I've decided that for my memorization project, I'm going to take one verse a week, so that I can really learn it and commit it to memory. To help myself ease into it, I'm taking an easy one this time.
John 3:16-17For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life. For God did not send His Son into the world to condemn the world, but that the world through Him might be saved. This verse is ultimately the entire context of our faith. Which brings me to another topic, one that I've touched on in other people's comments this week, but that I feel I should actually blog about.
I love learning about the finer points of Christian doctrine. I like to dig deep into what we believe. Since I started going to a Lutheran church, I dove into their beliefs, learning as much as I could to determine the answers to those little nuances that go along with being a Christian.
A few weeks ago, I don't know why or how, but this thought suddenly came to me. Being a Christian isn't about knowing exactly how the Trinity works or the technicalities around the Rapture.
Being a Christian is about believing in Jesus Christ. Believing that He was God's Son, that He was sent down to die for our sins, only to rise again 3 days later.
That's it. God so loved the world that He gave His only Son. Whoever believes in him will have everlasting life. He wasn't sent to condemn, but to save.
It is important to learn about the little things in the faith so as not to be led astray by false doctrine. However, at the very core, this is the entire basis of our faith. Believe that Jesus was sent by God to die for YOUR sins. Thanks to Jesus' sacrifice, YOU can have eternal life with Him. That's all. It's that simple.
Comments (6)
This is a very good verse; however, i still believe in some of these "technicalities." There are many, and I know you know them too. This is a good start though. Thank you so much for praying for me, Godbless your heart and soul.
@Catholicforlife - Oh, I agree, as we grow in our faith, we do learn the technicalities and finer points of doctrine. I believe that we as Christians are spending too much time dwelling on those technicalities though, to the point where we are forgetting the basics. I personally want to go back to focusing on those basics, and encourage others to do the same. :)
Such a simple core to our faith, yet so many still get it wrong. I still hear of 'Christian' groups who try to convince people that they need to work for their salvation. What a tragedy when the salvation of Christ is not earned, but given freely by His grace and sacrifice. The good works that follow should be done out of a revelation of God's compassion and our gratitude at His mercy.
That's great! It's so refreshing to have a revelation about something like that that seems so obvious and you hear about it so often it just gets boring, to be honest. Then it really hits you and you really make it your own. Thanks for reminding us of this :D
One of the deacons in the church I attend once observed that if those verses were all that had ever been recorded, we'd know all we needed to know to be saved. While I'm glad we have the rest of the Bible, his observation attests to just how profound those verses are.