John 3:16 Do I really have to quote John 3:16? It is perhaps the best known verse in all the world. You see signs at football games that depict just that John 3:16.

Henny Youngman was the king of the one liners. “Take my wife, please.” That was perhaps his best known joke. Biblical one liners are no joke but can you say with any certainty that anyone was ever  saved by this one liner? “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.”

If that was the only thing any unbeliever ever heard about Jesus Christ, would it lead to their salvation? Where in this verse does it speak to confession of condition, repentance or surrender? Does it speak to justification, sanctification or conformance?

“For God sent not his Son into the world to condemn the world; but that the world through him might be saved.” Do you know the address for this quote? It is just as vital as John 3:16. Do the lost even understand the issues of condemnation? I have seen the looks on the faces of the lost as they are told bitterly that they are going to hell. It doesn’t do any good to preach hell to a person who doesn’t believe in God.

If you love the lost it takes a longer and deeper conversation than delivering one liners. Even if that one line is “What is going on in your life?” That care and concern isn’t accepted and the conversation cannot deepen until trust is established. That doesn’t come quickly for hurting people.

Now comes the last word anyone wants to hear that is central to Christianity, sacrifice. How much of your life are you willing to give up to save a lost soul? We all have responsibility and needs, so any amount of time spent loving the lost is a sacrifice of some sort.