"For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but to save the world through him" John 3:17.
Condemn: To say in a strong and definitive way that someone or something is bad or wrong; to give (someone) a unusually severe punishment; to cause (someone) to suffer or live in difficult or unpleasant conditions.
Many people can quote the prior verse John 3:16. You see people holding signs with it written at sporting events. It is probably the most recited and memorized verse in the Bible. Even those who don't read the Bible at all seem to know that verse.
But, I am not going to talk about that verse today. I don't know if I can add anything new or revealing about it (maybe someday). I am going to touch on the next verse and talk about it for a little bit. One that lives in the shadow of John 3:16. To be honest, God wanted me to talk about this verse.
It links rather well to the previous verse where it states that God so loved the world that He gave His one and only Son, that whoever believes in Him shall not perish but have eternal life. Good stuff there. It is a hopeful message that should fill our hearts with joy. It states what God has done for us and what the result is. As I said, hopeful message.
However, there are people who live in this world with the thought that God is watching them ready to strike when they step out of line. Fear plays in their hearts that they are following a God that's ready to get them. We all do that in our own way. When we don't get our way we can feel like we are being punished by God. That we are not doing enough or have failed Him in some way. Being condemned for our many mistakes.
That's not what John 3:17 tells us. Jesus' job was not to punish or cause us suffering. That was not why God sent His Son. To mock us or denigrate us when we fail.
Now, it is well within God's right to condemn us for our sin. God is holy and He will not abide sin. That's just the way it works. Yet, also, God is love. He does not want us to be condemned, but He also cannot look past sin either. Sin needs to be dealt with if we are to become reconciled to God. We can try (and we have) in vain. There is nothing within our strength which will overcome our sin problem. Doesn't stop us from trying over and over?
So, God is going to deal with our sin. Either we are going to receive our just punishment or some other means is necessary. That means is provided in the form of Jesus. God was going to make the way in solving the sin problem. Jesus' death and resurrection was the sacrifice to pay for our sins. He didn't deserve it, but he went there out of love for us. He took on the sentence for all sinners. That's quite a lot. Even God turned from that. Jesus even said on the cross, "My God, why hast thou forsaken me?"
Luckily for us, we will never know that feeling Jesus had on the cross. Being forsaken and left condemned.
Through His resurrection, we were freed from the punishment for our sins. We no longer stand condemned, but redeemed. Saved by God. That's what His love is. Willing to take on our condemnation so that we would see reconciliation.
That's our good news. Rather than facing the wrath of God, Jesus came to save us. Yes, we still have free will, and can choose to accept or not. We still sin, but we don't have to live in fear of God. We now have hope.
John 3:17 speaks to me that no matter what our personal situation is, no matter how hopeless we feel, Jesus came to save us. That there is no sin so great enough for Him to overcome. That Jesus' sacrifice had no limits to the extent of our sins. That Jesus' love can overcome all of our sins. Forgiveness and repentance does that. No longer do we have to be scared to confess to God our sins. He will not strike us down or condemn us. He will save us instead.
Christ did not come to condemn us. He does not even now. He comes to draw us closer to Him. To ultimately save us.
Condemn: To say in a strong and definitive way that someone or something is bad or wrong; to give (someone) a unusually severe punishment; to cause (someone) to suffer or live in difficult or unpleasant conditions.
Many people can quote the prior verse John 3:16. You see people holding signs with it written at sporting events. It is probably the most recited and memorized verse in the Bible. Even those who don't read the Bible at all seem to know that verse.
But, I am not going to talk about that verse today. I don't know if I can add anything new or revealing about it (maybe someday). I am going to touch on the next verse and talk about it for a little bit. One that lives in the shadow of John 3:16. To be honest, God wanted me to talk about this verse.
It links rather well to the previous verse where it states that God so loved the world that He gave His one and only Son, that whoever believes in Him shall not perish but have eternal life. Good stuff there. It is a hopeful message that should fill our hearts with joy. It states what God has done for us and what the result is. As I said, hopeful message.
However, there are people who live in this world with the thought that God is watching them ready to strike when they step out of line. Fear plays in their hearts that they are following a God that's ready to get them. We all do that in our own way. When we don't get our way we can feel like we are being punished by God. That we are not doing enough or have failed Him in some way. Being condemned for our many mistakes.
That's not what John 3:17 tells us. Jesus' job was not to punish or cause us suffering. That was not why God sent His Son. To mock us or denigrate us when we fail.
Now, it is well within God's right to condemn us for our sin. God is holy and He will not abide sin. That's just the way it works. Yet, also, God is love. He does not want us to be condemned, but He also cannot look past sin either. Sin needs to be dealt with if we are to become reconciled to God. We can try (and we have) in vain. There is nothing within our strength which will overcome our sin problem. Doesn't stop us from trying over and over?
So, God is going to deal with our sin. Either we are going to receive our just punishment or some other means is necessary. That means is provided in the form of Jesus. God was going to make the way in solving the sin problem. Jesus' death and resurrection was the sacrifice to pay for our sins. He didn't deserve it, but he went there out of love for us. He took on the sentence for all sinners. That's quite a lot. Even God turned from that. Jesus even said on the cross, "My God, why hast thou forsaken me?"
Luckily for us, we will never know that feeling Jesus had on the cross. Being forsaken and left condemned.
Through His resurrection, we were freed from the punishment for our sins. We no longer stand condemned, but redeemed. Saved by God. That's what His love is. Willing to take on our condemnation so that we would see reconciliation.
That's our good news. Rather than facing the wrath of God, Jesus came to save us. Yes, we still have free will, and can choose to accept or not. We still sin, but we don't have to live in fear of God. We now have hope.
John 3:17 speaks to me that no matter what our personal situation is, no matter how hopeless we feel, Jesus came to save us. That there is no sin so great enough for Him to overcome. That Jesus' sacrifice had no limits to the extent of our sins. That Jesus' love can overcome all of our sins. Forgiveness and repentance does that. No longer do we have to be scared to confess to God our sins. He will not strike us down or condemn us. He will save us instead.
Christ did not come to condemn us. He does not even now. He comes to draw us closer to Him. To ultimately save us.
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