My friend, Frank Tyler, was banned by the Latter-day Saints in multiple Southern California cities. You see, Frank didn’t wait for Mormon missionaries to come to his door. He went out looking for them. When he found them, he invited them to come to his home and do Bible study with him.  

That is, of course, what Mormon missionaries want to do. As a result, most took him up on his offer.  

His offer had a catch, however. The Bible book studied would be the Gospel of John. Over the course of twenty-one weeks, they would study the twenty-one chapters. The missionary would teach all the odd-numbered chapters, and Frank would ask questions for clarification. Frank would teach all the even-numbered chapters, and they would ask him questions.  

The result was that many of those doing this study with Frank came to question their understanding of what a person has to do in order to have everlasting life. Some came to believe that by faith in Jesus Christ they had everlasting life that could never be lost. Those who began to doubt were in danger of having to leave the mission they were on. Those who came to believe the promise of life would have to leave if they communicated this to their supervisors.  

That’s why Frank was banned. They told missionaries to watch out for a big six-foot-eight-inch, two-hundred-fifty pound white guy named Frank. Don’t talk to him. He’s a dangerous false teacher.  

Frank believes that all 879 verses in the Gospel of John are evangelistic. While there may be only a few dozen verses that directly state the Jesus guarantees everlasting life to all who believe in Him, he was convinced that John 20:31 proves that every verse is evangelistic.  

John Claeys recently wrote an article for our journal that has been condensed for inclusion in the March-April 2026 issue of our magazine, Grace in Focus. He presents many compelling reasons for seeing the Upper Room Discourse (John 13-17) as being evangelistic in purpose. The Apostle John wrote those chapters to move his unbelieving audience to believe in Jesus for everlasting life (John 20:31).  

Frank and John are at one end of the spectrum. They believe that the Gospel of John’s 879 verses are all evangelistic.  

I’ve heard people say the opposite—that there are very few evangelistic verses in John. I heard one person say that there are only about seven evangelistic verses in John’s Gospel. That’s the other end of the spectrum. 

In the commentary literature, most commentators suggest that the first twelve chapters of John are evangelistic. They often call this section “the book of signs” (e.g., Raymond Brown, John I-XII, p. xi, 41-493). Chapters 13 to 21 are typically thought to have a discipleship purpose, with chapters 13-20 sometimes called “the book of glory” (Brown, John XIII-XXI, pp. ix, 548-1061) and chapter 21 being “the epilogue” (Brown, pp. 1063-1132).  

While I disagree that chapters 13-21 have a discipleship purpose, made evident by John’s own statement in 20:30-31, I am heartened that most commentators do at least see the first twelve chapters as evangelistic.

I urge you to study this issue for yourself. Of all the books of Scripture, John’s Gospel is the one you should know the best because it is the only book with a stated evangelistic purpose. It is the book you will use to share the promise of life with your family and friends. And maybe you will even use it to share with missionaries from the Latter-day Saints.  

Keep grace in focus and John’s Gospel will remain precious to you.