What was the first memory verse you ever learned? For most of us, it was John 3:16. I have a set of 6 books at the house that I bought a few years ago. They are by a man named Carl F.H. Henry. When Carl Henry died in 2003, the New York times called him the brain of the evangelical movement. That’s how smart he was. The editor of the magazine Christianity Today said, “If we see Billy Graham as the great public face and generous spirit of the evangelical movement, Carl Henry was the brains.” That’s why his books still sit on my shelf at home, unread. They’re deep. They’re so deep that I don’t get what he’s talking about most of the time. But here was this brilliant Christian man. Here was this man who has been called one of the greatest of thinkers since the Apostle Paul. And do you know what his favorite verse was? John 3:16. He called it majestic. He said it is more cherished than any other. Well, now I can say that I have something in common with Carl F. H. Henry. I’m not nearly as smart as him, but I agree with him that John 3:16 is majestic. I agree with him that it is more cherished than any other. I agree with him because, in a way, the whole story of the Bible is told in this one verse. Spurgeon said that it is the essence of the gospel. He called it the good news in brief. That’s why it’s one of the first verses we learn in Sunday School. That’s why it’s one of the few verses that people memorize anymore. That’s why it’s one of the first verses that translators put into other languages. It is in songs. It is inscribed on buildings. One of the most popular Christian books in the past year is called 3:16. For many people, John 3:16 is instantly known and recognized. It’s known and recognized, but is it understood? Do people that know the verse understand what it truly means? Do you understand what it truly means? And if you understand what it truly means… do you understand what that means for your life? As you read through the Bible, you can’t help but notice that you are reading a text with two great themes. All the way from the first pages of Genesis to the last chapters of Revelation… two themes are consistently revealed on every page. On every page, you see something related to the two themes of God’s redemption and His righteousness. And nowhere in the Bible are those two themes more clearly and concisely revealed than in the 25 words of this verse. But this verse doesn’t stand alone. Remember that Jesus is talking to a very important Jewish scholar and political leader named Nicodemus. He had just finished telling Nicodemus that his complete foundation of understanding and learning was all wrong. He just finished telling him that he needed a fresh start. He needed to be completely and totally born again. When Nicodemus asked Jesus how that was possible, Jesus told him. He told him that he had already been physically born. Now, he needed to be spiritually born. And then Jesus told him how that was possible in verse 15. He said, “Whosoever believeth in Him should not perish, but have eternal life.” Jesus showed Nicodemus his need for salvation. And He showed him the means of salvation. But now, over the next 6 verses, Jesus gave Nicodemus the essence of the gospel. He boiled it all down for him. He explained all that needed to be explained for him to make a clear choice. He laid it all out for him and moved on. This verse that we are so familiar with is actually an introduction and an overview of the rest of the passage. In it, Jesus tells us what He’s going to tell us. And what He’s going to tell us is about God’s love. When He says, “For God so loved the world,” He’s not being quantitative. Some of the modern translations miss the boat on this one. He’s not saying, “This is how much God loved the world.” It’s not quantitative, it’s qualitative. It’s not how much God loved the world. It’s, “in what way God loved the world.” In other words, Jesus is saying, “It is in this way that God loved the world.” Or, “Nicodemus, let me tell you the way in which God loves the world.” “He loves the world in such a way that it requires Him to send His only Son to provide salvation for people who don’t deserve it.” And that’s how much God loves you this morning. How much does God love you this morning? First, He loves you enough to send His Son to bring salvation to you. Look at verses 17-18:
JOHN 3:17-18
How much does God love you? In what way does God love you? God loves you enough to send His Son to bring salvation to you. Why did Jesus come? We can give all kinds of Sunday School answers, but why did He come? Let’s step back to the beginning for a minute. In the infinite counsels of God, He decided to create. In the beginning, He created the heavens and the earth and everything in them. And He created everything for one purpose… He created everything in order to provide for the crown of His creation. He created everything for us for two reasons… to provide for us and to point us to Him. But what did we do instead? Instead of using the things God gave us as our provision, we focused on them. Instead of using the things and worshipping God, we began to worship the things and try to use God. Romans 1 puts it like this, we exchanged the glory of the immortal God for images resembling mortal man. We took God’s creation and elevated it above our Creator. Adam and Eve started doing that in the garden when they elevated their desire for the fruit over the Word of God. And each and every one of us have continued to do it. We elevate creation above the Creator when we worry about money. We elevate creation above the Creator when we place our job or our hobbies or our recreation over serving the Lord. We even elevate creation above the Creator when we place our families over worshipping God. We are every bit as quick to make idols in our lives as the Israelites were in the Old Testament. Any time that we fail to thank God for the blessings He’s given us… any time we fail to use those blessings to glorify Him… any time that happens, we are turning them into idols in our lives. So let’s don’t get high and mighty about the Israelites and idolatry. We do the same thing. Do you know what that means? It means that each and every one of us is a sinner. It means that each and every one of us falls short of the standard that God has set. But it’s not just like we’re little sinners. Any time that we elevate something above God, we’re idolaters. And do you know what the Bible compares idolaters to? It compares us to unfaithful, adulterous wives. Every time we elevate something above God… anytime God is not our #1 priority in life, we’re cheating on Him. Now, that brings it down to a personal level, doesn’t it? We all know people who have had a spouse to cheat on them. And we know how selfish and cruel and demeaning that is. And that is what each of us has done with God. Throughout the Old Testament, the Bible refers to Israel as “playing the harlot” on God. We are no different. We have all sinned and fallen short of the glory of God. We have all known God and failed to give Him thanks and praise and glory. But God loved us anyway. One of the most beautiful pictures of that is in the book of Hosea. God called Hosea to use his life as a picture of His unconditional love for Israel. He told Hosea to marry a prostitute who was a picture of Israel. God knew she would be unfaithful to Hosea, but He told him to marry her anyway. So he did. And sure enough, she was unfaithful. As a matter of fact, she was even worse than before Hosea married her. But God told Hosea to love her. And when she got to the point where she was so worn and abused that she no longer had any value as a prostitute… she found herself on the auction block as a slave. And when she found herself there, she was totally worthless to anybody. That is, anybody but God. So in a picture of His love, He had Hosea redeem her. He had Hosea pay the price for her. Not half-price. Not bargain basement price. He paid the full price for her. Was she worth it? Nobody else though so. But God did. How much does God love you? He loves you so much that He paid the purchase price for you. Even though your sin was such that you were of no value to Him whatsoever, He loved you. He loved you and paid the highest price possible to redeem you from the sin that enslaves you. He paid the price of sending His Son into the world. Not as your judge, but as your savior. He had every right to eternally condemn you and I for who we are—much less what we’ve done. But that’s not why He sent Jesus the first time. He didn’t send Jesus the first time to condemn you for your sin. Jesus came to redeem you from your sin. To pay the price that you cannot pay. To give you a gift that you cannot earn. That’s the way in which God loves you. He loves you enough that He sent His Son to bring salvation to you. But that’s not the extent of His love. Because God loves you so much that He won’t force Himself on you. He loves you so much that He will allow you to respond to Him or reject Him. And it’s for that reason that God loved you enough to send His Son to bring judgment upon you. Look at verses 19-21:
JOHN 3:19-21
God loves you enough to send His Son to bring judgment upon you. But wait a minute preacher—didn’t verse 17 say that God didn’t send Jesus into the world to judge the world?” Yes it does. But remember that verse 18 says that those who reject Christ are already judged. That tells you that you have a choice to make. God will not force salvation on anyone. He prompts. He draws. Ultimately, He saves. But you have to respond. And if you don’t respond, then you will be judged. And these verses lay out the basis for that judgment. When verse 19 says, “and this is the condemnation,” it is referring to the reasoning behind, or the basis, or the cause of the condemnation that is a result of the judgment. It’s interesting that the original word that’s translated condemnation here is the same word we get the word “crisis” from. Jesus is telling Nicodemus, “Here’s the crisis point.” “Here is the point that everything hinges on.” “Here is the tipping point between redemption and rejection… between salvation and judgment… between heaven and hell.” I’ve heard it said many times, “How can a loving God condemn anyone to Hell?” The answer is simple. It is precisely because God is a loving God that He will allow people to go to Hell. God loves you enough that He provided a salvation you didn’t ask for. He loves you enough that He provided a salvation you weren’t seeking. While you were yet a sinner, Christ died for you. When God made Adam and Eve, He had two options. He could have either made it impossible for them to sin. But if He had done that, it would have also been impossible for them to truly love Him and respond to His love. It would have been impossible for them to have had a relationship with Him. And God loved them too much for that. So He gave them an opportunity to make a choice. And they did. Of course, they made the wrong choice. At that time, God had only one other logical option. When Adam and Eve rebelled against God, His only logical option was to judge them and permanently cast them out of His presence. That was His only logical option. But thank God His logic is a whole lot bigger than our logic. Because their rebellion opened the door for God to show His love in an unimaginably wonderful way. God loved you and I so much that He sent His Son. He sent His Son to take on flesh and live as one of us. He lived as one of us for 33 years except He did something that you and I cannot do. Because He was still God, He lived without sin. And then He took on the full responsibility and punishment for our sins and died as a permanent sacrifice for you and me. He died to remove your sins and He lives again to restore your relationship with a Holy God. The work for your salvation is complete. The pathway is open. The provision has been made. But the responsibility to accept it is yours. You see, choice isn’t really a choice unless there are things to choose between. And if there is nothing to choose between then there is no freedom. And if there is no freedom, there can be no relationship. God desires you to glorify Him by entering into a relationship with Him. He has paid the price for you to come down off the auction block of slavery to sin. Now that the price has been paid, you have a choice of which master to follow. Will you follow the One who paid your ransom? Or will you follow the one who has been judged already? This is the basis of the judgment. Your sin has been exposed for what it is. You have cheated on the One who made you. The price has been paid. The light has come into the world. The question is, how will you react to the Light? If you love the darkness where you are so much that you reject the salvation that Jesus paid for… judgment is waiting. God loves you so much He won’t force you. But He loves you so much He’s given you today. He’s given you right now. He’s given you this moment to respond to Him in faith believing. He’s given you this moment right now to confess with your mouth the Lord Jesus Christ and believe in your heart that God has raised Him from the dead. He’s given you this moment right now to believe in the name of the only begotten Son of God. Will you take this time He’s given you and accept the gift He’s given you? Will you respond to Him as He calls you? We know the choice that Nicodemus made when he heard the gospel. You’ve heard the gospel as plainly as I can present it this morning. What is your choice?
