Born Again (46)

John 3:19-21 (A)

We cannot judge what we cannot know, and so we admit that we cannot judge someone's thoughts and motives when we cannot know a person's heart. Further, we would be unjust to speculate about a person's thoughts and motives, and then make a judgment about him on such a basis. When we do this, not only do we sin against the man, but we sin against God, for we pretend that we can do that which only an omniscient judge can do, and thus we usurp his role and rob his honor.

All of this is true, but problems occur when we infer from this that we cannot have any reliable knowledge about the hearts of men, so that we can never make any authoritative statements regarding their thoughts and motives, or even to denounce their unbelief and sinful behavior. The inference is invalid, because even though we have no direct knowledge about the hearts of men, God knows all things, and he has told us something about what he knows concerning the evil thoughts and motives of the non-Christian.

And on this basis – not speculation but revelation – we can confidently expose the sinner's thoughts and criticize his motives. Of course, we do not know the sinner's heart in the fullness and with the precision that God knows it, but we can know as much as God has revealed to us. We must not speculate beyond what God has revealed, but at the same time, we must boldly apply what the Spirit has shown us about the sinner in the Bible.

In verses 19-21, the inspired apostle expounds to us not only the reactions of men toward Christ, but also their motives and reasons for these differing reactions:

This is the verdict: Light has come into the world, but men loved darkness instead of light because their deeds were evil. Everyone who does evil hates the light, and will not come into the light for fear that his deeds will be exposed. But whoever lives by the truth comes into the light, so that it may be seen plainly that what he has done has been done through God.

Morris thinks "verdict" is a misleading translation: "The word denotes the process of judging, not the sentence of condemnation." If we will read the passage carefully, we should notice that it is describing how the judgment is worked out rather than a pronouncement of judgment.

Of course, there is a judgment, and there is a pronouncement, but this passage has a different emphasis. It would be awkward to translate the word as "judging," but some versions make attempts to convey the meaning. For example, the NLT says, "Their judgment is based on this fact," and the GNT says, "This is how the judgment works."

First, John says, "Light has come into the world." This establishes the reference point by which people are judged. Their nature and their motives are uncovered by how they react and relate to the light. This light is Jesus Christ, who says elsewhere in this Gospel, "I am the light of the world. Whoever follows me will never walk in darkness, but will have the light of life" (8:12). Therefore, he is the reference point by which people are judged.

John continues, "…but men loved darkness instead of light because their deeds were evil." He tells us men's reaction and the reason for this reaction. Jesus Christ, the light, has come into the world. But men love darkness instead. This is not because it is irrational to come to the light, and it is not because these men already have the light, or that they have something better. But they love darkness because their deeds are evil, because they are evildoers.

(to be continued)