The love of God is something that the natural man cannot understand. He does not appreciate it, nor does he see the need for it. The natural man wants to be in charge. He wants to rely on his abilities and his imagined keen senses.
The Bible makes it abundantly clear that man’s senses really are not that keen ever since the fall. Adam was created with a very sharp mind. He could name all the animals without getting mixed up. He had the capacity to tend to the Garden of Eden because God created him to be able to do so.
Adam threw that all away for an illusionary independence. He discovered too late that relying on his own self would not work. God warned Adam that failure to obey Him would be a disaster. Adam decided to test God’s Word. He chose to believe the lie of the devil and that was very costly.
Most of those who will read this devotional have memorized John 3:16 at some point. It is important for us to remember that God loved us when we were completely helpless. God did not love us because He needed us. He loved us because we needed Him and did not understand just how much we needed Him.
Verse 16 tells us that on our own we will perish. That is the fact. Perishing does not mean that we will be annihilated and that will be it. It means that we will spend an eternity apart from God and in the lake of fire. We will spend eternity in torment.
When we look at just about any major city in Canada today we see “tent cities”. We see people who are lying in the streets and going out to steal just to buy the next fix. The disease rate and crime amongst that group of people is high. They are not the only ones who are involved in crimes. Even the wealthy and the powerful like our P.M. are involved in crime. The number of scandals in our government in just 8 years of governing is a disgrace to our country.
Millions and likely billions of tax dollars have been wasted on their corruption. Those who are saved should be able to see this. God is constantly keeping a picture of the perishing that is taking place right before our eyes. Many people are blindly continuing on the path of destruction. It is like a herd of animals that is in a stampede. They will run right into danger because they are so focused on running.
We as people are designed by God to be smarter than animals. However, when a person rejects the truth, they will even be worse than an animal.
God knew the capacity for good in man because He created man. He also knew how destructive man would be if he chose to get out from under God’s care and love. Cain’s defiance of God was not a surprise to Him. His murder of Abel did not surprise God either. Lamech’s wickedness also did not surprise God. God provided the only means for us to have everlasting life. Even after Adam sinned and God drove him from the Garden and blocked the way back to the tree of life, God provided the only way for Adam and all others to be forgiven and saved.
In verse 17 we see that God did not send Jesus Christ into this world to condemn the world. Verse 18 tells us that we are already condemned. Jesus Christ came to provide the only means for man to be saved. That salvation comes through believing. It is not a superficial belief. It is an all out obedience in the true God. It is trusting only in Him for salvation.
The devil has tried to cheapen God’s Word since we are first introduced to him. He lied to Eve and Adam chose to believe that lie. He lied to Cain and Cain chose to accept the lie. He lied to the masses in Genesis 6 and the result was that all of humanity, except for 8 people perished in the flood water. The entire creation was affected by the fall of Adam. The entire creation was also affected by the flood of Noah’s day.
Noah had to believe fully in the promise of God, in order to be saved. His entire family needed to believe that. They had no other option. If they would have stayed outside of that ark, they too would have perished. Noah demonstrated his faith in God by building that ark exactly as God decreed. The building of the ark was not his salvation. His faith in God was his salvation.
In verse 19 we see that light is come into the world. Jesus Christ had not yet died and shed His blood when He made that statement. However, He is the Light of the world. He knew He would die and He knew He would shed His blood for humanity. He came as the Light of the World, but the devil had and still is blinding the minds of them that believe not.
As we mentioned yesterday, there are many people who will be involved in some type of festivities this coming weekend. There will be family gatherings. The stores count on people to purchase extra things for this event. The stores are not concerned about ethics and doctrine. They want to make money. The manufacturers of the products spend many dollars figuring out how to market their products so that gullible people will buy them.
I recently read an article warning about M&M chocolate coated peanuts. I like them and never looked at the ingredients list. There is an ingredient in that list that is very harmful for us. The only reason that ingredient is in those candy and others as well, is to give the candy an appearance that is more enticing to the eyes. It does not enhance the flavour. It certainly does not add any nutrition to them. The manufacturer knows he can get away with putting that ingredient in there and safety is not important to him. As long as he cannot get sued he will do it.
The distractions of the world are very enticing to the flesh. People love their sin. That is what Jesus told Nicodemus in verse 19. Nicodemus was in darkness. He was well trained in the Pharisaical system. He knew how to conduct classes in that corrupt system. He could not understand the Words of Jesus at that time. He would later on. That was because God was merciful and gave him further opportunity to believe the truth. In John 7:51 Nicodemus was willing to question the evil ways of the chief priests, the Pharisees and others. He was changed by humbling himself before Almighty God and trusting in Jesus Christ.
In verse 19 Jesus told Nicodemus that people love darkness rather than light because their deeds are evil. They like the evil they are doing and they do not want anyone to tell them they are wrong. They want to continue on in their sin.
In verse 20 we see that those who do evil hate the light. That included Nicodemus at that time, and it includes every person born into the world. We all start out in life hating the light. We learn how to lie and steal. We show dishonour to our parents by disobeying them. We do many things that are described as darkness.
Jesus told Nicodemus that the lost do not bother to come to the light. The lost, if left to themselves would never bother to listen to the truth. It is the Holy Spirit Who works in the heart of each lost person through the Word of God, to show them their need of salvation. Most push that work away. They don’t appreciate it. They choose some worldly distractions instead.
Judas gives us a picture of a person who pretends to be in the light, while still in darkness. Judas hated the light. He loved darkness. Jesus warned the disciples of this fact, but He did not mention Judas’ name at that time. The other disciples did not see the blatant darkness in Judas. Jesus stated that he was a thief, but the disciples never saw that. They accepted him as one of the group.
It was God that weeded Judas out of the twelve.
Based on what we learn from the Bible, Judas must have been somewhat aloof toward Jesus. As we read in these verses, Judas loved darkness and darkness and light cannot abide together.
In verse 20 we see that those who do evil hate the light. They do not come to the light. Judas did not seek out Jesus. Jesus called him to be one of the twelve. Judas saw some benefit in joining up with Jesus. As a thief he was able to make some money off of following Jesus. He came to see that money did not bring him contentment. He threw the thirty pieces of silver that he received from the chief priests back at their feet. He went out and hanged himself. What a tragedy. God shows us this and yet we all still love darkness for a time in our lives. Most people remain in darkness all their lives.
In verse 21 we see that the person who does truth, comes to the light. We know from the Bible that we cannot do truth until we are born again. That is what Jesus told Nicodemus earlier in this passage. The person that is born again comes to the light. He does not try to avoid the light. He loves the light and the light does not drive him away. God’s Word exposes the darkness. The Holy Spirit helps the saints to see the light in a clearer way the longer we walk in the light. The saved person’s deeds are exposed to the world. The light cannot be hid. Jesus made that clear in Matthew 5. The saved person does not try to cloud over the light. He loves the light and he wants others to come to the light. The common philosophy of doing as we have always done because we do not want to rock the boat does not work for true saints. True saints are not interested in rocking the boat. We want to see the boat arrive safely at the shore. In order for that to happen, all the dross has to be thrown overboard. Only God can point out the dross. We try to justify certain sins. We find comfort in them. However, the light exposes the darkness and the light draws the children of light deeper into the light.
That is the fact that Jesus declared to Nicodemus. We see that this was also true in Nicodemus’ life. He did not remain stuck in his traditions. He was willing to identify with the Lord Jesus Christ. He was not concerned about trying to be politically correct. He wanted to glorify God. He spoke out in John 7 and he was there to help take Jesus’ body off the cross and into the tomb. His faith was genuine. God mentioned him because his faith was genuine. There was no ambiguity in his walk. That needs to be true for every born again Christian. Remember, the best commentary on the Bible is the Bible. All human authorities are secondary to the Word of God. If you want to justify your position, do it from God’s Word. That is the only way to justify ourselves.
Pastor Bartel