Leading up to the well-known words of John 3:16, Jesus declared that He, "the Son of Man," must be "lifted up" on a cross to die so that "whoever believes will in Him have eternal life" (3:15).
"For God so loved the world, that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him shall not perish, but have eternal life" (3:16).
This is the best news you and I will ever hear! God loved the human race in such a way that He gave His unique divine Son who became a man "that the world might be saved through Him" (John 3:17).
All of us are guilty of sin, which demands our death and we are helpless to save ourselves "but God demonstrates His own love toward us, in that while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us" (Romans 5:6-8).
God's justice was satisfied as proven by Christ's resurrection and, since Christ accomplished everything necessary for our salvation, there is only one thing for us to do and that is to "believe in Him for eternal life" (I Timothy 1:16). We must "believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God" (John 20:31) and trust in Him alone for eternal life.
Jesus said, "Whoever believes in Him shall not perish." To perish is to suffer eternal, conscience torment in the future lake of fire (Revelation 20:11-15). But God's gift to all who trust in His Son is eternal life, which can never be lost and will be enjoyed forever in His presence.
Scripps Interactive Newspapers Group
Comments » 0
Be the first to post a comment!
Share your thoughts
Comments are the sole responsibility of the person posting them. You agree not to post comments that are off topic, defamatory, obscene, abusive, threatening or an invasion of privacy. Violators may be banned. Click here for our full user agreement.