y

Whoever believes in the Son has eternal life; zwhoever does not obey the Son shall not
a
see life, but the wrath of God remains on him.
State: There is no room to hope for the salvation of unbelievers. Faith in Jesus is the only way of
salvation (and to eternal life).
Explain: John states this point clearly and concisely. Only those who believe in the Son can
have everlasting life. Only those who believe in Jesus Christ will be saved. And what about those
who do not believe on Him? John is just as clear on that - Those that do not obey the son shall
not see life. And not only not be saved, but he goes further to say but the wrath of God
remains on him.
This is profound. 21st Century society deceives us all by shouting out charity. More often than not
the prevailing thought is It doesnt matter what you believe; believe what you like, itll all be ok
in the long run. Or rather, Every belief is of equal value. Of course what thats really saying
is, if every belief is of equal value, every belief has no intrinsic value. But John completely turns
this around. There is only one singular. There is only one way to life and to salvation. And thats
Christ.
I think theres one important question to ask here. Do we truly believe this? I think all of us would
say yes and of course we should, its black and white. Theres no middle ground. Theres no
compromise here in John 3:36. But Christians need to beware of becoming complacent with the
truth.
We need to beware of being influenced by the world around us - the world ultimately we do not
belong in, a world full of sin. A world that would have us believe that the it is full of good people.
But the bible tells us that is not the case. We are all, Christians included, born into sin and full of
it. Of course its difficult. Were outnumbered, were constantly assaulted by the media and on a
personal level, we all have friends and family who we think of as good and love very much, but
who are ultimately full of sin and also do not yet trust in Christ. What of their fates? Amongst
other Christians we happily agree with John, but privately do we believe that it wont be alright
for them in the long run? John is clear - Those who do not obey or believe the Son shall not see
life. So what can or should we do?
Christians need to make sure they spend time thinking and believing on the truth. Spend time
reading the bible, studying the word and praying to God. We can shelter in Him and he will help
us avoid falling prey to worlds lies around us. Satan is slick. Satan is enlightened. Like all liars
he tells us what we want to hear. Everyone is good. But more over he twists the truth to tell us
what we dont want to hear. Good people will not find life. But His is a gospel of love and hope,
not of arbitrary destruction. Only Jesus was good, but He gave himself up so He might save us
all, should we only trust in him. John 3:36 shows us there is no room to hope for the salvation of
unbelievers. But our God has the power to save, through the victory already won by his Son. And
there is great room to hope, and pray, that those we love and those around us who are not yet
saved, can be.