February 4, 2007

Everyday Disciples_The Gospel of John Encouragement Session

Coming to the Light

John 3:16-21

Introduction: How the Jews Could Respond to the Light

As Jesus is talking to Nicodemus, a Jewish leader who has come to Him "by night," He wraps up the discussion with these words:

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 deeds were evil. For everyone who does wicked things hates the light and does not come to the light, lest his deeds should be exposed. But whoever does what is true comes to the light, so that it may be clearly seen that his deeds have been carried out in God (John 3:16-21, ESV).

Nicodemus had come "by night," perhaps for the purpose of not being exposed as someone who was interested in Jesus. It's quite possible that Nicodemus understood fully the ramifications of being seen with Jesus, for he was a member of the council who, for the most part, hated Jesus and would later seek His execution. Jesus, however, didn't mince words with Nicodemus. Jesus basically tells Nicodemus, "You can't have it both ways." Nicodemus was obviously intrigued by and interested in Jesus, but He wasn't yet willing to openly identify himself with Him.

Nicodemus was representative with the choice that faced all the Jews concerning Jesus. Either they would accept Him, or they would reject, but they couldn't ride the fence. For the Jewish leaders, an acceptance of Jesus was an admission of wrongdoing on their part, for Jesus was quite pointed in His condemnation of them. For Nicodemus to openly identify himself with Jesus he would be admitting that such condemnation was warranted. In fact, as the majority of those leaders would later demonstrate, their deeds were evil, which is why they hated Jesus the Light.

The Danger of Coming to Jesus the Light

As it was a dangerous thing for Nicodemus to come to Jesus the Light, and to be exposed for what he really was, so it is with us. There is personal risk and danger in coming to Jesus the Light. When we come to Him, we are exposed as sinners.

Notice again the summary statement regarding mankind's fear of the Light: "And this is the judgment: the light has come into the world, and people loved the darkness rather than the light because their deeds were evil." Jesus doesn't say that some people's deeds were evil, but that people, in general, were doing evil deeds. What is evil? What is wickedness? It is nothing more than sin. Sin, in all its forms, is rebellion against God, and we have all, in one way or another, been guilty of such. After all, this is why God sent His Son into the world.

So when we come to Jesus the Light, we must be prepared to be exposed for what we really are, i.e., sinners. Again, this was part of Jesus' mission. He came to show us just how much sin had separated us from God, which He did so convincingly when He suffered and died on the cross. Also, because of the thoroughly righteous and blameless and sinless life He lived, He demonstrated what we are not. Everything about Jesus exposes mankind as sinners in need of salvation. If you come to Jesus the Light, be prepared to see yourself as you have never seen yourself before.

This is risky and dangerous to our pride, but it is where we all must begin in coming to faith in Jesus. In coming for baptism, which is the place where our sins are washed away by the blood of Jesus, we admit that we were sinners. In fact, for those of us who have come to Jesus, there was a likely a time when we were convicted in our hearts that we were such, and that we needed the benefits of Christ's sacrifice. And we sincerely desired to live for Him because of this problem we had that He could remedy.

So we see that it is necessary to have our sins exposed so that we are convicted and ashamed of what we have done to God, which will cause us to turn to Jesus, who through His sacrifice, can repair that relationship.

The Blessing of Coming to Jesus the Light

Some people love their sins too much to have them exposed, and others aren't to risk such exposure, and so they are content in the darkness. Yet, when we consider the benefits of coming to Jesus, we see that they far outweigh the risk to our pride. The words that Jesus uses to describe the benefits He provides for those who have faith in Him are: (1) Eternal life, (2) salvation, and (3) no condemnation. Our sins bring death, make us lost and secure condemnation. So there are two options in life. You can love your sins, keep away from Jesus and perish, or you can hate your sins, faithfully come to the light of Jesus and have them exposed and cleansed, and have eternal life. These are the only two options. You cannot have it both ways. If you come to Jesus, sincerely and in faith, be prepared to put the deeds of darkness away from you.

One more thing we should understand about v. 16 is the nature of the belief described there. In the context, as seen in the example of Nicodemus, we are made aware of the fact that one can believe something about Jesus, and not be willing to trustingly commit his life to Him. This is why the word we find in v. 16 is "believes," or as the KJV renders it, "believeth." It's found in what's called the present indicative in the Greek, which carries with it the idea of continual action. Also, the word is the verb-form of the word for "faith," which means that it is more than mere mental acknowledgement of who Jesus is; it is nothing less than a continual active faith in Him—continual trust in and obedience to Him.

What Happens When We Are Continually Exposed to the Light?

While this issue of coming to Jesus the Light and having our sins exposed is part of our initial coming to Him, it is also part of our ongoing relationship with Him. After all, listen to how John describes the Christian life:

This is the message we have heard from him and proclaim to you, that God is light, and in him is no darkness at all. If we say we have fellowship with him while we walk in darkness, we lie and do not practice the truth. But if we walk in the light, as he is in the light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus his Son cleanses us from all sin. If we say 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 (1 John 1:5-9).

Notice the relationship between the light and the truth. Both were described by Jesus in John 3. Here in this passage, we see that we must continually be in the light and continually practice the truth. It's an ongoing relationship. The same that happened when we first came to the light continues to happen: Our sins are exposed. Notice how John describes this ongoing relationship: As we walk in the light and practice the truth, we still sin, but we confess those sins to the Father and He forgives us. The emphasis in this relationship is on confession. You cannot confess what you are not aware of. But, walking in the light continually exposes those sins to us, making us aware of them, and giving us the ability to confess them.

One sure sign of a having a vibrant and healthy relationship with the Father is confession. You are more and more aware of those dark places in your heart that cause you do things that are inconsistent with the truth. You see more and more those areas in your life in which you aren't acting like Jesus. Confession is about honesty. Honestly and openly admitting your faults to God is sign that you are willing to lay it all out there for Him to see, suggesting that you love the light and aren't content allow the deeds of darkness to remain in your life. It's important to understand, however, that this confession is more than simply uttering the words, "Forgive me of all my sins." It's about confessing the specific things in your life, things of which you are now aware because you've been exposed the to the light, and desiring that those things cease to be a part of your life.

The lack of a confessional life is a sure sign of not having fellowship with God. Honesty is essential to intimacy. This is why a lack of honesty in marriage is destructive to that relationship. Honesty with God is essential, too.

How Are We Exposed to the Light?

Finally, on a very practical level, it's important to discover how we can continually be exposed to Jesus the Light. We cannot, like Nicodemus, go over to the place where He is staying, but we can, like him, hear His words and listen to His teachings. They have been preserved for us in the Holy Scriptures. This is why John speaks about a message, the truth and the light in the same passage. It is necessary for our relationship with God to continually listen to Jesus. Herein is where we discover our sins and shortcomings, and find out who we can become in Him.

Conclusion: Come to the Light

Coming to Jesus the Light does have its risk. You'll have to come clean about the fact that you're a sinner, but if you come clean about it, Jesus will clean you. So Christ earnestly pleads with us to come to the Light of Life and find eternal salvation!