Good morning, brothers and sisters.
If you would, turn with me to 1 Thessalonians chapter 5. 1 Thessalonians chapter 5. And we'll start there in verse
9. For God hath not appointed us
to wrath, but to obtain salvation by our Lord Jesus Christ, who
died for us, that whether we wake or sleep, we should live
together with him. Wherefore, comfort yourselves
together, and edify one another, even as also ye do. And we beseech
you, brethren, to know them which labor among you, and are over
you in the Lord, and admonish you, and to esteem them very
highly in love for their work's sake, and be at peace among yourselves. Now we exhort you, brethren,
warn them that are unruly, comfort the feeble-minded, support the
weak, Be patient toward all men. See the none render evil for
evil unto any man, but ever follow that which is good, both among
yourselves and to all men. Rejoice evermore, pray without
ceasing, and everything give thanks, for this is the will
of God in Christ Jesus concerning you. Quench not the spirit, despise
not prophesying, prove all things, hold fast that which is good,
abstain from all appearance of evil, and the very God of peace
sanctify you wholly, and I pray God your whole spirit and soul
and body be preserved blameless unto the coming of our Lord Jesus
Christ. Faithful is he that calleth you,
who also will do it. Our most heavenly Father, Master,
we thank you for your mercy and grace, for raising the candlestick
here, Lord, for these years. We be so bold as to ask, Lord,
abide with us here many more years to come. We thank you for
sending us a faithful pastor, Lord, to bring your gospel to
us. Open our ears, soften our hearts that it may be effectual.
Be with us as we go our way through this world. Lord, cause us to
remember your promises. We know that all your promises
are yay and amen. You promised, Lord, you'll never
leave us. You'll never forget us. Cause our faith to increase
to believe that, Lord. Allow us to see through a glass
darkly that we might know you, the one and true living father. We thank you for all these things
in the most holy and perfect name. Amen. Let's stand together and sing
the hymn on the back of the bulletin. Though troubles assail, and dangers
affright, Though friends should all fail, and foes all unite,
Tis one thing secures us, whatever be tide, His promise assures
us the Lord will provide. The bird without barn or storehouse
are fed. From then let us learn to trust
for our bread. His saints what is needed shall
ne'er be taken. denied. So long as tis written,
the Lord will provide. His call we obey, like Abram
of old. We know not the way, but faith
makes us bold. For though we are strangers,
we have a sure guide, and know in all dangers the Lord will
provide. No strength of our own, nor goodness
we claim. Our trust is all cast on His
precious name. In this our strong refuge for
safety we hide. The Lord is our refuge, the Lord
will provide. When life is most o'er and death
is in view, the word of His grace will see us safe through. Not fearing nor doubting with
Christ on our side, we hope to die shouting, the Lord will provide. Be seated, please. Thank you, Adam. When the Lord had told Abram
to sacrifice his son Isaac, Abraham and Isaac are going up on the
mountain and Abraham says to his servants, you stay here and
we shall return. Abraham had no idea how it was
going to happen, but Abraham believed that God was going to
raise his son Isaac from the dead. God had already commanded
him to kill his son, and he was committed to do that. But he
also believed the Lord was going to raise him. And we know what
Isaac said. This is what that hymn was based
on, what Isaac said. Father, here's the fire. And
here's the wood, but where is the burnt offering for the sacrifice?
And Abraham said to Isaac, God will provide himself a sacrifice. Three things about that statement.
God will do the providing, God will provide himself, and God
will make that provision to himself so that when the Lord Jesus went
to Calvary's cross, God provided the sacrifice, God was the sacrifice,
and God sacrificed himself to God. There's our hope. The Lord will provide, and he
has provided, and faith looks back to that provision and rests
in what God has done. It's finished. It's finished. I want to try to bring a message
on probably the most well-known and most misunderstood verse
in all the Bible. I'm sure that most of us here
could quote it. John 3, 16. But by way of introduction, I'd
like to ask you to turn with me to 2 Peter. chapter 3, 2 Peter
chapter 3. We'll begin reading in verse
14. Wherefore, beloved, seeing that you look for such things,
be diligent that you may be found in Him, in peace. Found of Him in peace, without
spot and blameless. If we're in Christ, we have peace
with God, we are without spot and we are blameless. The Lord
Jesus be in all our righteousness, all of our justification, all
of our acceptance before God. Keep looking to Him. An account. Take this into account, consider
this to be true, that the long-suffering the Lord is salvation. Why does God prevail? Why hasn't he come yet? He's
still saving his people. Even as our beloved Paul also,
according to the wisdom given unto him, hath written unto you,
as also in all his epistles, speaking in them of those things
in which are some things hard to be understood. He says, speaks
of those things, some of which are hard to understand, which they that are unlearned
and unstable rest, as they do also the other scriptures unto
their own destructions. You, therefore, beloved, seeing
that you know these things before, beware, lest you also be in led
away with the error of the wicked, fall from your own steadfastness,
but grow in grace, Growing in grace is seeing more and more
of our need for grace. As we grow in grace, we see the
Lord reveals more and more of our sin to us, and we see more
and more of our need for the grace of God. Grow in grace,
for the way up is down. And grow in the knowledge of
the Lord Jesus Christ, because all the grace of God comes to
you in him and through him. To him, to him be glory both
now and forever. So the Lord's warning us that
there are many that will take the word of God and they will
rest it. And I love that word. It's a word that was used to
describe putting a man on a rack. If he refused, to confess allegiance
to a potentate, the potentate might torture him by tying his
hands and his feet to a rack and gradually pulling his joints,
his bones out of joint until that potentate got that man to
confess what he wanted him to say. And that's exactly, what
an appropriate picture. of what men by nature do to the
word of God. They put it on a rack, they pull
it all out of joint until it says what they want it to say. They rest the scriptures, not
only the writings of Paul's, but the other scriptures to their
own destruction. I don't suppose that there is
a verse, more rest, more pulled out of joint, more abused than
John 3.16. It's been said that a text, a
verse of scripture, taken out of context, the meaning of that
verse as it is surrounded with other scripture is a pretext. In other words, it's misleading. and it will be used only as a
proof text. I like that. Sounds clever, but
it's true. A text taken out of context is
a pretext used for a proof text. And if there's any verse in God's
word that fits that description, it is John 3.16. It's always
best to understand a verse of scripture in its immediate context. Turn with me, if you will, to
John 3.16. We have been admonished not to
rest the scriptures, but to grow in grace, to see more and more
of our need for grace, and to grow in the knowledge of the
Lord Jesus Christ. John 3.16 is such a precious,
precious portion of God's Word that understood properly will
grow us in God's grace and in the knowledge of the Lord Jesus
Christ. Let us not because it is just because it is so abused
and so taken out of context. And as I said, it's always best
to understand a verse of scripture in its immediate context, but
it is essential, it is essential that every verse of scripture
be compared to other scripture and be kept in the context of
the whole of the word of God. and of the gospel. There is no verse that I know
of so abused, not only from its
immediate context, but more importantly, from the context of the gospel
of God's sovereign grace, revealed in the person and work
of the Lord Jesus Christ, There is no verse taken out of the
context of the Bible more than John 3.16. If John 3.16 means what people
say it means, then we're going to either have to ignore a lot
of the Bible, or we have a book that clearly contradicts itself. Those are our choices. For God
so loved the world that he gave his only begotten son that whosoever
believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life. It is on bumper stickers, it
is on t-shirts, children learn it very early in Sunday school. Evangelists and preachers use
it. And they have concluded from
this one verse, first, that God loves everybody, Second, that
Christ died for everybody. Third, that it's up to you to
take the offering of salvation and make it effectual by your
free will. Those are the three set presuppositions. Those are the three factual truths
that men use to interpret the rest of the Bible. God loves
everybody, Christ died for everybody, and you have a free will. God's
done his part, now it's up to you. If that's not resting the scriptures
to one's own destruction, I don't know what is. And if that's not
a perversion of everything in God's Word and of this verse,
then we're still blind and we're still in our sins. You have your Bibles open to
John 3.16? In case you don't have it memorized and committed
to memory, there it is. For God so loved the world, God
loves everybody, that he gave his only begotten son, he's done
his part, that whosoever believe it, it's up to you now. If you're
gonna perish or have an everlasting life, you gotta make a decision. Yes, this precious, precious
verse of scripture is about the love of God. magnitude of God's love. He so
loved. Herein is love, not that we love
God, but that God loved us and gave his Son to be the propitiation
of our sins. Where is there a greater demonstration
of God's love than the cross of the Lord Jesus Christ? Greater
love hath no man than this, that he lay down his life for his
friends. No longer do I call you my servant,
for a servant doesn't know what his master's doing. I call you
my friends. I've revealed to you what it
is I've done. And if we hold to what the world
believes about John 3.16, then we can be sure of this. He has
not revealed to us what he has done. This verse does tell us something
about the object of God's love. In this one verse, it is called
the world. We'll spend a few moments on
that in a minute. The demonstration of God's love.
He gave his only begotten son and the purpose of God's love
that we perish not but have everlasting life. This verse is about the
love of God. However, it does not teach a
universal unconditional love. God's love's not unconditional.
People say, well, God loves me unconditionally. No, he can't.
He loves righteousness. He hates iniquity. His eyes are
too pure to look upon sin. God can't love that which is
not perfect. He requires A perfect nature. He requires the absence of sin,
the full putting away of sin. God can't love unconditionally.
There's a condition for God's love. It's called justice and
righteousness. And we can't satisfy the justice
of God by trying to do something to put away our sin. And we can't
establish a righteousness before God. We have no righteousness. Our righteousnesses, all of them
are as filthy rags before God. But God must have justice fulfilled
and righteousness established in order for him to be able to
love and to take this one verse out of its immediate context
and out of the context of the Bible and say that God loves
everybody is a perversion of not only the word of God, but
God himself. It is to take from God his holiness. It is to rob him of his justice. It is to make God to be altogether
as thyself. Jeremiah chapter 31 verse three
says, I have loved thee with an everlasting love. The love
that God has never had a beginning. Therefore, with loving kindness,
I have drawn thee. So the evidence that God has
loved a particular people is that he draws us to himself.
God's love is very particular. Jacob, I have loved. Esau, I
have hated. Some people say, well, that means
God loved less. God can't love less. God only
has one kind of love. It's perfect, it's holy, it's
righteous, it's just. God is love, the Bible tells
us. He is the very essence of his
nature, his perfect love. And he says, I've loved you with
an everlasting love. Therefore, with loving kindness,
I have drawn thee. The love of God is always saving. It is always successful. It is
always sovereign. It is always eternal to say that
God loves everybody, but that most of those whom he
loves are going to end up separated from him and punished by him
in a devil's hell for all eternity. Number one, it makes no sense. But number two, if that be true,
then what in the world does the love of God have to do with anyone's
salvation? If God loves all men equally,
then we must conclude that God's love really doesn't have anything
to do with one's salvation. The same thing can be said about
the will of God. If God wills all men to be saved,
then we must conclude that the will of God has nothing to do
with salvation. Same thing has to do with the
sacrifice that the Lord Jesus made on Calvary's cross. If Christ
died for everyone, then we must conclude one of two things, everyone's
gonna be saved. Or the death of Christ on Calvary's
cross really didn't have anything to do with anybody's salvation. Nicodemus, the Lord's speaking
to Nicodemus in this passage. That's the context. He's having
a conversation with Nicodemus. And he's already told Nicodemus,
Nicodemus, except you be born of water, the word of God, and
of the spirit, you shall not see the kingdom of God. And Nicodemus
wanted something to do. And so he comes up with this
ridiculous response when he says, well, how can I go back into
my mother's womb and be born again? I know this new birth
has, I got to do something. What can I do? No, Nicodemus,
the new birth is just as impossible for you to do as it would be
for you to go back into your mother's womb and be born again.
The new birth is a work of the Spirit of God. You must be born
from above. So Nicodemus is hearing this.
Now, has the Lord contradicted himself? Is he saying, oh, well,
by the way, God loves everybody and wants everybody to be saved
and Christ died for everybody and now it's really up to man. And he uses the term world. And Nicodemus knew from 2,000
years of Jewish history that God did not love the world. He
knew that. It was clear from Abraham all
the way to his day that the wrath and judgment of God rested on
the world, that the only evidence of God's salvation and the only
evidence of his grace and the only revelation that God ever
made of himself was to Israel. And that God had said to the
prophets, the nations are dropping the bucket to me. They're a speck
of dust on the scale. They don't mean anything to me.
Israel's my people. And so now for the Lord to say
to Nicodemus, Nicodemus, God loves the world. How's Nicodemus
to understand this? The nations of the world? If the Lord Jesus came into this
world to save every person, we only have three options. Number one, he was successful. All are saved. Universal atonement. Nothing really matters as to
what we believe or what we do. Everybody's going to heaven.
That's one option. Second option is that he wasn't
successful. He failed. He wasn't able to
accomplish his purpose. He's not omnipotent. Man is stronger than God. There's one final option. Go back, look with me to our
text. For God so loved the world that he gave his only begotten
Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life. Look at verse 17. For God sent
not his Son into the world to condemn the world, but that the
world through him might be saved. He didn't finish what he set
out to do. He left the most important part
of redemption up to man, might. When the Bible uses the word
might, you know, this time of year we
get our weather reports and I'm always encouraged when the rain
chances are over 50%. because I know up there 50% I'm
probably not going to get any rain in my house. We use the word might. We say,
well, you know, it might rain, it might not. That's not how
God uses the word might. When God uses the word might,
he is telling us that he's providing that which is necessary for what
would otherwise be impossible. He is providing that which is
necessary for that which otherwise would be impossible. No one could
be saved. No one would be saved had the
Lord Jesus not come and done what he did. Turn with me to
John chapter 15. Verse 25, but this cometh to
pass. The Lord's talking about the
fulfillment of prophecy and explaining to the disciples why this has
happened. But this cometh to pass that
the word might be fulfilled, which is written in the law,
they hated me without a cause. What the Lord's saying is, The
hatred of the Pharisees and my eventual crucifixion is for the
purpose of fulfilling that which was promised in prophecy. Because
without their hatred, that prophecy would not be fulfilled. But this
is making that which otherwise would have been impossible possible.
Is he saying, well, it might be fulfilled or it might not
be fulfilled? No. When God says that they might
be saved, he's not telling us, well, it might or it might not. He's saying that he has done
what is required for that which is impossible to be made possible. That's the way the word might
has been used. Turn with me to John chapter
17. Look at verse two. as thou hast given him power
over all flesh, that he should give eternal life to as many
as thou hast given him. And this is life eternal, that
they might know thee. Maybe they'll know you, maybe
they won't know you. No, that's just the opposite of what the
Lord's saying here. He's praying his high priestly prayer as our
intercessor to his heavenly father. And he's saying, father, you
gave them to me that I would give unto them eternal life that
they might know me. In other words, they can't have
eternal life. They can't know God unless this
requirement be fulfilled. That's how the word might is
being used. Look at verse 12 in the same
chapter. While I was with him in the world, I kept them in
thy name, those that thou gavest me, I have kept and none of them
is lost, but the son of perdition that the scriptures might be
fulfilled. Is might being used? Well, maybe
it'll rain, maybe it won't. that they might be saved depending
on some other condition to be fulfilled. No, the word might
is used just the opposite. It's not saying there's something
else that needs to be done in order that it might be 50-50
chance. He's saying that everything required
for it to be done has been now fulfilled. That's how the word
might is used. I have not come into the world
to condemn the world, but that the world, through me, might. Not a chance, but might for sure
be saved. It is the fulfillment of that
which is required to make that which is impossible otherwise
possible. You see that? It's so important. God's never done anything by
chance. He didn't just throw it out there for us to accept
it or reject it. Oh, he fulfilled everything. The inevitable outcome has already
been fulfilled. The word world, particularly
in the Gospel of John but all throughout the New Testament
is never used to describe each and every person of the world.
You remember the context? The Lord's talking to Nicodemus,
a leader of the Jews. Nicodemus knew from 2,000 years
of history that God had no love for anyone outside of Israel.
And now the Lord is saying to Nicodemus, Nicodemus, I've come
into the world that the world, through me, might be saved. Turn with me to 1 Peter 3. 1
Peter 3. The Lord is talking about wives, particularly living with an unbelieving
husband, and the importance of her, the beauty of her heart toward
her husband. And he says in verse three, who's
adorning? You see that word adorning? It
is the same word translated world in John 3.16. And it means an order. It is the word in the original
language, cosmos. When we speak of the cosmos,
we're talking about the order of creation, the order of the
universe. Nothing takes the things of God
out of order more than to interpret John 3.16 world as each and every
individual person of the world. Nothing takes things out of order
more than that. It is not what God's saying.
He's saying, whoso adorning, let it be of the outward adorning
of the plating of the hair or of wearing of gold or putting
on apparel, but let it be the hidden man of the heart and which
is not corruptible, even the ornament of a weak, meek and
quiet spirit. So the Lord's talking about ordering
one's heart with a meek and quiet spirit. That's the word. The Lord is telling us in John
3.16, I came into this world to set in order the salvation
of my people. If the word world meant every
individual person of the world, then we would have to conclude
that verse four, verse 17, go back with me to our text. For God sent not his son into
the world to condemn the world, but that the world through him
might be saved. We would have to say, well, the
Lord failed in the work that he came to do. We can't interpret
the word world in verse 17 differently than we interpreted in verse
16. You see, the Lord is talking
about the order of this world. Yes, the kingdoms of this world.
The first time the world, this word cosmos, is used in the New
Testament is when Satan takes the Lord up on a high mountain
and shows him the kingdoms of the cosmos, the world, the order
of things as they are in this world. The church is called the light
of the world. And the Lord Jesus is called
the light of the world. The true light has come into
this world. How many times we read the foundations
of the world and the word world is used there as the order of
creation. And the light of the world is
in contrast to the darkness of this world. All that is in the
world, the lust of the flesh, the lust of the eyes and the
pride of life. Those are the ways in which the
word world is used. Those things that are in opposition
to the things of God, those things that are alienated from the things
of God. The Lord said, the whole world
lieth in wickedness. He tells us in this world, you
shall have tribulation, but be of good cheer. I have overcome
the world. The Lord's not speaking of individual
persons in John 3.16. He's talking about the order,
the cosmos of this world in which we live. And he's telling Nicodemus,
Nicodemus, salvation has come for the world outside of Israel. He came unto his own and his
own received him not, speaking of Israel. But to as many as
received him, to them gave he the power to become the sons
of God, who were born, who were born. He's talking to Nicodemus
about the new birth. Who were born, not of blood,
not of descent, We're children of Abraham. If
you were children of Abraham, you would do the works of Abraham.
Abraham saw my day and he rejoiced in it. You're not yet 50 years
old. How can you say that you saw
Abraham's day? Oh, and the Lord Jesus said before
Abraham was, I am. and they took up stones to stone
him. Why? Because they venerated Abraham.
They thought that they were the children of Abraham. We've never
been in bondage to anyone. We're the children of God because
we're descendants of Abraham. You must be born again, not of
descent, not of blood, nor of the will of the flesh, not of
dedication, nor of the will of man, not of decision, not of
free will. But you must be born of God.
That's the context of everything that the Lord's telling us in
John 3.16. For God so loved his people outside of Israel. That's who he's talking about
when he's talking about the world. He's telling Nicodemus, I have
a people of every tribe and every kingdom and every nation outside
of Israel and I've come that the world might be saved. For without me coming, my people
outside of Israel could not be saved. But now I have fulfilled
all that was required for that which was otherwise impossible
to be possible. whosoever believeth does not imply free will. It simply declares that the salvation
of God's people is not confined to race, ethnicity, gender. It is not confined to time or
place It is not a matter of when or where you live. It doesn't
matter who you are. No one can take pride in their
nationality or their personal power or their birthright or
their position in this world. That's what the Lord's saying
by whosoever believeth. And it's consistent with world.
He's talking to Nicodemus. Nicodemus, you've You've trusted
in your descent. You've trusted in your bloodline. You've trusted in all these things.
But God loved the world that he came into this world. No one can be excluded for any
reason. And no one can take pride in
their nationality or pride or position or power, whosoever, no one can say, no one can say,
I'm not a whosoever. We hear a lot today about pronouns. Whosoever is a pronoun. Is there
any other pronoun that encompasses everybody? Whosoever. You see, the gospel is not for
everyone. But it is for anyone. It's for anyone. No one can say
that it wasn't for me. That's what the Lord's saying.
God love. His righteous, holy love. Nicodemus, up till now, Israel. Other than a few exceptions in
the Old Testament, everyone that was saved was of the nation of
Israel. And the Lord said to Nicodemus,
Nicodemus, I've The Son of Man has come into the world. Now
what John, this is a theme that goes all the way through the
book of John. John the Baptist in chapter one says, behold the
Lamb of God which taketh away the sin of the world. He's come
to save whosoever believeth. I love that pronoun because I
can fit into that pronoun. No one can say I'm not a whosoever. Whosoever. Whosoever what? Whosoever believeth shall not perish. but have everlasting
life. Does that mean that a decision
to believe is a prerequisite for not perishing and having
everlasting life? No, it means that believing is
the evidence that I shall not perish and that I do have everlasting
life. Faith is not the cause of our
salvation. Faith is the evidence of it.
It is the result of it. Faith is the substance of things
hoped for. Faith is the evidence of things
not seen. Faith is what God gives in the
new birth. God's talking to Nicodemus. Let's
not take John 3.16 out of that conversation. Nicodemus, you've
got to be born from above. Now, in a chronological order,
the new birth and faith happen simultaneously. They happen at
the same time. There's no division in time between
when we're birthed and when we believe. But in a logical order,
the new birth necessarily precedes faith. God must do a work of
grace in my heart, birthing me by the Spirit of God in order
for me to believe. For God, Nicodemus, has a people
outside of Israel, national Israel, spiritual Israel's made up of
every nation, tongue, tribe, and whosoever. Doesn't matter. Doesn't matter their status. It doesn't matter their condition.
No, the gospel's not for everybody, but it is for anybody. Anybody. that by God's grace, by God's
grace, believes. Believes. That's not free will. That's a work of grace in the
heart. Lord, I believe. Lord, I... Some believed. Some believed. Passive voice. Passive voice means that something
happened to them. Some believed and some believed
not. Active voice, that means they
took part in their rebellion against God. If you believe the gospel, God
gets all the glory. If you don't, you bear all the
guilt. We must actively participate
in our unbelief. We must raise our fist to heaven.
We must say, I'll not have that man reign over me. And we will continue to do that
if the Spirit of God do not breathe life into our dead souls, open
the eyes of our understanding, make us willing in the day of
his power, birth us from above, and give us a heart that believes
God. God so loved the world that he
gave his only begotten Son that whosoever believeth on him should
not perish but have everlasting life. For the Son of God came into
the world, not to judge the world, the world's already judged, but
that the world, through him, might be saved. Our Heavenly Father, Lord, enable us to believe on
Christ Cause your word to be effectual in our hearts. Give
us thy spirit and guard us against ever resting the scriptures to
our own destruction. For we ask it in Christ's name,
amen. 40, number 40, let's stand together.
Number four, zero. Great is Thy faithfulness, O
God my Father! There is no shadow of turning
with Thee. Thou changes not, Thy compassions
they fail not. As thou hast been, thou forever
will be. Great is Thy faithfulness, great
is Thy faithfulness. Morning by morning new mercies
I see. All I have needed Thy hand hath
provided. Great is thy faithfulness, Lord,
unto me. Summer and winter and springtime
and harvest, sun, moon, and stars in their courses above, Join with all nature in manifold
witness to Thy great faithfulness, mercy, and love. Great is Thy faithfulness! Great is Thy faithfulness! Morning by morning new mercies
I see. All I have needed Thy hand hath
provided. Great is Thy faithfulness, Lord,
unto me. Pardon for sin and a peace that
endures. Thine own dear presence to cheer
and to guide. Strength for today and bright
hope for tomorrow. Blessings online with ten thousand
beside Great is Thy faithfulness! Great is Thy faithfulness! Morning by morning new mercies
I see. All I have needed Thy hand hath
provided. Great is Thy faithfulness, Lord,
unto me.