John 3:16-21
One of the best things about Christmas is that it reminds us of the foundational wonders of Christianity, especially the simple fact that God loves us.
Maybe you don’t feel God’s love this Christmas. Maybe you feel distant and disconnected. Maybe you’ve only heard silence in response to your prayers. Maybe because of hard times, you aren’t sure God is loving at all. I assure you, he is loving.
He so loved the world that he gave his son for it (v.16). If I gave my children for you, that single act would forever establish that my motives are for your good.
Sinners: God loves you. Jesus says in verse 17 that he didn’t come to condemn, but to save. He is for the sinners, the failures, the guilt ridden, the ashamed. He is for those who have blown it in their past and those who are blowing in in their present. He is here to save you.
Religious people: God loves you. In verse 18 he invites you to simply believe. This is for those who are working hard to establish and maintain God’s favor through a moral or religious lifestyle to no avail. Although John 3:16 is often seen on Tebow’s face or a sign held by the rainbow-afro guy at football games, it was originally spoken to a religious man named Nicodemus (see verse 1). He was morally and religiously upright, yet Jesus invites him repeatedly to just believe.
If you were adrift in a stormy sea and a coastguard chopper came overhead, would you listen for breaststroke instructions or look desperately for the rescue diver? While many are listening for instructions to be better husbands or wives, better fathers or mothers, etc., Jesus is rescuing all who will simply believe, follow and let him do the saving.
Everybody: God loves you. Not who you’re trying to be or who you think you need to become or your public persona. Romans 5:8 says “but God shows his love for us in that while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us.” Jesus didn’t come to condemn the sinners and condone the religious. He came to invite all into the light (verses 19-21).
He mentions in verse 18 that everyone is already condemned. This is because our default position is in the dark. The judgment isn’t that wicked people wouldn’t clean up their act. It’s that wicked people wouldn’t come into the light to be saved. Not that those doing bad stuff need to cut it out, but that those doing bad stuff need to do true stuff. And what’s true is this: We all need saving. In other words:
This is the message we have heard from him and proclaim to you, that God is light, and in him is no darkness at all. If we say we have fellowship with him while we walk in darkness, we lie and do not practice the truth. But if we walk in the light, as he is in the light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus his Son cleanses us from all sin. If we say we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us. If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness. If we say we have not sinned, we make him a liar, and his word is not in us. (1 John 1:5-10)
A Christmas Invitation
God loves you. He is inviting you into the light to believe in Jesus and be saved. When you do, you won’t find condemnation, isolation, or obligation. You’ll find forgiveness, fellowship, and freedom.
Believe in Jesus this Christmas.
Discussion Starters
1. Share the best Christmas gift you’ve ever received. Why was it do great?
2. What did God give to the world and why did he give it? What does this indicate about God’s generosity? What does this indicate about the world and what it needs?
3. According to this passage, why will some be condemned and others not condemned? Does this seem fair and right to you?
4. Read verses 19-21. What does it look like for a person to come into the light? (See 1 John 1:5-10 for help)
5. What do you think holds some people back from coming into the light?
6. How is the Christian idea of belief any different from the idea of believing in Santa Claus or the Easter Bunny?
7. How can we serve one another in light of this passage?
8. How can your group pray for you this week?
