[0:00] Let us turn in our Bibles to the passage of God's Word which we read, the Gospel of John chapter 8, and as God would help me I'd like to concentrate on verse 24.
[0:23] John chapter 8 verse 24. I said therefore unto you that ye shall die in your sins, for if you believe not that I am He, ye shall die in your sins.
[0:47] I said therefore unto you that ye shall die in your sins, for if you believe not that I am He, ye shall die in your sins.
[1:06] Does Jesus need to be so dogmatic as if there are no other opinions about?
[1:20] Answer, yes, if He's talking about facts. But does He need to be so exclusive?
[1:34] Answer, yes, if you're truthful. Yes, if you're talking about love. Does He need to be so controversial?
[1:49] Why is He so emphatic? Can He not be a little bit more inclusive? Why? What? Answer, again, it's a life or death issue.
[2:06] The matter is so serious. Souls are perishing. People are dying. It calls out for truth. It calls out for love.
[2:21] And Christ is both of these. Christ makes absolute statements because He knows the truth. When you go to the doctor for a result of a biopsy, do you want His opinion?
[2:38] Don't you want the truth? Don't you want to go to a doctor that cares for you and loves you? And that will not hide and cover up things?
[2:53] Christ is the epitome of truth and the epitome of love. Therefore, He's dogmatic. Therefore, He's exclusive.
[3:08] And therefore, He's hated. What does it mean to die in your sins?
[3:21] As God help me, I'd like to look at this statement of His in 24 under simply two headings. What does it mean to die in your sins? And then what does it mean?
[3:32] How can we be... What's the remedy? If you are a Christian, it is not a terrible thing for you to die.
[3:47] It's a glorious thing. You're going to be with Jesus. It's a wonderful thing if you're a Christian to die.
[3:59] What is terrible is to die in your sins. What does it mean to die in your sins?
[4:15] Well, it essentially means to die in your natural condition. To die without a change coming over you.
[4:29] Our Bible tells us in as simple language as possible, In sin did our mothers conceive us.
[4:41] Christ Himself, who is the truth, said clearly and categorically to Nicodemus, You must be born again.
[4:55] We look to that in chapter 3. And we must be born again because we are born in sin and shaped in iniquity.
[5:09] What is sin? Who defines sin? The government?
[5:21] The Prime Minister? Thankfully, no. Who defines sin? God. The Creator of all things.
[5:34] The absolutely, perfectly, holy One. He and He alone has the right to define what sin is.
[5:45] Here's my definition this morning. Sin is anything against God.
[5:58] Anything against God is sin. I heard one minister give this definition. He said it's saying no to God.
[6:12] God made us. God made everything. Therefore, He has the right to give instructions. He has the right to order us.
[6:24] To command us. And if we say, no. I am not doing that. I don't want to be under your authority. That attitude.
[6:35] Without saying anything. Without doing anything. That attitude to God's authority is sin. Put it another way.
[6:48] It's leaving God out of your life. Many people will say that if you confront them. I'm not into religion.
[7:00] It's not my thing. That is wrong. That is sin. There's a verse in the Bible.
[7:14] It speaks about. God is angry with the wicked. Every day.
[7:27] I got a shock when I started looking for the verse in the Bible. God is angry with sinners every day. That verse is not in the Bible. The Bible says God is angry with the wicked.
[7:40] Every day. But then you see. Who are the wicked? Who defines what wickedness is? God.
[7:51] The righteous one. The holy one. The one who made everything. And here's how He defines. What it is to be wicked. If I ask you here.
[8:06] Do you consider yourself wicked? If I ask you here. To write a list. Of your sins. I'll guarantee.
[8:19] Well. I can almost assure you. That. At the top of the list. Of your sins. Will be something. You've done.
[8:30] Am I right? Something you've done. Not something. You've not done. Okay. Let's see how God.
[8:42] Defines. The wicked. Psalm 10. Verse 4. The wicked. Through the pride of his countenance.
[8:53] Will not. Seek. After. God. God. Is not. In all.
[9:04] His thoughts. That's sin. Not. Seeking. God. That's sin.
[9:16] That's the way you're born. That's the way you're made. That's. Natural. If we want to put it that way. Not seeking. God.
[9:27] God. Not being. In all. Your. Thoughts. See what I mean. You.
[9:38] God is different from us. He's a way. Far. Far. Holier. Than the holiest person. That there may be. Sins of. Omission.
[9:49] For God. Are more serious. In many cases. Than sins of. Commission. Not.
[10:01] Doing things. Is serious. Before God. And however. Sinful. You are. Your. Biggest. Problem. If you are not a Christian.
[10:12] Is not drink. Not drugs. Not pornography. Not gambling. You. If you are not. A Christian. Your. Biggest.
[10:23] Problem. Is. Not. Believing. On Christ. It's. Not. Repenting. Of your sins. It's.
[10:34] Not. Believing. That Christ. Died. To pay God. For the sins. For the sins. Of all. Who will be in heaven. Do you believe that?
[10:46] Are you seeking God? If you're not. You're sinning. And you'll be in hell. With the worst of sinners. You'll be in hell. No. You'll be with devils.
[10:57] No. Not. Obeying God. Not. Seeking God. Not.
[11:09] Loving God. Yes. Just. Not. Being. Interested. In God. It's a sin. A serious sin.
[11:20] Sin. The sin. That will condemn us. If we do not repent. And believe the gospel. Sin.
[11:31] Has consequences. As a result. Of our sinnership. And our sinfulness. We are. Spiritually. Blind.
[11:43] We did note. That when we looked at chapter 3. In John. When Christ was speaking. Speaking to. Nicodemus. And he said. Nicodemus. Except a man.
[11:54] Be born again. He cannot. Even. See. The kingdom of God. Never mind. Enter it. John. 3.
[12:04] Verse 3. In other words. We're not fit. To talk about the subject. You can't see. What you're talking about. You talk about heaven.
[12:14] You've got your own ideas. Who'll get there. No. If you're not born again. You're not. Qualified. To enter a discussion.
[12:27] About the kingdom of heaven. Because you're spiritually blind. And not only are you spiritually blind. You're spiritually dead.
[12:38] Many a Christian can. Or go over their. Experience. Conversion experience. And say.
[12:49] Well once my eyes were opened. And I realized. All I had to do. However great my sins were. All I had to do. Was hand them over to Jesus.
[13:02] For Jesus to deal with. All I had to do. Was to believe. And then you discovered. I can't believe. I'm dead.
[13:13] Spiritually dead. We're called upon. To keep the commandments. But we can't. We can't. We're spiritually dead. And my friends. What's the real issue?
[13:24] It's not just that we can't do it. As we are by nature. We don't want to do it. That's a serious aspect. We don't want to do it.
[13:37] It's a heart. See inside. That's wrong. Now. Our text tells us. If you do not.
[13:48] Believe. That I am he. You will. Die. In your sins. Now. What does it mean to die?
[13:59] I always used to think. It just means. Going out of existence. It just means. The end. That's not God's definition of death. That's not the Bible says about death.
[14:14] Our scientists will tell us. That things never go out of existence. They only change their form. You want to get rid of something. You throw it in the fire. To burn it.
[14:25] It still doesn't. The scientist tells us. It still doesn't go out of existence. It changes its form. It changes into ashes. It changes into smoke.
[14:37] Into gas. Solid being turned into gas. Or liquid. Everything just changes its form. It's the same spiritually. We don't go out of existence.
[14:48] Death in the Bible. Means. Separation. Essentially. Essentially. Separation. You have physical death.
[15:00] That is the separation of body and soul. The soul either goes up to heaven. Or down to hell. And your body goes into the grave.
[15:14] Decaying. Until the glorious resurrection. A new body. A body that can endure the horrors of hell. Or a body.
[15:26] To live forever and ever and ever. In blissful peace. Physical death. Is separation. Separation. Of soul.
[15:37] From body. What's spiritual death? It's separation once again. It is. Behavior.
[15:50] Separate. From God's law. We were made. To serve God. As our catechism tells us.
[16:02] We were made to glorify God. And enjoy him. Now there is something you can't do. By nature. Enjoy God.
[16:15] You can be made. To go to church. You can be made. To say your prayers. You can be made. To read the Bible. Can you enjoy it?
[16:28] Can you enjoy it? No. Unless you are born again. So if you get pleasure. Delight. In these things.
[16:40] Well. There is a great comfort. And encouragement. The Holy Spirit. Has begun that good work in you. That he will continue. Until the day.
[16:50] Of Jesus Christ. Then of course. There is eternal death. What is eternal death? Death. Again.
[17:01] Again. Separation. It is separation. From the comfortable. Presence. Of God. God is in hell.
[17:15] But not as a comfort. God is everywhere. As the psalmist tells us. There. Even if in hell I lie. Thou art there.
[17:28] Death means separation. Well. Enough. Of sin. And death. Let's change the subject.
[17:40] How can we. Not. Die. In our sins. What is the remedy. To dying.
[17:52] In sin. How can we. Break. The power. Of sin. Which is in our genes. Which we are born with. Which is in our. Well. DNA.
[18:02] You might say. That's the way we are made. How can we break that power. Answer. We. Cannot.
[18:14] But. Praise God. Christ. Can. Christ. Can. Break it. So.
[18:26] If any man. Be in. Christ. He is a new. Creation. How do we get. In.
[18:37] Christ. I. I used to have a. Great. Problem. Sometimes. I'd. Hear. Look. Christ. Has got to be in you.
[18:48] He's got to be indwelling you. And other times. I would hear. You've got to be in Christ. And I would say. Have I to be in Christ. Or has Christ to be. In me. Which is true.
[19:01] Answer. Answer. The answer. Very often. To these questions. Is. Both. Both. I said. Come on. How can I be in something.
[19:13] And that's something in me. And then I was given the illustration. Very. Very helpful. Take a bucket. Take an empty bucket. And go along to the sea.
[19:25] And put it in the sea. And the sea is in the bucket. And the bucket is in the sea. It is possible to be in something.
[19:37] And that thing to be in you as well. We in one sense have to be in Christ. And in another sense. Christ has to be in dwelling us.
[19:50] Born again by his Holy Spirit. So. How do we get into that situation. Well. Jesus tells us here.
[20:01] As simply as he can. If you believe. That I am he. The link. With Christ. Is by faith.
[20:14] People think that. Well. If Jesus is not walking about. With us. He can't see us. Well. Do you remember.
[20:26] The woman with the issue of blood. She was touching him. She was touching him. But you see.
[20:37] We can't even touch him. How do we contact him? By faith. By faith. By faith alone. Believing.
[20:48] No. There you niees. There you are. Believe. That I am he. Sometimes in the Bible. It's called. Trusting.
[20:59] Sometimes it's called. Looking. Look unto me. And be saved. All the ends of the earth. That's his faith. That's just trust. Sometimes.
[21:10] It's called. Following Jesus. it's just the same idea believing now here is what the Jews were fighting Jesus is having as we've been looking at all these quarrels with the Jews who would not accept he was the Messiah sent from God who would not accept that God was his father and here's his response in short that's why I said to you and I repeat it again if you don't believe that I am he you will die in your sins if you do not believe that I am he now you'll notice in verse 24 the word he is in italics in the authorized version and I think other versions as well if it puts it in he which means that word is not in the original but it has to be put in to make sense in the English language because other languages don't have the same rules of grammar which English grammar have so the original is unless you believe
[22:21] I am and really that's the phrase that was used by God when he spoke to Moses at the burning bush I am that I am that's what's been said here if in other words if you do not believe that Jesus is God you'll die in your sins people think that's just a matter a fine point of theology my friend it is a point of theology but not a fine one an absolutely essential fundamental if Christ isn't God then his death at Calvary could not atone for anyone more than one human being and in a very real way that's what he's saying here if you do not believe that I am who I claim to be you'll die in your sins and you see the argument was he was he the son of God was he the Messiah that was promised so long ago if you do not believe I am he you'll die in your sins now that when we put in the he to understand it here the he is the Messiah the anointed one the one promised by
[23:51] God to the Jewish race and that's what they will not accept here the Messiah we look for no you're not him they were saying but it's quite important because God promised the way back in the garden of Eden he'd send a saviour I don't know if maybe some of you have heard of the singer the celebrity you know Helen Shapiro she was she has professed Christianity she was a Jew born a Jewess and I remember she was giving her testimony in Perth I think it was I wasn't there but someone else that was there said to me and said it was very convincing the amazing thing was this she could believe everything Jesus said that wasn't my problem she said my problem was this is he the Messiah that my that was promised to the Jewish race that was her question and whenever she discovered he was that released her and that that led to her conversion so Jesus is saying here I am the sent from God the anointed one
[25:12] I'm the one God anointed appointed and commissioned so what Jesus is saying here you have to believe I am he Jesus is effectively saying here I can forgive sins because I've atoned for sin you see God is holy and he cannot let people off with sin if you're not a Christian and you think that a Christian is God letting you off with your sins you're mistaken God is holy God cannot let anyone off with the minutest sin salvation is not God letting certain people off salvation salvation is
[26:17] God accepting the sacrifice of Christ as payment for their sins Christ punished his son Jesus on the cross for the sins of all who believe on him all who will be in heaven yours if you're a Christian if you believe in Jesus your sin is forgiven and God has been paid for it God has been paid for your sin if you're a believer in Christ you paid for it over 2000 years ago and God himself cannot ask for payment again he's holy he's been paid that's the security Christians have but in salvation don't we need more than our sins forgiven don't we need a new nature isn't that what
[27:25] Jesus said you have to be born again before you can keep my commandments before you can live as you should and I am the source of life did we not read that or was it somewhere else recently I have come that you might have life Christ is a source of life in fact you read it in John chapter 1 we looked at it already in him was life chapter 1 verse 4 in him was life he's the source of life and when Christ forgives anyone their sins he gives them new life new life in Christ and he will stand in for you on the judgment day he's saying effectively in this verse my father is on the throne and he commissioned me to receive and forgive every human being who depends on me for pardon
[28:33] Christ is assuring us of that and he's assuring us he'll stand in on the day of judgment I'm sure I've pointed out to you before Revelation 12 10 the accuser of the brethren night and day accuses the brethren that went on last night and on the great day when the accuser of the brethren says look these people you're taking to heaven did this and did that why am I in hell for that when they did it as well and Christ will stand forth yes they did it but I paid for their sins I took their punishment on myself let my people go and so Christ is saying here listen
[29:34] I am all you need all you need is to depend on me by faith alone believing faith is not some mere optimistic feeling that Jesus is the answer it's a realistic dependence on Christ based on the facts that Christ cannot lie our salvation depends on the fact Christ cannot lie believe on me and you're saved you're forgiven it's based on the truth that he atoned for sin in the place called Calvary it's based on the truth the fact that he's been authorized by the father to receive all and any who believe on him
[30:36] Christ has no authority to say I didn't mean you if you come to him with your sins not not without your sins come with your sins to him and he will forgive if you only believe the fact that Christ loves and desires sinners is based is the basis Christ gave himself for our sins died for our sins according to the scriptures now our time's up if you do not believe that Christ is all you need that Christ paid for the sins of believers at the cross you will die in your sins and be with the wicked in hell and remember in hell your companion will not be wicked people or will not be merely wicked people it will be devils
[31:46] Christ says in Matthew 25 I think it is depart from me you cushion into everlasting fire prepared for wicked people not what my Bible says prepared for the devil and his angels hell is in human don't go if you don't believe Christ is all you need the only answer there is if you don't believe he paid for your sins that you have confessed to him if you don't believe that you'll die in your sins and go to hell with the devils but if you do believe if you do believe you will also die you will also die unless Christ returns before then but you'll never die in your sins you'll get a new body this decaying body will decay away until the resurrection and your new body joins your soul in glory glory
[33:08] Christ died for our sins according to the scriptures believe on the Lord Jesus Christ and you will definitely be saved that's his word to us with his warning if you don't believe that you'll die in your sins believe on the Lord Jesus Christ to the saving of your soul let's bow our heads our father in heaven be pleased to take the things of Christ and to make them ours unite us to your son in a living holy faith keep us in your love and keep us in your fear for all we pray we pray in Christ's name and for Christ's sake
[34:08] Amen