1665-II 司布貞悔改(第40頁頂上)

1665-II司布貞悔改(第40頁頂上)

     

The young man did look by faith , and that was how the great precher Charles Haddon was converted.

那年青人真的带着信心仰望, 这就是后来被主所重用的司布真牧师的得救过程.

 

The difference between perishing and living, and between condemnation and salvation, is faith in Jesus Christ. Jesus could well have come to this world as a judge and destroyed every rebellious sinner, but in love, He came to this world as our Savior, and He died for us on the cross! He became the “uplifted serpent.” The ser pent in Moses’ day brought physical life to dying Jews, but Jesus Christ gives eternal life to anyone who trusts Him. 

The fourth illustration Jesus used was light and darkness (John 3:19-21).  This is one of the major images used in this gospel (John 1:4–13). Why will sinners not come into the “light of life”? Because they love the darkness! They want to persist in their evil deeds, and this keeps them from coming to the light, for the closer the sinner gets to the light, the more his sins are exposed. It is not “intellectual problems” that keep people from trusting Christ; it is the moral and spiritual blindness that keeps them loving the darkness and hating the light. 

Please note that Nicodemus finally did “come to the light.” He was in the “midnight of confusion” (John 3:1–21), but eventually he came out into the “sunlight of confession” when he identified with Christ at Calvary (John 19:38–42). He realized that the uplifted Savior was indeed the Son of God. 

  

  

        

耶稣用的第四个例证, 是光明与黑暗(约 3:19-21).  这是约翰福音非常重要的画面(1:4 -13).  为什么罪人不喜欢来到“生命的光”面前?     因为他们喜爱黑暗! 他们愿意一直停留在罪恶行为里, 这是他们抵挡光的原因; 罪人逾接近光, 他的罪行就逾容易暴露.  不是“智慧的问题” 使人不信靠基督, 而是他们的道德沦丧和灵命的瞎眼使得他们爱黑暗而恨光.

   请留意, 尼哥底母最后终于“来到光前”.    那是在“惶惑的午夜”(约 3:1-21), 但 当他与死在骷髅山的基督认同时,     他终于来到“认罪的正午的阳光中”(19 : 38 - 42).  他了解挂在十字架上的耶稣,  真正是上帝的儿子.

2. Jesus the Bridegroom (3:22–30) 

Until John the Baptist was arrested by Herod and put into prison, his ministry overlapped that of the Lord Jesus. John did not want anyone to follow him; his ministry was to point to the Lamb of God and urge people to trust Him. But when two popular preachers are involved in similar work, it is easy for both friends and enemies to get caught up in competition and comparison. 

It appears that some of John’s disciples started the argument. It began on doctrinal grounds—the matter of purifying—but soon moved to personal grounds. In John 3:25, some manuscripts read “a Jew” instead of “the Jews.” Could this unnamed Jew have possibly been Nicodemus? We cannot say, but it is a possibility. 

The matter of purifying was important to the Jews (Mark 7:1–23). Under the Old Testament law, it was necessary for them to keep themselves ceremonially clean if they were to serve God and please Him. Unfortunately, the Pharisees added so many extra tra ditions to the law that the observing of it became a burden. 

Without realizing it, John’s disciples were putting him into a situation of competing against the Lord Jesus! “All men come to him!” (John 3:26) sounds like a wail of despair. It is interesting to note that four of the greatest men in the Bible faced this problem of comparison and competition: Moses (Num. 11:26–30), John the Baptist (John 3:26–30), Jesus (Luke 9:46–50), and Paul (Phil. 1:15–18). A leader often suffers more from his zealous disciples than from his critics! 

How did John the Baptist handle this controversy? To begin with, he stated a conviction: all ministry and blessing come from God, so there can be no competi tion (John 3:27). Paul would have agreed with this (1 Cor. 3:1–9; 4:1–7). Our gifts and opportunities come from God, and He alone must get the glory. 

Then John used a beautiful illustration. He com pared Jesus to the bridegroom and himself only to the best man (John 3:29). Once the bridegroom and bride had been brought together, the work of the best man was completed. What a foolish thing it would be for the best man to try to “upstage” the bridegroom and take his place. John’s joy was to hear the voice of the Bridegroom and know that He had claimed His bride. 

Even before his birth, John the Baptist rejoiced in the Lord (Luke 1:44). John was content to be the voice announcing Jesus to be the Word (John 1:23). Jesus was the Light, and John the Baptist was the witness pointing to the Light (John 1:6–8). 

Often press releases and book reviews cross my desk, along with conference folders, and at times I am perturbed by what I read. Very few speakers and writ ers are ordinary people. They are “world travelers” or  “noted lecturers” who have addressed “huge audi ences.” They are always in “great demand,” and their ministries are described in such ways that they make the apostle Paul a midget by comparison. 

A Presbyterian pastor in Melbourne, Australia introduced J. Hudson Taylor by using many superlatives, especially the word great. Taylor stepped to the pulpit and quietly said, “Dear friends, I am the little servant of an illustrious Master.” If John the Baptist in heaven heard that statement, he must have shouted “Hallelujah!” 

The image of the Bridegroom would have been significant to the Jewish people, for Jehovah had a “marriage covenant” with the nation (Isa. 54:5; 62:4ff.; Jer. 2:2; 3:20; Ezek. 16:8; Hos. 2:19ff.). Alas, Israel had been unfaithful to her vows, and God had to put her away temporarily. Today, God is calling out a people for His name, the church, the bride of Christ (2 Cor. 11:1–3; Eph. 5:22–33). One day the Bridegroom will come to claim His bride and take her to her home in heaven (Rev. 19:6–9; 21:9ff.). 

The word must is used in three significant ways in this chapter. There is the “must” of the sinner (John 3:7), the “must” of the Savior (John 3:14), and the “must” of the servant (John 3:30). 

3. Jesus the Witness (3:31–36) 

Bible scholars do not agree as to who is speaking in John 3:31–36, John the apostle or John the Baptist. For that matter, some students believe that John 3:16–21 came from the apostle John and not the Lord Jesus. There were no quotation marks in early manu scripts, but since all Scripture is inspired, it really makes little difference who said the words. 

The emphasis in this paragraph is on witness (“tes timony”), one of the key subjects in John’s gospel. The Greek word translated “witness” or “testimony” is used forty-seven times. John bore witness to Jesus (John 1:7; 5:33), but Jesus was also a witness to the truth. Why should we heed His witness?  For several reasons. 

For one thing,  He came from heaven (v. 31). He was not simply called from heaven, or empowered by heaven; He came from heaven. It was this claim that the Jews disputed, because they knew it was His claim that He was God (John 6:38–42). John the Baptist certainly was not “from above,” nor did he claim to be. No earthly mes senger of God came “from above.” Only Jesus Christ can make that claim and prove it to be true. 

Since Jesus came from heaven, He represents the Father; and to reject His witness is to reject the Father (John 5:23). We know that His witness is true because He is the true God. We can trust it and rely on it. 

Another reason why we must receive Christ's witness is because it comes from Him firsthand (vv. 32–33). He shares what He has seen and heard from the Father (John 8:38). Those who receive His witness and act on it know by personal experience that His witness is true (John 7:17). Our Lord’s teachings are not to be studied intellectually, separated from everyday life. It is when we obey His Word and put it into practice that we see its truth and experience its power. 

A third reason we must receive  His witness is that the  The Father has authorized His Son (vv. 34–35). God sent Him (another key theme in John’s gospel); God gave Him the Word; God gave Him the Spirit; and God gave Him all things (John 13:3). What a commissioning! To reject the Son’s witness is to rebel against the highest authority in the universe. 

We usually think of God’s love for a lost world (John 3:16), but John reminds us of the Father’s love for His Son. Jesus is the Father’s “beloved Son” (Matt. 3:17; Mark 1:11; Luke 3:22). Because the Father loves the Son, He has given Him all things, and He shows Him all things (John 5:20). It is a love that can hold nothing back. 

Therefore, when we receive His witness, we share in His love and His wealth. To reject Christ’s witness is to sin against love and light. No wonder our Lord wept over the city of Jerusalem (Matt. 23:37–39). They had rejected His witness—both His messages and His miracles—and their rejection led to judgment. 

The final reason given is that we might escape the wrath of God (v. 36). This is the only place in any of John’s epistles or his gospel that he uses the word wrath. (He uses it six times in the book of Revelation.) This verse parallels John 3:18 and makes it clear that there can be no neutrality when it comes to the witness of Jesus Christ: we either trust Him or we reject Him. 

“Everlasting life” does not simply mean eternity in heaven. The believer possesses that life right now! It is the life of God in the believer. The opposite of eternal life is eternal death, the wrath of God. A person does not have to die and go to hell to be under the wrath of God. “He that believeth not is condemned already” (John 3:18). The verdict has already been given, but the sentence has not yet been executed. Why? Because God is patient and long suffering, and continues to call sinners to repentance (2 Peter 3:9). 

As you review John 3, you can see that the apostle John is emphasizing a personal relationship with Jesus Christ. 

It is a living relationship that begins with the new birth, the birth from above. When we receive Jesus Christ into our lives, we share His very life and become children in the family of God. 

It is also a loving relationship, for He is the Bridegroom and we are a part of the bride. Like John the Baptist, we desire that Jesus Christ increase as we decrease. He must receive all the honor and glory. 

It is a learning relationship, for He is the faithful Witness who shares God’s truth with us. What a delight it is to receive His Word, meditate on it, and make it part of our very lives. 

But we must never forget the cost of these blessings. For us to be born into God’s family, Jesus Christ had to die. For us to enter into the loving relationship of salva tion, He had to endure the hatred and condemnation of men. He had to be lifted up on the cross so that we might experience forgiveness and eternal life. 

May we never take this for granted! 

“He must increase, but I must decrease” (John 3:30).