The Stick and the Carrot
Intro 1: How do you motivate a donkey to get up the hill?
• The stick: reminds him of a pain he wants to avoid
• The carrot: gives him something to look forward to
o God uses both the Joys of heaven and the threat of God’s judgment to drive us to himself…and toward the pleasures of eternal life in His presence.
• We’ve spent much time on the carrot as we’ve gone through John. You’ve seen how Jesus extended grace to Nicodemus in John 3 and to the woman caught in adultery at the beginning of John 8.
Sermon Title: The Stick and the Carrot
 Turn in your bibles to John 8:21-30
 Dean reviewed my sermon this week and commented, “John, why don’t you add a little more carrot and little less stick.”
 This passage is a bit heavy on the stick, but we do need to keep in mind that even this text is surrounded by scriptures that are full of the grace, mercy and love of our kind heavenly father.
 We are teaching chapter by chapter, verse by verse through John.
 PG Matthew comments about coming to difficult passages like this as you teach through the Bible.
PG Matthew, in an article about the wrath of God says: One wonderful thing about preaching through the Bible is that we cannot pick and choose: we must eat all that God has given us. [The Bible] speaks about the holy wrath of God, which many people would prefer not to think about. Yet if we do not like the idea of God’s wrath, then we cannot appreciate God’s salvation. - P. G. Mathew, M.A., M.Div., Th.M.

Intro 3: Here in John 8:21-30, Jesus continues speaking to a crowd of Jews, especially to the Jewish religious leaders, and he pulls out the stick.
• Who: Jesus and the Jews
• When: just after the feast of booths, 6 months before the crucifixion
• Where: in the treasury of the temple
• What: Jesus interaction with the Jews (21-29) and their response (in verse 30)
o Jesus pulls out the stick and wops them one: He says in verse 20, “You will die in your sin.”
• Why: Why does Jesus speak of the possibility of people dying in their sin?
o Warning: Serendipitous early discovery of cancer
 C.S. Lewis: "Who will take medicine unless he knows he is in the grip of disease?"
o Glory of God: Some will die in their sins and some will be rescued from the punishment of their sins
 Those who receive justice: These are the ones who die in their sins. They will give God the opportunity to display his glory by showing his great justice. He is a holy and righteous judge. He doesn’t put up with sin, but he makes sure that all wrongs will be righted. It’s easy to get discouraged looking at the wickedness in this world, but let me assure you, there will be justice. There will be a reckoning. Our God will prevail over evil!
 Those who receive grace: These are the ones who do not die in their sins. They flee to Christ for protection. These people will give God the opportunity to glorify himself by showing his mercy and his love. Jon Courson describes this group as the trophies of God’s grace. What an amazing God who would send his Son to die for sinners! A God who would pardon people like you and me who deserve his wrath. He truly is a gracious and loving heavenly father.
 IN SHORT, You will glorify God one way or the other: You will die in your sin or you will die in His grace. You will be God’s opportunity to show off the glory of his justice or the glory of his love and mercy.
Jesus Raises the Stick and Holds Out the Carrot
1. The Stick: Three Accusations Against the Jews (21-23)
2. The Carrot: The Way of Escape (24-29)
3. The Response (30)
Begin
1. Jesus makes Three Accusations Against the Jews (21-23)
1) Accusation #1: You will die in your sin. (21)
• Where I’m going you cannot come: He’s going to heaven, to the Father. He’s saying plainly to these people, “You’re not coming with me.”
• Their response (22): Will he kill himself?
o They don’t want to face the sober reality of what he’s saying.
o Truth be told: He will indeed have himself killed, that we may live…but he won’t kill himself. They will do it for him.
o Suicide: The Jews believed that when someone committed suicide they went to the deepest darkest part of Hades where all the really, really bad people went. So proudly they mock him: Is he going to kill himself and go to the deepest, darkest part of Hades with all the most terrible villains. Well, then of course we can’t go with him. We’re too good for that.
o
o Quick Word on Suicide:
 If someone kills himself, do they go straight to hell? Maybe yes. Maybe no.
1. It’s not the unpardonable sin.
o Suicide is forgivable.
o 7 suicides mentioned in the Bible
o 1 of which we have reason to believe he’s in heaven: Samson, who appears in the Bible Hero Hall of Faith in Hebrews 11
2. It’s a sin.
o Suicide is murder. It’s a sin. It’s the taking of a life that doesn’t belong to you. The Bible is clear that “all have sinned” and those who believe on Jesus Christ will be forgiven of their sins, even the sin of suicide. All who die without Christ, will end up in hell. All who die in Christ will be saved, even those who die from suicide.
 Paul says in 1 Cor. 6:19-20 that we should take care of our bodies because they belong to God:
Do you not know that your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit, who is in you, whom you have received from God? You are not your own, you were bought at a price. Therefore honor God with your body. (1 Corinthians 6:19-20)
o You are not your own. You belong to Him. Trust Him. Believe in Him and do not murder the life he gave to you.
o Jesus gives this sober statement: Where I am going, you cannot come.
o Chloe Not Going to the Lake: Last Sunday my 3 year old daughter found out that Grant was going to the lake. I don’t think Grant said, “Where I am going you cannot come.” But she figured it out. He was going to a good place and she wasn’t going. She burst into tears and was weeping. There is a sorrow in being left behind.
o The greatest sorrow this world has to afford is for Jesus to say to you, “Where I am going, you cannot come.” There’s nothing worse than that. There’s nothing that scares me more than that thought. It keeps me on my knees praying for my soul. It keeps me crying out to God for Him to save lost people that I care about. You could hear no worse words in this life than for Jesus Christ to say to you, “You will die in your sin.”
2) Accusation #2: You are from below. (23)
• In Contrast: I am from above.
• You may end up in the deepest, darkest part of Hades, but I won’t be there with you.

3) Accusation #3: You are of this world. (23)
• Contrast: I am not of this world. [NOTW]
• What does it mean to be “from below” or “of this world”? (What world is he referring to?)
o Dean mentioned last week John’s 4 types of “world”.
o Here John is referring to definition #2: The world-system; human society organized and controlled by the powers of evil
o You’re a part of this wicked world. They’re your people. You hang out with all the evil people of this world and you know what? You fit in!
o 2 Corinthians 4:4
In their case the god of this world has blinded the minds of the unbelievers, to keep them from seeing the light of the gospel of the glory of Christ, who is the image of God. – The world is blind and unbelieving.
o Ephesians 2:1-3 explains how those of us who follow Christ used to be part of this world: And you were dead in the trespasses and sins in which you once walked, following the course of this world, following the prince of the power of the air, the spirit that is now at work in the sons of disobedience—among whom we all once lived in the passions of our flesh, carrying out the desires of the body and the mind, and were by nature children of wrath, like the rest of mankind.
o Jesus says to the Jews, I’m from above, but you are from below. I’m going to heaven, but you will die in your sin.
o This is the STICK! It’s the harsh reality that awaits those who reject Jesus Christ.
• What does it mean to die in your sin?
1) It is to die without your sins forgiven.
2) To be judged and condemned for the wrong you have done.
3) To stand before God on judgment day on your own merits and to face his wrath without any protection from Jesus Christ.
4) To die in your sin is to be sent to hell forever.
• According to a 2004 Gallup Poll,
1) 70% of Americans believe in hell.
2) 92% of those who attend church weekly believe in hell
Hades vs. Hell
Hades – current, temporary dwelling place of the wicked
• Matthew 11: Jesus says, “You Oh Capernaum will be thrown into Hades.”
• Luke 16: The story of the rich man and Lazarus. The rich man was thrown into Hades.
Hell – final, eternal dwelling place of the wicked
• Revelation describes it as the Lake of Fire
• To describe hell, Jesus uses the term “Gehenna” or the “Valley of Hinnom” – garbage dump outside of Jerusalem where things were continual being burned;
• Isaiah, and later Jesus, says about this spot: “the worm does not die and the fire is not quenched”.
• In the Old Testament, this valley was used for human sacrifices by fire during the reigns of the wicked kings, Ahaz and Manasseh.
• Jeremiah called it the “valley of slaughter”.
• It was a fearful symbol of God’s judgment.
• When Jesus wants to use a symbol or a metaphor to describe hell, he uses the Gehenna because it’s the most awful place that the Jews can imagine.
Pastor Vance Havner said: When I pastored a country church, a farmer didn't like the sermons I preached on hell. He said, "Preach about the meek and lowly Jesus." I said, "That's where I got my information about hell.” – Pastor Vance Havner
Jesus spoke quite a bit about hell:
liable to judgment…liable to the hell of fire. (Matthew 5:22)
your whole body be thrown into hell. (Matthew 5:29)
Fear him who can destroy both soul and body in hell. (Matthew 10:28)
How are you to escape being sentenced to hell? (Matthew 23:33)
authority to cast into hell (Luke 12:5)
In that place there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth. (Luke 13:28)
thrown into hell, ‘where their worm does not die and the fire is not quenched.’ (Luke 13:47-48)

Mark 9:42-48
42 “Whoever causes one of these little ones who believe in me to sin, it would be better for him if a great millstone were hung around his neck and he were thrown into the sea.
Scene from the Movie Amistad: There was a slave ship traveling to America. Some of the slaves had gotten sick. The crew didn’t want to sick ones to infect the rest of their cargo. So the sick slaves were chained to a large stone. The stone was thrown into the ocean. I remember watching these humans, these people clawing away at the deck of the ship, trying to grab onto something as they were being drug into the depths of the ocean. And Jesus says, that it would be better for this to happen to you than for you to commit the sin of leading one of these little ones astray. Why? Because the consequence is so bad! As incredibly awful as this scene might seem, it doesn’t compare for a moment to the torments of hell. Sin is serious because hell is real!
43 And if your hand causes you to sin, cut it off. It is better for you to enter life crippled than with two hands to go to hell, to the unquenchable fire. 45 And if your foot causes you to sin, cut it off. It is better for you to enter life lame than with two feet to be thrown into hell. 47 And if your eye causes you to sin, tear it out. It is better for you to enter the kingdom of God with one eye than with two eyes to be thrown into hell, 48 ‘where their worm does not die and the fire is not quenched.’
Don’t Forget: These are the words of your savior, Jesus Christ. He speaks of the horrors of hell that they might drive you to the joys of heaven.
• What do we know about hell?
1) It’s something we should fear.
2) It’s something we should fear more than any suffering this world has.
3) It’s unimaginably painful. (weeping and gnashing of teeth)
4) There comes a point where it is unavoidable, after death. (Hebrews 9:27 It is appointed for man to die once, and after that comes judgment. Like Noah’s ark; there came a day when the door to the ark was closed.)
5) It’s forever. (fire not quenched, worm does not die)
Rev. 20:10
10 The devil … was thrown into the lake of fire and sulfur…and they will be tormented day and night forever and ever.
Jude VERSES 12-13
12 These people are … wild waves of the sea, foaming up their shame; wandering stars, for whom blackest darkness has been reserved forever.
Jonathan Edwards: "It would be dreadful to suffer this fierceness and wrath of Almighty God for one moment; but you must suffer it for all eternity." --Jonathan Edwards, Sinners in the Hands of an Angry God (1741)
Thomas Watson: The torments of hell abide for ever... If all the earth and sea were sand, and every thousandth year a bird should come, and take away one grain of this sand, it would be a long time ere that vast heap of sand were emptied; yet, if after all that time the damned may come out of hell, there were some hope; but this word EVER breaks the heart. - Thomas Watson

• This is the most horrible consequence imaginable. It’s unimaginable!
• You know of the
o guillotine,
o the noose,
o the gas chamber,
o the iron maiden,
o Chinese water torture,
o starvation,
o cancer,
o gall stones or kidney stones…
o What kind of pain can you imagine? Well try to imagine a suffering that is far worse, physical and emotional torment coupled with a sense of loss and loneliness like nothing you’ve ever experienced before…with no hope that it will ever end.
o No light at the end of the tunnel.
o No cure to the cancer.
o No Excedrin for the head ache.
o No friend for the loneliness.
o Just unimaginable and unending torment! This is justice. [PAUSE]
o That is what we all deserve. It’s the wages of sin! It’s God’s just punishment for the evil we have done.
• That is what John Hansen deserves for his sin. I deserve the wrath of God. I deserve hell. I deserve to die in my sin!
• WE WANT JUSTICE: Some people pound their chests and raise their fists in the sky saying, “We want justice.” Not me. I know what justice means for me. I want mercy. Justice would be the destruction of me.
• John R. Rice: Those who go to Heaven ride on a pass and enter into blessings that they never earned, but all who go to hell pay their own way.

Don’t Overdo It on the Hell Bit
 In order to bring a little balance, I want to share this quote from Dean.
Dean Davis: “In the whole book of Acts, there is not a single reference to hell (though a couple of allusions). The epistles contain only a handful of references to it. As a rule, the apostles do not seem to feel the need to warn the saints about hell, but to remind them that because of hell justice will finally be done, and to encourage them to “warn every man.” God may have wanted Jesus to speak of hell more forcefully than anyone, since he, of all men, is best qualified to address such a difficult subject (certainly he does so in the Revelation). Bottom Line: My counsel is to approach the subject with a holy reticence.” –Dean Davis

2. The Carrot: The Way of Escape (24-27)
24 I told you that you would die in your sins, for unless you believe that I am he you will die in your sins.”
• 2 judgment days:
o Final Judgment: at the end of the world where all evil doers will be judged for their sins.
o Cross: But my sins will not be judged there. For they have already been judged on the cross of Jesus Christ. I have believed on him. He took my sin to that cross. God poured out his wrath on Jesus for the sins of all who would believe in Jesus. That was my judgment day, and thank God I didn’t have to face it, but Jesus faced it for me.
o Your sin will be judged one way or the other: Either you will come to Jesus so he can take it to the cross, or you will face the judgment yourself on that final day.
o On the final day of judgement, I will be safe. For I will be hidden in Christ.
• In Christ:
o Illustration: Cup & John - to signify “in Christ”
o Scripture on being in Christ:
 Romans 8:1
Therefore, there is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus.
 Ephesians 2:13
But now in Christ Jesus you who once were far away have been brought near through the blood of Christ.
 Galatians 3:26-27
You are all sons of God through faith in Christ Jesus, for all of you who were baptized into Christ have clothed yourselves with Christ.
• Jesus suit: On that final day, I’ll be clothed with Christ. I’ll be wearing the Jesus suit. When wrath falls, I’ll be safe because the Jesus Suit is fire-proof.
 1 Corinthians 1:30
It is because of him that you are in Christ Jesus, who has become for us wisdom from God—that is, our righteousness, holiness and redemption.

• We will face God on judgment day, but we will not stand on our own merits. We will stand on the merits of Jesus Christ. All our sin will be gone. We will be “in Christ”
• What must you believe?
1) Exclusivity of Jesus Christ
 I am he.
2) Deity of Jesus Christ
 He is the great “I am”.
 58 Jesus said to them, “Truly, truly, I say to you, before Abraham was, I am.”
3) Saving Power of the Cross of Jesus Christ
 Promised Messiah
 He is the savior of the world.
 Like in verse 12, he is the light of the world.
 From God: He brings the greatest revelation of the truth of God that the world has ever known.
o Don’t look for anyone else? Don’t keep thinking someone else came or someone else is coming? Land on Jesus. He is the one!
o I am the bread from heaven. I am the living water. I am the light of the world. He says you must believe that “I am he”.
They Still Don’t Get It [VERSE 25]
25 So they said to him, “Who are you?” Jesus said to them, “Just what I have been telling you from the beginning.
• I already told you.
26 I have much to say about you and much to judge, but he who sent me is true, and I declare to the world what I have heard from him.” 27 They did not understand that he had been speaking to them about the Father.
• Where did Jesus come from? From heaven, from the Father
• Where does his message come from? From heaven, from the father
• I am he. I am the one who comes down from the Father to bring God’s message and God’s salvation the world.

What You’ll Know Once You Crucify Me (28-29)
28 So Jesus said to them, “When you have lifted up the Son of Man, then you will know that I am he, and that I do nothing on my own authority, but speak just as the Father taught me.
• I came to die.
• You will lift me up on a cross and after that the lights will turn on for some of you.
• You’ll see that I’m not just a man spewing his own manly ideas.
• But that I come from Father God and I’ve only been speaking to you what he has taught me.
TRANSITION: Then, Jesus adds a couple additional details about his relationship to the Father. [VERSE 29]
Jesus: “2 things About God and Me”
29 And he who sent me is with me. He has not left me alone, for I always do the things that are pleasing to him.”
1) He’s with me. – He hasn’t left me alone.
• Let me tell you a little more about myself. I’m not alone. God the Father is with me.
2) I always do what’s pleasing to him.
• I only do what he wants me to do.
• I only do what is pleasing to Him. More than anything else, I want to make Him happy. I want to bring pleasure to the heart of my father. It’s everything to me!
• Claims Sinlessness: Sin literally is to miss the mark. The mark is the standard. It’s God’s will, what God desires, what he commands. Jesus always did what God wanted…so Jesus never sinned.
• He is our sinless savior. Only he was worthy to take on our sin and die in our place because he had no sins of his own to die for. That made him the only candidate worthy of dying for us on the cross.

4. The Response of the Crowd
• Many “Believed” (30)
• HOWEVER, you see very quickly in the following verses that this “belief” is not saving faith, but mere intellectual knowledge about Jesus.
• In 48 this same group of people accuse Jesus of having a demon.
• And in 59 they pick up rocks to stone him.
 PLEASE UNDERSTAND: You can have an Intellectual Knowledge of Jesus identity, but not necessarily saving faith. You can know the Bible is true and not be saved. You can have a factual knowledge that Jesus is who he said he is, but still not believe on Him to save your soul.
 Joseph Factual Knowledge w/o Saving Faith: My brother, Joseph, got saved at age 18. He told me one time, “I knew before I got saved that the Bible was true.” I asked, “Then why didn’t you get saved then? Why didn’t you get saved when you knew it was true.” He responded, “I loved my sin too much.” Later he added, “But I was afraid that I’d end up in hell.”
 Today, may hell be the stick that drives you to Jesus Christ. May you realize that you deserve the wrath of God. May he break you and drive you to your knees so that you can look up and see the carrot. So that you can see that he offers forgiveness to hell-bound sinners like us who will simply repent of our sin and believe on Jesus Christ!

What hell does for me?
1) Assures me that God is holy.
2) Keeps me pursuing righteousness.
• Billy Graham said, “If we had more hell in the pulpit, we would have less hell in the pew.”
• 2 Peter 1:10 - 10 “Make your calling and election sure” by living righteously.
• Why do I hate sin and love righteousness?
o When I do wicked things, I am acting like those who will die in their sins, and it scares me.
o When I obey God and see good fruit in my life, this gives me more assurance that he truly has saved me.
3) Drives me to pray for lost souls.
4) Drives me to tell others about Christ.
• John R. Rice: What a compelling motive we have for prayer, for preaching, for soul winning!

• Charles Finney: When sinners are careless and…sinking into hell unconcerned, it is time the church should bestir themselves. It is as much the duty of the church to awake, as it is for the firemen to awake when a fire breaks out in the night in a great city. - Charles Finney
• Charles Spurgeon: If sinners be damned, at least let them leap to Hell over our bodies. If they will perish, let them perish with our arms about their knees. Let no one go there unwarned and unprayed for. - Charles Spurgeon
• Dean Davis: “Send the brethren out into the world with a fresh awareness that they carry in their hearts and minds a message that will not only save sinners from the torments of hell, but open to them the gates and joys of heaven, in which, even now, we glory.”
–Dean Davis