Don’t Love the Darkness! Come to the Light!

Last Sunday morning, we heard Jesus explain further what it meant to be born again because without being born again, a person cannot see and enter the Kingdom of heaven.  Nicodemus’ role in that life-changing experience was faith or belief in Jesus as the Savior of the world, and that is our role as well.  When we believe in Jesus, we will not perish but have eternal life.

 

Beginning in verse 17, Jesus clarified why He came to earth.   He stated it negatively and then positively.  By the way, Jesus coming to earth is called His incarnation. 

 

 

1. Jesus’ Incarnation and Its Results, 3:17-19a

17 For God did not send His Son into the world to condemn the world, but that the world through Him might be saved.  18 “He who believes in Him is not condemned; but he who does not believe is condemned already, because he has not believed in the name of the only begotten Son of God. 19 And this is the condemnation, that the light has come into the world

 

God did not Jesus into the world to condemn or judge the world.  That was not his primary purpose in coming.  Instead, God sent Jesus to save the world. 

 

God’s reason for sending Jesus implies what?  It implies that we need saving, and we do because we are sinners, and our sin has separated us from God.

 

However, not everyone will be saved because everyone won’t believe.  Consequently, when a person doesn’t believe in Jesus or rejects Jesus, that person is condemned.  Why? 

 

Jesus was incarnated to save, but with His incarnation came condemnation and judgement because there is only way to be saved.  There is only one way to have eternal life.  There is only one way to be at peace with God the Father, and that is through believing in God the Son, who is also the light of verse 19.

 

Again, when Jesus came in to the world, He revealed God’s standard of righteousness, which was sinless perfection.  See Matthew 5:48.

 

48 Therefore you shall be perfect, just as your Father in heaven is perfect.

 

 

1. Man’s Condemnation because of His Rebellion, 3:19b-20

and men loved darkness rather than light, because their deeds were evil. 20 For everyone practicing evil hates the light and does not come to the light, lest his deeds should be exposed.

 

Naturally, humanity loathes the Light because the Light exposes the darkness and sinfulness of our deeds.  Jesus’ sinless perfection exposes our sin.

 

When I was a teenager and could drive, my curfew was midnight.  That was true even when I was a senior in high school.  I argued and griped and complained about that until I was blue in the face, but my mother would never budge.  Why?  I can hear her saying it now, “Nothing good happens after midnight!” 

 

Isn’t that true?  When is evil most rampant?  It is when the sun goes down.

 

Ever since Genesis 3:6, man has loved sin and darkness, and Paul reminds us of this truth as well.  See Genesis 3:6-8 and Ephesians 5:1-14.

 

6 So when the woman saw that the tree was good for food, that it was pleasant to the eyes, and a tree desirable to make one wise, she took of its fruit and ate. She also gave to her husband with her, and he ate. 7 Then the eyes of both of them were opened, and they knew that they were naked; and they sewed fig leaves together and made themselves coverings.  8 And they heard the sound of the Lord God walking in the garden in the cool of the day, and Adam and his wife hid themselves from the presence of the Lord God among the trees of the garden.

 

1 Therefore be imitators of God as dear children. 2 And walk in love, as Christ also has loved us and given Himself for us, an offering and a sacrifice to God for a sweet-smelling aroma. 3 But fornication and all uncleanness or covetousness, let it not even be named among you, as is fitting for saints; 4 neither filthiness, nor foolish talking, nor coarse jesting, which are not fitting, but rather giving of thanks. 5 For this you know, that no fornicator, unclean person, nor covetous man, who is an idolater, has any inheritance in the kingdom of Christ and God. 6 Let no one deceive you with empty words, for because of these things the wrath of God comes upon the sons of disobedience. 7 Therefore do not be partakers with them.  8 For you were once darkness, but now you are light in the Lord. Walk as children of light 9 (for the fruit of the Spirit is in all goodness, righteousness, and truth), 10 finding out what is acceptable to the Lord. 11 And have no fellowship with the unfruitful works of darkness, but rather expose them. 12 For it is shameful even to speak of those things which are done by them in secret. 13 But all things that are exposed are made manifest by the light, for whatever makes manifest is light. 14 Therefore He says: “Awake, you who sleep, Arise from the dead, And Christ will give you light.”

 

 

• The Christian’s Manifestation of Righteousness, 3:21

21 But he who does the truth comes to the light, that his deeds may be clearly seen, that they have been done in God.”

 

Even though humanity naturally loathes the Light, Christians love the Light.  Christians practice truth and come to the Light so that our deeds can be manifested or shown and identified as from God and therefore, righteous. 

 

However, when we do sin, and we will confess and acknowledge our sin and repent of it.  Lost people loathe the Light.  Christians love the Light.  See 2 Samuel 12:1-13 and Psalm 51.  See 1 John 1:5-10.

 

1 Then the Lord sent Nathan to David. And he came to him, and said to him: “There were two men in one city, one rich and the other poor. 2 The rich man had exceedingly many flocks and herds. 3 But the poor man had nothing, except one little ewe lamb which he had bought and nourished; and it grew up together with him and with his children. It ate of his own food and drank from his own cup and lay in his bosom; and it was like a daughter to him. 4 And a traveler came to the rich man, who refused to take from his own flock and from his own herd to prepare one for the wayfaring man who had come to him; but he took the poor man’s lamb and prepared it for the man who had come to him.”  5 So David’s anger was greatly aroused against the man, and he said to Nathan, “As the Lord lives, the man who has done this shall surely die! 6 And he shall restore fourfold for the lamb, because he did this thing and because he had no pity.”  7 Then Nathan said to David, “You are the man! Thus says the Lord God of Israel: ‘I anointed you king over Israel, and I delivered you from the hand of Saul. 8 I gave you your master’s house and your master’s wives into your keeping, and gave you the house of Israel and Judah. And if that had been too little, I also would have given you much more! 9 Why have you despised the commandment of the Lord, to do evil in His sight? You have killed Uriah the Hittite with the sword; you have taken his wife to be your wife, and have killed him with the sword of the people of Ammon. 10 Now therefore, the sword shall never depart from your house, because you have despised Me, and have taken the wife of Uriah the Hittite to be your wife.’ 11 Thus says the Lord: ‘Behold, I will raise up adversity against you from your own house; and I will take your wives before your eyes and give them to your neighbor, and he shall lie with your wives in the sight of this sun. 12 For you did it secretly, but I will do this thing before all Israel, before the sun.’”  13 So David said to Nathan, “I have sinned against the Lord.”

 

1 Have mercy upon me, O God,

According to Your lovingkindness;

According to the multitude of Your tender mercies,

Blot out my transgressions.

2 Wash me thoroughly from my iniquity,

And cleanse me from my sin.

3 For I acknowledge my transgressions,

And my sin is always before me.

4 Against You, You only, have I sinned,

And done this evil in Your sight—

That You may be found just when You speak,

And blameless when You judge.

5 Behold, I was brought forth in iniquity,

And in sin my mother conceived me.

6 Behold, You desire truth in the inward parts,

And in the hidden part You will make me to know wisdom.

7 Purge me with hyssop, and I shall be clean;

Wash me, and I shall be whiter than snow.

8 Make me hear joy and gladness,

That the bones You have broken may rejoice.

9 Hide Your face from my sins,

And blot out all my iniquities.

 

10 Create in me a clean heart, O God,

And renew a steadfast spirit within me.

11 Do not cast me away from Your presence,

And do not take Your Holy Spirit from me.

12 Restore to me the joy of Your salvation,

And uphold me by Your generous Spirit.

13 Then I will teach transgressors Your ways,

And sinners shall be converted to You.

 

5 This is the message which we have heard from Him and declare to you, that God is light and in Him is no darkness at all. 6 If we say that we have fellowship with Him, and walk in darkness, we lie and do not practice the truth. 7 But if we walk in the light as He is in the light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus Christ His Son cleanses us from all sin.  8 If we say that we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us. 9 If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness. 10 If we say that we have not sinned, we make Him a liar, and His word is not in us.

 

 

Conclusion

This morning’s invitation is going to be a little different.  If you have never been born again, I invite you today to believe in Jesus and call upon Him to save you. 

 

If you are saved but living in sin and the deeds of darkness, I am inviting you to repent.  See Galatians 5:19-21.

 

19 Now the works of the flesh are evident, which are: adultery, fornication, uncleanness, lewdness, 20 idolatry, sorcery, hatred, contentions, jealousies, outbursts of wrath, selfish ambitions, dissensions, heresies, 21 envy, murders, drunkenness, revelries, and the like; of which I tell you beforehand, just as I also told you in time past, that those who practice such things will not inherit the kingdom of God.