John 15:22 Cross References - AUV

²² They would not be guilty of sinning if I had not come and spoken to them. But now [that I have], they have no excuse for their sin.

⁴⁶ that slave’s master will return on a day that he least expects, and at an hour unknown [to him]. And [that master] will whip him to shreds and will turn him over to suffer the same fate as unfaithful servants receive.

¹⁸ The person who believes in Him will not be condemned, but the one who does not believe in Him has already been condemned, because he did not believe in the name of God’s one and only Son. ¹⁹ Now this is [how God’s] judgment [works]: The Light [See 1:5-9] has come into the world, but people loved darkness [i.e., sin] rather than the Light, because their deeds were evil. ²⁰ For every person who practices evil things hates the light [of truth] and does not come to it, for fear of having his deeds exposed [as sinful]. ²¹ But the person who does what is [according to the] truth [i.e., good things] comes to the light so that his deeds may be shown to have been produced by God.

⁴¹ Jesus said to them, “If you were [really] blind [i.e., unable to see spiritually], you would not be guilty of sin. But since you claim, ‘We can see [fine],’ you remain guilty of sin.”

⁴⁸ The person who rejects me and does not accept my message has One who [will] judge him. The message that I have spoken will judge him on the last day [i.e., the judgment day].

¹¹ Jesus answered him, “You would not have any authority over me unless it were given to you from above [i.e., from God]. So, the person who turned me over to you is guilty of a worse sin.”

³⁰ Now God made allowance for the times when people were still uninformed [about His complete will], but now [in the Gospel age] He requires all people everywhere to repent [i.e., change their hearts and lives].

²⁰ For since the creation of the world, God’s invisible qualities of eternal power and divine nature have been clearly seen, [capable of] being perceived through the things that He has made. So, these people have no excuse [i.e., for not believing in Him].

¹ So, whoever you are, you people do not have any excuse for judging people [Note: At this point Paul begins addressing the Jews. See verse 17]. For in a matter where you judge someone else [to be wrong] you [actually] condemn yourselves, because you are practicing the same things [you condemn them for doing].

¹⁴ But I offer thanks to God, who always leads us [preachers] to victory in [the service of] Christ, and through us makes known the “fragrant odor” of His knowledge everywhere. ¹⁵ For we [i.e., through our preaching] are like a fragrant incense which goes up to God, [and spreads the knowledge] of Christ among both saved and lost people. ¹⁶ To lost people [we become] a smell of death [i.e., we bring condemnation to people who reject our message]; to saved people [we become] a fragrance of life [i.e., we bring salvation to people who accept our message]. And who is adequate to [accomplish] such tasks?

⁴ [These are people] who were once enlightened [by the Gospel message], who had experienced the gift from heaven [i.e., forgiveness, never ending life, etc. See Rom. 6:23], who had partaken of the Holy Spirit [See Acts 2:38], ⁵ and who had experienced the good teaching of God and the powers of the coming age [i.e., they had already received some of the blessings of the Christian life, perhaps even miraculous signs]. ⁶ (OMITTED TEXT) ⁷ For God blesses land that has soaked up the rain which has fallen on it, and it produces a profitable crop for those people for whom the land was farmed. ⁸ But if the land produces [only] thorns and thistles, it is worthless and in danger of being cursed [by God], and will end up being burned.

¹⁷ So, the person who knows the good [he ought] to be doing, but is not doing it, is sinning.

¹⁶ As servants of God, you should live as free people, but do not use this freedom to cover up your wrongdoing.