Category: Unbelief

John 1 – Part 2: “Responding to Jesus”

“But as many as received Him, to them He gave the right to become children of God, to those who believe in His name.” John 1:12 

Without light, we would be in a mess. We couldn’t see. If the sun were to suddenly burn out, we would have eight minutes of light and heat left, and then Planet Earth would slip into a permanent deep-freeze. In the Pacific Northwest, where it’s overcast most days, many people suffer from light deprivation, which results in mood swings and depression. There is even a scientific name for this problem: “Seasonal Affective Disorder,“ or S.A.D. People suffering from S.A.D. must set up special light panels in their homes and get heavy doses of illumination to be happy campers. We need light. We cannot survive without it.

We need another kind of light, too. Our souls depend on the light of God. In this spiritually darkened world God uses Christians to reflect His light. The Light has always been here. The Light has never gone away. But people who are in sin or despair sit in darkness and cannot see the Light.

In John 1:1-5, we discovered who Jesus Christ is. We saw that He is the eternal God. There has never been a time when Jesus Christ was not God. He is our Creator. He brought all things into existence. He is light and life, that is, He is the only source of eternal life and hope. Beginning in verse 6, John expands upon the idea of Jesus as the Light. In verses 6-13, we will look at three ways people can respond to Christ as the Light. First, we can do what John the Baptist did…

REFLECT JESUS WITH OUR LIFE AND LIPS (1:6-8). 1:6: Verse 6 refers to “John” the Baptist. John’s mission originated from heaven, not earth. He was not democratically elected; he was called by God to complete a mission. My friends, if God calls you to do something, you better do it, or you will be miserable running from the Lord. The name, “John” [1] means “God is gracious” or “gift of God.”  [2]  This ties in with God’s mission for John. What did God send John the Baptist (and us) to do?

1:7a: God called John to be a witness to the Light – Jesus Christ. What does it mean to be a witness? Is witnessing something one is or something one does? Sometimes we think that to be a witness for Christ means “I must live a godly life and that is enough. I don’t ever have to tell anyone how to be saved. They’ll eventually come to Christ on their own.” The Greek word for “witness” as a noun [3] and a verb [4] is used in a courtroom setting. [5] And it refers to speaking the truth. What would happen if you took the witness stand in a court of law and never said anything? The judge would hold you in contempt of the court.

Living the holiest life does not tell people how they can obtain eternal life. No amount of watching your godly life tells me how I can know Christ personally. If you live a holy life, it tells me something has happened to you, but it doesn’t tell me how I can have the same experience or what causes you to live that way. Maybe you are a person of high morals. Perhaps your parents disciplined you as a child. Words are more than just helpful for me to know Christ: they are essential. Sooner or later, someone must talk to me about Jesus for me to know Him personally.

If we live a holy life but never tell people about Jesus, then the world will give us all the credit instead of glorifying the Lord. Silent believers are like beautiful road signs with no words or directions printed on them. They are nice to look at, but they don’t tell you how to get where you need to go. We need a balance. Yes, we need to live the life, but we also need to use our lips to tell people how to have eternal life.

1:7b: The reason John spoke the truth about the Light is “that all through him might believe.” This is the first time John uses the word “believe.” [6] He uses it ninety-eight more times in the gospel of John (see comments on 1:5). Notice it does not say “that all through him might repent” as the Synoptic gospels emphasize about John the Baptist’s preaching (cf. Matt. 3:1-12; Mark 1:1-8; Luke 3:1-14). The words “repent” and “repentance” appear nowhere in John’s gospel. This is most significant. One would think that if Christians are to emphasize repentance in evangelism (as many do today), that God would have used these two words often in the only book of the Bible whose primary purpose is to tell non-Christians how to obtain eternal life (John 20:31). But these two words are absent in the gospel of John. Why?

One reason is because when one changes from unbelief to belief, he has changed his mind or repented to possess eternal life. The Greek word for “repent” is metanoeō and it is a compound verb made up of two Greek words. The first is meta, “after,” and the second is noeō, “to perceive, understand or think.” The two together mean “after perceiving, understanding, thinking” or “to change one’s mind.” The Greek word translated “repentance” is metanoia and it is a compound noun made up of meta, “after,” and noēma, “thought.” Together the two mean an “afterthought” or “a change of mind.” [7]

When metanoeō and metanoia are used in evangelistic contexts, they refer to a lost person changing his mind about whatever is keeping him or her from believing in Christ, and then believing in Him for eternal life. [8] The non-Christian may need to change his mind about the Person of Christ (Mark 1:15; Acts 2:38), God (Acts 20:21), idols (Rev. 9:20), sin (Rev. 9:21), or his works (Rev. 16:11; Heb. 6:1) before he can believe in Christ for the gift of salvation. [9]

For example, in Mark 1:15, Jesus said, “Repent, and believe in the gospel.”Jesus was speaking to Jews who believed that entering God’s promised Messianic kingdom on earth could be earned through good works and that Christ was merely a human teacher. Christ commands them to change their minds or “repent” about whatever is keeping them from believing in the gospel or good news of entering His coming Kingdom on earth. In other words, Christ commands them to stop believing or trusting in their own efforts, and to come to God on His terms by having childlike belief or faith in Jesus alone as their promised Messiah-God Who can freely give them entrance into His coming kingdom on earth (cf. Mark 10:15; Matt. 18:3; Luke 18:17; John 3:5-18). [10]

Another reason why John never included the words “repent” or “repentance” in the gospel of John is because they are easily misunderstood to mean something like “turning from sins” or “penance” which involve works. If a non-Christian is told to turn from his sins, he is going to ask, “How often must I do this and from what sins must I turn?” The word “believe,” however, communicates such simplicity that it is less likely to be misconstrued to include a works-oriented response. [11] The word translated “believe” (pisteuō) in the New Testament simply means “to consider or be persuaded something is true and therefore worthy of one’s trust.” [12]

Many people today are greatly confused by the frequent use of the words “repent” or “repentance” in evangelistic invitations. They are perplexed about how God wants them to respond to the good news concerning His Son’s death and resurrection (I Cor. 15:1-8).

An example of this confusion is seen in a new couple that came to a church where we were serving in southern Kansas during the 1990’s. As I was preaching verse-by-verse through chapter 3 of the gospel of John about Jesus’ conversation with Nicodemus, I stated, “How is one born again so he can see the kingdom of God? The answer is given in verses 14-16: ‘And as Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, even so must the Son of Man be lifted up, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have eternal life. 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.’ To be born again you must simply believe in Jesus for everlasting life.”

Afterward, this couple came up to me with tears in their eyes saying they had never heard this put so simply before. They said, “We have been told that to be born again we must do all these other things such as turn from your sins, repent, give your life to God, and obey His commandments, etc. We have been so confused about how to get to heaven. No one has ever told us that to be born again we must simply believe in Jesus for His gift of everlasting life until today. This is so simple, and it is right there in the John chapter 3. Why has no one ever told us this before?” [13]

I am more and more convinced that Christians today need to repent or change their minds about using the words “repent” and “repentance” so often in evangelism and begin to use the words God uses the most – “believe” and “faith” – in evangelism instead. When comparing the number of times “repent” (metanoeō) and “repentance” (metanoia) are used in evangelistic contexts in the New Testament [14] to the number of times “believe” (pisteuō ) [15] and “faith” (pistis) [16] are used in evangelistic contexts, the words “believe” and “faith” are used almost seven times more frequently. Yet what we see happening today is Christians using the words “repent” and “repentance” far more than the words God uses most! This is one of the greatest failures of the church today. It not only dishonors our Lord Jesus Christ, but it also makes it more difficult for non-Christians to get right with God because it confuses and distorts the only condition for receiving eternal life from Jesus – believe or have faith in Him alone!!! 

Believing in Christ alone is how the apostle John says a lost person obtains eternal life – a never-ending personal relationship with God (John 17:3). John says nothing in his gospel about commitment, confession, obedience, repentance, surrender, turning from sins or being sorry for sins as conditions for eternal life. [17] Repeatedly the apostle tells us that the sole condition for eternal life is believing in Jesus Christ alone. [18] So, when we tell others about Jesus, and His death for our sins and His resurrection, we do it with the intent of inviting them to believe in Christ. Until they believe in Christ alone to get them to heaven, they remain in the darkness.

1:8: John was not the Light. Jesus Christ is the Light. John simply pointed people to the Light.

“While John amassed a large, loyal following, he never allowed his admirers to mistake the messenger for the message… This means if you lead a discipleship group, it’s not to revolve around you; the members must never doubt it points to our Savior. If you have a pulpit, the pulpit doesn’t revolve around you; it’s a lamp from which the Word shines. And the congregation is not comprised of ‘your people’; they are the flock of God.”[19]

You and I are not the Light! Jesus is the Light. Only Jesus can give people eternal life and change their lives. That is His responsibility. Our responsibility is to “bear witness” to the Light and let Jesus change people.

If you turn the lights off in a room, and you hold a mirror in one hand and another person holds a flashlight, your mirror can reflect the light when you are facing the flashlight. The flashlight represents Jesus Christ Who is the Light. The mirror represents your life. When the flashlight is pointed toward the mirror, the mirror reflects the light to other places and people around you. As believers in Jesus Christ, we are the light of the world only when we reflect Christ (Matthew 5:14-16).

HOW CAN WE REFLECT JESUS TO OTHERS? One way is to KEEP YOUR MIRROR FACING TOWARD THE LIGHT. If a mirror faces the light, it can reflect the light in any direction. But what happens when you turn the mirror away from the light? You can no longer reflect the light. When I turn away from Jesus, I can no longer reflect Him to others. Some people are not facing Jesus. Therefore, they cannot reflect Him to others because they aren’t facing Him. They aren’t walking with Him.

A second way to reflect Jesus to others is to MAKE SURE THAT NOTHING COME BETWEEN YOU AND THE LIGHT. When another person or object comes between you and the person holding the mirror, you can no longer reflect the light of the flashlight. Some people have allowed other people and things to get in between them and the light of Jesus Christ. Some people don’t even know that something is between them and Jesus. We must not let other people or things block the path of our light source. We must stay connected to Christ through His Word and prayer and fellowship with other Christians.

A third way to reflect Jesus to others is to KEEP YOUR MIRROR CLEAN FROM DEBRIS. If you spray Silly String on your mirror, your mirror can no longer reflect the light like it is supposed to. Some people are not cleaning their mirror daily. A dirty mirror is almost as ineffective as letting something come between it and the light.

Some people have allowed so much dirt build up that it is too difficult for them to clean. Jesus can wash anything as white as snow! If you are a Christian and you have sin built up in your life, God instructs you to confess your sin to Him according to I John 1:9. The Greek word translated “confess” [20] means “to say the same thing, to agree.” [21] But with whom do we agree? With God, and rightly so. Anderson notes that confessing our sin means we agree with God’s view of sin – He hates it (Ps. 45:7) and it grieves Him (Ephes. 4:30), so we admit our wrong with the intent of not doing it again. [22] When we do this, God is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and cleanse us of the dirt that keeps us from reflecting His light. If you have believed in Christ to get you to heaven, then God wants you to reflect Him with your life and lips. You can learn to do this through the discipleship process (Matt. 28:19-20).

A second way people may respond to the Light of Christ (not recommended) is to REJECT JESUS AS THE ONLY ONE WHO CAN GIVE THEM ETERNAL LIFE (1:9-11). 1:9: Christ, the true Light, shines on every person, making him or her aware of sin and judgment. What are some ways that Christ reveals Himself?

1. THROUGH CREATION. The Bible says, “But ask the animals, and they will teach you… that the hand of the LORD has done this” (Job 12:7, 9 – NIV; cf. Rom. 1:18-20; 2:12-16). For example, the giraffe has the highest blood pressure of all animals given its long neck which necessitates a powerful heart to pump blood all the way to the brain. By rights, the blood flow should blow its brains out when it bends to drink water and it should pass out when it raises its head, making it easy prey for lions. But the lofty animal has special features, including artery walls, bypass valves, as well as pressure-sensing signals that all work together to maintain the proper blood pressure. [23] Former evolutionist Jobe Martin says, “How could that evolve? He needs all these parts there all the time, or he is dead.” [24] Animals like the giraffe defy Evolution!

At a recent men’s retreat, I was reminded in a video by Pastor Louie Giglio entitled “How great is our God,” of another example of how God has revealed Himself through creation. Pastor Giglio had met a molecular biologist in Texas who shared some amazing findings regarding the creation of our human bodies. He learned that the protein laminin functions as a “glue” or binding agent between each other and other proteins. Some scientists describe it as a kind of glue that holds biological material together. Louie referenced Colossians 1:16-17 which reads, “For by Him [Jesus Christ] all things are created, both in the heavens and on the earth, visible and invisible… all things have been created through Him and for Him, and in Him all things hold together.”  Laminin are shaped with several short arms and one long arm. When this protein is flattened out and observed under a microscope, it is in the shape of a cross (see above picture). Pastor Giglio concluded that we are held together by countless little crosses in our bodies.

2. THROUGH THE BIBLE. Countless lives have been changed by the light of God’s Word. So, Christ has revealed Himself indirectly in the things He has made (Psalm 19:1-6; Romans 1:18-23) and directly through the Bible (Psalm 19:7-14).

1:10: The Creator of the world came into the world and the world did not even know He was here. The world He made ignored Him. When Joe Montana, the hall of fame quarterback for the San Francisco 49ers, was on the disabled list with a hand injury, he was having lunch with his wife and children at a hotel on Maui. “You poor thing!” the waitress gushed. “How did it happen?” “I broke it playing football,” Montana replied. “Really?” replied the waitress. “Aren’t you a little old to be playing football?” [25]

I am sure it was rather disappointing for Joe Montana not to be recognized, especially when he was in the prime of his football career. How much more so for Jesus! But it gets worse.

1:11: Not only was the Creator ignored by the world in general, but He was also rejected by His own Jewish people. Unlike the world, the nation of Israel knew He was here, but like the world they didn’t care. They turned away from the Light. My friends, don’t make the same mistake. If you reject Christ in this life, you will regret it for all of eternity.

A few years ago, I got a speeding ticket going to discipleship appointments in Des Moines, Iowa. It was embarrassing. But to make matters worse, I didn’t have any proof of auto insurance in the car. It was back at the house. And so, I had to go down to the Polk County Courthouse to appear before the Judge and present proof that I had insurance, or I would have to pay a whopping fine. And so here I am standing in line outside the courtroom waiting to appear before the Judge. Finally, the clerk called us into the courtroom and one by one each of us had to stand before the bench. When my name was called, I went before the judge. She asked me how I pled to the charge that I was speeding. I said, “Guilty.” I knew it. The policewoman knew it that wrote the ticket. So, there was no use denying it. The law required me to pay the penalty. Then she asked if I had proof of insurance. Hence, I presented it before the Judge, and she waived the second fine.

Just as there is a fine for every traffic violation, there is also a penalty for every sin and that is death – eternal separation from God (Rom. 6:23; Rev. 20:15). The fact that God is holy and perfect demands that He must punish sin.

The day is coming when all of us must stand before the Judge of the universe. And if we don’t have the proper spiritual insurance, we are going to pay the price for our own sin in a place called hell or the lake of fire (Rev. 20:15). Please understand that the lake of fire is a real place. It is worse than you or I have ever heard it described. And believe me, you don’t want to go there, nor do you want those you care about to go there. No one in hell would wish hell on anyone. The account in Luke 16:23-28 proves that. The rich man in that passage begs Abraham to let Lazarus, who is in such comfort, return to earth and warn his brothers about the place of torment. But he could not.

So here is the problem. We have sinned and deserve to spend eternity separated from God (Rom. 3:23; 6:23). To deal with our problem, God provided a Substitute. That Substitute was Jesus Christ who was 100% perfect (Rom. 5:8; 2 Cor. 5:21; Heb. 4:15; I Pet. 3:18) because He was and is God (John 1:1; Rom. 9:5; Tit. 2:13; I John 5:20). He had to take our punishment because one sinner cannot die for another. God allowed His Son to die in our place. 

Years ago, residents of Saratoga, Texas, gathered at the community hall for a preschool graduation. Less than an hour into the program, the father of one of the children glanced out the door, and through grayish green skies spotted a funnel approaching with speed and fury. “Tornado!” he shouted. At 8:15 p.m. that force of nature struck the town hall. Later, workers searching through the rubble of the collapsed hall found the man’s body huddled over his daughter. She was alive and unharmed because when the structure fell, it fell on her dad. He died in her place. [26]

God’s judgment fell on Christ. He became our Substitute. He took our punishment when He died on the cross for our sins. Because He died, we can live forever with the Lord.

Christ paid our sin debt in full (John 19:30). There is nothing left for you to pay. God can now offer eternal life to you as a free gift. That’s why we are told “but the free gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord” (Rom. 6:23b).  Gifts, though, must be received and there is only one way to receive this gift.

1:12: Although the world and the nation of Israel rejected Christ when He came, individuals can still receive Him. How? Look at the last part of the verse. By believing “in His name.” In New Testament times, a name represented a person. Jesus Christ is the One Who died for our sins and rose again. The moment you believe or trust in Jesus alone to make you God’s child, you are born into God’s family.

Sometimes when I am sharing the gospel with someone they will say, “I’ve always been a Christian.” What they are really saying is, “I’ve never become a Christian.” We are not born Christians; we are born sinners. “Therefore, just as through one man sin entered the world, and death through sin, and thus death spread to all men, because all sinned” (Rom. 5:12). Sin originates from the first man God created, Adam, so the whole human race stands guilty before God and needs a Savior.

Please understand that when the Bible says you must receive and believe in Christ, that does not mean you must simply accept Him as a Person like you would accept me as a person. Accepting me as a person will not get you to heaven. Accepting as history that Jesus existed, died, and rose again will not get you to heaven. Some people accept Christ’s death and resurrection as an historical fact but are still trusting in their own works to get them to heaven.

Picture a large boat filled with refugees from Cambodia coming across the Pacific Ocean. It begins taking on water and lifeboats become a necessity. Three passengers find themselves in different situations. The first passenger has no knowledge that lifeboats save and, therefore, never steps into one. The second passenger understands that lifeboats save, but for some reason refuses to step into one. The third passenger not only understands the ability of a lifeboat to save, but steps into the lifeboat and in so doing relies upon it to keep him from drowning.

Which of the three is saved? Yes, the last passenger. He not only had the knowledge, but he uses it. A person is saved when he or she understands the ability Jesus Christ has to save us and acts on that knowledge by trusting Christ alone. You are not saved simply by understanding Christ died and rose from the dead or even accepting His death and resurrection as a fact of history while relying on your own good life to get you to heaven. You become a member of God’s family when as a sinner deserving of hell, you believe or trust Christ alone to get you to heaven.       

Verses 10-12 remind me of the incredible love and grace of Jesus Christ. Even though the world did not know Jesus as its Creator (1:10) and His own Jewish people rejected Him (1:11), Christ did not stop loving them. He still offered salvation to individual Gentiles and Jews who would receive Him by believing in His name (1:12). Likewise, when non-Christians initially reject the message of the gospel from us, we must not stop loving them or exposing them to the gospel. Christ never stopped loving me the first time I heard and rejected the gospel, and I am eternally grateful to Him for that! The least I can do is show the same kind of patient love toward unbelievers who need to hear the gospel more than once before they believe it.

Verse 13 explains the source of our birth into God’s family. First it tells us what spiritual birth is not. 1:13a: It is not from our heritage (“not of blood”). Being born and raised in a Christian family does not get you into God’s family any more than being born and raised in a McDonald’s restaurant would make you a hamburger. It is not by blood. 1:13b: Nor does one get into God’s family through determinations (“the will of the flesh”). It is not by determining to live a good life. You cannot make yourself a Christian. You cannot study Christians, act like them, go to their church, sing their songs, and go through all the Christian motions and become a Christian. It is not by positive thinking or clean living that you become a Christian. It is not by will of the flesh. 1:13c: It is not the achievements or willpower of others that makes you a Christian (“the will of man”). No pastor, priest, bishop, pope, relative, or imam can make you a Christian. You do not become a Christian through a ceremony, by reading a creed, by standing up, sitting down, coming to an altar, or getting baptized, or praying toward the east five times a day. Praying for others who are dead or alive does not get them to heaven. None of these things make you a Christian. It is not by the will of others.

So, if getting into God’s family is not the result of human relationships, determinations, or achievements of others, then what is it? It is a work of God (“who were born… of God”) whereby He convinces you that you cannot save yourself, but you must trust totally in Jesus Christ alone to place you into God’s family.

The most important question you could answer is, “What will you do with Jesus Christ?” If you are not a Christian, will you reject Him and face eternity without Him or will you believe in Him alone to place you into God’s family forever, so you can enjoy an eternal relationship with the Lord? And if you are already a Christian, will you choose to reflect Jesus with your life and lips? The choice is yours.

For those of us who already have Jesus in our lives, it is important to talk about being fathered by our heavenly Father. When we received Christ by believing in His name, God became our Father in heaven, and we became His beloved “child” forever (John 1:12; 10:28-29; Matt. 6:9; I John 3:1)!

For some of us, seeing God as our heavenly Father may stir up painful memories, thoughts, or feelings because we did not have a healthy relationship with our earthly father. We may have father wounds that can keep us from seeing God the Father for Who He truly is in the Bible.

We think that God will resemble our fathers or father figures from our childhood (cf. Ps. 50:21). When we were wounded by father figures in our childhood, there may have been shame-based lies or distortions of our view of God attached to those wounds.

Check the following shame-based concepts of God that apply to you: [27]

____ “The cruel and unpredictable God” is the most extreme distortion of God’s nature and is found among those who received brutal and unpredictable abuse in childhood most often at the hands of their fathers, stepfathers, or father figures. If you are one of the bruised believers who experienced severe physical or sexual abuse as a child, this might be the way you see God and you understandably struggle to trust your Father in heaven.

____ “The demanding and unforgiving God” is often the view that Christian adults have whose parents were rigid and perfectionistic. No matter how hard you try, you can never measure up to the demands of this distorted deity who does not forgive nor forget your sins. When you fail, watch out! His cruel side is manifested. He seems to delight in sending financial disaster or physical disease to emphasize His intolerance of your spiritual failures. Understandably, it is difficult for you to approach Him and experience His forgiveness and love.

____ “The selective and unfair God” is a distorted view of God found among Christian adults who experienced spiritual abuse by parental authorities in childhood. This might be the God you worship if you feel Jesus has revealed Himself more fully to other Christians who, in turn have a deeper relationship with Him than you do. You probably struggle with being a different and less-than Christian.

____ “The distant and unavailable God” may care about His worshipers, but He is off somewhere running the universe and cannot get too involved in their lives. If your parents were physically or emotionally unavailable through prolonged absences, perhaps because of death, divorce, illness, military duty, working overseas, or neglect, you may experience God as eternally distant and unavailable.

____ “The kind but confused God” is a clumsy and powerless deity who is confused by all the chaos in the world. If you had parents who were overwhelmed by uncontrollable chaos in their lives and your family, you may have this view of God.       

The key to the healing of our father wounds is to walk through that pain with Jesus in the context of a loving community of Christians with whom you feel safe. God the Holy Spirit along with these loving believers, will help you replace the lies you believe about your heavenly Father with the truth of Who He is.

Prayer: Heavenly Father, thank You for calling us to bear witness to the Light – Your perfect Son Jesus Christ – so others can believe in Him alone for His gift of eternal life. Living the holiest life before non-Christians without telling them about Jesus does help them obtain eternal life. We must share the gospel with them and invite them to believe in Christ alone for salvation. Please enable us to use the words You used the most in evangelism – “believe” and “faith” – so more unsaved people can clearly know how You want them to respond to the good news of Your Son’s death and resurrection. Thank You for revealing Yourself to humanity through creation and through the Bible so no one is without excuse. Even though the world did not know Jesus as its Creator and His own Jewish people rejected Him, Christ did not stop loving them. He still offered salvation to individual Gentiles and Jews who would receive Him by believing in His name. Please give us the same love for lost people so we do not stop loving them even if they initially reject the gospel. Please empower us to continue to expose them to Your gospel message. Like some of us, they may need to hear the gospel several times before they believe it. Please heal us of our father wounds so we can see You for Who You truly are – a good and gracious heavenly Father Who delights in His children. In the matchless name of the Lord Jesus Christ, we pray. Amen.

FOOTNOTES:

[1] Iōannēs

[2] Constable, Dr. Constable’s Notes on John, 20123 Edition, pg 28; Archibald Thomas Robertson, A. T. Robertson’s Word Pictures in the New Testament [with Bible and Strong’s Numbers Added!], 6 Volumes (E4 Group, 2014 Kindle Edition), Kindle Location 49546 to 49566.

[3] marturia

[4] martureō

[5] Bauer, A Greek-English Lexicon of the New Testament, pp. 617-619.

[6] Pisteuō

[7] Bauer, A Greek-English Lexicon of the New Testament, pp. 640-641;

[8] R. Larry Moyer, Free And Clear: Understanding & Communicating God’s Offer of Eternal Life (Grand Rapids: Kregel Publications, 1997), pp. 85-97. See also Joseph Dillow’s thorough treatment on repentance in Joseph Dillow, Final Destiny: The Future Reign of The Servant Kings: Fourth Revised Edition (Grace Theology Press, 2018 Kindle Edition), pp. 35-56.

[9] G. Michael Cocoris, Evangelism: A Biblical Approach (Chicago, IL: Moody Press, 1984), pp. 69-70.

[10] Jeff Ropp, The Greatest Need in Evangelism Today is One Word: BELIEVE (Jeff Ropp, 2014), pg. 37.

[11] These ideas were shared with me by Dr. Earl Radmacher during a phone conversation on June 11, 2011.

[12] Bauer, A Greek-English Lexicon of the New Testament, pp. 818-819.

[13] Ropp, The Greatest Need in Evangelism Today, pp. 94-95.

[14] Matt. 3:2, 8, 11; 4:17; 9:13; 11:20; Mark 1:4, 15; 2:17; 6:12; Luke 3:3, 8; 5:32; 16:30; 24:47; Acts 2:38; 3:19; 5:31; 11:18; 13:24; 17:30; 19:4; 20:21; 26:20(2); Rom. 2:4; 2 Tim. 2:25; Heb. 6:1; 2 Pet. 3:9; Rev. 9:20, 21; 16:9, 11.

[15] Matt. 18:6; 21: 32(3); 24:23, 26; 27:42; Mark 1:15, 9:42; 15:32;16:16(2), 17; Luke 8:12, 13; 22:67; John 1:7, 12, 50; 2:11, 23; 3:12(2), 15, 16, 18(3), 36(2); 4:39, 41, 42, 48, 53; 5:24, 38, 44, 45, 46, 47(2); 6:29, 30, 35, 36, 40, 47, 64, 69; 7:5, 31, 38(2), 39, 48; 8:24, 30, 31, 45, 46; 9:35, 36, 38; 10:25, 26, 37, 38(3), 42; 11:25, 26, 27(2), 42, 45, 48; 12:11, 36, 37, 38, 39, 42, 44(2), 46, 47; 13:19; 14:12; 16:9, 27; 17:8, 20, 21; 19:35; 20:29, 31(2); Acts 2:44; 4:4, 32; 5:14; 8:12, 13, 37(2); 9:42; 10:43, 45; 11:17, 21; 13:12, 39, 41, 48; 14:1, 23, 27; 15:5, 7; 16:1, 31, 34; 17:4, 5, 12, 34; 18:8, 27; 19:2, 4, 9, 18; 21:20, 25; 22:19; 26:27(2); 28:24(2); Rom. 1:16; 3:3, 22, 4:3, 5, 11, 17, 24; 9:33; 10:4, 9, 10, 11, 14(2), 16; 13:11; 15:31; I Cor. 1:21; 3:5; 7:12, 13; 9:5; 10:27; 14:22(2); 15:2, 11; 2 Cor. 4:4; Gal. 2:16; 3:6, 9, 22; Ephes. 1:13, 19; Phil. 1:29; I Thess. 1:7; 2:10; 4:14; 2 Thess. 1:10; 2:12,13; I Tim. 1:16; 3:16; 4:3, 10; 6:2(2); 2 Tim. 1:12; Tit. 3:8; Heb. 11:31; I Pet. 1:21;2:6, 7; I John 3:23; 5:1, 5, 10(3), 13.

[16] Matt. 9:2; Mark 2:5; Luke 7:50; 17:19; 18:42; Acts 6:7; 14:22, 27; 15:9; 16:5; 20:21; 24:24; 26:18; Rom. 1:17; 3:3, 22, 25, 26, 27, 28, 30(2), 31; 4:5, 9, 11, 13, 14, 16 (2); 5:1, 2; 9:30, 32; 10:6, 8, 17; 11:20; 16:26; I Cor. 15:14, 17; Gal. 2:16 (2); 3:2, 5, 7, 8, 9, 14, 22, 24, 26; 5:5; Ephes. 2:8; Phil. 3:9(2); Col. 1:4; 2 Thess. 3:2; 2 Tim. 3:15; Tit. 1:4; Heb. 6:1;11:31; Jas. 2:1, 23, 24; I Pet. 1:21; 2 Pet. 1:5; I John 5:4.

[17] See Dillow, Final Destiny, repentance, (pp. 35-56), justification and sanctification (pp. 359-401), and faith (pp. 689-700).

[18] John 1:7, 12, 49-50; 2:11, 23; 3:12, 15-16, 18, 36; 4:39, 41-42, 48, 53; 5:24, 38, 44, 46-47; 6:29-30, 35-36, 40, 47, 64, 69; 7:5, 31, 38-39, 48; 8:24, 30-31, 45-46; 9:35-36, 38; 10:25-26, 37- 38, 42; 11:25-27, 42, 45, 48; 12:11, 36-39, 42, 44, 46-47; 13:19; 14:1, 12; 16:9, 27; 17:8, 20, 21; 19:35; 20:29, 31

[19] Swindoll, Insights on John, pg. 42.

[20] homologeō

[21] homologeō is a Greek compound word that literally means “same” (homo) + “to speak” (logeō) or “to speak the same thing” or “to agree.” See Dr. David R. Anderson, Maximum Joy, pg. 53.

[22] Ibid.

[23] Dennis R. Petersen, Unlocking the Mysteries of Creation, Vol. 1 (El Dorado: Creation Resource Foundation, 1990), pg. 103.

[24] http://bibleprobe.com/beetle.htm.

[25] Quoted by Herb Cain, in the San Francisco Chronicle.

[26] R. Larry Moyer, Show Me How To Illustrate Evangelistic Sermons, (Grand Rapids: Kregel Publications, 2012) pg. 245.

[27] Adapted from Sandra D. Wilson, Released from Shame: Revised Edition (Downers Grove, IL: InterVarsity Press, 2002), pp. 142-143.

John 1 – Part 1: “Who is Jesus Christ?”

“In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.” John 1:1

From the opening section of the gospel, John addresses this question, “Who is Jesus Christ?” John focuses upon the central fact of our Christian faith: Christianity is not about philosophy; it is about a Person.

While other world religions focus upon rules and regulations, Christianity focuses on a personal relationship with Christ. That is why Jesus Christ is the most widely acclaimed individual in human history. More books have been written, music composed, pictures painted, and dramas performed about Jesus than any other person. Why?

Why did other great figures come and go? Why do others fade into the annals of history but Jesus Christ looms as large in modern society as He did two thousand years ago? Why is He the most powerful Personality to ever appear on this planet? That is the question John answers in these first few verses: Who is Jesus Christ?

We are going to examine the first five verses of John’s gospel in this chapter, and in so doing, we will answer the question, “Who is Jesus?” in these verses and as we uncover who Jesus is, we will be challenged as to why we should believe in Him. Let’s examine three reasons why we should believe in Jesus for eternal life; why we should trust in Him alone to get us to heaven.

BELIEVE ON JESUS BECAUSE HE IS GOD (1:1-2). John begins his gospel in an unusual way. Unlike the writers of Matthew, Mark, and Luke, who begin their accounts of Jesus in an historical context, John opens his gospel in eternity. Unlike Matthew who begins his gospel with the genealogy of Abraham and Mark who begins with the story of John the Baptist, or Luke who starts with a description of John and Jesus’ birth. John moves beyond human history. 1:1a: Do the words, “In the beginning” sound familiar to you? They take us back to Genesis 1:1: “In the beginning, God created the heavens and the earth.” John starts with God. In the Bible, you cannot go any further back than God, and that is where John begins, in eternity past with God’s eternal purpose.

And what does he tell us? 1:1ab: “In the beginning was the Word.” The term “Word” [1] is used by John to refer to the Person of Jesus Christ (John 1:14, 17). A Word expresses a message. Jesus was God’s message to the world.  He was and is the perfect expression of God.

What does the Bible tell us about the Word? 1:1ab: HE IS ETERNAL. In the beginning of time and space, the Word already “was.” [2]  The Word really had no beginning. There has never been a time when “the Word” was not, because He is eternal. The Word has existed from all eternity. At creation, the Word was already present. He is not a created being as some false religions teach. He has no beginning because He is eternal.

1:1c, 2: HE IS RELATIONAL. The phrase “and the Word was with God” refers to the Word being “with” God the Father in a “face-to-face” relationship. 1:2: “He was in the beginning with God.” Jesus Christ has always enjoyed a personal relationship with His Father. They had perfect fellowship with one another. The word “with” [3] also distinguishes the Word from God the Father. Jesus is separate and distinct from His Father. He has a separate identity. Jesus is a Person, not a principle or Star War’s force. Because Christ is eternal and relational, we can conclude that He desires eternal relationships with those He created.

1:1d: “and the Word was God.” [4] The Word was not “a god” as some false religions mistranslate. The Greek grammar does not allow this. [5] The Word is GOD. These last five words are some of the most important words in all the Bible concerning who Jesus is. He was and is God. Whatever God the Father was, the Word was. Everything that makes God-God, the Word possesses. Jesus Christ is the visible image of the invisible God. When you look at Jesus Christ, you are looking at God in human flesh. Only God can give us life that never ends.

 “In other words, the Father and Son are not two distinct gods. Rather, the Son shares the divine nature. Theologically speaking, the Father, Son, and Spirit are co-equal members of the Trinity. Our one God (see Deut. 6:4; 1 Cor. 8:6) exists in three co-equal Persons (see Matt. 28:19).”[6]

Christianity has always taught and believed there is only one God. The difference between our monotheism and other monotheists is not on the number of gods, but on the concept of God’s Personhood. The doctrine of the Trinity teaches that the one God exists as three Persons. This is not a self-contradiction as some charge because person is not the same as being. Your being is the quality that makes you what you are, but your person is the quality that makes you who you are. For example, we are humans. That is what we are. That is why we are called human beings. But what we are is not the same as who we are. If someone asks, “Who are you?” I would not respond by saying, “A human.” That answers the question of what I am, not who I am. Who I am is Jeff; that is my person. What I am is a human; that is my being. Being and person are separate. [7]

Unlike a human being, which has only one person, God has three Persons. He is one being, Yahweh, in three Persons: Father, Son, and Spirit. He is more than able to exist like that because He is God. If we say God must have only one Person, like humans, then we are making God in our image. Who are we to limit God? It is up to God to tell us who He is, and He has in the Bible. [8]

Our human reason alone cannot dictate or even decipher the nature of God. God is far greater than we can possibly conceive and more complex than we could ever hope to grasp. We are in no position to determine the intricacies of God’s nature. If He were to inform us He is one Being in one Person, we are obligated to believe Him. If He tells us, “I am one Being in three Persons,” who are we to say no to God? As believers in revelation, we must turn to divine Scripture to learn about God. [9]      

Both the Old Testament (Gen. 1:2, 26; Deut. 32:6; Psalm 2:6-7, 12; 45:6-7; 139:7-12; Isaiah 9:6; 11:2-3; 63:10, 16; Zech. 4:6; Mal. 2:10) and the New Testament (Matt. 3:16-17; John 14:16-17, 26; 2 Cor. 13:14) teach about the distinction between God the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Spirit. Each Person of the Trinity is equal in every way having the same divine nature, yet distinct in their tasks and relations to humanity.

We see in the chart above that the Father is God, but He is not the Son nor the Holy Spirit. Likewise, the Son is God, but He is neither the Father nor the Holy Spirit. And the Holy Spirit is God, but He is not the Father nor the Son. All three Persons of the Trinity have the same divine nature. They are one being, yet they exist eternally as Father, Son, and Holy Spirit.

Constable writes, “There is probably no fully adequate illustration of the Trinity in the natural world. An egg consists of three parts: shell, yolk, and white. Each part is fully egg, yet each has its own identity that distinguishes it from the other parts. The human family is another illustration. Father, mother, and child are all separate entities—yet each one is fully a member of his or her own family. Each may have a different first name, but all bear the same family name. Light, when passed through a prism, is seen to be composed of three primary colors: red, yellow, and blue. Similarly, the person of God, when revealed in Scripture, is seen to consist of Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. Hydrogen dioxide can be water, ice, and steam and still be H2O.” [10]

Another example of the Trinity is seen in every human being. First Thessalonians 5:23 tells us that every human is comprised of three parts: “spirit, soul, and body.” While each part is fully human, each part is separate and distinct from the others.

The Word is “with” God (separate from Him), yet at the same time, He is fully God. So, John informs us that the Word is God. If we cannot or do not believe this basic truth, we will not have enough faith to trust our eternal destiny to Him. Who is Jesus? He is God. Believe in Him. He wants you to spend eternity with Him in His heaven (cf. John 14:1-3).

BELIEVE ON JESUS BECAUSE HE IS THE CREATOR (1:3). Not only was the Word present at creation, He was also the agent of creation. 1:3: “All things were made through Him.”  Does John say that all things were made through evolution? (Pause). No! All things were made through Christ (cf. Col. 1:16; Heb. 1:2)! Everything that exists owes its existence to the Word. He is the Creator. Apart from Him, there is no existence. Jesus Christ created this universe. I believe in the Big Bang alright. God spoke (BOOM) and the universe came into being (Gen. 1-2).

Through Jesus all things “were made,” [11] but He always “was.” [12] Any being “not made or created” or not brought into being because He already existed is God. Three times John uses the word “made” (1:3). Anything that is made has a beginning. At some point in time it did not exist, and then it began to exist. John wants to establish that the Word already existed when He made all things. The Word never had a beginning because He is God. [13]

This is very important to understand because in John’s day to the present, there have been many false religions and teachers who insist that Jesus Christ is not God because He had a beginning. They teach that Christ was the first created being by God who then created everything else. For example, Arius, a third century false teacher, was fond of saying, “There was a time when He [Jesus] was not.” [14]

Swindoll notes that “this teaching continues today as official doctrine for the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (the Mormons) and the Jehovah’s Witnesses, and both organizations have translated John’s prologue to suit their theologies.” [15]

John refutes these false teachings at the beginning of his gospel. But the apostle also wants to emphasize that the Creator knows our inner workings better than anyone; He knows our needs and what it will take to reach us.

A doctor had hired a new secretary. She was pretty and thin. Part of her responsibilities was mailing out the bills to all the doctor’s patients. The doctor began to notice that it was taking more time than should be necessary for her to fulfill this task, and so he observed her one day. He discovered that rather than using the wet sponge to seal the envelopes, she was licking each one. This took a long time. The doctor asked her to use the sponge instead of licking each one, but the new secretary said that she would rather do it the other way. The doctor tried all kinds of motivations to try and convince her to do things his way. He tried telling her how much quicker it would be, he told her that her mouth wouldn’t get so dry. He even tried switching the type of envelopes that he used to one of those kind that had nasty-tasting glue. Nothing worked.

One day, a patient came to her window to pay her bill and noticed that the secretary was licking the envelopes. She said to her, “Did you know that each envelope has about 1 ½ calories?” The secretary immediately stopped and began using a wet sponge. Sometimes it takes a woman to communicate in a woman’s language. Likewise, it takes the Creator to communicate in His creation’s language. Christ spoke to us with love when He took our place and punishment on the cross for our sins (cf. Rom. 5:8; I John 4:9-10).

BELIEVE ON JESUS BECAUSE HE IS THE ONLY SOURCE OF ETERNAL LIFE (1:4-5). John moves now from creation in general to the most significant element of creation – people. 1:4: “In Him was life, and the life was the light of men.” Christ created you and me so that we could enjoy a personal relationship with Him. The word “life” [16] in the gospel of John can refer to physical life (1:3) and spiritual life (1:12). Most often it refers to eternal life in John (3:15-16,36; 4:14, 36; 5:24, 39; 6:27, 40, 47, 54, 58, 68; 10:28; 12:25, 50; 17:2-3). Jesus defines eternal life as knowing the only true God and His Son, Jesus Christ personally in a forever relationship (17:3). Jesus was God’s way of meeting us where we were to take us where we could never go.

Before we come to know Jesus Christ, we are merely existing. We get up, eat breakfast, go to work, come home from work, eat supper, watch TV, and go to bed. Then we repeat the same cycle the next day. That is merely existing. We don’t start living until we enter a personal relationship with Jesus Christ by believing or trusting in Him alone for His gift of eternal life.

When the Bible says, “the life was the light of men” (1:4), it is referring to the hope (“light”) that Christ’s message of eternal (“life”) brings to people in darkness. Also, when we enter a relationship with God (“life”), we become aware of God’s holiness and righteousness (“light”). Life is the foundation for growth in the light (cf. I John 1:5-10).

1:5: John contrasts “the light” of God with “the darkness” of sinful humanity. The word “comprehend,” [17] can also mean “overtake.”[18] The darkness of this world cannot overcome or extinguish the light of Jesus Christ. This contrast between light and darkness represents spiritual conflict. The light of Christ has and will overcome the darkness of sinful people.

“John did not view the world as a stage on which two equal and opposing forces engage in battle; he was not a philosophical dualist. He viewed Jesus as superior to the forces of darkness that sought to overcome Him but could not. This gives humankind hope. The forces of Light are stronger than the forces of Darkness. John was here anticipating the outcome of the story that he would tell, specifically, Calvary. Though darkness continues to prevail, the Light will overcome it.” [19]

“Because of the temptation of Satan, humankind has fallen into the darkness of sin (see Gen. 3). He has blinded the minds of people to keep them from seeing the glory of Christ (see 2 Cor. 4:4). But Jesus has come to bring illumination so that people can see things as they truly are. John’s Gospel shows us how Jesus was continually rejected; nevertheless, the darkness did not overcome His light (1:5). Though His enemies crucified Him, He was actually glorified in His death on the cross (see 13:31-32) and victorious in His resurrection, resulting in the provision of salvation for all people (see John 3:16; Rom. 5:18; 1 Tim. 2:6; Heb. 2:9; 1 John 2:2).” [20]

Remember, John is writing this gospel after the resurrection. He knows that Jesus Christ could not be overcome by the spiritual darkness of this world. He is the winner. The light shines (continually) in the darkness, and the darkness cannot overcome it. A single light penetrates fifty miles of darkness. Darkness cannot overcome light.

Christian author Max Lucado tells the story about a tribe of people who lived in a dark, cold cave: “The cave dwellers would huddle together and cry against the chill. Loud and long, they wailed. It was all they did. It was all they knew to do. The sounds in the cave were mournful, but the people didn’t know it, for they had never known life.

But then, one day, they heard a different voice. “I have heard your cries,” it announced. “I have felt your chill and seen your darkness. I have come to help.”

The cave people grew quiet. They had never heard this voice. Hope sounded strange to their ears. “How can we know you have come to help?”

“Trust me,” he answered. “I have what you need.”

The cave people peered through the darkness at the figure of the stranger. He was stacking something, then stooping and stacking more.

“What are you doing?” one cried, nervous.

 The stranger didn’t answer.

 “What are you making?” one shouted even louder.

 Still no response.

“Tell us!” demanded a third.

The visitor stood and spoke in the direction of the voices. “I have what you need.” With that he turned to the pile at his feet and lit it. Wood ignited, flames erupted, and light filled the cavern.

The cave people turned away in fear. “Put it out!” they cried. “It hurts to see it.”

“Light always hurts before it helps,” he answered. “Step closer. The pain will soon pass.”

“Not I,” declared a voice.

 “Nor I,” agreed a second.

“Only a fool would risk exposing his eyes to such light.”

The stranger stood next to the fire. “Would you prefer the darkness? Would you prefer the cold? Don’t consult your fears. Take a step of faith.”

For a long time, no one spoke. The people hovered in groups covering their eyes. The fire builder stood next to the fire. “It’s warm here,” he invited.

“He’s right,” one from behind him announced. “It’s warmer.” The stranger turned and saw a figure slowly stepping toward the fire. “I can open my eyes now,” she proclaimed. “I can see.”

“Come closer,” invited the fire builder.

 She did. She stepped into the ring of light. “It’s so warm!” She extended her hands and sighed as her chill began to pass. “Come, everyone! Feel the warmth,” she invited.

“Silence, woman!” cried one of the cave dwellers. “Dare you lead us into your folly? Leave us and take your light with you.”

She turned to the stranger. “Why won’t they come?”

“They choose the chill, for though it’s cold, it’s what they know. They’d rather be cold than change.”

“And live in the dark?”

“And live in the dark.”

 The now-warm woman stood silent. Looking first at the dark, then at the man.

“Will you leave the fire?” he asked.

She paused, then answered, “I cannot. I cannot bear the cold.” Then she spoke again. “But nor can I bear the thought of my people in darkness.”

“You don’t have to,” he responded, reaching into the fire and removing a stick. “Carry this to your people. Tell them the light is here, and the light is warm. Tell them the light is for all who desire it.”

And so, she took the small flame and stepped into the shadows.”[21]

Why should I believe on Jesus? Because He is the only source of eternal life. He gives forgiveness instead of fear… grace instead of guilt… cleansing instead of condemnation… mercy instead of misery… life instead of death… hope instead of despair.

One thing we will be constantly reminded of in John’s gospel is that the message of Jesus demands a response: a response of belief or unbelief. Ninety-nine times in the Greek Majority Text John uses the word “believe.” [22] The biblical meaning of the word “believe” conveys absolute certainty. When studying the gospel of John, we discover that saving faith consists of three components: [23]

1. KNOWING THE GIFT OF GOD AND THE GIVER OF THAT GIFT. I cannot receive a gift until I know about that gift and the giver of that gift. This is why Jesus told the Samaritan woman, “If you knew the gift of God, and who it is who says to you, ‘Give Me a drink,’ you would have asked Him, and He would have given you living water” (John 4:10). Before she could ask for the gift of God from the Giver of that gift, she needed to know what the gift was and the identity of the Giver. What is it that the apostle John wants a lost person to know about the gift of God?

a. The gift of God is eternal life (4:14a).

b. Eternal life is knowing God personally forever through Jesus Christ (17:3).

c. Eternal life cannot be lost because the believer can never thirst again for it (4:14b). How is this possible? When a person believes in Jesus, He digs a well in the human heart that continuously meets the needs of the one who drinks from it. But Jacob’s well was in the earth and the drinker of it must return again and again (4:12). Men dig wells in the earth, only Jesus Christ can dig a well in the human heart so that it gushes up into everlasting life. Jesus’ well never runs dry.

What is it that the apostle John wants a lost person to know about the Giver of the gift of God?

a.  He is Jesus Christ (4:16-26).

b.  He is fully God (John 1:1, 34, 49; 5:16-47; 6:69; 8:57-59; 11:27; 20:28)

c.  He is fully man (John 1:14; 4:6; 11:35; 12:27; 19:28)

d.  His death and resurrection (John 2:19, 22; 3:14-15; 12:23-24, 27-33; 10:11, 17). Jesus’ death and resurrection are called the gospel in I Corinthians 15:1-8. His death and resurrection make it possible for Him to offer eternal life as a free gift.

2. A CONVICTION ABOUT CHRIST’S PERSON AND WORK. The information received about Jesus must be accepted as true. “Jesus said to her, ‘I am the resurrection and the life. He who believes in Me, though he may die, he shall live. And whoever lives and believes in Me shall never die. Do you believe this?’ She said to Him, ‘Yes, Lord, I believe that You are the Christ, the Son of God, who is to come into the world’” (John 11:25-27). Martha believed – she was convinced Jesus was speaking the truth. The most basic meaning of the Greek word translated “believe” [24] is “to consider or be persuaded something is true and therefore worthy of one’s trust” [25]  and the word translated “faith” [26] is the “state of believing on the basis of the reliability of the one trusted, trust, confidence, faith.” [27]

Charles Pittman, a trial lawyer for over 40 years writes:

“I dealt with evidence all the time; I know something about evidence. I have examined the evidence: Jesus died – He was killed by professional executioners; He was buried in a tomb which was sealed, guarded and made secure as possible on Pilate’s orders; the tomb was empty which is undisputed; no dead body was ever produced; Jesus was seen alive by many people at different times and places over the next 40 days. The evidence convinces my mind that Jesus is God, He died taking the punishment for my sins, and God raised Him from the dead. Based on that truth, I chose or exercised my will to believe in Jesus and to trust Jesus and Jesus alone to forgive my sins and grant me eternal life in heaven.” [28]

Unlike Pittman, however, many people have heard of Jesus’ death and resurrection, but they are not convinced that they really happened.

3. TRUSTING IN JESUS ALONE FOR EVERLASTING LIFE. The two Greek words translated “believe” [29] and “faith” [30] include the idea of “trust.” [31] The gospel of John emphasizes this often by placing a preposition after the word “believe.” [32]  For example:

“Whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life.” John 3:16

“He who believes in the Son has everlasting life.” John 3:36

“Everyone who sees the Son and believes in Him may have everlasting life.” John 6:40

“He who believes in Me has everlasting life.” John 6:47

“Whoever lives and believes in Me shall never die.” John 11:26 

When an unsaved person understands that Christ died for his sins and rose from the dead and even accepts it as being true, yet still trusts in his good works to get him to heaven, his faith is not saving. Saving faith understands that Christ died for your sins and rose from the dead, is convinced that this is true, and personally chooses to believe or trust in Christ alone for the free gift of eternal life.

For example, I remember a woman, named, Michelle, in our church plant in Des Moines, Iowa, having her car break down during the summer on her way to work. It looked like she would be late for work. But then along came a lady from Missouri who offered her a ride. What did Michelle do? She was convinced this woman could get her to work, so she trusted that woman, a person, to get her to work. When Michelle offered to pay her, she refused to take her money. Michelle’s trip to work was free.

Likewise, God is asking us to believe or trust a Person – His Son, Jesus Christ, to give us a free ride to heaven. It is free to you and me, but it cost God the life of His Son. That is what believe means. When you believe in Jesus to get you to His heaven, you are telling God you are depending on His Son alone to get you to His heaven.

John’s gospel demands a response to Jesus Christ. Will I believe in Christ alone to get me to heaven, or will I reject Him and spend eternity separated from God? To reject Christ is to turn from God Himself, the Creator of the world. To deny Christ is to continue in spiritual darkness and death. Only Jesus Christ offers everlasting life freely. Do you have a personal relationship with the Creator God… the only One who guarantees eternal life to those who believe in Him? If not, why not begin a never-ending relationship with Him today? Simply take Christ at His Word when He says in John 5:24: “Most assuredly I say to you, he who hears My word and believes Him who sent Me, has everlasting life and shall not come into judgment, but has passed from death into life.” What does Jesus say you must do to obtain eternal life? “Hears … and believes.” Hear His promise of eternal life and believe Him to give it to you. You will never regret doing this.  

If you believed or trusted in Jesus alone to give you everlasting life, you can tell God this through prayer. But remember, praying a prayer is not what gets you to heaven. Only believing in Jesus gets us to heaven. This prayer is a way of telling God you are now believing or trusting in His Son alone. You can say this to God:

Prayer: Dear Jesus, I come to you now as a sinner. I cannot save myself. Nothing I am or do makes me deserving of heaven. I believe You died for me on the cross and rose from the dead. I believe You alone can guarantee me everlasting life, a judgment free future, and passage from death into life. I am now trusting in You alone Jesus (not my good life, my prayers, or my religion), to save me from hell forever and give me everlasting life. Thank You for the eternal life I now have and future home I will have in Your heaven. In Jesus’ name. Amen.

When you believed in Jesus, the Bible says you can “know” that you have eternal life. “These things I have written to you who believe in the name of the Son of God, that you may know that you have eternal life” (I John 5:13). The Bible does not say you may “think” or “hope” that you have eternal life. It says you can “know” with absolute certainty that eternal life is yours.

Prayer of thanksgiving: Precious Lord Jesus, thank You for revealing that You are the eternal God, the Creator God, and the only Source of life that never ends. Therefore, we can trust You not only to get us to heaven, but to meet our needs here on earth. Because You are our Creator God, You have the power to take care of all of our needs. You have the ability to change us from the inside out as we learn to trust and obey You. Thank You for walking with us on this journey called life. You are an amazing Friend! Always full of grace and truth. Always faithful and trustworthy. There is no one like You in the whole universe! We bow our hearts before You and worship You, our Lord and our God! We love You, Jesus. Thank You for loving us more than we ever thought possible! In Your name we pray, Lord Jesus. Amen.

ENDNOTES:

[1] Logos

[2] ēn

[3] pros

[4] kai Theós ēn ho Lógos

[5] The translation of John 1:1c, “And the Word was God” (kai Theós ēn ho Lógos), is based on the Greek rule of grammar (Colwell’s rule) which states that the definite predicate nominative, “God” (Theós), in front of the verb “was” (ēn), will not have the article. See E. C. Colwell, “A Definite Rule for the Use of the Article in the Greek New Testament,” Journal of Biblical Literature 52 (1933), pp. 12-21. In Koine Greek, word endings determine the subject. But since both “Word” (Logos) and “God” (Theos) have the same ending, John added the article (ho) to Logos to identify it as the subject of the sentence.

[6] Tony Evans, CSB Bibles by Holman. The Tony Evans Bible Commentary (B&H Publishing Group, Kindle Edition, 2019), pg. 1746.

[7] Adapted from Nabeel Qureshi, No God but One: Allah or Jesus? (Grand Rapids: Zondervan, 2016 Kindle Edition), pp. 55-56.

[8] Ibid., pg. 56.

[9] Ibid.

[10] Constable, Dr. Constable’s Notes on John, 2023 Edition, pp. 23-24.

[11] egeneto

[12] ēn

[13] Charles R. Swindoll, Insights on John, Swindoll’s Living Insights New Testament Commentary Book 4 (Tyndale House Publishers, 2014 Kindle Edition), pp. 20-22.

[14] Ibid.

[15] Ibid., pg. 21.

[16] zōē

[17] katalambanō

[18] Walter Bauer, A Greek-English Lexicon of the New Testament and Other Early Christian Literature: Third Edition revised and edited by Frederick William Danker (Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 2000 Kindle Edition), pp. 519-520; cf. Robert Wilkin; J. Bond; Gary Derickson; Brad Doskocil; Zane Hodges; Dwight Hunt; Shawn Leach. The Grace New Testament Commentary: Revised Edition (Grace Evangelical Society, Kindle Edition, 2019), pg. 179.

[19] Constable, Dr. Constable’s Notes on John, pg. 27 cites David J. MacLeod, “The Creation of the Universe by the Word: John 1:3-5,” Bibliotheca Sacra 160:638 (April-June 2003):187-201.

[20] Tony Evans, The Tony Evans Bible Commentary, pg. 1747.

[21] Taken from https://maxlucado.com/woodcutters-wisdom-and-other-favorite-stories/.

[22] pisteuō – John 1:7, 12, 50; 2:11, 22, 23; 3:12(2), 15, 16, 18(3), 36; 4:21, 39, 41, 42, 48, 50, 53; 5:24, 38, 44, 46(2), 47(2); 6:29, 30, 35, 36, 40, 47,  64(2), 69; 7:5, 31, 38, 39, 48; 8:24, 30, 31, 45, 46; 9:18, 35, 36, 38; 10:25, 26, 37, 38(3), 42; 11:15, 25, 26(2), 27, 40, 42, 45, 48; 12:11, 36, 37, 38, 39, 42, 44(2), 46, 47; 13:19; 14:1(2), 10, 11(2), 12, 29; 16:9, 27, 30, 31; 17:8, 20, 21; 19:35; 20:8, 25, 29(2), 31(2).

[23] R. Larry Moyer, You Can Tell It! Seminar On Personal Evangelism Instructor Manual, EvanTell, Inc., 2003, pp. 13-17.

[24] pisteuō

[25] Bauer, A Greek-English Lexicon of the New Testament, pp. 816-817.

[26] pistis

[27] Bauer, A Greek-English Lexicon of the New Testament, pp. 818-819.

[28] Used with permission from an email from Charles Pittman on November 6, 2012.

[29] pisteuō

[30] pistis

[31] Bauer, A Greek-English Lexicon of the New Testament, pp. 816-19.

[32] Ibid. Bing states that “after noting every use of pisteuō in the gospel of John (pisteuō eis with accusative –  John 1:12; 2:11, 23; 3:15,16, 18a, 18c, 36; 4:39; 6:29, 35, 40, 47; 7:5, 31, 38, 39, 48; 8:30; 9:35, 36; 10:42; 11:25, 26a, 45,48; 12:11, 36, 37, 42,44 [twice], 46; 14:12; 16:9; 17:20), pisteuō with dative – John 2:22; 4:21, 50; 5:24, 38, 46 [twice], 47 [twice]; 6:30; 8:31, 45, 46; 10:37, 38 [twice]; 12:38; 14:11a),  pisteuō hoti – John 4:21; 6:69; 8:24; 11:27, 42; 13:19; 14:10; 11a; 16:27, 30; 17:8, 21; 20:31a, pisteuō absolutely – John 1:7, 50; 3:12 [twice], 15, 18b 4:41, 42, 48, 53; 5:44; 6:36,47, 64 [twice]; 9:38; 10:25, 26; 11:15, 40; 12:39; 14:11b, 29; 16:31; 19:35; 20:8, 25, 29 [twice], 31b), pisteuō with neuter accusative (John 11:26b),  Schnackenburg concludes, ‘In many texts, pisteuō eis is on the same footing as a hoti-clause…’ and ‘Often the absolute pisteuein means the Johannine faith in the fullest sense…’ Thus one should not so easily delete the soteriological significance of pisteuō plus hoti – in John. This is the construction found in clear salvation verses like John 8:24, ‘believe that I am He,’ and 20:31, ‘believe that Jesus is the Christ’. Likewise, pisteuō plus the dative without a preposition is used in a clear salvation verse, John 5:24, “believes him who sent me” (NIV).’” (Dr. Charlie Bing, “Lordship Salvation: A Biblical Evaluation and Response. GraceLife Edition, 1992, pp. 18-19). The Biblical evidence shows that to “believe in” and to “believe that” are used interchangeably by John for saving faith.

Revelation 16 – Part 3

“And men were scorched with great heat, and they blasphemed the name of God who has power over these plagues; and they did not repent and give Him glory.” Revelation 16:9

After the inhabitants of heaven praise God for His righteous and just judgments toward rebellious humankind who shed the blood of His servants (16:5-7), the fourth angel arrives to pour out his bowl of wrath. Instead of the beast-worshippers on the earth receiving a much-needed drink of rainwater to quench their parched throats, they got the exact opposite. “8 Then the fourth angel poured out his bowl on the sun, and power was given to him to scorch men with fire. 9 And men were scorched with great heat, and they blasphemed the name of God who has power over these plagues; and they did not repent and give Him glory.” (Revelation 16:8-9). The definite article before “men” (tous anthrōpous) refers specifically to those whose allegiance was to the Beast (cf. 16:2). It is possible that those who refused to worship the Beast and receive his mark were not struck with this judgment. Likewise, the Israelites also escaped some of the plagues on Egypt’s land, water, animals, people, leaders, and even Pharaoh (Exodus 8:20-9:7; 9:13-35; 10:21-12:36). 1

This “fourth… bowl” judgment used “the sun” to “scorch men” who followed the Beast “with fire” and “great heat” that will leave their human flesh charred. This was “more than an oppressive heat wave that weakens and withers people, this judgment will involve the blistering and charring of human flesh by the sun.” 2

Swindoll writes, “Instead of catching soothing drops of rain, the people of earth were burned with searing rays from the sun! Scientists have long been concerned about the possibility of massive, unexpected solar flares, which could increase the number of harmful rays that penetrate our atmosphere. It seems that by the end of the Tribulation, the atmosphere will have been so damaged that the rays of the sun will no longer be filtered or deflected, causing all sorts of catastrophic climatic changes. This end-times global warming will make today’s hot-earth hysteria resemble nothing more than a warm spring day.” 3

One would think that after all these horrific judgments on the earth that left people painfully afflicted, starving, dying of thirst, and severely burned, that humankind would fall to their knees and beg God for His mercy, right!?! Wrong!!! “And men were scorched with great heat, and they blasphemed the name of God who has power over these plagues; and they did not repent and give Him glory.” (Revelation 16:9). Instead of turning to the Lord in repentance and giving “Him glory,” they “blasphemed the name of God who has power over these plagues.” Instead of letting the scorching sun melt their hearts, they let it harden their hearts toward God, much like Pharaoh hardened his heart after each of the plagues on Egypt.

Surely a loving God would relent of His judgments if people sought to get right with Him. The prophet Joel addresses this part of God’s character when he writes, 4 “’12 Now, therefore,’ says the Lord, ‘Turn to Me with all your heart, with fasting, with weeping, and with mourning. 13 So rend your heart, and not your garments; return to the Lord your God, for He is gracious and merciful, slow to anger, and of great kindness; and He relents from doing harm. 14 Who knows if He will turn and relent, and leave a blessing behind Him— a grain offering and a drink offering for the Lord your God?” (Joel 2:12-14).

Instead of humbly repenting before the Lord God Whom they know has the power over these plagues to lovingly bring them to a stop, the people of the earth increased the hardness of their hearts during the last part of the Tribulation. Why? Because they have taken on the character of the Beast who blasphemes God and indoctrinates the citizens of his worldwide kingdom to do the same (Revelation 13:1, 5-6; 17:3; cf. Daniel 11:36; 2 Thessalonians 2:3-10). Instead of blaming their own sinfulness for these first four plagues, they blame God for them. 5

The first four bowl judgments targeted the natural realm (the earth, sea, fresh waters, and the sun), but the next two bowl judgments target the Beast and his worldwide kingdom. “Then the fifth angel poured out his bowl on the throne of the beast, and his kingdom became full of darkness; and they gnawed their tongues because of the pain.” (Revelation 16:10). The fifth bowlof God’s wrath was “poured out… on the throne of the beast and his kingdom.” Since the beast’s kingdom was worldwide,this was a global darkness that will cause such intense emotional anguish that beast-worshippers will engage in self-mutilation (“they gnawed their tongues because of the pain”). 6

This darkness is reminiscent of the plague God brought upon Egypt. “21 Then the Lord said to Moses, ‘Stretch out your hand toward heaven, that there may be darkness over the land of Egypt, darkness which may even be felt.’ 22 So Moses stretched out his hand toward heaven, and there was thick darkness in all the land of Egypt three days. 23 They did not see one another; nor did anyone rise from his place for three days. But all the children of Israel had light in their dwellings.” (Exodus 10:21-23). This darkness in Egypt was so deep, oppressive, and complete, that the Egyptians did nothing during those three days.The chaos caused by the darkness in Egypt may explain the intense pain this global darkness will cause to the citizens of the Beast’s kingdom during the Tribulation period.

Keep in mind that the effects of these first five bowl judgments are cumulative. “The sores brought on by the first bowl will continue to fester as the darkness closes in around them. The water that would have soothed their sun-scorched flesh will stand in stinking, stagnant pools; once-clean water will be polluted with decaying blood.” 7

Nevertheless, people will still refuse to humble themselves before the God Who could bring a stop to these severe bowl judgments. “They blasphemed the God of heaven because of their pains and their sores, and did not repent of their deeds.” (Revelation 16:11). Instead of blaming their rebellious ways for these plagues, the followers of the Beast choose to blaspheme God for “their pains and their sores.” But they don’t stop there. They choose to abide in their wicked ways that caused them to be oppressed by these horrific plagues – they do “not repent of their deeds.” 8

“As in 16:9, this scene is reminiscent of a child cursing his parent while he is being spanked. Such a reaction to punishment inevitably triggers more punishment.” 9

We have learned in our study of the seven-year Tribulation on earth in the book of Revelation, that this will be a time that is filled with heightened deception (12:9; 13:14; 18:23; 19:20). One of Satan’s oldest strategies which will be implemented in full during the Tribulation is to blame God for all the pain that exists in the world to deceive people into thinking that the true God is an out of control, vengeful deity who can be defeated if everyone comes together to fight against Him. The truth is pain and suffering did not exist in the world God created (Genesis 1-2). Pain and suffering were the result of Satan, who sinned first against God (Isaiah 14:12-15; Ezekiel 28:12-19), tempting Adam and Eve to sin (Genesis 3:1-6) which resulted in sin and death entering the entire world (Romans 5:12). The effects of sin will culminate in the Tribulation period when humanity’s rebellion against God will reach an all-time depth of depravity resulting in God’s in-kind judgment (Revelation 6-16).

When we look back at the chaos and pain the global pandemic has caused the past two years, do we blame God for this? Or when we observe the loss of innocent lives during the Russia-Ukraine conflict, do we shake our fists at God and hold Him responsible for this? How do we respond to God when we or those close to us experience suffering and pain? Do we harden or humble our hearts toward the Lord?

Satan wants to convince us that God is to blame for all our problems and pain so we will not come to the Lord in faith and be saved forever from Satan’s destiny in the lake of fire (Matthew 25:41; Revelation 20:10). Please understand that God is the One Who loves us, not Satan. Satan doesn’t care about you or me. He knows his destiny is in the lake of fire and he selfishly wants to take as many people with him as possible. He will go to any length of deception to help populate hell. He has no guilt or shame for his actions because he is evil to the core.

But Jesus Christ is selfless to the core. Instead of holding on to His glory in heaven, He veiled His glory with human flesh when He left heaven and came to earth knowing He would be rejected by the world and His own Jewish people who would condemn Him to die on a cross (Philippians 2:6-8). The Bible tells us, “9 God showed how much He loved us by sending His one and only Son into the world so that we might have eternal life through Him. 10 This is real love—not that we loved God, but that He loved us and sent His Son as a sacrifice to take away our sins.” (I John 4:9-10 NLT). “Real love” gives instead of takes. God’s love gave His best (His Son) when we were at our worst (in bondage to our sins) so we “might have eternal life through” Jesus if we would do one thing: BELIEVE IN HIM.

Jesus said, “He who believes in Me has everlasting life.” (John 6:47). The word “believe” in the New Testament means to be persuaded that something is true and then trust or depend upon. Do you believe Jesus was speaking the truth when He said, “He who believes in Me has everlasting life”? If so, do you now trust Christ (not your good life, religion, or prayers) to give you His gift of eternal life? If you do, Jesus guarantees you now have everlasting life which can never be taken away from you (John 10:28-29). God is now your Father in heaven, and you are His child forever (John 1:12; 6:35). Everyone who believes in Jesus for eternal life is your brother or sister in Christ.

Christ wants you to grow in your relationship with Him. Jesus said to those who believed Him, “If you abide in My word, you are My disciples indeed. And you shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free.” (John 8:31b-32). The opposite of truth is falsehood or lies. Jesus wants you to “abide” or continue in His Word, the Bible, so you can “know the truth” which “shall make you free” from Satan’s lies that keep you enslaved to sin and shame. God’s truth will identify the lies you have been believing that have held you in bondage to sin and will also provide the remedy to overcome those lies. It is the truth of God’s Word that will break the shackles of Satan’s lies that have kept you from leaning into the Lord when you face pain and suffering.

Below are some examples of Satan’s lies that can keep us from drawing near to the Lord. I have included God’s truth to replace those lies and the Scriptures to go with them.Take some time to read through these lies and then identify the ones that you have believed to be true. The lie will feel true to you if you believe it. Then read the corresponding truth statements repeatedly until they feel true to you. As you do that the corresponding lies will feel less and less true. Ask the Lord Jesus to deliver you from bondage to these lies (cf. Psalm 119:28-29). We do not have the power in ourselves to overcome them, but Jesus Christ does. Let Him renew your mind as you meditate on God’s truth.  

Lie: God is to blame for all your pain and suffering.

Truth: Pain and suffering were the result of Satan (who sinned first against God), tempting Adam and Eve to sin which resulted in sin and death entering the entire world.

Scripture: “Therefore, just as through one man sin entered the world, and death through sin, and thus death spread to all men, because all sinned.” Romans 5:12; cf. Genesis 3:1-6; Isaiah 14:12-15; Ezekiel 28:12-19.

Lie: God cannot be trusted.

Truth: God can be trusted because He is good and faithful to His promises.

Scripture: “Oh, taste and see that the Lord is good; blessed is the man who trusts in Him!” Psalm 34:8

“In hope of eternal life which God, who cannot lie, promised before time began.” Titus 1:2

Lie: God is holding out on you.

Truth: God wants to give you, His best.

Scripture: “The thief [Satan] does not come except to steal, and to kill, and to destroy. I [Jesus] have come that they may have life, and that they may have it more abundantly.” John 10:10

Lie: You can be like God by disobeying Him.

Truth: Since there is only one true God, and I am not Him, I must live in total dependence on Him.

Scripture: God said, “I am the Lord, and there is no other; there is no God besides Me.” Isaiah 45:5

“’But as for me, I trust in You, O Lord;’ I say, ‘You are my God.’ My times are in Your hand.’” Psalm 31:14-15

Lie: God is against me.

Truth: God is for me and not against me.

Scripture: “What then shall we say to these things? If God is for us, who can be against us?” Romans 8:31

Lie: God has or will accuse me.

Truth: God has declared me totally righteous in Christ.

Scripture: “Who shall bring a charge against God’s elect? It is God who justifies.” Romans 8:33

Lie: God has or will condemn me.

Truth:  God will not condemn me because Christ took my condemnation on the cross and He now defends me and intercedes for me in heaven.

Scripture: “Who is he who condemns? It is Christ who died, and furthermore is also risen, who is even at the right hand of God, who also makes intercession for us.”

Lie: I am going to be separated from the love of Christ because I’m so unworthy.

Truth: No one and nothing can separate me from Christ’s love.

Scripture: “35 Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? Shall tribulation, or distress, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or peril, or sword?… 37 Yet in all these things we are more than conquerors through Him who loved us. 38 For I am persuaded that neither death nor life, nor angels nor principalities nor powers, nor things present nor things to come, 39 nor height nor depth, nor any other created thing, shall be able to separate us from the love of God which is in Christ Jesus our Lord.” Romans 8:35, 37-39

Lie: God would never love me as I am.

Truth: In Christ, I am totally loved by God as I am.

Scripture: “Long ago, even before He made the world, God chose us to be His very own through what Christ would do for us; He decided then to make us holy in His eyes, without a single fault—we who stand before Him covered with His love.” Ephesians 1:4 TLB

Lie: I am alone and unloved.

Truth: I am not alone or unloved. I am loved and cherished by the Creator of the Universe.

Scripture: “When my father and mother forsake me, then the Lord will take care of me.” Psalm 27:10

Lie: I could never be forgiven.

Truth: I am totally forgiven in Christ.

Scripture: “13 And you, being dead in your trespasses and the uncircumcision of your flesh, He has made alive together with Him, having forgiven you all trespasses, 14 having wiped out the handwriting of requirements that was against us, which was contrary to us. And He has taken it out of the way, having nailed it to the cross.” Colossians 2:13-14

Lie: I am an unacceptable person.

Truth: I am totally accepted in Christ.

Scripture: “There is therefore now no condemnation to those who are in Christ Jesus.” Romans 8:1a

“To the praise of the glory of His grace, by which He made us accepted in the Beloved.” Ephesians 1:6

Prayer: Lord Jesus, we come to You now realizing that we can be a lot like the people in the Tribulation period who will be deceived into blaming You for their suffering and pain instead of their own rebellion against You. When bad things happen to us, help us O Lord to humble our hearts before You instead of hardening them. Lord, we cannot overcome Satan’s lies on our own. The Devil wants to take as many people with him to hell as possible. He will go to any length of deception to populate the lake of fire. Lord, please make us the kind of people who will do whatever it takes within the boundaries You have given us to populate Your heaven through the preaching of the gospel of Jesus Christ. We desperately need You and Your Word to help us identify the lies we believe and replace them with Your truth so we can live the abundant life You came to give us. We pray for those whose hearts and minds have been deceived by Satan into believing You are responsible for all their pain and suffering. Help them to see that You love them and gave Your best for them when they were still undeserving sinners. And You want to save them forever from the lake of fire and give them eternal life if they would simply believe in You, Lord Jesus. Please use our lives and lips to communicate Your love to a lost and broken world so they can hear and believe the good news of Jesus’ gift of eternal life. In Your mighty name we pray, Lord Jesus. Amen.

ENDNOTES:

1. Tom Constable, Notes on Revelation, 2017 Edition, pg. 172.

2. Bob Vacendak; Robert Wilkin; J. Bond; Gary Derickson; Brad Doskocil; Zane Hodges; Dwight Hunt; Shawn Leach, The Grace New Testament Commentary: Revised Edition (Grace Evangelical Society, Kindle Edition, 2019), pg. 1559.

3. Charles R. Swindoll, Insights on Revelation (Swindoll’s Living Insights New Testament Commentary Book 15, Tyndale House Publishers, Inc., 2014 Kindle Edition), pp. 296-297.

4. Ibid., pg. 297.

5. Constable, pg. 172 cites Robert L. Thomas, Revelation 8-22: An Exegetical Commentary (Chicago: Moody Press, 1995), pg. 257.

6. Tony Evans, CSB Bibles by Holman, The Tony Evans Study Commentary (B & H Publishing Group, Kindle Edition 2019), pg. 2407.

7. Swindoll, pg. 298.

8. Vacendak, pg. 1559.

9. Evans, pg. 2409.

How do I overcome doubt? Part 5

“Jesus said to him, ‘Thomas, because you have seen Me, you have believed. Blessed are those who have not seen and yet have believed.’ ” John 20:29

We are learning from John 20:24-29 how to overcome doubt. So far we have discovered we can overcome doubt when we…

– Restore our fellowship with other Christians (John 20:24).

– Readjust our unrealistic requirements for belief (John 20:25a).

– Redirect our wills toward believing (John 20:25b-27).

– Renew our confession of faith (John 20:28).

Today we will look at the final way to overcome doubt. RECEIVE JESUS’ BLESSING (John 20:29). After Thomas said to Jesus,  “my Lord and my God,” (John 20:28), Jesus did not correct him for addressing Him as “my Lord and my God.” No, Jesus accepted Thomas’ worship because Christ is Lord and God. Jesus then told Thomas, “Because you have seen Me, you have believed.” (John 20:29a). But then Jesus has something to say to you and me two thousand years later, “Blessed are those who have not seen and yet have believed.” (John 20:29b).

The risen Lord Jesus is saying to His doubting disciple, “Thomas, I did something special for you. I came and showed you the nail prints in My hands. I showed you the scar in My side where the spear pierced Me. I want you to know the blessing on the lives of those millions of people who are going to believe in Me even though they have not had this experience.”  1

“Jesus gave only a small number of people (about 500, 1 Cor 15:6) the privilege of seeing Him bodily after His resurrection. Most who believe do so without benefit of such direct revelation. Thomas and the others saw and heard, and thus their eyewitness testimonies have benefitted many people since then (John 20:30; 21:24-25; 1 John 1:1-3).” 2

Jesus wants you to believe in Him for His gift of everlasting life even though He has not personally appeared to you. He wants you to trust in Him alone to give you never-ending life before you see Him work in your life. This is why He said to Thomas, “Blessed are those who have not seen and yet have believed.” With these words, Jesus is broadening the object of faith from His resurrection to His promise to give eternal life to all who believe in Him for it. That is the transition John makes in the next two verses (John 20:30-31). 3

Jesus said, “He who believes in Me has everlasting life.” (John 6:47). Do you believe this? If you do, Christ guarantees you now have His life which never ends (John 11:25-26). You now have a personal relationship with Him that lasts forever (John 17:3). And Jesus wants to bless you with His remarkable gifts (see Ephesians 1:3-14).

Keep in mind that Thomas was already a believer in Jesus before Christ appeared to him (cf. John 2:11; 11:15 13:10; 14:5). Even after you believe in Jesus for His gift of everlasting life, the risen Lord Jesus Christ wants to bless your life and work in your life. However, you are going to be filled with doubt if you think, “I’m not a good enough person for Him to bless my life. I will just let Christ give His blessings to somebody else.” Did Thomas deserve what Jesus gave him? Not at all. Thomas had received the eyewitness reports from the women and other disciples who had seen Jesus alive, yet he refused to believe them (Mark 16:10-11, 13-14; Luke 24:9-11; John 20:18, 24-25). Even so, Christ graciously appears to him and gives him the evidence he needed to believe Jesus rose from the dead. Christ’s blessings are not something we earn. They are gifts He wants to bless you with.

His blessings are part of what builds our faith and keeps our faith growing. Receive His blessing. The result of faith is blessedness. The Bible says, “But without faith it is impossible to please Him, for he who comes to God must believe that He is, and that He is a rewarder of those who diligently seek Him.” (Hebrews 11:6). God rewards those who exercise faith and diligently seek Him.

Jesus is teaching us that those who believe in Him are blessed. Not only are they blessed the moment they believe in Christ for His gift of everlasting life, but they can continue to be blessed as they learn to live a life of faith. People who believe live a blessed life. This is not a perfect life, nor a life without problems; but a blessed life. The satisfaction and fulfillment that the world longs for can only be found in Jesus Christ.

Later John reminds us that the result of faith is life (John 20:31). When people believed Jesus then and when they believe Jesus now, lives are transformed. There is a new quality of life for us to experience. He says there is “life in His name” (John 20:31b). The kind of life that has the name of Jesus stamped all over it. Every blessing that comes into your life has Jesus’ name on it. The decisions that you make – Jesus’ name is stamped all over them. Your family has Jesus’ name stamped all over it. Your job has Jesus’ name stamped all over it. Everything about your life is to be lived in His name.  His power, His blessing, His purpose, His character is to be manifested in your life. 

Do you want to overcome doubt and have faith? I will not tell you to just have faith. Instead, I will say here is how to have faith. Here is how to overcome doubt. These are some practical suggestions. 4  You don’t have to do all of them. Just start with one of them this week and see where the Lord leads you.

1. Intentionally connect with other Christians this week. One of the reasons we struggle with doubts is because we are isolating ourselves from other like-minded believers in Jesus. God wants us to connect with one another to receive love and encouragement (Hebrews 10:24-25). Schedule a time this week to get together with a trusted friend who knows Jesus and can offer a listening ear.

2. Write down your doubts on a sheet of paper. You might even be really brave and show your list to someone else. Not to an enemy, but to a trusted friend. Then at the bottom of the sheet of paper write, “Jesus, I ask You to give me Your answers to these doubts.” He wants to do this for you just like He did for Thomas.

3. Then you may need to redirect your will. This week or even tonight, decide to have faith in an area of your life where you have been struggling with doubts. You have been waiting for your emotions to catch up with your faith. Perhaps you have been studying this for months and you think you cannot learn any more. But now is the time to decide to move toward believing. You know what God wants you to do. You know what His Word says to do. It is time to act.

4. For some of us, we may need to renew our confession. Let me encourage you to do this this week if you are struggling with doubts. Start each day with a confession of faith. Use Thomas’ confession every day if you want to – “My Lord and my God.”  Or pick up your Bible and open it to the book of Psalms. Start reading any psalm. You will find two or three confessions of faith in any psalm – “Lord, You are my rock. Lord, You are my fortress. Lord, You are my hiding place.” (Psalm 31; 32; 119). The book of Psalms is just filled with confessions of faith. Find some confessions of faith there and use them to start each day. 

5. Perhaps you need to receive His blessing this week. You might be afraid to think about all the blessings that come from the Lord. You may feel guilty to recognize that God is doing something special in your life. There are times when we may look at our past and conclude that we are not deserving. The truth is, none of us are deserving. I do not deserve God’s blessings and neither do you. We admit that together. We come as undeserving people to God, but because of His grace – His undeserved favor – He gives to us abundantly. This week take twenty minutes and sit down and start to make a list of blessings from God on a piece of paper or on your computer. Since Jesus is in your life now, focus on His life which is stamped all over yours. Write down the different ways He is blessing you.

These are some practical ways that you and I can begin to overcome our doubts and build our faith.

Prayer: Lord Jesus, some of us may feel that we do not deserve to be blessed by You. We have been conditioned to believe that blessings must be earned. But Your encounter with Thomas reminds us that none of us are deserving of Your goodness. It is because of Your magnificent grace that we can be in a position to receive Your many blessings. Thank You especially for the gift of everlasting life that is ours forever the moment we believe in You. Please teach us to live a life of faith; A blessed life whereby we diligently seek You because we know that You are a Rewarder of those who do. In Your hope-filled name we pray. Amen.

ENDNOTES:

1. Adapted from Tom Holladay’s August 28, 1996 sermon entitled, “How to Have Faith.”

2. Robert Wilkin; J. Bond; Gary Derickson; Brad Doskocil; Zane Hodges; Dwight Hunt; Shawn Leach. The Grace New Testament Commentary: Revised Edition (Grace Evangelical Society, Kindle Edition, 2019), pg. 566.

3. Ibid.

4. Adapted from Tom Holladay’s sermon entitled, “How to Have Faith.”

How can we respond to those who refuse to believe in Christ? Part 3

“37 But although He had done so many signs before them, they did not believe in Him, 38 that the word of Isaiah the prophet might be fulfilled, which he spoke: ‘Lord, who has believed our report? And to whom has the arm of the Lord been revealed?’ ” John 12:37-38

The third way to respond to those who refuse to believe in Christ is to CONTEMPLATE THE SCRIPTURES’ EXPLANATION FOR THEIR UNBELIEF (John 12:37-41). After Jesus’ final words to the public before His death on the Cross (John 12:20-36), John informs us,  “But although He had done so many signs before them, they did not believe in Him.” (John 12:37). The verb translated “had done” (pepoiēkotos) is in the perfect tense, meaning that Jesus’ “many” miraculous “signs”were completed in the past but had continuing results to the present. Christ had given them undeniable evidence that He was the Messianic Light of the world, but they stubbornly refused to believe in Him.

Their unbelief was anticipated hundreds of years earlier in Isaiah 53:1 which John now quotes. “…That the word of Isaiah the prophet might be fulfilled, which he spoke: ‘Lord, who has believed our report? And to whom has the arm of the Lord been revealed?’ ” (John 12:38). The unbelief of most of the Jews in Jesus’ day was necessary to fulfill Isaiah’s prophecy. Even though many Jews rejected Christ, God’s purposes were still being fulfilled. The Lord is still in control.

Wiersbe observes, “John 12 records the second major crisis in the ministry of our Lord as seen by John the apostle. The first occurred when many of His disciples would no longer walk with Him (John 6:66), even though He is ‘the way’ (John 14:6). In this chapter, John tells us that many would not believe in Him (John 12:37ff), even though He is ‘the truth.’ The third crisis will come in John 19: even though he is ‘the life,’ the leaders crucified Him.” 1

“39 Therefore they could not believe, because Isaiah said again: ‘40 He has blinded their eyes and hardened their hearts, lest they should see with their eyes, lest they should understand with their hearts and turn, so that I should heal them.’ ” (John 12:39-40). They “did not believe” in Jesus (John 12:37), therefore they “could not believe” in Him (John 12:39). Because they had refused to believe in Christ earlier, God stopped drawing them to Himself. John provides a rather free rendering of Isaiah 6:10 to show that when people reject what light God has given them, as Israel did in the face of enough miraculous signs to convince them that Jesus was their promised Messiah, God may judicially impose a spiritual blindness on “their eyes” and a spiritual hardening of “their hearts” (John 12:40). Like people, God also has a limit to His patience. The unbelief of these Jews was part of God’s sovereign plan which He predetermined before Christ came to earth. Through the Jews’ rejection of Jesus, salvation would come to the Gentiles (John 12:20-22; cf. Romans 11:7-12).

“These things Isaiah said when he saw His glory and spoke of Him.” (John 12:41).  The implications of this verse are startling! Isaiah 6 opens by saying: “1 In the year that King Uzziah died, I saw the Lord sitting on a throne, high and lifted up, and the train of His robe filled the temple. 2 Above it stood seraphim; each one had six wings: with two he covered his face, with two he covered his feet, and with two he flew. 3 And one cried to another and said: ‘Holy, holy, holy is the Lord of hosts; the whole earth is full of His glory!’ 4 And the posts of the door were shaken by the voice of him who cried out, and the house was filled with smoke. 5 So I said: ‘Woe is me, for I am undone! Because I am a man of unclean lips, and I dwell in the midst of a people of unclean lips; for my eyes have seen the King, the Lord of hosts.’” (Isaiah 6:1-5).

John says that the prophet Isaiah saw Jesus in His Messianic “glory and spoke of Him.” He identified Jesus with the Yahweh (“the Lord of hosts” literally is “the Yahweh of armies”) of the Old Testament. 2  This confirms who Jesus is and how reliable the Bible is. This may also explain why the Jews had difficulty believing in Christ, because Jesus spoke of His death (John 12:24, 32-33) on the Cross, whereas the Jews were expecting a glorious Messiah who would subject their enemies to His rule.

When people do not respond in faith to Christ over a long period of time, do not take it personally. Their continual rejection of what light God has given them may result in God judicially imposing a hardening of their hearts. Their stubborn unbelief is also fulfilling God’s purposes which we may never discover in this life. We can still rest in the fact that God is in control of the situation even though the outcome is not what we desired. Continue to pray to the Father to open their hearts through circumstances in their lives that will make them ready to hear and believe the good news of Jesus.

Prayer: Father God, I must confess that I do not understand all the ways You work in the lives and hearts of people. So I pray for those who have continued to reject Your Son, Jesus Christ. Please work in their lives and circumstances in such a way that Your people may share the good news of Your grace with them. Thank You for reminding me of Who Jesus is – He is the Yahweh of armies Who sits on His throne in heaven guiding events here on earth and filling the world with His glory. My trust in Him and His prophetic word is strengthened from these verses today. Nothing takes You by surprise, my Lord and my God. My times are in Your hand. In Jesus’ name I pray. Amen.

ENDNOTES:

1. Warren W. Wiersbe, The Bible Exposition Commentary. 2 vols. Wheaton: Scripture Press, Victor Books, 1989, 1:338.

2. Edwin A. Blum, The Bible Knowledge Commentary, New Testament Edition, Editors John F. Walvoord and Roy B. Zuck (Wheaton: Victor Books, 1983), pg. 319.

A Look into the Future – Part 2 (Video)

This is the second in a series of videos about the future as recorded in the last book of the Bible, the book of Revelation. This video focuses on the first half of the seven year Tribulation period after the Rapture of the Church. Please share this video with those you want to see in heaven.

The Revelation Art is used by permission of Pat Marvenko Smith, copyright 1992. To order art prints visit her “Revelation Illustrated” site, http://www.revelationillustrated.com. The music and movie scenes in this video are used with permission from the producers of the video entitled “The Free Gift.”