Seek First: Escape Condemnation; The King has a Short Memory

Seek First: Escape Condemnation, The King has a short memory
• John 3:16 The context here is that Jesus is talking to Nicodemus about Spiritual things.
Verse 16 Jesus is speaking both about Himself and God the Father when He says…“For God so loved the world..”
• What God the Father did, He did from a place of love. This did not come from duty, or obligation.
• The word translated here as “world” is the word cosmos.
o He loves the whole world, not just a select few.
 No one can say that I am too far gone to be loved by God.
 Nor can we say that any person or group of people cannot be loved by God.
o God can have nothing but love for us since we are created in His image.
 If He did not love us, then He would hate part of Himself.
Verse 17 Because God the Father sent His Son Jesus from a place of love, He did not come to condemn us.
• In fact, He came to save us. While we were still sinners. We did nothing to deserve this or warrant this.
o Under the OT system of law, we stood condemned.
• Jesus came on Easter to do away with that old system of condemnation.
• But this plan of God, this act of His love, was too easy.
• Satan, knew that his days of holding death over God’s people was over after that first Easter.
o Condemnation and death were the last victories of satan.
• So satan had to use his last weapon to try and take out the people of God, deception related to condemnation.
• If satan can convince us we are still condemned, then we will live as if we are not free.
• We must remember that condemnation thinking is never from God.
The rest of the verse 17 It’s not just that we are not condemned, but we are saved.
• The word saved here is the word Sodezo, which means: save, rescue, deliver, keep safe, cure, make well.
o But the best part is that is in the passive form. It happens to us!
• We are saved from condemnation according to the law of God, and we are saved from condemnation thinking.
• Three parts and a response
o 1. Being saved starts with Grace
 Being saved flows from grace, because it is what we don’t deserve
o 2. Being saved continues with forgiveness
 We escape condemnation because God forgets our sins. Short memory.
o 3. Life to the full
 Being saved ends with getting to live an abundant and full life
o So how do we seek this?
 Through faith in Jesus
Verse 18 To drive home the point Jesus reiterates that he did not come to condemn.
• But those who don’t believe, they are still under the OT condemnation.