If you have a Bible with you this morning, turn with me to John chapter 17. We're going to start with the 6th verse and work our way up to the 19th. John 17, verses 6 through 19. I have manifested thy name unto the men which thou gavest me out of the world. Thine they were, and thou gavest them me. and they have kept thy word. Now they have known that all things whatsoever thou hast given me are of thee. For I have given unto them the words which thou gavest me. And they have received them, and have known surely that I came out from thee. And they have believed that thou didst send me. I pray for them, I pray not for the world, but for them which thou hast given me. For they are thine, and all mine are thine, and thine are mine, and I am glorified in them. And now I am no more in the world, but these are in the world, and I come to thee. Holy Father, keep through thine own name those whom thou hast given me, that they may be one as we are. While I was with them in the world, I kept them in thy name, those that thou gavest me I have kept, and none of them is lost, but the son of perdition, that the scripture might be fulfilled. And now I come to thee, and these things I speak in the world, that they might have my joy fulfilled in themselves. I have given them thy word, and the world had hated them, because they are not of the world, even as I am not of the world. I pray not that thou shouldest take them out of the world, but that thou shouldest keep them from the evil. They are not of the world, even as I am not of the world. Sanctify them through thy truth. Thy word is truth. As thou hast sent me into the world, even so have I also sent them into the world. And for their sake I sanctify myself. that they also might be sanctified through the truth. Amen. And that is the word of God. What do Mormons, Muslims, and the Monticello have in common? The answer is that all three reject the biblical doctrine of the Trinity. All three reject the truth found in verse 11 of today's scripture passage. The most important question you'll ever encounter while alive on earth is the question, how can I get into heaven? This question could be rephrased, are there certain non-negotiable biblical doctrines, teachings, that one must believe, must believe, in order to go to heaven? The answer unequivocally, according to the gospel writer John, is yes. And later on in this sermon, I will share with you what those core four teachings are that one must believe in order to be saved. It's known as the gospel. But for right now I wish to examine verse 11 of today's text and clearly teach that one cannot go to heaven if he or she rejects the doctrine of the Trinity. Verse 11 of today's scripture passage was problematic to the third president of the United States. A number of years ago I got a chance to visit the Monticello and per the Monticello dot org. Thomas Jefferson was baptized and raised Anglican. Married and buried by Anglican ministers. But all that as you know. Does not determine whether or not God gives him having. Thomas Jefferson rejected many of the tenants of the church He regularly attended church of various denominations, but he declared, quote, I am of a sect of myself, end quote. In simple terms, Thomas Jefferson believed in a God, but if a more precise label is sought, he could be labeled a Unitarian, a person who believes in God, but one who rejects the Trinity. In December of 2020, the New Yorker magazine published a piece entitled, What Thomas Jefferson Could Never Understand About Jesus, Jefferson Revised the Gospels to Make Jesus More Reasonable and Lost the Power of His Story. That's the title. The author, Vincent Cunningham, wrote, quote, even in his youth, Jefferson had bridled at the core metaphysical claims of classical Christianity. Jefferson had no use for original sin, or salvation by grace alone, or the insistence that Christ or anyone else, stand down Lazarus, had risen from the dead. He didn't even care to affirm the most fundamental doctrine that by some mystery of history and providence, Jesus was of the same essence of God. Indeed, was God. One of Jefferson's first and most lasting points of dissent with Christian orthodoxy had to do with the Trinity. The doctrine affirming that although there is only one God, the Godhead is identified as three distinct but inseparable persons. End quote, New Yorker. You see, Thomas Jefferson in particular had a problem with the gospel writer John. The Apostle John not only wrote of today's scripture text, but he wrote in 1 John 5-7, listen to this, For there are three that bear record in heaven, the Father, the Word, and the Holy Ghost. These three are one. There are entire websites set up by Mormon to attack that one verse. There, with unambiguous clarity, the Apostle John teaches us the doctrine of our triune God. The God that Christians worship is one God who exists in three persons. The persons are equal in essence and substance, but different in roles. God the Father, God the Son Jesus, and God the Holy Ghost are three persons, but one God. They are not three manifestations, that's the heresy of modalism. Instead, they are three distinct persons, but the three are one. Christians do not worship three gods. Instead, we worship one God who exists in three persons. The Trinity existed for all of eternity in unity, in perfect community. We see it in the very first chapter of the Bible. For we see in Genesis 126, where one person of the Trinity tells the other two, let us make man in our own image. God was not talking to the angels there. Humans are not made in the image of angels. God was talking to the other members of God, the Holy Trinity, right in the very beginning of Genesis. As a result of this reality, Jesus, in verse 11 and in many other passages of Scripture, was able to declare, Holy Father, you and I are one. And as the second member of the Holy Trinity, Jesus was indeed one with the Father. Jesus was fully God and fully man. And it is this unique divine nature of Jesus that enabled him to fulfill his ministry as the unique Messiah of the world, the Savior of any human who would believe in him. Now today's passage of scripture has three main points to it. As I exposit the text here, walk with me through this scripture. As Jesus prays to God the Father, he is praying for his disciples. The first main point is found in verses six through nine, and it is this. The Christian believes in the triune nature of God because God gives him faith to believe. I'll repeat that. The Christian believes in the triune nature of God because God gives him faith to believe. Where do I get this from? I get it from verse 8. They have believed that you sent me. That's Jesus saying, these disciples believe that I am part of the Trinity. Why is this such an important point? Because unless God gives you the faith and opens your eyes to believe, intellectual ability alone will never enable you to believe in the Trinity. It just can't. Smart men like Thomas Jefferson were never able to come to this sort of belief in the triune God. How are we able to believe? The answer is in verse 6. Take a look. Thou gavest them to me, and they have kept thy word before the foundation of the world. God the Father chose those who would be saved, and as a result of his election, God gifted them with the gift of faith." The gift of believing that Jesus was fully God and sent from God the Father. The gift of believing in the Holy Trinity. So that's point number one. God enables you to believe. It's a precious gift. If you sit here today and you believe in a triune, in the triune God, praise the Lord, because that's a gift from almighty God. Many in this world are not able to believe. The second major point this morning is found in verses 12 through 15, and it is true Christians cannot ever lose their salvation. Read verse 12. those that thou gavest me I have kept and none of them is lost but the son of perdition that the scripture might be fulfilled here we are taught that true believers of the gospel are kept by Christ until the very end true born-again believers will persevere in saving faith until the very end you cannot be born again again again You're born again once, just like you are born biologically once. And if that faith in the gospel is genuine, then you could never lose your salvation. But what about Judas? What about Judas Iscariot? Wasn't he one of the 12? Didn't Jesus pick him? Wasn't he a disciple that later betrayed Jesus and committed suicide? Doesn't the life of Judas show that a person could lose his or her salvation? The answer is no, it does not. And I want you to get answers not from me or some other preacher or from any other expert. I want you to get it from the Word of God. In verse 12, the son of perdition is a reference from the mouth of Christ to Judas. The fact that Jesus labels him as the son of damnation, which is what perdition means, reveals that Judas was never saved in the first place. Additionally, verse 12 goes on to say that Judas was condemned in order that scripture might be fulfilled. In other words, before Judas was even born, it was already written by God that he would be condemned to damnation. Even prior to his act of betrayal, in John 670, Jesus identifies Judas as someone chosen to be numbered with the original twelve, but simultaneously identifies him as unsaved. Listen to John 670. Jesus answered them, Have not I chosen you twelve, and one of you Notice the present tense. One of you is a devil. Those are the words of Jesus. There you have it from the mouth of Christ. Judas never lost his salvation because according to Jesus, Judas never had salvation. Even as he was speaking, Jesus identified Judas as a devil, one who is lost. Now there are times we go through life and encounter individuals who seem to be on fire for Christ. Years pass and we may even lose touch with them. But when we hear of them again, some of us are surprised that they may no longer be serving Christ. Others become secular and bear thorns. And still others turn to various false religions. Some even become atheists. Did any of them lose their salvations? What if we remember them being on fire for Jesus, just so committed when they were younger? And scripture's answer is they did not. The Apostle John explains that they were never saved in the first place. Turn to 1 John 2.19. Here's what John writes. What a powerful truth that is. What John is teaching us is that just like Judas, a false Christian will eventually show his or her colors. They will lose, they will leave the flock. Folks, I want to say this and I've said this before, being in a church doesn't make you a true Christian any more than being in a parking lot makes you a car. For a person to be truly saved, he or she must genuinely believe in the gospel. Now, what is the gospel? It could be elaborated, and scholars could spend their entire lives trying to unpack its truths, but I could make it into four core points. Number one, there is an eternal God who exists in three persons. God the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Ghost. He existed from eternity and will exist till eternity. We don't worship three gods, three persons, one God. And this one God spoke and made everything from nothing. This material universe, scientists now believe, had a beginning. Christians already knew that. because we are told in the beginning God spoke and from nothing created the material universe that we see today. Point number two, this good God made the universe and as the apex of his creation made Adam and Eve, the first human beings. He made them good, but they sinned and rebelled against God and as a result, they pass on a sinful nature to all of us. You see, what the atheist evolutionist cannot explain is the question of why does humanity have inherent value? Why is it that every human being, irrespective of belief, religion, or unbelief, is deserving of dignity and respect? Only the Christian worldview answers that question. If we are simply evolved animals, which we kill and eat, and many cultures we kill, Pigs, cows, chickens, cultures all around the world kill dogs, monkeys, and eat them. Why is it that we are not the same as animals? Why is it that we as humans have inherent value? The answer is only found in scripture. It's because we are not animals. We are not evolved primates. We are special creations of God made directly by God from the ground in the image of God. We are not animals. And that is why human beings everywhere are worthy of dignity and respect. But because of the fall, because of Adam and Eve's sin, we inherit a sinful nature. As I've said it before, we are not sinners because we sin, but rather we sin because we are sinners. It's by nature what we do. And we see this played out all over the world today. Turn on the news. We don't simply need doors, we need locks. Not simply laws, but law enforcement. Our hearts, even at the youngest age, are geared towards rebellion, towards no. towards breaking the commands of God. We are all sinners. And the bad news with that is that there is a heaven or a hell, and we deserve hell. Eternal punishment for our sins in hell. But here is the good news. Point number three. For God so loved the world that he gave his only begotten son, Jesus, who was fully God and fully man. He lived a sinless life, and then he died on the cross to pay for the sins of those who would believe in him. Resurrecting historically, it's not a myth, on the third day, proving that he is God, so that point number four, that if anyone Whosoever, anyone, would repent and believe in Jesus as their Lord, God, and Savior would have eternal life. And the moment you believe in Jesus, You are born again. That's the moment of your salvation. That's the moment you become a Christian. Not when you attend a church, not when you were baptized, not when you identified with a denomination. The moment you are declared righteous before God is the moment you believe genuinely in your heart the gospel that I just preached from this pulpit. Amen? That's the moment of salvation. And verse 12 states that the moment you truly believe, you will never lose your salvation. Christ will never lose his own. He is a good shepherd. Not because of your strength will you never lose your salvation, but because God, through Christ, will keep you till the end, and no one can take you from the grip of Christ. Hallelujah. We praise God for that, amen? And the third and final point to us comes from verses 14 and 19. I would even say verses 14 through 19. Here's the final point. God expects us to make a difference in the world, not by being like the world. Let me tell you this, Christian, God is not impressed by how close your tattoo looks like in unbelievers. God is not impressed by that. God expects us to make a difference in the world, not by being like the world, but by believing in his word, by holiness and obedience. In verse 14, we are taught that the word of God will cause the world to hate you. And that's okay. Get a backbone. Anytime someone stands on the word of Christ, you will make enemies. But Christ does not want you to run away from the world. No, sir. Don't go Amish on Jesus. That's actually disobedience in verse 18. Instead, just like Jesus, God expects you to be in the world, many of you know this, but not of the world. That's where we get that popular phrase, in the world but not of the world. I even see bumper stickers like that nowadays. We get it right here from this text. There is an expectation from our Commander-in-Chief, Jesus Christ, that you remain in the world, be salt and light, but not of the world. You're not supposed to run away to your little Christian bubble and be afraid of unbelievers because you're not going to make an impact that way. You're not supposed to run because you're afraid of being hurt. Many of our Christian forbearers never got their 3 score in 10 years. They were persecuted and killed for their faith. And that's good. That's okay. Because at the end, God is our judge. Read verse 15. Jesus himself says, I pray not that you should take them out of the world, but that you should keep them from the evil. Listen Christian, stop running to your Christian circles, get out and evangelize to a lost and dark world full of agonizing humans. Minister to a world full of hurting soldiers, senators, sinners. How else do you expect to save those headed to perdition if you are not among them? But as you go, go protected, protected by the word of God. Here's the warning for those anxious to go. It's found in verses 16 and 17. Do not go into the world and attempt to win the world by smelling like the world. You won't make a difference. If salt tastes like the food it's trying to make a difference in, salt is useless. Someone wise once said that parable, right? Jesus said that parable, right? Instead be holy, be different, be light. Listen to verse 16 and 17, they are not of the world even as I am not of the world. Sanctify them through thy truth, thy word is truth. To put it bluntly, you don't have to become a prostitute to win a prostitute for Christ. You don't have to become a homosexual to win a homosexual for Christ. Instead, what you're called to do is to stay obedient to the Word of God, allowing it to sanctify you, and then you will shine like a star in the midst of the most darkest, immoral night. Read verse 19. Be sanctified through the truth. Earlier I said you don't need your tattoos to be like the world, in order to win the world. God doesn't care even if you write Bible verses on your flesh. He cares more that it's written on your heart. It will be your holiness that will set you apart. And as Jesus prayed, sanctify them through thy truth, thy word is truth. The Word of God is the Bible. It is sacred to Christians all over the world. During the time of colonial America, the vast majority of Americans were Protestants. Jefferson, being the astute politician that he was, knew this, and thus he never publicly revealed his disbelief in the Holy Trinity. Never revealed it, especially while he was in office. But years after he left office in January 9, 1816, Jefferson wrote to Charles Thompson, quote, I too have made a wee little book from the same materials which I call the philosophy of Jesus, end quote. Using a knife, Jefferson, now in his 70s, began to cut up the Bible and with select clippings, the aging third president created a new New Testament, a new New Testament. of his own. One that Christians today would hardly recognize. This is now known as the Jefferson Bible. Jefferson's Bible was focused only on Jesus, but none of his powerful miracles. Jefferson did not actually believe that those took place. So he didn't include the resurrection or ascension of Christ to heaven. The miracles of Jesus turning water into wine? Yep, that's missing. Him walking on water? Forget about that, that's fairytale. Instead, Jefferson's Bible focused on Jesus as a teacher of morals, a man whose truths were expressed without the help of miracles or the power of God. As you can imagine, Jefferson's Bible was very thin. Fearing public hatred, Jefferson hid his Bible. No one knew about it until nearly the turn of the century. In 1895, Cyrus Adler, a Jew from Arkansas who was a librarian and curator of religious items at the Smithsonian, found the Bible hidden away in the library of Carolina Ramsey Randolph. Do you know who she is? She is Jefferson's great-granddaughter. Carolina sold the book to Adler for $400. Adler then promptly put it on display at the U.S. Capitol. Beginning in 1904 and continuing every other year until the 1950s, the government printing office provided new members of Congress a copy of the Jefferson Bible. Now, verse 14 of today's scripture passage says, I have given them thy word. And the world hates them because they are not of the world, even as I am not of the world. Thomas Jefferson did not believe that. Instead, he believed that Jesus was simply a man of the world. A good teacher, but certainly not God. And as a result, Jefferson gave the world a set of words devoid of any mention of Jesus as God. But what about you? What do you believe this morning? And I am not overstating that your eternity hinges on what you believe. Today, Jesus, through the passage preached, declared that he is God in human flesh. Do you believe him? Will you be saved? Let's pray.