Life in the Son - Part Two - John 3:16

The following message is brought to you by the people of Redeemer Church of Piketon, Ohio. For more information, please visit RedeemerPiketon.org. And now, here's Pastor Jason Booth with the message. This morning, we're going to consider Part 2 of our sermon series, Life in the Son. Life in the Son. And while this wasn't intended to be a multiple-part sermon, last Sunday, we discussed the broader context of John chapter 3, leading up to verse 16 and verse 17. The context, of course, is Jesus speaking to Nicodemus, a teacher of the Jewish people. He's going in the evening time, walking with Nicodemus, and discussing this vital gospel issue, the issue of the gospel, being born again. You might say it's the ultimate fruit of the gospel. Jesus having died and risen again, and the fruit of his labor is the fact that his people will be saved from their sin. So, Nicodemus and Jesus had this discussion, leading to the crescendo of Jesus saying, in verse 16, and we'll read it together, John 3, 16 and 17, For God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish, but have eternal life. For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but in order that the world might be saved through him. So, we believe, and as I said last week, and I'm going to recap just for a moment, we believe that Christ accomplished in full his redemption of his people. He fulfilled all the conditions of their salvation. I'm paraphrasing from our confession this morning. This is justified by his resurrection. If Jesus was just a big talker, then three days after he died, he would not have risen again. But Jesus Christ rose again because he meant what he said, and he did what he said, and he said what he meant. He said, you destroy this temple, and in three days I will rebuild it. And that's exactly what Jesus did. And the scripture teaches us that Christ's righteousness is revealed to us in the preaching of this gospel. And that all for whom he lived and died, all of whom he represented, salvation is assured solely on the merits of Jesus Christ. Our condition for salvation is Jesus Christ and Jesus Christ alone. I'm so thankful this morning to know that my salvation rests not in the deeds of my hands, not in the things I don't do, but in the finished work of Jesus Christ. There is a rest for the people of God found at the foot of the cross. There is an assurance that man cannot shake found at the foot of the cross. There is power for living this life with joy and happiness found where? At the foot of the cross. Beloved, from where does our strength come from? It comes from the Lord. And some will trust in chariots, some in horses, but we will remember the name of the Lord our God. And how has God shown his love toward us? In that while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us. So Christ has done this work. And the life we live in the Son, S-O-N, is fully bought and paid for by the shed blood of Jesus Christ. And we can have a smile on our face because of his mercy and his goodness and his grace and his loving kindness. Yes, life is difficult at times, and we need not minimize the tragedies and the trials that befall each and every one of us. You're going to have a good day. You're going to have a bad day. In this life, you will have trouble. You will have trials. If I were to ask you around the building today, if you've had any trouble in your life, you'd have some songs to sing, some country songs to sing about all the trouble you've had in your life. Misery loves company, so it's not hard when you get a good complaint fest going that everybody joins in, right? Everyone can heap on. Why? Because we've all got a story to share. But I am thankful that the sufferings of this present time are not worthy to be compared with the glory that shall be revealed in us. Salvation and all of its benefits flow from God exclusively through Christ Jesus as testified by the Holy Spirit of God. You see what we just did there? God the Father loves. God the Son gives. And God the Holy Spirit calls us. Father, Son, and Spirit, all three persons of the Godhead are actively involved in reaping this gospel harvest. Beloved, our salvation is in the hands of the triune God. Jesus says, My sheep hear My voice, and I know them, and they follow Me, and I give them eternal life, and they shall never perish, neither shall they be removed from My hand. My Father, who is greater than all, has given them to Me, and no one will be able to snatch them out of My Father's hands. I and the Father are one. You see, there is an interplay between the Father, Son, and the Holy Spirit regarding salvation. Well, it's been two Sundays ago now. We finished our series on the work of God in salvation. How God calls, and how God loves, and how God does the foreknowledge of God, the love of God, the decree of God. We see how all those mechanics play out in the heavenly. And we see God applying those things in the ministry of Jesus Christ, the Son. And how God literally put feet, flesh, and bone on His promises in the work and person of Jesus Christ. The Word became flesh and dwelt among us. And today, we do not see the physical person of Jesus. We did not witness the crucifixion. We didn't see the cross. We didn't see all of the things that made salvation a reality for God's people. But who came and told us about it? Maybe an old preacher somewhere. But what made those preachers' words? What made the words out of a sinner's mouth something special to you? After all, what is one sinner telling another sinner something? What made it special? What made it effectual? What made God's Word come alive in you? The work, ministry, and power of the Holy Ghost of God. You see, it's the Holy Spirit who testifies of Christ. It's Christ who gave. And it's God who loved. Who sent His Son. That whosoever would believe would not perish. And who can believe except there be a preacher? And who empowers the preachers? But the Holy Spirit of God. There is an interchange of Trinitarian work in the salvation of sinners that you can't deny. If you deny the Trinity, you have denied the Gospel. For you've misunderstood who God is, what God does. And these are fatal errors. When I read the first half of John chapter 3, I'm reminded of the chief shepherd's heart for his people. Do you understand that the Lord loves good theology? He loves precise Gospel preaching. He appreciates truth. For God, the Holy Spirit, is the Spirit of truth. But I also want you to understand that theological precision does not have to exist in a vacuum. As a matter of fact, I would contend that theological precision and Gospel truth should give birth to joy and to love. To long-suffering for one another. After all, what good is grace if we're not gracious? What good is preaching about all this love if we ourselves are not loving? And shouldn't this beautiful love story, this Gospel of the Lord Jesus Christ, should it not encourage us to love one another? Because we've been loved so greatly. Oh yes, Jesus sets the tone here in the third chapter of John. He doesn't go about berating Nicodemus. He doesn't go about acting haughty. He doesn't go about acting conceited. He's not arrogant. No, you can see the pastor's heart in our Lord's talk with Nicodemus. He's patient with him. He's kind toward him. And he shares with Nicodemus what would become possibly the most famous words in all of the Bible. He reveals it to Nicodemus. And I'm sure as Jesus was retelling this account to His disciples. This is how we have it in the book. As He was retelling this account to His disciples, His disciples themselves probably had to ask questions as to what Jesus meant. Because I know what men are. I know what we are capable of. And let me tell you, we're stubborn. We're sorry. We're headstrong. We're bullish. We think we know a lot when we don't know anything. But Jesus shows kindness to Nicodemus. He shows patience. You know, I'm glad that our God is patient and long-suffering with His people. Aren't you glad for that this morning? Aren't you glad that He's not in the business of berating His people or hurting His people or making games or spectacle of His people? No. God is a loving and caring God who sent Jesus Christ to be the chief shepherd. Who will lose none of His sheep. Who will tend to us. And He will make us to lie down in green pastures. I don't know. I'm pretty sure though that a flock of lambs aren't laying down in the pasture if there are wolves about. If they know there is danger. You will lay down when you know you're safe. You'll lay down and you'll rest when you know everything's okay. And I'm thankful that the cross of Christ makes it possible for me. Makes it not just possible. It absolutely guarantees that I will lay down in green pastures. So the third chapter of John, Jesus is dealing with Nicodemus. His patience is on display in the face of Nicodemus' ignorance. His pastoral care is on display in setting forth God's glorious news. And Jesus does it as only the Lord of Glory can. He encapsulates the entire gospel in but one verse of Scripture. I'll spend my life preaching this book. But Jesus, the Lord of Glory, He doesn't speak like someone who's just reading from the book. He wrote the book. He is the Word of God made flesh. And He gives us this beautiful, beautiful verse of Scripture in John 3.16. And you know, our Scripture lesson, and I'll quote it again. For God so loved the world that He gave His only Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish, but have eternal life. Almost everyone on the planet has heard this verse, in whole or in part. If you're like me, you grew up learning the King James Version. For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whosoever believes in Him should not perish, but have everlasting life. You see it at the ball games when they lift the placards high in the air and it says John 3.16. Pop culture has even made a joke of John 3.16. So it's been mocked. It's been heated. It's been praised. It's been derided. But John 3.16 isn't going anywhere. And it's everywhere. And everyone has seen it. God so loved is how the verse begins. This is the reason given for the actions of God that followed. Why did God save? Because God loved. God loved, and so the Bible continues, God gave His only begotten Son. Why did God give His only begotten Son? Because He loved. Love always acts in the best interest of its object. If you dare say that you love someone, and you're not willing to lift a finger to assist them, help them, provide or protect them, then you do not love them. I find it very funny that we live in a day and age where the word love is just thrown around. As a matter of fact, in many circles, it has no real meaning, other than you kind of make me feel a certain way right now. So, I love you. You see how phony that is? How sorry that is? As a matter of fact, that's exactly what the Arminian or free will preacher believes about God's love. They believe that God is just as fickle as some junior high boy and girl who are dating on and off, on and off, on and off. God will love you as long as you do what He says. God will save you as long as you toe the line. God will provide for you as long as you meet this giant list of conditions. Beloved, that is not love. There's no love in conditionalism. If your idea of loving your spouse is to say this to her, Honey, I love you. I cherish you. But if you don't toe the line, I'm going to throw you out into the street. That's not love. As a matter of fact, I would dare call you a monster. A conceited, narcissistic monster. And yet, so many today have gathered in their religious societies all around this community and others to worship a God of their own imagination who they freely say and declare will only save them if they meet the conditions, whatever those conditions might be. Because if you ask every one of them, you're going to get a slightly different answer. But the Bible says that God loves, God sent His Son Jesus, and that those who believe, the believing ones, will not perish. So is there conditions in God? Yes, there is. Salvation is conditional. But beloved, hear me and hear me plainly. The conditions for salvation are met fully in the finished work of Jesus Christ. For John 3.16 tells me that God loved me. God sent me His Son. He sent the Holy Ghost of God to testify to this old heart, and I was called to believe in what Jesus did. And now I will not perish, but I will have eternal life. Because God did not send Jesus to condemn me, but He sent Jesus that I will have eternal life. Now why did I personalize that text? Because the text personalizes itself. Consider this, the Bible says God so loved the world, and now many, a universalist, many a cultist, many a free will Armenian type, would say that God loves the whole world. And John 3.16 somehow proves it. But the only thing Jesus is doing here is declaring to Nicodemus that the scope of God's work in Christ is not limited to the Hebrew people. He's speaking to a teacher of the Jews, and he's telling this teacher of the Jews that the promise made way back to Abraham that God's people would be a kingdom of priests to the world is being fulfilled in his very hearing. The promise he made way back to Eve in the garden about how she would bring up a son who would bruise the head of the serpent. So the mother of the world was given a promise that redemption would flow through her loins. The father of the Hebrew people, Abraham, the father of many nations, the Bible says, was promised that the people of God would one day not be limited to just a tribal, territorial, minor power in history, but instead would be a kingdom of priests, and that God's people would be made up of every kindred, nation, tribe, and tongue. Beloved, God so loved not just the ethnic Hebrews, but people from all over the world. And so it is that John 3.16 opens the floodgates for God's electing grace to bring in people from every nation, kindred, tribe, and tongue. So be done with this notion that God has sent Jesus to save every single man, woman, boy, and girl, because let me tell you something, if the Lord of glory died for you, you will be saved. You will be saved. I love it when people deny that. When I say that and I hear so-called Christians deny it, in order to deny it, they literally have to hamstring God by saying He's not powerful enough to save. Or they'll paint it with the brush of philosophers and say, God has granted you a free will. Funny how I didn't have any say-so when I was being conceived. Funny how I didn't have any say-so when, where, and how I would be born. Funny how I didn't have any say-so as to whether or not I would be tall or short. Funny how I didn't have any say-so as to whether or not I'd be a boy or a girl, man or woman. Although the world would definitely argue with me on that today. It's interesting how I didn't get to ask for my ethnicity, for I do believe there are certain advantages in certain times of history to be certain ethnicities over others. After all, if I was born in the ancient times, I wouldn't want to be a Hebrew slave. I would have rather been an Egyptian ruler. If you were born in the 1820s, I guarantee you, you would not want to have been born a southern black. For they had a terrible life and lot in that era. I didn't get to be born in the year I wanted to be born. I didn't get to be born with the family that I chose. I didn't get to have any of these things. We could do this all day long. I didn't select my intelligence. I didn't select any of my genetic code. I didn't suggest or didn't even have a say-so in any of the things that make me who I am today. So much of my life was predetermined by the counsel of God and no one seems to ever make fault or light or much of any of that. They do make light of it, they just don't make much of it. And yet, when it comes to salvation, all of these 19th century philosophers start working their way out of the woodwork and start saying things like, We must be free! I must be able to choose God! And the Bible says the heart is desperately wicked. Who can know it? The Bible says that those who are in the flesh cannot please God! The Bible says we are dead in our trespasses and sins. The Bible says, given over to our own natural state, we are just like the children of wrath. Choose God. There is none that doeth good. No, not one. If God left this up to us, we would all walk, step, march, goose step, straight into hell. And we'd be happy to do it. But thanks be to God, He didn't leave His people in their naturally fallen state. He didn't leave His people in the ditch. He didn't leave His people in the ditch. And contrary to all of those free will worshippers, who worship a God of their own imagination, and they would rather shake their fists and snarl at the God of Scripture, all they do is prove that sovereign grace is the only gospel that saves. The very act of them rebelling against this Word proves that unless God changes their old stony heart, unless God comes in and saves them, that they'll never save themselves. Because as long as they think that salvation is conditioned upon anything in them, they refuse to bow at the foot of the cross. Where does our help come from, beloved? Does it come from improving your station in life? Does your help come from putting down a habit and picking up something else? Does it come from tasting not, touching not, handling not? Or does your help come from the Lord? God so loved the world, so He's telling Nicodemus that He loves people from every kindred, nation, tribe, and tongue. And how do we know this? Because John 3.16 itself limits the salvific application of the blood of Jesus by saying that Jesus will only save the believing ones. God loves all kinds of people from all over the world. He sends Jesus, and the believing ones will never perish. John 3.16 limits the scope of the salvific application of the blood of Jesus. How do I know it's limited? Because the same book tells us that no one can come to Jesus unless they be given to Him by the Father. No man can come to Me, except the Father who has sent Me draw him. So don't tell me you believe John 3.16 correctly if you refuse to read John 6.44. Don't tell me you know the mind of God concerning the Gospel if you are not willing to give God all the glory and the only way God can receive all the glory in salvation, the only way, is if every single condition of salvation is met completely in the work of God. If you're counting on anything in yourself, then you need Jesus. You are as yet lost and undone, and if the Holy Spirit would grant you repentance today, it would be the greatest joy that you'll ever know. The freedom that you'll have in true salvation will absolutely boggle your mind. All the religious bondage, and so many of us have come out of other religious societies, so many of us have come out of other so-called churches, and as we look back, we think to ourselves, there is no way I believed the Gospel back in those days. And there's no way, because I was under bondage. I was under the idea that I had to do something to make God happy with me. I had to give Him something of myself in order to prove that I was really into this thing called grace. Grace doesn't need you. If grace needs anything from you, beloved, it's not grace. It's a wage. But as the Lord saw fit in His tender mercy to call this old sinner, not out of the ghetto, not out of the gutter, not out of the typical, stereotypical places that most preachers talk about when they're saved, He called me out of a religion of works. He called me out of a society that cleaned itself up real pretty, had beautiful music, and a lot of what they say is truth. For after all, the best poison is always mingled with true food. The best deception always has a veneer of truth. How many times have I said it? If the devil approached you wearing a latex red jumpsuit and a pitchfork, you'd know who he was, and you'd say, no way. But what if he approached you with a little bit of truth mingled with a whole lot of error, and he packaged it just right to push all of the buttons of fallen man, all of the things that make you excited about being a human being, you know, pride. Here's one. You can save yourself. You can help God help you. Just put your little hand in His big hand, and don't you see all these tie-wearing, suit-wearing sons of the devil stand in their religious society's pulpits nationwide, worldwide, even today, and they tell people a lie about God, a lie about Jesus. They say His blood can't save unless you allow it. They say that He can't keep you unless you toe the line. They say the Holy Spirit can only suggest what you do. But I tell you, those lies are straight from the pit. This salvation is full and free and conditioned only on Jesus Christ. When He died on the cross, He didn't die to invite you. He died to save His people. God loves, and so God gives, Jesus. The word give should shake you to the core. Beloved, there's grace in John 3.16. God loves. God gives. God saves. He gives us eternal life. This is a gift of His grace. You don't deserve it. You never will. You're a sinner. But I'm a Christian. I know. And you're a sinner. This is one blind man telling another blind man how to know the way. And how is it that one blind man might know the way? Because somebody come along and grabbed hold of my hand and started guiding me. How do you know the way but that Jesus got a hold of you? This isn't about what we do. It's about what Jesus has done. And beloved, let me say this. The Spirit of God testifies of His truth to us. He makes us willing in the day of His power. He causes us to believe this gospel. But salvation is not the work of the Spirit in us. The gospel is not about what the Spirit of God does in us. The gospel is about Jesus Christ and what He has done for us. Now, the work of the Holy Spirit justifies our faith in Christ because He causes us to believe in the finished work. But I want you to understand that salvation is not about peering within, looking within to see all the things are just right. You need to be looking up from whence cometh your help. Jeremiah 31 and 3, I have loved you with an everlasting love. Therefore, I have continued my faithfulness to you. God loves us. Romans 5, 7, and 8, For one will scarcely die for a righteous person, though perhaps for a good person one would even dare to die. But God shows His love toward us in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us. 1 John 4, 7-10, Beloved, let us love one another, for love is from God, and whoever loves has been born of God and knows God. Anyone who does not love does not know God, because God is love. In this the love of God was made manifest among us, that God sent His only Son into the world so that we might live through Him. In this is love, not that we have loved God, but that He loved us and sent His Son to be the propitiation for our sins. Titus 3, 3-7, For we ourselves were once foolish, disobedient, led astray, slaves of various passions and pleasures, passing our days in malice and envy, hated by others and hating one another. But when the goodness and loving kindness of God, our Savior, appeared, He saved us, not because of works done by us in righteousness, but according to His own mercy, by the washing of regeneration and renewal by the Holy Ghost. Do you see the interplay of the Trinity here? Jesus bled and died. God loved us. Jesus bled and died. And the Spirit calls us into this relationship built on the finished work of Jesus Christ, not by our works, but according to His own mercy. Hallelujah. Whom He poured out on us richly through Jesus Christ. Who was poured out upon us? The Holy Ghost of God. So that being justified by His grace, we might become heirs according to the hope of eternal life. I'm justified by grace! And what is my hope? Eternal life! God gave. God calls. God gave Jesus. God calls us by the Holy Ghost in the preaching of the Gospel. He loved us. He gave us Jesus. He sent the Holy Spirit to tell us all about it. Isaiah 53 and 10. Yet it was the will of the Lord to crush Him, Jesus. He has put Him to grief. When His soul makes an offering for guilt, He shall see His offspring. He shall prolong His days. The will of the Lord shall prosper in His hand. Hallelujah. John 1, 14. And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us, and we have seen His glory. Glory is of the only Son from the Father, full of grace and truth. John 1, 17 and 18. For the law was given through Moses, but grace and truth came through Jesus Christ. No one has ever seen God, the only God who is at the Father's side. He. No one has ever seen God, the only God who is at the Father's side. He has made Him known. Romans 8, 32. He who did not spare His own Son, but gave Him up for us all, how will He not also with Him graciously give us all things? And so we see that God loves His people. God sent His Son to be this offering that we talked about. How He became flesh, dwelt among us. He was our offering for guilt. The Scripture says we've been saved by the goodness and loving kindness of God, not by works of righteousness. So God loves. God gave Jesus. And finally this morning, God calls. And that's why the Bible says in John 3, 16, whosoever believeth on Him. 1 Timothy 1, 15 and 16. The saying is trustworthy and deserving of full acceptance, that Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners, of whom I am the foremost. But I receive mercy for this reason, that in me, as the foremost, Jesus Christ might display His perfect patience as an example to those who were to believe in Him for eternal life. So we see the groundwork being laid, that faith in Christ is a gift of God that leads to eternal life. John 15, 16. But when the Helper come, the Helper, the Holy Ghost, whom I will send to you from the Father, the Spirit of truth, who proceeds from the Father, listen to me now, He will bear witness about me. I could preach a long time just on the Holy Spirit, and perhaps we will next week as a matter of fact. As we focus on the work of the Holy Spirit and salvation of sinners in a specific way next Sunday, Lord willing. But the Holy Spirit of God testifies the truth concerning Jesus. Let me say it like this. He doesn't spread lies about Jesus. False preaching spreads lies about Jesus. So when people say, oh, we're saved by grace, and it don't really matter what you believe about the gospel, just so long as you're sincere, well then you're telling everybody that the Holy Spirit uses lies to save sinners. I don't believe that the Spirit of truth uses lies and false gospel preaching to save souls. I believe God can save people out of those kinds of situations, but I do not believe for a moment that God is sending or empowering false gospels to be spread around this world to save people. God will allow false religion in this world to further harden people. God will allow false preaching to go out in this world as a judgment on the hardness of heart. But God is not in the business of sending the Holy Spirit to tell lies on Jesus. He's a God. He's the Spirit of truth. John 15, 26 says, the Helper will bear witness about me. John 16, 13 says, when the Spirit of truth comes... Now listen, doesn't the Scripture give it away when the Scripture itself tells us the name of the Holy Spirit is the Spirit of truth? Kind of a giveaway, isn't it? When the Spirit of truth comes, He will guide you into all truth for He will not speak on His own authority. Here's something else real quick. You got a lot of churches out there that spend all Sunday long worshiping the gifts of the Holy Spirit, worshiping for the emotional aspects of the Holy Spirit, constantly trying to drum up this emotional Holy Spirit kind of move in their church. It's almost as though they've forgotten the cross altogether and they just want to focus on the Holy Spirit. Even the Holy Spirit doesn't focus on the Holy Spirit. If you wanted to preach, you want a Holy Ghost meeting? I want a Holy Ghost meeting every Sunday. And do you know how we have a Holy Ghost meeting? We trust that the Holy Ghost of God will come in power so that we might preach and pray and worship Jesus Christ and talk about His finished work. You want a Holy Ghost meeting? Then let's preach the Gospel. You want to see the Holy Ghost move? Then let's preach the Gospel and watch souls saved. Watch our lives be reminded that hey, yeah, we're wicked, awful sinners, but He is an all-sufficient Savior. You want the Holy Ghost to move? He's moving in the preaching of the Gospel. Because He's the Spirit of truth. And the Holy Spirit has to accompany this Word preached or it won't mean anything to you. Right now, you might be more worried about what you're going to have for lunch if this Word isn't touching your heart. You're worried about all today's events. You're not worried about what I'm having to say. But if the Holy Spirit has gotten a hold of you, then there's hope. There's more than hope. If the Holy Spirit gets a hold of your heart, you'll be saved. Because He brings with Him good tidings. Glad tidings. The tidings that Jesus Christ has gone away and you're going to believe it. Why? Because the Holy Spirit testified this truth to you. The Bible says this of the Spirit of truth. He will guide you into all truth. For He will not speak on His own authority, but whatever He hears, He will speak. So much for all this Holy Spirit worship you see in all these churches where they want to see a movement of the Holy Ghost. They want to see all these things. They want to see tongues. They want to see prophecies. They want to see words of knowledge. They want to see healing. And I'm sitting here thinking to myself, I want to see souls ransomed from hell's flames. I appreciate that Leroy got his back healed for the 30th time in your healing service. But I haven't heard a bit of the Gospel in all this tomfoolery. Put it away. Put away the childish things. Come and hear the Gospel preached. And pray that the Lord will save your soul before it's everlasting too late. The Spirit of Truth will not preach about His own authority. Will not come talking about Himself. He's not the Spirit of aggrandizement. He's the Spirit who comes to tell you about Jesus. Because God loves His people. God sent His Son to die for His people. And then God sends the Holy Spirit to comfort His people and to convict those who need to be saved in righteousness. The Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit at work in salvation to give us this beautiful life found only in the Son. God loves His people and so He gave His Son calling us by His Spirit to believe Him for everlasting life. If you believe what I am saying, flesh and blood has not revealed it to you. But it has been the Holy Spirit of God who's testified of these truths to you. It's God who's given you this gift of faith. It's Jesus who died for you and who was resurrected again for your justification. And by God's gift of faith, you're going to believe that Jesus is Lord. May God be praised for the matchless wonder of His grace. You have just heard a message from Pastor Jason Booth of Redeemer Church of Piked End, Ohio. To learn more about the good news of Jesus, please visit RedeemerPikedEnd.org