Pastor’s Thoughts – 07/26/2026
July 25, 2026
“God’s sovereign election and man’s exercise of responsibility in choosing Jesus Christ seem opposite and irreconcilable truths – and from our limited perspective they are opposite and irreconcilable. That is why so many earnest, well-meaning Christians throughout the history of the church have floundered trying to reconcile them. Since the problem cannot be resolved by our finite minds, the result is always to compromise one truth in favor of the other or to weaken both by trying to take a position somewhere between them. We should let the antimony remain, believing both truths completely and leaving the harmonizing of them to God.”
John MacArthur
One of the most all-encompassing verses in relation to salvation is John 3:16. It is a wonderful and important verse of Scripture. And it is in a glorious setting of explaining salvation. The context of John chapter 3 is a conversation that Christ had with Nicodemus who was considered the highest-ranking Pharisee and teacher in Israel (John 3:10). The reason the conversation is so important is that our Lord explains to Nicodemus the means for any person to have a right relationship with God. The importance of our Lord’s words are infinite and should be carefully studied. Many people focus only on John 3:16. This powerful verse must be understood in the relationship to other insights the Lord provided to Nicodemus. There are four key components brought out by Christ to Nicodemus that are all essential for salvation, and these form a connected unit for salvation clarity. By knowing and understanding these there comes a full knowledge for the basis of a saving relationship with God.
Our Lord begins His conversation with Nicodemus by stating, “Unless one is born again, He cannot see the kingdom of heaven” (John 3:3). The statement, “See the kingdom of heaven” is consistent with having a right relationship with God. Because all mankind is born into sin, we all are born with a ruined nature, which is emphasized in John 3:19 as “loving darkness.” The first component given by Christ is a requirement for an inward change or a new birth. This should bring to every thinking reader’s mind, as it should have to Nicodemus, our inherent sin problem. The history of mankind is a history of sin. Both the knowledge of our sinful condition, and the contrasting holiness of God are on display in Scripture from the beginning. Therefore, to have a right relationship with our Holy God, we need a new nature which can only come from a new birth as described by Christ. The new birth is the first essential component.
After explaining the essential new birth, the Lord then clarifies how such a new birth comes about. Christ explains the necessary work of the Holy Spirit upon the person to bring about what He describes as, “born again.” He informs Nicodemus that the Spirit of God is necessary and moves according to His own plan and purposes or, “where He wishes” (John 3:8). He uses the physical example of the Holy Spirit being like the wind stating, “We do not know where it comes from or where it is going” (John 3:8). He is making the point that we cannot control the wind, nor can we control the Holy Spirit’s activities. God is sovereign and moving according to His will. This is very important for Nicodemus who as a Pharisee believed that salvation was obtained by keeping laws. Christ is here clarifying that it must be a work of God. The second essential component of salvation is the Holy Spirit being active in the individual.
Our Lord then explains to Nicodemus that God purposed to send a Savior (John 3:13-15). Christ came from heaven to be a man and be lifted up on a cross. In this same context, Christ calls Himself, the Son of Man (John 3:13). Then He also says He is the Son of God. He is the God/Man Savior. He, as the sinless Son of God, is the only Person qualified to be a true substitute to die sacrificially for sinners. What follows then is our verse drawing attention because of its grand explanation, “For God so loved the world” (John 3:16) which provides us the motive of God’s rescue of humanity, and that His scope of love is more than Israel. God loves people from all places in the world (Rev. 5:9). Here we find the clearly presented third essential component for Nicodemus and for us to understand. Christ stated, “That whosoever believes in Him,” that is, In Him as presented, “will not perish but have eternal life” (John 3:16). Therefore, the third essential component of salvation is given as the necessity of believing in Him as the God/Man Savior, or what we call saving faith.
In John 3:20-21 we are introduced to the fourth essential component. After declaring that men naturally love darkness, Christ states, “But he who practices the truth comes to the light, so that his deeds will be manifested as having been wrought in God” (John 3:21). Here is the changed person, or born-again person, who has been moved upon by God’s Spirit and is now believing In Christ Jesus by saving faith. What does this person do? Instead of loving darkness, he now loves light. The goal he has is that his deeds will be evident and akin to his new godly nature. In this same chapter we read, “He who believes in the Son has eternal life; but he who does not obey the Son will not see life, but the wrath of God abides on him” (John 3:36). This further explains John 3:21. Here the fourth essential component of salvation is shown to be obedience. This addresses the important matter of Lordship, that knowing Christ Jesus as the Son of God makes Him not only our Savior but our Lord whom we desire to obey. This is not declaring a works salvation, but it is integral in the significant change brought about by salvation. The fourth essential component of salvation is given as the necessity of obedience to Him.
When we study the whole of Christ’s words to Nicodemus, we come to understand God’s great salvation. It encompasses God’s initiation, His action of the new birth, and man’s belief and obedience. These components are integrated essentials in salvation. There is of course much more to be said about John chapter 3. Whatever situation we are currently under, it is good to come back to the basics of our Lord’s providential explanation to Nicodemus. Here we find the true workings of salvation and what therefore really matters more than anything. If these components are not a reality in our life, we should seek the Lord in prayer. If these are actual in our life, we will once again express our infinite gratitude that God in love sent His Son to die in our place that we might live eternally with Him.
