I've entitled this message, Christ's
message to the world. Who is speaking? This is the
Lord Jesus Christ, and this is his message to the world. Are you in the world? Then this
message is his message to you. Christ's message to the world. Verse 16, for God so loved the
world. The fact that the verse starts
with the conjunction for tells us that this verse can't be read
properly without reading the Proceeding verses, verse 14,
and as Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, even so must
the Son of Man be lifted up. Now this is talking about the
crucifixion of the Son of God. He says with regard to himself,
I must be crucified. Why? What was his purpose for
coming? He said, what shall I say? Father
saved me from this hour, for this cause came I into this hour. He came to be crucified. He came to be nailed to a cross,
to suffer and to die. Now, sometimes when I read of
blood and sacrifice. I think, why? It seems barbaric. You know, we wouldn't think that
with regard to a man who was greatly guilty of horrible crimes
against humanity and him being punished for that sin. We wouldn't think that's not
barbaric. That's just. Yet when we hear the gospel,
we might have a tendency to think that's barbaric. No, it's not. He's called the lamb slain from
the foundation of the world. He came to be crucified. He came to suffer. Why? Why? Well, the Lord tells us why. Verse 15, that whosoever believeth
in him should not perish but have eternal life. Now the eternal life he's speaking
of is the life of God in the soul of man when he says live
and all of a sudden you live. We're born into this world dead
in sins, oh we're alive physically. But we're dead spiritually, but
when he says live, we live. You know, one of the things I
love about God's grace is it's irresistible. Don't you love
that? If he says live, you live. And here's why all this takes
place. Verse 16, four, four, God so loved. world. This is Christ speaking
and this is his message to the world. God so loved the world
that he gave his only begotten son that whosoever believeth
in him should not perish but have eternal life. God so loved the world. God is. God is as he says he is in his
word. We would be without any understanding
of the character of God without the Bible. Just be my guess and
your guess. But God is. As he says he is
in his word, one God, the creator, God, the father, God, the son,
God, the Holy spirit in three distinct persons. God, the father
gave his only begotten son. He spared not his own son, but
delivered him up for us all. God so loved. What a verse of scripture. God
so loved the world. The object of God's love, the
world. I love this. The world. Are you in the world? God so
loved the world. I've read different commentators
on this, and I love John Gill. John Gill said, God so loved
the world of the elect. You know what? I don't like that.
It's true. He did love the world of the
elect, but I like the way God says it. I like the way Christ
says it. God so loved the world. The same world of which John
said, the whole world lieth in wickedness. The world Paul called
this present evil world, this world that has no love for God,
no love for Christ, no need of him. Now, the world hates the one
who said, God so loved the world that he gave his only begotten
son. Now I realize the world doesn't
hate the Jesus that they have made up. I say that with a small
J. The Jesus that you can control,
the Jesus that you can manipulate, the Jesus that you can get him
to respond to you. He's at your request waiting
for you to let him do something. Nobody's afraid of that Jesus,
but I'm talking about the Lord Jesus Christ of the Bible, the
one who is Lord, the one who you're in his hands and he can
do with you. Listen to this. I love saying
this. He can do with you whatsoever he's pleased to do. That's the
Jesus I'm talking about. The Lord of glory. Your salvation is in his hand. He's not in your hands. You're
in his hands. It's up to him as to what's going
to take place with you. You know what the world says
to that? We'll not have this man reign over us. Yeah, he will. Yeah, he will. He's the Lord.
This is Christ speaking. He says, God so loved the world,
the world that nailed him to a cross. The world who said,
his blood be upon us and our children. We want to be held
responsible for this. This is what we think of this
man. His blood be upon us. Let us be held responsible for
his death. Let his blood be upon our children.
I didn't realize in making this prayer that that's the prayer
of every believer. Let his blood be upon us and
our children. Now, if I had the whole world
for my audience, This would be the message. This is Christ's
message to the world. This is his message to the religious
and the irreligious, to the believer and the atheist, to the unconcerned
and the concerned, to the moral and to the immoral. This is Christ's
message to the world. God gave God so loved that he
gave his only begotten son. Now what's this all about? What's
it mean? His only begotten son. But there's only one only begotten
son. There are many sons. There's
only one only begotten son. And the only begotten son refers
to his resurrection. We preach a resurrected Christ.
We preach a living Christ. He was dead. He's not dead anymore. In every other tomb, in every
other burial place, there's some kind of DNA of that dead person
somewhere, not his burial place. He was raised from the dead.
That's what the only begotten is a reference to. It's from
Psalm chapter two, verse seven. Thou art my son this day. Have I begotten thee? Have I
raised you from the dead? Now that happened a thousand
years before it took place, but. He is the eternal only begotten
son. He's called the lamb slain from
the foundation of the world. He's the lamb raised from the
foundation of the world. He didn't stay dead in eternity. He was raised in eternity. Everything
God does is eternal. He's the eternal God. And Christ
is the only begotten son of God. God so loved the world that he
gave his only begotten son, the son of his love, his beloved
son. I wish I could describe the love
that exists between the father and the son, but it's beyond
description. This is my beloved son. in whom I am well pleased." God
gave his beloved son. What love on his part that he
would give his son here in his love not that we love God but
that he loved us and sent his son to be the propitiation of
our sins. God, this glorious God, The living
God gave his beloved son that whosoever, what a word. Are you a whosoever? Yeah, you are. I'm so thankful for this word.
Whosoever shall call upon the name of the Lord shall be saved. Whosoever, whosoever believeth
in him should not perish, but have eternal life. The everlasting life spoken of
that's given in the new birth. The person who believes has everlasting
life. They should not perish because
they're justified. It doesn't really say they will not perish.
It says they should not perish. There's nothing to condemn them
for. If Christ died for me, I have no sin. They should not perish,
but have everlasting life. Now verse 17, four, four. God, listen to this, for
God sent not his son into the world to condemn the world, but that the world through him
might be saved. Now remember, this is Christ's
message to the world. God didn't send his son. God
didn't send me to condemn the world. What's all that about? Beloved, I'm already condemned.
He didn't have to send his son into this world to condemn me.
I was born condemned. By the offense of one, judgment
came upon all men to condemnation. That's what the scripture says.
Now, when Adam sinned against God, and was condemned by God,
you and I sinned against God and were condemned by God. That's
just what the Bible teaches. And somebody says, well, how
can it be right for me to be condemned for somebody else's
sin? You're not. You're not. When Adam sinned,
you sinned. I wasn't there. You were in him.
And if it would have been you instead of Adam, you would have
done the same thing. And as far as that goes, Let's forget Adam
for a second. I've condemned myself by my own
actions. I have failed to love God with all my heart, and I've
failed to love my neighbors myself. I have always put anything before
God. Somebody says, not me. Yeah,
you have. Yeah, you have. created in my own mind false
gods that I felt more comfortable with, that lined up more with
what I wanted. I've been irreverent toward his
name. I've never rested perfectly.
I've failed to honor my parents. You have too. I've failed to
honor the authority God has put into place. I've been a murderer. I am a murderer. Not I used to
be, I am right now. I've killed people's characters
by things I've said that were murderous. I am guilty of adultery,
whether in my mind or spiritual adultery, I'm an adulterer. I'm
a thief. I take things that don't belong
to me. And I'm not just, I'm not talking about shoplifting
right now. Taking glory to myself that doesn't belong to me. I'm a liar. I'm a covetous man. All those
things are true. I've condemned, I was already
condemned. Christ didn't come to condemn me. I condemned myself
by my breaking. of God's law. Now, God didn't
see in Christ to condemn the world. They're already condemned.
You're already condemned. There is such a thing as right
and wrong. And the only reason there's such a thing as right
and wrong is because God is. And you and I were born into
this world condemned. Somebody says that doesn't sound
good. Well, If you can be born into this world condemned because
of your association with another man, you can be saved by your
association with another man, the Lord Jesus Christ. In Adam
all die, even so in Christ shall all be made alive. God sent not his son into the
world to condemn the world, but that the world through him might
be saved. Make four observations about
that. If it took God sending his son
into the world to save it by dying on a cross, how evil this
world must be. How evil I must be. Don't judge
how evil you are by looking within or looking at the things you've
done. Judge how evil you are by the cross of the Lord Jesus
Christ. The only way I could be saved
is if Jesus Christ came and saved me. How evil I am that it took this
to save me. Second observation, if God sent
his son into the world, of this we can be sure, whatever he sent
him to do, he did. God sent his son into the world. Not to condemn the world, but
to save the world. And you can be doubly sure of
this. Whatever God sent him to do,
he did. He said, it is finished. His
last words from the cross, he saved everybody he came to save. Third observation. You can be equally sure of this.
There is no other way. There is no other way mere you
could be saved. Christ said, I am the way, the
truth, the life. No man comes to the father, but
by me. And this is perfectly suited
for me and you. What do you mean by that? I need someone to do it all for
me. This is perfectly suited for me. This is perfectly suited
for you. Christ did it all. I love the hymn we sing. Jesus
paid it all. All the dead I owe. Sin had left
a crimson stain. He washed it white as snow. Verse 16, 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 forth. God sent not his son into the
world to condemn the world, but that the world through him might
be saved. Verse 18. He that believeth on him is not
condemned. But he that believeth not is
condemned already because he hath not believed in the name
of the only begotten Son of God. He that believeth on him is not
condemned. Hymn refers to the Lord Jesus
Christ. What must I do to be saved? Believe
on the Lord Jesus Christ and thou shalt be saved. Jesus Christ, the Son of God,
the second person of the Trinity, is the object of faith. Not God
the Father, not God the Spirit, God the Son. Jesus Christ is
the only object of faith. Now to believe on him is more
than an acknowledgement of his existence. It's more than believing
the historical facts of the gospel. It's an entrusting of my salvation
to him. That's what faith is. It's an
entrusting. of my salvation to him. It's a simple, I know it's to
call it anything. Yes, it's simple. It's supernatural, but it's as
simple as putting your money in the bank. You're entrusting
the bank to take care of your money. I'm entrusting the Lord
Jesus Christ with the salvation of my soul. That's what faith
is. 2 Timothy 1.12, Paul said, I
know whom I have believed. And I am persuaded that he is
able to keep that which I've committed to him. Now that's
faith. You commit, you personally, you
do it. Somebody doesn't do it for you.
You commit the salvation of your soul to him. Now listen, I'm
relying on him as my surety. the one who took full responsibility
for my salvation. I'm relying on him for that.
I'm relying on his life as my righteousness before God. His
personal obedience is my obedience. I'm relying on him as my substitute.
I'm relying on his death on Calvary's tree as the way my sins are paid
for and put away. I'm relying on his resurrection
as my justification. He was delivered for our offenses
and raised again for our justification. I'm relying on His intercession
right now as a reason I'm going to stay saved. I'm going to keep
believing because He causes me to, because He prays for me,
because He represents me. I'm relying on His second coming
for my glorification because that's when I'm going to see
Him as He is. And as soon as I see Him as He is, I'll be just
like Him. It's relying on Him. Are you relying on Jesus Christ
for everything in your salvation? I don't mean 99%, I mean everything. I could believe I was saved if
I saw more of a change in my life. I could believe I was saved if
I had more victory over sin. I could believe I was saved if
my faith was greater. That's not believing in Christ,
that's believing in yourself. Amen? Now, we read in our text of those who believe and those
who believe not. Look at verse 18. He that believeth
on him is not condemned, but he that believeth not is condemned
already. And here's why. Because he is
not believed in the name of the only begotten son of God. Those who believe and those who
believe not. And that's what we have here
this morning. Those who believe and those who believe Not. That would describe me. And that
would describe you. One of those two descriptions,
those who believe and those who believe not. Now, somebody says,
why is that? Well, those who believe have
heard. Faith cometh by hearing and hearing
by the word of God. That's true enough, but why is
that? Why is it that some have heard and some haven't? Well,
the Lord said to a group, you believe not because you're not
of my sheep. As I said unto you, my sheep hear my voice. I know them and they follow me.
As many as were ordained to eternal life. There's the difference. God's
the difference. Now, if you do not believe it's
because you don't want to believe. If you do believe it's because
God gave you faith. Faith is the gift of God. Now. Okay. I believe that. But upon what ground can I myself. personally believe. I see that the Bible teaches
that God is sovereign. I see that the Bible teaches
that God elected a people before time began to be saved and they're
the ones who will believe. As many as were ordained to eternal
life believed. Acts 13, 48. It doesn't say as
many as believed were ordained to eternal life. It says as many
as were ordained to eternal life believed. I see that, I see,
listen to me, I need to bring this in when I'm talking about
this. Jesus Christ died for the elect. He did not die for all men without
exception. If he did, all men without exception
would be saved because God is just. If my sins are paid for,
I'm never gonna have to pay for them. To say that Jesus Christ
could die for somebody and they wind up in hell anyway, I'll
be in hell. I'm sure of that. If Christ can
die for somebody and that person will end up in hell, I'll be
the first one there. I know that. My only hope is
that Jesus Christ died for me, that he actually paid for my
sins and put away my sins. Now, here's my question. Upon
what ground can I believe he died for me? There's only one scriptural ground. One. First, Timothy 115. Christ Jesus. Came into the world to save who? I wish everybody would say that
out loud. Sinners. Are you a sinner? Are you a sinner. When we were yet without
strength, Romans 5-6, when we were yet without strength in
due time, Christ died for the ungodly. Are you a sinner? If you are, and I mean the scriptural
sins, I'm not talking about saying, well, sure, I'm a sinner and
everybody, that's not what I'm talking about. I'm talking about
someone who really believes they've not kept one commandment of the
10 commandments one time in all their life. Well, I can remember as a boy,
it's amazing. I can remember as a boy going
over the 10 commandments and saying, well, I've kept three of them.
That's because the three that I thought I kept, I didn't know
what they meant. I've broken every commandment, and I'm not
talking about the way I used to be. I'm talking about right
now. I'm talking about right now. I've not kept one commandment
one time. And if you think you have, let
me give you some news. You've deceived yourself, and
you don't really understand the holy law of God. If you understood
the holy law of God, you'd know that's so concerning yourself.
If I am a sinner, Christ died for me. Question, since I'm a
sinner with no claims on God because of my sin, how can I
trust Christ to save me without it being an act of presumption?
It's a good question, isn't it? Since I'm a sinner with no claims
on God, how can I trust Christ to save me without it being an
act of presumption? Let me answer that because I'm
commanded to trust Christ to save me. And it's not presumptuous
for me to do what God commands me to do. Acts chapter 17 verse
30 says, God commands all men everywhere to repent. Are you in that group? All men
everywhere. Are you in that group? You know, it's the same thing
with faith. God commands all men everywhere
to believe. If God commands me to trust him, you know what?
I can trust him. He commands me to, he doesn't
give me advice. He doesn't say you'd be better
off. He commands me to, he said, come unto me. That's not an invitation. Somebody says that's a great
invitation. No, it's not. It's a command. Come unto me
all ye that labor and are heavy laden and I will give thee rest. Verse 18, he that believeth on
him is not condemned. This is the result of believing
Not condemned. He that believeth on him is not
condemned. Notice it doesn't say he will
not be condemned right now. He is not condemned. Now, if you're not condemned,
do you know why you're not condemned? There's nothing to condemn you
for. You stand before God sinless. Sinless. How could that be if
I've sinned and if I've broken God's law nonstop, how can I
be sinless? The blood of Jesus Christ, God's
son, cleanseth us from all sin. I stand before God without sin. He that believeth on him is not
condemned right now. Now somebody's thinking, what
about the sad fact that I still see it? That is a sad fact. It's a very sad fact, but that sin is not charged to
you. I can remember. Some 34 years ago, I was in the
hospital and I had encephalitis and a lot of pain. They didn't
know what was wrong with me at the time. I ended up spending
a couple of months in the hospital, but I can remember that one night
I thought for sure I was going to die. I thought that night, whatever
it was, sometime in October of 1988, I thought in just not too
long I'm going to leave this world and I'm going to stand
before God. And I started searching myself to give me some kind of
evidence that I was saved. I looked at everything I could
about myself. And I couldn't find any evidence
that I was saved. Everything appeared to be so
dark and sinful. And I started crying that night
thinking, I'm going to hell. I'm going to hell for my sin. And the Lord brought this scripture
to my mind. Blessed are they whose iniquities
are forgiven. whose sins are covered. Blessed is the man to whom the
Lord will not impute sin. I realized that everything I
thought about myself was true, but here was my hope. God didn't
charge me with it. He charged it to his son. And
I can remember And let me say this, while I'm
talking about this experience I had, nobody needs an experience.
Just believe the gospel. Just believe the gospel. You
don't need an experience. You don't need to get sick and get
in the hospital and think, no, just believe the gospel right
now. As a matter of fact, that takes a greater faith than some
kind of experience. I don't want to forget that experience.
I want to look to Christ right now as my only righteousness
before God. Even as David described the blessedness
of the man unto whom God imputeth righteousness without works. He that believeth is not condemned
because he's not guilty. Justified. Justified before God. That's what Christ did. The world
was already condemned. He didn't come to condemn the
world. He came to save the world. You're commanded to believe the
gospel. Not to wait for anything. Not
to wait till you learn more or have more experience. Trash the
experience. It's no good anyway. It might
have been who knows what. You might have had indigestion
or something. I want to look to Christ right
now. Now, not condemned. That's continual. That's continual. It's complete,
not condemned by any measure to any degree. It's effectual. It cannot be nullified by sin.
That's going to be seen on judgment day when I'm justified and sinless,
not condemned, not guilty. Let me give you three closing
thoughts. He that believeth is not condemned. First thought,
this excludes boasting, doesn't it? Do you have anything to boast
about in your salvation? This altogether excludes boasting. Number two, this excludes despair. Here's mercy for the greatest
of sinners. Right now, this excludes despair. I don't care who you
are. This gospel will save you. Number three, this promotes obedience. This promotes obedience. Law never promoted obedience.
Love does. Were the whole realm of nature
mine, that were present far too small. Love so amazing, so divine,
demands my soul. my life, my own. The argument against the gospel
is, well, if you talk about a complete salvation, people will live just
like they want to. I'll tell you what, I know what
a believer's want to is. I want to be perfectly conformed to
the image of Christ. I want to be just like, this
is the only thing that truly promotes obedience. He that believeth is not condemned,
he that believeth not is condemned already, because he hath not
believed on the name of the only begotten Son of God. Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ,
and thou shalt be saved. Let's pray. Lord, in Christ's name, that
name that's above every name. The glorious name of your son. We ask that you would be pleased.
To save each one of us. And cause us to be of the number. That believe. How we thank you. that you so
love the world, that you gave your only begotten son, that
whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting
life. How we thank you that you sent
not your son to condemn the world, but that the world through him
might be saved. In his blessed name we pray,
amen.