It seems as though Satan has made more effort to wrest, twist, and pervert the meaning of our text than any other Scripture that I have ever known. Why? Why is there such a desperate attempt to change the meaning of this text?

The reason is Satan sees and realizes this verse is the most concise summary of the entire gospel message. Our text not only gives such a blessed insight into the true character of God, but it is so concise in its application that it makes a distinction between Christ's sheep and the goats.

Why would Satan want to find anything more to pervert than if he can alter, twist, or undo the picture of the character of God? Would it not be in his interest to prevent you and me from knowing how to distinguish between the true sheep of Christ's fold and the goats who pretend to be a part of the fold?

It is a matter of knowing who God’s chosen people are, and with whom we can have Christian fellowship.

We have considered our first point in the previous sermon, i.e., the love of the Father in giving His only begotten Son. There is such a precious beauty in the harmony between the Father's will to give His only begotten Son and the delight of the Son in giving Himself to do His Father's will.

Why did God put Adam in a position to be able to sin in paradise? God has no pleasure in compulsory service; if we are not serving the Lord from our hearts as our highest joy and delight to do His will, our service is not acceptable to the Lord. He is not pleased with any service or obedience that is rendered out of compulsion. Why? Our service and obedience must come from the true desires of our hearts.

Even though the Lord Jesus rendered perfect obedience, yet if He had done so grudgingly, the Father could not have accepted such service as perfect and full satisfaction of the law. We must realize that the perfect will of the Father is the highest delight of His Son. As David said in a prophetic way in PSA 40:8, "I delight to do thy will, O my God: yea, thy law is within my heart."

That perfect will of the Father is what Jesus referred to in JOH 10:17-18, "Therefore doth my Father love me, because I lay down my life, that I might take it again. No man taketh it from me, but I lay it down of myself. I have power to lay it down, and I have power to take it again. This commandment have I received of my Father."

This Scripture gives us the expressed reason God, the Father, loves His Son. Remember that the love of the Father was revealed in giving His Son, but it was also the love of the Son for His Father's will that caused Jesus to submit and give Himself unto the will of the Father. This is what Jesus is saying, "...This commandment have I received of my Father."

Our text says, "For God so loved the world...." Stop and think about the love the Father had for the world when His own Son was sweating blood and pleading, "...if thou be willing, remove this cup from me: nevertheless not my will, but thine, be done," LUK 22:42.

The Lord Jesus was so earnestly pleading in prayer with His Father, but the love the Father had for the world was so great that He restrained the love He had for His own Son and appeased His wrath upon sin by giving Him over to death. He did this notwithstanding Jesus' pleading and beseeching His Father to remove that cup.

The Father sent an angel to strengthen Jesus, but LUK 22:44 says, "And being in an agony he prayed more earnestly: and his sweat was as it were great drops of blood falling down to the ground."

When the Father gave His Son, He gave Him unto such a death with mockings, scourgings, and a crown of thorns. They plaited the thorns into a crown, the emblem of our sins, and placed it upon His head; they spit upon Him and smote Him on the head with a reed to drive those thorns into His head.

Who are they? Who did this to the Lord Jesus? It was you and I if it was for us that He died. The love the Father had for such wretched, hell-deserving criminals was so great that He gave His Son for such torture, "...that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life."

Now we see the love of the Son in giving Himself as commanded by the Father. He said, "Therefore doth my Father love me...." Now consider the love this promoted in the heart of the Father for His Son who was willing to make such a sacrifice so those whom the Father had loved from eternity could be redeemed from the power of hell and the power of death. The Father "...so loved the world."

Our text, JOH 3:16, says, "For God so loved the world..." and Satan has been exceptionally busy to pervert the meaning of the word world. Why? The character of God has been so blessedly set forth in this passage of Scripture. Satan is not particular about which ditch he can get us into as long as he can keep us out of the narrow way of the truth. He couldn't care less which barrow pit we fall into as long as we are not on the narrow road.

Satan so tactfully perverts the Word of Truth that while you are resisting this lie, he will push you over the road into the ditch on the other side of the same truth he is perverting.

Picture yourself walking a tight rope. If you feel a wind pushing you from one side, you will brace against it. As soon as you are braced, Satan will switch the wind to the other side. What will be the result? You will fall to the other side. This is a picture of Satan's tactics using doctrines and interpretations to keep people from understanding what Jesus says.

Do we need to interpret the meaning of this phrase "For God so loved the world..." to mean "the world of the elect" to defend the teaching of the limited atonement? We must see where the limitation lies; the atonement purchased the salvation of God’s elect and no more--but the limitation is found in "whosoever believeth." Who will believe? Only those who are ordained to eternal life will believe. (cf., ACT 13:48).

We must understand this to see God's electing love and His sovereign grace in perfect harmony with JOH 3:16: "For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life."

Do we have the liberty to interpret the meaning of this phrase "For God so loved the world..." to mean "the world of the elect"? Or is that another crosswind of Satan's tactics to keep our eye off the clear teaching of God's Word?

In 2PE 1:20 we read, "Knowing this first, that no prophecy of the scripture is of any private interpretation." That means you and I have no right or authority to interpret the Scriptures.

Did you ever stop to realize that no pastors, theologians, or even the apostles of Jesus Christ were ever given the authority to interpret the Scriptures? We must unfold the Scriptures; we must search and rightly divide the Word of Truth to know what the Word of God says. That is the end of the commission for any human being. "Knowing this first, that no prophecy of the scripture is of any private interpretation. For the prophecy came not in old time by the will of man: but holy men of God spake as they were moved by the Holy Ghost," 2PE 1:20-21.

This says that even the apostles of Jesus Christ had absolutely no license to add even one word or to alter the inspired Word according to their own will. They were given every word that was in the Word of God by the inspiration of the Holy Spirit; these books of the Bible are not the interpretations of the apostles. These books are the Word of God.

Another very important Scriptural principle is violated when we add even a single word to effect the meaning of a Scriptural phrase. PRO 30:5-6 says, "Every word of God is pure [May we add a word because God forgot it? No! May we add a word to clarify the meaning when it means exactly what it says? No, `Every word of God is pure']: he is a shield unto them that put their trust in him. Add thou not unto his words, lest he reprove thee, and thou be found a liar." Not one word do we add to the Words of God!

Now may we read our text to say, "For God so loved the world of the elect..." No, that is not in Scripture. No one may add that; it must be read exactly as it is "For God so loved the world..." If a person has a doctrine he wants to substantiate, he must find Scripture that says exactly that. If he cannot find it in Scripture, it should stay on the shelf until he does.

If, however, we find Scripture which contradicts that doctrine we must discard it rather than trying to read it into Scripture. This can be painful when we have received it from those we hold in such high respect for their insight into God's Word, but we must remember that fallen man is subject to error.

How then must we understand this phrase, "For God so loved the world..." in context with Scripture's teaching? Let's turn to the Word of God which clearly defines what Jesus meant when He said, "For God so loved the world...." 1JO 2:2 says, "And he is the propitiation for our sins [the appeasing of God's wrath upon sin]: and not for ours only, but also for the sins of the whole world."

Do I, as a minister of the gospel, have the license to wrest that meaning by changing it to say "...but also for the sins of the whole world of the elect?" NO! That would be blasphemy, absolutely perverting the Word of God.

We must say, "Amen," to what the Word of God says, not adding a word to it. We may search out the meanings of words; for example, the word propitiation means the appeasing of His wrath, but we may not alter or add to God's Word.

When we begin to understand why the verses in Scripture say what they say, we see that it would absolutely undermine the character of God to alter it. Scriptures so clearly teach its meaning of the word world in 2CO 5:18-19. "And all things are of God, who hath reconciled us to himself by Jesus Christ, and hath given to us the ministry of reconciliation; To wit, that God was in Christ, reconciling the world unto himself, not imputing their trespasses unto them; and hath committed unto us the word of reconciliation."

We need to understand why this is so important; if I were to alter that verse to mean a select people, and not the whole world, then I could justify the argument of the people who teach limited atonement on the other side of this same principle. It would mean that on the Day of Judgment a group of people could come before the Lord claiming He was unjust because the atonement of Christ didn't include them.

Therefore, regardless if they repented and came to Christ pleading for a pardon, He couldn't save them because the atonement did not include them. That is not what 2CO 5:18-19 says, it says, "...that God was in Christ, reconciling the world unto himself, not imputing their trespasses unto them; and hath committed unto us the word of reconciliation."

This verse in its unaltered form leaves those self-righteous High Priests, scribes, and Pharisees who performed all the burnt offerings inexcusable for refusing the true sacrifice of the Father. First, we must understand the office held by the High Priests. They took the lamb and made the burnt offering to make the sacrifice to God for appeasing His wrath upon the sins of the people. This was a type or foreshadowing of the sacrifice of Christ.

JOH 1:29 says, "The next day John seeth Jesus coming unto him, and saith, Behold the Lamb of God, which taketh away the sin of the world." Do you see what John the Baptist was telling the scribes and Pharisees? He was telling them that their actions all these years typified the true sacrifice, and Jesus was the Lamb of God--the true sacrifice for sin--and they rejected Him!

Should the high priests be able to come on the Day of Judgment to argue that Christ's atonement didn't apply to them because it was limited; therefore, they are justified in refusing it? No! A thousand times, NO! The atonement is not where the fault lies. Yes, there are limitations, but it is not in the atonement. When they saw the Lamb of God who would take away the sin of the world, they rejected Him. They refused to accept that One as the offering of God for taking away the sin of the world.

Does this teach universal redemption? No! Not at all! Remember the picture of walking a tight rope with the wind blowing. We brace against the theory that the atonement is limited; then the wind switches to the other side, saying therefore, the Scripture must teach universal redemption. It teaches no such thing. Our text clearly teaches where the limitations are: there is no limitation in the love of the Father or that His love was insufficient. The limitation is not in an insufficient atonement of Jesus.

The limitation is right in our text: "...that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life." The limitation lies with those who do not believe! The fault is placed on the individuals of the human race, not on God. Our text does not teach universal redemption nor does it teach an insufficient atonement. Whosoever believes will have eternal life; those who refuse to believe, like the chief priests, that Christ indeed was the Lamb of God will perish; that is the limitation.

To teach that the atonement was not sufficient to cover all sin would place the fault on God who will be clear of every man's blood. The fault lies with rebellious man, not in the atonement, not with God. There is no limitation here; it is in the rebellion of man.

To clearly set this straight let's turn to 2CO 5:20-21, "Now then we are ambassadors for Christ, as though God did beseech you by us: we pray you in Christ's stead, be ye reconciled to God. For he hath made him to be sin for us, who knew no sin; that we might be made the righteousness of God in him."

What do those verses teach you and me? Does our responsibility to believe on the name of His only begotten Son, Jesus Christ, teach us that, as is so commonly taught in this our day, that God cannot influence us unless we give Him our confidence?

Some teach that if we refuse, God can't save us. We must accept Jesus first. May we place ourselves beyond the reach of mercy? Is that the meaning of these verses of Scripture? No. Those verses teach us that from God's side reconciliation is in place. The atonement is sufficient to save any who believe in Him. "Whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life."

The atonement is sufficient for whosoever believes on the Son of God to save them regardless of how big a wretch or sinner they are. Believe, and you will be saved. The fault lies with rebellious man who refuses to become reconciled with God, not with the atonement.

Let's consider the word reconciliation. If you come to a court of law, having been cited for a crime, you must face a trial if you do not plead guilty. If you are convicted and go to prison for the prescribed time, you have satisfied the law, and you are a free person.

However, that does not mean you are reconciled; you may still hate the law with a bent and determination to violate it again even if it means being placed back in jail within a short time. In such a case there is no reconciliation from the side of the criminal. From the side of the law, reconciliation has taken place, the law was satisfied.

From God's side the penalty for sin has been paid by His Son whom He sent—the law has been satisfied. But, from our side we must still be reconciled. If we remain in rebellion and refuse to believe, that is the limitation—the atonement is not limited.

As we see our responsibility, we may not go to the other extreme with those who teach that God cannot influence us unless we give Him our confidence, or that we can place ourselves beyond the reach of mercy by refusing to accept Christ. It is not true there is nothing God can do if we choose not to believe. Some limit the atonement by teaching that unless we make our decision and give our hearts to the Lord, there is nothing He can do.

Can I tell any sinner: "God loved you from eternity, He gave His Son for you, His Son bled and died for you, He rose again to justify you, but because you refuse to accept Him, God can't go any further."? That is limiting the atonement; then the blood of His Son was shed in vain.

Such teaching would seem to mean that He died for some, but since they refused, His death was in vain. That limits the atonement to the sovereignty of man! Do you believe in such limitations on the atonement?

Such teaching flies in the face of Scripture. our God is an Almighty God. If God, the Father, so loved you before He ever created the world that He gave His Son for your salvation, He can deal with His little rebellious child as well as you or I could with our little children. Just because our children are rebellious does not alter the fact that they are our children. God applies a little discipline, and thereby He can and does influence our attitude.

God is an Almighty God! With the Word of His power He created the heavens and the earth. If He comes, like on the day of Pentecost, with the unction of His Holy Spirit to accompany the Word in our heart, He can influence any one of us. The atonement is not limited to the effect that God cannot save a person because he is rebellious.

Our text teaches the doctrine of sovereign grace. The blessed sovereignty of God is not hindered by a person's rebellion. He loved His children while they were yet sinners and in rebellion. He sent His Son and gave His Son while we were yet sinners; it does not limit the atonement to those who are willing to accept. This would teach that the atonement was limited.

It would teach that those, whom God so loved that He gave His only begotten Son so they would not "perish, but have everlasting life," would still perish because their god was such a wimp that He could not draw them unto Himself. Look at the horrible deceit in such a teaching; it teaches that God is so limited He is not able to save those who are not willing to believe.

If God loves a person, He will influence him; He will not allow him to place himself beyond the reach of His mercy. God is able to influence the biggest wretch and sinner.

Remember how He influenced the jailer. Think of the Apostle Paul. He confessed he was the chiefest of sinners, and certainly he was not coming to Jesus to accept him on his way to Damascus. Saul was bent and determined to destroy the church. All God did was turn on a little light. This same Almighty God who said, "Let there be light, and there was light," GEN 1:3, stopped that mad monster with but a ray of light which shone into his soul.

ACT 9:3-4 says, "And as he journeyed, he came near Damascus: and suddenly there shined round about him a light from heaven: And he fell to the earth, and heard a voice saying unto him, Saul, Saul, why persecutest thou me?" Don't you suppose that same almighty Creator of the heavens and the earth could turn on a little light in any soul He chose to influence?

What happened to all his rebellion when the light came on for Saul? "And he trembling and astonished said, Lord, what wilt thou have me to do?" ACT 9:6a. Look how such a rebellious lion was instantly transformed into a lamb. The atonement was not limited by the rebellion of Saul; he was regenerated and became the Apostle Paul. He not only refused to accept Jesus, he was bent and determined to be the greatest enemy the church ever had, but God was able to influence him; with a flash of light he was transformed into a meek little lamb saying, "Lord what wilt thou have me to do?"

This great God, who brought the universe into being by the power of His Word, also influences rebels to serve Him by means of a new creation. As surely as He created the universe by the power of His Word, so by the power of His Word He brings about a new creation in the soul.

In EPH 2:8-10 we read, "For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God: Not of works, lest any man should boast. For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus unto good works, which God hath before ordained that we should walk in them."

This matter of a new creation follows the same pattern the Lord used in the first creation. Turn to GEN 1:2 to see how the work of regeneration is accomplished; look for the very first thing the Lord did. "And the earth was without form, and void; and darkness was upon the face of the deep. And the Spirit of God moved upon the face of the waters." He moved upon the darkness.

How does the work of regeneration begin? The Word enters the dark soul by the power of the Spirit, and then He commands there to be light, and that is exactly how He influences a rebel in the new creation. When the light came on and Jesus spoke powerfully to his soul, the Apostle Paul fell prostrate on the ground.

Oh, beloved, that tyrant became so submissive before the almighty hand of God. No longer could he persecute the church because he became a different man instantly. It was the end of his mad career; the Lord converted him on the spot.

Now what do such conversions tell us about the theory that the atonement is limited only to those who are willing to accept Jesus? If that were true, there wouldn't be a saint in heaven. The atonement is for those whom God chose from eternity, and He affects that by the wonder of His grace, by the divine influence of the Spirit upon the heart working the new creation in the heart.

EPH 2:10 says, "For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus unto good works, which God hath before ordained that we should walk in them." You see, God has foreordained where we will walk, and He has foreordained our salvation. It was predetermined from eternity, and there is no way that you and I can put ourselves beyond His call of mercy by our little rebellious attitude.

Consider a small child having a tantrum; he may think Mommy and Daddy can't change things. No. If a parent loves the child, discipline does a lot; it changes the attitude. Have you ever heard of a parent taking a child out for a little attitude adjustment? That is what the Lord does with you and me. He gives us a little attitude adjustment; He knows how, and He is big enough to do it.

Where do we find the harmony between God's sovereignty and the phrase, "...that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life," in our text? Whose decision is it whether I'm going to believe or not? How do we see God's unconditional sovereignty connected with "whosoever believeth"?

Turn with me to ACT 13:46, "Then Paul and Barnabas waxed bold, and said, It was necessary that the word of God should first have been spoken to you: but seeing ye put it from you, and judge yourselves unworthy of everlasting life, lo, we turn to the Gentiles." In that verse we see that we are responsible if we reject the gospel. Do you see why we cannot teach that the atonement is limited from the other side of this same principle?

The Jews who rejected the gospel will be called to an accounting; they had the gospel proclaimed to them, and they refused it. On the Day of Judgment they will not be able to defend themselves on the basis that the atonement was limited, and therefore they were justified in refusing it because it did not include them. The Lord will call them to stand before Him to give an account of why they rejected the gospel.

Verses 47-48 continue, "For so hath the Lord commanded us, saying, I have set thee to be a light of the Gentiles, that thou shouldest be for salvation unto the ends of the earth [but herein we see God's sovereignty in influencing those for whom He gave His Son]. And when the Gentiles heard this, they were glad, and glorified the word of the Lord: and as many as were ordained to eternal life believed."

Isn't there a blessed harmony between God's sovereignty and the free will of man? Those who believed did not do so because compulsion was imposed upon them; they were made willing in the day of God's power to will and do of His good pleasure. cf., PHI 2:13.

Now do you see where the atonement lies? God has used it to effect the salvation of His elect and no more, but the atonement is not the limiting factor. The limitation is found in "whosoever believeth." Who will believe? Only those who are ordained to eternal life will believe.

Now we see God's electing love and His sovereign grace in perfect harmony with JOH 3:16: "For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life."

This same principle is taught in ACT 2:46-47, "And they, continuing daily with one accord in the temple, and breaking bread from house to house, did eat their meat with gladness and singleness of heart [see how the gospel went forth to the whole multitude], Praising God, and having favour with all the people [not just the elect]. And the Lord added to the church daily such as should be saved."

Do you see the sovereignty of God in that? The gospel went to the whole multitude, but only those who "should be saved" were added to the church. The proclamation of the Word went out publicly to all people; not one person in that crowd could say that the atonement wasn't for him on the basis that it was not proven to him that he was among the elect.

One time I asked a person close to me to ask the blessing before a meal. His response was, "Listen, God says that the prayers of the wicked are an abomination to the Lord; I don't know if I'm elect, and so I can't pray." That is pretty far-fetched, but Satan has many traps to hinder and lead us astray.

Look at the trap Satan has for people who want to argue the limitation of the atonement, see how Satan uses that argument to put people in bondage! Can you imagine the bondage you would be in if Satan had you convinced that you may not pray to God until you see it written in stone that you are one of God's elect?

Do you see how such folly encourages one to continue in sin and fatalism, putting the blame on God? "What shall we say then? Shall we continue in sin, that grace may abound? God forbid. How shall we, that are dead to sin, live any longer therein?" ROM 6:1-2.

Our text says, "For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life."

Not one person on earth needs despair of mercy, except those who, like the Jew, hear and refuse to believe. They will perish. Why do they refuse to hear? Those whom God has ordained to eternal life believe. It is only by the grace of God, the Divine influence of the Spirit upon the heart, that the Apostle Paul, or you or I will ever believe. "Because the carnal mind is enmity against God: for it is not subject to the law of God, neither indeed can be," ROM 8:7.

Only those who are ordained to eternal life, who receive the Divine influence of the Spirit upon the heart to break their enmity against God, will believe.

Now we can see the harmony between the sovereignty of God and the responsibility of man. We are all responsible, but only those who are foreordained will believe.

Only those whom the Father has loved from eternity does He influence by the power of His grace to turn from sin to serving the living God. This does not mean that God can't influence others, but the ones He has chosen are the ones He does influence. This is a shocking statement to many people, but let's prove this right out of Scripture.

ROM 8:29 says, "For whom he did foreknow, he also did predestinate to be conformed to the image of his Son, that he might be the firstborn among many brethren."

The word "foreknow" means that He had an intimate relationship with that person, like the union between a man and his wife. Those for whom He had this intimate love, He predestinated.

Where is the source and the fountain? The fountain of this love springs from eternity; those whom He loved before the foundation of the world, He predetermined that they will conform to the image of His Son.

We must not govern our lives by the secret will of God, but by His revealed will. DEU 29:29 says, "The secret things belong unto the LORD our God: but those things which are revealed belong unto us and to our children for ever, that we may do all the words of this law."

We all have the revealed will of God revealed in His Word, and we are to control our lives by His reveal will, not His secret will.

Now where is the evidence of our salvation? The evidence of our salvation is a new heart given to us by the Father; it is a heart filled with new desires. Has God worked that grace in our souls? Is it our desire to walk in the path of His Son and follow in His footsteps?

The unspeakable gift of the Father in giving His Son was for those whom He predestined to be conformed to the image of His Son. ROM 8:30-31 says, "Moreover whom he did predestinate [those to whom He gave repentance, those who became conformed to the image of His Son], them he also called: and whom he called, them he also justified: and whom he justified, them he also glorified. What shall we then say to these things? If God be for us, who can be against us?"

Who can be against us? In pondering our answer we must include the ugly, wretched nature of mine, the ugly monster, "I." God can alter those things and influence us with a flicker of light. He turns on a little light and all of a sudden a monster like Saul becomes the Apostle Paul; he's a totally different man.

That is what God is telling us here; those whom He loved from eternity He predestinated to be conformed to the image of His Son. Those are the ones He calls, and they are the ones He sanctifies, justifies, and glorifies. The rest are allowed to remain in their rebellion. That is where the difference lies.

Our text says, "Whosoever believeth..." this is where the distinction comes. Who will believe? Those who are foreordained to eternal life will believe because as we read in PHI 2:13, "For it is God which worketh in you both to will and to do of his good pleasure."

Whereas the love of the Father is the source of our salvation, it is also that same love which influences those whom He loves to come unto Him. A pastor can preach Mount Sinai, i.e., hell, damnation, and God's wrath, until the ground trembles under one's feet, and his preaching will have the identical effect as when God came down on Mount Sinai. The people were driven away; they became afraid, and they fled.

If the love of God, the love of the Father and the Son, is preached, it leads to repentance. The Lord does not drive anyone to Christ; He draws them. Anyone who preaches otherwise is perverting the Word of God. The Lord draws us to Christ with His goodness and love. Do we not read that "...the goodness of God leadeth thee to repentance?" ROM 2:4.

DEU 30:6 says, "And the LORD thy God will circumcise thine heart, and the heart of thy seed, to love the LORD thy God with all thine heart, and with all thy soul, that thou mayest live." The gift of the resurrection is repentance, and when God plants His love in our hearts, He circumcises our hearts to love Him with all our heart, soul, and mind.

Circumcision is the seal of our salvation. The word seal means mark of genuineness. When our heart has been circumcised to love the Lord with our hearts, souls, and minds, that is our evidence that we love the Lord, that the Lord has worked grace in our souls.

We must take notice of the things the Lord is doing. JER 31:3 says, "The LORD hath appeared of old unto me, saying, Yea, I have loved thee with an everlasting love: therefore with lovingkindness have I drawn thee." You see, God draws us with His precious love. When it is revealed in the soul, it draws us unto Him, "...therefore with lovingkindness have I drawn thee."

Notice the implication here; we are drawn, not scared into coming by the whip and the law. Scripture doesn't tell us we are chased by Mount Sinai; it says, "...with lovingkindness have I drawn thee."

When does the Lord bring us to believe in His Son? He comes with the quickening of the Spirit in our souls and the circumcising of our hearts to love the Lord our God as we read in DEU 30:6. "And the LORD thy God will circumcise thine heart, and the heart of thy seed, to love the LORD thy God with all thine heart, and with all thy soul, that thou mayest live."

Our hearts are melted by this tender, Fatherly love so all rebellion is broken, and we are attracted unto our Saviour to be saved from our sins. When we see His love, it begins to draw our hearts unto Christ and the Holy Spirit turns on the light that we might see what love we have sinned against; now sin becomes so sinful.

Sin will lose its power when you and I have learned by the Holy Spirit to see how the Father so loved the world that He was able to restrain His love for His Son, appeasing His wrath upon sin by giving Him unto death for the love He had for us.

It was in such a time that His Son was pleading and sweating blood, asking the Father to remove that cup. Doesn't such a view of God's wrath upon sin make sin, our sin, become exceedingly sinful? The Father was able to restrain His love for His Son, placing our sins upon the head of His own Son in such a time, for the love He had for us.

We don't need a whip or the law to chase us to Christ when we have a glimpse of His love. When we get a glimpse of that precious, bleeding, dying love of our Saviour and the love of the Father in giving His Son, then the lovingkindness draws us unto Christ. One glimpse of that love makes sin so horrible and grievious. To think it was our sin that placed the crown of thorns (a symbol of our sin) upon His head should humble us. If a revelation of such love does not melt our heart, all the thunderings of Mount Sinai will only drive us farther away.

See how blessedly JER 31:8-9 speaks of this drawing power of God's love, "Behold, I will bring them from the north country, and gather them from the coasts of the earth, and with them the blind and the lame, the woman with child and her that travaileth with child together: a great company shall return thither. They shall come with weeping, and with supplications will I lead [not drive] them: I will cause them to walk by the rivers of waters in a straight way, wherein they shall not stumble: for I am a father to Israel, and Ephraim is my firstborn."

The atonement is not limited to those who are willing to accept because not one for whom Christ died shall ever perish, but shall have everlasting life. If we were left to our own rebellion, if we were left until our own human wisdom and reasoning brought us to the point where we would accept Jesus, not one soul would enter heaven. Why? The carnal mind is at enmity with God.

The word carnal in the original means unregenerate. The unregenerate are the ones who are at enmity against God. They are not subject to His law nor can they be. (cf., ROM 8:6-7).

This tells us that not one human being would ever accept Jesus on His own; only those who have received the divine influence of the Spirit upon the heart will have their eyes opened to see God's tender, Fatherly love which draws them to Christ. His love brings us to Christ and breaks the power of sin.

JOH 17:11-12 says, "And now I am no more in the world, but these are in the world, and I come to thee. Holy Father, keep through thine own name those whom thou hast given me, that they may be one, as we are. While I was with them in the world, I kept them in thy name: those that thou gavest me I have kept, and none of them is lost, but the son of perdition; that the scripture might be fulfilled."

Do you understand the sovereignty of God in our salvation? Not one is lost whom the Father gave unto His Son. How does He keep them? The Creator of the universe oversees everything; not one hair can fall from a person's head without His permission. He keeps us with guardian angels day and night. He allows us to sin; He permits it to a certain end. He limits it and directs it to bring about His purpose.

At the end we see how unworthy we are, and we see the blessedness of the saving grace of God that has drawn us with His love. We recognize the price that He paid for sin. His restraining grace keeps us; He does not allow us to do what we would. The rebellion is broken in our hearts.

Those who have that seal, i.e., that mark of genuineness which is a circumcised heart, "...to love the LORD thy God with all thine heart, and with all thy soul, that thou mayest live," can never fail of the grace of God. There is no salvation for those who do not have a circumcised heart. Never shall one of those be lost whom God loved; He gave them to His Son, and the Son has given Himself for them.

We cannot limit God by saying He cannot change our attitudes. I have seen little children get an attitude adjustment in a matter of minutes. God can do it in a split second. He can change our attitude so easily.

In 2TIM 2:19 we read, "Nevertheless the foundation of God standeth sure, having this seal, The Lord knoweth them that are his. And, Let every one that nameth the name of Christ depart from iniquity." God knows who are His; He has chosen them and loved them from eternity. Nothing limits His love. He has an unbounded love that is unfathomable.

Our text says, "For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life." So who is it that believe but those who have received that new heart by the regeneration of the Holy Spirit?

In 1PE 1:2 we read, "Elect according to the foreknowledge of God the Father [God has chosen those whom He loved from eternity], through sanctification of the Spirit, unto obedience and sprinkling of the blood of Jesus Christ: Grace unto you, and peace, be multiplied."

Notice where the first operation of the Holy Spirit occurs. Please understand that a person who claims a pardon while walking in sin deceives himself. The work of grace begins "...through sanctification of the Spirit, unto obedience and sprinkling of the blood of Jesus Christ."

The first operation of the Spirit upon the heart is the work of sanctification, which is the work of repentance. This brings forth the new man, a new creation, "unto obedience." That is the second aspect of the work of grace. This sanctifying work of regeneration is what leads us to the sprinkling of the blood or a pardon through the blood of Jesus Christ.

We see this truth when we hold our text in its context. The principles I have just explained are exactly what our text says in its context.

The lack of this sanctification of the Spirit is the condemnation of those who are outside of Christ. It is very important that we understand this principle. The condemnation of those outside of Christ is that they lack the sanctification of the Spirit.

Watch this as we go on to JOH 3:17-20, "For God sent not his Son into the world to condemn the world; but that the world through him might be saved. [Jesus did not come to bring condemnation or preach condemnation. He came that the world might be saved.] He that believeth on him is not condemned: but he that believeth not is condemned already [WHY?], because he hath not believed in the name of the only begotten Son of God."

Let's pause here to consider the word name and take it into the original. The word "name" comes from the Greek word onoma, which means "a name." Do you know what that means?

PHI 2:9 says, "Wherefore God also hath highly exalted him, and given him a name which is above every name." When the Father gave His dear Son "A NAME," it was the designation of all authority!

Our text does not say that the gift of God's Son is to all who have experienced the horror of the condemnation of the law; there are many who have not experienced that, but they have truly believed in Christ.

The name, Bill Clinton, in itself means nothing, but add to that the words President of the United States and now he has been given a name. Do you see the difference? There is authority now in the name. The Lord gave Jesus a name above every name.

Now let's go back to JOH 3:18; "He that believeth not is condemned already, because he hath not believed in the name of the only begotten Son of God." In other words, those who have never learned to reverence the authority of His Son are under condemnation. Why? V:19 says, "And this is the condemnation, that light is come into the world, and men loved darkness rather than light, because their deeds were evil. For every one that doeth evil hateth the light, neither cometh to the light, lest his deeds should be reproved."

Why do they love darkness rather than light? They love darkness because they have never recognized the authority of that Name Jesus! They have never learned reverence for that holy Name!

Our text does not say that the gift of God's Son is to all who keep the letter of the law as a Pharisee; this Scripture deals with a heart problem, "...and men loved darkness rather than light, because their deeds were evil." That is where the condemnation lies; it is a heart problem concerning what they love; it is not because the letter of the law was or was not followed.

As we hold our text in context we must understand where the condemnation lies, to fully understand what it means to be free from condemnation. By believing in the name of the only begotten Son of God we become free of condemnation. It is the believing in that name, coming into a holy awe and reverence for that authority that causes sin to become exceedingly sinful, then we no longer cherish it.

When we come to believe on the name, a name with authority and character, when we believe in that kingly office, then we begin to understand what it means to believe in Christ. The effect of believing in that name follows in the next verse: PHI 2:12 says, "Wherefore, my beloved, as ye have always obeyed, not as in my presence only, but now much more in my absence, work out your own salvation with fear and trembling."

Notice the phrase ye have always obeyed. Don't stop obeying. Christ obeyed and God gave Him a name; if you have any reverence for the obedience of Christ and the authority that was given to His name for such perfect obedience, then you should also obey.

If we have had but a glimpse of the Father's love in giving His Son, seeing how He was willing to condescend to any sacrifice, except that of truth and justice, to save fallen man, we have to understand the sacrifice the Father made.

He would not sacrifice justice, because then sin could be forgiven without payment of penalty. He would never sacrifice truth; He could condescend to the giving of His own Son, but He would never stoop to sacrifice truth and justice to save fallen man.

Now we can begin to see why it says in the context of our text, "But he that doeth truth cometh to the light, that his deeds may be made manifest, that they are wrought in God," JOH 3:21. That is believing in the name of the Son of God!

People who act in truth do not try to hide their sins nor do they flee from the light of His Word.

Believing in the "NAME" of His only begotten Son, Jesus Christ, is much more than a decision, or a certain experience; it is the attitude of the heart toward the authority which the Father delegated to His dear Son for such obedience.

EPH 4:21-24 says, "If so be that ye have heard him, and have been taught by him, as the truth is in Jesus: That ye put off concerning the former conversation the old man, which is corrupt according to the deceitful lusts; And be renewed in the spirit of your mind; And that ye put on the new man, which after God is created in righteousness and true holiness."

Do you see that believing in Jesus is an attitude adjustment; it is a matter of reverencing the authority of Christ instead of running from the light so their deeds are not made known. There is the condemnation. Do you run from the light to hide your deeds, or do you come to the light so any infractions will show up and can be remedied?

Our believing in Christ is made evident by our love for one another, which is the first evidence of our reverence for His highest command. EPH 4:30:32 says, "And grieve not the Holy Spirit of God, whereby ye are sealed unto the day of redemption. Let all bitterness, and wrath, and anger, and clamour, and evil speaking, be put away from you, with all malice: And be ye kind one to another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, even as God for Christ's sake hath forgiven you."

Beloved, I must ask you a very personal question! Do you believe "...in the name of the only begotten Son of God?"

Do you have a holy reverence for that authority which the Father gave His Son as the reward for His perfect obedience?

Then read EPH 5:1-2, "Be ye therefore followers [or imitators of God as it is in the original] of God, as dear children; And walk in love, as Christ also hath loved us, and hath given himself for us an offering and a sacrifice to God for a sweet-smelling savour."

If you profess to believe in the Lord Jesus Christ, be an imitator of Christ, and walk in love "...as Christ also hath loved us," ROM 8:29.

Amen.