The truth about the people who "loved the darkness rather than the Light, for their deeds were evil."

Believers, consider John 3:19: "This is the judgment, that the Light has come into the world, and men loved the darkness rather than the Light, for their deeds were evil."

We often interpret those who "loved the darkness rather than the Light, for their deeds were evil" as people who outwardly commit many sins, don't observe to do what is written in the law, don't pay tithes and have many bad addictions.

But Jesus wasn't referring to this group who certainly did not hate Him when He walked the earth as Man. When Christ the Light of the world walked the earth as Man and taught THE GOSPEL, religious, law-toting people tried to kill the Light. The scummy tax collectors and notorious sinners followed the Light! No one had to force them to go to hear Jesus. They desired to hear! See Luke 15:

"1 Many dishonest tax collectors and other notorious sinners often gathered around to listen as Jesus taught the people." 2 And the Pharisees and the scribes kept muttering and indignantly complaining, saying, This man accepts and receives and welcomes [preeminently wicked] sinners and eats with them."

The Amplified Version says: "1 Now all the tax collectors and sinners [including non-observant Jews] were coming near Jesus to listen to Him."

Notice "non-observant Jews?" These were people who were ostracized by religious folk of the day for not paying tithes, not bringing animal sacrifices for their sins and not observing to keep the Ten Commandments and the Law of Moses in general! In response to the complaints of the Pharisees for His associating with these preeminently wicked sinners, Jesus told the Parables of The Lost Sheep, The Lost Coin and The Prodigal Son! All pictures of Grace- undeserved, unearned, unmerited favour!

So who really are those who loved the darkness rather than the Light? We see this in the story of Jesus saving the woman caught in adultery in John 8:3-12. Many of us are familiar with this story up to verses 10-11:

"10 When Jesus had raised Himself up and saw no one but the woman, He said to her,“Woman, where are those accusers of yours? Has no one condemned you?”

11 She said, “No one, Lord.”

And Jesus said to her, “Neither do I condemn you; go and sin no more.”"

But we most likely do not see how verse 12 "I am the Light of the world..." and the Pharisees' response in verse 13 connects with the story and John 3:19 where Christ said "and men loved the darkness rather than the Light, for their deeds were evil." Let's see how.

See verses 11-13, after the woman answered that no one condemned her:

"11...And Jesus said to her, “Neither do I condemn you; go and sin no more.”12 Then Jesus spoke to them again, saying, “I am the light of the world. He who follows Me shall not walk in darkness, but have the light of life. 13 The Pharisees therefore said to Him, “You bear witness of Yourself; Your witness is not true.”"

The Pharisees who brought the woman to Christ did not believe Jesus Christ the Light of the world and our Salvation. He was right there within their reach and they rejected Him, even after His words- “He who is without sin among you, let him throw a stone at her first” caused them to see that they were just as guilty as the sinner woman that they were accusing. Remember James 2:10 says "For whoever shall keep the whole law, and yet stumble in one point, he is guilty of all."

The Pharisees thought they were "better" than the woman that they accused but in truth, they were just as guilty in spite of their attempts at law-keeping and "holy, holy" attitude; no difference between this situation and that of many church leaders and people today who think that their efforts at law-keeping and good works put them in a better position with God than those that they've adjudged "notorious sinners"

Like the Pharisees, such "church leaders" also drag you before the Lord and tell you to expect punishment for your sins! They obviously do not know Christ as this is not His way as we see in the story of the sinner woman. Worse, they deceive you into thinking that there is something you can do by your own power (obey the law, fast, sow seed, pay tithe, read Psalms in bath water, etc) to escape judgment for your sins; as if the adulterous woman could have done anything to save herself! She was surely going to die no matter what she did. Nothing she did could have justified this woman, as it is written in Romans 3:20-

"Therefore by the deeds of the law no flesh will be justified in His sight, for by the law is the knowledge of sin."

God justifies the ungodly who believe Jesus, not those who think they are "still okay and are doing their best to be obedient" like the Pharisees. See Romans 4:5- "But to him who does not work but believes on Him who justifies the ungodly, his faith is accounted for righteousness,"

Only in Christ are we justified and thus saved from God's wrath (Romans 5:9;) it has got nothing to do with our own human effort at obedience.

Now God disciplines His children but never with any of the things that Christ gave Himself to save us from (sickness, joblessness, lack,etc physical death and the second death in hell.) His correction is never unto death. According to Hebrews 12:5-11, His correction is that we might "live," "for our profit" and that we may "share in His holiness." We have no holiness of our own. We share in His holiness.

Believers, by God's Grace, don't be deceived by false preachers who say that you can do something by yourself to be holy or save yourself from judgment. Believers are able to live holy lives because "It is no longer I that live but Christ lives in me." Believers who are living this "Christ life" will NEVER threaten sinners with "live a holy life, or else God will punish you" because we know that Christ in us is why we are able to live right; instead, we point the sinner to Christ who came to "save His people from their sins"  according to Matt. 1:21, transforms hearts and causes His sheep to live right. He leads us on the path of righteousness. We have no righteousness of our own.

Just check out Jesus' way with the woman that was caught in adultery who was about to face certain death. He did not condemn her. He saved her from the punishment that she totally deserved for the law that she broke. Jesus never asked anyone that came to Him whether they had been paying their tithe or obeying the law before He healed, provided for or delivered them. His is a "no questions asked" salvation but many "leaders" in the church are putting up barriers to receiving from God who gives us all things FREELY with Christ according to Romans 8:32.

Jesus never considered the face paint, jewellery or length of skirt of the woman caught in adultery before He saved her. Hebrews 13:8 tells us that He is the same yesterday, today and forever. As He did with the sinner woman, He will save you from your sins, guilt, condemnation and judgment. It is His "Neither do I condemn you" that makes us "go and sin no more."

The woman caught in adultery was convicted of sin and the penalty is death. So were her law-toting accusers after the order of their father Satan the Accuser! At Christ's words: “He who is without sin among you, let him throw a stone at her first,” the teachers of religious law and the Pharisees who were fighting to keep and enforce the law were also convicted of sin. All have sinned. They could not stone the woman. Neither can anyone today!

But check out what the law-hugging accusers did after they, like the woman, were convicted of their sin and see who "loved the darkness rather than the Light, for their deeds were evil." John 8:9-

"When the accusers heard this, they slipped away one by one, beginning with the oldest, until only Jesus was left in the middle of the crowd with the woman."

The woman remained in the Light, but her accusers who prided themselves in their ability to keep the law left the Light of the world and slunk back into the darkness of their hypocrisy of acting like they were righteous when they all had secret sins!

Instead of remaining and walking in the Light of the world who "...gave His life to free us from every kind of sin, to cleanse us, and to make us His very own people, totally committed to doing good deeds"(Titus 2:14,) they slunk away ... back into the darkness of trying to attain righteousness via law-keeping and thus cutting themselves off from Christ the Light! We see in Galatians 5:4 what literally happened with these teachers of religious law and the Pharisees:

“For if you are trying to make yourselves right with God by keeping the law, you have been cut off from Christ! You have fallen away from God’s grace.”

To be cut off from Christ the Light is to be in darkness and this happens when one is trying to be righteous before God by keeping the law!

Like many leaders in the church today who teach that salvation/inherit eternal life is based on how well one obeys the law, pays tithe and does restitution and not what Christ has done, the Pharisees and teachers of religious law could not bear to come into the Light (Jesus Christ) because then, the truth would be evident: that when it came to attaining righteousness by obeying the law, which was their anchor and the source of their high esteem in society, they were no better than the woman that was caught in adultery. Their deeds were evil! We all need God's saving Grace to live and escape judgment.

The sinner woman did nothing but be helpless before Christ and she was saved from the judgment that she deserved. No amount of washing church toilet and sowing seed could have saved her from the law's demand. Like many in the church today, the Pharisees could not bear the thought of being saved by Grace like the sinner woman. People would realise that they too were sinners and no better than the woman they were trying to kill despite their "holy holy" acts. People would know that they needed exactly the same kind of saving that the sinner woman needed! They would be exposed and lose their "moral" high-standing and respect in society! So they hid in their darkness of law-keeping.

They hated the Light and loved darkness. They went away from Christ the Light of the world. This brings us to Christ's words to Nicodemus in John 3:19-

“This is the verdict: Light has come into the world, but people loved darkness instead of light because their deeds were evil. 20 Everyone who does evil hates the light, and will not come into the light for fear that their deeds will be exposed."

Believers, this verse does not refer to thieves, armed robbers, kidnappers and "bad people" shunning church. The church is already bursting at the seams with such people, many of whom are looking for the Light to save them from their sins but can't find Him in church because of the teaching of a FALSE DOCTRINE by those who hate the Light. This teaching of a false doctrine is why many people don't like going to church. Many pulpits are manned by pretentious Pharisee-type preachers. When Christ the Light of the world walked the earth as Man and taught THE GOSPEL, it was sinners who followed the Light! And no one had to force them to go to hear Jesus. They desired to hear! See Luke 15:1-

"Many dishonest tax collectors and other notorious sinners often gathered around to listen as Jesus taught the people." 2 And the Pharisees and the scribes kept muttering and indignantly complaining, saying, This man accepts and receives and welcomes [preeminently wicked] sinners and eats with them."

The Amplified Version says: "1 Now all the tax collectors and sinners [including non-observant Jews] were coming near Jesus to listen to Him."

Notice "non-observant Jews?" These were people who were not paying tithes, bringing animal sacrifices for their sins or faithfully keeping the Ten Commandments! In response to the complaints of the Pharisees for His associating with these preeminently wicked sinners, Jesus told the Parables of The Lost Sheep, The Lost Coin and The Prodigal Son! All pictures of Grace- undeserved, unearned, unmerited favour!

But the people who loved darkness (aka the descendants of the teachers of religious law and the Pharisees in the church today) actively preach that Jesus Christ "the same yesterday, today and forever" will neither receive nor welcome you because of your sins!

Believers, the people who "loved the darkness rather than the Light, for their deeds were evil" are religious pastors, leaders and religious people who present themselves as “holy” and above sin by their own power, like the Pharisees; those who condemn people by telling them that the Lord will punish them for their inability to keep the Ten Commandments instead of pointing them to Christ as the One who will save/ransom/redeem them from their prisons of sin and death, just as He saved the sinner woman. These ones are as guilty as the ones they are condemning, just like the accusers of the sinner woman. They are under law because they believe that it is what they do or do not do that gives them right-standing with God; but "...no one can ever be made right with God by doing what the law commands..." (Romans 3:20)

The people who love darkness are the religious types in the church who reject the gift of righteousness that Christ died that we might have (Romans 5:19) and cling to theirs from works of the law because it gives them something to boast about. Like the teachers of religious law and the Pharisees, they turn their backs on the Light of the world. They pride themselves in their ability to keep the law and pay their tithes and condemn and threaten people who are weak with God's judgment, something that Jesus would never do to anyone who comes to Him. His strength is made perfect in weakness! Our weakness.

Like the Pharisees, they actively preach righteousness (by works of the law) but shun the finished work of Christ in making us righteous by His obedience (Romans 5:19.) Confessing that they are sinners (1 John 1:9) and that without Grace, they are nothing and have no power whatsoever to reign over sin and hell would mean coming down from the pedestal of "holiness" that they have put themselves on. These ones who love darkness want you to think that it is their hard work, discipline at keeping the law and doing good and not Grace – undeserved, unmerited favour- that got them to the positions that they occupy in their church and in life and will take them to heaven!

They accuse the flock like Satan the Accuser (e.g. How can God bless you when you are still.....? He will punish you if you don't stop sinning.) Many believers are trying hard to obey the law in order to be godly (be like God) because of their false teaching. Same strategy Satan used with Eve. But the result is more sin, "For sin shall not have dominion over you for you are not under law but under grace." Try to obey the law to be godly (be like God) and sin has dominion. But they preach this backwards!

Believer, see Matt. 1:21- "She will bear a Son; and you shall call His name Jesus, for He will save His people from their sins.”

Christ came to save us from our sins, not punish us for them! He will save you as He saved the sinner woman: FREELY and without placing any demands like 70 days fast on you!

These accusers from the pulpit can never cast the first stone. They never point you to Jesus for salvation from sin and judgment as we see in what He did with the sinner woman. They tell you to expect punishment from our Saviour, misrepresenting Him! They point you to obeying the letter that kills. They accuse God's beloved according to the pattern of the devil the Accuser: to steal, to kill and to destroy. They profess Christ yet reject His gift of righteousness and try to get right with God by keeping the Law of Moses: Neither cold nor hot! Romans 5:17 says -

"...But even greater is God’s wonderful grace and His gift of righteousness, for all who receive it will live in triumph over sin and death through this one Man, Jesus Christ."

But these ones who "loved darkness instead of light because their deeds were evil" like the teachers of religious law and the Pharisees do not agree with this verse. They hide the truth and preach that it is by human effort that a person lives in triumphs over sin and death; but the sinner woman could do nothing to save herself. She would have died by the law were it not for the Light of the world!

Believers, the Light of the word does not shine to condemn sinners and expose sinners to judgment. He shines to save sinners from sins, condemnation and judgment, just as He did with the sinner woman. To the sinner who sees himself as having no righteousness of his own and believes, He is Saviour.

For sinner woman, the law, wielded by her accusers, brought her to the end of her tether. She was guilty. She knew it whereas the religious people who accused her and were just as guilty as she was were in denial, like many in the church who think that their law-keeping and good works can get them somewhere with God. There was nothing she could do to save herself from judgment, as we too can do nothing to save ourselves today. Only believe.

Jesus Christ the Light of the world is "the same yesterday, today and forever." He is still saving sinners from sins, condemnation and judgment as He did with the accused woman: FREELY and without asking whether you paid tithe or kept the Ten Commandments. In Him, there is no condemnation (Romans 8:1.) It is His "Neither do I condemn you" that makes us "go and sin no more."

By grace, let's not put the cart before the horse. We don't get good to get Christ. We get Christ to get good. In Him, we get to do works of faith yet not us but Christ in us, so we can't even boast about these works. Christ said "There is none good but God." Of ourselves, we have no good in us. But those who think they are good boast about how their tithe payment and "menstrual rag" righteousnesses from law-keeping will take them to heaven:)

Believers, consider Ephesians 2:8-9: "For it was only through this wonderful grace that we believed in Him. Nothing we did could ever earn this salvation, for it was the gracious gift from God that brought us to Christ! 9 So no one will ever be able to boast, for salvation is never a reward for good works or human striving."

Right believing always produces right living. Wrong believing leads to the proliferation of sins. Only in Christ, Grace Himself, shall sin not have dominion over you says Romans 6:14. United with the One who was raised from the dead (He "was raised up because of our being declared righteous" according to Romans 4:25,) we get to produce "a harvest of good deeds for God." (Romans 7:4)

Believe Right and you will Live Right.