John 3:18-21 “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. 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.”
Romans 8:1 tells us, "There is therefore now no condemnation to those who are in Christ Jesus, who do not walk according to the flesh, but according to the Spirit." What does it mean to be "in Christ Jesus"? Jesus explained it in today's verses. Those who reject the truth of the Gospel and the truth of who Jesus is are condemned. Why are they condemned? They are condemned because of their unbelief and because they love their sinful life and sinful ways more than doing what is right. They refuse to acknowledge their sinful ways and prefer to live in them, rather than repent and call upon the Name of Jesus. Since we are not guaranteed tomorrow, our unbelief today could be our last day of unbelief, as death can swoop in and take us out of this world without Jesus as our Savior. Lest we forget, the return of Jesus can happen at any moment, then it will also be too late for unbelievers. I cannot stress enough that life is like a vapor and there is no guarantee that we will see tomorrow. For those of us who claim to be born again followers of Jesus, if we proclaim salvation but continue to love the darkness and live in the sinfulness of the dark, are we truly born again? Can we proclaim to be a follower of Jesus but live in the flesh, without evidence of real change? Jesus clearly told us that those who live out the truth, come to the light because they will not be ashamed of their deeds. Too often we only quote the first part of Romans 8:1, but fail to acknowledge that there must be evidence that we belong to Jesus by the way the Spirit produces deeds of light in our lives. If we are to claim no condemnation, then we must truly let the light of Christ shine through us; and maybe, just maybe, God will use our deeds of light to lead someone else out of the darkness before it is too late.
Today, God extends an invitation to you to accept His free gift of salvation (Romans 6:23). Will you accept it? Anyone who calls on Jesus, by faith, in repentance, confessing your sins, will receive eternal life. Do not put off calling on Him, and receive His free gift of salvation today (Romans 10:13).
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