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John 3:16 - XIV
For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whosoever believes in Him -- John 3:16
We are still focused on the words, whoever believes in Him. There are two groups of people in the world, those who believe in Christ, and put their faith, hope, and trust in His sacrificial work on the cross, and those who do not. Now why is that, why do some readily receive the good news (the gospel) and others do not? We all have the same bloodline that leads back to Adam and Eve, so what makes the difference? Are some people better and "gooder" than others?
The two people who were the most perfect were Adam and Eve. Before they chose to rebel against God, they were sinless and had a free will to choose. The choice they made brought sin, death, and results they had never experienced before. The mind, heart, and will were affected to the point that everything they did was tainted by sin. After the fall, they were free to choose, but they could not choose freely!
We can see this in their behavior in Genesis 3:8. Instead of seeking God in their desperate condition (they were naked), they decided to work out their own problem with fig leaves. Men have been trying to work out their own problems ever since; even today we try to obtain our own salvation with earnest and sincere good works. Just as Adam and Eve did not seek after God, men today will not seek Him on their own.
They (Adam and Eve) did not come to the Light for fear the Light would reveal their sin; instead, they hid themselves. King David makes this confession in Psalm 51:5, "Behold, I was brought forth in iniquity, and in sin did my mother conceive me." David was simply making the statement that he was born a sinner, from the womb he had a sin nature.
Every child that enters this world is the same way. We don't have to teach them to steal toys, cookies, or candy, they already do that. They are born as self-centered individuals who lie, deceive, and cheat without being taught. They love sin and naturally choose it. But aren't there some exceptions to this?
Psalm 14:2-3 says, "The Lord looks down from heaven upon the children of men, to see if there are any who understand, who seek God. They have all turned aside, they have together become corrupt; there is none who does good, no, not one." Psalm 51 basically repeats the same thing as Psalm 14. In the New Testament, the truth is repeated again in Romans 3:10-18. But in this text, it also says, "there is none who seek after God – they have all become unprofitable, there is none who does good, no, not one." If this is the true state of men, then what is our only hope? To what or who can we turn?
Our hope must be outside of ourselves, we must look to the Creator, the Light that gives light to every man. Are you looking to Him? Contact the author at: (thoughtsonword@gmail.com) if you have any comments or questions.
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Lyndon Stimeling, of Richfield, has been writing about faith and family for many years. He has self-published three books, Common Thoughts on The Word in 2016 and Eye of a Needle in 2017 and Common Thoughts on The Word II in 2019. He has also had articles published in The Coming Home Journal and local newspapers and has written a children's book.