Michael Josephson writes that character counts.
“Let’s face it: It’s not easy to become a person of character. It takes a good heart,
but it also requires wisdom to know right from wrong and the discipline to do right even
when it’s costly, inconvenient, or difficult. Becoming a person of character is a lifelong quest
to be better. A person of character values honesty and integrity and pays whatever price is
needed to be worthy of trust, earning the pride of family and friends, and self-respect. A person of
character plays fair even when others don’t and values no achievement unless it was attained
with honor. A person of character has strong convictions, yet avoids self-righteousness.
A person of character believes in the inherent dignity of all people and treats everyone with respect,
even those whose ideas and ideologies evoke strong disagreement. A person of character deals with
criticism constructively and is self-confident enough to take good advice, to admit and learn from
mistakes, to feel and express genuine remorse, and to apologize graciously. A person of character
knows what’s important, sacrifices now for later, is in control of attitudes and actions, overcomes
negative impulses, and makes the best of every situation. A person of character willingly faces fears
and tackles unpleasant tasks. A person of character is consistently and self-consciously kind and
empathetic, giving generously without concern for reward. A person of character feels and expresses
gratitude freely and frequently. A person of character is not defeated by failure or dissuaded by
disappointment. A person of character seeks true happiness in living a life of purpose and meaning,
placing a higher value on significance than success.”
We must believe to receive the Light JN 1:9-13
John introduces Jesus as "the light". That shines in darkness, to which John bore witness,
who gives light to every man. John declares not everyone was willing to receive the light.
Even His own people as a whole rejected Him. But for those who did receive Him, they were
truly blessed! The same remains true today. Many people do not receive Jesus. Missing out on the
wonderful blessings He offers! Why do people not receive Christ? How can we be sure to receive
Him, and the blessings He offers as "The Light"?
I. We see that MANY DID NOT RECEIVE THE LIGHT. WHO DID NOT RECEIVE THE LIGHT?
1. The world in general. Even though He gives light to every man! Even though the world was made
through Him! 2. His own people in particular. He had come into His own land, His chosen people.
The ones He had made His own from the time of Abraham. He came to His own people. It was
through this people that God had given the Bible. He had promised a Savior. They had much but it
did not bring them to believe in what God wanted for them.
2. WHY didn’t they receive the Light? They refused to know Him. Even His own brothers at first,
though they did after His resurrection. Knowledge often rear disrespect: "A prophet has no honor
in his own country. There are other reasons provided by John in his gospel. Some loved darkness
more than light. Some were afraid of what others thought. Some were misinformed of the facts.
Some were hardened by their traditions. Some loved the praise of men. For similar reasons today,
many people do not receive Jesus. From a newspaper the Los Angeles Times gave story that show
the Catholic Church believes that person can be saved without the truth of the Gospel. Pope John
Paul II said, “All who live a just life will be saved, even if they do not believe in Jesus Christ and the
Roman Catholic Church.” He said “The gospel teaches us that those who live in accordance to with
the Beatitudes, poor in the spirit, the pure in heart, those who bear lovingly the sufferings of life
will enter God’s kingdom.” So there are many who reject the Bible’s teaching that we can only be
saved through Jesus Christ, They believe that the heathen will be saved if they just live good lives as
is told by the pope’s quote above. As long as they are sincere it does not matter what they believe.
In the book Ecumenical jihad, Peter Kreeft writes “there are Bubbhists Hindus, Confucians, Muslims,
atheists and Jews in heaven; sincerity and goodness are the ticket to God’s kingdom, not believing
in the Christ of the Gospel. Through innate goodness, they naturally reason themselves into a
knowledge of God, please him and earn their salvation, whether they ever set eyes on the Bible in
their lives or not.” The Bible states clearly, Jesus said, “I am the way the truth and the life. NO One
Come to the Father except through me. “There is salvation in any other, for there is not other name
under heaven given among men by which we must be saved.” “Because you believe not in Me, you
will die in your sins, and where I go you will never come.” “There is only one mediator between God
and men, the Man Christ Jesus.”
II. What are Benefits of Receiving The Light?
The first benefit is it gives us the right to become children of God. JN 1:12. When we let Christ in
our life it gives us the power and capability to become sons of God. We see this manifested in God’s
wonderful of love 1 JN 3:1 “See how very much our heavenly Father loves us, for he allows us to be
called his children, and we really are! But the people who belong to this world don’t know God, so
they don’t understand that we are his children.” We become heirs of God and joints heirs with Christ,
Ro 8:14-17 “For all who are led by the Spirit of God are children of God. So you should not be like
cowering, fearful slaves. You should behave instead like God’s very own children, adopted into his
family, calling him "Father, dear Father." For his Holy Spirit speaks to us deep in our hearts and tells
us that we are God’s children. And since we are his children, we will share his treasures, for
everything God gives to his Son, Christ is ours, too. But if we are to share his glory, we must also
share his suffering.”
I want us to beware of those who have been proclaimed as bearers of light who through their live
show that they did not follow the truth though did many good deeds. A preached visited Mother
Teresa In Calcutta. He found a bible in which she had written to a young man these words, “May
you enter into the heart of Jesus through the Virgin Mary.” When he went to a home for those who
were suffering he saw pictures of Hindu gods on the walls in a Catholic building. These pictures were
associated with the Hindu temple next door. This is saying to us that everyone is in. Good Hindus,
Buddhists, good people you see on TV are going to make it to heaven they do not need Jesus Christ
and what he did to get them into heaven but by their own works can make it.
The second BENEFIT I see is it gives us The privilege of being born of God, VS 13. It is not by
blood, just coming into the world as a person. Nor as it says by the flesh which refers to the lusts of
the flesh. It is not by the will of man. It is through Jesus Christ alone, by the Spirit of God. If God
does not draw a man, he will not come to God.
We have the means for receiving the light. We must believe in His name. Which is to say we must
believe in Him. The name of a person is often put for the person himself. JN 2:23 ‘Because of the
miraculous signs he did in Jerusalem at the Passover celebration, many people were convinced that
he was indeed the Messiah.” Believing in Him gives us power "to become" a child of God. It is Faith
in Jesus alone that makes us a child of God. We have to abide in His doctrine to become His disciple.
John 8:30-32 “Then many who heard him say these things believed in him. “Jesus said to the
people who believed in him, "You are truly my disciples if you keep obeying my teachings. And you
will know the truth, and the truth will set you free."
We also are free to Him before others. Our faith moves us to obey Christ. It is then that we
become children of God. We also show our faith through baptism. GAL 3:26-27 “So you are all
children of God through faith in Christ Jesus. And all who have been united with Christ in baptism
have been made like him.” Jesus becomes the author of our salvation when we obey Him.
HB 5:9 “In this way, God qualified him as a perfect High Priest, and he became the source of eternal
salvation for all those who obey him.”
Jesus is the "True Light" who gives light to every man. This Brings grace and truth to those in sin.
This Provides the way of salvation through His blood. If you are willing to believe in His name, You
have the right to become a child of God! You can be born of God! Provided your faith is an obedient
faith, willing to abide in the doctrine of Christ
When Muhammad Ali was the champion, I mean he was, he was the king of the boxing world, "floating like a butterfly, stinging like a bee" and nobody could beat him. The story says that one day he was flying in an airplane and they were getting ready to take off, and the flight attendant came back and said, "Mr. Ali, you need to buckle your seatbelt." You know, that’s one of the rules of flying, and Muhammad Ali said, "Superman don’t need no seatbelt." To which, without batting an eye, the flight attendant said, "Superman don’t need no airplane." Now we all feel a little like Muhammad Ali on occasion, don’t we? When we say "I don’t need God. What do I need God for?" "I don’t need church. I’m doing fine without church." "I don’t need to read my Bible. I can be what I need to be without the instruction book." We get the sense that we’re detached from God it is for a good reason because, in our pride, we think we can carry all this ourselves. The fool has said in his heart, “There is no God.” Jesus is the only way to heaven. If you were to die right now do you know for certain you would be in heaven?
