Every single last one of us...were born into this world with a ‘bulls-eye’ on our back, or a ‘guilty’ stamp marked across our hearts. And it wasn’t your fault, either. (Rom. 5:12)

As harsh as that may sound, please hear me out on this matter, as I’m not here to try and argue or offend or even convince you of anything other than simply share...what God’s word has to say regarding the condition in which we are all born in to. You can believe what you want and do as you please with this information. But if you are at least willing to hear and consider, I have no doubt that the Holy Spirit is willing and ready to ‘confirm’ to your heart that what is being revealed to you is His truth; and it certainly won't be me doing any of the ‘revealing’ (Matt. 16:17)

I hope you read yesterday’s message as I explained how and why we were all born with a spiritual ‘defect’, in need of a spiritual ‘software update’ in order to ‘fix the bugs/flaws’ that we were born with; hence the reason Jesus said we needed to be ‘born again’ (John 3:1-7).

It still puzzles me at times as to why ‘John 3:16’ became the hallmark banner for all of Christendom to wave everywhere, even at high profile events like football games, etc. Yes, it’s a great verse but the problem we run into when we elevate one verse above all the others...is it can distort the gospel message that we all need to hear and respond to. That’s what man-made doctrines tend to do – distort God’s message to us. And the gospel can not be 'summed up' in one simple verse either.

Is there ‘good news’ offered in John 3:16? Sure, of course there is...but...as I have said in the past, it’s hard to appreciate ‘good news’ until you first hear the ‘bad news’. i.e. – “A fire truck just showed up at your house. Oh, that’s news. No, that’s ‘good news’!. Really? Why is that? Because your house is on fire!”

We can oftentimes be shy or hesitant to declare to people what the ‘bad news’ is first; and if/when we do...we tend to do a horrible job at relaying that news to them, almost to the point that we shut them down to where they are not even open to hearing the ‘good news’. I was made aware of someone recently who was waiting on the results of their mammogram. They got a call from the office and were told to come in so they could discuss a ‘treatment plan’...having never heard from any doctor or anyone that ‘cancer’ may have been detected. Turns out it was just a ‘cyst’ and all is well, but still...someone dropped the ball getting that message out. (And no, nobody I am related to)

So let’s take a look at what Jesus shared ...after... His well-known statement we see in John 3:16:

“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.” (18)

Right there, we see what Jesus had to say regarding our condition. Anyone who does not ‘believe in Him...is already... condemned’; (His words, not mine). There was no footnote either that ‘exempted babies’ or children up to a certain age.

Now stop right here for a moment. There’s no need to get offended by what you just read. It might be hard to swallow and send shock waves through you; but don’t be mad or upset at the ‘messenger’. If/when a doctor informs you that you (or your child) have cancer or some other potentially lethal disease, do you get mad at them...or do you work through the shock and then follow up with a ‘So what’s the plan to address this problem?’

It's not uncommon, when hearing upsetting news, to have a flood of questions rush through your thought process; I get that. No doubt, immediately people want to start asking ‘so what about babies or young children who never hear or come to believe in Jesus...what happens to them?’... or other related questions. And all I can say in response to that is - let’s just walk through the scriptures and deal with what we do know and what God might be trying to teach us from His word. You can be confident of this: God is good...God is love, and He is just. Nobody has all the answers to everything upfront, but if we can just learn to ‘walk in the light’ that He gives us...I promise you ...there will be more light made available. Just avoid the temptation to rushing to conclusions without first having all the facts or information made available to us found in His word. Who in their right mind comes to conclusions based on what they 'don't know'?

The very last verse found in this third chapter of John’s gospel is very telling as well - “He who believes in the Son has everlasting life; and he who does not believe the Son shall not see life, but the wrath of God abides (or remains) on him.” (36). Notice it did NOT say...’will come upon them at some future time’; it reads...”it REMAINS on them” as if it was already there. Would you please take a moment and let that sink in? This...is the condition into which we all were born. This was the ‘bug’ or the ‘defect’ that needed to be remedied. Were you aware that it is the 'wrath of God' that Jesus came to 'save' us from? (Rom. 5:9)

So let’s scroll back and look at vs. 17 where Jesus again...drives home this point: “For God did not send His Son into the world to condemn the world, but that the world through Him might be saved.” In other words, Jesus is informing us of both the ‘bad news’ and the ‘good news’ in the same breath here: “You  have a serious problem or ‘flaw’, but I’m the remedy, I’m the fix or the solution...so hear Me out”. And can I just tell you now...the remedy is not to hurry up and utter some words stating: “I believe in Jesus!”?

Yes, John 3:16 informs us that “whoever believes in Him will not ‘perish’...”, but remember- there are plenty of other scriptures included that we need to take into consideration, like the passage found in Luke 13:1-5...”I’m telling you that if you fail to repent, you will all likewise perish...”. And may I also remind you once again, in closing here for today ...what the heart of God’s will and desire is... for each and every one of us: “God is longsuffering toward us, not willing that any...should perish but that all should come to repentance...” (2 Pet. 3:9)

So what does it look like, or what are the ‘symptoms’ of someone who has the ‘wrath/judgment/condemnation’ of God....’on them’? Great question! We’ll examine that tomorrow.