https://apologeticspress.org/APContent.aspx?category=11&article=5723
"Believing" in John 3:16
Several
years ago I asked a gentleman if he would be interested in a personal
Bible study. He responded to my question by asserting that he knew John
3:16 very well and that John 3:16 was all the Bible he needed. He seemed
confident that he was saved by Jesus because he “believed” in Jesus. I
have received this same basic response from various individuals through
the years. They have read or heard the beautiful, awe-inspiring,
truthful words of John 3:16, perhaps many times. And they seem convinced
that, since they acknowledge (or mentally accept the factuality of) the
existence of Jesus as the Son of God, then they are saved from their
sins and will receive eternal life at the end of time. Enough said. Case
closed. That’s it: “God is a loving God. And since I ‘believe’ in
Jesus, I’m not going to perish, but will receive eternal life.”
An Awe-inspiring Verse…But God Gave Us More Than One
John 3:16 has undoubtedly been a favorite verse of millions of
Christians through the centuries—and rightly so! It is a tremendous
statement from our omnibenevolent God. John 3:16 beautifully
encapsulates the theme of the entire Bible: God loved humanity (His
willfully wayward offspring) so much that He gave the greatest gift He
could possibly give, and the only gift that has the power to save man
from sin—the perfect sacrifice, the Son of God—and anyone who believes
in Him will be saved from punishment and will receive eternal life.
I love John 3:16. It is from the mind of God. It is true. And it is a
great summary of the Gospel of Christ. But it is not the only verse God
gave to man. It is not the only verse the Holy Spirit inspired man to
write. It is not the only soul-saving truth that Jesus ever uttered or
that John ever wrote.1 The psalmist proclaimed: “The entirety of Your word is truth, and every one of your righteous judgments endures forever” (119:160). Paul wrote that “all Scripture is given by inspiration of God” (2 Timothy 3:16). Jesus said that the Spirit of truth would guide the apostles “into all truth” (John 16:13), which they subsequently preached and penned (Ephesians 3:1-5). Paul declared “the whole counsel of God” (Acts 20:27). Both Moses and John warned about adding to or taking away from God’s Word (Deuteronomy 4:2; 12:32;2
Revelation 22:18-19). When a person emphasizes only one sentence of
Scripture to the exclusion of all others, he is, in essence,
disrespecting and rejecting everything else that God revealed for man’s
eternal benefit, including many truths that help to interpret other
divine statements correctly.
What father is pleased with his son who listens only to 1% of what he
says? What teacher will pass a student who completes only 1% of the
assigned readings? What employer will tolerate workers content with
knowing only 1% of what they need to know—even if that 1% included the
most fundamental knowledge of the business?
If John 3:16 were “enough,” why did Jesus teach so much more? Why did
John write so much more (in the Gospel of John, as well as 1, 2, and 3
John, and Revelation)? And if the Holy Spirit was content with man only
knowing John 3:16, why did He inspire men to pen thousands of other
eternally beneficial statements (2 Peter 1:20-21)? Both logic and the
Bible demand more than a “one-verse Christian.”
THE Folly OF ONE-WORD and ONE-VERSE INTERPRETATIONS
One Word…Without Context?
Whether you consult an English dictionary or a Greek lexicon, most
words have more than one meaning, and some words have a plethora of
meanings.3 In fact, according to Guinness World Records, “The word with the most meanings in English is the verb ‘set’, with 430 senses listed in the Second Edition of the Oxford English Dictionary… The word commands the longest entry in the dictionary at 60,000 words.”4 Some words can function as both a noun and a verb, depending on how they are used within a given context.5
Other words can be used as almost total opposites. For example, the
word “overlook” can mean “to inspect,” or it can mean “to ignore.”6 The only way to understand words correctly is to understand them in their context.
This fundamental truth of interpretation certainly applies to Scripture. Even very basic words, which the Bible writers used hundreds or thousands of times, must be carefully considered. The English verb “know”7 (from the Hebrew yada and the Greek ginosko)
is found well over 1,000 times in the New King James Version. Many
times it is used in the sense of merely being aware of something or
someone. At other times, it is used in the more intensified sense of
being very informed about, and even experienced.8
Sometimes it is even used to refer to sexual relations (Genesis 4:17;
Matthew 1:25). One simply cannot know what “know” means without context.
“One-word interpretations”9 (with all due respect) are ignorant and dangerous.
One Verse…Without Context?
“Judge not, that you be not judged.” “I can do all things through
Christ Who strengthens me.” “Ask, and it will be given to you.” What do
these verses10 actually mean? Are we never to make judgments?11
Can Christians expect to be so strong that we can lift 10 tons of
weight if we so desired (for whatever reason)? Should we actually expect
to receive anything that we desire from our “genie” in heaven?12
The simple fact is, truly understanding one verse of Scripture to the
exclusion of all others is as futile and perilous as thinking we can
understand a single word without any context. This is certainly true of
John 3:16.
Indeed, John wrote “that whoever believes in Him
[Jesus] should not perish but have eternal life.” But what does it mean
to “believe” in Jesus? That’s easy, right? Everyone knows what it means
to “believe in” something or someone. And if not, a person can quickly
consult a dictionary and discover that believing can mean merely “to
consider to be true or honest,” or “to hold as an opinion,” or to
“suppose” or “think.”13
These are some of the leading modern definitions and common usages of
the English word “believe.” Thus, many conclude, without further
knowledge of the Scriptures, or without giving further thought even to
other definitions of the modern English term “believe,”14 that all a person must do to receive eternal life is simply to “consider,” “suppose,” or “think” that Jesus is the Son of God.
“Believing” and the purpose of the gospel of John
We certainly do not want to diminish the necessity and eternal
importance of a sinner learning about Jesus and moving from (a) not
knowing anything about Him, to (b) coming to understand and accept the
evidence for His divinity. A sinner simply cannot be saved by the
perfectly just and holy God without “considering” the sinless, loving,
sacrificial Savior15—“The
Lamb of God Who takes away the sin of the world” (John 1:29). Over the
last 2,000 years, billions of people have tragically dismissed the
fact-based, soul-saving Gospel of Christ. Yet John affirms that Jesus is
“God,” “the word,” “the lamb,” “the bread of life,” “the light of the
world,” “the door,” “the good shepherd,” “the resurrection and the
life,” “the way, the truth, and the life,” “the true vine,” and “the
Christ, the Son of God.”16
John doesn’t merely suggest that Jesus is divine, he writes for the stated purpose of proving
such. “And truly Jesus did many other signs in the presence of His
disciples, which are not written in this book; but these are written
that you may believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God, and that
believing you may have life in His name” (20:30-31). John arranged his
account of the Good News around seven of Jesus’ miracles,17
including His walking on water, healing of a man born blind, and
raising Lazarus from the dead. Jesus performed miracles (and John
recorded them) in order to prove that Jesus was (and is) the Son of God. In response to a group of Jews who inquired about whether or not He was the Christ, Jesus replied,
I told you, and you do not believe. The works that I do in My Father’s
name, they bear witness of Me…. If I do not do the works of My Father,
do not believe Me; but if I do, though you do not believe Me, believe
the works, that you may know and believe that the Father is in Me, and I
in Him (John 10:25,37-38).
On another occasion Jesus defended His deity, saying, “[T]he works
which the Father has given Me to finish—the very works that I do—bear
witness of Me, that the Father has sent Me” (John 5:36). While on Earth,
Jesus was “attested by God…with miracles and wonders and signs which
God performed through Him” (Acts 2:22, NASB). As would be expected from
the One Who claimed to be God incarnate (John 1:1-3,14; 10:30),
Scripture records (and John especially so) that Jesus performed miracles
throughout His ministry in an effort to provide sufficient proof of His divine message andnature.
For any of the billions of atheists, agnostics, skeptics, Jews, and
Muslims around the world to be saved from their sins, they must first listen to and learn of (John 6:45) the powerful defense (apologia) John penned—that “Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God” (20:31). “He who has ears to hear, let him hear!” (Matthew 13:9). But not just “hear,” let him “believe.” But what does it mean to “believe”?
Let the Bible Explain “Believing”
What do you think it means “to believe”? In one very real sense, it doesn’t matter what you or I think; it only matters what God says and what God
means. The actual, true explanation of the text is ultimately all that
matters. If there is a right interpretation, then that particular,
correct explanation should be the only interpretation we seek. And such a
correct understanding is far from hopeless. Similar to most everyday
conversations we have with family members, coworkers, classmates, and
clerks, where we generally easily understand what the words in
conversations mean, we can properly understand the
words of Scripture (especially as we diligently and carefully interpret
them). But again, we must allow Scripture to interpret itself (as much
as possible) and not be deceived by our own preferences and preconceived
ideas.
Like most words, the noun “faith”/“belief” (from the Greek pistis) and the verb “to believe” (from the Greek pisteuo)
are used in Scripture in different senses. The words “believe” and “not
believe” can certainly refer merely to acknowledging something as being
true (evident) or untrue. In Romans 14:2, in a discussion about liberty
and matters of opinion, Paul referred to one who “believes he may eat all things.” This particular “faith” or “belief” was an understanding
of the fact that Christians are not bound by the dietary laws of the
Old Testament. The apostle John detailed the Pharisees’ interrogation of
the blind man whom Jesus healed and noted that “the Jews did not believe concerning him…until they called the parents” (John 9:18). These interrogators did not think or consider
that he was telling the truth or that the thing was possible. Recall
that when Saul went to Jerusalem after becoming a Christian and “tried
to join the disciples” that “they were all afraid of him, and did not believe that he was a disciple” (Acts 9:26). These individuals did not think that such a prominent persecutor of Christians had actually become a Christian.
James 2:19 provides perhaps the clearest example of the need to carefully consider the terms “belief” (pistis) and “believe” (pisteuo),
and not to assume that a real, saving “belief” in Jesus is merely an
“understanding” or “acknowledgment” of Him. James wrote: “You believe that there is one God. You do well. Even the demons believe—and
tremble!” Notice that James parallels the “belief” of demons with the
“faith” of some “believers.” Individuals who acknowledge the fact that
“there is one God…do well,” since such recognition is the most
foundational pillar of Christianity.18 However, the mere intellectual recognition of the existence of the one true God is an insufficient faith.
(A “faith alone” type of “faith” will not save.) Mark records one
unclean spirit that even confessed that Jesus was “the Holy One of God”
(Mark 1:24). Indeed, he acknowledged the truth about Jesus. He had a type of “faith,” but certainly not a saving faith.
Therefore, as James effectively argued, any person who assents to the
existence of God and Jesus “believes” in one respect—but only in the
sense that “demons believe.” Yet demons are not saved.
Thus, it logically follows, neither are those who “merely believe”
(i.e., “consider” or “think”) that Jesus is the Son of God.
Recall also that many of the rulers of the Jews “believed” in Jesus, “but because of the Pharisees they did not confess Him,
lest they should be put out of the synagogue; for they loved the praise
of men more than the praise of God” (John 12:42-43). Did these men
“believe”? In one sense, yes: they considered Jesus to be the Messiah. But did they have a real, God-approved, saving faith? Surely not, since Jesus had earlier asked, “How can you believe,
who receive honor from one another, and do not seek the honor that
comes from the only God?” (John 5:44). “Believers” who prefer the
approval and praise of men are showboating charlatans, not faithful
believers in Christ (Matthew 23:5; 6:1-4). A “belief” in Jesus that is
not confessed is a shallow, shameful “faith,” not the commendable faith
of the saved.19
Allow John Chapter 3 to explain “Believing” in John 3:16
If a man says “Shoot!” is he using the word as an imperative statement
(a command) or as a frustrated exclamation? If we discover that it is a
command, what does he mean? Does he mean to shoot a gun, or shoot
heroin, or shoot a ball? And even if we discover that the command is
more specific: “Shoot the ball!” does that mean to shoot a basketball, a
soccer ball, or a billiard ball? If the statement is still more
specific, “Shoot the ball toward the correct goal,” we still do not know
if the instruction has to do with a basketball or a soccer ball.
Without more information, without context, we simply cannot know.
Twentieth-century American author and children’s book illustrator John
McCloskey once stated, “I know you believe you understand what you think
I said, but I’m not sure you realize that what you heard is not what I meant.”20 Many make the assumption that God always means what they think He means rather than what He
said (and explained) He meant. In particular, it seems many people
within Christendom consider the “believing” of John 3:16 that saves man
from his sins is a mere acceptance of the fact that Jesus is the Son of
God and “my personal Savior.” Yet, without more information than is
provided in this one sentence, and especially without context, a person
simply cannot know for sure.
The best place to begin to ensure we have a more thorough and proper
understanding of the term “believe” in John 3:16 is John 3. The 36
verses in this chapter can be read in three minutes, and yet the deep,
life-changing, soul-stirring truths found therein can be meditated upon
for a lifetime.
John 3:14-15
In the immediate, previous statement to John 3:16, Jesus referred back
to a moment in Israelite history when God punished the ungrateful,
complaining Israelites with venomous snakes (Numbers 21). After many
died from being bitten by the serpents, the people of Israel confessed
their sins and asked Moses to pray to God and intercede on their behalf.
“Then the Lord said to Moses, ‘Make a fiery serpent, and set it on a
pole; and it shall be that everyone who is bitten, when he looks at it,
shall live.’ So Moses made a bronze serpent, and put it on a pole; and
so it was, if a serpent had bitten anyone, when he looked at the bronze
serpent, he lived” (Numbers 21:8-9).
Jesus compared Moses lifting up the bronze serpent in Number 21 with
the Son of Man being “lifted up,” adding that “whoever believes in Him
may have eternal life” (John 3:14-15, ESV). Carefully consider that the
afflicted Israelites in Number 21 could learn of the critically important, life-saving truth of the bronze serpent and yet still not be healed. They could even “believe”
(in the sense of mentally assenting to the truth) that if they looked
upon the bronze serpent they could be healed, and yet stillnot be healed. Unless they believed in a deeper sense,
and (a) actually left the comfort of their tent dwelling, (b) walked
(or were carried) through (at least a portion of) the vast camp (which
was comprised of hundreds of thousands of Israelites—cf. Numbers 1:46),
(c) opened their eyes, and (d) looked in the direction of and literally
upon the bronze serpent, they would not be physically healed by the Great Healer of their deadly condition.
Similarly, anyone who is spiritually “dead in trespasses and sins”
(Ephesians 2:1) and who is “without Christ” (2:12), must look upon the
Son of Man and “believe” in Him. This “belief” is no more a mere mental
acknowledgment of Jesus being the only answer to the sin problem, than
it was for the Israelites to acknowledge and genuinely believe that the
bronze serpent was the answer to their deadly physical disorder. God is
the Healer, but He only heals those who faithfully follow His approved
prescription.
John 3:5
Interestingly, in this same conversation with Nicodemus, only 10 brief
verses earlier, Jesus stated, “Unless one is born of water and the
Spirit, he cannot enter the kingdom of God” (John 3:5). Notice that
Jesus required something of those who desire entrance into the
soul-saving, spiritual kingdom of God (cf. Matthew 25:34): they had to
be born again—of water and the Spirit. Jesus doesn’t say that one merely
mentally “believes” an important truth for entrance into God’s kingdom.
He certainly doesn’t say to repeat “the sinner’s prayer” for entrance
into the kingdom of heaven. Jesus stresses a serious requirement: “unless” one follow His directions, “he cannot enter the kingdom of God.”
So what does it mean to be “born of water and the Spirit”? Perhaps the
better question to ask is, “Did God give us any indicators in Scripture
to further explain Jesus’ instructions to Nicodemus?” Could it be that
the inspired apostle John was referring to water baptism? He previously
noted three times that John the baptizer immersed sinners in water (John 1:26,31,33) as he preached about the coming Kingdom
(Matthew 3:2). John highlighted the fact that, after Jesus’
conversation with Nicodemus in John 3:1-21, Jesus and His disciples went
to Judea and “baptized” (3:22). John then immediately referenced John
the baptizer again, this time noting that he was “baptizing in Aenon
near Salim, because there was much water there” (3:23).
Finally, John the apostle remarked at the very beginning of the next
chapter that “Jesus made and baptized more disciples than John (though
Jesus Himself did not baptize, but His disciples)” (4:1-2). Given the
fact that so many Jews in Jerusalem and in “all the land of Judea” were
being baptized by John the baptizer (Mark 1:5), as well as Jesus’
disciples, and considering the apostle John’s frequent mention of
immersion in water, not to mention the dozens of times that water
baptism is mentioned elsewhere in the New Testament, doesn’t it make
sense that Jesus was referring to water baptism in John 3:5? What other
action in the New Testament involving water is associated with entering
the Kingdom of God?
Paul indicated that Christians have been sanctified and cleansed “with
the washing of water by the word” (Ephesians 5:26). He also taught that
“by one Spirit we were all baptized into one body” (1 Corinthians
12:13). Peter noted that we have been “born again, not of corruptible seed but incorruptible, through the word of God” (1 Peter 1:23). James wrote that God “begat” (KJV) or “brought us forth by the word of truth,
that we might be a kind of firstfruits of His creatures” (1:18). And
Jesus said we must be “born of water and the spirit” (John 3:5). It
seems biblically consistent to conclude that the Holy Spirit’s
divine “seed” (i.e., His Word/Gospel—Luke 8:11) is planted into the
minds of men and works powerfully in their hearts to produce a
life-changing understanding of Christ, as well as his own life, which
leads to immersion in water in order to enter God’s kingdom.
Still, even if a person concludes that he simply does not understand
Jesus’ statement to Nicodemus, he surely must admit that Jesus’
instructions in John 3:5 do not harmonize well with the shallow, life-unaltering, mere acknowledgement-like view of “belief” in John 3:16.
John 3:36
In the final verse of the chapter, John makes a very revealing contrast
that helps to elucidate further the saving-faith of John 3:16.
Unfortunately, the specific contrast is unclear in some versions. For
example, the NKJV reads: “He who believes in the Son has everlasting life; and he who does not believe
the Son shall not see life, but the wrath of God abides on him” (John
3:36). The KJV likewise contrasts “believing” with “not believing.” The
underlying Greek terms, however, are actually different. John did not contrast pisteuo and ouk pisteuo—“believing” and “not believing” (cf. John 9:18). Instead, John actually contrasted pisteuo and apeitheo—one who “believes” in Jesus with the person who “does not obey”
Him (ESV, ASV, NASB, RSV). Thus, to really “believe” in Jesus is to
fully submit to Him—to obey Him. The Greek lexicographer Joseph Thayer
appropriately commented on the verb pisteuo (“to believe”) and
explained that when it is used “especially of the faith by which a man
embraces Jesus” it means “a conviction, full of joyful trust, that Jesus
is the Messiah—the divinely appointed author of eternal salvation in
the kingdom of God, conjoined with obedience to Christ.”21
The apostle Peter similarly contrasted the “believing” with the
“disobedient,” saying, “This precious value, then, is for you who believe (pisteuo). But for those who disbelieve (apisteo),
‘The stone which the builders rejected, this became the very corner
stone,’ and, ‘A stone of stumbling and a rock of offense;’ for they
stumble because they are disobedient (apeitheo)
to the word, and to this doom they were appointed” (1 Peter 2:7-8,
NASB). The Hebrews writer also used these terms (or derivatives thereof)
in an enlightening manner when explaining that the Israelites were not
allowed into the Promised Land because they “did not obey” (3:18; apeitheo). Yet the next verse states: “So we see that they could not enter in because of unbelief” (3:19; apistia). And then six verses later, in Hebrews 4:6, the writer declared that they “did not enter because of disobedience” (apeitheia). When the Bible is allowed to explain itself (both in John 3 and elsewhere),22 we learn that a real, trusting, saving faith in God is an obedient faith.23
John 3:18-21
A fourth indicator in John 3 that “believing” and “obeying” are closely
linked (and that a mere internal conviction is not intended) is found
in verses 18-21:
He who believes in Him is not condemned; but he who does not believe
is condemned already, because he has not believed in the name of the
only begotten Son of God. And this is the condemnation, that the light
has come into the world, and men loved darkness rather than light,
because their deeds were evil. For everyone practicing evil hates the
light and does not come to the light, lest his deeds should be exposed.
But he who does the truth comes to the light, that his deeds may be
clearly seen, that they have been done in God.
He who does “not believe” in Jesus loves the darkness and practices
evil and does not follow the light. He who really “believes,” on the
other hand, “does the truth” and so “comes to the light, that his deeds may be clearly seen, that they have been done
in God.” Elsewhere the apostle John wrote: “Now by this we know that we
know Him, if we keep His commandments. He who says, ‘I know Him [God],’
and does not keep His commandments, is a liar, and the truth is not in
him” (1 John 2:4).
The irrationality of the position that a person is saved from his sins
by “faith alone” (apart from any act of obedience) is apparent in the
fact that God commands man to believe in Him. And thus
to believe in God is to be obedient to a command of God. As John wrote
in 1 John 3:23: “And this is His commandment: that we should believe on the name of His Son Jesus Christ and love one another, as He gave us commandment.”
So, to not believe is to disobey God, and to believe is to obey. In
fact, Jesus stated in John 6:29, to “believe in Him whom He sent” is
“the work of God.”24
A Critical Figure of Speech to consider
If Bible students fail to recognize the inspired writers’ use of
various figures of speech, it will be impossible to correctly understand
many sections of Scripture. Just as English-speaking Americans are
expected to properly interpret metaphors (“Life is a rollercoaster”),
sarcasm (“You don’t say”), and hyperbolic expressions (“I’m so hungry I
could eat a horse”), Bible students must also be aware that Scripture
contains many figures of speech—“They’re everywhere!”25
One common figure of speech (which has a not-so-common name) is known
as synecdoche: where a part is put for the whole, or the whole for the
part. A person showing off his car might say, “Check out my wheels.”
“Wheels” are relatively small parts of the car yet the term is used to
refer to the entire car. A military leader might refer to how many
“boots they have on the ground,” when he is actually emphasizing the
soldiers in the boots.
Bible writers also used synecdoche. For example, to “break bread” was a
common, ancient synecdoche where “bread” (“a part”) was put for all of the food and drink that would be consumed at a common meal (“the whole”).26 After the establishment of the Church, “the breaking of bread” also came to stand for the entirety of the Lord’s Supper (where consumption of both the unleavened bread and the fruit of the vine is actually meant—Acts 2:42; 20:7).
So what does all of this have to do with “believing”? Simply that the
verb “believe” and the nouns “belief” and “believer” are often used as
synecdoches. A real, saving faith certainly begins with the critically important step of coming to “to consider” or “to think” (i.e., “to believe”)27 Jesus is truly the Son of God, but a biblical, God-approved complete “belief” in Jesus means so much more
than merely coming to the mental conclusion that Jesus is the Divine
Savior. A biblical believer confesses His belief in Jesus (Romans
10:9-10; 1 John 4:15). He repents of His sins (Luke 13:3; Acts 2:38;
22:16). He is baptized into Christ (John 3:5; Acts 2:38; 22:16). A real
believer “obeys”—both on his way to becoming a complete “believer”
(i.e., a Christian) and after he becomes a child of God (John 3:36;
Hebrews 5:9; 11:6; 1 John 2:3-5; 5:1-5; Revelation 2:10). Though all
these elements are involved in faithfully following Jesus, true
followers of Christ are often referred to as just “believers.”
When thousands of non-Christians in Acts 2 heard the Gospel preached by
the apostles and were “cut to the heart,” they asked, “Men and
brethren, what shall we do?” (Acts 2:37). “Then Peter said to them,
‘Repent, and let every one of you be baptized in the name of Jesus
Christ for the remission of sins’” (vs. 38). “Then those who gladly
received his word were baptized…. And they continued steadfastly in the
apostles’ doctrine and fellowship, in the breaking of bread, and in
prayers” (2:41-42). What word did the Bible writer use to describe these
who (a) repented, (b) were baptized, and (c) continued in the apostles
doctrine, etc.? What were these obedient followers of Christ called?
They are referred to as those “who believed” (2:44). Were they mere “consenters” to Christ? No. They became “believers,” and were “continuing” to remain “believers” (2:42-47). That is, they were actively following Christ. They were obedient to Him.
When a pagan Philippian jailor once asked Paul and Silas, “Sirs, what
must I do to be saved?” (Acts 16:30), God’s spokesmen replied: “Believe
on the Lord Jesus Christ, and you will be saved, you and your household”
(vs. 31). Is coming to “believe” (i.e., “know about”) Jesus necessary?
Absolutely. Nothing else matters if a person doesn’t first come to
recognize Who Jesus is and what He has done for him. Thus, the apostles
then “spoke the word of the Lord to him and to all who were in his
house” (vs. 32). Then, “he and all his family were baptized” (v. 33).
Interestingly, as in Acts 2, the Bible does not refer to them as
actually “having believed in God” until after they were baptized (vs. 34).
A synecdoche is a very real figure of speech that has been used
throughout history, including in Bible times. The fact is, regarding the
salvation of sinners, the sum total of the God-given conditions to be
saved are oftentimes indicated by the use of one or two.28 And, as D.R. Dungan noted, “Generally the first is mentioned—that of faith—because without it nothing else could follow.”29
The Bible writers could have referred to God’s children as “repenters,”
“confessors,” or “immersed ones,” but much of the time they reasonably
referred to them simply as those who “believed.”30
Conclusion
In one respect—in the preliminary sense of the word—to “believe” in
Jesus means to mentally acknowledge that He is the Son of God and man’s
one and only Savior. A John 3:16-type of saving-faith certainly includes
this sense of believing, but it also comprises much more. It includes
trusting in the lifted-up Savior (3:14-15), rejecting darkness, coming
to the light, and doing deeds of truth (3:19-21), being “born again…of
water and the Spirit” (3:3,5), and obeying the Son (3:36). Becoming a
“believer” in the full sense of the word is to completely put one’s
trust in the Savior: not merely to “acknowledge” Him, but to follow
Him wherever He leads—including to confess Him publicly, to repent of
sin, to be immersed in water, and then to live daily as an obedient
servant of the King, “even to the point of death” (Revelation 2:10,
NIV). As Jesus said in John 12:25-26: “He who loves his life will lose
it, and he who hates his life in this world will keep it for eternal
life. If anyone serves Me, let him follow Me; and where I am, there My
servant will be also. If anyone serves Me, him My Father will honor.”
EndNotes
1
We cannot say for sure if John 3:16 is a direct quotation of Jesus or a
comment by John. The great thing is, we do not have to know this in
order to know the teachings of God. Whether John 3:16 is a direct quote
from Jesus or not, it is from God, and thus divinely
authoritative. We should be careful not to assume that red-letter Bibles
have all of (and only) Jesus’ direct quotations printed in red.
Judgment calls must be made by publishers as to which words they put in
red and which words they do not. The fact is, whatever color publishers
use for the words of Jesus and the Bible writers, all of them deserve our utmost respect because all of them come from God.
2
Consider: would God have been pleased with any Israelites who reasoned
that “Deuteronomy 6:4-5 is all I need. I don’t need to know any more
than that”? The Shema, as Jews call it, certainly summarizes one of the
main themes of Scripture, but treasuring this passage to the neglect of
all others would have been perilous for the Israelites, as it would be
for us—whether about this verse or any other.
3
Depending on what dictionary one consults, the words “run,” “go,”
“take,” and “stand” each may have 100 or more definitions (i.e., senses
in which they can be understood).
4
See
www.guinnessworldrecords.com/world-records/english-word-with-the-most-meanings/
(emp. added), and specifically its reference to the 1989 printing of
theSecond Edition of Oxford English Dictionary.
5 Example: “I object to the object hanging in the courtroom.”
6
Example: “As I overlooked my research paper one last time, I decided to
overlook the endnotes, since they are sometimes tedious to read.”
7 Or derivatives thereof (e.g., knew, known, knowing).
8
E.g., Exodus 6:3; 1 Samuel 3:7. For more information, see Eric Lyons
(2006), “Did the Patriarchs Know Jehovah By Name?” Apologetics Press,
apologeticspress.org/apcontent.aspx?category=6&article=1051.
9 Interpretations based upon merely one word without any reliance on the immediate or remote context.
10 Matthew 7:1; Philippians 4:13; Matthew 7:7.
11 See Eric Lyons (2003), “To Judge, or Not to Judge,” www.apologeticspress.org/APContent.aspx?category=11&article=1197.
12
See Kyle Butt (2010), “Defending the Bible’s Position on Prayer,”
www.apologeticspress.org/APContent.aspx?category=13&article=3483.
13 “Believe” (2019), Merriam-Webster, www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/believe.
14 Example: “To have a firm or wholehearted religious conviction or persuasion” (www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/believe).
15 John 14:6; Ephesians 2:12-13; 2 Thessalonians 1:8-9.
16 John 1:1; 1:29; 6:49; 8:12; 10:9,11,14; 11:25; 14:6; 15:1; 20:31.
17 John 2:1-11; 4:46-54; 5:1-9; 6:1-14; 6:16-21; 9:1-41; 11:1-44.
18
If a person doesn’t first come to believe in the one true God of the
Bible, nothing else matters. Everything else a person comes to learn and
believe logically follows an acceptance of God’s existence.
19 Matthew 10:32-33; Romans 10:9-10; 1 John 4:15; 1 Timothy 6:12.
20
“Attributed to Robert McCloskey, U.S. State Department spokesman, by
Marvin Kalb, CBS reporter, in TV Guide, 31 March 1984, citing an
unspecified press briefing during the Vietnam war,”
http://quotes.yourdictionary.com/author/quote/601648, emp. added.
21 J.H. Thayer (1977 reprint), Greek-English Lexicon of the New Testament (Grand Rapids, MI: Baker), p. 511, emp. added.
22 See especially James 2:14-26 and Hebrews 11.
23 Cf. Romans 1:5; 16:26, ESV.
24 “Faith…is a work of God in the sense it is that which God has ordered man to do”—Guy N. Woods (1989), A Commentary on The Gospel of John
(Nashville: Gospel Advocate Company), p. 125. This phrase does not mean
works performed byGod; rather, the intent is “works required and
approved by God” (Thayer, p. 248). Cf. Wayne Jackson (1997), “The Role
of ‘Works’ in the Plan of Salvation,” Christian Courier, 32:47, April.
25 Just another example of hyperbole, i.e., intended exaggeration.
26 Jeremiah 16:7; Acts 2:46; 27:34-35.
27 “Believe” (2019), Merriam-Webster, www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/believe.
28
Where are confession and repentance mentioned in Mark 16:16? Where are
belief and confession in Acts 2:38? Where is belief mentioned in 1 John
4:15? Etc.
29 D.R. Dungan (1888), Hermeneutics (Delight, AR: Gospel Light, reprint), p. 305.
30 Acts 4:32; 5:14; 9:42; 10:45; 18:8; 1 Timothy 4:12; 6:2.
