Matched Set

Scripture: Then Jesus cried out, "Whoever believes in me does not believe in me only, but in the one who sent me. The one who looks at me is seeing the one who sent me. I have come into the world as a light, so that no one who believes in me should stay in darkness. If anyone hears my words but does not keep them, I do not judge that person. For I did not come to judge the world, but to save the world. There is a judge for the one who rejects me and does not accept my words; the very words I have spoken will condemn them at the last day." John 12:44-48

Observation: Jesus is defining the clear delineation in the "roles and responsibilities" of the Son and the Father - of Jesus and God - of Messiah and Yahweh:

-- If you believe in the Son, you must also believe in the Father.
-- The Messiah provides light to those who lived in darkness and therefore could not see Yahweh.
-- Jesus provides salvation, because God provides judgment upon those who do not believe.

Application: It is interesting to me to understand the "3-in-1" nature of God, yet to also understand the differences between God and Jesus. Without understanding both, Christians can fall into two camps. In one case, some Christians get so entrenched in the "faith alone" idea - that their faith is based exclusively in their belief in Jesus - that they lose sight of their relationship with God. At the extreme, they can actually dis-believe in God (or some of his instructions) and believe they are still faithful because they "love Jesus".

On the other hand, there are those who get entrenched in the "God's judgment" idea - that despite their faith they must observe teachings about procedures and practices - and they miss out on the joy of Jesus. They become bound to ritual and guilt-ridden through their failure to comply, and do not simply bask in the love that comes from salvation.

Jesus makes it clear we need both. We need to observe God's teaching because we are under his judgment. However, that judgment includes faith in Jesus, without which we can never be good enough to achieve salvation on our merits.

Most importantly, Jesus in the light that shows God. You cannot fully see and understand God without faith in Jesus, because you cannot grasp his love until you realize he sacrificed his own son for you. God and Jesus are absolutely a packaged set - and an understanding of the relationship between salvation and judgment is key.

Prayer: Lord, I am under your judgment, and I know SO well that I cannot comply with your expectations well enough to not incur your wrath. I thank you for the salvation of Jesus, for your Holy Spirit that helps me gain strength to better attempt to do you will, and for your love that chose to provide strength and salvation out of your judgment. May I improve every day - just a little, every day - so that I can move closer to emulating Jesus in my daily life. Amen.