Transcript

Losing My Religion-Part Two

John 3:11-21
Sunday, September 29, 2002
Pastor Randy Smith

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Second to preaching the Word of God, my most humiliating moments come during my feeble attempts with the sport of surfing. For some strange reason, many people have this impression that I am actually a good surfer. I have no idea where they came up with that notion! Sure I have a nice board that is well waxed. Sure I have a cool looking wet suit. Sure I know some of the lingo, but my actions in the water are nothing that resembles surfing! Looking the part and playing the part are a world apart! I may get some impressive looks as I approach the beach, but I definitely get some humiliating looks when people see what I have to offer!

Most people approach their relationship with God in the same fashion. In a desire to fulfill a God-shaped vacuum in their heart, they adopt a form of religion that looks great on the outside. They may wear specialized attire, contribute large sums of money, conduct various pilgrimages, accomplish specific deeds, collect relics, observe strict diet and calendar restrictions and sound very spiritual but still never commune with the living God. Their external actions may appear very impressive to the human eye, but in the sight of God their religious deeds are meaningless. In the sight of God, they too have nothing to offer.

Nicodemus was such a man. John chapter 3 records him as being a Pharisee, a member of the Sanhedrin and the teacher of Israel. He was one of the most revered and most respected religious figures in the land, yet he was humbled by the Words of Christ. Jesus said, "Unless you are born from above, Nicodemus, you will not see the kingdom of God!

God is not impressed with our religion. He is looking for true worshippers who seek to be recreated and transformed, whereby they can glorify Him from the innermost being of their heart. This morning, I'd like to conclude the dialogue that Jesus had with Nicodemus by providing you with 3 reasons why religion alone is insufficient for a right relationship with God.

1. RELIGION DOES NOT PRODUCE SPIRITUAL LIFE

First of all, religion does not produce spiritual life. Verses 14-15, "And as Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, even so must the Son of Man be lifted up; that whoever believes may in Him have eternal life."

Earlier in verse 5, Jesus used the imagery from Ezekiel 36 when He spoke of being born of the water and the Spirit. Now in verse 14, Jesus again turns to the Old Testament and speaks of a story that must have been very familiar to Nicodemus.

Turn if you would to Numbers 21. I'll begin reading in verse 4. "Then they set out from Mount Hor by the way of the Red Sea, to go around the land of Edom; and the people became impatient because of the journey. And the people spoke against God and Moses, 'Why have you brought us up out of Egypt to die in the wilderness? For there is no food and no water, and we loathe this miserable food.' And the Lord sent fiery serpents among the people and they bit the people, so that many people of Israel died. So the people came to Moses and said, 'We have sinned, because we have spoken against the Lord and you; intercede with the Lord, that He may remove the serpents from us.' And Moses interceded for the people. Then the Lord said to Moses, 'Make a fiery serpent, and set it on a standard; and it shall come about, that everyone who is bitten, when he looks at it, he shall live.' And Moses made a bronze serpent and set it on the standard; and it came about, that if a serpent bit any man, when he looked to the bronze serpent, he lived" (Nu. 21:4-9).

I think the story is fairly self-explanatory. During the desert wanderings under the leadership of Moses, the Israelites became very impatient. They began to grumble against both Moses and God, complaining as they had done before that they were led from Egypt out into the wilderness to die. Because of these complaints, God sent fiery serpents into the camp. Most likely they were called "fiery serpents" not because of their color, but because of the burning sensation that occurred after their bite. These serpents attacked the Israelites. The death toll was increasing. In desperation, the people pleaded with Moses that he intercede between them and God in hopes that the serpents would be removed and the people would be cured. God commanded Moses to make a serpent of bronze and erect it on a pole in the midst of the Israelite camp. It was promised that whoever looked upon God's provision of the bronze serpent would be healed.

In a nutshell we could say the poisonous snakes brought horror in the form of entrapment and sickness and death, but God's glorious provision brought healing. In the same way the death of Jesus Christ brought horror as the Son of Man was executed on a brutal block of wood on a forsaken site in Jerusalem, but again God's glorious provision brought healing.

We can see why the Numbers account served as a great parallel to the work of Christ. Just as a cure was necessary for the venom of snakes, Jesus Christ would be the cure for the venom of sin. Just as the bronze serpent was lifted up on a pole, Jesus Christ would be lifted up on the cross. Just as the bronze serpent brought life to those who looked toward it, Jesus Christ would bring life to those who looked toward Him. Just as the serpent provided the ability to regain physical life, Jesus Christ would provide the ability to regain spiritual life. Healing both through the serpent and the cross are based on a promise of God. He is the One who gives life.

Verse 14 says that Jesus "must" be "lifted up." Naturally this refers to Christ and His work on the cross. If sin was to be eradicated, Jesus Christ must be lifted up. It was the eternal plan of God to punish His Son for the sins of humankind. The Scriptures say that Christ was slain from the foundation of the world (Rev. 13:8). The cross was not an afterthought. He was lifted up on the cross so that He might take upon our infected nature, bear our venom and impart to us His righteousness. The cross of Jesus Christ has bridged the great chasm that existed between fallen humanity and the holiness of God. If we were to have any hope of being reconciled to God, Jesus Christ must be lifted up. Redemption must come through the cross. Is it any wonder why the cross has become the cornerstone of our faith? Is it any surprise to hear Paul cry, "I determined to know nothing among you except Jesus Christ, and Him crucified" (1 Cor. 2:2)? Elsewhere he said, "But may it never be that I should boast, except in the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ, through which the world has been crucified to me, and I to the world" (Gal. 6:14). I hope the day never comes when we are ashamed to speak of the cross, or ashamed to use the name of Jesus Christ!

When Jesus was lifted up on the cross, He experienced an excruciatingly painful and humiliating death. But the cross was also the supreme symbol of Christ's exaltation. Listen to how John used that same verb for "lifted up" (hypsoo) elsewhere. "When you lift up the Son of Man, then you will know that I am" (Jn. 8:28). "And I, if I be lifted up from the earth, will draw all men to Myself" (Jn. 12:32). Commentator Leon Morris said, "It is part of John's aim was to show that Jesus showed forth His glory not in spite of His earthly humiliations, but precisely by means of those humiliations…To the outward eye this was the uttermost in degradation, the death of a felon. To the eye of faith it was (and is) the supreme glory." The Father gave His Son to manifest the glory of the Triune God.

God wants people to look to Him for salvation, just like they did the bronze serpent in the wilderness. He is calling for faith in His promises and His provision. "So must the Son of Man be lifted up; that whoever believes may in Him have eternal life"

Religion on the other hand looks to self. Religion seeks to find oneself through the avenues of self-dependence and self-improvement and self-reliance. Religion depends on personal efforts to be made right with God and totally short-circuits God's avenue of grace. God wants us to depend on His remedy and not our own. That is the point that Jesus was attempting to make with Nicodemus and that is the point that Donald Grey Barnhouse brought forth in his satire regarding the serpent account.

"The brewing of potions and the making of slaves would have given them all something to do and would have satisfied every natural instinct of the heart to work on behalf of its own cure. [But] there was nothing of the kind mentioned. They were to cease from human remedies and turn to a divine remedy. The fact that they were not told to make a human remedy is indicative of the greater fact that there is no human remedy for sin. Men have been bitten by the serpent of sin. How are they going to be cured of its bite? There is nothing but death awaiting them as a result of their wound unless God Himself shall furnish a remedy. Men rush around in the fury of human religions seeking a palliative for sin. They perform all sorts of rites, chastising the flesh, humbling the spirit. They undertake fasts and pilgrimages. Like the man in Israel's camp who refused to look at the brazen serpent, but spent his time brewing concoctions for ameliorating his own conditions, they are carried off to spiritual death through the poison that is in their being. The man who trusts in religion instead of looking to Christ will be eternally lost."

It seems that people will do anything to maintain their religion, rather than turn to God in complete submission and surrender. As a matter of fact, hundreds of years later, the bronze serpent from our account was still in existence. But sadly, the serpent itself began to receive the attention that God desired for Himself. God did not erect the serpent as a charm or an idol, but rather as a means whereby people might look to God in faith. However, the people began to worship the serpent. In 2 Kings 18 we read that Hezekiah, "Broke in pieces the bronze serpent that Moses had made, for until those days the sons of Israel burned incense to it" (2 Ki. 18:4). The Israelites took something that God intended to glorify Himself and turned it into a form of lifeless and Godless religion.

2. RELIGION WILL BE JUDGED

Religion is insufficient to produce spiritual life, and religion is insufficient to escape God's judgment. Beginning in verse 17, "For God did not send the Son into the world to judge the world, but that the world should be saved through Him. He who believes in Him is not judged; he who does not believe has been judged already, because he has not believed in the name of the only begotten Son of God" (Jn. 3:17-18).

In regards to judgment, God has basically given the world two options. The first one (we'll call this option A) is that you can stand for your self before His throne on judgment day and hope that you are acceptable of His favor based upon your deeds. Revelation 20:12, "And I saw the dead, the great and the small, standing before the throne, and books were opened; and another book was opened, which is the book of life; and the dead were judged from the things which were written in the books, according to their deeds." Many will choose this option. Muhammad Ali was once quoted in "Reader's Digest" as saying, "One day we're all going to die, and God is going to judge us- (our) good deeds and bad deeds. If the bad outweighs the good, you go to hell. If the good outweighs the bad, you go to heaven."

But unfortunately Mr. Ali and everyone else who chooses option A will realize when it is too late that God's standard is perfection. All humans who wish to stand before God based on their own merit will be judged according to God's perfect righteousness. James 2:10 proclaims, "For whoever keeps the whole law and yet stumbles in one point, he has become guilty of all." Galatians 2:21, "I do not nullify the grace of God; for if righteousness comes through the Law, then Christ died needlessly." Nobody can earn their way to heaven. All who pursue option A are destined for failure. Option A is a religious choice. Option A is a foolish choice.

Option B is to allow someone to pay the penalty on your behalf. The substitute, sacrifice, sin-bearer must live the perfect life and then accept the wrath of God that you deserve. It must be a person who can cover you in His righteousness and justify you before the throne of judgment. The person must be designated by the judge Himself to fully bear the penalty that you deserve. Option B is a humbling choice. Option B is a wise choice.

Verse 17 describes option B. "For God did not send the Son into the world to judge the world, but that the world should be saved through Him." Though God had every right to send His Son to condemn or judge a rebellious world, He rather chose in His love (vs. 16 from last week) to send His Son to save the world. The Son came to implement option B. He came to pay the penalty for sin and turn the hearts of men and women back to the Father. He came to restore a broken relationship. He came to give life to whosoever might believe in His name and His work. Elsewhere in this gospel Jesus said, "And if anyone hears My sayings, and does not keep them, I do not judge him; for I did not come to judge the world, but to save the world" (Jn. 12:47). And we also see this divine purpose of the Son mentioned throughout the other gospels as well.

But lest we think that we can ignore option B, God's gift of the Son, and still get to heaven based upon our own merit, option A, John is quick to add vs. 18. "He who believes in Him is not judged; he who does not believe has been judged already, because he has not believed in the name of the only begotten Son of God." In other words, the world stands in judgment. They are already condemned even though the final sentence of condemnation has yet to arrive. They are self-condemned having substituted the living God for idols. How much greater shall their condemnation be now that they have rejected His gift of salvation, His only begotten Son? God sent His Son into a world already under His judgment to save the world, but the world rejects His offering and prefers option A.

Imagine yourself in a burning house. All the escape options have been eliminated. The smoke has impeded you vision and cut off your air supply. The heat has increased, walls are caving in and the fire is inches from consuming you. Though you are not dead, you come to realize that the situation is hopeless. You sit back and await the inevitable.

But suddenly a big strong fireman comes crashing through the door. He gives you fresh oxygen. He extinguishes the flames on your clothes. He grabs your arm and begins to place you on his shoulder. He heads for safety.

But before he can take a step, you slap him in the face, squirm your way off his shoulder, and say, "Get out of my house! I'd rather escape my condemnation alone! I don't want you in my life!"

Like being trapped in a burning house, the world lies in such judgment. Just as the fireman came on a rescue mission, the Son did not come to judge the world, but to save the world that already stands judged. The one who believes is not judged, but as verse 18 says, the one "who does not believe has been judged already." They are simply awaiting the inevitable. Belief in the Son, and not religion, is the great wedge that divides the world into two categories: those who are judged and those who are saved. .

3. RELIGION PREFERS THE DARKNESS

We've seen that religion does not produce spiritual life. We've seen that religion will be judged. Let's move to our final point, "Religion Prefers the Darkness." Beginning in verse 19, "And this is the judgment, that the light is come into the world, and men loved the darkness rather than the light; for their deeds were evil. For everyone who does evil hates the light, and does not come to the light, lest his deeds should be exposed. But he who practices the truth comes to the light, that his deeds may be manifested as having been wrought in God."

The great reason that people stand self-condemned and judged is because they prefer the darkness to the light. Those two words, darkness and light, are used 6 times in these three verses and have a two-fold meaning throughout the gospel of John. First, they are metaphors that represent goodness and evil. Second, light also represents Jesus who has appeared as the "Light of the world" (Jn. 8:12; 9:5). Putting these two together, the Light has come into the world (a reference to the incarnation of Christ). The Light has illuminated the world, but men preferred to remain in darkness (according to verse 19).

When we had nothing better to do as kids we would seek out some of the darkest and dirtiest alleys in the city of Chicago. We would slowly creep our cars into position and then in unison flip on our headlights. We were then entertained by these giant two-foot sewer rats that would scurry for cover. They hated the light and pursued the darkness.

In the same way, people choose to shield themselves from the Light, to reject the Light, and remain in darkness. Rich Hoyt, our missionary in Chad, included the following in his prayer letter this week. "The annual pagan celebrations for the Kabelai people here in Lai are beginning right now and will continue until 3 days after the new moon. Even as I write I can hear men roaming around outside masquerading as spirits and howling like dogs to try and intimidate the women into giving them money. For those outside of Christ it is a time steeped in ancestor worship, idolatry and fear. Pray for God's people to stand firm under the blood of Jesus, to resist the pressure of this pagan culture and to shine as bright lights for Him in a time when men prefer the darkness - literally!"

Why? Why do people prefer the darkness? Look at the end of verse 19. John says because "their deeds were evil." Or look at the end of verse 20. They do "not come to the Light for fear that (their) deeds will be exposed." Light illuminates the darkness. Goodness exposes evil. Rather than deal with their sin, men prefer to shun the exposure and remain in the darkness. Their pride, their comfort, their prejudice, and their religion hold more value than a contrite heart broken over sin. The last person on the planet that they would choose to do business with is the Light of the world. We learned in chapter 1 that even "His own" refused to approach the Light (Jn. 1:11). Verse 20 goes as far to say that they "hate the Light."

John chose an appropriate metaphor by using the word "light." Compare the properties of spiritual light with the properties of physical light. Think carefully about each of these.

• The nearer we are to the source, the brighter the light appears.
• The brighter the light, the more revealing it is.
• Light reflects more clearly from a clean surface.
• Light reveals uncleanness but cannot itself be adulterated.
• Light means nothing to the blind; they can neither see it nor appreciate it.
• A person walking with his face away from the light walks in his own shadow, hence in darkness.
• A person walking toward the light walks in the light.
• Light cannot dwell with darkness nor can darkness dwell with the light.

Beloved, like Nicodemus, millions are blinded by the false light of religion. They often follow a system of beliefs or rules or rituals because they think they can find favor with God. They close themselves off from a relationship with the "Light of the world" to seal their own doom and peril.

This reminds me of the four members of a family in Haiti who cowered at home during the February 1998 solar eclipse. They were found dead the next day by what officials said was accidental poisoning. Police say the four died of an overdose of sleeping pills taken to alleviate their anxiety. But suffocation was also suspected because the family had plugged all openings to their home to block out the light. The report shared that thousands of Haitians hold to the superstition that an eclipse will blind or kill them. And those who hold to the superstition of religion in their love affair with darkness will suffer the same effects in this life and in the life to come.

Finally, in verse 21 we would expect John to contrast the one who chooses the darkness with the one who chooses the light. We would expect him to praise the one who has freely chosen the light, but he doesn't. You'll remember that earlier in chapter 3 Jesus made it clear that one must be born from above or regenerated before he or she will ever come to the light. All humans on their own accord will always choose the darkness over the light just as a lion will always choose a steak over a head of broccoli.

John in verse 21 is not giving the human being any kudos for their self-righteous or intrinsic superior intuition to choose the light. God gets all the glory for removing the scales from our eyes. In verse 21 John is teaching that those who have been born of God and those who do "practice the truth" are eager to come to the light, not for personal congratulations, but rather to show that all of their good has been "wrought in God." These true believers delight in the light because the light reveals that anything good within them is ultimately a product of God working through them. The light reveals that their salvation and good works are wrought in God whereby He confirms their relationship and personally receives all the glory.

Beloved, God is not looking for religion; rather He is looking for a relationship through His Son.

Religion imparts death … a relationship imparts life.

Religion is based on works … a relationship is based on faith.

Religion is grounded in uncertainty … a relationship is grounded in a promise.

Religion is external … a relationship is internal

Religion brings judgment … a relationship brings salvation.

Religion loves the darkness … a relationship love the light.

Religion takes credit for salvation … a relationship gives God the credit.

Religion seeks personal glory … a relationship seeks God's glory.