Good morning. Thankful to be back with you here at Tyler. Thankful for the singing that has gone before and for the opportunity we have to meet together to worship our Lord, to reflect upon his word. Want to be mindful of those who are not with us and pray for those that the Lord would bless them where they are and as they Listen to the word and join with us remotely some of them. Pray that the Lord will work in all of this for his glory to direct our minds and hearts to him. Let's go to the Lord together in prayer one more time. Almighty Heavenly Father, we do thank you for this day. Father, we thank you for your work in us. Father, bringing us to faith in you and revealing yourself to us in your word and Father, in your works in our lives. Father, we thank you for the gift of grace. We thank you for the gift of your presence and of your Holy Spirit. And Father, we ask now that you would commune with us, that you would take your word, that you would apply it to our hearts and to our minds and direct our paths and ways of righteousness and father in ways that would magnify your name. Father we ask your presence with each one of us and father with those who are not with us embody that you would be with them and bless them with your presence with a desire to meet once again with the saints and father with the ability to to meditate and to rejoice in your word and father we ask that you would cause us each to build one another up to encourage each other daily and to direct each other to your word. Father, we ask now that you would bless us, that you would clear our minds, that you would enable us to focus our attention upon your word, and in it seek to see you. And Father, in seeing you, that we would savor you in all of your glory, Father, and lift you up, that we would magnify the name of Jesus, in whose name we pray. Amen. Amen. We'd like to turn back with you this morning to the book of John, the Gospel of John, chapter 3. The last time that I spoke here, we looked at the interaction between Jesus and Nicodemus. As Nicodemus, the ruler of the Jews, came and said to Jesus, Rabbi, we know thou art a teacher come from God, for no man can do these miracles that thou doest except God be with him. And how Jesus answered and said, no man can come to me, no man can enter into the kingdom or see the kingdom, except they be born of God, born of the Spirit of God, except they be born again is the way he presents it. And then he follows that up by saying they must be born of water and of the Spirit in order to enter into the kingdom. And Nicodemus is startled by this teaching. He's stunned by it. He says, what are you talking about? How can a man enter into his mother's womb and be born again when he is old? Jesus clarifies and says, that which is born of the flesh is flesh, that which is born of the spirit is spirit. And he says, marvel not that I said unto thee, ye must be born again. The wind bloweth where it listeth, thou hearest the sound thereof, but canst not tell whence it cometh and whither it goeth. So is every one that is born of the spirit. Nicodemus said, how can these things be? And Jesus reproves him, saying, Art thou a master of Israel, and knowest not these things? Verily, verily, I say unto thee, We speak that which we do know, and testify that which we have seen, and ye receive not our witness. If I have told you earthly things, and ye believe not, how shall ye believe if I tell you of heavenly things? And no man hath ascended up to heaven, but he that came down from heaven, even the Son of Man which is in heaven. And that's where we concluded our thoughts. So this is Jesus interacting with Nicodemus. As we move forward this morning, it's important we remember Jesus is still talking to Nicodemus. He's talking to a master of the Jews, a ruler of Israel, a man who is familiar with the law, familiar with the stories, the history, the heritage of the Jews, and familiar with the concept of a coming Messiah. He knows that Moses taught. There's a prophet coming after that's like to me, but greater than me, and this is the Savior of Israel. And Nicodemus is aware of this teaching, he's aware of this prophecy, and on some level with all of the other rulers of the Jews, he's looking for the coming of a Messiah. But he doesn't know what that Messiah is because he's ignorant of the very spirit and teaching of the law. And now the Messiah is standing before him and he has the wisdom to say, we know you're a teacher. We know you're a rabbi, a master come from God. But Jesus is revealing to him exactly who the Messiah is. And he does that in the verses we just read in the verses to come. shares with him and reveals to him the Messiah's nature and the love of God and what that means for not only Nicodemus and Israel, but for the people of God the world over. Things are different than Nicodemus has understood them to be and frankly different than many of the world today believe them to be. And Jesus here reveals that truly. So in these verses we just read, verse 12, Jesus says, if I have told you earthly things and you believe not, how shall you believe if I tell you of heavenly things? Simply asking Nicodemus to consider, if you can't even understand what I've just said to you, which is a natural illustration, how are you gonna understand when I tell you things that are truly heavenly, that are truly spiritual, that require a spiritual mind? And he follows it up with this statement. No man hath ascended up to heaven, but he that came down from heaven, even the son of man which is in heaven. And that statement, if we break it down, is confusing at best, and it must have stunned Nicodemus, and it puzzles me when I read it. But this speaks to the nature of Christ. You remember in the first chapter, we talked about how John's emphasis is that Jesus Christ is God. He's divine. He's holy. He is God. in the beginning with God. All things were made by him. Without him was not anything made that was made. Jesus Christ is God and he has every bit of God's character, God's nature. He is fully God. That's re-emphasized here as Jesus speaks to Nicodemus because look at what he says. He says, no one's ascended up to heaven. No one can go from earth to heaven except he that came down from heaven, even the son of man. So he says, I came down from heaven. That's what he's saying. I originated in heaven. I came down to earth. But he doesn't stop there because he concludes the statement by saying that I am in heaven. He that came down from heaven, even the son of man, which is in heaven. Jesus here is claiming that he is everywhere present. I'm here with you, Nicodemus. I came down from heaven. I am the son of man, but I am in heaven. And Jesus Christ, though he dwelt in a physical body, though he was man, he is God and he is everywhere present. You can't escape him. And that message is sent to Nicodemus. But then he comes to our text this morning. Jesus is now going to tell some spiritual things, some heavenly things, some things that Nicodemus is going to struggle with and, frankly, the world over, men struggle with even to this day. But we're getting to one of the most well-known texts in all of Scripture, one that everyone knows but few seem to really grasp or understand. But in verse 14, the Lord said, And as Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, Even so must the son of man be lifted up, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have eternal life. This is an important precursor to the following text, and this is an important text to consider in and of itself. Jesus Christ came into this world with a fixed purpose. Jesus Christ came, we're told in Matthew 1 and 21, to save his people from their sins. And the method of that salvation was prescribed by God before the world began. Jesus Christ didn't come into the world wondering what his purpose was or what he was going to accomplish or how he was going to do it. And contrary to how some people see John chapter one, he didn't come to his own. And if they received him, then he would have taken up a throne and ruled over them. No, Jesus Christ came because the son of man must be lifted up. And when he speaks of being lifted up here, he's speaking of nothing else than the cross. He came to die. He came to suffer. He came to suffer a humiliating death before men. But Jesus presents this to Nicodemus by tying back to a well-known story, a well-known illustration. He says, as Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, even so must the Son of Man be lifted up. And here he's referring to a story, a fact, an act of God in the time of the wilderness wanderings that's recorded in Numbers 21. In Numbers chapter 21, the people of Israel, though God had delivered them time and again, delivered them from Egyptian bondage and delivered them to a land of promise, which because of their pride and their fear and their lack of faith, they failed to enter in and because of their unbelief were forced to wander in the wilderness. In their time of wondering, they again and again found themselves disobedient to the Lord and sought after other gods. Shortly after the death of Aaron, the priest of the Most High God. In chapter 21 we read beginning in verse 1, When King Arad the Canaanite, which dwelt in the south, heard tell Israel came by the way of the spies, then he fought against Israel and took some of them prisoners. And Israel vowed a vow unto the Lord, and said, If thou wilt indeed deliver this people into my hand, then I will utterly destroy their cities.' And the Lord hearkened to the voice of Israel and delivered up the Canaanites, and they utterly destroyed them and their cities. And he called the name of the place Hormah. And they journeyed from Mount Hor by way of the Red Sea to come past the land of Edom. And the soul of the people was much discouraged because of the way. And the people spake against God and against Moses, Wherefore have ye brought us up out of Egypt to die in the wilderness? For there is no bread, neither is there any water, and our soul loatheth this light bread. And the Lord sent fiery serpents among the people, and they bit the people, and much people of Israel died. Therefore the people came to Moses and said, We have sinned, for we have spoken against the Lord and against thee. Pray unto the Lord that he take away the serpents from us. And Moses prayed for the people. This background here is showing the sin of Israel. But what they did is they cried out against God. They were discouraged in the way. You know, last week, Brother Jacob talked to us about the reality that in following after God, sometimes the way isn't always easy and sometimes difficulty comes. And the tendency is to question, to doubt and to fear. And that's what Israel fell into time and again. But in this case, Israel went too far. They were discouraged because of the difficulty of the way. And they cried out against God as they had many times before. And they said, why did you even bother bringing us out of Egypt to die in this land? And this land is difficult and it's hard and there's no bread and there's no water. And then they said the unforgivable thing. Our soul loatheth, our soul hateth this light bread. And what bread was that? It was manna. It was bread from heaven. It was that which God provided the perfect nourishment, the perfect sustenance for them. It was what they needed. And this bread is revealed in the New Testament here in John's gospel to be typical of the Son of God, which comes down from heaven. Jesus says, Moses didn't give you that true bread from heaven. Moses gave you bread that you had to eat gathering every day. Jesus said, I am the bread of life. I am that true bread. I am that one that comes down from heaven. And what did they say? We loathe this light bread. Just like in the day when Jesus came to his own and his own received him not, they received the bread of God and their souls despised it. They said, our souls loatheth this light bread. And for that reason, God sent among them fiery serpents, serpents who bit them and they died. That's a terrible way to die and they were experiencing it in mass. And the people realized they had gone too far. Verse 7, the people came to Moses and said, We have sinned, for we've spoken against the Lord and against thee. Pray to the Lord that he take away the serpents from us. And Moses prayed for the people. And the Lord said unto Moses, Make thee a fiery serpent, an image of one of these serpents, and set it upon a pole, and it shall come to pass that everyone that is bidden, when he looketh upon it, shall live. And Moses made a serpent of brass and put it upon a pole, And it came to pass that if a serpent had bidden any man when he beheld the serpent of brass, he lived. It's a story that was well known to Israel, a miraculous story of God's healing, of God's saving of people who deserved to die and were suffering judgment and condemnation. And the way God chose to save them was by commanding that a serpent be hanged on a pole and held before them. And everyone who looked upon it would be saved, would be delivered from death. So Jesus employs this now and he says, as Moses lifted up the serpent, even so must the son of man be lifted up. That whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have eternal life. Now there's a lot of commentators that say a lot of things about this verse. John Gill goes in extensively talking about the comparisons between the serpent and the person of Jesus Christ. Native to the text, I think what's important to see here is the comparison Jesus in Christ draws. The Son of Man must be lifted up. The serpent was lifted up. And those who looked upon the serpent were saved. And Jesus Christ, he must be lifted up. And by this, Jesus speaks of his death. How do I know that? Well, we find some other texts in John where Jesus employs the same terminology, says the same exact thing. In John chapter 8 and verse 28, I believe it is. Jesus... Yes, as He's speaking to these individuals, He says, You are from beneath, I am from above. You're of this world, I am not of this world. Again, speaking of His holiness, His deity. I said therefore unto you that ye shall die in your sins, for if you believe not that I am He, ye shall die in your sins. And they said unto him, Who art thou? Jesus saith to them, Even the same that I said unto you from the beginning. I have many things to say and to judge of you, but he that sent me is true. And I speak to the world those things which I have heard of him. They understood not that he spake to them of the Father. Then said Jesus unto them, when ye have lifted up the Son of Man, then shall ye know that I am he, and that I do nothing of myself, but as my Father hath taught me, I speak these things. Jesus here says, I am from heaven, but he says, when ye have lifted up the Son of Man, when you have lifted me up. Again, speaking of the cross. Again, Jesus speaks in John chapter 12. In John chapter 12 and verse 32, he uses the same language. He says, this voice came, the voice of God speaking. This voice came not because of me, but for your sakes. Now is the judgment of this world. Now shall the prince of this world be cast out. And I, if I be lifted up from the earth, will draw all men unto me. You say, well, that's talking about the gospel, that's talking about his name being exalted. No, Jesus clarifies it. This, he said, signifying what death he should die. When we talk about being lifted up, Jesus Christ literally was lifted up on a cross, beheld by men, and there he suffered the wrath of God for the sins of his people. There he died, and he did it with a purpose. So that brings weight to these words as Jesus speaks to Nicodemus, these heavenly things. He says, as Moses lifted up the serpent, even so must the son of man be lifted up. This must happen. The other thing we see here is as Moses lifted up, Jesus is tying back to that saying, this was a symbol. It was a type of me of what I was going to do. It's not a new thing revealed in the New Testament. It's only a fulfillment of that which was prophesied of old. that which was instituted of old. The idea of looking upon Christ is instilled in Old Testament values, in Old Testament understanding, in Old Testament revelation, because the time was coming when the Son of Man would come, and the Son of Man must be lifted up. And the Son of Man must be lifted up for salvation, that whosoever believeth in Him should not perish, but have eternal life. Jesus came with purpose, and that purpose was to accomplish what he came to do. He came to this world for a purpose. That purpose again is revealed, that he should save his people from their sins. And Jesus Christ, from the cross, cried out, it is finished. He accomplished the work that he came to do. So to Nicodemus, he says, I didn't come for damnation, but I came to bring salvation. that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have eternal life. Turning back to the book of Isaiah, Isaiah chapter 45, as the authority, the power, the sovereignty of God is extolled, even as he prophesies destruction on his enemies and hardship to come for those who have rejected him. Coming to the end of that chapter, we find this statement. Tell ye and bring them near, yea, let them take counsel together, who hath declared this from ancient time, who hath told it from that time, have not I the Lord? There is no God else beside me, a just God and a Savior, there is none beside me. This is a theme that runs throughout the scripture. There is no salvation outside of Jesus Christ. And here the Old Testament prophet says, there is no savior beside me. And verse 22, look unto me and be saved all the ends of the earth. For I am God and there is none else. Look unto me. Jesus says, the same way Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, even so must the Son of Man be lifted up. And being lifted up, he'll accomplish all of his pleasure. Why? Because he's God, which he prefaced the statement with. And then we come to verse 16. Why must this be? As Moses lifted up the serpent, even so must the Son of God be lifted up. Why must he? Because because God so loved the world. He so loved the world, he gave his only begotten son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life. I know we all know this verse of scripture. We've all heard it time and time again. We've heard it read. We've heard it quoted. We've heard it presented in many different contexts in many different ways. But Jesus Christ declares to Nicodemus, the reason why he must die is because God loved the world. God so loved the world that he gave his only begotten son. Jesus Christ was a sacrifice, a gift, a necessary gift because God loved his people. This truth is revealed and restated over and over again. In Romans chapter 8, we find the expression of the Apostle Paul as he says, What shall we say then to these things? If God be for us, who can be against us? He that spared not his own son, but delivered him up for us all, how shall he not with him also freely give us all things? Here Paul says, God spared not his son, he gave his son for us all. And that has the promise of every other gift that we could desire or need. How shall God not with Christ also freely give us all things? Jesus Christ said God so loved the world that he gave his Son. And Jesus is saying, I am that Son. I'm here because of the love of God. Paul, writing by inspiration in Ephesians chapter two, says, but God who is rich in mercy for his great love wherewith he loved us, even while we were dead in sins, hath quickened us together with Christ. By grace are you saved. Jesus says, God so loved the world that he gave his only begotten son. Now, who is this world that God loved? Does this mean God loved every single individual human being? No, that's not what Jesus is saying. But what he is saying to Nicodemus is, it's not just you, it's the whole world. God has a people out of every every nation, every kindred, every tongue, every people. And that's reiterated in Jesus' teaching over and over again. In John chapter 10 when he talks about himself as the great shepherd of the sheep, he says to the Jews listening there, other sheep have I which are not of this fold, them also must I bring. And here Jesus says God loved the world so much that he gave his only begotten son. that whosoever believeth in him should not perish but have everlasting life. And the reality already stated in previous texts that we've read that Jesus reaffirms here is this. If anyone believes in Jesus Christ, that's an evidence that they have eternal life. That whosoever, whosoever believeth. The love of God and the blessings of salvation are not restricted to any race, to any nationality, to any precursor, prerequisite that we bring to the table. The salvation of God that is in Jesus Christ is not tied to our personal holiness or to anything that we might do to attain a relationship with him. And just like that serpent that was lifted up in the wilderness was nothing but a brass image, and it had no physical active ability and the people who looked upon it did nothing to earn or to deserve the deliverance that they received. There was nothing to set them apart from the thousands who died by the bite of the fiery serpents. Those who believe on Jesus Christ are entirely passive as Jesus Christ is revealed to them and in them by the work of the Holy Spirit. And there's no limitation that can be placed upon who this might be applied to. The Apostle Paul embraces that reality as he reflects upon his own deliverance, his own salvation. And he says, I was set apart as an example. I was set apart as an example that even the chief of sinners can be saved by the blood of Jesus Christ. And Jesus Christ says, the father sent his only begotten son, gave his son. that whosoever believeth on him should not perish, but have everlasting life. To further emphasize and illustrate this point, this idea of perishing, verse 17 gives us, for God sent not his son into the world to condemn the world. There are a whole lot of individuals and professing Christians today who have this idea that Jesus Christ's purpose in coming was to condemn the world, that damnation is largely predicated on disbelief or rejection of Jesus Christ. Jesus says the Son of Man didn't come into the world to condemn the world, but rather he came that the world through him might be saved. Jesus Christ coming is about salvation. It's about deliverance. And here Jesus invites Nicodemus to recognize and consider a reality of biblical revelation, which is that all mankind perished in Adam. In Adam, all died. We all began in the same place and that was doomed to hell for our own disobedience, for our own rejection of God. The revelation of God didn't begin when God made covenant with Abraham or with Moses or revealed himself in Old Testament scripture. The revelation of God began when God made the worlds and men in general unanimously rejected that revelation. In Romans chapter 1, we read that in creation was manifested the glory of God, but men suppressed that revelation and chose to make gods out of created things and worship the creature more than the creator. And we all had that in common, and Jesus here draws that understanding that condemnation was common to all. So God didn't send his son into the world to condemn the world, but that the world through him might be saved. Jesus says, I'm here for salvation. I'm here for deliverance. I'm here that I might be lifted up, that I might be lifted up, that whosoever believeth should not perish, but have eternal life. So what do we do with this revelation, with this truth? In the successive verses, he explains the condemnation. He explains the deliverance. What it means to be saved by the person by the blood of Jesus Christ. God sent not his son into the world to condemn the world, but the world through him might be saved. Here's a certain promise. He that believeth on him is not condemned. He that believeth on Jesus Christ is not condemned. Do you believe in him this morning? Do you believe on him? Have you placed your trust in Jesus Christ? What does it mean to believe? There are many who believe in the name of Jesus Christ, the person of Jesus Christ. He lived, he died. Perhaps they even think he died for a purpose. Perhaps they even ascribe to him some elements of deity. But what does he mean here? He that believeth on him is not condemned. Believing on Jesus Christ is to trust in him completely. to let go of yourself, your own ability, your own merits, and to trust in Christ alone, to believe on him. He that believeth on him is not condemned. Again, in the Roman letter, in Romans chapter 8, he begins the letter with this thought of condemnation, and he says, There is therefore now no condemnation to them which are in Christ Jesus. What does it mean to be in Christ Jesus? It means to be those for whom Christ died, for whom he gave himself. It means to believe and trust in him completely. There is now no condemnation to them who are in Christ Jesus, who walk not after the flesh, but after the Spirit. Now Nicodemus is coming to Christ trusting in himself as the Jews were wont to do. Believing God had an obligation, a debt to Israel as his people. Believing that they were not only his servants but his necessary companions or aides. And Jesus says, I'm going to tell you some heavenly things. Just like your fathers in Israel, had no way to deliver themselves from the bite of the fiery serpent when they blasphemed against the person of the Son of God. You have nothing to claim yourself for your salvation. There's nothing that you can do, and you have no claim upon God's favor above anyone else, except that God sent His Son. He sent His Son because of His love that He had. that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life. Belief is not a choice. And the son of man is not lifted up as an offer. Jesus Christ died for certain people, for certain individuals. And when he's declared in his gospel, if you believe, then you trust him implicitly. You trust him because you know there's nothing you can do. You're at the end of yourself as those Israelites were at the end of themselves. You're at the end of yourself and you need a Savior. And Jesus Christ is revealed to be that Savior, that way, the only way. He said, I am the way, I am the truth, I am the life. Jesus Christ was sent by the Father who loved you so much that he gave his Son for you. In John 6 and 38, Jesus says, I came down from heaven, not to do my own will, but the will of him that sent me. He came with purpose. And this is the will of him that sent me. That every one, that every one that he gave me, I should lose nothing, but raise it up again the last day. Jesus says, this is the will of him. And Jesus says, he that believeth on him is not condemned. How is that? There is no condemnation. Why? But he that believeth not is condemned already. How can Jesus say I came not to condemn the world? Because the world was already condemned. The ones who believe are not condemned. Why? Because they're in me. Where's this belief come from? Well, we understand that belief is a gift of God. Faith is a gift of God, right? And that's what Jesus is here talking about. What did he say at the beginning of the chapter? He's tying it back. Except a man be born again, he can't see the kingdom of heaven. He can't believe. He can't understand. He that believeth not is condemned already. So we don't preach the gospel. Saying if you believe you can be saved, but if you don't believe for that unbelief, you're going to be condemned. No, that lack of belief is evidence you're condemned already. There's no deliverance for you. Because he has not believed in the name of the only begotten son of God. Does belief matter? You can't read this verse and say belief doesn't matter. It's not okay to abide in unbelief. And it's not okay to say, I believe and live like you don't believe. What do you think of Jesus Christ is essentially the question. Turning over to 1 John 1, John presents the same message. He says, Jesus is God, but Jesus is real. He's physical. Our hands handled him and he is the He is the basis of our fellowship with God and with man. What do you think of Jesus Christ? Here Jesus says, condemnation is not to believe on him. But believing on him, this is deliverance, this is salvation. Verse 19 says, this is the condemnation that light has come into the world and men love darkness rather than light because their deeds were evil. What is a believer? A believer is one who loves the light, who loves the truth, who wants to see Jesus Christ revealed and know more and more about him, who revels in the knowledge of Christ as his person, his character, his salvation, and the Holy Spirit as it works, changing, conforming, and transforming us into his image. The condemnation is that light has come into the world and men loved darkness rather than light. No man can love darkness and say that they're a believer in Jesus Christ. Darkness is the absence of Christ and the reality of him. It's the absence of the knowledge of God. And light, light is Jesus Christ, the revelation of Christ. And light, light is knowledge that changes everyone who is touched by it. This is the condemnation that light has come into the world. Jesus says, I've brought truth into the world. I've brought light. I am that light. But men love darkness rather than light because their deeds were evil. For everyone that doeth evil hateth the light, neither cometh to the light lest his deeds should be reproved. Jesus here draws contrast of evil and good of light and darkness of condemned and delivered. The ones that do evil hate light. That's a fact of life. You want to see crime and Darkness or crime and debauchery, where do you go? You go to the dark places of the world. It's done at night. It's done in darkness. Even the wicked don't want their deeds to be seen. Although the more and more wicked the world grows, the more those things that used to be in darkness are brought out into relative light. But Jesus says the ones that do evil hate the light. They don't come to the light. Why? Because there their deeds will be reproved. Expression that says sunlight is the best disinfectant the best way to deal with corruption with With evil in the world is to shine a light on it to make it known because in shame people drift away They back away from it Jesus says this is a natural truth, but it's also a spiritual truth But he that doeth truth cometh to the light, that his deeds may be manifest, that they are wrought in God. It's interesting how Jesus again uses this expression, they are wrought in God. God is the one doing the work. The deeds are wrought in God. Turning back to Ephesians chapter two, what does he say? We are his workmanship created in Christ Jesus unto good works, which God has before ordained that we should walk in them. The deeds are wrought in God. Jesus brings this conversation with Nicodemus full circle here, because he's telling Nicodemus in the beginning, except a man be born again, he can't see the kingdom of God. Except a man be born from above and born of the spirit, he can't enter into the kingdom of God. He says, here's some spiritual truth for you. Nicodemus, I did come from God, but I'm no mere prophet, no teacher come from God. I am the son of God. I am come from God that I may be lifted up, that I may die, that I may suffer, that I may suffer an ignominious death in front of men, be held by men, that the greatest evil the world has ever seen might be done in the broad light of day, that I may perish in this body, that those that believe in me should not perish but have eternal life. Jesus says the stakes are high, the consequences are great. I'm here to purchase eternal life for all of those, of every nation, of every race, for whom I die. I'm come as a token, an expression of the love of God. God so loved the world that he gave his only begotten son, a gift that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life. And he says, I wasn't sent to condemn the world. It's not a bad thing that I'm come. And again, there are many who perceive it this way. They think that Jesus Christ came to make a way of salvation and Jesus Christ came to reveal himself, but the sin for which damnation is just is seeing and rejecting the son of God. Again, Jesus says that's not so. If that were the case, it would be best for people never to know about the Savior because then they couldn't be held culpable for rejecting the Savior. But here Jesus says, I didn't come to condemn the world, but I came to bring salvation that the world might be saved. So what do we do with Jesus Christ? Do we believe? If we believe, what does that mean? Well, belief in Jesus Christ, again, as we said, is trusting in him completely. There is no other way. There is no other propitiation. 1 John 2 begins with this statement. My little children, these things write unto you that ye sin not. And if any man sin, we have an advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous. And he is the propitiation for our sins, and not for ours only, but also for the sins of the whole world. Here John writes and he says, there is no other way. That's what he's saying. He says, I'm writing these things to you that you sin not. Why? Because you need to see that sin is an affront to the holiness of God. And if you have a proper view of Jesus Christ, if you know who he is, then you're not going to want to offend him. You're rather going to want to honor him. But when you sin, if any man sin, I want you to know we have an advocate with the father, Jesus Christ, the righteous. What's he talking about here? He's talking about the imputation of Christ's righteousness. Jesus Christ intervenes, he intercedes. Why? Because he is righteous, he is holy, and it's for you that Christ died. Verse 2, he is the propitiation for our sins. And what does propitiation mean? That's a big, long word, and what it means is he is a covering for the sins. He's an atonement for the sins. He is one who has eradicated those sins by satisfying the justice of the judge, the Father God. He is the satisfaction for our sins and not for ours only, but also for the sins of the whole world. You say, does that mean that all sins are eradicated in Christ? No, that's not what he says. What he says simply is any sins for which there is satisfaction made, any sins that God is going to overlook, any sins that are covered are covered by Christ alone. There is no other way. Jesus Christ, the righteous, is the propitiation for our sins and for all of the sins for which there is covering. He's the only way. There's no other way to be saved. If we understand that, if we recognize that truth, and if with Nicodemus we're able to get past ourselves, past our selfish constructs, past our desire to have things our way, if we're able to see the value of the person of Jesus Christ and by the indwelling presence of the Holy Spirit, we're able to lay hold upon this truth, if we're born again and we press into the kingdom of Jesus Christ, then with Nicodemus, we're going to be brought along this road to understand that belief in Jesus Christ, that is a freedom. It's a freedom from condemnation. It's a freedom from the elements of this world. It's a freedom from the love of the flesh and the love of darkness. And having seen the light, we won't want to turn back. He that doeth truth cometh to the light. that his deeds may be manifest, that they are wrought in God. As a mass of humanity, we have in common that all of our deeds are evil. Even the things that men call good are evil because they're always done for a selfish motive. They're always done out of self-interestedness. So as mankind by nature, we have that in common, our deeds are evil. But when the Holy Spirit changes one of His, when the Holy Spirit indwells, when the Holy Spirit gives life, when the new birth occurs, then God begins to work in us. And God begins to work good works, works that are worthy of being made manifest. And when you're doing something for the glory of God, for the love of Jesus Christ, when you are compelled to serve Him, and that work is revealed, It never comes across as your work, and it never brings honor to your name. But exactly as Jesus said, that his deeds may be manifest, that they are wrought in God. So what are good works in the life of a child of God? There's a lot of scripture that speaks to this, but here Jesus Christ himself is saying, good works are an evidence of God's work in you. You come to the light, and coming to the light Your works are manifest, not that they are your works, but that they are wrought in God. It's God's work, and therefore it's God's glory, and all of this is tied to the coming of Jesus Christ. And what Nicodemus is made to realize here at some point, I trust, and what we're made to see, is that as Nicodemus came to Jesus in the beginning of the chapter and said, we know you're a teacher come from God, No man can do these miracles that thou doest except God be with him. Jesus actually crafts an argument. And the argument is this. Except you're born again, you can't understand anything I'm telling you. And unless you're born of the Spirit, you can't enter into my kingdom. You can't live where I live. You can't see the world that I rule. And then he says, you can't direct the Holy Spirit. The Spirit does what it wants to do. But the Spirit is effectual in its work, and it's the Spirit that brings life. He then says, Nicodemus, you know the law, you know the history, you know the working of God in Israel. If you can't understand what I'm talking about, then how are you going to understand the more complex reality? And how are you gonna understand the answer to your question? Because the implicit question was, who are you, right? That's what Nicodemus was asking. Rabbi, we know you're a teacher come from God, else you couldn't do the things that you do. So who are you? What are you here for? And the answer to the question began in verse 14. I came here to die. I am the son of God. I didn't come to bring condemnation. You don't have anything to fear from me if you're mine. I didn't come to condemn the world. I came to save the world. So believe and be saved. What's the answer? The same as Isaiah said in Isaiah 45. Look unto me, all the ends of the earth, and be saved. And the gospel declares what? Jesus Christ, the way, Jesus Christ, the effectual savior, Jesus Christ, the son of God with power. What do you think of Christ and what are you gonna do with Christ? Later on in his ministry, as Jesus Christ was about to ascend to glory, he spoke to his disciples and said, what? Go into all the world, preach the gospel. Go into all the world, declare the things that I have taught you. Go into the world and preach and baptize And those who believe shall be saved. Those who don't believe, they're going to be condemned. Jesus says, this is the condemnation. Lights come into the world. Jesus says to Nicodemus, I am the Son of God. I am here. I'm here to die. I'm here to save. And if you believe on me, Be a doer of truth. And doing truth, come to the light. Come to me, what Jesus said in Matthew's gospel. Come unto me, all you who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you life. I'll give you rest. I'll give you hope. Jesus says, I am the Son of God. I am the Savior. Look unto me and be saved. And Jesus says condemnation is eradicated by the salvation of God that is in Christ Jesus. Why? Because God loves his people. God so loved the world that he sent me. Nicodemus, I'm here because God loved the world. I'm here for salvation, not for Israel alone, but to the ends of the earth. And salvation is found in Christ Jesus alone. And that's what we're here for today, to testify that our salvation is found in Christ alone. We're here to declare the light, to come to the light, to rejoice in the light, and to be enthralled by the reality of the person of Jesus Christ. That's the message Jesus had for Nicodemus. It's the message that we are given in the church of Jesus Christ perpetually. Why? Because the light is still here. The Son of God is still come. And the Son of Man was lifted up. To Nicodemus he says he must be lifted up. We say today he was lifted up. And because he was lifted up on the cross and he died, he was buried, he rose again, he sits at the right hand of the throne of God on high. We're able to walk in that light and declare that truth and embrace that truth. And we're able to embrace it personally first for ourselves. It was for me that he died. And with Paul, we're able to make that application. God spared not his only son, but he gave him up freely for us all. The logical follow up on that is, how shall he not with him also freely give us all things? Whatever we stand in need of, whatever weakness we're dealing with, whatever strength we need, it's in Jesus Christ. And if God loved us so much that he sent his own son to die, how can we question the love of God and the providence of God in supplying our every need? And there's where we find hope. There's where we find comfort. Because that promise, that strength, that power, it's not offered indiscriminately to the world. It's given. It's given to everyone who is born of the Spirit of God. And if you this morning have experienced faith in Jesus Christ, if you've experienced that conviction of sins and that realization that you can do nothing to save yourself or deliver yourself from the deserved wrath of God, Then you look, you look at that son of God as he hangs on the cross. You look at him as God's love for you and you embrace him. You kneel before him and you glory in him. And there's a freedom, a deliverance from condemnation the world can't describe. Thank you for your time and your attention.