LIHAM

———————————————————-

JOHN 3:16 (THIS HOW JESUS LOVES YOU!)

“For God so loved the world that He gave His only-begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life.”

John 3:16

For God so loved…

God loves all His creation so much. The Bible declares that He does not only love, but He is love itself (I John 5:7-8). He desires each person to receive a life of abundance and happiness (John 10:10b). He has a perfect plan for all of us, plans to prosper us and not to harm us, plans to give us a hope and future (Jeremiah 29:11). The main problem, however, is that many fail to enjoy His love and blessings. This is because there is a gap between man and God-the problem of sin.

…the world

God desires to be with man but man’s sins separate him from His Creator. Man is SINFUL. Therefore, he cannot know and experience God’s love and plan for his life. Man’s disobedience has made God far from Him (Isaiah 59:2). The Bible declares that all fell short of the glory of God. No one has met God’s standards of righteousness. The dreadful message is that man must be punished by death for his sins. (Romans 3:23; 6:23). If he dies physically without receiving God’s forgiveness, he will suffer from eternal death and punishment in hell. It is appointed unto man to die once and after that is the judgment. (II Thessalonians 1:8-9, Hebrews 9:27). There will never be a second chance.

Man has devised ways to reach God and gain His favor. He established religions and education systems to fathom His ways. Many have invested their strength and wealth in helping others expecting that God will honor their good deeds. Nonetheless, God sees man’s works as “filthy rags” (Isaiah 64:6). They cannot please Him. God can never forgive man’s sins on the basis of good works done. (Ephesians 2:8-9). Man, is indeed, in a hopeless situation. The good news is that God has made a way for him to be saved from this pitiful condition.

…that He gave His only-begotten Son

God’s love and mercy to mankind was revealed when He sent His Son, Jesus Christ, to die on the cross as a substitute for man’s sins. The Bible declares that Jesus was made a sin for man to become righteous in the sight of God (2 Corinthians 5:21). He became the lamb who took away the sins of the world (John 1:29). He died on the cross and rose again on the third day to confirm that He, indeed, is the Son of the Living God, the savior of the world.

…that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life.

To gain God’s forgiveness, a person must put his/her faith in Jesus Christ. Jesus is the only way to God the Father (John 14:6). God’s salvation can be found to nothing else but Jesus (Acts 4:12). Receiving Christ means having Him as the Lord and Savior of a person’s life. All aspects of a person’s life must be put under the authority of Christ. For those who believe in His name, God has given them to be called as “children of God” (John 1:12). Only the children of God can enter into the rest of the Lord in heaven and be delivered from the punishment of hell. Those who believe in Christ has everlasting life and shall not come into condemnation, but has passed from death to life (John 5:24).

- IV-IV-MMVIII