John 3:18-21

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, 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. 

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.”

Are You Walking in the Light or Hiding in the Darkness?

What does the word “believe” actually mean? Let’s do a quick word study on the word “believe” to lead into our study. I know that we have seen the word “believe” several times so far in John, but I would like to take a minute to expound on that word. I found something really interesting. In verse 18, the word “believes” in the Greek is pisteuo according to Strong’s concordance. It means “to have faith (in, upon or with respect to a person or thing) that is credit”. What does that mean, “faith that is credit”? Here goes….we believe, aka have faith in, Jesus. Our belief/faith leads us to obey His will by confessing, repenting, being baptized and then living faithful throughout all of our days. But…..we can never be truly righteous, can we? No….not on our own….not without Jesus anyway! So Jesus credits us with righteousness so that we can stand justified before God. We only get that “credit” if we hold up our end of the bargain and remain faithful until death (Revelation 2:10). So….if we believe and receive this “credit” from Jesus, which is His cleansing blood, we will not be condemned/judged. It all ties back to Jesus’ conversation with Nicodemus…..to believe means to be born again spiritually, and lead a new life. Without “credit” (Jesus’ blood), we are lost.

Verse 19 sheds light on the condition of the world at that time, and today. The condition of the world will never change. We just have to try to help as many people as possible to come out of the world, while keeping ourselves out of the world. We are in the world, but we can’t be of the world. In this verse, it says that Jesus, the light, came down from heaven into our world, but we (humankind) chose darkness, because we loved it so much more than light. The people in Jesus’ day didn’t want to change their lifestyles or their way of thinking. It is no different today. We don’t want to change either. Change is difficult, and as humans, we want the easy road. Light cuts through darkness and exposes sin. As humans, we don’t want our sin exposed by the light. So we often close our eyes to the light. We might even pretend that we are in the light, when we actually aren’t in the light at all. What would have happened to the Israelites if they had closed their eyes, and refused to look at the bronze serpent? They would have died physically of course. What happens if we refuse to look to the light of Jesus today? What happens if we pretend we are ok when we are not? We stay in darkness. We stay in our sin, and we die spiritually. 

I can never hide my sin from Jesus, because He is the light that exposes it all. I could live my entire life pretending to follow Jesus, and I could have everyone fooled, but I can never fool God. It might not be exposed here on earth, but it will be exposed eventually, and it will be too late to change at that point. We all sin. That is inevitable. We make mistakes. Just because we sin doesn’t mean we are in darkness. It just means we are human, and need our Savior. It is the willful sin that we continue in and even try to hide, that causes us to remain in darkness. I remember being in darkness. Looking back on that time….I can honestly say that it was a terrible feeling. I had so many friends, but felt completely alone. It seemed fun at the time, but in reality it was miserable. It is not worth it. Confess whatever it is, and get rid of it. Take it from me, it will be like a boulder being lifted off of your shoulders! Confessing the truth about our sins/problems brings us into the light where Jesus is. We may have a problem that we need help dealing with, but how can we get help if we are hiding it? We need to step into the light….and then through Him….we can begin to heal. 

God means for everyone to learn what the Bible teaches about how to be saved. It only takes an open heart for Jesus, and a willingness to put away what we’ve been taught in the past, and truly read what God’s Word says for ourselves…..and then accept what it says and obey it. If I can help you in any way, I would love to! 

Are you walking in the light? Are you in Christ? If you aren’t, I’d love to help you. Are you a member of the Lord’s church, but are struggling spiritually in your walk with Christ? If you are…..believe me, I’ve been there many times, and I’d love to help you. If you have any questions, please reach out. 

God’s Plan of Salvation

Below is the plan that God has set forth in His Word, for humankind to receive His grace that leads to salvation and an eternity with God in heaven. This plan is straight from the Bible. 

We have to hear His word. (Romans 10:17) 

Upon hearing the message of Jesus, we believe it. (Mark 16:16) 

Then, we confess Jesus’ name before men. (Matthew 10:32) 

Next, we repent of our sins. (Acts 2:38, Acts 3:19) 

Finally, we are baptized into Christ for the remission of our sins.  (Acts 2:38, Matthew 28:18-20, Mark 16:16, Romans 6:3-4, Acts 22:16, 1 Corinthians 12:13, Galatians 3:26-27) After baptism, God adds us to His church. (Acts 2:47)

Then, we remain faithful in our commitment to Christ until death. (Revelation 2:10, 2 Peter 2:20-22)