Many people know this famous Bible verse found in John
3:16, "For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son,
that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting
life."
It
may not seem like much to some but I would like to give some
perspective to this verse. The first thing that we must note is that
it's love that caused God to do what He did by sending His Only son to
save the world.
God
did not send His Son into the world for animals, plants or for
building, no! God sent His only Son to save mankind. If you have any
doubts about that statement check out John 3:17, "For God sent not his Son into the world to condemn the world; but that the world through him might be saved."
This just shows us how great God's love for us is and the reason that I did not use the past tense "was" but used the present tense "is" is because of the fact that this great love for mankind is as true today as it was then. Here are some reasons why:
1. 1 John 4:8 tells us, "He that loveth not knoweth not God; for God is love."
2. James
1:17, "Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above, and cometh
down from the Father of lights, with whom is no variableness, neither
shadow of turning."
Simply put, God is the same and does not change! Even when we do wrong God loves us. And be assured of this by reading Romans 5:8, "But God commendeth his love toward us, in that, while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us." Even when we were sinners, enemies of God, even we didn't care about Him, He loved us. How much more shall He love us now?
Now
the other part of John chapter three verse sixteen tells us that
salvation comes by believing in the sacrifice of Jesus Christ His Son.
Do you know that there is no miss-and-hit with God, He is always on
target? What I mean by this statement is that there is no disappointing
when it comes to salvation as far as God's word is concerned, once you
meet His requirements, you will be saved.
So,
have faith, believe in Jesus Christ, believe in His works and that
through Him you are saved from the condemnation of sin and that you have new life in Christ. 2 Corinthians 5:17 guarantees that, "Therefore if any man be in Christ, he is a new creature: old things are passed away; behold, all things are become new."
Please note dear friends that John 3:16 says whoever believes,
so this means that even if your parents, grandparents, siblings or
friends believe and you don't, they will be save but not you. It may
sound harsh but it's the truth and the truth is what that will set you
free. There is no transfer of salvation each person must recognize for
themselves their need for Christ and accept Him personally as their
Savior.
Don't depend on others for the most important decision you could ever make but make that choice today.
If
you feel convicted as you read this message and would like to know what
you can do today to make and accept Jesus Christ as your personal Lord
and Savior I would like you to say a prayer with me. A note of caution
though, these aren't just words to be repeated lightly, if there is
something that we can learn about God from His word is that prayer means
nothing to Him if we don't have faith in Him and believe we are going
to get what we ask for. Hebrew 11:6 says, "But
without faith it is impossible to please him: for he that cometh to God
must believe that he is, and that he is a rewarder of them that
diligently seek him." And James 1:6, " But let him ask in faith, nothing wavering. For he that wavereth is like a wave of the sea driven with the wind and tossed."
"Dear
God, I come to you in the name of your Son Jesus Christ, and I say
thank you for speaking to me today. I thank you for loving me so much
that even when I didn't care about you, you sent your only Son to die
for me. I am a sinner and I recognize that without your Son in My life I
am condemned. I need you in my life at this very moment to lead me, to
direct me and to save me. I recognize that your Son Jesus Christ died on
the cross for my sin and that you raised Him from the dead so that I
could have a new life in Him.
Jesus,
I accept you today as Lord of my life and as my Savior and I'm asking
you to come into my life now, to forgive me from my past sins and dwell
with me. I now believe that in You I am a new creature and that the old
things that I have done have passed away and that all things have become
new. Thank you Lord for doing this wonderful thing for me, so I can be
called a son/daughter of God today. Amen!"
Blessings on you from God Almighty and from His Word!
Reference: #PRW0000007
