One of the great things about being a staff member with Cru is that they are devoted to your development as a person and as a minister of the gospel. One aspect of this is the classes we are required to take through their Institute of Biblical Studies (IBS). This summer I was able to take two classes, Bible Study Methods and Introduction to Christian Theology, and currently I am taking an independent study class on New Testament Survey (NTS). An assignment in this NTS class is to keep a weekly journal as we read through portions of every book of the New Testament. Since this has to be done as a weekly thing, I decided what better place to journal about what I have read than my blogsite. So, from now until the end of my class, I will be posting my thoughts and reactions to what I have read for the readings I do. Hopefully this will be a great place for you to hear my heart and what God has been teaching me through His Word, as well as a piece of encouragement in your own life. Thanks for continuing to journey with me. Your comments are always welcomed!
Selected Reading: John, Chapters 3-9:
I want to specifically zero in on a passage in the selection I read. It includes a verse most people have either heard or are familiar with, John 3:16. However, I want to look more broadly at this verse in context of the passage it is found in, John 3:16-21.
"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. And this is the judgment: the light has come into the world, and people loved the darkness rather than the light because their works were evil. For everyone who does wicked things hates the light and does not come to the light, lest his works should be exposed. But whoever does what is true comes to the light, so that it may be clearly seen that his works have been carried out in God."
This passage begins with the classic verse many are so familiar with. It’s classic, yes, and it’s warm and fuzzy. While this verse probably explains the good news about Jesus in one of the most beautifully concise ways I’ve seen, if we stop there we miss out on the fullness of the good news. What do I mean by this? Well, read on in the above passage again and see if you can’t pick it out. Just in case you aren’t seeing it, let me go through it systematically.
So its clear that God’s love for us caused Him to give (sacrificially) his ONLY Son, Jesus Christ, so that if we might believe in him we could have eternal life (a forever relationship) with the God who loves us and created us and knows us completely, better than your best friend or your parents. That’s incredible, right!? It should be, but for some reason people in this world have this feeling that they are being condemned by Christianity, or Christians, or religion in general, so they stay away from something as great sounding as John 3:16. It’s strange that the someone who is claiming no condemnation will come from him, but rather, in verse 17, that he has come so that the world might be saved, would not be taken up on this offer of eternal life and relationship with the One who knows us best and loves us perfectly. If we feel condemned, and Jesus is not condemning us, then why do we feel such?
Ok, maybe it’s because there are a lot of people professing Christianity as their belief system who are being judgmental, or condemning, or legalistic, or hypocritical. Sure, this happens all the time. Is it ok? Well, no. But that’s the problem and another part of the good news. “Huh? That seems like bad news, Mark.” Exactly! The good news is that there is first bad news. The good news is good because we ALL, as human beings, are in bad, bad shape. “Oh no, you’re not talking about the whole sin thing, are you Mark?” Well, yes, I guess that is exactly what I am talking about. You see, we ARE all sinful. We have all done something crappy to another person, or had selfish motives in some situation. We can all admit to it…hopefully. If not, denial ain’t just a river in Egypt you know (I believe credit for that one will have to go to my 3rd grade social studies teacher).
Let’s take a quick look at one meaning of sin. Now I have learned this through another, but look it up and I think you will find this is true. The word sin throughout points in history has been used as an archery term meaning you missed the mark. The further an archer was from the bull’s eye, the more sin he had committed. What does this mean in light of our lives? You see God created humanity for a specific purpose. Like an artist, He creates things with an idea in mind. Like an artist makes specific brushstrokes for specific reasons, God creates each of us, even the intricacies of personality, talent, etc., for specific reasons. That’s why when He finished creation He rested and said, “It is good.” It was as if, at that time in history, if humanity were all archers, we were all perfect archers who hit the bull’s eye every time.
To be more brief, I won’t go into the story of Genesis (you can pick up the Bible and start from the beginning and read it for yourself. It will be good for you). However, in the story, it talks about how the first man and woman, Adam and Eve, were deceived, yet at the same time made a conscious decision to disobey God. And so sin entered the world, for this was the first time that God’s earth creation had gone against His intentions. At that moment, we all became terrible archers who were incapable of hitting the bull’s eye. From generation to generation, it’s like a contagious sickness that has plagued humanity for the rest of history. Even the historical King David said in the Psalms that “he was sinful from birth”. David realized that this wasn’t merely a condition he had gotten himself into through the decisions he had consciously made, but that from the very first breath he had taken, he had been full of sin.
This is all of us. From birth, we are in bad shape and in total need of someone to help and save us. This is the “light” in which we should read John 3:16, and the Bible as a whole, for that matter. This is the full gospel, that we are condemned apart from Christ. We are not condemned because of him, or because of some mere man passing judgment on us, or because of some man-made religion that tries to impede on our freedom. No, it’s because we have missed the mark, and from birth at that! We stand self-condemned, not condemned by others. And because of this we are at the mercy of God. He has extended His hand in love through Jesus Christ, and He has given instruction through Jesus as to how this problem is solved. However, we have a choice (again, because He loves us so and desires that we would choose Him back), to reject the sin in which we live and chose life in God. It is God’s wrath for He will not tolerate sin, or God’s love for He passionately desires for you to know Him. The full gospel, in the paraphrased words (which I will most likely butcher) of Timothy Keller, is that “we are more wretchedly sinful than we ever could imagine, but more passionately loved than we ever dared to believe.”
I invite you to personally respond to this in the way that is appropriate to you. Thanks for reading.
