Johann Quisumbing

Salvation Series by JQuisumbing

Once upon a time, I attended my first Bible Study and the teacher’s primary ‘go to’ Bible passage was from the book of John chapter 3 verse 16. 

For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life. [John 3:16]

This is an iconic passage and very much memorized by many. Why?

Did you know that imbued within this sentence of 26 words is the entire basis of the Bible’s message for mankind? It is the GOSPEL in a nutshell, but when broken open the vastness of the truth within will blow your mind away.

So, let us start.

1. For God so loved the world…

God’s love for us is the core of the gospel. The reality of which surrounds us day by day, as revealed in the Bible. Scripture after scripture, His love is seen in the awe of creation. I encourage you to read Genesis 1 & 2 with this in mind and envision the love that God put in all that He made, especially us. 

The LORD is good to everyone. He showers compassion on all his creations. (Psalm 145:9 NLT)

Read on and Scripture will show that His love is steadfast, unchanging and a great comfort to us; even to those that reject Him.

The Lord is not slow in keeping his promise, as some understand slowness. Instead he is patient with you, not wanting anyone to perish, but everyone to come to repentance. [2 Peter 3:9]

Ultimately, His love would lead Him to send His Son.

2. That He gave His one and only Son…

But why did God have to give up His Son for us? It all started in Genesis 3, when the sin of one made everyone else sinners causing us to be separated from God which is not supposed to be.

For just as through the disobedience of the one man the many were made sinners… (Romans 5:19)

And that is not all.

When Adam sinned, sin entered the world. Adam’s sin brought death, so death spread to everyone, for everyone sinned. (Romans 5:12 NLT)

I hate to say it but physically dying is not the worst part of our reality. Sin does entail a drastic eternal consequence. 

And just as it is destined for people to die once, and after this comes judgment… (Hebrews 9:27)

But for the cowardly, and unbelieving, and abominable, and murderers, and sexually immoral persons, and sorcerers, and idolaters, and all liars, their part will be in the lake that burns with fire and brimstone, which is the second death. (Revelation 21:8)

How can we escape the Hell? We go back to God’s love.

For God so loved the world…

God knew mankind was in trouble because of SIN.

This is the reason why He gave His one and only Son.

Enter JESUS CHRIST.

So just as sin ruled over all people and brought them to death, now God’s wonderful grace rules instead, giving us right standing with God and resulting in eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord. (Romans 5:21)

But why Jesus? Why not another?

Jesus said, “I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.” (John 14:6)

This is a BOLD declaration. Jesus is either a liar or a lunatic… Or He spoke the TRUTH which, by the way, is undeniably supported by the Bible; most especially the four Gospel books of the New Testament (Matthew, Mark, Luke & John).

How was Jesus to pave the way to God? What was He to do?

Do you recall this verse?

For the wages of sin is death… (Romans 6:23)

Sin had to be paid and it required the death of a true innocent… one who is without sin.

And you know that Jesus came to take away our sins, and there is no sin in him. (1 John 3:5)

How can Jesus be without sin? This is where the Christmas story of the Bible comes into play. No other human being was born like the way Jesus came into this world. In the book of Luke, the Angel visited a young maiden named Mary in Nazareth and it was there that the power of the Most High worked the quietest miracle in history, the conception of a Child in a virgin. This means that when Jesus was born, He was not tainted by the original sin of Adam. He alone was God’s perfect instrument of His purpose.

What purpose was that? For Jesus to die for us.  

For Christ also died for sins once for all, the just for the unjust, so that He might bring us to God… (1 Peter 3:18)

By dying for us some 2000 years ago, Jesus COMPLETELY PAID the penalty of our sins. How can we know that Jesus fulfilled God’s purpose? On the third day after His death, God brought Him back to life.

…regarding his Son, who as to his earthly life was a descendant of David, and who through the Spirit of holiness was appointed the Son of God in power by his resurrection from the dead: Jesus Christ our Lord. (Romans 1:3-4)

Where do we go from here?

3. That whoever believes in Him… 

I have reiterated time after time in this Gospel blog that there is nothing you can do to pay for the penalty of sin. However, we still have something to do. Good news is, it is not to pay for the penalty of sin. Our loving God took care of that.

“But God demonstrates his own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us.” (Romans 5:8)

So, what is our part?

But these are written that you may believe that Jesus is the Messiah, the Son of God, and that by believing you may have life in his name. (John 20:31)

“Do not let your hearts be troubled. You believe in God; believe also in me.”  (John 14:1)

The dictionary defines ‘BELIEVE’ as accept (something) as true; feel sure of the truth of.

For myself, this is GOOD NEWS on a personal note. You see, the Lord made sure that our part was something that you and I are capable of doing easily. All God asked of us is to BELIEVE Him… to BELIEVE in what His Son did for us.

So, where do we go from here?

Well, wherever you are right now, know that God is listening for you. Talk to Him with no delay and express your faith in Jesus Christ and receive Him into your heart as your Lord and Savior. You only have to pray the prayer below once, but with sincerity, because when He enters your life, He will never leave you.

PRAYER: Lord Jesus, thank you so much for loving me. I confess that I am a sinner worthy of eternal punishment. Thank you for dying on the cross to pay for all of my sins. With your help, I am turning away from all my sins. Today, I put my trust in you as my Lord and Savior and I receive you into my heart. Thank you for forgiving my sins and for coming into my heart. I accept your free gift of eternal life. Thank you that one day, I will go home to be with you in heaven. From this day on, I will follow and obey you. Amen.

4. Shall not perish, but have eternal life

What happens next? This next phase is in God’s court.

Whoever believes in the Son has eternal life, but whoever rejects the Son will not see life, for God’s wrath remains on them. (John 3:36)

What is eternal life?

When Scripture speaks of eternal life, it refers to the gift of God.

For the wages of sin is death, but the free gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord. (Romans 6:23)

The gift of eternal life comes to those who believe in Jesus Christ, who is Himself “the resurrection and the life” (John 11:25). The fact that this life is “eternal” indicates that it is the perpetual life—it goes on and on and on, with no end.

It is a mistake, however, to view eternal life as simply an unending progression of years. (After all, in eternity, time has no meaning.) A common New Testament word for “eternal” is aiónios, which carries the idea of quality as well as quantity. In fact, eternal life is not really associated with “years” at all, as it is independent of time. Eternal life can function outside of and beyond time, as well as within time. For this reason, eternal life can be thought of as something that Christians experience now. Believers don’t have to “wait” for eternal life, because it’s not something that starts when they die. Rather, eternal life begins the moment a person exercises faith in Christ. [www.gotquestions.org/what-is-eternal-life]

What makes the good news ‘GOOD’? I believe it is the personal knowledge of being with God in eternity. In fact, it is better than good. It is…

FANTASTIC!