John 8:48-59

Amen and good morning. Please take your copy of God's Word and join me in John chapter 8.

John 8 · chapter mention

! We're back in John. It's been a minute. Our text for today is verses 48 through 59. I'm very grateful this morning to be back in our study of John's Gospel.

In fact, I'm so happy to be back in this book that I'm going to skip introductory comments and just get right to the text.

So let's read it beginning in verse 48, ending at the end of the chapter, and then I'll remind us a little bit where we are and set us up for our study.

But first, let's pray for God's favor on our time in His Word.

Father, as we take up Your Word together this morning, we do so humbly.

We want to rightly understand it. We want it to have its proper effect on our hearts.

And we recognize that we cannot do this apart from the help of Your Spirit.

We recognize that Your Word was written for Your glory and for our good.

And so we ask that You would help us to believe its promises and obey its commands and have affection for You, its author.

And we pray that You'll help us to this end. Amen.

John chapter 8, beginning in verse 48 and following.

John 8 · chapter mention

The Jews answered Him,

Are we not right in saying that you are a Samaritan and have a demon?

Jesus answered,

I do not have a demon, but I honor my Father and You dishonor me.

Yet I do not seek my own glory. There is one who seeks it, and He is the judge.

Truly, truly, I say to you, if anyone keeps my word, he will never see death.

The Jews said to Him,

Now we know that you have a demon.

Abraham died, as did the prophets.

Yet you say, if anyone keeps my word, he will never taste death.

Are you greater than our father Abraham, who died, and the prophets died?

Who do you make yourself out to be?

Jesus answered,

If I glorify myself, my glory is nothing.

It is my Father who glorifies me, of whom you say He is our God.

But you have not known Him.

I know Him.

If I were to say that I do not know Him, I would be a liar like you.

But I do know Him, and I keep His word.

Your father Abraham rejoiced that he would see my day.

He saw it and was glad.

So the Jews said to Him,

You are not yet fifty years old, and have you seen Abraham?

Jesus said to them,

Truly, truly, I say to you,

Before Abraham was, I am.

So they picked up stones to throw at him,

but Jesus hid Himself and went out of the temple.

There are passages in Scripture where the temperature rises.

You can feel it even across the centuries.

I try to read text well for you.

Of course, I wasn't there.

I don't know the tone in the voice.

But you could read this so flatly and miss that there's a tension growing here.

John chapter 8, the whole chapter,

John 8 · chapter mention

it's a chapter where it's just the tension is building and building and building.

The conversation between Jesus and the religious leaders,

that's who this term, the Jews, is referring to,

has been building layer upon layer,

until what we see here is not a polite disagreement,

but it's open hostility.

The tension is white hot at this point.

And if you have any doubt of that,

the last verse affirms what I just said, right?

Murderous intent comes to play at the very end of the chapter.

But our text begins,

The Jews answered him.

Are we not right in saying that you are a Samaritan and have a demon?

Don't let your familiarity with the text

dull the shock of this moment.

These are not fringe skeptics.

These are the religious leaders.

They're significant men.

These are men who know the scriptures,

who claim to represent God.

And yet, when the Son of God stands before them,

they do not recognize him.

And even worse, they slander him.

They don't just disagree with Jesus.

They despise Jesus.

They call him a Samaritan,

questioning his ethnic purity,

his orthodoxy,

his place among God's people.

They don't know this at all.

Jesus is not a Samaritan.

And they have no clue,

but they are using it pejoratively.

And if that isn't enough,

they go further.

They say that he has a demon,

that he is possessed.

They attribute the works and words

of the Son of God

to the powers of darkness.

To me, all of this

just seems to be taking stabs at him.

It's ad hominem attacks at this point.

Not considering his arguments any longer.

They're listening,

but it seems like they're half listening

to what he has to say.

And then just going after the man.

You're a Samaritan.

You're demon-possessed.

And what we see here

is not just a historical moment,

although it is that.

It's a record of what happened.

But it's also a mirror

held up to the human heart.

Because, apart from grace,

this is how we all respond to Christ.

And yet,

in the face of this hostility,

Jesus responds with clarity,

with dignity,

and with truth.

And in just a few words,

he reveals two realities

that every one of us

must reckon with this morning.

Those two are,

to be our outline for today.

Number one,

that Jesus is the eternal God.

And that number two,

Jesus offers eternal life in himself.

So if you like even simpler outlines,

eternal God,

eternal life.

Jesus is clearly presented in this text

as the eternal God.

And I don't want to rush into it

without at least taking a little moment

to define the word eternal.

It's an adjective that describes time.

To say that something is eternal

is to say that time

has no bearing on it.

It will go on forever.

Jesus is eternal.

He has existed in eternity past

and will exist in eternity future.

No beginning and no end.

And this is true

because Jesus is the eternal God.

God is not merely a God,

but the eternal God.

God has been presenting us

with a dilemma

all throughout his writing.

I've lamented a couple of times

this morning with a few of you

about how the way we preach,

which I commend,

otherwise I would just stop doing it,

taking bits of text at a time,

often leads us to forget

the total narrative,

what's going on in the totality of the text.

The sermon would be way too long

if I preached the entire book of John

on a Sunday morning.

We need to break it down

and consider things bit by bit

and piece by piece,

but let's not lose sight

of the larger themes being developed.

John's been doing this work

of presenting this dilemma.

What will you do with Jesus?

We see receiving him

and we see rejecting him.

We find ourselves in a chapter

that is all about rejection.

Jesus is too audacious

to just be a good teacher.

You must think him a liar,

just inventing falsehood,

or a lunatic.

Perhaps he actually believed

what he said about himself

and was absolutely crazy.

Or, and what I posit to you,

that what he said is true

and therefore you must worship him

as Lord.

Maybe you've heard that trilemma structure

before, liar, lunatic, or Lord.

In verses 39 through 47,

just preceding our text,

Jesus has exposed false devotion to God.

That's what they're responding to here

in verse 48.

He says in verse 46,

Which one of you convicts me of sin?

If I tell the truth,

why do you not believe me?

Whoever is of God,

verse 47,

hears the words of God.

The reason why you do not hear them

is that you are not of God.

And it's in response to that

that our text begins,

The Jews answered him.

I mentioned it really briefly earlier,

but this little phrase,

the Jews,

most regularly in the book of John

is referring to these religious leaders.

And there's some contextual evidence

that that is the case.

That's who he's speaking to right now

in the temple.

Are we not right in saying

that you are Samaritan

and have a demon?

Notice their confidence.

They're not really asking questions.

This is rhetorical to be sure.

Our punctuation puts it as a question.

They're not really asking Jesus

to bring clarity to their thoughts about him.

They're convinced that they are correct.

And yet,

they're completely wrong.

This is one of the sobering realities

that the Bible presents to us.

Sincerity does not equal belief.

These men are confident

and they are deaf

to the words of Christ.

Verse 47,

whoever is of God

hears the words of God.

The reason why you do not hear them

is that you are not of God.

Jesus has just said this to them.

And instead of humbling themselves,

hearing this difficult thing,

asking for clarifying questions,

what you've said is hard to hear.

Help us understand what you mean.

Instead,

they harden themselves against him.

This is exactly what Scripture

tells us to expect

apart from the work of the Spirit

in our lives.

It comes in

and softens our hearts.

1 Corinthians 2,

in verse 14,

Paul says,

The natural person does not accept

the things of the Spirit of God,

for they are folly to him.

Left to ourselves,

we do not drift toward Christ.

We drift away.

We resist him.

We do not naturally submit.

We naturally push back.

We sang a song just a moment ago.

First line,

My Lord, I did not choose you,

for that could never be.

My heart would still refuse you

had you not chosen me.

If you felt any objection

to that song,

it's derived directly from Scripture,

from John chapter 15,

John 15 · chapter mention

in verse 16,

where Jesus says,

You did not choose me,

but I chose you

and appointed you

that you should go

and bear fruit.

And the emphasis of that song

is that we would be humble

and recognize

that it's the loving kindness

of God to us in Christ

that has saved our souls.

The doctrine of divine election

in no way mitigates

human responsibility.

The Bible teaches both.

And you can say,

Nathan, that is not logical,

and I will just go,

Well, then, okay.

The Bible says both things,

and we want to hold both honestly.

The sovereignty of God's salvation,

divine election,

and human responsibility.

We see this laced

all throughout John's gospel.

The doctrine of divine election

is not meant to make us

proud and condemning.

What it's meant to do

is rightly humble us

and work gratitude

in our hearts.

Jesus isn't pulling punches

in chapter 8.

Young people,

I don't know if you know

what pulling a punch is.

You pull a punch when you swing

and you don't quite deliver the punch.

It's like you resist

the full impact.

Maybe you've pretend

hit somebody before

and you don't quite make contact.

That's what that phrase means.

Jesus isn't doing that.

He is fully indicting

these men

for their rejection

of the truth.

While I hold

the divine election,

I hold it firmly

in my closed fist.

We cannot miss this.

These men

are responsible

for the rejection

of the Lord Jesus

as the Christ.

Notice Jesus' response.

He answers them.

Verse 49,

I do not have a demon,

but I honor my father

and you dishonor me.

He doesn't say,

well, of course you don't believe me.

Their actions are held culpable

for their actions.

He deals with the demonic accusation plainly.

I do not have a demon.

And the Samaritan accusation

by restating

that God is his father.

They're trying to diminish his purity

and he is raising the bar

on who he is.

The inciting incident

between Jesus

and these men

was recorded in chapter 5

where Jesus heals a man

on the Sabbath

and then states

in John 5, 17,

my father is working

until now

and I am working.

So again,

big picture contextually.

Go back to the beginning

of 5, 17.

And we know

when he says this,

my father is working

until now

and I am working,

exactly what he meant

because John records

their response

with an explanation.

Verse 18 of chapter 5,

John says,

this was why the Jews

were seeking

all the more

to kill him

because not only

was he breaking the Sabbath,

but he was even calling God

his own father,

making himself

equal with

God.

He was claiming

to be God

in doing this.

He will continue

to make these claims

right up to today's text

and beyond it.

Now,

if you are not God,

then it is a grave evil

to call yourself

God.

No one in this room

can make this claim.

No one should claim

that we are

little g gods.

This is a great heresy,

a grave,

grave evil.

If Jesus was a liar

or a lunatic,

they had every right

to be angry at him.

It would have been proper

for them to think him

blasphemous,

evil,

punishment should come,

stoning was the punishment

for blasphemy.

We should be angered.

It would be righteous

to be angered

by a person

claiming to be

God.

However,

Jesus is God.

It is good and proper

for God

to call himself

God.

And John is laboring

to make this

point.

He begins

this great work

with these words,

John chapter 1,

John 1 · chapter mention

beginning in verse 1

and following.

In the beginning

was the Word,

and the Word

was with God,

and the Word

was God.

He was in the beginning

with God.

All things

were made

through him,

and without him

was not anything

made that was made.

Now bring the next

verses into our context.

In him

was life,

and the life

was the light

of men.

The light

shines in the darkness,

and the darkness

has not

overcome it.

The introductory

words to this

gospel account

are presenting

Jesus

as the Christ,

as God

himself.

self.

Like,

come into the world

as light

to conquer

darkness.

Then we can jump

down just a bit

after a bit of

language about

John the Baptist

to verse 9

of chapter 1.

There John writes,

the true light,

which gives light

to everyone,

was coming

into the world.

He was in the world,

and the world

was made through him,

yet the world

did not know him.

He came to his own.

And his own people

did not

receive him.

This is what we're

looking at right now.

It's playing out.

But to all who did

receive him,

who believed in his name,

he gave the right

to become

children

of God,

who were born

not of blood,

not because they

are ethnically Jewish,

nor of the will

of the flesh,

not because they

just hoped enough,

did enough,

nor of the will

of man,

but of God.

These men,

his own people,

did not receive him.

Rather,

they call him

demon-possessed.

Isaiah chapter 5,

Isaiah 5:20

verse 20,

says,

woe to those

who call evil good

and good evil.

I think it's important

at this point

to note

that sometimes

resistance to the

words of God

looks religious.

Now,

notice what Jesus

says next

in verse 50.

He says,

yet I do not

seek my own

glory.

There is one

who seeks it

and he

is

the judge.

Jesus has

no real

need

to defend

himself.

His father

seeks

his glory

and will

be

the judge.

So he's

communicating here.

This is where

the indictment

language

really

hits.

I think

our minds

might just

bounce right

past this

declaration

that God

is

the judge.

This rejection

of Jesus

as the Christ,

this malicious

name-calling

will be

judged.

And this

audience would

have had a

clear picture

of what Jesus

meant

by this

language.

Perhaps

a text

like Isaiah

Isaiah 66:15

66,

verse 15

and 16

would have

come into

their minds.

These men

knew

their Old

Testament

Bible.

Perhaps

this is

what jumped

in their

mind.

He says,

my father

is the

judge.

Listen to

it.

For behold,

the Lord

will come

in fire

and his

chariots

like the

whirlwind

to render

his anger

in fury

and his

rebuke

with flames

of fire.

For by

fire

will the

Lord

enter into

judgment

and by

his sword

with all

flesh

and those

slain by

the Lord

shall be

many.

Jesus

calls

his

father

the

judge.

These

men

are

getting

whipped

into

a

fervor.

This is

indicting

language.

They're

opposing

Jesus

and Jesus

is stating

that they

will be

judged

for their

opposition.

Now,

this

warning is

not just

for them.

Heed

this

warning.

Do not

reject the

claims

of Jesus

Christ.

A warning

like this

isn't

pleasant.

It's not

fun to

talk about

the wrath

of God.

Proper,

just,

but it's

not fun

to talk

about.

But a

warning for

your good

is a

warning that

should be

embraced.

If a

child is

about to

grab the

handle of

a pot of

boiling water

and pull

it down

onto

themselves,

picture that

reaching up,

the handle

got left

sticking out

on the

stove,

and they're

about to

dump boiling

water all

over

themselves,

a loud

or exasperated

warning is

absolutely

appropriate.

Isn't that

what we

would all

do?

It

wouldn't

be calm.

It

wouldn't,

frankly,

be kind

in its

tone.

We would

yell out,

stop,

no,

don't touch

that,

it's not

good for

you.

A harsh

warning when

there is

grave danger

is warranted.

It's

loving.

So listen

to me.

If you

reject Jesus

as the

Christ,

if you do

not flee to

him for the

salvation of

your soul,

you will

stand in the

judgment of

God and

be justly

condemned

for your

sin.

You know

you are

guilty,

and God

certainly

will not

be deceived.

He is

infinitely

offended,

and he

will judge

justly.

We want

God to

be just.

He will

judge

justly.

So embrace

the warning.

understand the

reality of

the state of

your soul

if you're

not in

Christ.

But don't

stop there.

We want to

believe the

promise that

also comes

with this

text.

And so let's

work through

verse 51,

and we're

actually going

to go down

through 58,

and I'm

going to

get into

the eternal

life part

of the

text,

because it's

here in

verse 51

that the

offer is

made.

He says,

truly,

truly,

really,

really,

this is a

true thing

you should

listen to.

I say to

you,

if anyone

keeps my

word,

he will

never see

death.

Right?

This is on

the heels

of this

God as

judge

language.

But look

at their

response.

The Jews

said to

him,

now we

know that

you have

a demon.

Abraham

died,

as did

the

prophets,

if anyone's

not going

to die,

it'd be

them,

but they

died,

yet you

say,

if anyone

keeps my

word,

he will

never

taste

death.

I spent

too much

time this

week trying

to figure

out why

Jesus says

never see

death,

and they

say never

taste

death,

thinking

there'd

be

something

amazing

there.

Nope.

These

are both

common

phrases used

all throughout

the scripture

to speak

about

experiencing

death.

Why

different

phrases?

I don't

know.

I don't

know.

Maybe they

weren't

listening as

well as

they should

have.

Maybe this

is to the

half-listening

point.

They couldn't

even repeat

what he

said properly.

Perhaps.

That's my

imagination.

Verse 53,

are you

greater than

our father

Abraham who

died and

the prophets

died?

Who do

you make

yourself out

to be?

You hear

that dripping

condemnation in

that question.

Who do you

think you

are?

Jesus

answers them,

if I glorify

myself, my

glory is

nothing.

You hear

what he's

saying.

He's responding

humbly.

God.

He is

God.

He in this

moment can

call down

heaven,

condemn them

immediately in

the moment.

He says,

if I glorify

myself, my

glory is

nothing.

It is my

father who

glorifies me

of whom you

say he

is our

God.

But you

have not

known him.

But you

have not

known him.

These men's

lives were

devoted to

the worship

of Yahweh.

And Jesus

says, he is

not your

God.

You say

he is, but

he is

not.

And he

says, I

know him.

If I

were to

say that I

do not

know him,

I would

be a

liar like

you.

But I

do know

him, and

I keep

his word.

Your

father

Abraham

rejoiced

that he

would see

my day.

He saw

it and

was

glad.

Now, once

again, here's

a verse to

think about.

what does

this mean?

And really, I

don't know that

we can derive

exactly what

is meant

here.

What does

it mean that

Abraham saw

Jesus' might

be meant

by this?

But clearly,

what Jesus is

expressing is

that Abraham

understands

Jesus is

the Christ.

He gets

this.

perhaps in

some glorified

state.

Perhaps he

has some

theophany that

we're not

aware of.

Perhaps we

got to be

better at our

biblical theology

and understand

how he beheld

Christ and

the promises.

I'm not

sure.

But nonetheless,

Abraham

rejoiced

to see the

day of

Christ.

We read

previously from

Hebrews chapter

Hebrews 11 · chapter mention

11,

expressed that

Abraham was

looking forward

to a city

with foundations.

He saw it

and he was

glad.

And once again,

this just feels

like such a

moment where

they ought to

go, what do

you mean?

What are you

talking about?

Abraham, our

father, rejoiced

to see your day?

He saw it?

Like, tell us

more.

And that we

would get this

beautiful explanation

of how it was

that Abraham

saw the day

of Christ,

but they

respond instead,

you are not

yet 50 years

old.

And have you

seen Abraham?

You're not

old enough

to have seen

Abraham or

him to

see you.

And Jesus

says to them,

truly, truly,

I say to you

again, really,

really true,

before Abraham

was,

I

am.

This is a

significant

statement.

He could

have said,

grammatically he

could have

said,

before Abraham

was, I

was.

I predate

Abraham.

Isn't that

kind of a

question?

You're not

that old.

How is it

possible?

Jesus flips

the question

on its head

to say

something much

more significant

about himself.

Now, in the

book of John,

there are seven

metaphorical I

am's.

I am the

bread of

life, as

an example

from a

previous

chapter.

This one

is not a

metaphorical I

am.

This is

Jesus accessing

the language

of Exodus

Exodus 3 · chapter mention

chapter 3

and verse 14.

When Moses

meets with

God on the

mountain,

he's commissioned

to go lead

God's people

out of

captivity,

and he

asks,

who should

I tell

them sent

me?

God

says,

tell them

I am

has sent

you.

Right?

This is the

Hebrew word

Yahweh.

The self-existent

one.

Jesus'

listeners

would have

entirely

understood

what he

was communicating

to them

when he

says,

before Abraham

was,

I'm going

to say

something

grammatically

clunky,

before Abraham

was,

I am.

And we

know this

is true

because they

picked up

stones.

this was

the ultimate

blasphemy

in their

eyes.

And it

would be

if Jesus

is not

in fact

the eternal

God.

So that's

point one.

Point two.

Jesus offers

eternal life

in himself.

In himself.

Verse 51.

Truly,

truly,

I say to

you,

if anyone

keeps my

word,

he will

never see

death.

Now,

if Jesus

is not

God,

these words

are absurd.

This is

crazy talk.

If he

is God,

and he

is,

then they're

everything.

John Piper

brought to my

attention a

book written

in the early

70s.

I've not

read it.

By a man

named

Ernest

Becker.

It won

the Pulitzer

Prize in

1974.

The book

was entitled

The Denial

of Death.

in which

he argues,

this is the

thesis statement,

the idea

of death,

the fear

of it,

haunts the

human animal

like nothing

else.

It is a

mainspring

of human

activity.

Activity

designed largely

to avoid

the fatality

of death,

to overcome

it by denying

in some way

that it is

the final

destiny

for man.

His argument

is that all

human activity

is fueled

by,

it's the

mainspring

of a fear

of death.

Interesting

thing to

think about.

We see this

reality expressed

whether consciously

or unconsciously

in all kinds

of forms.

Some good

things,

some that

aren't so

good.

We do lots

of life

preserving

things,

don't we?

I will

certainly

put my

seatbelt

on and

drive

carefully

when I

go home

at the

end of

today.

I hope

that's not

feared by

fear of

death,

but perhaps

it is

somewhere

down

inside.

Our

culture

has an

obsession

with youth.

It suggests

that we

worship

youth,

all kinds

of health

crazes,

diet fads,

cosmetic

surgery,

idolatry

of

celebrities.

Think about

the kinds

of celebrities

that are

worshipped.

They're so

young.

Even the

young people

in our

church are

becoming

older than

the people

who are

worshipped

these days.

The drowning

and medicating

of sorrow,

the seize

the day

mantra

that's so

prevalent,

the way we

spend our

leisure

activity,

the numbing

of entertainment,

the gathering

up of

toys.

Most of

you know

right now

my family

is living

in Buford

on Linear

Islands Parkway

and I

just watch

men

pushing

back

age

go up

and down

the road

in big

dumb

lifted

trucks

and boats.

It is

just

sad.

Sad

the way

time and

energy is

being spent

and I

think there's

something to

this

underneath

that.

We want

to feel

young.

We want

to feel

like death

is not

impending.

But despite

all the

efforts to

extend our

life or

ignore

death

coming,

you and

I will

die bodily

deaths.

It's inevitable

and unavoidable.

It's going

to happen.

One of the

great benefits

of old church

properties was

that when you

pulled on the

property,

you had to

think about

eternity

because there

was a

graveyard

staring at

you as

you came

in.

Maybe as

we age,

we should

start one.

So is

Becker right?

Does the

idea of

death,

the fear

of it,

haunt the

human animal

like nothing

else?

Becker,

to my

understanding,

not a

Christian,

and his

book offers

no solutions,

just observations,

but is he

right?

the author

of Hebrews

certainly

thinks so.

Wrote this

way before

Becker was

around.

Hebrews

Hebrews 2:14

chapter 2,

verse 14

and 15,

listen to

this,

since therefore

the children

share in

flesh and

blood,

he himself,

Christ,

likewise,

partook of

the same

things,

that through

death he

might destroy

the one who

has the

power of

death,

that is,

the devil,

right?

So Jesus,

incarnate,

became alive

so that he

could die,

and destroy

the one who

has the

power of

death,

that is,

the devil,

verse 15,

and deliver

all those

who through

fear of

death were

subject to

lifelong

slavery.

Deliver from

death those

who through

fear of

death were

subject to

lifelong

slavery.

Certainly,

Becker agrees

with the

author of

Hebrews.

death.

The fear

of death

controls

those who

have reason

to fear

death.

Let's go

back to the

promise offered

in verse 51.

Truly,

truly,

I say to

you,

if anyone

keeps my

word,

he will

never see

death.

Now,

we're obviously

not talking

about a

physical death

here.

We are

talking about

spiritual

death.

death.

Here,

stated in the

negative,

we'll never

see death,

is the

offer of

eternal

life.

If we're

never going

to see

death,

then we're

going to

have life

forever.

This is a

theme developed

in the

teaching of

Jesus and

highlighted all

throughout

John's

gospel.

Let me

show you a

couple of

places

quickly to

round out

this offering

being made

to us

here.

Let's

start with

the stated

purpose of

John's

writing.

Turn with

me to

John

John 20 · chapter mention

chapter

20.

I'll

read

verse

30

and

31.

John

says,

Now Jesus

did many

other signs

in the

presence

of the

disciples

which are

not

written

in this

book.

Jesus

did lots

of things.

He says,

But these

are written

so that you

may believe

that Jesus

is the

Christ,

the Son

of God,

and that

by believing

you may

have life

in His

name.

The total

purpose of

the book.

So here's

this theme.

It's

continuing to

work itself

out to

the very

end of

John's

writing.

John

John 11 · chapter mention

chapter 11.

Turn back

a couple

pages to

verse 25.

Here Jesus

is speaking

to Martha

whose brother

Lazarus is

at the time

of speaking

to her

presently

dead

and

entombed.

And there

Jesus says,

John 11

John 11:25

verse 25,

I am

the resurrection

and the

life.

Whoever

believes in

me,

though he

die,

yet shall

he live.

And everyone

who lives

and believes

in me

shall never

die.

You see the

way he's

using this

language?

The physical

death and

the metaphorical

death or

the spiritual

death.

Do you

believe this?

He asked

Martha.

And John

John 17:3

17,

verse 3.

This is the

high priestly

prayer.

Jesus prays,

and this

is eternal

life.

Oh,

tell me.

Tell me

more.

Mansions and

gold streets

and sea of

glad,

these things.

No.

Somebody

says,

that they

know

you,

the only

true God

and Jesus

Christ,

whom you

have sent.

Eternal

life is not

just about

duration,

it will go

on forever,

but it is

about a

relationship.

It's about

being restored

to our

creator,

God.

Knowing him

and being

known by

him now

and forever

more.

So don't

miss that.

If you're not

found in

Christ this

morning,

you're living

in a state

of death,

if you

don't repent

and believe

in Christ,

that will

be an

eternal

death,

cut off

from God

for forever.

But if you

are in

Christ this

morning,

how encouraging

we have

life now,

spiritual

life now,

and we'll

have that

life now

and

forevermore.

How great.

How great.

If anyone

keeps my

word,

he will

never

see death.

They accuse

him,

he offers

life.

They

dishonor

him,

he speaks

words,

salvation.

Paul says

in Romans

5, 8,

God shows

his love

for us

in that

while we

were still

sinners,

Christ

died

for us.

So if we

want to

receive this

offer of

eternal life,

what must

we do?

Jesus

says,

if anyone

keeps my

word,

he will

never

see

death.

One could

easily think

that Jesus

means that

we,

by our

own

effort,

must obey

everything that

the Bible

commands,

that we

must earn

this offer

of eternal

life,

but this

is not

so.

That was the

danger of

breaking text

down to

tiny little

things.

You could

just take

this single

verse and

think,

okay,

I've got to

obey everything