Tuesday in Whitsuntide
Posted on May 25, 2021 by
under
Scripture: St. John 3:16-21 (NKJV)
3:16 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. 17 For God did not send His Son into the world to condemn the world, but that the world through Him might be saved.
18 “He who believes in Him is not condemned; but he who does not believe is condemned already, because he has not believed in the name of the only begotten Son of God. 19 And this is the condemnation, that the light has come into the world, and men loved darkness rather than light, because their deeds were evil. 20 For everyone practicing evil hates the light and does not come to the light, lest his deeds should be exposed. 21 But he who does the truth comes to the light, that his deeds may be clearly seen, that they have been done in God.”
Devotion
It is no wonder that many people think they are saved. When people read John 3:16 many just stop at that verse and seem to think, “I believe God loves me, so I’m in. I’m saved.” By not reading the subsequent verses they miss the point John is making about sin and sinful people: “men loved darkness rather than light, because their deeds were evil.” There is real evil in this world, evil that rejects God’s grace found only in Christ and His redeeming work.
Those who reject Jesus as the Savior may well believe He was real. They may find Jesus to be a great teacher of ethics. Maybe they tout that Jesus was all about social justice. Whatever else they believe about Jesus, however true it might be, such ideas are not saving faith. Saving faith begins with acknowledging the damning consequences of sin, that you are a sinful human being and all you have done without His Spirit is against God. Only then does a person begin to appreciate Jesus’ life, His suffering, His death on the cross, and His resurrection. Real appreciation for Jesus is found in the fact that, as Holy Scripture tells you, He did it for poor, miserable sinners like you and me.
Prayer: O God, who didst teach the hearts of Thy faithful people by sending to them the light of Thy Holy Spirit, grant us by the same Spirit to have a right judgment in all things and evermore to rejoice in His holy comfort; through Jesus Christ, Thy Son, our Lord. Amen.
Scripture taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.