Jesus, The Requirement of God
John 6:28-29
When last we looked at the book of John,
Jesus had just performed His fourth sign.
1st sign – Water to Wine
Jesus takes what is old and makes it new
2nd sign – Healing the Temple Ruler’s servant
Jesus has power over sickness
3rd sign – Healing the man at the Bethesda Pool
Jesus delivers men from bondage
4th sign – Feeding the Five thousand
Jesus is the provider
John 6:14 “Therefore when the people saw the sign which He had performed, they said, “This is truly the Prophet who is to come into the world.”
They knew that Jesus must be the Messiah of God.
The problem was that they were steeped in selfishness
Instead of surrendering their lives to Jesus
They tried to force Jesus to surrender to their desires.
John 6:15 “So Jesus, perceiving that they were intending to come and take Him by force to make Him king, withdrew again to the mountain by Himself alone.”
Their selfishness caused Jesus to withdraw away from them.
That night that Jesus would then cross the sea of Galilee.
As the disciples were in the middle of the sea “straining at the oars”
Jesus came walking to them on the water, and having received Him into the boat, immediately the boat was at the shore.
This 6th sign showed Jesus power over nature, and thus His divinity.
Now that Jesus had crossed the lake,
The crowd was even more mystified and was now even larger.
It is at this point that we began
The second sermon of Jesus in the book of John.
This second sermon of Jesus consists of 8 points.
Each point is the response that Jesus gives
To a statement or question given by the crowd.
Last Sunday night we looked at the first point of Jesus sermon as we saw that Jesus is the misunderstood One.
The crowd approached.
John 6:25 “When they found Him on the other side of the sea, they said to Him, “Rabbi, when did You get here?”
This was the first question / statement of the crowd.
It was a question of flattery.
Jesus saw through their hypocrisy and gave us the first point.
FOCUS
John 6:26-27 “Jesus answered them and said, “Truly, truly, I say to you, you seek Me, not because you saw signs, but because you ate of the loaves and were filled. “Do not work for the food which perishes, but for the food which endures to eternal life, which the Son of Man will give to you, for on Him the Father, God, has set His seal.”
Their commitment to Him was only given out of selfishness,
And Jesus knew it.
He then corrected their mindset by telling them
Not to work or strive for that which does not last,
But to work for that which is eternal, which He would give them.
It was all about focus.
And the crowd should have understood the point.
BUT THEIR NEXT STATEMENT REVEALS THEY STILL DIDN’T
Vs. 28, “Therefore they said to Him, “What shall we do, so that we may work the works of God?”
Jesus had just told them not to “work for the food which perishes, but for the food which endures to eternal life”, but He also said, “which the Son of Man will give to you.”
They completely missed the GRACE aspect of that.
All they heard was the word work,
And it obviously threw them into a legalistic tailspin.
“What works should we do to get this eternal food?”
It is not so different from the question the rich young ruler first asked.
Matthew 19:16 “And someone came to Him and said, “Teacher, what good thing shall I do that I may obtain eternal life?”
It was to have the mindset that you could do some good thing And thus obtain eternal life or eternal food.
Now, we being Baptists immediately shun the notion of works.
We know by heart the often quoted verse from Ephesians.
Ephesians 2:8-9 “For by grace you have been saved through faith; and that not of yourselves, it is the gift of God; not as a result of works, so that no one may boast.”
We know that salvation is by faith through grace. It is not by works.
And so that makes their question off the mark.
But you see what has happened in Baptist circles
Is that we have so minimized the necessity of works,
That we have built a theology that has no use for works at all.
And this also is not true.
While we understand that you cannot do enough good to save yourself,
I want to take a second and show you this morning
THE BIBLICAL BASIS FOR WORKS.
In the N. T., there are two types or categories of “works” mentioned.
1) THE WORK THAT IS PLOWING (prepare the soil for the seed)
2) THE WORK THAT IS PRODUCE (evidence of the seed)
NOW YOU WILL REMEMBER JESUS PARABLE OF THE SOILS, in which Jesus outlined the hard soil, the rocky soil, the weedy soil, and the good soil.
To that parable Jesus gave this answer.
Luke 8:11-15 “Now the parable is this: the seed is the word of God. “Those beside the road are those who have heard; then the devil comes and takes away the word from their heart, so that they will not believe and be saved. “Those on the rocky soil are those who, when they hear, receive the word with joy; and these have no firm root; they believe for a while, and in time of temptation fall away. “The seed which fell among the thorns, these are the ones who have heard, and as they go on their way they are choked with worries and riches and pleasures of this life, and bring no fruit to maturity. “But the seed in the good soil, these are the ones who have heard the word in an honest and good heart, and hold it fast, and bear fruit with perseverance.”
The seed represents the word of God.
The soil represents the heart.
Every farmer knows that there is work which must be done to the soil before it is ready for the seed. PLOWING
That is one type of work that the Bible talks about.
It is the work that is done on our heart
To prepare our heart for the seed that is soon to follow.
Let me give you an example.
We all know the purpose of John the Baptist.
Here is what John had to say about himself.
Matthew 3:1-3 “Now in those days John the Baptist came, preaching in the wilderness of Judea, saying, “Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand.” For this is the one referred to by Isaiah the prophet when he said, “THE VOICE OF ONE CRYING IN THE WILDERNESS, ‘MAKE READY THE WAY OF THE LORD, MAKE HIS PATHS STRAIGHT!'”
John came before the king in order to prepare the way for Him.
In other words, John was a tiller of the soil.
HE WAS PREACHING REPENTANCE, NOT SALVATION.
Remember what he said?
Matthew 3:11 “As for me, I baptize you with water for repentance, but He who is coming after me is mightier than I, and I am not fit to remove His sandals; He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and fire.”
He was preaching that people should prepare the soil of their heart
For the seed that was soon coming.
And John did preach that there were works to be done.
Luke 3:7-14 “So he began saying to the crowds who were going out to be baptized by him, “You brood of vipers, who warned you to flee from the wrath to come? “Therefore bear fruits in keeping with repentance, and do not begin to say to yourselves, ‘ We have Abraham for our father,’ for I say to you that from these stones God is able to raise up children to Abraham. “Indeed the axe is already laid at the root of the trees; so every tree that does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire.” And the crowds were questioning him, saying, “Then what shall we do?” And he would answer and say to them, “The man who has two tunics is to share with him who has none; and he who has food is to do likewise.” And some tax collectors also came to be baptized, and they said to him, “Teacher, what shall we do?” And he said to them, “Collect no more than what you have been ordered to.” Some soldiers were questioning him, saying, “And what about us, what shall we do?” And he said to them, “Do not take money from anyone by force, or accuse anyone falsely, and be content with your wages.”
Now you will notice that these crowds asked the same thing of John That the Jews in chapter John 6 asked of Jesus.
Only John actually tells them a work to do.
These are the works of BROKENNESS
The works of REPENTANCE
The works of one who is WILLING TO CHANGE.
IT IS IMPORTANT WORK.
Many of you can probably see how God did this plowing in your heart.
THESE WORKS ARE VITALLY IMPORTANT
BUT THIS IS NOT THE END
The problem is many people think these works are the end goal, Or that these works are the solution.
Repentance is not the end.
Acts 19:1-7 “It happened that while Apollos was at Corinth, Paul passed through the upper country and came to Ephesus, and found some disciples. He said to them, ” Did you receive the Holy Spirit when you believed?” And they said to him, “No, we have not even heard whether there is a Holy Spirit.” And he said, “Into what then were you baptized?” And they said, “Into John’s baptism.” Paul said, “John baptized with the baptism of repentance, telling the people to believe in Him who was coming after him, that is, in Jesus.” When they heard this, they were baptized in the name of the Lord Jesus. And when Paul had laid his hands upon them, the Holy Spirit came on them, and they began speaking with tongues and prophesying. There were in all about twelve men.”
Their hearts had been plowed, but they were not yet saved.
In fact to stop just at repentance can be very dangerous.
Matthew 12:43-45 “Now when the unclean spirit goes out of a man, it passes through waterless places seeking rest, and does not find it. “Then it says, ‘I will return to my house from which I came’; and when it comes, it finds it unoccupied, swept, and put in order. “Then it goes and takes along with it seven other spirits more wicked than itself, and they go in and live there; and the last state of that man becomes worse than the first. That is the way it will also be with this evil generation.”
THIS IS THE POINT.
One type of work is the work of plowing,
Where your heart must be prepared for the seed of the word of God.
The second type of work is THE WORK OF PRODUCE,
This is the work that evidences the seed is in your heart
After the farmer plows the field, and plants the seed,
He begins to look for a plant to spring up,
But ultimately he is looking for the fruit.
A wheat farmer wants to see wheat.
A cotton farmer wants to see cotton.
And while a plant is a good sign, even the Bible teaches
That some aren’t accurately identifiable until you see fruit.
Matthew 13:26 “But when the wheat sprouted and bore grain, then the tares became evident also.”
You see some works are for the purpose of
Giving evidence that your heart has accepted the seed.
Ephesians 2:8-10 “For by grace you have been saved through faith; and that not of yourselves, it is the gift of God; not as a result of works, so that no one may boast. For we are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand so that we would walk in them.”
We call them the fruit of the Spirit.
John spoke of many in his 1st epistle. (obedience, brotherly love, endurance)
The point is there are works that should be evident
If you truly have the seed in your heart.
Now, hear me again. These works can’t save you either.
Let’s make an illustration.
Take a town drunk
Now, suppose God starts plowing his heart.
And he starts coming to church, maybe even reading his bible, and determines to stop drinking.
DOES THIS MEAN HE IS SAVED? – NO.
Now suppose he stays in church a long time
Eventually starts teaching Sunday School,
Gives money, gets remarried, and goes out on visitation.
DOES THIS MEAN HE IS SAVED? – NO
WORKS CAN’T SAVE.
They are an essential part of salvation,
But they are not the solution.
God is not just trying to get men to do more works.
WORKS ARE NOT THE ANSWER
But that is exactly what these people wanted.
HOW TRUE THIS IS OF TODAY EVEN.
It seems that more and more people are trying to find the answer To their eternal problem with works.
They think if they will go to church, and read their Bible they will go to heaven.
They think if they will do good and not bad, then they will be safe.
It won’t work, and this morning I am going to show you why.
It is the next point in Jesus second sermon.
He already spoke of having focus.
This morning He speaks of having FAITH
Vs. 29, “Jesus answered and said to them, “This is the work of God, that you believe in Him whom He has sent.”
The ultimate aim of God is not just for you to have good works.
The ultimate aim of God is for you to believe in Jesus.
DO YOU WANT ETERNAL LIFE?
DO YOU WANT THE FOOD THAT ENDURES TO ETERNAL LIFE?
DO YOU WANT TO BE PLEASING TO GOD?
THEN BELIEVE IN JESUS.
You can see this in Peter’s Pentecost sermon.
You will remember John told them to do certain deeds.
Look at what Peter says.
Acts 2:36-40 “Therefore let all the house of Israel know for certain that God has made Him both Lord and Christ — this Jesus whom you crucified.” Now when they heard this, they were pierced to the heart, and said to Peter and the rest of the apostles, “Brethren, what shall we do?” Peter said to them, “Repent, and each of you be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins; and you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit. “For the promise is for you and your children and for all who are far off, as many as the Lord our God will call to Himself.” And with many other words he solemnly testified and kept on exhorting them, saying, “Be saved from this perverse generation!”
You can see here that the end result is not repentance.
The end result is belief in Jesus.
Romans 10:9 “that if you confess with your mouth Jesus as Lord, and believe in your heart that God raised Him from the dead, you will be saved;”
But in order to be faithful, we must answer yet another question.
WHAT DOES IT MEAN TO BELIEVE IN JESUS?
That is a good question for today.
Because the word “believe” doesn’t mean much any more.
Today we think the word believe means to agree with a statement you can’t prove wrong.
We think it means to intellectually agree with something.
This is not what the word “believe” means in the Bible.
James 2:19 “You believe that God is one. You do well; the demons also believe, and shudder.”
The word “believe” translates: PISTEOU
To PISTEOU in Jesus literally means
“to run to Him, to trust Him, to yield to Him, to obey Him”
That means that in John 6:29, Jesus responds to their question by saying.
“This is the work of God, that you run to, trust in, yield to, and obey Him whom He has sent.”
DO YOU GET THE PICTURE?
This then is why we have that second set of works
The point is if you truly believe in Jesus, your life will evidence it.
HOW?
OBEDIENCE & ENDURANCE
OBEDIENCE
John 3:36 “He who believes in the Son has eternal life; but he who does not obey the Son will not see life, but the wrath of God abides on him.”
1 John 2:3-6 “By this we know that we have come to know Him, if we keep His commandments. The one who says, ” I have come to know Him,” and does not keep His commandments, is a liar, and the truth is not in him; but whoever keeps His word, in him the love of God has truly been perfected. By this we know that we are in Him: the one who says he abides in Him ought himself to walk in the same manner as He walked.”
Hebrews 3:18-4:2 “And to whom did He swear that they would not enter His rest, but to those who were disobedient? So we see that they were not able to enter because of unbelief. Therefore, let us fear if, while a promise remains of entering His rest, any one of you may seem to have come short of it. For indeed we have had good news preached to us, just as they also; but the word they heard did not profit them, because it was not united by faith in those who heard.”
PERSEVERANCE
Luke 8:13 “Those on the rocky soil are those who, when they hear, receive the word with joy; and these have no firm root; they believe for a while, and in time of temptation fall away.”
Hebrews 3:12-14 “Take care, brethren, that there not be in any one of you an evil, unbelieving heart that falls away from the living God. But encourage one another day after day, as long as it is still called “Today,” so that none of you will be hardened by the deceitfulness of sin. For we have become partakers of Christ, if we hold fast the beginning of our assurance firm until the end,”
And Jesus sums both of these up in John 8:31
John 8:31 “So Jesus was saying to those Jews who had believed Him, “If you continue in My word, then you are truly disciples of Mine;”
Can you see what God is asking for when He is asking you to believe in Jesus?
This is the point I want you to see this morning.
God does not require some long list of good works that you must perform in order for you to be saved. God requires one.
God requires that you believe in Jesus.
(that will produce works)
But the point is Jesus is the One that matters.
Revelation 20:11-15 “Then I saw a great white throne and Him who sat upon it, from whose presence earth and heaven fled away, and no place was found for them. And I saw the dead, the great and the small, standing before the throne, and books were opened; and another book was opened, which is the book of life; and the dead were judged from the things which were written in the books, according to their deeds. And the sea gave up the dead which were in it, and death and Hades gave up the dead which were in them; and they were judged, every one of them according to their deeds. Then death and Hades were thrown into the lake of fire. This is the second death, the lake of fire. And if anyone’s name was not found written in the book of life, he was thrown into the lake of fire.”
God requires you to completely and totally yield your life to Jesus.
He is not asking for good works
He is not asking for church attendance
He is not asking for Bible knowledge
WHAT GOD WANTS IS FOR YOU TO BELIEVE IN JESUS
“to run to Him, to trust Him, to yield to Him, and to obey Him”
If you have never come to faith in Jesus,
Then understand no amount of works will cut it.
God wants you to believe in Jesus.
I also say this because we’ve a mission team about to leave
The lead-off team this year is Mission El Paso.
We are about to send 15 individuals into the highways and the hedges.
And I want you all to clearly understand why we are sending you.
We are not sending you to bring social reform to a rough community.
We are not sending you for humanitarian aid to a poor community.
We are sending you to lead people to believe in Jesus Christ.
Matthew 28:18-20 “And Jesus came up and spoke to them, saying, “All authority has been given to Me in heaven and on earth. “Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I commanded you; and lo, I am with you always, even to the end of the age.”
We are sending you to show what it means to believe in Jesus.
To lead them to “run to, trust in, yield to, and obey Jesus”
JESUS IS THE REQUIREMENT OF GOD
JESUS IS WHAT GOD EXPECTS OF YOU.
Romans 10:9 “that if you confess with your mouth Jesus as Lord, and believe in your heart that God raised Him from the dead, you will be saved;”
