The purpose of the Gospel of John is evangelism, that men would believe and be saved: John 20:31 but these are written so that you may believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God, and that by believing you may have life in His name. Peter knew that Jesus had the Words of eternal life, as recorded when disciples quit following Jesus because the Truth became too much for them, and Jesus asked, “Do you want to go away as well?” John 6:68 Simon Peter answered him, "Lord, to whom shall we go? You have the words of eternal life, The reality is, men either are, or were in darkness. If you have been brought from spiritual darkness to light – in other words, the Spirit of God has illuminated your mind in a way that you now understand the Light, consider the things you DID NOT understand when you were in darkness. These are the very things you need to tell those still in darkness! I.	The Power of God God is the Creator of all things. Genesis 1:1 In the beginning, God created the heavens and the earth. I remember talking to a neighbor at a graduation party. He is a teacher and he also sits on the board for curriculum development. Having seen him at our church a few times I assumed he was a believer. As we talked, I asked him, “how do you handle the requirement to write evolution into the school curriculums?” He looked at me with a puzzled look and said, “There is plenty of evidence to support evolution!” I knew right then that I was not talking to a true believer. After all, how can you ever land on the Truth of a Divine Creator after you have determined we have evolved from pond scum and eventually became the decedents of monkeys?” If you cannot believe the first verse of the Bible how is it possible to believe anything else? If a man is to come out of spiritual darkness, he must believe that creation has a Creator, and the Creator has blessed us, He has sustained us, and He has made His will known to us. God spoke all things into existence. Genesis 1:3 And God said, "Let there be light," and there was light. Genesis 1:6 And God said, "Let there be an expanse in the midst of the waters, and let it separate the waters from the waters." Genesis 1:9 And God said, "Let the waters under the heavens be gathered together into one place, and let the dry land appear." Genesis 1:11 And God said, "Let the earth sprout vegetation, plants yielding seed, and fruit trees bearing fruit in which is their seed, each according to its kind, on the earth." The wind, seas, and all creation listen to Him. Mark 4:39 And He awoke and rebuked the wind and said to the sea, "Peace! Be still!" And the wind ceased, and there was a great calm. Matthew 21:19 And seeing a fig tree by the wayside, He went to it and found nothing on it but only leaves. And He said to it, "May no fruit ever come from you again!" And the fig tree withered at once. II.	God is Righteous and He has a Righteous Requirement 2Corinthains 5:21 For our sake he made him to be sin who knew no sin, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God. Leviticus 11:45 For I am the LORD who brought you up out of the land of Egypt to be your God. You shall therefore be holy, for I am holy." 1Peter 1:16 since it is written, "You shall be holy, for I am holy." Romans 8:3-4 For God has done what the law, weakened by the flesh, could not do. By sending his own Son in the likeness of sinful flesh and for sin, he condemned sin in the flesh, 4 in order that the righteous requirement of the law might be fulfilled in us, who walk not according to the flesh but according to the Spirit. If a man is to come out of spiritual darkness, he must believe that God is Holy, and He takes righteousness very serious – He does not turn a blind eye to sin. III.	Sin is Severe and has Severe Consequence If we are not eternal, but instead die and cease to exist, sin is no big deal. If God is going to give us a pass on our sin and grant us eternal life regardless, sin is no big deal. If there is no God to which we are accountable, sin is no big deal. But if a man is to come out of spiritual darkness, he must believe God exists, and He has the power and will to punish all sin eternally. Man must re-think what they think they know of God, His Word uses the word WRATH 212 times, not because He is an evil dictator, but because He is Love and wants all men to heed the warning. God making known the coming of His Wrath is NOT unloving any more than it is unloving to warn a blind man when he is about to step over a cliff. Isaiah 13:13 Therefore I will make the heavens tremble, and the earth will be shaken out of its place, at the wrath of the LORD of hosts in the day of his fierce anger. Micah 5:15 And in anger and wrath I will execute vengeance on the nations that did not obey. Zephaniah 1:18 Neither their silver nor their gold shall be able to deliver them on the day of the wrath of the LORD. In the fire of His jealousy, all the earth shall be consumed; for a full and sudden end He will make of all the inhabitants of the earth. Matthew 3:7 But when he saw many of the Pharisees and Sadducees coming to his baptism, he said to them, "You brood of vipers! Who warned you to flee from the wrath to come? Proverbs 11:4 Riches do not profit in the day of wrath, but righteousness delivers from death. John 3:36 Whoever believes in the Son has eternal life; whoever does not obey the Son shall not see life, but the wrath of God remains on him. Ephesians 5:6 Let no one deceive you with empty words, for because of these things the wrath of God comes upon the sons of disobedience. Colossians 3:6 On account of these the wrath of God is coming. Revelation 11:18 The nations raged, but your wrath came, and the time for the dead to be judged, and for rewarding your servants, the prophets and saints, and those who fear your name, both small and great, and for destroying the destroyers of the earth." If a man is to come out of spiritual darkness, he must understand that his sin requires Justice and Justice comes in the form of God’s Eternal Wrath. Just as justice must be done when a person has broken the law in society, God’s Justice must be done when man sins. To suggest that you do not deserve to suffer under God’s Wrath for eternity is as illogical as saying a murderer and rapist should only pay a $5 fine. If a man is to come out of spiritual darkness, he must see his need for a Savior, One who would cleanse him of his sin and save him from the Wrath to come. Acts 4:11-12 This Jesus is the stone that was rejected by you, the builders, which has become the cornerstone. 12 And there is salvation in no one else, for there is no other name under heaven given among men by which we must be saved." Romans 10:8-11 But what does it say? "The word is near you, in your mouth and in your heart" (that is, the word of faith that we proclaim); 9 because, if you confess with your mouth that Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved. 10 For with the heart one believes and is justified, and with the mouth one confesses and is saved. 11 For the Scripture says, "Everyone who believes in him will not be put to shame." 1John 1:5-9 This is the message we have heard from him and proclaim to you, that God is light, and in him is no darkness at all. 6 If we say we have fellowship with him while we walk in darkness, we lie and do not practice the truth. 7 But if we walk in the light, as he is in the light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus his Son cleanses us from all sin. 8 If we say we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us. 9 If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness. Romans 5:9 Since, therefore, we have now been justified by his blood, much more shall we be saved by him from the wrath of God. 2Corinthians 5:17 Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation. The old has passed away; behold, the new has come.
