What If John 3:16 Were Not True?
John 3:16
I. Introduction
A. We are Walking on Familiar Ground
1. The most familiar verse in the Bible
2. Luther called it the little Bible
3. It is the favorite verse of children … and often quoted to dying people
B. The Setting of the Verse
1. The verse spoken to a good and religious man to explain salvation
2. It’s use to win this ruler of the Jews to Jesus
C. But what if this Great Verse were not True?
II. Body
A. What if God had not Loved the World?
1. “For God so loved the world”
2. Without His love there would be no hope at all
a. A dark planet hurtling through space without hope
b. Nothing to live for and no purpose for existence
c. Every death would be the end of personal hope and every grave a place of despair
d. A world where prayers were but useless cries to the skies
3. But God does love the world
a. Everything speaks of His love
b. Every sunrise … every blade of grass … every fountain of water … every birth … the face of every child
4. The greatest demonstration of His love is the cross
B. What if God had not given his Son?
1. “That He gave His only begotten son”
2. God’s love would be frustrated without the cross
3. Real love always demands giving
a. A man marries; then works, provides, cares
b. A woman marries and gives of herself for her family
c. A man anticipates his death; so he provides with insurance
4. God has given His Son, … and apart from this there would be no salvation
C. What if God’s Offer of Salvation were not to the “ Whosoever”?
1. “That whosoever”
2. The wonderful word that is general yet particular
3. It embraces all and yet touches each one
4. It reaches out to you
5. Suppose God had offered salvation only to the rich
6. Suppose God had offered salvation only to the healthy or educated
7. But God calls all people, individually to trust Him
D. What if God’s Offer were not Based on Faith Alone?
1. “Believeth”
2. Picture men working, trying, dying
3. Picture men learning, earning, failing
4. Consider the dying thief … and the offer to dying men
III. Conclusion
A. But John 3:16 is True!
B. You can be Saved by Faith in Christ
C. What a Message to Take to the World!
Roger F. Campbell, Preach for a Year (Grand Rapids, MI: Kregel Publications, 1997).
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