John 3:16 NASB
“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.”
God the Father gave His only begotten Son Jesus Christ (God
the Son) to death on a cross to die for our freedom from sin. He who knew no
sin became sin for us that we might become the righteousness of God. In his
death, thus, he put sin to death. For, Jesus died that we might die to sin and
live to righteousness. And, he died that we might no longer live for ourselves,
but for him who gave his life up for us (2 Co. 5:15, 21).
But, he didn’t stay dead, praise the Lord! On the third day
he was resurrected from the dead in victory over sin, Satan, hell and death, on
our behalf. Amen! And, because he lives, we, too, can live in victory over sin
and Satan, so that we are no longer enslaved to sin, but to righteousness.
If we want to have this freedom from the control of sin over
our lives, and have new lives in Jesus Christ, and have eternal life with God, we
must be believing (present tense) in Jesus Christ. For, belief in Jesus is not
past tense only, but it is present tense, ongoing, and continuous until the
end.
And, this believing in Jesus is also not just some emotional
experience we have had or some intellectual assent to who Jesus is and was, and
to what he did for us in dying on the cross for our sins. Believing in Jesus is
a radical change in lifestyle. It is dying with him to the sins which once
enslaved us, and allowing him to set us free from our addictions. And, it is
walking with him in purity, love, compassion, faithfulness, and integrity – all
in the power of God’s Holy Spirit and the working of God’s grace in changing us.
John 3:17-18 NASB
“For God did not send the Son into the world to judge the world, but that the world might be saved through Him. He who believes in Him is not judged; he who does not believe has been judged already, because he has not believed in the name of the only begotten Son of God.”
Many people take v. 17 out of context to make it say that
Jesus Christ never judges anyone, and so we shouldn’t, either. But, that is not
true.
Jesus Christ, when he walked this earth, made judgments of
people and actions and attitudes all the time. We need to read some of the
words he spoke to his followers, and the words he often spoke to the Pharisees,
and the words he spoke which were intended for all people, of all time. They
were filled with judgments regarding sin and righteousness, and our
relationship with him, and with regard to hell and eternal life with God.
He was very strong in his words with regard to what it takes
for us to be one of his followers. He made it very clear that if we want to be
one of his that we must deny self, die daily to sin, and follow him in
obedience. He said that we can’t hold on to our old lives of sin, for if we do,
we will die in our sins. And, he said that if we die with him to sin, then we
will have eternal life.
So, if we want to be free from judgment, we need to be
believing in him, dying daily to sin, denying self, and walking in obedience to
his commands.
Yet, his is not saying we will be perfect or that we will
never sin, but that sin should no longer be our master. It should no longer be
what controls our lives, for Jesus set us free! So, we should walk in the
freedom that Jesus has provided for those who would love and obey him. And, we
need to give our all to Jesus, on his altar of sacrifice laid. We need to be
fully surrendered to him, doing what he has called us to do, and yielding our
lives to his control.
John 3:19-20 NASB
“This is the judgment, that the Light has come into the world, and men loved the darkness rather than the Light, for their deeds were evil. For everyone who does evil hates the Light, and does not come to the Light for fear that his deeds will be exposed.”
What this describes here are individuals who are in love
with themselves, basically, whose covenant is not with God but with their own
fleshly appetites. They are not covered by the blood of Jesus Christ, but by
their own filth and the lies they tell to cover up the filth (their sins).
Many of them are not without knowledge of God and of Jesus
Christ, though, for many who will not come into the light do make a profession
of faith in Jesus Christ. So, in order to protect the façade, outwardly they
may make an appearance as though they love God, and that they have a
relationship with Jesus Christ, while inwardly they are weighed down
excessively with a burden of sin – immorality, lust, lewdness, and all sorts of
wickedness.
In order to cover up their gross sinful addictions, they use
flattery, smooth talk, charm, manipulation, jokes, allurement, and intimidation
to deceive others and to keep them at arm’s length, hopefully, they think, to
protect their addictions and the lies they tell to cover up their sins. If
someone gets close to discovering the truth, they will attack like a roaring
lion protecting his lair (den), while they hold tight to the lies to protect
themselves.
These individuals are truly incapable of genuinely loving
anyone else, although they will attempt to give the impression that they do
love people. But it is self-serving, for they are in love with the lust of the
flesh, and they will devour anyone who dares to interfere. So, they put on a façade,
and they will smile and joke to make everyone laugh, but behind the smile is
contempt and scorn for anyone, including God, who would try to stop them.
Some of them, in their attempts to prove that they are truly
righteous before God, will act as though they are spiritually making progress,
while they make a habit of delaying being honest, and delaying dealing with the
sin and all the hatred that is in their hearts, too. They have hardened hearts
which need to be plowed, dug up, and dealt with before Almighty God, but they
keep putting that off, too.
They are two-faced, double-minded people who give the
appearance of righteousness all the while what they are waiting for is not
Jesus, but for any opportunities to feed their own bellies with the lusts of
their flesh. They are users and abusers who will use anyone and everyone to get
what they want, and again, if they feel threatened, will go on an all-out
attack to stomp on the hearts of anyone who would try to help them get free. This
is addiction.
For, they are in love with themselves and with their own
godless and immoral appetites, which are enormous. They are weighed down with
their sins, and unless they get down on their knees before Almighty God and
truly let it all go, and walk with Jesus in victory over sin, they will never
be free.
And, we must have our hearts guarded so that we are not led
astray by their charm, flattery, smooth talk and deception, for our Lord wants
us to be wise about what is good, and innocent about what is evil (See: Rom.
16:17-20).
John 3:21 NASB
But he who practices the truth comes to the Light, so that his deeds may be manifested as having been wrought in God.”
So, if this is where you are, pretending one thing on the
outside, while you hide your secret sins and the lies you tell to cover them up,
in order to protect yourself from the light exposing your nakedness, then I
pray you will surrender your lives to Jesus Christ today, that you will repent
of all sins, openly confess them, and allow Jesus to set you free, once and for
all!
Living
Water
An Original Work / November 21, 2013
Based
off Various Scriptures
My people have forsaken Me,
Their Savior, who died on a tree;
Made idols, and they worshipped them;
So empty, they will ne’er fulfill.
Lord, You are the hope of Your chosen ones.
Those who turn away from You will be shamed;
The Spring of Living Water left behind.
Living Water satisfies.
The thirsty, let them come and drink;
Believe in Jesus as their King;
The gift of Jesus given them,
So they will never thirst again.
Indeed, the Living Water flows within.
It springs up like a fountain cleansing sin.
Eternal life in heaven promised them.
Living Water glorifies.
Oh people, won’t you come to Him?
Obey Him and repent of sin.
Let Jesus come and live within.
Surrender all your life to Him.
My people, won’t you turn your hearts to Me?
Forsake your idols and then you’ll be free.
Won’t you come now to Me on bended knee?
Living Water sanctifies.
Thursday, December 20, 2018, 12:00 a.m.
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