THE GREATEST SENTENCE EVER WRITTEN
JOHN 3:16
The greatest sentence ever written is not found in some magazine, or in some book in a library, but is found in God’s Word, The Holy Bible.
When Sir Walter Scott was dying, he told his son-in law to bring him the Book. What book he replied. Scott replied back, there is only one book, The Bible.
William Phelps, formerly of Yale, said, If I had to choose between the knowledge provided for by a college education , and knowledge learned from the Bible, I would always choose the knowledge gleamed from the Bible.
But if all the Bible were destroyed, and only John 3:16 remained, that would be enough to save the whole world if they would listen and obey.
Martin Luther called this verse the Gospel in a nutshell.
This is the easiest and the hardest of all verses to preach. Easy that anyone can preach from John 3:15, but hard, because, one cannot give justice to all that is contained in it.
I-NOTICE THE CAUSE OF SALVATION MENTIONED IN THIS VERSE:
“For God so loved the world”
Some think of God as a monster in the sky. A God of wrath. We need to recognize the fact at the end of the way, if one tramples the blood of His Son, he will feel His wrath. But by His wrath, is always His Love.
A-Notice The Span Of God’s Love:
“loved“ (how long or when He did it)
The tense of the word Loved here means not loves us if we believe in His son, but He has already loved us in the past.
It is hard to me to understand that He loved me before He saved me but he did according to Romans 5:8 But God commendeth his love toward us, in that, while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us.
A mother will say to a child, go wash your face and I will love you, But God says, I love you, go wash your face.
When Jonah was in the belly of the great fish, he proclaimed a great truth when he said, Salvation is of the Lord. Salvation does not begin in the goodness of man, but in the heart of God.
ILLUSTRATION: When Nansen was looking for the North Pole, his ship entered deep waters. Each day he gathered up rope and let down the plummet to measure the depth of the ocean at a given point. One day he came to a place where the water was exceptionally deep. He let down the plummet but was not able to sound the depth. He gathered up all available rope on board the ship and attached it to the line, still it never reached the depth. In his report, he wrote the exact length of the line and then wrote, “Deeper than that.”
When we think of the depth of God’s love we are reminded that we were sinners, but God’s love goes deeper than that. Many had sunk in the quagmire of sin and the depths of depravity, but God’s loves goes deeper than that.
B-Notice The Size Of God’s Love:
“so loved”
This verse doesn’t say, God loved, but God so loved. When a man say to a woman I love you, that is fine. But when he says, I love you so much, that’s a big difference. That is the way God loves us.
Someone has said the biggest word in the Bible is Nebuchadnezzar, but that’s not true, it is SO. God’s love is great because He so loved us.,
ILLUSTRATION: A young father and his daughter were on a "get-away" cruise, because his wife and the girl’s mother had just died. As they were huddled together on the deck of the ship, coping with the pain, the little girl asked her father, "Daddy, does God love us as much as Mommy did?" At first the father didn’t know what to say. But he knew he couldn’t side step the question. Pointing out across the water to the most distant horizon, he said, "Honey, God’s love reaches farther than you can see in that direction." Turning around he said, "And God’s love reaches farther than you can see in that direction." And then the father looked up at the sky and said, "And God’s love is higher than the sky, too." Finally he pointed down at the ocean and said, "And it’s deeper than the ocean as well."
After hearing that, the girl responded: "Oh, just think, Daddy. We’re right here in the middle of it all."
C-Notice The Scope Of God’s Love:
“the world”
I can understand how God could love the little children of the world. But I have trouble that he loves sinners, those who have spoken against Him. But then I realize we are not talking about man’s love but God’s love. A love of grace.
Can you imagine what Peter felt when Jesus told him to be a witness and start in Jerusalem. The place where they crucified Him.
In this command, he was telling him go to the one who made the crown of thorns and tell Him I love him, go to the ones who drove the spikes in my hand and feet and tell them I love them, go to the soldier who whipped me and tell him I love him, go to the crowd who cussed Me and them that I love them.
That is how God love works, it hold no grudges, it seek to win the lost.
Clock of Life The clock of life is wound but once, And no man has the power To tell just when the hands will stop.
At late or early hour.
To lose one’s wealth is sad indeed.
To lose one’s health is more.
To lose one’s soul is such a loss That no man can restore.
Thirty-nine people died while you read this short poem.
Every hour 5,417 go to meet their Maker. What are YOU doing to help reach them with the Gospel before they are cast into Hell?
II-NOTICE THE COST OF SALVATION MENTIONED IN THIS VERSE:
A-It Was A Supreme Cost:
“His only begotten Son”
He gave not the cattle upon a thousand hills, nor the gold from Heaven’s mansions but He gave His only Son.
ILLUSTRATION: Andrew Carnegie is remembered for his giving. One biographer estimated his wealth to have approached one billion dollars. Carnegie believed and preached that the great industrial barons should give back to the very ones who had made possible their wealth. Carnegie is remembered as one of America’s greatest benefactors. It is reported that he gave away all his wealth but about 20 million dollars. Carnegie was a giver, but his giving was nothing compared to God. He is the greatest giver of history and eternity.
ILLUSTRATION: If you were to look at Rembrandt’s painting of The Three Crosses, your attention would be drawn first to the center cross on which Jesus died. Then as you would look at the crowd gathered around the foot of that cross, you’d be impressed by the various facial expressions and actions of the people involved in the awful crime of crucifying the Son of God. Finally, your eyes would drift to the edge of the painting and catch sight of another figure, almost hidden in the shadows. Art critics say this is a representation of Rembrandt himself, for he recognized that by his sins he helped nail Jesus to the cross.
B-It Was A Sacrificial Cost:
“gave” (Cross)
When God gave us bodies, it took the dirt of His earth, but when He purchased our Salvation, it too His Son’s blood.
God spoke and said, let there be light, and there was light. But when it came time to save mankind, it took more than speaking a word, it took the spilling of Jesus’ blood.
Salvation is free, but it is not cheap.
ILLUSTRATION: Patrick Morley, in Man in the Mirror, tells about a group of fishermen who landed in a secluded bay in Alaska and had a great day fishing for salmon. But when they returned to their sea plane, it was aground because of the fluctuating tides. They had no option except to wait until the next morning till the tides came in. But when they took off, they only got a few feet off the ground and then crashed down into the sea. Being aground the day before had punctured one of the pontoons, and it had filled up with water.
The sea plane slowly began to sink. The three men and a 12-year-old son of one of them, Mark, prayed and then jumped into the icy waters to swim to shore. The water was cold, and the riptide was strong, and two of the men reached the shore exhausted. They looked back, and their companion, who was also a strong swimmer, did not swim to shore because his 12-year-old son wasn’t strong enough to make it. They saw that father with his arms around his son being swept out to sea. He chose to die with his son rather than to live without him.
THIS WAS A GREAT SACRIFICE BUT NOTHING TO COMPARE WITH SACRIFICE OF GOD GIVING HIS SON TO DIE ON THE CROSS
III-NOTICE THE CONDITION OF SALVATION MENTIONED IN THIS VERSE:
A-The Person Involved In This Condition:
“Whosoever”
I heard the story of a little girl who said whosoever means you and me and everybody else.
ILLUSTRATION: I read about a certain Mr. Kline. He was discouraged, defeated, and convinced that life just wasn’t worth living because no one cared for him. One Sunday evening he walked past a church when services were in progress. As the congregation sang he caught the strains of that familiar hymn: “Saved by grace alone, this is all my plea. Jesus died for all mankind, and Jesus died for me.”
His hearing, however, was not very good, so when the congregation came to the words, “Jesus died for all mankind,” he thought they sang, “Jesus died for ol’ man Kline.” “Why”, he said, “that’s me!” Stopping in his tracks, he turned and entered the small auditorium. There he heard the simple message of the Gospel as the minister presented the good news that Jesus Christ came into the world to save sinners. Mr. Kline believed and was saved
Imagine a citizen being brought to trial for several charges of shoplifting. It would be useless for that person to appeal to the judge by saying: “Don’t forget, my good deeds outweigh my bad.” “I’m not as bad as many others.” “Most of the time I’m a law-abiding citizen.” The offender must be judged according to the offense, not according to previous good deeds. If justice is to be done, someone must pay, and that someone should be the offender—unless another is allowed to bear the penalty instead. That’s exactly what Christ in love did for sinners, which we all are, “for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God” (Rom. 3:23). (Our Daily Bread)
B-The Plan Involved In This Condition :
”believes in him”
Some say just believe and that is alright as long as it in Him.
I like what S. M. Lockridge said. He said you don’t have to have certain parents, just believe, you don’t have to solve a puzzle or riddle, just believe, you don’t have to learn a foreign language, just believe, you don’t to get somebody to recommend you, just believe, you don’t have to have a bag of gold, just believe, just believe in Him.
IILUSTRATION: Rodney “Gypsy” Smith trusted Christ in November, 1876. Reaffirmed his decision a few days later in a Methodist chapel. An old man asked if he had trusted Jesus and nothing else. The lad replied, “I cannot trust myself, for I am nothing. I cannot trust what I have, for I have nothing. I cannot trust what I know, for I know nothing.” (Family Journal, May, 1985)
ILLUSTRATION: One of the greatest tragedies for people would be to live in darkness when they could live in the light… Rose Crawford had been blind for 50 years. Then she had an operation in an Ontario hospital. She said, “I just can’t believe it,” as the doctor lifted the bandages from her eyes. She wept - when for the 1st time in her life she saw a dazzling and beautiful world of form and color greeted her eyes and she could now see.
The amazing thing about her story, however, was that 20 years of her blindness was unnecessary. She didn’t know that surgical techniques had been developed, and that an operation could have restored her vision at the age of 30. The Dr. said, “She just figured there was nothing that could be done for her condition. Much of her life could have been different.”
MANY TODAY MISS OUT ON SALVATION BECAUSE THEY BELIEVE NOTHING CAN BE DONE FOR THEM
IV-NOTICE THE CONSEQUENCES OF SALVAITON MENTIONED IN THIS VERSE:
ILLUSTRATION: When Robert G. Ingersoll was delivering his lectures against Christ and the Bible, his oratorical ability usually assured him of a large crowd. One night after an inflammatory speech in which he severely attacked man’s faith in God, he dramatically took out his watch and said, "I’ll give God a chance to prove that He exists and is almighty. I challenge Him to strike me dead within 5 minutes!" First there was silence, then people became uneasy. Some left the hall, unable to take the nervous strain of the occasion, and one woman fainted. At the end of the allotted time, the atheist exclaimed derisively, "See! There is no God. I am still very much alive!" After the lecture a young fellow said to a Christian lady, "Well, Ingersoll certainly proved something tonight!" Her reply was memorable. "Yes he did," she said. "He proved God isn’t taking orders from atheists tonight."
WELL GOD GIVE THE ORDERS CONCERNING HEAVEN AND HELL
A-There Is The Promise Of Missing Hell:
“not perish”
None of God’s children will ever go to hell. If they misbehave down here, God will spank them, but He will never send them to hell.
BUT THOSE WHO REJECT THE GOSPEL STORY WILL FACE HELL IN THE END
ILLUSTRATION: The following incident is vouched for by a Church of England clergyman who knew all the circumstances. A young woman, who had been brought up in a Christian home and who had often had very serious convictions in regard to the importance of coming to Christ, chose instead to take the way of the world. Much against the wishes of her godly mother, she insisted on keeping company with a wild, hilarious crowd, who lived only for the passing moment and tried to forget the things of eternity. Again and again she was pleaded with to turn to Christ, but she persistently refused to heed the admonitions addressed to her.
Finally, she was taken with a very serious illness. All that medical science could do for her was done in order to bring about her recovery, but it soon became evident that the case was hopeless and death was staring her in the face. Still she was hard and obdurate when urged to turn to God in repentance and take the lost sinner’s place and trust the lost sinner’s Saviour.
One night she awoke suddenly out of a sound sleep, a frightened look in her eyes, and asked excitedly, “Mother, what is Ezekiel 7:8,9?” Her mother said, “What do you mean, my dear?”
She replied that she had had a most vivid dream. She thought there was a Presence in the room, who very solemnly said to her, “Read Ezekiel 7:8,9.” Not recalling the verses in question, the mother reached for a Bible. As she opened it, her heart sank as she saw the words, but she read them aloud to the dying girl:
”Now I will shortly pour out my fury upon thee, and accomplish mine anger upon thee: and I will judge thee according to thy ways, and will recompense thee for all thine abominations. And mine eye shall not spare, neither will I have pity: I will recompense thee according to thy ways and thine abominations that are in the midst of thee; and ye shall know that I am the Lord that smiteth.”
The poor sufferer, with a look of horror on her face, sank back on the pillow, utterly exhausted, and in a few moments she was in eternity. Once more it had been demonstrated that grace rejected brings judgment at last.
B-There Is The Promise Of Making Heaven:
“everlasting life”
Jesus was lifted up on the cross, then lifted up from the tomb, then lifted up from this earth to the right hand of the Father.
One day he lifted me our of the mire of sin, wanting me to live such a live that would lift Him up to a dying and lost world. He will come one day and lift me up to His mansion in the sky and I will have everlasting life with Him. PRAISE THE LORD.
ILLUSTRATION: As Marco Polo, the famous Venetian traveler of the 13th century, lay dying, he was urged by his detractors to recant—to withdraw the stories he had told about China and the lands of the Far East. But he refused, saying, “I have not told half of what I saw.” IT IS THE SAME WITH HEAVEN, THE HALF HAS NOT BEEN TOLD
ILLUSTRATION: A little girl was taking an evening walk with her father. Wonderingly, she looked up at the stars and exclaimed; “Oh, Daddy, if the wrong side of heaven is so beautiful, what must the right side be!” (Charles L. Allen)
CONCLUSION: The greatest thing about John 3 is not the story of Nicodemus or the story of John the Baptist but it the love of God in Christ Jesus.
ILLUSTRATION: I read about Billy Graham going on French television and being told by the commentator: "Dr. Graham, you have two minutes to prove to us God exists."
To which Billy Graham replied: "I can’t do that but I can tell you what I do know: For God so loved the world that he gave his only begotten Son that whoever believes in him will not perish but have everlasting life.
