Sermon Cloud

IS YOUR LIFE A TESTIMONY OF CHRIST?

Introduction:

Have you ever thought about how important the testimony of a person is?  When we look at society around us or take a longing gaze at the resources of media we interact with, the testimony of a person is, at times, quite important.  In fact, the testimony of a witness can dictate whether a person lives or dies.  James Montgomery Boice identifies that when an attorney prepares a case, he or she will often organize their witnesses to save the most critical testimony of a witness for last.  Such testimony is often instrumental in a jury’s determination as to whether an accused individual(s) is innocent of a committed crime.  I find myself wondering, at times, the value that God places on testimony.  Jesus tells us of its importance in the gospel of John.  I believe God’s question for you and me today is “Is our life in Christ a testimony to our Savior?”  In other words, when people look into the life that you and I live, do they see our words and actions testifying to the fact that Jesus is the Son of God and that we have chosen to trust in Him as our Savior and Lord?  If you have your Bibles with you, turn with me to John 5.  We will be looking at verses 31 – 47.

Background thought:

As we have been observing over the past few weeks, Jesus has been refuting the accusations of the Jews, who had accused Him of violating the Sabbath and committing blasphemy by claiming Himself to be the Son of God.  Jesus’ testimony, up to this point, has shown that He is one with His Father in Heaven, and because of this fact, He is doing what His Father is doing, which obviously includes Jesus doing His Father’s work on the Sabbath.  He also has been given authority by His Father to judge and to exercise dominion over life and death.  We saw last week the specific authority that Jesus exercises over the degree and longevity of those who hear and obey His voice.  Today we will see the testimony of witnesses that will further convince the reading eye and the listening ear that Jesus is the Son of God, and therefore, is the Savior to all who choose to trust in Him for salvation.  Due to the length of our passage, we will read through it as we conduct the appropriate exegesis.  Let us pray.

Text:  John 5:31-47

Prayer

CTS:  Today I want to share with you four examples of testimony that can influence the testimony of Christ in your life.  Look with me at verse 31.

YOUR LIFE CAN BE A TESTIMONY OF CHRIST WHEN YOU:

POINT OTHERS TO CHRIST (VS 31-35)

Explanation:

            Jesus begins this thought on testimony by identifying that His testimony, alone, is not valid.  If the Jewish audience knew the scriptures well, they would realize that Jesus was validating a law given by God to the Israelites, that the truth of a matter requiring judgment is to be established by the testimony of two witnesses.  Jesus is identifying, though not mentioned yet, that His Father testifies of Him.  Jesus also identifies that He knows the testimony to be true.

            The first physical witness that Jesus recognizes is John the Baptist.  Jesus highlights the fact of John’s testimony pointing others to Christ.  John’s testimony, in and of itself was not totally valid.  Jesus identifies this through asserting the purpose of John’s testimony.  John was pointing people to Christ in order that they might be saved.  John was like a lamp, which carries light.  When we consider the type of lamp used during the herodian times, the light was a wick with oil inside of a small lantern.  It gave off about the same amount of light as a candle.  Those who saw his light enjoyed it for a time.  Notice, though, that this light Jesus is speaking of is in the past tense.  In other words, John’s light was fading.  He was about to face death.  Understanding his purpose according to God’s will, he pointed people to Christ, the source of light that does not fade away.

Illustration: 

            I have recent memories of living in North Carolina during the hurricane season.  The local news would often broadcast the need for gathering hurricane supplies at the beginning of the hurricane season.  One of those items was a hurricane lamp.  It is a lamp with a glass globe surrounding a wick that stuck out of a reservoir of oil.  We had to use the lamp couple of times.  It was nice to have light from the lamp during hours of darkness, when we didn’t have power.  However, it never was sufficient to replace the normal lighting we experienced from electricity coursing through our home or the sun of a new day.

Application:

            The reality is our lives, without actively living for Christ, can be like a candle.  We burn as bright as we can through good works, like being active in our community or doing good to others as you would have them do unto you.  However, some day in the future, whether we like it or not, our flames will fade away.  The key for believers in Christ is that we point others to Christ through our words and deeds.  Our lives are not to be about how good we are, but about enabling others to find Christ.  We do so by daily choosing to act out the fruits of the Holy Spirit (Ephesians 4), praying for those we know, and inviting others to attend our services and Bible study.  What about you?  Do you know Christ personally?  If not, then, according to scripture, you don’t have God’s Holy Spirit within you, and therefore, only darkness reigns.  God’s desire is to fill people with His Holy Spirit.  It occurs when someone chooses to place their trust in what God has done for them in Christ.  God’s call is for every person to come Him through Christ.  If you don’t know Christ personally, your point of application is to call upon the name of the Lord and be saved (Romans 10:13).  John’s testimony concerning Christ was true.  We need to follow the example of John the Baptist and point others to Christ.  In addition to pointing others to Christ, God would have others to discover Christ through our works.

DO THE WORKS OF CHRIST (VS 36)

Explanation:

            Having finished with the testimony of John the Baptist, Jesus now turns to the testimony of His works.  The miracles and signs Jesus had performed up to this point in the gospel of John could not be done by any man unless the man was who Jesus claimed Himself to be, the Son of God.  Jesus’ works testified to who He is, the Son of God.

Illustration: 

            When we consider the testimony concerning who we are, many would look at what we do.  If you and I saw a house on fire on the way home from church today, noticing many people dressed in heavy, fire resistant coast, insulated boots, and a helmet, making efforts to put out the fire, we would say that those people were firemen.  We would not label them as firemen because we stopped and asked them if they were.  We would recognize them as firemen by observing their work.

Application:

            The question for you and me is would people classify you and me as believers in Christ based upon our actions or works?  As we see in the text, God had given Jesus works that He did, which, in turn, validated Him as being God’s only begotten Son.  Our application is that we need to show forth the works of Christ in our lives today.  Miracles and raising people from the dead are not necessary.  Our works stem from simply obeying the Word of God as we discover the rich truths therein.  As we allow Christ to live through us, people will see Christ in us, and for those who believe, God will give them new life in Christ.

BELIEVE THE FATHER’S TESTIMONY (VS 37-38)

Explanation:

            Jesus begins to look in the direction of the Old Testament, highlighting the fact that His Father has testified about Him.  The problem with the Jews, as Jesus identifies, is that because of their refusal to believe in Him, they have not been able to comprehend God’s testimony.  The result, as verse 38 indicates, is that the Jews did not have the word of God in them.

Illustration: 

            One of the most difficult experiences that I have had to walk through is seeing disbelief in my children’s eyes.  It is wonderful, when they are young, because out of innocence, they’ll believe anything you tell them.  However, as they get older, a variety of influences convince them that their parents don’t always know what’s best for them.  What’s difficult is when they refuse to believe what you are telling them is the truth.  They tend to act in disobedience to do what they think is best.  The result is often heartache for them and their parents.  Teresa and I have walked that road.

Application:

            Unlike the Jews  in the days of Jesus or many today who refuse to believe that Jesus is the Son of God, we need to choose to believe what our Father in heaven has told us.  The result is our choosing to believe in Christ.  If we choose not to believe in Christ as the Son of God, we do not have the Spirit of God in us.

HONOR THE TESTIMONY OF GOD’S WORD (VV 39 - 47)

Explanation:

            Jesus now turns to one of the greatest sources of testimony that validates who He is, scripture.  As He begins to address the testimony of scripture, he points out a misunderstanding the Jewish audience believed.  Basically stated, they were totally trusting in the knowledge of the law for their future salvation.  As long as they were obeying the law, they would be in a right standing with God.  Jesus asserted that the same scriptures they worshipped told of His coming (verse 39), thereby serving as a testimonial witness of Jesus being the Son of God.  Even though the scriptures gave such testimony about Jesus, the Jews refused to believe in Him (verse 40).

            Jesus further asserts that He doesn’t receive glory from men.  The point being that, even if He did, Jesus would not receive theirs, because they refused to believe in Him.  The source of their refusal was the absence of their love for God within them (verse 42).  According to Jesus, the Jews were willing to receive men in the name of other men before receiving Jesus as the only begotten Son sent by God.  Additionally, they were more interested in receiving glory from man than receiving glory from their Father God (verses 43-44).

            Jesus brings the guilt of His Jewish audience to finality through identifying that their belief system in the Torah would literally be used against them on the Day of Judgment.  Because of their refusal to believe in Jesus, they were refusing to believe what Moses had written in the Torah (i.e. Genesis 3:15).  The bottom line is that if the Jews were to believe Moses instead of their self-righteousness, then they would be obligated to believe in Christ, a belief that they would not accept anytime soon.

Illustration:

            At times, I would love to have an answer for those who are involved with any other form of worship then the worship of God.  I think, “If I had the right answer, I could defuse their belief system and they would come to Christ.”  There are a couple of problems with this thinking.  First, if they are totally committed to what they have been taught, they will refuse to change their beliefs.  The other problem is that if Christ is not at the center of discussion, my testimony is in vain.  If He is in my discussion, the person listening has the choice to believe the testimony of man or the testimony of Christ.  The only way the person’s thinking can and will be changed is through believing in Christ, being changed by the power of God’s Holy Spirit.  Such was not the case for many of the Jews listening to Jesus.

Application:

            In application, we have to understand that we can know the Bible from cover to cover and still be separated from God.  Knowledge of the Bible suggests a salvation by works, a second way to be made right with God.  However, such thinking doesn’t sit right with the Bible as a whole.  Let us not misunderstand the point.  God’s Word, if understood properly, points us to Christ.  Once we know Christ personally, we need to choose to honor His Word in our lives.

Conclusion: 

            Jesus told His disciples in John 14:6 that He is the Way, the Truth, and the Life.  No one can come to His Father except through Him.  Without Christ, it is impossible for man to know God personally.  Jesus’ assertion is for our trust for salvation not to be built in a “works-based” faith by trying to obey the Bible to the letter.  You and I are to place our trust for salvation in God’s grace, which is offered through believing that Jesus is the Son of God and placing your faith in Him.

            If you don’t know Christ as your Savior, you can know Him today.  Salvation does not involve you physically doing anything.  It involves making some choices from your heart.  You must admit and confess that you, as I once was, are separated from God because of your sin (Romans 3:23), acknowledge what God has done about your sin (John 3:16, Romans 5:8), realize the opportunity you have to have a personal relationship with God (Romans 6:23), make the decision from the heart to believe what Christ has done for you, asking for God’s forgiveness, and confess Him as Lord (Romans 10:9-10, 13)

            If you are a believer in Christ, confess your sins to God right now (1 John 1:9)!  Ask Him for the gift of repentance, remembering that it is Christ who is working within you through His grace to live the Christian life.  Ask Him to empower you to live for Him from this day forward, enabling you to depart from any doubt in believing His promises for you, both now and in the future!