"19 And this is the judgement: the light has come into the world, and people loved the darkness rather than the light because their works were evil. 20 For everyone who does wicked things hates the light and does not come to the light, lest his works should be exposed. 21 But whoever does what is true comes to the light, so that it may be clearly seen that his works have been carried out in God.”
John 3:19-21
These solemn verses tell us how men are lost, and they stand with unmistakable clarity notwithstanding the Scripture's equally unmistakable teaching on predestination. Salvation is all of God, but man's ruin is from himself. It is Dr James Denney who points out so forcibly that the wrath of God is spoken of in Scripture not in relation to a divine decree but to man's ungodliness and unrighteousness. It is not, as we see here, because of lack of light, but because of lack of will to be saved, that men are finally doomed. For light has come - this is incontrovertible, but men love darkness rather than light because their deeds are evil. Those therefore that refuse Christ, do so because there is evil in them, and their way of life will in the end prove to have been evil. When Christ is refused, we may be sure that there is something or other in heart or life that is not right in the sight of God. Human eyes may not detect the flaw; but the eyes of an all-seeing God do. This is a very sobering and challenging thought, and one that ought to enable us to see the 'good' of 'good' men, who nevertheless dispute the necessity of conversion, in proper perspective. If Jesus' words mean anything here, they mean that true goodness will always come out on Christ's side - and this means on the side of conversion, salvation by the blood of the cross and rebirth by the Spirit. The 'good' man who takes issue with Christ on these fundamental matters simply exposes himself as being against Christ - and therefore against goodness too, and God.