“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.” (John 3:19-21 ESV)
Jesus Christ is the light who had come into the world, but
the light is also the truth that he taught, and it is righteousness and his
gospel message. But many people love the darkness (wickedness, deception,
immorality, sin) rather than the light, because their deeds are evil. And so
they end up opposing the light because it is an offense to them. And sometimes
they do this via faking their own faith in Jesus in order to deceive other
people.
So not everyone who hates the light professes to be an
atheist or not a Christian. Many who profess faith in Jesus Christ are still
living in sin, still doing what their sinful hearts desire, in practice, and
are not walking in obedience to the Lord and to his commands. Outwardly they
profess to believe in Jesus Christ, but by their actions they deny him. Many of
them are two-faced, pretending one thing while living the exact opposite of it.
Some of them are called “wolves in sheep’s clothing,” who
put on an outward appearance of being the Lord’s sheep, his followers, but for
the sole purpose to gain the trust of the sheep so that they can deceive them.
Jesus called them thieves and robbers, who come only to steal, kill, and
destroy. He also referred to them as strangers who his true sheep will flee
from. And he called them “hired hands” who care nothing for the sheep, who
desert them.
And Jesus said that not everyone who says to him, “Lord,
Lord,” will enter the kingdom of heaven, but the ones DOING (obeying) the will
of God the Father who is in heaven. For many will stand before the Lord on the
day of judgment calling him, “Lord,” and proclaiming what they did in his name,
but he will declare to them that he never knew them and they are to depart from
him because they are workers of lawlessness who did not obey God.
So it isn’t just the outward opponents of Christ and of his
gospel who love their sin and so will not put their faith in the Lord Jesus to
deliver them out of their slavery to sin so that they can now obey him with
their lives. But it is many who profess faith in the Lord Jesus but who refuse
to come into the light, the truth of the gospel, because they want to hold on
to their sins. Outwardly they may appear righteous, but in secret they will
keep sinning.
[Matthew 7:13-23; Luke 9:23-26; John 1:12-13; John 6:44;
John 10:1-30; Acts 26:18; Romans 2:6-8; Romans 6:1-23; Romans 8:1-14; Romans
12:1-2; 1 Corinthians 10:1-22; Galatians 5:16-21; Ephesians 2:8-10; Ephesians
4:17-32; Ephesians 5:3-6; Titus 2:11-14; Hebrews 3:1-19; Hebrews 4:1-13; 1
Peter 2:24; 1 John 1:5-10; 1 John 2:3-6; 1 John 3:4-10]
But those who truly have come into the light are those who
are doing what is true, honest, faithful, and obedient to the Lord. They are
not faking their Christianity. It is real, which is evidenced by their walks of
faith in obedience to the Lord and to his commands, in holy living. This is not
saying that they are absolutely perfect in every way but that their lives are
surrendered to Jesus to obeying his commands and to no longer walking in sin.
And I want to point out here that these quoted Scripture
verses are in the same passage of Scripture as John 3:16. And they demonstrate
for us what it means to believe in Jesus with genuine God-persuaded faith in
him, and what it looks like when our faith in the Lord is not from God but is
of human flesh and/or is being faked in order to deceive others and/or to cover
up sinful lifestyles. But we must die to sin and obey our Lord, in practice, as
part of believing faith, resulting in eternal life with God.
An
Original Work / September 11, 2012
Christ’s
Free Servant, Sue J Love
Bombs are bursting. Night is falling.
Jesus Christ is gently calling
You to follow Him in all ways.
Trust Him with your life today.
Make Him your Lord and your Savior.
Turn from your sin. Follow Jesus.
He will forgive you of your sin;
Cleanse your heart, made new within.
Men betraying: Our trust fraying.
On our knees to God we’re praying,
Seeking God to give us answers
That are only found in Him.
God is sovereign over all things.
Nothing from His mind escaping.
He has all things under His command,
And will work all for good.
Jesus Christ is gently calling
You to follow Him in all ways.
Men deceiving: We’re believing
In our Lord, and interceding
For our nation and its people
To obey their God today.
He is our hope for our future.
For our wounds He offers suture.
He is all we need for this life.
Trust Him with your life today.
Loving the Darkness and Not the Light
An Original Work / February 13,
2025
Christ’s Free
Servant, Sue J Love
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