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Our focus this evening will be 
on John 3.16. I do want to read the section, 
John 3, verses 10 to 21. This is the discourse, or 11 
to 21, the discourse of our Lord Jesus Christ concerning God's 
salvation. So beginning in verse 11, "'Most 
assuredly, I say to you, we speak what we know and testify what 
we have seen, and you do not receive our witness. If I have 
told you earthly things and you do not believe, how will you 
believe if I tell you heavenly things? No one has ascended to 
heaven but He who came down from heaven, that is, the Son of Man 
who is in heaven. And as Moses lifted up the serpent 
in the wilderness, even so must the Son of Man be lifted up, 
that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have eternal 
life. 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. For God did not send His 
Son into the world to condemn the world, but that the world 
through Him might be saved. He who believes in Him is not 
condemned, but he who does not believe is condemned already, 
because he has not believed in the name of the only begotten 
Son of God. And this is the condemnation, 
that the light has come into the world, and men love darkness 
rather than light, because their deeds were evil. For everyone 
practicing evil hates the light and does not come to the light, 
lest his deeds should be exposed. But he who does the truth comes 
to the light, that his deeds may be clearly seen, that they 
have been done in God. Amen. Well, let us pray. Father 
in heaven, we thank you for this Lord's Day. We thank you for 
the blessed privilege that is ours to come out of the world 
and into the presence of the triune God, into the presence 
of the saints of God. It is a dear and wonderful blessing 
to gather with your people and to sing your praises. It is a 
joyful time, Lord God, to worship the one who has saved us, the 
one who has redeemed us from hell and damnation, from perishing, 
who has given us eternal life. We would ask now that the Holy 
Spirit would guide our hearts and our minds and our understanding, 
that we would consider this subject in many respects we can only 
touch the surface of, even the love of God. Truly, that love 
is amazing, and we would pray, Father, that you would give us 
just a glimpse of it tonight. We know and have experienced 
it because you have dealt with us in such grace and mercy. We 
would ask that the Spirit would help us to consider these things. 
We pray again that you would forgive us for all of our sins 
and all of our unrighteousness, that you would grant us help 
and grace and strength. And we pray through Christ our 
Lord, amen. Well, as we saw this morning 
in verses 1 to 10, Jesus' discourse with Nicodemus. He taught that 
a man must be born again or he cannot see the kingdom of God. 
Regeneration is that work of God wherein he makes us alive. It's a new birth, a birth from 
above, a birth from God. And this does precede saving 
faith. And the trajectory in this section 
shows us that. Christ deals first with regeneration. He highlights the necessity or 
the efficacy of faith in the cross of our Lord Jesus. He manifests 
the love of God and then the condemnation for those who continue 
to rebel and reject against our God Most High. So as we look 
at verse 16, it's a very famous verse, a verse I hope that you 
all committed to memory long, long ago. It is a simple statement, 
but as I mentioned, it's a very difficult statement. I'm certainly 
not qualified to speak on the love of God. When we consider 
the perfections of God, or the attributes of God, in John's 
Gospel, or in John's first epistle, he says, God is love. You need 
to ponder that reality. We love, but it's not the case 
that we are love. God is His attributes, and it's 
a very wonderful thing to consider. And as I suggest, we ought to 
look at verse 16 and at least try to glean some appreciation. for the great love that our God 
has for us. And I just want to look at the 
verse and make four observations that kind of run along with the 
verse. In the first place, I want to 
look at the cross manifests God's immeasurable love. Secondly, 
the cross displays God's gracious gift. Thirdly, the cross held 
the object of man's belief. And fourthly, the cross is the 
source of God's promised blessing. But note in the first place, 
it manifests God's immeasurable love. Remember that Jesus Christ 
is speaking in this particular section. As I mentioned this 
morning, this is as much the Word of God as Leviticus 11.1 
is the Word of God. But it does help us to see our 
Lord's statement, our Lord's declaration concerning the great 
love of His Father for sinners. Notice verse 16, for God so loved 
the world. There is a close connection with 
the preceding in verses 14 and 15. Jesus describes, explains, 
and demonstrates what salvation by grace through faith in Christ 
looks like. He gives this analogy of Moses 
in the wilderness in verse 14. As Moses lifted up the serpent 
in the wilderness, even so must the Son of Man be lifted up. 
There was an instance, an occasion in the wilderness when the people 
of God complained They grumbled, they murmured, Numbers 21. And 
so God sent fiery serpents to bite them, to bring punishment 
upon them for their sins committed against God. And then the Lord 
God instructs Moses to make this brazen serpent to lift it up 
into the wilderness and all who looked would live. That is an 
apt illustration or analogy to the work of Christ. Christ is 
lifted up on the cross. We look to him by faith or in 
faith and we live. He then demonstrates or tells 
us very clearly in verse 15 that whoever believes in Him should 
not perish but have eternal life. So just as they looked and lived 
at the brazen serpent, so sinners look and live at the Lord Jesus 
Christ that, verse 15, whoever believes in Him should not perish 
but have eternal life. Now, verse 16 essentially restates 
verse 15, but Jesus puts it in the context of God's love. Verse 
15 is the bare fact. Whoever believes in Him should 
not perish but have eternal life. Verse 16 begins with for. This is explanatory. This is 
a reason. This is the context for the cross 
work of our Lord Jesus. 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. The for indicates the reason 
or the explanation or we might say amplification of verse 15. 
And then as well, note that little word, for God so loved. One of 
those blessed little words that I hope encourage our hearts. 
I mean, it would be enough for God to say, I love you. But for 
God to say, I so love you, it's like in our families, you know, 
you say that to a sibling or you say that, I hope you say 
that to a sibling, you say that to a parent or to a child, I 
love you. But there's those occasions or 
those times where you say, I so love you. It sort of underscores 
it. It sort of brings it to bear 
upon the person with a fresh understanding. And that's the 
use of the language here. God so loved the world. And that declarative statement 
itself is filled with a wondrous theology. God so loved the world. We ought to appreciate the target 
of His love as we consider this immeasurable love. The sentiment 
is very similar to what the Apostle Paul says in Romans 5. Cam read 
that at the outset of worship. God demonstrates His own love 
toward us and that while we were still sinners. Christ died for 
us. What's the logic of the apostle 
up to that particular point? In verse 7, he says, for a righteous 
man, one would scarcely give his life. But God demonstrates 
his own love toward us, and that while we were still sinners, 
Christ died for us. The love of God is seen in the 
object of his love. And it's not because the world 
is lovely, it's not because the world is wondrous, it's not because 
the world is good. The stress in the passage is 
not to cause us to reflect upon the goodness of the world, but 
on the glory of God's love. And world here does not indicate 
every man without exception, but most likely men without distinction, 
Jew and Gentile. You see this in John's gospel. 
I showed you an instance this morning in John 1.10 where the 
word kosmos, or world, is used in three different senses. Notice 
in John 4 at verse 42, the Samaritans say, Now we believe, not because 
of what you said, for we ourselves have heard Him, and we know that 
this is indeed the Christ, the Savior of the world. Again, He 
doesn't mean each and every human being in the world, but He means 
Jews, He means Gentiles, He means Samaritans. But we also ought 
to appreciate that while this text does not set forth universalism, 
the idea that everybody everywhere will be saved, there is a biblical 
doctrine of universalism. Not everybody will be saved, 
but men from every tribe and tongue and people and nation. 
from all over the globe, from all over the earth. Our Lord 
Christ is the only Savior, and thus He is the Savior of the 
world. Back to John 3.16, the glory 
of God's love is not seen in the goodness of the objects of 
that love. The world is not loved because 
it is good. The world is not loved because 
it is numerous, but because God is love. There's a parallel in 
Deuteronomy 7 where the Lord says this to Old Covenant Israel. I love the logic or I love the 
thought or the sentiment that is expressed in Deuteronomy 7, 
7 and 8. It says, Yahweh did not set His 
love on you nor choose you because you were more in number than 
any other people. For you are the least of all 
peoples, but because the Lord loves you and because He would 
keep the oath which He swore to your fathers." Do you see 
why God loves Israel? Because God loves Israel. It's 
grounded in and rooted in His covenant. It's rooted in His 
faithfulness. It's rooted in His promise, but 
it's according to His good pleasure. He sets His love upon Israel 
and He tells them, I don't love you because you're more numerous. 
I love you because I love you. That's another wonderful way 
to express love to another human being. Now, this text gives us 
a concrete illustration of God's love. He's so loved that He gave 
His only begotten Son. But there's those instances within 
family life when someone doesn't do something necessarily love-worthy, 
and you say, you know, I just love you. Why? Because you brought 
me a steak. No, because I love you. That's 
a great argument, and I love you because I love you. That's 
what God says to Israel in the Old Covenant in Deuteronomy chapter 
7, and the sentiment is somewhat similar here. Now, world in this 
context is Jew and Gentile elect, those who are predetermined by 
God to be saved that He sets His affection on according to 
His good pleasure. But as I submit, the glory of 
the statement is not on the loveliness of the world, but on the love 
of God for a wretched world. It's not because the world is 
love worthy, but because God is love. Listen to Thomas Manton. He said, there was nothing in 
the object, the world, to move him to it. You see, most of the 
times we love something, it's because it's lovely, right? We 
don't love that which is unlovely, we are drawn to that which is 
lovely. When you met your husband or 
you met your wife, there were certain qualities or characteristics 
or attributes, or hopefully you could call them perfections because 
you love them so much, that endeared you to them. There was a loveliness 
about them that drew your heart out. But the argument of our 
Lord Jesus Christ in the passage is not that the world is lovely 
and that drew God's love. It's the exact opposite. God 
demonstrates his own love toward us and that while we were still 
sinners, Christ died for us. Manton says there was nothing 
in the object to move him to it. When we were neither good 
nor just, but wicked, without respect to any worth in us, for 
we were all in a damnable estate, He sent His Son to die for us, 
to rescue and free us from eternal death, and to make us partakers 
of eternal life. The stress in the text is not 
on the loveliness of the world. The stress in the text is on 
the loveliness of God's love. Note, secondly, the cross displays 
God's gracious gift. We see that, for God so loved 
the world. Now Jesus fleshes this out. He 
gives a reason or He gives a concrete application of this love. For 
God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son. I think in this we see God's 
initiative, don't we? It isn't our worthiness or our 
loveliness, but it's God's initiative in salvation. We see that all 
through the Bible. Genesis chapter 3 and verse 15, 
after the fall of Adam into transgression, the Lord says, I will put enmity 
between you and the woman and between your seed and her seed. 
He shall bruise your head and you shall bruise his heel. Another 
passage that is familiar around this time of the year is the 
prophet Isaiah. Isaiah chapter 9. Again, it highlights 
the initiative of God. 9-6, for unto us a child is born, 
unto us a son is given. That's God's initiative. That's 
God's doing. That's God undertaking on behalf 
of sinners. God so loved the world that He 
gave His only begotten Son. We ought to appreciate that God's 
immeasurable love is seen in the giving of His immeasurable, 
or of His glorious Son. And then, of course, Galatians 
4, in the fullness of the time, God sent forth His Son. born 
of a woman, born under the law. John 3.16 is in that stream of 
consistency. God so loved the world that He 
gave His only begotten Son. As well, the grace is underscored 
here. He gave. Man didn't earn. Man didn't deserve. John 1, 9 
and 10, he says that Jesus came to His own, His own received 
Him not. We rejected Him, we despised Him, we counted Him 
as an altogether unlovely thing. We do not deserve God's love. It is by grace. It is His initiative. And this, in many respects, ought 
to cause us to worship all the more. Again, if you love somebody 
because they're lovely, that is a consistent response on the 
part of the lover. But because God is love, there's 
nothing lovely in the world. Nevertheless, He sets His affection, 
He sets His love upon us. But as well as we consider that 
God displays His gracious gift on the cross, we ought to consider 
that this is a further demonstration of God's love. Note what the 
text says again. For God so loved the world that 
He gave what? His only begotten Son. God's 
immeasurable love is further demonstrated by the gracious 
gift's dignity. He is God's only begotten Son. Now, this is a wondrous statement 
concerning God's love. It's a wondrous statement concerning 
God's Son. John Gill describes it this way, 
no other than His Son by nature. When you read that language, 
He's the only begotten Son. There's a lot of literature out 
there today denying what has been historically called the 
eternal generation of the Son, the fact that Christ is eternally 
begotten of the Father, God from God. light from light, true God 
from true God. The doctrine is biblical, the 
doctrine is historical, the doctrine ought not to be jettisoned, and 
this is what's in view here. John Gill says, no other than 
His own Son by nature, of the same essence, perfections, and 
glory with Him, begotten by Him in a way inconceivable and inexpressible 
by mortals, and is only begotten One. You see what I'm trying 
to submit is that the love of God is further demonstrated in 
the dignity of the one whom he gave. He didn't, you know, reach 
down on the bench and go to the second or third string. Okay, 
you know, you angel that's really struggling back there trying 
to earn his keep here in heaven, I want you to go down there and 
redeem the sons of men. That's not what he did. He didn't 
go to the second or the third string. He gave his only begotten 
son. Manton says Jesus Christ is so-called 
only begotten to distinguish him from the adopted children. You see, we are sons and daughters 
of God, but we're not only begotten. He says, "...and to show his 
personal subsistence, which is by way of affiliation, or being 
eternally begotten in the divine essence." Now notice what he 
says, "...so great was our misery, that no less remedy would serve 
the turn, and so great God's mercy, that He withheld Him not 
from us." The dignity of the Son, the One who is God's gracious 
gift, further evidences and further highlights God's immeasurable 
love. And when we read in the text 
that God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, 
the giving I do not take in the first place as the sending of 
the Son to the earth. I think the giving there has 
the language of sacrifice. I think the giving there has 
the language to Christ being delivered up. Yes, by wicked 
men, but according to the predetermined plan and counsel of God. Notice 
in Acts 2, verse 23, beginning in verse 22. Men of Israel, hear 
these words. Jesus of Nazareth, a man attested 
by God to you by miracles, wonders, and signs which God did through 
him in your midst, as you yourselves also know. being delivered by 
the determined purpose and foreknowledge of God, you have taken by lawless 
hands, have crucified and put to death. The sending of the 
Son is a glorious thing to be sure, but the giving in the context 
of John 3.16 answers analogously to the giving of the serpent 
in the wilderness. Just as the serpent is lifted 
up in the wilderness, so must the Son of Man be lifted up. 
God gave the Son, His only begotten Son, in order to be lifted up, 
to be delivered up, to be given over as a sacrifice for His people. Notice in Romans chapter 8, the 
same sort of language. Romans chapter 8, specifically 
at verse 32. He who did not spare his own 
son, but delivered him up for us all, how shall he not with 
him also freely give us all things? You see? The judicial. the substitutionary sacrificial 
language. He who did not spare his own 
son, but delivered him up for us all, how shall he not with 
him also freely give us all things? So Christ, in John 3.16, as he 
highlights the fact that the Father gave him to this world, 
Christ knew precisely what was in his future. There wasn't a 
fully developed doctrine of atonement in John's gospel up until this 
point, but there was always a fully developed doctrine of atonement 
in the mind and heart of Christ. He knew why He came. He knew 
what He was doing. He knew what lay before Him. 
This is why He sets His face like a flint to go to Jerusalem. 
This is why He says, I must go, I must be tried, I must be crucified, 
I must be raised up. Christ knew that He came, yes, 
sent by the Father on a mission of love, but as well sent to 
be delivered up to the cross. Go back to the prophet Isaiah 
where this is illustrated further, specifically Isaiah chapter 53. Isaiah 53, verse 10, yet it pleased 
the Lord, this is Yahweh, to bruise him. This is the servant. It pleased Yahweh to bruise him. He has put him to grief. When 
you make his soul an offering for sin, he shall see his seed, 
he shall prolong his days, and the pleasure of the Lord shall 
prosper in his hand. He shall see the labor of his 
soul and be satisfied. By his knowledge my righteous 
servant shall justify many, for he shall bear their iniquities." 
This giving of the son is a display of God's gracious gift. The fact 
that he is the only begotten son, God from God, light from 
light, further identifies or highlights the immeasurable love 
of God for this world. The fact that the world is not 
good, the fact that the world is not numerous, but the fact 
that the world stands in need of redemption, all underscore 
the reality of what Christ says in John 3.16, for God so loved 
the world. Now, before we move on to our 
third and fourth point, is it ever the case that we ponder 
this? I know at times as Christians, we, not at times as Christians, 
but let's face it, we sin a lot, don't we? As Christians, there's 
a lot of remaining corruption in our hearts. I think that's 
why all of us probably like singing hymn number 400, Robert Robinson, 
when he says, prone to wander, prone to leave the God I love. 
I wonder the first time you sang that, you said, can we really 
admit this? Can we really say this? I mean, 
after all, we're Christians, right? We're not supposed to 
wander. We're not supposed to admit to wandering. We're not 
to, you know, to admit to being prone to leaving the God that 
we love. Well, the consistent stream of 
good theology throughout the history of the church demonstrates 
that it's okay to sing that. Our confession of faith realizes, 
recognizes, highlights, and demonstrates the ongoing warfare in the hearts 
of believers. The apostle does this in Galatians 
5.17, the flesh lusts against the spirit, the spirit lusts 
against the flesh. These two are contrary to one another so 
that you do not do the things that you want. The idea of being 
is that the spirit in you does restrain you from being as wicked 
as you could possibly be. The idea being that the remaining 
corruption in you does somehow affect you in such a way that 
you're never as holy as you would hope to be on this side of glory. 
These two are contrary to one another so that you do not do 
the things that you want. Paul the Apostle in Romans chapter 
7 describes this battle, this turmoil, and we all face it, 
don't we? I mean, let's embrace Robert 
Robinson's hymn. Let's embrace the chapters in 
our confession on sanctification and assurance and those chapters 
that speak and highlight the reality that the best of believers 
at times are just struggling, piles of problems. But brethren, in those instances 
and in those times and in those seasons, what is it easy for 
us to dwell on? God's mad at me. I know that's 
what I do. and we ought not to minimize 
or remove from our lives the context of a chastening father, 
do you think God's love changes for us? We're like that, aren't 
we? If you're doing the things that 
I want you to do, hey, we're good. The moment you don't do 
the things that I want you to do, we're not so good anymore. 
This is one of the glorious things about the doctrine of divine 
impassibility. Remember you heard that word 
a lot, I don't know, 2014, 13, way back then, many years ago. What does divine impassibility 
highlight? He's most loving. Realize with God, his perfections 
do not increase, nor do they diminish. God is always God. And yes, while we are in the 
midst of rebellion against God, we ought to ponder the reality 
that we have a chastening father. But perhaps at times we ought 
to ponder the reality that we have a loving father. Was it 
Peyton? I think it was John G. Peyton. 
Was he the brother that kept the picture of his father in 
his wallet? I don't know if it was him that 
did that. I know his father made a great impression on his life 
in terms of how he would live his life. But there's another 
man somewhere in the annals of history that kept a picture of 
his father in his wallet. And whenever he was going to 
do something foolish, he'd take out his wallet and he would look 
at that picture. And he would think to himself, I never, ever 
want to grieve a man that I love so much as this, and a man who 
loves me so much as he loves me. Brethren, it's good to consider 
the chastening hand of God. It's good to understand conviction 
for sin. It's good not to resist the spirit 
of the living God when he brings that conviction upon us. But 
in the midst of those seasons, ought we not to ponder the reality 
that God's love changes not? Now, I doubt in the heart of 
a truly blood-bought child of God that will promote sin. I doubt that that's going to 
promote licentiousness. I doubt you're going to say, 
well, God loves me no matter what I'm doing, so I'm going 
to keep on doing it. We've all come to grips with Romans 6. 
1, what shall we say? Shall we continue in sin that 
grace may abound? May it never be. We don't use 
the theology of God's goodness as a means by which we sin. But maybe in those seasons, maybe 
in that waywardness, maybe in that proneness to wander, the 
thought of a loving God and the demonstration of it at the glorious 
cross will hopefully restrain us and keep us from pursuing 
those lusts any further. Yes, he's a chastening father, 
but he never stops being a loving father. Try that, add that to 
the repertoire, is that the word, of your dealings with sin. Certainly, fear God. Certainly 
walk in holiness with the thought that if you do not, God is angry 
and He will deal with you. But He loves you. He so loves 
you. He so loves us. And the ethic, 
or rather the argument in Romans 5, let's just visit it again. 
It's just beautiful theology. For when we were still without 
strength in due time, Christ died for the ungodly. Do you 
ever ponder that? He died for the ungodly. He didn't 
die for the righteous. He didn't die for the holy. He 
didn't die for the pure. It's the same idea that we find 
in Romans 4, 5. Notice, "...but to him who does 
not work, but believes in him who justifies the ungodly, his 
faith is accounted for righteousness." But back to Romans 5, 6. "...For 
when we were still without strength in due time, Christ died for 
the ungodly. For scarcely for a righteous 
man will one die, yet perhaps for a good man someone would 
even dare to die." Have you ever considered if somebody walked 
in here and lobbed a grenade in the middle of the floor? Would 
all of you just jump on it? You'd probably think about it 
before just doing it. You know, we count the costs 
at that moment. If I jump on that grenade, that's 
gonna be bad. Here's Paul's logic. For scarcely 
for a righteous man will one die. For righteous man! You see somebody that's noble, 
holy, pure, and good, and they're walking in the street, and they're 
about to get smacked by a truck. For scarcely a righteous man 
would we die. We're not so quick to run over 
there and push him out of the way and take that truck in his 
stead. The logic of the gospel is simply 
this, but God demonstrates His own love toward us in that while 
we were still sinners, Christ died for us. Do you think that 
God does not understand the doctrine of remaining corruption? Do you 
think that in your life God gets to the point on Thursday and 
He says, that's it, I'm done, my hands are clean of you? God 
used Paul to write Romans 7. God used Paul to write Galatians 
5. God is more honest about our 
sin than we are honest about our sin. Read the Psalms, read 
David. You see, brethren, I am not suggesting 
that you ponder and contemplate and dwell on the love of God 
and use that as an argument to continue in sin. I am asking 
you to ponder, contemplate, and consider the love of God and 
see if perhaps that might not help kill sin. Take the wallet out of your pocket 
and look at the picture and consider the goodness of the man there. 
Consider John 3.16 in your warfare against sin. Thirdly, the cross 
held the object of man's belief. God so loved the world that He 
gave His only begotten Son that whoever believes in Him. That 
whoever believes in Him. We ought to deal with the translation 
issue before we move on. It sounds very universal. You can see why Arminians and 
Pelagians like the text. That whoever believes in Him. The text isn't as universal here 
in Greek as it is in English. It's literally, all the believing 
ones should not perish. All the believing ones should 
not perish." Well, who are the believing ones? They are the 
ones who are made alive by God in the new birth. They are the 
ones who are born again. They are the ones regenerate. 
They are the ones who are responding in faith to the Lord Christ. Now, the first fruit of regeneration, 
at least visibly, remember the wind blows and you see the visible 
effects of it? I think there's other stuff that 
goes on invisibly that we don't see when God takes out the old 
stony heart and he puts in the new fleshly heart and he puts 
in that new disposition, all that stuff. The first visible 
manifestation of regeneration is faith. It's faith in Jesus. It's not just faith. That's popular 
today, isn't it? Oh, he's a man of faith. What 
does he believe in? Well, I don't know. That doesn't 
matter, but it's the faith that matters. Does it matter what 
you believe in as long as you believe? No, it matters precisely 
what you believe in. Faith is only as good as its 
object, and the first fruit, at least again in terms of visibly, 
of regeneration is faith in Christ. That faith or the faith that 
is instrumental in salvation is not undefined. It is clearly 
defined. God so loved the world that he 
gave his only begotten son that whoever believes in him. Now, 
do you understand why Jesus had such problems with the Jews? 
I hope you do. I mean, here he is saying that 
he is the only begotten son of God and that he is the target 
of man's faith for salvation. You can see by the end of the 
gospel records why they're crying out, away with him, away with 
him, crucify him. You see it at the end of this 
particular narrative. The darkness hates the light. The darkness doesn't want to 
come to the light. because its evil deeds are exposed. I mean, 
look at the claims that Christ is making concerning himself 
to this man, Nicodemus. Well, in the previous section, 
I believe he's probably still in earshot at this particular 
time, but he is the object of man's faith. The faith that is 
instrumental in salvation is not undefined, it is in him. 
I love our confession, chapter 14, paragraph 2, talks about 
saving faith. That's the object of the title 
of the particular chapter. And the last statement in paragraph 
2 says, but the principal acts of saving faith have immediate 
relation to Christ. You see, saving faith believes 
that there was an ancient people called the Hivites. You realize 
that people used to mock the Bible because of the reference 
to the Hivites? There were no Hivites, either 
Hivites or Hittites. But in the 20th century, they 
uncovered, archeology uncovered this ancient civilization. I 
didn't make the Bible true. Archeology is not the final arbiter 
of what is true. But it is intriguing. All that 
people never existed, the Bible's just full of so many fables. 
No, that was really there. You need to believe that there 
were Hittites. Not the way you believe that 
there was Jesus Christ and is Jesus Christ. You need to believe 
what the Bible says. I think a lot of times when we 
have these discussions of faith, and perhaps with our children, 
you know, as they start getting older and they hear pastors preaching, 
you need to believe. And they start asking, am I believing? 
Am I trusting? It's sometimes hard. to concretize 
or to make not abstract this idea of faith. Certainly it means 
believing everything God's Word says. The Scriptures are trustworthy 
in all that they affirm concerning history, science, doctrine, ethics, 
religious practice, or any other topic. The Scriptures are inspired 
of God, are inspired by God, and that doesn't mean he got 
an inspirational thought. It means the Scriptures are God-breathed. They are inerrant and infallible. The debate over inerrancy The 
idea that there are errors in the Bible and persons who say, 
well, it doesn't matter. It does matter. And faith lays 
hold to the whole of God's Word. But as we move through the confessional 
statement, it highlights, it isolates, it pinpoints a primary 
object with reference to saving faith. The principal acts of 
saving faith have immediate relation to Christ, accepting, receiving, 
and resting upon Him alone for justification, sanctification, 
and eternal life by virtue of the covenant of grace. In other 
words, if our children say or anyone says, what is faith? What is belief? What does all 
this mean? A good follow-up to that might be, what think ye 
of Christ? Do you believe what the Bible 
says concerning Christ? Do you believe that He lived, 
that He died, that He rose again? Do you believe His self-testimony, 
that He is the great I Am? Do you believe He's the only 
begotten of the Father? Do you believe that He is the 
one who alone can take away sin? If a child, an adult says, yes, 
I believe, praise God Almighty, because dead men don't believe 
such truths, pagans don't celebrate such realities, this is a mighty 
demonstration of the work of regeneration. And then notice, 
the emphasis of the entire Bible is justification by grace alone 
through faith alone in Christ, that whoever believes in him, 
not believes and does, not believes and goes, not believes and enters, 
but believes. It's by faith. Grace through 
faith. Ryle has a way of putting things 
at times that are just beautiful. He says, he that has faith has 
life, and he that has it not has not life. It's pretty simple, 
isn't it? He that has faith has life, and 
he that has it not has not life. John 3.36 says the same thing. He says, nothing whatever beside 
this faith is necessary to our justification. But nothing whatever 
except this faith will give us an interest in Christ. We may 
fast and mourn for sin and do many things that are right and 
use religious ordinances and give all of our goods to feed 
the poor and yet remain unpardoned and lose our souls. But if we 
will only come to Christ as guilty sinners and believe on him, our 
sins at once shall be forgiven and our iniquity shall be entirely 
put away. Without faith, there is no salvation. But through faith in Jesus, the 
vilest sinner may be saved. That's a passage, not Ryle, but 
John 3, 16 to hang our souls on, isn't it? God so loved the 
world that He gave His only begotten Son that whoever believes in 
Him, now notice fourthly, the cross is the source of God's 
promised blessing, that whoever believes in Him should not perish 
but have everlasting life. You see, there's a negative involved 
in a positive. He shall not perish. What's the 
reference? The reference is simple. We are 
dead in Adam. We are dead in our trespasses 
and sins. We have rebelled against a holy 
God. We have violated His law. We have refused Him and rejected 
Him and resisted Him every step of the way. And God's promised 
judgment upon such sinners is hell. This is the should not 
perish in the text, because by the grace of God, according to 
the power of the Holy Spirit who regenerated us, who gave 
us the faith to look unto Jesus the way those persons looked 
unto that brazen serpent, we are not going to perish. When 
that man in the wilderness, rubbing his leg that had just gotten 
bit by that snake, looked up, he lived. He didn't perish. He didn't die from that snake 
venom. He didn't go to hell at that 
particular point. And this is the promise of our 
Lord. We're not going to perish. Do 
you ever ponder that? Do you ever consider that reality? What do we deserve? We deserve 
hell. I love the Westminster Shorter 
Catechism. It asks the question, what does every sin deserve? 
It's a good question to ask, isn't it? I hope we've all asked 
that question at one time or another. We may not have answered 
it the way the assembly did, but we ought to ponder that answer. 
Every sin deserves God's wrath and curse, both in this life 
and that which is to come. Now, the world will say, that 
seems a bit unfair. There are the sorts of people 
that say, well, you know, all they did was eat the apple in 
the garden. Ever notice how everybody's convinced 
it was an apple? I mean, it was one bite. The 
older authors showed how in that one bite, there was a breach 
of every one of the Ten Commandments. That one bite was a rejection 
of the living and the true God Most High. It was to assert independence 
from the Creator that made the creature. You see, brethren, 
we deserve God's wrath and curse, both in this life and that which 
is to come. Our sins have piled up, and even 
if it was just one, we deserve it, because an infinitely holy 
God is a God who punishes sin. Do you see what we've been spared 
from? Do you see where you're not going 
as a result of Christ's work at Calvary? We're not gonna perish. We're not going to end in hell. 
We're not going to suffer the judgment and the condemnation 
of God Most High. It's a beautiful thing. Someone 
might say, do you know where you're going? I know where I'm 
not going, and I praise God for that. But it's a positive as 
well. not only should not perish, but 
have everlasting life. See, it's not just a place of 
neutrality. Well, I'm not in hell, and I'm just going to sort 
of float around clouds. No, we have everlasting life. 
We inherit the new heavens and the new earth. We get God. Father, 
Son, and Holy Spirit, we are in the presence of this God who 
so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son. We are 
in the presence of the God whose love does not diminish, it doesn't 
increase. He is most loving. He will always 
be that way for His people, and we will enjoy Him world without 
end. Amen. The thought of that, the amazing 
reality of that, I think is what leads John in his first epistle 
to say, behold, what manner of love the Father has given to 
us. That we should be called the 
sons of God, and we are. It's an amazing thing, brethren, 
what the Lord has spared us from, what the Lord has saved us from, 
and what the Lord has saved us unto. If you finished your Bible 
on December 31st, you got a glimpse of that in Revelation 21 and 
22. John sees this new heavens and 
this new earth come down, this holy city that's the very temple 
of God. What's temple? In fact, in the 
book it says, there is no temple there. God and the Lamb are the 
temple. Do you know what temple existed 
for? Do you know why the tabernacle in the wilderness and then the 
temple under Solomon? Temple is a place where God and 
people dwell. That's the goal. That's the beauty. That's the glory. That's the 
reality. We get to be where God is. We 
were created for this. It is what makes our hearts beat. But in Adam, we lost it. We sacrificed 
it. We gave it up. But in Christ 
Jesus, it's there. And the worst saint, on his worst 
day, if asked, will say, I want to be with Christ. That's the 
goal. That's the beauty. That's everything. It's not the gates of pearl. It's not the streets of gold. That's all background. The Lamb 
is all the glory of Emmanuel's land. And this is what Christ 
held forth. Well, brethren, in summary, the 
blessing of the text ought to be obvious. Luther called John 
3.16 the Bible in miniature. I quite like that. The Bible 
in miniature. One small Bible within. we ought to consider the wonder 
of the text. I think John's first epistle 
sort of parallels the thought. He says, in this, the love of 
God was manifested toward us, that God has sent his only begotten 
son into the world that we might live through him. In this is 
love, not that we loved God. You see, brethren, it is our 
duty Our responsibility. It is as consistent as, you know, 
birds flying that the creature loves its God. It ought never 
surprise us that some creature loves God, the Creator. That's 
a given. That's just the way it ought 
to be. All right, we don't get extra points. That's just the 
bottom line. It says, in this is love. Not 
that we love God. That's not the amazing thing, 
but that he loved us and sent his son to be the propitiation 
for our sins. Sounds like in 1 John 4, 9, and 
10, he has John 3, 16 in mind. He's reflecting upon his Savior's 
words, and he's elucidating this for his people, for his hearers, 
to understand the greatness of the love of God. He sent him 
to be the propitiation for our sins, the wrath bearer, the curse 
sufferer, the one who stood in our stead to satisfy divine justice. And as well, we ought to appreciate 
the promise of the text. It is for believing ones. God so loved the world that he 
gave his only begotten son, that all the believing ones should 
not perish, but have everlasting life. If you have faith tonight, 
and you can taste and see that the Lord is good, and you eat 
the bread and you drink the cup, rejoice in God, because that 
faith is not from you. Rejoice in God, because the Spirit 
of the living God has made you alive, has given you the grace 
of faith, and has pointed you to the Son of God, who was lifted 
up, just like Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness. 
If you do not have faith, if you are not in Jesus Christ, 
may I encourage you, and may I say to you, look and live. Look to the one alone in whom 
there is forgiveness. That means believing what the 
Bible says concerning him. As the Confession says, as it 
highlights, as it pinpoints, as it narrows it down, specifically 
the principal acts of saving faith have immediate relation 
If you don't have faith, read of Christ. If you don't have 
faith, listen to the preaching concerning Christ. You need to 
get Christ. It's not a blind leap. Faith 
is looking to Christ. So listen, believe, and come 
to the one alone in whom is forgiveness of sins. Well, let us pray. Our 
Father, we thank you for this Bible in miniature. We thank 
you for this wonderful declaration concerning your love. It doesn't 
just say that you love, but you so love. And it demonstrates 
that love, and that while we were still sinners, Christ died 
for us. You set your affection upon us 
in eternity past. You covenanted with the sun to 
save, the sun covenants to come and to live and to die and to 
rise again. Certainly all of this theology, 
in some sense, as heady as it is, is so wonderful and so heartwarming 
and so glorious, God. May you grant us grace to ponder 
the great love of God, not just in church when we're about to 
eat the bread and drink the cup, but on Thursday when we're struggling 
against sin. May we ponder your goodness, 
may we ponder your kindness, may we ponder your graciousness 
and your mercy, and how we praise you and thank you for that great 
love demonstrated at the cross, known to us even now, and we 
trust and know that it will never ever dissipate. We ask that you 
would just bless our time together and we pray through Christ Jesus 
our Lord, amen.