Jesus is telling Nicodemus that He is the Messiah, the Christ that they have been eagerly waiting for. He is answering the question that Nicodemus came to ask. Nicodemus was a man who knew God’s word. He was a Pharisee. The Pharisees knew the Scriptures better than anyone. They prided themselves on their great knowledge of and their ability to keep the law. They were supposed to teach Israel and lead them to God, but they were prideful and saw themselves not as shepherds and servants, but as the elite who were better than the ones that they had been entrusted to care for.
This is the root of Jesus’ frustration with the Pharisees. But before we judge them too harshly, consider our own nature for a moment. How often do we as Christians …show more content…
John 3:16. “For God so loved the world that He sent His only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in Him shall not perish but have everlasting life.” There are a couple of very important points about this verse that we need to address.
First, the word “whosoever” (pas (pas) meaning: all, the whole, every kind of) does not have any exceptions. Whoever means WHOEVER. It does not say whoever except homosexuals, or except thieves, or except murderers, or except any other “sinner”. It means ANYONE who believes in Jesus as their Lord and Savior.
Next, the word “believes” (pisteuó (pist-yoo '-o) meaning: I believe, have faith in, trust in; pass: I am entrusted with) is not just mere acceptance of the fact that Jesus is the Messiah. It means to place our complete trust and faith in Him in every aspect of our lives and let Him be Lord over our lives. In other words, let Him have complete unfettered and unconditional authority over our lives. Faith means complete faith in Him and His ability to guide us and care for …show more content…
We know this. God tells us this and yet we choose to follow our own way of thinking and then call Him evil and mean because we die. Oh how arrogant can we be? Then when we come to our senses and realize that our only hope is to follow Him we want to puff ourselves up and think that we are better than those who think the way we used to? You have to ask why in the world would God put up with us? The great news is BECAUSE HE LOVES US!
God says that when we come to the light, others can see that we are doing what He wants us to do. What is it that God wants us to do? It is nothing that we can claim as our work. It is not some great achievement or deed. It is trusting in Him. It is letting Him drive and have control of where we go and what we do. When we do, He will lead us to share His love and gift of grace so that our brothers and sisters can be saved. Are not the two greatest commandments to love God with everything that we are and to love our neighbor as we love ourselves? This is what He really wants us to
This is the root of Jesus’ frustration with the Pharisees. But before we judge them too harshly, consider our own nature for a moment. How often do we as Christians …show more content…
John 3:16. “For God so loved the world that He sent His only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in Him shall not perish but have everlasting life.” There are a couple of very important points about this verse that we need to address.
First, the word “whosoever” (pas (pas) meaning: all, the whole, every kind of) does not have any exceptions. Whoever means WHOEVER. It does not say whoever except homosexuals, or except thieves, or except murderers, or except any other “sinner”. It means ANYONE who believes in Jesus as their Lord and Savior.
Next, the word “believes” (pisteuó (pist-yoo '-o) meaning: I believe, have faith in, trust in; pass: I am entrusted with) is not just mere acceptance of the fact that Jesus is the Messiah. It means to place our complete trust and faith in Him in every aspect of our lives and let Him be Lord over our lives. In other words, let Him have complete unfettered and unconditional authority over our lives. Faith means complete faith in Him and His ability to guide us and care for …show more content…
We know this. God tells us this and yet we choose to follow our own way of thinking and then call Him evil and mean because we die. Oh how arrogant can we be? Then when we come to our senses and realize that our only hope is to follow Him we want to puff ourselves up and think that we are better than those who think the way we used to? You have to ask why in the world would God put up with us? The great news is BECAUSE HE LOVES US!
God says that when we come to the light, others can see that we are doing what He wants us to do. What is it that God wants us to do? It is nothing that we can claim as our work. It is not some great achievement or deed. It is trusting in Him. It is letting Him drive and have control of where we go and what we do. When we do, He will lead us to share His love and gift of grace so that our brothers and sisters can be saved. Are not the two greatest commandments to love God with everything that we are and to love our neighbor as we love ourselves? This is what He really wants us to