Frank Jamerson
�For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have eternal life� (Jn. 3:16). This verse has been called �the golden text of the Bible.� We hear it quoted often, but do we really look at what it teaches?
It begins with �For God�,� which contradicts atheism. If God loved the world and sent His Son, then He exists. �But without faith it is impossible to please Him, for he who comes to God must believe that He is, and that He is a rewarder of those who diligently seek Him� (Heb. 11:6).
The statement that He �so loved� denies deism, which says that �God created the world and its natural laws, but takes no further part in its functioning� (Webster).
The statement��He gave His only begotten Son,� implies a sacrifice and undermines the entire premillennial system, which says that God sent His Son to be a king, but the Jews killed Him, so He postponed the kingdom. Isaiah clearly predicted that Jesus would be �despised and rejected by men,� and that He would �pour out His soul unto death� (Is. 53:3,12). God sent His Son as a sacrifice for sin, and He fulfilled that mission. He never intended to become an earthly king over an earthly kingdom.
The expression��His only begotten Son,� contradicts Judaism, which denies that the Messiah has come. Paul said that God promised this �through His prophets in the Holy Scriptures,� and that He was �declared to be the Son of God with power, according to the Spirit of holiness, by the resurrection from the dead� (Rom. 1:3,4). The statement also contradicts modernism, which denies miracles. Jesus was �begotten� by the Holy Spirit (Mt. 1:20), but this miracle is not the whole story of His being begotten. Paul quoted the prophecy, in Psalm 2:7, and applied it to Christ�s exalted position after His resurrection (Acts 13:32,33). It does not refer to origin, but to His exalted position. Hebrews 11:17 says Abraham �offered up his only begotten son.� This referred to his position of preeminence. Isaac was not the first, nor only begotten son of Abraham. Jesus was born of a virgin, lived as a man, died, was raised from the dead and has the position of the �firstborn� � preeminence (Col. 1:15-18).
Next, the verse says �that whoever� believes should not perish. This denies the Calvinistic doctrine that God has predestinated who will be saved and who will be lost. At the house of Cornelius, Peter said, �In truth I perceive that God shows no partiality. But in every nation whoever fears Him and works righteousness is accepted by Him� (Acts 10:34,35). Paul wrote the Romans: �Whoever believes on Him will not be put to shame...For whoever calls upon the name of the Lord shall be saved� (Rom. 10:12,13). If God predetermined who would be saved and lost, He is a respecter of persons and it is not true that �whoever believes� can be saved.
Being saved is conditioned upon �believing in Him.� This denies universalism, which teaches that �all souls will eventually find salvation in the grace of God� (Webster). The last verse in chapter three says, �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� (v. 36). The belief that saves is not the kind that some of the rulers had (Jn. 12:42), but is obedient belief. Other translations of verse 36 clearly show this. �Those who don�t believe and obey him shall never see heaven� (Living Bible), �he who does not obey the Son shall not see life� (Revised Standard Version), and �he who disobeys the Son shall not see that life� (New English Bible).
Finally, the verse says �should not perish but have everlasting life.� This denies materialism, which says �matter is the only reality and that everything in the world...can be explained only in terms of matter� (Webster). There is a part of man that is not matter and will not pass away. John said, �The world is passing away, and the lust of it; but he who does the will of God abides forever� (1 Jn. 2:17).
The truth of John 3:16 is at war with many false doctrines in the world. Many who quote it to justify their doctrine of faith only, do not carefully consider what it teaches. A person who does not have enough faith to obey Christ does not have enough faith to be saved by faith.