Arunachal Sermon

Passage: John 3:16
Title: The Perfect Sacrifice
Good evening, believers first of all I give all Glory and honor to our Living God for this
wonderful time that we could gather in this very manner.
As we come into His Mighty presence, this very evening im sure everyone is familiar with
this very verse, I am to speak to all. We have been hearing it from our Sunday school but
everytime we read it, it always feels like new to us when we meditate upon it.
This very evening before I go to my sermon I would like to raise a question…. Would you be
able to send your own son or daughter to die for you or for your family? How Marvelous and
wonderful is the love of God that He sent His only Begotten Son to die for you and me.
Let’s take a look at that verse now. It reads, “For God so loved the world,” or, as the
NLT puts it, “This is how God loved the world: He gave His only Son, so that
everyone who believes in Him will not perish but have eternal life.” There’s so much
to unpack in those words, but first, we need to understand the historical and literary
context surrounding them. We find John 3:16, perhaps one of the clearest
presentations of the gospel, tucked in a conversation between Jesus and a prestigious
religious ruler. You may be familiar with the story.
One night, presumably after many of his colleagues were home in bed, a Pharisee
named Nicodemus from the Jewish ruling council came to Jesus. “Rabbi,” he said,
“we know that You are a teacher who comes from God. For no one could perform the
signs You are doing if God were not with him” (John 3:2). This statement suggests a
few things: Nicodemus was familiar with Jesus, most likely respected Him, and
recognized that He indeed came from God, just like John 3:16 later states. Nicodemus
obviously knew of the miracles Jesus had performed. He’d probably heard many
truths Jesus spoke as well, all of which seemed to have triggered a driving question:
Who are you? Perhaps you’ve asked God that yourself. Beneath his words of
affirmation, of wonderment, Nicodemus appears to be investigating Jesus’ identity. To
which Jesus replied, “Very truly I tell you, no one can see the kingdom of God unless
they are born again” (John 3:6).
“For God So Loved the World” Is the First Part of

God’s Rescue Plan
Jesus came so that, though we were guilty and tarnished by sin, we could receive
forgiveness and pardon for all we’d done or will do. Because of Jesus, we can have
peace with God the Father, be adopted as His child, and empowered by the Holy Spirit
to live, fully, in His freedom. Christ’s life and death were prophesied and the gift of
salvation promised, from the beginning of time. Adam and Eve rebelled against their
good, attentive, and faithful Father. They chose pleasure in the moment over the peace
and joy of a relationship with God. They chose their will and their wants, over trusting
and obeying their God, and in this, they tried to elevate themselves above the very
Creator who had loved them so faithfully.
In this, God promised sin would not win; though a battle would rage between light
and dark, between good and evil, Christ would ultimately prevail, and He did. He
secured His victory through His death on the cross. Colossians 2:15 puts it this way,
“He disarmed the rulers and authorities” of darkness “and put them to open shame,
triumphing over them” (ESV). This allows all who believe in Christ to say, “Death has
been swallowed up in victory. ‘Where, O death, is your victory? Where, O death, is
your sting.’ The sting of death is sin, and the power of sin is the law. But thanks be to
God! He gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ” (1 Cor. 15:55-57).
“For God So Loved the World” Is a Picture of

Love
John 3:16 follows this rich and theologically dense explanation of sin and salvation.
“This,” Jesus said, “is how much God loves you. He sent you Me” (paraphrased). In
Christ, we see a love so intense, so sacrificial, so incomprehensible, it makes all
human expressions seem frivolous in comparison. The words Jesus spoke likely didn’t
make much more sense to Nicodemus than Jesus’ talk of rebirth. After all, he likely
had no idea Jesus was planning to die—for him (and us). He didn’t understand that
Christ would, quite literally, be lifted on a pole, just as the snake had been, and that
Christ’s death and resurrection, not well-spoken prayers or good deeds, would bring
life. But we do have that knowledge, thanks to Scripture.
Now, considering all Jesus suffered, all God watched Him suffer, for you and I,
evaluate the beginning of John 3:16 again, “This is how God loved the world,” and
everyone in it. “He gave His one and only Son.” Through His death, Christ revealed
what pure, unfathomable love looks like. But He did more than that. Through the
cross, God proved the depths of His love, because “While we were still sinners, Christ
died for us” (Romans 5:8). Such a passionate, self-sacrificing act is hard for my mind
to comprehend. God reached out, expecting nothing in return, and emptied Himself
completely, for the very ones who spurned Him. You and I included.
God knew how helpless we were. Watching us hurt, manipulate, use, and kill one
another, God could’ve left us to our destruction. He could’ve been repelled and turned
away in disgust. Instead, He drew near. Speaking of Jesus, Philippians 2:6-8 says,
“being in very nature God, [He] did not consider equality with God something to be
used to His own advantage; rather, He made Himself nothing by taking the very
nature of a servant, being made in human likeness. And being found in appearance as
a man, He humbled Himself by becoming obedient to death—even death on a cross.”
God took action from the beginning of time, from that first sin in the Garden of Eden.
The first thing God did was to remove the tree of life, lest we be trapped in a life of
sin forever. He acted throughout history, weaving a plan and keeping His promise to
save His people. He acted when He sent His Son through the Holy Spirit to be born
incarnate of the virgin, Mary. And He acted when His Son was laid upon the cross,
offering a sacrifice of His perfect life for our stained lives, which was the payment for
sin.
Whenever I think of the cross, I’m reminded of the price Christ paid so I could be
free. But I’m also reminded of how much I needed that freedom.
"For God So Loved the World" He Sent His One

and Only Son to Save
God sent Christ for one reason only, and here’s why: “So that everyone who believes
in Him will not perish but have eternal life.” We receive God’s free gift of eternal life
through faith, by believing Jesus is who He says He is—the sinless Son of God who
paid for the world’s sins—and did what He said He did—died in our place to grant us
entrance into eternity with Him. But to receive that precious gift, we must
acknowledge we need it. That’s hard because it pricks against our pride. We often take
great satisfaction in our achievements and knowing we’ve progressed solely through
our own merits. But the Holy Spirit helps us realize the futility of our efforts; we
cannot earn grace, but we can accept it by the power of the Holy Spirit.
This was the offer Jesus made to Nicodemus on that dark night so long ago. The offer
was free. Nicodemus didn’t have to earn it; he simply needed to accept it. To step out
of the darkness and into the light, out of death and into life. We don’t know how that
conversation ended that night. Perhaps Nicodemus’ heart leapt with hope and he
embraced the grace that Christ offered. Or perhaps he retreated, contemplated, and
wrestled with his sin and pride, before finally finding the courage to surrender.
Regardless, we know Christ revealed a beautiful picture of love, of grace, and the
freedom of complete absolution. No more guilt. No more shame. Zero condemnation.
Only freedom, light, and life, and all because God so loved this world.
Conclusion
Therefore, I urge you to put your faith in Jesus Christ today before you even leave this
room. As I have been speaking, you have probably felt a number of things going on in
your soul. You may have experienced a sense that God is calling you to himself, a
sense that he wants you to come to him by putting your belief in Jesus Christ and
becoming his follower. At the end of this message, I'm going to pause briefly to give
you an opportunity to respond to that call from God by praying to him and saying
"yes." Becoming a follower of Jesus is sort of like a wedding ceremony in which you
say, "I do." You will pray right where you are in a silent prayer in your heart. At the
end of this message I'll coach you about the simple, brief prayer that you can pray in
order to say "yes" to God.
Since the time that Jesus lived, millions of people have responded to God's call by
believing in Jesus. Virtually all of those believers have been unknown people like you
and me, living our everyday lives. Our stories aren't necessarily dramatic, but they are
infinitely important.

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Passage: John 3:16

Title: The Perfect Sacrifice

“For God So Loved the World” Is the First Part of

“For God So Loved the World” Is a Picture of

"For God So Loved the World" He Sent His One

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