It’s All Right Here!

4th Sunday in Lent, 3/18/12
John 3:14-21


It’s All Right Here!
I. God’s saving plan accomplished by Christ
II. The results for every sinful human


A few decades ago it was very common for TV dramas to end with the following words across the bottom of the screen, “To be continued.” Contrary to what we’re accustomed to today, the show ended with some loose ends. Some of the conflicts were resolved, but then the story line continued for a short time and more issues arose and thus the show ended with the teaser for you to tune in next week to see how those issues get resolved. Apparently the producers of these shows felt this was an effective method for maintaining and increasing viewership.

What if I tried that with my sermons? What if we delved into a particular text from God’s word, applying it to our hearts and lives and seeing how it met our needs for our lives here on earth but, more importantly, for our eternal lives, but then I ended by bringing out additional issues that were left unresolved and told you to make sure you come back next week? At first you might think it’s a great idea. It just might make you and others more certain of being here next Sunday. But what if the issues presented were your forgiveness or your salvation? What if it was unresolved guilt or doubt of God’s love for you? Could you stand living in that spiritual suspense for 7 days? Worse yet, what if your days on earth ended before I was able to announce to you God’s solutions to those weighty spiritual issues? Obviously, as your pastor, I couldn’t do that.

And your God couldn’t and didn’t do it either. He never tells us, “Come back later and I’ll tell you how this all turns out.” When he informs us of our spiritual problems he always informs us of his solution. And he does that so well in these words of our Savior as recorded for us in John 3. There is no “to be continued” at the end. It’s all right here. It’s all right here! So let’s take it all to heart this morning.

Part I

It’s a time-tested pedagogical method to move from the known to the unknown. You see it happening with the messages I prepare and share with the children. We talk about something they’re familiar with in their daily lives and then we move into a spiritual truth which God reveals to us in his word, chiefly the message about our sin and then our Savior from sin, Jesus Christ. Doing so helps the children arrive at the truth with me and helps them retain the truth.

Being history’s greatest Teacher ever, it should come as no surprise that Jesus used that very same method during his ministry here on earth. He used it with this man named Nicodemus who came to him at night to learn from him.

What do you recall about Nicodemus? Let me help you. John tells us that he was a Pharisee and a member of the Jewish ruling council. A Pharisee. We’re familiar with Pharisees. They were a self-righteous group of men who were convinced that they kept God’s law and even went beyond its demands. They were “super-Jews” if there ever were any and, as such, they were certain that their pious lives were their ticket to life in heaven. What’s more, they looked down on the Jews who didn’t live like they did and they hated Gentile people who didn’t even try to keep God’s law.

But a member of the ruling council? That one might be less familiar. These men were also called the Sanhedrin. They were the men who ruled over the Jewish people. The Romans allowed them a measure of self-rule as a way of keeping as lid on things in the Holy Land.

In short, the temptations for Nicodemus were self-righteousness and sinful pride. He had made it to the top of Jewish life. As such, he likely felt very little need for a Savior from sin.

Added to that deadly misconception was the fact that the Jews of this time weren’t looking for the Messiah to come and die for their sins as God has foretold in the Old Testament. Instead, they were looking for the Messiah to arrive and set up a glorious and powerful Jewish kingdom here on earth with Jerusalem as its capital. It’s all too obvious to us that’s not why Jesus came to this earth, but it’s likely Nicodemus struggled with these false ideas. Nicodemus had a lot of learning to do.

So Jesus started with the known and moved to the unknown. He told Nicodemus, “Just as Moses lifted up the snake in the desert, so the Son of Man must be lifted up, that everyone who believes in him may have eternal life.” Nicodemus, as a devout Jewish man, certainly knew how Moses, under God’s direction, had made a bronze snake and placed it on a pole. When the Jews looked at that snake with trust in the promise of God, they were spared from death.

Jesus then moved to the unknown for Nicodemus. So, too, must the Son of Man be lifted up on a pole. Again, as a devout Jewish man, Nicodemus would have been familiar with the books of Ezekiel and Daniel where this title was used for the Messiah. Jesus was leading Nicodemus to set aside all his unfounded notions about earning his own salvation and his false ideas about the Messiah. He was challenging Nicodemus to do a careful search of the Old Testament and to recall all those passages that foretold what the Messiah would actually do.

And then Jesus shared with him the saving gospel in those words that countless Christians have committed to memory, “For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life.” That verse has been called the gospel in a nutshell. If you want to know about how you are saved, here it is. It’s all right here—God’s saving plan accomplished by Christ.

I probably don’t have to remind you how stress-filled and wearisome your life can be. Your day is full of repetitive tasks and responsibilities. Just getting those accomplished is more than a day’s work. But then there are the other pressures in your life—employment, finances, relationships, health—to name but a few. It seems as if they never end no matter how hard we try to address them. And I can’t tell you that they will—not in this life. But there is one aspect of your life which is already taken care of completely. It’s the most important aspect of your life—your relationship with your God. It’s all done! It’s all done in Christ! Whoever believes in him has eternal life! He lived for you. He died for your sins. He rose again to make you certain of it. So, the next time that just living this life seems to be too much, recall what your Savior tells you right here. It’s all right here—God’s saving plan accomplished by Christ.

Part II

I once heard a Christian declare, “If you never hear the good news about Jesus as your Savior from sin and you die, you’ll go to heaven.” He believed you had to hear the gospel and reject it to be condemned to hell. But think about that. If what he said is true, then you and I should never risk someone’s eternal life by sharing the message about Jesus with them. In fact, we should never talk about Jesus as our Savior at all. But obviously, such thinking is false.

Jesus declares that very thing with these words of our text. “For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but to save the world through him. 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.” It’s all right here in the words of Jesus himself. He states very clearly, “Believe in me as the world’s only Savior from sin and be saved.” To believe in Jesus means to trust that he does something for us that we can’t do for ourselves, namely, earn our forgiveness and our eternal life in heaven. Those who believe in Jesus have these gifts by God’s grace.

But the opposite is also true. Those who don’t trust in Jesus for their forgiveness and eternal life are condemned by God. In fact, they are already living under his condemnation. That’s what sin and unbelief bring—God’s judgment.

Those are the results that occur because Jesus has completed our salvation. Faith in him receives eternal life. Unbelief receives eternal condemnation.

But how do we know who is who and which is which? Jesus answers that question. He states, “But whoever lives by the truth comes into the light, so that it may be seen plainly that what he has done has been done through God.” Take a look at the Christian. Watch as he or she worships Jesus. See their deeds done out of love for Christ. Talk with them and hear what a change Jesus has made in their lives.

And then watch the unbeliever. Jesus stated, “This is the verdict: Light has come into the world, but men loved darkness instead of light because their deeds were evil. Everyone who does evil hates the light, and will not come into the light for fear that his deeds will be exposed.” Jesus isn’t speaking only about mass murderers or child molesters here. Loving darkness and doing evil can be as outwardly harmless as thinking you’re a pretty good person and have no need for Jesus Christ. Darkness is trying to live without Christ in your life. No matter how outwardly good that life is, it still only leads to hell. That’s not what our Savior wants for anyone, but he doesn’t force us to believe in him.

It’s all right here—the results of Jesus’ work for every sinful human.

We have our doubts about a host of things in life, but our forgiveness and eternal life shouldn’t be among them. Jesus states it clearly. It’s all right here. Do you trust in Jesus as your Savior? Then you have eternal life. As you face the uncertainties of your life, may that great truth give you comfort and confidence! Amen.