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God loves you!
For God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life. - John 3:16
For God
Everything starts with God. Genesis 1:1 states, "In the beginning, God created the heavens and the earth." He created everything, including you. In fact, you were created in God's image. God gave humanity a purpose, and a specific purpose for you.
So loved
The Apostle John said in 1 John 4:8 that "God is love." God loves you because that's His character. This doesn't depend on how good or bad you are. People often use the phrase "falling in love." Later, it's "falling out of love." God doesn't say "I love you" one day, and "I don't love you anymore" the next. Human love can be fickle, but God's love is dependable. The Apostle Paul says, "For I am sure that neither death nor life, nor angels nor rulers, nor things present nor things to come, nor powers, nor height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord." (Romans 8:38-39)
The world
This means just what it says: the whole world. No exceptions.
That He gave
True love is not just an emotion. It's an action. That's why we send love letters and roses to express our love. Words are one thing, but "talk is cheap." It's the action that really proves our love.
His only Son
If love is valued by the cost of the gift, then this is the greatest love. Jesus is God's beloved Son. It cost God dearly, but it shows just how much God loves us. The Apostle Paul explains in Romans 5:8, "God shows his love for us in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us." This isn't the case of dying for one's friend, but for an enemy.
That whoever
God has done His part; just as His love is impartial, now He makes an offer to everyone without qualification: "The free gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord." Here we see the gift is eternal life, but previously we read that God gave his Son. John 1:4 clarifies: "In him [Jesus] was life, and the life was the light of men." Jesus brings true life, abundant life. This life lights our path, bringing hope and peace.
Believes in Him
Like any gift, the receiver must choose between accepting and rejecting it. We accept the gift by believing in Jesus. How do we believe in Jesus? Romans 10:9 helps: "If you confess with your mouth that Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved." There are two key areas to consider. The first involves submission to Jesus. Owning Him as Lord gives Him control over your life. The Apostle Paul declares that we are "bought with a price." If I purchase something at the store, I expect to use it as I see fit. The price Paul mentions is the blood, the life of Jesus. The second area of belief is that God raised Jesus from the dead. Jesus is not in a tomb, but in Heaven. If you can't accept that He's alive today, then you can't be saved. Jesus has already paid the price for everyone in the world, but you must accept it for yourself.
Should not perish
We looked at God's love and costly gift, but why did He do it? What problem would be so terrible that the only solution was Jesus dying on a Roman cross? We read in John 3:36, "Whoever believes in the Son has eternal life; whoever does not obey the Son shall not see life, but the wrath of God remains on him." We see here God's wrath hanging over one who does not believe or obey God. Believers were in the same boat before they accepted that Jesus bore God's wrath for them on the cross. While God is love, He also is just and holy. You probably are angry when you see a criminal preying on a defenseless victim; your anger rises when that criminal is not convicted due to a legal loophole. God also is angry at sin, but not just "big sins" like murder. Because He is a perfect judge, even the smallest "white lie" is offensive. God must judge all sins in order to be a just God. Just like His love is impartial, so it is with His wrath for sin. When Jesus bore God's wrath, He was a substitute. God said we were guilty, but Jesus suffered the punishment. Perishing is not merely dying, but eternal separation from God in Hell.
But have eternal life.
God doesn't want you to go to Hell! He wants to restore you to your original purpose, created in His image. What does that mean? God wanted to have fellowship with mankind, not as master to slave, but as friends. He loves us and wants to be loved back. People spend vast resources to discover the meaning of life. Is it money? Fame? Family? Each of these has failed, and often failed miserably. Our purpose, our meaning in life, is to be in a loving, intimate relationship with God. Only then do we find true freedom.
As we saw earlier, you must make a choice. Your sin or God's Son. Accept or reject God's free gift. Not making a choice is choosing to reject Jesus. Ultimately, the most important question in life is
For God
Everything starts with God. Genesis 1:1 states, "In the beginning, God created the heavens and the earth." He created everything, including you. In fact, you were created in God's image. God gave humanity a purpose, and a specific purpose for you.
So loved
The Apostle John said in 1 John 4:8 that "God is love." God loves you because that's His character. This doesn't depend on how good or bad you are. People often use the phrase "falling in love." Later, it's "falling out of love." God doesn't say "I love you" one day, and "I don't love you anymore" the next. Human love can be fickle, but God's love is dependable. The Apostle Paul says, "For I am sure that neither death nor life, nor angels nor rulers, nor things present nor things to come, nor powers, nor height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord." (Romans 8:38-39)
The world
This means just what it says: the whole world. No exceptions.
That He gave
True love is not just an emotion. It's an action. That's why we send love letters and roses to express our love. Words are one thing, but "talk is cheap." It's the action that really proves our love.
His only Son
If love is valued by the cost of the gift, then this is the greatest love. Jesus is God's beloved Son. It cost God dearly, but it shows just how much God loves us. The Apostle Paul explains in Romans 5:8, "God shows his love for us in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us." This isn't the case of dying for one's friend, but for an enemy.
That whoever
God has done His part; just as His love is impartial, now He makes an offer to everyone without qualification: "The free gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord." Here we see the gift is eternal life, but previously we read that God gave his Son. John 1:4 clarifies: "In him [Jesus] was life, and the life was the light of men." Jesus brings true life, abundant life. This life lights our path, bringing hope and peace.
Believes in Him
Like any gift, the receiver must choose between accepting and rejecting it. We accept the gift by believing in Jesus. How do we believe in Jesus? Romans 10:9 helps: "If you confess with your mouth that Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved." There are two key areas to consider. The first involves submission to Jesus. Owning Him as Lord gives Him control over your life. The Apostle Paul declares that we are "bought with a price." If I purchase something at the store, I expect to use it as I see fit. The price Paul mentions is the blood, the life of Jesus. The second area of belief is that God raised Jesus from the dead. Jesus is not in a tomb, but in Heaven. If you can't accept that He's alive today, then you can't be saved. Jesus has already paid the price for everyone in the world, but you must accept it for yourself.
Should not perish
We looked at God's love and costly gift, but why did He do it? What problem would be so terrible that the only solution was Jesus dying on a Roman cross? We read in John 3:36, "Whoever believes in the Son has eternal life; whoever does not obey the Son shall not see life, but the wrath of God remains on him." We see here God's wrath hanging over one who does not believe or obey God. Believers were in the same boat before they accepted that Jesus bore God's wrath for them on the cross. While God is love, He also is just and holy. You probably are angry when you see a criminal preying on a defenseless victim; your anger rises when that criminal is not convicted due to a legal loophole. God also is angry at sin, but not just "big sins" like murder. Because He is a perfect judge, even the smallest "white lie" is offensive. God must judge all sins in order to be a just God. Just like His love is impartial, so it is with His wrath for sin. When Jesus bore God's wrath, He was a substitute. God said we were guilty, but Jesus suffered the punishment. Perishing is not merely dying, but eternal separation from God in Hell.
But have eternal life.
God doesn't want you to go to Hell! He wants to restore you to your original purpose, created in His image. What does that mean? God wanted to have fellowship with mankind, not as master to slave, but as friends. He loves us and wants to be loved back. People spend vast resources to discover the meaning of life. Is it money? Fame? Family? Each of these has failed, and often failed miserably. Our purpose, our meaning in life, is to be in a loving, intimate relationship with God. Only then do we find true freedom.
As we saw earlier, you must make a choice. Your sin or God's Son. Accept or reject God's free gift. Not making a choice is choosing to reject Jesus. Ultimately, the most important question in life is
What will you do with Jesus?