stood back in the hospital, but
continued to remember her and the others who requested prayer.
Other than that, I can't think of anything else. Let's begin
our worship service with hymn number 126, Rock of Ages, left
for me. Let me hide myself in Thee. Let the water and the blood from
Thy wounds, I was poured. Be of sin, Lord, of the pure. they make me pure. Could my tears forever flow? Could my zeal no longer know? These no sin cannot atone. I will sing with Thou alone. In my hand no rest I bring. Simply to thy cross I cling While
I call this fleeting breath With my eyes shall hold you near When
I rise to worlds unknown And behold thee on thy throne Rock
of Ages shall ever be I'm lost for words. For a thousand tongues to sing
my great Redeemer's praise! All the glories of my God and
King, the triumphs of His praise! My gracious Master and my God,
assist me to proclaim Will you spread through all the earth
a brotherhood that honors the Thine name? Jesus, the name that charmed
our fears and beat our sorrows sweet, is music in the spirit,
is life in health and peace. He breaks the power of the castle
city, sets the prisoner free His blood can make the night
sleep, His blood availed for me Him He did, His praise He done,
Your lucid tongues employ, He like behold your Savior gone,
And He lay for us all. Glory to God, praise and love,
we ever, ever will. By saints below and saints above,
the church in her name. I have your Bibles turned to
the third chapter of John. I'm going
to read one verse of Scripture. The title of my message tonight
is Saving the World. John chapter 3, verse 17. For
God sent not his Son into the world to condemn the world, but
that the world through him might be saved. Our Father in heaven,
blessed King of kings and Lord of lords, you who rule and reign
and do your will in the armies of heaven and among the inhabitants
of the earth, and none can stay at your hand or say any word
to his name. You who always do your pleasure, you who control
all things and rule all things, who send your word into this
world to accomplish exactly what you intend to and find the place
wherein you send it. We thank you, Father, that you
in your great grace and mercy has chosen us in Jesus Christ
before the world again. That you sent your son into this
world to live a perfect life and be the suitable sacrifice
necessary to put away our sins, to answer the sin debt, to pay
what the law demanded. We thank you that he has risen
and ascended to thy right hand, having accomplished what he came
to do. We thank you for that blessed salvation, free and full
and forever. Help us, Lord, to ever appreciate
these things, to consider our weakness and our frailty and
our sinfulness in the light of the great work that he's done
for us. Help us tonight as we seek to
worship you in spirit and truth in the preaching of the word.
We remember those who are sick and those who are away from us
for whatever reason. We pray you bring life safely
to us and those who are sick, we pray for their healing. We
visit according to your will. Give us grace, Father, this hour.
Show us mercy, if you will. Give us a glimpse of our Savior.
We pray in Christ's name. Amen. Now, this verse of Scripture,
as I was reading it, and you were listening to me read it
or reading along with me, is often employed by those who embrace
the idea of universal redemption as proof of God's intent to save
everyone in the entire world. If you take it just at face value
without looking at it in context, you might come up with that conclusion.
Of course, since everyone in the entire world has not been
saved and hell has enlarged itself to receive its inhabitants, the
matter of salvation must, according to the religious world, be shifted
to the will and the ability of humanity to assess the value
of salvation and decide whether or not to accept it. Scripture
lays acts to the root of such erroneous teaching, but sadly
it is the cardinal doctrine of false religion in the day in
which we live, regardless of the denomination under which
it travels. The context here is important,
as always is. It has not changed, and that
little word that we read in last week's lesson, so, God so loved
the world, defines the meaning of the world that is to be saved
in this passage of scripture. So in this case means in like
manner. God loved in like manner. That's
what it says. For God so loved, for God loved
in like manner the world that he gave his only begotten son
that whosoever believeth in him should not perish but have everlasting
life. The manner in which he's talking about is the manner that
was found in Numbers chapter 21. That's the manner. In that
manner, the people sinned against God by saying there was no water,
which was a lie, because that water always was with them. The rock that followed them through
the wilderness brought forth water for them. And they said
their soul hated that light bread, and that was talking about the
manna that God provided for them for 40 years in the wilderness.
And that manna, we know, is sent, according to Deuteronomy 8, to
prove them whether they would be satisfied with what God has
given them. from heaven, he's the bread from
heaven, and he is the water of life. Those are the things about
Christ. So they were rejecting and hating the Lord Jesus Christ,
which brought about God sending serpents to bite them. And they
were, the serpents bought them and they began to die in droves. at that serpent, that brazen
serpent raised up, you'll live. And those who were bitten, that's
important, were told to look to that serpent and they would
live. Now, that same principle carries
forth when he said, so, for God so loved four, God so, in that
manner, loved the world. How did he love those people?
He loved those people by providing a salvation for them, for them
to look upon. and to be saved. And so that's
the way that he approaches Nicodemus with the words of him in the
future being raised up on the cross of Calvary. So the context
here is not changed. That little word so defines the
meaning of the world to be saved. So in this case, it means in
a like manner relates to that incident in Numbers when those
people who lied on God by saying there was no water and they hated
the David resulted in vipers being sent. A brazen serpent
was made, placed on a pole, and those who were bitten, that's
important, were told to look to the serpent to be healed,
be saved to death. Who will look to Christ? Who
will look to the Christ of the cross? That's an important question
to be asked. Using this as a type of Christ
being lifted on the cross, those who knew they were done, who
knew they were down, who knew there was no hope for them, the
venom of sin coursing through their veins, are bidden to look
to Jesus Christ, or to believe on Him, and to be saved from
eternal death." That's the manner in which this is set forth. That's
the context in which it's written. To save the world, in both cases,
in Numbers and on the cross, are the elect of God. Numbers
is the natural election of his nation Israel. He did not bid
anyone who was not bidden to look And He did not bid any other
nation to look. He only bid those who were bidden
in His nation. So the ones who were bid were
of that elect nation, and the ones who are bid to look to the
Lord Jesus Christ are those who are elected to grace. How do
they know they're elected? God gives them faith to look. God gives them faith to look.
Now the context demands that verse 17 be treated in the same
manner, still in the same context, in this manner. This verse states
in no uncertain terms who Christ came to save. The world He came
to save and not condemn. Who is that? Now scripture declares
that all of humanity are condemned in Adam. We know that. But here
and with what follows, the context relates this condemnation and
salvation to looking to and believing on the Lord Jesus Christ or not
looking to Him and not believing on Him. This sets the looker,
the believer, as the one who is aware of something. who is
aware of his doom, as if bitten by poison with serpents. Scripture
declares that the knowledge of one's condemnation is solely
the work of the Holy Spirit. To understand that you're a sinner.
Everybody else tells you they're a sinner. Nobody is. There's
a lot of them that are sinners. And the simple plan of salvation,
the so-called Roman road, just admits you're a sinner. But who
knows they're a sinner? Who knows that they are deserve,
that they deserve an eternity in hell. Who knows that they
have offended God? Who knows that they are vile
and unclean and they have no hope and no help in this world?
Only one kind of people, those people who have been taught by
the Holy Spirit. Look over at John chapter 16. Our Lord said
this, notice the word here in verse 17, chapter 3, it says,
For God sent not His Son to condemn the world, But that the world
to him might be saved. Now, in John chapter 16, we have
found the work of the Holy Spirit. John 14 through 16, our Lord
is preparing his disciples as he departs this world. He's preparing
them and he comforts them by saying, I'm going to send you
a paraclete, one who comes alongside you as a comforter to be with
you. And when this comforter comes,
he's going to do something. And then we know this comforter is
the Spirit of Christ himself, but it says in verse 8 He will reprove, or convince,
who? The world. Now, is He talking
about the entire world? He's talking about the same world
that He's talking about in John chapter 3, verse 16 and 17. The
same world. He will convince the world of
sin, and of righteousness, and of judgment. Now, He doesn't
leave it there because people will take that by itself and
make all kinds of assumptions about it. Well, he's talking
about drinking and chewing and going to the movie shows when
he talks about sin. That's not what he's talking about. When
he talks about rights, he was talking about being a holy person,
living a good life. It's not talking about that.
And of judgment, there's a judgment to come and you're going to have
to face it. It's not talking about that. Well, what's he talking about?
A sin because they believe not on me. So the sin that a person
is convicted of is that he don't believe on Christ. That's what
the Holy Spirit will teach you. You don't believe on Christ.
Now that's illuminated much more in the verses that will follow
in the weeks to come in John chapter 3. Sin because they believe
not on me. That's the primary thing. Of
righteousness. Why? Because I go to my Father
of righteousness. That righteousness that was imputed
to His people is there because Jesus Christ finished the work
of salvation, has ascended on high, and sits at the right hand
of the Father, and they will see Him no more. because the
prince of this world is just cast out. On the cross of Calvary,
Jesus Christ bruised the head of the serpent, bruised the head
of Satan, and put him basically out of business. So that's what
the Holy Spirit will teach a person. Of sin, what's a sin? You don't
believe on Christ. Righteousness, because Christ
is the right hand of the Father, and He is our righteousness.
And judgment, because the devil has been In fact, the only way
you were saved and I was saved, he came to the strong man's house,
he was stronger than the strong man, and bound him and took you
from his possession. That's how you were saved. So
that's what the Holy Spirit does. So the old poet wrote, the sinner's
a sacred thing, the Holy Ghost has made it so, and that's true.
No one really knows they're a sinner to the point where they'll seek
Jesus Christ as their only hope. unless they are taught by the
Holy Spirit. All that are taught of the Father come to the Lord
Jesus Christ. The world of verse 17 is the
world that the Holy Ghost convinces men of sin and righteousness
and judgment. The world will be saved. That
world will be saved. That world will be saved. For
He came not into the world to condemn the world, but that the
world through Him might be saved. And that being said, if we go
by the rules of context, We find another take on the employment
of the word world. As old A.D. Muses said, we're
going to take another lick at it. We're going to take another
lick at that word. The rules of context are, first, one, who
is speaking? Secondly, who is being spoken
to? And thirdly, what is the subject
being addressed? Those are the three rules of
context. So the first one wants to know
the context, know who's speaking, who's being spoken to, And what
is the subject being addressed? So the subject being addressed
here is salvation of the world. Isn't it? In this word, he sent
not his son to condemn the world, but the world through whom it
might be saved. That's the context. The one speaking is the Savior,
who is the one who will save this world. And the one being
spoken to is Nicodemus, a renowned ruler of the Jews, a man who
came in darkness believing that he knew some stuff, actually
believing that he knew what he truly could not know, and did
not believe, and would not receive. That's how it's described in
the first part of this chapter. Now to Nicodemus, and to every
Jew, the word world had a specific meaning. So when Our Lord used
this word world, he was talking to someone to whom this word
world meant something To Nicodemus, the world was everybody
who was not a Jew. That was the word. And such were
considered a population of mangy curves. They considered them
to be dogs. The words of Nicodemus meant
Gentile dogs. Now imagine this. Here he's speaking
to a ruler of the Jews, a man of the Sanhedrin, the highest
ruling office. a high-muckety-muck in religion. He ain't talking no fool. But
when he says world, Nicodemus don't think about the cosmos.
He don't think about the earth. He don't think about the universe.
When he says world, he thinks of one thing, Gentiles. Gentiles. To the Jew, the world, and the
Gentile are synonymous terms. Let me show you that in Scripture.
Look over at Matthew chapter 6. Matthew chapter 6 says this in
verse 31, Therefore take no thought, saying, What shall we eat, what
shall we drink, or wherewith shall we be clothed? Talking
to his people. For after these things do the
Gentiles seek. The Gentile seeketh, for your
heavenly Father knoweth that you need these things, of all
things. Now let's go to a man who's not
a Jew, a man named Luke, who's a Gentile. Listen to how he works
the same thing. In Luke chapter 12, verse 29,
it says, And seek ye not what ye
shall eat, or what ye shall drink, neither be ye doubtful of mine. For all those things do the nations
of the world seek after. These two terms are synonymous.
The Gentiles of the world to the Jew means the same thing. Nicodemus could not wrap his
mind around this abomination, being a recipient of natural
election. That means the nation was chosen, not because they
were righteous, not because they were holy. The Lord said that.
Not because they were a great nation. Not because they were
beautiful. They were ugly, and they were
vile, and they were unpleasant, and He chose them. out of all the nations in the
world. He chose them. That's a natural election. That's
a natural election. It's not spiritual. They didn't
have a spiritual life. Some did because he had given
them a spiritual life, but as a nation, they were a carnal
nation. Read their history. We studied their history and
all in our studies in Deuteronomy and Numbers and Deuteronomy,
Joshua, Judges, Ruth, all of it. All they were were complainers
and murderers. That's what they did. They always
complained, always murmured. God gave them a covenant on Sinai
to keep. That covenant was conditioned.
He said, if you will keep my covenant, I will bless you. I
will bless you. If you don't, I'll curse you.
Of course, they didn't keep his covenant. But he kept them as
their nation. But the problem with natural
elections is how most people feel about spiritual election.
Unfortunately, how most religious people feel about spiritual election.
They feel like if you say you're elect, you think you're entitled. Well, Jews did. They felt that
this entitled them. It equated the entitlement to
God's favor and that utterly excluded the Gentiles. Utterly
excluded the Gentiles. They were God's elect people
and therefore they were They were the ones who would get God's
favor. Gentiles didn't get nothing from
God except punishment and hell. That's all they deserved and
that's the way they felt. Nicodemus felt that way. For the Lord to
speak of saving the world was another one to the Jew. A cursory
look at the prophets would put to rest that kind of thinking,
but the words of the prophets, who all gave witness to Jesus
Christ, also showed extensively of the Messiah drawing Gentiles
to himself. We saw it in Isaiah, we've seen
it in Jeremiah. All the prophets gave witness
to Christ, and part of that witness was when Christ comes, he's going
to draw Gentiles to himself. It's in their book. It's the
only book they have at this time, from Genesis to Malachi, it's
all they have. Over and over again, the Gentiles.
Just a few examples. Look over at Isaiah chapter 11. chapter 11 in verse 10 says this,
and in that day there shall be a root of Jesse, which shall
stand for an ensign of the people. Now an ensign is a squadron flag
or a flag planted that the troops gather round. I was a guide on
in the service or when I was in tech school at New Davenport
Base, Illinois. I carried the flag. I marched
out in front of the whole outfit. I listened to it and
set the cadence. And I was the first to turn when the cadence
said turn and go straight or route march, all those things.
They watched me. They watched that flag. I watched
it right in the center of the squadron. They watched that flag.
And when we stopped, they gathered around that flag. That flag. That's what this is. This is
the planting of and people will gather around.
Who's going to gather? Stand for an instant of the people,
and to it shall the Gentiles seek, and his rest shall be glorious. Somewhere along the way, Nicodemus
didn't think about that. I'm sure he read it. I'm sure
those boys, they read the scriptures. Look over at Isaiah chapter 49. verse six says, is it a light
thing? That thou shouldest be my servant
to raise up the tribes of Jacob and restore the preserve of Israel.
I will also give thee for a light to the Gentiles. That thou mayest
be my salvation unto the ends of the earth. To the ends of
the earth. Now look over at Isaiah chapter
45. Back at Isaiah chapter 45 verse
42. look unto me and be ye saved
all the ends of the earth for I am God and there is none else.
Somehow the Bible became secondary to the religious upper levels
of hierarchy in the Jewish religion. It became a secondary thing.
They held the Bible. They cherished it. They copied
it. But the Bible had become secondary
to what? To the traditions and doctrines
of men. Because the Bible said some things,
but they had these whole other books that gave different laws,
different rules of life, and different traditions that were
handed down. These became all important to the Bible, but the
Bible became secondary. Jews were the only ones that
had scripture. Some rich people, like the Ethiopian eunuch, could
afford to buy a page, have a scribe write it, but they alone had
the scriptures, and yet they treated the tradition of men
as if they were doctrine. Our Lord actually accused them
of that in Matthew chapter 15, verse seven, he says, you hypocrites.
Will not Isaiah prophesy of you? Say it. This people draweth nigh
unto me with their mouth, and honoureth me with their lips,
but their heart is far from me. But in vain they do worship me,
teaching for doctrines the commandments of men." As if God said there
are traditions that meant that much to them. That's where this
Jew was when our Lord was speaking to him. The Lord with these words,
when he said this in John chapter 3, Well, God sent not his son into
the world to redeem the world, but that the world to him might
be saved. When he said that, the Lord with
these words set forth his sure success in the salvation of his
people, that word, out of every nation, tongue, tribe, kindred,
and people, as is the psalm of heaven. And they praised the Lamb slain,
and the foundation of the world. And by His blood He had redeemed
them out of every nation, kindred, tongue, and people, and made
them kings and priests unto their God. This is what it means. This is the salvation of a world,
the world of God's chosen. For God sent not His Son into
the world to condemn the world.