DEVOTION
THE GOSPEL
OF JOHN
CONDEMNED OR
NOT
John 3:17-18
17
For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but to save
the world through him. 18 Whoever believes in him is not condemned, but whoever
does not believe stands condemned already because he has not believed in the
name of God's one and only Son.
NIV
Jesus continues
to explain to Nicodemus the reason for his being here within this portion of
his dialog with him. It seems too obvious to us who do believe, but is seems irrelevant
to those who do not believe. We understand Jesus came to save the world, to
satisfy his own need for justice. In this world when a person commits a crime
against humanity we demand justice, in some cases we demand that person pay
with their life, other cases we demand incarceration for a period of time or
for the rest of their natural life. We feel it appropriate and justified to
punish those who commit crimes against humanity, but why then do people feel it
unjust of God to demand punishment for those who commit crimes against him? Do
they think God should be loving and forgiving to them when they are not loving and
forgiving to those who sin against them? The answer to that question is of
course he is, that is why he sent his Son Jesus to die for our sins. He is
paying the price for our crimes against God. But if people do not want to
accept this payment, this justification, this self-sacrifice by God, then they
said condemned as guilty of all the crimes they have committed and will in fact
receive the death penalty for their crimes. The truth is we all deserve the
death penalty, but praise God for whatever the reason we choice to believe, because
of that we have been redeemed, we have been saved, we have been pardoned and
freed from the prison of sin, from death row itself. It is s glorious thing to
be a member of ‘whoever believes in him is not condemned’.
Jesus does not want to condemn anyone; God wants all to be saved as all
are members of his creation. Why would a God who created us what any of us to
be condemned to death? He doesn’t, but he has given us the choice to believe in
the name of Jesus or not believe and the result of that choice is what it is.
Condemned or not.
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