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Walking With The Lord - Part 7 - Learning Christ - Part 1

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• All right, let's open our Bibles today then to Ephesians chapter 4. This is part 7 of Walking with the Lord, Ephesians chapter 4, part 7. And our text today is verses 20 and 21. In fact, let's read verses 17 through 21 since we dealt with 17 through 19 last week. This I say therefore and testify in the Lord, that you henceforth walk not as other Gentiles walk, in the vanity of their mind, having the understanding darkened, being alienated from the life of God through the ignorance that is in them, because of the blindness of their heart, who being past feeling have given

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• themselves over to lasciviousness, to work all uncleanness with greediness. But you have not so learned Christ. If so be that you have heard him and have been taught by him, as the truth is in Jesus. We've been dealing with this subject, Walking with the Lord, now for the last six weeks, and I pointed out we can't walk with the Lord until we learn to walk before the Lord. We must walk in faith according to Hebrews chapter 11, verse 6. Then we looked in Ephesians chapter 4, verses 1-7, where Paul teaches us how to walk worthily of the vocation we have been called.

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• Then he tells us that we are to walk in lowliness and meekness and longsuffering, forbearing one another in love, endeavoring to keep the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace. And then last week we began with verse 17, and I showed you where he demands and commands that we walk differently, that we walk not as other Gentiles walk, or the other nations walk. And then I pointed out in the vanity of their mind, the word vanity not only refers to uselessness and worthlessness, but also to idolatry as well as perverseness. And then he explains that vanity in verse 18, having the understanding darkened. And then I told you about judicial darkening, retributive darkening, and also then natural darkening in response to sin.

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• Being alienated from the life of God through the ignorance that is in them, because of the blindness of their heart. Who being past feeling, that is there is no consciousness, there is no sense of shame or remorse. They have become calloused and they have given themselves over to lasciviousness, to nakedness, to wantonness, to lustfulness. Then he says to work all uncleanness with greediness. So then he adds in verse 20, but you've not so learned Christ.

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• So the apostle Paul is teaching us that we have to walk differently than the unsaved. So we're not to be like the ungodly in any way, because the ungodly do not know Jesus Christ. So the question is, what is it that makes us different? Well, the answer has to be first and foremost, the grace of God in our lives. The Apostle Paul asks several questions in 1 Corinthians chapter 4 and verse 7. He asks, "For who maketh thee to differ one from another?" And then he asks, "What hast thou that thou didst not receive? Now if thou didst receive it, why dost thou glory or boast as if thou hadst not received it?" So he is saying that it is God who made us to differ, and everything that we have is from God.

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• I met a young man this—in fact, he's still at the house. He's a very talented young man, intellectually, physically, and he just got a full scholarship, not only because of his athletic ability but because of his intellectuality. So as Grandpa was bragging on him at dinner today, and he told—he said, "Grandpa, you need to hush." He said, "You gonna give me a big head," you know? And I looked at him and I said, "Son, the only thing you can do is say, 'Thank God for my intellect, for my abilities,' because He gave you everything. And if you try to say, 'It's me,'

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• then you're sinning, and that's pride." I said, "The proper response when someone brags on you like that is just simply to say, 'I am what I am by the grace of God.'" And so certainly, first and foremost, we are what we are by the grace of God. So we also have to confess that the grace of God that leads us to salvation also leads us into obedience. You see 1 Peter 1 and verse 2 says it like this, "Elect according to the foreknowledge of God the Father through sanctification of the Spirit unto obedience." So the very God who saves us brings us unto obedience.

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• Now think about this, obedience not only implies learning, it requires and demands learning. You can't obey that which you do not know. You cannot obey someone that you do not know, or some order that you never know has been issued, or some commandment has been issued. So, actually obedience requires learning.

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• Now, the Greek word for a disciple is mathetes, which literally means a learner, a pupil, or disciple. Now, he says in verse 20, "But you have not so learned Christ." So, here is the question: Has the thought of learning Jesus Christ ever really entered into your mind? Have you ever really considered the necessity of learning Christ? Here's another question: Has the meaning of the word Christian ever passed through your mind? Because the word Christian literally means to be Christ-like or to be a disciple or a follower of Jesus Christ. We're told that the disciples were first called Christians in Antioch in Acts chapter 11, verse 26. So how in the world could one consider himself a follower or disciple of Jesus Christ if he is not like Jesus Christ? Now I want you to think about the situation that we're in in America. All one has to do to ascertain as to whether or not we understand the truth of learning Christ is to look around at the average church and at the average professing Christian.

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• Truly, it is almost impossible today to tell the difference between the average professing Christian and an unsaved worldling. When you stop and think about it, professing Christians look like, dress like, act like, and even talk like the unsaved. We attend the same movies, we watch the same TV programs, we vote for the same unsaved candidates, and are easily and quickly duped when it comes to biblical and spiritual knowledge. And the average professing Christian automatically assumes just because someone says they're a Christian that they are,

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• regardless of how they live. Now J.C. Ryle said it like this, listen carefully, he said, "If you show me a man deliberately living an unholy and licentious life and yet boasting that his sins are forgiven, I answer he is under a ruinous delusion and is not forgiven at all. I would not believe he is forgiven if an angel from heaven affirmed it. And I charge you not to believe it too. Pardon of sin and love of sin are like oil and water. They never go together."

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• All who are washed in the blood of Jesus Christ are also sanctified by the Spirit of Christ. And that certainly is true.

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• Now, I understand that there are weak Christians. There are ignorant Christians. There are foolish Christians. They're baby Christians. And unhappily, the truth is most are in those states, stay in those states. So you have to ask, what in the world is wrong with Christianity? Why is it we never progress? We never get out of weak-kneed Christianity or baby Christianity or shallow Christianity. Why is it most never progress? Well, if someone is saved, and I mean genuinely saved, the truth is they never ever really learn Christ. They may know Him in a saving manner, but they've never really genuinely learned Christ. And you look around and you have to acknowledge that the average professing Christian is unlike Christ in a multitude of ways.

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• I've always been amazed at this, and I've thought about this innumerable times over my last 50 years of preaching. I'm amazed at how many hours that professing Christians can spend in church and how many sermons they can actually hear and end up knowing so little and being so ignorant when it comes to biblical truths. And the answer comes back is because they never really, really listen, and they never, ever really learn Jesus Christ. They may know Him savingly in one sense of the word, but they really do not know Him. Let me show you.

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• I want you to hold Ephesians chapter 4, but I want you to look in your Bible to John chapter 14. Here is a conversation that is carried on between Jesus Christ, Thomas, and Philip. And I want you to pay close attention to the question that Jesus Christ asked Philip. Look in John chapter 14, verse 1, it's a favorite passage of a lot of people. John 14, verse 1, our Lord says, "Let not your heart be troubled.

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• You believe in God, believe also in me. In my Father's house are many mansions. If it were not so, I would have told you. I go to prepare a place for you. And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again and receive you unto myself, that where I am, there you may be also. And whither I go, you know, and the way you know." Thomas saith unto him, "Lord, we know not whither thou goest; how can we know the way?" Jesus answered and said unto him, "I am the way, the truth, and the life. No man cometh unto the Father but by me."

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• Now watch what he says. "If you had known me, you should have known my Father also. And from henceforth you know him and have seen him." Philip saith unto him, "Lord, show us the Father, and it sufficeth us." Watch now, verse 9. Jesus saith unto him, "Have I been so long time with you, and yet thou hast not known me, Philip? He that hath seen me hath seen the Father; and how sayest thou then, 'Show us the Father'?" Now look what he said: "Have I been so long time with you, yet thou hast not known me?" So Philip then personally walked with Jesus Christ for three years, personal intimate fellowship with him, and our Lord looks at him and said, "What? Have I been so long time with you and yet you have not known me? You really don't know anything about me, Philip, to ask a question like that." Now if Philip could live with the Lord and walk with the Lord for three years, seeing him every day, are we not much more ignorant, not

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• having that personal intimate relationship the way Philip did? And the truth of the matter is most people really do not know Jesus Christ.

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• Now, look back in your Bibles to Ephesians 4. In verse 20, he says, "But you have not so learned Christ." Verse 21, "If so be that you have heard him and have been taught by him, as the truth is in Jesus."

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• Now, to me, Paul is giving us an astounding and an amazing truth. He is teaching us that we must learn Jesus Christ. We are not to live as do the heathen. If someone lives in a heathenish lifestyle, it is evidence that they do not know Jesus Christ. Because Jesus Christ does not teach us to live ungodly lives. Jesus Christ does not teach us to live in vanity and ignorance. Jesus Christ does not teach us to live in rebellion. Jesus Christ does not teach us to live in disobedience. If we know anything about Jesus Christ, we know that he is the holy, harmless, sinless Son of God.

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• We also know that he is the most submissive servant to the Father, and he was obedient in all things, and he's our example in everything. John Calvin said it like this, listen carefully. He's talking about the difference between verses 17, 18, and 19, and then verses 20 and 21. He says, "He, that is Paul, now draws a contrast of a Christian life so as to make it evident how utterly inconsistent it is with the character of a godly man to defile himself with the abominations of the Gentiles. Because the Gentiles walk in darkness, therefore they do not distinguish between right and wrong. But those on whom the truth of God shines ought to live in a different manner.

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• That those to whom the vanity of the senses is a rule of life should yield themselves up to base lusts is not surprising. But the doctrine of Christ teaches us to renounce our natural dispositions. He whose life differs not from that of the unbelievers has learned nothing of Jesus Christ. For the knowledge of Christ cannot be separated from the mortification of the flesh." The word mortified just simply means to make dead. That's why we hear of morticians. Okay.

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• Now, let me show you. Turn in your Bibles to the book of Titus chapter 2, just to show you the scriptural statement concerning that which John Calvin just made. He is saying that the same grace of God that saves us teaches us to mortify our flesh. Look in Titus chapter 2, beginning there with verse 11. Look what he says, "For the grace of God that bringeth salvation hath appeared unto all men."

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• Now I want to call your attention to this fact. It is the grace of God that brings salvation. Well, according to verse 12, the grace of God that brings salvation in Titus 2 teaches us something. What does the grace of God that brings salvation teach us? Verse 12, "Teaching us that, denying ungodliness and worldly lusts, we should live soberly, righteously, and godly in this present world, looking for that blessed hope and glorious appearing of the great God and our Savior, Jesus Christ." So isn't that amazing? He says the grace of God that brings salvation teaches us that we're to live differently. It teaches us that we are to deny ungodliness and worldly lusts, and that we're to live soberly, righteously, and godly in this present world. Now you remember that Paul, who wrote the book of Ephesians,

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• also wrote the book of Philippians. Paul said this in Philippians 3, verses 10 and 11, "That I may know him, and the power of his resurrection, and the fellowship of his sufferings, being made conformable unto his death, if by any means I might attain unto the resurrection of the dead." Now, here's the interesting thing. The Apostle Paul is teaching us that to know Jesus Christ is far more than just simply knowing facts about Him. It is far more than an intellectual knowledge concerning Him. He says to know Jesus Christ means that we are to be made conformable unto him in life and in death.

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• Now, let me give you some interesting questions, and I'm going to give you the answer straight from the Bible. Since we're commanded to learn Christ, the question has to be asked, how well are we to learn Christ? To what extent are we to learn Christ? I could also ask another one, and I'll answer this one next week. What is the evidence that we're learning Christ? Well, let me just show you the answer.

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• Look in your Bibles, if you would, to 1 John chapter 4, and look at verse 17. 1 John chapter 4. You want to know how well we're to learn Christ? What is the extent of our learning of Jesus Christ? Watch. 1 John 4 and verse 17. The Bible says, "Herein is our love made perfect, that we may have boldness in the day of judgment, because as he is, so are we in this world." What?

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• Did you just hear what I read? John said if you want to be bold in the day of judgment, that which is going to give you boldness is that as He is, so are we in this world. In other words, our life, our character, our conduct is going to be Christlike. As He is, so are we in this world.

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• Now I want you to consider exactly what he's talking about. If you look back in Romans 8, and look at verse 29, most of you can probably quote it, or at least you know what is in it. Romans 8, verse 29. Watch carefully. Romans 8, verse 29. The Scripture says, "For whom he did foreknow, he also did predestinate to be conformed to the image of his Son,

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• that he might be the firstborn among many brethren." Now the Bible says that He predestinated us to be conformed to the image of His Son.

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• Now the Greek word for conformed here is summorphos, and it literally means to be conformed unto, to be fashioned like unto, to have the same form or the same likeness. Let me give you a little illustration and at the same time try to impress this upon you. What the word actually means is to be pressed into the same mold. Years ago Alice used to make our butter. We had a butter churn, one of those old wooden churns, and we would just turn that butter. And when it got thick enough she would pour it into a butter mold and then she would put that mold in the refrigerator. And then once it hardened she would dump the butter onto a plate and guess what? It was perfectly conformed to that mold. That is exactly what he is talking about being conformed to Jesus Christ. Which means, in reality, we're to be duplicates of Jesus Christ in this world in obedience, submission, character, and conduct, and holiness, so that we can say like Christ to the Father in John 8, verse 29, listen to this, "For I always do those things that please him."

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• You know, would it not be absolutely wonderful if you and I were able to truthfully say, "We always do those things which please Him"? That's what conformity means. As He is, so are we in this world.

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• Now, go back to Ephesians chapter 4 and look at verse 20 and 21 again. He says, "But you have not so learned Christ. If so be that you have heard him and have been taught by him, as the truth is in Jesus." So here's what you must grasp today. Jesus Christ is the lesson. We must learn Christ. He is not only the lesson, He is the teacher. He says, "If you have heard Him and have been taught by Him, as the truth is in Jesus." So, we must learn to look at Jesus Christ not only as our lesson but also as our teacher. Now, we are not just simply learning about Christ, we are learning from Christ.

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• There is a big difference. In order to learn Christ we must take our seat in the position as learners, as students, as followers, and as disciples.

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• Now if you look at the word learned in verse 20 he said, "But you have not so learned Christ." You remember I told you earlier that the Greek word mathetes is the word for a disciple, or a pupil, or a learner. The interesting thing is the word learned here is the verb manthano, which literally means to learn as a disciple or as a pupil. It means to learn, to be apprised of, to increase one's knowledge, to be increased in knowledge, to hear, to be informed, to learn by practice and use, and listen

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• to this, and to be in the habit or made accustomed to. Now you're going to understand this word in a far more extensive way next Lord's Day if the Lord lets us all live, because that's what the rest of this chapter is all about. The importance of this word can be seen in that it occurs 25 times in the New Testament, and listen carefully, the emphasis of the word is not just simply upon imparting knowledge, but the emphasis is upon awakening a thorough and complete commitment of oneself to Jesus Christ. You remember that passage I've quoted it a couple weeks ago in Matthew 11, verse 29, where Jesus said, "Take my yoke upon you and what? Learn of me. And you shall find rest for your souls." Now he did not say learn about me. He said learn of me. And the little preposition there means to learn out of or from Jesus Christ. So Jesus Christ isn't only the lesson, Jesus Christ is the teacher. We're not just learning facts about Christ, we're actually learning Christ.

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• Now, I want you to look in John chapter 8 at what our Lord said. John chapter 8 and verses 30 and 31. Watch carefully. Because we're talking about a disciple learning Christ. And John 8, verse 30 and 31, the Bible says, "As he spake these words, many believed on him." Wow. Watch what our Lord said. However, then said Jesus to those Jews who believed on him, "If you continue in my word, then are you my disciples indeed." A disciple is not only one that learns of, from, and out of Christ, but one that continues in that which he has learned. I've had people tell me over the years, "Well, so-and-so used to be a Christian, but he fell away." Really? The proof that you've ever savingly believed is that you continue in faith. The proof that you have ever savingly repented is you continue in repentance. The truth that you've ever savingly believed the word is that you continue in the word. And when you try to tell me, "Well, so-and-so used to be a Christian, but he's no longer a Christian,"

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• all I can do is quote 1 John 2, verse 19, where John said, "They went out from us, but they were not of us; for had they been of us, no doubt they would have continued with us." So the proof that a man is ever really genuinely been saved is that he continues in that salvation. And so our Lord is saying, if a man is ever really and truly and genuinely my disciple, he will continue to. Now, I want you to look. He said in verse 31, "Then said Jesus to those Jews who believed on him, 'If you continue in my word, then are you my disciples indeed.'" I wish you would underline the word indeed at least in your mind. That word indeed literally means absolutely, most certainly, surely, truthfully, in reality, indeed. So he says if you want to know who's really genuine my disciple, it's those who continue in my word. A genuine and true disciple holds on to the truth of Jesus Christ and he continues in that truth. He does not give it up. He follows the admonition of Proverbs 23, verse 23, where the Word of God commands us to buy the truth and sell it not. So the full sense of learning and being a disciple of Jesus Christ is that we receive Christ, His work, and His Word in

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• every area of our lives. In other words, His truth affects everything about us. Our money, our marriage, our morals, our manners, everything.

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• Now, you look at verse 21 of Ephesians chapter 4. I've covered verse 20 but look at verse 21. He says, "If so be that you have heard him and have been taught, as the truth is in Jesus." Now Paul, in an effort to excite their attention and earnestness even more, not only tells the Ephesians that they had heard Christ, but he employs even a stronger expression, states that they have been taught by him. Wow. "If so be that you have heard him and have been taught by him, as the truth is in Jesus." So let's look in our Bibles to John chapter 10. John chapter 10, because we're talking about learning Christ and being taught by Christ. Look in John chapter 10 and let's begin reading there with verse 23. John 10 and verse 23. Remember now he tells these Ephesians, "You've heard Christ, you've been taught by Christ." Watch John 10, verse 23, "And Jesus walked in the temple in Solomon's porch.

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• Then came the Jews round about him, and said unto him, 'How long dost thou make us to doubt? If thou be the Christ, the Anointed One, the Messiah, tell us plainly.' Jesus answered them, 'I told you, and you believe not. The works that I do in my Father's name, they bear witness of me. But you believe not, because you are not of my sheep. As I said unto you,' watch, verse 27, 'My sheep hear my voice, and I know them, and they follow me. And I give unto them eternal life, and they shall never perish, neither shall any man pluck them out of my hand. My Father which gave them me is greater than all, and no man is able to pluck them out of my Father's hand. I and my Father are one.'" Now

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• I can't ever read this passage without thinking about a sermon I heard years ago. I was traveling home from Ohio or Indiana somewhere. It's one or two o'clock in the morning. Alice wasn't with me because all the kids were small and she stayed with them. And I had the radio on just trying to stay awake. And I finally found some preaching. There was no black preacher. And I said, "Well, at least he'll keep me awake." And he was preaching from John chapter 10.

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• And I never will forget what he said to this day, and I still appreciate what he said. That old gruff voice, he said, "Now," he said, "Jesus Christ says that if you believe in him, you're in his hand and he is in God the Father's hand. And he said, 'No man can pluck you out of my hand.' He said, 'So if you be right there,' he said, 'God the Father's not gonna pluck you out of his hand, God the Son's not gonna pluck you out of his hand, God the Spirit's not gonna pluck you out of his hand.' And then he paused and said, 'And come to think of it,

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• them's only three that can do any plucking anyhow.'" That's true, that's true. But look exactly what our Lord said. Notice in John 10 and verse 27, He said, "My sheep," what? "They hear my voice." Then he said, "I know them, and they follow me." So the first truth is our Lord's sheep hear his voice. The second truth is he knows them. And number three, his sheep follow him. If you look in verse 3 of John chapter 10, He says it like this, "To him that is Christ, the true Shepherd, the porter openeth; and the sheep hear his voice. And he calls his own sheep by name and he leadeth them out." So here's the question. Have you heard Jesus Christ? Do you follow him?

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• Have you been taught by him? You see, Jesus Christ only teaches truth. Obviously, if you hold error and heresy and falsehood, you have not heard him nor been taught by him.

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• Now the Greek word for heard is the Greek word akouo, and it means more than just simple hearing or hearkening. It literally means to give audience unto, to attend and consider what is being said. It means to give ear to a teacher, to hear or to perceive by the ear that which is announced in one's presence. It also has the implication of comprehension and understanding. In other words, you not only hear what is being said, you understand it. You comprehend it. You perceive it.

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• Now, I want you to turn to Deuteronomy 33 and let me show you something. I'll quote a scripture as you go to Deuteronomy 33. But do you realize that even in the Old Testament the mark of a true believer was that of being taught by God and receiving his words? Job 36, verse 22 exclaims, "Behold, God exalteth by his power: who teacheth like him?" Obviously God is the great teacher. No one teaches like him, very effectively. But look in your Bibles to Deuteronomy chapter 33 and begin there with verse 1. Deuteronomy 33, verse 1, I am showing you that learning of God has been the mark of a true believer even in the Old Testament. Deuteronomy 33, verse 1, "And this is the blessing wherewith Moses the man of God blessed the children of Israel before his death.

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• And he said, 'The Lord came from Sinai, and rose up from Mount Seir unto them; he shined forth from Mount Paran, and he came with ten thousands of saints: from his right hand went a fiery law for them.' Watch verse three. 'Yea, he loved the people; all his saints are in thy hand: and they sat down at thy feet; every one shall receive of thy words.'" What did the saints do? They sat down at his feet. Do you realize, even in the New Testament, the disciples always sat at the feet of the teacher? Did you realize that?

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• And this is what the Bible is saying. They sat down.

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• Now, I want you to turn, if you would, to John chapter 6 because I'm just showing you that not only in the Old Testament, but also in the New Testament the mark of a true disciple and a true believer is that of having been taught by God. Notice if you would in John chapter 6 and let's read verses 44 and 45. John 6, verse 44, tremendous truth. John 6, verse 44, our Lord says, "No man can come unto me, except the Father which hath sent me draw him: and I will raise him up at the last day." Now can is a term of ability, may is a term of permission. So he says no man can come unto me, no man has the ability to come savingly to Jesus Christ unless he is drawn by the Father. That's what verse 44 says. "No man can come unto me, except the Father which hath sent me draw him." And by the way, the word is draw, not drag. God doesn't drag anybody, he draws us. How does he draw us? Look in verse 45.

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• "It is written in the prophets, 'And they shall be all taught of God.' Now watch, every man therefore that hath heard and hath learned of the Father cometh unto me." How do men get to Jesus Christ? They hear from the Father, and they learn from the Father. Hmm.

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• Now notice what our Lord says. "It is written in the prophets." Well, where is it written in the prophets? Well, go back in your Bibles to Isaiah 54. Then we'll go to Jeremiah 31. Notice Isaiah 54. Notice if you would please verse 13. Isaiah 54 and verse 13. Here the Word of God says, "And all thy children shall be taught of the Lord; and great shall be the peace of thy children." All thy children shall be taught of the Lord, and great shall be the peace of thy children. Now look in Jeremiah chapter 31 and verse 34. Jeremiah 31, verse 34. In fact, you could really begin with—I'd like to read all the passage but look in verse 33. "But this shall be the covenant that I will make with the house of Israel after those days, saith the Lord;

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• I will put my law in their inward parts, and write it in their hearts; and will be their God, and they shall be my people. And they shall teach no more every man his neighbour, and every man his brother, saying, 'Know the Lord': for they shall all know me, from the least of them unto the greatest of them, saith the Lord: and I will forgive their iniquity, and I will remember their sins no more." So that's why our Lord said in John 6 and verse 45, "It is written in the prophets, 'And they shall be all taught of God.'" God still teaches His people. If you would look in your Bibles to 1 Thessalonians chapter 4 and look at verse 9. 1 Thessalonians chapter 4 and verse 9.

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• It's amazing how the Apostle uses this language and we read it most of the time and overlook it. But 1 Thessalonians 4 and verse 9 he says this, "But as touching brotherly love, ye need not that I write unto you: for ye yourselves are taught of God to love one another." Isn't that amazing? Have you ever noticed an instant bond between Christians? By the way, do you know why the fish is considered a Christian symbol? They run in schools. That's a good answer. Not the right answer, but that is a good answer. That is a good answer.

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• What would happen is this. Say Steve and I are walking and he's coming from the south, I'm coming from the north, and we're meeting each other. I don't know Steve. He doesn't know me. And if I happen to be a Christian and I want to know whether he's a Christian or not, I would do this on the ground. I would make a sign like this, or I'd draw just like that. If he's a Christian, guess what he's going to come up and do the other side and maybe put a dot there. And the fish. Why? The Greek word for fish is Ichthys. Ichthys. You say, "What does that mean?" Let's see. Iesous, Christos, Theou, Uios, Soter. Jesus Christ, God's Son, Savior. That's the acronym that came from Ichthys, the fish. From the Greek letters.

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• So that is exactly what they would do. So they would be saying, "Look, we are Christians," and there would be an immediate bond between them, etc. And so you notice that because he said, "You are taught of God to love one another."

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• Now I want you to turn in your Bible, since you are close there, to 2 Timothy chapter 3, just over a few pages. 2 Timothy chapter 3. Look what the Apostle Paul tells Timothy in verses 14 and 15. 2 Timothy 3, verses 14 and 15. Watch. "But continue thou in the things which thou hast learned and hast been assured of, knowing of whom thou hast learned them." Now watch, he says continue, that's John 8 and verse 31. "But continue thou in the things which thou hast learned and hast been assured of, knowing of whom thou hast learned them"—not necessarily from Paul, God may have used Paul as a teacher, but he learned them from the Lord—watch, "and that from a child thou hast known the holy scriptures, which are able to make thee wise unto salvation through faith which is in Christ Jesus." So he says you need to continue in the things that thou hast learned, knowing of whom thou hast learned them, and you learned them from the holy scriptures. Now if you'll go back in your Bibles to the book of Romans chapter 16. Again the Apostle Paul tells us about

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• some things that we've learned. Romans chapter 16, notice if you would please verses 17 and 18. Romans chapter 16, beginning there with verse 17. Here's what he says: "Now I beseech you, brethren, mark them which cause divisions and offences, watch, contrary to the doctrine which ye have learned; and avoid them. For they that are such serve not our Lord Jesus Christ, but their own belly; and by good words and fair speeches deceive the hearts of the simple." Notice that: "I beseech you, brethren, mark them which cause divisions and offences, contrary to the doctrine which ye have learned." When we learn Jesus Christ, we learn that Jesus Christ is truth. We learn that his word is truth. His doctrine is truth. And anything and everything that is contrary to Jesus Christ is error, false, and anti-Christ. Let me show you. Turn in your Bibles to 1 John chapter 2. 1 John chapter 2 and look if you would please at verse 22. We'll look at several passages. 1 John 2 and verse 22. Here's what John says: "Who is a liar?

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• but he that denieth that Jesus is the Christ, that is the Messiah, the Anointed One. He is antichrist, that denieth the Father and the Son." Now John the apostle says anyone who denies that Jesus is the Messiah is a liar. And he says if you deny the Father and the Son, that they are one, you're not only a liar, you're an antichrist. That's not very good company to be in, I can assure you. Skip down if you would to chapter 4 and verse 3. Look what he says. 1 John 4, verse 3. In fact, let's read verse 2. 1 John 4, verse 2. He says it like this: "Hereby know ye the Spirit of God: Every spirit that confesseth that Jesus Christ is come in the flesh is of God: and every spirit that confesseth not that Jesus Christ is come in the flesh is not of God: and this is that spirit of antichrist, whereof ye have heard that it should come; and even now already is it in the world." Wow. So he says very clearly, anyone who does not confess or believe that Jesus Christ has come in the flesh is not of God. By the way, the Apostle John and the Apostle Paul oftentimes really struck at the Gnostics.

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• The word Gnostic is from the Greek word ginosko, which means "I know." And the Gnostics actually thought that you attain salvation by knowledge, intellectual knowledge. And by the way, we get our English word agnostic by putting an "a" in front of ginosko. And now you have agnostic. An agnostic is a man who says, "I don't know." He doesn't know whether he knows anything or not. He just doesn't know. Okay. Well, one group of the Gnostics were known as the Docetics, from the Greek word dokeo, which means "to appear."

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• And they tried to say that Jesus Christ was not real. He was an apparition. He just appeared to be, because they thought nothing—they thought everything physical was sinful. The world is sinful. Dirt is sinful. Birds are sinful. Everything is sinful. So they said, "How can Jesus Christ be flesh without being sinful?" So they just said He is a divine apparition. That is why when John begins John chapter 1 he says, "That which we have seen, that which we have heard, that which our hands have felt."

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• In other words, He is not a ghost. He is not an apparition. He is real. He is genuine. So John is saying anybody who says that Jesus Christ is not the Messiah is a liar and antichrist. Anyone who says the Father and the Son are not one, he's antichrist and a liar. Likewise, anyone who says that Jesus Christ is not come in the flesh is a liar and antichrist. Now look in your Bibles to 2 John chapter 1, verse 7. 2 John 1, verse 7. He says, "For many deceivers are entered into the world, who confess not that Jesus Christ is come in the flesh. This is a deceiver and an antichrist." Wow. Well, the Apostle Paul in Galatians 2, verse 5 speaks of the truth of the gospel. Let me put it like this: Jesus Christ is truth. Jesus Christ is the gospel.

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• Without Him there is no good news. A denial of the gospel is a denial of Jesus Christ. And a denial of Jesus Christ is a denial of salvation. Once you deny Jesus Christ you have denied salvation. You have denied the gospel. There is no hope apart from Jesus Christ.

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• Now, our Lord said, "Everyone that has heard and learned of the Father comes to him." Then in Ephesians 4, verse 21, he said, "You've not only heard him, but you have learned from him, as the truth is in Jesus." So how then does God teach us? How do we learn? Well, the answer is we learn through His Word and by His Spirit as that Word is expounded, explained, and applied. And you know what the Lord does when the Word of God is being taught?

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• He opens our hearts just the way He opened the heart of Lydia in Acts chapter 16. The Bible says there, "He opened her heart, with the result that she attended unto the things which were spoken by Paul." Now when does God open the heart? He opens our understanding exactly the way He opened the understanding of those two on the road to Emmaus in Luke chapter 24. And they said, "Did not our hearts burn within us

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• as he spake to us by the wayside?" And later on in Luke 24, the Bible says, "Then opened he the understanding of all his disciples, so that they might understand the word of God." And then what God does to us, He enlightens our minds that we may see light. Because in Psalm 36 and verse 9, the Bible says, "For with thee is the fountain of life: in thy light shall we see light." And then what God does, He gives us pastors that will feed us with wisdom and understanding according to His heart, as Jeremiah 3 and verse 15 says, "And I will give thee pastors according to mine heart, which shall feed you with knowledge and understanding."

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• So the whole point is this: when we hear Christ and when we are taught by Christ, He teaches us to think and to be obedient. Let me show you. I want you to turn to 1 Peter chapter 1. 1 Peter chapter 1. Back just a few pages. 1 Peter chapter 1. If you ever heard Frank Kersey you always hear him say the word muse means to think, and the word muse is in the Bible. You put an "a" or an alpha in front of it and amuse means not think because it negates.

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• That's why TV is called amusement. You don't have to think. That's when you go to amusement parks. You don't have to think. What I want to show you is this: If we're ever taught by Jesus Christ, He teaches us to think. 1 Peter chapter 1, notice verse 13, He says this, "Gird up the loins of your mind." What does he say? Get ready. You are going to have to do some thinking. You are going to have to do some studying, some meditating, some contemplating. "Gird up the loins of your mind. Be sober and hope to the end for the grace of God, or for the grace that is to be brought unto you at the revelation of Jesus Christ.

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• Watch now, as obedient children, not fashioning yourselves according to the former lusts of your ignorance"—which we'll pick up on next week—"but as he which hath called you is holy, so be ye holy in all manner of conversation or conduct, because it is written, 'Be ye holy; for I am holy.'" So he tells us we have to gird up the loins of our minds. He tells us that we cannot fashion ourselves according to the former lusts of our ignorance. But we're now to fashion ourselves according to Him who hath called us, who is holy. And therefore we are to be holy as He is holy.

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• Now, let me make just a couple of applications. The first one is this. I want you to consider the fact that when we went through Scripture today, that the Scripture teaches us that all of His sheep, all of His elect, all of His people shall be taught of the Lord. Now when you consider that many professing Christians are not being taught and they are not progressing in the Christian profession and are not becoming more and more holy and more and more godly and more and more obedient and more and more submissive, you have to wonder if they're really sheep. Because our Lord said, "My sheep hear my voice and I know them and they follow me." So the true sheep always follow the shepherd.

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• Do you remember what he said to those Pharisees in John 10, verse 26? He said, "You believe not, because you're not of my sheep." Then he said, "My sheep hear my voice and I know them and they follow me." So the evidence that we are true sheep is that we follow the shepherd.

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• Now listen, here's the second application. Someone may offer an objection, an offer as an offense, and say, "But I am really one of his sheep. I am just not a good student or an obedient child." Really? Well, the interesting thing is this: Hebrews chapter 12 teaches us that if we are his child and we sin, he chastens us. So if an individual can sin and get away with it, never be chastened, he doesn't belong to God. Hebrews 12 says, "If ye endure chastening, God dealeth with you as with sons; for what son is he whom the father chasteneth not? But if ye be without chastisement, whereof all are partakers, then are ye bastards, and not sons." And that's what he said. So that means this: When someone says, "Well, I'm just lazy and worldly and not a good student," guess what? If you are really his sheep, he's going to whip the living daylights out of you and whip you in line. And you know what the Bible says in Hebrews chapter 12?

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• "Now no chastening for the present seemeth to be joyous, but grievous: nevertheless afterward it yieldeth the peaceable fruit of righteousness unto them which are exercised thereby." In other words, God's chastening always works. It always works. And so if someone then can come along and say, "Well, I'm really a sheep. I'm just not a good student, and I'm not very obedient, and I want to do my own thing." Well, I've got one other question for you.

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• I want you to explain to me 1 John 2 and verse 4, where God says, "He that saith, 'I know him,' and keepeth not his commandments, is a liar, and the truth is not in him." Wow. The point being, we are not perfect. We're not going to be perfect in this life, but we must learn Jesus Christ if we are his sheep, if we're his children. And we hear His voice, we study His word, we fellowship with His people, and we grow in grace and in knowledge because He teaches us and we hear Him and we follow Him. But here's a thought. We must learn Jesus Christ. Now you're going to ask me, "How do I do that?"

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• And my response will be next week, same time, same channel. You have to be here for the conclusion of this message. Let's pray. Father, in the name of Jesus Christ, we ask for your love and your grace and your mercy. We pray that you would indeed teach us and help us, Lord, to learn Thee, not just learn about Thee, Lord. That's good, but Lord, to learn Thee, to be holy, to be godly, to be obedient, to be submissive, and to bring our lives in conformity to Your Word, in the name of Jesus Christ we ask and pray, Amen.

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deepseek | deepseek-v4-pro | clean_readable_transcript | 2026-06-05T18:47:35Z