Sermon Outline:
Can We Know What’s Going On? After last week’s emphasis on mystery and humility, Jesus lays out some clear answers to some of life’s biggest spiritual questions.
- John 3:3, 5-8.
Answers To Five Big, Basic Spiritual Questions:
1. What is our starting spiritual position? We are under condemnation because of the sin mess we’ve made.
- John 3:18.
2. Why do people reject God? The biggest reason people reject God is that they don’t want to admit to their sin.
- John 3:19-20.
3. How does God feel about us? The focus of God’s mission now is not to bring judgment, but to rescue.
- John 3:17.
4. What has God done to help us? Everything He can, short of taking away our free will.
- John 3:16.
5. What if I’m not strong enough spiritually to make it? You’re not – but that’s ok because God is.
- John 3:21.
Knowing The Map: If you’ve been lost and wandering spiritually, it’s not enough to understand the map – you have to hike toward home.
Sermon Text:
Can We Know What’s Going On? After last week’s emphasis on mystery and humility, Jesus lays out some clear answers to some of life’s biggest spiritual questions.
- John 3:3, 5-8.
- With all the discussion last week about mystery and the need to be born again and start over, we might wonder if Jesus is intent on confusing us and obscuring the truth.
- He certainly brought Nicodemus to a point of questioning.
- One way that we might talk about today’s subject is that we’re lost. We use that term to generally refer to people away from God, but this morning let’s think of it specifically like being literally lost in the middle of a jungle. You have no idea where exactly you are and which way will lead you out.
- Then you come upon a map that gives you an accurate understanding of where you are, which way will lead you out, and how long of a journey it will be. This is an enormous relief. This is great news.
- It’s so much better than wandering aimlessly, tiring yourself out without making your situation any better. Now you know how bad your situation really is and what you can do to make it better.
- This is kind of what Jesus is doing in our verses for this morning. He began with Nicodemus humbling him and trying to teach him that he was lost (both proverbially and spiritually). This was necessary because he wouldn’t be interested in looking at Jesus’ “map” if he was convinced that he knew where he was and where he was going.
- It’s only after he understands his “lostness” that he is open to hearing what Jesus’ “map” has to say.
- It’s a great thing to have answers you can rely on.
- You don’t have to guess, wonder, or “hope so.”
- “Are you going to heaven?” “I hope so.”
- “Are you right with God?” “I think I am.”
- “Are you in good shape spiritually?” “I guess so.”
- Once we have Jesus’ instructions, we can have confidence in where we are and where we’re going.
- In our passage for this morning, He clearly and quickly gives answers to some of the biggest spiritual questions of all time.
Answers To Five Big, Basic Spiritual Questions:
1. What is our starting spiritual position? We are under condemnation because of the sin mess we’ve made.
- John 3:18.
- This is our default position. There is sin in the world; there is sin in us. The sin in the world came through human choice.
- Because of that, we start from the position of condemnation. And it is a deserved condemnation.
- This is a truth that is widely discounted today.
- Almost no one would admit that they are desperate wicked.
- We excuse our sin. We justify our sin. We compare our sin to others’ mistakes and render ourselves pretty good.
- But the question is not whether we’re a little better than the worst person we can think of. The question is whether we are perfect like Jesus. And I think few of us are brazen enough to say that.
- The Bible says that none of us are righteous. Not even one of us.
- We are all in need of help.
2. Why do people reject God? The biggest reason people reject God is that they don’t want to admit to their sin.
- John 3:19-20.
- Many argue that they reject God for theological reasons that come exclusively from intellectual concerns. That is possible, perhaps, but it certainly is not very common.
- The biggest reason that people reject God is that they don’t want their sins exposed. They would rather stay in the darkness and deal with the negative consequences of their sin in their own lives than to come clean.
- Coming to Jesus exposes our sin to God. (Not that He couldn’t see it before, but we’re opening up to it.)
- Some don’t want to do this because they’re sure that God is eager to condemn them.
- Some don’t want to do this because they’re embarrassed of their sin.
- Some don’t want to do this because they want to think of themselves as good people.
- Some don’t want to do this because they are managing the negative consequences of their sin adequately.
- We like the darkness because it hides our sins.
- The explosion of pornography with the advent of the internet is a perfect example. There are lots of men who want to look at smutty images, but they didn’t necessarily want to risk being seen walking into a store that sold porn. But now, thanks to the internet, they can look at the images without even having to leave their home.
- Same thing with some of the social sites that allow anonymous posting of comments. This is especially big among high school students. Without having to be accountable for what they say, there are some vicious things that are being said in what is already a difficult time in most of their lives.
- Beyond that, though, in almost all the ways we sin, we work to hide our sin. It may be because we’re ashamed. It may be because we don’t want a particular person to find out. It may be because it’s an embarrassing habit. But the bottom line is that we love the darkness.
- Now, of course, where we’re heading this morning is that God will help us to deal with our sin, but even knowing that many would rather not bring out their sin.
- But dealing with our sins requires that we acknowledge them and bring them before God. Repenting of our sin is a prerequisite for receiving grace. And for many of us we’d rather stay in the darkness than do that.
3. How does God feel about us? The focus of God’s mission now is not to bring judgment, but to rescue.
- John 3:17.
- We do need to note that, contrary to the thoughts of many people today, this verse is not saying that there will never be judgment. The Bible is clear (and repeatedly so) that there will be a day of judgment. This is a necessity to deal with those who will not give up their sin.
- God cannot just wink at sin. God gives us every opportunity to lay aside our self-centered sin, but ultimately there must be judgment of that sin.
- This is something we support generally. After all, which of us, for example, would not want Hitler judged for his sin? But it’s something that we’re less enthusiastic about when it comes to our own sin. We justify it; we excuse it. But we too ultimately must have our sin dealt with one way or the other.
- There are many today who dismiss the idea that there is only one way to heaven, despite Jesus’ clear statement that no one comes to the Father except through Him.
- Many think of salvation like a trip from New York to Los Angeles. There are lots of ways you can get there: plane, car, train, even (for the patient) walking. Even among those options, there are even more choices: if you take a car, you can choose a Toyota, a Honda, a Chevy, or whatever. In this line of thinking there are lots of right options that are just as effective.
- That analogy, unfortunately, does not fit the Biblical argument.
- A better analogy to convey the Bible’s truth is being trapped on the 20th floor of a burning building. It’s too far to jump and live. All the stairways down are engulfed in flames. You’re at the window and watching as the flames are nearing your room. Suddenly a ladder from a fire truck extends up toward you with a firefighter on it. He plants the ladder into the side of the building and reaches out his hand to you. “Come on – I’ve got you!” he screams above the roar. And you in response say, “Hey, this ladder is painted black – I wanted one of the shiny metal ones. And while we’re at it, your badge says you’re from the 8th fire station – I’d prefer to rescued by someone from the 21st because that’s near my house.” That’s crazy, of course. You’re not going to be able to get on that ladder fast enough. Why? Because it’s your only option other than certain destruction.
- When we hear Jesus say that He is the way to heaven, we shouldn’t think, “There’s only one way? I want more choice!” but “Thank God that there is a way! Let me at it!” We’re in a desperate situation and the fact that there is a way out is unbelievably good news.
4. What has God done to help us? Everything He can, short of taking away our free will.
- John 3:16.
- What more could He do than to send His only Son on a rescue mission?
- That’s about the most dramatic and emphatic expression of love that one can imagine.
- He cannot take away our free will because that would make our love meaningless.
- Further, doing that would make Him unloving, because truth love doesn’t force.
- He won’t force us to Him.
- In fact, a significant part of Jesus’ incarnation was God’s desire to be able to get His message to us in a way that didn’t overwhelm us. In the Old Testament, God’s appearances and edicts were often met with fear and trembling. He desired to get His message to us in a way that we could grasp.
- Not just saving us, but giving us the incredible gift of eternal life!
- He didn’t just fix our sin problem. He didn’t just offer to be with us during this life. He gave us the opportunity for eternal life, to be with Him forever.
5. What if I’m not strong enough spiritually to make it? You’re not – but that’s ok because God is.
- John 3:21.
- Many will say, “I don’t think I’m strong enough to live a ‘good life’ or a ‘God life.’”
- That’s ok – you’re not strong enough. If you try to do it in your own strength you will fail. Inevitably, undoubtedly.
- Fortunately, that’s not the end of the road. God will provide that strength. He gives us the Holy Spirit at the moment of salvation so that we can move have the insight, guidance, and strength to be able to accomplish the goal.
- What’s the goal? Christlikeness for our lives.
- If we could do this whole thing on our own, we wouldn’t need what Christ did on the cross. God’s power in our lives is not just about our salvation, but also our sanctification.
Knowing The Map: If you’ve been lost and wandering spiritually, it’s not enough to understand the map – you have to hike toward home.
- It’s not enough to understand the basics, to comprehend the map. You have to act on it. You have to move in the right direction.
- There are so many completely clueless people out there. There are so many lost people out there.
- We don’t have to be among them. We can know the truth of where we are. We can know the truth about where we need to go.
- Will you believe Christ this morning and start moving toward home?
