John Lesson 10

Introduction

A very pleasant good day to you, and welcome to Let the Bible speak. Get out your New Testaments and open to the reading in the third chapter of the Gospel of John as we continue our verse by verse study of this great text. We’ve been studying about the conversation that Jesus had with Nicodemus, a ruler of the Jews. In fact, in our last lesson, we studied from John chapter 3 and verse 16, where Jesus said, God so loved the world that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth on him should not perish but have everlasting life. That’s often referred to as the miniature gospel, for indeed it tells us of the greatest gift ever given. God so loved the world. Herein is love. John wrote in 1 John chapter 4 and verse 10, not that we love God, but that he loved us.

1. Saving Belief Is a Belief That Obeys

We did nothing to deserve his love and favor of us, but God so loved us that he gave his only begotten Son. We pointed out in our last study, however, that John 3.16 is sometimes abused because people have isolated it and failed to remember the context in which it is found. Not only the immediate chapter, but even of the book itself. There are some who will read John 3.16 and sort of draw the conclusion. See there, it it says that you have to believe only in order to be saved. The word only is not in John 3.16. And when you read the book of John itself, you understand that belief is comprehensive, that is saving belief, is a kind of belief that obeys. In fact, in the same conversation with Nicodemus, Jesus had just earlier said, John 3 and verse 5, Except a man be born of water and the Spirit, he cannot enter into the kingdom of God.

So there’s more than just intellectually believing or accepting that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God. One must obey. One must, in response to the Spirit’s direction, that is in obedience to the Word of God, be born of water and the Spirit. As Ephesians 5 26 says, that Christ would sanctify and cleanse us with a washing of water by the Word, as we’re baptized into Jesus Christ, that is an obedience to the Word by faith, so it is that we’re saved. And that’s really belief, saving belief. Some have concluded from John 3.16 and said, well, wait a minute. John 3.16 says nothing about baptism. It just simply says believe. Well, it says nothing about repenting either. Are we to conclude that repentance is not necessary?

It says nothing about confessing. Should we conclude that confessing Christ is not necessary? We can read other verses in the Bible and certainly find that a man who fails to repent will perish. Jesus said that, Luke 13 and 3. And a man who will not confess is going to be denied before the Father. Jesus said that in Matthew 10 33. So just because it doesn’t specify repenting, or doesn’t specify confessing, we’re not to conclude that they are not essential. You see, nothing only will say.

2. God Sent Not His Son to Condemn the World

Repentance only will not say. Confession only will not save, neither will baptism only say. But as an act of faith, as we respond to God’s love, so we believe in Christ to be the Son of God, and that involves a commitment to Him. Believing in Him, we will repent of our sins, confess our faith, and be baptized into Jesus Christ. But continue in John chapter 3, if you’re reading with us, verses 17 and 18, says, For God sent not his Son into the world to condemn the world, but that the world through him might be saved. He that believeth on him is not condemned, but he that believeth not is condemned already, because he has not believed in the name of the only begotten Son of God.

I’ve heard some respond, oh, do you do you really think that a person’s going to be lost just because he he doesn’t believe in Jesus Christ? There are many religious people in this world who do not believe Jesus to be the Christ. Our Muslim friends do not believe Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God. There are many Jews today who do not believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God. There are a lot of good moral people who do not believe that Jesus Christ is the Son of God. And one would say to you, You think they’re going to be lost just because they do not believe Jesus to be the Christ? And I’d have to graciously answer that according to the word of God, they’re lost because of sin.

Now Jesus Christ came to make the difference. Jesus Christ did not come to condemn men, he came to save men. Let me illustrate it this way. If you were out in a boat and you fell overboard, and the friend in the boat stretches out his hand to reach to save you, but you refuse to accept the hand, and you drown. Would you drown because you do not accept the outstretched hand? Well, technically, that’s not the reason you would drown. You would drown because of the water. But the outstretched hand was a means by which you could be saved. That is pull to safety. Jesus Christ is the expression of God’s outstretched hand. Extends to all men’s salvation. But we’re lost if we do not accept God’s hand.

You see, we’re lost because of sin. All men have sinned. Jesus Christ came to save those who were condemned already. In Romans chapter 3 and verse 23, all have sinned and come short of the glory of God. And the apostle in Romans 5 and verse 12 describes it this way. For by one man sin entered the world, and death by sin, and death passed upon all men. For that all have sinned. The Bible does not teach that we’re born in sin or that we inherit Adam’s sin. That’s the doctrine some teach, but the Bible teaches that we die because all have sinned. We’re creatures of choice. We’re in God’s image. Ezekiel chapter 18 and verse 20 says, The soul that sinneth it shall die. The Son shall not bear the iniquity of the Father, nor the Father bear the iniquity of the Son.

The righteousness of the righteous shall be upon him, and the wickedness of the wicked shall be upon him. Every soul is responsible for his own deeds. And if we’re lost in sin and we refuse to believe in Jesus Christ, we shall be lost. The wrath of God will abide upon us for our sin. The sins we’ve committed is that which separates us from God. In fact, if we reject the outstretched hand of God, if we reject Jesus Christ, we in effect have really judged ourselves. There’s an interesting expression in Acts chapter 13, where the Apostle Paul was preaching in the city of Antioch, and the Jews grew envious because he began to preach to Gentiles also. And he said to them, Lo, we turn to the Gentiles, seeing you put the word of God from you, and judge yourselves, unworthy of everlasting life.

Judge yourselves. My beloved, you’re judging yourself in the very strictest sense. It is true that Jesus Christ is coming again, and he will judge all men, Acts 17 31. We’ll stand before the judgment seat of Christ, 2 Corinthians chapter 5 and verse 10. But you’re judging yourself. When you come to that day, what you have done now in either receiving or rejecting Jesus Christ is going to determine where you spend eternity. Romans chapter 2, 11 says God is no respect for persons. There is no respect of persons with God. And so as we stand before him in judgment, we make the decision where we shall spend eternity. Listen to Romans 2.6. How that Christ or God will render to every man according to his deeds. To them who by patient continuance and well doing seek for glory and honor and immortality, eternal life.

That is, he’ll give them eternal life. But unto them that are contentious and do not obey the truth, but obey unrighteousness. There will be indignation and wrath, tribulation, anguish upon every soul of man that doeth evil, of the Jew first and also of the Gentile. But glory, honor, and peace to every man that worketh good, to the Jew first and also the Gentile, for there is no respect of persons with God. Jesus Christ didn’t come to condemn, he came to save. But you and I must make the choice whether we will receive him and turn to life, or whether we reject him and find ourselves for the wrath of God abiding upon us even throughout eternity. Let’s continue reading in John 3, verses 19 through 21.

3. Men Love Darkness Rather Than Light

Says, this is the condemnation that light is coming to the world, and men love darkness rather than light, because their deeds were evil. For everyone that doeth evil hateth the light, neither cometh to the light, lest his deeds should be reproved. But he that doeth truth cometh to the light, that his deeds may be made manifest, that they are wrought in God. There are those who who hate the gospel of Jesus Christ. They hate the light. But Jesus Himself explained why. That some will reject the gospel. It is because they they do not want their deeds to be reproved. There are men who quibble about Jesus Christ. Is he really God’s Son? There are those who quibble about whether God really exists or not. They quibble about whether the Bible is really the word of God or not.

But you know the real problem. The real problem is that they do not want to change. And the word of God teaches a lifestyle they do not want to accept, and they get angry at it. They hate it. If you’re honest with yourself and fairly investigate the word of God, you’ll find that it is a book that could not be written by man if man wanted to. Frankly, it would not be written by man if man could have written it. That’s why some do hate it. Because if man by his own wisdom had written it, he would have written it in a different way. He would have had a different standard of morality. He would have had a different God. He would have had a different plan of salvation.

But the wisdom of God is greater than men. In man’s eyes, it’s foolishness, 1 Corinthians 1 says. And there are those who come to it and they hate it. They hate the light. And if you are a Christian and you find yourself in this world reproved, persecuted, despised of others, remember the words of Jesus himself when he said in John chapter 15, verses 18 through 20, talking to his apostles, but he said, If the world hate you, you know that it hated me before it hated you. If ye were of the world, the world would love his own. But because ye are not of the world, but I have chosen you out of the world, therefore the world hateth you. Remember the word that I said unto you, the servant is not greater than his Lord.

If they have persecuted me, they will also persecute you. If they have kept my saying, they will keep yours also. The world hated Christ first, and it hates the followers of Christ today. It hates the light that those followers will teach, because they do not want to change their lifestyle. It’s always been that way, and it is today, and it shall continue. But just consider the reality of life. Let’s make an illustration of life itself. The sun rises every day. We have no control over it. It isn’t under man’s control, and fact it is without man’s total understanding about how it keeps it uh how the its heavenly orbit continues. We just we just know it’s there. But what if we decide that we just don’t like it?

One day it’s just too hot and we gripe and complain. Or in the wintertime it is it’s too cold, the sun isn’t shining enough, and all we can do is gripe and complain, but we never change. We do not adapt to it. You think we’re rather foolish, wouldn’t we be? A man who is truly wise, recognizes the sun is not of his control. And therefore he adapts. He puts on warmer clothing in the winter, and he puts on lighter weight clothing in the summer. He recognizes the reality of life. There are some things about which he does not have total control, and he adapts his life. Instead of arguing against it and complaining about it and refusing it, he accepts the fact that the sun sometimes is hotter than at other times.

Maybe a poor illustration, but at least in some points, you can see that the wise man today spiritually will adapt. There may be some things that you want to do that the gospel of Christ tells you that it’s wrong to do. Instead of griping and complaining and hating the light, adapt to the wisdom of God’s word. You may not understand all the wise. But the truth is, God’s wisdom is for your good, and God has given his word that we might enjoy this life to the fullest, really enjoy it. But especially in the world to come, eternal life. And that means that we must submit our lives unto his will, doing his will in his way. And when Jesus Christ teaches us to turn from sin, to walk in righteousness, it is for our good.

4. Baptizing Because There Was Much Water There

Why fight against it and oppose it? Don’t hate the light. God has turned the light on that you may have wisdom to know how truly to live in this world. Doctrinally, there are those even who have a concept that because they’re religious, it doesn’t matter what to do. And sometimes they hate the light of the gospel. They may call themselves Christians, even. I think we can illustrate the point. Let’s read the next few verses and you’ll see what I’m talking about. And ask yourself, are you really honest with the word of God? Will you accept the light of God’s word in every instance? In verse 22, the scripture says, After these things came Jesus and his disciples into the land of Judea, and there he tarried with them and baptized.

And John also was baptizing in Enon near to Salem because there was much water there, and they came and were baptized, for John was not yet cast into prison. The scripture here is simply after the discussion with Nicodemus ended, it speaks about how that Jesus went into the land of Judea and tarried, and there was some baptizing done. John was baptizing. John the Baptist is the person under discussion here. But incidentally, it just tells us why was John baptizing in Enun near to Salem? Because there was much water there. And people came and were baptized. Do you realize that in every instance that the Bible describes baptism, it’s immersion always? Do you know that the word baptism itself literally means immerse, submerge, overwhelmed to cover? That every time it is described, it is described as immersion.

Even the baptism of Jesus in Matthew chapter 3, verse 13, when he was come up straightway out of the water. He had to go down into the water to come up out of the water. Or in Acts chapter 8, verses 35 through 39, there was the Ethiopian eunuch that both Philip and the eunuch went down into the water, and he was baptized.

It is never illustrated or described as sprinkling. Does that make you mad? There are a lot of people today religiously who reject that kind of doctrine because they’ve always known sprinkling. In their church, they teach sprinkling. But the word of God always teaches it is immersion. Sprinkling is a tradition of men. It was first ordained by man in 1311 A.D. That’s that’s nearly 1,300 years too late to be the doctrine of Christ. The Bible teaches it is immersion. What do you believe? Do you hate the light of God’s word? Or will you accept what it says? I said to you, my beloved, our attitude toward God is so important. Not only in changing from the sins of immorality and worldliness, but also as we shape our lives conforming to his will, that we keep an open mind and an open Bible and do God’s will in God’s way.

5. He Must Increase, but I Must Decrease

Jesus Christ came to save. And he’s provided for us the Word of God by which we can know the light. Let’s accept it with an open heart and obey it. We’re going to pause for just a moment and come back and we’ll continue to study through the third chapter of the Gospel of John. You stay with us. John chapter 3, verses 25 through 31 give us a little narrative or insight into John the Baptist and his disciples when they came to him. And John gave another testimony that Jesus is the Christ.

Then there arose a question between some of John’s disciples and the Jews about purifying. And they came unto John and said unto him, Rabbi, he that was with thee beyond Jordan, to whom thou bearest witness, behold, the same baptizeth, and all men come to him. John answered and said, A man can receive nothing except it be given him from heaven. Ye yourselves bear me witness that I said, I am not the Christ, but that I am sent before him. He that hath the bride is the bridegroom, but the friend of the bridegroom, which standeth and heareth him, rejoiceth greatly because of the bridegroom’s voice. This my joy, therefore, is fulfilled. He must increase, but I must decrease. He that cometh from above is above all. He that is of the earth is earthly, and speaketh of the earth.

He that cometh from heaven is above all. Now you notice the language of John the Baptist giving testimony that Jesus Christ is really the bridegroom. John stood sort of like the best man. He is the friend of the bridegroom. You ever gone to a wedding? The focal point is not the best man at the wedding, but but the focal point is the groom himself. The attention is there. And there’s no envy on the part of the best men because of the groom getting all of the attention. Well, when the disciples of John really come asking him concerning about Jesus and how that the many were now going to Jesus Christ and were being baptized, and and and they were wondering, what about what about this man Jesus?

Is there a difference between John and Jesus? And John explained. In fact, this is not the first time, but he said, You can bear me witness. You may remember as we read back in John chapter 1, verses 29 through about 35, where Jesus testified, John testified that Jesus is the Lamb of God. Jesus is the Son of God. He is the one of whom God had promised that should come, the promised Messiah. And so even here, John the Baptist says, He is above all. He is from heaven. Jesus Christ must increase, I must decrease. Perhaps we can make a parallel in our own lives, as John the Baptist so described that Christ was increased in our own lives. We should give all the glory to Christ and not to ourselves.

There’s a beautiful song we we sometimes sing that that starts off at all of self and none of thee. And the next line goes, Some of self and some of thee. And the third line goes, less of self and more of thee. But it finishes in the way that the mature Christian really understands, and that is none of self and all of thee. Let Jesus Christ increase in our life as we grow in faith and mature. We give ourselves totally and completely to him. But continuing in John chapter 3 and verse 32 through 35, the scripture said, What he hath seen and heard, that he testifieth, and no man receiveth his testimony. He that hath received his testimony hath set to his seal that God is true.

6. The Father Hath Given All Things Into His Hand

For he whom God hath sent speaketh the words of God. For God giveth not the Spirit by measure unto him. The Father loved the Son and hath given all things into his hand. The Spirit was given to Christ not by measure. You may recall how that in the first century the disciples were given gifts as the apostles laid hands on them. Spiritual gifts were imparted. 1 Corinthians chapter 12. In fact, verses 7 through 9 describes nine different spiritual gifts that were given. And they were different parts, that different ones were given different measures of the Spirit. But Jesus Christ did not have a part or just a measure or gift of the Holy Spirit, but it was given without measure in the fullness. God was bearing witness through him that he is the Son of God.

By many miracles and wonders and signs, God did bear witness. That’s Acts chapter 2 and verse 22. But John the Baptist even testifies it that Christ is speaking the things of heaven. In fact, verse 35, notice clearly, the Father loveth the Son and hath given all things into his hand. Now there are those today who say they accept Jesus as a prophet, all right, but they would uh accept Christ as one of several prophets. Our Muslim friends, for example, say that Mohammed was a prophet. Jesus came first in Mohammed about six hundred years later, and that we ought to follow the words of Muhammad. They accept Christ as of God, but not the divine Son of God, not the one to whom all things were given.

They reject him, really, in the position that the gospel of John presents him, as the one above all. Jesus Christ Himself said, when he ascended into heaven in Matthew 28 and verse 18, all authority or all power hath been given unto me both in heaven and in earth. And in Ephesians chapter 1, verses 22 and 3, the scripture speaks how that God hath put all things under his feet, and gave him to be head over all things of the church, which is his body, the fullness of him that filleth all in all. Jesus Christ is the Lamb of God. The Bible only speaks about one Lamb of God, not several. Jesus Christ is the one of whom the Father said in his baptism, this is my beloved Son, in whom I’m well pleased.

He did not say I have one of many sons, and this is Jesus one of many. This is my beloved Son. The only begotten Son of God, the Bible says.

In fact, look at the next verse. That’s what it says. John 3 36, he that believeth on the Son hath everlasting life. And he that believeth not the Son shall not see life. But the wrath of God abideth on him. Many today do not want to talk about the wrath of God. They only want to talk about the love of God, and they make out as though everybody’s going to be saved. Well, it is true that God loves everybody, and his grace is for all men. Titus chapter 2, 11, though, that says the grace of God that bringeth salvation hath appeared to all men, teaching us that denying ungodliness and word of lust we should live soberly, righteously and godly in this present world. You want to be saved by the grace of God, then you need to follow the instructions.

If you’re going to walk be saved by grace, it’ll take faith on your part, and faith on your part means to obey what God says. And without accepting Christ with obedient faith. You have the wrath of God abiding. Wrath because of sin that you have committed. You’ll drown because of the water. You’ll be lost because of sin. But through Christ is the outstretched hand of salvation. You know the difference between the lost and the saved? Belief. Jesus said in John 8 and 24, Except ye believe that I am He, ye shall die in your sins. Except you believe, you’ll die in your sin. You see, here is the salvation. As this verse says in verse 36, He that believeth not the Son shall not see life.

Conclusion

What a great passage, therefore, John 3.16 is. God so loved the world that he gave his only begotten Son that whosoever believeth in him should not perish but have everlasting life. Have you come to him for salvation for eternal life? Won’t you put him on? Galatians three, twenty-six and 7 says you’re the children of God by faith, as many as been baptized into Christ have put on Christ. We bid you, dearly beloved, to accept the Christ and obedient faith. Until our next study, may the grace and peace of our Lord be with you.