What About Seventeen? John 3:1-17
Delivered to Smith Chapel UMC on June 7, 2009
What I Didn't Say
Condemnation--I have occasionally wondered what it would be like to be on death row...waiting to be put to death. I suppose there would be a lot of denial to keep from going crazy. But then when it was time to walk those last few steps, denial would be pretty hard.
To be condemned is a hard thing. It leaves very little room for hope. Only a last minute pardon from the governor can lift that condemnation.
Our sin condemns us. We are on another kind of death row. We are on a death row that will not only take our physical lives, but it will take our spirits as well. That's why verse seventeen is so important.
I need to know that I'm no longer condemned. I need a governor to grant a pardon. The good news is that we have more than a governor doing that for us. We have a King...good King Jesus. And He comes into the world--not to condemn us--but to die for us, proclaim our pardon, and set us free.
"There is therefore now no condemnation..." Hallelujah!
