Renewing Your Mind is a radio production of Ligonier Ministries. The purpose of Ligonier Ministries is to awaken as many people as possible to the holiness of God by proclaiming, teaching, and defending God's holiness in all its fullness. In order to fulfill that mission, Ligonier Ministries has been producing Christian education materials designed to fill the gap between Sunday school and seminary. For more than 35 years we've been accomplishing this mission in many ways. The Renewing Your Mind broadcast is one of those ways. To find out more about Ligonier Ministries and how you can help us fulfill this mission, give us a call at 1-800-435-4343. Again, that's 1-800-435-4343. A resource consultant is waiting for your call. Will God condemn a person to hell for not accepting Jesus, of whom they never heard? What about the poor, innocent native in Africa? Stay tuned, renewing your mind. Weekend Edition is next. Welcome to this weekend edition of Renewing Your Mind with author and teacher Dr. R.C. Sproul. Dr. Sproul is also the Senior Minister of Preaching and Teaching at St. Andrew's, a Reformed congregation in Sanford, Florida. One of the biggest contentions people have for the gospel is that it has no consideration for the innocent people who have never had the opportunity to hear it. Their conclusion of the matter is that people are sent to hell for not believing in Jesus, many of whom have never heard of Him. But is that really how it is? Does the Bible address the poor innocent natives throughout the world? Today on Renewing Your Mind, as we continue our study of the gospel of John, Dr. Sproul will teach us the biblical reason for missions and who sends us. Here now is Dr. Sproul with today's message, The One Who Sent Me. I'm going to begin at John chapter 12 verse 35 rather than 31 and read through to the end of the chapter. And then Jesus said to them, a little while longer the light is with you. Walk while you have the light, lest darkness overtake you. He who walks in darkness does not know where he's going. And while you have the light, believe in the light, that you may become sons of light. These things Jesus spoke and departed and was hidden from them. But although he had done so many signs before them, they did not believe in him, that the word of Isaiah the prophet might be fulfilled which he spoke. Lord who has believed our report, and to whom has the arm of the Lord been revealed? Therefore they could not believe because Isaiah said again, he has blinded their eyes and hardened their hearts less they should see with their eyes, less they should understand with their hearts and turn, so that I should heal them. And these things Isaiah said when he saw His glory and spoke of Him. Nevertheless, even among the rulers many believed in Him, but because of the Pharisees they did not confess Him, lest they should be put out of the synagogue. for they loved the praise of men more than the praise of God. And then Jesus cried out and said, he who believes in me, believes not in me, but in him who sent me. And he who sees me, sees him who sent me. I have come as a light into the world, that whoever believes in me should not abide in darkness, And if anyone hears my words and does not believe, I do not judge him, for I did not come to judge the world, but to save the world. And he who rejects me and does not receive my words has that which judges him. The word that I have spoken will judge him in the last day. For I have not spoken on my own authority, but the Father who sent me gave me a command. what I should say and what I should speak. And I know that His command is everlasting life. Therefore, whatever I speak, just as the Father has told me, so I speak. He who has ears to hear the word of God, let them hear it. You may be seated." We picked it up this morning in verse 35. when Jesus gave to those who were gathered on that occasion this warning. He said, a little while longer, the light is with you. That is, the light that shines in your presence right this moment is only for a short while. That light is about to be removed from you, as he was giving these remarks against the backdrop of the cross that he was facing. Walk while you have the light. lest the darkness overtake you, for he who walks in darkness does not know where he is going." Notice this theme of light and darkness was a theme that John introduced in the very first chapter of his gospel. And the backdrop of the gospel announcement of Christ, as we find from Paul in the epistles, is that the whole world has been plunged into darkness by the world's rejection of the light that God gave to every human being in creation. Again, the question that I hear more often than any other theological question has a direct impact on the subject of missions. People say to me, what happens to the poor innocent native in Africa who has never heard the gospel? Because behind that question is the practical consideration. Why should I be involved? Why should I be engaged? Why should I be concerned with world mission? So we say, what happens to that poor innocent person in Africa who's never heard the gospel? And I say always the same answer. The poor innocent native in Africa doesn't need to hear the gospel. Don't worry again for another minute about the innocent native in Africa who's never heard of Christ. The poor innocent native in Africa, when he dies, goes straight to heaven. He doesn't pass go, he doesn't collect his $200. The last thing he needs is to have his felicity disturbed by some foreign missionary. Don't worry about it. But then let's ask the question another way. What happens to the poor guilty native in Africa who's never heard the gospel? I don't worry about poor innocent natives in Africa or in South America or in Kuwait or Iraq or anywhere in the world. Why? Because the Bible makes it clear there aren't any innocent natives anywhere. that the whole world has rejected God's plain revelation of Himself that He gives to nature and gives to the human soul so that we being made in the image of God know of the existence of God. The reason why the New Testament pulls the whole of the world before the tribunal of God is that God's light has shone into every nook and cranny of this universe, but that every human being in their fallen condition suppresses that light of revelation and prefers darkness above it. Now again, people worry about, well what if people never hear of Jesus, will they be sent to hell for rejecting Christ of whom they've never heard? Of course not. God isn't going to send anybody to hell for rejecting somebody of whom they've never heard, or even had the opportunity to hear, and again we get this gasping sigh of relief. Oh, then I can sleep in tomorrow and I don't have to worry about the Great Commission. But don't you understand that Christ comes into a world that's already under the universal indictment of God, not for rejecting Christ, but for rejecting the Father whom they have known. And so we see this darkness pervading the whole world. And into the world comes the light of the world, comes the Savior of the world. And he gives to the church his task to make sure that the light of that gospel shines in every place where the darkness already enslaves people. And so you can sense the urgency that Jesus has during His earthly ministry when the light that He has in His own person is about to be taken out from Jerusalem. And so He tells the people, if you walk in darkness, you don't know where you're going. But while you have the light, believe in the light. And so Jesus said these things and then He left. and we are told he was hidden from them. And then what follows here in the gospel is John gives us an evaluation of the crowd response again. And we read in verse 37, but though he had done many signs before them, they didn't believe in him. Can you imagine being present on the occasion of the raising of Lazarus from the dead and remaining in unbelief? See the problem is that faith in New Testament categories is not something that rests in the final analysis simply on intellectual cognition or intellectual submission. Satan knew the truth of Christ before he ever raised Lazarus from the dead, and Satan could observe the resurrection of Lazarus, and still Satan would not be converted because it's not that Satan didn't know the truth, it's that he hates the truth. And all the signs that Jesus gave were not enough to persuade people of the truth of Christ, because in addition to those outward signs, what was required for faith then is the same thing that's required for faith now, namely the ministry of the Holy Spirit, who accompanies those signs, who accompanies those words, to remove the scales from our eyes and to unstop our ears. And so John is observing this now, and here's where we see once again the relentless Calvinism of the Apostle John. Though he had done many signs, they didn't believe him. Why? That the word of Isaiah, the prophet, might be fulfilled when he spoke, Lord, who has believed our report? To whom has the arm of the Lord been revealed? Now notice that John has a strange combination here in conjunction of two completely different texts from the book of the prophet Isaiah. The first one from Isaiah 53 as I've just noticed, but then he gives us the reason why people haven't believed the report and why people haven't believed in Christ even though he manifested himself so clearly and plainly with the visible signs that he gave to them. To understand that, John goes to Isaiah 6, where after Isaiah has the vision of the Lord high and lifted up in the tent, you know, and takes away the sin of Isaiah, and the Lord speaks to Isaiah saying, whom shall I send and who will go for us? And Isaiah says, here am I, send me. And remember when Isaiah was given his commission by the Lord, God said to him, go. But in seeing they will not see. hearing they will not hear, because God has made a judgment against sinful people. And He has given them a spirit of blindness and a spirit of hardness of heart, and He stops their ears and actually prevents them from believing as a judgment. It's not that God forces people into sin, and then once they're in sin, refuses to rescue them from sin, but He turns the sinner over to his sin, which is the most ghastly judgment any person could ever receive from the hands of God. When we fast forward to the apocalypse of the New Testament, to the last judgment, where God sends people into everlasting judgment, He says, let him who is wicked be wicked still. And so if people don't want to hear, God stops their ears. If they don't want to see, He covers their eyes. And that's the reason Isaiah is told, therefore, it's not that they just did not believe, but in verse 39, get this, therefore they could not believe. Because Isaiah said, He has blinded their eyes and hardened their hearts, lest they should see with their eyes, lest they should understand with their hearts. and turn so that I would heal them." He said, nevertheless, even some of the rulers believed in Him, but because of the Pharisees they didn't confess Him lest they be put out of the synagogue, for they loved the praise of men more than the praise of God. Then Jesus cried out, and listen to what He says, He who believes in Me, that is, if you believe in Me, it's not Me that you're believing in, in the final analysis, but in Him who sent Me. time after time after time during His earthly ministry, Jesus repeats this affirmation that He says nothing on His own authority. He is not here to fulfill His agenda, but He is here to do the will of His Father. He is to do everything that He was sent to do. Now what does this have to do with missions? All week long you've been looking at television, you've been watching a war. in live time. And what you're watching is the incredible force and power of modern technology, particularly in the form of missiles. You've watched Patriot missiles, you've watched Scud missiles, and so on. And what is a missile? If you looked up the word missile in the dictionary, you would see that it comes from the Latin word matere, which means to send, or the first person missio. A missile that goes across the air and is destructive is one that is sent. A missile, M-I-S-S-A-L, is the word that we use for a letter that is sent from one person to another. because the very concept of meterre or missio is a sending. And that's the root word for which we get the word mission or missionary. A missionary, in terms of the linguistic background of it, is a person who is sent to fulfill the purpose of the sending, which is the mission. and the first missionary of the Christian church is Christ. And his mission was established not as an afterthought after the fall of this world, but the missionary endeavor of the church and the missionary endeavor of Christ, beloved, began in eternity in what we call the covenant of redemption. before God ever made a covenant with Adam, before He ever made a covenant with Noah, before He ever made a covenant with Abraham, or Isaac, or Jacob, or Moses, or David, or anybody else, there is a covenant in eternity among the three persons of the Godhead, the Father, the Son, and the Holy Ghost. And from all eternity, it was the plan of God to create a world and to redeem that world by sending God the Son into that world on a mission, and as His appointed missionary. And so in this context, Jesus reminds the people that He is there to fulfill this mission. Whoever believes in Me doesn't believe in Me, but he believes in the One who sent Me. And he who sees me sees him who sent me. For I have come as a light into the world that whoever believes in me should not abide in darkness. If anyone hears my words and does not believe, I don't judge him, but those who reject me, it's my word that will judge them in the final analysis." And he says, I have not spoken on my own authority, but the Father who sent me gave a command. Later on, Jesus says to his disciples, as the Father sent me, so send I you. That's the basis for the missionary enterprise of the church. Now I realize you live in a culture that has embraced pluralism and relativism, and you hear that message bombarding your ears every day that completely repudiates proselytizing people or trying to convert people to Christianity. Leave them alone, you know, and they'll come home wagging their tails behind us. But the Lord Himself was sent by the Father, and He came to seek and to save the lost. And then He turns around and passes the baton. He gives the baton, He gives the mission to His disciples, and He says, as the Father sent Me, so send I you. And Paul says in Romans 10, how can they hear without a preacher? And how can there be a preacher unless he's sent? This isn't rocket science, but again, people are going to say, well, if God has this all figured out from the foundation of the world, and He uses His judicial blinding to people, and that they can't really respond, they'll stay in darkness because they love the darkness rather than the light, unless God the Holy Spirit opens their eyes, why should we be engaged in this enterprise? I was asked that in seminary. I almost said the cemetery. The professor said, okay, if God is sovereign and if election is true, why in the world should we be involved in missionary activity? One by one, he went around the room and every student said, well, I don't know. I always wondered myself, well, that beats me. came to me and I said, well, I know this is what you're looking for, but one small reason why we should be involved in evangelism and in missionary activities is, you know, if God is sovereign, He sovereignly commands us to be doing it. So if no other reason, we should do it because He commands us to do it. And that Jesus commanded us to do it. And the professor looked at me and laughed. He said, yes, Mr. Sproul, what could possibly be a more insignificant reason than that the Savior of your soul and the Lord God omnipotent should command you to do something? I said, well, I guess it isn't a small reason after all, it's pretty strong. But not only that, God ordains not only the ends but the means. And God from all eternity has chosen the foolishness of preaching as the means by which He will bring His people to salvation. He doesn't need you, He doesn't need me, but He gives to you and He gives to me the unspeakable privilege and opportunity of participating in this mission. If you have been watching television this week, you've heard that word, mission, over and over and over and over again. And even you hear the thanksgiving offered by the leaders of this country for our men and women who are in harm's way, who are involved in this mission, and they say about them, we thank them for their courage, we thank them for their bravery, we thank them for their sacrifice. Oh, that the Lord God would look at our church and say, we thank you for your courage. I thank you for your bravery. I thank you for your sacrifice. I thank you because you took seriously the mission that I gave you to go into all the world and to preach the gospel to every living creature, the people from every tongue, every tribe, and every nation. And there are people from among us right now as I speak risking their lives. for that mission. And I urge you to stand behind them, to hear them when they come to us this coming week. That they will know that this church is committed to the Great Commission because we have been blessed by the light that has come into the darkness in the person of Christ. You're listening to Renewing Your Mind Weekend Edition with R.C. Sproul as he takes us through the Gospel of John. Not only was David the king of Israel, he was a man who composed so many of the Psalms and was called the man after God's own heart. What can we learn from his life of victories and failures? Today's message, David Hood, is part of a ten-part series entitled, The Life of David. In this series, Dr. Sproul examines the life of David and his character as revealed in Scripture. By honestly evaluating this flawed leader, Dr. Sproul shows us what made David a man after God's own heart. We're making the entire series available on five CDs for a donation of any amount today. To get your copy, give us a call using our toll-free number, 1-800-435-4343. Again, that's 800-435-4343. Or you can go online to rymoffer.com. That's R-Y-M as in renewing your mind, and the word offer.com. That web address is for this week's special offer only. In this study, Dr. Sproul shows how God took a lowly shepherd boy, hymn writer, and murderer to establish a throne upon which David's greater son, Jesus, would reign forever. Again, the entire 10-part CD series, The Life of David, is available for a gift of any amount to the ministry. To get your copy, give us a call at 1-800-435-4343. Again, that's 800-435-4343. Or you can go online to rymoffer.com. That's R-Y-M as in renewing your mind, and the word offer.com. That'll bring a close to this weekend edition of Renewing Your Mind. Thank you for being with us. Join us again next weekend as Dr. Sproul continues to take us through the Gospel of John. Until then, you can keep up with us on Facebook at Facebook.com slash Ligonier. Ligonier is spelled L-I-G-I-N-I-E-R. O-N-I-E-R. You're listening to Renewing Your Mind, Weekend Edition, the listener-supported radio outreach of Ligonier Ministries in Orlando, Florida. Yeah.