To Believe or Not Believe…That is the Question
John 12:44-50
These verses are a summary of Jesus’ teaching – aimed at those who are still undecided…or unbelieving.
These verses, in some ways, are Jesus’ last verbal response to unbelief – He has already said all of these
things in part or in full elsewhere in the Gospel of John
- Jesus gives us a very clear presentation of the gospel
- Possibly Jesus’ final public address
Last week, Darien discussed why so few people believed in Jesus by going back even further to Isaiah
…God made it such that they could not believe because they would not believe
44 Then Jesus cried out, “Whoever believes in me does not believe in me only, but in the one who sent
me. 45 The one who looks at me is seeing the one who sent me. 46 I have come into the world as a light, so
that no one who believes in me should stay in darkness.
47 “If anyone hears my words but does not keep them, I do not judge that person. For I did not come to
judge the world, but to save the world. 48 There is a judge for the one who rejects me and does not
accept my words; the very words I have spoken will condemn them at the last day. 49 For I did not speak
on my own, but the Father who sent me commanded me to say all that I have spoken. 50 I know that his
command leads to eternal life. So whatever I say is just what the Father has told me to say.”
- These verses contain a summary of Jesus’ message in which He emphasizes the close
relationship between Himself and His Father and between Himself and His words. He’s making
the point that choosing not to believe in Him means rejecting God Himself.
- Belief in Jesus is equal to embracing God
- To choose unbelief is choosing to willingly reject God
(v.44) to believe in Jesus is to believe in God
(v.45) to see Jesus is to see God
(v49) to listen to Jesus is to listen to God
There is an urgency in the last appeal of Jesus
- We are confronted with having to make an eternal decision about who we believe Jesus is, but we
don’t have eternity to make that decision.
- The implications of turning away from the light of God are so terrible in the extreme that Jesus is
making sure that people are clearly aware of them.
- Sin unrepentant of is sin condemned, and will be when the King returns “a dreadful thing to fall into
the hands of the living God’
Hebrews 10:26-31
26 If we deliberately keep on sinning after we have received the knowledge of the truth, no sacrifice for
sins is left, 27 but only a fearful expectation of judgment and of raging fire that will consume the enemies
of God. 28 Anyone who rejected the law of Moses died without mercy on the testimony of two or three
witnesses. 29 How much more severely do you think someone deserves to be punished who has trampled
the Son of God underfoot, who has treated as an unholy thing the blood of the covenant that sanctified
them, and who has insulted the Spirit of grace? 30 For we know him who said, “It is mine to avenge; I will
repay,” [d] and again, “The Lord will judge his people.” [e] 31 It is a dreadful thing to fall into the hands of the
living God.
- There are consequences of the decision you make about Jesus – eternal consequences
- 44 Then Jesus cried out, “Whoever believes in me does not believe in me only, but in the one who
sent me. 45 The one who looks at me is seeing the one who sent me.
o Believe in Jesus – if we submit our lives in allegiance and obedience to Jesus – receive
eternal life – received by grace through faith
Brought out of darkness and receive eternal life
Because Jesus is God and one with the Father
John 1:1-3
1 In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. 2 He was with
God in the beginning. 3 Through him all things were made; without him nothing was made that has been
made.
There is still condemnation for sins, but that is what Jesus took on at the cross
v46: 46 I have come into the world as a light, so that no one who believes in me should stay in darkness.
- Not the first time Jesus refers to Himself as light
John 8:12
12 When Jesus spoke again to the people, he said, “I am the light of the world. Whoever follows me will
never walk in darkness, but will have the light of life.”
o Reject Jesus – If you reject Jesus, you are rejecting God – remain in darkness and be
condemned in the judgement on the last day…spiritual darkness…this is your verdict
- What does it mean to stay in darkness?
o Have you seen what’s going on in the world? (praying children murdered by an enabled
mentally ill man)
o Jesus is referring to spiritual darkness which results in wickedness, misery and suffering
o There is no wickedness or injustice in God – those come from man’s darkness – people who
do not know God
Example – walking around your house in the dark, when the light is available
- People might want the darkness because they think it hides their actions
- The problem with that is that everything will be brought into the light
Luke 8:17
17 For there is nothing hidden that will not be disclosed, and nothing concealed that will not be known or
brought out into the open.
- The light’s coming on whether you accept it now or not…so why not accept it now…why not accept
HIM now and live the life He has for you IN THE LIGHT?
To remain in darkness, means that the wrath of God remains on you – why would you choose that?
- To keep those idols we talked about a few weeks ago?
- To maintain a lifestyle you know is wrong?
Judgement has already been rendered on sin…sin has been condemned – we were already condemned.
Jesus has given us a choice to receive the pardon for our sin, which Jesus was condemned for… or do we
reject Jesus and His pardon and accept the judgement for our sin.
- Why would we accept the judgement for our sin if Jesus has already received that punishment for
us?
o Why would anyone choose to remain in darkness when the light is available?
Romans 6:23
23 For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in [a] Christ Jesus our Lord.
Jesus paid the penalty for our sin so that OUR verdict is not death
47 “If anyone hears my words but does not keep them, I do not judge that person. For I did not come to
judge the world, but to save the world.
Jesus didn’t come to condemn the world because it was already condemned. He came to save us…to
deliver us from death that we had already earned in our sinfulness.
Romans 5:8
8 But God demonstrates his own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us.
Out of God’s great love for us, Jesus came to save us from the wrath of God – the wrath for those
walking in darkness…choosing to walk in darkness
48 There is a judge for the one who rejects me and does not accept my words; the very words I have
spoken will condemn them at the last day.
The words of Jesus will serve as additional evidence for condemnation.
- Those who have heard about Jesus (all of us here) knowing what we have heard and seen, if we
choose to reject Him…and thereby reject God, it will convict us.
What about people who have never heard of Jesus and don’t have access to the Bible? They never heard
Jesus’ words…right? Why would God condemn someone for not believing in Jesus when they have never
heard of Him?
- They go to hell because they are sinners. Paul says in Romans 1 that God holds them accountable
for the general revelation of truth through creation and their conscience.
Romans 1:18-20
- 18 The wrath of God is being revealed from heaven against all the godlessness and wickedness of
people, who suppress the truth by their wickedness, 19 since what may be known about God is plain
to them, because God has made it plain to them. 20 For since the creation of the world God’s
invisible qualities—his eternal power and divine nature—have been clearly seen, being understood
from what has been made, so that people are without excuse.
What Paul may be saying is that Ultimately, people are judged for their sin, not for their ignorance of
Jesus. (ignorance meaning – lack of knowledge of…)
Paul is telling us that God reveals Himself in ways that ALL humanity can and will experience.
The law of God is written on our hearts…even those tribes and communities that have never heard of
Jesus…try stealing something or killing someone…there will be punishment
The fact is…There is only one way to the Father
John 14:6
6 Jesus answered, “I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through
me.
You cannot say “I believe in the Father”, but don’t believe in Jesus. If you say I believe in God, but not
Jesus, then you don’t really believe in God.
- It’s easy to equate unbelief with indecision
- In this case, our unbelief is not a lack of information – In this passage, the Jews had seen and heard
enough to make a well-informed decision…so have we.
If you fail to turn to Jesus in faith, you will not be accepted by God. – In other words, If you choose not
to believe in Jesus, then God will judge you for your unbelief on the last day. (v.48)
- UNBELIEF is the conscious rejection of God and His word
Jesus draws a close relationship between Himself and His words.
What you do with Jesus’ words now, determine what those words will do to you later.
Jesus did not come into the world to judge it, but when He comes again He will judge
Matthew 25:31-46
31 “When the Son of Man comes in his glory, and all the angels with him, he will sit on his glorious
throne. 32 All the nations will be gathered before him, and he will separate the people one from another
as a shepherd separates the sheep from the goats. 33 He will put the sheep on his right and the goats on
his left.
34 “Then the King will say to those on his right, ‘Come, you who are blessed by my Father; take your
inheritance, the kingdom prepared for you since the creation of the world. 35 For I was hungry and you
gave me something to eat, I was thirsty and you gave me something to drink, I was a stranger and you
invited me in, 36 I needed clothes and you clothed me, I was sick and you looked after me, I was in prison
and you came to visit me.’
37 “Then the righteous will answer him, ‘Lord, when did we see you hungry and feed you, or thirsty and
give you something to drink? 38 When did we see you a stranger and invite you in, or needing clothes
and clothe you? 39 When did we see you sick or in prison and go to visit you?’
40 “The King will reply, ‘Truly I tell you, whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers and
sisters of mine, you did for me.’
41 “Then he will say to those on his left, ‘Depart from me, you who are cursed, into the eternal
fire prepared for the devil and his angels. 42 For I was hungry and you gave me nothing to eat, I was
thirsty and you gave me nothing to drink, 43 I was a stranger and you did not invite me in, I needed
clothes and you did not clothe me, I was sick and in prison and you did not look after me.’
44 “They also will answer, ‘Lord, when did we see you hungry or thirsty or a stranger or needing clothes
or sick or in prison, and did not help you?’
45 “He will reply, ‘Truly I tell you, whatever you did not do for one of the least of these, you did not do
for me.’
46 “Then they will go away to eternal punishment, but the righteous to eternal life.”
A couple more questions…
Why Don’t People Believe in Jesus?
We’ve already talked about the answer to this – in some ways…
- People want to hold on to their idols
- People want to operate in the dark to conceal their actions
- Regarding the Jews who saw Jesus - In spite of overwhelming evidence that substantiated the
claims of Christ, why did most Israelites not believe?
- Unbelief is not due to intellectual deficiency or lack of knowledge. It is a response of a heart in
rebellion against God.
- You cannot coerce or manipulate someone into true belief from unbelief
- At times, the modern American church response to that is coercion…What!?
o We’re not going to overwhelm your senses and emotions and pretend that’s experiencing
God.
It can happen, but manipulating people into thinking they believe when they
actually don’t is not what the Bible teaches us – it’s the worst thing we can do to
them
Repent – Believe and Follow Jesus – commit everything you are to Him and walk in
the light…accept the redemption that He offers and change –
o Thank God He can and does use our feeble and misguided attempts
sometimes – He uses us in spite of ourselves – but he doesn’t want
us to use crutches or gimmicks – just the Word of God manifesting
itself through our lives…our words and actions
- That’s also part of why Christianity is not a religion that spreads by the sword – that’s not who Jesus
is. He pushed back on that while He was walking the earth, and pushes back against it now…
- Why Do People who DO believe in Jesus not act like it or share it?
- You’ve choses to walk in light…you’ve made that decision…
It should not be a surprise to the people around you that you follow Jesus
What you say and do reflects on who or what you follow.
Later in John, Jesus said to His Disciples “…As the Father has sent me, I also send you” (John 20:21)
The Lord himself was sent by the Father to seek and save the lost (Luke 19:10) and He passed the baton
to His disciples…and to us
- We live in a culture that embraces pluralism and relativism and we are told every day that
proselytizing people or trying to be disciples who make disciples is taboo.
Penn Jillette – well know magician and atheist
“I don’t respect people who don’t proselytize. If you believe that there’s a heaven and hell, and
people could be going to hell or not getting eternal life or whatever…and you think that it’s not really
worth telling them this because it would make it socially awkward…and atheists who think that people
shouldn’t proselytize…just leave me alone – keep your religion to yourself…How much do you have to
hate somebody to not proselytize? How much do you have to hate somebody to believe that everlasting
life is possible and not tell them that? I mean, if I believed beyond a shadow of a doubt that a truck was
coming at you and you didn’t believe it…that a truck was bearing down on you – there’s a certain point
where I tackle you, and this is more important than that.”
“He cared enough about me to proselytize and give me a Bible”
If you’re walking in the light, act like it…live like it…talk the talk and walk the talk too
Love God – Love people enough to share the gospel…the good news
Matthew 5:14-16
14 “You are the light of the world. A town built on a hill cannot be hidden. 15 Neither do people light a
lamp and put it under a bowl. Instead they put it on its stand, and it gives light to everyone in the
house. 16 In the same way, let your light shine before others, that they may see your good deeds and
glorify your Father in heaven.
There’s a decision to be made about Jesus… today is the day of salvation…now is the appointed time…
Jesus is reminding us in His final public address that an eternally consequential decision must be made…
2 Corinthians 6
As God’s co-workers we urge you not to receive God’s grace in vain. 2 For he says,
“In the time of my favor I heard you,
and in the day of salvation I helped you.” [a]
I tell you, now is the time of God’s favor, now is the day of salvation.
If you haven’t trusted in Jesus and chosen to believe in Him and accept His sacrifice for our sin, or
publicly declared Him as Lord of your life – would you do that today?
If you have chosen to make Jesus the focus of your life…I implore you to show that to the world.
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