Nov 15, 2020
Scripture Reading: John 3:17-21
Following John 3:16, we have something of an expansion of the purpose and results of the coming of Jesus. First, we have a statement of the grand purpose for which Jesus came, followed by some insight as to why people either receive or reject Christ.
John 3:17 says that God sent His Son not to condemn the world, but to save the world. At the very least this means that Christ has brought salvation into a fallen humanity, to offer eternal life to all people. Further, it means that Christ will gather to Himself people from all the nations … from every tribe and tongue.
But perhaps there is a far-reaching scope in view here … the final, restoration of all things. B. B. Warfield, in his sermon entitled "God's Immeasurable Love" says, "Are not the saints to inherit the earth? Is not the re-created earth theirs? Are not the kingdoms of the world to become the kingdom of God?"
We see in John 3:19 the deep-rooted reason why people reject Christ. "And this is the judgment: the light has come into the world, and people loved the darkness rather than the light because their deeds were evil." People reject Jesus, not because they don't have enough information. The basic problem of the human heart is not a lack of light, but a love of the dark. The issue is one of desire. They want their sins more than they want God.
On the other hand, people who come to the light do so because their "works have been carried out in God" (Jn 3:21). It is God's grace, alone, which has worked in their sinful hearts, bringing them into the light. A summary of these verses could go like this … unbelief is our fault … belief is God's grace. Soli Deo gloria!