Title: Everyone who believes/John 3:16-18
For every believer
John 3:16-18
Of all the graces God has given us, the greatest grace is the gift of Jesus to us. The text says, "For God so loved the world that he gave his only begotten Son, whoever believes in him has eternal life." This verse is so famous that we have all heard it from childhood. This verse is so famous that even people who do not know the Bible will remember this verse.
That's why Bible commentators refer to this verse as "the Gospel of the Gospels" or "the Little Gospel." And they do not spare much praise as "the essence of the gospel that can represent the entire Old and New Testaments." That is why this verse has such an important meaning.
Here we are talking about faith and salvation. Here it is said that "whoever just believes in Jesus will be saved." "Faith and salvation", this is the heart of Christianity and the content of the Gospel. However, when we speak of faith, we need to know that the following few things must come first.
One is "relationship".
“Whoever believes in me will not perish but will be saved.” The “I” here is, of course, Jesus. There is no salvation without a relationship with Jesus. Here, the subject of salvation is Jesus.
But these days, there are different kinds of beliefs. One is a form of belief aimed at fulfilling desires and wishes. This is often referred to as belief. This belief is a belief in the fulfillment of a desire or purpose. This is not biblical belief. That's why a theologian named Bon Hooper called this belief "cheap faith."
There are also beliefs for the purpose of discipline. It is a faith that believes in hopes of gaining peace of mind and psychological comfort. This is not biblical belief. This is an ethical belief and is only an extremely disciplined belief. If it has nothing to do with Jesus, it is not faith. Faith is the faith in the text only when it relates to Jesus.
It is as if a child in the womb can sustain life and receive nutrition only when it is connected to the mother's umbilical cord. When the fetus falls off the umbilical cord, it's over. Look at the piano. The life of the piano is shortened. A piano may look glamorous, shiny, and shiny from the outside, but that's not the point. The problem is the line in it. No matter how expensive and flashy the piano is, if the strings are attached to where they should be, they can function properly and be valued. These are all relationships.
Occasionally, there are people who say, "It's okay if I die" while fighting with family members. I'm saying this because I'm offended, but there is no irresponsible word like this one. How can I stop if I'm the only one dying? Does that mean that if I die by suicide, it doesn't matter if my family suffers right away? I don't end up with just me. This is relation.
So when the Bible speaks of this relationship, it speaks of the parable of the vine. No matter how high-quality a vine branch is, it is of no use unless it is attached to the trunk. If I fall off the stem just because I'm good, it's death.
Look. You know that before, we've all lived in the countryside. When it is time to dig sweet potatoes in the countryside, the sweet potatoes grow large in the ground, and the ground cracks and the soil rises. If you dig a crack at that time, a large sweet potato will pop out. And if you grab the stem and pull it out, several sweet potatoes are pulled out at once.
There is one thing to be clear about here. Apparently I pulled the stem and several were pulled out at once. Why would you? It was because all the sweet potatoes were tightly connected to the stem. So when I pulled the stem, several sweet potatoes ran out together. This is relation.
All Christians on this earth are thus united in the life of Jesus. So where Jesus is, we are, and where we are, Jesus is with us. And we will also enjoy the blessings that the Lord enjoys. He is resurrected, so we will be resurrected as well. Because he is glorified, we will be glorified; because he has triumphed we will triumph; since he has overcome the world, we will triumph in the world. Because we are all connected to the Lord. That's why Colossians 3 says, "Our life is hid in Christ." These are all statements about relationships.
To maintain a relationship with Jesus in this way means to confess Jesus as my Savior, Jesus as my King, my shepherd, and my God. That is the content of faith that the text we read today is talking about.
But sometimes, there are people who confess Jesus as their Savior and not confess Him as my God, but try to live like Jesus. So there are those who have compassion for the poor, do good, give alms, and try to live a life of truth.
There are many such people among many believers today. It is not strictly a Christian. It is just trying to be Christ, trying to live like Christ, thinking of and imitating Jesus as a model, not faith in accepting Jesus as your Savior. So this relationship is important to belief.
The second is "Knowing".
Verse 16 says, “This is so that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life.” God sent Jesus to this earth so that anyone might believe in him and have eternal life. Then how can you believe in such a Jesus? It is a thing to know. You need to know. If you don't know, you don't have faith.
It is very important that people know. No matter how expensive a person is, it is of no use if he does not know where he puts it. I have a very expensive jewelry ring and it is of no use to me unless I know where I put it. No matter how expensive the latest machine is, if you don't know how to touch it, it's just a piece of iron. What does that have to do with me?
Today is the computer age. Computers are omnipotent. So I bought a computer and put it away. What do you do when you buy it, you don't know how to touch it, and then it's just a lump of iron.
By "knowing" here, I don't mean to remember with your head. This word means experience. For example, it is meaningless to memorize the Bible a lot without knowing its meaning. Unfortunately, it is said that the person who memorized the Bible the most in Korea was the one who was in Yeongdeungpo Prison. It is said that he memorized all the New Testament and even the Psalms without making a mistake. Even though he had memorized the Bible so many times, those words had little effect on him. It is because there is no experience involved.
In John 6, Peter confesses, saying, "Here are the words of eternal life. Where will I go?" (6). This is the experience. Because he has such an experience, he cannot leave him. At the same time, those who do not have this kind of experience will have no choice but to leave the path of salvation with a light heart and no regrets. So, faith must be accompanied by such experiences.
Some like Albert Einstein said, "The basis of science is faith." Look. People put people on spaceships and launch them to the moon. At that time, neither the person who goes to the moon on a spaceship nor the person who sends it is very nervous. Because we believe that this spacecraft will return safely to Earth. That is why it is said that even science is based on faith.
This principle can be found in many ways in our daily life. Even when we get on an airplane and go high in the air, we sleep peacefully. Because we believe that this plane will take you safely to your destination. Also, while we ride the train and run wildly on the narrow rail, we fall asleep. Because I believe it too. what a good faith That's why John 1:12 says, "Whoever believes in his name will be saved." You believe because you know how to believe. Therefore, faith is knowledge.
So the most unfortunate person in the world is the ignorant person. The Bible says ignorance is a sin. If you don't know, you're bound to perish. And if people are ignorant, it will be more difficult to live in the world. Even if we walk on the same road, the feeling is different when we go and when we come. When I go, I feel farther away because I am going on a road I do not know. But when you come, you feel closer because you are coming from a way you know. It is so important that people live in this world knowing and living without knowing it.
So, knowing God, who is the source of knowledge, is the way to know yourself, the world, and the past, present, and future. In particular, what determines my destiny depends entirely on knowing God. That's why the Bible says, "Seek to know the Lord." Because knowledge is faith.
And it's "reception".
John 1:12 says, “Whoever receives Jesus will be saved.” This is the theme of the Gospel of John. Faith is not just about knowing and recognizing. We must receive what we know and recognize deeply in our hearts. And it must be accepted and confessed as my Lord, and must be experienced as my Lord.
When we come to know, believe, experience, and receive Jesus in this way, the first thing we do is change. That is a change of purpose. The purpose is changed from me-centered to Jesus-centered. A change of affiliation will come. The purpose and focus change. This is faith.
However, there are those who believe in Jesus, but the purpose remains the same and only the method changes. For example, there are people who go to the shaman and ask for blessings, wander here and there, and finally come into the church and ask for a blessing just for the purpose. This leaves the purpose alone and changes the method. This is not faith.
If we know, believe, and receive Jesus, our purpose must also change. And the concept of blessing must also change. Up until now, we have lived only seeing what we can see as blessings, but when our purpose changes, we discover that the true blessing in this world is Jesus Christ Himself. Only then will I be able to entrust and entrust my entire life to that Jesus Christ. It gives me the courage to entrust not only my life, but also my life and even my soul to him.
So, a relationship must be presupposed for belief, and there must be a process that must be accepted after knowing. Then it becomes a good belief. At that time, we will all be associated with the Lord and enjoy the blessings of the Lord together.
"For God so loved the world that he gave his only begotten Son, whoever believes in him will not perish but have eternal life." I hope you hold on to the risen Lord and live victoriously with the Lord.
1993. 4. 18. Sunday morning.