An Exposition of John 3 16 — E.A. Johnston

The Need for Expository Preaching

I was taught expository preaching by one of the greatest expositors who ever lived, Dr. Stephen F. Alford. I was in the first graduating class of his Institute for Biblical Preaching. I make mention of this, friends, because of the great need for expository preaching in our day.

Much of the preaching we have is topical, and all that does is scratch the surface. If you want to go deep into the scriptures, then exposition is the best way to go. And I want us to go deep this evening into the classic text of John 3 .16.

The Danger of Easy-Believism

I believe John 3 .16 has been badly mishandled by many ministers over the past 80 years. The mishandling of this text has facilitated easy-believism, which has been the means of sending millions of baptized church members into hell.

How many poor, deceived souls have walked to now by making a mental assent to the truth of John 3 .16? They just made a decision, an agreement to it, without ever having their hearts changed through regeneration.

How many there are in hell at this hour, shrieking in agony and in sufferance because they merely believed that Christ died for their sins, but failed to believe on the Christ who died? Pastors today and evangelists quote John 3 .16 and lay all emphasis upon the love of God and the gift of his Son.

They present Jesus as nothing more than a Christmas gift wrapped in pretty bows, that all you have to do is receive that gift and you will go to heaven when you die. And millions and millions have walked to now with a smile on their face and self-righteousness busting in their heart as they reached out their hand to receive that free gift.

The False Gospel of a Mere Decision

I watched in horror as a big famous preacher stood in his pulpit at his big famous church and had one of his staff ministers stand beside him as he held his Bible in his hand and said, Oh, what do you do when someone offers you a gift?

Here, I'm going to give you my Bible and I extend my hand to you to take it. What do you do when a free gift is offered to you? You receive it. And he handed his Bible to his staff minister as he turned on his heels and faced his big congregation with a big smile on his face and said, That's all there is to it.

All you have to do to go to heaven is to accept that free gift of Jesus Christ. Will you accept that gift now, friends? And this pastor reached out his arms as he gave an invitation to get up out of your seat and come down that aisle and accept this free gift of salvation.

That's what the old boy said. And do you know what happened, friends? Folks got up out of their seats and came down that carpeted church aisle with big grins on their faces as they said yes to Jesus and they joined the church, believing that to be salvation.

And that pastor added some more numbers to his bulging church roll by filling it with some more unconverted church members. But that's not the true meaning of John 3, 16, which we will now go through at this time.

We made the mistake years ago by mimicking big preachers and adopting their methodology because it was easier to grow a church with these man-centered methods. Let me read us this familiar passage of scripture at this time.

Reading John 3:16

Here now is the word of God, and may the spirit of the Lord attend the reading of his holy word. For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life.

God's Holiness, Anger, and Justice Against Sin

Now let's crack open this nut and get to the real meat. For God, our text begins. This is the God of the Bible, the great God Almighty, who is very angry for sin. My Bible declares and sounds that God judges the righteous, and God is angry with the wicked every day.

God does not love the sinner and hate just the sin. We hear that all the time from our politically correct pulpits of our day. No friend, God is angry with the wicked every day. God is a God who hates sin, and God is a God who must punish sin.

Now most of us no longer believe that today. Many deacons will fight you for saying God sends people to hell. They will inform you that their God would never send anybody to hell, that you send yourself to hell.

But that goes against what Jesus said. Jesus said, And fear not them which kill the body, but are not able to kill the soul, but rather fear him which is able to destroy both soul and body in hell. Those two introductory words, for God, speak volumes about the character of a holy God who is very angry for sin, so angry that his blood boils, if I may so speak, as he watches the wicked grievously sin against him every day, that because he is a God who is very angry for sin, states that he will execute vengeance.

John 3 .16 is an explanation point of the justice and severity of God, that God is a God who must punish sin. Listen friends, every time that Roman hammer fell and drove those nails into the quivering flesh of the Son of God, it was an explanation point that God must punish sin.

God's Love and Christ's Substitutionary Sacrifice

God must punish sin. God must punish sin. Now that's just the introduction of John 3 .16, friends. Let's continue with our text. So loved the world that he gave his only begotten Son. When men hear that God so loved the world that he gave his only begotten Son to suffer for them on a bloody cross, this reveals the heart of a loving God who desires to reconcile sinful man back to him through mercy and the death of his Son, who became a curse for us and took the wrath of God and the sins of the world upon himself as a sacrifice for sin, the sinless sinner, becoming sin for us.

What love is this? The love of a father, giving his only Son, the love of a son, dying for sinful man and taking the wrath and justice of God upon himself and dying so we can live. What fathomless love is this?

The Gospel's Warning of Perishing and Its Offer of Mercy

Who can truly grasp it? How can man abuse a God of such grace that whosoever believeth in him should not perish? Our text now says. Perish into what? What does Christ keep a sinner from perishing into but a burning hell of misery and torment that is endless for all eternity?

There is both the mercy of God exhibited here in John 3 .16 and the justice of God. Love and mercy extended to sinful man and the severity and vengeance upon sinful man. Christ has redeemed us from the curse.

There is an offer here and a command here, the offer of pardon and forgiveness for sin through the spent blood of a crucified Savior and the command from Almighty God to believe in Christ. If they do not believe, they are in rebellion and are guilty sinners who end up in a miserable estate.

Repentance, Faith, and the Lordship of Christ

Our text in John 3 .16 ends with but have everlasting life. The offer of the gospel is there to come to Christ but no sinner is ever pardoned until he comes to Christ, exercising repentance toward God and faith in Christ Jesus.

You must come to Christ. The duty required is to come. But Jesus told the self-righteous Pharisees, you will not come. You must come to Christ and own him as Lord. He is no Savior to those who reject his Lordship.

You can't cut Christ in half and choose the half you wish. You can't hang on to your sins and still go to heaven. Christ must be a complete Master. He gave his all on Calvary, holding nothing back. How can we come to him and hold back a thing?

He is the pearl of great price who is worth selling all for and losing all for. And the gospel has rights and claims on the person whom Christ bought with his very blood. John 3 .16 is loaded with all these truths, friends.

These truths of the gospel and you can't pick and choose the ones you want. Most folks want a God who won't get in the way of their daily living. But Christ said, if you follow him, you must deny yourself, take up your cross as you follow a crucified Savior.

The Cross as the Center of the Gospel

Now do you want to stand up on that platform, brother pastor, and smile a silly grin while you offer hoarding sinners just a Christmas gift wrapped in pretty bows? We preachers today, we've gotten out of my buckets and cleaned up all the blood and gore around Calvary to make it so pristine that you can sit and have your lunch there.

I hope you never, ever look at John 3 .16 the same again, friend. But when you see, when you see this tremendous text, you see that bleeding Savior as he squirms on that scandalous cross. His death was a scandal, crucified between two criminals.

That bloody hill made hell shake and quake and people come out of their graves. That cross was the place where the devil and sinful man tried to do away with the Son of God by killing him. But that same cross is the place where life flows out to guilty man and all who come there who were hungry, weary, and thirsty will find rest as they seek a bloodstained Savior.

The Invitation to Come to Christ

And all who come to Christ will find him for his gospel promise to all who come is. And him that cometh to me I will in no wise cast out. Now that's John 3 .16, friends. If you have not come savingly to Christ for forgiveness of sin, then come to this blessed Redeemer, believing on him.

You must get to Christ for salvation from sin. Christ is salvation. Come to him. Let us pray.