The Terror Of The Lord
John 3:16
One of the most prolific verses of scripture used by men today is John 3:16.
"For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever
believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life." This is one of the
most powerful statements in the divine record showing the great love God had for
mankind to offer His only Son for redemption of wicked man. Through that
sacrifice of misery and suffering, we have the hope and the realization of
everlasting life. Who can not aspire for salvation without knowing the wonderful
love God had in His willingness to let His Son die for all men? This passage
stands as a monument of grace -- and a reminder of a certain reality.
Jesus taught His disciples from the sermon on the mount, "Enter by the narrow
gate; for wide is the gate and broad is the way that leads to destruction, and
there are many who go in by it. Because narrow is the gate and difficult is the
way which leads to life, and there are few who find it." (Matthew 7:13,14) There
are two paths of life men seek: the narrow gate and the wide gate. The narrow
gate is difficult and leads to life but few will find it. The wide gate is the
entrance to the broad way and the end is destruction. Sadly, many will follow
this way. Jesus establishes the reality of the end of all men. He unfolds a
harsh fact of eternal truth: most men will be lost and few will be saved.
John 3:16 teaches the reality of the eternal destiny of most people. The word
"perish" means to be lost, ruined or destroyed. God gave His Son but people must
believe in Him to be saved. If one does not believe in the Son of God, he will
be lost. "Therefore I said to you that you will die in your sins; for if you do
not believe that I am He, you will die in your sins." (John 8:24) The reality of
what it means to perish is understood in the description of those who will be
lost.
To perish is to suffer "everlasting fire" (Matthew 25:41), "hell fire" (Matthew
18:8,9), "eternal damnation" (Mark 3:29), "resurrection of condemnation" (John
5:29), "everlasting destruction" (2 Thessalonians 1:9), "to go to hell, into the
fire that shall never be quenched, where their worm does not die and the fire is
not quenched" (Mark 9:43,44). This is the reality of what will be the fate of
those who do not obey the gospel of Jesus Christ.
It is satisfying to teach the wonderful salvation of God through His Son and we
must present these thoughts to a lost and dying world. We must be reminded of
the reality of what the eternal condition of those who refuse to submit to
Christ will be. Paul writes in 2 Corinthians 5:11, "Knowing, therefore, the
terror of the Lord, we persuade men." The terror of the Lord is the reality of
what will happen after death. Obedience to God is not a small thing taken
lightly. The persuasion of men must be accomplished by the grace of God and the
terror of the Lord.
Luke 16:19-31 shows us how terrible it will be if we perish. Through this story
Jesus gives a hint of how terrible it will be to be lost. There will be a
consciousness of the torment we are enduring. "And being in torments... send
Lazarus that he may dip the tip of his finger in water and cool my tongue; for I
am tormented in this flame." It is real, it is terrible, it is final and there
is no rest. (Revelation 14:11; 21:8)
What do we learn from John 3:16? The invitation of the Lord is to know the grace
of God in sending Jesus Christ but that obedience is required to be saved from
an eternal death. Hell is real, it is terrible, it is eternal and it is
prepared. Jesus said, "He who believes and is baptized will be saved; but he who
does not believe will be condemned." (Mark 16:16)
By Kent Heaton
From Expository Files 9.8; August 2002
