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Fundamental Evangelistic Association selected
articles from: Ye Are My Friends If . . . ©FOUNDATION Magazine, May-Jun 2001 A Sermon Preached at the Church of The Open Door, Los Angeles, CA,
in 1919 by the Rev. William P. Nicholson "Ye are My friends, if ye do whatsoever I command you. Henceforth I call you not servants; for the servant knoweth not what his lord doeth: but I have called you friends." (John 15:14, 15a) OW MANY THERE ARE today: truly friends of the Lord Jesus and yet living below their privileges! They are living like servants instead of friends. You can easily tell one who is living on friendly and intimate relations with the Lord from one who is merely a servant. A servant serves for wages. There may be a measure of affection, but they serve because they are paid for it. You may have the most skillful doctor or nurse when you are sick, and they may be very kind. But they are working for wages and are not offended when offered remuneration. How different with your mother or wife! What an insult it would be if you were to ask them how much money you had to pay them. There are many friends of the Lord Jesus who live and act like servants. If the Lord doesn't answer their prayers just in the way and time they want or give them all they want and give them nice, happy feelings, then they are offended and become servile and distant in their dealings with Him. Christ has to pay for everything He gets them to do or say; if He doesn't, they won't be friends of His. Then, a "servant knoweth not what his lord doeth." We would never think of consulting a servant about everything we do. We gladly do so with our friends. Are we surprised we don't know the Lord's will when we live and act like servants instead of friends? How can the Lord make known His will if we won't live on intimate, friendly terms with Him? Moses knew God's ways. The people only knew God's acts; therefore, they grumbled and rebelled at everything God did. When we say, "That's his way" about anyone, it implies close friendship and clear understanding. Moses lived in close friendship with God, so he wasn't offended at God's actions. He knew Him too well. The children of Israel were servants, slaves, and only knew God by His actions and, therefore, misunderstood Him and rebelled against Him continually. Isn't it true today? Because of loss of money, friends, family, they growl at God and rebel against Him. They're only living as servants instead of friends. You cannot evade the consequences. Live at a distance from God or on the servant level, and you cannot escape the consequences. You'll misunderstand God and rebel against Him continually. A servant hasn't free and easy access into the Lord's presence, nor is he comfortable or free when he is there. He is either obsequious or presumptuous. When he begins to pray, publicly especially, as you listen you can tell he is only a servant. He lacks the holy, free, easy familiarity of the friend. He lives proudly, independent of God and condescending in his relations with God, as if he were doing God a favor by taking any notice of Him at all. This is always true of the servant and the menial. Oh, the shame of it that we should treat Jesus Christ like this. How condescending on His part to call us "friends," not "servants." How insulting on our part not to gladly live in such relationship to Him. It seems to me, the significance of these words has been terribly hurt by many of our modem hymns. We sing, "There's not a friend like the lowly Jesus." It's all true, but the Bible never says it. "The best friend to have is Jesus"; we never read this in our Bibles. The Bible takes it for granted. God has never been anything else in His attitude and relations to man but a friend. When Adam sinned, God couldn't leave him to live and wander alone but sought him out as He cried: "Adam, where art thou?" God could do without the guardian of His throne (Satan) when he sinned through pride. He never gave him a chance but dug hell and damned him; but when man, His friend, sinned, He left the glory and came down and sought and found him. The whole Old Testament is the record of God's desire to be friends with man. He gave His only Son to cruel death to make it possible for man to be His friend. He is everywhere beseeching man to be reconciled with Him. Oh, no, He never had to say: "He is the best friend." His enemies were compelled to confess it. "He is the friend of sinners," they snarled at Him. Thank God it is true. The significance of these words is this: "Ye are My friends," not "I am your friend"—Oh, no—"Ye are My friends." Is it true? Are we? Can He look into your face and say: "Ye are My friends"? How many there are who gladly appreciate the fact of His friendship and appropriate it too, but how few comparatively reciprocate it fully and ardently. I can imagine some one saying, "Well, I'm not sure whether I'm the friend of the Lord Jesus or not, I hope, I trust, I believe I am, but I'm not quite sure." You wouldn't say you hope or trust or believe you were married or your mother's child if you were asked about it. No, you would say, "I am" or, "I am not." Well, we are either His friends, or we are not His friends. If we really are His friends, we don't need to say we hope we are, for He makes us sure we are. How may we know we are truly His friends and not shams? There are three essential elements in all true friendship, and if we have these, then we may be sure we are in truth and in deed His friends. Let us consider them. Friendship Founded on Truth First, there is the element of truth. Truth is largely lacking in its purity in ordinary human friendship. We try to deceive ourselves and each other. We are always trying to hide ourselves and make ourselves out to be what we really are not. How many friends would we have or how long would the friends we have remain our friends if we let them know what we thought about them or how we felt towards them? Oh, there is a lot of pretence and sham in the most of friendship. I am sure we are glad our friends don't know ourselves as God knows us. The amazing truth to me is that Jesus Christ, knowing us better than we know ourselves, calls us His friends. It's wonderful! If we really are to be His true, loyal, friends, then there must be no make-believe or sham; there must be pure, unadulterated truth. The Lord Jesus would never secure our friendship at the sacrifice of His integrity. Never! This truth is mutual truth; that is, it is the truth about both of us: the truth about Himself, the truth about myself. Now, what is the truth? Not fancies or fables or theories about Jesus. He was conceived by the Holy Spirit and born of a virgin. He was the uncreated Christ. If He was created as we are, then Christ was an illegitimate child and Mary His mother was guilty of immorality, for Joseph was not her husband or Christ's father. This is the position a lot of our modern theorists take. Of course, they are too cultured and refined to state it just in these terms, but it comes to the same thing. Could a man be the friend of Jesus Christ and believe and state such a thing? Nay, verily. Could I call you my friend if you said I was ill-born and my mother a prostitute? Have we more fine feeling and common sense than Jesus Christ? We are living in a free country, and we are free to believe what we like. But we are not free to call. ourselves friends of Jesus Christ and deny His virgin birth. If we continue to do so, we are religious crooks, unworthy of the esteem and respect of decent, honest people. Politicians are not usually noted for over-much honesty and integrity, but I have never known a politician, however honest or crooked, who was a Democrat and lost faith in the Democrats and their platform who wouldn't immediately resign his position, however lucrative, and cease to call himself a Democrat. What are we to think of men in our pulpits and seminaries and universities who deny the virgin birth, who have lost faith in it for one reason or another, and still call themselves Christians—friends of the Lord Jesus—and haven't the decency and honesty to leave their position and salary and confess their change of belief? If they did this, they would win the esteem, sorrow and sympathy of every man, whatever his creed. But to hold tight to their lucrative positions and deny everything they are paid to believe and teach, they put themselves beneath the respect and esteem of every honest man and win their contempt and disgust for such mean, contemptible, despicable, crooked ways. They are religious crooks dressed in the garb of religion, scholarship and morality. A man is perfectly free to believe what he likes, but he isn't free to claim relationship and friendship with Jesus Christ and deny the virgin birth. It is the same about every other doctrine of Christ: His dual and perfect natures, His vicarious death on the Cross, His resurrection, His ascension to Glory and His coming again. These are not idle theories to be believed or denied. These are vital and fundamental truths of Christ, absolutely essential if we are to be true friends of Christ. Let us make no mistake here and sacrifice truth on the altar of so-called charity. We may do so, but we only succeed in alienating ourselves from Him. We can never be His friends at the cost of His truth. But it is also the truth concerning ourselves: We may make and retain friends by hiding the truth about them or ourselves, but we can never become friends of Jesus Christ and not accept and believe the truth Jesus declares concerning ourselves. Jesus will never secure our friendship at the sacrifice of His integrity. Why, if He made us His friends while we denied His truth concerning us, He would lose more than He gained. What is this truth concerning ourselves? We are lost, ruined, guilty, unclean. Born in sin and shapen in iniquity. Totally depraved, corrupt. Blind, foolish, desperately wicked. Hate God, not subject to God. Proud, lovers of self, covetous, boasters, blasphemers, disobedient to parents, unthankful, unholy, without natural affection, truce breakers, false accusers, incontinent, fierce, despisers of those that are good, traitors, heady minded. Our hearts are deceitful above all things, desperately wicked. Out of the heart of men proceed evil thoughts, adulteries, fornications, murders, thefts, covetousness, wickedness, deceit, lasciviousness, an evil eye, blasphemy, pride, foolishness. This is an awful charge against men, but it's true nevertheless. And whether we like it or not, we must accept and believe it if we are to be His friends. Man likes to think he is getting better and rising, but Jesus says he is a fallen and a falling creature. Man likes to think of man as having risen from some animal and as still ascending—The Ascent of Man. Jesus says man was created by God, in God's image, and fell and is still falling—not falling up as some would have us believe, but falling the only way anyone can fall: down. Reject all this as a slander on humanity, but by doing so, you only succeed in demonstrating the truth concerning yourself if you still claim friendship while denying His truth. There must be mutual, pure, unadulterated truth if we are really His friends. Let me repeat it. He will never sacrifice His truth and become a liar to secure your favor or friendship. Never! Friendship Depends on Confidence There is another very essential element in friendship, and that is trust or confidence. There are those who claim friendship with us who do not trust us very much, and sometimes we cannot trust them very far. We can never be true friends of the Lord Jesus unless we trust Him fully and He trusts us. It is mutual trust. I trust Him, and He trusts me. I trust Him with my soul. I trust Him for salvation. If we try to save ourselves by good works and doing our best, we are not His friends because we are not trusting Him. If we can save ourselves, why did He die? There are those who call themselves His friends but are not dead sure they are saved, and yet He says they have everlasting life and shall never perish because they believe. Would you believe a person believed and trusted you if they would not believe your word? Do you think Jesus believes we trust Him when we won't believe His Word? If we do not believe His Word, we make Him a liar. Could He accept us as His friends while we're doubting His Word? We say we "believe" we are saved, we "hope" we are saved, we "think" we are saved, we "trust" we are saved, but the very words we use and the way we utter them convey to all who hear us that we are not sure we are saved. That is not trusting Jesus. You wouldn't say you "hoped" you were married if you were. It would be ridiculous. It is just as ridiculous to say we "hope," "believe," "trust" we are saved when we have the sure word of Jesus. We are His real friends when we trust Him and His Word. We not only trust Him for salvation, but we trust Him all the time. If we are in sorrow, trial, suffering or persecution, we'll trust and not be afraid. What do we find? There are many professing friendship with the Lord Jesus, and yet when someone does something to them or fails to do something, they blame it all on Christ and are offended in him. Death comes in and takes away a loved one, and instead of trusting Jesus, although not understanding why He should take the loved one, we feel bitter against Christ and question His wisdom and love and cease to trust Him altogether. This only proves we are not really friends of His and have never trusted Him, or we would not question Him because we lose a loved one. To suspect a person is not to trust him. To be all the time questioning His dealings with us is sure proof we are not trusting Him. This is only one side of it. We have every right to trust Him. He never betrayed a trust. We could never trust Him too much or too far. Oh, it's safe to trust Him fully and with everything. The other side is this: If we are true friends of His, He will trust us. Can He? Can the Lord depend on you? There are many who claim they trust Him, but does the Lord find them trustworthy? The Lord was in Jerusalem holding services, and we read "many believed (trusted) in Him, but Jesus did not commit Himself unto (trust) them because He knew all." Isn't that very significant? You know there are some people who think that they can fool Christ easier than any human being. They would not attempt to bluff their friends the way they do Christ. Supposing someone called himself your friend and yet was very friendly with very malignant enemies of yours, would you trust him? Certainly not. And yet there are many today who say they trust Christ and are friends of His and are hobnobbing with the world-His enemies. They, whose hands are red with His blood, expect the Lord Jesus to trust them. Do you think He is a fool? Has He not as much sense as you? Would you be deceived by any such friendship? Do you think He is? He trusts His true friends with His home, His salvation, eternal life, His Gospel. Do you think He doesn't appreciate the value of these things enough to be careful whom He trusts with them? Oh, let us give Christ credit for having as much sense, at least, as we have. If He cannot trust us, we may trust Him all we please and profess to be His friends, but we're only deceiving ourselves, not Him. Have we trusted Him for salvation? Are we trusting Him daily? Does He trust us? Then we are His friends. Friendship Implies Sympathy The third essential element in friendship is tenderness, or sympathy. It is hard to define this element. While we cannot define it, we all know what it is because we have felt it. Why did we run quicker to our mother when we were children than to our father? It wasn't because father loved us less than mother. It was because mother had more sympathy and could feel for us and soothe our sorrow. Isn't it just this very thing that makes true friends? So it is with Christ. He is so tender and sympathetic. He can wipe away our tears and comfort our hearts as no other one can. Every sorrow we have, every burden we bear, every care, every anxiety, every pleasure, every joy, He is in perfect sympathy with us. There is nothing that concerns us that does not concern Him. The very hairs of our heads are all numbered, not counted merely. I am as the apple of His eye. Think of it. How quickly the eyelid closes when danger is near and protects the eye. He is just as watchful and quick in protecting me. What a Friend! No wonder we sing, "The best friend to have is Jesus." Everyone loves to dwell on this side of this element, but there is another side of it. It is mutual tenderness. Every interest of His is mine, too. Every quarrel He has is mine. Every enemy of His is mine. Yet how many there are who claim to be friends of His and yet are warm, close friends of some who would try to rob Christ of His crown and covenant by denying His deity and divinity. His enemies are mine if I am truly His friend. We read, "If there come any unto you, and bring not this doctrine, receive him not into your house, neither bid him God speed: For he that biddeth him God speed is partaker of His evil deeds." How many there are who try to be friends of Christ and still remain friends of the world. It can't be. For friendship with the world is enmity against God, and if we are friends of the world, we are [His] enemies, not friends. If we are really friends of Jesus, the world will hate us as it hated Him. The world loves its own. Don't let us try to deceive ourselves or deceive Him. We are His friends if we do whatsoever he commands us. He tells us to come out from among them and be separate, and if we are not doing this, we are only deceiving ourselves. Let me ask you, dear friend, as I ask my own heart: Are you really a friend of the Lord Jesus or only a make-believe, a sham, a pretender? If there is mutual truth and trust and tenderness, then we can truly claim friendship with Him, and He can say of us, "Ye are My friends." Coldness Between Friends There is danger in every friendship of growing cold or dying out. It must be cultivated very carefully and constantly, or it may become only a memory. Coldness may come in due to irregular communion or lack of communion. If we treated our bodies after the same manner we treat our souls, we would not live very happily or healthily. There is just as much common sense about friendship with Jesus as there is about any earthly friendship. Friendship must be cultivated and carefully guarded if it is to be retained or maintained. How many friends would we have if we treated them the way we have treated Jesus Christ? I remember meeting a friend I had not met or seen or communicated with for years. We had been warm friends and ardent admirers of each other, but we had drifted apart. He left our town, too. We never quarreled or disagreed; we merely didn't communicate with each other. In other words, we simply didn't take the time or trouble to cultivate our friendship. We looked each other over and tried to converse as we used to, but the longer we continued, the more strained the conversation became until he said to me, "You are not the same." I said, "I was just thinking the same about you." Oh, it is so easy to allow coldness to invade our friendship. The Lord Jesus, our Friend, has made a trysting time and place with us where we can meet and hold communion, but we are too busy or too tired to keep the appointment. It used to be such an easy, delightful appointment to keep. What a precious time the early hour in the morning used to be. You met Him before you met another. You heard His voice in His Word as you read and meditated, and He heard your voice in prayer. You got to know each other so well and were the best and closest of friends, but now you are in your own home, and the wee ones have come, and there are so many duties demanding your attention, and you feel you haven't the time, and you have missed meeting with Him, and while you have not quarreled, there is just a cold, strained feeling come in between you. You have allowed business or pleasure to rob you of the time you used to take to meet with Jesus, your Friend. Yes, and now they have robbed you of the desire to meet Him alone. Oh friend, is the price you are paying worth this loss of His friendship? They can never satisfy as He does. He also made an appointment with you every Sunday in His church. With what joy you used to look forward to His day—the Lord's day—as you sang His praises, read His Word, heard His voice. Then as you gathered with His other friends around His table to praise Him, to remember His dying and undying love, to pledge your loyalty and love to Him till He come again, what a fellowship! What joy divine! Those were happy days, and their memory leaves an aching void. You are too busy now to give one day. You must have fresh air and change, and so joy-riding and picnicking and visiting friends has made you fail to keep your appointment with Him. And there is a strange coldness come in between you. If there has, friend, begin again to cultivate this friendship, and the coldness will vanish, and you'll become a warm and ardent friend of the Lord Jesus. Strained Relations Between Friends Sometimes friends disagree and, therefore, separate or live in strained relations with each other. It is not exactly a quarrel. Oh no, we just disagree about some matter, and the drift sets in. Your Friend didn't want you to make friends of His enemies. They were very anxious to have your friendship. They were nice, kind, lovely, lovable friends and maybe old friends of your family, but they were not friends of His. It was so hard to cross their wishes, or desires. You didn't want to grieve them or lose their friendship. It wasn't that you cared about the card party or the dance or the theatrical. Oh no, that would have been easily settled if that had been all, but they might be offended if you refused their invitation, or you didn't want to seem as if you were condemning them or making yourself appear more holy or religious than they. It was a tight place and a very awkward position. Jesus saw how you were fixed and waited. He is too much of a gentleman to interfere with your affairs and too sensitive to embarrass you with His wishes. You decided to retain your friends, and you did, but there is a very strained, awkward feeling between you and Jesus ever since. You remember Pilate and Herod became friends that day they refused Jesus. Is the loss of the friendship of Jesus worth the friendship you have retained? "There's not a friend like Jesus. No, not one." You have found this out. You cannot have the friendship of this world and His. You must choose one or the other, for they are mutually antagonistic. Just like light and darkness. Turn your back on every friend, however dear, if retaining their friendship means losing His. Sometimes friends part one from another because they quarreled. Each felt the other was wrong, and so they parted. It may have been that way with you. The Lord clearly showed you His will, and you would be disobedient if you didn't yield. It was a hard struggle for a time, and you counted the cost as far as you could at the time, and you took your own way and parted company with your dearest, truest and best friend. He wanted you for the ministry. But you didn't want such a life of self-sacrifice and persecution, so you determined to make money and prosper. You tried to bribe Him by promising Him you would give a tenth of your money and help His work. You knew you couldn't bribe Him. Obedience is better than sacrifice. You may have prospered, but at what a terrible cost. He wanted you for a foreign missionary, but it was too dreadful leaving home and loved ones and living in a strange land, among strange people. So you disobeyed and were estranged and have been ever since. He wanted you to become an active worker in His church, sing in the choir, teach a class in the Sunday School, hold office in the church. You hadn't time. Yet you could sing at concerts or parties; you could find time to be a director in a corporation or officer in your lodge or club. So you had a quarrel about it, and you felt your friend was making too severe a demand on you, and you have felt piqued and injured and hardly treated by Him, and you are not on friendly terms with Him. Well, remember, dear friend, you can never get Him to change His mind or sacrifice His will to gain your friendship. Oh no, He is too true for that. If we have allowed anything in the past to bring about coldness between us and our dearest and best Friend, let us from this hour have done with it and not merely appreciate and appropriate His friendship, but warmly reciprocate it by yielding ourselves and our lives unreservedly to Him and take time to cultivate His friendship day by day through reading His Word and meditating on It and prayer and implicitly obeying Him in everything. 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