From the Word

John 3:14-21

14 And just as Moses lifted up the serpent in the desert, so must the Son of Man be lifted up,
15 so that everyone who believes in him may have eternal life."
16 For God so loved the world that he gave his only Son, so that everyone who believes in him might not perish but might have eternal life.
17 For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but that the world might be saved through him.
18 Whoever believes in him will not be condemned, but whoever does not believe has already been condemned, because he has not believed in the name of the only Son of God.
19 And this is the verdict, that the light came into the world, but people preferred darkness to light, because their works were evil.
20 For everyone who does wicked things hates the light and does not come toward the light, so that his works might not be exposed.
21 But whoever lives the truth comes to the light, so that his works may be clearly seen as done in God.


One thing accepted by almost all people is that men sin. It may go by different names and have different parameters, but one thing is the same: it is something wrong that man should not to.

A thousand solutions have been offered to sin, from social reform, sacrifices, nihilism and the removal of all emotions, strict obedience, and many other things. Few people, however, grasp that the correction of sin is beyond the power of man, that is, it requires divine. It says in Ephesians “for by grace you have been saved by faith, and that not of yourselves, it is the gift of God,” (emphasis mine). The Christian Truth is that God has come to us to save us, yet we continually rejected him.

In the Old Testament, we see God continually trying to save his people, sending prophet after prophet, preaching repentance and salvation, but they are ridiculed and ignored. Occasionally the people would turn from their wicked ways, but it would not be long before they returned to their sins, like a dog to its own vomit.

To save his people, God established a New Covenant through his Son, providing a hope to be looked at, just as the bronze serpent was the hope of the Jews in the desert, after they were bitten by venomous snakes for disobeying God. Man sinned, was sentenced to death, but was healed through obedience to God.

When the Israelites faced the serpents and looked to God for healing, it was a singular occurrence. When they sinned again, the snakes did not suddenly pop out of a whole and bite them, forcing them to once again look to God. For us, however, we must continually look to Christ, for sin (and death) is a continual presence in our lives. We look to the Son of Man raised up and are saved, yet we return to sin and death later, and must turn our eyes again to him.

Thus we are called to a perpetual conversion. We are to turn away from the darkness when ever it appears and become people of the light. This is not simple, nor is it a single event. The darkness is a continuous presence in our lives, as we are still fallen man and subject to temptation and sin, but the light is always there with us as well, and to be saved, all one must do is turn and look at the Son of Man raised up on the cross for our salvation. Do not neglect this, and be forever in conversion to Christ.

posted by J.M.R. Burgard @ 10:09 PM