May 12, 2013

You’ve probably had the experience of talking to a skeptic about Christ only to have him say, “If I could see a miracle, I’d believe.” But that’s not true. The problem with the skeptic is not a lack of evidence, but rather his love of his sin. He suppresses the truth in unrighteousness (Rom. 1:18).

Years ago, the most popular course on a college campus was a first-year chemistry class, taught by a renowned professor, Dr. Lee. Each year before Thanksgiving, Dr. Lee would lecture against prayer. He would conclude the lecture with the challenge: “Is there anybody here who still believes in prayer?” He would add, “Before you answer, let me tell you what I’m going to do and what I’m going to ask you to do. I will turn around, take a glass flask and hold it at arm’s length. If you believe that God answers prayer, I want you to stand and pray that when I drop this flask, it won’t break. I want you to know that your prayers and the prayers of your parents and Sunday school teachers and even the prayers of your own pastors cannot prevent this flask from breaking. If you wish to have them here, we will put this off until you return after the Thanksgiving recess.”

No one had ever stood up to Dr. Lee’s challenge until a Christian freshman learned about it. He sensed that God had given him the conviction to stand up to Dr. Lee. When the skeptical professor threw out the challenge, this brave young man stood up.

“Well,” said the professor, “this is most interesting. Now we will be most reverent while this young man prays.” Then he turned to the young man and said, “Now you may pray.”

The young man lifted his face toward heaven and prayed, “God, I know that You can hear me. Please honor the name of Your Son, Jesus Christ, and honor me, Your servant. Don’t let the flask break. Amen.”

Dr. Lee stretched his arm out as far as he could, opened his hand, and let the flask fall. It fell in an arc, hit the toe of Dr. Lee’s shoe, rolled over and did not break (Richard Harvey, Seventy Years of Miracles [Horizon House], cited by Bill Thrasher, A Journey to Victorious Praying [Moody Publishers], pp. 48-50).

The book where I read that story doesn’t report the professor’s response, but I seriously doubt that he fell to his knees, repented of his sins, and trusted in Jesus Christ as His Savior and Lord. Skeptics who demand a miracle don’t need a miracle to come to faith. They need to repent of their sins.

Our text reports the aftermath of Jesus’ confronting the sin of those who authorized the selling of sacrificial animals and the changing of money inside the temple precincts in Jerusalem. They came to Jesus and demanded a sign (John’s word for “miracle”) to validate His right to cleanse the temple. In effect, they challenged Jesus, “Who do you think you are to do what you just did? Do you think that you own this temple?” John wants us to see, “Yes, Jesus owns the temple. He is the rightful Lord of it. He has every right to cleanse it from corruption.”

Our text shows us how not to come to Jesus when He confronts your sin and how to come to Him:

When Jesus confronts your sin, don’t challenge Him, but believe in Him as the crucified and risen Lord as the Scriptures testify.

1. Jesus is in the business of confronting all sin that undermines the true worship of God.

God created us to glorify Him in all that we do, but especially when we gather in worship. All sin may be summed up as falling short of the glory of God (Rom. 3:23). As we saw last week, Jesus confronted the merchants and money changers in the temple because they were perverting God’s purpose for the temple, which was that His people might worship Him. It was to be a house of prayer for the nations (Mark 11:15), but they had turned the only part of the temple where Gentiles could worship into a place of business.

Jesus was especially incensed with religious sin because these people professed to know the Scriptures. They purported to be obedient to God and to worship Him, but their hearts were far from Him (Mark 7:6-8). No doubt they would have rationalized their temple business by arguing that it provided a needed service for the worshipers. But they were using religion as a cloak to cover their greed. So Jesus zealously drove them out of His Father’s house and upended their money tables.

If you want to stir up someone’s zeal, offend what he loves. If you want to get me stirred up, offend my wife. Because I love her I will defend her if you put her down. Jesus loved the Father and the Father’s house, where true worship was to take place. So when He saw this perversion going on in the temple, it stirred up His righteous zeal (John 2:17), so that He drove them out.

But in so doing, He offended what they loved, namely, their money (Luke 16:14) and their position of authority in the temple (Matt. 23:6-7). So they responded to Jesus’ confrontation by challenging His authority to do what He had done. But that was the wrong way to come to Jesus!

Before we look at their challenge to Jesus, let me ask: Has Jesus confronted your sin? You can’t walk with Jesus, who is holy, without at some point having Him confront your sin. He does it gently with those who are weighed down with the burden of their sin. But with self-righteous religious hypocrites, He gets pretty tough. But wherever you’re at on the spectrum, there is no such thing as having real contact with Jesus without having Him confront your sin. When He does, don’t respond as the Jews did when He cleared their business out of the temple:

2. When Jesus confronts your sin, don’t come to Him by challenging Him, asking for a sign.

John 2:18: “The Jews then said to Him, ‘What sign do You show us as your authority for doing these things?’” Note 3 things:

A. To challenge Jesus when He confronts your sin is to dodge the main issue at stake.

The reason the Jews challenged Jesus was that He had just upset their nice little corner on the religion market. There is no sign of repentance on their part for how they had defiled the temple. They didn’t come humbly and say, “Jesus, you were right. We were wrong to sell our goods in the temple. Thank you for helping us correct that.” They knew that He was right, but rather than face their sin, they dodged it by challenging Jesus’ right to do what He did.

When skeptics say, “Show me a miracle and I’ll believe,” they’re dodging their sin. They don’t need more evidence to believe, because they aren’t seeking to believe. They don’t want to believe in Jesus, because they know that He would confront their sin.

A campus worker talked with a student who claimed that the Bible was packed with mythology, although he admitted that he had never read it. So the worker challenged him to read Isaiah, which contains prophecies concerning Christ, and Matthew, which records the fulfillment of those prophecies.

He thought that he would never see him again, but the next day he came up and said, “I read Isaiah and Matthew. It was interesting literature. I think it speaks the truth.” “That’s great!” said the worker. “Are you ready to trust Christ for eternal life?”

“No way,” said the student, “I have a very active sex life. I know Christ would want to change that. I don’t want anyone to change that.” (Cliff Knechtle, Give Me an Answer [IVP], pp. 88-89, cited by Lee Stroebel, Inside the Mind of the Unchurched Harry & Mary [Zondervan], p. 113.)

B. To challenge Jesus is to assume superiority over Him.

Jesus was the Lord over the temple. It was His Father’s house and He is the heir of all things (Heb. 1:2), so He owned it. By cleansing the temple and calling it His Father’s house, Jesus demonstrated His deity. Jesus’ reply to them (John 2:19) shows that He knew that He would be killed and raised up the third day. He knew His own future before it happened.

You don’t come to the omniscient Lord of the temple as if you are the lord of the temple, demanding answers from Him or implying that you know more than He does. You must assume the position of a subordinate in the presence of Jesus or you will not receive anything from Him except judgment. The problem with skeptics who challenge the truth of the Bible is that they set themselves up as lords over the Word of God. But Jesus doesn’t respond kindly to such critics:

C. If you challenge Jesus by asking for a miracle, He will give you enough truth to condemn you, but not enough to save you, because you aren’t seeking salvation.

On at least two other occasions, the Pharisees asked Jesus for a sign, and both times Jesus gave them basically the same answer that He gives here. Matthew 12:38-40 records,

Then some of the scribes and Pharisees said to Him, “Teacher, we want to see a sign from You.” But He answered and said to them, “An evil and adulterous generation craves for a sign; and yet no sign will be given to it but the sign of Jonah the prophet; for just as Jonah was three days and three nights in the belly of the sea monster, so will the Son of Man be three days and three nights in the heart of the earth.”

Again in Matthew 16:1, “The Pharisees and Sadducees came up, and testing Jesus, they asked Him to show them a sign from heaven.” He replied (16:4), “‘An evil and adulterous generation seeks after a sign; and a sign will not be given it, except the sign of Jonah.’ And He left them and went away.”

Both times, Jesus gave the same reply: a cryptic reference to His upcoming death and resurrection. So in John 2:19, “Jesus answered them, ‘Destroy this temple, and in three days I will raise it up.’” They thought that He was speaking literally of the Jerusalem temple, but John clarifies (2:21), “But He was speaking of the temple of His body.”

Rather than humbly admitting that they didn’t understand and asking Jesus to explain, they challenged Him again (2:20), “It took forty-six years to build this temple, and will You raise it up in three days?” Some reputable scholars (Andreas Kostenberger, John [Baker], pp. 109-110; Daniel Wallace, Greek Grammar Beyond the Basics [Zondervan], pp. 560-561) argue on grammatical, linguistic, and historical grounds that this should be translated, “This temple was built forty-six years ago.” The point then was, “This impressive building has stood the test of time here for 46 years. How could you possibly rebuild it in three days?” But however you take it, it’s clear that these men were not humbly seeking truth from Jesus. Rather, they were challenging His authority.

But Jesus never threw His pearls before swine (Matt. 7:6). When the disciples asked why Jesus spoke to the multitudes in parables, He said (Matt. 13:13), “Therefore I speak to them in parables; because while seeing they do not see, and while hearing they do not hear, nor do they understand.” His parables served to reveal truth to those who humbly sought it, but also to conceal truth from skeptics. He gave such critics enough truth to condemn them on judgment day, but not enough to open their eyes and save them (Matt. 13:14-15).

It’s interesting that at Jesus’ trial, the false witnesses who obviously didn’t understand Jesus’ words here tried to use it against Him. They stated (Matt. 26:61), “This man stated, ‘I am able to destroy the temple of God and to rebuild it in three days.’” Then as Jesus hung on the cross, Mark 15:29-30 reports, “Those passing by were hurling abuse at Him, wagging their heads, and saying, ‘Ha! You who are going to destroy the temple and rebuild it in three days, save Yourself, and come down from the cross!’” But Jesus had never said that He would destroy the temple. Rather, He made a statement of future fact: “[You will] destroy this temple and in three days I will raise it up.”

What did Jesus mean? His reply had a double meaning. On one level, they would destroy the temple of Jesus’ body and He would raise it up in three days. Scripture indicates that all three members of the Trinity had a part in Jesus’ resurrection (Acts 2:24; Rom. 1:4; 6:4; 1 Cor. 6:14; 15:15; John 10:17-18), just as they did in creation. But on another level, through their unbelief and rejection of the Messiah, they would destroy the Jerusalem temple (fulfilled in A.D. 70). It would be replaced by the risen Savior, who is our new temple or dwelling place of God with men. Our worship now centers in Him, not in any building. The sign that these things are true is the bodily resurrection of Jesus on the third day, which is the supreme authentication of His person and work.

Thus, Jesus is in the business of confronting all sin that undermines the true worship of God. When He confronts your sin, don’t come to Him by challenging Him, asking for a sign. Rather,

3. Come to Jesus by believing in Him as the crucified and risen Lord, as the Scriptures testify.

The Jewish skeptics and the disciples both saw the same person, heard the same teaching, and were given the same sign of Jesus’ resurrection. But the skeptics refused to repent of their sins and eventually crucified the Lord of glory. The disciples’ response was quite different (John 2:22): “So when He was raised from the dead, His disciples remembered that He said this; and they believed the Scripture and the word which Jesus had spoken.” That’s the response that John wants us to have. Note four things:

A. All of Scripture centers on the substitutionary death and bodily resurrection of Jesus Christ.

John doesn’t specify exactly which Scripture the disciples believed after Jesus’ resurrection. He could have been thinking of Psalm 16, Psalm 22, and Isaiah 53. But I think he wants us to realize that all Scripture points to Jesus as our sacrifice for sin, whom God raised from the dead. After the resurrection, Jesus encountered the two men on the Emmaus Road. Luke 24:27 states, “Then beginning with Moses and with all the prophets, He explained to them the things concerning Himself in all the Scriptures.” Later, Jesus said to the disciples (24:44), “These are My words which I spoke to you while I was still with you, that all things which are written about Me in the Law of Moses and the Prophets and the Psalms must be fulfilled.” Luke adds (24:45), “Then he opened their minds to understand the Scriptures.” Being there would have been worth more than all the seminary courses in the world!

The point is, to believe in Jesus, look for Him in the Old Testament as well as the New Testament. You need to read the entire Bible, asking God to reveal Christ to your soul (see my message on Rom. 15:4, “Why You Need the Old Testament”).

B. Scripture is our only source for the truth about who Jesus is and what He did.

Beware of conjuring up a “Jesus” of your own liking! Many do that. They pick their favorite verses or stories about Jesus and His love, but ignore the parts that show Jesus in His holiness and wrath against sin. The Bible is our only source of God’s revelation concerning His Son, and we need the balance of taking it all in.

Here’s one example: In Matthew 11:28, we all love Jesus’ invitation, “Come unto Me, all who are weary and heavy-laden, and I will give you rest.” But some don’t like what He said just before that. First, He pronounced judgment on the unrepentant cities that had not believed in Him (Matt. 11:20-24). Then He thanked the Father for hiding spiritual truth from the wise and intelligent and revealing it instead to infants (11:25-26). Then, just before the invitation that we love, He asserted His sovereignty (11:27): “All things have been handed over to Me by My Father; and no one knows the Son except the Father; nor does anyone know the Father except the Son, and anyone to whom the Son wills to reveal Him.” My point is, we need to embrace these difficult verses just as much as we embrace our favorite verse of invitation. God inspired all Scripture for our spiritual good.

C. Scripture shows that by virtue of Jesus’ death and resurrection, He is the new temple.

I already mentioned this, but we need to understand: since the destruction of the Jerusalem temple, there are no “sacred” buildings or places. Jesus Himself is our temple, not a cathedral or church building. We meet with God in Jesus. We dwell in Him and He dwells in us. The church (people, not the building) is growing into a holy temple in the Lord (Eph. 2:21).

D. As God opens our eyes through the Scriptures to see truly who Jesus is, we should believe more and more in Him.

Believing in Jesus is not a blind leap, where you vaguely hope He catches you before you hit the bottom. Rather, faith in Jesus is a step (not a leap) where you put your trust in the credible witness of Scripture and the apostles to the person and work of Jesus Christ. They were eyewitnesses of His glory (John 1:18). Peter testifies (2 Pet. 1:16), “For we did not follow cleverly devised tales when we made known to you the power and coming of our Lord Jesus Christ, but we were eyewitnesses of His majesty.” The apostolic testimony is recorded for us in the New Testament, corroborated by the Old Testament.

Also, as we’ve seen, faith in Christ is not a once-for-all decision in the past. Rather, the disciples believed in Christ when they first began to follow Him (John 1:50). They believed again when they saw His glory when He turned the water into wine (2:11). Now, after the resurrection they reflect back on Jesus’ words here and “they believed the Scripture and the word which Jesus had spoken.” John puts Jesus’ words on a par with Scripture. What Jesus said, God said. The point is, as we understand more and more from the Scriptures of who Jesus is, our faith in Him grows.

Note also that it takes time for spiritual truth to sink in. The disciples didn’t connect all the dots at first. They couldn’t understand Jesus’ predictions about His death and resurrection (Luke 9:44-45; 24:45). But later they remembered what Jesus had said and it all made sense. So if you don’t understand something in the Bible, don’t give up. Keep asking, seeking, and knocking, and eventually the door will be opened for you.

Conclusion

A story is told of a godly but poor old Christian woman who lived in a run-down house. But she was always praising the Lord. An old atheistic man lived next door, who was always trying to prove to her that there is no God.

One day as he walked by the house, he saw through an open window that the woman was kneeling in prayer. He crept near and heard her pray, “Lord, you’ve always given me what I’ve needed. Now you know that I don’t have any money, I’m out of groceries, and I won’t get another check for a week. Somehow, Lord, can you get me some groceries?”

The atheist had heard all that he needed to hear. He ran down to the store, bought several bags of groceries, set them down on her doorstep, rang the bell, and hid beside the house. When the old woman saw the groceries, she threw her hands over her head and began shouting, “Thank you, Jesus! I was without food and you provided the groceries! Praise the Lord!”

At that point, the old man jumped out and said, “I’ve got you now! I told you that there is no God. It wasn’t Jesus who gave you those groceries—it was me!”

“Oh, no,” the woman said. “Jesus got me these groceries and He made you pay for them!” There are two ways of looking at things, aren’t there! The point of our text is, when Jesus confronts your sin, don’t challenge Him. Rather, believe in Him as the One who was crucified for your sins and raised for your justification.

Application Questions

1. If a skeptic says, “Evolution is a proven fact,” how should you respond? Should you debate the point or confront his sin?
2. Does submitting to the authority of Scripture mean that we are to put our brains on the shelf? Can we ask the hard questions and yet be in submission to the Lord?
3. Discuss Matthew 13:10-17. Why did Jesus speak in such a cryptic manner to certain people?
4. Why is it important to form our view of God (and Jesus) based on all Scripture, not just on our favorite parts?

Copyright, Steven J. Cole, 2013, All Rights Reserved.

Unless otherwise noted, all Scripture Quotations are from the New American Standard Bible, Updated Edition © The Lockman Foundation

June 2, 2013

One of the greatest lies that Satan has foisted on the human race is that religion can save you. By “religion,” I mean adherence to the beliefs and practices of a religion in the hope that your performance will gain you right standing with God. Whether it is Buddhism, Islam, Hinduism, Judaism, or even Christianity, there have always been millions who mistakenly thought that obedience to their religion would earn them eternal life.

The four Gospels make it clear that the most difficult people to reach with the gospel are not the notoriously wicked, but rather the outwardly religious. There are numerous accounts of corrupt tax collectors and immoral people coming to salvation. They knew that they were sinners and that they could not save themselves. But it was the religious crowd that opposed Jesus and eventually crucified Him. They were blind to their own sins of pride and self-righteousness. Their religion served not to save them, but to condemn them.

But Jesus Christ did not come to promote religion. He did not flatter those who were religious by saying that He was glad to see their religious activities and that He, too, was a religious person. When the religious leaders complained that Jesus socialized with sinners, He replied (Luke 5:31-32), “It is not those who are well who need a physician, but those who are sick. I have not come to call the righteous but sinners to repentance.” He was not saying that some are righteous enough to get into heaven by their own good deeds. Rather, by the “righteous,” He meant the self-righteous. Their pride blinded them to their sin and kept them from coming to Jesus for forgiveness and salvation.

In our last study, we looked at John 2:23-25, where many believed in Jesus as they saw the signs (miracles) that He was doing, but Jesus didn’t believe in them, because He could see the true condition of their hearts. As I explained, those verses serve as an introduction to the story of Jesus and Nicodemus. John connects the stories by using the word “man” (or “men”). John says (2:24) that Jesus “knew all men,” and then adds (2:25), “and because He did not need anyone to testify concerning man, for He Himself knew what was in man.” Remember, there were no chapter breaks in the original text, so the next verse (3:1) continues, “Now there was a man of the Pharisees, named Nicodemus….” There is also a connection between the people who observed Jesus’ signs (2:23) and Nicodemus’ opening statement to Jesus (3:2), “no one can do these signs that You do unless God is with him.” A further connection is that Jesus’ knowing all men and what was in man is evident in His reply to Nicodemus. Jesus could see beneath Nicodemus’ religious veneer. He knew that Nicodemus’ religion could not save him. He needed the new birth. This encounter teaches us that…

Religion can’t save you because to enter God’s eternal kingdom you need the new birth by the Holy Spirit.

The story of Jesus’ encounter with Nicodemus runs from 3:1-21, but somewhere after 3:12, Nicodemus fades out as John records Jesus’ words about the Son of Man being lifted up as Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness. Probably the direct words of Jesus fade away after 3:15 and John’s commentary runs from 3:16-21. Today we can only look at 3:1-7.

1. Religion can’t deal with the fundamental human need, to be reconciled to the holy God and enter His kingdom.

John begins by telling us that Nicodemus was a Pharisee and adds that he was a ruler of the Jews. This means that he belonged to the Sanhedrin, the ruling council in Jerusalem that consisted of 71 members from the Pharisees and Sadducees. The Sadducees were almost all from the aristocracy and were more political than religious. They held to some heretical religious beliefs. The Pharisees were largely middle class businessmen who were concerned about following the Jewish law and had separated themselves (the word Pharisee probably comes from a word meaning to separate) from the common people by their strict adherence to their many regulations and rules (Donald Hagner, The Zondervan Pictorial Encyclopedia of the Bible [Zondervan], ed. By Merrill C. Tenney, 4:747). Nicodemus was apparently a leading Pharisee, because Jesus calls him “the teacher of Israel” (3:10). He must have been a recognized religious authority.

John reports that Nicodemus came to Jesus by night. There have been many speculations about why he did this. Perhaps the most likely is that he was afraid of what the other members of the council would think of him. He seems to have been a rather timid man (John 7:50-52; 19:39). Some suggest that since most of John’s references to “night” have a spiritual symbolism, he may be hinting at Nicodemus’ spiritual condition. Although he was a religious leader, he was in spiritual darkness (D. A. Carson, The Gospel According to John [Eerdmans/Apollos], p. 186).

Nicodemus seems to have been impressed by Jesus and the signs which He was doing. For a leader of the Sanhedrin to come to the quarters of an uneducated Galilean carpenter, address Him as “Rabbi,” and acknowledge that He had come from God was no small matter. Perhaps Nicodemus uses the plural “we” to refer to a few of his colleagues, but he may also be hiding behind them a bit so as not to signal too much interest on his own part (ibid., p. 187). But in spite of his complimentary greetings, Nicodemus’ view of Jesus fell far short of acknowledging Him as the Christ, the Son of God, which is necessary to receive eternal life (20:31).

The basic error of the Pharisees was to externalize religion (William Hendriksen, (John [Baker], 1:131). They invented all sorts of manmade regulations to add to the Law of Moses and took pride in their observance of them. Jesus blasted them for their hypocrisy as they fastidiously cleaned the outside of their cups and dishes, but neglected to deal with the sin in their hearts (Matt. 23:25-28).

As we saw in John 2:23-25, the important thing with the Lord is what is in our hearts. He sees and judges “the thoughts and intentions of our hearts” (Heb. 4:12-13). Later, when the Pharisees questioned Jesus about why His disciples did not wash their hands according to their traditions, He blasted them (Mark 7:6-8):

“Rightly did Isaiah prophesy of you hypocrites, as it is written: ‘This people honors Me with their lips, but their heart is far away from Me. But in vain do they worship Me, teaching as doctrines the precepts of men.’ Neglecting the commandment of God, you hold to the tradition of men.”

Those who are into religion deceive themselves by thinking that their outward rituals and rules will impress God, while at the same time they dodge dealing with the sin that is in their hearts. But, of course, God sees right through it all. He requires “truth in the innermost being” (Ps. 51:6). So religion cannot gain anyone access to heaven because it only deals with external matters. No amount of rule-keeping or adherence to religious rituals can reconcile a sinner to the holy God.

You would think that Jesus would be elated at the prospect of winning a member of the Sanhedrin as one of His followers. This guy could be a key disciple! Think of his influence! Think of how his testimony would impress the other religious leaders, not to mention the common people. But Jesus showed no excitement, no deference, and no eager politeness. There was not even any attempt at persuasiveness or accommodation. Jesus was no respecter of persons. Rather, He cut to the quick by telling Nicodemus:

2. To be reconciled to God, you must be reborn from above.

John 3:3: “Jesus answered and said to him, ‘Truly, truly, I say to you, unless one is born again he cannot see the kingdom of God.’” Jesus “answered,” but Nicodemus hadn’t asked a question! B. F. Westcott (cited by Andreas Kostenberger, John [Baker], p. 121) remarked, “The Lord answered not his words, but his thoughts.” Jesus knew what was in Nicodemus’ heart and answered him accordingly.

Three times (3:3, 5, 11) in this interview Jesus uses the phrase, “Truly, truly.” It transliterates the Aramaic, “Amen,” which came from a verb meaning “to confirm.” It was used to give assent to the words uttered by another, as we still use it today. Jesus used the phrase to give added significance and attention to what follows. Leon Morris explains (The Gospel According to John [Eerdmans], p. 169), “It marks the words as uttered before God, who is thus invited to bring them to pass.”

The point that Jesus wanted to hammer home to Nicodemus is, “You don’t need further instruction in religion. You need to be born again! You need to see yourself as a sinner who needs more than moral or religious improvement. You need nothing less than new life from God!” As Jesus will go on to say, in effect (3:14-16), “You need to see Me as more than a religious teacher. You need to see Me as your Savior, lifted up on the cross to bring salvation to sinners.” Morris puts it (p. 212), “In one sentence He sweeps away all that Nicodemus stood for, and demands that he be re-made by the power of God.”

“Born again” is ambiguous and may also mean “born from above.” Both are true and John may intend that we understand both meanings. William Barclay (The Gospel of John [Westminster], 1:120) captures both meanings with “reborn from above.” The idea is that just as we were born physically, so we need to be born spiritually. Such a birth requires the power of God. Nicodemus, as a Jew and a Pharisee, would have been proud of the fact that he was not a Gentile, but had been born as a Jew. But Jesus shows him that being a Jew, even a religious Jew, is not enough. He needed a new birth as a spiritual child of God (John 1:12-13).

Jesus says (3:3) that we must be born again to “see the kingdom of God.” These verses (3:3, 5) are the only reference to the kingdom in John (except 18:36, with Pilate; 6:15, “king”). It’s a major theme in the Synoptic Gospels. Here it refers to the Messianic kingdom for which all Jews hoped. Ed Blum explains (The Bible Knowledge Commentary, ed. by John F. Walvoord & Roy Zuck [Victor Books], 2:281), “The kingdom is the sphere or realm of God’s authority and blessing which is now invisible but will be manifested on earth (Matt. 6:10).” To see the kingdom (3:3) is basically equal to entering the kingdom (3:5), with the slight difference that “see” implies spiritual perception (1 Cor. 2:14). Carson (p. 188) explains, “To a Jew with the background and convictions of Nicodemus, ‘to see the kingdom of God’ was to participate in the kingdom at the end of the age, to experience eternal, resurrection life.”

To be a proper subject in God’s kingdom, you have to be subject to the King, and that subjection begins here and now, not in the distant future. The problem is, those who are in the flesh are by nature hostile toward God and not able to subject themselves to God. As Paul explains (Rom. 8:6-8), “For the mind set on the flesh is death, but the mind set on the Spirit is life and peace, because the mind set on the flesh is hostile toward God; for it does not subject itself to the law of God, for it is not even able to do so, and those who are in the flesh cannot please God.” John Calvin (Calvin’s Commentaries [Baker], p. 108) infers that since our whole nature needs the new birth, there is nothing in us that is not sinful. Corruption has spread throughout.

Thus all the religion in the world cannot resolve our basic problem of being alienated from God, because religion is based on human works that stem from the flesh and feed our pride. To be subject to the King, we need the new birth that gives us a new nature that delights in obedience to God from the heart (Rom. 6:17-18). We need a radical transformation, not just some behavior modification. We need something that the natural man cannot produce. We need nothing less than to be reborn from above.

Nicodemus was amazed (3:7) at Jesus’ radical statement that he needed to be born again. He replies (3:4), “How can a man be born when he is old? He cannot enter a second time into his mother’s womb and be born, can he?” It’s difficult to understand what Nicodemus meant by this question. Obviously, he did not believe that Jesus was suggesting that a person go back to the womb and be reborn physically. John MacArthur (The Gospel According to Jesus [Zondervan], p. 40) thinks that Nicodemus was really saying, “I can’t start all over. It’s too late. I’ve gone too far in my religious system to start over. There’s no hope for me if I must begin from the beginning.” He says that Jesus was demanding that Nicodemus forsake everything he stood for, and Nicodemus knew it.

That may be, but I think D. A. Carson may be more on target when he suggests that Nicodemus did not understand what Jesus was talking about at all. His amazement (3:7) at Jesus’ words that he must be born again may indicate a degree of bewilderment. In verse 12 Jesus indicts him for not believing what He has just told him. So Carson says that Nicodemus’ answer reflects incredulousness, which prompted him to answer with a crassly literalistic interpretation of what Jesus said to express a degree of scorn. R. C. Sproul (John [Reformation Trust], p. 38) goes so far as to suggest that Nicodemus was insulting Jesus by his reply: “What are you talking about? Are you suggesting that a man has to enter a second time into his mother’s womb to be born? What a ridiculous idea that is.” So Jesus (in verse 5) further explains verse 3:

3. Spiritual rebirth requires cleansing from sin and new life through the power of the Holy Spirit.

John 3:5-7: Jesus answered, “Truly, truly, I say to you, unless one is born of water and the Spirit he cannot enter into the kingdom of God. That which is born of the flesh is flesh, and that which is born of the Spirit is spirit. Do not be amazed that I said to you, ‘You must be born again.’”

The phrase, “born of water and the Spirit,” has been subject to numerous interpretations. I used to think that “born of water” referred to physical birth, so that Jesus was responding to Nicodemus’ question in verse 4, “Your physical birth as a Jew, Nicodemus, is not enough. You must also be born spiritually.” The problem with that view is that Nicodemus probably would not have understood “water” in this way. And, the Greek construction points to one birth, not two. “Water and the Spirit” (3:5) is the equivalent of being born “from above” (3:3; see Carson, p. 191).

Some think that it refers to Christian baptism. But Christian baptism didn’t exist at that point. Jesus was trying to explain things to Nicodemus, not confuse him with a doctrine which he knew nothing about. Also, to teach that sprinkling water on an infant causes the new birth would be to say that religion saves a person, which is the opposite of what is being said here!

Some say it refers to John the Baptist’s baptism. This is a possible interpretation if Jesus was referring to what John’s baptism signified, namely, repentance from his sins. In addition to the repentance of John’s baptism, a person must receive what John predicted of Messiah, that He would baptize both with water and with the Holy Spirit (1:33). But that seems like a subtle meaning that Nicodemus may easily have missed.

Others argue that “water” represents the Word of God (John 15:3; Eph. 5:25; James 1:18; 1 Pet. 1:22-25). But, would Nicodemus have understood it in this way?

Others say that “water” is a symbol for the Holy Spirit, so that both terms mean the same thing. This is Calvin’s view (p. 111): “By water, therefore, is meant nothing more than the inward purification and invigoration which is produced by the Holy Spirit.” He would translate and as, that is, which is sometimes the meaning.

Since Jesus reproaches Nicodemus for not understanding these things (3:10), He was probably referring to the promise of Ezekiel 36:25-27:

Then I will sprinkle clean water on you, and you will be clean; I will cleanse you from all your filthiness and from all your idols. Moreover, I will give you a new heart and put a new spirit within you; and I will remove the heart of stone from your flesh and give you a heart of flesh. I will put My Spirit within you and cause you to walk in My statutes, and you will be careful to observe My ordinances.

Ezekiel predicted a time when God would cleanse His people from their sins and give them a new heart and new spirit and put His Spirit within them so that they would walk in obedience to His Word. That promise was fulfilled in Jesus when He ratified the New Covenant with His blood and sent the Holy Spirit to dwell in all that believe in Him. Nicodemus, who knew the Old Testament, should have connected Ezekiel’s prophecy with Jesus’ words (3:3), “Unless one is born again he cannot see the kingdom of God.”

Jesus is saying that there is a fundamental divide between the physical and the spiritual (3:6). Being born physically as a Jew, or in our terms, being born into a Christian family, is not enough. There must be a second birth that cleanses from sin and creates new life through the power of the Holy Spirit. As Carson puts it (p. 197), “What is in view is a new nature, not turning over a new leaf.”

Just as physical birth happens at a point in time, so with spiritual birth. But just as we don’t remember our physical birth, so we may not remember or be able to pinpoint the time of our spiritual birth. The way we can know that we’re born again is that we observe signs of new life in our hearts: faith in Christ and His promise of eternal life; love for God; a new desire for the things of God; thankfulness to God for His abundant mercy in Christ; hunger for God’s Word; love for God’s people and for all people; mourning of and hatred of sin and a desire for holiness. In short, you will have new desires for God that you did not have before the new birth. It is not that you will never desire again to sin, but rather that the new direction of your life will be marked by these new desires that come from the new birth.

Conclusion

Years ago, Bishop John Taylor Smith, a former chaplain general of the British army, was preaching in a large cathedral on the text, “You must be born again.” He said, “My dear people, do not substitute anything for the new birth. You may be a member of a church … but church membership is not new birth, and ‘except a man be born again he cannot see the kingdom of God.’” The rector was sitting on his left. Pointing to him he said, “You may be a clergyman like my friend the rector here and not be born again, and ‘except a man be born again he cannot see the kingdom of God.’” On his right sat the archdeacon. Pointing at him, he continued, “You might even be an archdeacon like my friend here and still not be born again, but ‘except a man be born again he cannot see the kingdom of God.’” You might even be a bishop like myself and not be born again, but ‘except a man be born again he cannot see the kingdom of God.’”

Several days later he received a letter from the archdeacon which read, in part, “My dear Bishop: You have found me out. I have been a clergyman for over 30 years, but I have never known anything of the joy that Christians speak of. I never could understand it…. But when you pointed at me and said that a person could be an archdeacon and not be born again, I understood what the trouble was. Would you please come and talk with me?” Of course, Bishop Smith did talk with him and the archdeacon responded to Christ’s call to salvation (H. A. Ironside, Illustrations of Biblical Truth [Moody Press], pp. 49-50).

What about you? You may be religious, but religion can’t save you. You must be born again. Don’t settle for anything less. Cry out to God that He would cause you to be born again (1 Pet. 1:3).

Application Questions

1. Why is religion so appealing to so many people? What’s the draw?
2. Is there a difference between “making a decision to accept Christ” and “being born again”? If so, what is the difference?
3. Someone asks you, “How can I know if I’ve been born again?” How would you answer?
4. Who is the easier one to witness to: A convict in prison or a lifelong member of a Christian church who has not been born again? How should your approach to each one differ?

Copyright, Steven J. Cole, 2013, All Rights Reserved.

Unless otherwise noted, all Scripture Quotations are from the New American Standard Bible, Updated Edition © The Lockman Foundation

June 16, 2013

If I were to compare the Prophet Mohammed to a snake, Muslims who heard of it would be out to kill me for blasphemy. It would be an insult to their revered Prophet. The same would be true if I said it of any religious leader. And so it sounds like blasphemy to say that Jesus is like a snake—except for the fact that Jesus Himself drew that comparison!

At the end of Jesus’ interview with Nicodemus (most scholars think that Jesus’ words to Nicodemus end at 3:15 and 3:16-21 are John’s words), Jesus answers Nicodemus’ question (3:9), “How can these things be?” Or, “How can these things happen?” Nicodemus doesn’t understand how the new birth can happen or how it can gain a person entrance into God’s eternal kingdom. So Jesus tells Nicodemus (3:14-15), “As Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, even so must the Son of Man be lifted up; so that whoever believes will in Him have eternal life.”

Jesus is saying that the Spirit of God cannot just brush away sin when He grants the new birth. For sin to be dealt with, God’s justice must be satisfied. The Son of Man must be lifted up to satisfy God’s wrath on behalf of sinners who believe in Him.

The background for these verses is Numbers 21:4-9. Edom had denied Israel permission to cross its land on their way to Canaan (Num. 20:14-21). God told Moses not to fight against Edom (Deut. 2:4-5). So, Moses turned the people southeast (the Promised Land was northwest) to make a long, difficult journey around the land of Edom.

At this point, the Israelites grew impatient. They had just seen a victory over some Canaanites (Num. 21:1-3). Why couldn’t they march through Edom and kill any Edomites that opposed them? So as they turned southeast, they grumbled against God and Moses (Num. 21:5), “Why have you brought us up out of Egypt to die in the wilderness? For there is no food and no water, and we loathe this miserable food.” As a result of their grumbling and despising God’s gracious provision of manna and His taking care of them in the wilderness all these years, the Lord sent fiery serpents among the people as judgment, so that many died. I understand the “fiery” serpents to be snakes whose bite burned like fire before you died.

This time the people acknowledged their sin, came to Moses and asked him to pray for a remedy. People were dying. They needed relief. God told Moses to make a bronze serpent and put it on a pole. Everyone in Israel that had been bitten would live if they would look to the serpent.

You have to admit, that’s a strange story! After all, one of God’s Ten Commandments was that His people should not make any graven images. Didn’t Moses remember how Aaron had fashioned the golden calf and the awful judgment that came from that terrible episode? These people knew the story of the detested snake in the garden that had tempted Eve and was at the root of all evil. But now God commands Moses to make an image of a snake and put it on a pole. Some must have thought, “Did God really command Moses to make a bronze snake? Had Moses lost it? What was he thinking? Of all the dumb ideas, this one takes the cake!”

But Jesus took that strange story and applied it to Himself, telling Nicodemus …

Just as those who looked in faith to the serpent in the wilderness were healed, so those who look in faith to the lifted up Son of Man will have eternal life.

As we think about how Jesus was like this snake in the wilderness, we can learn five things about why we need the new birth and how Jesus provides it for us.

1. Because of sin, all people are under the curse of death.

The people in the wilderness were dying because of their sin. They did not deserve to live, because they had rebelled terribly against God and His goodness toward them. They had a track record of 40 years of grumbling in spite of God’s gracious faithfulness. He had delivered them from Pharaoh’s army. He had provided water and protection in that barren desert. He had given them food every morning with the manna. But in spite of God’s abundant goodness, they grumbled at Him about their circumstances. And so He sent these deadly snakes among them as a judgment because of their sin.

Have you ever grumbled against God about your circumstances? Maybe right now you aren’t happy about some difficult things in your life. Perhaps you’re facing overwhelming financial problems. Maybe you’re battling a health problem. Perhaps you’re lonely and praying for a mate, but there aren’t any prospects on the horizon. Or, you may be complaining about the mate that you have! Perhaps there are issues with your children or parents that grate on you every day. The list could go on and on.

It’s proper to bring these things to the Lord in prayer and even, like the psalmist, to complain to the Lord in prayer—as long as you’re careful to acknowledge His goodness, give Him thanks, and submit to His sovereign hand. But if in your complaint, you rebel against Him and take charge of things yourself, at that point your complaining becomes sin.

But whether it’s grumbling against God or having other gods before Him or failing to love others or pride or lust or greed or selfishness, we’ve all sinned against God more times than we can count. As Paul argues (Rom. 3:10), “There is none righteous, not even one.” And (Rom. 6:23), “The wages of sin is death.”

As the story of Nicodemus illustrates, even good, religiously zealous people are under the curse of sin and death. Nicodemus thought that his Pharisaic righteousness would get him into the kingdom of God. But Jesus shocked him by saying (3:3), “Truly, truly, I say to you, unless one is born again he cannot see the kingdom of God.” Why did a good, religious man like Nicodemus need the new birth? Weren’t his good works enough to get him into the kingdom? No, he was a sinner. He needed a Savior. He needed the new birth. His good deeds were no cure for the snake bite of sin.

This story brings out a great contrast between religion and Christianity. Religion either ignores human sin and says that God is so loving that He just overlooks our sin; or, it says that we can pay for our sins through good works or penance. But biblical Christianity recognizes that God cannot overlook sin or He would not be holy and just. And, we cannot pay for our own sins, because our good deeds are filthy rags in God’s sight. Our good deeds cannot erase the penalty for our sins, which is the second death.

2. God graciously provided the remedy for the curse.

The snake-bitten people could not do anything to save themselves. They were dropping like flies. God had to provide a way for them to be healed or they all would die. When they confessed their sin and asked Moses to intercede for them, God provided this strange remedy: Make a bronze snake, put it on a pole, and whoever looks at it will live. Even so, we’re all under the condemnation of eternal death because of our sin. No human remedy can help. God graciously provided the way of salvation for us. He sent His own Son to be like that snake, lifted up in the wilderness.

Note several things about this remedy of the snake and how it compares to the cross of Jesus Christ. First, it’s a supernatural remedy. It came from God. Moses didn’t say, “Give me a few days to think about this.” After consulting with the smartest leaders in Israel, he announced, “We’ve got it, people! I just made this bronze snake that’s up on that pole. Whoever looks at it will live!” Everyone would have thought that he was nuts!

Even so, Paul wrote (1 Cor. 1:18), “For the word of the cross is foolishness to those who are perishing, but to us who are being saved it is the power of God.” The cross is God’s remedy. It didn’t come from the world’s most brilliant philosophers or religious geniuses. It came from God, who devised His plan of salvation before the foundation of the world.

Also, the snake on the pole was a sufficient remedy. Moses didn’t say, “Look at the snake, go home and take two aspirin, and you’ll feel better in the morning!” He didn’t say, “Look at the snake, rub some of this special oil that I’ll sell you on your wound, and you’ll be cured. We’re offering a special discount if you buy it today!” He didn’t say, “Bring your own offerings to the pole and offer them up to the snake.” There was nothing to add to it. God would heal you if you didn’t do anything except to look at that bronze snake.

In the same way, the cross of Christ is sufficient for the salvation of the worst of sinners. You don’t have to add anything to it. You don’t have to give money to the church. You don’t need to do penance to help pay for your sins. You don’t have to join the church. You don’t need to add your good works to what Christ has done. Jesus paid it all! There’s nothing for you to do, except to look unto Him in faith and He will save you.

The snake was also a sure remedy. Everyone who looked was cured on the spot. No one who looked died. It was a perfect, sure-fire cure for everyone who looked.

Even so, Jesus saves every sinner who believes in Him. As He says (John 3:15), “Whoever believes will in Him have eternal life.” There aren’t any cases too difficult for God! Maybe you’re a notorious sinner. So was Paul! So was Matthew, the tax-collector! So was the woman at the well! So was the Gerasene demoniac! So was the thief on the cross! The Bible is filled with terrible sinners who looked to Jesus and were saved. If you will believe in Jesus, the remedy is 100-percent effective. He says (John 6:37b), “The one who comes to Me I will certainly not cast out.”

Also, this snake was a simple remedy. As I said, it was sufficient so that there was nothing else needed. Its sufficiency made it extremely simple. You didn’t have to crawl on your hands and knees over broken glass to go and look at the snake. You didn’t need to learn a difficult mantra that you had to recite perfectly as you looked at the snake. You didn’t need to take special classes to learn how to fight the snakes. No, all you had to do was to look and live. And all you need to do is believe in Jesus as the One who paid the penalty for your sin and you will have eternal life.

Also, this snake was a self-effacing remedy. You couldn’t take any credit for your cure. You couldn’t boast that you had fasted for days or deprived yourself of anything or done any good works or brought any offerings to the snake. You just needed to realize that you couldn’t cure yourself. You were doomed if God didn’t intervene. That was humbling to your pride!

Ichabod Spencer, a 19th century Brooklyn pastor, was gifted in evangelism. In A Pastor’s Sketches ([Solid Ground Christian Books], 1:152), he tells how he was going down a line of about 70 people who wanted to talk with him about salvation. He came to one young man and asked him, “What is the state of your feelings on the subject of your salvation?” The man replied, “I feel that I have a very wicked heart.” Spencer perceived, though, that the young man had not gone deep enough in feeling convicted of his sin. So he replied, “It is a great deal more wicked than you think,” and went on to the next person.

A few days later the young man came to him to tell him that he had found peace with God through faith in Christ. But he said that at first he was very angry at Spencer for his remark. He thought that he had been cruel. He felt that he didn’t care whether he was ever saved or not. But he couldn’t get his comment out of his mind. He finally realized that even though he thought his conviction of sin was very deep, it actually was very slight. If Spencer had agreed with him, his burden of sin would have been lightened, but he wouldn’t have realized how terribly sinful he was. Spencer’s comment served to drive the arrow deeper so that he realized his desperate need for Christ alone to save him.

The cross of Christ is a humbling remedy for your sin. First, you have to admit that you’re a hopelessly lost sinner. That’s a huge stumbling block for “good” people like Nicodemus. “I’m not like these publicans and prostitutes, am I? Sure, I have my faults, but I’m not a bad sinner! I’m a basically good person!” It’s humbling to realize that you are far more sinful than you ever imagined! It’s humbling to admit that you can’t do anything to save yourself. Jesus did it all. All you have to do is trust in Him. His salvation is by grace (undeserved favor) through faith so that no one can boast (Eph. 2:8-9).

Thus, because of sin, all are under the curse of death. God graciously provided the remedy for our curse.

3. The remedy must be lifted up.

John 3:14: “As Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, even so must the Son of Man be lifted up.” John uses this phrase of Jesus three other times and each time it refers to the cross: John 8:28: “So Jesus said, ‘When you lift up the Son of Man, then you will know that I am He, and I do nothing on My own initiative, but I speak these things as the Father taught Me.’” John 12:32: [Jesus said], “And I, if I am lifted up from the earth, will draw all men to Myself.” John 12:34, “The crowd then answered Him, ‘We have heard out of the Law that the Christ is to remain forever; and how can You say, “The Son of Man must be lifted up”? Who is this Son of Man?’” Must occurs in two of those verses. It points to the fact that the cross was absolutely necessary to atone for our sins. If there had been any other way, Jesus would have taken it, as He prayed in the garden (Matt. 26:39). But the only way to satisfy God’s perfect justice was for the sinless Son of Man to be lifted up on the cross as our substitute.

But in his typical fashion, John sees a double meaning in lifted up. It also means to exalt or lift up in majesty. Both Peter and Paul use it this way to refer to Jesus after His resurrection and ascension (Acts 2:33; 5:31; Phil. 2:9). And, Isaiah used it of Messiah (52:13) just before the well-known chapter 53, where he describes Messiah’s being despised and forsaken of men as He bore our sins on the cross. So just as the despised snake had to be lifted up in the wilderness, so Jesus would be despised and lifted up on the cross. “He made Him who knew no sin to be sin on our behalf” (2 Cor. 5:21). He became a curse for us when He was hanged on the tree (Gal. 3:13). But God didn’t leave Him there, but raised Him from the dead and exalted Him to His right hand in glory.

Thus Jesus prophesied of His death and resurrection at the outset of His ministry. He also answered Nicodemus’ question (3:9), “How can these things be?” Or, “How can these things happen?” The new birth happens when sinners look in faith to the crucified, risen Son of God. Just as the snake in the wilderness gave “new life” to those who were about to perish, so the lifting up of the Son of Man will give eternal life to those who are perishing.

4. The only thing that cursed people have to do to be healed is to look in faith to God’s remedy.

God could have removed the deadly snakes, but instead, He left the snakes, but provided a remedy: Just look to the snake that Moses put up on the pole and you will live. That seemed absurd. It didn’t require anything for them to do except to look in the faith that they would be healed. Even so (John 3:15), “whoever believes will in Him have eternal life.” Verse 15 shows us that believing in Him is equivalent to looking at the lifted up snake in the wilderness. The best translation has “believes” without an object and “in Him” is connected with eternal life. But in verse 16 John clarifies that our faith is to be in Jesus, the Son of God.

A couple of months ago (“Who is Jesus?” April 7, 2013) I shared with you the story of Charles Spurgeon’s conversion. A Methodist layman preached on Isaiah 45:22, which in the King James Version reads, “Look unto Me, and be ye saved, all the ends of the earth.” He made the point that looking doesn’t take any effort or any special status. Anyone can look. He exhorted young Spurgeon directly to look to Jesus Christ. Spurgeon says that he looked and God saved him.

But we need to be clear that looking to Christ or having faith in Christ is not faith in an idol of Jesus as a good luck charm. In the wilderness, the Israelites had to believe in God’s promise that whoever looked to the serpent would be healed. In the same way, we need to believe God’s promise that whoever looks to Jesus and His death as the just payment for his sins will be forgiven and granted eternal life. But we need to be careful not to fall into idolatry by making a charm or magic token out of the cross.

About 700 years after this incident in the wilderness, King Hezekiah had to destroy this bronze serpent because it had become an object of idolatry to the Israelites (2 Kings 18:1-4). That took some courage on the king’s part! This snake had become a sacred object of worship, but he saw that it had degenerated into idolatry. At the risk of offending, but in the sincere desire to help you understand what faith in Jesus means, if you view a statue of Jesus on the cross as a good luck charm or a sacred object that you pray to, you are not believing in the risen and exalted Savior. You’re practicing idolatry. Destroy your idol and put your trust in the living Lord Jesus to save you.

5. The result of looking was life.

Whoever looked in faith at the snake lived. Whoever believes will in Jesus have eternal life. This is John’s first of ten references to eternal life (although he has already said in 1:4 that in Christ was life, which refers to eternal life). Eternal life is not only life forever, but abundant, joyous, life in the presence of God forever, without any sorrow or pain or death or sin (Rev. 21:4). In the words of Psalm 16:11, it is to enjoy pleasures forever from God’s right hand. As Jesus says (John 17:3), “This is eternal life, that they may know You, the only true God, and Jesus Christ whom You have sent.”

Conclusion

In his Exposition of the Gospel of John (on monergism.org) A. W. Pink wrote:

Man became a lost sinner by a look, for the first thing recorded of Eve in connection with the fall of our first parents is that “The woman saw that the tree was good for food” (Gen. 3:6). In like manner, the lost sinner is saved by a look. The Christian life begins by looking: “Look unto me, and be ye saved, all the ends of the earth: for I am God, and there is none else” (Isa. 45:22). The Christian life continues by looking: “Let us run with patience the race which is set before us, looking unto Jesus the author and finisher of faith” (Heb. 12:2). And at the end of the Christian life we’re still to be looking for Christ: “For our conversation (citizenship) is in heaven; from whence also we look for the Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ” (Phil. 3:20). From first to last, the one thing required is looking at God’s Son.

So the question is, “Have you looked to the crucified, risen, and exalted Lord Jesus to save you from the curse of sin?” Are you still looking to Him as you run the race of faith?

Application Questions

1. Can a person come to saving faith if he (or she) doesn’t feel any deep conviction of sin? Can the conviction come after he believes?
2. In light of Galatians (especially 1:6-9) can a person who believes that we must add our good works to faith for salvation be truly saved?
3. Some argue that “lordship salvation” adds a requirement (submitting to Jesus as Lord) to faith, which is the only requirement for salvation. Are they right? Why/why not?
4. Someone says to you, “I forgive those who wrong me. Why can’t God just forgive everyone?” How would you answer?

Copyright, Steven J. Cole, 2013, All Rights Reserved.

Unless otherwise noted, all Scripture Quotations are from the New American Standard Bible, Updated Edition © The Lockman Foundation

July 7, 2013

Picture a guy floating downstream on a raft on a hot summer day. He’s having the time of his life, enjoying the ride as the cool water gently splashes on him. You’re on the shore and you know that there’s a deadly waterfall not far downstream. This guy is floating blissfully and ignorantly toward certain destruction! So you yell to warn him. You throw him a rope. But he rejects it and keeps floating toward certain death. Why won’t he grab the life preserver? Because he loves what he’s doing and he doesn’t want to believe your warning.

Why do people reject God’s wonderful offer of salvation through Jesus Christ? You would think that everyone would eagerly grab the life preserver that God has thrown out through the gospel (John 3:16): “For God so loved the world, that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him shall not perish, but have eternal life.” Why would anyone reject such a wonderful offer? Why would anyone want to keep heading for eternal destruction? In our text, John shows us:

People reject Christ because they love their sin and they hate having it exposed by God’s light.

People don’t want God interfering with what they consider “a good time,” and they don’t believe the warnings of Scripture that they are under God’s judgment now and will face it eternally when they die. People think that they’re basically good and that God will overlook their faults and give them credit for their good deeds on judgment day. So they don’t repent of their sin and believe in Jesus Christ to save them from God’s judgment. The Greek philosopher, Plato, observed (source unknown), “We can easily forgive a child who is afraid of the dark. The real tragedy of life is when men are afraid of the light.” John makes four points here:

1. The light came into this world in the person of Jesus Christ, and His presence condemned those in darkness.

John 3:19a: “This is the judgment, that the Light has come into the world ….” John has already introduced Jesus as the Light (1:4-5): “In Him was life, and the life was the Light of men. The Light shines in the darkness, and the darkness did not comprehend it.” Later (8:12; also, 9:5; 12:46), Jesus states, “I am the Light of the world; he who follows Me will not walk in the darkness, but will have the Light of life.”

In the Bible, light is used symbolically in two main ways: First, it refers to God’s absolute holiness and, by extension, to the holiness of His people; whereas darkness symbolizes Satan’s domain and sin (Col. 1:13; Acts 26:18). Paul says (1 Tim. 6:16) that God “dwells in unapproachable light.” In 1 John 1:5, the apostle declares, “God is Light, and in Him there is no darkness at all.” In this vein, Paul exhorts us (Eph. 5:7-10):

Therefore do not be partakers with them; for you were formerly darkness, but now you are Light in the Lord; walk as children of Light (for the fruit of the Light consists in all goodness and righteousness and truth), trying to learn what is pleasing to the Lord.

Second, light refers to the spiritual illumination or understanding that we get when we are born again, whereas darkness refers to our natural spiritual blindness before we are saved (2 Cor. 4:3-4, 6):

And even if our gospel is veiled, it is veiled to those who are perishing, in whose case the god of this world has blinded the minds of the unbelieving so that they might not see the light of the gospel of the glory of Christ, who is the image of God…. For God, who said, “Light shall shine out of darkness,” is the One who has shone in our hearts to give the Light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Christ.

In that sense, God’s Word is a lamp to our feet and a light to our path (Ps. 119:105). Proverbs 6:23 says, “For the commandment is a lamp and the teaching is light; and reproofs for discipline are the way of life ….” God’s Word gives spiritual light so that we understand God’s truth and how He wants us to live.

God’s light is embodied in Jesus Christ, the eternal Son of God who took on human flesh. John has told us (1:9), “There was the true Light which, coming into the world, enlightens every man.” When Jesus came into the world, His very presence exposed the world to who God is as holy and to the fact that we are not holy. D. A. Carson explains John 1:9 (The Gospel According to John [Eerdmans/Apollos], p. 124):

It shines on every man, and divides the race: those who hate the light respond as the world does (1:10): they flee lest their deeds should be exposed by this light (3:19-21). But some receive this revelation (1:12-13), and thereby testify that their deeds have been done through God (3:21). In John’s Gospel it is repeatedly the case that the light shines on all, and forces a distinction (e.g. 3:19-21; 8:12; 9:39-41).

Leon Morris (The Gospel According to John [Eerdmans], p. 233, italics his) explains John 3:19,

The word translated “judgment” here denotes the process of judging, not the sentence of condemnation…. It is not God’s sentence with which [John] is concerned here. He is telling us rather how the process works. Men choose the darkness and their condemnation lies in that very fact…. They refuse to be shaken out of their comfortable sinfulness.

As we saw in 3:17-18, even though Jesus did not come for the purpose of judgment, because of who He is, His very presence brought judgment and divided people. Have you ever been in the presence of a very godly man, so that his very presence made you uncomfortable? R. C. Sproul (The Holiness of God [Tyndale], pp. 91-92) tells about a leading professional golfer years ago who was invited to play in a foursome with Gerald Ford, Jack Nicklaus, and Billy Graham. He had played with Nicklaus before, but he was in awe of playing with President Ford and Billy Graham.

After the round was finished, one of the other pros came up and asked, “Hey, what was it like playing with the President and with Billy Graham?” The pro unleashed a torrent of cursing, and said in a disgusting manner, “I don’t need Billy Graham stuffing religion down my throat.” With that he turned and stormed off, heading for the practice tee.

His friend followed the angry pro and watched him take out his driver and beat ball after ball in fury. The friend said nothing, but just sat on a bench and watched. After a few minutes, the pro had calmed down. His friend said quietly, “Was Billy a little rough on you out there?” The pro heaved an embarrassed sigh and said, “No, he didn’t even mention religion. I just had a bad round.”

Billy Graham’s presence made that golf pro feel condemned, even when Billy didn’t say a word about God! How much more would we all have felt condemned to be in the presence of Jesus Christ! Do you remember one of Peter’s early encounters with Jesus, when Jesus caused the miraculous catch of fish? Peter fell down at Jesus’ feet and said (Luke 5:8), “Go away from me Lord, for I am a sinful man, O Lord!”

Have you had that experience with Jesus Christ? Have you seen who Jesus is and instantly recognized, “He is holy and I am not holy! I am under God’s judgment because Jesus is Light and I am darkness!” When you’ve that kind of encounter with Jesus, you can go one of two ways. First, John presents the negative reaction:

2. People love darkness rather than the light because their deeds are evil.

John 1:19b: “… men loved darkness rather than light, because their deeds are evil.” This phrase contains several significant truths about sin. First, sin is far deeper than outward deeds; sin is a matter of our affections or desires. “Men loved darkness.” The past tense (Greek aorist) could be translated, “Men set their love on darkness” (Morris, p. 233). Loved indicates that this was not a cool, rational decision: “Having weighed all the factors involved, I think the best decision is to love darkness rather than light.” No, it was in large part an emotional choice that stems from desires that dwell in our hearts due to the fall. We love darkness rather than light.

This leads to a second significant truth about sin: Our sin problem is far deeper than we ever imagined. The Bible does not teach that we are basically good people who need to overcome a few flaws in our character. We’re not merely in need of more education or learning some anger management skills so that we can develop better relational skills. We don’t need to go through therapy to explore our pasts and figure out why our parents treated us as they did so that we can now understand why we are the way we are. All of these approaches to sin are too superficial from a biblical standpoint. The Bible shows that our root problem is that we love our sin rather than God’s holiness. It’s a matter of the heart, and the only remedy that goes deep enough is the new birth, which gives us new hearts that hunger and thirst after righteousness.

This phrase also shows us a third truth about sin: The reason that people reject Christ is not primarily intellectual, but moral. Unbelievers do not love darkness rather than light because they have thought it through carefully and concluded that darkness makes more sense. No, unbelievers love darkness rather than light because their deeds are evil. The light exposes their evil deeds and convicts them of their true moral guilt before the holy God. But, frankly, they like sinning!

Aldous Huxley, the famous atheist of the last century, once admitted that his rejection of Christianity stemmed from his desire to sin. He wrote (Ends and Means [Garland Publishers], pp. 270, 273, cited in James Boice, Genesis [Zondervan], 1:236):

I had motives for not wanting the world to have a meaning; consequently assumed that it had not; and was able without any difficulty to find satisfying reasons for this assumption. The philosopher who finds no meaning for this world is not concerned exclusively with the problem of pure metaphysics; he is also concerned to prove that there is no valid reason why he personally should not do as he wants to…. For myself … the philosophy of meaninglessness was essentially an instrument of liberation, sexual and political.

This means that when you’re sharing the gospel, don’t be intimidated by a Ph.D. who argues in favor of evolution or who cites arguments from the latest popular atheist. Don’t panic if someone says, “I don’t believe in the Bible because of its contradictions.” You can give philosophic arguments for the existence of God or scientific arguments against evolution all day long, but even if you were to convince the unbeliever intellectually, you have not dealt with his main problem. His main problem is that he loves his sin and he stands guilty before the holy Judge of the universe.

I’m not saying that we should not have good answers to these intellectual questions. But I am saying that they are usually not the real issue. You can ask the person raising the objection, “Are you saying that if I can give reasonable answers to these questions, you will repent of your sins and trust in Christ as your Savior and Lord?” Invariably, the answer will be, “Well, I have other objections, too.” The objections are smokescreens to hide the fact that unbelievers love their sin.

This phrase shows us a fourth truth about sin: Sin must be determined by God’s absolute standards of holiness, not by men’s relative standards of goodness. When John says that men’s “deeds are evil,” we may recoil and think, “Terrorists and drug dealers and pedophiles and pimps are evil. But most people are not evil. Just look at all the good people in this world!”

The Bible acknowledges that there are unbelievers who are relatively good people. Because of God’s common grace, all people are not as evil as they could be. The human race would have self-destructed millennia ago if everyone acted as badly as they could. God restrains outward evil through civil government, through social disapproval, and through the fear of shame and the desire to look good to others. But God looks on the heart. Hebrews 4:13 reminds us, “And there is no creature hidden from His sight, but all things are open and laid bare to the eyes of Him with whom we have to do.” When God looks at our hearts, even the best of people, humanly speaking, are filled with pride, selfishness, greed, lust, and other sins that may never come into public view.

But the situation of loving darkness rather than light is far worse than just loving sin:

3. Those who practice evil hate Jesus, who is light, and do not come to Him for fear that their deeds will be exposed.

John 3:20: “For everyone who does evil hates the Light, and does not come to the Light for fear that his deeds will be exposed.” Unbelievers do not just love their sin; they also hate Jesus! They hate the One who out of love offered Himself on the cross so that every sinner might not perish but have eternal life simply by believing in Him! They hate Him because He exposes their evil deeds.

A teacher assigned his fourth-grade students to write a topic sentence for the following phrases: “Sam always works quietly. Sam is polite to the teacher. Sam always does his homework.” The student’s topic sentence? “I hate Sam.” (Reader’s Digest [November, 2007], p. 59)

We need to understand several things about this verse. First, John does not mean that all sinners do their evil deeds in secret. Many do, of course. Many otherwise respectable men would never frequent a strip club in their own city, for fear of being seen. But if they’re traveling far from home, where they think they’re safe, they might yield to that sin. But in our day, when people call good evil and evil good (Isa. 5:20), it’s cool to flaunt your sin. Movie stars and other celebrities go on television to tell about their immoral behavior. We have “gay pride” celebrations to boast in what God condemns as evil. John is merely pointing out that such sinners do not come to the Light (Jesus) because they know that He would condemn their behavior as evil.

Second, John does not say that those who practice evil are neutral toward Jesus; rather, they hate Him. Many unbelievers would object. They would say that they don’t have anything against Jesus; they’re indifferent towards Him. They think that Jesus was a good man. Some may think that He was a prophet. They may say that He was a good moral teacher. They might even feel bad that He got crucified for His teachings and beliefs. They recognize that that was a miscarriage of justice. But they would protest if you said that they hate Jesus. They’re just indifferent. But John says that they hate Jesus. Jesus Himself told His then unbelieving brothers (John 7:7), “The world cannot hate you, but it hates Me because I testify of it, that its deeds are evil.”

Third, John gives the reason why unbelievers hate Jesus: they fear that He will expose their evil deeds. It’s like the golfer playing with Billy Graham: just being around a guy like that makes you nervous because you’re always afraid that you’ll slip and utter a swear word or say or do something that will expose your evil heart.

When I was a new pastor, Marla and I went to look at a house that was for sale. The owner was an old codger who was smoking a cigarette as he talked with us about his house. He got around to asking me what I did for a living and I told him that I was the pastor of the church nearby. He got all agitated, threw down his cigarette, stomped on it and rubbed it out with his foot, and exclaimed, “Look at me! Look at me! Smoking in front of a reverend!” He must have thought that his smoking was a sin. But it never occurred to him that he always smoked in front of the living God!

The word translated “exposed” means to be convicted in a court of law. It was used of an attorney proving his case. Jesus uses it in John 16:8 when He says that the Holy Spirit “will convict the world concerning sin and righteousness and judgment.” Guilty criminals hate judges who convict them of their crimes, even though it’s not the judges’ fault. Guilty sinners hate Jesus because He convicts them of their sins.

But, because of God’s grace, not all reject Christ:

4. True believers practice the truth and come to the Light, so that their deeds are shown to have God as their source.

John 3:21: “But he who practices the truth comes to the Light, so that his deeds may be manifested as having been wrought in God.” John does not mean that some have a natural bent toward practicing the truth or that doing so brings salvation. He has just made it plain that we all need the new birth and that salvation comes through believing in Jesus Christ (3:1-16).

Rather, John is describing two types of people in the world: Those that have not believed in Christ avoid the light and hate it, because it exposes their sinful deeds. Those that have believed in Christ gladly come to Him and give Him all credit for their good deeds, because they know that those good deeds came from God, who caused them to be born again (1 Pet. 1:3; James 1:18).

“Practicing the truth” is a Semitic expression which means to act faithfully or honorably (Carson, p. 207). But it also shows us that the truth is to be lived, not just spoken (1 John 1:6). “Truth” is an important concept for John He uses the word 25 times in his gospel and 20 more times in his epistles. Truth is embodied in Jesus Himself, who said (14:6), “I am the way, and the truth, and the life; no one comes to the Father but through Me.” Jesus told Pilate (18:37), “For this I have been born, and for this I have come into the world, to testify to the truth. Everyone who is of the truth hears My voice.” This has two implications:

First, there is such a thing as absolute truth in the spiritual and moral realms and you can spot believers by their obedience to that truth. Contrary to the postmodern mindset, truth is not relative to the culture or situation. All truth is in Jesus (Eph. 4:21) and He declared that God’s Word is truth (John 17:17). This means that believers are committed to the truth. We seek to understand the truth more deeply. We hold to the truth of God’s Word even when our culture goes against it.

Second, believers willingly, gladly, and repeatedly come to the light of God’s Word in order to grow in holiness and to give God glory for His work in their hearts. True believers read God’s Word over and over, allowing it to shine into the dark corners of their lives and expose the sinful thoughts and intentions of their hearts (Heb. 4:12). False believers avoid the Word and they find churches that don’t preach the Word to expose sin. False believers try to keep up a good front to impress others, but they don’t live openly in the light of God’s presence on the heart level.

Conclusion

J. C. Ryle (Expository Thoughts on the Gospels [Baker], 3:164) points out that eventually sinners will get what they desired while on earth: they loved darkness; they will be cast into outer darkness. They hated the light; they will be shut out from the light eternally. God will be perfectly just in condemning those who rejected Christ. They saw the Light, but hated it and turned away from it because they loved their sin.

John Piper summarizes our text (DesiringGod.org, “This is the Judgment: Light has come into the World”): “The coming of Jesus into the world clarifies that unbelief is our fault, and belief is God’s gift. Which means that if we do not come to Christ, but rather perish eternally, we magnify God’s justice. And if we do come to Christ and gain eternal life, we magnify God’s grace.”

I pray that we all will believe in Jesus and rejoice in His light, so that we magnify God’s grace!

Application Questions

1. Why is it crucial to judge not just outward sins, but also to judge our sins on the thought (or heart) level (Matt. 5:27-30)?
2. How can you determine whether a person’s intellectual objections are genuine or just a smokescreen?
3. How can we determine whether commands in the Bible (e.g. women’s roles) were limited to that culture or whether they are absolute for every time and place?
4. How open should we be in sharing our sinful thoughts with others? Does walking in the light require total disclosure?

Copyright, Steven J. Cole, 2013, All Rights Reserved.

Unless otherwise noted, all Scripture Quotations are from the New American Standard Bible, Updated Edition © The Lockman Foundation