Basic Sermon Recap: “How to Save the World” John 12:44-50

In John 12:44-50 Jesus claims that he has come to save the world. This invites several questions. What is this salvation and why do we need it? How is Jesus the key to us getting this salvation? What will happen if we don't get this salvation from Jesus? Let's consider these questions in turn.

What is this salvation and why do we need it? The answer to this question comes to us via a metaphor Jesus uses. He describes himself as being light that comes to help those who are in darkness come out of darkness (v.46). Jesus is saying then that people are in effect living their lives in darkness and they need him if they are to find their way out. This is a critical point, and one that's hard for many to realize about themselves. We are too ruled by our senses, by what we see or feel. Thus, it is hard for us to imagine anything different beyond what we've come to already experience. This is why we must pay careful attention to the words of Jesus and ask ourselves, "Could this be possible?"

Jesus tells us for instance in John 10 that he has come so that people might have life and have it abundantly. We should ask ourselves then, is it possible for us to have abundant life, that is, a life with everlasting meaning and purpose? The problem we have is that we've accepted lives with vague meaning and purpose. Indeed, the most basic and important question in the universe is "why am I here?" But for this most crucial question we are content to say, "I'm not sure," or even, "It doesn't matter, I'm just here." Here is evidence of our darkness! Nowhere else in life would we accept non answers like this. When it comes to things like figuring out what's wrong with our cars or figuring out why we're sick, we want answers and demand answers. Yet for the basic question about human existence we remain in darkness. Jesus however cries out to us that it doesn't have to be this way. He has come to give meaning and purpose to our lives. He has come into our darkness so we can be led out and live in the light.

What makes Jesus the key to this salvation? Jesus is the key because Jesus is God (v.44-45). Jesus was not some regular dude. Far too many people believe in a Jesus far short of the actual Jesus. They believe in a Jesus who is nice and good, but nothing more. He never confronts and is content to passively commune with us. He is the equivalent of an overly nice kindergarten teacher. Frankly, he is the kind of Jesus who couldn't save himself out of a parked convertible, much less save other people.

Clearly, this will not work. A people trapped in darkness need nobody less than a God to come in and free them out of that darkness. And this is who Jesus is and what he does – he is God himself acting to save us.

What will happen if we don't get this salvation? If we don't accept Jesus, we will be condemning ourselves to our darkness. At some point, the words of Jesus will come back on us and judge us (v.48). We will realize then that we were hearing not any man's words but God's words. And we rejected them. This means that we rejected God, which means that we will have judged ourselves. At the end, either we will have lives that have been firmly established on the message of Jesus, like a house on a rock, or will have lives established on other things, like a house on sand, with the message of Jesus serving merely as decorations in our lives rather than as the firm foundation of our lives. Lives that are like the house on the rock will last forever before God. Lives that are like the house on the sand will eventually crumble and be destroyed.

This is the future judgment. So if that is the judgment for then, the time to be saved is now. Now is the time to believe and be saved. And if you are saved, then now is also the time to celebrate and praise God because of Jesus. Jesus was who he said was, did what he said he would do, and now lives and rules from heaven because he was who he was and did what he did. That means you are saved now and will be saved then.

Being saved now means living within the light of Jesus. This means being able to see our world with ever growing understanding and being able to live your life with ever growing purpose and joy. You live a life now that will only grow in richness and meaning and depth, a life that will never end but will last forever.

This is the salvation we've been given. Let us take hold of it, cherish it, thank God for it, and celebrate Jesus because of it.

Check out these lyrics from a song called "Jesus is Alive" by shai linne (from the album called "The Atonement"). They are a great way to speak and affirm the truths of our salvation.  

Through faith in Christ, we've been saved from hell
Because He's risen, it means we'll be raised as well
In glorified bodies fit for the new earth
For now, we participate in the new birth
The universal reality of the true church
With resurrection power, watch the Spirit do work!
United with Christ, we reside in His light
Abide in His might, keep in stride as we fight
The pride in our life, the lies and the spite 
 
We strive to be wise as He guides through the night
He'll chide and He'll slice- recognize that He's right
His brightness inside lights our eyes and it's tight
(He) decided to die to wash white all our strife
His life was the price to delight in His wife
He told death "sike" just to rise like a kite
All eyes on the Christ- let's prize Him tonight  
 
For the full version of this sermon download the mp3 from our website.