Saturday, 29 August 2020 John 3:16-36
“Whoever believes in the Son has eternal life, but whoever rejects the Son will not see life, for God’s wrath remains on them.” –John 3:36
Today’s reading begins with the love of God and ends with the wrath of God. John 3:16 says, “For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life.” However, the love of God manifests through our lives only when we willfully believe in Him. Further a willful surrender to the plan of God saves us from judgement. John 3:18 &19 state clearly that a person who does not believe in Christ has already been judged and explains what judgment is: Light Christ Himself) came into the world but men by nature loved darkness. It means that even after knowing there is light, by their deeds people reject it as though light never existed!!
The Bible explains the condition of any man as – Man is born a sinner and hence dead in his spirit. Let us look at a few references from the Bible: Romans 2:23 states that “all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God” and Romans 5:12: “ Therefore, just as through one man sin entered into the world, and death through sin, and so death spread to all men, because all have sinned.” 1Corinthians 15:21: "For since by a man came death…." & John 3:22: “For as in Adam all die…”
This goes in line with what is written in John 3:19 that “…… for their deeds were evil.” This means men are habitually sinners and hence associated with darkness naturally. So even when light through Jesus is available to them, they do not acknowledge it. When they stand before God’s throne one day, this is what God will tell them— that by their deeds they proved their allegiance to darkness, even when they had the freedom to relinquish that and declare allegiance to God’s Light. Of Jesus it is written: “There was the true light which, coming into the world, enlightens every man.” (John 1:9)
When we understand the position of Jesus with respect to mankind, we will be able to acknowledge that Jesus is the only person who can present our case before God! “The Father loves the Son and has given all things into His hand” John 3:35. “He has given all judgment to the Son” – John 5:22. "we have an advocate before the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous" (1 John 2:1). God desires all men to be saved (1Tim2:4) and hence Jesus has been appointed the only one mediator between man and God (1 Tim.2:5) So Jesus is the Judge at the same time He is the Advocate and the Mediator.
God does not desire anyone to perish or face His judgment. He has giving man a free will to choose – whether to perish in rebellion against God or choose Jesus the Advocate before God who can save us from the wrath of God’s judgement. Today God is inviting us to willfully expose our self to His light so that Jesus he can save us from all dead works. He didn’t come to judge us, He come to save us! If we are not obedient to this call we have to face God in our own evil deeds. If we are rejecting this Grace and Mercy of God towards us today, we no option but face the wrath of God one day.
Which choice will you make?
The Choice: “For the wages of sin is death, but the free gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord. “ (Rom.6:23 ESV)
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