The Grands Letter

Dear Grands,

John 3:14-18, “As Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, even so must the Son of Man be lifted up;
15 so that whoever believes will in Him have eternal life.
16 “For God so loved the world, that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him shall not perish, but have eternal life.
17 “For God did not send the Son into the world to judge the world, but that the world might be saved through Him.
18 “He who believes in Him is not judged; he who does not believe has been judged already, because he has not believed in the name of the only begotten Son of God.”

These words of Jesus are an interesting parallel to the Old Testament book of Numbers:

“Then the LORD said to Moses, ‘Make a fiery serpent, and set it on a standard;
and it shall come about, that everyone who is bitten, when he looks at it, he will live.’
9 And Moses made a bronze serpent and set it on the standard; and it came about,
that if a serpent bit any man, when he looked to the bronze serpent, he lived” (Num. 21:8-9).

There’s a lot that could be said about Israel’s sin that prompted these words from the LORD to Moses. What is most important is that people in the Old Testament were saved in the same way people in the New Testament were saved. What’s more, we today are saved in the same way: by faith!

If God were today to order the construction of such a firey serpent and say, “Look and live,” it would require the same faith as it does to believe in Christ’s sacrifice on the Cross for our sins. But the serpent did not die for you! What keeps us then from trusting Christ?

“Things” have obscured faith –things like, “I’m really a good person”; “I am honest”; “I go to church”; I believe in God” –things like that. But He says, “Believe on the LORD Jesus Christ, and you shall be saved.” What is so hard about that? Get your Bible and look up these verses. Time is always of the essence! Don’t wait! You’re missing the joy of really living!

Heartily in Christ Jesus,

(Dado III)

Gene L. Jeffries, Th.D.
Springdale, Arkansas 72764
United States of America

“We never know that Christ is all we need until He becomes all that we have.” – Corrie ten Boom