Reading Plan:
John 3:1-21

Our Thoughts:
Is there a more famous verse in the Bible than John 3:16? It is easily the most widely known and often quoted sentence in all of scripture, and for good reason. This is one of the clearest and most definitive statements on the love of God and what it means to have new life in Jesus. One line seems to sum up the entire message of God’s word: “For God so loved the world that He gave His only Son.”
The life, and ultimately death, of Jesus is not only a clear demonstration of God’s love for you, it is an inevitable byproduct of His love. God did not just say He loved you, He showed you His love. What's more is that your goodness or ability wasn’t the factor that drove God to move. It was His love for you, rooted in His very nature, that compelled Him to act on your behalf.
While the gift of Jesus is freely offered, it does come with a price tag. “For God so loved the world that He gave His only son, and whoever BELIEVES in him will be saved.” (John 3:16) Belief is the requirement to experience the gift that is a new life in Jesus.
The Apostle Paul said it this way to the church in Ephesus, “It is BY grace THROUGH faith that you are saved. This is not your own doing but the gift of God.” (Ephesians 2:8) Faith, or belief, is the door in our heart that opens to allow the work of God’s grace to take place. Your belief in the person and work of Jesus has eternal consequences.
However, the belief that Jesus and Paul are talking about here is not simply a mental assertion. This is a faith that drives actions. Notice the words of action that follow verse 16: “For everyone who DOES wicked things hates the light and does not come to the light because His WORKS would be exposed. But whoever DOES what is true comes to the light, so that it may be clearly seen that his WORKS have been carried out in God.” (John 3: 17, 20-21)
Faith and actions, or works, are uniquely linked together for the believer. “So also, faith by itself if it does not have works is dead.” (James 2:17) I want to be very careful here not to say that saving faith necessitates certain actions. Remember, “for God so loved.” You do not, and frankly cannot, act a certain way or do enough good things to earn God’s love and salvation. However, our faith in Jesus should change and affect the way we act and behave. Faith drives actions.
Your actions can’t lead to saving faith, but your faith in Jesus will lead to action. Faith alone saves, but faith that saves is never alone.

More Questions:
Do people know what you believe by how you act?
Can you identify places in your life where your actions say something different than what you believe about Jesus?


Prayer:
God, thank you for the gift of your love. I am overwhelmed by the fact that you love me, and I could never earn or deserve that on my own. Help me to live today in such a way that my faith in you is evident to those who I come in contact with.

Author: Kyle Warren