Lesson Two: Salvation
Pastor Noble Baird
Do you remember the first time you read or heard the verse John 3:16? What did you think the first time you read that passage? For some, it was the day they confessed Christ as their Lord and Savior. For others, it started a time of questioning and digging deeper into the incredible book, God’s Word. Yet, for some, it is simply a feel-good passage that is nice and can sell merchandise well.
John 3:16 says, “For God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life.” As we read this passage, there is no question as to how one receives eternal life; it is solely through belief in Jesus Christ. This is the same belief that Paul states in 1 Corinthians 15:1-4: “Now I would remind you, brothers, of the gospel I preached to you, which you received, in which you stand, and by which you are being saved, if you hold fast to the word I preached to you—unless you believed in vain. For I delivered to you as of first importance what I also received: that Christ died for our sins in accordance with the Scriptures, that he was buried, that he was raised on the third day in accordance with the Scriptures.” It is all about Jesus’ death for our sins, His burial, and His glorious Resurrection! So, as we talk about the major theological topic of eternal life and Heaven, we understand that there is only one way, through one person, that this is gifted to humanity. It is solely through belief and confession in Jesus Christ.
One of the most beautiful parts of this whole passage is at the very beginning, “For God so loved the world.” The Creator of the entire universe loves us. He loved His creation, made in His own image, so much that He sent His only Son, Jesus, to die for a broken and lost world that could never deserve the gift of eternal life.