God’s Precious Message (John 3:16-17)
Papaw Lee got me started collecting coins as a youngster, and I’ve enjoyed it ever since. Around 8, I took my coins to a sleepover with my close friend Michael. When we went through our collections, he had a $10,000 banknote from the 1850’s. I wanted that banknote—I didn’t understand history, but I understood $10,000. I asked Michael if he would trade me that banknote for a silver dollar. He readily agreed.
That banknote sat in my collection for years and years and years. I finally decided to allow it to appreciate until Tammy and I needed the money. Well, about 10 years ago, I started looking to see how valuable a $10,000 banknote from the 1850’s is. I found out it’s worthless when it’s a mass-produced reproduction sold as a souvenir.
How many of you have something that is really precious? Do any of you ladies have valuable jewelry? How many of you men have valuable tools? Are any of your antiques worth a pretty penny? How has the value of your house appreciated through the years?
Let’s explore John 3:16-17 and learn that “God’s message is precious.”
Scripture (John 3:16-17)
What makes God’s message precious?
One: Precious Power
“For God.” The Sender of the message is the most Precious Power in existence. “In the beginning, God created the heavens and the earth” (Gen 1:1). God created the universe and all it contains; he made man from dust; he sent a great Deluge while saving eight souls; he gave Abraham and Sarah a son in their old age; he parted the Red Sea for his people; he empowered David to fell Goliath; he caused a young virgin to conceive; he raised his Son from the dead; and he inspired his word.
Two: Precious Passion
“For God so loved.” God’s love is a Precious Passion which caused him to act. “God shows his love for us in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us” (Rom 5:8). “See what kind of love the Father has given to us, that we should be called children of God” (1 Jn 3:1). God’s Precious Passion led him to give his only Son.
Three: Precious People
“For God so loved the world.” God gave his Son for the entire world, a Precious People; further, John 3:16 notes that “whoever believes in him should not perish.” God’s precious message is for all. God “desires all people to be saved and to come to the knowledge of the truth” (1 Tim 2:4). God’s precious message isn’t just for people who look like you or think like you or vote like you—the gospel is for all.
Four: Precious Price
“For God so loved the world, that he gave.” God’s precious message is possible, for God willingly gave a Precious Price; God parted with his Son for the world. “In this is love, not that we have loved God but that he loved us and sent his Son to be the propitiation for our sins” (1 Jn 4:10). God’s precious message cost him his only Son.
Five: Precious Person
“For God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son.” God gave the most Precious Person: his only Son. “You were ransomed from the futile ways inherited from your forefathers, not with perishable things such as silver or gold, but with the precious blood of Christ, like that of a lamb without blemish or spot” (1 Pet 1:18-19). Only the Precious Person of Jesus could save, and he, therefore, came to earth.
Six: Precious Profession
“For God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him.” God’s precious message calls for the most Precious Profession: faith in Jesus Christ. “By grace you have been saved through faith” (Eph 2:8).
This Precious Profession isn’t simply acknowledging God is real, but it is trusting and obeying God; that’s how the saints of old acted. Noah didn’t simply acknowledge God; he built an ark when God told him about the upcoming Flood. Abraham didn’t simply acknowledge God; he went to a foreign country when God called him, and he sacrificed Isaac as God instructed. Moses didn’t simply acknowledge God, but he led the Israelites from Egypt according to the Lord’s word.
Seven: Precious Protection
“For God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish.” God’s precious message protects man from the most horrendous fate, and thus, provides Precious Protection. Punishment in hell never ends: “The smoke of their torment goes up forever and ever, and they have no rest, day or night” (Rev 14:11). Imagine lying on your deathbed knowing that nothing but an eternal torment awaited you. But with God’s precious message you have a Precious Protection.
Eight: Precious Paradise
“For God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life.” Instead of an eternal punishment, God offers his people a Precious Paradise: Life with him. That life is beyond anything you can even dream; God “will wipe away every tear from their eyes, and death shall be no more, neither shall there be mourning, nor crying, nor pain anymore, for the former things have passed away” (Rev 21:4). That is true life. That is true paradise. That is the true purpose of God’s precious message.
Have you responded to God’s precious message?
This sermon was originally preached by Dr. Justin Imel, Sr., at Church of Christ Deer Park in Deer Park, Texas.