## Without God?

## John 6:66-69

Many of the people who had followed Christ, turned their backs upon Him and refused to follow any longer. As Jesus watched them walk away, He addressed a searching question to the rest, "Will ye also go away?" Peter's answer is profound.

(John 6:68-69) "Then Simon Peter answered him, Lord, to whom shall we go? thou hast the words of eternal life. {69} And we believe and are sure that thou art that Christ, the Son of the living God."

Have you ever stopped to think what we would do without God? There really is nowhere else to turn is there? There is no one who can take His place. What would our lives be without God? Can we even begin to imagine what it would be like?

Perhaps, you might say, well we could remember what our lives were like before we came to Christ, but that wouldn't really be accurate. A person who is without God in this world has no understanding of what they are missing. I didn't understand it.

This morning if you are here without Christ, you can't understand the wonderful joy that only those who have been washed in the blood of the Lamb can know. Those in darkness and do not realize the goodness and the grace of God in their lives.

This morning let me try to explain what it would be like without God. Perhaps then we can truly understand the impact of Peter's response to Jesus' question.

I. Without God There Would Be No Mercy

A. What is mercy in the eyes of an holy God?

1. Mercy is the negative aspect of love.

2. It means the removal or withholding of a just penalty.

3. God's mercy is a holy mercy - which knows how to pardon sin, not to protect.

4. 'Grace' is God giving us what we do not deserve, but 'Mercy' is God withholding what we do deserve.

5. I am thankful for His mercy today.

B. What His mercy does for us.

1. Mercy prevents God's wrath from consuming us.

(Lam 3:22) "It is of the LORD'S mercies that we are not consumed, because his compassions fail not."

2. Mercy allows the forgiveness of our sin.

(Micah 7:18) "Who is a God like unto thee, that pardoneth iniquity, and passeth by the transgression of the remnant of his heritage? he retaineth not his anger for ever, because he delighteth in mercy."

3. Mercy makes salvation possible.

(Titus 3:5) "Not by works of righteousness which we have done, but according to his mercy he saved us, by the washing of regeneration, and renewing of the Holy Ghost;"

4. The only thing that keeps a lost sinner from sliding into hell right now is the mercy of God.

5. If you have never trusted Christ as your Lord and Savior, understand that it is only because of His great mercy that you can still be saved today.

6. Ps 136 has 26 verses, and every verse begins with the same phrase: 'His mercy endureth forever'.

7. His mercy is opposite of His wrath.

C. Just think what it would be like if we had no mercy from God.

II. Without God There Would Be No Burden Barrier

A. "Come Unto Me...." Matt. 11:28.

1. Sometimes there is no one else to go to but God.

2. Friends and family members just do not understand, but God does!

3. Peter said, 'Lord, to whom shall we go?'

(Mat 11:28) "Come unto me, all ye that labour and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest."

4. This doesn't mean He will perform an act of making us become rested, but rather He will carry our load while we rest.

5. Sometimes the load is so heavy until we almost fall beneath its weight, but then the Lord comes and takes the load and carries it for a while, so we can rest.

B. "Casting all your care upon Him: for he careth for you." 2 Peter 5:7.

1. This is more than "He likes me".

2. It is that we are the object of His affection.

3. We are the reason He cares.

4. We are the reason He loves.

5. It was for us whom He died.

6. One doesn't give His live for a person he doesn't care for.

7. He loves us more than any other of His creation.

8. Without God there would be no mercy, and there would be no one to bear our burdens.

III. Without God There Would Be No Forgiveness

A. Forgiveness enables the believer to fellowship with God.

1. Sin separates the believer from God.

2. Following David's sin against God, he sought for the return of the joy of salvation.

3. Without the forgiveness the fellowship between David and God was broken.

4. Forgiveness removes all barriers.

(1 John 1:9) "If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness."

B. Forgiveness enables the believer to fellowship with other believers.

(Eph 4:32) "And be ye kind one to another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, even as God for Christ's sake hath forgiven you."

1. The key to having a proper relationship with other believers is to understand that we are forgiven.

2. How can we harbor bitterness against a brother in Christ, when we realize that He has forgiven us?

3. Jesus instructed Peter to just keep forgiving and forgiving.

4. But without God there would be no forgiveness at all!

5. No mercy…no burden bearer

IV. Without God There Would Be No Hope

A. "Thou Hast The Words Of Eternal Life."

1. Without God every one of us would be hopelessly lost in sin.

2. Nothing or no one could redeem our souls.

3. When Peter made this statement he is saying, "There is no other way."

4. Without God my dad and mother would not be in heaven.

5. Without God there would be no hope to ever see our loved ones again.

B. 'Lord, to whom shall we go?'

1. Without God there would be no love.

2. Without God there would be no cross.

3. Without God there would be no heaven.

4. Without God there would be no redemption.

C. But there is a God in heaven. Cf Dan. 2;28

1. His mercy is available to us today.

2. He will bear our burdens.

3. He will forgive our sins.

4. We have hope of eternal life in Christ.

(Titus 1:2) "In hope of eternal life, which God, that cannot lie, promised before the world began;"

Will ye also go away? To whom shall we go?