“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.”

John 3:16 NIV

These words are probably the most famous in the Bible and certainly the most widely preached. This is not surprising because there is so much in this verse. It is no exaggeration to say that there is enough truth here, if properly understood and acted upon, to gain you a guaranteed place in heaven.

The verse tells us of two parties - God and the world. It also tells us a most important thing about these two: God loves and the world perishes.

GOD LOVES THE WORLD

What do you think of that? A man who had not been to church for many years attended one Sunday and afterwards was asked what he thought of the sermon? He answered, “It was the same old stuff of God loving us.” Is that how you feel about God's love? It is to be expected. That is what God is supposed to do. The same old stuff. But let me tell you, there is no more amazing or astonishing statement than this. And let me prove it to you.

Could you love someone who went around telling lies about you, blaming you for all their troubles, ignoring you, using you at their convenience, denying you even exist? That is how the world treats God, and remember the world is only you and me plus millions of others just like us.

WHY DO WE TREAT GOD - LIKE THAT?

Jesus tells us in John 3 it is because we are sinners. Some people might say, “Here we go again. Christians always go on about sin.” But wait a minute. It is Jesus, not Christians, who said that men love darkness instead of light because their deeds are evil. So who is Jesus talking about? He tells us in the preceding verse that it is those who do not believe. And believe here means what it always does in the New Testament: to trust, have faith in, and come in repentance to Jesus.

It is easy to see that the world has many evil people, rapists, drug-pushers, and muggers of old ladies. We may not be in that category, but the evil that Jesus is referring to is the evil of unbelief, of ignoring and rejecting God. Does that include you?

Listen now to the words of Jesus. He said this is the verdict. What does that suggest to you? Does it not suggest that the trial has already taken place? The evidence has been considered and the verdict declared. This is not something reserved for some unknown date in the future. Jesus said it has already taken place. He said that whoever does not believe stands condemned already. That is why Jesus says the world is perishing. “Perish” means God's holy anger and judgment upon sin.

It is easy to say, “I don't believe that.” But that is the problem; we don't believe God. This is the clear teaching of Jesus concerning you, me and our relationship with God. We really are in a terrible situation. We are condemned already. We have been found guilty and the verdict declared.

WHAT HOPE IS THERE FOR US?

Our only hope is that God loves the world. God loves those who deserve no love. Not the same old stuff, but the most amazing thing of all - God loves sinners.

God's love has found an answer to human sin - He gave His one and only Son. What does this mean? It is a direct reference to the death of Jesus on the cross.

This is the heart of the gospel. The Bible says that Jesus became our scapegoat, our sin bearer. God credits our sin to Jesus and He became our substitute. He carried our sins to the cross of Calvary and there God punished them. Divine wrath fell upon Jesus as He bore our sin and guilt. God's holiness deals with sin as it deserves, and Jesus dies in our place.

It is God's love that planned this and made it possible. The holy and glorious God loves us so much as to give His only Son to die in our place. We were guilty and condemned; our sin deserved death and hell.

But God cries, “No. I love them. I want them in heaven.” But that is impossible because the verdict is in, and God has said that the wages of sin is death, and that no one that sins in any way will enter His presence.

“I will make it possible,” says God. But what a cost! The gospel tells us that the cost was the death of Jesus. This is the amazing love of God to sinners who deserve nothing.

The response that God demands from us to this amazing demonstration of love is that we should believe in Jesus. “Believe” means to trust Jesus only to deal with our sin, to look to him alone for salvation and forgiveness.

HAVE YOU HEARD OF HALLEY'S COMET?

Halley's Comet orbits the sun once every 76 years, which means that this remarkable sight can only be seen from Earth every 76 years. The last time it appeared was in 1986, and for several reasons the best place to see it was in the southern hemisphere. The March 1986 I was in Australia and so was able to see the comet. I was preaching in a church in New South Wales where there was a man who was very enthusiastic about the comet, and he was anxious that I should see it. He gave me a drawing of the night sky and showed me exactly where to look to see this visitor in the sky.

So not only was I in the best place, but I had a friend who was pointing me in the right direction and providing every means for me to see this “once in the lifetime” phenomenon. There was only one problem, I had to get up at 4 o'clock in the morning to see it. This didn't appeal to me, but I thought, I will never have the opportunity again, so up I got. I still do not know if I saw Halley's Comet. If I did, it was a great disappointment because it was not as spectacular as I had anticipated.

There is another visitor from outside this world whom it is very important that you see. That visitor is Jesus. He came from heaven to seek and save those lost in sin. Because you are considering the gospel in this leaflet, you are in the best place to see Him. Faith in Christ comes not through literally seeing Him, but through hearing the gospel. To look to Jesus means to believe who He is and to trust Him to deal with your sin and make you acceptable to God. Do that and you will not be disappointed and neither will you have any doubt at all that you have met with Him.