Title: Whoever believes in Him … has eternal life!
Text: John 3:1-17
16 “For God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life. 17 For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but in order that the world might be saved through him.
Martin Luther died on February 18, 1546 at around 3:00 AM in the morning. His last words and actions were recorded by his dear friend Justus Jonas. Luther was asked, “Reverend father, will you die steadfast in Christ and the doctrines you have preached?” To this Luther responded affirmatively … “Yes!” Luther also quoted John 3:16 and Psalm 31:5 which reads:
5 Into your hand I commit my spirit;
you have redeemed me, O LORD, faithful God.
In his last prayer he said to God, “Yet I know as a certainty that I shall live with you eternally and that no one shall be able to pluck me out of your hands.”
Just as with Luther when 19th century evangelist, D. L. Moody was dying, his last words were, "Earth is receding, heaven is approaching; this is my crowning day."
Because of the resurrection of Christ we are reminded that we need have no fear about death.
Bishop Lalachan Abraham
As the Epistle to the Romans tell us I chapter 4:
7 “Blessed are those whose lawless deeds are forgiven,
and whose sins are covered;
8 blessed is the man against whom the Lord will not count his sin.”
Whoever believes in Him … has eternal life!
The Nicodemus narrative is a foundational and interesting one, in which we hear from the Lord Himself as to what the working from God is, and how He redeems His fallen creation from the sin of Adam and Eve … restoring the relationship between God and man.
Jesus begins in Chapter 2 of John’s Gospel with a description on man’s fallen condition, saying in chapter 2:25: “For He (Jesus) knew what was in man.”
In his article, “Original Sin in the New Testament”, Lutheran professor, Dr. Charles Gieschen, speaks of Original sin as being treated in full only by St. Paul, in Romans 5, as we remember from last week, “Therefore as one trespass" led to condemnation for all men, (Adam and Eve falling into sin) so one act of righteousness (Christ’s sinless life and death on the cross) leads to justification and life for all men.” (Rom. 5:18) But, then he cautions that we need to see the wider testimony of the New Testament which points namely to the disobedience of Adam and Eve.
The sin of our first parents caused separation between God and man. This loss of the Original Righteousness that man was originally created to be has been lost, brought on by the fall into sin, and this fall brought the corruption of sin to all born in the natural way – “flesh gives birth to flesh.”(John 3:6) The psalmist sings in Psalm 51:5 “Behold, I was brought forth in iniquity, and in sin did my mother conceive me,” while a few chapters later in John chapter 8 Jesus himself speaks of us “as being slaves” to this condition and Martin Luther calls our condition “bondage,” as being bound in sin and in bondage to our sinful will. This bondage is a real condition that binds you and me and all born in the natural way and binds our every action.
As Jesus begins His talk with Nicodemus … “a man of the Pharisees,” who is called man, ᾰνθρωπος in the Greek, which is probably an intentional use to emphasize, mans fallen state and being bound in sin. In John 3:3:
3 Jesus answered him, “Truly, truly, I say to you, unless one is born again he cannot see the kingdom of God.”
The ESV translates ὰνωθεν as born again, which can also mean born anew or born from above, which conveys maybe a better understanding of this fallen state that you and I are born into and God’s work through the reconciling work of the Holy Spirit, pointing to the finished work of Jesus Christ to restore the relationship between God and man.
Being born in sin as stated earlier … man must now be reborn. The flesh, Jesus speaks of in John 3:6:
That which is born of the flesh is flesh, and that which is born of the Spirit is spirit.
Is speaking of our human condition which gives birth only to our broken sinful self through the natural means of birth we can only be conceived in sin, but through our rebirth, from above, through the work of the Holy Spirit, we are born anew to a newness of life given by God and called to be His own children, As Saint Peter says, “since you have been born again, not of perishable seed but of imperishable, through the living and abiding word of God.” (1Peter1:23) This born again alludes to the Spirit’s work, in you and in me, working through the word.
Jesus explains to Nicodemus that, this rebirth from above comes from being born of water and the Spirit (Vs 5)and comes to us through the waters of Holy Baptism. God through the word connected to the water and by Christ’s command and promise, brings this rebirth to fruition. Through this water and word the Spirit works. Just as our Redeemer, Jesus “comes from above,” so to the redeemed, His children, must be born “from above.”
Whoever believes in Him … has eternal life!
Pastor, Harry Ironside stated that salvation was like Noah inviting a non-believer in his day to place his trust in God's Word and come in to the ark. Some view salvation like Noah offering to put a peg on the outside of the ark. "If you just hang on through the storm, you'll be saved." Salvation is not dependent on our holding on to God … but on our being securely held by and in Christ.
Source Unknown.
Ill.
The news this past week from North Korea is sobering:
Thirty-three North Koreans face execution after being charged with attempting to overthrow the repressive regime of Kim Jong-un.
The Koreans have landed themselves in hot water after it emerged they had worked with a South Korean Baptist missionary to set up 500 underground churches. It is understood they will be put to death in a cell at the State Security Department.
The Roman emperors dealt with Christianity by trying to send a message that it was dangerous to follow the teachings of Christ. Particularly brutal public executions were designed to make anyone think twice about joining the sect.
http://pjmedia.com/tatler/2014/03/09/kim-jong-un-orders-massacre-of-33-christians/
Since the time of Jesus those who followed Christ’s teaching were persecuted, and many were martyred for their faith. We lift up all those who faithfully are steadfast in their faith clinging to the finished work of Christ.
From above the Son came down and dwelt among His people. Though He was united to flesh in His incarnation, it was the sinless flesh of the God/man Jesus Christ who came down from heaven, the revelation of God and the fullness of the Godhead in bodily form. (Col 2:9) This one who came down from heaven would be lifted up as well on the Cross … for you. Just as the serpent was lifted up in the desert by Moses as a type of the Christ and in the same way that some of the Israelites looked to the bronze serpent on the pole in the desert and lived, so too those who look to the Son – even in the midst of persecution - lifted high on His cross and trusting in His finished work for the forgiveness of sins, by the working of the Holy Spirit, will live.
Just as God saved His people Israel in the desert by the lifting of the serpent on the pole by Moses, so to God has delivered His people from their sin, death and the power of the Devil by the atoning work of Jesus Christ at the cross.
God in John 3:16 bring the fullness of His desire and mission to Nicodemus. That because of God’s great love, he has sent His Son to be united to human flesh … yet without sin … and to stand in the place of all humanity receiving the bloody baptism of God’s wrath at the cross, for the forgiveness of sins, so that all humanity might hear, receive and trust the Good News of the Gospel, and be saved. The “Him” to whom Jesus speaks of in the discourse with Nicodemus and the person to whom we must believe and trust, is the very Son of God Himself, Jesus Christ who became man for our sake so that we might be redeemed by Him and trust in His name.
Whoever believes in Him … has eternal life!
Martin Luther’s last words and actions when asked, “Will you die steadfast in Christ and the doctrines you have preached?” is the same question you and I will be asked or must ask ourselves and must also answer affirmatively … “Yes!” Because as the Psalmist writes in Psalm 31:5:
5 Into your hand I commit my spirit;
you have redeemed me, O LORD, faithful God.
And you can know for certain that you shall live with Christ eternally and that no one will be able to pluck you out of His hands.”
In Christ … you have eternal life!
In the name of the Father and of the Son + and of the Holy Spirit.
Amen
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