For God So Loved...

MELVIN NEWLAND, MINISTER RIDGE CHAPEL, KANSAS, OK

FOR GOD SO LOVED. . .

Text: John 3:13-18; Ephesians 2:1-5; Luke 18:9-14; 1 Cor. 6:19-20

The printing press has been considered one of the greatest inventions ever in the history of mankind. Up until its invention, all books were painstakingly lettered by hand - which made books very rare. But the Printing press changed all of that. Information was suddenly made available to 1000s of people.

And one of the most significant accomplishments of the printing press was that it allowed people to have their own copies of Scripture.

That was a major focus of Martin Luther’s life. He worked with a number of print shops in Germany to create Bibles in the language of the common man so that people could read God’s Word for themselves.

ILL. The story is told of one of the print shops that Luther used for that purpose. During one of the printings, one of the Bibles had been ripped & a scrap of paper from that Bible ended up on the shop floor where it was found by the daughter of the owner. On that scrap of paper were these words, “For God so loved the world that He gave...”

The rest of the verse was missing, but that simple phrase touched her. The rest of the day she went around with a smile on her face. Her mother noticed it & asked what had made her so happy. The girl pulled the crumpled paper from her pocket & showed it to her mother. The mother read it & asked, "What did God give?" The girl replied, “I don’t know, but if God loves us enough to give us anything He must love us very much.”

John 3:16 is one of the most beloved verses of the Bible. You’ll see it displayed on billboards, on bumper stickers, on paintings & statues. And even at sporting events.

It tells us, “For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son that whosoever believes in Him should not perish, but have everlasting life.”

Preachers love that verse. In fact, on sermoncentral.com there are thousands of sermons based on that one verse alone. Now what’s so special about that verse? Why should so many people recognize & love that one verse in Scripture?

Well, there are several reasons. 1st – it’s simple. Even small children can understand the idea that God loves them.

There’s a Christian chorus that’s been translated into many different languages. The 1st vs. begins with the words, “Jesus loves me, this I know…” Will you join with me in singing that 1st verse?

“Jesus loves me, this I know, for the Bible tells me so. Little ones to Him belong. They are weak, but He is strong. Yes, Jesus loves me. Yes, Jesus loves me. Yes, Jesus loves me. The Bible tells me so.”

Thank you! That was good. But now I want EVERY-ONE to join in, including all of you back in the overflow area. Please sing with such enthusiasm & joy that our children in Children’s Church are able to hear it; & those listening to our service on the internet will hear it clearly, too.

“Jesus loves me, this I know, for the Bible tells me so. Little ones to Him belong. They are weak, but He is strong. Yes, Jesus loves me. Yes, Jesus loves me. Yes, Jesus loves me. The Bible tells me so.”

That simple song illustrates the power of ONE simple idea: “Jesus loves me!” That’s what that young girl in the print shop understood when she said “If God loves us enough to give us anything He must love us very much.”

It’s such a simple message that it speaks to everyone in every language: “For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten son…” And it’s the message that gives us our UNITY as believers.

It doesn’t matter where we were born, what language we speak, or what we look like, or whether we’re male or female. WE ARE ALL ONE IN CHRIST.

And it doesn’t matter what we’ve done with our lives before we became Christians. "For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that WHOSOEVER believes in him should not perish but have eternal life.” (John 3:16)

There are people who struggle with that “whosoever.” There are people who believe only “righteous” people, only “good” people are going to make it into heaven. Jesus told a parable about a man like that in Luke 18:9-14.

There were 2 men that came to the temple to pray. One man was a sinner (tax collector). The other was a Pharisee. And the Pharisee listed in h[s prayer why HE was righteous - a good man: “I fast twice a week; I give You a 10th of all that I get. And I’m not like THAT MAN over there.”