WWUTT: John 3:18, Whoever Does Not Believe is Condemned?

For God so loved the world that He gave His only Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have eternal life. For God did not send His Son into the world to condemn the world, but in order that the world might be saved through Him. Whoever believes in Him is not condemned. But whoever does not believe is condemned already, because he has not believed in the name of the only Son of God. (John 3:16-18)

To condemn means to sentence as guilty, and that’s not what Jesus came to do. He came to seek and save the lost, to destroy the work of the devil, to give His life as a ransom for many.

For the son of man came to seek and save the lost. (Luke 19:10) 

The reason the Son of God appeared was to destroy the works of the devil. (1 John 3:8)

For even the Son of Man came not to be served but to serve, and to give His life as a ransom for many. (Mark 10:45)

When He comes again, it will be to judge the living and the dead.

Whoever did not worship Him as Lord will be consigned to hell – a sentence that is on them even now.

And I saw the dead, great and small, standing before the throne, and books were opened. Then another book was opened, which is the book of life… And if anyone’s name was not found written in the book of life, he was thrown into the lake of fire. (Revelation 20:11-15)

See, Jesus did not need to come and condemn the world because we’re already self-condemned.

For God did not send His Son into the world to condemn the world, but in order that the world might be saved through Him. Whoever believes in Him is not condemned, but whoever does not believe is condemned already, because he has not believed in the name of the only Son of God.

Whoever does not believe in the Son of God has condemned themselves.

Whoever believes in the Son has eternal life; whoever does not obey the Son shall not see life, but the wrath of God remains on him. (John 3:36)

Not that God puts his wrath on him it remains on him.

We are all, by our nature, deserving of wrath because we have wicked hearts dead set against God.

…among whom we all once lived in the passions of our flesh, carrying out the desires of the body and the mind, and were by nature children of wrath like the rest of mankind. (Ephesians 2:3)

But God, who is rich in mercy, sent His Son Jesus, who took the wrath of God on the cross.

But God, being rich in mercy, because of the great love with which He loved us, even when we were dead in our trespasses, made us alive together with Christ – by grace you have been saved! (Ephesians 2:4-5)

There is therefore now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus. (Romans 8:1)

Whoever believes in Him is not condemned, by God or anyone, but is loved! They are forgiven their sins and have eternal life.

…when we understand the text.

(This video is by WWUTT. Discovered by Christian Podcast Central and our community — copyright is owned by the publisher, not Christian Podcast Central.)