John 3:16 is the most quoted verse in all of the New Testament. The entire message of the gospel is found in the words, “For God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life.” John 3:16 tells us why God sent Jesus into the world. Jesus came so that everyone could have the opportunity to believe and be saved. 

It is John 3:17 that tells us what God did not send his Son to this world to do. John 3:17 says, “God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world.” Jesus wasn’t born into the world to condemn people to an eternity in hell. His purpose wasn’t to bring God’s judgment, it was to bring the assurance of his grace. God sent Jesus to earth so that anyone could be saved through him, if they just believed in him.

If we examine our words, do we spend more time teaching why God sent Jesus into the world, or condemning the world Jesus came to save? Do our words cause people to feel wanted by God, or judged by him? Pick the person who you think of as most outside the Christian faith. Do you think about what they are doing wrong, or how God wants to save their soul and help them live rightly?

If God didn’t send Jesus to condemn, then we aren’t called to condemn either. Jesus has called us to speak the truth. Jesus said, “If you abide in my word, you are truly my disciples, and you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free” (John 8:31–32). The apostle Paul told the church to “speak the truth in love” (Ephesians 4:15). 

How do we help people know they are loved by God and live for God without speaking words that can sound like condemnation? Every Christian shares this struggle, or it should be our struggle. Jesus befriended the woman at the well before he told her she needed the water of life. He told the parable of the prodigal son, but included the sin of the older brother. He ate with sinners and held righteous anger for those who saw themselves as too holy to do the same. 

Jesus is the model for our own faith, and the pathway for our eternal relationship with God. Jesus never told a sinner their sin was allowed or permitted. He did tell them how they could be forgiven and told them to “sin no more.” Jesus lived a perfect sinless life, but didn’t use his perfection to condemn those who were imperfect. In fact, his strongest words condemned the religious leaders who didn’t realize their sin was the most costly to God’s purpose. If Jesus modeled that witness, we must be careful to do the same. We must speak God’s truth, but we shouldn’t say anything until we can speak with his love.