The Only Way Out
The best-known verse in the Bible is John 3:16: “For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life.” Sometimes, people will go on to read the next verse, John 3:17, which is also uplifting: “For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but to save the world through him.”
Love. Eternal life. Being saved. Not being condemned. These are compelling ideas to share with someone who hasn’t yet decided to follow Jesus. But the very next verse in John 3 comes across as less appealing: “Whoever believes in him is not condemned, but whoever does not believe stands condemned already because they have not believed in the name of God’s one and only Son” (John 3:18).
How can John claim in one verse that Jesus does not condemn the world and then claim in the next verse that everyone who does not believe in Jesus is condemned? What does that mean?
Let me give you a simple explanation.
The Bible gives us the story of how God made human beings and had a purpose for them, but the first humans disobeyed God and broke the close relationship they had with God. Sin and evil entered the world. As the Bible says, “all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God” (Romans 3:23).
Since the first sin entered the world, we have all been born separated from God’s grace and his love. We are not living the life he planned for us. It’s as if we were born inside a prison, separated by walls and barbed wire from the rest of the world. Out there is freedom, but all we have ever known is the inside of the prison.
We can try all kinds of things to make a comfortable life inside the prison walls. It feels natural to us, and we can be reluctant to leave. Or, if prison life gets too tough, we can try and find a way out. But there is no ladder big enough to get over those walls. There are no holes deep enough to get beneath the walls. People have made lots of doors in the prison, but they don’t lead outside.
Only one door opens to true freedom, and that is the door Jesus made for us.
Jesus does not condemn us because of our sin. He stands by a door only he could make and beckons for us to come to him. If you are ready to learn about that door—to learn about Jesus and how he came to save us from our prison of sins—please contact us at Boulder Mountain Church. We are here to help you find the only way out.
