The Gospel Project® for Adults

POINT 3 THE SON CAME SO THAT PEOPLE MIGHT ESCAPE CONDEMNATION (JOHN 3:17-21).

17 For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn
the world, but to save the world through him.
18 Anyone who believes in him is not condemned, but anyone
who does not believe is already condemned, because he has
not believed in the name of the one and only Son of God.
19 This is the judgment: The light has come into the world,
and people loved darkness rather than the light because their
deeds were evil. 20 For everyone who does evil hates the light
and avoids it, so that his deeds may not be exposed.
21 But anyone who lives by the truth comes to the light, so
that his works may be shown to be accomplished by God.”

Explain:

Verses 17-18 (the bold words fill in blanks

Our sin condemns us, but God sent His Son, Jesus, to save us
and those in the world who would believe.

Discuss:

• Why should we not brush aside sins, even “small” ones? (
• God cannot stand sin because He is holy;
• sin corrupts;
• even though we are saved, sin breaks our fellowship with God
  and displeases Him;
• sin hinders our sanctification process;
• sin leads to more sin when unconfessed;
• being captive to sin is not God’s desire for us—He longs for us
  to flourish and live a life of joy free from the power of sin)

Explain:

Verses 19-21 (the bold words fill in blanks in the DDG):

Though human beings tend to run to the darkness, when we live
by God’s truth, trusting in Jesus, we show that we are
in the light because of God’s work in us.

Discuss:

• Why is sin so tempting and desirable at times?
• (we have desires we want to fulfill;
• we are impatient and want immediate gratification;
• we think our desires will truly satisfy us and make us happy apart
  from God’s truth;
• Satan and the world fool us into thinking sin is worth it and not
  that big of a deal)

CONDEMNATION

Because humans cannot live up to God’s holy standards
because of our sin and sinful nature, we stand condemned,
separated from God for eternity. We deserve condemnation
because God is holy and just and cannot stand unrighteousness.
But God has provided a way of salvation through His Son, Jesus.
For those who trust in Jesus and repent of their sin, there is
no condemnation (Rom. 8:1).

MY RESPONSE

Because we have been born again and have new life in Christ,
we live with eternity in view as we prioritize calling others
to be born again.

HEAD:

Jesus came on a mission to this earth in order to bring new birth
and eternal life for all who would believe in Him. Those who
believe in Jesus Christ will escape eternal condemnation in hell.
Jesus has called us to believe in Him for eternal life because
of His love for us, the Father’s love for us, and the Spirit’s love
for us. God’s mission has always been clear: to save
humankind so we can spend eternity with Him.

• How have you heard about God’s love in Christ?
• Experienced God’s love?
• Come to believe in Jesus as the saving gift of God’s love?

HEART:

God loves us. He does not simply accept us—He loves us!
This truth should amaze us. When we think about our sinfulness,
we should be moved by the love of God for us. We should be
able to sing out, “Amazing grace, how sweet the sound,
that saved a wretch like me!” We are known by God and loved
by Him. When we think about how costly the love
of God was—the sacrifice of God’s only Son—we should seek
to confess our sin, trust in the forgiveness of the God who
loves us, and do our best, relying on the Spirit’s power,
to resist the temptation to sin again.

• What sins are tempting you this week that you will ask God
  to strengthen you to overcome?

HANDS:

We who, apart from Christ, are destined for perishing
and condemnation are able to receive the hope of eternal life
through believing in Jesus Christ. This new birth and eternal life
come as a free gift from God. This world is under condemnation
and deserving of God’s wrath, but God has a plan to bring
redemption to all who would believe in Jesus Christ.
Jesus’s coming to this earth on the mission to bring eternal life
to sinners who believe in Him should serve as a motivation
for our mission of making “disciples of all nations” (Matt. 28:19).

• How does knowing that everyone who does not believe in Jesus
  is already condemned (John 3:18)
  motivate you to be courageous in your witness to the gospel?

VOICES FROM CHURCH HISTORY

“Our Redeemer and Maker, who was Son of God before the ages,
became Son of man at the end of ages. Thus the one
who, through the power of his divinity, had created us
to enjoy the happiness of everlasting life, might himself restore
us, through the weakness of our humanity, to recover the life
we had lost.”?3

– Bede (c. 673-735)

References

1. Gregory Nazianzen, “Select Orations of Saint Gregory Nazianzen,” in S. Cyril of Jerusalem, S. Gregory Nazianzen, eds. Philip Schaff and Henry Wace, trans. Charles Gordon Browne and James Edward Swallow, vol. 7, A Select Library of the Nicene and Post-Nicene Fathers of the Christian Church, Second Series (New York: Christian Literature Company, 1894), 327 [Logos].

2. Gary M. Burge, John, The NIV Application Commentary (Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan Publishing House, 2000), 118.

3. Bede, Homilies on the Gospels, 2.18, quoted in Joel C. Elowsky, ed., John 1–10, Ancient Christian Commentary on Scripture (Downers Grove, IL: InterVarsity Press, 2006), 126.

4. R. Kent Hughes, John: That You May Believe, Preaching the Word (Wheaton, IL: Crossway Books, 1999), 74.

5. Gary M. Burge, John, The NIV Application Commentary, 116-17.

6. Pratap C. Gine and Jacob Cherian, “John,” in South Asia Bible Commentary, gen. ed. Brian Wintle (Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan, 2015), 1396.

7. D. A. Carson, The Gospel According to John, The Pillar New Testament Commentary (Leicester, England; Grand Rapids, MI: InterVarsity Press; Eerdmans, 1991), 207-208.

8. “Light,” in 6,000 Plus Illustrations for Communicating Biblical Truths (Christianity Today, 2000) [Logos].