B Cycle – 4^th Sunday of Lent 24

Jn.3:14-21

For years he was a visible witness of the gospel, but no one ever knew his name. But you would see him every time you watched a televised sporting event.  His rainbow colored hair, bright yellow shirt with John 3:16 emblazoned across his chest.  A bold witness reminding us God’s mercy is ours if only we would turn to Him believing in His promise of eternal life. 

Can attaining eternal life be that simple? Is salvation ours if only we believe? 

Evangelical Christians have used this passage from John’s gospel as their foundational requirement for eternal life.  That seems too easy, and it seems to be saying hell will not be the destination for those who believe.  Is John saying God does not condemn anyone who believes to hell. Is there a judgement and punishment for our sins and will if a loving God condemn anyone to hell.

Well, the answer to that question is yes and God will and does condemn people to hell.  Six months ago, we witnessed the evil man can inflict on one another. On October 7^th when Hammas butchered, raped, and inflicted horrors which are beyond words upon the Israelites.  Evil exists and all you need to do is look at the horrific effects of any war on those involved and neighboring countries.  Just take the time to look at any one of the many movies about war and you will see it is literally hell unleashed upon humanity.

The destruction of city after city during WWII is evidence of how the brutality of war is destructive and diminishes the humanity of those involved.  War during the time of early Israel was just a brutal without the use of bombs, explosives, or today’s modern weapons.  

We know the Babylonians invaded and destroyed Jerusalem, razing it to the ground.  Its citizens were slaughtered, and the lucky ones were hauled off into captivity.  The pride and splendor of the temple built by Solomon was destroyed because the people did not listen to Jeremah’s call to repent.  In fact, they ignored his pleas and had Jeremiah imprisoned.  They ignored God’s messenger and by doing so brought judgment down upon themselves.  Was the destruction of Jerusalem God’s fault or was it because of their disobedience?  Can we point the finger at God when each of us has a choice to ignore God?  Can we escape judgment when we refuse to listen to God?    

God gave us free will and has told us we have an option daily to choose life or death (Deu.30:19).  Each day we live we have a choice to choose to follow God or to follow our own desires.  This is a discussion I often have with those I visit in hospice care. Those knowing death is imminent are concerned about the wrong choices they have made in the past. They also have a healthy fear of hell and misunderstand God’s mercy.  Too many people have a poor image of God because they do not trust in God’s mercy.  Lacking a trust in God’s mercy leads us to trying to earn grace.  We fail to understand the gift of mercy given to us in the life, death, and resurrection of Jesus Christ.   

Eternal punishment is a reality if we reject the message of allowing God’s grace to touch our sin.  Sin keeps us in a place that is distant from God. We mimic Adam and Eve who after their sin hid in the garden. They wanted to be in the presence of God, but they knew they had sinned, so they avoided Him.  John in this gospel calls that place darkness.  If we remain in darkness our sins are not visible to others.  But Jesus invites us to bring everything into the light. To allow Jesus to free us from not only sin and death but move us from eternal death into eternal life. 

God does not condemn us; we choose not to allow His grace to change us and by doing so we bring condemnation upon ourselves.  Why would anyone choose darkness over light?  Experience tells me it is because we want to hide our failings and sinfulness from others.  We have built up a great façade to hide our sins from others and we keep that façade up no matter the cost.  We do not want others to know our sinful desires, our weaknesses, and our lack of willpower to overcome sinful habits. We perform good works for others to see and enjoy their praise.  It makes us feel better about ourselves. We have become the source of our own destiny.  

But God through the prophet Isaiah says to us, “every knee shall bow, and every tongue will swear allegiance” (Isa. 45:23).  Up to our final breath we will have an opportunity to acknowledge our belief in Jesus.  Paul restates the words of Isaiah emphasizing the certainty that we are constantly offered an opportunity to embrace Jesus or reject Him (Rom.14:11).  John in this gospel speaks of that as “coming into the light and allowing our works to be exposed.”  The truth is simply we have each day a choice to make – our way of God’s way.  To allow God’s grace to cleanse us and heal us or we can reject grace and live according to forms of religion while deny the power of it. 

But God cannot give us His mercy unless we ask for it, unless we desire it and until we know we need it. If we keep believing we deserve God’s grace because of our works, then we are deceiving ourselves and are living apart from God. 

If it is a choice of receiving from the throne of God what Jesus did for our salvation or to receive from God what I deserve then we should quickly accept what Jesus won for us over anything we believe we have earned.

The remaining weeks of Lent are a perfect time to reflect on God’s grace.  To rejoice and to live the gospel believing because God so loved the world that He gave His only Son, so that those who believe in Him will have eternal life.