Are You Ready For Some Good News for Once???


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John 3:16-21 For 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. 17 For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but to save the world through him. 18 Whoever believes in him is not condemned,but whoever does not believe stands condemned already because they have not believed in the name of God’s one and only Son. 19 This is the verdict: Light has come into the world, but people loved darkness instead of light because their deeds were evil. 20 Everyone who does evil hates the light, and will not come into the light for fear that their deeds will be exposed. 21 But whoever lives by the truth comes into the light, so that it may be seen plainly that what they have done has been done in the sight of God.

 So often we focus on the most memorized passage of the bible John 3:16, as we rightly should.  However I would like to focus on verse 17 which says, "God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but to save the world through him."    

 Most people think Christianity is a narrow religion, or that God is abitrary or capricious in his selection of those who are saved.  This passage clearly puts that notion to bed.  God sent Jesus not to condemn the world, but to save it through Him.  Notice the world means everyone in the world.  There is no one God wants to condemn. He wants to save everyone so they can be with Him forever.  

 Then the apostle John says the light shined in the darkness but people preferred darkness over light.  Though God desires all people to be saved, and sent his Son to the world to prove it, still some scoff at God's love for them.  Further he says that people who do evil hate the light.  Though God loves all people and desires to them to be saved, because of people's own sin they hate the light because it exposes their true hearts.    

 This idea that God is not a condemning God also is captured when Paul concludes in Romans 8:1, "There is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus."  The bottom line is God made us and created us to be in relationship with him.  Though sin separates us from God, God has reconciled us to Himself through His Son.  

 Here is a good thing to try if it comes up in a conversation.  Someone might say, "I don't believe in a God that would send people to hell!"  You might say, "Tell me about this God because I don't believe in Him either."  I think what you will get at under the surface of this question is someone that is either ashamed of their lifestyle so they blame God for being judgmental.  Or, someone who truly only sees God as judgmental and mean by some experience they have had with another Christian, authority figure or the Church.  

 Then you can share about the God that loves them so much, He sent His Son not to condemn them but to save them by shedding his own blood on a cross so that might be forgiven and receive eternal life.  

 Bottom line this is why they call the Gospel the Good News!  It is not bad news but Good News.  Let's not keep it to ourselves. 

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