All right, thank you very much.

And hello again, dear radio friend, how in the

world are you? [chuckle] Yes, that little greeting establishes the fact that this
is your good friend Bob Cook. And I'm glad that you and I can be in the world, but
not of it, we don't have to be tarred with the world's brush. God can keep you in a
dirty world, He can keep you clean for His glory. It's great thing to know, isn't
it? Well we're back together again looking at the Gospel of John, and we've come to
that wonderful verses, verses, really; two of them in the closing of chapter 20.
"Many other miracles Jesus did in the presence of His disciples which are not
written in this book, says John "but these are written that you might believe that
Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God and the believing you might have life through
His name." The real reason for the Gospel of John is to lead you and me into a
personal commitment to the Lord Jesus Christ as our Lord and Savior. That's why
thousands upon thousands of Christians have given out the Gospel of John as a means
of introducing others to the Lord Jesus; because if it's thoughtfully read any
thoughtful reader is going to be convinced that the Lord Jesus Christ is God's
answer for the problems and heartaches of life.

I thought it might be helpful in these broadcasts just to recap what John must have
had in mind. He said "these are written that she might believe that Jesus is the
Christ the Son of God and the believing you might have life through His name." What
then did he have in mind as he penned this book, the Gospel of John? Obviously that
first chapter is that He's not only the creator and sustainer and revealer, but He
is the Redeemer; the answer to the sin problem. John the Baptist said it "Behold
the lamb of God which birth away the sin of the world." "He's the sin bearer, He's
the Redeemer, He's the Savior. The Son of man has come to seek and to save that
which was lost," said our Lord. And so we see that as the very first step in
approaching this whole matter. You don't get very far with God until you
acknowledge that you are indeed a sinner. Self-righteousness closes the door to
grace. Our Lord Jesus said "Now you say, He said to the Pharisees, "now you say we
have no sin, therefore your sin remaineth." He said "I came not to call the
righteous, but sinners to repentance. They that are well have no need of a
physician, but they that are sick I came not to call the righteous but sinners to
repentance." Paul says in Romans three, therefore there is no difference for all
have sinned and come short of the glory of God."

So you really don't get very far with God until you've faced that dreadful fact of
sin in your life. And it's not just the things that we do those are S-I-N-S; sins.
It is the root principle of sin, singular S-I-N, the sin nature that is in every
one of us. Look at a little child, does anybody need to tell a little child to lose
its temper? And when it when a child begins to walk and talk and gets into some
kind of trouble and mother says "Did you do that Junior?" And he looks up with an
angelic face and says "No, mama." Now he may have cookie crumbs and jam all over
His little face, but he's trying to look as as seraphic as an angel; while he's
lying through his little baby teeth. Who taught him that? Nobody. I used to do this
in traveling the mission fields of the world. I remember on one occasion I was
speaking in the courtyard of the William Carey Memorial Church in Calcutta. There
was a law which they called Section 44 that had been invoked in those years,
prohibiting any large gatherings public outdoor gatherings but we had such large
crowds we had to find some place for them and so we held the meetings in the
courtyard of the church; which was deemed to be a private place. And thus not in
violation of the law.

I remember talking to the crowd on one occasion, unruly crowd they worried, we had
a few bricks and other objects tossed at us by radicals and rebels and communists
that were out on the edge of the crowd. As a matter of fact they threatened anybody
that would respond to the Gospel invitation and people did anyway, thank God by the
scores. But anyway I was saying to the now, "How many of you have ever told a lie?
Come on, be honest. Well one by one, by one the people in the crowd would lift
their hands. Then I would ask them "Who taught you to tell a lie?" And they would
look at each other and smile because nobody had to teach them. Tell me, friend,
have you faced honestly the fact that you aren't going to get anywhere with God
until you confess that you are a sinner and ask him to forgive and to cleanse you
from sin and to give you that new nature that comes when you receive Christ.