18 "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. 19 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. 20 For everyone practicing evil hates the light and does not come to the light, lest his deeds should be exposed. 21 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 3:18-21 (NKJV)
Discussion Question:
- Why do some people seem to love the darkness?
- What do you need to do to let more light into your life?
Comment:
This passage answers a common criticism of Christianity: that it is not "fair" that we say there is only one way to be saved and that everybody else gets condemned to Hell. However, we see here that the condemnation comes from a condition that is inherent of the condemned person himself. It is not the result of God withholding salvation but instead is man refusing salvation because of their love of sin. This love of sin keeps them in the dark and away from the light (i.e. Christ, see John 1:4-9). Therefore, they condemn themselves to Hell.
Verse 21 then goes on to tell us about the ones who do believe. They are described as performing "deeds" in the light. Believers hate sin and love righteousness so they are not adverse to the light; in fact they prefer it over darkness. While in the light a believer "does the truth" because with this faith that they now possess they can perform "deeds" that are "done in God." We will see eventually in John (Chapter 15) that these deeds or fruit as it is sometimes called, are evidence of salvation. So, salvation is shown by (but not the result of): belief, hatred of sin, and bearing good fruit.
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