The Greatest Act Of Love
Notes
Transcript
The Greatest Act Of Love
The Greatest Act Of Love
You ever noticed how good news is almost always received as true and bad news is almost always questioned? Think about it someone goes to the doctor, the doctor runs tests and tells them everything looks normal and usually it’s “great thanks doc”.
But got to a doctor and they come back with a not so favorable prognosis and it’s often “ think I’m going to seek a second opinion”.
Churches aren’t really different in this aspect. Look at this information I found.
While it's difficult to pinpoint an exact, widely accepted percentage, the sentiment that a significant number of growing churches downplay or avoid preaching on hell, wrath, and condemnation is a recurring observation and concern within some Christian circles.
Here's a breakdown of what the search results suggest:
Low Percentage of Churches Regularly Preaching on Hell: A 2019 survey by Resonate indicated that only 8% of churches in their study included teaching on hell as part of their regular theological diet. Heaven fared better at 43%. This suggests a significant trend away from this topic in regular preaching.
Focus on Love and Positive Messages: Some sources note a modern trend in evangelicalism to overemphasize the love of God while under emphasizing his wrath and holiness.
"The Greatest Act Of Loveeeker-Sensitive" Models: The rise of "seeker-sensitive" church growth models in past decades often prioritized making services appealing to those outside the church. This sometimes involved downplaying potentially-off-putting doctrines like hell. The goal was to attract people first and then teach deeper theology later.
What I like to call the old bait and switch.
See I believe there is a huge problem with that type of mindset. Because good news isn’t all that good if there isn’t bad news to contrast it with. 50 degrees in early March is only warm because you’ve spent months in the cold of winter.
So here we are at a crossroads or better yet at a doorway.
We begin this week with a paradox of emotions. Palm Sunday bursts forth with shouts of "Hosanna!" as we remember Jesus' triumphant entry into Jerusalem. Crowds lined the streets, waving palm branches, laying down their cloaks – a spontaneous outpouring of praise for the one they believed was their King.
But this joyous celebration is a doorway, isn't it? A doorway to a week that leads us to the foot of a cross. And it's there, at the cross, that we find the ultimate expression of the very truth we see in John 3:16-21: "For God so loved the world..."
The palms of celebration will soon give way to the agony of betrayal and crucifixion. The shouts of praise will turn into cries of "Crucify Him!" And in that dramatic reversal, we see the depth of God's love – a love that doesn't just celebrate our triumphs, but meets us in our darkest moments. A love that sent His Son, not to condemn the world, but to save it.
In today’s verses we have maybe the most known or popular bible verse of all time. John 3 16. I bet most of you can repeat it without even opening your bible. It’s maybe one of the most preached on verses of all time. John 3 16 and sometimes 17 get all the publicity but 18-21 not so much. Because again who wants bad news? Nobody, right?
Well I have good news for you today. Today we’re gonna start with the bad news to make the good news that much more meaningful.
Today we will be looking at John 3 16-21 but were actually going to start with 19-21 and work our way back to 16.
And this is the judgment: the light has come into the world, and people loved the darkness rather than the light because their works were evil. For everyone who does wicked things hates the light and does not come to the light, lest his works should be exposed. 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.”
Words like condemnation and judgment could make you doubt God is loving, but these verses make it clear: condemnation is a result of the refusal to accept God’s gift.
People will face the consequences of their sin not because God’s gift of Jesus is insufficient but because they refuse to turn from their sin and trust in Jesus to save them from sin’s penalty.
People are condemned to hell not because of something faulty in God’s gift of Jesus. He is perfect. He is sufficient. He alone can meet the needs of sinful man. When people reject his gift, it reveals the condition of their hearts. It reveals hearts blinded by sin. The fault lies in the sinner, not the Savior.
Whoever believes in him is not condemned, but whoever does not believe is condemned already, because he has not believed in the name of the only Son of God.
Let’s look at this. Whoever believes in Jesus is not condemned. To condemn means “to judge a person to be guilty and liable to punishment”. We are no longer guilty. Our sin has been removed, and nothing can be held against us. Jesus did for us what we could not possibly do for ourselves.
We could stand before God and proclaim our innocence until blue in the face, but it wouldn’t matter. We’re not innocent. Each one of us has sinned. Paul says in Romans.
for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God,
Each one of us stands already marked for death. It’s not like we’re on this balance beam and one side is God’s goodness and one side his wrath and we’re doing our best to fall onto the good side. We were born onto the bad side.
Did that which is good, then, bring death to me? By no means! It was sin, producing death in me through what is good, in order that sin might be shown to be sin, and through the commandment might become sinful beyond measure. For we know that the law is spiritual, but I am of the flesh, sold under sin.
For I do not understand my own actions. For I do not do what I want, but I do the very thing I hate. Now if I do what I do not want, I agree with the law, that it is good.
So now it is no longer I who do it, but sin that dwells within me. For I know that nothing good dwells in me, that is, in my flesh. For I have the desire to do what is right, but not the ability to carry it out. For I do not do the good I want, but the evil I do not want is what I keep on doing. Now if I do what I do not want, it is no longer I who do it, but sin that dwells within me.
But when we place our faith in Jesus alone to save us, our sin and guilt are washed away, and we’re declared innocent. So even though we may still battle the problem of sin, we no longer face the penalty of sin.
The righteous demands of the law are fulfilled, and we are free from the law of sin and death. The curse of sin no longer remains on us. We’re not condemned, and we cannot be condemned. If God has declared us innocent, who has the right to charge us with sin?
Who is to condemn? Christ Jesus is the one who died—more than that, who was raised—who is at the right hand of God, who indeed is interceding for us.
Jesus—the one who paid our penalty—is now standing at God’s right hand, and no one is going to be able to tell God we still need to pay for our sin. Not a chance. Jesus paid it all. Nothing is left to pay. There’s no double jeopardy. The punishment for our sin has been poured out on Jesus Christ, and we will never have to pay it.
In John 3:18 the phrase “is not condemned” is in the present tense, which means our condemnation has already been removed. It doesn’t just anticipate a final day when God removes the guilt from us and does not cast us into eternal punishment. It says, “Right now, right here, you are free from condemnation.” It’s easy for us as Christians to feel the weight of sin and guilt and condemn ourselves. When we do so, we forget the power of the cross. We’ve already been freed from sin’s guilt. Sin is no longer our master. We shouldn’t wallow in the guilt of our sin.
We should take sin seriously. Hopefully we agonize in remorse over it. It still affects us and those around us. We will still have to give an account for our actions, but the condemnation has been removed.
Unfortunately, verse 18 has a second half: “Anyone who does not believe is already condemned.” We know sin has consequences. Whenever we hear the gruesome account of a murder, our first thought is that whoever did it needs to pay. We demand justice. All sin, including our own sin, regardless of the size, bears a penalty of death.
For the wages of sin is death, but the free gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.
Your sin makes you guilty before God, and someday you will stand before holy God and experience his awful and terrifying judgment. If you have not believed in Jesus Christ, if you have not turned to him as your only Lord and Savior, then your condemnation has not been removed.
Most of us think we’re OK because we’re decent people. We look around and compare ourselves to the worst people we can find, and we feel pretty good. But pride and self-sufficiency often get in the way of admitting the real problem and addressing the real need. Every man, woman, and child is a sinner in need of a Savior. God is our Creator, and he deserves our trust and honor, but we have disrespected him. Scorning the infinite God is an infinitely serious offense, deserving infinite punishment.
But hold up the news is getting better.
For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but in order that the world might be saved through him.
Let’s break this one down.
God’s purpose in sending his Son was not to condemn the world. The Jews were looking for a religious leader, a king to condemn the Romans and liberate the Jews from oppression. But that’s not why Jesus came. He did not need to come to earth to condemn mankind.
We were condemned already. That’s clear throughout human history. Man first sinned in the garden of Eden. Adam and Eve foolishly stepped out from under God’s perfect and wise rule, deciding they knew what was best. The result was condemnation. They were not only expelled from God’s presence and from life in the garden, but they were placed under a sentence of death. From that point forward, human history is a series of funerals.
You are going to die. Take a moment to let that sink in. You are going to die. One morning the sun will rise and you won’t see it. Birds will greet the dawn and you won’t hear them. Friends and family will gather to celebrate your life, and after you’re buried they’ll return to the church for some type of potluck lunch. Soon your job and favorite chair and spot on the team will be filled by someone else. At times those who knew you may pause to remember, but then they will carry on, maybe not in the complete same way as before, but carry on none the less.
We needed something we could not supply ourselves. No amount of human ingenuity or human cunning would ever bring salvation. We love to make a big deal about mankind’s accomplishments. “Look how far man has come. Look what we can do.” But are we any closer to solving our greatest dilemma, our need for salvation from sin and death? We could no more save ourselves than a baby could birth himself. That’s what Jesus told Nicodemus just a few verses earlier.
We were drowning in a sea of sin, and we needed someone to come to our rescue. God sent his Son into the world. No mere man could ever save us from death. God had to send Someone unique into the world. One who was both God and man. Jesus came so that you “will not perish” but have “eternal life.” In this context to perish is used in contrast with eternal life and refers to eternal perishing. It’s the same word Jesus used in,
And do not fear those who kill the body but cannot kill the soul. Rather fear him who can destroy both soul and body in hell.
Each man and woman who rejects Jesus Christ will spend eternity in hell. Hell is not a joke or a party. Hell is a real place. Hell is a lake of fire that burns forever. Hell is a place of eternal torment.
and throw them into the fiery furnace. In that place there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.
‘where their worm does not die and the fire is not quenched.’
And the smoke of their torment goes up forever and ever, and they have no rest, day or night, these worshipers of the beast and its image, and whoever receives the mark of its name.”
Hell is a place where the punishment for sinning against an infinitely holy God is infinitely experienced by sinners.
We can place our faith in Jesus Christ and his sacrifice for our sin and enjoy eternal life in our Father’s house, or we can reject the truth and eternally suffer in hell as a result of our sin.
The difference between eternal death and eternal life is believing in Jesus. We’ve already seen this word translated believe eleven times in the Gospel of John. To believe means we must acknowledge the claims of Jesus, yield our allegiance to him, and place our trust in him as the only hope of salvation from sin and death.
John 3:17 ends with two important words: “through him.” Only through Jesus Christ can we be saved. No one else—not Mohammed, not Allah, not Mary, Not Joseph Smith, not your parents, not me your pastor, not the government, not yourself—no one but Jesus can save you from your sin.
The bad news got pretty heavy there! That’s what makes the good news great!
“For God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life.
Like I said earlier John 3:16 may be the most famous, most well-known, and most loved verse in the Bible. If a person knows just one verse, it’s most likely this verse. It’s the first verse children learn. But this verse begins with a word that’s easy to overlook. It’s the little word for. It shows us verse 16 connects to verses 14–15. Jesus says he “must be lifted up” in death. Why would Jesus, the Son of God, need to be publicly executed? Verse 16 is the answer. The death of Jesus was necessary because God loved us. The death of Jesus Christ—the horrible crucifixion of the Son of God—is a direct result of the love of God for you and me. God’s love is chiefly displayed through the death of Jesus Christ.
The third word in John 3:16, the way most of us memorized it, is the word so, which can be understood two different ways. It could mean God really, really loves us—he so loves us. Like when you ask Izaac or Oakley how big something is and they stretch out there arms and say, “It was so big.” It could thus reveal the intensity of God’s love. Or it could refer to the demonstration of God’s love. That’s why the CSB translates it “in this way.”
For God loved the world in this way: He gave his one and only Son, so that everyone who believes in him will not perish but have eternal life.
That’s how it’s used here. It doesn’t diminish the intensity of God’s love for us, but it shows us his love was demonstrated in a real and tangible way. “For God loved the world in this way: He gave …”. The proof of God’s love is that he acted on it.
How do we know someone loves us? They say three magic words: “I love you.” These words make your heart explode inside you the first time someone whispers them in your ear. But those words are not the only reason we know someone loves us. In fact, they’re probably not the main reason we know we’re loved.
This morning Oakley woke up and came and laid on the couch by me and I asked him how do you know that me and mommy love you? He said because you take me to Walmart and buy me toys and M&M’s. It’s not how much we tell them we love them it’s always the demonstration of our love that assures them we love them.
We can be confident God loves us not simply because we hear the words “I love you” but because we see the demonstration of his love. We see the sacrifice of something far more precious than time or money. The gift of love that God gave was his only Son.
Look at the deliberate choice of words. God “gave” his only Son. In the verse 17 we saw God sent his Son. While both are true, this first one reminds us of God’s sacrifice. He offered something dear to him, something he cared about.
He’s not like us when we re-gift stuff that was given to us that we just really don’t care for. God’s love is displayed in this amazing gift. God doesn’t require us to pay something to purchase it or do something to earn it. Salvation is free, but it’s not cheap. This gift costs us nothing, but it cost the Son of God his life. God willingly gave his Son for you.
God gave this gift as a demonstration of his love, and his love was displayed to the entire world. His love for the world is remarkable not because the world is so big but because the world is so bad. We did not deserve his love. We did not earn it. We were rebels against God, yet God still gave us the gift of his Son.
but God shows his love for us in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us.
John 3:16 is not about our loveliness but about God’s love. The text does not say God loves us (present tense) now that we have been made his children. It says God loved us (past tense) before we were saved. God is the one who acts first in salvation. God is the one who loves first. John would later write.
We love because he first loved us.
If Tony and I were to get up here every Sunday and only preach love and never preach truth that actually wouldn’t be love. We were at coffee with a gentleman Friday morning and in our conversation Tony brought up this quote and it’s exactly what that would be.
"Truth without love is brutality, and love without truth is hypocrisy."
Warren W. Wiersbe
God’s righteousness was on display at the cross. His holiness and hatred for sin were seen in the severity of the punishment. When Jesus took upon himself the punishment our sin demanded, he testified to the world that God is absolutely and unquestionably righteous. Let us never doubt the love of God. You were not on the cross; God’s own Son hung there. You did not pay that terrible price; Jesus did.
The message of the Bible is a simple message about God’s love and mercy, about man’s sin and need, and about the rescue that’s found in Jesus Christ. The simple words from the storybook bible capture the love of God demonstrated in the death of his Son:
“So you’re a king, are you?” the Roman soldiers jeered. “Then you’ll need a crown and a robe.”
They gave Jesus a crown made out of thorns. And put a purple robe on Him. And pretended to bow down to Him. “Your Majesty!” they said.
Then they whipped Him. And spat on Him. They didn’t understand that this was the Prince of Life, the King of heaven and earth, who had come to rescue them.
The soldiers made him a sign—“King of the Jews” and nailed it to a wooden cross.
They walked up a hill outside the city. Jesus carried the cross on His back. Jesus had never done anything wrong. But they were going to kill Him the way criminals were killed.
They nailed Jesus to the cross.
“Father, forgive them,” Jesus gasped. “They don’t understand what they’re doing.”
“You say you’ve come to rescue us!” people shouted. “But you can’t even rescue yourself!” But they were wrong. Jesus could have rescued Himself. A legion of angels would have flown to His side—if He’d called.
“If you were really the Son of God, you could just climb down off that cross!” they said.
And of course they were right. Jesus could have just climbed down. Actually, He could have just said a word and made it all stop. Like when He healed that little girl. And stilled the storm. And fed five thousand people.
But Jesus stayed.
You see, they didn’t understand. It wasn’t the nails that kept Jesus there. It was love.
Let’s Pray.
