John 3:17

John 3:17 Lary R. Hale

It’s probably the most famous scripture in the Bible, and for good reason. It pretty much tells the Gospel story in one verse. You see it in stadiums at football games on TV, and just about anywhere that there’s a lot of exposure someone will have it on a sign. I’m talking about John 3:16 of course, and just for accuracy’s sake, here’s how it goes: “For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life.” Monumentally great verse, yet it’s the verse after that one that I find myself referring to so often when speaking with people about the Gospel. And it is in fact John 3:17 that I feel SO many of God’s people need to focus on a lot more. For the record, this is how that one reads: “For God sent not his Son into the world to condemn the world; but that the world through him might be saved.” Yes, that verse tells a really big, and a really overlooked story. That story is the story of God’s mercy, the motivating factor that sent Jesus into this world. In September of 1983 the Lord imparted through prophecy a gift of revelation knowledge to me through one of his humble servants that I met only that one time. That was enough. That gift began to operate prolifically a few weeks after that night, and probably the most overriding truth that God’s Spirit revealed to me in those first few months was this: The earmark of erroneous doctrine is a judgmental spirit, and the earmark of the truth is a merciful spirit. That actually makes perfect sense, seeing that every seed bears forth fruit after its own kind. In fact it can’t be any other way. As it is written, “Mercy and truth are met together; righteousness and peace have kissed each other” (Psm. 85:10). For instance, the most erroneous religion in the history of the world is the abomination of Islam, and it is very clear that its most devout followers are both ultra-religious and ultra-unmerciful. The wicked brutality that has been going on in Syria recently is not an abberation to the religion, but rather the norm. They have proved that by murdering their own kind who are ‘backslidden’ from the hard, brutal, vastly unmerciful nature of the religion. But Islam is only the most exaggerated example of how erroneous 'belief’ about God produces an unmerciful spirit.

God’s people are not being deceived by Islam, at least not as yet. Unfortunately there will be more to come on that issue in the not so distant future. For the time being it is the erroneous teachings about the true Gospel of Jesus Christ that have damaged God’s sheep, and have produced a widespread lack of mercy in the body of Christ. Any unmerciful, condemning spirit is just a scaled down version of what is readily and fully seen in Islam. And this condition is nothing new, as the ancient prophet Hosea reminds us: “Hear the word of the LORD, ye children of Israel: for the LORD hath a controversy with the inhabitants of the land, because there is no truth, nor mercy, nor knowledge of God in the land” (Hos. 4:1). There are a couple of rules of thumb to go by when it comes to mercy, and Jesus demonstrated perfectly what those rules are. There are those who are deemed worthy of showing mercy to, and those who are to be sharply rebuked for their lack of mercy. Those who are haplessly weak and undone are in line to be shown mercy, as well as those who are trying to get it right, but may be struggling. When the Pharisees brought a woman to Jesus who they had caught in the act of adultery, hoping that he would condemn her, he overthrew their judgmental spirits with godly wisdom: “He that is without sin among you, let him first cast a stone at her… And they which heard it, being convicted by their own conscience, went out one by one, beginning at the eldest, even unto the last: and Jesus was left alone, and the woman standing in the midst. When Jesus had lifted up himself, and saw none but the woman, he said unto her, Woman, where are those thine accusers? hath no man condemned thee? She said, No man, Lord. And Jesus said unto her, Neither do I condemn thee: go, and sin no more” (Jn. 8:7,9-11). The Pharisees were certainly not of a merciful spirit, and in another place Jesus gave them a stern rebuke for being so: “But if ye had known what this meaneth, I will have mercy, and not sacrifice, ye would not have condemned the guiltless” (Mat. 12:7).

Those who are condemning others that they deem less enlightened than themselves are worthy of that same rebuke today, and the holy Ghost will lead the righteous to give it to them. The same holy Ghost will lead the righteous in a merciful spirit toward those who are failing or fallen due to weakness or ignorance, while the judgmental will try to finish them off with scorning. At the same time, the judgmental will accuse the righteous of being judgmental for rebuking their unmerciful ways. It’s nothing but an attempt to cover their sins by accusing the righteous of their own sins.These modern religious zealots had better remember the admonition of the ancient proverb that addressed the issue with simplicity of truth: “He that covereth his sins shall not prosper: but whoso confesseth and forsaketh them shall have mercy” (Prov. 28:13). If they won’t hear that then they better beware lest they end up on the wrong end of this saying: “For the terrible one is brought to nought, and the scorner is consumed, and all that watch for iniquity are cut off: That make a man an offender for a word, and lay a snare for him that reproveth in the gate, and turn aside the just for a thing of nought” (Isa. 29:20,21). We’re heading into the home stretch of all things being fulfilled my friend, and if we aren’t being conditioned by the holy Ghost to the true nature of God that sent Jesus to this world to save that which was lost, we are heading for very big trouble indeed. Regarding the end of days, Jesus said it this way: “And the brother shall deliver up the brother to death, and the father the child: and the children shall rise up against their parents, and cause them to be put to death. And ye shall be hated of all men for my name’s sake: but he that endureth to the end shall be saved” (Mat. 10:21,22). Those are some seriously sobering words from the Master, and it’s going to take more than a zeal for 'Christian’ religion to not end up on the wrong side of that coin. It’s going to take some sure fire “sanctification of the Spirit and belief of the truth;” and it’s going to take a boat load of God’s merciful love that is the sum of that equation (II Thess. 2:13). Peter put these elements together perfectly: “Seeing ye have purified your souls in obeying the truth through the Spirit unto unfeigned love of the brethren, see that ye love one another with a pure heart fervently” (I Pet. 1:22). There is no 'deeper light’ than that my friend, and there is no other 'truth.’ Amen.