To Save the World

ME: The Need (John 3:1-13)

What is the greatest need for people today?

I bet if you were to ask 100 different people that question,

You would get close to 100 different answers,

Depending on what each person sees as the greatest problem people today face.

Some may think it is the vaccine.

As if all our hope at “normal” rests on a vaccine.

I chuckle a bit at the one commercial that says the only way to 100 percent beat COVID is the vaccine.

Because sure, the vaccine is obviously helpful,

And it is a need,

But it is not the greatest need.

So, if it is not that,

Then, perhaps the greatest need for people today is social justice.

We see and hear the calls for social justice reform.

We know that injustice is a genuine problem for people,

But even still, social justice is not the greatest need for people today.

So, then maybe the greatest need is related to politics somehow.

For example, maybe someone might feel the greatest need is a certain party having the majority in the Supreme Court,

Or majority in the Senate,

Or in the White House.

But that is not the case,

Politics are not the greatest need for people today either.

Back in 1907, then president, Teddy Roosevelt gave an address where he expressed that the greatest need for American people were railroads.

Another example in 2007 was the secretary-general of the UN saying the greatest need of the hour is tolerance.

So, what about you?

What do you believe is your greatest need?

Is it more money?

Or a certain job?

Perhaps it is a sense of security?

Maybe a desire for children?

Or this insatiable thirst for respect?

I can assure you that your greatest need is not related to trains or tolerance.

Your greatest need is not material, nor is it even psychological.

The question of the greatest need for people will not be answered by any of these means.

The answer to the question is only found in the Bible.

And the answer is that each and every one of us need to be saved.

Saved from what?

Saved from our own sinfulness and the penalty of God’s wrath for our sins.

This is what Jesus came to do.

He came to meet the greatest need of people.

He came to Save the World.

To save the world from God’s wrath,

And how did Jesus accomplish this?

By enduring that wrath on the cross.

Last week we looked at how Christ endured the Father’s wrath on the cross in Mark 15:33-34,

Where He cried out to the Father, “Why have you forsaken me?”

This morning, we are in John 3:14-18,

A passage that speaks to Jesus coming to save the world.

And Lord willing, next week, we will be in John 11:47-52.

Our outline for this morning is all about salvation;

The need

The nature

The motivation

The effect

Our response

Jesus took to the cross. Now all you must do to be saved is look to the cross.

Central to our passage this morning is very likely the most well-known verse in the Bible,

John 3:16,

“For God so loved the world, that He gave is only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life.”

Many people who have never even been to church are likely familiar with this verse.

So, as we prepare to look at this verse and our passage this morning,

Let us summarize the context around it,

Then we will simply walk through this familiar passage,

And make observations about why Jesus came from heaven to die on a Roman cross.

To begin answering this question,

John 3 teaches that we need to be saved.

We learn this from the conversation between Jesus and this man, Nicodemus.

We are introduced to Nicodemus in John 3:1,

Where we are told he is a pharisee, a ruler of the Jews, a religious leader.

And he comes to Jesus under the cover of the night,

And acknowledges Jesus as a teacher from God.

Does this confession mean that Nicodemus is saved?

Not necessarily.

Confessing Jesus as teacher is different from confessing Jesus as Lord and Savior.

That is an important distinction.

Many will take some of Jesus’ teachings and embrace them.

And yet, they deny Him as Lord and Savior.

In Nicodemus’ case,

His confession does not reveal that he is saved,

But considering his position,

It would seem to suggest that God is at work in his heart.

God is preparing Nicodemus to be saved.

But at this moment,

Jesus’ response to Nicodemus teaches that there is an important difference between confessing Christ as teacher,

And confessing Christ as Lord and Savior.

That is why Jesus responds to Nicodemus by telling him that you cannot see the Kingdom of God unless you are born again.

Jesus uses the human analogy of birth to communicate the heavenly truth about the kingdom of God.

But the human analogy of being born again,

Initially confuses Nicodemus more.

Of course Jesus is speaking of being born into a new life through the supernatural work of the Holy Spirit.

But in his literal human mind, Nicodemus is unable to understand how a grown person could possibly crawl back into his mother’s womb to be born again.

“That is impossible!” Nicodemus’ retorts to Jesus.

So, Jesus, knowing what He is saying is true, uses another analogy.

Unless one is born of water and the Spirit, he cannot enter the kingdom of God.

I can picture the look on Nicodemus’ face as he is likely even more lost,

And does not even respond to Jesus’ second analogy.

So, Jesus continues explaining abstract heavenly concepts with concrete earthly constructs.

He tells Nicodemus that the wind blows wherever it wants,

You cannot control the wind,

And you cannot see the wind.

But you can see the presence of the wind as trees bend to it’s will.

And as the rigid look of confusion on Nicodemus’ face likely begins to soften ever so slightly,

Jesus says, “That is the way it is with the Holy Spirit,”

The Spirit, like the wind, goes wherever It wants,

You cannot control the Spirit,

And you cannot see the Spirit,

But you can see the presence of the Holy Spirit as people bend to the Spirit’s will,

Like trees bend to the wind’s will.

Just as Nicodemus thought he was catching on, he still does not understand.

So, Jesus humbles Nicodemus, by asking him directly,

Are you the teacher of Israel and you do not understand?

Jesus is saying, you are suppose to be the one teaching these truths about God and heaven to God’s people,

And you have no clue about what you are suppose to be teaching.

So, Jesus uses something Nicodemus would know to help him understand,

The OT.

And that is where our passage this morning begins,

With Jesus’ reference to Numbers 21:4-9 in vs. 14.

To best understand this reference,

We need to first set the stage.

Back on Easter, we began this series looking at the Passover in Exodus 12.

During the first Passover, God freed the nation of Israel from their slavery,

While also providing for them a way to offer a substitute in place of their first born son.

After Israel came up out of Egypt,

Pharoah and his armies had a change of heart and pursued after them.

God parted the Red Sea for Israel to cross through,

Then crashed the walls of the sea down onto the Egyptians.

From there, God led them to the edge of the Promised Land.

A glorious land flowing with milk and honey.

But the land was occupied.

So, 12 spies were sent in to check it out.

They come back and all the spies except Joshua and Caleb were panicked about the force of the people in the land.

God said He would win the battle for them and give them the land,

But the lack of faith resulted in Israel turning back into the desert and wandering for 40 years,

Until everyone in that generation, except Joshua and Caleb, passed away.

While wandering in the desert,

God provided manna for the people every day,

And water from a rock.

Despite the fact the people were wandering in the desert because of their lack of faith,

They still grumbled that God only gave them manna to eat,

They were sick of it.

They were tired of God’s miraculous provision for them.

It was not good enough for them that God rescued them from Egypt,

And that He supernaturally provided for them in the wilderness.

They were giving God a 2-star review for His miraculous room service.

Pastor Michael Lawrence gives a helpful description here;

“This is a perfect picture of prideful discontent, or ungrateful and selfish hearts. These Israelites were fully convinced that they could do a better job managing their situation than God was doing.”

This is sin.

This is rebellion.

So, Numbers 21 details God’s judgment on their grumbling by sending serpents into their presence.

As a result, many of the people died.

The people needed to be saved from the serpents.

In John 3:14, Jesus is making a point of comparison.

He is teaching that we people, like the Israelites,

Need to be saved.

We have the same heart condition as the Israelite people in Numbers 21.

And as a result,

We face the same judgment from God as the Israelites did.

The situation is different,

But similar to the Israelites,

God has placed us in this marvelous world that He has made,

He has provided for us everything that we have.

Therefore, our natural response to Him should be one of gratitude, and trust, and worship.

However, we are all like the Israelites.

We all grumble,

We all become convinced that we can do a better job managing our situation than God.

So, our grumbling takes different forms,

Some of us do not like the idea of having to submit to different forms of authority,

Some of us scoff at what God says about money,

Some of us think it is intolerable that God expects us to love Him and our neighbors rather than just ourselves.

It does not matter what shape your grumbling takes,

The reality is,

It is all rebellion,

And we are all guilty,

And we face God’s judgment.

God is not sending literal serpents,

But these serpents are described as fiery serpents,

There is a lake of fire that awaits us.

But it has not come yet.

Do not be fooled by the delay of the lake of fire.

There is a real and active enemy looking to lull you into a false sense of security.

But the reality of God’s judgment has already begun with our spiritual separation from Him.

But a day of final judgment is coming.

And that final judgment will be eternity separated from God,

Enduring never ending torment in the lake of fire.

Friends, this is our greatest need.

We need to be forgiven,

We need to be reconciled,

We need to be saved from this lake of fire.

WE: The Nature (John 3:14-15)

This need brings us to the second part of salvation teaches in our passage this morning,

The nature of salvation.

Going back to the account of the Israelites in the wilderness recorded in Numbers 21.

After people began dying from the serpents,

They asked Moses to pray that God would take the serpents away.

They knew they needed God,

That only God could remove the serpents.

So, God showed mercy.

He had Moses form a bronze serpent and place it atop a pole.

Then anyone who was bit by a serpent could simply look up at the bronze serpent,

And they would be saved.

This was not a magical serpent,

God was teaching something to His people,

Just like He did with the Passover,

Just like He did on the Day of Atonement,

Once again, God is using the bronze serpent to serve as a symbol of Israel’s condemnation.

The Israelites were forced to acknowledge God’s justice by looking at the snake,

They were forced to acknowledge their dependence on God’s promise,

They were forced to look upon the bronze serpent in humble and repentant faith.

And if they did, they would be saved.

You see, by doing this God is making a clear distinction between believers and nonbelievers.

Once bitten, a person had an undetermined amount of time before the venom coursing through them took their life.

Those who believed,

Would look up at the serpent and be saved.

Those who did not believe,

Would eventually run out of time,

And succumb to the venom and die.

Jesus is making a clear comparison to our sin and the salvation offered by the Son of Man.

Like those who were bit by a serpent,

Jesus is saying we have been bit by the serpent of sin.

Now, the venom of sin is coursing through us.

We all have an undetermined amount of time before this venom of sin takes our lives.

But Jesus says, all who trust God and look upon the Son of Man will be saved.

While those who do not believe,

Will eventually run out of time and succumb to sin and die.

Jesus teaches that this means the Son of Man must be lifted up,

Just as Moses lifted up the serpent.

When Jesus speaks of the Son of Man,

He is speaking of Himself.

He, as the Son of Man, came from heaven to save His people.

Do not overlook the fact that Jesus is speaking to Nicodemus,

A Jewish leader,

Who would hear the name, Son of Man, and immediately know Jesus is speaking of the Messiah.

This would be shocking to Nicodemus,

This Man, Jesus, who stands before him this night,

Is claiming to be the Son of Man, the Messiah.

And claiming that the Messiah must be crucified.

When Jesus says He must be crucified,

He is saying it is the fulfillment of Scripture,

It is God’s sovereign plan.

As R.C. Sproul rightly notes,

“The crucifixion was the keystone of God’s eternal plan to save His people.”

We saw this back in Isaiah 52:13, which prophesies;

Isaiah 52:13 ESV

Behold, my servant shall act wisely; he shall be high and lifted up, and shall be exalted.

Jesus is teaching that the bronze serpent was a picture of the true salvation that would be made when He,

The Son of Man, the Messiah was lifted on the cross.

And unlike the bronze serpent,

His death on the cross is not a symbol,

It is our substitute.

He is our substitute, suffering the wrath for our judgment, in our place.

This is the nature of salvation.

Christ would be lifted up on the cross,

Condemned in our place,

Bearing the penalty we deserve.

Jesus says this must happen.

He willingly suffers this way to fulfill God’s sovereign plan,

Made before the foundation of the world.

It is important we understand,

There is nothing symbolic about the cross.

The OT gave symbols that pointed to the cross,

Which was the real deal atonement by which salvation is made possible.

Jesus was doing so much more than being lifted up on the cross to make a statement about faith or belief.

He is literally dying as the only One who is able to save the world.

We can not train sin out of people.

All our sin must be paid for.

This does not discount the importance of spiritual disciplines,

The importance of being in God’s Word, pursuing godliness, praying to, praising, and worshipping God.

These things are important,

But even in doing these things,

We must never forget that we can not discipline the sin out of ourselves.

Our sin must be paid for.

So, if you are a believer,

As you go about your life,

You must continuously apply the gospel to your life.

You must continuously remember that you need Christ.

You do not depend on training or discipline,

You depend on the work Christ did on the cross,

A work that only Christ could do,

As the only One who is fully God and fully man.

He is the only one who does not deserve God’s judgment,

The only One who never grumbled against the Father,

The only One who perfectly obeyed the Father’s will.

He obeyed the Father’s will right up to the cross.

Making Him the only One worthy to be our substitute.

He was first lifted up on the cross.

But after His death, Jesus did not stay dead.

He rose from the grave,

And after His resurrection,

He ascended back to heaven.

He is now high and lifted up,

He is exalted in the heavens.

As Paul says in Phil. 2:9-11;

Philippians 2:9–11 ESV

Therefore God has highly exalted him and bestowed on him the name that is above every name, so that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth, and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.

Being lifted up is a key theme repeated throughout John’s gospel.

For example, we also see it in John 8:28; 12:32;

John 8:28 ESV

So Jesus said to them, “When you have lifted up the Son of Man, then you will know that I am he, and that I do nothing on my own authority, but speak just as the Father taught me.

John 12:32 ESV

And I, when I am lifted up from the earth, will draw all people to myself.”

The death, resurrection, and ascension of Christ all together reveal the glory of God.

And vs. 15 makes it clear that the nature of this salvation is eternal life.

GOD: The Motivation (John 3:16a)

But the nature of salvation raises the question of why would God send His Son to die for sinners?

This question gets at the third part of salvation we are looking at this morning,

The motivation for salvation.

The motivation is stated clearly in John 3:16,

For God so loved the world.

Part of the reason for this verse’s popularity is related to a misunderstanding of this verse.

Many of assumed that God so loved the world means He has already saved the entire world.

But that is not the case.

This is not talking about the intensity of God’s love for the world,

As in He loves the world soooooooo much!

That is implicitly true.

But what that start of John 3:16 is saying is better translated in the CSB;

“For God loved the world in this way.”

It is a bridge that connects what was just said in vs. 14-15,

To what is now being said in vs. 16.

Vs. 16 is saying the same thing as vs. 14-15 in another way,

And this phrase is telling us that the motivation behind this act is God’s heart of love.

Like the bronze serpent saved those who, in faith, looked upon it,

God’s one and only Son saves those who trust in Him.

So, how do we know that God loves the world?

Scripture is telling us, look to the cross.

How do we know what God’s love looks like?

Scripture is telling us, look to the cross.

Pastor Lawrence comments;

“On the cross God have his Son as a sacrifice for a sinful world in full-tilt rebellion against him, and the person God gave for the world wasn’t just anybody; it was his one and only Son…whom the Father had loved from all eternity and with whom he was well pleased. This is the one God gave, and he did it because of his love for the world.”

As Pastor Lawrence observes, this verse emphasizes Christ as God’s only Son.

His one and only Son, His only begotten Son, His unique, one of a kind Son.

This phrase is an interesting compound Greek word made up of the word for “become” or “take the place of,” ginomai.

And the word for “only” or “alone,” monos.

The word is monogenes.

Meaning Christ is the only becomer of the Son of God,

He alone can take the place of the Son of God.

This means Jesus is radically distinct.

He is without equal.

Elsewhere, Jesus makes it clear that salvation is only acquired by those whom the Father gives Him.

For example, in John 6:37, Jesus says;

John 6:37 ESV

All that the Father gives me will come to me, and whoever comes to me I will never cast out.

This does not mean that God does not love all people,

He certainly does.

The extent of His sacrifice is capable of covering the entire world.

But both the Bible and experience teach us that there are some who do not receive the salvation God provides in Christ.

It is those who trust in Christ that do not die.

And the motivation for this salvation is rooted in God’s love.

As vs. 16 says, for God so loved the world.

This is an undeniable, unstoppable, ceaseless, limitless and matchless love.

John 13:1 says Jesus loved His own to the very end.

The Psalmist says in Psalm 136:1;

Psalm 136:1 ESV

Give thanks to the Lord, for he is good, for his steadfast love endures forever.

And 1 John 4:8 says God is love.

This revelation of God’s love links back to God’s motivation in creating us.

He made people, in His image, to share in this joyful give and take of His love.

Our sin separates us from that,

So, continuing in that love,

Through Christ, God rescues sinners.

After declaring God is love in 1 John 4:8,

John goes on to say in 1 John 4:9-10;

1 John 4:9–10 ESV

In this the love of God was made manifest among us, that God sent his only Son into the world, so that we might live through him. In this is love, not that we have loved God but that he loved us and sent his Son to be the propitiation for our sins.

This echoes God’s love for the world we see in our passage this morning.

His love redeems those who trust in Him through Christ.

John Bunyan walks us through the inner workings of this love;

“It is common for equals to love, and for superiors to be beloved; but for the King of princes, for the Son of God, for Jesus Christ to love man thus: this is amazing, and that so much the more, for that man the object of his love, is so low, so mean, so vile, so undeserving, and so inconsiderable, as by the scriptures, everywhere he is described to be. He is called God, the King of glory. But the persons of him beloved, are called transgressors, sinners, enemies, dust and ashes, fleas, worms, shadows, vapors, vile, filthy, sinful, unclean, ungodly fools, madmen…Love in him is essential to his being. God is love; Christ is God; therefore Christ is love, love naturally. He may as well cease to be, as cease to love.”

God’s love is beyond words,

It is beyond our human capacity to fully comprehend.

This love is more than some sappy sentimental kind of love.

This love is an active, sacrificial, giving, other’s centered kind of love.

How do you measure love?

Do you determine someone’s love by how much you get your way?

How much someone is willing to give you what you want when you want it?

If so, that is a poor way to measure love.

Sometimes, the most loving thing someone can do is stand in direct opposition to you getting your way.

And I fear that we use this poor measurement of love to measure God’s love for us.

If life is giving us what we want,

Then we are convinced that God really loves us.

But when life inevitably gets hard,

Does not go our way,

Or gets out of our control,

We conclude that God does not love us.

Friends, do you not see the deceitfulness of using this faulty way to measure love?

This is an emotionally based measurement,

And we cannot trust it.

God loves you as a wise Father,

And at times that includes not giving you what you want,

That includes sometimes making your life difficult.

And He does these things to stop you from descending into destruction,

But instead reaching out to Him in Christ.

As believers, this is the kind of love we are called to imitate.

A sacrificial, others focused kind of love.

And the motivation for us to love in this way,

Comes from the love that we have received from God.

This becomes our greatest joy when we share this love with others,

When we put this love on display to watching, broken, and hurting world.

So, husbands, how will your wife see your Christlike love toward her this week?

Wives, how will your husband see your Christlike love toward him this week?

Students, how will your classmates see your Christlike love?

Workers, how will your coworkers see your Christlike love this week?

People who live places, how will your neighbors see your Christlike love this week?

The cross was not an impulsive, spur of the moment, decision.

God planned it.

Then God made it happen.

In the same vein of thought,

How are you planning to love God and love your neighbor as yourself?

Do not base this call to love on whether you feel like it or not.

This reduces love,

And we see the effects of this in our society.

People fall out of love because they no longer feel the lovey-dovey feelings they associated with love.

This type of love is not a promise-keeping, committed type of love.

It will not hold up in a marriage, among family, or even in society.

Our motivation to love must come from a greater place than our feelings.

Our motivation to love comes from God’s motivation to love.

And what is so incredible,

Is that God’s love is only part of God’s good character.

Psalm 100:5 goes on to say;

Psalm 100:5 ESV

For the Lord is good; his steadfast love endures forever, and his faithfulness to all generations.

God is not only eternal love,

He is infinitely faithful.

R.C. Sproul comments;

“People lie, and break their word; God will do neither. In the worst of times it can be affirmed: ‘his mercies never come to an end…great is your faithfulness; (Lam. 3:22-23; Ps. 36:5)…Even when circumstances are unexpected and bewildering, and threaten to hide His faithfulness, still we know that God keeps His promises to us who believe.”

Elsewhere throughout the Psalms,

God is exalted for His kindness and His generosity.

In fact, it is these characteristics that lead Paul to ask in Rom. 2:4,

Whether we know that they are meant to lead us to repentance.

The good character of God goes on,

He shows pity to us in distress,

He rescues us from trouble,

He is patient with us who continue in sin.

We see this in Exodus 34:6; Psalm 78:38; and 2 Peter 3:9;

Exodus 34:6 ESV

The Lord passed before him and proclaimed, “The Lord, the Lord, a God merciful and gracious, slow to anger, and abounding in steadfast love and faithfulness,

Psalm 78:38 ESV

Yet he, being compassionate, atoned for their iniquity and did not destroy them; he restrained his anger often and did not stir up all his wrath.

2 Peter 3:9 ESV

The Lord is not slow to fulfill his promise as some count slowness, but is patient toward you, not wishing that any should perish, but that all should reach repentance.

It is this love that saves us from our condemnation that most displays God’s goodness.

Because the cost to save us,

Was Christ’s life on the cross.

But God was motivated by His love for you that He gave His One and only Son to save you.

YOU: The Effect (John 3:16b-17)

The second half of vs. 16 follows up God giving His own Son with the effect of salvation.

It says everyone who trusts in the Son will not perish,

But instead have eternal life.

The Apostle Paul reflects on this truth, then asks in Rom. 8:32;

Romans 8:32 ESV

He who did not spare his own Son but gave him up for us all, how will he not also with him graciously give us all things?

Vs. 17 makes it clear that Jesus, as God in the flesh,

Accomplished salvation through Christ’s sacrificial death on the cross.

Vs. 17 says that the Son did not come to condemn the world,

But to save the world through Himself.

Condemnation is God’s restorative and punitive action.

Elsewhere the Bible teaches that Christ is the judge,

But His coming into the world was not for that purpose.

Prior to His coming,

The world was already under the terror of His restorative judgment.

The world was already deserving of God’s punishment.

And no amount of faith will accomplish salvation.

No amount of good works will rescue you from condemnation.

If you are saved, it is through Christ alone.

Jesus came to offer salvation to a world that had been doomed by its own rebellion.

And He is effective at this in two ways,

Positively and negatively.

In the negative sense,

Jesus was condemned so that you are not condemned,

That is what we looked at last week.

Jesus drank all of God’s wrath,

So, that God’s anger at your sin has been satisfied.

In a legal sense, Jesus pays the penalty,

Justice has been served,

Because He was punished in your place.

In the positive sense,

Vs. 17 says Jesus offers to give you eternal life.

Eternal life is more than just never ending existence.

It is God’s heavenly paradise.

It was first prophesied in Dan. 12:2,

Where it was said that during the end times,

The dead will be raised,

And, according to John 3,

Those who do not trust in Christ will be raised to everlasting contempt,

While those who trust in Christ will be raised to everlasting, or eternal life.

Daniel’s prophecy is the only reference in the entire OT.

But then it becomes a frequently mentioned concept all throughout the NT.

The NT tells us that eternal life is the future that awaits the redeemed.

Throughout Matthew’s Gospel,

It is frequently contrasted against eternal punishment.

Eternal life is pure glory,

Which we who are God’s children will get to enter into and experience rest.

The newness of this eternal life is derived from Christ,

It is the essence of salvation.

Romans 6:23 describes it as “the free gift of God in Christ Jesus our Lord.”

And our life here and now on earth,

Is inseparably connected with the eternal life in heaven.

Yet at the same time, life in this current age will come to an end.

Because this life is characterized by the effects of sin.

This is experienced by our mortality,

By weakness and frailness, by rot and decay, by shame and brokenness, by rebellion and separation.

Paul says in 1 Corinthians 15 that these parts of our current life will be no more.

The eternal life that is interweaved in our current life life is an immortal life,

Characterized by glory and power,

Described as imperishable and incorruptible.

This gives us an unshakable hope,

Because the future holds endless life and eternal joy in the presence of God.

But it requires you to live with this eternal life in view.

So, are you doing that?

Or do you find yourself distracted by this world?

I hope you can see the vanity of this world!

Yes, there is much beauty to appreciate in this world,

But the beauty is merely a reflection,

Or a shadow of the majesty that is to come.

This is the lens through which we must see this world.

As Paul tells the Colossians,

Set your mind on the things that are above.

At this point, I want to address anyone who may be here or joining online who may not be a Christian.

My hope is that this message helps you to see why we who are Christians make such a big deal about Jesus.

You see Jesus is so much more than just an example for us,

Though He is that.

Jesus is more than just a source of hope,

Though He is that.

Jesus is more than just a good teacher,

Though He is that.

Jesus is more than just a miraculous healer,

Though He is that.

Christians talk and talk and talk about Jesus,

Because Jesus is our Savior.

Christ alone saves us from the punishment for our sins.

There is nothing greater, sweeter, or more important for us to talk about.

This is also why Christians risk their lives to travel all over the world to tell others that it is Jesus alone that saves us from our sin and grants eternal life.

When you receive this and become a Christian,

This mortal life becomes so less significant compared to the miracle of Christ being glorified,

When you tell others that message and they are saved by Christ.

Also, the Christian life is not a solo sport.

This is what we do as churches,

Together we spread this message of Christ.

We Go into the world to multiply disciples.

Here at FBC, we want to be faithful to this work God has given us.

As Paul says in 2 Cor. 5:19;

2 Corinthians 5:19 ESV

that is, in Christ God was reconciling the world to himself, not counting their trespasses against them, and entrusting to us the message of reconciliation.

This is our work, church.

This does not mean we do not care about things the world cares about.

It means we strive to be like our God,

Sacrificially giving, and loving the world,

Not necessarily the way it wants,

But the way it needs.

And that need is to be loved with the gospel of Jesus Christ.

WE: Our Response (John 3:18)

This brings us to our final part of salvation,

Our response.

Look with me at John 3:18;

John 3:18 ESV

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.

Christ’s death on the cross is the focal point of the sharpest division in the history of our world.

The cross teaches that their is no neutral ground.

This is the point Scripture makes clear in this verse.

Like the bronze snake Jesus alluded to earlier,

The cross stands before us today.

Do you realize, Jesus would not have been crucified if the world did not already stand under God’s judgment?

There would have been no need for it.

We must believe in this.

Vs. 18 clearly warns against the tragedy of unbelief.

Notice how it does not say that unbelief condemns.

Rather, it says the unbeliever is condemned already.

It is our sin, our rebellion, our disobedience that results in our condemnation.

The only way out of that condemnation is believing in Christ.

Not just as a teacher, not just as a good person, not even as God or the Son of Man,

But believing that Christ is Lord and Savior,

Trusting in that,

Confessing that truth in your heart and with your mouth.

The name of the only Son of God is a phrase that speaks of the authority of Jesus as the Son of God.

So, unbelievers are condemned because they do not believe in the authority of Jesus as the Son of God.

Anyone who does not believe in Christ is not any more condemned than they already were,

Rather, they just remain in that condemnation.

The reason is because unbelief expresses a continued rebellion against God,

Even rebelling against His grace and His salvation.

So, if you do not believe,

You can continue to look away from the cross,

You can continue to suppress this truth in your heart,

You can continue to try and build your resume of good works to try and get yourself into heaven,

You can continue to believe that God is for the simple, the uneducated, the uncultured.

Just know that if you do continue in this unbelief,

You will perish just as the Israelites who refused to look to the serpent after they had been bitten.

But this death is far worse,

It is eternal death.

Or your response to salvation can be to look to Jesus.

Believe that He died your death for you.

Rest in the truth that He has satisfied the punishment for your sin.

Trust that, as we sang at the start of our time this morning,

Your sin is great but His mercy is more.

Jesus tells us that whoever believes in Him will never perish.

You are included in that!

You are a part of the whoever!

You can confess that you have not lived according to God’s Word,

And you can trust Christ.

His love for you is not based on your feelings,

He loved you in this way,

He gave His life for you on the cross.

Jesus took to the cross,

Now all you must do to be saved is look to the cross.

Pray