a Matter of Motives
March 30, 2003
John 3:17
Fourth Sunday in Lent
Galena-Warwick United Methodist Charge
Warwick & Galena, Maryland
Rev. Dr. Lawrence D. Jameson
larry@larryjameson.com
back to our church home page
John 3:17 says,
For God did not send his Son into the world
to condemn the world,
but to save the world through him.
Lots of people know John 3:16.
Not too many people know the verse that follows.
It’s a great verse too,
because it tells us about God’s motives.
Why did God send the Messiah?
What was he trying to accomplish?
It wasn’t to condemn, but to save.
Let’s take a look at the word “condemn”.
What does that word mean?
It’s a legal word, and it comes from the court room.
Condemn means to declare a person guilty,
worthy of punishment.
Sometimes it is helpful to define a word
by looking at its opposite.
In the Bible,
the opposite of condemn and condemnation
are
justify and justification.
What everybody wants
is the ability to stand before God, the great judge,
and be free from guilt,
fully justified.
But Scripture tells us in Romans 3:23
that “all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God”.
Everyone in the world has sinned.
None of us can depend upon our own good works
to make us right with God.
And Romans 6:23 says,
For the wages of sin is death,
but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.
Without the blood of Jesus Christ,
you, me, and everybody in the whole world
would be condemned, found guilty, before God.
That’s a big problem, and a terrible danger.
God doesn’t want us to be condemned.
He wants us to be justified.
God doesn’t want us to suffer spiritual death.
He wants us to have eternal life.
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.
For God did not send his Son
into the world to condemn the world,
but to save the world through him.
Let’s take a look at the word “save”.
What does the word “save” mean?
It’s a rescue word, and it comes from
the context of deliverance from physical danger.
In the Old Testament
the people of Israel
often needed someone to deliver them from
an invading army, or a tyrannical oppressor.
Moses was a savior.
He led his people out of captivity.
The Judges, such as Deborah, Gideon, and Samson, were saviors.
They led the people in battle against their enemies.
After the resurrection, the disciples called Jesus “Savior”
because he rescued the whole world
from our bondage to sin.
Acts 5:31 says,
“God exalted him to his own right hand as Prince and Savior
that he might give repentance and forgiveness of sins to Israel.”
Philippians 3:20-21says,
20But our citizenship is in heaven. And we eagerly await a Savior from there,
the Lord Jesus Christ,
21who, by the power that enables him to bring everything under his control, will
transform our lowly bodies so that they will be like his glorious body.
Has anyone ever asked you if you have been saved?
This is a Christian technical term.
They are asking you,
if you are a Christian.
You may or may not like the term “saved”
but it is a rich word, with a great history,
and it means a lot.
For Christians, being “saved” means
that we have been
rescued from the danger
of being condemned for our sins.
I believe John 3:17 is all about motives.
Why did God send the Messiah?
What was he trying to accomplish?
It wasn’t to condemn, but to save.
For God did not send his Son into the world
to condemn the world,
but to save the world through him.
I’ve been following the war in Iraq
by watching CNN, listening to the radio,
and by reading the papers.
Something that strikes me
is the way journalists and reporters
are constantly trying to question
what motivates President Bush.
Has the President sent troops into Iraq
because he wants us to control the oil there? (Blood for oil)
Has the President sent troops into Iraq
because he has some hidden agenda? (Not in my name)
Has the President sent troops into Iraq
because he wants to control the Arab world?
The question of motive
can be seen in every question
at every news conference,
from the White House, to the Pentagon,
to the Central Command in the middle east.
Reporters want to know why.
In a way, that’s a good thing.
We have freedom of the press,
and our government does not control
what journalists ask.
In another way, it’s frustrating,
because our media often gives the appearance
that we don’t trust the President
and we don’t believe what he says is true.
No matter how many times journalists ask hard questions,
there is just no way
they can possibly look inside the heart of our President.
I don’t know what the motives of the President are,
but for now, I choose to believe
that what he has told us is true,
that we are in Iraq
first to protect our own people
from weapons of mass destruction,
and second, to liberate the people of Iraq
from a tyrant.
I am going to keep on supporting the President,
and pray for God to protect and guide him.
I am going to salute the American flag,
and pin yellow ribbons up,
and pray for our soldiers
and pray for the citizens of Iraq,
including their soldiers and Sadam Hussein.
Conclusion
What people want to know are your motives.
People want to know where you are coming from,
and what you are trying to achieve.
John 3:17 contains a clear word from God for us.
Here it is spelled out plainly,
what God’s motives were for sending the Messiah.
For God did not send his Son into the world
to condemn the world,
but to save the world through him.