John 3:17 – To Save Not to Condemn

“For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but to save the world through him” John 3:17

In John 3:16 we see God’s complete and sacrificial love for us, and that through belief in Jesus we access eternity in Heaven with Him. In John 3:17 we see that the reason  Jesus came to earth was not to condemn, but to save. And in John 3:18 we see that through faith in Jesus we are saved from condemnation and that “whoever does not believe stands condemned already.”

Without Jesus we stand condemned before God, “for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God,” and “there is no one righteous, not even one,” (Rom. 3:25; Rom. 3:10, Psalms 14:1-3, 53:1-3, Eccles. 7:20). In His grace He makes us “conscious of our sin,” so that in spite of our best efforts at being independently perfect and fulfilled, we know we are the ones in need of a Savior (Rom. 3:20).  Just as in the Garden of Eden, God has given mankind a choice; obedient fellowship with Him and acceptance of His love, or disobedience and rejection leading to condemnation and certain death (Genesis 2:17).

In an expression of God’s perfect love and righteousness He “sent his one and only Son,” and “presented Christ as a sacrifice of atonement…to be received by faith,” (John 3:16, Rom. 3:25). He did this to restore mankind, and graciously grant us access to eternity with Him. Of all the ways God could have chosen to save, or not save, He chose a deeply personal path. God chose to require that each individual have a personal relationship with His Son for acceptance into Heaven with Him. Yet again God has made it clear—He loves us and He wants relationship with us. Although the fact that the God of the universe loves us and wants relationship with us is beyond our ability to fully comprehend, we should joyfully dwell on this truth often.

Prayer

Lord, you are deserving of glory and praise. Thank You for sending us Jesus. Thank you Jesus, for being our Savior. Thank you for wanting to be with us and for loving us so perfectly. Help us to pursue relationship with You and to rejoice always in the fact that we get to be with You now and for eternity.