Category: John 3

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John John 3

Who we want people to follow

John

Discipleship. The more I think about it, the more important I realize it is. But what is the goal of discipleship?

Too often, people get wrapped up in making disciples of themselves. They want others to look at them for all the answers. To be their guide for life.

It becomes almost a point of pride. “Look at all those who follow me.”

But our goal shouldn’t be to make people our disciples, but Christ’s.

This was something that John the Baptist understood very clearly. We saw this earlier when he pointed out Jesus to a couple of his disciples and essentially said, “He is the one you are to follow. Go.” (John 1:35-36)

We see it again here. Jesus had begun his ministry and his disciples had started baptizing people in his name (that is, by his authority). And more people started going to him than they were to John.

John’s disciples began to get a bit agitated about this, especially when others started to point this out, and they came to John saying,

Rabbi, that man who was with you on the other side of the Jordan–the one you testified about–well, he is baptizing, and everyone is going to him. (John 3:26)

I wonder how John’s disciples expected him to act. Did they expect him to get upset? Did they think his pride would be wounded?

But John told his disciples,

A man can receive only what is given him from heaven. You yourselves can testify that I said, ‘I am not the Christ but am sent ahead of him.’

The bride belongs to the bridegroom. The friend who attends the bridegroom waits and listens for him, and is full of joy when he hears the bridegroom’s voice.

That joy is mine, and it is now complete. He must become greater; I must become less. (John 3:27-30)

In short, “My whole life was dedicated to this one purpose. To prepare the way for Christ. To point others to him.

In a wedding, the best man isn’t the important one. The groom is. He rejoices when all his preparations for the groom have been completed, the wedding is about to begin, and the groom is about to take center stage.

That’s how I feel. I’ve done my job. Now Jesus must take his rightful position in people’s lives. As for me, it’s time for me to fade into the background.”

That’s what discipling is all about. It’s not to be a person’s life-long mentor, constantly directing their steps. It’s to point them to Christ. To help prepare their hearts so that they can know who Jesus is. To teach them all you know and all you’ve learned in your walk with Christ.

And when you have done so, to tell them, “It’s time to go now. I’ve done all I can for you. You follow Jesus,” and then slowly fade into the background.

There comes a point in any discipleship relationship when you simply must decrease so that Christ may increase in their lives.

As John points out, we are from the earth and we speak from the earth. In other words, our experiences are limited as is our knowledge.

But Jesus had no such limitations because he was from heaven and completely filled with God’s Spirit. And because of that, he is above all. More than that, he is the one that gives life, not us.

So let us point others to him. Let us teach them to be Jesus’ disciples. And then watch with joy as Jesus leads them where he may.

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John John 3

Stepping out into the light

John

I mentioned in my last blog that we are not in danger of being condemned if we reject Christ. We are already condemned. Judgment has already been passed.

And in this passage, we see the verdict that was passed against us. John writes,

This is the verdict: Light has come into the world, but men loved darkness instead of light because their deeds were evil. (John 3:19)

In other words, Light came into the world through Christ. He showed us who God is. He showed us God’s will for our lives.

But men loved the evil they were doing, even though they knew it was wrong; even though deep in their hearts, they knew their actions bring about shame.

As a result, they remained in darkness and would not embrace the Light. Instead, they rejected him. And for that they stand condemned.

How about you? Are you willing to step out into the Light of Christ? To no longer walk in actions that you know deep down are wrong and are shameful, but to walk with Christ in the Light? To live by his truth?

When we do so, we no longer need to fear God, but can stand boldly before him. John writes,

Whoever lives by the truth comes into the light, so that it may be seen plainly that what he has done has been done through God. (John 3:21)

I don’t know about you, but that’s the kind of relationship I want before God. No shame. No guilt. But walking freely and confidently before him, bathed in his love and grace.

Some people fear to come into the light because they’re afraid of what they might lose if what they’re doing is exposed.

So they stay away from church. They stay away from the Word of God. Or if they read it, they stay away from the passages that they know will expose them.

But God loves you. He wants your best. And while you may think you’re losing something that you love or need by surrendering it to God, you actually gain something so much greater.

The question comes down to this: Will you trust him? Will you trust that he is looking out for your best? Will you trust that he actually knows what is best?

Because until you believe that, you will never step out into the light.

God proved his love for you by sending his Son.

For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life. (John 3:16)

If he did that for you, can’t you trust him with everything else in your life?

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John John 3

The other side of the gospel

John

The word “gospel,” as most people know, means “good news.”

But the good news can’t really be understood until you understand the bad news. What is the bad news? It’s found in verse 18 of this passage.

Whoever does not believe (in Jesus as their Lord and Savior) stands condemned already. (John 3:18)

Ever since the time of Adam, every single member of the human race has stood condemned. Why? Because we failed to trust in God, and as a result, we turned our backs on him, and started going our own way.

Why is that a problem?

In Romans 6:23, it says,

“For the wages of sin is death.”

We are not in danger of death row. We are on death row, because all of us have sinned. Judgment has already been passed.

So it says in verse 17 that when Jesus came to this earth, he didn’t come to condemn us because we were condemned already. It’s a bit redundant to condemn a person that’s already condemned.

That’s the other side of the gospel. It’s a side that we don’t like to talk about very much.

If you don’t believe in Jesus, you’re not going to be condemned by God in the future. You already stand condemned.

How often do we think about that? That right here, right now, many of our family, friends, and neighbors already stand condemned before God.

Some of you as you read this also stand condemned before God because of your sin.

It’s not a pleasant thought. But that’s where the good news comes in.

For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life.

For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but to save the world through him. (John 3:16-17)

God loved us so much that he sent his Son to save us. Jesus took our punishment for us.

Now he asks a simple question. “Will you trust me? Will you put your faith in Jesus and his work on the cross for the forgiveness of your sins?”

There is only one way off of death row, for you and for those you love. It’s through Jesus Christ. And John writes,

Whoever believes in him is not condemned. (John 3:18a)

When we put our trust in Christ, God forgives us our sin. Not because of anything we have done. But because of what Christ has done for us.

And he looks at us and says, “Because my Son has paid the penalty for your sin, I no longer condemn you.”

Again, it’s not that God says “I won’t condemn you in the future (although of course, that’s true). But God says right here and right now, ‘You are not condemned.'”

But if you choose to reject Jesus, you are on death row and the clock is ticking. John concludes by saying,

Whoever does not believe stands condemned already because he has not believed in the name of God’s one and only Son. (John 3:18b)

What will you do?

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John John 3

How to be born again

3 crosses John 3:16

In my last blog, we saw Jesus explaining to Nicodemus the need to be born again.  That we can’t work our way into heaven any more than we can work our way into the physical world.

In both cases, we need to be born into these kingdoms.  One is primarily through the efforts of our mother (physical birth) and the other solely through the work of the Holy Spirit (spiritual birth).

Nicodemus, for all his knowledge of scripture, had trouble wrapping his brain around this concept.

All his life, he had been trying to earn his way into heaven.  To keep the law of God to a T.

But here Jesus is completely tossing out that idea, and so Nicodemus asks,

How can this be?  (John 3:9)

In other words, “I don’t understand.  I’ve dedicated my life to the law.  And now you’re saying that to enter God’s kingdom depends solely on the Spirit’s work, and not mine?”

To this day, people from basically every religion ask the same thing.

All their lives they were taught they had to earn God’s favor by doing good works, and so they have a hard time wrapping their minds around the idea that salvation is a free gift.  It seems…too easy.

Jesus chides Nicodemus for his lack of understanding, saying,

You are Israel’s teacher…and do you not understand these things?  (10)

Had Nicodemus truly understood the words of the prophets (Jeremiah and Ezekiel, as I mentioned in the last blog), he should have understood Jesus’ words.

Because he didn’t, Jesus went even further back in scripture to a well-known story in Jewish history.

While the Israelites were wandering in the desert after having escaped Egypt, they started complaining against God and Moses.

Because of their rebellion, God sent snakes which bit the people and caused many to die.  When the Israelites repented, God told Moses to set up a bronze snake on a pole, and that everyone who looked up to it would live.

They didn’t have to do good works in order to live.  They simply needed to believe in what God had said.

The ones that chose to believe and looked at the snake lived.  The ones that chose to continue in their unbelief died.

Jesus told Nicodemus, “In the same way, you don’t work to earn your way to eternal life.  All you have to do is look to me, and put your faith in me when I go to the cross to die for your sins.

“Just as the snake was lifted up and all who believed in what God had said lived, so I will be lifted up, and all who believe in me will live.”

It’s not clear if the conversation with Nicodemus ends here and John is simply expositing on Jesus’ teaching, or if Jesus actually says the next few words (there are no quotation marks in Greek).

But either way, these words are the most famous in the Bible.

For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life. (John 3:16)

How are we born again?  By simply putting our faith in Jesus.  By believing that he died on the cross to take the punishment for our sin.

Sin is essentially saying, “God I don’t trust you.”

So the remedy to sin is not good works.  It’s turning around and saying, “God I trust you.”

And the first area that you need to say, “God I trust you,” is in putting your faith in Jesus for your salvation.

Have you done so?

Father God, I admit I have sinned.  I have been living my own way, instead of trusting you and doing things your way.  Forgive me.

Jesus thank you for dying for my sin.  Please come into my life and be my Lord.  I want to trust you from now on in every area of my life and to live your way.

Holy Spirit, every day, please lead me, guide me, and change me.  In Jesus’ name, amen.

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John John 3

Born again

John

We now come to one of the most famous passages in scripture.

In the States and most Western countries, most people have at least heard the idea of being born again even if they don’t understand it. But what does it mean, really?

In this passage, a Pharisee named Nicodemus came to Jesus to consult with him.

Jesus had already apparently started performing miracles apart from the one at Cana, and so Nicodemus, unlike most of his peers, had gained some respect for Jesus, recognizing that he must be from God.

What was his main purpose in seeking out Jesus? It’s hard to say.

Certainly, he was not ready to become a full-on follower of Jesus as he sought Jesus at night when no one could see him. But lack of boldness notwithstanding, he did come to Jesus.

And after he greeted Jesus with a few words that he no doubt intended to be gracious, Jesus cut right to the chase, saying,

I tell you the truth, no one can see the kingdom of God unless he is born again. (John 3:3)

The words stunned Nicodemus. Like I said, he was a Pharisee, a group of people that dedicated their lives to keeping the law. For them, that was their ticket to heaven.

But Jesus said, “No, the ticket to heaven is not in your works. You must instead be born again.”

Nicodemus had no idea what Jesus was talking about, and he asked,

How can a man be born when he is old…Surely he cannot enter a second time into his mother’s womb to be born! (John 3:4)

Here we see a problem that Jesus often faced, and we see it throughout the gospels, especially in John. Jesus is giving a spiritual truth, but the people who are hearing it can’t get past their material way of thinking.

How often are we the same? Unable to see spiritual truths because we are too focused on the physical things of this earth?

At any rate Jesus confused him even more saying,

I tell you the truth, no one can enter the kingdom of God unless he is born of water and the Spirit. (John 3:5)

There are many explanations for being “born of water.”

I think it refers back to Ezekiel 36:25-27. There God talks about sprinkling us with water, and the meaning there is to wash us clean of our sins. He then says that he will put a new heart and spirit in us.

That’s what it means to be “born again.” To have a completely new heart and spirit. One that wants to please God.

That’s why Jesus tells Nicodemus,

You should not be surprised at my saying, ‘You must be born again.’ (John 3:7)

In order to become part of this earthly “kingdom,” you need to be born in it. You don’t work your way into this world. You are simply born into it.

And in the same way, to be part of God’s kingdom, you need to be born into it.

You can’t work your way into it. You are simply born into it.

How? You need to be born of the Spirit. That’s why God told the Jews in Ezekiel that he would give us his Holy Spirit to dwell within us.

Physical birth comes primarily through the work of the mother. Spiritual birth comes through the work of the Spirit.

Jesus then compares the Spirit to the wind. You can see the effect of the wind, but you can’t see the wind itself.

In the same way, the Spirit works in human hearts, changing them from the inside out. We can’t see him physically as he does his work. We merely see the effects.

And as he works in our hearts, we change into completely new people. We are born again.

Nicodemus should have known this. Jeremiah talked about this transformation that God would bring about (Jeremiah 31:31-34). So did Ezekiel, as we saw earlier.

But instead Nicodemus was stuck in the misconception that he had to earn his salvation.

How about you? Are you still trying to work your way into heaven? Or have you been born again?