gonna do it. It's not Joseph Smith. It's not Brigham Young. It's not a Mooney. It's not Buddha or Confucius. It's not Stalin or Satan. There's all kinds of different religions. There's all kinds of different ways. It's not Wicca. It's not magic. It's not any of these occultic things. None of that. There's one way by which we may be saved. Jesus Christ. There's no other name. Jesus Christ. One way. Through Jesus Christ. Christ crucified, buried, risen again on the third day. Turn back to John 3. So only Jesus' death on the cross and your belief in that can save you. What's it saving you from? It's saving you from the penalty of your sin, which is hell. How long is that? Forever. How terrifying is that? Very. It scares me. That's why Jesus came to earth. He doesn't want, the Bible says he's not willing that any should perish. He doesn't want people, that's not the default setting. The hell was made for the devil and his angels, it's not even made for mankind. Because we've rebelled against him, it becomes a place for us. That's why Jesus came to earth. Save all mankind, to make a way out, to make it easy for them, and to make it available and proclaim it around the world. That's why we're still talking about 2,000 years later. There's a way in which man can be saved. Repent and trust in Jesus Christ, the finished work that he has done for you. There's no other way you can be saved except for Jesus Christ, and so we point them to that. So verse 17, which follows verse 16. It says, for God sent not his son into the world to condemn the world, but that the world through him might be saved. Condemn means judge. You can insert that. For God sent not his son into the world to judge the world. He will the second time when he comes back, he comes to judge the world. But this time he came to save the world. That's why he came. He said he came not to judge, he came to save it. Verse 18, he that believeth on him is not condemned. that he believeth not is condemned already, because he hath not believed in the name of the only begotten Son of God. This is the state of all mankind. And notice it's not future. Oh, you're gonna be judged one day. You're already being judged. He that believeth on him is not condemned, but he that believeth not is condemned already. You're in the state of judgment. You're in this position. You're gonna be judged by God. God is holding you accountable. Condemned or judged already. Why? Because you haven't taken the cure. There's a cure available and you've not seized upon it. So you're walking around in your lost state. They've not trusted in the finished work of Jesus Christ. They're living their life as if he means nothing to them. It's like, well, who's Jesus? Well, he's just some guy. And they're living their way that way. And God says, they're condemned. They're condemned already. I've come down to rescue them. I didn't come down to judge them. I came down there to make it free and available and publish it and let it be known. That's why, I think, instantly here, he's got the attention of the leaders, and they're coming, why are you here? I'm gonna let you know, I'm here to save mankind. Publish it, make my name go abroad, and it is. And here we hold a Bible, which is the number one selling book of all time, every year, sets that record. Verse 19, and this is the condemnation, that light is coming to the world, and men love darkness rather than light, because their deeds were evil. They reject him. How many people know who Jesus Christ is, They reject him. They're like, well, I don't like flat out rejecting him. I just don't embrace him. He's all right. He might be a great teacher. He's a good lesson. I'll put him up there in one of my top three, top three people of all time. Jesus Christ, he's up there. He's not my savior. And then there's others that just neglect him. I've heard about him. Yeah, I know there's a church. I know people talk about it. And I know I've seen crosses. And I might even have a tattoo that has him on there or something. I'm interested in him. Also, I had a tattoo, and I had number 33, and they were asking why that. He goes, oh, because Jesus Christ fascinates me. And that's how old he was when he died. But not enough to embrace him. Then there's some people that just doubt him. OK, yeah. He's who he said he is. He's just a Jewish guy that people killed. Why would he make such a big deal about it? Then there's those who flat out mock him and make it a thing to go about and mock and make fun of him, hang him on a cross upside down. have the enemy's name tattooed on their hand or their forehead or something like that. They never thank him. They never think about him. They never talk about him. They never embrace him. They never worship him. They never ask him to be their savior. He's just not for me. Glad you like him, but he's not for me. I just don't have any time right now. Maybe when I'm older, I'll think about Jesus and who he is and what he's done. I'm just really too busy. I'm focusing on my career, my family, my fun, my fishing, whatever it might be that they're focusing on. It's my weekend, it's my life, why give up a day? Why give up a morning? Why give up my money? You know, why do all that? Because it just seems like hurt your money and they're trying to take it from you. One day maybe, but not now. Jesus says this reveals who they are. Their deeds are evil, verse 20. For everyone that doeth evil, hateth the light. That's his words. Hateth the light, neither cometh to the light, lest his deeds should be reproved. They stay away from him lest they get exposed for who they are. Because when you stand against purity, all of a sudden you see how impure you are. I heard a story about a little girl who was in the back of a car, and they were driving on this hillside, and there was a lamb up there, and they're like, oh, look how pretty white that lamb is. He's so bright white. And then while they were gone, it had snowed. And on the way back, they're like, look at that dirty sheep. It was the same sheep, but against the backdrop of pure snow. Now he looked dirty. Against the green hill, he looked like he was pure. But we don't like that. We don't like to be compared against perfection, because then we see our imperfection. Usually if you're around church people before you're a Christian, you're like, oh, you're all holier than thou, and oh, I can't be as good as you, you know, as awful Christian of you, and you know, they mock and make fun of you, because it makes them feel guilty just by you being there, because you're faithful and obedient, going to his house and reading his word and talking about him. It brings conviction on them, even just by your presence. It makes them uncomfortable. He says, because their deeds are evil, and they don't want to be exposed. They don't want that to be brought into the light. They're going to keep it quiet and in the dark to themselves. They don't want to be corrected. They don't want to be reproved, like, oh, this is what you're doing wrong. You need to work on that. No, they love their life. They love their sin. They live for it. Can't wait till the weekend to be able to do whatever it is, or till they get off work, or to what. They love it. Some people even make it their job. They don't wanna stop, they don't wanna change. No, I'm young, I'm going to college, I'm gonna do all I can. Maybe later, maybe I wanna do this, or I just love doing that, and I just can't see myself giving that up. They love their sin, and Jesus just calls them on it. You love your sin more than you love life. Your deeds are evil. Verse 21, but he that doeth truth cometh to the light, that his deeds may be manifest, they are wrought in God. Notice he puts into action that they doeth. do with truth, they want truth. So you come before God and you say, expose me, tell me who I am. When you're in God's light, spotlight's on you, you're not hiding anything, he sees it all. Every thought, every word, every deed, every motive, every action, every inaction, he knows. It's exposed, it's laid bare before him, he sees us in our state, it's not pretty. But you've come to him and you're saying, Lord, I know who I am, I know I can. Save me. I know I deserve hell. I remember that last week before I asked Christ to save me. I was 13. Every night I was afraid I was going to die and go to hell, because I knew that's where I deserved to go. It terrified me. I was like, I can't wait till Sunday. I wish I had understood. I could have done it in my bedroom right then and there. I can't wait till Sunday. I'm going to go forward. I'm going to get these things right. Turned to him to be rescued. I'm drowning. I'm dying. I'm going to hell. Save me. It's that kind of desperation. I was a lifeguard and one of the things they taught us was like... Make sure the person you're saving's drowning and they want to be saved. If not, they can drown you. If you walk out there and get someone, you're like trying to put them in this cross chest carry and get them, they'll try to drown you. My lifeguards have been drowned by someone like, what are you doing? Get away from me! They start freaking out, you know, because they think you're trying to drown them or something. Pull them down, you got to let them know. You're desperate, I'm here to help you. Because they usually swim up, you come up before them. I'm a lifeguard, I'm going to help you. And then you go and you do your little thing and get them in that cross chest carry and pull them across. But you have to let them know. If not, they're going to fight you off. You have to come to that point where we're like, Jesus, I need saving. Help! It was one of our pool games. And we'd play in the water and do the whole hand. Three, two, one, then we'd dip down and go to the bottom of the pool. Like, oh, now I'm gonna do the dead man's float for a while. One of our kid games we'd play in the above ground pool in the backyard or whatever, it's like that. We gotta acknowledge that we're drowning and that we need saved and Jesus Christ will save us. Come to it, we have to humble ourselves. He's gonna expose it all. You're gonna come and cling before him, he knows it anyway. Get in front of it. Come and ask him to judge you and to save you. And I'm glad the Bible says that while we were yet enemies, Christ died for us. He knows where we are. There's no cleaning yourself up. There's no getting things right. You get right with him, then he'll start working on you. That was John chapter two, right? He'll start turning over those tables and exposing sin. And then he gives you new life. You're born again. That circles back to where Jesus started. I'm trying to explain to you. What born again is, it's a spiritual transaction. When you repent and trust in the finished work of what I've done, you'll have new life. I'll take out your heart of stone and I'll give you a heart of flesh. It is a heart transplant. I make you a new creature. It's like you've been born again. And you can see the spirit start to move in your life. And you can see those effects and say, man, the spirit is transforming me like wind blowing through a tree. All because I looked and lived. I looked to Jesus Christ to save me. Verses 17 through 20 are all about those who reject Jesus. It tells us they are already judged and that the longer that they live, knowing that who Jesus is and what he's done, and they don't repent and trust in him, that they are adding to their rebellion against God and his good son. Psalms tells us, kiss the son lest he be angry with you. You don't wanna be here when he comes back to judge. And every time you delay, you're just not only rebelling, but you're rejecting God and you're rejecting his free gift. And so then the more judgment piles to your account, or treasures up, as the Bible would say, and so in the day of judgment, you have more that you're accountable for. And these are the people who know who Jesus is, they know what Jesus has done, they understand the crucifixion, Jesus died on the cross, maybe they might be not sure about all of it, they know he died, they know something about to save mankind, they've heard John 3.16, they know what they need to do, maybe even look at him, you know, like if you go back to the one about the serpent, they know I just need to look, but it seems silly, I don't see how that was gonna work. intelligence they refuse to because it doesn't make sense to them, or they don't look to Jesus Christ, they don't want to repent and trust in him. They're just not moved to do it. They're just not, like, I just don't see that working. So they don't, they know all these things. They have a head knowledge of it, but they've never seen the practical application or et cetera. They love their sin, as Jesus says, and they love their deeds. They don't want to be brought into the light, and they're like, I really want to do this for a few more years. I really think I can enjoy this for a little while longer before I get right with him, and then I know he's going to take those things away. That shows you love your sin and you love who you are and what you're doing more than salvation, more than your own soul. They don't wanna change. So they're afraid that Jesus will start changing them and then they won't love that sin anymore and they'll feel guilty for it and they're gonna have to be like, I have to quit that and I don't want to. Paul in Hebrews puts it this way. If you turn to Hebrews chapter 10, I think Paul wrote Hebrews. Hebrews 10, he paints it in a very graphic way. Hebrews 10, we'll start in verse 26. We'll kinda get a head start. Hebrews 10, 26 says, for if we sin willfully, after that we've received the knowledge of the truth, there remaineth no more sacrifice for sins. Okay, we understand who Jesus is, we understand what he's done, and we go all right about our life sinning, he's like, what other sacrifice are you gonna get? Am I gonna have to offer you something else besides Jesus Christ? Jesus Christ is the only way, we've already seen, right? So where else are you gonna go? So what do they have to look forward to? They have verse 27, but they have a certain fearful looking for the judgment and the fiery indignation, which shall devour the adversaries. He that despised Moses' law died without mercy under two or three witnesses. Oh, how much sore punishment, suppose ye, shall he be thought worthy, who hath trodden underfoot the Son of God, and hath counted the blood of the covenant wherewith he was sanctified an unholy thing, and hath done despite the Spirit of grace. Little King Jamesy there. I think we get the gist of it, though, so that God loves you enough that he sent his Son down to be a sacrifice for your sin. Jesus Christ, in advance, goes and pays for your sin. He suffered on the cross for the sins of the world. He has paid for your sins. It is a free gift available and waiting for you to claim that prize, waiting for you to claim that present. It is here, but you must come and pick it up and apply it to your life. But it is there and it is done. And you hear about it and you know about it, that he's died, that he's risen, that he rose again for your sins and that he's paid all that, but you've not taken advantage of it. And that's what we need to realize, that Jesus Christ suffering is Him suffering as if it was you. That He stood on the cross and He is paying for the sin that you should have paid for through all eternity. He is taking the blows from God's hand. He is taking God's wrath. He is taking that all out upon Him. It is shocking when you think about what He's doing. When I think about all the sins that I should pay for throughout all eternity and never satisfy, since I sinned against the eternal holy God. that I'd have to then paying for that and saying, you're right, this is who I am, this is what I deserve. That Jesus Christ would take all that, that he would suffer all that for me, but because he is God, he could satisfy it within that timeframe. So Jesus suffers and died in your place as if he is you being judged. And so it's like him being you there, taking all this punishment so that God can say, oh, your sin's been paid for, you've been commuted. And so when you repent and trust in him, That transaction happens and all of a sudden God sees you as sinless because your sins have been paid for on the cross through Jesus Christ. If not, you have to go pay for it for yourself. That's all happened. He's done this. You can have everlasting life. You can live forever in heaven throughout all eternity. Joy, and food, and family, and peace, and life, and everything good that you want to have now that you would work for that you think of a vacation is, or a holiday, or retirement, or whatever is your golden dream. Heaven would be all that. And you know that Christ has done all this, and he's done it for you, and you're like, I think I'll do it myself. But someone has suffered and died in your place, and you're like, I really don't want to be bothered with that, or I really don't think that applies to me right now. I really love my sin. I like drinking. I really love pornography. I really love gossip. I really love whatever it is that you don't want to have to give up and have God working on in your life. I'd love that more to be doing that. Or you just see it all, and you're like, Christ died for my sins. Eh, okay, thanks. And you just shrug it off. Look how he puts it, verse 29. How much so are the punishments, suppose ye, that ye thought worthy of this part? Who hath trodden under the foot the Son of God? I guess the way my mind, when I first read this verse and meditated on it, I was thinking about trodden under the foot the Son of God. I was thinking like a cigarette butt. I come on the streets of Nashville, the only place I really walked on sidewalks. Streets of Nashville. Stepping on the ditch there where all the sand and bottle tops used to be and all that stuff. There's a cigarette butt and I might notice it and I think, who threw their cigarette out? Where was their ashtray? I step on and walk on by. No big thing to me. That's how we would treat the son of God. Oh, he died for my sins. He suffered and died in my place that he would suffer and pay all the penalty that should have been me and hell and yet he did all that for me and I just say, eh. Let's walk across him, no big deal, like some cigarette butt in the ditch, treat him as nothing, whoa, talk about an insult. Someone has suffered and died in your place and you're like, eh, talk about an insult. Talk about adding to the wrath of God. Jesus said, you're condemned already, that you're already started out in that state. And we're all there, right, Romans 3.23. We're all of sin that comes short of the glory of God. But now, not only have you done that, not only have you just sinned, but now you've rejected the only way that you can have your sins forgiven, and you treat it as if it was trash on the street, you trampled under the foot the Son of God. How much more sore is the punishment? Right? How much more, verse 29, how much more sore the punishment, you suppose. Now you're just not like a sinner in his wrath. You're a sinner in his wrath that has now rejected the only way that you have for an escape. You've rejected Jesus Christ. You've treated his love as if it was trash. You treated the gift of his only son, suffered in your place, and you're like, no, thank you. I would not want to be in that. Matter of fact, he goes on to look at verse 31. It is a fearful thing to fall into the hands of a living God. Wow, to reject God's help, to say no? and then be matted in probably? Well, that's how a lot of people are. It's a fearful thing to fall into the hand of a living God. He's like, I made salvation available to you. I made sure you knew it and you understood it. I put it in football games in zones because I knew you liked football. I put it in NASCAR because I knew you liked racing. I put it at the Olympics because I knew you liked that. I put it in a gospel track. Remember when you found it in that case of beer? Remember when you found it on your door? Remember when you had it mailed to you? Remember that video? Remember when your favorite show was supposed to be on but it was a Billy Graham crusade? Remember when I had your radio station flip to that channel, and you heard this song, and you saw that movie, and you're like, Kirk Cameron, I know who he is, all fireproof, what is it? And you have all these different things that brought your path across the gospel. And you're like, no thanks. Why didn't you tell me, God? I did. Reminds me of the story of the guy in the flood, right? And he's up on top of the house. Send a log by. He's like, no. Oh, and then he sends a boat by. No, I think I can get this on myself. He sends a helicopter, and they're like, no, no, no, I think we can do it on our own. And he dies. And God's like, why didn't you save me? And he's like, I sent a log, a boat, and a helicopter. I sent salvation to you, and you rejected all of them. How much more? That pales in comparison. I sent my son, he died for you. He suffered in your place. Now you're gonna have to suffer throughout all eternity, those things that he paid for, that you trampled under the foot, plus you insulted me and my son. a fearful thing to be in the hands of an angry God. Holy God, a living God. That's scary. That's why Jesus came, so that we don't have to go and suffer. That's why we don't have to go to hell, so we don't have to do that. That's why he made it free, available, and easy. That's why he made it published. That's why it's out there, and we see it, and we know about it. Amen that we live in the United States of America, where the gospel is proclaimed, and it's where we see it, and it's in the hotel rooms, and it's on the television, it's on the radio, it's on the t-shirts, and it's loud to be preached, and we can gather together and study it, and we can put it on sermon audio, and we can stick it everywhere that we can. Yeah, I fear for those countries where it's harder. But we're here now. Go back to John 3. He came to save us. John 3 verse 17. For God sent not his Son into the world to condemn it or to judge the world, but that the world through him might be saved. He came to save us. Verse 18, he that believeth on him is not condemned. If you've repented and trusted in Jesus Christ, that judgment is passed off you. It's put on Jesus Christ. God judged Jesus as if it was you. He put all his wrath upon him. You've now escaped that judgment. There's no condemnation to us. If you've repented and trusted in Jesus, it's all upon him. He has taken all that. So he that believeth on him is not condemned, but he that believeth not is condemned already. He's like, he's already in that lost state. When you're born, when you're born sinners, you're in that lost state. You have to have a change. You have to have a new birth experience. You have to be born again. Have you ever been born again? Have you ever come to the realization that you're a sinner and that you need Jesus Christ as your savior to the point where it radically changes you? And you see that spirit working in your life. If not, you need that. Because he says, here, you're condemned already. It's a sad place to be because he had not believed in the name of the only begotten Son of God, only in Jesus Christ, the only way that we can have salvation. So sadly, I personally, as a Sunday school teacher back in the day, have had arguments over this text, that people use this as a proof text for them to never share the gospel. Christians saying that, oh, I would never want to tell anybody about Jesus Christ. What? That's a great commission, right? Why would you never want to tell anybody about Jesus Christ? Well, if I tell them, that's just adding to their suffering. And now they know who Jesus Christ is and they reject him. I've just added to that. I'm doing my kindest thing I could do. I will never tell them about Jesus. Will they die and go into hell? Yeah, but it's not near as hot. I don't know who you are. I don't know what Bible you're reading. It's the only way out, it's the only answer, it's the only way by men may be saved. Jesus Christ is the only way. We've looked at several verses that have said this, but people try to use this as an example not to witness. This is the gift to the world, and you're like, oh, the biggest gift I could do is not tell them about it. What? What kind of convoluted, lazy thinking is that? No, you need to get up off your seat and tell somebody. We need to let them know. We're violating the Great Commission if we do not do it. Go ye into all the world and preach the gospel to every creature. He even covers the bases for you. Practice on cows, practice on your cat, practice on every creature. Practice on them. I practice, I don't know how many days a week. I share the gospel to my jeep. I don't know, it's an inanimate object. He's not a creature. But I practice again and again. Boy, if I was in this circumstance, how would I tell them about the goodness of the gospel? It seems like I'm missing something, so I'll go listen to a sermon again, or I'll go listen to this and go back over. I wanna be fresh and ready and have it clear and understood in my mind so I can tell, like, today might be the day someone comes and I have this perfect opportunity. I wanna be ready for that. I don't wanna violate this. I don't wanna be a slothful servant. I think Charles Spurgeon, the Prince of Preachers, sums up pretty well. He says, concerning this, have you no wish for others to be saved? Then you are not saved yourself, be sure of that. I think that's probably more of the case. Because if you're like him, you're a son of God, and you're trying to be a Christian in his image, he came to save the lost. The first thing, you know, Pharisees come to him. Hey, you must be born again. I'm going to be lifted up on a pole. You must repent and trust in me. He tells them the good news of the gospel. Shouldn't that be our gospel message that we are sharing? Shouldn't that be the words on our lip to share the good news of the gospel? Not like, I don't want to add to your condemnation. I'm not even getting to the argument that people are like, well, what about those who've never heard? It's our job to make sure that no one has never heard, that we go and tell them the gospel. That's why we support missionaries. That's why we proclaim the good news of the gospel. But it's fascinating to see on our sermon audio that we have it in Slovenia, and we have it in Croatia, and we have it in South Africa, and all these different countries, and China, and the good news of the gospel is getting out to them, and they're understanding it from a Hoosier point of view, and I'm hoping they understand all the local jokes, but it's there, but claiming the gospel, it's going forth. that we are to do it. Do you have a concern for the lost? As Spurgeon said, if you don't, then you're not saving yourself. And I think that's, he's right in saying that. Now does that mean all of us are out there, missionaries on the streets and hitting the pavement and doing it all the same way? No, it's different for different people. Thousands of different ways that you can share the good news with the gospel. Story of someone in the church's daughter, phone call from a telemarketing deal. I got down there, oh, can I ask you a few things? I went to the Lord. I think they called him back later. I know my mom heard that story. She's done that with telemarketers in that way as well. Be careful if you call my mom. You're probably going to hear the gospel. You know that you're going to get the good news? You're going to give it to them. They didn't have to leave their house. Somebody's calling me. Oh, great. Yeah, I'll take your survey. Hey, can I give you a survey at the end? All right, have you repented of your sins and trusted Christ as Savior? Are you a good person? Have you ever lied, ever stolen, ever lusted? Take them through it. You got that opportunity. You can mail things out. You get all those return mails. I don't know how much junk mail you get with a return postage paid for you on there. We got tracks out here. Stick them in there. Somebody's got to open it. Send it back. It's not computers. It's not some automated deal. Somebody opens it, somebody sees it, people do. There's all kinds of ways. Support others, like, I can't get out, I physically can't do it. Support a missionary, pray for them, intercede on their behalf. Indian Franzi will take it, the Burleys will take it, Camp will take it. You know, it's like they want that prayer cover. We have the RU, we'll take it. You want a place to serve here locally? Friday night, RU, come down here and serve, get a chance to live the gospel out loud, watch people and help people. Walk alongside with them, pray for them, intercede on their behalf. There's opportunity. There's opportunity. And I just love that he spends that much time telling you that when I came to die for you, I want you to know it. I didn't come to judge you. I didn't come to condemn you. I've come to rescue you. How many people see it when you start to present the gospel of that it's you condemning them, or you're not saying I'm good enough, or you're not this? So it's a trick that Satan plays, and so he's giving us the answer right here. He's like, no, he didn't come to condemn. He's come to save. And we're not done with this yet in this chapter. John the Baptist takes up the rest of the chapter, but he comes back to this point as well and makes this point for us that Jesus Christ has come to save that which is lost. And if you're here this morning, you've never repented of the finished work of Jesus Christ. You've sat here and heard the gospel. We've talked about it. I've gone through the Bible verses and we've shown it. You're now more accountable. I don't feel bad for that. At least hope it's a stone in your shoe, that it's something that's gonna be like a rock in your shoe you're gonna walk with. You gotta be like, I got a rock in my shoe. You might have to shake it every once in a while and you jiggle around. You finally have to sit down and deal with that rock. I hope it's at least a stone in your shoe where it's like, Christ died for me. I think I am a sinner. Do I love my sin more than I would love my own soul? The Bible says, what is a prophet of man if he gains the whole world? When you lose your soul, how long can you have the world? 75, 80, and then you die and it's eternity forever lost, suffering for your sin, darkness, solitude, heat, memories of all the opportunities of salvation that you had, wrath of God poured upon you, terrifies me. that you can have salvation where he says, hey, I'll make you an adopted son, a joint heir of Christ. I'll give you my kingdom. I'll give you eternal life, everlasting life. I'll make a new world. I'll terraform it. I'll give you a new body. It'll be powerful. It'll be transformed. You'll be able to live forever, be able to run and feel great and do all these different things. You'll be able to not sin anymore. It won't even be a temptation to you. I'm looking forward to a glorified body. We have all this, and earth too. We have the rest of life serving our king here and now. Then we have all that for eternity. So if you're here today and you don't know him as Savior, today is the day. Now is the time. It is a present. It is a free gift available to you now. Repent of your sins and trust in me. You can come to me during this song. You can come to me at the end of church. I would not wait. I would like to take the Bible and show you how you can know for sure you can have your sins forgiven. You do know Christ as Savior. Just be telling people. Don't be one of those stories I use in the sermon later. I had somebody come up to me and say, I want to be lazy and not tell them. I think that is a loving thing to let them hear about the good news of the gospel of Jesus Christ. Let's be the ones telling them. I got a tackle box out there. We got tracks in it. There's a couple more I've got coming in from some that you guys have asked for. I want to try to help encourage you in that way to be able to pass it out. Tracks only work while you're alive. You can't give it and put it in a casket. They're not going to read it. We got to give it to them here and now. DVD, you want that? You have some other idea. We'll work together with that idea to make sure that we can proclaim the gospel and get it out to them. Time is short. The end is sure. Be busy about the master's business. I'm glad that we have a God who loves us enough He would send his only son, and he would give up all the glories of heaven to be made one of us. To suffer in our place, he who knew no sin to be made sin, that serpent on a pole, judged for everything that I should have been judged for, so that I, an enemy of his, be adopted into his family and to be right and live with him forever. Name a better opportunity. Name a better gift. Name a better proposal. Name something else better than that. Name some sin that is better than that. I really like my cigarette. I don't know what it might be. What is it that is in your way? You gonna let that keep you out of eternity? Didn't trust in Him. If you wanna quit that and he wants you to quit that, he'll help you quit that. Or he'll remove that from your life. He won't leave you on your own. He'll surround you with us to help you. If that's the place where you go, hey, I really need help with this. Could you guys partner with me in working on getting this out of my life? Yeah, we'll do that. That's what RU is. It's us going together saying, I'm struggling. Will you guys pray for me? Will you intercede on my behalf? Here's where I have troubles this week. Yes, we will. It's the church body helping each other run this race, pressing towards the mark so we can go before him and say, thank you, Lord. Thank you for what you've done. We want to be good stewards of the gift of the gospel that you've given us. We want to proclaim it to the uttermost parts of the earth.