The Most Distorted Verse in the Bible
Ultimately with R.C. Sproul
Ligonier Ministries
4.9 • 1.3K Ratings
🗓️ 1 March 2023
⏱️ 8 minutes
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Summary
John 3:16 is one of the most famous verses in the Bible. It's also one of the most distorted passages in Scripture. In this episode, R.C. Sproul explains what this verse actually teaches about the depths of God's love in salvation.
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Transcript
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| 0:00.0 | Are you one of those that gets angry when you hear there's only one way to God? |
| 0:05.4 | The question is, why should there be one? |
| 0:14.6 | For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes |
| 0:21.2 | in Him should not perish but have everlasting life. |
| 0:23.4 | This surely is the most famous verse in the New Testament. |
| 0:28.7 | It's the one that people color their hair, all different kinds of shades, and hold up |
| 0:32.3 | in signs and sporting events, John 3.16. |
| 0:35.2 | It's probably the most distorted verse in all of the New Testament as well. |
| 0:44.6 | Because people who love the universality of this verse hate the particularity of this |
| 0:52.5 | verse. |
| 0:53.5 | And let me show that to you. |
| 0:55.6 | It begins by saying something about the love of God and the object of God's affection. |
| 1:02.3 | God so loved what? |
| 1:06.6 | The world. |
| 1:08.0 | And let me finish this for you according to contemporary understandings of John 3.16. |
| 1:15.4 | God so loved the world that He gave Christ and saves everybody in the world. |
| 1:25.2 | God will draw from this text a doctrine of universal salvation that God loves the world |
| 1:30.9 | so much He saves everybody. |
| 1:35.2 | But obviously that's not what the text says. |
| 1:38.8 | And those who are particularists and are minion say that God loved the world enough |
| 1:46.3 | to provide a way of salvation for everybody in it. |
| 1:50.0 | Let's get rid of this election business and predestination doctrine. |
... |
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