Text – John 3:16-17
“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.” John 3:16-17 (NIV)
INTRODUCTION –
“If you love me you would do this . . .; If you love me you would give me . . .; If you love me you would . . . ; etc. Have you noticed that we tend to have our own concepts of how love should be expressed to us? (Expound).
I don’t know if you will find anyone who claims to know the Lord, and has read our text for today disagree that this is the greatest expression of love ever! Many people read this passage of scripture and tend to focus only on the part that emphasizes “eternal life.” That is why this verse is often called the “Fire Insurance Verse.” This assures the Believer that their salvation cannot be lost or taken away; but there is a whole lot more to this passage of scripture than what we see on the surface.
Let us look a little bit deeper into this very familiar passage of scripture as we search for an answer to the question:
DO YOU RECOGNIZE LOVE WHEN YOU SEE IT?
POINTS –
- “loved the world” (v. 16) – Can you believe that with man being as disobedient, uncaring, and sinful as he was; GOD still loved man. Even though man’s sinful nature placed him in the position whereby he would not be able to be to escape GOD’S wrath (expound).
- “gave his one and only Son” (v. 16) – GOD did not simply send HIS Son as a herald or messenger, but HE GAVE His Son to the world (expound).
- “whoever believes in him shall not perish” (v. 16) – Even though all of mankind was sinful, GOD sent His Son to provide the way for any of them who would believe in His Son to escape the wrath to come. (expound).
- “but to save the world through him.” (v. 17) – GOD’S Son came to earth to save the world. He is the only one who can provide salvation from the wrath to come.
CONCLUSION –
Beloved, because man is born sinful and has that sinful nature, the only way he can enter into GOD’S presence is to be rid of that sinful nature. The only way that man can start over is for man to be “Born Again!” The only way for man to be born again is by BELIEVING IN THE LORD JESUS CHRIST!
Jesus suffered, bled, died, resurrected, and ascended into Heaven so that man can have a chance to be with Him and GOD the Father in Heaven. Some people actually have the nerve to complain that the Bible teaches that only those who believe in the Jesus will get to Heaven. Remember, GOD gives us a choice; we can choose to believe in Jesus, or not. Both choices have consequences.