Well, I'm taking a short break from the series in the Psalms. Sometimes I get in that mood, so I can't help that. Part of that is because the Lord was directing me here, right? So John 15 this morning I want to consider with you. And the reason I'm doing that is that tonight we're considering in Romans a very strong section of Scripture. And I want us to understand clearly, This was the burden the Lord put upon me to understand clearly the different ways that the Lord speaks and how He addresses His people and how that will tonight you'll see the difference in the way that He's speaking of the world under sin. So this morning I thought it would be a wonderful blessing to hear John 15 and to consider how the Lord has spoken to His people. So we're going to look at John 15 beginning at verse 12 and we will read through 17. Actually, I'm going to back up to verse 9. As the Father has loved Me, so have I loved you. Abide in My love. If you keep My commandments, you will abide in My love, just as I have kept My Father's commandments and abide in His love. These things I have spoken to you, that My joy may be in you, and that your joy may be full. This is my commandment, that you love one another as I have loved you. Greater love has no one than this, that someone lay down his life for his friends. You are my friends if you do what I command you. No longer do I call you servants, for the servant does not know what his master is doing, but I have called you friends. For all that I have heard from my Father I have made known to you. You did not choose me, but I chose you and appointed you that you should go and bear fruit and that your fruit should abide so that whatever you ask the Father in my name, He may give it to you. These things I command you so that you will love one another. May the Lord bless the hearing of His Word. I'm going to read a verse this morning and I'm going to make a mistake. I'm going to make a mistake in the reading of this verse and if you don't understand the mistake or you don't catch the mistake, maybe you've not yet believed or you're a baby Christian. Let me read the verse. He who believes in the Son of God has the witness in himself. He who does not believe God has made him a liar. Now here's... I'll go further. These things, I have written to you who believe in the name of the Son of God that you may hope that you will have eternal life and that you may continue to believe in the name of the Son of God. Did you catch it? Did you catch my error? Here's what it says. These things I have written to you who believe in the name of the Son of God that you may know that you may know that you have eternal life. Not may hope. Nor does it say even will have eternal life. These things I've written to you that you may know that you have it right now. And that you may continue to believe in the name of the Son of God. That's a pretty amazing verse, isn't it? The implications of that are huge. What are the implications of that upon the Christian life? What does it mean for the Christian life? New Testament writers were constantly explaining something that is absolutely vital for being who you are as Christians. And I believe the Apostle Paul summed it up so beautifully when he said in Romans 6, after the contrast of being in bondage to sin and being a slave of righteousness, he made a statement. He said, you are no longer under law, but under grace. Have you ever thought about the implications of a statement like that? Have you ever thought about what that means? What would it be like to be under the law? Well, I'm pretty sure it's clear to everyone after Matthew, that's why I read it this morning, that if you're under the law, you've got to do what it says. And the commands are not easy under the law. The commands under the law say you've got to be perfect. So it says, it condemns, it demands, and it leaves you right there, and it says you're on your own. Do it. Do it. And that's the standard. But if you're under grace, if you're under grace, as Paul says, you're not under law, but under grace, what does it mean? Well, it means you're forgiven. It means you're given a power to live the Christian life. And it could be summed up with what we read in Romans 8.1. There is therefore now no condemnation to those who are in Christ Jesus. That's what it says. It's done. Now here's my question. What do you think are the consequences in the life of God's people when they don't understand this? What is the consequence when the distinctions between these things are totally obliterated. Law and grace. It's something awful that happens, isn't it? In some ways, this is one of the most important passages that you could consider and understand. And it's a passage I rarely hear quoted. It's just not a bumper sticker verse, but if we're going to have a bumper sticker verse, this should be it. John 15 is teaching us and it's communicating to us. It's commanding us under grace and it's explaining for us the most freeing and the most joyful blessing that could be given to the Christian. That you will really hear, never really enjoy the Christian life or understand what Jesus said, I've given these things to you, I write these things to you, that your joy may be complete. You'll never really begin to taste that joy until you understand how He speaks to His people. I want to, by God's grace today, show you the wonders of this passage and the theme that comes out in John 1 that the law came through Moses, but grace and truth came through Jesus Christ. What does that mean? What does that look like? And what is the implication for that upon you? You have to understand the scene here. It's a distressing one. Judas is on their minds. Judas. Oh, Judas. Betrayer. And in John chapter 15, Jesus is answering the burden that is on the disciples' hearts and minds about Judas. He is explaining this phenomenon. They are troubled about this phenomenon that in the kingdom, there are different kinds of branches, some bearing fruit and some not, and they are really troubled about this whole thing. You have to understand John 15 in that light. they're distressed about this. Accumulating now that Jesus is going away and what does all of this mean? And they have so many questions. So the issue of fruit bearing is on their mind because in the first section of John 15, He describes those bearing fruit and those who are not. And that those who don't are going to be cut off. It's going to be an awful thing. So you could only imagine the question that would come out in light of that, well, if Judas is not going to make it, If he can walk with Jesus to the end and there's no fruit, how in the world can I have assurance at all in this life? I mean, this is a distressing section for them. You really need to get into everything that they've been experiencing because now this is the Passion Week and it's moving quickly to the cross and everything is being turned upside down for the time being. He's concerned. They're concerned. So what Jesus does in chapter 15 is overwhelming. He's making a connection between assurance and fruits and He's going to explain all of this. And He's going to show to His disciples the wonders of grace and how it drastically affects them and how they go forward for the Christian life. If we don't understand this, it leads to real confusion. A fearful flock is an inactive flock. So this is the context. In verse 9, notice how Jesus begins to address their fears. As the Father loved me, I also have loved you. Abide in my love. So He looks at them and He makes a statement that's so easy to overlook. He says, listen, the Father has loved me and just as He has loved me, I have loved you. Abide in that love. So He's calling them to trust what He's saying. He's calling them to believe what He's saying. Now it's interesting. He says, I want you to remain. I want you to stay in that love. You need to stay in that love. To remain in it. Jesus was concerned that they live knowing that love. Here's how you can remain confident in it. He says something that maybe initially makes us a little bit nervous. If you pay attention to My commandments, if you keep My commandments, you will abide in My love. Now, what is Jesus doing here? Jesus knows what sin does, doesn't He? He knows what sin does. In fact, there are our brothers and sisters sitting here this morning, I'm sure of it, that are deeply troubled with their lives and they're deeply troubled with what they did last week and they're deeply troubled with the continued sin in their lives. And Jesus knows. Jesus knows what that does to you. Jesus knows that that sin wounds the conscience and that sin makes the great question go up that all of us struggle with. How could God love a wretch like me? Look what I keep doing. And Jesus is addressing this. And he's saying, here's how you can have a good conscience in the way that you go forward. That's what Calvin said. This is a testimony of a good conscience. You can go forward this way. When you honor the commands, it provides you a safe haven so that you don't feel that struggle. So that you can be somewhat protected from that struggle. We'll always have that struggle. But he's telling us how the good conscience can go forward. So he's explaining this. He's saying you can pay attention to the commands. As a believer, they provide you a safe boundary within to walk and that your consciences won't be so condemned. And then he says in verse 11, I say all of this with the purpose that your joy may be complete. I want that for you. Isn't that an amazing statement, dear Christians, that Jesus is saying, I want your joy to be complete. I want that for you. I desire that for my people. I don't want sin to attack that. And here's the path of gratitude that you can walk. Here's the path of gratitude. And so in verse 12, he reemphasizes a commandment. A commandment that means a lot to him. Something that they can be about the work and be about something that really encourages them as they go forward. He commands them. He says, what does he say? You love one another as I have loved you. That's my commandment. Love one another. Exemplify that love. Do you know how you've been loved? Greater love has no one than this, than a man lay down his life for his friends. That's what I'm doing for you. And you were enemies when I did this, doing this. I loved you. So therefore, as you go forward, love. Love. Now I want everyone this morning to look at verse 14. Hope your Bibles are open. 14. You are my friends if you do whatever I command you. And you sit back from that and you say, oh boy, wait a minute. This is one of those statements. Judas has just failed. I read this. It seems like Jesus is saying, I can only be assured I won't be a Judas unless I do whatever He has commanded me. It seems that He's saying that His love and friendship is contingent upon that kind of obedience. You are my friends if... John Wesley got a hold of that And John Wesley said, you know, who dares assert that God's love does not at all depend upon man's works? How are you feeling? If that's the truth, I've got a problem. You've got a problem. Everyone's got a problem. You remember the standard? The problem is, as I confess, I haven't loved the way that I should love. You have not loved this week the way that you should love. And you see, we're coming to a moment in John's Gospel that really is one of the greatest moments of pastoral instruction and help for the Christian that you're ever going to come across in the Scriptures. I'm sure today there are some here who are really struggling and they're saying, I just don't really know. I don't know. I've latched on to this Christianity. I've been raised in it. I'm here, but I just don't really know. And I'm a little bit in despair. And we have thought that the answer to propose to people is to say, hey, you guys just need to get down to the nitty gritty of the Christian life. And the answer to this dilemma of verse 14 is to say, hey, let's get people straightened out then. I mean, that's the way the approach is. I just had a dear friend in the URC, a pastor, he called me this last week and we were talking and he was telling me of a man that visited from the community and he said, Pastor, I really want to rest in Jesus. I really want to trust Christ. I've been on this church journey for 10 years now and I've been going around and I know I'm jumping around and hopping around to churches and it's wrong. He says, but all I'm getting in every single church that I go to is just about what to do. How to live. And you know what? I've been striving all my life to be obedient to the law. I'm just not doing it. That's the reality. I'm just not doing it. Am I missing something? Help me. Teach me how to rest in Christ because I just don't get it. It was a really interesting discussion to have with Him. I mean, that's how Christianity is pitched today. Christianity is pitched as the best set of ethics that you can get and how to live. And we need to tell people how to live. That is so important. If we don't apply things, if we don't have application, we're wrong. It's very important. But I have heard all my life that if I follow the best I can, the Ten Commandments, God will bless me. that has been the predominant message that I've heard. If I follow the best I can the Ten Commandments, God will bless me. And then throughout the course of my life, it wouldn't take very long, and I'd realize, oh boy, I'm not doing it. Isn't that what Jesus is saying? What is He telling us? The answer to this this morning comes in verse 15. Verse 15. After Jesus calls them to obedience, I want you to notice what He says here. Look at verse 15. No longer do I call you servants. For a servant does not know what his master is doing. But I've called you friends. For all things that I've learned from my Father, I've made known to you. This is probably the most important verse to understand today. If you get anything, get this verse. I'm convinced Jesus was jolting the disciples' minds to something in the Old Testament. And the New Testament apostles, even James would pick up on this in chapter 2. It has a huge history here, this language of friendship. And the language of friendship takes us all the way back to the Old Testament. In fact, James would tell us in James chapter 2 when he said Abraham believed God and it was accounted to him for righteousness and he was called the friend of God. Friend forever, says 2 Chronicles. When did Abraham become a friend? Well, James picks up on it. Genesis 15, Paul will tell you, is the moment Abraham was justified. He believed. And that relationship was now one of friendship Now remember what was so special about that relationship with friendship with Abraham. Remember what happened with Abraham? Abraham was near Sodom and Gomorrah and the Lord came down and the Lord said, shall I hide from Abraham what I'm going to do? Did He? He spoke to Abraham openly about judgment, about what was going to happen to Sodom and Gomorrah. He told Abraham everything he needed to know. And you know who got rescued in that whole thing? It was Lot. So there was a real revealing that went on from that friendship. I mean, this is really beautiful. Here, Abraham received everything. Now look carefully at verse 15 again. Christ looks at His disciples and He says to them, You are my friends if you do what I command you. I'm no longer calling you servants. That word there is slaves, of course. And we should probably retain it here. A slave does not know what his master is doing. In other words, when someone has a slave, what do you do with the slave? You command him. We know a history of slavery. It wasn't good. They commanded roughly. They said you do. And you get this sense even in work today. You may have a boss. And if you come up to the boss and say, I don't understand what you're doing. What might be his response? You don't need to. You just do it. That's what he's going to say. You don't need to understand. I'm paying you. You do it. You're a slave. You don't need to pay a slave. A partner would be treated differently, wouldn't he? Now let's put this together for a minute. You notice what Jesus said to assure their hearts. They were confused about Judas. He explains it. They were confused about his going away. He explains it in chapter 14. They're really troubled. And now he's instructing them about what? God's love. I'm telling you, God loves you. Now here's my question this morning. Is he harsh on them? Is he angry with them? Absolutely not. And the reason is, that kind of speech is reserved for slaves. Those who are under the law are spoken to that way. This framed the covenant of grace with Abraham. Here are my friends. Everything that you need to know I got from my father, I'm giving it to you. I'm teaching you. I'm handing it to you. I've made it known to you. And you see this all over the New Testament, even when He spoke in parables. Why do you speak to them in parables? Because to them it's not given, but to you it's given to know the mysteries of the Kingdom of Heaven. I'm hiding it from them, but not for you. Everything about redemption, everything about to be saved from your sin, God's provision to have a righteousness which withstands the scrutiny of His justice, I'm making known to you. That's tonight too. So you are my friends if you do what I command you, but you need to understand something. I'm not commanding you as those under the law. Get it? I am not commanding you as those under the law for condemnation. I'm commanding you as friends. This is so important for Christian ministry. This is so important for Christian ministry. Keep my commands as those who have already been loved with a love that cannot fail. See? A friendship that can't be taken. I don't change. Notice how He's so tender here and how He's so kind to His sheep. Slaves are under the law. Friends are under grace. I believe this has everything to do with the difference between the old and the new. When Paul called the old covenant a ministry of condemnation, it had a way of speaking and a way of commanding that did not produce life. And here Jesus is telling them that He's dying for them, He's paying for them, and now He's commanding them as those who belong to Him. It's all in anticipation of the cross. It's all in anticipation of Him laying down His life for them. That's why He's speaking this way. Have you ever thought about what speaking under the law sounds like? It's rough. It's really rough. Do this and you'll live. Paul called it that ministry of condemnation. It kills you. Jesus says, I'm not speaking to you that way. I'm not doing that. You are my friends if you do what I command. You know what principle is at work? Grace. You know, that distinction is so important because the only way doing is a reality is grace. Isn't it amazing in this very section, he would say, without me, you can do nothing? In this very section. You can do nothing without me. And if that's the case, who is the if dependent upon? Well, he just says in the next verses, he says, I chose you to bear fruit and that your fruit should remain. It's my choice. That's grace. So you need to ponder the assurance he's giving them in the midst of distress and the hardship of life. Abraham believed God. It was accounted to him for righteousness. You believed God. Remember, these things I write you that you may hope. That you will have eternal life? No, that you may know that you have eternal life and you are called God's friend. You are called today friends of God. Take the world today. The Lord just told you, I'm giving you what you need to know. Take the world. Does the world know this today? Does the world know the things of the Father? Of course not. It's more interested in ball games and drinking it up. It's not worried about this. And here today the Lord comes and He says, I'm telling you about justification. I'm telling you about my love. I'm telling you about the freedom you have. I'm making everything known to you that you need to know. That's what the means of grace are. You need this. That's why we have worship. And it's just a beautiful thing when He wants them to understand that it testifies of grace that they did not choose Him, but He chose them and appointed them, verse 16, that they should go and bear fruit and that the fruit should remain. It makes you question today, is assurance so lacking because everyone has built up in their minds that this whole salvation thing is up to them? Their choice, their works, their everything. No wonder you can't have assurance under that. Until you read verse 16. Jesus is saying, I sovereignly picked you out to bear fruit and that will stay. That's not going to be taken from you. It'll stay. So, the way to inflame obedience, you see? The way to inflame obedience, the way to inflame a changed life, to live the Christian life, to live applicationally the Christian life is not to speak to them as under the law for condemnation, but to speak in such a way that the gracious love of Jesus has so overwhelmed your hearts today, all you can say is, I've got to go out and thank Him that He cared that much to do this. You ever struggle with how hard Jesus is in the Gospels? That's why I read Matthew. You ever struggle with how hard He often is in the Gospels? I came to send fire on the earth. How I wish it were already kindled. Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites. You strain out a gnat and you swallow a camel. You're going right to hell. You ever struggle with those? You know how He's speaking? he's speaking to those under the law who have no concept of what? Sin. And then in the middle of his speaking, he puts out his hands and he says, come to me. All you who are weary and heavy laden, I will give you rest. A whole different way of speaking, isn't it? And it's a hard balance, by the way. As a preacher, oh, this is a hard balance to strike. That's where we get in a lot of problems, actually. It was Thomas Watson who once said, it's the most difficult thing to make the righteous happy and the wicked sad. Most difficult thing. Most likely there are some maybe here today. Maybe you're a non-believer. And you've not repented of your sin. And you've not turned. And they don't believe. The Lord speaks heavy to you. He speaks heavy to you and He says, if you don't repent of your sins and come to Me for life, you will perish. And then He comes to those who've trusted Him and He speaks kind, gracious, loving words. The heavy hand of the law doesn't change people. I'll be honest, this has been my struggle I've seen in Reformed pulpits. And I confess that I'm guilty of it too. I'm just as guilty. Sometimes I wonder if the message is today this. You're not living up to it. Don't worry, Jesus died for you. But, you're still not fulfilling your end of the bargain. That's what I feel I get a lot. Have we forgotten today that Christ speaks to His sheep graciously? If we're looking to live out the Christian life, the kind of hard, making everyone feel like they're under the law and condemned doesn't inspire obedience. It never has. And what makes me move so deeply about this section is how He is inflaming them to obedience. I'm not addressing you as slaves under the law. You know, this is exactly what Galatians said. Just listen as I read Galatians for a second. Now I say that the heir, as long as he is a child, does not differ at all from a slave, though he is a master of all, but is under guardians and stewards until the time appointed by the Father. Even so we, when we were children, We were in bondage under the elements of the world. But when the fullness of time had come, God sent forth His Son, born of a woman, born under the law, to redeem those who were under, notice it again, under the law, that we might receive the adoption as sons. And because you're sons, God has sent forth the Spirit of His Son into your hearts, crying out, Abba, Father. Therefore, here's the conclusion, You are no longer a slave, but a son. And if a son, then an heir of God through Christ. Well, is that not the most amazing verse? It's done. Done. So now, what drives my obedience? I am driven to love because I've been loved like that. And that's the Christian life. Christ is saying, I've loved you. I've freed you. And when the command is rooted in that kind of love, it says, now receive my love and go love. To put it simply, the whole motivation to love here is given in the language of confidence and intimacy between us and Christ. You know, my grandmother would tell me, and we'll close here in a second. My grandmother would tell me, she was an old German immigrant, And she would tell me that her father from the old country would never, ever, ever tell her that he loved her. That was the way they did it back then. No expression. No emotion. Get to work. It hurt her. You find it amazing that the God of heaven and earth is announcing to you today, I love you. It's remarkable. And when we don't make that clear as pastors, I first wanted to take the blame here. We end up wounding the sensitive hearts and consciences of those who are trusting in Christ. But you know what we also produce? We also produce nothing more than outward conformity in people. What do I mean? Couldn't we be here today and everything's outwardly perfect and we're all dressed nice And Paul said, when it comes to the righteousness that is in the law, blameless. That's us. Couldn't we be here with that? We're doing it all right in the Escondido URC. See? Outwardly, we're the best. And the law has been preached to promote what? I always said the favorite sermons that were always checked out up north were my sermons on the Fourth Commandment. I told you this. Why? Keep the Sabbath day. Because they would take it and hand it out to everyone who wasn't there. Now, there's a good conviction about that. But I have to remember that there's a reason what we do. And the goal is this. We have to remember the parable of the prodigal son, you know. Where the younger brother rebelled and the older brother stayed in the house and his life was so morally correct. Tim Keller said, neither son loved the father for himself. They were both using the father for their own self-centered ends rather than loving, enjoying, and serving Him. This means that you can rebel against God by being alienated from Him either by breaking His rules or by keeping them diligently. So he says, it's a shocking message. careful obedience to God's law may serve as a strategy for rebelling against God. And we never want to produce that. The absence of Jesus and this gracious message produces nothing more than a mere externalism that leaves a whole group just happy if the rules are kept. And we're not about just getting the rules kept. If you've ever seen churches fighting and through all sorts of bitterness and discord and these sort of things, I assure you, that is the fruit of the heavy hand. That is the fruit of the heavy hand. The message of grace woos us. And it says today, I love you. And you say, wow, I'm putting the dukes down. And I'm going to go love. So let me read this over and we'll stop. Jesus gives them three assurances. I love you. You're my friends. I've chosen you whole purpose that you would bear fruit and that it stays. This is your Jesus. That's how He's been to you. If you don't believe today, sure, it's a dangerous place to be. There's a harsh word for you. But if you turn to Christ and repented and believed, notice what He said to you today. You are my friends. I love you. I've given myself for you. When you hear that, aren't you now excited and ready to say, you know, what are my petty squabbles with brothers? What is that? Who would I dare not go greed and love when he tells me that? This is my commandment, that you love one another. See, now I can hear that commandment free. I'm free. I'm free now to go love. Amazing, isn't it? He brackets the section that way. Love, verse 12, and he ends in verse 17 with what he started and he says, these things I command you that you love one another. I'm ready. Are you? Let's pray. Oh Lord our God, we are so grateful for Your kindness to us and that You have spoken to us this way. We don't deserve it. We know what we've done. We have so departed from You. We deserve words of wrath. And in great offense that we were to You, You returned it with love. Thank You for Your Word of Gospel and grace. And help us always to relish in that, that we would respond in gratitude by the way that we go forward. We praise Your great and Your awesome and Your holy name for the love that we have in Christ Jesus our Lord. Amen.