“For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life” (John 3:16)
Did you know that the number one Bible verse of 2015 was John 3:16? That did not surprise me at all as it is the one verse in the Bible that perfectly describes how much God loves us. Last week I shared a poem on being still enough to hear God. This week, by looking at John 3:16 closely, I think we can accurately know the heart of God.
For God So Loved the World
World in Greek is translated as "kosmos" and there are eight different meanings for its biblical usage. Below are three meanings that really stood out for me:
God's greatest creation is not just us, but the entire universe that surrounds us. We know from the first chapter of Genesis that everything created by God was deemed "good". He loves this world He created. So we should take care of it. Earth is just one of the ornaments that decorates the heavens in this vast universe God created, but we have the incredible privilege of being the only planet where the human family was created. A family that God loves. A family devoid of colour, sexual orientation, religion - anything divisive. You see, to God we are all the same, because despite what we might look like on the outside, on the inside we all have the same parts. And He sent His son for the ENTIRE human family because He loves ALL OF US. GOD'S LOVE IS SO VAST AND SO DEEP THAT HE CARES EVEN FOR THOSE WHO ARE HOSTILE TOWARD HIM. That He gave His one and Only Son
This is the single reason why we can be confident that God loves us. He sent His only son into this world because of His divine love. How vast is His love? The Apostle John makes it very clear in the following verses:
In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God (John 1:1).
WHO WAS THE WORD?
And the Word became flesh, and dwelt among us, and we saw His glory, glory as of the only begotten from the Father, full of grace and truth (John 1:14).
JESUS WAS THE WORD!
In other words God came down to earth in the form of a man - Jesus - and walked among us. Why? Again - His love was so great for us that He gave up His heavenly abode in order to walk among us - to teach us the right way to live. This is like the stories of old, when a King desired to walk among His subjects to find out how they really felt about him and to grasp what they were going through. Now think about that for a minute. GOD DID THAT FOR YOU AND ME!
Have this attitude in yourselves which was also in Christ Jesus, who, although He existed in the form of God, did not regard equality with God a thing to be grasped, but emptied Himself, taking the form of a bond-servant, and being made in the likeness of men (Philippians 2:5-7, NKJV). That Whoever Believes in Him Shall Not Perish But Have Eternal Life
Let's keep this in context - God gave His one and only Son, so that whoever believes in him - in Jesus - shall not perish, but have eternal life. John 4:24 says, God is spirit, and it is because of the gift of the Holy Spirit that we are able to have communion with the King of the universe. But, those who reject God's gift of eternal life with Him, are making a conscious decision to lose access to God. To die in their sins. To reject God's saving grace. To reject His very promise to save them from themselves. These are people God loves and they are the reason He came to earth, so that no one would perish.
THIS IS THE HEART OF GOD!
|
 | She was laughing, her eyes a bright twinkle that outshone the stars in the sky. They mesmerized him. Are her eyes always this bright? As he watched her, she began to glow. Mary? What is happening to you? Wait – it isn’t Mary – what is happening? Why is everything getting so bright? “Joseph!” That was not Mary’s voice. That was unlike any voice he had ever heard before – magnificent, and reverberating. “Joseph, do not be afraid!” As the light began to grow brighter, Joseph found himself unable to move. His chest tightened in fear. His eyes, although closed, were blinded by the light shining around him. “Joseph son of David, do not be afraid to take Mary home as your wife, because what is conceived in her is from the Holy Spirit. She will give birth to a son, and you are to give him the name Jesus, because he will save his people from their sins.” |
Joseph sat up in bed, his chest heaving. He searched his room for the source of light, but found only darkness. A dream? No, it was much more than that. He knew with all his heart that he had just experienced something wonderful. He could still feel the presence of holiness, could still hear the angel’s voice:
“…what is conceived in her is from the Holy Spirit.”
“Mary told the truth!” Joseph was at once giddy with relief and remorseful that he had not believed her.
“…She will give birth to a son.”
She is to have a son? But not just any son … the Son of God. The Messiah! And I am to be this child’s father? I will have the privilege of raising him as my own? I am not worthy of such a responsibility. The thought of it sent his heart racing once again. Mary was the one who this was directly affecting and yet she seemed to be at such peace about it. Of course, she has had at least three months to accept it, he reasoned. He had only just heard yesterday. He groaned as he remembered his outburst. Will she accept my apology now? Will she understand why I was so upset? Will Heli welcome me again at their door after the way I treated them? Joseph jumped up from his cot and threw on a fresh tunic. A sense of urgency propelled him to hurry to the home of Heli. He would go to Mary at once. Before the day ended, he would make sure they were officially man and wife.
“…what is conceived in her is from the Holy Spirit.”
“Mary told the truth!” Joseph was at once giddy with relief and remorseful that he had not believed her.
“…She will give birth to a son.”
She is to have a son? But not just any son … the Son of God. The Messiah! And I am to be this child’s father? I will have the privilege of raising him as my own? I am not worthy of such a responsibility. The thought of it sent his heart racing once again. Mary was the one who this was directly affecting and yet she seemed to be at such peace about it. Of course, she has had at least three months to accept it, he reasoned. He had only just heard yesterday. He groaned as he remembered his outburst. Will she accept my apology now? Will she understand why I was so upset? Will Heli welcome me again at their door after the way I treated them? Joseph jumped up from his cot and threw on a fresh tunic. A sense of urgency propelled him to hurry to the home of Heli. He would go to Mary at once. Before the day ended, he would make sure they were officially man and wife.
The Lord said also to me in the days of Josiah the king: “Have you seen what backsliding Israel has done? She has gone up on every high mountain and under every green tree, and there played the harlot. And I said, after she had done all these things, ‘Return to Me.’ But she did not return. And her treacherous sister Judah saw it. Then I saw that for all the causes for which backsliding Israel had committed adultery, I had put her away and given her a certificate of divorce; yet her treacherous sister Judah did not fear, but went and played the harlot also. So it came to pass, through her casual harlotry, that she defiled the land and committed adultery with stones and trees. And yet for all this her treacherous sister Judah has not turned to Me with her whole heart, but in pretense,” says the Lord (Jeremiah 3:6-10, NKJV).
In the verses above we see the sin Israel committed. We also see God calling Israel to return to Him. When she didn't, her sister Judah followed her into sin. So, God cut Israel off from His presence. This is something the USA and Canada should heed. Both countries have banned God from schools, the marketplace and from the halls of government. And now apparently the U.K. has also decided that God doesn't matter and a U.K. judge is calling for Britain to be systematically de-Christianized. When you stop honouring God and remove all traces of Him from life, the end result will not be good and Israel is the perfect example of how devastating that can be.
Jeremiah 3:8 states that God had given Israel a “writ of divorce”. The word for divorce in Hebrew is kĕriythuwth and it comes from the root word karath which means to cut off. It also means to “cut a covenant”. So God is saying he is cutting his covenant with Israel. This is serious! He had sent Israel away and cut her off from Him. The nation He had called to be holy, to be an example to the world, was now so far away from God, He wanted nothing to do with them. He not only removed His hand of blessing (Jeremiah 3:3) but He removed them from His presence. This is Canada! This is the USA! Yet Judah, seeing Israel cut off from God's presence, did not fear losing their relationship with God and followed Israel into sin. This is now the U.K. and every other Christian country that has said no to God. It is every person who has said no to God. If you don't want Him in your life, He will not suffer your presence and He will remove Himself from you. But what happens when you realize your mistake? Judah pretended to repent of her disobedience and return to God. But God saw through Judah's pretense of repentance and knew it wasn't real. If confession is not followed by true repentance,God is not fooled.
In Jeremiah 3 we not only see how serious God is about sin, but how merciful and willing He is to take back those who have sinned when they repent. In fact, I would have to say that Jeremiah 3 sets a tone for all people who have failed God, fallen into sin and want to return to Him. It is clear throughout the chapter that God's desire is for His people to return to Him. However, a simple, "I'm sorry Lord I messed up, please forgive me," will not do. With confession there must be true repentance. However, sometimes our actions of disobedience come with consequences that we have to suffer through. And though Israel eventually did repent, she still needed to be entirely cleansed of her sin. Israel's flagrant sin toward God, would lead to their exile from the land. They would lose their temple and their city (Jerusalem), while they spent seventy years in Babylonian captivity. Even when we confess and repent, sin still has its consequences. So be willing to accept them.
So what do we do? How can we make ourselves right with God if we have fallen away from Him? Some Christians believe that since they accepted Jesus as their Saviour they no longer need to confess their sins or repent of them. Unfortunately, they use Jesus' saving grace like a "get out of jail free card". Believing that they are no longer accountable to God because Jesus death cleansed them of all sins - past, present and future. And while we are forgiven for all our sins, we should not expect sin to go unnoticed by God. There will always be consequences for disobedience. Loving parents do not let their children defy them or continue to do wrong. Our Heavenly Father is the same way. He loves us too much to let us live in direct defiance of Him and His Word. Those Christians who claim that they are saved by grace and therefore don't need to worry about sin are only fooling themselves. Yes, we have been saved by God's wonderful grace. But are we to take advantage of that grace? What did God ask of Israel in order for Him to accept her back into fellowship with Him?
Jeremiah 3:8 states that God had given Israel a “writ of divorce”. The word for divorce in Hebrew is kĕriythuwth and it comes from the root word karath which means to cut off. It also means to “cut a covenant”. So God is saying he is cutting his covenant with Israel. This is serious! He had sent Israel away and cut her off from Him. The nation He had called to be holy, to be an example to the world, was now so far away from God, He wanted nothing to do with them. He not only removed His hand of blessing (Jeremiah 3:3) but He removed them from His presence. This is Canada! This is the USA! Yet Judah, seeing Israel cut off from God's presence, did not fear losing their relationship with God and followed Israel into sin. This is now the U.K. and every other Christian country that has said no to God. It is every person who has said no to God. If you don't want Him in your life, He will not suffer your presence and He will remove Himself from you. But what happens when you realize your mistake? Judah pretended to repent of her disobedience and return to God. But God saw through Judah's pretense of repentance and knew it wasn't real. If confession is not followed by true repentance,God is not fooled.
In Jeremiah 3 we not only see how serious God is about sin, but how merciful and willing He is to take back those who have sinned when they repent. In fact, I would have to say that Jeremiah 3 sets a tone for all people who have failed God, fallen into sin and want to return to Him. It is clear throughout the chapter that God's desire is for His people to return to Him. However, a simple, "I'm sorry Lord I messed up, please forgive me," will not do. With confession there must be true repentance. However, sometimes our actions of disobedience come with consequences that we have to suffer through. And though Israel eventually did repent, she still needed to be entirely cleansed of her sin. Israel's flagrant sin toward God, would lead to their exile from the land. They would lose their temple and their city (Jerusalem), while they spent seventy years in Babylonian captivity. Even when we confess and repent, sin still has its consequences. So be willing to accept them.
So what do we do? How can we make ourselves right with God if we have fallen away from Him? Some Christians believe that since they accepted Jesus as their Saviour they no longer need to confess their sins or repent of them. Unfortunately, they use Jesus' saving grace like a "get out of jail free card". Believing that they are no longer accountable to God because Jesus death cleansed them of all sins - past, present and future. And while we are forgiven for all our sins, we should not expect sin to go unnoticed by God. There will always be consequences for disobedience. Loving parents do not let their children defy them or continue to do wrong. Our Heavenly Father is the same way. He loves us too much to let us live in direct defiance of Him and His Word. Those Christians who claim that they are saved by grace and therefore don't need to worry about sin are only fooling themselves. Yes, we have been saved by God's wonderful grace. But are we to take advantage of that grace? What did God ask of Israel in order for Him to accept her back into fellowship with Him?
"Only acknowledge your iniquity. That you have transgressed against the Lord your God, and have scattered your charms to alien deities under every green tree, and you have not obeyed My voice," says the Lord (Jeremiah 3:13, NKJV)
1. ACKNOWLEDGE YOUR INIQUITY
Iniquity means “premeditated choice, continuing without repentance.” In other words, God wants us to acknowledge that we decided to sin and continued to do so without being sorry for it. Iniquity leads us to have no fear of God because we wilfully continue to sin in His presence. God wants us to acknowledge that we wilfully sin against Him.
2. Acknowledge your transgressions
Transgression is presumptuous sin. It means “to choose to intentionally disobey; willful trespassing.” I realize that sounds a lot like iniquity, so let me give you an example between the two. When David slept with Bathsheba and then had her husband murdered - that is iniquity. Premeditated choice. Transgression is slightly different. For example, when we lie or knowingly run a stop sign. It could be a one-time thing. Like when Samson broke his Nazarite vows by touching a dead lion (Numbers 6:1-5; Judges 14:8-9). So God wants us to acknowledge those sins we continue to partake in (iniquity) and those sins that we commit without thought (transgression).
3. acknowledge You have not obeyed God
After naming your sin for what it is (don't sugar coat it, or come to God with excuses about why you sinned) acknowledge that you have disobeyed God. You tuned His Holy Spirit out. You disregarded His commandments. You forsook His Word. You sinned. Admit it. As long as your sin goes unconfessed and you have an unrepentant heart, you are mocking God. You have (like Judah) just paid lip service to God. You have broken your fellowship with God. Yes, you are still saved through the grace of Jesus' sacrifice, but you are living in direct disobedience toward your Creator. When you harbour sin in your life, you are clinging to it more than you are to God. You are placing your love of sin over your love of God. If you continue to sin and say it doesn’t matter because you are saved by grace, you are fooling yourself and mocking God’s saving grace.
“What shall we say then? Shall we continue in sin that grace may abound? Certainly not! How shall we who died to sin live any longer in it” (Romans 6:1-2)?
Did you happen to notice the main element to confession and repentance? It is acknowledging your sin. When we acknowledge our sin before God and confess how we have erred against Him it should bring us to our knees in repentance. Repentance means turning away from your sin and never doing it again. One of the greatest gifts God gave us was sacrificing His Son so that we might be saved from eternal damnation. Jesus' death resulted in our sins being forgiven - past, present and future. But our sin nature has not been taken away. We are still capable of sin. If you think you are righteous just because you have believed in Jesus as your Saviour, you are fooling yourself. Your belief in Jesus does not make you righteous. His forgiveness of your sins makes you righteous.
If you claim the title of Christian and you realize that you have not been living a God-honouring life, there is only one thing for you to do. Acknowledge your sin before God (confess it) and repent. To those of you who believe in "free grace" and feel there is no need to repeatedly confess your sins and ask for forgiveness - I will remind you that you still have a sin nature. Yes, you are forgiven, but you are still capable of sin. If you are not sinning then you shouldn't have a problem. But if you are sinning and follow it up with a flippant, "I'm forgiven, so it's okay," than my friend you are simply mocking God's grace. Like Judah, God sees right through you. Return to Him, keep the lines of communication open and do not grieve His Holy Spirit any longer. Your are forgiven for your sins - now live like you are.
If you claim the title of Christian and you realize that you have not been living a God-honouring life, there is only one thing for you to do. Acknowledge your sin before God (confess it) and repent. To those of you who believe in "free grace" and feel there is no need to repeatedly confess your sins and ask for forgiveness - I will remind you that you still have a sin nature. Yes, you are forgiven, but you are still capable of sin. If you are not sinning then you shouldn't have a problem. But if you are sinning and follow it up with a flippant, "I'm forgiven, so it's okay," than my friend you are simply mocking God's grace. Like Judah, God sees right through you. Return to Him, keep the lines of communication open and do not grieve His Holy Spirit any longer. Your are forgiven for your sins - now live like you are.
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