THE BEST FRIEND OF ALL

“A man that hath friends must shew himself friendly: and there is a friend that sticketh closer than a brother.” Proverbs 18:24.

          One there is, above all others,
                Well deserves the name of Friend,
          His is love beyond a brother’s,
                Costly, free, and knows no end.
          Which of all our friends, to save us,
                Could or would have shed his blood?
          But the Saviour died to have us,
                Reconciled in Him to God.

          When He lived on earth abasèd,
               FRIEND OF SINNERS was His Name,
          Now, above all glory raisèd,
               He rejoices in the same.
          O for grace our hearts to soften!
                Teach us, Lord, at length to love;
          We, alas! forget too often
               What a Friend we have above.

I want you to meet a Friend of mine today—my best Friend, indeed, the best Friend of all.
          What is a friend? In our text, God Himself defines the word: “A man that hath friends must shew himself friendly.” A real friend will prove his friendship time and time again, both in his words and in his actions. The Lord has much to say about friendship in His infallible, inspired, preserved Word, the Bible—especially in relation to my best Friend. His Name is the Lord Jesus Christ.
          1.          A friend is true and consistent in his friendship. “A friend loveth at all times, and a brother is born for adversity” (Proverbs 17:17). Jesus’ love for His friends is a love which remains “steadfast and sure while the billows roll”—a strong, undying, “everlasting love” (Jeremiah 31:3). As He prepared to go to the cross, His love for His friends was as firm as ever: “Now before the feast of the passover, when Jesus knew that his hour was come that he should depart out of this world unto the Father, having loved his own which were in the world, he loved them unto the end” (John 13:1).
          2.          A friend proves his friendship by his actions. “My little children, let us not love in word, neither in tongue; but in deed and in truth” (I John 3:18). Surely you would not regard as a friend someone who continually despised you. How has Jesus proven His love for His friends? How did He “shew Himself friendly”? The answer is seen in a third point about true friendship:
          3.          A friend is willing to die for those whom he loves. “Greater love hath no man than this, that a man lay down his life for his friends,” said Jesus to His disciples as He ate the passover supper with them, the night before He went to the cross. But hear His next words to them, and take His words as an invitation and a promise to yourself! “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; for all things that I have heard of my Father I have made known unto you” (John 15:13-15). Why is this so significant? Because,
          4.          A friend freely forgives those who have grievously wronged him. “Then said Jesus, Father, forgive them, for they know not what they do” (Luke 23:34). By sinning, you have willfully rebelled against God’s holy law. Your sins have separated you from God, and no amount of good works or religious activities on your part can restore you to friendship and fellowship with Him. Even the very best of your good works are a stench in God’s nostrils if you are trying to work your way into heaven: “But we are all as an unclean thing, and all our righteousnesses are as filthy rags; and we all do fade as a leaf; and our iniquities, like the wind, have taken us away” (Isaiah 64:6).
          If you are a sinner today, then you have made yourself God’s enemy and you are under His judgment, on your way to “the lake which burneth with fire and brimstone: which is the second death” (Revelation 20:8). Jesus says, “He that believeth not”—i.e., on Him—“is condemned already, because he hath not believed in the name of the only begotten Son of God” (John 3:18).
          And yet, out of love for them, He has died for the very SINNERS who hate Him and revile Him, in order to pay for their sins, that they might be pardoned and made His friends! See how He left His glorious heavenly throne to come to earth and be born a Man of a Jewish virgin, live a sinless life amid the temptations of the world, endure the bigotry and persecution of His countrymen, die as though He were a common criminal, and be raised again from the dead—and all for you, a sinner!

          Out of the ivory palaces
               Into a world of woe,
          Only His great eternal love
               Made my Saviour go.

Were they good people who nailed Jesus to the cross? No, they were vile, wicked people; they were guilty of crucifying the Son of God Himself! What more depraved crime could there be? And you, too, are just as guilty as the men who cruelly hammered the iron nails through His hands and feet on Calvary’s old rugged cross, because He would not have had to die if your sins had not put Him there.
          “But ye denied the Holy One and the Just… ~ And killed the Prince of life, whom God hath raised from the dead; whereof we are witnesses” (Acts 3:14-15). You are guilty in His death, but there is hope for you. Why? Because Jesus offers forgiveness to you, His enemy; He offers Himself to you as a Friend! Even now, the risen and ascended Lord Jesus Christ stands before His Father in heaven, and He points to the nail-prints in His hands, saying, “Here is the payment for their sins: ‘Father, forgive them, for they know not what they do.’”

          “For when we were yet without strength, in due time Christ died for the ungodly. ~ For scarcely for a righteous man will one die: yet peradventure for a good man some would even dare to die. ~ But God commendeth his love toward us, in that, while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us. ~ Much more then, being now justified by his blood, we shall be saved from wrath through him. ~ For if, when we were enemies, we were reconciled to God by the death of his Son, much more, being reconciled, we shall be saved by his life” (Romans 5:6-10).

I pray that by now the Holy Spirit has shown you that Jesus has proven Himself to be the best Friend of all. By God’s standard—“A man that hath friends must shew himself friendly”—He has more than proven Himself. To know Jesus Christ as personal Lord and Saviour is to finally know “a friend that sticketh closer than a brother.”
          Once you know Him as your Friend, how will He stick by you closer than a brother?
          1.          He has promised to receive you and keep you eternally secure in Him. “All that the Father giveth me shall come to me; and him that cometh to me I will in no wise cast out. ~ For I came down from heaven, not to do mine own will, but the will of him that sent me. ~ And this is the Father’s will which hath sent me, that of all which he hath given me I should lose nothing, but should raise it up again at the last day. ~ And this is the will of him that sent me, that every one which seeth the Son, and believeth on him, may have everlasting life: and I will raise him up at the last day. ~ Verily, verily, I say unto you, He that believeth on me hath”—i.e., right now!—“everlasting life” (John 6:37-40, 47).
          The vilest sinner who truly seeks salvation in Jesus Christ, and clings to Him and His merit alone by faith alone, is promised salvation which can never be lost. No sinner who realizes his lost condition and turns to Jesus for free mercy in true repentance, seeking His friendship, will be turned away. Listen again, dear friend, to His promise to you: “All that the Father giveth me shall come to me; and him that cometh to me I will in no wise cast out.” He will not cast you out when you first come to Him, nor will He ever cast you out afterwards. By definition, “everlasting life” can never be lost! Otherwise, Jesus lied. You will be saved forever if you believe on Him and commit your soul to Him and His care right now. Poor sinner, do you believe Jesus Christ’s promise to YOU?
          2.          He will protect you from the enemy and preserve you through trial. “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” (John 10:27-30). Neither your unbelieving family and friends, nor the hardships and trials of this life, nor your many sins, nor the devil himself, can take you from Him. He will hold you fast in the hollow of His mighty hand. Look at Paul’s confidence in his Saviour and unfailing Friend:

          “Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? shall tribulation, or distress, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or peril, or sword? ~ As it is written, For thy sake we are killed all the day long; we are accounted as sheep for the slaughter. ~ Nay, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him that loved us. ~ For I am persuaded that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor principalities, nor powers, nor things present, nor things to come, ~ Nor height, nor depth, nor any other creature, shall be able to separate us from the love of God, which is in Christ Jesus our Lord” (Romans 8:35-39).

          Are we weak and heavy laden,
               Cumbered with a load of care?—
          Precious Saviour, still our refuge,—
               Take it to the Lord in prayer.
          Do thy friends despise, forsake thee?
               Take it to the Lord in prayer;
          In His arms He’ll take and shield thee,
               Thou wilt find a solace there.

          5.          He will not be ashamed of you, but will cherish you. “The Lord give mercy unto the house of Onesiphorus; for he oft refreshed me, and was not ashamed of my chain” (II Timothy 1:16). Friends are not ashamed of each other. Paul spent much time as a prisoner in Rome because of his faithfulness to Christ and His gospel, and Onesiphorus and his family were not ashamed of him in spite of his official status as a “criminal.” And in spite of our sins, Jesus is not ashamed to call us His brethren! “For both he that sanctifieth and they who are sanctified are all of one: for which cause he is not ashamed to call them brethren, ~ Saying, I will declare thy name unto my brethren, in the midst of the church will I sing praise unto thee” (Hebrews 2:11-12). How can it be? Think of it!
          6.          He will be your Advocate with the Father. “My little children, these things write I unto you, that ye sin not. And if any man sin, we have an advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous: ~ And he is the propitiation for our sins: and not for ours only, but also for the sins of the whole world” (I John 2:1-2). He is holy and sinless; how then can He be unashamed of you? Answer: He, who should have been your Judge, has died in your place and risen again, freeing you from condemnation (Romans 8:1, 31- 34)! True, the devil, the accuser of the brethren (Revelation 12:10), may try to dredge up your past sins before your conscience and make you feel the threat of hell again, and he may try to accuse God of being unjust in saving you. If he ever does, then look to Jesus and see Him pointing to “the print of the nails in His hand,” and saying to His holy and just Father, “Every charge against him is true, but I was wounded for his transgressions; I was bruised for his iniquities; the chastisement of his peace was upon Me; and with My stripes he is healed. There is therefore now no condemnation for the sinner who is trusting in Me.” (See Isaiah 53:5; Romans 8:1).
          Jesus Christ, with His blood, is the free and narrow Way for sinners to come to His Father: “Jesus saith unto him, I am the way, the truth, and the life: no man cometh unto the Father, but by me” (John 14:6). Let nobody—neither a priest in a confessional nor anybody else—stand between you and Jesus. Go directly to Him with your sins and your troubled heart. How much more direct can you get than the eternal Son of God Himself? The crucified, risen, and ever-living Lord Jesus Christ is our Advocate and Priest with God, and His blood has given you direct access to God. He is the ONLY Mediator between God and men (I Timothy 2:5-6). “Therefore being justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ: ~ By whom also we have access by faith into this grace wherein we stand, and rejoice in hope of the glory of God” (Romans 5:2). “But now in Christ Jesus ye who sometimes were far off are made nigh by the blood of Christ. ~ For through him we both have access by one Spirit unto the Father” (Ephesians 2:13, 18). “…Christ Jesus our Lord: ~ In whom we have boldness and access with confidence by the faith of him” (Ephesians 3:11-12).
          7.          He understands you and sympathizes with you, and will help you. “Seeing then that we have a great high priest, that is passed into the heavens, Jesus the Son of God, let us hold fast our profession. ~ For we have not an high priest which cannot be touched with the feeling of our infirmities; but was in all points tempted like as we are, yet without sin. ~ Let us therefore come boldly unto the throne of grace, that we may obtain mercy, and find grace to help in time of need” (Hebrews 4:14-16).
          He knows what it is to be poor, “For ye know the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, that, though he was rich, yet for your sakes he became poor, that ye through his poverty might be rich” (II Corinthians 8:9). He knows what it is to have your family despise you for the gospel’s sake, “For neither did his brethren believe in him” (John 7:5) until after His resurrection. As we saw before, He knows what it is to have your best friends desert you in the hour of trial.

          Earthly friends may prove untrue,
               Doubts and fears assail;,
          One still loves and cares for you:
               Jesus never fails.

               Jesus never fails,
               Jesus never fails;
          Heav’n and earth may pass away
               But Jesus never fails.

          He knows what it is to be tempted, for the devil tried to tempt Him after He had fasted and prayed in the wilderness for forty days. But, because He (the God-Man) is impeccably holy (I Peter 1:19, 2:22), He perfectly resisted temptation; and by His resurrection, you can have victory over sin. And He will strengthen and encourage you when you are tempted. His blood, shed for sinners on Calvary’s cross, has given you the privilege of coming to Him boldly to seek His mercy and aid.
          8.          He will bear your burdens and your cares when you take them to Him in prayer. “Cast thy burden upon the LORD, and he shall sustain thee: he shall never suffer the righteous to be moved” (Psalm 55:22). True, you are unrighteous and a sinner, as we saw before; but Jesus Himself will be your righteousness when you come to Him by faith for your salvation! “But of him are ye in Christ Jesus, who of God is made unto us wisdom, and righteousness, and sanctification, and redemption” (I Corinthians 1:30). “And the scripture was fulfilled which saith, Abraham believed God, and it was imputed unto him for righteousness: and he was called the Friend of God” (James 2:23). Once you are justified by faith in Christ’s blood (Romans 3:24-25), you will have peace with God (Romans 5:1) and, like Abraham, you will be called “the Friend of God.” What an awesome privilege! And if you have His friendship, He tells you to carry all your burdens to Him and lay them down at His feet—the burdens of a broken spirit, a sin-stricken conscience, a sorrow-laden heart, a worry-ridden mind. “Be careful for nothing; but in every thing by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known unto God. ~ And the peace of God, which passeth all understanding, shall keep your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus” (Philippians 4:6-7). “Pray without ceasing” (I Thessalonians 5:17). Jesus bids you, “Come unto me, all ye that labour and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. ~ Take my yoke upon you, and learn of me; for I am meek and lowly in heart: and ye shall find rest unto your souls. ~ For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light” (Matthew 11:28-30). “Humble yourselves therefore under the mighty hand of God, that he may exalt you in due time: ~ Casting all your care upon him; for he careth for you” (I Peter 5:7).

          What a Friend we have in Jesus,
               All our sins and griefs to bear!
          What a privilege to carry
               Everything to God in prayer!
          O what peace we often forfeit,
               O what needless pain we bear,
          All because we do not carry
               Everything to God in prayer.

          Have we trials and temptations?
               Is there trouble anywhere?
          We should never be discouraged,
               Take it to the Lord in prayer.
          Can we find a friend so faithful
               Who will all our sorrows share?
          Jesus knows our every weakness,
               Take it to the Lord in prayer.

          9.          He will have the most intimate fellowship with you. “That which we have seen and heard declare we unto you, that ye also may have fellowship with us: and truly our fellowship is with the Father, and with his Son Jesus Christ” (I John 1:3). Friends fellowship together, as He and you will! Yes, God is a PERSONAL GOD, Bible salvation is a PERSONAL SALVATION, and the Lord Jesus Christ is a PERSONAL SAVIOUR. If you have ever doubted that He is personally interested in individual sinners’ salvation (even yours and mine), doubt no more: “I am crucified with Christ: nevertheless I live; yet not I, but Christ liveth in me: and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by the faith of the Son of God, who loved me, and gave himself for me” (Galatians 2:20).
          Look at how personal this fellowship is, that He lives within you, in the Person of God the Holy Spirit! “Know ye not that ye are the temple of God, and that the Spirit of God dwelleth in you?” (I Corinthians 3:16). “…Christ in you, the hope of glory” (Colossians 1:27). Once you are washed from your sins in Jesus’ precious blood, you will be near to God, now and forever. “But now in Christ Jesus ye who sometimes were far off are made nigh by the blood of Christ” (Ephesians 2:13). The sinless Lord Jesus Christ’s blood is a substitutionary atonement on fallen sinners’ behalf to reconcile them to a holy God, creating friendship where sin had produced strife. “And all things are of God, who hath reconciled us to himself by Jesus Christ, and hath given to us the ministry of reconciliation; ~ To wit, that God was in Christ, reconciling the world unto himself, not imputing their trespasses unto them; and hath committed unto us the word of reconciliation” (II Corinthians 5:18-19).
          God seeks a close and personal relationship with His friends. Always speak to Him in prayer; always read His Word, the Bible, and let Him speak to you by it. When you sin, go to Him immediately, confess it, and ask His forgiveness by the merits of Jesus’ blood and righteousness alone. He promises to forgive you. “But if we walk in the light, as he is in the light, we have fellowship one with another, and the blood of Jesus Christ his Son cleanseth us from all sin. ~ If we say that we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us. ~ If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness” (I John 1:7-9).
          Seek to know Jesus Christ personally more and more as you spend time with Him. In John 17, He prayed to His Father to secure a relationship for His friends—all believers—with Him. He prayed, “And this is life eternal, that they might know thee the only true God, and Jesus Christ, whom thou hast sent” (v. 3). What loving condescension on the part of God the Son towards you! “And the LORD spake unto Moses face to face, as a man speaketh unto his friend” (Exodus 33:11). Sinner, how can you bear to remain apart from Him, when He, the Almighty Jehovah who created the universe, has condescended to be your Friend like this?
          10.          He will meet you face to face when He returns. “Let not your heart be troubled: ye believe in God, believe also in me. ~ In my Father’s house there 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 ye may be also” (John 14:1-3).
          The born-again Christian knows that he is going to heaven, for the Bible tells him so. Is this self-righteous? Not at all! He knows himself to be a hell-deserving sinner, but he also knows that Jesus’ blood and righteousness are enough to save him, to secure eternal friendship and peace with God, and to prepare a home in heaven for him. He knows, based on Jesus’ promises about everlasting life to all who believe on Him, that his salvation can never be lost, for it has been perfectly accomplished by the perfect work of a perfect Saviour. Yet, he does not look for death to take him to heaven. True, he need not fear death; Christ has triumphed over death by His resurrection, and the Christian can say, “For me to live is Christ, and to die is gain” (Philippians 1:21). But he looks for something other than death. He is “looking for that blessed hope, and the glorious appearing of the great God and our Saviour Jesus Christ” (Titus 2:13). What a glorious day it will be when He returns for His own! We will see Him face to face, in all His glory! “Beloved, now are we the sons of God, and it doth not yet appear what we shall be: but we know that, when he shall appear, we shall be like him; for we shall see him as he is” (I John 3:2). Even Job, in the Old Testament, knew that one day he would be resurrected in a perfect glorified body and see his Lord face to face:

          “For I know that my redeemer liveth, and that he shall stand at the latter day upon the earth: ~ And though after my skin worms destroy this body, yet in my flesh shall I see God: ~ Whom I shall see for myself, and mine eyes shall behold, and not another; though my reins be consumed within me” (Job 19:25-27).

          “For the Lord himself shall descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of the archangel, and with the trump of God: and the dead in Christ shall rise first: ~ Then we which are alive and remain shall be caught up together with them in the clouds, to meet the Lord in the air: and so shall we ever be with the Lord” (I Thessalonians 4:16-17).

          Jesus! what a Friend for sinners!
               Jesus! Lover of my soul;
          Friends may fail me, foes assail me,
               He, my Saviour, makes me whole.

          Jesus! I do now receive Him,
               More than all in Him I find,
          He hath granted me forgiveness,
               I am His, and He is mine.

          Hallelujah! what a Saviour!
               Hallelujah! what a Friend!
          Saving, helping, keeping, loving,
               He is with me to the end.

[First distributed, Friday, April 7, 2000.]

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