Condemned or Saved?
John 3:17-21
Background- Born Again
John 3:16 For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life.
17 For God did NOT send His Son into the world to condemn the world, but that the world through Him might be saved. (Jesus came on a rescue mission to SAVE us)
I Timothy 2:4 God desires ALL MEN to be saved and to come to the knowledge of the truth. 5 For there is one God and one Mediator between God and men, the Man Christ Jesus, 6 who gave Himself a ransom for all, to be testified in due time,
18 He who believes in Him is NOT CONDEMNED;
Rom. 8:1 There is therefore now NO CONDEMNATION to those who are in Christ Jesus, who do not walk according to the flesh, but according to the Spirit.
Why is there NO CONDEMNATION for those in Jesus?
Because Jesus took our CONDEMNATION… Jesus took the JUST JUDGMENT we deserved…. at the CROSS.
18 He who believes in Him is not condemned; BUT he who does not believe is condemned ALREADY, because he has not believed in the name of the only begotten Son of God.
UNDERSTAND
Fallen man views himself as basically GOOD. (Compared to others man is basically good.)
ERROR- Man is NOT basically good.
Assuming that man is basically good…fallen man views Gods offer of salvation as something that he can take or leave.
TRUTH- Man is sinful. All have sinned. The whole world is guilty & under the just judgement of God.
Man desperately needs to be SAVED from his sins!
The Law of God shows sinful man his guilt before GOD!
Romans 3:19 What the law says …it says that every mouth may be stopped, and all the world may become guilty before God.
Galatians 3:24 Therefore the law was our tutor to bring us to Christ, that we might be justified by faith.
18 He who believes in Him is not condemned; BUT he who does not believe is condemned ALREADY, because he has not believed in the name of the only begotten Son of God.
The HARD TRUTH is…WHOEVER you are… If your not a believer in Jesus you are a CONDEMNED man awaiting sentencing!
Revelation 20:11 Then I saw a great white throne …12 And I saw the dead, small and great, standing before God, and books were opened. And another book was opened, which is the Book of Life. And the dead were judged according to their works, by the things which were written in the books. 15 And anyone not found written in the Book of Life was cast into the lake of fire.
So when we come across men, women and children who are CONDEMNED & awaiting sentencing before the Great White Throne….
Q. Should we talk them….about the PARDON that God is offering in Jesus? Silent?
Isaiah 55:6 Seek the LORD while he may be found; call on him while he is near. 7 Let the wicked forsake his way & the evil man his thoughts. Let him TURN to the LORD, and He will have mercy on him, for He will freely pardon.
Bruce Sample- (a little raw)
19 And this is the condemnation, that the light has come into the world, and men loved darkness rather than light, because their deeds were evil. 20 For everyone practicing evil hates the light and does not come to the light, lest his deeds should be exposed.
For many it’s NOT a matter of EVIDENCE. But It’s a matter of their WILL!
Some people are OPEN to the overwhelming EVIDENCE that points to God the Creator!
Chemists today have calculated the IMMENSE odds of amino acids ever combining to form the necessary proteins by undirected means, (given an ideal mixture of chemicals, given an ideal atmosphere, and given up to 100 billion years) to be I in 1067
Some people are OPEN & RECEPTIVE to the EVIDENCE that Jesus is the MESSIAH
48 prophecies fulfilled is 1in 10157
For many… it’s NOT a matter of there ever being enough EVIDENCE but rather it’s a matter of their WILL!
19 And this is the condemnation, that the light has come into the world, and men loved darkness rather than light, because their deeds were evil.
John 3:20 For everyone practicing evil hates the light & does not come to the light, lest his deeds should be exposed.
In contrast
- Condemned v.19
- Men who love darkness rather than light v.19
- Bent on practicing evil deeds v.20
- Hate light & are not willing to come to the light v.20
John 3:21 But he who does the truth… comes to the light, that his deeds may be clearly seen, that they have been done in God.
John talks a lot about LIGHT and DARKNESS
1 John 1:5 God is LIGHT & in Him is no darkness at all.
1 John 1:6 If we say that we have fellowship with Him, and walk in darkness, we LIE and do not practice the truth.
1 John 1:7 But if we walk in the light as He is in the light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus Christ His Son cleanses us from all sin.