A Daily Walk

John Randall: One of the benefits of believing in the witness that the Father has given, the witnesses that He has presented, believing their testimony, is that now we have the witness of the Holy Spirit within us and, check this out, we now become the witness. I'm a witness. You're a witness. We're called to be a light, called to be a witness.

The Bible says be ready to give an answer to everyone who asks you for the hope that is within you with meekness and in fear. Be ready to witness, be ready to give testimony. Every single person here who is born again, you have a testimony.

Guest (Male): We take you back into the heavenly courtroom today on A Daily Walk. If you recall, last time we were together, the witnesses were called to the stand: the word, the water, the blood, and the spirit. They were powerful and convincing.

But today, we want you to pause and consider whether or not you've received and believed these witnesses of heaven. If you haven't, that can change today. Turn to 1 John chapter 5 as Pastor John Randall begins. He makes an interesting observation concerning verses seven and eight, which aren't in every translation.

John Randall: Now, how many of you today, by show of hands, have in your possession with you the New King James Version of the Bible this morning? Anybody? All right, some of you have that. How many of you have other translations of the Bible today? Raise your hand.

Now, don't raise your hand if you don't have a Bible. No condemnation. We need to get you a Bible. But here's what I want you to understand. I am teaching out of the New King James Bible. There's something I need you to pay close attention to. In some of your translations, if you have the NASB, the NLT, the NIV, the ESV, it goes on and on. There's a lot of great translations.

What you're going to discover is that verses seven and eight found in the NKJV, also in the King James Version, verses seven and eight is not found in those other translations. You're like, "What? Did I get ripped off? What happened? Why? How come it's not there?" It's a really good question. I need you to pay close attention.

First of all, those NKJV-ers, here's what it says in verses seven and eight. "For there are three that bear witness in heaven: the Father, the Word, and the Holy Spirit; these three are one. And there are three that bear witness on earth: the Spirit, the water, and the blood; and these three agree as one." Man, that is so precise about the Trinity. That is the clearest passage in all of the Scriptures that we have.

Why is it missing in the other translations? This is referred to as the Johannine Comma. You say, "Oh boy, what exactly does that mean?" It means scholars point out that this particular comma, verses seven and eight, was not originally part of 1 John.

The reason that they say that is that none of the oldest Greek manuscripts of 1 John contain those verses, and none of the early church fathers include it when quoting or referencing 1 John chapter 5. You say, "Well, how can that be?" Quick history lesson, and I mean quick, for your benefit.

In the 15th century, a man by the name of Erasmus was compiling what has come to be known as the Textus Receptus. Textus Receptus. Not Texas Receptus, Textus Receptus. Which is what? It is the printed edition of the Greek New Testament.

When he was putting together the first and second edition, he did not put in verses seven and eight, this Johannine Comma. However, there was pressure placed upon him by the Catholic Church and others who wanted it, demanded that it be included. And so, Erasmus included it, this Johannine Comma, and in later editions of the Textus Receptus, they found their way into both the King James and the New King James.

Now, that is convenient to have such an explicit statement confirming the Trinity in the Bible, but again, scholars have pointed out that in the original, that actually wasn't there. You say, "Well, what does that mean?" Well, let me tell you what it doesn't mean.

It doesn't mean that the doctrine of the Trinity is false or invalid because in the totality of Scripture, the doctrine of the Trinity of God is woven into the fabric of the Bible. We see the Father, we see the Son, we see the Holy Spirit working together, equal and yet distinct persons.

The most challenging truth of the Trinity, here it is, is that you can never fully explain it and perfectly understand it this side of heaven. I just want to put that out there. God is infinitely greater than we are. How can I fully understand all there is to know about God?

I don't even fully understand His grace. I'm amazed by it. I don't fully understand His love. I don't fully comprehend the depths of God's sovereignty. I don't, but what I do understand, I'm grateful for.

But the point is this. The Bible teaches the Father is God, that Jesus is God, and the Holy Spirit is God, and all of the attributes of deity are ascribed to each person of the Godhead. And the Bible teaches that there is only one God. Explain that to us. I just did. That is pretty much what you come away with.

It just says it and I believe it. In fact, the word Trinity is not found in the Bible, nor is the word Bible found in the Bible. But the word Trinity is certainly, although not found in the Bible, is taught throughout the Bible, and it is the word we use to describe the triune nature of God. The triune God: three coexistent, co-eternal persons who are God.

Now over the years, people have done their best to actually try to explain the Trinity. When I was a little boy, I remember I must have been in kindergarten, and I got a book that had a picture of an apple on it. The whole book, I can see it in my mind, and the whole point of this book showing an apple was to explain the Trinity.

You have the skin, you have the meat of the apple, you have the seed. It's three different parts, but it's all one apple. I just say that might help you, but God is not an apple, just to be clear. Then they said, "Well, it's like an egg, man. You got the shell, you got the yolk, you got all that other stuff that's connected to it. Definitely need to be cooked. Three parts but one egg." God is not an egg.

Then people say, "Well, it's kind of like water. You know water has different parts. You got the liquid, you got the vapor, you got the ice. All different forms of water but still water." Again, all of these things fall short. These illustrations might give us a glimpse or try to help us understand the Trinity, but they are not completely accurate because an infinite God cannot be fully represented by a finite illustration. I hope that is clear.

So there you have it. How's that for a little theological detour? But I wanted you to be clear. Darcy and I were talking about this backstage. I said, "Do you think I should comment again?" because I did it first service. "Should I comment on the Johannine Comma?" He said, "Yeah, you should, so that people just don't look at you and think what you're saying and take it at face value."

You need to explain. You need to teach them how to be Bereans of the word of God. Don't just take my word for it. Look it up, man. Study. Study to show yourself approved, a worker who doesn't need to be ashamed, rightly dividing the word of God.

Well, moving on, we have the witnesses. We've got the word, we've got the water, we've got the blood, we've got the spirit. The question is whether or not we're going to receive these witnesses. Look at verse nine. He says, "If we receive the witness of men, the witness of God is greater; for this is the witness of God which He has testified of His son."

The word receive, it is a word meaning to take hold of, to make your own, to admit, to choose or to select. The witnesses that God has presented, we have now the opportunity either to receive it or to reject it. We have a decision to make.

The argument that John presents, he says, "Listen, you receive the witness of men every day, and man is fallible. So why wouldn't you receive the witness of the infallible God?" Think about it. You receive witness from people every day, from mankind. Find out, "Hey listen, you should eat salmon, it's really good for you." And so you're like, "Okay, we're getting salmon."

And then a year later you find out, "You know what? You shouldn't eat that because there's a lot of mercury in it." So unless it's fresh water caught, I mean all these things, you take the witness of man and you run with it, and then you find out—doesn't that bother anybody else when they tell you to eat it and then they say you can't eat it? It drives me nuts.

Now I've got all these problems because I thought you said I was supposed to. I took the witness of man, it's fallible, they're still figuring stuff out. I think we've learned over the last several years not to take the witness of man without checking it.

Fact-checker has a whole new meaning. I always say who checks the fact-checkers? We do. So don't just—we take man's witness. They say, "Hey listen, it's going to rain outside." Well, we better get an umbrella. Whose witness is that? The meteorologist.

We always listen—"Hey listen, there's going to be traffic. There's a guy flying in a copter. He said there's traffic on the 5. You might want to reroute." And so what do you do? You take the witness and you reroute. We believe the witness of people.

John says, "Why won't you believe and receive the witness of God?" God is the one testifying here. We're not talking about people here. We're talking about the living God is testifying. That's the argument that is presented here by John.

But some people, they do not receive the witness of God. If you go back and you read the Gospels, you look at the ministry of Jesus. He performed countless miracles right in the presence, in front of religious leaders. I mean they were like right there when He said, "Hey, rise up and walk."

They saw a paralyzed guy lowered through the roof, get up and walk out. They said, "We don't believe that." I mean you just saw it. They saw a blind guy who had been blind his whole life. His eyes are opened. They said, "We don't believe that."

He's right here. You asked his mom and dad. They said he was blind. He told you the story. You don't believe. They wouldn't believe it. Jesus said this in John chapter 5 verse 36. He said, "I have a greater witness than John's; the works which the Father has given Me to finish, the very works that I do," that is the miracles, "they bear witness of Me that the Father has sent Me."

In John chapter 5 verse 43, Jesus said, "I have come in My Father's name, and you do not receive Me; if another comes in his own name, him you will receive." The witnesses had been brought to the stand. The Father clearly testifying of His Son. Jesus testifying.

But there's a third, or a fourth rather, witness, and that is we are not only to receive the witnesses but also, here's the other thing to keep in mind, we are to believe the witnesses. Believing the witnesses. Do you receive the witness of the Father?

Do you receive the things He presented? And not just do you receive it, but do you actually believe it? Verse 10, so important. "He who believes in the Son of God has the witness in himself; he who does not believe God has made Him," that is God, "a liar, because he has not believed the testimony that God has given of His Son."

Folks, this right here, this is what it all comes down to. This is where the decisions are made. The gavel comes down. The jury votes. Here's—all the evidence has come in. You've received it. The question is do you actually believe the evidence that's been presented?

A choice has to be made whether or not I will accept the witness of God and if I will believe it. A person's response, listen carefully, a person's response to the evidence that is presented concerning salvation, concerning heaven, concerning hell, concerning everything that God told us, the person's response to that evidence will determine your eternal destiny. Whether you believe it or you reject it.

If a person believes in the witness that God has given and responds to salvation, the Bible says they actually have that witness in themselves. How do I have the witness in myself? What is that referring to? You know what that's referring to? It's referring to the Spirit of God in salvation.

It's through the work of God's Holy Spirit that we come to salvation and we are born again. You know this. John wrote about it. John chapter 3. He said most assuredly, Jesus said most assuredly I say to you, unless one is born of water and of the Spirit, he cannot enter the kingdom of God.

That which is born of the flesh is flesh, and that which is born of the spirit is spirit. Do not marvel that I said to you, you must be born again. The wind blows where it wishes, and you hear the sound of it, but you cannot tell where it has come from or where it goes. So is everyone who is born of the Spirit.

Romans chapter 8 verse 16 says this. Listen carefully. "The Spirit Himself bears witness with our spirit that we are children of God." As I respond to the Gospel, I believe the witness, I repent of sin, turn to Christ, suddenly the Spirit of God, the Bible says, takes up residency within me. The witness who's been witnessing to me now lives through me. That's powerful.

1 Corinthians 3:16 says this. Listen to this. "Do you not know that you are the temple of God and that the Spirit of God dwells in you?" That's a question mark. Do you know that? Because the Bible says that. You have the witness within you.

1 Corinthians 6:19, Paul said, "Do you not know that your body is the temple of the Holy Spirit who is in you, whom you have from God, you are not your own." The point is one of the benefits of believing in the witness that the Father has given, the witnesses that He has presented, believing their testimony, is that now we have the witness of the Holy Spirit within us and, check this out, we now become the witness.

I'm a witness. You're a witness. We're called to be a light, called to be a witness. The Bible says be ready to give an answer to everyone who asks you for the hope that is within you with meekness and in fear.

Be ready to witness, be ready to give testimony. Every single person here who is born again, you have a testimony. It's always amazing to me to meet people for the first time in the church and ask the question, "How did you get saved? How did you become a Christian?"

And you'd be amazed. I'm looking through this room, I know some of your testimonies. Some of you, if the person next to you knew what I knew or knew what they—you'd be like, "Whoa." But it's amazing. You have a testimony. What God's done in your life.

I also—if you knew my testimony, maybe you wouldn't be here. But the point is we all have a testimony. Some people get discouraged. They don't feel like their testimony is beefy enough. "What's a good testimony? I don't know, man. I don't really have a good testimony."

Why do you say that? "I was never in a motorcycle gang. I didn't do drugs. I didn't smoke anything. My testimony is so weak." Listen, I know a lot of people that would love to not have that testimony and have a different one.

Here's a great testimony. How about I walk with Jesus my whole life and I'm still serving Him to this day? That's a great testimony to have. That's the one you want. But here's the thing. People can deny a lot of things. They can dismiss a lot of things.

But you know what they can't dismiss? A changed life. What are they going to say? I am a witness. Call me to the stand. Look at my life. Here's the evidence. I'm changed. I'm not the same. I am, you are a witness because the Spirit of God is within you now and you are a testimony. Powerful.

Well, the contrast here, however, is rather startling because the apostle John makes a distinction between those who believe the witnesses and those who don't. And what does he say about those who do? They have the witness in themselves.

What does he say about those who don't believe the witnesses? Verse 10. "He who does not believe God, he who does not believe God," what does it say? "Has made Him a liar." Oh, oh. Track this right here. For most people, when they choose to reject the Gospel, the provision for salvation, when they refuse to accept the witness that God has given through His Son who died on the cross and they decide not to believe.

They would not see their unbelief as calling God a liar. "I'm not saying God's a liar." Actually, you are saying God's a liar because God has presented the witnesses, brought them to the stand, and the evidence is in and it's undeniable, and you say, "I don't believe that."

Do you know what you're saying? Do you know what you're saying? You're saying, according to John, "God, You lie. Your witnesses are fake. I don't believe it. I reject it." John says you are calling God a liar.

If you're here today and you're not a Christian and you reject God's provision for your salvation to trust in the finished work of Christ for the atonement of your sins and you buy into this popular idea that you can reach heaven by blazing your own trail to glory, John says in reality what you're really saying is, "God, You're a liar."

Because God said in His Word there is no other way except through His Son and if you say, "I don't believe that," what you are in essence declaring is, "God, You lie." That's startling.

Listen. Repeated, consistent rejection of God's provision for your salvation can lead you to become hardened in your heart. And I believe it can lead to a permanent state of the hardness of heart where you will no longer believe. "I don't believe. I don't believe. I'm not going to believe."

In Matthew chapter 12, as Jesus' ministry was moving forward, the religious leaders gave their assessment of Jesus' ministry, and they attributed His miracles to the work of the devil. And Jesus turned to those religious leaders and told them they were on dangerous territory regarding something known as the unpardonable sin, the blasphemy of the Holy Spirit.

Listen. Matthew chapter 12, this is what it says. The one sin God can't forgive. You ready? Here it is. "Therefore I say to you, every sin and blasphemy will be forgiven men." We say, "Thank you, Lord." "But the blasphemy against the Spirit will not be forgiven men. Anyone who speaks a word against the Son of Man, it will be forgiven him; but whoever speaks against the Holy Spirit, it will not be forgiven him, either in this age or in the age to come."

First of all, good news. God can forgive every sin. There's only one. Aren't you glad He didn't say there's 10 sins God can't forgive? No, there's just one, and that is the blasphemy of the Holy Spirit. And we say, "Well, what is that one? Have I done that?"

The blasphemy of the Holy Spirit happens, takes place when you come to the wrong conclusion about who Jesus is. It involves the wrong conclusion about His work on the cross and His work in salvation in other people's lives. And this occurs when you keep resisting the witnesses and the evidence that the Holy Spirit is presenting.

Guys, that's the job of the Holy Spirit. Did you know that? To draw people to Jesus. So if He is testifying and witnessing seeking to draw people to Jesus and you keep rejecting the witness and the drawing of the Holy Spirit, you are in danger at some point of blaspheming Him.

You know that people end up in hell for one reason. You know what the ultimate reason is? They have rejected Christ as their Savior. They have resisted and rejected the testimony of the Holy Spirit. That is why. Every other sin could be forgiven if repented of.

But here it says the blasphemy of the Holy Spirit will not be forgiven and what is it? It is to deny the testimony, the witness of the Holy Spirit that Jesus is God and He is the one way to salvation. That's the only thing that cannot be forgiven.

There's a line. I don't know where it is. Only God knows. When a man or woman can say no over and over again and they've made up their minds and God honors the decision that they've made. It was G. Campbell Morgan that said this, quote, "Unbelief is not failure in intellectual apprehension. It is disobedience to the clear commands of God."

Hey listen, maybe God has been trying to get your attention and you've been resisting. The Bible says don't harden your heart. Don't stop your ears, don't close your eyes to the work of God trying to draw you. You don't have forever to make the decision. You have today.

Have you noticed recently, a lot of people that some of us older people grew up with are now passing away? A lot of people dying in the news. The Hulkster, praise God he got saved right before he went to be with the Lord. Ozzy, I don't know.

The hard one for me was Theo Huxtable. That one got me. That was the guy from The Cosby Show. I grew up watching that guy, and you think, "Oh man." But here's the point. He's in his 50s. Here's the thing. You have today.

Nobody knows the day or the hour. You don't know how long you have. You don't know what could happen. Are you ready to meet the Lord? Have you responded to the testimony? Have you received it? Time is limited. Life is vapor, man.

Guest (Male): Yes, life goes by quickly and we don't know when our time is up. So we need to be ready and in a right relationship with God. So when the time does come, we'll be on our way to heaven.

Well, thanks for joining us today for A Daily Walk with Pastor John Randall. What you heard today is part of our Through the Bible series. To hear this message again, you can do so by podcast at adailywalk.org or wherever you listen to your favorite podcasts.

Download the Calvary South OC app to listen to Pastor John on your mobile devices too. Well, this month, we've picked out a book for you moms. It's A Mom After God's Own Heart: 10 Ways to Love Your Children.

Best-selling author Elizabeth George shares practical tips and encouraging advice to help you raise your children in the knowledge of the Lord. You'll discover how to help them experience His love, His blessings, and provision when you become a mom after God's own heart.

It's available now to our A Daily Walk listeners for the cost of $12 at adailywalk.org or call us at 877-242-0828. Please remember that your gifts help us to bring these shows to the radio and the internet every day.

We can't do it alone, so please consider standing with us in this endeavor to get the good news of Jesus Christ out to a world in need. Again, visit us at adailywalk.org or call 877-242-0828.

It brightens our day when we hear of the good things God is doing in our listeners' lives through the teaching of the word. And yes, Pastor John reads your emails. Share your story today by email at adailywalk@gmail.com. That's adailywalk@gmail.com. And then come back next time when we'll continue through the Bible with Pastor John here on A Daily Walk.