John 3:16



I look at the number 3 as a reminder of righteous, forgiveness, and power—the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit.  1 plus 6 equates to God’s perfect number 7.

God rested on the seventh day after creating man and woman in His own image.  The creation of the world and firmament above, including all other living creatures, are for mankind to enjoy within the boundaries and limitations of God’s holiness.

When a person strays outside the guidelines of holiness, sin enters the boundaries of God’s perfect creation; bringing with it unrest, misery, and pain.  Most horrible is the separation that it causes between a person and their maker, God. 

God is holy and will not tolerate sin.  He lovingly chastises those that wander from the truth of His Word to abide in their own rebellious existence.

If a person persists with an attitude of disregard for God’s reprimands, the end result is tragic and unchangeable.  A stiff-necked mindset of those that refuse to relinquish their will to God’s perfect plan for their life will suffer the ultimate price for their rebellion and disobedience.  The Bible calls it the second death.

(Revelation 20:14), “Then Death and Hades were cast into the lake of fire.  This is the second death.”

I believe the Bible when it says that hell is a real place of torment, weeping, gnashing of teeth, fire and brimstone.  It is not just a figment of someone’s imagination or scar tactic to provoke right living in people. 

Hell was created for Lucifer and a third of the angels that defected from heaven to serve him rather than God.  If any person goes to hell, it is of their own choosing, because they rejected the only means of forgiveness—Jesus Christ the Righteous.  He and He alone made it possible to make heaven our home. 

Rebels that break God’s laws on earth, or more simply put, people that do not accept Jesus as Lord and Savior that refuse to repent of their sins are those that have sealed their own doom.  They have chosen hell rather than heaven to spend eternity.

If you do not belong to the Lord Jesus Christ you are the property of the devil.  A person without Christ is in a sad state of affairs.  There are no in-between areas that is safe; no neutral zone.  Either a person is a Christian or they are not.  They are hot or cold; there is no lukewarm.  God desires that all should come unto repentance.

(2 Peter 3:9), “The Lord is not slack concerning His promise, as some count slackness, but is longsuffering toward us, not willing that any should perish but that all should come to repentance.”    

After each day of creation, God said, “It is good.”  Even in man’s fallen condition when disobedience took place in the Garden of Eden when Adam and Eve sinned against God, He still considers them and all sinners 'good' and worth saving. 

God gave his Son to die a cruel death; because of the self-centeredness and egocentric lust that mankind has for sin.  God loves with a never ending love.  Jesus is the only sinless man that makes it possible for unrighteous man to pass from death unto life.

The blood that Jesus shed on the cross of Calvary is the payment that God accepts for our salvation.  Jesus purchased our travel document to heaven, but we must accept Him as Lord in order to receive the voucher.

We are no longer under the Law of Moses, but a person will adhere to the 10 Commandments if they want to make heaven their home.  We are under the dispensation of grace, because of the sacrifice that Jesus made for you and me; out of love.

(John 3:16), “For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life.”

The word, world, in the above scripture does not reflect the creation of earth, but it represents God’s marvelous creation of the human race.  God loves us deeply and desires salvation for all mankind, because all have sinned.

(Romans 3:23), “for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God.”

God does not condemn sinners to hell.  He would rather they have life and life more abundantly.  The Bible says that everyone is condemned already, because of undisciplined life styles.

(John 3:17-18), “God did not send His Son into the world to condemn the world, but that the world through Him might be saved.”  vs.18 “He who believes in Him is not condemned, but he who does not believe is condemned already, because he has not believed in the name of the only begotten Son of God.”

The gift of God is Jesus.  He is free to whoever surrenders their life to Him.  To accept Jesus as the payment for sin is as easy as 1, 2, 3—the Father; the Son; the Holy Spirit—the Trinity.

Written by,

Papa Boyd