JOHN 3:16

John 3:16 "For God so loved the world, that He gave His only Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have eternal life."

In a nutshell, this is basically the gospel. The good news. But what does this really mean? A lot of people have interpreted this precious passage by Jesus wrongly and that's why I want to share the gospel or the good news of Jesus Christ according to His word - the Bible.

1.) "..that whoever believes in Him should NOT perish.."
If you're going to look at it clearly, it seems that Jesus here is talking something about believing in Him and not perishing. Take note that Jesus' statement consists of a condition - and that is to believe. Obviously, if that condition is to be opposed, it will say that if we don't believe, we will perish. You prevent something bad from happening when you know that it's going to happen, right? That is exactly the initiative that Jesus has taken for us. Since He's speaking about deliverance from perishing, it must mean that ALL must have a condition so bad that deserves perishing - and that is our total depravity. Romans 3:10 says "None is righteous, no, not one;". If that's the case, then what we have been doing all this time is sinning! We have done NOTHING BUT SIN. According to Romans 3:23 "..ALL have SINNED.."; you and me, everyone in the world, have sinned. "Well everybody does it anyway.. so I guess it's okay." WRONG. You and I are NATURALLY sinful and we are in big trouble before a holy and perfect God, who demands righteousness from His creation. According to Romans 3:20, we are so sinful that we are ENSLAVED by sin. Romans 6:23 says that the wages of sin is death - and that is why we are subject to perish. We deserve NOTHING BUT HELL.

2.) "For God so loved the world, that He gave His only Son.."
Now what? How can we be free from this awful bondage to sin? Is there anything that can save us? A lot of people today have now been doing good works all throughout their lives for them to be able to reach God. Well, guess what? That's what all religions are all about. It's about building a bridge that connects you to God to be able to please Him by their own good works - not with Christianity. Not with the authentic or genuine Christian faith. Isaiah 64:6 says our righteousness or good works are just filthy rags! You say "Why is that??". Well, that is the whole point of our depravity, of our sinfulness. We are so sinful that WE CANNOT please God. Romans 8:8 says that those who are in the flesh (which is all of us) CANNOT please God. And this is where the beauty of the work of Jesus Christ starts. We are just so sinful that we cannot save ourselves - even through pursuits of righteousness or good works. Ephesians 2:8-9 says "For by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God no a result of works, so that no one may boast." That grace is Jesus. We CAN ONLY be saved by Jesus Christ (John 14:6). Our sins are so great that it would require God's own son to die for us to be saved! Jesus, who knew no sin, became sin for us in that cross (2 Cor. 5:21). He has taken ALL the perishing that should've been ours by His own blood. He has been DEgenerated for us to be REgenerated. This is what it means to accept Jesus as Savior.

3.) "..that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have eternal life."
Now this is where most of the wrong teachings start. Is it really that simple to believe God to have eternal life? As in "believe"? We must understand that this belief in Jesus comes from God alone. Remember that it is a gift of God. We, in our ownselves, will never be able to have this belief in Him. Jesus said in Matthew 7:14 that it is hard to go to the way that leads to life. Believing without doing is nothing. In Matthew 7:21, Here we see how Jesus denies people who don't do God's will AND YET call Him "Lord". So what does "believing" in God really mean? Faith must be accompanied with its fruits. Just imagine it as a coin. It has two sides - but both are in unison. Here, I will explain it in 2 turnings. The first is turning from sin. In John 12:46, Jesus explains clearly what believing in Him is - "..so that whoever BELIEVES in me may NOT REMAIN IN DARKNESS." That means that we turn from our old, sinful selves and ways. It involves repentance from our sins. This is the self-denial that He is talking about in Luke 9:23. Then, the second is turning to God. Romans 6:4 "We were buried with Him.. just as Christ was raised from the dead, we too might WALK IN NEWNESS OF LIFE." What this means is we walk a godly life - not the selfish life that the natural man walks. ALL of our actions should now be "GODward". Not our will, but His will should be done. And how do we know what's His will? - We read His word - the Bible. This should be the new life that a saved person has - turning away FROM darkness and turning TO God. Therefore, if you believe in Jesus that He's able to save you from perishing, these turnings will be the desires of your heart. Believing in Jesus must bear fruits. This is what it means to accept Jesus as Lord.

"Wait a minute, I thought you said we can never be saved by our good works! Aren't these good works?" - Take note that I have put these AFTER introducing who Jesus Christ really is. It is true that we can never be saved by our works apart from Jesus Christ. These turnings are rather evidences that an individual has truly put his faith in Jesus Christ. To sum it all up, all of us are totally sinful that we need God to save us from the true, bitter nature of ourselves. God, in His awesome, majestic and all-powerful work, renews the heart and life of a person. This is the "born again" that Jesus speaks of in John 3:3. After that, then only then we'll be able to put our faith in Jesus Christ. We do not put our faith in Jesus then become born again. We become born again by God's miraculous work, THEN put our faith in Jesus because it is also because of God alone why we are able to do so. And again, remember that believing in Jesus must bear fruits. But it is NOT our faith that saves, it is God's grace. This is the wondrous power of Jesus' cross! In all of these, our eternal life is secure. This is what it means to believe in Him and have eternal life. This also means that NOT EVERYONE will be saved. Only the TRUE believers. If God is calling you, brethren, do not harden your heart. For eternity with God is far more better to treasure than all of these things that the world offer. We are SAVED BY GRACE ALONE (the miraculous work of God in the believer's life) THROUGH FAITH ALONE IN CHRIST ALONE (because of what He has done). This is the gospel.

P.S. Since we are commanded by Jesus to share the gospel to all nations and creations (Matt. 28:19-20, Mark 16:15), I would like to humbly request you to share this to your wall. To God be the glory.