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Scripture: John 5:24-25
I. Men were born in sin:
А. Describe how men were born in sin.
B. Use examples to illustrate the condition of men born in sin, such as telling lies, hating others, and so forth. There is no need to learn how to sin. Men were born in sin.
II. Men are living in death:
А. Sin brings in death. Wherever sin is, there is death. Because men are in sin, men are also in death.
B. Use examples to show that although apparently men are living, they are actually dead. Prove the following three points:
1. Men are incompetent to do good.
2. Men commit sins without any feeling.
3. Men are bound and have no freedom.
How do you know that men are in death? It is because men are incompetent in doing good and in pleasing God. In addition, men commit sins without feeling. The living have feeling, but the dead have no feeling. So they who are without feeling are dead. The dead are also under much bondage. Much bondage paralyzes them. Death is a tremendous bondage.
III. The Lord is life:
А. The Lord came to be the Savior, to give life to the dead. Because the salvation that the dead need is life, any kind of improvement is useless. Washing and beautifying the dead is the work of the mortuary. Confucianism, Buddhism, and moral practices are but the work of the mortuary. All the practices of self-denial are equivalent to the beautifying of the dead. The Lord Jesus did not come to improve men. He came to be life to men.
B. The life that the Lord gives to men is God’s life. God’s life is powerful, unlimited, holy, merciful, bright, mighty, and righteous.
IV. Passed out of death into life:
А. After men have heard the name of the Lord and the gospel, that is, the word of the Lord, and have believed in the Lord, they immediately receive the forgiveness of sins and obtain God’s life.
B. Therefore the Scriptures say that he who believes does not come into judgment but has passed out of death into life.
C. Use examples to illustrate that as soon as men believe, they are made alive.
D. Use John 5:25: “An hour is coming, and it is now, when the dead will hear the voice of the Son of God, and those who hear will live.” You should repeat these words again and again. If you can drive these words strongly and solidly into them, they will be saved.
Scripture: John 6:37
I. One great big word — COME:
А. When the Lord Jesus was on the earth, He often uttered this word: come. Come and find rest. Come and have life. The Lord is always calling us to come.
B. To come is to draw nigh to the Lord, to call on Him, and to believe in the Lord.
II. The need of coming:
А. Because of sin there is a need of coming. The sinners need to come to have their sins forgiven.
B. Because of burden there is a need of coming. You should point out the many burdens of this life.
C. Because of perdition there is a need of coming.
III. How to come:
А. Come with your sins. Do not wait until you improve yourself. Do not wait until you get rid of all your sins. Do not wait until your conscience does not bother you anymore.
B. Come with your burden.
C. Come as you are. Do not wait until you improve yourself. It would be good to sing the hymn “Just as I am” (Hymns, #1048).
D. Come according to the word of the Lord. The Lord is calling us to come. So when we come, we do not have to be afraid that we are coming without an invitation. The Lord says, “Come.” You reply, “Amen, I come.”
IV. The Lord’s promise:
Emphasize this strongly.
A. In the universe there is at least one promise made by the Lord for us, as sinners: “Him who comes to Me I shall by no means cast out” (John 6:37). This is not only a definite word but also a promise. It is neither guessing nor postulating. It is firm and cannot be changed. Whatever can be changed is not a promise.
B. Even a gentleman will fulfill what he has promised. How much more shall this faithful Lord fulfill His own promise.
C. In this sentence there are three words: by no means. These words mean that it does not matter what your condition is. When someone is coming to the Lord, he often hesitates because of his poor condition. The Lord said, “Him who comes to Me I shall by no means cast out.” He did not say, “Him who comes to Me must be in good condition so that I will not forsake him.” Once when Dr. Torrey was preaching the gospel, one among the audience asked him, “Will the Lord not even forsake one like me?” Dr. Torrey used this verse to help him get saved. You should emphasize the words “by no means.” Men must believe “by no means” firmly and never doubt; then they will be saved.
I. The darkness of human life:
А. Men were born into darkness.
B. Men do not know human life, cannot distinguish right from wrong, and do not understand themselves. Furthermore, they do not know God. These few points prove that men are in darkness. John 8:1-11 illustrates how the Pharisees did not understand themselves. They themselves were the sinners, yet they brought a female sinner to the Lord Jesus. Eventually, the Lord exposed their hidden condition. They were fully put to shame. They were going to judge others, but eventually, they were judged. Then the Lord continued to say, “I am the light of the world; he who follows Me shall by no means walk in darkness, but shall have the light of life” (John 8:12). Those Pharisees did not know the Lord. They did not follow the Lord. So they were in darkness. They only saw others committing sins but failed to see that they themselves were sinners.
C. The reason men are in darkness is that men have sins and sins bring in death. They who are in death are in darkness.
II. The Lord is the light of men:
А. Darkness needs light. Nothing else can dispel darkness. When light comes, darkness disappears.
B. Men’s darkness issues from men’s death. Those in death are in darkness.
C. The Lord can deliver men from sins and cause them to obtain His life. This life dispels men’s darkness as well as their death. Therefore, this life is the light of life. Chapter 8 of John reveals to us how the Lord can forgive sins and give both light and life to men. Only they who have life have feeling. To have feeling is to be in the light. Some committed sins without any feeling. One day they received the life and were brought into the light. Therefore, this life is the light of men.
III. Follow the Lord:
А. The Lord is the light of life. If we want to have the real shining, we have to follow Him.
B. The first step in following the Lord is to receive the Lord as Savior, as life, and as the light of life.
C. The second step in following the Lord is to obey Him. As soon as you receive Him, He comes right into you. Then you will start to have feeling. From this time on you must walk by obeying this inner feeling. “He who follows Me shall by no means walk in darkness, but shall have the light of life” (v. 12).
Today everyone talks about freedom. Now we will see what real freedom is.
I. Everyone who commits sin is a slave of sin:
А. The slave is under bondage, having no freedom. Everyone who commits sin is a slave of sin, under the bondage of sin.
B. Today those who talk about freedom are, in fact, the slaves of sin. The high-class educationalist and the intellectuals all are the slaves of sin. Playing chess, smoking, dancing, and being under the bondage of various habits are the symptoms of being the slaves of sin.
II. Real freedom:
А. The inability to escape from sin reveals the lack of freedom. The ability to escape from sin shows the real freedom.
B. Today many do not have the real freedom because of the bondage and oppression of sin. Many are aware of the bondage of sin and seek for deliverance but are unable to achieve it. Therefore, there is no freedom.
C. The real freedom means the absence of the condemnation of the conscience and deliverance from the bondage of sin.
III. The real freedom is dependent on the Lord:
А. The Lord is truth. Only He can cause men to know the reality of human life. Only He can cause men to know the mystery of human life. Only He can cause men to know God, and God is the source of freedom.
B. To bear the sins of men, the Lord died and rose again from the dead. So He is able to forgive men’s sins. He also can deliver men from their sins. His blood brings in the forgiveness of sin and sets men free from the condemnation of the conscience. The Lord’s life enables men to escape from the bondage of sin, so there is the real freedom.
IV. How to be free:
А. Whoever wants to be free has to confess that he is the slave of sin.
B. He must also receive the Lord and His salvation. In His salvation are blood and life. His blood provides for the forgiveness of men’s sins, and His life enables men to be delivered from the bondage of sin.
Scripture: John 10:10-11
I. Men are the sheep of the Lord:
А. Men are created by the Lord and are the Lord’s.
B. Men are also watched over and shepherded by the Lord.
II. The Lord is the good Shepherd:
А. The Lord looks after us and shepherds us. This shows that He is the good Shepherd.
B. His shepherding us not only provides us with the ordinary supply but also with His life. Ordinary shepherds give something outside of themselves to supply the sheep. The Lord, as a Shepherd, not only supplies us with something outside of Himself but also with His life. His life is His own self, so He supplies us with His own self.
C. Since the Lord wanted us to have His life, He had to give up His life for us. He is the good Shepherd who gives His life for the sheep.
III. How do we receive the Lord’s shepherding?
А. We must confess that we are out from Him and of Him.
B. We must confess that we have not obtained the Lord’s life and have not had any life relationship with Him.
C. We must receive the Lord as our life.
D. We must follow the inner sense of life that the Lord gives us.
Scripture: John 10:9
I. God’s sphere:
А. Everything has its own sphere. God and the blessing He bestows also have a sphere. Heaven, eternal life, and God Himself also have a sphere.
B. A sphere is for separating the outside from the inside. Whatever is inside has the portion of the sphere; whatever is outside has no part of that portion. God and whatever belongs to Him also have a sphere; this sphere separates what is outside of God from what is inside.
II. God’s door:
А. To enter any sphere one has to go through an entrance door. It is the same in God’s sphere.
B. The entrance door of God’s sphere is the Lord Jesus. In order to enter into God’s sphere, men have to go through the Lord Jesus.
C. If there were no Lord Jesus in the universe, men would have no entrance to God’s sphere. But thank God, He has established a door, which is the Lord Jesus.
D. The Lord Jesus, on one hand, bore men’s sins and took away the barrier of sin between God and man. On the other hand, He released His life and took away the barrier of creation between God the Creator and man the creature. The Lord’s bearing of sins and shedding His blood is an entrance. The Lord’s death and releasing life is another entrance. Today if men want to enter into God’s sphere, they must enter through the Lord’s blood and the Lord’s life. The blood takes away the barrier of sin between God and man, and the life takes away the barrier of creation between God and man. When men receive the Lord, they immediately enter into all that God is.
III. The Lord is the door of the sheep:
А. We belong to God. God wants us to unite with Him.
B. The Lord is the door through whom we can enter into whatever God is. So through the Lord we can enter into God’s forgiveness, life, blessing, and habitation.
IV. How do we enter through the door?
А. We must confess the existence of the barriers. There is the barrier of sin, and there is the barrier between the Creator and the creature.
B. We must confess that the Lord shed His blood for us that He might be our Savior.
C. We must receive the Lord Jesus in order to have His life.
Scripture: John 10:28-29
I. Salvation is eternal life:
А. The salvation that the Lord gives us is His eternal life. The characteristic of His life is eternal. Therefore, the characteristic of His salvation is eternal and will never change.
B. To obtain salvation is to obtain something eternal. So it is eternal salvation.
II. To be saved is to be in the Lord’s hand:
А. The saved ones not only have the Lord’s life but also are in the Lord’s hand.
B. The Lord will never change. The Lord’s hand is a mighty hand that will never lose its power. So because of His power, those who are in the Lord’s hand will never perish.
III. To be saved is to be in God’s hand:
А. To be saved is to have eternal life in us; it also means that we enter into two hands, that of the Lord and that of the Father.
B. While the Lord’s hand is a mighty hand, the Father’s hand is a hand of love. Because of the Lord’s power and because of the Father’s love, we shall never perish.
IV. The proof of not perishing:
А. The fact of not perishing is based on the Lord’s life as well as on both the Lord’s hand and the Father’s hand. One life and two hands are the fact of our not perishing.
B. The basis of our not perishing is the word of the Lord. The Lord said, “They shall by no means perish forever” (John 10:28). This word is the basis of our not perishing. Furthermore, the Lord said, “I give to them eternal life” (v. 28). This word is the basis of our obtaining eternal life.
Scripture: John 14:6
I. The way is the method:
А. To do anything we need a way. In other words, we need a method.
B. To be saved, to be forgiven, to have eternal life, and to have God, all need the way, the method.
II. The Lord is the way:
А. The Lord said that He is the way; that is, He is the method.
B. Man needs a way to be saved, to be forgiven, to have eternal life and to have God. The way is a living person, the Lord Jesus Himself. Develop this in detail.
III. How can we have the Lord as the way?
А. We must confess that we ourselves have no way, no method. Concerning the matters of sins being forgiven or of being saved or of having eternal life or of having God, men have no way, no method. They can only sigh for having no way, no entrance.
B. We must confess that the Lord is the Son of God to be our Savior, our way, our method.
C. We must receive Him as our Savior, that is, receive Him as our way and as our means.
Scripture: John 16:7-11
I. The Holy Spirit came:
А. God not only sent His Son to accomplish redemption for us but also sent the Holy Spirit so that we may understand the redemption.
B. After God’s Son had accomplished redemption and ascended to the heavens, God’s Spirit was poured out so that men may understand God’s redemption.
II. The Holy Spirit convicts the world:
А. The Holy Spirit causes man to know God’s redemption by means of convicting him. Speak thoroughly on this point. Describe that the Holy Spirit’s working in men and causing men to know God’s redemption is the work of convicting the world.
B. The Holy Spirit’s convicting work is to cause man to know himself, Christ, and Satan.
III. The Holy Spirit convicts the world concerning sin:
А. The first aspect of the working of the Holy Spirit is to cause man to be convicted concerning sin. This is to cause man to know that he is a sinner.
B. The Holy Spirit causes man to see that he is born in sin, brought up in sin, and living in sin; that he is a sinner in every respect; and that he is under condemnation. Expound on these five points.
C. The Holy Spirit causes man to see that he is a sinner in Adam and is under condemnation; He reveals that the only way to depart from sin and to obtain forgiveness is to believe in Christ. If a man does not believe in Christ, he can only remain in sin and under condemnation. The Scriptures say that the Holy Spirit convicts the world in respect of sin because man does not believe in Christ.
IV. The Holy Spirit convicts the world concerning righteousness:
А. The Holy Spirit’s convicting man concerning righteousness is to cause man to know Christ.
B. The working of the Holy Spirit in man first causes man to see that he is a sinner in Adam under condemnation, and, second, causes man to see how he can be justified in Christ and become righteous. The Holy Spirit causes man to see that Christ has died for men according to God’s righteousness, that Christ’s death has fulfilled all of God’s righteous requirements, and that God has resurrected Him so that He can be the righteousness to those who believe in Him. Whoever believes in Christ is justified and made righteous.
V. The Holy Spirit convicts the world concerning judgment:
The Holy Spirit’s convicting man concerning sin is to cause man to know his condition in Adam. Man is sinful and condemned. The Holy Spirit’s convicting man concerning righteousness is to cause man to know Christ. The Holy Spirit’s convicting man concerning judgment is to cause man to know Satan. The Holy Spirit shows that Adam is sinful, Christ is the Redeemer, and Satan is the one judged. Man in Adam is condemned because of sin. Man in Christ obtains forgiveness of sins and is justified. However, if man follows Satan, he shall receive the judgment of sin. Since Satan is the originator of sin, he must also receive the judgment of sin. Although man in Adam followed Satan and committed sins, becoming a sinner, he can be redeemed in Christ, and be freed from the judgment of sin. But if man would not believe in Christ and would continue to remain in Adam and to follow Satan, then he can only be the companion of Satan, sharing the judgment with Satan. So the Scriptures say that the Holy Spirit convicts the world concerning judgment because the ruler of this world, Satan, has been judged.
VI. The result of the Holy Spirit’s convicting the world:
А. Causes man to confess that he is sinful and condemned.
B. Causes man to receive Christ as the resurrected Savior so that he may be justified.
C. Causes man to reject Satan and be freed from the pending judgment.
VII. Summary:
The three main points of this message are sin, righteousness, and judgment. These three things make up the history of the universe. Also, in the universe there are three persons who are related to our salvation or perdition. The result of following the first person, the sinful Adam, is that man is condemned. The result of following the second person, the redeeming Christ, is that man is justified. The result of following the last person, the judged Satan, is that man is judged.
Scripture: John 19:34-37
I. Men’s twofold need:
А. Men have sins. Because of this they need the forgiveness of sins.
B. Men are also destined to die. For this reason they need the eternal life, the life of God. Elaborate more on this point.
II. The Lord’s twofold salvation:
А. Since men have sins, the first aspect of the Lord’s salvation is redemption.
B. Since men are destined to die, the second aspect of the Lord’s salvation is to give men a life that will never die, an eternal life.
III. The twofold meaning of the cross:
А. The Lord’s salvation is by means of the cross. Without the cross there is no salvation.
B. The first aspect of the salvation of the cross is redemption, the forgiveness of men’s sins. This is why the Lord shed His blood on the cross. The blood is for redemption. The blood is the price for redemption to redeem men from under the condemnation of the law. The blood speaks to men that the crucified Christ has already borne their sins before God. The shedding of the blood declares that men’s sins may be forgiven.
C. The second aspect of the salvation of the cross is the releasing of the Lord’s life. This is why on the cross not only blood but also water came out from the Lord. Originally, the Lord’s life was in the Lord Himself; it could not enter men to be men’s life. The death on the cross caused the Lord’s body to be broken, and through this the life within Him flowed out. Now men only have to receive Him to obtain His life.
IV. How to receive the twofold salvation of the blood and water:
А. Confess that you are sinful as well as in death.
B. Believe that the Lord Jesus died and resurrected for you. Confess that His blood has redeemed you from your sins. Also, realize that His resurrection life causes you to have God’s life.
C. Receive Christ as your personal Savior.
