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is going to be a very familiar
portion of Scripture to most of us. Probably most of you could
quote by memory the verse that we're going to be looking at
together here in John 3 and verse 16. I have to say that even though
this particular verse is probably one of the most well-known throughout
the world, it is also one of the most misunderstood. And so
that is why I want us to come and take a look at it together
today. Now, just in the context of John
3, Nicodemus, a Pharisee, a ruler among the Jews, came to Christ
by night. You can see there in verse two.
A lot of people make a big deal about him coming at night as
if he would have been cowardly. and therefore came at night.
But if you've ever lived in a Mideastern culture, that's the time you
visit. It's not during the day. Isn't
that what you would do if you go to see somebody? If you've
got a work schedule, you go see them at night. So I think there's
been much, too much given to the fact that he came at night.
I'm thankful he came. He came to Christ. He came inquiring. Obviously he came in ignorance.
but we don't find the Lord belittling him for coming. And I would encourage
any of us that are here to come to Christ. There are things that
we may not understand about him, but we come. And we come with
a desire to learn of him. That is how we come, but come,
come to Christ. And so, Again, he was at this
point dealing with Christ as his equal. He calls him rabbi. That would have been a term that
Nicodemus took for himself. He was a rabbi. It's like I deal
with some people sometimes that are pastors of other congregations,
and they'll address you as pastor. They'll say, pastor, I've got
to ask you something about what you preach. Well, that's how
Nicodemus was coming, he said, we know that, in verse two, that
thou art a teacher come from God, for no man can do these
miracles that thou doest except God be with him. And again, you
can belittle him all you want to, but he was just simply declaring
what he knew to be so at that particular time. And Christ,
in verse three, goes right to the heart of it. He says, To
him, verily, verily, I say unto thee, except a man be born again,
he cannot see the kingdom of God. And you might have this
marginal reading where it says, except a man be born from above. because that is really the sense
there of being born again. I know we went through a phase
here in this country where everybody was talking about having had
a born again experience. And what it really meant was
they turned over a new leaf. It might've been somebody that
had been on drugs and now they'd left drugs, or somebody had been
an alcoholic and now they'd stopped drinking, or they hadn't been
to church in a while, now they were attending. And so that was
the sense really which most people in our generation today came
to understand what it means to be born again. But again, there's
a lot of misconceptions with the way men perceive things and
with what the Word of God says. And I'm here to tell you today,
dear friends, that to be born again means to be born of God. That means that there is a life-giving
work that the Spirit of God does in the heart of a sinner, whereby
that sinner can see, notice, the kingdom of God. That word
see means to perceive, not in a visual way, not in a vision,
but in understanding as to what the kingdom of God is all about. And again, sadly, there's a lot
of misconception about that today. People talking about a kingdom
yet to be established, that when Christ comes, he will be king. I'm here to tell you that he's
king right now. God said, I have set my son, my king upon my holy
hill. And when he came, when he came
to this earth, he came as king. He came to conquer. He came to
conquer the law. Because what is it to condemn
sinners? It's the law of God. He came to overcome sin. He had to be tempted in all ways,
just as we are, yet without sin. He came to render the death knell
to Satan, in accordance with what it was written all the way
back there in the garden, that Satan, the seed of the serpent,
would bruise his heel, but he would crush his head. You say,
how did he do it all? In his death upon the cross.
We sang that song, Remember Me. When you come in your kingdom,
remember me. You remember who said that? That was a thief on
the cross. Here was an example of a man who had been born again,
born from above. His hands were tied. He had nothing
to commend himself to God. In fact, the scriptures say he
was railing against Christ initially, just like that other thief. But
then suddenly he saw who the Lord was. The Lord granted him
repentance. He said, remember me when you
come in your what kingdom. So he saw a King. He saw what
these Jewish religious people couldn't see, didn't see. And
this is the word that's addressed here to Nicodemus. And you can
see again, Nicodemus, at least he's an honest man. He's asking
these questions. Now, how can a man be born when
he's old? Can he enter the second time
into the mother's womb and be born? And then Jesus answered,
verily I say unto thee, except a man be born of water. And I
believe there the word and can also be translated or should
be even of the spirit. because the Spirit in John is
compared to the water. A little bit later, it talks
about springs of water springing up within one in whom the Spirit
of God has done a work. He's explaining how this birth
takes place. It's through the Spirit of God. He cannot enter into the kingdom
of God. It's not talking about entering
into glory. It's talking about entering into the things that
pertain to Christ himself. And I have to say the same thing
to you. I can lay the truth out as plainly as I know how before
your eyes and for your ears and point you to Christ. But unless
the spirit teaches you, you're going to get up and walk out
of here exactly how you came in. Just as ignorant, just as
rebellious, just as blind, and unconverted. It takes the Spirit
of God. And that's why Christ goes on
here in verse 6, that which is born of the flesh is flesh. There
are those that will be born in this flesh who are going to live
all their lives in this flesh and die in the flesh and never
truly know who Christ is. Even though they may have sat
for years under preachers who proclaimed a Christ. Even though
they hold in their hands the same Bible as we do, they remain
unconverted. Because whatever is born of the
flesh is flesh. And dear friends, that is not salvation. Just to
simply come and sit and say, I've been in church and I've
heard today and so now I'm going out and going about my way. There
has to be this work of the Spirit converting your heart to the
Lord Jesus Christ. From youngest here all the way to the oldest. and that which is born of the
Spirit is spirit. You say, what does that mean?
Well, we're gonna read a little bit later on what that means
in verse eight, but verse seven, you see what Christ said, marvel
not that I said unto thee, and I know this verse here too has
been applied generally, you must be born again. And I could say
that, I could stand and say that to you, you must be born again,
but I believe Christ was addressing this word particularly to Nicodemus,
even at this point in his ignorance, he was telling Nicodemus, even
though now you don't understand these things, Nicodemus, you
must be born again because I came for you. You will be born again. I'm so thankful it's that way.
Those for whom Christ came and lived and died and rose again,
every single one of them will be born again. That's what we're
gonna get to. It's not some general namby-pamby
offer that Christ came and laid down his life, now won't you
accept him? That is not the message of the Bible. The message of
the Bible, dear friends, is that if Christ came and lived and
died for you, you must be born again. When he went in John 4
there, you see this word must? And we're gonna see it in a little
bit here, but look just over in John 4. When he encountered
that Samaritan woman, it says that he left Judea and departed
again into Galilee. Now, he's going from the southern
part of the country all the way to the north. And it says in
verse four, he must needs, must needs go through Samaria. Well,
I'll tell you this, you can go back and read the history on
this. The Jews never went through Samaria. They had a path that
went up the other side of the Jordan to avoid going through
Samaria all the way and then coming back again to get up to
Galilee. So when it says here, he must
needs go through Samaria, it was not because there wasn't
any other way. but it was because there was one of his sheep there
that he must needs call to himself for whom he came and for whom
he would lay down his life and purchase their salvation. And
I believe that's the same sense in which Christ is saying to
Nicodemus, you must be born again. Christ could say it because he
knows those that are his. He knows every one of them. I
know my sheep and they're known to me. And you say, well, what
is it to be born of the spirit? Here it is in verse eight. the
wind bloweth where it listeth. And thou hearest the sound thereof,
but canst not tell whence it cometh and whether it goeth.
So is every one that is born of the Spirit." What does that
mean? That means He's sovereign in this matter. God is sovereign. in whom He is pleased to call."
And this is the first point of rebellion with sinners because
men want to have their say. They want to be able to say,
no, I prayed and I received Christ, therefore He received me. No.
If you look back in John chapter 1, this has already been laid
out here and I just want to come back to this for clarity. In
John chapter 1, beginning with verse 11, It says, he came unto his own
and his own received him not. It's talking about the Jews.
For the most part, they did not receive him. They turned thumbs
down on him. And Nicodemus would have continued
to turn thumbs down on him, were it not for the spirit of God
revealing Christ in him at some later time. But as many as received
him, here's what I want you to see. To them gave he power to
become the sons of God. Now you can read that one or
two ways. Most of the time, the way it's
preached is if you receive him, if you'll just receive Christ,
then he'll, he'll make you his son. That's how it's preached,
but that's not what it's saying. It's an explanation. Many received
him not, but to as many as received him, why did they receive him?
Because he gave them power. He gave them the authority. That's what that word power means.
It means authority to become the sons of God, even to them
that believe on his name. And if you don't believe that
it's all of God, look at verse 13, which were born, born spiritually,
how? Not of blood, nor of the will
of the flesh, nor of the will of man, but of God." See, a lot
of people just don't read far enough. But that's what Christ
was telling Nicodemus. He's in essence telling them,
I'm going to do a work for you and in you that you have no understanding
of right now, but through that work, you'll see the kingdom
of God and you'll enter in. And just like there were many
other people around that Samaritan woman, but Christ came for her. Then she went and called others
and they came and they believe hearing his word. But I'll tell
you, the Lord has those that he came to save particularly,
and he's gonna have every one of them. Might be some here sitting
here today, one of his sheep, wouldn't that be wonderful? Right
now you're like Nicodemus, you know some things, you can say
some things, well, he must be of God about Christ. He must
be of God because he did many miracles and wonders saying,
but I'm telling you, if the Lord came live and died for you, He's
going to bring you to see what his kingdom is all about. It's
his rule. His rule in his person over sin,
Satan, the devil, and the world because of what he accomplished
there at Calvary. That's what we're going to see. This is the
setting here. Now I say all that and we could
keep going here, but I want to get to verse 14 because a lot
of people jump right into verse 16. They say, well, I know John
3, 16, but how does John 3, 16 start? Four, for God so loved the world. If you came in on a conversation
and someone had started the sentence with four, you're gonna be sitting
there saying, what did I miss? He's drawing a conclusion. So
don't start with John 3.16, go back up and start with John 3.14.
Now you remember, the reason why I put the word, emphasis
on the word must, he must be born again in verse seven is
because we see it again here. Even as Moses lifted up the serpent
in the wilderness, even so must the Son of Man be lifted up.
Now we don't have time to go back there and read, but when
did Moses lift up the serpent in the wilderness? It's back
there in the book of Numbers. It's when God sent fiery serpents
through the camp. And these serpents were biting
people and people were dying. And Moses sought the Lord as
to what to do. And the Lord said, take a pole and put a serpent
up on it, a brazen serpent. And those that look will live.
Any that look shall live. And that word look means to gaze.
You know, when you're really in trouble, when you sense an
urgency, when God's caused you to see a need, you gaze. It's
not just a glance, there's a looking. That's why the same language
is used with regard to Christ. You say, why don't more people
see Christ? Why don't they seek him? They
don't see the need. Oh, every once in a while they'll
cry that they're in trouble and then they're off running again.
It's like a storm comes up, you kind of jump into a little harbor
for a little bit until it passes and then you're on your way.
That's the way a lot of people are. But oh, to look to Christ. Where does that look come from?
It comes from the Spirit of God. Except a man be born again, he
cannot, what, see. That's what that word means,
perceive, continue to gaze upon, look upon Christ. But here's
the point, as Moses lifted up that serpent in the wilderness,
what was that? That was a type and picture of the work that
the Lord Jesus Christ was to accomplish. Even so must the
Son of Man be lifted up. Christ had to fulfill all that
was written with regard to him. There wasn't any salvation, true
salvation in that brazen serpent. Now the Israelites thought there
was, because what did they do? They took and started offering
incense to it. It took Hezekiah coming along
years later to chop the thing up and denounce it. But that's
what men will do. Anytime that there's some little
remedy, they'll put their confidence in the remedy rather than seeing
how it typifies the Lord Jesus Christ. There's only one place
that any that have been saved have ever looked. been caused
to look for salvation, that's been to the Lord Jesus Christ.
Even those of the Old Testament, they weren't putting their confidence
in those sacrifices. If God taught them, they were
looking to this one who was to come. So in actuality, verse
14, I liken these three verses to the three R's, not reading,
writing, and arithmetic, but the three R's of the gospel.
In verse 14, you have the remedy. You have the basis upon which
God can be just and justify sinners. Even as the serpent was lifted
up in the wilderness, so must the Son of Man be lifted up.
That's where salvation is, dear friends. It's in the death of
the Lord Jesus Christ. That is the remedy. Don't confuse
the remedy with the result. People are doing that today.
They say, well, it's in my looking that I'm saved. No, it's the
Savior that saves. They say, well, it's my faith
that saves me. No, it's the object of faith that saves. God cannot
accept a sinner in his presence whose blood, the Lord Jesus Christ,
that blood has not been shed or that righteousness has not
been imputed. It's not your righteousness.
It's the righteousness of another put to your account that gives
you that perfect standing with God. You see that? That's why
he was lifted up. Now verse 15, you say, what's
verse 15? That's the result. That whosoever believeth in him
should not perish, but have eternal life. That's the effect of Christ
being lifted up. If Christ died for you, dear
friend, then there will be in time faith. God's going to grant
it. He's going to cause you to see
Christ. You'll believe on him. You'll renounce any righteousness
of your own. You'll submit to him as the way
of righteousness. You'll own no other. That's the
result. And you won't perish. You won't
perish not because you believed, but you won't perish because
he died for It's his death that caused you to believe. And true,
the result is everlasting life, but that flows, where does that
life come from? It flows out of Christ himself and his blood. So in verse 14, you've got the
remedy. Verse 15, you've got the result.
And then verse 16, you have the reason. You say, why all this? Why would God deliver up his
son? Well, verse 16 tells us why.
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. Now, again, you've heard these
sorts of messages where a preacher will stand up and say, for God
so loved the world, and they'll put the emphasis on so loved
the world. Well, there's no question that
God's love is infinite and it's immeasurable. I don't even know
how to explain it. But keeping these verses in their
context, that little word so, if you go back up and look at
verse 14, it's the same word that John used up there in verse
14. How did he use it in verse 14? As Moses, think of just as
Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, even so, or in
this manner, that's what the word so means. in this manner
must the Son of Man be lifted up. The same word used in verse
16, for God in this manner loved the world. So it's not just talking
about some general love for everybody in the world. That's how it's
usually preached, isn't it? God loves every single person
in the world. Well, that contradicts the rest
of scripture, doesn't it? where it says, Jacob, have I
loved? Esau, have I hated? To interpret John 3, 16, the
way men are doing it, it causes more problems than it does answer
questions. And people realize it. I run into them all the time.
They say, well, how could God love somebody and send them to
hell? Because it presents God as loving somebody up to a certain
point. And then all of a sudden saying, okay, now I'm going to
send you to hell. What kind of love is that? What kind of love
is that? Or to say that he actually sent
his son to die for everybody and yet does not send a preacher
to him to tell him? You think about the millions
and billions of people dying today in the world who've never
even heard the name of Christ. And you're telling me God loves
them? Don't you think if you love somebody and gave your son
to die for them that you'd cause them to hear it? That's exactly
right. So there's something wrong with
that interpretation and it starts right here with this little word
so. It says here for in this manner,
God in this manner loved the world. What does it do? It begs
the question. How did he love the world? Well, it says he gave
his only begotten son. And then the rest shows you that
it's not for everybody because it doesn't say that anybody might
believe on him that says that, actually in the original, it's
that those who do believe, that's why he sent his son. There is
a people that he is going to cause to believe and that those
that do believe should not perish, but have everlasting life. That's what I wanna talk to you
about in the minutes that remain here, dear friends. What is this
love of God for the world? You stop and think about it.
If you were to ask people, what is the greatest thing God could
do for them? Just go out and do a survey.
You'll hear some that'll say, well, I sure wish he'd give us
world peace. Some say, well, I wish he'd take care of all
the illnesses. It'd be nice to be able to just
shut all these hospitals down. Yes, it would. Some say, well,
you know, we have to deal with poverty. I get stuff across my
desk all the time, how we as a church can help rid the world
of poverty. Christ said, you have the poor
with you always. Even he said that. That's not
the greatest gift. I don't mean to minimize people
that are in poverty, but I'm telling you that is not the greatest
gift that God can give to a man or technology or riches. My text
here declares that the greatest manifestation of God's love to
the world is the gift of His Son, the Lord Jesus Christ. Now, do you believe that? If
you even have a doubt in your mind, it's an evidence that you
haven't really thought about this. What is the greatest gift
that God could ever do for this world? It was to give His Son,
to give His Son. That's why I keep going back
to the cross, dear friends. I don't care if this world goes
on for another million years, there's still going to be a point
of reference in this world, in this history, that above all
else is going to mark a manifestation of God's infinite love, and that
is the gift of His Son, the Lord Jesus Christ. Ah, that He would
teach us of that. But this, let me give you some
points to consider here. First of all, consider how dear
to God the Father, the Lord Jesus Christ is. He might not be dear
to you. And you might be sitting there thinking about what all
you've got to do the rest of this week. And I can hardly wait
to get through this message, but I'm going to tell you what,
the Lord Jesus Christ is the dearest thing to God, the father.
You say you worship God. If you do, you worship his son.
It'll be because he's caused you to see just how precious
Christ is to God. That's. That's what I see here. It says, God so loved the world
that he gave his only begotten son. Now the only begotten is
in the sense, some of you may have grown up in a family where
you were the only child. That means all the affection
went toward you. That's it. You're the only begotten. That's
the image that we see here. And as the only begotten, what
does that mean? You're the only heir. You're the heir to all
things. How precious is that? That's
the sense here. He was his only son. He was the
only object of his love and that from all eternity. And he is
the express image of his person. You realize if you're the only
begotten, that means that when people look at you, even after,
even if your parents aren't around, you are the one image that they
have of who your parents were. That's what it is to be the only
begotten. Look over here in Colossians chapter one and verse 13. You
know, I try, Think about how I can bring this home, but I
know the Spirit of God has to do it. He's got to do it. Colossians
1 verse 13, it says, who hath delivered us from the power of
darkness and hath translated us into the kingdom of, notice
how it's put, his dear son. In fact, the marginal reading
means the son of his love. That's who we're dealing with
here, dear friends. When we talk about the Lord Jesus Christ,
we're talking about the son of God's love. Isaiah said, unto
us, a child is born. That's how we saw it, as a man
coming in this world. But what else did he say? Unto
us, a son is given. Whose son is it? God's son. God's son. Oh, that is the focal
point of John 3, 16. Everybody arguing about the world.
But the focal point is that He gave His only begotten Son! That's what this is all about,
it's His Son! And that's what God has to be
pleased to teach us of His Son. But secondly, here's a thing
too that just overwhelms me. Consider to what the Father gave
Him. Now it's one thing to send Him
as an envoy and to bring Him back. It's another thing to send
Him as an example. or an emissary and to come back,
but it's another thing to send him as a sacrifice. And dear
friends, when John 3, 16, when it says here, for God so loved
the world that he gave his only begotten son, it's in the sense
that he gave him as a sacrifice. He gave him to die. He gave him
to die. It was even to the death of the
cross to be made a curse for His people to be the scorn and
contempt of sinners, to be subjected to the cruelest sufferings that
were ever inflicted or borne by any." I don't care how cruel
the torture, none suffered as the Son of God suffered, none.
There's none to be compared. And yet it was God Himself that
ordained it. You look over here in Acts chapter
two and verse 23, Look in Acts chapter two in verse 23. This is what Peter declared on
the day of Pentecost. You know, people don't understand
this even. Come up toward Easter time, everybody's just whipping
out the hankies and crying about the sufferings of Christ and
his physical suffering. People putting on plays and passions,
going through all these motions. It's almost like a pity party.
He did not come to elicit our pity. In fact, those two women
that stood there the day he was taking that cross to Calvary
and they wept, he said, don't weep for me. Weep for yourselves,
but don't weep for me. There was an understanding on
his part that everything he came to do, he did for the honor of
his father. Just as he is the dearest to
his father, the father is the dearest to him. It's his father's
glory above all. I wish we could get that into
our mind, even with regard to our salvation or the salvation
of sinners and loved ones. It has everything to do with
the Father's glory. God is not going to save your
child. He's not going to save your loved one without doing
it to His glory. And He can be just as glorified
in condemning them as He is in bringing them to Himself. That's
the point where most people have the trouble. And they won't bow. They think, no, He ought to save
them. They're good people. There's your problem right there.
You're thinking they're good enough to be saved. That's not
who Christ saved. Christ saved sinners. Christ
saved sinners. It has everything to do with
God's glory. And here in Acts 2 and verse
23, him being delivered, how? By the determinate counsel and
foreknowledge of God. Ye have taken and by wicked hands
have crucified and slain. Could they have done anything
to him but what God ordained? Not a thing, not a thing. In
fact, if you read over in Acts chapter four, in the prayer of
the church, in Acts chapter four, in verse 27 and 28, this is what
they acknowledge. This is what the believers of
the first century church acknowledge. They said, for of a truth, verse
27, against thy holy child, Jesus, whom thou hast anointed, both
Herod and Pontius Pilate with the Gentiles and the people of
Israel were gathered together. But look here in verse 28. for
to do whatsoever thy hand and thy counsel determined before
to be done." Now, was God just forcing them against their will?
No, they were doing what they wanted to do, but in so doing,
they were accomplishing the will of God the Father. And the reason
is because Christ had to be slain. In order for God to be just and
justify sinners, that law had to be satisfied. Somebody had
to do it. The sinner couldn't do it. The law wasn't given as
a means of the sinner himself satisfying a holy God. The law
was given to shut every sinner up to their own condemnation,
but Christ came as the substitute. That's the sense here. Consider
to what the Father gave him. Just as the lamb in the Old Testament
under the law was separated from the flock and set apart, Now
it may have still been alive. During that time it was set apart,
but nonetheless, it had been set apart. And even though still
living, it was consecrated to the Lord. And that time had to
come when that lamb should die. And that's what a lot of people
don't see. They see little baby Jesus boy at the manger. They
see him raised up. They see him going about doing
miracles and good deeds, and they're all enthralled with it.
But Christ, even with his disciples, kept reminding them, The son
of man must suffer and die. Son of man must. And it says
they didn't understand these things. It takes the Lord revealing. That's not understandable. Why
would God give his son to die? Well, dear friends, what that
teaches you is just how just God is. If he spared not his
son in order to be just in saving those that he purposed to save,
do you think it's going to be any thought at all for him to
send guilty sinners to hell for whom Christ did not die. God
was pleased to pass them by in his justice. A lot of people
have trouble with that. They say, well, that's not fair.
Fairness ended when Adam fell. We fell in him. The trial's over. Now it's a
matter of whether God will be merciful or not. Whether it be
just in how he shows mercy. He can't just say, well, like
you did, used to do with a little daisy. I love him. I love him
not. I love him. I love him not. Pull the pedals
and hope it falls on. I love, you know, I love him.
That's not how God did it. God purposed to save sinners,
sent his son to die for them. But those he passed by, he justly
does so. That's the God of scripture.
In Christ's coming, it was to answer to the wrath of an infinite
God and an infinite and holy God. And he was given to drink
that cup of condemnation dry that God might be just and justify
sinners. How holy, this is a point I want
you to see dear friends, how holy and just must be the love
of God then in those that he saves. There'll be no question,
he gave his son. The father of mercies delivered
up the son of his love. That's what this verse is all
about. It was deliverance into the hands of justice even as
a condemned man by sentence of the law is given over the hands
of the executioner, that's what God did with his son. Now consider
for whom he manifests this love, here's a third thing I'd have
you consider and I'll be done here in a little bit but consider
for whom he manifests such love. I know this word world is what
most people trip up on, they get hung up on it, they say well
the Bible says the world For God so loved the world, world
means world. You can get a dictionary out and look at it. The word
world is translated three or four different ways. You're talking
about the geographic world, upon which you're walking right now,
the physical world. The word world is used in Scripture,
world without end. It's talking about an age. It
can refer to an age. I'll tell you this, as you come
down here to John 3.16, our Lord uses this world to refer to sinners
that the Jews looked upon as sinners and didn't consider even
to be of themselves, of their own. The world was split between
Jew and the rest of the world. And consider who Jesus, our Lord,
is talking to here. He's talking to Nicodemus, a
Jew. And when this Jew heard the word
world, how did he understand it? Gentiles. What he's saying
is basically these very people that you turn thumbs down on,
that's the kind of sinner I came to save. Because they were all
built up in their self-righteousness. But dear friends, the scripture
says, this is a saying worthy of all acceptation, that Jesus
Christ came into the world to save sinners. So you could read
it that way. You could read John 3, 16, for
God so loved the world, or God in this manner loved sinners. That's a good way to put it.
That's who he came for, sinners. Sinners from every tribe, nation,
and tongue, not one particular tribe as the Jews thought. Well, if the Messiah comes, it'll
be to set up a Jewish kingdom. No, he came to save sinners from
every tribe, nation, and tongue. If you look over in Revelation
chapter five and verse nine, that's the view of heaven that
we see here, Revelation 5 and verse 9. And really that's why
we're here about this table. It is to celebrate the death
of the Lord Jesus Christ. This one who came, the bread
that we're about to partake of is representative of that body
that was prepared for him. It's unleavened bread without
sin. He had to be sinless. He had
to be obedient unto death. And yet, It took the shedding
of his blood. That's what the cup's all about,
the shedding of his blood. And I'll tell you, dear friends,
that blood was not shed in vain. If you think that he died for
every single person in the world, and yet not every single person
in the world is as a result saved, what you're saying is that his
blood is not efficacious. There's something else besides
the blood of Christ then that saves. And I can't think of anything
more abominable. Because the scriptures say it's
that blood that saves. It's the death of the Lord Jesus
Christ that God looks upon, whereby he put away our sin and declared
us righteous before God. That's where it took place, in
the death of Christ. But over here in Revelation 5
and verse 9, you see, this is the song of the redeemed. People
are arguing with you on this point, and yet they expect to
be in glory singing this song. How on earth? They sung a new
song saying thou art worthy to take the book and to open the
seals thereof for thou was slain and has redeemed us to God by
thy blood." Notice, out of. There was a redemption out of
the world. Who's that out of? Well, that's
those that God electing Christ set apart even before Christ
came those for whom Christ died and those whom by his spirit
God will in time call to himself it says us redeemed us to God
you notice who was in view here was God himself that's what the
redemption is all about to God by the blood by thy blood out
of every kindred and tongue and people and nation and it's made
us a unto our God, kings and priests, and we shall reign on
earth." You know, if it was every single person in the world for
whom Christ died, why did Christ say in his high priestly prayer,
I pray not for the world, but for those that thou hast given
me? You know, you get people say to you all the time, well,
you ought to be praying for everybody. If the Lord lays them on your heart,
that may be an indication that they are one of the Lord's, but
God's not in the business of trying to get everybody saved.
Can you imagine if he is? That means he's a failure. In
the end, he's a failure. Now he's saving everyone that
he purposed to save and for whom Christ died. That blood shall
not be shed in vain. Christ said that, didn't he?
He said, all that the Father has given me shall come to me
and him that comes to me, I will no wise cast out. That's why
he won't cast him out, because it's God doing the drawing. God
did the giving. And it was through the death
of his son. Well, there's a lot more here that I'd like to say,
but let me just conclude with these three thoughts here. If
God's love required such a sacrifice, you stop and think about this.
How great must be then the lostness and the depravity and the total
inability of sinners? Because this is what it required.
If there had been another way, don't you know God would have
declared it? But the fact that it says here that he sent his
son to die means there was no other way. There is no other
way. How foolish to think that Christ
came just as one way, but there may be others. Can you imagine
that? Giving up your son to this sort of death when in reality
there could have been another way? That's why Paul wrote in Galatians,
he said, if righteousness come by law, any law, any other rule,
Christ is dead in vain. You've made Christ's death of
no effect. But secondly, I would say this in conclusion, that
it's not that we love God, but that he loved us. That's what
the scriptures say in 1 John, for God so loved the world. God
in this manner loved the world, but it's God doing the loving.
He didn't wait for us to love Him. He didn't condition our
salvation upon our loving Him first. If we love Him, 1 John
4.10 says, it's because He first loved us and gave His Son to
be that propitiation. I'm so thankful it's that way.
Maybe that's something you're just discovering. You thought
it was you loving God. No, it doesn't have a thing to
do with that. It had everything to do with Him loving you. And
then the final thought I'll leave with you is, to remember that
if God has given you this greatest and all-comprehending mercy of
salvation and justification through the blood and righteousness of
Christ, even when you were yet an enemy, because that's what
the scripture says, while we were yet sinners, Christ died
for us. While we were still rebels, Christ
died. You were alienated from Him and yet He was merciful.
I ask you, is there anything imaginable that you can think
of that would cause Him to deny you His mercy even in your daily
life? Day by day, don't we get questioned
sometimes in the little things? And then we have to stop and
think, oh, wait a minute. He laid down His life for me. That
was the greatest mercy I could ever, ever be shown. Why would
He deny me His mercy even now in my day-to-day life? It's so
vital. That's why Romans 5 says, being
reconciled, we shall be saved by his life. He died and rose
again in Sinai. He ever lives to intercede on
behalf of his people. You know, our problem is we get
that little problem up so close to our eye and we keep inspecting
it. Well, you get something close enough, pretty soon you can't
see anything. Get it out there where it belongs. Put it out
there where it belongs. I don't care what it is. God's
gonna care for his own. If he saved him, he's gonna keep
him. and he's gonna see them all the way through into glory.
That's a blessed thought. And that's why it says here,
God in this manner loved the world that he gave his only begotten
son that whosoever believeth in him should not perish. You
might feel like you are sometimes, but just like those disciples
in the boat, they said, Lord, we perish. What a foolish thing.
Lord's in the boat with them. They're not perishing, but have
everlasting life. Look to Christ, look to Christ.
God So Loved the World
Series Gospel According to John
What does it mean that God loved the world? How did God love the world? How can the love of God be reconciled with the truth of His justice and holiness? Since God is holy, how can He be just and show mercy? Who are those who believe? What is eternal life?
| Sermon ID | 21915711290 |
| Duration | 42:41 |
| Date | |
| Category | Sunday Service |
| Bible Text | John 3:16 |
| Language | English |
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