People Loving the Darkness

John 3:19-21 ESV

“And this is the judgment: the light has come into the world, and people loved the darkness rather than the light because their works were evil. For everyone who does wicked things hates the light and does not come to the light, lest his works should be exposed. But whoever does what is true comes to the light, so that it may be clearly seen that his works have been carried out in God.”

Who or what is the light? The Scriptures teach that Jesus is the light, that he is the way, the truth, and the life. The church is the light of the world, and the church is the body of Christ, so this is the light of Christ which the church is shining forth. And light is the opposite of darkness, and darkness is sin, wickedness, evil, rebellion, immorality, and disobedience. Thus light is all that is holy, righteous, morally pure, upright, honest, and faithful.

“Again Jesus spoke to them, saying, ‘I am the light of the world. Whoever follows me will not walk in darkness, but will have the light of life.’” John 8:12 ESV

“You are the light of the world. A city set on a hill cannot be hidden. Nor do people light a lamp and put it under a basket, but on a stand, and it gives light to all in the house. In the same way, let your light shine before others, so that they may see your good works and give glory to your Father who is in heaven.” Matthew 5:14-16 ESV

[Matthew 4:12-17; Matthew 5:14-16; Matthew 6:22-23; John 1:1-9,19-21; John 8:12; John 9:5; John 12:35-36; John 12:46; Acts 26:18]

And our salvation from sin requires that we turn from darkness (sin, evil) to light (Jesus, the gospel, truth, righteousness) and from the power of Satan to God that we might receive forgiveness of sins and a place among those who are sanctified by faith in Jesus Christ (see Acts 26:18). For this is what repentance and our faith in Jesus Christ are all about, and this is the truth that is in Christ Jesus which we should have been taught:

“To put off your old self, which belongs to your former manner of life and is corrupt through deceitful desires, and to be renewed in the spirit of your minds, and to put on the new self, created after the likeness of God in true righteousness and holiness.” (see Ephesians 4:17-24)

So, Jesus Christ came into the world, and along with him came all of who he is and what he is about, i.e. his divine character and will for humankind. So righteousness and justice and love and obedience to God and holiness and honesty and faithfulness, et al, came into the world. But the people of the world love the darkness (wickedness, immorality, evil) rather than Jesus Christ and his truth and his righteousness because their works are evil. And so they embrace the evil while they reject the truth.

And these “people” include many who also profess faith in Jesus Christ who have been convinced by liars and deceivers that they do not have to repent of their sins, that they do not have to forsake them, and that they do not have to obey the commands of God under the New Covenant, and that nothing is required of them at all other than some fleshly faith in Jesus Christ which is not of God but which is of the flesh of man. For they believe they don’t have to put flesh to death, but they can entertain “him.”

And so many of them are quite comfortable holding on to the flesh and to sin and to doing what they know is evil while claiming God’s grace over their sins and while claiming that Jesus is their Lord and Savior and that heaven is their eternal destiny. And so they welcome living in adultery and idolatry and in lying and cheating and in sexual immorality. And they love the charmers and manipulators and deceivers who are feeding them lies while they are rejecting the truth and those who are telling them the truth.

And we need to get this. For everyone who does (practices) wicked things hates the light (hates Jesus Christ and truth and righteousness) and does not come into the light (does not come into genuine faith in Jesus Christ) lest his evil works should be exposed. They may make a profession of faith in Jesus Christ, and they may go through the motions of religious practice, but if sin is what they practice, and if righteousness and obedience to our Lord are not what they practice, they do not know God/Christ, they are not saved from their sins, and they do not have eternal life with God.

[Matt 7:21-23; Lu 9:23-26; Jn 6:35-58; Jn 15:1-11; Rom 1:18-32; Rom 2:6-8; Rom 6:1-23; Rom 8:1-14; 1 Co 6:9-10; 2 Co 5:10; Gal 5:16-21; Gal 6:7-8; Eph 5:3-6; Col 1:21-23; Col 3:5-11; 1 Jn 1:5-10; 1 Jn 2:3-6; 1 Jn 3:4-10; Heb 10:23-31; 1 Co 10:1-22; Heb 3:1-19; Heb 4:1-13; 1 Pet 1:17-21; Rev 21:8,27; Rev 22:14-15]

So, please don’t read just John 3:16 and decide that you can make up your own version of belief in Jesus Christ which is not biblical faith and that you are now promised that you will never perish but that you will have eternal life with God. Please read all of John 3, for it does not teach what you may think it teaches. For everyone who makes a practice of sin, who deliberately and habitually continues in sin and not in walks of righteousness and not in obedience to the Lord and to his commands (New Covenant), hates Jesus Christ, in reality, and will not come to genuine faith in Jesus Christ.

But those who are of genuine faith in Jesus Christ are those who do what is true – what is of God, and what is righteous, holy, morally pure, upright, honest, and faithful, etc. They are those who have come and who are coming to Christ daily in true worship of our Lord, and in true submission to him as Lord, and in true repentance and in walks of obedience, who are living holy lives, pleasing to God, because they love their Lord. And it should be clearly seen that their works are those which God prepared in advance that we should walk in them, as his workmanship (see Ephesians 2:10).

Oh, to Be Like Thee, Blessed Redeemer 

Lyrics by Thomas O. Chisholm, 1897

Music by W. J. Kirkpatrick, 1897

Oh, to be like Thee! blessèd Redeemer,

This is my constant longing and prayer;

Gladly I’ll forfeit all of earth’s treasures,

Jesus, Thy perfect likeness to wear.

Oh, to be like Thee! full of compassion,

Loving, forgiving, tender and kind,

Helping the helpless, cheering the fainting,

Seeking the wandering sinner to find.

O to be like Thee! lowly in spirit,

Holy and harmless, patient and brave;

Meekly enduring cruel reproaches,

Willing to suffer others to save.

O to be like Thee! while I am pleading,

Pour out Thy Spirit, fill with Thy love;

Make me a temple meet for Thy dwelling,

Fit me for life and Heaven above.

Oh, to be like Thee! Oh, to be like Thee,

Blessèd Redeemer, pure as Thou art;

Come in Thy sweetness, come in Thy fullness;

Stamp Thine own image deep on my heart.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KrYhiK2nQBg 

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