Believe Or Believe Not

John 3:36 He that believeth on the Son hath everlasting life: and he that believeth not the Son shall not see life; but the wrath of God abideth on him.

The context of this verse is important. John the Baptist had just informed his disciples that Jesus had been given the authority over all things in heaven and earth. Opposing Him is foolish and futile. Everyone should follow Him... believing.

John boldly confronted people about unbelief and its consequences. He did so without coercion or force, just words... truth. Truth so simple and clear that they could not claim they had never heard, or did not understand. They were faced with either believing the Gospel, or not believing.

John's message is clear. There is a single belief, Gospel faith, which frees a person from the abiding wrath of God. Based on what John said here, the eternal affects of Gospel faith, or lack of faith, exist in the present. John taught that the wrath of God actually lives with unbelievers waiting to be permanently released into their existence. But for those who believe, their endless life in Jesus Christ has already begun.

As far as we know, there were no atheists standing there listening to John. These were religious people, but this wasn't about religion. It was about their belief concerning Jesus and His Gospel. These words openly communicate John's belief that religious people can be people without Gospel faith. Religious but lost. We must make sure we know Jesus and believe His Gospel. Nothing else, in the context of eternity, really matters.

Stealing His Bride

John 3:29 ...this my joy therefore is fulfilled.

In ancient Israel marriages were arranged. Most of the time the bride and groom had little to do with choosing who they married. Special “friends” would negotiate marriages with the parents. But marriage negotiator was not exactly the role John the Baptist filled in the illustration he used in this verse. As a trusted friend he was sent by the groom to prepare the bride for His coming. John 3:29

For a moment let's move from the illustration to the reality. In his role John gathered a large group of baptized followers (the bride) who waited for the revelation of the Christ (the Groom). Until this revelation the followers would only see John. In fact, they were constantly mistaking John for the Christ. John 3:28 

John was the one leading the work of gathering, baptizing, and teaching the people. So the Bride's eyes were constantly on him, and her ears listened to every word he spoke. I expect she was constantly complementing him too.

John could have taken possession of the bride--at least in his mind. It would've been easy to do. To avoid this John had to remember his role, and remember that the groom, his friend, was coming for His bride. The Groom trusted him...

Are we who serve Christ today any different than John when it comes to the practical aspects of his ministry? We work to gather and prepare a glorious bride for Jesus when He returns. And they, the people--His church, don't physically see Him they see us. (This thought actually affects me so deeply that I become a bit nauseous when I consider the responsibility of it)

His brides' eyes and ears are, in a sense, ours for the time being. This can be a heady thing. We can become bride thieves, at least in our minds, if we are not careful... a sort of spiritual adultery. And I don't speak only of those of us who are ordained. Having worked with troubled churches for over 20 years I know that some of the greatest problems in churches can be caused by members who take possession of what belongs to Christ alone.

I (we) must remember: the Groom trusts me with His bride. I am (we are) a friend He has sent to care for and prepare His bride. My (our) role is only temporary, limited, and ends with another of His friends stepping into this role when my time is finished, or when He comes. It is not about me, I'm nothing, it is all about Jesus and His bride. Even so come Lord Jesus so this our joy may be fulfilled.

Misplaced Loyalty And Religious Corruption

John 3:26 And they came unto John, and said unto him, Rabbi, he that was with thee beyond Jordan, to whom thou barest witness, behold, the same baptizeth, and all men come to him.

27 John answered and said, A man can receive nothing, except it be given him from heaven.

30 He must increase, but I must decrease.

To some of his followers, the ministry of John the Baptist had become a movement with it’s own existence as its primary goal. This was not God’s intended goal, and John knew that fact even if his disciples did not. John’s ministry was ordained by God to be temporary. It had the threads of death woven into its fabric.

John’s disciples displayed a serious flaw which seems to be omnipresent in human character. We tend to struggle for control in matters that belong solely in God’s hands. We set goals and ends for God’s institutions that He never set. This is a sort of religious covetousness that corrupts vital Christianity and turns it into empty man-made religion.

I spent the first 20 years of my pastoral ministry trying to help troubled churches. In one case I allowed the survival of the institution to become my driving goal... under this guise of survival I allowed myself to use methods and engage in actions I now regret. By trying to do what I thought was good I was actually fighting God, because good is defined by His will not mine. And, whatever His will was, it was clearly not what I was pushing so hard to attain. So... I know first-hand the defection of John's disciples.

When confronted with this obnoxious specter John answered by pointing to God’s Sovereignty over all the affairs of men. He saw his disciple's feigned concern for what it really was: jealousy and envy that flowed from covetousness. They had become followers of John… not followers of God. John must have been dismayed by their defection.

The first loyalty of any Christian must be to God, even if it means our “decrease” or death, or the end of a movement, church, or ministry we value. We must trust God's sovereignty. He always knows best, and makes no mistakes. We must not make more of something He intended for less, even if we believe more is better.

Their loyalty was misplaced. John believed true ministry was in the hands of God, so he simply did what he was ordained to do, and left the rest with God.

Messengers Who Miss The Message

Matthew 9:13 But go ye and learn what that meaneth, I will have mercy, and not sacrifice: for I am not come to call the righteous, but sinners to repentance.

In the previous verses Jesus and his disciples were verbally confronted by the very people who daily displayed the Old Testament ceremonial symbols exactly as commanded in the Bible. Doesn't that seem strange. The people who were tasked with preserving and presenting the symbols were blind to the meaning of the symbols. They were messengers who missed the message.

Through the process of time these religious power-brokers had become the exclusive definers of the symbols. They were the self appointed gatekeepers of God's intent. To them, the symbol was theirs to disclose, and it had to be fulfilled as they explained and expected.

In that corruption we find the fatal flaw that moves sincere followers of God into the hardened religions of men. We are not to control the message, we are to hear and convey the message. It was God's message, not theirs. We who are tasked with displaying God's message must ever remember it is His message not ours. We must seek out the Author's intent and convey it as clearly and openly as possible. In a sense, it must always seem distant from us... above us... outside us... not from us. The message of God should be seen by us as a wild, uncontrollable thing that will not survive in a cage, but is comfortable living near us.

When the message bears the fingerprints of our greed it is soiled... stained. Oh to be as John the Baptist was when he saw the substance of the symbol. He immediately pointed at the fulfillment and said, “Behold the lamb of God...” John's philosophy was simple but vitally profound: “He must increase, but I must decrease.” It was not about John, and it is not about us... when it is about us, we miss the message.