The Bible's Golden Text

THE BIBLE’S GOLDEN TEXT

Text: John 3:16

Scripture Reading: Romans 5:6-11

INTRODUCTION

1. John 3:16 is the world’s most popular verse for a reason, let’s not shy away from it

2. Many lessons on John 3:16 focus on what is not in the passage, in this lesson we want to focus on what this beautiful passage does tell us

3. It sets out the most excellent example of love that could ever be shown

a. John 11:35 displays the love of Jesus, 1 Corinthians 13 defines love for us

b. John 15:13 delineates the depth of love

c. John 3:16 discusses the culmination of all of these concepts in the person of one man, Jesus Christ

4. Let’s look into John 3:16 and explore the inner workings of the love of God and the depravity of man without Him

TRANSITION: First of all we see in John 3:16:

I. A sinning world

A. The world was in need of saving

1. Without the actions of Jesus on that day we would all be lost

2. The best system we had at that time was the offering of bulls and goats

a. Hebrews 10:4 says that it was not possible for the blood of bulls and goats to take away the sin of the world

b. So something else had to occur

B. Why did it have to occur?

1. Because we each stood condemned

2. Romans 3:23, "For all have sinned and fallen short of the glory of God"

3. 1 John 1:8, "If we say that we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us"

4. Revelation 21:27, "But there shall by no means enter it anything that defiles, or causes an abomination or a lie, but only those who are written in the Lamb’s Book of Life"

5. Unless the sin that defiles is forgiven us we cannot enter the kingdom of heaven

6. With the blood of bulls and goats that was never going to happen

7. God decided to do something about that

TRANSITION: In addition to a sinning world, we also see:

II. A loving father

A. "For God so loved the world…"

1. The greatest thing that could be done for anyone is to die for them according to John 15:13

2. God was willing to send His son to die for everyone

B. Even though we are sinners, He died for us (Romans 5:8)

1. Story about railroad worker’s son on track

2. Difference is that we deserved to die and He died for us anyway

3. Jesus died for His friends

4. But imagine this, He also died for those who cried, "Crucify Him" and for those who were nailing His hands to the cross

C. Verse 17 says that His sacrifice was to bring us to salvation, the heaven that He left to die for us

TRANSITION: We further see in John 3:16 that Jesus is:

III. A willing savior

A. John 10:17-18, "Therefore My Father loves me, because I lay down my life that I may take it again. 18 No one takes it from me, but I lay it down of myself. I have power to lay it down, and I have power to take it again. This command I have received from My Father."

B. How could He have stopped it?

1. Consider Matthew 26:53-54, "Or do you think that I cannot now pray to My Father, and He will provide me with more than twelve legions of angels? 54 How then could the Scriptures be fulfilled, that it must happen thus?"

2. Let’s do some math

a. 1 legion = 6,000 soldiers

b. 12 X 6,000 = 72,000 angels

c. Judas came with a temple guard troop which would have been about 620 men

d. Both in might and numbers, Jesus had the superior power

e. Jesus could have stopped this from happening folks

f. But He did not because He loved us and was willing to die for us

TRANSITION: In John 3:16 we see that we needed rescue, God loves us enough to send Jesus who was willing to die for us and develop a:

IV. Workable plan

A. This all happened so that we might not perish

1. Verse 17 goes one step further and says that it is so that we might be saved

2. If we can all be saved from perishing then the plan must be workable

B. ""Now My soul is troubled, and what shall I say?’Father, save Me from this hour’? But for this purpose I came to this hour."

1. Jesus came to earth and died for a specific reason

2. That was to establish the plan by which we might come to Him for salvation

C. We can outline this plan with relative ease as the Bible teaches it: