Easter 2024: You Are Not Condemned: Don’t Live Like You Are
- John 3:16 The context here is that Jesus is talking to Nicodemus about Spiritual things.
- John 3:1 Nicodemus become confused by Jesus’ statement that you must be born again.
- John 3:14 Jesus is also preparing them for His death and resurrection.
- This passage in John 3:16 then perfectly represents what Easter is all about
Verse 16 Jesus states that what God the Father did, He did from a place of love.
- This did not come from duty, or obligation.
- It also says He loved the world, the whole world, not just a select few.
- In fact, the word translated here as “world” is the word cosmos.
- 1 John chapter 4 reminds us that God is love. His very essence is love.
- If He did not love us then He would hate part of Himself, and God cannot be conflicted within Himself. We are created in His image.
- Through simple faith in Jesus we can have eternal life.
- This is the Easter story.
- Through the work of Jesus on the cross we get eternal life, as the result of God’s love for us.
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.
- Under the OT system of law, we stood condemned.
- There was no way for our sins to be completely dealt with.
- Only temporarily could our sins be dealt with through the help of a priest and an animal sacrifice.
- 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, the enemy knew that his days of holding death over God’s people was over after that first Easter.
- 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.
- So satan had to disguise his deception, he took OT condemnation and repackaged it.
- He does that through distorting what we believe about God so that we put ourselves under condemnation.
- Lie # 1. Is God Good?
- Lie # 2. Who are You? Who do you think you are?
- Calling into question our God given identity.
7 Examples: Prayer, worship, forgiveness, tithing, money, habitual sins, lack of Justice.