No other passage of scripture has been used so often by missionaries and evangelists in every age as John 3:16. No other proclamation has thrilled the hearts of millions of people like it. No other words have brought such multitudes to the feet of Christ as its simple and yet overpowering message. Spurgeon said about his own preaching, "My heart’s desire has been to sound forth, as with a trumpet, the good news that, ‘God so loved the world that He gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in Him should not perish, but have everlasting life.’"

What is it that makes this verse so well-loved and well-used by God’s people in all ages? Perhaps its attraction lies in two contrasting truths in it that enable us to see how great God’s love is. We shall consider each of them.

This makes the love of God appear bright and prominent by providing the darkest possible backdrop for it: the intense blackness of eternal death ("Whosoever believeth in Him should not perish."). If God had not given His Son, the world would have remained in a most hopeless, perishing state. The souls of sinners were not doomed to be merely annihilated into non-existence, but to be tormented endlessly in the fires of hell!

But how did this perishing of the world come about? The next 3 verses mention at least 3 causes. Firstly, there is God’s just condemnation of all who have sinned (v.17 – "For God sent not his Son into the world to condemn the world.") God should rightfully have sent His Son into the world to condemn the world as that was exactly what the world deserves. But instead of doing this God gave His Son to be condemned on the cross to take away the sins of the world! This unexpected reversal of roles should make us amazed at the infinite depth of God’s love for us.

Another cause for man’s perishing state was the hardness of the sinner’s heart. If God had not loved and saved us, our hearts would have remained desperately wicked and unreasonably cold toward Him (v.18 – "he that believeth not is condemned already, because he hath not believed in the name of the only begotten Son of God.") Such unwillingness to believe in the name of the only begotten Son of God indicates how intractably wicked the human heart is. All other sins are committed against the Law of God. But the sin of unbelief is committed against the Love of God. It is astonishing that sinners should spurn God’s supreme act of love and mercy as revealed in the cross where Jesus died. How desperately wicked are the hearts of all men! How can God love such a hard-hearted race?

One more cause for man’s perishing state is found in v.19 which forms an antithesis to v.16 – "and men loved darkness rather than light, because their deeds were evil." God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son to die for sinners. But man so loved the darkness that he hates the Light which exposes his own sins. God’s love for the world is merciful compassion. But man’s love for darkness is an abnormal obsession. How strange it is that sinners should love to wallow in their own sins and not want anything to diminish their perverse enjoyment of it! How can it be that God should love a world that is like this?

Thus the word "perish" in John 3:16 speaks of the intense blackness of the miserable state of unsaved sinners. But perhaps some may think, "All this may be true of many people, but it is not true of me. I am really not that bad. I do not deserve the condemnation. My heart is not as hard as you say and I do not really love darkness and sin." Dear Reader, it does not matter whether you have sinned more or less than others, or whether your sins are more evil or less evil than others. Sin pays every sinner the same wages – eternal death! (Romans 6:23) Thankfully, John 3:16 reveals more than just the wages of sin…

The unique feature about this gift is that there are actually two gifts in one! The first is the only begotten Son as John 3:16 plainly says. The second gift, which comes within the first gift, is eternal life (1 John 5:11-12). We shall look at the second gift first.

Eternal life is not merely an eternal existence of the soul after death. What is meant by the term is not merely quantity of life but quality of life – a life that is lived with Christ, walking with Him and enjoying fellowship with Him. And this begins not at death but at the moment of salvation. The first part is naturally spent here on earth, where we walk with Christ by faith. The second part of eternal life is spent in heaven, where we will walk with Him by sight.

The point to be emphasised is that eternal life is inseparably tied to Jesus Christ. You cannot possibly experience it without having Jesus, whether on earth or in heaven. And He is not merely a channel or stepping stone to get to eternal life and heaven. He is eternal life itself, and He is heaven itself! This is the reason why no one can rightly say that there are other ways to heaven. No non-Christian religion can ever lead a person to heaven and eternal life. There is only one possible outcome for all who do not receive Jesus Christ as their only Lord and Saviour: the Bible says they will perish in the eternal fires of hell.

Dear Reader, the only way for you to have eternal life is to have Christ as these two are inseparably tied together. This is the plain teaching of John 3:16 – "whosoever believeth in Him should not perish but have everlasting life." However, having Christ in your life is even better than being saved from eternal death and hell fire. He is really the greater gift than the gift of eternal life…

No one can receive any gift that is greater than Jesus Christ. He is the only begotten Son who was most precious to God Himself. God had lovingly declared Him to be His beloved Son in whom He is well pleased (Matthew 3:17). The Son had always been glorified with the Father long before the foundation of the world (John 17:5), and nothing could ever separate them. And yet, out of His great love for the world, the Father gave Him up to die for sinners. How can it be?

Look now at the cross where Christ was crucified, and listen carefully to the mournful cry of the only begotten Son, "My God, My God, why hast Thou forsaken Me?" (Matthew 27:46) We cannot even begin to fathom how deeply grieved the Son was to be forsaken by the Father. And we cannot even begin to fathom how deeply pained the Father’s heart was when He forsook His beloved Son! And yet God loved the world so much that He was willing to part with His own dear Son and let Him suffer and die alone on the cross. He would rather let Him bear the awful penalty for sins than to see sinners perish in those sins. How can it be?

Dear Reader, now that you have seen how immeasurably great God’s Love is according to John 3:16, you must come to Jesus! He is the only one who can save you from your sins. John 3:16 says, "Whosoever believeth in Him should not perish, but have everlasting life." What does it mean to believe in Jesus?

Firstly it means accepting everything that the Bible says about Him and about yourself as true – that Jesus is the Son of God who came down from heaven to be made a sacrifice for sin, and that you are a sinner who deserves nothing but judgment from God.

Secondly, you must put your trust entirely in Jesus alone to save you, and throw away whatever confidence you may have in your own good works or in any other thing to save you.

And thirdly, surrender your life to Him once and for all with no thought of turning back. He must be made the Lord and master of everything in your life. —CS

"For the wages of sin is death; but the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord." (Romans 6:23)

Please invite your friends to come!

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1) Catechism Class for Anniversary Baptism. Today’s class will be held at the Greek & Hebrew Room, Level 2.

2) Clerk of Works for the Beulah Project needed: The applicant must be a BCA Registered Clerk Of Works under the Building Control Act with a minimum of 5 years site experience. The scope of works include construction planning, management and supervisory role with competent knowledge of bore-pile, structural and building construction works and architectural finishes. Knowledge of installation of mechanical and electrical systems will be necessary. Experience in bored piling and post tensioning works would be an advantage. Please write to beulah@lifebpc.com.

3) Wednesday Night Bible Class. New Testament Survey by Rev Charles Seet commencing 3 Oct 07 (for 9 weeks). 7.30 - 9.30 pm, Chinese Service Hall.

4) Scripture Memory Verse Review No. 3: Please submit the written review exercise by 14 Oct. Review No. 1 and 2 are also available for those who missed them. Obtainable at the front counter. In order to encourage more participation in the memory verse review exercises, the qualifying percentage to receive a certificate will be reduced from now on from 90% to 70%.

5) Library Opening Hours: 2nd and 4th Sundays of the month, 7.30am to 7.55am. Every Sunday, 12:15 - 12:45 pm. There are about 3,000 Christian books for all ages!

Preaching appointment: Rev Seet at Filipina Catechism Class, 10.45 am. Rev Wong at New Life BPC, 9.30am.