Believing In Jesus

“For God so loved the world, that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him shall not perish, but have eternal life.  John 3:16

We will look at the most famous verse in the Bible today. This is verse is also the most memorized verse in all of Scripture. Let us not lose the wonder and majesty of this teaching even though we are very familiar with it. Let us examine it in this post and be reminded of God’s love and goodness to us.

“For God……………………………..

God took the initiative in our salvation. Our relationship with Christ is not incidental or accidental. God made the first move.

“so loved the world…………………

God’s love compelled Him to send Christ for us. He loved us enough to take action on our behalf. He could have simply allowed us to suffer the natural consequences of our sin. But, His love would not allow Him to do that!

“that He gave His only begotten Son….

God sent Jesus into the world for us. The term “only begotten” implies uniqueness and singularity. God sent His one and only Son because He was the only One who could be our sacrifice for sin. Christ was the only acceptable sacrifice and substitute that could pay our sin debt.

“that whoever believes in Him shall not perish, but have eternal life………

Whoever believes in Him will have eternal life. There are no restrictions on the “whoever.” God loves the people of world and calls them to repent.

You may be asking “what do I have to believe?”

**First, believe that Jesus is who said He is. He is the Son of God who came into this world. He is the Savior and He is the only Savior.

**Also, believe that Jesus did what He said He did. He lived in the world perfectly for our righteousness. He died as our substitute and sacrifice on the cross for our forgiveness. And He rose again on the third day for our justification.

**Finally, believe that Jesus will do what He said He will do. The Bible declares that “whoever calls on the name of the Lord shall be saved”. (Romans 10:13) Jesus taught us “All that the Father gives Me will come to Me, and the one who comes to Me I will certainly not cast out.” (John 6:37)

Trust in Him today. Ask Christ to forgive you and save you. He loves you. And He desires your presence in Heaven!

Tony French