Unsaved Believers
John 2:23-25
In the Bible and in everyday life we read and hear of four kinds of believers:
1. Those who are saved and know it
2. Those who are unsaved and know it
3. Those who are saved and don’t know it
4. Those who are unsaved and don’t know it.
Or, as someone else put it; in every church there are Believers, unbelievers, and make-believers. The make-believers are those who at one time perhaps in an emotionally charged service went forward, make some sort of outward profession of faith, shook the preacher’s hand, and even went through the process of filling out a card and got baptized and joined the church,...but there was no inward change nor amendment of life. It was all a charade in the name of almighty God. There was no conviction of sin and no conversion to faith in Christ and since that time the “convert” has put on a façade and may even have everyone in the church fooled,...everyone that is except God.
In this passage John speaks of those who are unsaved because they have a faulty idea of what true faith is all about. When Jesus began His ministry there were many who followed Him just because they saw the miracles and for what they could get out of Him.
They professed to believe in Jesus, but Jesus did not believe in them. He knew their profession was false.
Jer. 17:9...The heart is deceitful above all things, and desperately wicked, who can know it? Only God knows the heart of a man, we don’t even know our own heart in many situations.
The word believed in v. 23, and commit in v. 24 are the same word.
It is one thing to believe in Jesus, but quite another to commit yourself to Him and continue in His word, Jn. 8:30-32.
For many of Jesus’ followers, it was a self-centered, greedy religion they had,...much like the purveyors of the prosperity gospel and seed faith principles today. If it weren’t for the sensational entertainment and the promises of health and wealth many would not be followers today. If there were no profit in religion, there would be fewer prophets.
That’s why I admire the unknown missionaries of our convention 1,000 times more than I do the famous TV personalities.
Philip Yancey, the Christian author, talks about how he categorizes his interview subjects into two sets: Christian Entertainers and Christian Servants.
The Christian Servants...labor faithfully in adverse circumstances and even dangerous places with no recognition and very little pay. But they don’t do it for the money and fame. They love the Lord more than they do their own lives, and many have given their lives for the cause of Christ. They don’t look on their ministry as a sacrifice, but as a challenge, a test of faith; an opportunity for God to work mightily.
The Christian Entertainers...the actors, musicians, singers, comedians fill up our Christian magazines and Christian TV shows and Christian movies. We fawn over them and reward them with fame, huge contracts, fan mail but many are depressed and express self-doubts.
One in particular, when he didn’t get the role he wanted for a particular Christian movie became so depressed he had to get away to a tropical island and walk the beach for a few days to sort things out in his mind. (I don’t know about you but I just feel so sorry for him;...he needs a therapist like the Gunny in the Geico commercial.)
The same miracles that attracted someone like Nicodemus to honestly seek out the Lord, also caused others to claim that Jesus did them by the power of Beelzebub, the devil. The same events that opened some eyes, also blinded others, Jn 9:39-41.
If you were blind,...that is unconscious and unaware of the light around you and had no capacity for the knowledge of God, then the sin of ejecting the Light would not be charged against you. But you claim to see, and in so doing condemn yourselves.
As we have already seen, Jesus tied His miracles to His message:
Wedding at Cana...the joyous new relationship,
Cleansing of the Temple...Out with the old, and in with the new.
John is now reiterating that Jesus knows the hearts of all people, and He is never fooled by our piety and our claims. He knows the individual heart.
Jn. 1:42...Jesus knew the character of Peter, a stone; Luke 22:31-34.
Jn 1:48...Jesus knew Nathanael since he was a baby, sleeping under the fig tree. An old Jewish custom said that putting your baby in the shade of a fig tree would give the child peace, security and prosperity, Micah 4:4.
Jn 8:10,11...Jesus knew what was in the heart of the woman taken in adultery,...neither do I condemn thee, go and sin no more.
Jn 8:40...Jesus knew the hearts of His enemies.
Jesus also knows that man has a thirst for the sensational.
The 5,000 that He fed with a little boy’s lunch wanted to make Him their king,...until He started preaching on the Bread of Life, then they started dwindling and going away.
John 1:17 says, Grace and truth came by Jesus Christ.
1. Those who are saved and know it
2. Those who are unsaved and know it
3. Those who are saved and don’t know it
4. Those who are unsaved and don’t know it.
Or, as someone else put it; in every church there are Believers, unbelievers, and make-believers. The make-believers are those who at one time perhaps in an emotionally charged service went forward, make some sort of outward profession of faith, shook the preacher’s hand, and even went through the process of filling out a card and got baptized and joined the church,...but there was no inward change nor amendment of life. It was all a charade in the name of almighty God. There was no conviction of sin and no conversion to faith in Christ and since that time the “convert” has put on a façade and may even have everyone in the church fooled,...everyone that is except God.
In this passage John speaks of those who are unsaved because they have a faulty idea of what true faith is all about. When Jesus began His ministry there were many who followed Him just because they saw the miracles and for what they could get out of Him.
They professed to believe in Jesus, but Jesus did not believe in them. He knew their profession was false.
Jer. 17:9...The heart is deceitful above all things, and desperately wicked, who can know it? Only God knows the heart of a man, we don’t even know our own heart in many situations.
The word believed in v. 23, and commit in v. 24 are the same word.
It is one thing to believe in Jesus, but quite another to commit yourself to Him and continue in His word, Jn. 8:30-32.
For many of Jesus’ followers, it was a self-centered, greedy religion they had,...much like the purveyors of the prosperity gospel and seed faith principles today. If it weren’t for the sensational entertainment and the promises of health and wealth many would not be followers today. If there were no profit in religion, there would be fewer prophets.
That’s why I admire the unknown missionaries of our convention 1,000 times more than I do the famous TV personalities.
Philip Yancey, the Christian author, talks about how he categorizes his interview subjects into two sets: Christian Entertainers and Christian Servants.
The Christian Servants...labor faithfully in adverse circumstances and even dangerous places with no recognition and very little pay. But they don’t do it for the money and fame. They love the Lord more than they do their own lives, and many have given their lives for the cause of Christ. They don’t look on their ministry as a sacrifice, but as a challenge, a test of faith; an opportunity for God to work mightily.
The Christian Entertainers...the actors, musicians, singers, comedians fill up our Christian magazines and Christian TV shows and Christian movies. We fawn over them and reward them with fame, huge contracts, fan mail but many are depressed and express self-doubts.
One in particular, when he didn’t get the role he wanted for a particular Christian movie became so depressed he had to get away to a tropical island and walk the beach for a few days to sort things out in his mind. (I don’t know about you but I just feel so sorry for him;...he needs a therapist like the Gunny in the Geico commercial.)
The same miracles that attracted someone like Nicodemus to honestly seek out the Lord, also caused others to claim that Jesus did them by the power of Beelzebub, the devil. The same events that opened some eyes, also blinded others, Jn 9:39-41.
If you were blind,...that is unconscious and unaware of the light around you and had no capacity for the knowledge of God, then the sin of ejecting the Light would not be charged against you. But you claim to see, and in so doing condemn yourselves.
As we have already seen, Jesus tied His miracles to His message:
Wedding at Cana...the joyous new relationship,
Cleansing of the Temple...Out with the old, and in with the new.
John is now reiterating that Jesus knows the hearts of all people, and He is never fooled by our piety and our claims. He knows the individual heart.
Jn. 1:42...Jesus knew the character of Peter, a stone; Luke 22:31-34.
Jn 1:48...Jesus knew Nathanael since he was a baby, sleeping under the fig tree. An old Jewish custom said that putting your baby in the shade of a fig tree would give the child peace, security and prosperity, Micah 4:4.
Jn 8:10,11...Jesus knew what was in the heart of the woman taken in adultery,...neither do I condemn thee, go and sin no more.
Jn 8:40...Jesus knew the hearts of His enemies.
Jesus also knows that man has a thirst for the sensational.
The 5,000 that He fed with a little boy’s lunch wanted to make Him their king,...until He started preaching on the Bread of Life, then they started dwindling and going away.
John 1:17 says, Grace and truth came by Jesus Christ.
In grace He fed the hungry, in truth He taught them the word of God. They wanted the grace, but not the truth,...so they left.
Jn 6:66ff...He asked the disciples, “Will ye also go away? “Lord, to whom shall we go? Thou hast the words of eternal life, and we believe and are sure that thou art that Christ, the Son of the Living God.”
That is the essence of true faith that honors God,...no demand for miracles, just a simple trust no matter what God gives or what He in His infinite wisdom chooses to withhold from us.
Jn 6:66ff...He asked the disciples, “Will ye also go away? “Lord, to whom shall we go? Thou hast the words of eternal life, and we believe and are sure that thou art that Christ, the Son of the Living God.”
That is the essence of true faith that honors God,...no demand for miracles, just a simple trust no matter what God gives or what He in His infinite wisdom chooses to withhold from us.
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