The Good News
Pastor Leslie Chua
“And as Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, so must the Son of Man be lifted up, that whoever believes in him may have eternal life.
“For God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life.
For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but in order that the world might be saved through him. Whoever believes in him is not condemned, but whoever does not believe is condemned already, because he has not believed in the name of the only Son of God.”
We are in the Christmas season. As usual, most parts of the world are celebrating Christmas though in a different way from the church. In the past, fictional figures such as Santa Claus and Rudolf the red-nosed reindeer featured prominently. No longer now. But Christmas trees still adorn homes and public areas. Many people still party and drink. More people are travelling overseas for vacation. Over the years, Christmas has become just another holiday season, even for many Christians. The significance of Christmas is all but lost amid the revelries and festivities.
Christmas is about a momentous event, the birth of Jesus Christ who is the Saviour of the world. Jesus was supernaturally conceived by the power of the Spirit of God in the womb of a young Jewish virgin girl by the name of Mary.
Christmas commemorates the incarnation of the Son of God. Jesus left the glory of heaven, took on human flesh, and came to earth on a mission to save humanity from sin.
Christmas is all about Jesus!
The passage in John 3:14-18 succinctly explains the significance of Christmas and the mission of Christ Jesus.
Born to be the Sacrifice for Sin
Jesus came to be the sacrificial Lamb of God to take away the sin of the world. In other words, He was born to die.
Moses lifting up the bronze serpent in the wilderness is an analogy of Jesus’ sacrificial death.
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Jesus came to be the sacrificial Lamb of God to take away the sin of the world.
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The story takes us back to the time when the Israelites were wandering in the desert wilderness after their exodus from Egypt. Because they sinned against God and Moses, God sent poisonous snakes among them. As a result, many were killed. When they repented, God instructed Moses to make a bronze snake and set it on a pole. Those who were bitten just needed to look at the bronze serpent, and they would be healed. That is, they would be saved from impending death.
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Anyone who believes that Jesus was crucified on the cross to save us from the penalty of sin will be saved.
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In the same manner, Jesus would be lifted up. The lifting of Jesus refers to His crucifixion on the cross.
Anyone who believes that Jesus was crucified on the cross to save us from the penalty of sin will be saved. While the lifting of the bronze serpent saved the Israelites from physical death, the lifting up – crucifixion – of Jesus will save us from spiritual death.
Sin condemns us to spiritual death.
Romans 6:23 - For the wages of sin is death, but the free gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.
Spiritual death is the eternal separation from God in a place called hell where there will be everlasting torment. Hell is a real place. It is not imaginary.
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Eternal life is a free gift.
You receive it by believing that Jesus died on the cross for your sin.
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We do not need to work for our salvation. Truth be told, we cannot earn our salvation because our lives and our good works can never be good enough to meet God’s holy standards. The Bible tells us that “for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, and are justified by his grace as a gift, through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus, whom God put forward as a propitiation by his blood, to be received by faith (Romans 3:23-25).
Eternal life is a free gift. You receive it by believing that Jesus died on the cross for your sin.
Our decision to believe or disbelieve that Jesus is the Saviour has eternal implications. It determines where we will spend our eternity, whether in heaven or hell.
Eternity is a long time to be wrong. Therefore, we must seriously consider the claims of Jesus and His offer of salvation very carefully.
God Loved the World
Why would God send His Son to die for sinful humanity?
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God’s justice left Him with no choice but to condemn sinners to eternal punishment in hell. However, God’s love compelled Him to do the unthinkable and the only thing that could save humanity. He sent His one and only Son, Jesus Christ, to be the sacrifice to take away the sin of humanity.
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The Gospel of John gives the answer. Because ‘God so loved the world.’ Because God loved humanity whom He had created. Every father loves his own children. How much more our Heavenly Father loves those whom He has created! He would not want to see anyone perish but receive eternal life. That is His heartbeat.
God’s justice left Him with no choice but to condemn sinners to eternal punishment in hell. However, God’s love compelled Him to do the unthinkable and the only thing that could save humanity. He sent His one and only Son, Jesus Christ, to be the sacrifice to take away the sin of humanity. Jesus took our place. On the cross, He who knew no sin died on behalf of sinful men and women.
It all began two thousand years ago on the first Christmas. God sent His Son. Born of a virgin, Jesus was clothed in human flesh.
Christmas is the celebration of the love of God. Christmas is the celebration of Jesus Christ, God’s precious gift of love.
Condemned Already
Jesus made an interesting comment in John 3:18 – ‘whoever does not believe is condemned already.’
That is the unwelcome truth of the spiritual state of humanity. Everyone is condemned already.
Why?
Because everyone is born a sinner. We are sinners not because we sin. On the contrary, we are sinners because we are born sinful. We are born with a propensity to sin. It is hard not to see this truth. You just have to observe the little children. They misbehave as soon as they could flex their will. Nobody teaches them to do so. It is inborn.
The reason is we inherit our sinful nature from Adam and Eve, the first couple. They sinned when they blatantly disobeyed God’s command not to eat from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil.
Adam and Eve’s fallen nature and their guilty stain of sin passed on to the generations that followed. This is the unfortunate story of humanity, which explains Jesus’ statement that ‘whoever does not believe (in Him) is condemned already.’
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If you have not believed Jesus and received Him as your Saviour and Lord, I invite you to do so today. Make this a memorable Christmas by asking Him to come into your life.
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The good news is ‘whoever believes in him (Jesus) is not condemned.’ Hallelujah!
Jesus did not come to condemn the world, but He came so that the world might be saved through Him.
If you have not believed Jesus and received Him as your Saviour and Lord, I invite you to do so today. Make this a memorable Christmas by asking Him to come into your life.