Unfailing Love for a Rebellious World

The World Cup is on.

I have to confess that at first I was going to cheer for the Australian team.

That's not only because we have at least three Australians who attend this church,

but who couldn't cheer for a team called the Socceroos?

I mean, only the Australians would think of a name which is just so sort of both endearing and ridiculous at the same time.

I think it's part of their culture to like stuff like that.

And so I was going to cheer for the Socceroos and probably England,

but I met Victor from our 11 o'clock service at a funeral this week,

and he said, George, George, George, you should be cheering for Brazil.

And he said that because he said Brazil's going to win,

and if you cheer for Brazil, you'll end up being happy,

and you'll be able to just sort of watch them go from victory to victory.

But then I was thinking after talking to him,

maybe I would just cheer for the different teams that, you know,

like parishioners have come from different countries to be here,

and maybe I would just choose cheer for those teams.

And then as I was thinking about that and thinking about John 3.16,

if I've forgotten somebody, please forgive me,

but here's a list of countries, people who come to this church,

either have come here as immigrants from these countries,

or are first-generation Canadians.

Their parents have come from these countries.

Listen to the different range of people who come to this church.

We have people in this church from Sri Lanka, Rwanda,

Canada, Kenya, Ojibwe First Nation people,

Poland, Ukraine, Ireland, both South and North,

Italy, Egypt, Australia, England, Philippines, China,

Czech Republic, Malaysia.

I'm going to include Newfoundland,

because Bob was born before Newfoundland joined Confederation.

So Newfoundland, if you're older than...

When did Newfoundland join?

49.

So if you're here from Newfoundland and you were born before 1949,

you're included in that category of the nations.

Bermuda, Barbados, Sierra Leone, Lebanon, Korea,

the United States of America, Netherlands, Greece,

and Anglophone and Francophone Canadians.

Isn't that amazing?

And, you know, that's...

It's really a testimony to the wonder of John 3.16,

which is the gospel text which we began with today.

For God so loved the world

that he gave his one and only son

that whoever believes in him

shall not perish but have eternal life.

God gave his son for the world.

And, you know, the wonderful thing is that God has no grandchildren.

He just has children.

And God doesn't...

You know, if one of us have come from a long line of godly parents,

or if one of us have come from a long line

of completely and utterly ungodly parents,

or if we've come from a long line of Buddhists

or pagans or Hindus or Muslims,

the fact of the matter is for every single one of us,

there is one saviour and his name is Jesus.

And we have been invited to come to him in faith.

And God does not sort of look more kindly on those

who come from Anglican backgrounds

and less kindly on those who come from maybe Buddhist backgrounds.

He looks at the entire world and he says,

this world needs a saviour and I have sent my son.

And I hope that these men and women on the planet Earth

will say yes to Jesus.

And our church, in a sense, is a testimony

to how the gospel has gone throughout the world.

Now, I could just end right now

and it would be a very Canadian moment.

And it would be sort of not much different

than just a nice multicultural message.

And we could all feel really good

about the cultural smorgasbord.

We could look forward to a multicultural buffet

or something at some time we have a potluck.

But in fact, the text is hard for us today.

The gospel text is hard for us today

because it is profoundly un-Canadian.

And it is because the text is so profoundly un-Canadian

that as we approach the text,

our mind wants to either start to turn off

and just sort of glide through

or it wants to just sort of,

it rebels or chafes against the text

because the text challenges fundamental things

about how we as Canadians think.

And so much in this would be considered problem texts.

Turn with me in your Bibles to page 920.

And once again, I'm going to be reading

from a fairly accurate version of the Bible.

I don't want to undermine your confidence in the Bible.

You know, you can read all of the versions of the Bible

that are sold in the main Christian bookstores.

They will all give you the basic story.

But as you know, sometimes when you get down

to very, very specific words,

some translations are stronger than others

and just really protecting the accuracy of the Greek text.

And it's why I'm doing something a bit unusual today

and reading from a slightly more accurate version

because there's a couple of nuances in the text

which this more accurate version brings out

and might be missed in your version.

So John 3.16, we'll start reading there, page 920,

and I'm reading from the TNIV version.

For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son

that whoever believes in him shall not perish

but have eternal life.

For God did not send his Son into the world

to condemn the world but to save the world through him.

Whoever believes in him is not condemned

but whoever does not believe stands condemned already

because they have not believed in the name

of God's one and only Son.

I just sort of want to pause there.

You know, one of the things which is,

verse 17, listen to that again,

for God did not send his Son into the world

to condemn the world but to save the world through him.

One of the things which underlies this test,

this text of scripture,

is that the Bible is telling us

that the world is not neutral

and that the world is not good

but that in effect the people who make up the world,

they're neither neutral or good,

that the people who make up the world,

that we are rebels against the true God

and that we, in a sense,

deserve God's wrath and judgment.

It's a very, very un-Canadian way of looking at the text.

For many of us as Canadians,

maybe we would see that the world,

all of the people in the world,

that they're sort of somehow neutral

and maybe then,

because the world is sort of neutral,

maybe we want to say that

Jesus has to sort of fit into this neutral world

and just sort of become a bit of a,

maybe a bit of a guide to us

because the world is a bit of good

and a bit of evil

and overall unbalance.

Well, we might, on a good day,

think overall unbalance, it's good

and overall unbalance, it's a bad,

you know, depending on how we're feeling.

But that, we just sort of see the world

as basically neutral,

the people in the world as neutral.

And so all of this talk of needing a saviour

and condemning,

it just sounds like it's so completely

and utterly foreign and odd.

And in fact, fundamentally,

I think for most Canadians,

at least most educated Canadians,

the fundamental understanding

of the people of the world

is that the people of the world

are basically good.

The world is evolving.

Technology is evolving.

We're going to solve,

we're going to eventually solve cancer.

We're going to eventually solve AIDS.

We're going to eventually solve pollution.

We'll even eventually,

maybe not be able to have people live forever,

but be able to have people live

for a very, very long time.

And eventually, we'll be able to deal with poverty.

And, you know,

just as problem after problem comes,

it's just obvious

that just as science and technology

is developing and evolving,

we as a human race

are developing and evolving.

And so if Jesus has any place at all

in this world,

it really is that he has to come

to add some value.

He has to come to add value.

It's sort of a little bit like,

not that David is Jesus,

but David Alexander coming to our church.

And, you know, we can say,

well, our church has been developing

and developing and developing,

and some good things have been happening

in our church.

And the really wonderful thing

about having David Alexander come on staff

is that now he can add some value

to our church.

And he's going to be able

to come alongside us

and help us with a whole pile of ministries

and community building

and help us to follow Jesus.

And in some ways,

for the average Canadian,

they think of the world

as somehow progressing like this

so that if Jesus is to have

any place in the world,

it has to be something that he does

which adds a little bit of value

or maybe a lot of value

to a project that's already going pretty good.

And in the midst of this,

we have chapter 3, verse 17,

which says something quite different.

For God did not send his son into the world

to condemn the world,

but to save the world through him.

Whoever believes in him is not condemned,

but whoever does not believe

stands condemned already.

Even before Christ,

they stood condemned.

Because they have not believed

in the name of God's one and only Son.

In other words,

because they haven't believed

in God's one and only Son,

they can't escape the condemnation,

the being condemned,

which exists even before Jesus came

to the world.

See, the text implies

that we as a human race are rebels,

that we have rebelled against God.

And this rebellion doesn't just refer

to street people

or the people who are wildly profligate

in some way.

It includes middle-class Canadians.

It includes professors and politicians,

successful business people,

doctors and lawyers,

people who live in perfect houses

with perfect lawns,

with perfect families,

are just as much rebels

and need the gospel

as the worst street person

we'll see on Rideau Street

if we go down Rideau Street today.

So, I mean,

this is a profoundly un-Canadian text,

but that's what the text is saying.

In fact, the text is telling us

not that the world is so fantastic

that God just wanted to send his Son

to add some value,

but that God is so fantastic

and so unfailingly merciful

that when we rebelled

and when we continue in our rebellion,

that God's response to that

was not instantly just to cut us off

and to execute, so to speak,

judgment against us,

but that in looking at the tragic situation

of the human race

and our powerlessness

to be anything other than rebels,

out of love for you and me,

out of an unfailing love of Almighty God,

he sends his very Son, Jesus,

to save us.

That's the message of the gospel.

You know, one of the things

which distinguishes liberal Christians

from Orthodox Christians,

and I'm not making this up.

Many of them maybe won't articulate it

so plainly and clearly as this,

but liberal Christians believe

that the world sets the agenda

for the church.

That would be a theological motto

or slogan for theological liberals.

The world sets the agenda

for the church.

And Orthodox Christians would say,

the world is rebel.

The world is a rebellious place.

And the gospel sets the agenda

for the church.

That the gospel is what needs

to be spoken and proclaimed

to the world.

Now, let's just continue reading

at verse 19 and following.

Here's what the text goes on to say

a little bit more about this rebellion.

Verse 19,

this is the verdict.

Light has come into the world,

but people loved darkness instead of light

because their deeds were evil.

Let's sort of pause there for a second.

One of my favorite shows is Law & Order,

the original Law & Order show.

And if you've watched that Law & Order show,

I know it's a formula.

It always sort of follows the same thing.

It begins with them finding a body.

And then the question is,

the first half hour is consumed

with the question,

who might the guilty one be?

And so the police follow

all of these different leads

to try to figure out

who the guilty person

might possibly be.

And then the question becomes,

and early on in that first half hour,

the question comes

as they start to suspect

who the guilty person will be

from maybe a quarter of the way

into the show

until right until the end,

the question will always be,

can the case be made?

Can they collect evidence

that can be administered in court?

And will the lawyers be able

to keep that evidence in court?

And will they be able to show the jury

that in fact this is good evidence?

And that becomes the dram of the show.

And then one of the things

about Law & Order

is that most weeks,

the guilty person is found guilty.

But if it was always,

if they were always found guilty,

the show would be

a little bit less interesting.

So you know that some weeks,

the guilty people are going to get away.

And so there's always

this little bit of a question,

will the jury accept the verdict,

accept the evidence,

and will they declare the person guilty

or set them free?

And in Canada,

the Bible says here

that God's verdict

against the human race

has already been set.

In other words,

to be a human being

isn't like Law & Order.

It isn't as if,

you know,

we're going through our lives

and, you know,

some things we're doing are good

and some things

that we're doing are bad.

And God is sort of up there in heaven

and He's looking at George

and He's trying to figure out

whether there,

you know,

there's a,

you know,

should George get a guilty,

you know,

should George be getting

a guilty verdict

or a,

you know,

a not guilty verdict?

Has he been a pretty good guy

or a pretty bad guy?

And my life is progressing

and evidence is accumulating

and maybe the angels

are sort of trying

to sort a little bit of it out

and at the judgment seat,

you know,

we'll sort of figure out

whether or not

how it's all worked in balance.

And what I've just described

maybe very poorly

is the way the average person

thinks about God.

In fact,

actually,

if we're honest,

the average person

thinks about God

in a more skeptical way

than this.

That's how the average

religious person

thinks about God

but probably

for the average person

who doesn't have much

to do with religion,

they'd say

that God is the one

whom we're trying

to figure out

what the verdict is.

We're trying to figure out

whether there's enough evidence

to figure out

whether he exists.

And if he does exist,

whether a case

can be made

that he's a good God

or a bad God.

And so for the average

Canadian,

we stand

in judgment on God

trying to figure out

whether or not

God exists,

whether or not

he is good

and whether or not

he is worthy

of being praised

or followed

and whether or not

Jesus is his son.

And because we are

in the judge's seat

and God is on trial,

if God is very,

very lucky

and very,

very fortunate,

we'll eventually

give him a very,

very favorable sentence.

And it's because

we carry one of those

two attitudes

basically in our hearts

and in our minds

that when we come

to the Bible text,

it comes as a complete

and utter shock.

Listen again

to verse 19.

This is the verdict.

Light has come

into the world

but people love

darkness instead of light

because their deeds

were evil.

All those who do evil

hate the light

and will not come

into the light

for fear that their deeds

will be exposed.

But those who live

by the truth,

and later on

at the end of chapter 3

we'll see what that means,

come into the light

so that it may be seen

plainly that what

they have done

has been done

in the sight of God.

This text tells us

the shocking piece

of news.

Apart from Christ,

God's verdict

has already been

set on you

and on me

before I came to Christ.

Like the verdict

is already set.

It's not like

Law and Order.

We're not like

in the first one minute

of Law and Order

that for every single one

apart from Christ

God has already

declared the verdict.

And the verdict is

that we are ones

who hate the light,

that we are ones

who turn our back

on the light,

that we are ones

who prefer to do evil

when we see fit

and good

when we see fit,

but we desire

to be the ones

to determine

when we want to do

one thing

rather than the other,

and it means

that we have turned

our back

from the light,

and God

has already declared

the verdict

on your life

and mine.

that is profoundly

un-Canadian.

Let's continue

reading the text.

We're going to sort of

skip to verse 31.

John the Baptist

describes

there's a conflict

between John the Baptist

and some Jewish people,

and there's a conflict

between John the Baptist

and his own disciples,

and John the Baptist

is quite willing

to accept the fact

that the crowds

are going to increase

for Jesus

and the crowds

are going to decrease

for him,

and in verse 30

he says this famous line,

John the Baptist,

he must become greater,

I must become less.

The one who comes

from above

is above all.

The one who is

from the earth

belongs to the earth

and speaks as one

from the earth.

The one who comes

from heaven

is above all.

He testifies

to what he has seen

and heard,

but no one accepts

his testimony

the person

who has accepted it

has certified

that God is truthful,

for the one

whom God has sent

speaks the words

of God,

for God gives

the Holy Spirit

without limit.

What this text

is saying

is that Jesus

alone

is from above.

Bob might tell you

if you talk to Bob

later on,

if you're in Newfoundland,

they refer to people

being from away.

And there's Newfoundlanders

and then there's

those who are

from away.

And this Bible text

is saying that

the normal Canadian

habit of wanting

to place Jesus

as one of the prophets

or as a great

religious leader

is fundamentally

at odds

with who Jesus

claims that he is.

And the gospel

message claims

that John the Baptist,

he is from the earth

and he speaks

as one from the earth.

Isaiah,

he is from the earth,

he speaks as one

who is from the earth.

And whether you use

any of the Jewish prophets,

whether you even use

important religious figures

from other faiths,

in every case,

each and every one

of these people

is from the earth

and they speak

as one

who is from the earth.

And Jesus

is not like

any of these

other characters

because Jesus

alone

is from above.

Jesus alone

is from above.

And because Jesus

alone

is ultimately

from above,

from heaven,

from God himself,

he alone

is the one

who can speak

truly

with a true

perspective of God

into our human race.

The Bible here

is telling us

that Jesus alone

is the one

who speaks

the complete

and utter truth.

That the words

of Jesus

aren't opinions

that we can weigh

and decide

whether or not

they are smart opinions

or wise opinions

or good opinions

that they are

in fact not even

statements that ultimately

that our minds

can judge

but that

his

speaking

is making

clear

in an

unadulterated

form

the very mind

of God.

Because

Jesus

alone

is from above,

he alone

is the one

who can give us

a new birth.

Last week,

those of you

who were here,

I said that

the Bible text

was pushing us

to understand

that we had

to become

in a sense

pregnant with

a new life

that can only

come from God.

That in a sense

to be a Christian

is to be

spiritually pregnant.

That we need

to have God

intervene in our lives

in a dramatic

and powerful way

and create within us

a new nature,

a new being

so to speak

that only God

can do.

God has to

intervene

if we are

to know him.

and it is

because

Jesus

is from above

that we can

be born

from above.

He alone

can give

that which

is completely

different

from any

other prophet.

See,

that is why

we don't

form the

gospel.

The gospel

forms us.

We don't

ultimately

form truths

about God

we are

invited to

hear truth

from God

and to be

formed by

that truth.

It doesn't

mean that we

don't use

our minds,

that we

don't muse

and meditate

and question

and put

things together.

There's a

difference between

questioning

which stands

in judgment

and questioning

which uses

the normal

process of

doubt

and insight

and noticing

of contrast

to go deeper

and deeper

and deeper

and deeper

in.

At the end

of the day

the difference

is between

whether we

use our

mind to

fortify our

mind as a

God or

whether or not

we use our

mind because

we desire to

submit completely

and utterly

to the truth.

And so the

truth of the

gospel is not

something that

we form by

religious committees

or by

declarations of

synods.

The truth of the

gospel is not

formed by us

we are to

be formed

by the

truth of

the gospel

into a

gospel people.

Listen finally

to verse 36.

Whoever believes

in the Son

has eternal

life but

whoever rejects

the Son

will not

see life

for God's

wrath

remains on

them.

You'll notice

here that the

text does not

provide a third

option.

and it also

tells us that

there is a

possibility of a

different verdict

about our

lives.

Whoever believes

in the Son

has eternal

life.

For us to

call out to

Jesus and put

our trust in

him when we

put our trust

in him and

say Jesus

you are the

Son of God

you are the

one who is

from above

you are the

one who has

taken away my

sin by your

death upon the

cross.

You are the

one who speaks

the very

truth of

God.

I welcome

you.

I need

you.

I invite

you.

I give

you permission

to have

your way

in my

life.

I ask

that you

plant that

eternal life

in me.

When we

do that

we get

to hear

God's

verdict about

our lives

right now

and live

our lives

in light

of his

verdict.

I don't

have the

authority to

tell you

that.

All I can

do is tell

you that

this is what

the Bible

has just

said.

That God

himself has

made the

connection

between

belief in

Christ and

the gift

of eternal

life.

It's not

the result

of a

committee.

It's not

the result

of prejudice.

It's not

the result

of human

declaration.

It is the

very message

of Jesus.

And the

question before

you and me

is this.

Do you

believe this?

Do I

believe this?

Do I

believe that

Jesus only

speaks the

truth?

Do I

believe that

he has

come to

speak the

truth so

that I

will no

longer be a

rebel and

suffer a

rebel's

consequences,

but that

as a

complete and

utter sheer

gift from

him, I

might have

eternal life

and may

hear God's

final words

spoken to

me even

this day

and every

day that

I live.

A person

who has

cancer would

be a fool

if they

said when a

cure for

cancer has

come that

they will

not accept

the cure

for cancer

because they

think there

should be

23 cures

for cancer

and it's

arrogant to

believe there

can only be

one cure.

You'd be a

fool to

reject the

cure for

cancer if

you have

cancer.

Jesus has

broken into

this world

so that God

will offer

us a new

verdict of

our life,

a new

eternal

destiny,

a complete

and utter

gift.

Let's bow

our heads

in prayer.

Father,

thank you

for the

presence of

children.

Thank you,

Father,

that you

heard the

deepest cry

of our

heart,

that even

Father,

while we

try to

amuse

ourselves

and distract

ourselves

and build

respectability

ourselves

and manage

ourselves

and do

all of

these things,

Father,

even in

the midst

of our

own God

project

and our

own project

of insulating

our life

against you,

even in

the midst

of that,

you heard

far deeper

that there

is a great

cry at

the center

of our

lives,

because each

of us

have a great

wound at

the center

of our

lives,

because we

are separate

from you.

Father,

thank you

that you

look at

us with

love and

with compassion

and with

mercy.

Thank you

that you

have refrained

from judgment

but sent

your Son,

that you

have set

aside judgment

for a season,

to send

your Son

to be

the Savior.

Loving

Father,

may your

Holy Spirit

move and

work in

our lives

so that we

will be

willing to

say yes

to this

great offer

of your

Son,

this great

gift of

your Son,

that we

might know

the verdict

has been

set aside

of guilty

and that in

your Son

Jesus,

we might

be your

adopted

children,

your precious

treasure,

your precious

belongings,

your precious

children.

Loving

Father,

help us

to say

yes with

every ounce

and stitch

of our

being to

your Son,

Jesus Christ.

In Jesus'

name we

pray.

Amen.

Amen.

Amen.

Amen.

Amen.

Amen.

Amen.

Amen.

Amen.

Amen.

Amen.

Amen.

Amen.

Amen.

Amen.

Amen.

Amen.

Amen.

Amen.

Amen.