For God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life.
I think it would be appropriate to emphasize the limiting statement here--"whoever believes in him." Most people when looking at this passage seem to emphasize "whoever" without the rest of the clause. The effect of that error is to make this out to be a universalistic statement. Jesus didn't just save "whoever" without any qualification whatsoever. He saves "whoever believes in him." What this does is it shows that God does not discriminate on the basis of race, ethnicity, sex, socioeconomic status, or even any past decisions. He discriminates (separates the sheep from the goats) on the basis of belief. Something that is totally a gift from Him anyway.
These are just a few thoughts as I'm preparing. I hope that I'm able to share it at work before too long.
2 comments:
Ah, but also don't forget that the sheep and goats were separated based on what they had *done* or not done...so "belief" requires its own defining as well.
Yes, I was citing that passage parenthetically just to show an example of clear teaching that God does have some basis for a type of discrimination. This basis is not typical to how most people would discriminate, but on a basis that is actually inclusive of anyone who desires to be included.
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