[0:00] received him not. But as many as received him, to them gave he power to become the sons of God, even to them that believe on his name, which were born not of blood, nor of the will of the flesh, nor of the will of man, but of God. And the word was made flesh and dwelt among us, and we beheld his glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the Father, full of grace and truth. John bear witness of him, and cried, saying, This was he of whom I speak. He that cometh after me is preferred before me, for he was before me, and of his fullness have all me received, and grace for grace. For the law was given by Moses, but grace and truth came by Jesus Christ. No man has seen God at any time.
[1:21] The only begotten Son, which is in the bosom of the Father, he hath declared him. And may God bless the very reading of his own truth. We sing once more from the Scottish Psalter, Psalm 25, second version, and we sing from verse 16 to the end. The second version of Psalm 25 at verse 16.
[1:55] O turn thee unto me, O God, have mercy me upon, because I solitary am and in affliction.
[2:06] Down to the last verse. O let integrity and truth keep me who thee attend. Redemption, Lord, to Israel from all his troubles sent. Psalm 25, verses 16 to the end.
[2:26] O turn thee unto me, O God, have mercy me upon, because I solitary am and in affliction.
[2:56] O God, have mercy me upon, because I pray, O God, have mercy me upon, because I fear this stone and GLIFFAIN.
[3:09] O paths against my heart may from distress and see me.
[3:23] See, I'm a Christian, I'm a Christian, I know I've sent for you.
[3:41] Come, silver, come again with me, make the faith that ye are.
[3:58] I did not look well, hatred, which in my grace did bear.
[4:15] O do thou give my soul, O God, do thou deliver me?
[4:33] Let me know, I'm a Christian, for I could put my trust in thee.
[4:51] O let integrity unto the kingdom, who be the dead.
[5:08] Redemption, Lord, to this is not my end.
[5:18] From all this troubled sin. Now let us turn to the passage of God's word, which we read.
[5:45] The Gospel of John, chapter 1. And as God would help me, I'll concentrate on verse 17. John, chapter 1, verse 17.
[5:59] For the law was given by Moses, but grace and truth came by Jesus Christ.
[6:22] When sin came into the world, it did not come alone. Sin brought along with it misery and the curse.
[6:40] Part of that curse is that human beings no longer know what went wrong and are utterly unable to put it right.
[7:01] Therefore, the human race, being helpless, requires the intervention of a third party.
[7:14] To help us realise what went wrong and how to live properly, God sent Moses to give us the law.
[7:30] That's what we have here. The law was given by or through Moses. The law teaches us what God requires of us.
[7:47] It teaches us what will please the supreme being, our maker, our lawgiver, our judge. The law teaches us what angers God.
[8:04] What incurs his wrath. But do not. The law does not teach us how to be saved.
[8:17] How to be forgiven. If you're here this morning and you're not a Christian, you probably think you're not good enough to be saved.
[8:33] Being good enough will never atone for any misdemeanour, any sin you've committed. The law of God tells us how we should live.
[8:51] But the law of God cannot correct what we've put wrong. No manner of perfect law-keeping can atone for what you and I have done wrong.
[9:05] Understand that, if you understand anything. So why did Jesus Christ come?
[9:17] Jesus Christ came into the world to bring salvation. Grace and truth. Grace and truth. Or, as we say, or as it's put here, grace and truth.
[9:32] Grace and truth are realised, can be realised now, through the coming of Jesus Christ into the world.
[9:43] Now, let's try and understand what these terms mean. Grace and truth. What is grace?
[9:57] This is the best way I've personally understood how to understand grace. First of all, understand what justice is.
[10:08] Justice is getting what you deserve. Justice is getting what you deserve.
[10:19] Okay? Mercy is not getting what you deserve. We have sinned.
[10:32] We deserve to be punished. We deserve to go to hell. Mercy is not being punished for our sin. Not going to hell.
[10:46] So what is grace? What is grace? Now, understand that justice is getting what you deserve. Mercy is not getting what you deserve.
[11:02] Grace is getting what you don't deserve. You see, when someone is saved by God, converted through Christ, he receives mercy.
[11:20] He is not punished for his sins. He does not go to hell. But you see, when someone is converted to Christ, he doesn't just get mercy.
[11:35] He also gets grace. Grace is getting heaven. Getting peace with God. Getting eternal life.
[11:47] grace is getting the blessing of God. The blessing of salvation is not merely avoiding going to hell. It is receiving horrendous, tremendous bliss and glory by going to heaven.
[12:04] grace and truth came by Jesus Christ. Now, here is something very salutary.
[12:19] Mercy, receiving mercy, should make us humble. Okay? Receiving mercy should make you humble.
[12:31] Receiving grace should transform us. It should change us.
[12:44] It should make us new people in Christ. New creations. Grace is so wonderful.
[12:54] It ought to do that to us. Grace, you see, is not something that floats around like a virus and lands on people.
[13:10] That's not the best way to think about grace. Think of grace as a decision God has made to bless you. God has decided to give you grace.
[13:26] He's decided to show you mercy. And he's decided to show you grace. Wonderful. You see, salvation is of the Lord.
[13:37] Salvation is something actually God does. But he makes you and me willing to do something. You see, God has chosen to save a people out of this world.
[13:55] And don't think of God's people as a wee small group. Certainly in some places that is the case. But our Bible teaches us that the number is so great.
[14:10] That Christ has saved a multitude. So innumerable. We can't number them. They're like the sand of the sea and the stars in the sky. Innumerable.
[14:21] That is innumerable to you and me. God knows everyone individually. But even God cannot save us except through Christ.
[14:42] That's the message of our text this morning. Grace and truth came through Jesus Christ. God can save you.
[14:53] But only through Christ. Christ. But even Christ cannot save you.
[15:06] Unless you have faith in him. Unless you trust him. Unless you believe in him. Unless you receive him.
[15:16] And here's something further. Even Christ cannot save you.
[15:29] Unless he died on the cross. You see, there are some people. And they call themselves Christians. Who say there was no need.
[15:41] For the cross. Jesus was given to us as a perfect example to follow. Well, that is true. But it's not the whole truth.
[15:52] It's true. But it's not the whole truth. Our sins must be punished. Our sins must be paid for.
[16:04] And the glorious good news of the grace of God. Is that Christ paid for our sins. Instead of us paying for our own sins.
[16:17] He came to pay for other people's sins. And that's what's so important. About three men being crucified that Friday afternoon.
[16:33] Do you believe the one in the middle paid for sin? The other two were suffering for their own sins against society.
[16:46] Christ was suffering for the sins of everyone who trusts him for salvation. I don't believe there's a person in this building this morning who thinks they have never done anything wrong.
[17:04] Tell me. How? How is that wrong you've done going to be atoned for?
[17:18] There's only two ways. One is by you enduring the pains of hell forever. Or secondly. Or secondly. By Christ having paid for them already at the place called Calvary.
[17:35] That's the gospel. The theme of these verses is it's impossible to be saved except through Jesus.
[17:48] Jesus. Because only Jesus paid, atoned God for the sins of all who will be in heaven.
[18:00] It's possible to be saved and not know it. But it is not possible to be saved and not know Christ.
[18:14] I'll repeat that. It is possible to be saved and not know it. It's a sad, sad condition to be in. But it's possible. But it's not possible to be saved and not know Christ.
[18:33] Christ is the saviour. Now, I said already, grace transforms people.
[18:46] I had written in my notes initially, grace should transform people. But my friend, grace does it.
[18:59] It does it. And if it doesn't do it, you haven't got it. It should change us. Salvation is receiving a new nature from Christ.
[19:13] A new creation in Christ. If you are a Christian here, you're going through a process of change.
[19:26] Blessed be God. Blessed be God. There is such a thing as instant conversion. Instantly receiving grace.
[19:41] Instantly being on your way to heaven. Instantly having all your sins forgiven. There is such a thing as that. Blessed be God.
[19:53] But there is no such thing as instant holiness. And the Bible says, without holiness, no man will see the Lord.
[20:07] I don't know if I've used the illustration before or not, but I found it very helpful. This distinction between justification and sanctification.
[20:20] Justification is instant, a one-off, being pardoned, being forgiven, because you're depending on Christ to take you to heaven. Sanctification is being made Christ-like.
[20:37] Because without holiness, you can't enter heaven. You know, there's no verse in the Bible that says, we're predestined to salvation. Now, before writing me off as a heretic, let me tell you what the Bible does say.
[20:52] The Bible says, we're predestined to be conformed to the image of Christ. That's what we're predestined to be.
[21:05] To be Christ-like. Because only when you're Christ-like can you get into heaven. So between that moment, you first depend on Jesus for forgiveness to take you to heaven.
[21:18] And you leaving this world for heaven, there's a process of transformation taking place. The process is becoming more and more like Jesus.
[21:33] And it can only be done by constant, continual faith in Christ. And constant, continual contact with Christ.
[21:52] So many people think conversion, salvation is, oh, I'll never forget it. It was a way back in 1963.
[22:04] I remember the minister's text. I remember where I was sitting. I remember everything. And I gave my heart to Christ. And I trusted him. And I lived him. And that was it all.
[22:15] And that's it all over. No, no, friend. That's it beginning. That's it beginning. You're on the way to heaven. And nothing can stop you entering heaven.
[22:26] Except not being sanctified by Christ. Now Christ never justifies without also sanctifying.
[22:38] So if you're depending on Christ to take you to heaven. Because he died on the cross to pay the Father for all the sins of everyone who will be in heaven.
[22:53] And rejoice and be exceeding glad. Because you're on the road to glory. Grace and truth came by Jesus Christ.
[23:09] Let's look now at truth. There's a very solemn statement in the Bible. I meant to check it up before it came out.
[23:20] But I forgot. I think it's in James. This is what it says. Always learning. But never able to come to a knowledge of the truth.
[23:37] That's salutary. Eh? Intelligent people. Professors. PhDs. Always learning.
[23:49] But never able to come to a knowledge of the truth. Why? Why are they never able to come to a knowledge of the truth?
[24:02] I've actually just said it. Because they won't come to Christ. They won't believe in Christ. They're leaving Christ out. And our text this morning says grace and truth came through Jesus Christ.
[24:18] By Jesus Christ. You can't separate Christ from truth. Truth comes from Christ. Truth comes from Christ.
[24:32] It's helpful to understand that in the period when Christ came, the whole of society, the whole world was plagued by false prophets.
[24:44] They were arising everywhere. They were arising everywhere. Here's a Messiah. There's a Messiah. There's a Messiah. There's a Messiah. There's a man we'll be waiting for. And nobody knew what to believe.
[24:55] Nobody knew who to believe. Again, very salutary. You remember, it always puzzled me why Jesus never answered Pontius Pilate.
[25:08] When Pontius Pilate said to him, what is truth? But that's because I misunderstood the way in which Pontius Pilate asked what is truth. He was not a genuine inquirer after the truth.
[25:23] It's salutary to note John 18 verse 37. Jesus said in that verse, I came to bear witness to the truth.
[25:40] And the next verse, verse 38 in John 18, Pilate said, what's truth? But you see, the way he said it was not, oh, tell me what is truth.
[25:51] No, no, Pilate said, what's truth? Who knows the answer to that question? On to the next business. He wasn't genuine inquiring. He was denying you could know the truth.
[26:06] Huh, what's truth? No one knows the truth. You never get the answer to that question. But Christ just said, I've come to bear witness to the truth.
[26:19] So what is truth? Truth is what reconciles to Christ. What reconciles to God. God is truth.
[26:33] The Father is truth. The Holy Spirit is truth. He's the bearer of truth. He wrote the truth. The Son is truth.
[26:45] I am the way, the truth, and the life. You cannot separate truth from Christ. And you see, grace is so unbelievably good.
[27:00] The first question you ask is, can this be true? Is this real? Is this true? It's so unbelievably true. Is it true? Grace and truth came by Jesus Christ.
[27:14] But not only can you not separate Christ from truth. Truth also cannot be separated from mercy.
[27:28] I explained at the beginning what justice was and what mercy was and then what grace was. And if you have the grace of God, you have the mercy of God.
[27:40] I don't know what your experience was.
[27:53] But when I was searching for truth. I was saying to myself, the problem is this.
[28:06] The truth is this. I am guilty of sin. That's my problem. The truth is I am. And it wasn't just the odd sin.
[28:19] It was many sins. It wasn't light sins. It was serious sins. I am a sinner. That's the truth. I am a sinner. I am not holy.
[28:30] I am without holiness. I cannot enter heaven. And then this verse. So, so wonderful.
[28:41] Truth, righteousness. Truth met with mercy. And you, you see that. You realize you're a sinner.
[28:54] And bring yourself to Christ. Bring yourself to mercy. And bring yourself to the grace of Christ and salvation. Truth met with mercy.
[29:09] The truth. The truth about yourself. The truth about your sinnership. The truth about your unworthiness. Bring that truth to Christ. And you'll meet with mercy.
[29:24] Something else. Truth cannot be separated from freedom. Do you want freedom? Do you want freedom? Jesus said, If you know the truth, The truth shall make you free.
[29:46] And you don't know what freedom is Until you know Christ. Christ. You don't know what freedom is Until you know Christ.
[30:01] Christ cannot be separated from Truth cannot be separated from Christ. Truth cannot be separated from mercy. Truth cannot be separated from freedom.
[30:15] And here's something else. Truth cannot be separated from repentance. Truth cannot be separated from you. Truth cannot be separated from you. Second Timothy 2.25 says, If God perhaps will grant them the repentance So that, So that, They may know the truth.
[30:35] If you've got repentance, You've got the truth. Second Timothy 2.25. Truth cannot be separated from you. Christ is at God's right hand now.
[30:49] Risen, Exalted, A prince and a saviour To give, What? To give repentance And forgiveness of sins.
[31:03] You can't actually, We could actually add Forgiveness of sins. Truth can't be separated from forgiveness of sins. And here's something else.
[31:15] Truth cannot be separated from faith. From belief in the gospel. You see, I could be saying, I could lecture here for an hour Telling you lots and lots of things That are true.
[31:32] But I may not be speaking the truth As it is in Jesus. That's what's important. The truth As it is in Jesus.
[31:46] You can't separate truth from Jesus. You can't separate from faith in Jesus. Jesus said to those Jews Which believed on him.
[31:59] Chapter 8, John 8.31 Those Jews, If you abide in my word, You are my disciples indeed. And You shall know the truth.
[32:13] If you abide in my word, You will know the truth. 1 Timothy 4.3 It speaks about those who believe And know the truth.
[32:31] You can't separate truth from faith, From repentance, From freedom, From mercy, From Christ.
[32:43] That's the bottom line. You can't separate blessing, Truth, Grace, Mercy, From Christ.
[32:57] Just two or three things, One or two things in conclusion. You note The way This is why I believe in the Verbal and plenary Inspiration of Scripture.
[33:11] And that means Believing Not just The message of Scripture. Not just What the sentence Means. But the actual Words.
[33:23] Every word In the original That is. The original. You see, The word of God Is settled in heaven. And in God's mercy He's given it to us In our language.
[33:36] The law Was given By Moses. But Grace and truth Given By Jesus Christ.
[33:49] Is that what our text says? Grace and truth Came By Jesus Christ. Oh, there's a message there. There's a message there.
[34:01] The word translated Given Is also Translated Elsewhere In the authorised version As granted. God granted you that.
[34:12] Gave you This information Through Moses. That's kindness. That's love. That's goodness. But it doesn't save. But grace And truth Came A different Original word.
[34:26] And it's I was amazed To discover That original word Is translated Elsewhere In the authorised version Be Married To Christ Doesn't just Hand something over to you He came He came And delivered Personally Salvation Because he loved it He was married To it And he's married To sinners Grace And truth Is married To Christ Christ Saves Sinners Who don't Deserve it Who deserve To be punished The law Given By Moses But grace And truth Came Through the person Of Christ
[35:26] He bought it Himself He didn't just Send somebody else To deliver it He came Himself And delivered it And he loves it He's married To it And he's married To those Who receive it Grace And truth Came And it's not Going to go away It's not Going to go away Christ Has come And he's not Going to go away It all Strikes me In the revelation The candle Sticks Christ Never Blows out The candle He never Blows out The light But he will Remove it If you say I don't want it I don't like it I've had enough Of it
[36:26] He won't Blow it out He'll take it Somewhere Else And it will Shine Somewhere Else Don't Let That Happen To you Grace And truth Came Now you Come Now you Come to Christ Christ Came Now you Come Listen to Christ Love Christ Follow Christ Receive Christ May God The Holy Spirit Bless this Truth The law Was given By Moses But grace And truth Came By Jesus Christ May God The Holy Spirit Make his Word Effectual
[37:27] To every One of us Let's bow Our heads Our Father In heaven We ask That you Might take The things Of Christ And make Them ours Reveal him To us tractors Anti- uncles Who Are sharing And Between Away