The Most Distorted Verse? - RC Sproul

now have you ever heard of John 3:16 well in this book it's in red letters I don't think it ought to be cuz I don't think Jesus said to Nicodemus for God so loved the world he sent His only begotten Son that whosoever you know believe I don't think he said that I don't he may have but it's difficult to tell in the text where Jesus stops talking and John's editorial comment begin usually the commentators see John 3:16 as an editorial comment made by John as he's recounting this episode that doesn't make it any more or less the Word of God or any less true by having John saying and rather than Jesus saying I'm just saying in all likelihood this is John speaking now not Jesus but let's look at whatever John or Jesus says in verse 16 for God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life this surely is the most famous verse in the New Testament it's the one that people color their hair all different kinds of shades and hold up in signs at sporting events John 3:16 it's probably the most distorted verse in all of the New Testament as well because people who love the universality of this verse hate the particularity of this person let me show that to you it begins by saying something about the love of God and the object of God's affection God so loved what the world and let me finish this for you according to contemporary understandings of John 3:16 God so loved the world that He gave Christ and saves everybody in the world people draw from this text a doctrine of universal salvation that God the world so much he saves everybody but obviously that's not what the text says and those who are particular is and Arminian say that God loved the world enough to provide a way of salvation for everybody in it let's get rid of this election business and predestination doctrine John three doesn't say that either what John three says is that God's love is so deep and so profound he loved the world enough to send His only begotten Son now let me tell you what this doesn't mean he did not love the world enough to send five saviors Jesus Buddha Muhammad Confucius and yet our culture tells that if God were really loving he would provide avatars galore that he would provide a smorgasbord of salvation where everybody can believe their own religion and it's ok because God loves the whole world enough that he's not so narrow-minded not so inclusive or exclusive that he requires faith in Christ because doesn't the Bible say that God loved the world yes the Bible said he loves the world and he loves the world how much enough to send his one and only Son I warn people that at the end of their life they stand before God they better not say God why were you not loving enough provide 15 saviors in the world can anybody read the story of Christ against the background of fallen humanity against the constant opposition to God the Father that is raised by fallen creatures in his work I say to people consider this scenario suppose that there actually is a god in him and suppose this God in heaven created the whole world and everybody in it and suppose among the birds and the fish and the animals he gave the most exalted position in all of creation to this one to whom he gives his image called human beings and he says to them you will be holy even as I am home and suppose 15 minutes after he makes them they revolt against him after he says if you do this you will die and they do that and he said well I'll tell you what I'm going to provide a way to escape that judgment and he speaks to Abraham out of paganism brings him to himself says I'm going to make you the father of a great nation suppose he does that and then he blesses all of the descendants of Abraham and then expands to a whole nation and said through this nation I'm going to bless the whole world but this nation repeatedly turns against God and so God sends profits to these people and tells them to come back to him to come back to him as an unfaithful spouse returns to their partner and they kill the prophets then finally this God says I'll tell you what I love you so much that even though you are stiff-necked people I'm going to send my eternal only begotten Son into this planet and I'm going to subject him to you and he sends his son and the people rise up against his son and crucify him and yet God loves them enough in all of this that while they're in the act of killing them God takes the sins of his people and transfers them to the death of his own son and said look if you what your trust in him if you'll confess your sins and you believe in him if you turn your gaze upon Jesus and you do that here's what no death no punishment I'm going to give you eternal life with no pain no tears no evil no darkness now suppose he did that would you have the guts to come up the God and say God you haven't done enough for this world are you one of those that gets angry when you hear there's only one way to God the question is why should there be one not why is there only one it's why is there one at all well God loves the world enough to send the only one he doesn't love the world enough to say you can ignore the only one we need to understand because everything out there in that culture says if God only provides one way of salvation one Savior then God doesn't really love the world but think about the depths of the love that God has displayed by giving us Christ whose name is not worthy to be mentioned in the same breath with that of Mohammed or Buddha Confucius or anybody else this God has one son who from all eternity beheld the glory of the Father and yet as the Creed we read this morning said for us and for our salvation came from the bosom of the Father to be lifted up on a cross that anyone who puts their trust in him should not perish but have everlasting life you

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Keywords: RC Sproul, John 3:16, Gospel of John, Jesus Christ, Jesus, christian, Christianity, gospel, Son of Man, St Andrews, Ligonier, Shai Linne, praise, Attributes of God, love, Son, perish, eternal, life

Id: 85OsiQL6xd0

Length: 8min 39sec (519 seconds)

Published: Sun Jul 01 2012