God did not send his Son into the world to condemn it, but to save it. John 3:17
This was Jesus' appointed mission. He was sent by His Father as the only means by which anyone could be saved from eternal condemnation. The Pharisees and Sanhedrin had nothing to fear from Him. While He preached against their hypocritical religious practices, He did not come to judge them or to condemn them but to give them an opportunity to repent and be saved.
On the other hand, neither did He come to judge and condemn the Gentiles. The Jews thought that the Messiah would destroy the Gentiles when He came, but this was not true. He was their Savior too and would not distinguish between Jew and Gentile.
Therefore, salvation was opened for all people who would believe on the name of Jesus. Once again, it must be emphasized that the word "believe" involves more than a mere intellectual agreement. One must believe strongly enough to submit every aspect of his or her life to Jesus. It is a belief that comes only by the regeneration of the Spirit, a new birth, and a radically changed life.
0 Comments:
Post a Comment
<< Home