Advent 2018: Love

Introduction

John 3:16–19 NASB95

16 “For God so loved the world, that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him shall not perish, but have eternal life. 17 “For God did not send the Son into the world to judge the world, but that the world might be saved through Him. 18 “He who believes in Him is not judged; he who does not believe has been judged already, because he has not believed in the name of the only begotten Son of God. 19 “This is the judgment, that the Light has come into the world, and men loved the darkness rather than the Light, for their deeds were evil.

Verse 16 is the most well known verse in the world. As we celebrate the Christmas season, I want to call you back to the love of God through Jesus Christ.

The idea of “love” in scripture is in contrast with the god’s of paganism.

“Dear son, refrain: it is not well that thus a god should suffer for the sake of man.” Juno to Vulcan from Iliad.

“Thou would’st not deem me wise, should I contend with thee, o Neptune, for the sake of men, who flourish like the forest-leaves awhile, and feed upon the fruits of earth, and then decay and perish. Let us quit the field and leave the combat to the warring hosts.” -Apollo to Neptune from Iliad.

Homer wrote “No Homeric deity ever will be found to make a personal sacrifice on behalf of a human client.”

Romans 5:8 NASB95

8 But God demonstrates His own love toward us, in that while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us.

1. God’s love is demonstrated through Jesus. (v. 16)

The word “so” in verse 16 if often misinterpreted.

so = houtos means ‘in what way’. When we read God “so loved” the world. We aren’t reading “how much” God loved other than the idea of “in what way” God loved people.

houtos always refers back to something previously mentioned, not something about to be explained. We should translate the first part of 3:16 as follows: ‘For in this way God loved the world...” The understanding of the way that God loved the world is found in verses 14-15.

John 3:

John 3:14–15 NASB95

14 “As Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, even so must the Son of Man be lifted up; 15 so that whoever believes will in Him have eternal life.

This is speaking of where a bronze serpent was lifted up to provide healing for Israel. The Son of Man was also lifted up on the cross for all men to be saved.

God demonstrated love for all mankind by “lifting” His son up on the cross so that all people could believe.

“gave” - rather than sent; emphasizing the idea of sacrifice.

“Have” - This attitude of toward the world is in complete contrast in which the gods of paganism are represented.

The idea of “love” in scripture is in contrast with the god’s of paganism.

“Dear son, refrain: it is not well that thus a god should suffer for the sake of man.” Juno to Vulcan from Iliad.

“Thou would’st not deem me wise, should I contend with thee, o Neptune, for the sake of men, who flourish like the forest-leaves awhile, and feed upon the fruits of earth, and then decay and perish. Let us quit the field and leave the combat to the warring hosts.” -Apollo to Neptune from Iliad.

Homer wrote “No Homeric deity ever will be found to make a personal sacrifice on behalf of a human client.”

Romans 5:8 NASB95

8 But God demonstrates His own love toward us, in that while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us.

Knife demonstration at Sams

The world will tell us that we can trust its ideas and plans in 100 different ways without really showing us if it really knows what to do. We usually end up thinking “what a ripoff”.

Faith in Jesus isn’t a ripoff and God’s not spinning the truth. Love has an address and it is the cross of Jesus Christ. It’s where God demonstrated His love for mankind.

Do you feel forgotten or unloved? Where are you looking for reassurance?

Bank account

Materialism

Job

Spouse

Children

You can look at the cross and know that God loves you. If He didn’t, He would have never sent His son. He demonstrated how He feels about you by humiliating His Son for Your sin.

2. God’s love is redeeming. v. 17-18

God commissioned Jesus to the world to redeem it from its sin. Jesus (son) came from the Father to the world and returned back to the Father after He accomplished the mission.

Jesus didn’t come to the world to pass judgment. His purpose in coming to the world was to save, not to condemn.

He was the sacrificial lamb for all mankind.

For Jesus to come to save mankind implies that man was already in trouble because of sin.

Those who reject Christ and do evil forfeit life because God’s wrath remains on them. They die in their sins and remain unforgiven and must bear the consequences.

It was in allowing the son the to be “lifted” up on the cross that salvation was made available “through him”.

Unbelief, in separating from Christ results in condemnation

We are judged based on belief. Not our good behavior. We are redeemed if we believe in the name of the son of God Jesus Christ.

Redeeming Love - Francine Rivers

Do you ever try to view God’s love through a worldly lense?

Do you expect God to treat you like other people do? Or even how you treat others?

We often have trouble accepting God’s love because we can’t accept a love that places no conditions on people.

God’s love is exactly how verse 17-18 say it is. God saves those who believe in the name of His son Jesus and sends the people to Hell that don’t.

3. God’s love can be found in the light. v. 19

John wrote that the verdict is found in the fact that the world was living in darkness because of sin. The Light (Jesus) came and people had a choice. Those that chose the darkness did so because it was simply easier and more comfortable to be there.

Jesus brought the light of truth and righteousness to bear upon all whom he encountered. To be exposed to the light was not comfortable to those who wanted to continue in evil; they preferred not to be associated with Jesus, not to accept his words— ‘they loved darkness instead of light’.

There are several differences between a Christian and a nonChristian. One difference is how they handle lying. When a Christian lies, it hurts them inside and makes them miserable. When a nonChristian lies, they might have a little bit of conviction but it will pass them by and they won’t give it a second thought.

How does your life change from darkness to light?

Believe in Jesus. - This isn’t declaring that you’ll never sin anymore. It’s simply coming to Jesus and telling Him that you believe in who He is. Jesus isn’t a feeling. He’s real and He’s in Heaven. He hears us when we pray.

Bring your sin into the light - Confess to God who you are. You will be surprised how painless this is. It’s the best feeling ever letting go of your shame.

Seek God - Get in the word, pray often, grow with other believers.

Live humbly.

Keep believing in what Jesus did for you.