Last chapter, we began a study of the two classes of believers found in the
Scriptures. From John, chapters seven and eight, we saw a difference in believing some
things about Christ and those who believed on the record that God gave of His Son.
As noted, Christ said, " . . . ye shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you
free." The question is--what is the truth referred to? From the text passage in John
8, Jesus said in verse 24, " . . . if you believe not that I am, ye shall die in your
sins."
Since many believed on him (vs 30), some did not. That is, some did not believe on Him
as revealed by the Father in His word. These did not know something which to know
makes free but what is it? The truth.
From John 8, there was one thing some did not know. Christ said, "Ye neither know me,
nor my Father: if ye had known me, ye should have known my Father also" (vs 19).
No one can know the Father apart from knowing the Son. To reject the Son is to reject
the Father who sent Him (Mt 10:40; 11:27; Jn 12:44-45; 13:20).
Every child of God knows, not all truth, but this truth. Christ said of them, "I am .
. . known of mine" (Jn 10:14).
John, writing to the saved, said, "I have not written unto you because ye know not the
truth, but because ye know it, and that no lie is of the truth" (I Jn 2:21). What do
the words, no lie is of the truth, refer to?
The next verse says, "Who is a liar but he that denieth that Jesus is the Christ? He
is antichrist, that denieth the Father and the Son. Whosoever denieth the Son, the
same hath not the Father," (vs 22-23).
The lie is to deny that Jesus is the Christ (I Jn 5:1). Those Jews which had believed
him (Jn 8:31) the day before, did not believe that He was the Christ (Jn 7:31).
Therefore, they were not believers in the Lord Jesus Christ and they did not know that
specific truth which reveals the true identity of Jesus-- which to know, makes one
free.
The believers of John 7:31 and John 8:31 were like those believers in Luke 8:13, " . .
. which for a while believe, and in time of temptation fall away." This phrase is
found in that series of parables from Matthew 13.
The first is the Parable of the Sower. " Behold, a sower went forth to sow; And when
he sowed, some seeds fell by the way side, and the fowls came and devoured them up:
some fell upon stony places, where they had not much earth: and forthwith they sprung
up, because they had no deepness of earth: And when the sun was up, they were
scorched; and because they had no root, they withered away. And some fell among
thorns; and the thorns sprung up, and choked them: But other fell into good ground,
and brought forth fruit, some an hundredfold, some sixtyfold, some thirtyfold" (vs
3-8).
From this first parable, notice the following: 1) the seed sown is identified as the
word of God (Lk 8:12); 2) The seed sown was sown in four kinds of soil--by the
wayside, upon stony places, among thorns but other fell into good ground (vs 4-8); 3)
the four kinds of soil into which the seed was sown represent the human intellect as
Matthew 13:19 shows, "When any one heareth the word of the kingdom, and understandeth
it not, then cometh the wicked one, and catcheth away that which was sown in his
heart--this is he which received seed by the way side," etc.; 4) all four kinds of
soil heard (vs 19-20; 22-23); 5) but, only one of the four " . . . heareth the word,
and understandeth it . . . " (vs 23); 6) the blessing promised was to the one who
would " . . . hear . . . and . . . understand . . ." (vs 15), and, thus, only one of
the four received the blessing; and 7) the nature of the blessing in Matthew was said
to be, " . . . be converted, and I should heal them" (vs 15), in Mark, " . . . be
converted, and their sins should be forgiven them" (vs 12), and in Luke, " . . .
believe and be saved" (vs 12).
When Matthew's record predicates healing on conversion, he speaks of the work of
Christ as Physician. In that sense, the Lord Jesus said, "They that be whole need not
a physician, but they that are sick . . . I am not come to call the righteous, but
sinners to repentance" (Mt 9:12-13).
The parable accounts found in Matthew, Mark and Luke, show, "Some fell upon stony
places, where they had not much earth: and forthwith they sprung up, because they had
no deepness of earth . . . he that received the seed into stony places, the same is he
that heareth the word, and anon with joy receiveth it; Yet he hath not root in
himself, but dureth for a while: for when tribulation or persecution ariseth because
of the word, by and by he is offended."
Notice, which for a while believe is a descriptive much like the descriptives given in
many other Gospel accounts speaking of those who believed any one of a number of
things, but did not believe so as to be saved. It was said of them, who when they have
heard the word, immediately receive it with gladness.
Does this mean they were believers in the Lord Jesus Christ? No! it does not. John
wrote of some, "Ye sent unto John, and he bare witness unto the truth . . . He was a
burning and a shining light: and ye were willing for a season to rejoice in his light"
(Jn 5:33; 35).
No doubt an optimism existed among these Jews when John announced the Messiah was
about to appear. But, when the lowly Jesus appeared announcing He was the I am, come
from above and sent into this world to give Himself in death for sinners while
obligating them to believe on Him as so identified to have everlasting life, their joy
soon faded away.
Who will affirm they were believers in the Lord Jesus Christ? Hear God's Word. "Ye
were willing for a season to rejoice . . . And ye have not his word abiding in you:
for whom he hath sent, him ye believe not . . . ye will not come to me, that ye might
have life . . . ye have not the love of God in you . . . had ye believed Moses, ye
would have believed me: for he wrote of me (Jn 5:35; 38; 40; 42; 46).
In the case of Herod (Mk 6:20), we have another example of one who received the word
with gladness. Mark wrote of him, "For Herod feared John, knowing that he was a just
man and an holy, and observed him; and when he heard him, he did many things, and
heard him gladly."
Of this class, the parables show, "which for a while believe, but when tribulation or
persecution ariseth because of the word, by and by, he is offended. There was one
thing, and one thing only, that offended this people and which caused others to be
persecuted.
"The Jews then murmured at him, because he said, I am the bread which came down from
heaven. And they said, Is not this Jesus, the son of Joseph, whose father and mother
we know? how is it then that he saith, I came down from heaven? . . . The Jews
therefore strove among themselves . . . when Jesus knew in himself that his disciples
murmured at it, he said unto them, Doth this offend you? . . . From that time many of
his disciples went back, and walked not more with him" (Jn 6:41-42; 61; 66).
This was the issue that offended the stony ground people (see Jn 5:18; 7:28-31;
8:58-59; 10:30-33). And this was the issue that caused others who believed the truth
to be persecuted.
Paul identified Christ as a stumbling stone and rock of offense (Gal 5:11). Peter
wrote, "That the trial of your faith, being much more precious than of gold that
perisheth, though it be tried with fire, might be found unto praise and honour and
glory at the appearing of Jesus Christ" (I Pet 1:7).
Notice, it is not the trial of faith. It is the trial of your faith. There was and is
a personal trial experienced as a result of one's personal faith in the Lord Jesus
Christ.
The stony ground people, which for a while believe, did not hear and understand--as
only one in four in the parable example did--and therefore did not believe so as to
believe and be saved. They were believers all right, but did not believe what the
truth required.
The seed is the word of God Lk 8:11. When the word of God is considered as seed in
these parables, it is specifically that portion of God's Word designed of God that men
should believe and be saved or they should be converted and their sins should be
forgiven them or that they should be converted and I should heal them. Therefore, the
word or term, seed, stands related to that portion of the truth by which men are born
again I Pet 1:23.
From verse 23 in Matthew 13 we read, "But he that received seed into the good ground
is he that heareth the word (which the other three also did), and understandeth it
(which none of the others did); which also beareth fruit, and bringeth forth, some an
hundredfold, some sixty, some thirty." Here, we learn a tremendous truth.
The seed, when one heareth the word, and understandeth it," becomes inseparably a part
of that which it produces. The believers of John 7:31 never possessed spiritual life
as the result of the seed being heard and understood. Had they heard and understood,
that seed would have become a part of them and would have remained in them.
Christ said to them, "Why do ye not understand my speech? even because ye cannot hear
my word" (Jn 8:43). As a result, Christ said, " . . . my word hath no place in you"
(Jn 8:37).
Those in John 5:35, who were willing for a season to rejoice in John's light, never
experienced spiritual life as a result of the seed being heard and understood. Had
they, that seed would have remained in them but, of them, Christ said, "And ye have
not his word abiding in you: for whom he hath sent, him ye believe not" (Jn 5:38).
John wrote, "Whosoever is born of God doth not commit sin; for his seed remaineth in
him: and he cannot sin, because he is born of God. Then in verse 6, "Whosoever abideth
in him sinneth not: whosoever sinneth hath not seen him, neither known him."
Now compare, "Whosoever is born of God doth not commit sin" and, "whosoever abideth in
him sinneth not." Therefore, "whosoever is born of God abideth in him."
The sin in question--that whosoever is born of God doth not commit--cannot be the same
sin as that involved in I John 1:8. From this passage, John declares, "If we (the
saved) say that we have no sin, we deceive ourselves and the truth is not in us."
Whereas I John 3:6 makes it clear the sin in question is of such a nature the offender
is shown to be one who hath not seen him, neither known him. The verbs seen and known,
according to Greek scholars, are in the perfect tense, implying that he has neither
seen or known God in times past, with the present result that he is still invisible
and unknown to him." The Greek scholar Wuest notes, such is not true of anyone who has
ever been saved.
The words he cannot sin are not made to depend on conditions beyond being born of God,
but he cannot sin, because he is born of God. Having experienced the newbirth, his
seed remaineth in because of the nature of the seed to become a part of what it
produces. The stoney ground people never had that experience.
Everyone in Christ's day was not a believer in the Lord Jesus Christ. So it is today.
Yet, we are led to think we all believe the same thing concerning God's Son.
Whom do men say that I the Son of man am? What others think of Christ does not
determine your eternal destiny, but there is another question more personal and
pointed, "But whom say ye that I am?"
The answer you give, in personal application, does and will determine your eternal
destiny. The question was asked one time, and one time only.
" . . . Sirs, what must I do to be saved?" The answer is too clear to be
misunderstood, " . . . Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, and thou shalt be saved, and
thy house."
This is faith as to its object, and is faith unmodified. It is that personal
confidence and trust in the only One who paid the penalty of sin in such a way as to
satisfy the justice of a holy God, knowing that He was God manifest in the flesh, and
offered Himself, a perfect sacrifice and substitute, on behalf of fallen man.
To believe on Him in that sense is to have eternal life as a present possession. As
Lord, He is God and Creator of all things Heb 1:8; 10.
As Jesus, He was an actual historical character. As Christ, He fulfilled all the Old
Testament Scriptures concerning the Messiah promised by God and expected by the people
(Acts 2:36; 3:20; 17:3; 26:22-23; I Cor 15:3-4).
While some would relegate these titles to nothingness, Paul said, "For though there be
that are called gods . . . as there be gods many, and lords many . . . But to us there
is but ONE God, the Father, of whom are all things, and we in him; and ONE Lord Jesus
Christ, by whom are all things, and we by him" (I Cor 8:5-6).
How do alien sinners receive eternal life? Tell them, Believe on the Lord Jesus
Christ, nothing more, nothing less. That is God's word, and the path that leads to
glory. BD
Scriptures. From John, chapters seven and eight, we saw a difference in believing some
things about Christ and those who believed on the record that God gave of His Son.
As noted, Christ said, " . . . ye shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you
free." The question is--what is the truth referred to? From the text passage in John
8, Jesus said in verse 24, " . . . if you believe not that I am, ye shall die in your
sins."
Since many believed on him (vs 30), some did not. That is, some did not believe on Him
as revealed by the Father in His word. These did not know something which to know
makes free but what is it? The truth.
From John 8, there was one thing some did not know. Christ said, "Ye neither know me,
nor my Father: if ye had known me, ye should have known my Father also" (vs 19).
No one can know the Father apart from knowing the Son. To reject the Son is to reject
the Father who sent Him (Mt 10:40; 11:27; Jn 12:44-45; 13:20).
Every child of God knows, not all truth, but this truth. Christ said of them, "I am .
. . known of mine" (Jn 10:14).
John, writing to the saved, said, "I have not written unto you because ye know not the
truth, but because ye know it, and that no lie is of the truth" (I Jn 2:21). What do
the words, no lie is of the truth, refer to?
The next verse says, "Who is a liar but he that denieth that Jesus is the Christ? He
is antichrist, that denieth the Father and the Son. Whosoever denieth the Son, the
same hath not the Father," (vs 22-23).
The lie is to deny that Jesus is the Christ (I Jn 5:1). Those Jews which had believed
him (Jn 8:31) the day before, did not believe that He was the Christ (Jn 7:31).
Therefore, they were not believers in the Lord Jesus Christ and they did not know that
specific truth which reveals the true identity of Jesus-- which to know, makes one
free.
The believers of John 7:31 and John 8:31 were like those believers in Luke 8:13, " . .
. which for a while believe, and in time of temptation fall away." This phrase is
found in that series of parables from Matthew 13.
The first is the Parable of the Sower. " Behold, a sower went forth to sow; And when
he sowed, some seeds fell by the way side, and the fowls came and devoured them up:
some fell upon stony places, where they had not much earth: and forthwith they sprung
up, because they had no deepness of earth: And when the sun was up, they were
scorched; and because they had no root, they withered away. And some fell among
thorns; and the thorns sprung up, and choked them: But other fell into good ground,
and brought forth fruit, some an hundredfold, some sixtyfold, some thirtyfold" (vs
3-8).
From this first parable, notice the following: 1) the seed sown is identified as the
word of God (Lk 8:12); 2) The seed sown was sown in four kinds of soil--by the
wayside, upon stony places, among thorns but other fell into good ground (vs 4-8); 3)
the four kinds of soil into which the seed was sown represent the human intellect as
Matthew 13:19 shows, "When any one heareth the word of the kingdom, and understandeth
it not, then cometh the wicked one, and catcheth away that which was sown in his
heart--this is he which received seed by the way side," etc.; 4) all four kinds of
soil heard (vs 19-20; 22-23); 5) but, only one of the four " . . . heareth the word,
and understandeth it . . . " (vs 23); 6) the blessing promised was to the one who
would " . . . hear . . . and . . . understand . . ." (vs 15), and, thus, only one of
the four received the blessing; and 7) the nature of the blessing in Matthew was said
to be, " . . . be converted, and I should heal them" (vs 15), in Mark, " . . . be
converted, and their sins should be forgiven them" (vs 12), and in Luke, " . . .
believe and be saved" (vs 12).
When Matthew's record predicates healing on conversion, he speaks of the work of
Christ as Physician. In that sense, the Lord Jesus said, "They that be whole need not
a physician, but they that are sick . . . I am not come to call the righteous, but
sinners to repentance" (Mt 9:12-13).
The parable accounts found in Matthew, Mark and Luke, show, "Some fell upon stony
places, where they had not much earth: and forthwith they sprung up, because they had
no deepness of earth . . . he that received the seed into stony places, the same is he
that heareth the word, and anon with joy receiveth it; Yet he hath not root in
himself, but dureth for a while: for when tribulation or persecution ariseth because
of the word, by and by he is offended."
Notice, which for a while believe is a descriptive much like the descriptives given in
many other Gospel accounts speaking of those who believed any one of a number of
things, but did not believe so as to be saved. It was said of them, who when they have
heard the word, immediately receive it with gladness.
Does this mean they were believers in the Lord Jesus Christ? No! it does not. John
wrote of some, "Ye sent unto John, and he bare witness unto the truth . . . He was a
burning and a shining light: and ye were willing for a season to rejoice in his light"
(Jn 5:33; 35).
No doubt an optimism existed among these Jews when John announced the Messiah was
about to appear. But, when the lowly Jesus appeared announcing He was the I am, come
from above and sent into this world to give Himself in death for sinners while
obligating them to believe on Him as so identified to have everlasting life, their joy
soon faded away.
Who will affirm they were believers in the Lord Jesus Christ? Hear God's Word. "Ye
were willing for a season to rejoice . . . And ye have not his word abiding in you:
for whom he hath sent, him ye believe not . . . ye will not come to me, that ye might
have life . . . ye have not the love of God in you . . . had ye believed Moses, ye
would have believed me: for he wrote of me (Jn 5:35; 38; 40; 42; 46).
In the case of Herod (Mk 6:20), we have another example of one who received the word
with gladness. Mark wrote of him, "For Herod feared John, knowing that he was a just
man and an holy, and observed him; and when he heard him, he did many things, and
heard him gladly."
Of this class, the parables show, "which for a while believe, but when tribulation or
persecution ariseth because of the word, by and by, he is offended. There was one
thing, and one thing only, that offended this people and which caused others to be
persecuted.
"The Jews then murmured at him, because he said, I am the bread which came down from
heaven. And they said, Is not this Jesus, the son of Joseph, whose father and mother
we know? how is it then that he saith, I came down from heaven? . . . The Jews
therefore strove among themselves . . . when Jesus knew in himself that his disciples
murmured at it, he said unto them, Doth this offend you? . . . From that time many of
his disciples went back, and walked not more with him" (Jn 6:41-42; 61; 66).
This was the issue that offended the stony ground people (see Jn 5:18; 7:28-31;
8:58-59; 10:30-33). And this was the issue that caused others who believed the truth
to be persecuted.
Paul identified Christ as a stumbling stone and rock of offense (Gal 5:11). Peter
wrote, "That the trial of your faith, being much more precious than of gold that
perisheth, though it be tried with fire, might be found unto praise and honour and
glory at the appearing of Jesus Christ" (I Pet 1:7).
Notice, it is not the trial of faith. It is the trial of your faith. There was and is
a personal trial experienced as a result of one's personal faith in the Lord Jesus
Christ.
The stony ground people, which for a while believe, did not hear and understand--as
only one in four in the parable example did--and therefore did not believe so as to
believe and be saved. They were believers all right, but did not believe what the
truth required.
The seed is the word of God Lk 8:11. When the word of God is considered as seed in
these parables, it is specifically that portion of God's Word designed of God that men
should believe and be saved or they should be converted and their sins should be
forgiven them or that they should be converted and I should heal them. Therefore, the
word or term, seed, stands related to that portion of the truth by which men are born
again I Pet 1:23.
From verse 23 in Matthew 13 we read, "But he that received seed into the good ground
is he that heareth the word (which the other three also did), and understandeth it
(which none of the others did); which also beareth fruit, and bringeth forth, some an
hundredfold, some sixty, some thirty." Here, we learn a tremendous truth.
The seed, when one heareth the word, and understandeth it," becomes inseparably a part
of that which it produces. The believers of John 7:31 never possessed spiritual life
as the result of the seed being heard and understood. Had they heard and understood,
that seed would have become a part of them and would have remained in them.
Christ said to them, "Why do ye not understand my speech? even because ye cannot hear
my word" (Jn 8:43). As a result, Christ said, " . . . my word hath no place in you"
(Jn 8:37).
Those in John 5:35, who were willing for a season to rejoice in John's light, never
experienced spiritual life as a result of the seed being heard and understood. Had
they, that seed would have remained in them but, of them, Christ said, "And ye have
not his word abiding in you: for whom he hath sent, him ye believe not" (Jn 5:38).
John wrote, "Whosoever is born of God doth not commit sin; for his seed remaineth in
him: and he cannot sin, because he is born of God. Then in verse 6, "Whosoever abideth
in him sinneth not: whosoever sinneth hath not seen him, neither known him."
Now compare, "Whosoever is born of God doth not commit sin" and, "whosoever abideth in
him sinneth not." Therefore, "whosoever is born of God abideth in him."
The sin in question--that whosoever is born of God doth not commit--cannot be the same
sin as that involved in I John 1:8. From this passage, John declares, "If we (the
saved) say that we have no sin, we deceive ourselves and the truth is not in us."
Whereas I John 3:6 makes it clear the sin in question is of such a nature the offender
is shown to be one who hath not seen him, neither known him. The verbs seen and known,
according to Greek scholars, are in the perfect tense, implying that he has neither
seen or known God in times past, with the present result that he is still invisible
and unknown to him." The Greek scholar Wuest notes, such is not true of anyone who has
ever been saved.
The words he cannot sin are not made to depend on conditions beyond being born of God,
but he cannot sin, because he is born of God. Having experienced the newbirth, his
seed remaineth in because of the nature of the seed to become a part of what it
produces. The stoney ground people never had that experience.
Everyone in Christ's day was not a believer in the Lord Jesus Christ. So it is today.
Yet, we are led to think we all believe the same thing concerning God's Son.
Whom do men say that I the Son of man am? What others think of Christ does not
determine your eternal destiny, but there is another question more personal and
pointed, "But whom say ye that I am?"
The answer you give, in personal application, does and will determine your eternal
destiny. The question was asked one time, and one time only.
" . . . Sirs, what must I do to be saved?" The answer is too clear to be
misunderstood, " . . . Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, and thou shalt be saved, and
thy house."
This is faith as to its object, and is faith unmodified. It is that personal
confidence and trust in the only One who paid the penalty of sin in such a way as to
satisfy the justice of a holy God, knowing that He was God manifest in the flesh, and
offered Himself, a perfect sacrifice and substitute, on behalf of fallen man.
To believe on Him in that sense is to have eternal life as a present possession. As
Lord, He is God and Creator of all things Heb 1:8; 10.
As Jesus, He was an actual historical character. As Christ, He fulfilled all the Old
Testament Scriptures concerning the Messiah promised by God and expected by the people
(Acts 2:36; 3:20; 17:3; 26:22-23; I Cor 15:3-4).
While some would relegate these titles to nothingness, Paul said, "For though there be
that are called gods . . . as there be gods many, and lords many . . . But to us there
is but ONE God, the Father, of whom are all things, and we in him; and ONE Lord Jesus
Christ, by whom are all things, and we by him" (I Cor 8:5-6).
How do alien sinners receive eternal life? Tell them, Believe on the Lord Jesus
Christ, nothing more, nothing less. That is God's word, and the path that leads to
glory. BD
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