July 2009

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"For since the creation of the world His invisible attributes are clearly seen, being understood by the things that are made, even His eternal power and Godhead, so that they are without excuse, because, although they knew God, they did not glorify Him as God..."
Romans 1: 20- 21a


Nicodemus II

Nicodemus II

 

"He who believes in Him [Jesus] 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." John 3:18

 

            This is a simple, straightforward statement of truth, spoken by Jesus to Nicodemus.  It's so simple, in fact, that I think I've sometimes lost sight of what it's saying.  Though in the past, I've always read that verse with the eternal condemnation of Hell in mind, I'm now wondering if that's what Jesus was referring to here.

            Condemn is a strong word, one that means "to declare to be guilty of wrongdoing" and, in the case of real estate, say a slumlord's dilapidated apartment building, it means, "to declare unfit for use".  "Condemned already," the verse reads.  Perhaps, Jesus meant, presently condemned, at this time, in this life.  I believe Jesus may have been saying, Nicodemus, you're guilty of wrongdoing if you don't believe in Me, and not only that, even though you're a respected rabbi, your unbelief has rendered you unfit for present use in the Kingdom of God.

            Continuing to teach Nicodemus, Jesus said,

 

"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.  For everyone practicing evil hates the light and does not come to the light, lest his deeds should be exposed.  But he who does the truth comes to the light, that his deeds may be clearly seen that they have been done in God. " John 3:19-21

 

            Now, I've been in church all my life, and am so used to hearing darkness and light used to represent the contrast between evil and good that I've read that verse as another use of that illustration, and in doing so, have failed to recognize the importance of its context.  Jesus spoke these words to Nicodemus, who had come to talk to Him at night, under the cover of darkness.  Nicodemus complimented Jesus to His face, calling Him "a teacher come from God," but he did so privately and at night, not publicly and in the light of day.  I imagine that when Nicodemus was in the marketplace in broad daylight, or at the city gate where community leaders gathered, he wasn't speaking complimentary things about Jesus out loud!  Most likely, he was silent on that very controversial subject.

            But we're not like Nicodemus.  We do the right thing and attend public church services in broad daylight on Sunday mornings.  We publicly sing praises and say "Amen!" to the pastor's message.  Everyone can see and hear us.  We're not hiding anything, right?

            How about when we go into our modern-day marketplaces, our places of employment or entertainment; the office, the factory, the school, the mall, the restaurant, the bowling alley, the baseball diamond, the Saturday morning fishing trip with the guys?  Are we saying the same things out loud there that we say within the walls of the church building on Sunday morning?  Or are we using Sunday morning church services as a cloak, in the same way Nicodemus used the night? Do we conceal ourselves in silence?  If so, then we're no different than Nicodemus, willing only to praise Jesus when other people who love Him are around.  If that's the case, then we too, are "guilty of wrongdoing," and are "unfit" for present use in the Kingdom of God.  We too, are "condemned already."

 

Daye Phillippo

June 2009