Series: Coffee Mug Christianity: Bringing Clarity to Cliches

God So Loved the World

John 3:16-18 “For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life. For God sent not his Son into the world to condemn the world; but that the world through him might be saved. 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.”

I. Intro

There is a guy named Billy Taylor. He is a junkyard specialist. Billy Taylor goes to junkyards to find stuff that other folks have thrown away, discarded, or considered unworthy or worthless. Billy Taylor brings it back to his garage and turns the junk into contemporary art pieces, which he then sells for an upward of five thousand dollars. He goes and finds junk that is worthless in everybody else’s eyes and turns it into a masterpiece. When Billy Taylor looks at the junk, he sees more than meets the eye. He sees a masterpiece in the making. He takes things that are worthless and makes them into something beautiful. Well, you may have been worthless before you met Jesus, but once you meet Him, even if you were in the junkyard, He’s able to go into that yard, save you, and turn you into a valuable masterpiece. Because of His grace, you are now a divine design!

Jesus dying on the cross for our sins reminds me of the story in Numbers 21:4-9. “And they journeyed from mount Hor by the way of the Red sea, to compass the land of Edom: and the soul of the people was much discouraged because of the way. And the people spake against God, and against Moses, Wherefore have ye brought us up out of Egypt to die in the wilderness? for there is no bread, neither is there any water; and our soul loatheth this light bread. And the LORD sent fiery serpents among the people, and they bit the people; and much people of Israel died. Therefore the people came to Moses, and said, We have sinned, for we have spoken against the LORD, and against thee; pray unto the LORD, that he take away the serpents from us. And Moses prayed for the people. And the LORD said unto Moses, Make thee a fiery serpent, and set it upon a pole: and it shall come to pass, that every one that is bitten, when he looketh upon it, shall live. And Moses made a serpent of brass, and put it upon a pole, and it came to pass, that if a serpent had bitten any man, when he beheld the serpent of brass, he lived.” It is a story of sin, because the nation rebelled against God and had to be punished. God sent fiery serpents that bit the people so that many of them died. It is also a story of grace, for Moses interceded for the people and God provided a remedy. He told Moses to make a brass serpent and lift it up on a pole for all to see. Any stricken person who looked at the serpent by faith would immediately be healed. When the people looked by faith, they were healed. Does this story sound like another story you may know in the Bible? It reminds me of the redeeming story of Christ, as this world has been “stricken” by the curse of sin, but God being a loving God, sent His only Son, lifted Him up on a cross, that whoever looks upon Him by faith will be healed “saved”.

II. God’s Love for Us

Even though we have disappointed God, He still adores us.

Romans 5:8 “But God commendeth his love toward us, in that, while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us.”

God could’ve wiped the world out again.

But through His undying love, He chose to redeem us.

How much does God love us?

(Agapao) Greek- to have a great affection or care for or loyalty towards.

We as humans with a sin nature are incapable of loving with “agapao” love outside of the Holy Spirit.

God’s loyalty was to us, He wanted to free us from the bondage of sin. He sacrificed His only Son just so that we could have the chance to experience a sinless world and fellowship with Him.

But God couldn’t love little ole me with all the sin I committed?

2 Peter 3:9 “The Lord is not slack concerning his promise, as some men count slackness; but is longsuffering to us-ward, not willing that any should perish, but that all should come to repentance.”

I went through all my Greek and Hebrew dictionaries and couldn’t find a single definition where “whosoever” doesn’t mean - every soul individually.

If you were the only person on the face of the Earth, Jesus would have still came and done nothing different.

III. Goal of Christ’s First Coming

The world might be saved.

Romans 3:23 “For all have sinned, and come short of the glory of God”

Romans 6:23 “For the wages of sin is death; but the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord.”

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.”

We want to get to God and to Heaven, but since we have sinned and therefore don’t meet God’s standards for getting into Heaven, we need Jesus as a bridge from this sin cursed life to God.

What happens when we are saved?

God places our sin, shame, guilt, etc. on Jesus, and at the same time, places Jesus’ righteousness on us.

He sees us the same way He sees Jesus.

John 17:21-22 “That they all may be one; as thou, Father, art in me, and I in thee, that they also may be one in us: that the world may believe that thou hast sent me. And the glory which thou gavest me I have given them; that they may be one, even as we are one:”

Our names are written in the Lamb’s Book of Life never to be blotted out.

Revelation 3:5 “He that overcometh, the same shall be clothed in white raiment; and I will not blot out his name out of the book of life, but I will confess his name before my Father, and before his angels.”

To defeat death, Satan, and sin.

Genesis 3:15 “And I will put enmity between thee and the woman, and between thy seed and her seed; it shall bruise thy head, and thou shalt bruise his heel.”

This is the first indication that a Saviour will come.

Enmity- to be at war with

It shall bruise thy head refers to Jesus crushing Satan

Thou shalt bruise his heel could also refer to Jesus crushing Satan or his feet being nailed to the cross.

Matthew 22:44 “The LORD said unto my Lord, Sit thou on my right hand, till I make thine enemies thy footstool?”

Jesus often quoted the OT, and here He is quoting Psalms 110:1 “The LORD said unto my Lord, Sit thou at my right hand, Until I make thine enemies thy footstool.”

Remember in Genesis 3:15 God said that thou shalt bruise His heel, ad there the picture is Jesus defeating Satan, and stomping on his head all the way into hell making Satan His footstool.

IV. Conclusion

On January 6, 1850, a snowstorm almost crippled the city of Colchester, England; and a teenage boy was unable to get to the church he usually attended. So he made his way to a nearby Primitive Methodist chapel, where an ill-prepared layman was substituting for the absent preacher. His text was Isaiah 45:22 “Look unto Me, and be ye saved, all the ends of the earth.” For many months, this young teenager had been miserable and under deep conviction; but though he had been raised in church (both his father and grandfather were preachers), he did not have the assurance of salvation. The unprepared substitute minister did not have much to say, so he kept repeating the text. “A man need not go to college to learn to look,” he shouted. “Anyone can look-a child can look!” About that time, he saw the visitor sitting to one side, and pointed at him and said, “Young man, you look very miserable. Young man, look to Jesus Christ!” The young man did look by faith, and that was how the great preacher Charles Haddon Spurgeon was converted.

The difference between perishing and living, and between condemnation and salvation, is faith in Jesus Christ. Jesus could well have come to this world as a Judge and destroyed every rebellious sinner; but in love, He came to this world as our Saviour, and He died for us on the cross! He became the “uplifted serpent”. The serpent in Moses’ day brought physical life to dying Jews; but Jesus Christ gives eternal life to anyone who trusts Him! He has salvation for the whole world!