Now let's open our Bibles back
to the passage that Brother Mark just read in John chapter 3. John chapter 3 is one of those
passages of scripture where just about everybody who has any knowledge
of the Bible knows one verse. And the rest of the verses they
kind of just ignore. And that one verse, obviously,
is John 3.16. Often in sports events, you'll
see people who will hold up signs, John 3.16. And I've even seen
where some of the players would write it on their foreheads or
something like that. And obviously, John 3.16 is God's
word. It's a good verse. For God so
loved the world. Now, the word world there is
the word for God's creation. It's the word you heard the word
cosmos. That's what it is. God created
a world. And it was his intention not
to totally destroy what he created, but to save what he created. And he says, God so loved the
world that he gave his only begotten son. That's his way of salvation
is his only begotten son, the God man, the Lord Jesus Christ. And then he qualifies it with
this, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but
have everlasting life. Now I'm going to come back to
that. But my text today is verse 21, the last verse that Brother
Mark read. But let's read it in the context.
I want to begin at verse 18. Listen to what is being said
here. He that believeth on him. Now who's the him there? That's
Christ. the only begotten Son of God. Believing on Christ,
he that believeth on him is not condemned. Now what he's saying
is that if you believe in the Lord Jesus Christ, and I always
add this because there are counterfeits now. Now there are counterfeit
Christ. He who believes in the Lord Jesus
Christ as Christ is identified and distinguished in this book
here. Who he is and what he accomplished when he died on the cross. Who
is he? He's God manifest in the flesh. That's who Jesus Christ is. He's
God-man. He's not part God and part man. He's not a little God or a bigger
man. He's God-man. You say, that's
a mind-boggling truth, and I can't wrap my mind around it, and I
say, welcome to the club. That is an awesome truth, isn't
it? But that's who our Savior is. Fully God and fully man without
sin. And I really think about it this
way. I'm sort of glad we can't wrap
our minds around it because that's deity, that's God, and we're
just limited, aren't we? So he that believeth on him is
not condemned. So he who believes on Christ,
not only who he is, but what did he actually accomplish when
he died? He didn't die to try to save
you and me. He died to save his people from their sins. It was
an atonement. It was a reconciliation. It was
a propitiation. It was a satisfaction to God's
justice. And when it talks about God's
love, God so loved the world, That means that God determined
to save what he created through his son and his love provided
in his son what his justice demanded, the death of a substitute, the
death of a surety. And those who believe on him,
I can tell you, if you really believe on him, you're not condemned. You cannot be condemned. Why? Romans 8.1, there is therefore
now no condemnation to them which are in Christ Jesus, who walk
not after the flesh, but after the spirit. And that's the key. In Christ. How do I know if I'm in Christ?
Well, he says here, he that believeth on him, you trust in him for
all salvation. You trust in him for all righteousness. You're not looking to yourself
to establish a righteousness of your own, you're looking to
Christ for all righteousness. In other words, how many times
have I said it? The main problem with us is we're
sinners, that means God is righteous and we're not. So the question
comes, how can a sinner, an unrighteous person, be righteous in God's
sight? Because you must be, I must be. And there's only one way, through
the death of a substitute, taking my place as my surety and paying
my debt to God's law and justice. And that's what Christ did. Now
he goes on in verse 18, but he that believeth not is condemned
already. What that tells you is you're
not condemned because you don't believe. It says, if you go through
this life, that's what he's talking about. It's a person who goes
through their life and never comes to faith in Christ. Remember,
faith comes by hearing and hearing by the Word of God. Romans 10,
17. In other words, you've got to hear the Gospel and the power
of the Spirit and He brings you to faith. But if you never come
to faith in Christ, you will live and die condemned under
the sentence of condemnation which leads to eternal death.
Look at verse 36 of this chapter. He that believeth on the Son
hath everlasting life. You see, there's life in Christ
alone. Remember, he told Lazarus' sister,
Martha, he said, I am the resurrection, I am the life. And he that believeth
not the Son shall not see life, but the wrath of God abideth
on him. That's condemnation. That's talking about a person
who never comes to faith in Christ. Now go back to verse 18, he says,
He that believeth not is condemned already, because he hath not
believed in the name of the only begotten Son of God. Now don't
misunderstand that. The name doesn't mean just a
label. You know, a lot of people think
that there's some kind of a magical, mystical power in just saying
a name. Jesus. You know, like if a vampire
gets after you, just say Jesus and he'll flee away. That's crazy,
you know that. or hold up a cross and all that junk. That's myth. All that is the concoctions and
imaginations of men who have nothing better to do. The name Jesus means salvation. Christ means Messiah, the anointed
one. And his name is that which identifies
him and distinguishes him from anything else. There's no other
savior. There are not many ways to God, folks. There's only one
way, and it's the way of Christ. And it's by his blood and righteousness
alone. What can wash away my sins? What's
the next word? Nothing but the blood of Jesus. And that means nothing but the
blood of Jesus. Nothing means nothing. Now, if
there's anything else, we'd have to say, what can wash away my
sins? Some people would sing, tears of repentance and the blood
of Jesus. No, it's nothing but the blood
of Jesus. Well, verse 19. This is the condemnation. That light has come into the
world and men love darkness rather than light because their deeds
were evil. Now, when it says their deeds
were evil, what you have to understand here is what kind of deeds is
he talking about and in whose sight is it evil? And these deeds
that he's talking about have to do with people's efforts to
keep the law. Deeds, he says. He doesn't say
sins, but they are sinful. He says deeds. Remember the scripture
says, by deeds of law shall no flesh be justified. That means
by the, by a person's efforts to keep the law, he can, he or
she cannot be made right with God, cannot be forgiven, cannot
be saved, cannot be justified, cannot be born again by the deeds
of the law. And those deeds that are aimed
at doing those things are evil in the sight of God. You see, that which is highly
esteemed among men is an abomination to God because they don't glorify
God. They glorify man. They don't
exalt Christ. They deny Christ. You see, if
I'm trying to be saved by my works, then I'm denying the work
of Christ. You understand that? If I'm trying
to be righteous by my works, then I'm denying his righteousness.
He came to fulfill all righteousness because I'm a sinner. The scripture
says, if righteousness come by the law, by my deeds, then Christ
died in vain. He came for nothing. Back up
here in verse 13 of John 3, it says, no man hath ascended up
to heaven. What does that mean? No man,
no sinful fallen person can reach heaven. by what they do. But he that came down from heaven,
even the son of man, which is in heaven, if we're going to
find salvation, it's got to come down to us. We can't get up to
it. That's what he's saying. God has to send it. God has to
intervene and interrupt our busy lives. That's what he has to
do. And he does for his people. Look at verse 20. He says, for
everyone that doeth evil, hateth the light. Now, what is the light?
We're gonna talk about that. Neither cometh to the light,
lest his deeds should be reproved. That word reproved means to be
discovered, uncovered, exposed. See, the gospel light, that's
what he's talking about, reveals some beautiful things, but it
exposes some ugly things. And that's what the world hates.
Verse 21, now this is my main text. But he that doeth truth,
that's the title of the message, doing truth. That's an interesting
way to put it, doing truth. How do you do truth? Somebody
said, well, we gotta be truthful, we gotta be honest, we gotta
believe the truth, but how do you do it? Well, that's what
he's talking about, believing. That's how you do truth, you
believe it. You walk in the light of it.
But he says, but he that doeth truth cometh to the light, that
his deeds may be made manifest. To be made manifest means that
they're made known. And what do we know about them?
It says that they are wrought in or by God. That word wrought
means they are work. This is the working of God. That's
what he's saying. In other words, the deeds of
those who do truth are not their own works, but it's the work
of God. It's kind of like when Paul wrote
in Ephesians chapter 2 and verse 10, he said, for we are his workmanship
created in Christ Jesus unto, not because of, but unto good
works, which God hath before ordained that we should walk
in them. So notice here in this last passage here, there is a
distinct separation of persons in this verse, in these verses.
There are those who hate the light and those who walk in the
light, who do truth. A distinct separation here, right?
Well, what is the truth? You remember Pontius Pilate when
he had Christ up before him? Remember, he asked that question,
what is truth? There's a lot of people today
that ask that question. You know why they ask that question?
Well, I'm not gonna throw big words out to you, but it's because
of what I call relativist. They don't believe there's any
absolute truth. In other words, and it's common in so-called
churches today. In other words, a person will
give, they'll give you the idea that what may be true for you
may not be true for me. And what's true for me may not
be true for you. And that's how they approach
the scriptures. They go in and they read that verse and say,
oh, the Lord spoke to me and he told me this. And somebody,
the person comes in and they say, well, the Lord spoke to
me and he told me that. Well, which is right, this or
that? Especially when they clash, why do you think there's so many
denominations today that read the same Bible, claim to believe
the same Bible, because some believe this and others believe
that? Well, who's right? Well, I gotta tell you, it takes
a little time and effort to find out. Most of which people won't
take that time and effort. I just want it simple, plain,
and easy. One, two, three. One, two, three, tell me what
to do, shut me up to heaven. That's about it. But that's not
the way it works. Bible says, seek ye the Lord.
Where am I going to seek him in his word? And I always remind
people, you know, there are rules of interpreting this word. It's not just everybody go off
in their own little corner and just say, well, what do you get
out of it? Well, it says here that by nature, everyone hates
the light. Truth is the light. That's what he's talking about,
light. Over in John chapter one, we won't turn there, but it tells
us that Christ himself is the light. He's the one who gives light. And it's the light of the truth
in the gospel, which reveals what 2 Corinthians 4, 6 calls
the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face
of Jesus Christ. And it reveals that beautiful
truth of how God saves sinners. God is holy. God is just. God is righteous. We're not. How are we going to be made righteous?
Here's the beautiful truth. By his grace, through the righteousness
of Christ. The gospel is the revelation,
the revealing of that light. And it's called the righteousness
of God in him. Why did he have to come and die? Because his people, given to
him by God before the foundation of the world, fell in Adam, are
born in sin, and we sin. And God must punish sin. Listen, God is a just God. He must do what's right. He requires
perfection. Why? Because he's unreasonable
and mean and just wants to play with? No. He requires perfection
because he's God. And he can require no less. You know why you require certain
things of your children and your grandchildren? Because you're
you. And you try not to be unreasonable,
God's perfect. So this light reveals the beautiful
truth of the gospel that salvation, justification before God, blessings
from God is based upon a righteousness that we have no part in producing. But one that came down from heaven. in the person of the Lord Jesus
Christ the God-man and who walked this earth in strict obedience
to the law and died on the cross to pay the debt, sin debt, satisfied
justice, righteousness in Him. Now where else? But now that
same light which reveals that beautiful truth also exposes
the ugly truth that man's deeds by nature are evil. And again,
I emphasize, evil not in man's sight. You take a man like Nicodemus
here. He was a Pharisee, seemingly
a humble man, one who was a teacher, one who was religious and sincere.
But Christ said, you must be born again or you can't see the
reality, see the light, see the kingdom of heaven. And what was he telling Nicodemus?
He said, Nicodemus, all your efforts, To be righteous are
evil in the sight of God. Because they're based on unbelief
and self-righteousness. Nicodemus could say, well, I'm
doing the best I can. Well, the best you can do will
not make you righteous, and the best, if you think it does, you
deny Christ. You deny God's glory. The light of the knowledge of
the glory of God. You know, darkness is a lie.
It's a false gospel. Light is the truth, the true
gospel. Christ said this in John 8, 32, you shall know the truth
and the truth shall make you free. So in that vein, look at
verse 21. He that doeth truth cometh to
the light. How do I know if I'm doing truth?
Well, what is it to do truth? Well, it means to believe the
light of the gospel of Christ, to walk in that light, to rest
in that light, to love that light, and that those deeds, whatever
you do in honor of Christ for the glory of God, that's made
known that that's the work of God. A sinner saved by grace
is not a self-made person. A sinner saved by grace is the
work of God. Listen, if you believe the gospel,
if you do truth, if you walk in the light, you're a miracle
of God's grace, God's power. You're not the product of your
works. You're not even the product of your will. And I'm going to
show you that in just a moment. You say, well, I decided. Well,
you did. But God had already decided even
before you were born. Scripture teaches. That's what
the Bible teaches. I know people don't like to hear that, but
that's what it teaches. That word doing there can be
used of creating something. In fact, in the Greek Old Testament
that was written years ago, a long time ago, when it talks about
God creating the earth in Genesis 1, it uses this term, this exact
Greek word. But it also means that a continual
action is being performed here by one The practice or the habit
that God has brought him to. You see, we don't create truth.
God is truth. Christ said, I'm the way, the
truth, and the life. But it means doing and abiding
in the truth. Describes a doer or a performer
speaking of one who does what is prescribed, such as one who
believes, who keeps, and walks in truth, walks in the gospel
light, resting in Christ, looking unto Jesus, the author and finisher
of our faith, continually walking in Him and in the light of His
truth. Now, remember I said at first there's a distinct separation
here. There are those who hate the
light, those who do truth, love the light. What or who makes
the difference? Well, Christ had already told
Nicodemus, you must be born again or you can't even see the light.
You can't even see the kingdom of God. Turn over to John chapter
one. And look at verse 11. This is after it talks about
Christ being the light. And it says in John 1 11, he
came into his own and his own received him not. Now that describes
all of us by nature. Verse 12, but as many as received
him, to them gave he power. Now the word power there does
not mean ability. The word power there means the
right. In other words, here's what he's
saying, all right, do you claim to be a Christian? Do you claim
to be a child of God? Do you claim to be saved? What
right do you have to make that claim? So he says, but as many as received
him. Now that receiving him is the
same as doing truth, walking in the truth. To them gave he
the right to be called literally the sons of God, even to them
that believe on his name, there's that name again, which were born
not of blood. In other words, it didn't come
down through natural generation. Nor the will of the flesh, that's
the works of the flesh. They weren't born again by the
works of the flesh, nor of the will of man. It didn't come by
our will, but of God. You see, turn back over to John
three. You know, people talk about free
will. Okay. You have the freedom to choose
whatever you desire, don't you? You may not have the ability
to attain what you desire, but you have the freedom to choose
it. That doesn't mean you have a free will, because I want to
tell you something that I believe everybody who's reasonable will
agree with me on this. Let me tell you something that
your will is not free from. It's not free from you. Right? It's not free from you. Why do some people prefer this
food and others don't? It's who they are. Why do you
prefer the Georgia Bulldogs to the Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets?
We all have our preferences. We all make choices. Sometimes
we make good choices. Sometimes we make terrible choices.
But we're never free from ourselves. And what does the Bible say about
ourselves? We fell in Adam. We're born dead
in trespasses and sins, and we don't want God's way.
We sin and we don't want God's way of salvation. You say, well,
it says here, everyone that doeth evil hateth the light. Men love
darkness rather than light. Who's that talking about? Oh,
that's talking about some vile segment of society. No, it's
talking about me and you before we were born again. If you don't
believe the gospel, If you don't rest in Christ for all righteousness,
I can tell you one thing, you hate the light because it's going
to tell you that what you are trusting in is a lie. And it's even evil in God's sight. What's the only thing that will
bring about salvation? Look at verse 14. Now he's already said that you
cannot work or earn or achieve your way to heaven. In other
words, if you're going to be saved in the kingdom of heaven,
it's got to come down to you from above. That's Christ. How
do you know that? Look at verse 14. As Moses lifted
up the serpent in the wilderness, even so must the Son of Man be
lifted up. You know that's referring to
the where Moses, you know, where the children of Israel were being
punished by God with poisonous snakes. And he told Moses, Moses
interceded for him, and he told Moses to make a serpent of breast,
lift it up on a pone, tell every one of the Israelites, whoever
looks will live. And that was a picture of Christ,
a shadow, a prophecy of Christ. Look to Christ and you'll live.
By nature we won't look, because looking to Him means looking
away from everything else we love. That's why we hate the
lie. We love our works, we love our
experiences, we love our dreams. So he says Christ must be lifted
up. Now how was Christ lifted up?
Well, he was lifted up on the cross to die for the sins of
his sheep. There's the ground of salvation.
There's righteousness established. What he accomplished. And verse
15, here's the fruit of it. Look at it. Verse 15, this is
the fruit of what Christ did. That whosoever believeth in him
should not perish but have eternal life. Faith is a gift from God
that comes from the death of Christ. It's the fruit of what
Christ did. And why did God do all this?
Verse 16, for God so loved the world, his creation. That's not
talking about everybody without exception. I can show you a verse
where it says the whole world lies in the wicked one. He's
not talking about everybody without exception there either. Because
that starts off, we know we are of God, but the whole world lies
in the wicked one. Separation. God's going to save
his creation. How's he going to do it? He's
going to save his people from their sins. Whoever he desires
and chooses to save. And he says that he gave his
only begotten son, there's the ground of it again, that whosoever
believeth in him, there's the fruit of it, should not perish,
but have everlasting life. For God sent not his son into
the world to condemn the world, but that the world through him
might be saved. The world was already condemned,
we fell in Adam. Christ didn't have to come to
condemn the world. In fact, if God's purpose was
to condemn all of creation, to snuff out what He created, He
wouldn't have had to have sent Christ. He just left it alone. Destroyed
it. But God has a people. And you know what makes the difference
in the lives of His people? It's the death of His Son. It's
the grace of God and the righteousness of His Son. It's because of His
obedience unto death as the surety and substitute of His people
that results in righteousness that demands their eternal life. And the Bible is clear. We by
nature will not believe and receive salvation. Salvation is a gift.
Somebody said, we were talking about this several weeks ago,
salvation says that, or people say salvation is a gift that
must be received. Yes, but it's a gift by nature
that men don't want. They don't want it. Why? Because they hate the light.
Somebody said to me one time, he said, I've never hated the
light, I've always loved the truth. Well, the Bible says otherwise. And it says also that kind of
thinking is self-righteous, iniquity, and evil. Now how do you feel
about it now? Well, why do people hate the
light? Because it goes against our natural
grain, our natural desires, our natural will, which is at least
in bondage to us. The will's not free from you,
but he that doeth truth. Do you do truth? Do you believe
in the Lord Jesus Christ? Do you rest in him for all salvation,
for all righteousness, and for all life? Well, that's our prayer
for all of us, isn't it? We pray, God, bring us to a saving
knowledge of Christ, to see the light of the knowledge of the
glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ.