Hello everyone. If you've been able to stay on track, then you have read through the entire New Testament in just over two months as of Friday. Congratulations!!! Over the weekend we finished off Revelation and read through John's epistles. Today we start John's gospel. Since we've gone over this section last time we read through John, I'm going to comment briefly on a passage I didn't cover last time. The topic I will discuss may seem controversial, but it's biblical.
16 “For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life. 17 For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but to save the world through him. 18 Whoever believes in him is not condemned, but whoever does not believe stands condemned already because he has not believed in the name of God’s one and only Son. 19 This is the verdict: Light has come into the world, but men loved darkness instead of light because their deeds were evil. 20 Everyone who does evil hates the light, and will not come into the light for fear that his deeds will be exposed. 21 But whoever lives by the truth comes into the light, so that it may be seen plainly that what he has done has been done through God.”
God's love for us is evident in Jesus Christ. Verse 18 transitions us from 16-17 into 19-21. Notice the contrast here in these verses. Saved vs. condemned and light vs. darkness. John uses this illustration frequently. "This is the verdict" in other words: This is the root cause of condemnation. We love darkness when our deeds are evil. That's pretty straight forward. The more complex part is verse 20. Those who do evil will not go into the light because they don't want their evil to be exposed. The Bible teaches that Christians are saved. Here's the question: As Christians, do we ever love evil and hide in the darkness to prevent ourselves from being exposed?
Unfortunately, the answer is yes. Repentance is an on going process. Sure we repent of many things when we're saved. It's a necessary part of salvation, but as Christians we still sin. Because we still sin, though our life is not a life of sin, we need to repent of the sins that we allow in our lives. The problem is, often times we don't want to acknowledge sin when it emerges in our lives. Sometimes we're just ignorant and haven't obtained a level of maturity necessary to understand that what we do is sinful. Sometimes, deep down, we know what we do is wrong and don't do anything about it because we've believed the lie of Satan. "If I am a good person in the majority, then the minority of things I am not good in are not a big deal." Wrong!!!
When we are unwilling to acknowledge our sin, no matter how small it is, we are living in the darkness and not in the light. Even if we live in the light in every area of our lives but one, we still have one area of our lives in the darkness. The Bible calls that evil. When we intentionally allow one speck of evil, evil can drag us body and soul back into the darkness totally. It often happens slowly and softly step by step. Before we know it, we've changed. What's worse is, when that happens, when we reach that point, we no longer care about God or Jesus. The Bible calls that blaspheming the Holy Spirit, the only unforgivable sin.
29 But whoever blasphemes against the Holy Spirit will never be forgiven; he is guilty of an eternal sin.” - Mark 3:29
4 It is impossible for those who have once been enlightened, who have tasted the heavenly gift, who have shared in the Holy Spirit, 5 who have tasted the goodness of the word of God and the powers of the coming age, 6 if they fall away, to be brought back to repentance, because to their loss they are crucifying the Son of God all over again and subjecting him to public disgrace. - Hebrews 6:4-6
That's why it is so important for us to evaluate ourselves regularly. Contrary to popular opinion...you can lose your salvation. Please don't misunderstand me, everyone is able to be saved, but whoever allows themselves to fall away and deny God, and dies without repenting, will not inherit the kingdom. This sounds harsh and discouraging. Please understand that salvation is a work of God. We are saved by grace. But when we have faith, our faith is put to work. It isn't the work that saves us, but it is the out pouring of our faith and salvation. When we allow our faith to die, we too die spiritually. How can we crucify the Son of God again?
If you are still discouraged, remember that God works in ALL THINGS for our good, those who love Him (Romans 8:28). God is mighty and powerful, but also loving. If we choose to remove Him from our lives, He will not stop us. He does love us so much!!! He does not want this for anyone. So, all Christians, take this lesson seriously. Be ever vigilant in your spiritual walk. Rest in God's love, mercy, joy and peace. And know, faithful believer, no one can take your salvation, but you can give it away.
I wish you all a fine week and much blessing in our Lord Jesus Christ. Grace be with you all.
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