Religious

but Lost,
Part 3
(Just
Jesus

Evangelis
tic
Campaig
n, Day
64)

TEXT:
John
5:43-47

43 I am
come in
my
Father's
name,

and ye
receive
me not: if
another
shall

come in
his own
name,
him ye

will
receive.
44 How
can ye

believe,
which
receive
honour
one of

another,
and seek
not the
honour
that

cometh
from God
only?

45 Do not
think that
I will
accuse
you to

the
Father:
there is
one that
accuseth

you,
even
Moses, in
whom ye
trust.

46 For
had ye
believed
Moses,

ye would
have
believed
me; for

he wrote
of me.
47 But if
ye

believe
not his
writings,
how shall
ye

believe
my
words?
----------

Today, I
am
continuin
g the
daily Just

Jesus
Evangelis
tic
Campaig
n sermon

series,
which is
aimed at
sharing
the

Gospel of
the Lord
Jesus
Christ
with

unbelieve
rs and
remindin
g
Christian

s, in this
important
election
year, to
keep the

main
thing the
main
thing -and that

is
reaching
unbelieve
rs with
the

Gospel of
the Lord
Jesus
Christ
and

praying
for their
salvation,
for the
problem

in
America
is not
only
disobedie

nt
president
s,
politician
s, and

people,
but
disobedie
nt
pastors,

preacher
s, and
parishion
ers who
have

refused
to obey
the
Lords
Great

Commiss
ion which
is to, Go
ye into all
the

world,
and
preach
the
gospel to

every
creature.
and
who have
refused

to obey
God's
repeated
comman
ds to

"pray
without
ceasing"
for
unbelieve

rs,
believers,
and
political
leaders.

Yes, you
should
pray for
the right
candidate

to win;
yes, you
should
vote for
the

candidate
that the
Lord
gives you
peace

about
voting
for. But,
don't get
caught

up in it
like the
world
does.
Nothing

much is
going to
change
until
people

get saved
and get
their
hearts

right with
the Lord.
This
campaign

is
inspired
by the
following
three

verses: 1
Corinthia
ns 2:2
which
says,

"For I
determin
ed not to
know
anything

among
you, save
Jesus
Christ,
and him

crucified.
" Acts
5:42
which
says,

"And
daily in
the
temple,
and in

every
house,
they
ceased
not to

teach and
preach
Jesus
Christ."
And 2

Timothy
2:4 which
says, "No
man that
warreth

entanglet
h himself
with the
affairs of
this life;

that he
may
please
him who
hath

chosen
him to be
a
soldier."

This
series is
not for
Christian
s

necessari
ly.
However,
I do hope
you are

one of
those
saints
who still
loves to

hear the
"Old, old
story of
Jesus
and His

love" -As
another
hymn
says,

"For
those
who
know it
best

Seem
hungerin
g and
thirsting
to hear it

like the
rest."
This
series is
primarily

for
unbelieve
rs, so
they can
hear and

understa
nd the
Gospel
and be
saved

from sin
and the
punishm
ent of sin
which is

hell. This
is
message
number
64.

D.A.
Carson
said, "If
scrupulo

us
adherenc
e to the
law
brings

people to
hope for
salvation
in the law
itself and

to reject
the
Messiah
to whom
the law

pointed,
then the
law itself,
and its
human

author,
Moses,
must
stand up
in

outraged
accusatio
n."

Jesus
was not
personall
y
offended

that the
Jews
refused
to believe
on Him.

In fact, I
think he
felt sorry
for them
because

of how
they
allowed
their
pride and

hatred to
blind
them to
the truth.
But, more

important
ly, Jesus
knew
that, if
given the

chance,
they
would
have
rejected

the
testimon
y of the
man they
revered

the most
-- Moses.
Jesus
says, "Do

not think
that I will
accuse
you to
the

Father:
there is
one that
accuseth
you, even

Moses, in
whom ye
trust."
The
Jewish

faith and
religious
practice
was
founded

on the
first 5
books of
the Old
Testamen

t written
by
Moses.
All of the
laws,

doctrine,
rules,
and
regulatio
ns that

the
Jewish
religious
leaders
tried to

hide
behind
were
containe
d in the

books of
Moses.
Yet,
Jesus
says that

it is these
very
same
writings
that

condemn
ed them.
Shocking
ly to
them,

The Lord
points
out that
when
they

stand
before
God at
the
judgment

, Moses
will be
the one
pointing
the finger

of
accusatio
n.

Jesus
said, "For
had ye
believed
Moses,

ye would
have
believed
me; for
he wrote

of me." If
the Jews
were
truly
studying

the
Scripture
and
committe
d to

God's
word,
they
would
have

easily
seen how
Moses
writings
spoke of

the
coming
of Jesus
Christ.
They

would
have
been able
to look in
the

writings
of Moses
and then
look at
the life of

Christ
and see
the
similaritie
s. How

did
Moses
write
about
Jesus

Christ
hundreds
of years
before He

was to
come?
1. Moved
by the

Spirit of
God,
Moses
prophesi
ed in

Deuteron
omy
18:15,
"The
Lord your

God will
raise up
for you a
Prophet
like me

from your
midst,
from your
brethren.
Him shall

ye hear."
This
"prophet"
was none
other

than
Jesus
Christ,
the
Messiah.

2. When
Moses
lifted up
the

serpent
in the
wildernes
s, he was
demonstr

ating the
work that
Christ
would do.
In fact, in

His
discussio
n with
Nicodem
us, a

prominen
t Jewish
religious
leader,
Jesus

used this
event and
applied it
to
Himself

and to
His
eventual
crucifixio
n. Yet,

the Jews
did not
realize
this when
it

happene
d.
All
througho

ut the
books of
Moses
we find
vignettes

and
shadows
of the
Truth and
Light that

was to
come. In
the
sacrificial
system,

in the
Passover,
in the
giving of
the

manna, in
the rock
that
brought
forth

water, in
the work
of the
Levitical
priests --

everywhe
re we
look, we
see
Jesus.

With all
of their
scholarly
knowledg
e about

Moses
and the
Law, with
all the
time they

spent
memorizi
ng,
debating,
and

interpreti
ng the
Old
Testamen
t, the

Jewish
religious
leaders -of all
people --

should
have
been able
to see
what was

going on.
Yet,
because
they did
not have

true love
for God
in their
hearts
and

because
they were
only
concerne
d about

their own
status
and
image,
they

missed
the
greatest
event in
history

because
of their
stubborn
refusal to
believe.

Jesus
says, "If
ye
believe

not his
writings
[Moses'
writings],
how shall

ye
believe
my
words?"
Too

often, we
think that
ignoranc
e of the
truth is

an
obstacle
to belief,
and it is.
But here

we see
that the
opposite
is true as
well.

Refusal
to accept
the truth
that one
has right

in front of
him is a
damning
obstacle
to belief.

Once a
person
takes that
first step
of faith

on the
proverbia
l
staircase,
they will

be able to
see far
enough
to take

the next
step.
The Jews
had

plenty of
evidence
that
Jesus
was the

Messiah
-- they
had the
testimon
y of

John, the
testimon
y of
Jesus'
miracles,

the voice
of God
straight
from
Heaven,

and five
whole
books of
the Bible
to take

into
consider
ation -not
counting

the over
350
specific
predictio
ns made

by Old
Testamen
t
prophets
regarding

the
Messiah.
They
didn't
need

more
informati
on; they
were just
unwilling

to
believe.
Dear
friend,

that
leaves
you with
a choice.
You have

plenty of
evidence
and
incentive
to believe

in Jesus
Christ.
Perhaps
the real
reason

why you
have yet
to believe
is
because

you, like
the Jews,
have
been
trusting

in your
own form
of
religion,
your own

way of
doing
life, and
your
pride

won't let
you give
that up. I
urge you
not to

make the
same
mistake
that the
Jews

made.
You can
make the
choice
today to

believe in
Jesus
Christ
and let
him take

control of
your life.
Here is
how:

John 3:16
states,
"For God
so loved
the

world,
that He
gave His
only
begotten

Son, that
whosoev
er
believeth
in Him

should
not
perish,
but have
everlastin

g life." In
his
comment
ary on
this

passage,
David
Guzik
wrote:
The fact

that God
gave His
only
begotten
Son

describes
both the
expressio
n and the
gift of

God's
love.
God's
love
didn't

just feel
for the
plight of
a fallen
world.

God did
somethin
g about
it, and He
gave the

most
precious
thing to
give: His
only

begotten
Son.
The
phrase

whoever
believes
in Him
describes
the

recipient
of God's
love. God
loves the
world,

but the
world
does not
receive
or benefit

from that
love until
it
believes
in Jesus,

the gift
that the
Father
gave.
Believes

in means
much
more
than
intellectu

al
awarenes
s or
agreeme
nt. It

means to
trust in,
to rely
on, and

to cling
to.
The
phrase

should
not
perish
describes
the

intention
of God's
love.
God's
love

actually
saves
man from
eternal
destructi

on. God
looks at
fallen
humanity,
does not

want it to
perish,
and so in
His love
He

extends
the gift of
salvation
in Jesus
Christ.

Finally,
everlasti
ng life
describes
the

duration
of God's
love. The
love we
receive

among
people
may fade
or turn,
but God's

love will
never
change.
He will
never

stop
loving
His
people,
even

unto the
furthest
distance
of
eternity.

We may
say there
are
Seven

Wonders
in John
3:16.

God - The
Almighty
Authority
So loved
the world

- The
Mightiest
Motive
That He
gave His

only
begotten
Son - The
Greatest
Gift

That
whoever The
Widest
Welcome

Believes
in Him The
Easiest
Escape

Should
not
perish The
Divine

Deliveran
ce
But have
everlastin
g life -

The
Priceless
Possessi
on

If there
is one
sentence
more
than

another
which
sums up
the
message

of the
Fourth
Gospel, it
is this.
The love

of God is
limitless;
it
embraces
all

mankind.
No
sacrifice
was too
great to

bring its
unmeasu
red
intensity
home to

men and
women:
the best
that God
had to

give, he
gave - his
only Son,
his wellbeloved.

The Bible
also says
in
Romans

10:9 and
13: "That
if thou
shalt
confess

with thy
mouth
the Lord
Jesus,
and shalt

believe in
thine
heart that
God hath
raised

him from
the dead,
thou
shalt be
saved....

For
whosoev
er shall
call upon
the name

of the
Lord
shall be
saved."

If you
believe
that
Jesus
Christ

died on
the cross
for your
sins, was
buried,

and rose
from the
dead, and
you want
to trust

Him for
your
salvation
today,
please

pray with
me this
simple
prayer:
Holy

Father
God, I
realize
that I am
a sinner

and that I
have
done
some bad
things in

my life. I
am sorry
for my
sins, and
I want to

turn from
my sins.
For
Jesus
Christ

sake,
please
forgive
me of my
sins. I

now
believe
with all of
my heart
that

Jesus
Christ
died for
me, was
buried,

and rose
again. I
trust Him
as my
Savior

and
follow
Him as
Lord
from this

day
forward.
Lord
Jesus,
please

come
into my
heart and
save my
soul and

change
my life
today.
Amen

If you
believed
in your
heart that
Jesus

Christ
died on
the
cross,
was

buried,
and rose
again,
allow me
to say,

congratul
ations on
doing the
most
important

thing in
life and
that is
accepting
Jesus

Christ as
your Lord
and
Saviour!
For more

informati
on to
help you
grow in
your

newfoun
d faith in
Christ, go
to Gospel
Light

Society.c
om and
read
"What To
Do After

You Enter
Through
the
Door".
Jesus

Christ
said in
John
10:9, "I
am the

door: by
me if any
man
enter in,
he shall

be saved,
and shall
go in and
out, and

find
pasture."
If you
accepted

Jesus
Christ as
your
Savior
today,

please email me
at
dw3@go
spellights

ociety.co
m and let
us know.
There is
some

free
material
that we
want to
send you.

If you
have a
prayer
request,
please e-

mail that
to us as
well, and
we will
pray for

you until
you tell
us to
stop.

God
loves
you. We
love you.
And may

God
bless
you.