Christmas Eve Sermon
Christmas Salvation
John 3:16
Bruce B. Miller
Christmas Salvation
Merry Christmas! Welcome. Tonight you are going to hear about one of the most famous verses in the Bible. This verse gives the meaning of Christmas in one sentence. Let me tell you the story of where the verse came from.
He was a highly respected man, a leader in the community. As a religious man, he was worried about his reputation among his friends. He did not want to meet in a time and place when other people might see them. So he set the appointment at night in a private place where they could talk confidentially. While he respected the man he would meet, he had a lot of questions and needed to see God’s love. The Bible records the conversation in John chapter 3.
Now there was a man of the Pharisees named Nicodemus, a member of the Jewish ruling council. 2 He came to Jesus at night and said, Rabbi, we know you are a teacher who has come from God. For no one could perform the miraculous signs you are doing if God were not with him. John 3:1-2
Nicodemus sees Jesus as a good religious teacher and is amazed at the miracles he must have seen. Jesus’ reply startled Nicodemus; Jesus had a way of doing that:
3 In reply Jesus declared, I tell you the truth, no one can see the kingdom of God unless he is born again. John 3:3.
In the conversation, Nicodemus asked how in the world anyone could reenter their mother’s womb especially an old man like me! It is in this conversation that Jesus speaks one of the most famous verses in the Bible. John 3:16:
16 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.
Brilliantly Jesus summarizes Christmas in one verse; all at once simple enough for children to understand and more profound than the most advanced scholar. Who can fully understand God’s love?
God so Loved the World
It is limitless, grand, unconditional, beyond any love you and I have ever known on a human plane. Paul prays that we might be able to grasp how wide and long and high and deep is the love of Christ, 19 and to know this love that surpasses knowledge. Ephesians 3:18-19. Pray now silently that God might grow your understanding of his infinite love. His love embraces all people, no matter who you are or what you have done.
Jesus provides salvation for the world. Some people miss the truth of God’s love because they see God as a harsh judge waiting to be appeased. God the Father took the initiative in his love to send Jesus, his son. God is the loving Father who wants his wandering children to come home. God loves you so much that that he gave his one and only Son.
God gave his beloved Son. What God has done for us I cannot fathom. Some ask, Why did Jesus Christ have to pay that penalty: what kind of perverse justice is there in having an innocent bystander suffer instead of me? How is this different from what Christ did? The answer lies in his identity. Jesus is not some reluctant bystander who God forced onto the scene as a whipping boy to take our punishment. He is actually the God we have sinned against. Christmas celebrates the coming of God to the world to save us. Love came to us.
When we consider who we are, his love is even more amazing still. We are sinful people, that is pretty obvious. And yet he loves us. It’s not just that we are ignorant and need instruction; not just sickly and need a little doctoring; the case is far worse. We are dead. We need rebirth; life. Jesus told Nicodemus, you need to be born again. We need love, new life.
How can we find that spiritual life? John 3:16 says, that whoever believes in Him. Whoever is totally inclusive. No one is left out. You are not too smart, too sinful, too young or too old to be excluded from whoever. In his great love God brought salvation to the world, but not all will be saved. Why? People object, If God is a loving God, how could He send anyone go to hell? He does not send anyone to hell. Neither does God force anyone to go to heaven against their will. He offers salvation to everyone, but no one is saved without believing. The whoever is like a blank check or a deed; it needs our counter signature of faith. You receive God’s salvation by writing your name by faith. We receive God’s salvation by believing in Jesus Christ. What does that mean? What is faith?
Faith is more than intellectual assent. Belief that something is true is different from belief in something. I can believe that a certain company will be wildly successful and that if someone invested money in it, they would make a fortune. Belief in would be investing my money in the company. Belief in is more personal. I can believe that a certain person is the one I should marry. I believe that we would be happy together forever. But if you never say I do at the altar you are not believing in.
John 3:16 tell us there are two destinies: lostness or life: that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life. Your eternal destiny rests on what you do with Jesus Christ. You can either perish or have eternal life. We will all exist forever, the only question is what kind of existence we will have. We all have the opportunity to avoid perishing and have eternal life. God gave his only Son so you could have eternal life.
What is eternal life? Eternal life can begin today. It is both a duration of life and a quality of life. Eternal life is closeness to God the life-giver. Today if you trust in Jesus Christ, God makes you born again; he gives you new life spiritually. He comes to dwell with you; giving you his love that passes all understanding. Then when you die, you can be sure you will be with God in paradise forever.
It hardly seems like a choice: perish or eternal life. And yet it is The choice. It is the most important decision of any person’s life. Believe in Jesus Christ alone for your salvation. For many of you here who have trusted in Jesus Christ, I pray that your appreciation for what God has done for you has grown today. Do you really grasp the love of God as Paul prayed in Ephesians; its height and depth and breadth? John 3:16 is the Christmas message in miniature. Consider these simple, powerful words:
God.........................the greatest Lover
So loved...................the greatest degree
The world..................the greatest number
That He gave..................the greatest act
His one and only Son........the greatest Gift
That whoever...........the greatest invitation
Believes...............the greatest simplicity
In Him.....................the greatest Person
Shall not perish.....the greatest deliverance
But...................the greatest difference
Have....................the greatest certainty
Eternal life.......the greatest possession
Let’s all say John 3:16 together. This time let’s personalize the verse with your first name.
16 For God so loved [your name] that he gave his one and only Son, that [if I] believe in him [I] shall not perish but have eternal life.
While reading John 3 to her little daughter, a mother paused after the 16th verse and exclaimed, "Don’t you think that’s amazing, dear?" The child looked up in surprise and said, "No!" Thinking she might have misunderstood, the mother repeated the question. Again the girl shook her head, saying, "Mommy, it would be amazing if it were anyone else, but really, it’s just like God!"
