“Do You Believe…?” (Part 1 of 3)

In the Gospel of John chapter 9. Read about religious leaders who interrogated a man who had been blind from birth. They wanted to know what he had to say about his newfound site when he answered them, how did those religious leaders respond today on Truth for Life. Alister Meg examines the simple faith and logical explanation of a man who professed I was once blind and now I can see message is called do you believe I invite you to turn with me to John chapter 9 never going to read that section a in chapter 9. Just at that one point and then we're going to pray together. Verse 35 Jesus Herod that they had thrown him out, and when he found him, he said do you believe in the Son of Man father we pray that with our Bibles opened our hearts, we trust seeking and sensitive to your truth that the spirit of God will be our teacher so that both in speaking and in hearing and understanding and believing and in living out the gospel that we might be enabled and everything by you, the living God, we cast ourselves completely dependent upon you in this time.

In Jesus name, amen. Overcoming this morning for the fourth time to the ninth chapter of John's Gospel, and last time we noted the formalism of the Pharisees and we considered the fear of the parents actually says right there in verse 22. His parents said this because they were afraid of the Jews. Jews were such an intimidating presence that the man's parents had to determine they would fudge the question that was addressed to them and at the same time we would pass the buck and they said why don't you ask our son, the one who'd been born blind and now can see why don't you ask him. Verse 23. He is of age.

We come now to our third word which we managed unsuccessfully to reach last time that word is faith. Faith when we use the word faith. Many things come to mind some of us I may think that faith in the New Testament is akin to going to the hairdressers whereby you sit in a chair and you entrust your head in your hair to somebody that you may have met or may never have met and that is a measure of faith involved in that you take your money to the bank and you give it to them in good faith that they will actually do what they said to look after it and give it back to at least the same amount of notary that more or you go to the pharmacist you asked for your prescription.

They fill the prescription. They put it in the little plastic thing and you take it home to your bathroom and I wonder if like me you ever think about that. Just before you pop the first one you see yourself why they gave me Mr. Simpson's prescription and I don't know who Mr. Simpson is, nor do you. I invented him but what if's prescription could kill me. I'm putting a tremendous amount of faith and not pharmacist that he or she was having a good day paying very careful attention and making sure that the right pills when in the right little plastic bucket while in some senses that is true concerning faith in Jesus, but only in some sense, because what the Bible says about Faith is this, that it is by grace through faith that we are saved. And this is not our own doing, it is the gift of God so that the very faith that a man or woman exercises in the person of the Lord Jesus is not something that they look inside and find for themselves and by themselves, but it is actually a gift from God, enabling blind people to see and those who do not believe to begin to believe, and John of all the Gospels is very very clear that nobody lives in a middle ground between believing and unbelieving John chapter 3 and verse 36 evening turn.

It reads as follows. Whoever believes in the son has eternal life, but whoever rejects the son or doesn't believe in the son will not see life, for God's wrath remains on him is a very solemn words and their very important words and I mention them now because it sets the context for what we go on to consider this man is once again in verse 24 summoned before these religious leaders and their process of intimidation continues, give glory to God.

They said we know this man is a sinner. Now it may be that that phrase give glory to God is as the margin suggests a solemn charge to tell the truth, which is likely, but it may also be that what they're arguing is you should give glory to God not to this Jesus of Nazareth, whoever he is, and wherever he comes from. Give the glory to God won't give the glory to him either way, they are seeking to drive this man away from his conviction. The reason that they didn't want any glory to be given to Jesus was because by their own testimony they knew Jesus to be an open sinner is needed to invite one page to chapter 8 in our show you why that is true.

Jesus in a quite remarkable statement tells them that they although they think themselves to be very as secure as children of Abraham.

There really children of the devil, because the devil is a liar and they tell lies to an end. In verse 45 of John eight.

He says yet because I tell you the truth, you do not believe me. Can any of you prove me guilty of sin if I'm telling the truth. Why don't you believe me he who belongs to God hears what God says. The reason you do not hear is that you do not belong to God and the Jews answered him on me right in saying that your Samaritan and demon possessed. That's their response to Jesus and it is in light of that, that the challenge this sign that they challenge this medical and they challenge the testimony of this particular individual.

But if they thought they could intimidate him. They are discovering that they actually can that this man has a little bit of metal to him and he is able to respond very clearly second time they summoned him.

We know this man is a sinner. They said and then look at his reply. In verse 25. Whether he's a sinner or not. I don't know one thing I do know I was blind but now I see. In other words, I can release estimates. I don't know about what you know but I do know what I know on what I know is that I was once blind but now I can see. I mean, you seem to be says have all these kind of inferences. In all these assertions in all these observations about Jesus and I'm listening to what you're saying but I'm standing before you, as a testimony to the fact of what is happened I was a blind man, but now I can see what I'm kind of irrefutable evidence is hard to face and recognizing it. In verse 26 the Pharisees retreat to their questions that they been asking previously.

What did he do to you. How did you open your eyes.

If you look back up to verse 15, that's exactly what they had asked him before the Pharisees and I also asked him how he had received his sight. Now they're back asking the same question how it may be that this is indicative of their interrogation style. If you like detective programs and I must confess I don't watch any of the contemporary ones. I have no interest in them. But if you give me some old ones. I can go back there with you and in some old British ones, particularly, but that's just my problem but I always enjoyed the situation where the person who was accused was taken into the white walled room with a single table and two chairs, one for the detective and one for the accused and then the detective would run through the questions the man would answer the questions the detective would stand up, walk out the door close it and leave the man. There Nick seen the detective returns sits down in the chair asked the exact same questions all over again gets up walks out the door slams the door comes back next time. He says would you like a cigarette and the guy said yes please. A right lights it up asked in the exact same questions all over again is here. So what's up with this detective you run out of questions know what he's doing is he is repeatedly going through the same stop in the hall that somewhere along the line he will be able to identify an inconsistency in the man's response and thereby be able to get leverage so as to further conviction may well be that that's what they're doing that. They're hoping that if they keep asking him to see the same thing over again. His account of what took place will actually contradict itself or it may be, and I think this is more likely that the reason the asked these two questions again in verse 26 is because they run out of steam. They have just run out of steam. There's no air left in their balloon. There is nothing left for them to say they are confronted by this incontrovertible evidence standing on the side of truth. The man in verse 27 takes the offensive. We've already been through all this. He says I've told you this already. You didn't listen the first time I can't believe you want me to tell you again unless of course you want to become his disciples as well.

Notice, incidentally the progression in this man's thinking back in verse 11 when they had asked him how his eyes were open. He said the man they call Jesus the man they call Jesus in verse 17 is the precedent he says of Jesus he he is a prophet here in verse 27 he recognizes that Jesus is of such a stature that there are those who would become his disciples and his followers, but now the argument or the interrogation. I don't think it's fair to call it a conversation.

It was much more than that, but it is not reach the tipping point in the man has first his accusers to play their hand. They're going to have to show what they have in their hand.

They played the poker game of this dialogue for long enough. He's calling it show me what you've got and one of the got nothing and so they do what always happens when the weakness of an individual's argument becomes obvious they resort to insults when you no longer have anything else that you can say to substantiate your claim, the chances are you going to say something like your ugly and your mother dresses you funny and at that point the person that you are arguing with nose here. She has got you because you now have nothing to say that is logical or progressive or challenging you just all you got left is to start slinging insults around. And that's exactly what they did. Verse 28 graphic says that they threw their insults at him they threw their insults at claiming again the high ground of their theological background.

We are the disciples of Moses.

We know that God spoke to Moses, but as for this fellow this person that you're on about, we don't even know where he comes from. We haven't got a clue. Of course that wasn't distinct that wasn't actually true because Jesus had already been involved in a dialogue with them, you can turn back one page again and I pointed out to you in the conversation where there challenging the testimony of Jesus. Jesus asked them in verse 23 of Johnny. You are from below.

I am from above. You are of this world. I'm not of this world.

I told you that you would die in your sins. If you do not believe that I am the one I claim to be, you will indeed die in your sins. Who are you the asked just what I've been claiming all along. Jesus reply so there was some ironic sense in which they didn't know where he was from, but there was another very realistic sense in which they did know, and it was the very things that he said concerning his origins that offended and they refused to accept what he said.

Leon Morris, whose commentary on John is arguably one of the finest observers in their response of the man in verse 30 here. The man answered. He says the man's chain of reasoning is pretty good for someone who'd been a beggar all his life and presumably a stranger to academic and forensic argument, and it is quite remarkable is this man has God some gristle to them.

This man has got truth on his site. This man is not in any doubt at all as to what is taking place for him and so look at how he answers in verse 30 I'll paraphrase it for him. He what he says to them as I find this truly remarkable you are. Unbelief in face of the evidence is more of a miracle in my queue and he jumps on the back of that and he uses their same form of argumentation pointing out we know that God doesn't listen to sinners and only that unsettle you if you are aware of the fact that you don't know God and you're aware of your sin twice very very important always to understand the Bible in the context in which it is set what is being said here is not that the thief on the cross didn't have a hope in the world of ever getting to heaven because he was a sinner hanging on a cross next to Jesus and he asked the Lord.

We remember me when you come into your kingdom did did Jesus listen to the center of course he did. Did Jesus listen to Zacchaeus and his cries for changes he did did Jesus listen to the woman taken in adultery. Yes he did or what is being sent here. What is being said here can be best understood not only give you one cross reference. I could weigh you down with them but I want is Psalm 66 and verse 18.

If I had cherished sin in my heart, the Lord would not have listened. The verse does not say if I had sin in my heart.

God wouldn't hear me know if I had cherished sin in my heart if I was committed to my sin, then God would listen to me. He says we know that's true.

God does not listen to the impenitent. He hears the cries of the penitent, but he does not listen to those who are willful in their unbelief and in their sin. Secondly, he does listen to the godly man who does his will. Kind of.

Matthew 633 statements seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness doing of the right thing before God and all these things will be added unto you. God does not listen to the cries of the impenitent but he does listen to the cries of those who do his will.

Thirdly, he says, no one has ever heard of opening the eyes of a man born blind.

If this man were not from God. He couldn't do anything telling you that was the case because they are even in the miraculous events that we have in the Old Testament.

There is no record of any man. Opening the eyes of a man born blind and so with the simple logic I get with a compelling logic. The man beats them at their own game turns the tables on them and says you know you're the one to be starting off with the premise. We know this, therefore, that we know this, therefore, that he says let's do the same thing.

We know that God does not listen to the cries of the impenitent. We know that God does listen to those who do his will.

We know that there is no record of ever anybody having a man open a man's eyes.

Therefore, he says. Conclusion deduction.

If this man were not from God. He couldn't note let's pause there for just a moment because there's a lesson here for each of us in speaking to people concerning faith in Jesus Christ. We may think that the high point in John chapter 9 is arguably verse 25 where he says I don't know about what you know but I do know what I know and that is I know that I was once blind and now I can see some of it I think have a real tendency to retreat to that kind of thing while you can argue me out of my experience I know my experience, I know what happened to me and our friends walk away from is a idiot because they would be able to say that they've had experiences of different things in different places and so on. What I'm really going to do that poignancy will this man is convinced of his testimony. But when push comes to shove, and the challenge reaches for him.

He is able to step up and say well it's just think about this for a moment and why don't we think about this to and have you considered and do you agree that this this and this leads to the deduction so his faith was resting in the expedience of what Christ had done for him to this point and he was absolutely without any doubt concerning it, but I was in the beginning and the end of his argument. Now what we discovered is that they feel the sting of this and in verse 34 they do. The only thing they've got left to do and that is they throw him out, but you will notice they don't throw them out until they have given their own answer to the question with which the chapter began out of the chapter begin while remember with the disciples asking Jesus who sin this man or his parents that he was born blind. The Pharisees say we know the answer to that question. The reason you were blind is because you were steeped in sin worth you are a miserable sinner. That's what you are. How dare you lecture us.

Don't you realize that we've gone to school for this during understand that we have the legacy the historical background of of of the Judaism on our site and use some upstart beggar from the streets here thinks to come in and confront us see how how the challenge of truth gets under the skin of those who know they don't know the very truth they are encountering.

We are not to be surprised when our friends and neighbors want eventually to throw us out. Frankly, we are to get thrown out a lot more than we do. Many of us in the reason we are not thrown out. The reason were accepted maybe because we are more represented by the fear of the parents, then we are represented in the faith of the man once blind, we are ready to fudge the questions. Well I don't know about that, I'm not so sure about that.

Well, maybe you could ask someone else about that, on have the courage of your convictions. How dare you lecture us your gone and they threw him out a powerful reminder from Alastair Beck that we need to be people who stand in our convictions.

This is true for life from a series called a light in the darkness. Alastair reminded us today that the very faith we have to believe in Jesus actually comes to us as a gift from God the Truth for Life we know God's spirit can work in the hearts and minds of those who listen when God's word is taught and that's why we teach each day directly from the Bible so that God's word can do God's work when you support the ministry of Truth for Life. Your giving brings Alistair's Bible teaching to men and women all around the world and to show our thanks for your gifts today. We'd love to send you a brand-new hardback book that takes you into the very heart of who Christ is.

Scripture records a lot about the lessons Jesus taught toward the people he met.

But we need to dig deeper into many of these stories to know the heart of Christ. What does he feel what are his feelings toward us. This is the topic of the book were recommending called gentle and lowly.

Those two words are how Jesus describes himself when he invites us to come to him.

The author of this book combines the Scriptures with wisdom found in the writing of the Puritans to reveal the compassionate heart of Jesus. Jesus loved us enough to die on the cross for our sins.

But how does he feel when we repeatedly make mistakes. Will he continue to extend grace and mercy to us in our daily struggle will soon this book gentle and lowly tackles all of these questions if you're in need of encouragement to stay the course. This book will help you gain a renewed awareness of Jesus love for you, you can request your copy of the book gentle and lowly. When you give to Truth for Life. Visit Truth for Life.org/donate or click the book image you see our mobile app or call 888-588-7884 and if it's your desire to read through the Bible in 2021, we will recommend to you the Bible reading plan put together by Robert Murray McShane.

It's available from Truth for Life. This Scripture reading plan takes you through the Old Testament once during the year and through the New Testament in the book of Psalms twice over the course of the year. You can download a free copy of this Bible reading plan from our website, or if you prefer a hard copy will find it for just one dollar visit Truth for Life.org/store Bob Lapine. Alastair continues his message titled, do you believe giving us a closer look at the unbelief of the Pharisees sure to join us tomorrow. The Bible teaching of Alastair biggest furnished by Truth for Life with the learning is fully