Believing the Gospel

"For God so loved the world that He gave His only Son, so that everyone who believes in him may not perish but may have eternal life" (John 3. 16 NRSV) This is possibly the most well known text in the Bible. It is simple yet profound. Its words have been put to music for songs and choruses. It has been recited in countless Sunday School anniversaries in past generations. It has been the subject text for many sermons; and it is said that Spurgeon preached on this text on 7 consecutive nights.

So what is it about this text that attracts popular interest? Is it the simplicity with which it states the most profound truth? The search for some form of everlasting life has certainly affected very many people over many hundreds of years. Some have searched on a human level to extend life, as we know it on Earth for as long as possible. Other take a more spiritual view in that they look for a different form of life in another sphere.

The text in John 3. 16 doesn't define the kind of everlasting life but it states the important principle of believing in Jesus. Modern commentators are quick to point out that references to 'eternal life' in the Gospels generally refer to the quality of life rather than a time scale. Several attempts were made to extract from Jesus a magic formula that if applied would provide eternal life. A rich young ruler and a lawyer were among these. Such a formula was not forthcoming except that the enquirers were told to express the kind of love that could be seen in Jesus words and action that reflect of God Himself. And that is where we begin "For God so loved the world that He gave…"

In a sense this is a staggering thought, that the Almighty Creator of the whole Universe ‑ one who is much bigger and greater than the Universe itself, should give what is dearest and best ‑ His only Son. Yet knowing that God is love, that everything that He has ever done is the embodiment of love, could we expect less than that He should provide a way of escape for mankind from its slavery to sin by such sacrificial love. We are at once caught up in an awed silence by the magnitude of the gift, yet we are driven to an explosion of praise and thanksgiving for the wonder of that love.

"God so loved the world." Firstly, God shows us the way in matters of love. He is not like some medieval teacher or priest who seeks to instil lessons by rote learning. In good Hebrew fashion, He shows us practically how to love by giving His son in sacrifice. All that Jesus suffered here on Earth until He breathed His last and gave up His spirit to God, the Father suffered with Him. While God retained complete control over what was happening yet in some mysterious way sinful men were able to choose to do their worst, their most devilish to destroy Him. They did that to one who was all loving and in doing so gave Jesus the opportunity to express the very highest form of love. God loves in a manner that no one in the Universe can equal.

Whatever ideas mankind had about their Maker, when the Son of God came to Earth He demonstrated love in a way never before seen on Earth. This was a love that sought only the highest welfare of the one loved; that never ever sought to return evil for evil or to retaliate to get its own back. This was a love that was prepared to go to the utmost extreme in order by love to win back rebellious hearts. God so loved; he set the pattern, he offers the lesson that sinful man may copy and learn..

"God so loved the world". Its an extraordinary statement in the light of all the other things which John was going to write about the world before he finally laid down his pen. This is the world that rebelled against its Maker. This world has denied Him, ignored Him, worshipped gods of its own making and broken every rule in His book. It blames Him for the trouble it brings upon itself by refusing to live by the principles that He has laid down . It has killed millions of its own kind as well as many thousands of those who seek to obey Him. This is the world that He loved ‑ not the sin of the world but those human beings once made in His image.

He has expressed His love in such a way that there can be no misunderstanding. Yet this world talks about 'love' and sings about 'love' without having the vaguest idea of what love is. Its brand love and indeed its whole way of life has neither logic nor the slightest possible chance of ever being successful, of reaching any kind of goal, or of freeing mankind from its chains of sin and death.

In spite of all that, God so loved the world that He gave and that is the essence of the love of God. It is the wonderful self-giving which gives in pure joy of helping mankind to reach a richer, fuller life. Unlike human 'love' there are no strings attached, no underlying selfish motive for expressing love. Sometimes this love can be seen in ordinary human form because faint reflections of the original 'image' of the Creator linger still in those so created. There is no end to His giving; He never grows weary of giving, nor does He resent the rebuffs and rebellion of those to whom He gives. He just waits to bless.

God so loved that He gave His only Son. He could have given no greater gift. This was the Son that had been with Him in all His creative work. This was the Son who shared everything with Him and was His companion. By His words and works, Jesus was able to demonstrate just what the Father was really like. A few lonely souls like Moses, Hosea and Jeremiah had given one small glimpse of what He was like but gentile peoples, apart from those who imitated Israel, could only guess at the supreme being of the universe; and mostly the guesses were not very good. Now all mankind, beyond the borders of Israel, could see the "reflection of God's glory and the exact imprint of God's very being" (Heb. 1.3 NRSV) before their eyes. But when the light came darkness could not bear it and therefore tried to destroy it. God knew the consequences of placing the image of His own love in this world. Whatever protestations of morality and goodness human society make, it was inevitable that the forces of darkness and evil of mankind would seek to destroy the goodness of Christ. God knew this and He gave His dearest and best. Jesus too made it clear that He knew that there could be no other end to His life. Yet in the wisdom and loving purpose of God, this is the only way to recover that which was lost in Eden; the only means of restoring Paradise on Earth.

That whoever believes in Him is the challenge to reach Earth's millions. 'Whoever' goes beyond one small nation or one tiny Christian church. It seeks the rich and poor, or perhaps the poor and rich, in that order. It seeks the unlearned as well as the wise. It seek those of every race and nation, of every social class and grouping, it seeks the religious 'good' people, and those who hardly know their left hand from their right in matters of morality. It seeks those who have claimed to be Christ's but really have gone their own way; it seeks those who have never known Him. In the resurrection those who have died in the affluence of western cities will not be ahead of those who they allowed to die by famine and disease in the desert. The slave ship, the gas chamber, the firing squad have each in their turn claimed millions of human lives but God gave His son so they might all have an opportunity to believe.

That belief is not a goal or end in itself; it is only the beginning, but it is the first step in salvation as a man hanging on a cross discovered from the lips of Jesus. But belief must be much more than accepting the truth of a fact or the first step in trusting in Jesus as personal Saviour. Belief is just the beginning of discovery that Jesus is the way, the truth and the life. Discovery of who Jesus is, compels the believer to go on until life in Christ brings transformation from the rebellious human nature to the surrendered life moving from one stage of beauty of character to another until we are totally like Him.