December 8th, 2024
From The Series: John-
So That You May Believe
Part 13 For God So
Loved The World
The Gospel of John John
3:16-21
Mountain View
Evangelical Missionary Church
This morning, we will begin with the
most famous Bible verse John 3:16. You see it written on cardboard signs at
sporting events. Christians love to quote it because it is brief and easy to
remember. Atheists even quote it because it is non-threatening. That’s probably
why a lot of Christians quote it as well, the non-threatening nature of it. A
lot of people only quote or know the first half of 3:16. The second half
contains that conditional clause “that whoever believes in Him”. A lot of
people don’t like that clause in the Salvation Agreement.
What? I have to believe in the
Son, in order to receive the Father’s love! The amazing thing that so many miss,
both in and outside the church, is that God’s love is wide enough to include
the most terrible of sinners but narrow enough to exclude all who reject Jesus.
Too many false teachers are peddling the narrative that Jesus loves everybody
and will accept you in your sin (which is true by the way) but then they
falsely proclaim that you do not have to change, and you can continue to wallow
in your sin because Jesus loves you and paid your debt so you have a
get-out-of-hell-free card.
We change when we are adopted
into God’s Family because we love and appreciate what Jesus has done, so we
change to honour His work. We are now adopted children of a King, we should act
like it!
So this passage this morning is
one of the most quoted passages in all the Bible but it is probably one of the
most misapplied passages of all the Bible. Let’s dig in and see what God wishes
to teach us this morning.
If you did not bring your Bible
this morning, you should find one underneath one of the chairs in the row in
front of you. John Chapter 3, starting at verse 16 will be found on page 862 of
the pew bible. If you do not have a bible at home, please take that bible with
you as a gift from Mountain View Church. We feel that it is vitally important
that you have easy access to God’s Word. And God’s Word says…
READ JOHN 3:16-21
“16 For God so loved
the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall
not perish but have eternal life. 17 For God did not send his
Son into the world to condemn the world, but to save the world through him. 18 Whoever
believes in him is not condemned, but whoever does not believe stands condemned
already because they have not believed in the name of God’s one and only Son. 19 This
is the verdict: Light has come into the world, but people loved darkness
instead of light because their deeds were evil. 20 Everyone who
does evil hates the light, and will not come into the light for fear that their
deeds will be exposed. 21 But whoever lives by the truth comes
into the light, so that it may be seen plainly that what they have done has
been done in the sight of God.”
PRAY
There is some discussion in the world of biblical interpretation as to
whether these are the words of Jesus, or are they a commentary inserted by the
author. I tend to think that Jesus is not speaking here. I see that John
has added some commentary to what has just taken place between Nicodemus and
Jesus. John is adding some clarifying thoughts to the conversation that he has
shared with his readers.
That does not make these words any less inspired than the red letters.
Some Christians make this mistake, thinking that only the words spoken by Jesus
are inspired.
2 Peter 1:21 says, "For no prophecy was ever produced by the will of man,
but men spoke from God as they were carried along by the Holy Spirit." This
thought does not apply only to prophecy, but we can apply this thought to all
of the Bible. The Bible is the inspired Word of God, co-authored by the Holy
Spirit, therefore every word is trustworthy. The challenge for us modern-day
readers lies in determining what the authors were saying to the original
audience in their historical and cultural context. Discovering their truth and
bringing it forward to today, for truth is universal and timeless. Truth is
truth. We do not get to pick and choose what we will follow or believe, or what
books we will obey and which books or passages we can ignore.
So, John is making a comment here
and offering an explanation of what Jesus was trying to teach and what
Nicodemus was having difficulty grasping. “For God so loved the world…” God
loves the world. It is His creation. He created it perfectly! Man messed it up!
We were the ones who brought the curse upon creation. God created it perfectly
and in a harmonious state with all its creatures. And Jesus was there.
Do you remember the first five
verses of this book? “1 In the beginning was the
Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. 2 He was
with God in the beginning. 3 Through him all things were made;
without him nothing was made that has been made. 4 In him was
life, and that life was the light of all mankind. 5 The light
shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome it.” John 1:1-5. We are going to come
back to this concept of light and darkness near the end of the message.
Jesus loves the World. Jesus created the world.
Jesus holds the entire creation together. Jesus loves the world so much that He
provides for the world. All of creation works together. From the lowest
bacteria to the Apex predators of the wild, the entire created order is
interconnected and held together by Jesus. Jesus provides for all.
But the love of God cannot override the
Holiness of God and His sense of Justice. Unlike earthly judges who are
constantly bending or breaking the law and things like sentencing guidelines in
the name of mercy and justice. True justice is served perfectly by the Father.
Justice cannot ignore the disobedience of mankind. That is not love.
When a child errs, a loving parent corrects the
child. Failing to correct a child who is making mistakes is not the loving
thing to do. It is the opposite actually. You are failing to love the child by
not correcting their behaviour. This “gentle parenting” fad that is happening
right now is not loving or helpful. I have seen adults who have been coddled
and protected in their childhood grow up and be confused and anxious when they
are faced with the realities of life. Especially, when they get out in the workforce
and their employers refuse to coddle them any longer. Some of them can’t cope
and they collapse on the floor or ground screaming like a two-year-old.
I mention that only to show the contrast
between a perfect father, God, and the imperfect parents that we humans are. “For God so loved the world…” that He not only created
it, He not only sustains all of it, He not only holds it all together, He
corrects the bad behaviour of those who exist in His creation.
The Father also loves the world enough, “that He gave His one and only Son…” The King James
reads, “he gave his only begotten Son,…”. Begotten
here means unique, or one of a kind. Jesus is exactly that, “unique and one of
a kind!” The Father loves the world so much that “He
gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in Him shall not perish but
have eternal life.” What does that mean?
I was just speaking about the love of the
Father and the Justness of the Father and how despite how strong the Love of
the Father is, it cannot override the justness of the Father. So what is a
loving Father to do? That is where another attribute of the Father comes to the
forefront to rescue us. The Mercy of the Father becomes evident in the work of
the Son.
Look at verse 17, “17 For
God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but to save the
world through him.” “17 For God did not send his Son into the
world to condemn the world…”, Jesus does not condemn the world. It is
already condemned and mankind did the condemning when our forefathers disobeyed
God in the Garden of Eden. Many bad theologians have tried to disconnect modern
man from the original sin of Adam. These are the false teachers who claim that
we are all basically good and just a few of us make bad choices, so a loving
God would not just give a blanket condemnation to all mankind!
The Bible tells us otherwise! In his great theological textbook, the Apostle
Paul wrote this in Romans 3:23-24, “23 for
all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, 24 and all
are justified freely by his grace through the redemption that came by Christ
Jesus.” We have all sinned and fallen short of the glory
of God. We need a rescuer, we need a saviour. We cannot earn God’s mercy and we
do not deserve God’s mercy because of our rebellion against God. I want to
point out something here, look very carefully at verse 24, “24 and all are justified freely by his grace
through the redemption that came by Christ Jesus.” Pay attention to
every word in this verse. It is not saying that “All are forgiven
by Jesus”. That is a doctrine known as Universalism and it is not taught in the
Bible. It says, “All are justified freely by His
grace through the redemption that came by Christ Jesus”. We need to
define grace here to understand who the “all” is referring to. Grace is the mercy
of God as applied by God to those whom He has chosen.
Romans 9:14-16 makes this clear, “14 What then shall we say? Is God unjust?
Not at all! 15 For he says to Moses,
“I will have mercy on whom
I have mercy,
and I will have compassion
on whom I have compassion.”
16 It does not, therefore,
depend on human desire or effort, but on God’s mercy.”
We must catch ourselves when we start to
question God on this matter. The Father is not obligated to save any! He
extends mercy to those whom He has chosen.
Scripture makes it clear that it is God who
does the choosing, and He does not choose everyone. If everyone received the
same sentence then there would be no mercy! It would not be mercy it
would be universal salvation which is not found in the Bible. The only
universal principle found in the Bible is the universal condemnation that man
brought upon himself through the disobedience of our forefathers. Is this
starting to make sense to you?
Paul repeats this doctrine in Romans 5:19, “19 For just as through the disobedience of
the one man the many were made sinners, so also through the obedience of the
one man the many will be made righteous.” Notice Paul is saying the many
will be made righteous” not the “all”. But even those whom God extends
His mercy on, those who will experience Grace, is a powerful example of the
love that He has for us and the world. In order to be able to accept the mercy
of God through the actions of Jesus, we must also be willing to accept the
condemnation due us through the actions of Adam. You don’t get Jesus without
first accepting Adam.
Those who think or claim that this is not fair,
fail to appreciate the Holiness of the character of God. God’s not one
of us. Jesus isn’t our pal. The Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit are
perfect and holy beings who have chosen to extend mercy to those whom they have
chosen.
It is in keeping with this doctrine that
there is the conditional clause in John 3:16, “16 For
God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever
believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life.” So many gloss
over that condition, because it means submission for them. Submission to the
authority of Jesus Christ is placed on their lives. All of this still reveals
God’s immense love for humanity.
We have the Biblical examples of the flood and
of the punishment of Sodom and Gomorrah as examples of when God withdrew His
love and mercy from mankind. We also have examples of the invasion and
conquering of the Babylonians and the Assyrians when He passed judgment on
God’s chosen people. Too many Christians fail to appreciate and fear the
Holiness of God.
There should exist in the walk of every
Christian an appreciation of the tension between God’s unconditional love which
He extends to people, and the Holiness and Justness of His character. I was
sharing the other night at the Men’s group how amazed I am at the depth of the
Love that God has for us. The countless examples we read about in the Bible and
add to that, the countless examples of His love and mercy that each one of us
can think of or speak to that we or family and friends have experienced is
boundless.
The depth of God’s love cannot be exhausted,
that is why it is critical to share this love with everyone you meet. We are
not to try and determine who God has selected for salvation. That is not the
task that we have been given. We have been told to share “the Good News” with
everyone we meet. If you have a friend or family member who still stands
condemned because of their rebellion against God, don’t you think the loving
thing to do is to share the gospel with them?
God said, “I will have
mercy on whom I have mercy, and I will have compassion on whom I have
compassion.” We do not know who those people are. That is why we should
be sharing the gospel with everyone we know, or at the very least, be praying
for those who do not yet know Jesus in a personal way. Our understanding of
this love that God has for us, should be all the motivation we need to share it
with others.
Back to
this morning’s passage. Look with me at verse 18, “18 Whoever
believes in him is not condemned, but whoever does not believe stands condemned
already because they have not believed in the name of God’s one and only Son.” Do
you see the pivotal role of belief in Jesus? The distinction between
condemnation and salvation is based on faith. Encourage listeners to examine
their faith and consider how trusting in Jesus alters their lives. This point
should inspire us believers to reflect on our journey and the assurance that
comes from a saving relationship with Christ.
Paul gives us this same reassurance
in Romans 8:1, “1 Therefore, there is now no
condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus,” By being in Christ Jesus we have avoided
the condemnation that was due us. Let’s be clear about one thing here as well,
and let’s be honest if not with each other, let’s at least be honest with
ourselves. We didn’t need Adam’s sin to be condemned. Am I right? If you are familiar
with the teachings of Jesus you will know that our condemnation does not lie in
our actions, but our condemnations begin in our thoughts.
Jesus told the Pharisees that they believed
committing adultery was a sin, but Jesus told them that even by looking at a
woman with lust, they were committing adultery in their hearts. He challenged
them that murder was a sin, but also hating your neighbour was committing
murder in their hearts. So, if we are honest with ourselves, we do not need
Adam to condemn us, our actions and thoughts are enough to condemn us.
Let’s wrap up by looking at the final verses
from this morning. “19 This is the
verdict: Light has come into the world, but people loved darkness instead of
light because their deeds were evil. 20 Everyone who does evil
hates the light, and will not come into the light for fear that their deeds
will be exposed. 21 But whoever lives by the truth comes into
the light, so that it may be seen plainly that what they have done has been
done in the sight of God.”
I mentioned earlier the concept of light and
darkness presented at the beginning of this Gospel. Here we see the concept
being developed further.
Genesis 1:3 is not only the first recorded
words of God, but it is also the first time we see light mentioned In the
Bible. “3 And God said, “Let there be
light,” and there was light.” Did you ever ask yourself what was there for
light before God created the sun and stars? Was it only darkness or could there
have been light from another source?
Isaiah 60:19 gives us an idea, “19 The sun will no more be your light by
day, nor will the brightness of the moon shine on you, for the Lord will be
your everlasting light, and your God will be your glory.” Revelation
21:23 confirms this concept, “23 The city does not need
the sun or the moon to shine on it, for the glory of God gives it light, and
the Lamb is its lamp.” I think we can draw from scripture the idea that
the glory of God was providing light before the sun and stars were created.
But we read in this passage from John that God
is the light. Specifically. Jesus Christ is the light which has come into the
world. In a couple of weeks, we will celebrate this event known as Christmas.
The human birth of Jesus Christ, when He took on human form and added it to His
divine Nature.
Look with me back at John 3:19, “but people loved darkness instead of light because their
deeds were evil.” Not only is the condemnation there in the verse but
the reason for the condemnation. We love the darkness because our deeds are
evil. The light exposes our evil. The enemy lives in the shadows. That is where
his deceptive work can be most effective.
But, God’s love, His very existence is light.
God’s perfect character and Glory emits light. A light that is so powerful that
no man can stand in His presence. We will only be able to handle it in eternity
because of the glorified bodies that each of us will inhabit in heaven. The
stronger and more intense the light of God is shows the purity of His character.
In our fallen state, we are attracted to the
darkness. We don't want our evilness to be exposed. But God’s Word pierces us
to our very hearts and exposes the corruption that is found there in our
hearts. Amazingly, God chooses to extend His mercy to us anyway. Do you
recognize this amazing act of God’s love in your life?
I mentioned eternity and heaven a few moments
ago, and it reminded me of a short clip I watched of Paul Washer this week.
Washer pointed out that a lot of Christians concentrate on heaven and the
rewards that are waiting for us there, Lord willing, and that isn’t a bad
thing. But, Washer went on to ask, “Shouldn’t what Jesus did for us on the
cross be reward enough for us?”
What an interesting thought. If you were not to
receive anything further from Jesus Christ, would what you have received so far
be enough? Would you still maintain your love and respect for Jesus? Would the
sacrifice He made for you and the reconciled relationship that you currently
enjoy with the Father be enough to satisfy you and still allow you to maintain
your love for Jesus?
Just to wrap up this portion of the message
before we sing our final song, I want to circle back to John 3:16 and the
explanation that Nicodemus required. Frankly, it is tied back to the statements
found in 3:11 and 12. Jesus said to Nicodemus, “11 Very
truly I tell you, we speak of what we know, and we testify to what we have
seen, but still you people do not accept our testimony. 12 I
have spoken to you of earthly things and you do not believe; how then will you
believe if I speak of heavenly things?”
Isn’t this the same trouble that most of the
world has? Those who continue to reject Jesus because they simply refuse to
accept the testimony of Jesus Christ. Both His testimony about Himself and the
testimony of those who surrounded Jesus and wrote about His life and deeds.
Their lack of faith becomes their downfall. Their need to fully comprehend all
that Jesus said and taught before they submit to His Lordship.
They are willing to accept Jesus as Saviour,
but they reject Him as Lord. Opting instead to keep Jesus at arms-length to
limit His influence in their lives. What a foolish notion. You might as well
try and hold back a hurricane.
Our faith is not a blind faith. We are not
required to believe without the existence of any evidence, nor are we required
to go against the evidence that is presented to us. We are required to submit
obediently to what God has chosen to reveal to us. Obediently and completely.
CONCLUSION
During the Korean War, the U.S.S. Pueblo was captured by the North Koreans and the eighty-two
surviving crew members were thrown into brutal captivity. In one particular
instance, thirteen of the men were required to sit in a rigid manner around a
table for hours. After several hours the door was violently flung open and a
North Korean guard brutally beat the man in the first chair with the butt of
his rifle.
The next day, as each man sat at his assigned
place, again the door was thrown open and the man in the first chair was
brutally beaten. On the third day, it happened again to the same man. On the
fourth day knowing the man could not survive, another young sailor took his
place.
When the door was flung open the guard
automatically beat the new victim senseless. For weeks, each day a new man
stepped forward to sit in that horrible chair, knowing full well what would
happen. At last, the guards gave up in exasperation. They were unable to beat
that kind of sacrificial love.[1]
That is an illustration of the love that Jesus
had for each one of us and the substitutionary work that Jesus did with the
Father on our behalf. Jesus took our punishment so that we could be reconciled
with the Father. Our sin has been covered by the righteousness of Jesus
Christ. What are you willing to do to show your appreciation for this
sacrifice?
Let me close with this doxology:
24 “The Lord
bless you and keep you;
25 may the Lord
make his face shine on you and be gracious to you;
26 may the
Lord turn his face toward you and give you peace."
Go in peace, you are dismissed.
[1]
Michael P. Green, 1500 Illustrations
for Biblical Preaching (Grand Rapids, MI: Baker Books, 2000),
226–227.
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