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Some thoughts on specific Points in John 3
Some thoughts on specific Points in John 3
One must Believe IN Jesus.
There is a difference in ‘believing THAT’ and ‘believing IN’. ‘THAT’ indicates WHAT is believed, statements of fact that must be understood and believed to be TRUE. “IN” is putting your TRUST in Jesus. We are not only to believe the FACTS about Jesus, we are to TRUST HIM in all that he does and says.
Believing is NOT the ONLY condition of salvation mentioned in the Bible.
Yes, many believe that ‘faith only’ is the only condition of salvation. But there ARE other conditions stated. For example, Paul wrote “9 that if you confess with your mouth Jesus as Lord, and believe in your heart that God raised Him from the dead, you will be saved; 10 for with the heart a person believes, resulting in righteousness, and with the mouth he confesses, resulting in salvation. (Romans 10:9-10). Here both confessing and believing are conditions of being saved and ‘resulting in righteousness’. We also see in Acts 11:18 that ‘repentance’ is part of coming ‘unto life’ (spiritual life in Christ): “18 When they heard this, they quieted down and glorified God, saying, "Well then, God has granted to the Gentiles also the repentance that leads to life." Thus Paul could state that “…30 "Therefore having overlooked the times of ignorance, God is now declaring to men that all people everywhere should repent, (Acts 17:30). Jesus in giving the great commission stated that it is ‘he that believes (again an ongoing verb) and ‘is baptized’ shall be saved. Do not make the mistake of making one verse deny other verses. What ever God revealed as a condition is to believed and obeyed.
Believing is NOT a ‘once and done’ event but a continued life of trust.
The verb tense of such act of believing’ is a present tense verb which suggests an continued and ongoing trust in Jesus. Notice the opposite things that also are about on-going life styles. Verse 18 speaks of those who ‘does not believe’. Verse 20: ‘who DOES EVIL’ and ‘DOES NOT come to the light’. Many of us did NOT respond positively in faith the first time we encountered the gospel! In fact, some of us rejected such for a number of years before submitting. And then in Verse 21 it speaks of those who ‘practice the truth’ and ‘comes’ to the light. These all are indications of a continuing action. Such CAN CHANGE. The unbelieving man CAN be converted and become a believer. Such BELIVING MAN can change and quit believing, quit trusting, quit practicing the truth.
Are trusting Jesus?
Hugh DeLong
