Smith, Jim: Without Christ ~ Victoria Drive Gospel Hall Ministry

I would like to read with you from John's gospel, please, the first chapter, and just notice with you the reason that a man could be moved to want to preach. He must be a great man if you're going to give your life up to preach about him. And that's what I would like to notice with you a little tonight concerning the person of the Lord Jesus. It is a very interesting thing in our world that man seems to want an idol, someone that can be to them a link with the eternal, the spiritual, the supernatural. There has to be that link. Some will choose Moses, and Moses is a very biblical personality, and he represented a tremendous system of religion. It had been committed to him from the God of heaven. And then there were other prophets in the Old Testament, likewise. There was, there's even Abraham, of course, is taken by some to be the man, and even the people in the world at the time of the Bible, they said, our father Abraham, and therefore they were looking to Abraham. He's our link, and others would have taken of his children, Isaac, and then there's, uh, Isaac and Ishmael, and some will take Isaac, some take Ishmael, and they're looking at these individuals as prophets, and they will link and trust their eternal existence to either the teaching of that person or to a relationship that they have through their upbringing with that person. But what I want to point out tonight, dear friend, is Moses had a message. Moses' message was Christ is coming. Who is Christ? Abraham's message was, God promised him, from your seed, Abraham, Christ is coming. Through Isaac. Isaac, through your family, Christ is coming. It was never said to Ishmael, and it was never said to some of the other men who are prophets today. That's the Old Testament part of your Bible, and all of that, the incremental revelations from God to men and promises concerning God's Christ. He is going to be the answer. And those men, as they preached, the people who believed the message through Moses and through Abraham, they were saved from the condemnation of being a sinner and their own sins against God on credit, that Christ would come and look after that situation for them. Then there came the day in the history of our world when Christ came. Born of a virgin, one of the prophets of the Old Testament prophesied of that, told where he would be born, in Bethlehem of Judea, told that he would be born of a young woman, virgin, never having known a man, and gave us to understand his name is Emmanuel, the Christ. Now we come to the New Testament part of our Bible, and what God is doing, he's centering all his purposes for mankind around this personality of whom Moses spoke. Don't trust Moses, you must trust the Christ who Moses spoke of. Don't trust Abraham, don't trust your eternal relationship with God, friend to an Isaac or an Ishmael or any other man. You must come to Christ, and that is what I want to read with you tonight. That's the reason that Mr. Fitzpatrick has been speaking tonight of that which impels men to preach Christ, because all others of the Bible pointed forward to him. Don't miss Christ is the great message, and we want to notice a little tonight of the relationship of the Lord Jesus Christ, the incarnate Son of God, to you and to me. We're going to read in first, in John's Gospel, chapter one and the first verse. In the beginning was the Word. You'll notice that's capitalized. That's a title for an individual, and it will be revealed to us in this chapter who that personality is. And the Word was with God. So the- this is an eternal existent, this person. And the Word was God. So now we are not looking at a- an inferior personality, but we are looking at God himself. The same was in the beginning with God. All things were made by him, and without him was not anything made that was made. In him was life, and the life was the light of men. Look down the chapter, please, to verse, uh, verse fourteen. And the Word was made flesh and dwelt among us, and we beheld his glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the Father, full of grace and truth. Verse seventeen: For the law was given by Moses, but grace and truth came by Jesus Christ. There is the word identified for us. It is none less than Jesus Christ, the incarnate Son of God. Verse twenty nine: The next day, John, John the Baptizer, John the Baptist, he seeth Jesus coming unto him and saith, Behold, the Lamb of God, which taketh away the sin of the world. Now turn, please, to chapter fifteen of this gospel. There is one little statement that we read in verse three that I wish to bring to our attention tonight. Without him, and I want to note an, an, an indescribable poverty that humanity is found in without Christ. John fifteen, and we will read, please, at verse five. I am the vine. This is the Lord Jesus speaking and teaching his disciples. Ye are the branches. He that abideth in me, and I in him, the same bringeth forth much fruit. For without me, ye can do nothing. If a man abide not in me, he is cast forth as a branch and is withered, and men gather them and cast them into the fire, and they are burned. One other text, please, now, in the epistle of Paul to the Ephesians and chapter two. I want you to notice from this passage, the Apostle Paul preached Christ and what the result was when he went into this Asia Minor city and preached the message of the Lord Jesus Christ as the great Savior that had been prophesied, and he was presently gone back to heaven, and Paul is preaching the message of his grace. We'll read at verse one. And you hath he given life, made alive, who were dead in trespasses and sins. You can see that's a spiritual condition. Wherein in time past ye walked according to the course of this world, according to the prince of the power of the air. Now that's not the Lord Jesus. He's going to identify him. The spirit that now worketh in the children of disobedience, among whom also we all had our conversation or manner of life in times past, in the lusts of our flesh, fulfilling the desires of the flesh and of the mind, and were by nature the children of wrath, even as others. But God, who is rich in mercy for his great love wherewith he loved us, even when we were dead in sins, hath made us alive together with Christ, by grace ye are saved, and hath raised us up together and made us sit together in the heavenlies in Christ Jesus, that in the ages to come he might show the exceeding riches of his grace in his kindness toward us through Christ Jesus. For by grace are ye saved through faith, and that not of yourselves, it is the gift of God, not of works, lest any man should boast. Notice verse twelve: At that time, now Paul's referring them back to the time when he brought that message of salvation by grace through faith to them, and at that time, he says, ye were without Christ, being aliens from the Commonwealth of Israel, that is, having no national link with the nation of Israel, and strangers from the covenants of promise, having no hope and without God in the world. But now, this is the change the message of Christ brought to them. But now, in Christ Jesus, ye who at one time were afar off are made nigh by the blood of Christ, for he is our peace. In my first reading, we mentioned that we want to notice being without Christ and the indescribable poverty spiritually of humanity. In our second reading, I want you to notice how the Lord Jesus emphasizes, he says, without me. Without me, just as a branch that is severed from a vine, it has no source of life, therefore no source of ability to bear fruit, the very purpose for which it was given life in the beginning. And he says, without me, you can do nothing. And then he mentions the inevitable prospect of a person who dies without Christ. They are gathered, they wither, and they're cast into the fire. In the Epistle to the Ephesians, we read those words without Christ, having no hope, and without God in the world, but now. And friend, that's the great blessing and the great privilege and the great prospect of every gospel's message that is preached, that some person who has discovered they are without Christ, therefore they have absolutely no standing in righteousness before God. They have no defense for themselves as a sinner, and they turn to the Lord Jesus, proclaimed in this passage, to be the, the, uh, savior of sinners, the sacrifice for sin, said John the Baptist, the sacrificial lamb of God who bears away the sin of the world. And putting their faith in Christ, they receive everlasting life, and heaven will be their eternal home, and they will be able to live for Christ and preach Christ to others, even as we've been hearing. So first of all, let me consider with you a little friend in this first passage. And again, I wish to pose a question to you. Who are or what are you trusting to keep you out of judgment and take you to heaven. What are you trusting? Now, I, I, I know not what your background is, but it is amazing how immediately our mind begins to look back in our history for some little thing that we could gather together that we might be able to say, well, that gives me a little peace, and really I did go through a s- a religious ritual, you know, and i- is there nothing in that? Friend, this is the great question to test every one of us, and wise is the individual who will allow the word of the living God to test him. Has there ever been a moment in your little life's experience when you received Christ? That is what the question is. Without Christ. Let me notice, first of all, with you the, the tremendous poverty of being without Christ. In this first passage, we read that the Lord Jesus Christ is the creator of life. He is the one, friend, who has chosen to give you life. Now, we understand parenthood, we understand that, but that's not what the question here is. Here is the sovereign God and creator, and every babe that is born, irrespective of circumstances, he is the one who gave them life. He gave you life, friend. And what he wants you to see in this passage is, one of the great purposes of God in giving that little babe life in this world is that they might get to know about him. Friend, the great Christ of God, the eternal Son of God, he loves you. He wants to enjoy you forever. He wants you to enjoy him forever, and he chose to give you life. I often tell the people, and I do so purposely, the day that I was born, there were two other little babes born, and they were both stillborn. Why did God give me life? Oh, I'm so thankful I've found the reason. It's right in this passage, in verse twelve of John chapter one. As many as received him, to them give he the authority to be called the child of God, even to them that believe in his name. See, friend, that's the purpose of your life. Whatever you do tonight, don't allow the days of life granted to you by divine choice and wondrous mercy. Don't miss the purpose of them, to get to know Christ as your personal savior and your friend. And I would like to tell you, if you get to know him and the joy of that which he gives, the forgiveness of sins, peace with God, we read in Ephesians chapter two, reconciliation to God, having a standing of relationship that can never be reversed and never be lost. The wonder of it. My dear soul tonight, that's the reason you're alive. And to be without Christ is to miss the very purpose that you are alive tonight. I hope that you will see the great importance of realizing that all these other men that are chosen to be leaders, if they are of God at all, they're all going to point men to Christ. He is the one who is the Savior. He is the one whom you must discover and find and trust. He is the center of all the purposes of God as far as men are concerned, and in particular in this passage, to whom he has given life. The second thing I want you to notice is Christ is mentioned here as being the light of men. Now, he is dealing with the spiritual aspect, as you can see as we read some of those verses. He's not only showing that the Lord Jesus is the author of life, he is the giver of life, but he is the light of truth. Grace and truth came by Jesus Christ. He's the personification of truth. If you would know the absolute that you can trust so that it cannot be added to or changed or disappoint you, friend, you need Christ. He is the truth. He is the light. And one of the very first things in the experience of an individual who sincerely wants to get to know Christ is that the light of truth exposes man of his need of Christ. You see, it's not just an idol or a hero. Here is a savior. Now, a savior is tremendously different than a helper. We may receive various laws of discipline that we could apply to ourselves morally, and that would help us to be a better person socially. But friend, this has to do, as we read in Romans, uh, chapter, uh, three, where we were reading, and Ephesians, pardon me, in chapter two. we're reading about eternal ages. In the eternal ages, we read, people who do not get Christ, we read, are going to be under divine wrath and judgment for their sins and their rejection of the person of Christ forever. And those who come and admit and are honest with the light of truth that exposes their sinership, and thus showing that they need the person of Christ more than anything in the world, they turn to the Savior, they receive everlasting life, and in verse seven of Ephesians two, we read, in the ages to come, he will show to them the great exceeding riches of his grace, heaven and the wonders of habitation with God himself in eternity. What wondrous blessing is this great offer of God's gospel, the good news. It's all centered in the person of the Lord Jesus Christ. Now, may I say to you, my dear friend, the first thing that God has to deal with us humans about is our sin. We are his creatures by design and by his choice, and we are independent creatures in ourselves. That's in our nature. That's one of the great wonders of divine creation. Man's not a robot. God never intended you to be a robot. He has given to you the great choice of will, and to me. And friend, having been born in the human race, we therefore were born in a sinful race, a fallen race. And the wonder of the Bible is showing that God, rather than choosing to just blot the whole thing out and do something different, he says, no, I want to redeem sin-fallen man, to raise him higher than he ever could have been in as Adam in innocence. And that's the wonder of why the Lord Jesus is the center of it all, as we will notice as we look in this chapter and fur- further down in verse twenty nine. So secondly, let me point out to you, friend, that God is going to reveal to you from his word the fact of the absoluteness of the s- lostness of man spiritually to God because of sin. Now, if one argues with that, there is no possibility of entering into peace and reconciliation with God. But friend, if you will see that the Lord Jesus is the light of truth, he's telling you the truth about yourself. He's telling you the truth about himself. And when, as a poor, lost sinner, lost to God spiritually, you turn to the Lord Jesus because he alone has the answer to meet the sinner's need, in that moment you will see the blessed light of truth. Christ died for our sins, according to the scriptures. That was the reason that the Lord Jesus went to Calvary, as we read in Ephesians two, Through the shedding of his life's blood, he paid the ultimate price of redemption for lost sinners, and he invites men to turn to him unto their salvation for eternity. One other thing I want to point out in John chapter one before I leave this passage, and it is it what John said about him in verse twenty nine. Without the Lord Jesus, man has missed the purpose of his life. That's the first thing we notice. What poverty is that, to live and die without finding the reason that you were ever given life in the beginning, and that is to get to know Christ. And then, without the Lord Jesus, man has no light of truth. You can't grope in the dark and expect to find the truth, friend. You need the light, and that's to turn to the Lord Jesus. Grace and truth came by Jesus Christ. He is truth personified, and when a person listens to the Savior, he's listening to the truth, and you could trust your life to it, you can trust your soul to it. And God says, the Lord Jesus said himself one day so beautifully to the people, he that heareth my word and believeth God that sent me hath everlasting life and shall not come into condemnation, but is passed from death spiritually unto life spiritually and eternally. Ah, friend, that's the great blessing of the message of the Lord Jesus that's being sent into the world. And I look back to a time in my experience when, for the first time, it dawned into my dark and lost soul, the Lord Jesus loved me and went to the cross to do for me what I could never do for myself. He gave God a full satisfaction for all my sin and for me, the sinner, and that night I took him at his word and received peace with God, and I knew I had it. Ah, friend, you could have it tonight and know it and never lose it through faith in the Lord Jesus. But what is the third thing that John mentions? He tells us in verse twenty nine that the Lord Jesus is the one who settles the sin question for man. It's sacrificially. He's qu- mentioned as the Lamb of God. Now, that is a title given to the Lord Jesus as the fulfillment of all those Old Testament typology, types and and shadows and prophecies of the sacrifice necessary for man as the sinner. And in the Old Testament, they were continually bringing sacrifices. Maybe you've been doing that, friend, have you? Trying to do something to satisfy God, and somehow you never reach that plateau. No, you never will, because God wants you to look at the Lord Jesus tonight, and this is what he's telling you, friend. Behold, the Lamb of God, which beareth away the sins of the world. He is the one, friend, and the only one capable of settling the sin question. Let me tell you of two essential, uh, characteristics of, that are necessary in one who will settle the sin question for you and for me. First of all, friend, he must be God himself, and therefore sinless, if he is going to be able to settle the question of sin on behalf of another. And that's the great wonder of the Lord Jesus. He is God incarnate. Therefore, friend, he is the only trustworthy mediator. He has a perfect knowledge of God's requirements, and in humanity he has the perfect ability to represent me and you as a sinner. That's amazing. Did he do so? Ah, friend, as I turn to Calvary and listen to what God has to say about the Lord Jesus at the cross, the beloved Apostle Peter got a hold of it, and this is what he said. Christ also hath once suffered for sins, the just one for the unjust, that he might bring us to God. That's the reason for Calvary. That is why through his precious blood, redemption has been wrought. The Lamb of God, which beareth away the sin of the world. And I trust if there's one soul in this little audience tonight, and sin is your burden, and you've been struggling with it, not knowing how you can get peace with God, friend, turn to the Lord Jesus Christ. He accomplished salvation's work by the shedding of his life's blood. There remaineth no more to be done. God has accepted that work and given proof to you and to me in that he raised the Lord Jesus from the dead and received him back into glory. The only man in a body in heaven is the living Christ of God, and he bears in hands and feet and side evidence to the world of a sacrifice complete, a price fully paid. And now, says God, whosoever believeth in him shall not perish, but have everlasting life. So without him, man has lost the reason for being alive, that he even has life. And without Christ, man moves in the darkness, blind and deceived. And without the Lord Jesus, man has no answer to God for his sins. In my second reading, I want to notice with you the inevitable, inevitable prospect of being without Christ. I'm just going to lift it out of this illustration that the Lord Jesus is using here in John chapter fifteen. And he says, I'm the vine. He is the one who is the fruit bearer. He is the source of life spiritually. He's using that illustration in the branches. The branches do not have life of themselves. They only have life in eh by the fact that they're connected with the root, with the vine. And he says, now without me, you can do nothing. You know, that is a very simple summary, friend, and yet a very, very solemn revelation. Until a person knows the Lord Jesus Christ as their personal savior, there's nothing in their life that bears fruit for God. Very solemn. Man's righteousnesses are necessary for social living, but please, friend, don't parallel social living with being right with God. God is looking at man in the spiritual condition. We look at ourselves socially. We measure ourselves by others and by standards we are raised with. Rightly so, don't lose that. That's good moral standards. But when it comes, friend, to the eternity that lies before you, and you're standing with the eternal holy God, remember this, if you're without Christ, there's nothing that you could give to God as a reason to keep you out of the fire. Nothing. The Savior himself has revealed it. He who is the truth. He says, without me, you can do nothing. And he adds some very revealing things, which is very simply and easily recognized. He says, that branch that is not connected with me withereth. It just becomes worse every day, worse and worse. And men gather them, and inevitably you can do nothing else with them. You could paint them, it will not bear fruit. You could fertilize it, it will not bear fruit. You could bring it in the house and you could coddle it and do whatever you wish with it. It will not bear fruit because it has no life. And dear soul in the meeting, that is a very, very solemn fact that we must face. Until I know the Lord Jesus personally as my savior, I have no ability to bear fruit for God. I can only anticipate a day of leaving life and being cast into the fire. You see, friend, that's the result of living and dying as a sinner. But I turn to the last passage with which I wish to close tonight, because therein we find the good news. To these dear people in Ephesus, we find the beloved apostle, he preaches this message about the Lord Jesus. He moved through Asia Minor. I'm told that's the beloved apostle Thomas that came over to the, the British Isles, the first one with the gospel, introducing the gospel of God's grace for sinners to the West. And here, friend, we find dear Paul, and he's moving into Asia Minor, and he's preaching Christ, the Lord Jesus. By grace are you saved through faith, and that not of yourselves. It is the gift of God, purchased by the Savior's blood. God offers it as a free gift of wondrous grace, and you can see the very heart of God is in it. He's wanting men to have it. Friend, God loves you tonight, and he yearns that you might rejoice in the wondrous gift of the grace of his heart. The gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord. And as Paul peeled forth that message of the greatness of Christ, the wonder of his redeeming work, as he mentions it here, through his blood, he points men to Calvary to show the great ultimate absolute price of redemption, fully paid. Nothing more could be given. Nothing more is asked for. Turn to the Savior, says the apostle. By faith are you saved, through grace, that not of yourselves. It is the gift of God, not of works, lest any man should boast. He says, you remember when I preached to you, you were without Christ. What a tremendous description of being without Christ in this chapter. Children of wrath. Friend, that's the inevitable. In John's gospel, we read the very same subject. Listen to these words. He that believeth on the Son hath everlasting life. He that believeth not the Son shall not see life, but the wrath of God abideth on him. Then that's there because of who we are, and the Lord Jesus is offered to you tonight that you might be righteously delivered from all that your sins deserve and you deserve as the sinner. Wondrous God, marvelous grace, tremendous love, that God should provide a perfect savior, making him available, and tonight the message is still peeling forth. By grace are you saved through faith in Christ. Without Christ, he says, you are without God in the world. There's no link with heaven. No hope. Doesn't say perhaps a hope. No hope. Ah, how awful it is to be without a hope. I've seen people without hope. They're devastated. They, they're totally crushed, for they have no hope. Friend, have you ever pondered it spiritually, that to be without Christ, you have no hope of heaven, not one string attached, not one possibility, without hope. But all the invitation goes forth tonight, and the Lord Jesus Christ is offered. God so loved the world that he gave his only begotten son, that whosoever, no distinctions, friend, don't turn to your background to look for any possible, uh, uh, fitness or whatever you may cl- cling to as peace with him, just come as a sinner to Jesus, and God says, whosoever believeth in him shall not perish. The great question of sin settled at Calvary. You could come into the good of it tonight and rejoice to know I have everlasting life. And that's God's message for today. He told of it in the Old Testament part of your Bible. He comes to the New Testament, and he wraps it all up in the person of the Lord Jesus. He presents him in all his saving ability, his life-changing ability. He presents him to dying sinful man as the free gift of his grace. And the great question is, what will you do with Jesus? Oh, what will your answer be? So lay aside, dear friend, tonight any questionings that you may have. Turn just as you are in the wondrous offer of the grace of God to the Lord Jesus as a sinner and God's word for it. You will be saved, and the moment you get it, you'll know you have it. It will revolutionize your life, give you reason for living, and you will be glad to tell others about him. I hope tonight that some precious souls in this audience will stop while there's time, while opportunity is still yours, and turn to the Lord Jesus Christ and be saved. For do remember, friend, without him, you have no answer to God for your sins. He is the Lamb of God, and without him, friend, do remember, without him, you're in the dark, and you will have no light until you turn to Christ, for he is the light of men, and without him, you've missed the very reason that he gave you life in the beginning. It's all wrapped up in Christ. May God help you to see it tonight. As a sinner, you need the Lord Jesus Christ. You need him tonight. Tomorrow's sun, we sometimes sing, may never rise to meet thy long deluded sight. This is the time, oh, then be wise. Thou wouldst be saved. Why not tonight? The Savior is available. I know not if I will ever preach his wondrous name again and invite you to trust him, for he will come and close the door of opportunity. Tonight is golden, friend. You could receive the Savior, and you as a poor sinner, and rejoice to know, now in Christ Jesus, he is my peace. Peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ.