Epilogue - Thankful for Salvation
[Read John 3:31-36]
My children have encountered an interesting reality after moving to Wisconsin. After talking with someone for a while, they would often hear them say, “You must not be from Wisconsin. You have an accent.” My children would typically reply (most often in their head), “I don’t have an accent, YOU have an accent!” It’s kinda funny, because you’ll hear southerners say the same thing about us in the Midwest: “Y’all have an accent and talk kinda funny!” For them, the southern accent is normal. For us, the Midwest accent is normal. It’s what we’re surrounded by. It’s what we’re used to. So, anything that is different is considered weird or un-normal.
This same principle applies much further than just accents. It applies to our whole lives. Not only do we grow up surrounded by people who talk a certain way, we also grow up around people who act a certain way. There are certain mannerisms and practices that we think are “normal” because that’s what we’re surrounded by and what we’re used to—this is what “everybody” does—and when people don’t act that way or do those things it’s kinda weird for us.
It’s important for us to recognize this about ourselves. Each of us is so culturally shaped and molded that we don’t even know that it is happening—or has happened. Many things we think are “normal” are not normal in other cultures and places. Because we’re surrounded by these sayings and practices, we don’t even know what we don’t know. We don’t know that there are other ways of thinking and doing things out there. We don’t know that “Y’asll” is a normal way to use the second person plural or that “Ufta!” is a perfectly fine interjection. We just don’t know what we don’t know and that makes it really hard to comprehend things that happen outside of our cultural experience.
That’s what we are reading about in this passage. We read, “He who is of the earth belongs to the earth and speaks in an earthly way.” (John 3:31, ESV). We are from the earth—we are earthy. We speak like people who are from the earth. We act like people who are from the earth. That’s just the way things are. That’s what we know and that’s what we’re used to. That’s what we think is “normal” because that’s what we’re surrounded by. And when things break into our earthiness, our immediate reaction is, “That’s weird!”
That causes a lot of problems for us—more problems than we realize—because we begin to judge what is normal and good based upon what we see going on around us, rather than understanding it based on God’s Word. This is why so many people look around at the world and say, “As far as I can tell, the world is full of really good people. People are basically good with basically good instincts.” But how do we know that? Based on what standard? Most people say that “people are basically good” because they see that people are basically people and all people basically act the same. So, they assume, since all people basically act the same, then all people must be basically good, right? No. Our earthiness has caused us to be blind. Our earthiness has caused us to place the standard for goodness in humanity, rather than God’s Word.
This passage gives us a very different picture of the world around us. At the very end of the passage we read, “…whoever does not obey the Son shall not see life, but the wrath of God remains on him.” (John 3:36, ESV). That word “remains” is very important. It tells us that the world—apart from Jesus Christ—is under the wrath of God already because they have rebelled against God. So, when they refuse to believe in Jesus, they remain under that wrath, nothing actually changes.
That’s the condition of the world. Rather than looking at the world and saying, “People all basically act the same, therefore people are basically good,” we’re told to say, “People all basically act the same, they are all in rebellion against God, therefore the world is under the wrath of God.” That’s the natural condition of humanity. That’s OUR natural condition.
And that’s why people don’t receive Jesus’ testimony. We read, “He bears witness to what he has seen and heard, yet no one receives his testimony.” (John 3:32, ESV). Jesus comes to us from heaven, speaking about heavenly things, acting in heavenly ways. People look at the things he’s saying and doing and say, “That’s not like everyone else. That’s weird!” They can’t even comprehend what he’s saying and doing because he’s from heaven and we’re from earth. It’s like he’s speaking a different language.
That’s also why they call God a liar. We read, “Whoever receives his testimony sets his seal to this, that God is true.” (John 3:33, ESV). The opposite of that statement is also true. To reject what Jesus is teaching and saying, is to proclaim that you think God is a liar. It means that people are looking at the heavenly things he’s saying and doing and responding, “You’re lying to us. We know what it means to be human. We can see the people around us and how they’re living and what they’re saying. You’re lying to us! We don’t believe you.” Again, their earthiness is blinding them, causing them to reject Jesus’ testimony and witness, causing them to continue in their rebellion, causing them to continue under the wrath of God, causing them to continue on the path toward death.
It’s a pretty bleak and terrifying picture, isn’t it? How can anyone break free from this downward spiral if they don’t know what they don’t know? How can anyone receive the testimony of Jesus Christ, if they are earthy and refuse to recognize the things of heaven? How will anyone ever turn to Jesus Christ, and be delivered from the wrath of God and have eternal life?
We know it’s not impossible, because we read that some people DO receive Jesus’ testimony of heavenly things. We read that “Whoever receives his testimony sets his seal to this, that God is true.” (John 3:33, ESV) and “Whoever believes in the Son has eternal life…” (John 3:36, ESV). So, how does that happen?
That’s been the theme of this entire chapter. John the Baptist said, “A person cannot receive even one thing unless it is given him from heaven.” (John 3:27, ESV) and Jesus said, “Truly, truly, I say to you, unless one is born again he cannot see the kingdom of God.” (John 3:3, ESV). The only way we can break out of our earthiness—to know what we don’t know—is to receive that gift from heaven—to be born again by the power of the Holy Spirit. THEN, our eyes are opened to see the world around us for what it really is. THEN, our hearts are moved to receive the heavenly things of Jesus in this earthy world. This can only be done through a powerful work of God. We can only be moved from our earthy mindset and lifestyle, into a heavenly mindset and lifestyle, by the powerful work of God changing our hearts and changing our minds. That’s the only way we will ever receive Jesus’ testimony, the only way we’ll believe that God is true, the only way we’ll be delivered from the wrath of God, and the only way we’ll have eternal life—through the powerful work of God in our lives.
And for those of us who have experienced that powerful salvation from God, we should be overwhelmingly thankful for that powerful work of God. It’s so easy—and tempting—for us to pretend like it wasn’t a big deal for God to save us. It’s so easy—and tempting—for us to take these things for granted and live unthankful, ungrateful lives toward God’s salvation in our life. Almost like, “Yeah, yeah, I know God saved me, but I’ve got bigger things to do now!” No way!
That’s why it’s so important for us to be reminded—over and over again—of our condition before God saved us. It’s important for each one of us to be reminded that we would have continued down our path of rebellion, our path of rejecting Jesus’ testimony, rejecting heavenly teaching, calling God a liar—continuing down our path toward death—UNLESS God had reached into our life by the power of the Holy Spirit, created new life in us, and said, “You are mine!” We did nothing! God did everything. And for that we should be extremely thankful every single day of our lives.
You know, Jesus’ disciples made this same mistake. They got all caught up in doing ministry and doing powerful things for God. They came back all excited about the work they had done and the miracles they had done. As they were excitedly telling Jesus about all these things he said, “Nevertheless, do not rejoice in this, that the spirits are subject to you, but rejoice that your names are written in heaven.” (Luke 10:20, ESV).