“JOHN 3:16” at ballgames
Ever seen people holding signs at ballgames with “JOHN 3:16” on them? It’s a Bible verse. Ever wonder why they do that? Here is why. Jesus said,
“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.” (John 3:16)
First, it says God “…so loved the world,” God loves you. If you have ever wondered how God feels about you, He loves you. It also says, “…that he gave his only begotten Son,” God the Father loves you and gave God the Son, Jesus Himself for you.
It goes on, “…that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life.” Jesus came so that you could have everlasting life in heaven, not everlasting death in hell. God wants you to be in heaven with Him for eternity.
But why would we go to hell? Because we’ve sinned. Most of us know we’ve sinned, but we may not realize how big a problem sin is. Romans 3:23 says, “For all have sinned, and come short of the glory of God;” Our sin has made us come short of the glory of God. Our sin has separated us from God, and unable to get into heaven on our own.
Romans 6:23 also says, “For the wages of sin is death;” God is perfectly righteous. He decreed that the punishment for sin is death. But if die separated from God because of our sin, we will spend eternity that way in hell. Revelation 20:14-15 says, “And death and hell were cast into the lake of fire. This is the second death. And whosoever was not found written in the book of life was cast into the lake of fire.”
God doesn’t want us in hell, but He cannot ignore sin. However, God can–and did– punish someone else in our place: Jesus. Jesus “…his own self bare our sins in his own body on the tree,” (1 Peter 2:24) Jesus took every sin you would ever commit in your whole life and died for you. That’s God’s justice and His love at the same time.
Jesus was buried, and three days later He rose from the dead. Before His death, He had said He would rise again. The fact that He rose proves He was telling the truth, that He really is God the Son, and that His death really paid for our sins.
If you didn’t know why the message of “JOHN 3:16” is so important, now you do. If you want to see from the Bible how to receive Jesus as your personal Saviour, please go to www.clevelandbaptist.org, click “Helpful Links,” then “How Do I Go to Heaven?”
Brian Miller 9/10/2022
Cleveland Baptist Church 4431 Tiedeman Road, Brooklyn, Ohio 44144 216/671-2822