Jesus is Essential
John 3:17–18: For God did not send His Son into the world to condemn the world, but that the world through Him might be saved. “He who believes in Him is not condemned; but he who does not believe is condemned already, because he has not believed in the name of the only begotten Son of God.
Notice how central Jesus is to the passage. Verse 15 emphasizes the words “in him” and they appear again in verses 16–18, while verse 17 talks about God’s saving the world through him. Every human being has a choice—eternal life or eternal death. And as the Bible describes it, to perish is not to cease existence, but to experience utter failure, futility, and loss—an eternity without God. And let us not miss the word already. We exist in a state of condemnation by birth—our sin natures inherited from Adam. “Because of the sinfulness of our hearts, we tend to run from God rather than to Him. We cannot produce works of righteousness apart from His Spirit, for we act in accordance with our own desires, and our desires are evil. Even if we could fulfill God’s law, we could never overcome the guilt already incurred by our sinful acts in the past. As a result, we cannot save ourselves” (Pyne) 1
Walking with Jesus
We have been saved from condemnation, therefore we should not have a spirit of condemnation towards others in the Body of Christ. As believers we are called to build up one another in His holy love. Let’s excel all the more in living life in the Spirit.
There is therefore now no condemnation to those who are in Christ Jesus, who do not walk according to the flesh, but according to the Spirit. Romans 8:1
No condemnation, no separation, and all things are working out for His pleasure. – TWEET IT
Praying
Lord, I want to thank You everyday for freeing me. No more condemnation. Amen!
1. Gangel, K. O. (2000). John (Vol. 4). Nashville, TN: Broadman & Holman Publishers.
