Week 8
READY
“For God loved the world in this way; He gave his one and only son, so that everyone who believes in him will not perish but have eternal life.” – John 3:16
SET
John 3:16 is one of the most recognized verses from the Bible worldwide. As a kid watching sporting events on TV I recall seeing people holding signs with John 3:16 written on them. Tim Tebow famously wore John 3:16 eye blacks during his college and NFL career. It really does lay things out very simply. God loves us and He sent His Son to die for us so that we can have eternal life. The part many people get hung up on is “who believes in him”. It is more than believing that Jesus was real and He died and rose again. So, what exactly do we need to believe?
First, we need to believe that Jesus lived a perfect life and was perfectly obedient to His Father when He took our punishment on the cross. We also need to believe that Jesus did indeed die for our sins – sins we had not even committed yet. Then we need to believe Jesus rose again. He came back to life – defeated death. Last, and this may be the hardest part, we need to believe He did all of this because of His great love for us.
Romans 5:1-2 says, “Therefore, since we have been justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ. We have also obtained access through him by faith into this grace in which we stand, and we boast in the hope of the glory of God.” By receiving God’s glory, Jesus, into our hearts, Romans tells us we get access to God. What a magnificent gift.
GO
- How does the simplicity of John 3:16 help you understand the Gospel?
- What do you have to work on in the belief part of the verse?
WORKOUT
Romans 8:1-4; Romans 8:10-11; Romans 10:8-13
OVERTIME
“Lord, we are so grateful for the gift of salvation, given through Jesus. Help our unbelief and grow our faith as we receive Him into our lives in new ways. In Jesus’ name, amen.”