# 51 From Sinner To Saint

Joh 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. 17 "For God did not send His Son into the world to condemn the world, but that the world through Him might be saved. 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. 19 "And this is the condemnation, that the light has come into the world, and men loved darkness rather than light, because their deeds were evil. 20 "For everyone practicing evil hates the light and does not come to the light, lest his deeds should be exposed.

We love John 3:16 don’t we? And rightly so! It’s all about the depth of love God has for you and me. It’s all about everlasting life through simple faith in Jesus. Then in verse 17, the good news keeps rolling in! Jesus didn’t come into this world to condemn, but to save from condemnation!

The word “condemn” here is interesting. The Greek word is “krino” and it means, “to divide, separate, make a distinction.”  Jesus didn’t come into this world to “classify” sinners! He doesn’t have to! All it takes is one sin and you deserve judgment. One sin and you are a sinner in need of a Savior!

Then in verse 18 we see that simple faith in Jesus removes the classification of sinner, and it moves you to the category of saint.

But then the part we don’t like to hear,  “he who does not believe is condemned already.” Refusal to have faith in Jesus as the Son of God who takes away the sin of the world, puts you in the category of the condemned, the judged. And if you refuse to come to Jesus, you will remain in the “goat” status of Mt 25:41 "Then He will also say to those on the left hand, 'Depart from Me, you cursed, into the everlasting fire prepared for the devil and his angels:

What is it that hinders the unsaved from coming to Jesus? Simply put, they love darkness rather than light. They’d  rather not be confronted with their sins!(v19) They shun anything that would expose their sin, and as long as their sin isn’t exposed, they will continue to practice it.

And that’s why Jesus was lifted up on a cross on a hill outside Jerusalem. When we look to the cross through the eyes of faith, we see our sin. We see our evil deeds that put Him up there. Our sin and it’s effect is brought to light!

When Peter preached his first sermon on the Day of Pentecost, his last words were:  "Therefore let all the house of Israel know assuredly that God has made this Jesus, whom you crucified, both Lord and Christ." (Acts 2:36)

He forced his audience to look upon the pole….the cross of Christ, and their evil deeds were exposed and look what happened next: They were cut to the heart and said, “men and brethren, we see our sin, what should we do?” and Peter replied, “repent and be baptized.”

Friend, come to the cross! It is the spotlight on your soul. It reveals all our evil deeds and at the same time provides the solution for them, and for this same reason, keep pointing others to the cross as well. It alone will deliver them from darkness.