Day 7
John 3:19-21
“19 And this is the condemnation, that that light came into the world, and men loved darkness rather than that light, because their deeds were evil. 20 For every man that evil doeth, hateth the light, neither come to the light, lest his deeds should be reproved. 21 But he that doeth truth, cometh to the light, that his deeds might be made manifest, that they are wrought according to God”
Seldom is there a Christian who could not recite the ever-classic John 3:16 by heart, and yet how few could tell you the next few verses? I fear that the latter would be a very small group indeed, and why is this? Why is it that we do not read these next few key verses? They are, if anything, every bit as important and life altering as 16! These Scriptures answer the very crucial question; What condemns man? Many a time I have heard the non-believer ask the question, “If God is all-loving, how could He send people to Hell?” Here, my friends, is the very plainly stated answer. The condemnation is this; that fallen man will not come to the light, because he is afraid of what he will see. I thought of an interesting little story to explain this. Let’s say that a certain man travels with his family to France, and has the wonderful opportunity to ride to the top of the Eiffel Tower and watch the sunset from the very top. What a view that would be! And yet, although no one is holding him back, there is a crucial problem; this man is afraid of heights! Is anyone forcefully stopping him to trek to the top and watch the sunset? No. And yet, he still refuses, why is this? Is his will not free? No, his will is not free. Even though no one is holding him back, his will is still hindered by his own fear; fear of falling, fear of looking down. He caused himself to miss this glorious event because he was hindered by his fear, and indeed could not force himself up the tower. If only there were some way or some one who could remove this horrible, burdensome fear from him! Do you see the picture? Man is his own worst enemy. No one is hindering us, holding us back, keeping us from the loving embrace of the Son of Righteousness, and yet still we do not go into that blessed light. Why? We are afraid; afraid of our evil deeds being seen. This is the poor state of the unregenerate man. And yet, Christ by His love and by His Blood, cleanses our wicked hearts; frees our wills which are in a terrifying bondage to the Prince of the Power of the Air, and He makes in us a new, brave, bold will ; one that need not be afraid of the light, one that goes boldly into it with Christ’s Robes of Righteousness around its shoulders, and into the presence of God! So, what is this condemnation that sends men to Hell? It is their own wicked devices, their own evil hearts that hate the light that is Christ. And yet, there is still hope, because Christ can and does make these dungeon dwellers “cometh to the light,” and makes them want to please God and do His good works which “are wrought according to God.”
John 3:19-21
“19 And this is the condemnation, that that light came into the world, and men loved darkness rather than that light, because their deeds were evil. 20 For every man that evil doeth, hateth the light, neither come to the light, lest his deeds should be reproved. 21 But he that doeth truth, cometh to the light, that his deeds might be made manifest, that they are wrought according to God”
Seldom is there a Christian who could not recite the ever-classic John 3:16 by heart, and yet how few could tell you the next few verses? I fear that the latter would be a very small group indeed, and why is this? Why is it that we do not read these next few key verses? They are, if anything, every bit as important and life altering as 16! These Scriptures answer the very crucial question; What condemns man? Many a time I have heard the non-believer ask the question, “If God is all-loving, how could He send people to Hell?” Here, my friends, is the very plainly stated answer. The condemnation is this; that fallen man will not come to the light, because he is afraid of what he will see. I thought of an interesting little story to explain this. Let’s say that a certain man travels with his family to France, and has the wonderful opportunity to ride to the top of the Eiffel Tower and watch the sunset from the very top. What a view that would be! And yet, although no one is holding him back, there is a crucial problem; this man is afraid of heights! Is anyone forcefully stopping him to trek to the top and watch the sunset? No. And yet, he still refuses, why is this? Is his will not free? No, his will is not free. Even though no one is holding him back, his will is still hindered by his own fear; fear of falling, fear of looking down. He caused himself to miss this glorious event because he was hindered by his fear, and indeed could not force himself up the tower. If only there were some way or some one who could remove this horrible, burdensome fear from him! Do you see the picture? Man is his own worst enemy. No one is hindering us, holding us back, keeping us from the loving embrace of the Son of Righteousness, and yet still we do not go into that blessed light. Why? We are afraid; afraid of our evil deeds being seen. This is the poor state of the unregenerate man. And yet, Christ by His love and by His Blood, cleanses our wicked hearts; frees our wills which are in a terrifying bondage to the Prince of the Power of the Air, and He makes in us a new, brave, bold will ; one that need not be afraid of the light, one that goes boldly into it with Christ’s Robes of Righteousness around its shoulders, and into the presence of God! So, what is this condemnation that sends men to Hell? It is their own wicked devices, their own evil hearts that hate the light that is Christ. And yet, there is still hope, because Christ can and does make these dungeon dwellers “cometh to the light,” and makes them want to please God and do His good works which “are wrought according to God.”
