Hope for Darkness-Loving Light-Haters
The Gospel of John • Sermon • Submitted
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John 3:16-21
You know, the gospel is offensive. Really really offensive.
I want to tell you a quick story.
There was a man and a woman who got married. Within the first few years of the marriage they had their first baby. A beautiful baby was born and everything seemed perfect. But there was a massive problem. The child was cloaked in spiritual darkness with a heart full of pitch-black sinful rebellion against God. The father and the mother could not see this problem with their eyes because the child looked perfectly healthy, but the reality was that this baby was a natural born sin-lover and God-hater. This is the story of me, this is the story of you, and this is the story of every person on earth.
There is a reason why the seeker-sensitive church movement has created so many false converts. It tries to make the gospel more palatable for unbelievers by stressing the love of God and downplaying the sin of man and the wrath of God.
We must NEVER present the gospel to unbelievers without telling them of the wrath of God against sinners. Any gospel presentation that says that you can be saved in Christ while leaving out what you can be saved from is no presentation of the true gospel at all.
(vv.16-18a) The Light came to give life
He came in love
Literally- “For God loved the world in this way”
Romans 5:8- but God shows his love for us in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us.
1 John 4:9- In this the love of God was made manifest among us, that God sent his only Son into the world, so that we might live through him.
He came for the purpose of saving, not condemning
If he wanted to condemn He would have not come at all
John 5:45- Do not think that I will accuse you to the Father. There is one who accuses you: Moses, on whom you have set your hope.
(v.18b) Certain condemnation for every unbeliever
Sin deserves eternal punishment
Every person has sinned and is under God’s omnipotent wrath
Romans 1:18- For the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men, who by their unrighteousness suppress the truth.
John 3:36- Whoever believes in the Son has eternal life; whoever does not obey the Son shall not see life, but the wrath of God remains on him.
The justice of God will be upheld
Revelation 20:15- And if anyone's name was not found written in the book of life, he was thrown into the lake of fire.
This doctrine is under attack today
Many popular teachers and preachers today either obscure this or completely deny it
(vv.19-20) That natural man: darkness-loving Light-haters
We have a major problem- we love darkness and hate the light
There is not one person on planet earth who wasn’t born a God-hater and darkness-lover
Love darkness
Our natural disposition is toward sin
We love sin because we are mastered by it
Hate the Light
The last thing our darkened hearts want is for light to shine into them and reveal the awful filth and stench of our rotting hearts
Romans 1:21-25- Bible
We need to change the way we see ourselves and the unbelievers around us
We often fail to talk to our “sweet and kind-hearted” unbelieving neighbor because surely she will be okay at the judgment
We need to wake up to the depravity of man, the grace of God, and the power of the gospel
(v.21) He is able: turning from darkness to light
Believers are utterly changed by grace
This happens at New Birth
We are given Spiritual life
We truly see the Light for the first time
We begin to love the Light more than anything
We walk in the accord with the Light because:
He is most precious
He is most valuable
He is most beautiful
He is most satisfying
He is the only One worthy of your praise
Believers walk in the Light
Verse 21 could literally be translated “in order that it may be made clear that his works have been accomplished in God”
The reason that believers walk in the light is because of God’s grace:
He sent His Son in love
Christ died in order that we might have life
He causes New Birth to happen and the old man is put to death with Him and we become a new creation
We live as children of Light by the power of the Spirit of Christ living in us
Anyone walking in sin and darkness does not know Christ
1 John 1:5-7- This is the message we have heard from him and proclaim to you, that God is light, and in him is no darkness at all. If we say we have fellowship with him while we walk in darkness, we lie and do not practice the truth. But if we walk in the light, as he is in the light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus his Son cleanses us from all sin.
Believers now pray for the Light to reveal any wicked way in them
Pray as David prayed
Psalm 139:23-24- Search me, O God, and know my heart! Try me and know my thoughts! And see if there be any grievous way in me, and lead me in the way everlasting!
May you live on your knees asking God to daily shine light on remaining sin and that by the Spirit you will walk in the light of Christ
There is hope for even the most wicked of sinners because Jesus came to shine light into dead hearts with omnipotent power and changed hearts from loving darkness to hating it and from hating light to loving it.