M-G: 8.1.13 // The Most Dangerous Kind of Faith, John 3:16

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What if I told you that the most dangerous kind of faith in the world wasn’t limited to the Muslim extremist trying to kill all the “infidels” everywhere, particularly Americans! Any faith that denies the truth of John 14:6 is a very dangerous and deadly faith for its followers (cf. Mt 10:28). Such faith is self-destructive with eternal repercussions. Strange as this may sound, this would include Judaism as well, and that should not be construed to be an anti-Semitic statement by any stretch of the imagination; for I am pro-Israeli without apology.

Just because they are “God’s chosen people,” however, does not mean they are saved. Most Jews currently reject Jesus Christ as the one and only true Messiah. They will embrace Jesus in the future, but for now, they need Christ as much as any Muslim, Hindu, Buddhist, or person that does not have a personal relationship with Jesus Christ. Enter upon the stage of history one Pharisee, a member of the Sanhedrin, which was the judicial and ecclesiastical authority in ancient Jerusalem, by the name of Nicodemus who “came to Jesus by night” (Jn 3:2).

Nick was one of three Pharisees that we know about who trusted in Christ. This Jewish sect tenaciously clung to Jewish traditions like white on rice; so much so that Jesus accused them of making the commandment of God void, useless, or ineffective by making their traditions more important than the Word of God (Mk 7:9, 13). The other two Pharisees converting to Christianity were Joseph of Arimathea and Saul of Tarsus (or the Apostle Paul). 

There probably were more, but the Bible is silent about any others. The fact that Nick went to Jesus after office hours reveals that he had questions that needed to be answered. His colleagues were ignoring or watering down the miracles of Jesus, but he couldn’t. Could Jesus really be the One? He not only experienced the privilege to talk to Jesus personally (Jn 3:1-21), but he heard firsthand from the lips of Jesus one of the most well-known and beloved passages in all of Scripture spoken for the very first time! Imagine hearing Jesus speak these words and wonder what it would have sounded like as He spoke them to Nicodemus (cf. Jn 7:46),  

“For God so loved the world

 that He gave His only begotten Son,

that whoever believes in Him

 should not perish but have everlasting life.”

Jn 3:16

John 2:23 lends support to the idea that Nicodemus approached Jesus because of the miracles, “Now when He was in Jerusalem at the Passover, during the feast, many believed in His name when they saw the signs which He did.” Notice Nicodemus’s words in Jn 3:2, "Rabbi, we know that You are a teacher come from God; for no one can do these signs that You do unless God is with him," “signs” being the buzzword here.

Notice he said “we” and not “I.” This could possibly suggest there were more like him within the ranks of the Pharisees, or Nick had somebody accompanying him? Coming to Jesus under the cover of darkness indicated at least two things. (1) He wasn’t dispatched by the Sanhedrin, and (2) He feared his own organization if it was discovered that he had met with Jesus privately. They could accuse him of attempting to become a disciple of Jesus. This is how much the Pharisees feared and hated Jesus; and just how risky it was for Nick to meet with Jesus. The Pharisees couldn’t sustain any defections within the Sanhedrin; that would be bad press.

Keep in mind, Nicodemus was not a genuine believer at this time, but unlike the majority of his fellow colleagues, he was connecting the dots between the miraculous signs and the authenticity of Jesus’ Messianic claim. The Sanhedrin was more interested in a Messiah that fit their preconceived notions, a political redeemer, not a spiritual one. In their Pharisaical way of thinking, they were not sinners in need of any spiritual salvation, but what they were in need of was the long-awaited Messiah that would rid them of Roman occupation. Jesus didn’t fit the bill in their estimations and was even upsetting the apple cart in their control over the Jewish people by doing miracles and challenging the traditions of the Elders. Any Jewish uprising would draw the ire of their occupiers for disturbing the Pax Romana or Roman peace. 

The problem with the Pharisees, Sadducees, and the nation was the sin of unbelief. They just didn’t believe Jesus of Nazareth was the Messiah sent by God; more accurately, they didn’t want to – “We will not have this man to reign over us” (Lk 19:14). “Believe” is a key word in this chapter and found seven times in Jn 3:11-21 and a troubling verb for Israel.

Did the Jews believe in God? Yes, they did. Did Nicodemus believe in God? Eventually, he did. So by removing a phrase from Jn 3:16, we will illustrate what the problem was with the Jewish belief in God; it was a belief without the Son (Jn 1:11; 3:11; Rom 2:28, 29; 4:12-16; 9:6), the most dangerous kind of faith that claims to believe in God,

For God so loved the world

that whoever believes in Him

should not perish but have everlasting life.

They could have easily bought into the above redaction. How often do we hear people who are living ungodly lives while claiming to believe in God? Now chase that thought with the words of James, the half-brother of Jesus, “You believe that there is one God. You do well. Even the demons believe—and tremble [shudder or in horror or terror]” (Jas 2:19). Demonic belief in monotheism is nothing more than mental assent, faith without deeds, which is impossible by the way (cf. Jas 2:18)! Are the demons destined for glory? Absolutely not (cf. Mt 25:41). Demons have a right theology of God (monotheistic, recognize his existence and authority) but have an unreal faith – belief in God and nothing else, nada. They are taking their theology with them straight into the lake of fire for eternity (they know this, cf. Mt 8:29), and for every Gentile and Jew who have rejected God’s Son, Jesus Christ, will be compelled to bow the knee at the Day of Judgment to acknowledge that Jesus is not only Yahweh-God but the Sovereign Lord (cf. Php 2:9-10, 11) before being cast into the lake of fire.

God demonstrated His love toward us by giving His only begotten Son as the sacrifice for man’s sin (1 Jn 2:2; 4:10; Rom 5:8). Agape love takes the grace initiative to set things in motion to remedy man from perishing – “He gave;” He didn’t have to. So the Father’s actions are inextricably linked to His Son’s death on the cross. The “whoever” means the door of salvation is wide open to any and everyone. The object of belief is solely in His Son – “believes in Him.” The safe, safer, and safest faith is salvation by grace alone through faith in Jesus Christ alone and shall never perish but have everlasting life (cf. Jn 10:27-28 for a very clear and concise statement on eternal security).

Genuine belief produces good works (a fruitful faith, Jas 2:20; Mt 7:20; Jn 3:21), but works have nothing to do with salvation (Eph 2:8-9) and everything to do with sanctification or growing in grace, maturing in the faith in Christlikeness (2 Pet 3:18). Imagine James addressing demons with that same question, “You say you have faith? I’ll show you my faith by my works.” The only works demons can demonstrate are the works of the devil (Jn 3:19-20).

Marvel not that I am saying, “You must be born again or born from above” to see the kingdom of God (Jn 3:3, 7)! Your belief must be connected to “His only begotten Son,” not merely a belief in God’s existence. If you remove that clause from Jn 3:16 as we illustrated above, your belief is extremely hazardous to your spiritual health (cf. Jn 3:18), a faith without Jesus Christ cannot gain entrance into the kingdom of God. Nicodemus realized this for when he came to Jesus secretly he discovered that his belief system concerning salvation was flawed (Jn 3:10, 11), and he was a ruler (Jn 3:1) and a teacher (Jn 3:10) of the Jews! I am of the opinion that Nicodemus was not born again that night but sometime later (cf. Jn 7:50; 19:39).  

The Jews are still looking for a political Messiah today, rejecting the Messiah of Christianity. With the help of the Holy Spirit (Jn 3:8), Nicodemus shifted his belief from an impersonal religion, Pharisee styled (cf. Mk 7:13), that will not even write or utter God’s name to a personal relationship with the living Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. The warning then is still in effect now for every Jew and Gentile – Any faith without Jesus Christ alone for salvation is imminently dangerous to your spiritual welfare (Jn 3:36; 8:24; 14:6). The most dangerous kind of faith in the world today is a faith relying on human efforts or good works (cf. Eph 2:8-9) and/or some other god other than Jesus Christ (Acts 4:12; Jn 14:6) to get to glory. <><