John 3 v16 Greatest Peril

"For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in Him should not perish but have everlasting life"     John 3 v16

7)   The greatest peril facing the human race

The instinct for survival is the most powerful emotion in humanity..  Consequently we are always concerned with threats from external sources that may bring to an end life as we know it.  Things like wars, pandemics(such as we are experiencing now), disasters, invasions from the(largely)unknown outer space, all concentrate our minds and talents to create certainty and minimise fear.  What is not considered so much in all this is that the greatest threat to our existence is the God who created us, and, who, in a moment's time could  obliterate us.  This is the reality of our existence, that we are living under the greatest peril, and mostly we don't want to know, and certainly we don't want to talk about it;  it has been taken out of the public domain, and ignored by the world mass media.  One evidence right now, is that thousands are dying from an invisible and unknown virus, yet not one world leader has related it to the possibility of Divine action on the world. 

Jesus uses the word "perish" in this verse, as a very real possibility, apart from the intervention of God in love.  This is the question we should be asking...why would the God of heaven go to such lengths to intervene in the realm of humanity, if we were not under a terrible plight from which we could not extract ourselves.  Why did God send His beloved Son into the world, why did He allow men to unlawfully crucify Him, if there was not some compelling reason that we were in dire trouble.  What does He mean by "perish"?  It is the Greek word apollumi which along with it's derivatives occurs over 100 times in the new testament so it is a very important concept;  it means to destroy completely, to ruin, to render useless.  The bible teaches clearly, and incontrovertibly, that humanity is under the condemnation of God, has been since the fall, and as members of Adam's fallen race will perish apart from the intervention of God.  One or two scriptures will suffice(but there are hundreds);  Jesus in the sermon on the mount Matthew 7 v13 "Enter ye in at the strait gate for wide is the gate, and broad is the way that leads to destruction(same root word as perish), and many there be which go in thereat";  John in chapter 3 v17-18 "For God sent not His Son into the world to condemn the world, but that the world through Him might be saved; he that believeth on Him is not condemned, but he that believeth not is condemned already, because he hath not believed in the name of the only begotten Son of God".  That is everyone who has not believed on Him is perishing!  Paul to the Corinthians chapter 1 v18 "The preaching of the cross is to them that perish foolishness, but to us which are saved it is the power of God"

What does it mean to perish?  It is not the cessation of being, for the soul that God created will live forever in some state;  it is the cessation of well being, the withdrawal of God and all sense of good; it is ultimate ruin, eternal uselessness, eternal regret, eternal frustration.  Jesus came to warn us.  He spoke of the place of the damned after death and He used the word Gehennah(11 times).  A picture speaks a thousand words and this picture speaks volumes.  Gehennah was the name for the public dump of Jerusalem, situated in the valley of the Son of Hinnom, south east, and outside the city, where all the filth and public waste was cast, and the remains of dead animals for sacrifice, where the fire was never extinguished.  What a graphic description of what it means to perish, and we let it speak for itself.   But the whole point of the verse is that there is no need for anyone to perish and all who believe in Him shall never perish.  The scripture in John 10 v27-28 spells it out "My sheep hear my voice and they follow me; and I give unto them eternal life and they shall never perish, neither shall any man pluck them out of my hand".  The scholars who know the Greek language tell us that the word for never in "never perish" is emphatic and can stand to be repeated 6 times, "they shall never, never, never, never, never, never perish!  Peter said that the God of heaven "..is longsuffering to usward not willing that any should perish, but that all should come to repentance".  Come now before it is too late.