THE GREATEST VERSE WITH THE GREATEST NEWS

Introduction

-We have seen this sign over and over again at sports games—for decades, when you look out at a crowd at a baseball stadium, or the TV pans across a basketball arena, and even sometimes painted on the face of a football player, one Bible verse is there sticking out in the crowd, proclaiming its presence.

-There is a reason why this one verse is used as a short message to summarize the whole of the biblical message…there is a reason why this one verse has become the most memorized verse of all of Scripture…there is a reason why this one verse is the most beloved verse out of the 31,000+ verses that there are in the Bible.

-The reason is that the whole of the good news of the gospel is summarized in this one sentence. No other verse puts the truth of God’s redemptive plan so succinctly.

-Thus we can say that this truly is the greatest verse because it contains the greatest news that the world has ever heard.

-Yet, my fear is that this verse has become so familiar that we have lost the awe and wonder of what it says to mankind. You know how when you get so overly familiar with a person or an object you begin to take it for granted and honestly stop thinking about how valuable that person or object really is. That could happen to us with this one verse.

-And so my prayer is today that we look closely at all the nuances of what this verse entails.

-Let me give you the context in which the verse finds itself so that you can appreciate why this verse was even spoken and written:

A leader of the Jews names Nicodemus comes to Jesus to figure out who Jesus is and what He is doing. What Jesus says to Nicodemus he says to all people of all times: YOU MUST BE BORN AGAIN.

~And what Jesus goes on to explain is that finding Jesus to be a mere curiosity or a mere teacher or a mere prophet is not enough. Going through religious motions is not enough. If someone is going to be part of God’s Kingdom he or she must have a spiritual birth.

~A spiritual birth occurs when someone realizes their sinfulness, their inability to save themselves, and trusts in God’s provision of a Savior. God’s Holy Spirit then brings such a person from spiritual death to spiritual life, and this person is completely and utterly changed.

~But when you are confronted with the truth of all of this, you must choose to respond—you must humble yourself, confess your sin, repent of your sin, and place your trust in the Savior.

-And in case Nicodemus or the reader misses this important point, it is summarized here. My prayer today is that you will find new points of joy in this verse, and that you would respond with complete devotion to what this verse calls us to.

John 3:16 ESV

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

-Early last century an unknown person wrote sort of a poem or an ode to this verse, and I wanted to utilize that poem to form my points today as we literally break this verse down bit by bit to be learned, lived, and enjoyed.

I) The greatest being—“God”

-There is a God who exists who is perfect in all of His works and ways. There is nothing lacking in God, and there is no evil in God.

-He has all power and glory and majesty, and He has perfect, complete love within Himself. In fact, the original poem actually calls Him the greatest Lover—within this godhead is perfect love between Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. And this perfect God wanted to share that love with a creation born out of His love.

-And even though His creation rebelled against Him, God still wanted to extend that love to those whom He created. This leads us…

II) The greatest degree—“so loved”

-That small word “so” talks about the intensity of God’s love—it could literally be translated “THIS IS THE MANNER IN WHICH GOD LOVES”—and it then leads to a discussion of how God so demonstrates that love

-God didn’t just love, He so loved that it led to a demonstration of love—some would dare describe God as this cold, detached, uncaring, unloving being who takes delight in punishing mankind for any and every small infraction

-But that is not the God of the Bible—You may ask: Does God love me when I sin? Does God love men when I fail? Does God love me when things are going bad? Does God love me when I am at my lowest? Does God love me in the valley?

-This verse answers: GOD DOESN’T JUST LOVE YOU—HE SO LOVES YOU—yes YOU—right there in the pew—how do I know? Look at how the verse continues:

III) The greatest number—“the world”

-There are so many ways in which the apostle John uses the word “world”, but within the context of this verse it is clear that he is talking about humanity. God so loves humanity.

-Let me ask you all a question: How many of you are humans? Let me see a show of hands—how many humans do we have here today?----OK, for those of you who didn’t raise your hands we might need a quick lesson in zoology—you are not animal, vegetable, or mineral so you must be human.

-That means that GOD SO LOVED YOU—it doesn’t matter your race, color, or creed—it doesn’t matter your gender, your past, your present, or your future—right now God so loved humanity that it caused Him to act on humanity’s behalf

-And since you are human, that means God so loved you that He demonstrated His love toward you. You yourself are the object of God’s love, that He did something for you that would completely and utterly change your destiny? But what was it that He did?

IV) The greatest act—“that He gave”

-God is not a God of mere words, but He is a God of action. It is easy to say to someone that you love them, but love is real when it causes you to do something for the betterment of the object of love.

-When God saw the people created in His image were helpless and hopeless because of their sin, He didn’t just tell people I LOVE YOU—He demonstrated that love through the action of giving.

-Our God is a generous God, a giving God. He doesn’t always give us what we want, but He gives us what we need. And sinful mankind was in great need. So what did God give humanity?

V) The greatest gift—“His only Son”

-Over the course of our lifetime we receive lots of gifts. We receive birthday gifts and Christmas gifts and wedding gifts and anniversary gifts. We sometimes even receive Easter gifts

{You may not be excited about this, but I received Star Wars: The Last Jedi in an Easter basket. My wife knows me so well. Of course it also may have been the 1000 hints I kept giving. YOU KNOW WHAT, THE LAST JEDI’S BEING RELEASED ON BLURAY AND DIGITAL ON MARCH 27TH…}

-But God gave something more precious and priceless than a movie, a car, or even a house. God gave us His one and only unique Son.

-Some versions say only-begotten, but the Greek word there means single, sole, exclusive—Jesus, being God the Son, has a unique relationship with the Father that nobody else can have. Jesus Christ is one of a kind.

-But God didn’t just give Jesus to the world through His life and teachings—He gave Jesus to be the sacrifice that would cover sin. God gave up to death His most precious Son on our behalf. Paul puts is so succinctly when he says:

but God shows his love for us in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us. (Rom. 5:8)

-I may love you guys, but I’m not giving up either of my children for any of you. God, out of the love He had for humanity, without hesitation gave His Son for us. And that leads to:

VI) The greatest invitation—“that whoever”

-Usually at the end of the service I give an invitation that presses upon you to respond to God’s word in some way—either by coming to a saving faith in Jesus Christ, or realigning our lives in obedience to His Word, or prayer for ourselves or others.

-Here we have the message—GOD SO LOVED THE WORLD THAT HE GAVE HIS ONLY SON—so the first question is who needs to do something about this? And Christ Himself answer: WHOEVER (or in some versions WHOSOEVER)

-Who belongs to the whoever? The whoever is anybody and everybody. There is an invitation to anyone who hears this message to do something about it. That means YOU ARE A WHOEVER. When this verse says WHOEVER it’s talking about you.

-I know there’s been a lot of theological controversy over the years between Calvinists (who believe Jesus only died for the elect and only the elect are saved) and non-Calvinists who think anyone can respond and be saved. But I like how Adrian Rogers fixed that problem. He said that Jesus is the door to God and heaven. On this side of the door the sign says WHOSOEVER WILL, but when you open up and walk through, the other side of the door says THE ELECT.

-When you respond to the invitation, you are the elect. But what is the response we are invited to:

VII) The greatest simplicity—“believes”

-Just like any gift, you don’t work for it or earn it. If you have to work for it then it’s a wage, not a gift. The only spiritual wage we’ve ever earned is our own destruction.

-But God gives His Son freely, so all you have to do is receive the gift. But how do you receive the gift? By doing religious rituals? By following an ethic? No, it says whoever BELIEVES.

-To believe means more than merely getting some head knowledge. It means to put your total trust and faith in one single source.

-Imagine you were in a boat wreck and all you had keeping your head above water was a wooden plank that was quickly getting water-logged and sinking. A rescue boat comes by and offers you one of those life preserver rings, and they would then pull you to safety. But you have to let go of the plank and trust that the life preserver would keep you afloat and bring you to safety.

-That’s the call to believe here. But your belief is only as good as the object of that belief. And we are called to believe in…

VIII) The greatest person—“in Him”

-This is referring back to the Son who is Jesus Christ. You believe that Jesus died for you and rose again for you, and trust in Him and nobody and nothing else, and you will be saved.

-You don’t trust in yourself, you don’t trust in your good works, you don’t trust in religion, you don’t trust in sets of morals, you don’t trust in a church, you don’t trust in your family or friends.

-There is only one object worthy of your belief and trust, and that is Jesus Christ. Because when you believe in Jesus Christ you receive…

IX) The greatest deliverance—“should not perish”

-Our sins and sin nature bring with them a heavy price. According to the apostle Paul: THE WAGES OF SIN IS DEATH.

-This not only speaks of the physical death that we all will pass through, but it is speaking of a spiritual death. Spiritual death is to be separated from the love and hope that is found in the One who gives life. Spiritual death is to face God’s perfect, just wrath forever.

-The Bible calls this place of eternal death HELL. That is not a subject people want to hear, but it is something that needs to be said to warn people. To perish without Christ is to spend an eternity in this place.

-As one pastor put it when he used the Bible’s own descriptions of hell:

~To PERISH without CHRIST means to dwell in

a place of eternal fire.

~To PERISH without CHRIST means to dwell in a place of eternal darkness.

~To PERISH without CHRIST means to dwell in a place of eternal torment and punishment.

~To PERISH without CHRIST means to dwell in a place of eternal sorrow.

-But when you believe in Jesus you are delivered from this fate. So in this verse, we find:

X) The greatest difference—“but”

-There is a contrast with this eternal death. This eternal death does not need to be your destiny. It is your destiny automatically because you have sinned and broken God’s laws. But…

XI) The greatest certainty—“have”

-The Bible does not say you might have, could have, should have, or would have

-This verse says that you are 100% guaranteed to have without ever losing it----What?

XII) The greatest possession—“eternal life”

-This does not mean that you will get away from physical death, but it does mean that you will be delivered from eternal death and given the exact opposite----THE GIVER OF PHYSICAL LIFE WILL ALSO BE THE GIVER OF ETERNAL LIFE

-And that eternal life is not just quantity—meaning that it is a long time. Eternal life is quality—it is Christ living in you, because according to Paul:

I have been crucified with Christ. It is no longer I who live, but Christ who lives in me. And the life I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me. (Gal. 2:20 ESV)

Conclusion

-What a promise this verse gives:

-"For God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life. (Jn. 3:16 ESV)

-What a powerful verse

~There’s a story that in the 1800’s D. L. Moody allowed someone he met in England to fill the pulpit for him in Chicago while he was away. The man, Harry Morehouse, came on a Wednesday night and preached on John 3:16. The response was so overwhelming that they invited him to preach that next night. He preached on John 3:16. With more great response he preached Friday night. And then Saturday night; again both nights in John 3:16.

~To make a long story short, a revival broke out that lasted for 6 weeks, and Harry Morehouse preached 42 sermons, all of them on John 3:16.

-That is the greatest verse about the greatest news that the greatest being gave the greatest Savior. And the greatest invitation is that if you, being a whoever, would believe in Him should not suffer eternal punishment but receive the greatest gift of life.

-If you have never trusted in Him, today is the day. Come forward and believe in Jesus.

-If you know someone who needs that great news, come and pray that God would send someone to share it.

-If you have strayed from God, come to the altar and rededicate yourself.

-If you need some encouragement, come to the altar and find it