Introduction
An 85-year-old couple was married for 60 years. And they died unexpectedly on the same day. For the last 20 years of their life, they had been in excellent health, mainly due to the wife’s nearly neurotic interest in health food. When they reached the pearly gates, St. Peter greeted them and escorted them to their mansion. The mansion was decked out with a beautiful kitchen and master bath suite, complete with Jacuzzi. As they “oowed” and “aahed,” the husband asked Peter how much all this was going to cost. “It’s free,” Peter replied, “Remember, this is heaven.” Next they went out to the backyard to see the championship golf course bordering their property. They would have golfing privileges every day. And each week the course changed to a new one resembling the great golf courses on earth. The husband asked, “What are the green fees?” “This is heaven,” Peter replied. “You play for free.” Next they went to the clubhouse. They saw the lavish buffet lunch with the finest cuisines of the world laid out. “How much to eat?” asked the husband. “Don’t you understand yet?” Peter asked. “This is heaven. It’s free!” “Well, where are the low-fat and low-cholesterol foods?” the husband asked timidly. Peter said, “That’s the best part—you can eat as much as you like of whatever you like and never gain a pound and you never get sick. This is heaven.” The husband thought for a moment and then looked at his wife and said, “You and your bran muffins. I could have been here twenty years ago!”
Well, heaven is a place of complete happiness and enjoyment. And we want to go there when we die.
There was a pastor in Dublin, Ireland by the name of O’Toole. One day Pastor O’Toole decided to do some personal evangelism. So he walked into the local pub. He said to the first man he met, “Do you want to go to heaven?” The man said, “I do, Pastor.” The pastor said, “Then stand over there against that wall.” Then Pastor O’Toole asked a second man, “Do you want to got to heaven?” “Certainly, Pastor,” was the man’s reply. “Then stand over there against that wall,” said the pastor. Then Pastor O’Toole walked up to a third man and said, “Do you want to go to heaven?” The man said, “No, Pastor, I don’t.” Pastor O’Toole said, “I don’t believe this. You mean to tell me that when you die, you don’t want to go to heaven?” The man replied, “Oh, when I die, yes. I thought you were getting up a group to go right now!”
If you ask people the question, “Do you want to go to heaven when you die?” they will probably answer, “Yes.” But if you ask them the question, “Are going to heaven when you die?” they will probably give you one of three responses. They will either say: “I don’t know;” or “I hope so;” or “I think so.” But it’s interesting to note that the Bible does not deal in terms of any of these responses. The Bible does not talk in terms of “don’t know” or “hope so” or “think so” in regard to heaven. Rather, the Bible speaks of a “know so” certainty. The Bible says this: “I write these things to you who believe in the name of the Son of God so that you may know that you have eternal life.” The Bible says it is possible for you to know that when you die, you will go to heaven.
Well, if you can know so, then there must be a verse in the Bible that tells you how you can know for certain that you have eternal life. And there is—please turn with me in the Bible to the Gospel of John chapter 3 and verse 16. If you do not have a Bible, that’s okay. You will find one in the rack in front of you. It is the red book. And the verse that we will be looking at this morning is found either on page 1030 or 1052—depending on the edition.
Let me read that verse to you. John 3:16 reads, “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.” Let’s examine this verse this morning phrase-by-phrase and discover how a person can know for certain that he will go to heaven when he dies. The first phrase reads …
1. FOR GOD SO LOVED THE WORLD
God loves you and has a wonderful plan for your life. A few Sundays ago here at Shiloh we discussed how God created man in His image. And we said that that image included intellect, emotion, and will. God created man with intellect—the ability to think—so that man could know Him. God created man with emotion—the ability to feel—so that man could love Him. And God created man with will—the ability to act—so that man could serve Him.
But our first parent, Adam—of his own free will—chose to disobey God. And when he did, the image of God within him was marred. He did not lose the image of God. The image of God was not erased, but it was effaced—it was smudged. Man’s intellect became darkened. His emotion became dulled. His will became diminished. And that’s the condition that you and I have been born in. Our ability to know, love, and serve God has been damaged.
Not only has Adam disobeyed God, but each of us has disobeyed God as well. We have all broken God’s commandments. To the children here today, I ask you, “Have you ever disobeyed your mom and dad?” If so, you’ve committed sin. Because God commands you, “Children, obey your parents.” To the adults here today, I ask you, “Have you ever told a lie?” If so, you’ve committed sin. Because God commands you, “Do not lie to one another.”
Now, none of this would be any big deal except for the fact that the Bible tells us that there is a penalty attached to our sin. The Bible says that the wages of sin is death. A wage is a payment. Sin is disobedience to God. And death is separation from God. Because you have disobeyed God, you will go to a place of fiery torment called hell when you die, in payment for your sins. I’m sure you’ll agree with me when I say, “That’s bad news!”
Now, man’s sin created a dilemma. You see, God is a just God and, therefore, demands payment for sin. But He is also a loving God. And He desires that you live with Him in heaven when you die. Remember the first phrase of John 3:16— “For God so loved the world.” God loves you and wants you to live with Him forever. But God is a holy God and cannot allow sinful man into His presence.
Well, how did God solve that dilemma? We’re told in the next phrase of the verse.
For God so loved the world …
2. THAT HE GAVE HIS ONE AND ONLY SON
God sent His Son, Jesus to earth 2,000 years ago. We discussed that last week here at Shiloh. We said that Jesus was born of a virgin named Mary, in fulfillment of prophecy. Jesus lived a sinless life among us. And after He ministered for 3 years teaching truth and doing good, He was put to death on a cross. But His death was no ordinary death—it was a very unique death. You see, when Jesus was on the cross, God placed the sins of the world on Him. Jesus became our substitute. He died for our sins in our place. He took the punishment for our sins.
Suppose you are in a hospital, dying of cancer. I come to you and say, “Let’s take the cancer cells from your body and put them into my body.” If that were possible, what would happen to me? I would die, right? And what would happen to you? You would live, right? I would die and you would live. I would die in your place. And that’s what Jesus did for us. He died in our place. Jesus took the punishment that we deserve for our sin. Our sin was placed on Him. He died, but three days later Jesus rose from the dead—He came back to life to prove that He had conquered sin and death. And now Jesus offers to you complete forgiveness of your sins.
So, what do you have to do to receive this forgiveness? Well, that’s answered for us in the next phrase of the verse.
For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son …
3. THAT WHOEVER BELIEVES IN HIM
You must believe in Jesus to receive forgiveness. And the word “believe” means “trust.”
From his early childhood, John Paton wanted to be a missionary. And so as a young man he went to school to study theology and medicine. And after graduation, he became a missionary on the South Pacific island of Tanna. The people of the island did not have the Bible in their own language so Paton set to work on a translation. One day Paton was working in his home on the translation of John’s Gospel. He was wondering how he might translate John’s expression to “believe in”—to “trust in” Jesus Christ. You see, the people on the island were cannibals—and nobody trusted anybody else. There was no word for “trust” in their language. Well, while Paton was searching for a word to convey the concept of trust, his native servant entered the room. Paton looked at him and asked, “What am I doing?” The man replied, “Sitting at your desk.” Paton then raised both feet off the floor and sat back on his chair. He asked, “What am I doing now?” Paton’s servant replied by using a verb which means “to lean your whole weight upon.” And that’s the phrase Paton used throughout John’s Gospel to translate the word “believe.”
The word “believe” means to “trust”—to put your whole weight upon. You must trust in Jesus. You must depend on, rely on, trust in Him. And what do you have to trust Jesus for? You must trust in Jesus alone—putting your whole weight on Him—to forgive your sins.
Just as you trust in a chair to hold you—through no effort of your own, so you must trust in Jesus to forgive your sins—through no effort of your own.
You might say, “But Doug, I go to church” or “I’m really a good person” or “I help the poor.” That’s commendable. But going to church and being a good person and helping the poor won’t forgive your sins. Look at our verse again. It says, “For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever goes to church …” “For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever is a good person …” “For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever helps the poor …” No! It reads, “For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him …” Only believing—trusting in Jesus’ payment on the cross for your sins—will forgive you.
You say, “Okay. If I trust in Jesus to forgive my sins, then what will happen to me when I die?” Well, that question is answered in the last phrase of this verse.
For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him …
4. SHALL NOT PERISH BUT HAVE ETERNAL LIFE
If you trust in Jesus alone to forgive your sins, then when you die you will not go to hell—you will not go to that place of torment and suffering. Rather, you will have eternal life. That is, you will go to heaven and live with God in complete happiness. Isn’t that great? Isn’t that awesome?
You know, the problem with forgiveness is that so many people have trouble believing and accepting it.
Pastor Charles Stanley—who is an author and Bible teacher—tells this story from his seminary days. He writes: “One of my most memorable seminary professors had a practical way of illustrating the concept of grace for his students. At the end of his evangelism course he would hand out the exam with the caution to read it all the way through before beginning to answer it. This caution was written on the exam as well.
As we read through the exam, it became unquestionably clear to each of us that we had not studied nearly enough. The further we read, the worse it became. About halfway through, audible groans could be heard throughout the lecture hall. By the time we were turning to the last page, we were all ready to turn the exam in blank. It was impossible to pass.
On the last page, however, there was a note that read, ‘You have a choice. You can either complete the exam as given or sign your name at the bottom and in so doing receive an A for this assignment.’ Wow! We sat stunned. Was he serious? Just sign it and get an A? Slowly, the point dawned on us, and one by one we turned in our tests and silently filed out of the room. It took the rest of the afternoon for me to get over it. I had the urge to go back and check with him one more time to make sure he was serious. When I talked with him about it afterward, he shared some of the reactions he had received through the years as he had given the same exam. There were always students who did not follow instructions and began to take the exam without reading it all the way through. Some of them would sweat it out for the entire two hours of class time before reaching the last page. Their ignorance caused them unnecessary anxiety. Then there were the ones who would read the first two pages, become angry, turn in their paper blank, and storm out of the room. They never realized what was available. As a result, they lost out totally. One fellow, however, topped them all. He read the entire test, including the note at the end, but he decided to take the exam anyway. He did not want any gifts; he wanted to earn his grade. And he did. He made a C+, which was amazing considering the difficulty of the test. But he could have easily made an A.”
Stanley continues: “This story vividly illustrates many people’s reaction to God’s solution to sin. Many are like the first group. They spend their lives trying to earn what they discover years later was freely offered to them the whole time. …
Many people respond like the second group. They look at God’s standard—moral and ethical perfection—and throw their hands up in surrender. Why even try? they tell themselves. I could never live up to all that stuff. They live the way they please, not expecting anything from God when they die. … What a shock it will be for them when they stand before God and understand for the first time what was available had they only asked! Then there is the guy who took the test anyway. I meet people like him all the time who are unwilling to simply receive God’s gift of forgiveness. Striking out to do it on their own, they strive to earn enough points with God to give them the right to look to their own goodness as a means of pardon and forgiveness. They constantly work at ‘evening the score’ with God through their good works. ‘Sure, I have my faults,’ they say. ‘But God does not expect anyone to be perfect.’ When it comes to forgiveness, there is no room for boasting in one’s own ability. … Unlike my professor’s test, in God’s economy anything less than 100 percent is failing.”
Conclusion
My friend, the only way that you will ever get to heaven is to trust in Jesus Christ to forgive your sins. Let me ask you: Is there anything keeping you from trusting in Christ alone to forgive your sins right now? Think carefully. There is nothing more important than forgiveness of sins and a right relationship with God.
Would you like to tell God that you are trusting in Jesus to forgive your sins? If you would, why not pray right now and tell God that you are trusting in Christ? Remember, it is not prayer that forgives your sins. It is trusting Jesus Christ that saves you. Prayer is simply a way of telling God what you are doing. So, in the quietness of this moment, pray this prayer silently to God:
“Dear God, I know I’m a sinner. I know my sin deserves to be punished. I believe Christ died for me and rose from the dead. I trust Jesus Christ alone as my Savior. Thank you for the forgiveness and eternal life that I now have. In Jesus’ name. Amen.”
My friend, if you’ve trusted in Christ as your Savior this morning, I’d like to help you along in your relationship to Him. Please see me before you leave today. I’ll be at the front door greeting people.
Let’s stand together at this time and we’ll be dismissed.
Benediction
(Read Article V, Points D. and F. of the Shiloh Doctrinal Statement.)
