The Problem of Salvation - To Be or Not to Be...The Choice of Two Lifetimes

Introduction

Today we’re going to be finishing up our Series entitled: Back to the Basics that we’ve been looking at over the last 3 weeks now. We began by looking at...

Verses 1-8 which give us The Purpose of Salvation

Verses 9-15 which declare unto us of The Person of Salvation

Then Verse 16 gives us God’s Plan of Salvation

And finally today in Verses 17-21 we are going to see The Problem of Salvation

The title of today’s message is “To Be or Not To Be — The Choice of Two Lifetimes and my prayer is that while we work our way through this message, that each of you sitting here today, saved and unsaved alike, will be convicted and convinced to either be saved or to draw closer to the one who died for you!

So if you have your Bibles with you, please turn with me to John 3:17.

The Commission of the Father — (Vs. 17)

“Sent” — Greek (apostellō) — means to send someone to do something; to send a message. It’s where we get the NT word “apostle” from. An “apostle” is someone who has been called by God and sent out on a special mission. Jesus speaks of being sent out or commissioned by the Father in...

Matthew 10:40 — He that receiveth you receiveth me, and he that receiveth me receiveth him that sent me.

Luke 10:16 — He that heareth you heareth me; and he that despiseth you despiseth me; and he that despiseth me despiseth him that sent me.

Jesus was commissioned by God, sent out on a very special mission! What was this great mission you ask?

To answer that question we need but look at the rest of the verse here!

The Bible says, “God sent not his Son into the world to condemn the world.” That word “condemn” — Greek word (krinō) — means to judge, sentence, punish.

So God sent not His Son into the world to punish, to judge, to sentence the world but that the world through Him might be saved!

The thing I want you to realize this morning friend is this…the reality is He had every right “TO” come and condemn us!

We are sinners, God is not. He is Holy, we are not. He is perfect, we are imperfect. And not only are we sinners but we sinned against Him, the great creator and sustainer of life and deserve condemnation!

But instead of sending His Son to condemn the world and sentence us all to hell, which is what we deserve because of our sins, God sent Him to save us!

The very name of God’s one and only begotten Son, Jesus, speaks of His mission!

The angel of Lord told Joseph in...

Matthew 1:21 — And she (Mary) shall bring forth a son, and thou shalt call his name JESUS: for he shall save his people from their sins.

The great mission, or commission that God had for His Son was to save us from our sins! The Bible says in...

1 Timothy 1:15 — This is a faithful saying, and worthy of all acceptation, that Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners; of whom I am chief.

Luke 19:10 — For the Son of man is come to seek and to save that which was lost.

And the best news you’re going to hear all day today is this friend…He’s still in the saving business, Amen!

God’s still drawing, the Holy Spirit is still convicting and the blood of Jesus is still saving, Amen!

Now, you need to understand something very plainly this morning friend…the Bible doesn’t say that God sent Buddha to save the world, now does it? And it doesn’t say that God sent Joseph Smith or Muhammad to save the world, isn’t that right?

But what it does say very plainly right here in red and white letters is that God sent His only begotten Son, Jesus the Christ, that the world through Him might be saved!

You see, the Bible makes it very plain in...

Acts 4:12 — Neither is there salvation in any other: for there is none other name under heaven given among men, whereby we must be saved.

If are to be saved from the wrath to come, it will only be because you have put your trust in the one and only Son of God, Jesus the Christ of Nazareth!

Believing in anything or anyone else to save you won’t work for He and He alone is the only one who has been commissioned by the Father and is worthy to save!

Now that we’ve seen the Commission of the Father, next let’s look at the Consequence of Our Choice.

The Consequences of Our Choice — (Vs. 18)

“He that believeth is not condemned”

Jesus says over in...

John 5:24 — Verily, verily, I say unto you, He that heareth my word, and believeth on him that sent me, hath everlasting life, and shall not come into condemnation; but is passed from death unto life.

The key is believing!

If you plan to escape condemnation then you must believe upon and put your faith in the one and only Son of God for the Bible says in...

Hebrews 11:6 — “without faith it is impossible to please him: for he that cometh to God must believe that he is, and that he is a rewarder of them that diligently seek him.”

What is faith you ask?

Hebrews 11:1 — “faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen.” My hope of salvation this morning is in Jesus Christ even though I have never seen Him. Why would I believe in a man I’ve never seen you ask? Well, just because I’ve never met Him doesn’t mean He’s not real.

I’ve never met George Washington but I believe he’s real because I’ve read history books about him and because there is written evidence that he existed. Men fought for him and died for him to set us free from the oppression we were facing from Britain and therefore there are many, many testimonies of his existence.

The same goes for our Lord Jesus! I’ve never met Him physically but there were many a men who did and lived to tell about it! We have written testimonies of men who walked with him and talked with him and witnessed the working of His miracles!

These men experienced the power of his life and not only that, they witnessed the power of His death, resurrection and ascension! They spoke with with a dead man as I speak to you this morning except He wasn’t dead anymore, Amen! He was and is alive forevermore!

They beheld him in all of His glory and they left us letters that have been passed down for two thousand years telling us all about it!

Not only do I believe because of the letters, I believe because of the lives they left behind!

Many of these men who walked with our Lord and talked with our Lord ended up dying for our Lord! And because of the lives they lived and left behind, because of the letters, because of their witness, and because of my experiences of God in my own life I believe!

And since I have believed in the one and only Son of God, Paul said over in...

Romans 8:1 — There is therefore now no condemnation to them which are in Christ Jesus, who walk not after the flesh, but after the Spirit.

There is no condemnation to those who are in Christ Jesus!

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. God says, “For all have sinned” (Rom 3:23; emphasis added). Each one of us stands already marked for death. But when we place our faith in Jesus alone to save us, our sin and guilt are washed away, and we’re declared innocent. 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?

Romans 8:31-34 — 31 What shall we then say to these things? If God be for us, who can be against us? 32 He that spared not his own Son, but delivered him up for us all, how shall he not with him also freely give us all things? 33 Who shall lay any thing to the charge of God's elect? It is God that justifieth. 34 Who is he that condemneth? It is Christ that died, yea rather, that is risen again, who is even at the right hand of God, who also maketh intercession for us.

Christ died in our place, took our sin upon Himself, paid the price for our transgressions and at this very moment is pleading the case to the Father for all who have put their trust in Him.

He that believeth on Him is not condemned!

Have you believed upon Jesus? If not, you need to for look what comes next.

“He that believeth not is condemned already because he hath not believed in the name of the only begotten Son of God.”

What does a man or woman have to do to go to Hell? The answer is "Nothing!" Why? Because, we are condemned already. We were born in sin and are children of wrath.

Psalm 51:5 — Behold, I was shapen in iniquity; and in sin did my mother conceive me.

Romans 5:12 — Wherefore, as by one man sin entered into the world, and death by sin; and so death passed upon all men, for that all have sinned:

Ephesians 2:3 — Among whom also we all had our conversation in times past in the lusts of our flesh, fulfilling the desires of the flesh and of the mind; and were by nature the children of wrath, even as others.

Man need do nothing if hell is where he would like to spend eternity. He’ll get there well enough on his own without doing a thing! But if he’d rather inherit eternal life and spend eternity in heaven, then he must believe upon the Lord Jesus Christ!

Here in this verse, all mankind is divided into two classes: either believers or unbelievers. Our eternal destiny is determined by the attitude we take toward the Son of God. The one who trusts in Jesus is not condemned, but the one who does not trust Him is condemned already.

The Lord Jesus has finished the work of salvation, and now it is up to each individual to decide whether he/she will accept Him or reject Him.

But let me make one thing abundantly clear here this morning, if you haven't ever put your trust in Jesus Christ, then you're currently on a one way road headed straight for hell. Unless you repent of your sins, turn from your wicked ways and turn to God, then hell will be your home for all eternity! For all who have not believed upon Jesus, there is currently, at this very second, a parking spot reserved in hell with your name on it!

Some will say, “preacher that’s harsh!” Dear friend it’s nowhere near as harsh as the reality of hell will be if you end up there friend! I’d rather you hear these harsh words on this side of eternity than experience them on the other!

He that believeth on him is not condemned: but he that believeth not is condemned already because he hath not believed in the name of the only begotten Son of God.

We’ve seen the Commission of the Father and the Consequences of Our Choice. Lastly, I want you to see why some people even knowing the condemnation that awaits for not believing still continue on in their sin.

The Conclusion Considered — (Vs. 19-21)

Here, Jesus explains why a person chooses hell over heaven, death over life, an eternity lost over a an eternity gained.

He begins in Verse 19 by saying, “this is the condemnation”…this is the reason behind what drives a person to not believe… “light is come into the world but men love darkness rather than light because their deeds were evil.”

What was He speaking of when He said, “light is come into the world”?

He was speaking of Himself.

John 8:12 — Then spake Jesus again unto them, saying, I am the light of the world: he that followeth me shall not walk in darkness, but shall have the light of life.

John 12:46 — I am come a light into the world, that whosoever believeth on me should not abide in darkness.

John 1:4 — In him was life; and the life was the light of men.

Light represents hope and since Jesus was the light of the world then we can understand that Jesus was the hope of the world, Amen!

And I’m here to tell you this morning friend He’s the only hope this world has!

But here’s the condemnation Jesus said.... “that light came into the world and men loved darkness rather than light!”

Jesus, the light of the world and the life of men, came to save men from their sins but man rejected Him! They wanted no part of the light of the world because they loved their sin more than they loved the idea of being free from their sins!

John 1:9-11 — 9 That was the true Light, which lighteth every man that cometh into the world. 10 He was in the world, and the world was made by him, and the world knew him not. 11 He came unto his own, and his own received him not.

The light shined in darkness; and the darkness comprehended it not. (John 1:5)

And the reason the people sitting in darkness don’t comprehend, don’t understand the light, is because they don’t want to understand it because their deeds are evil and they are fine with wallowing in muck and the mire and finding pleasure in their sins if even but for a moment!

They shun the light because they love the darkness! Look what Jesus says next there!

Everyone that doeth “practices” evil hates the light neither comes to the light, lest his deeds should be reproved!

“Reproved” — Greek (elenchō) — Refers to rebuking or correcting an error, or to exposing something.

No one likes being corrected especially when their having fun and enjoying the wrong thing they’re doing!

People enjoy their money more than they enjoy God, that’s why you have people get all up in arms when a preacher tells the congregation they need to be tithing at least 10% of their income! It’s Biblical. It’s the truth. But people don’t like to hear it because they love their money more than they love obeying their God.

People love their time more than they enjoy fellowshipping other brothers and sisters in Christ in a house of worship. That’s why people get all upset and say, “I don’t have to go to Church to be saved. That’s my one day off work and I want to spend it how I want to!”

You know I’ve never understood those folks. If you can’t spend 3-4 hours a week in a house of worship trying to grow closer to the God who died to save you, then how in the world do you think you’re going to make it for all eternity in the presence of the one who shed His own blood for you?

Men love darkness rather than light because their deeds are evil and they don’t come to the light because they either don’t want people knowing of their sins or they don’t want to give up their sins!

When the Bastille, a castle-like prison in Paris, was about to be destroyed in 1789, a convict was brought out who had been confined in one of its gloomy cells for many years. But instead of joyfully welcoming his liberty, he begged to be taken back. It had been such a long time since he had seen the sunshine that his eyes could not endure its brightness. His only desire was to die in the murky dungeon where he had been a captive. In the same way, some men continue to reject the Savior until they eventually become so hardened in their sin that they prefer the dark ways of eternal death.

I love how one writer put it. He said...

Those who love sin hate the light, because the light exposes their sinfulness. When Jesus was here in the world, sinful men were made uncomfortable by His presence because He revealed their awful condition by His own holiness. The best way to reveal the crookedness of one stick is to place a straight stick beside it. Coming into the world as a Perfect Man, the Lord Jesus revealed the crookedness of all other men, by comparison.

And He’s still doing the same today! Friend if you think you got it all figured out, line your life up with the life of Christ and then tell me what you see!

I’ll just go ahead and save you some time by informing you that you’re going to find you have come up short and chances are, it’ll be really short!

You will have missed the mark of perfection for there is none good but one and that is the Lord Jesus Christ!

Which brings us to the last verse.

He that doeth (practices) truth comes to the light that his deeds may be made manifest, that they are wrought in God.

How does one practice truth? By reading and heeding the Word of God! Jesus said, I am the way, the truth and the life; no man comes to the Father but by me.

If Jesus is the truth and He’s also the Word which is what John 1:1 tells us, then this Bible right here, which is all about Him from cover to cover is truth, Amen!

And if you want to practice truth, then you have to read and heed the Bible.

He who practices truth comes to the light, that his deeds may be made manifest.

That word manifest means to expose, to disclose or display. Now think about this with me for a second…the truth is Jesus and Jesus is the light of the world right?

He that practices “truth” (Jesus teachings) comes to the light (Jesus) that his deeds may be manifest (displayed, disclosed & exposed) that they are wrought in God. That word wrought means to work, to labor, to minister about.

So what it’s saying is this, those that practice Jesus teachings come to Jesus so that He can search them and see if their intentions, their ministering, their work, their lives are really reflecting God in them or not.

I believe this is one reason this altar isn’t sitting full every Sunday morning because people, deep down inside, if they will be honest with themselves, know that their lives aren’t reflecting God like they ought to be and they’re afraid if they come to Jesus He’s going to bring that thought to a reality!

And the truth is He will! But the reality is that’s what we’re supposed to do!

David said in...

Psalm 139:23-24 — 23 Search me, O God, and know my heart: try me, and know my thoughts: 24 And see if there be any wicked way in me, and lead me in the way everlasting.

That my friend is what God wants. He wants us to come to Him, as an open book, knowing that there are going to be some things He’s going to find that we are going to be ashamed of. But here’s the thing, by Him seeing those things and convicting us of them, it only draws us closer to Him in the end!

Psalm 139:23-24 — 23 Search me, O God, and know my heart: try me, and know my thoughts: 24 And see if there be any wicked way in me, and lead me in the way everlasting.

Who’s willing to take that step this morning. Who’s willing to come and say, “God, I know you’re not going to like everything you find in my heart but I want to be closer to you so please search me out, convict me of anything that doesn’t need to be in my heart, help me to overcome it by the blood of the lamb, and lead me in a way that draws me to closer to you!

Who’s ready to leave the darkness behind and come to the light this morning? The choice is yours to make. Continue in the darkness knowing that it separates you from God, or come to the light, knowing that it won’t be easy allowing God in to see all your fatal flaws but also knowing that it will be worth it and you will be drawn closer to Him because of it in the end.

What choice will you make?