Believe in the Light

Good morning.

Today we’ll conclude our study on John 3:1-21.

“For God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life. For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but in order that the world might be saved through him. Whoever believes in him is not condemned, but whoever does not believe is condemned already, because he has not believed in the name of the only Son of God.  And this is the judgment: the light has come into the world, and people loved the darkness rather than the light because their works were evil. For everyone who does wicked things hates the light and does not come to the light, lest his works should be exposed. But whoever does what is true comes to the light, so that it may be clearly seen that his works have been carried out in God. (V16-21)”

In this teaching in John 3:1-21 Jesus started by showing Nicodemus that those who are dead to God can become alive through being born again, and ended with showing that everybody is either in light or in darkness. Jesus was speaking to a teacher of religion who’d probably thought that he and the people He taught every week in ‘church’ (the synagogue) were okay. The important aspect in these words of Jesus is the fact that God so loved the world that He sent into it the Light. Those who believe in the Light and become born again will be removed from darkness and become light. “You are the light of the world (Matthew 5:14).” Even though this passage uses the word believe, believe could be interpreted in two ways. I can say ‘I believe you exist’ or ‘I believe in you’ i.e. that you can make a difference in my life. We read in James 2:19, 20: “You believe that God is one; you do well. Even the demons believe - and shudder! Do you want to be shown, you foolish person, that faith apart from works is useless?”

Faith in the Light must change us. Jesus mentioned above that our actions determine whether we are close to the light or not. Those who do dark things keep the Light at a distance because the light would reveal their deeds and motives (John 3:21, 21 above). Dark things are not only evil, but are anything that puts the focus on self and self gratification rather than on the Lord and His Kingdom. These include getting rich for your own sake, doing deeds to look good to others, being religious to impress etc. Those who do these things keep Jesus at a distance by being religious, but not wanting Him too close in case they get convicted of their motives and attitudes. That’s why we find a lot of people who have “the appearance of godliness, but denying its power (2 Timothy 3:5).”

Where do you fit in? Do you believe in Jesus i.e. that He can make a difference in your life by exposing your motives and attitudes or are you religious, simply believing that He exists, but that it works better for you to keep Him at a distance so you can do your own thing.

Lord, I want you to expose my attitude so I can truly believe.

If you benefited from this, why don’t you link it to your Facebook or Twitter to make it available to your friends? You can also use the e-mail link to pass it on. Please feel free to ask questions or discuss thoughts.