I recently read an article in which the author said the evangelistic passages in John “all talk about believing in Jesus, and many mention the benefit of eternal life (among dozens of other benefits).” I was struck by the reference to “dozens of other benefits” that are found in evangelistic passages in John.
Is he right? Did Jesus promise dozens of benefits to the person who believes in Him?
In the article, the author cites the following benefits: “seeing the kingdom, entering the kingdom, birth from above, birth by the Spirit, not perishing, eternal life, no condemnation, and salvation.” There are only eight elements there, not dozens.i In addition, all eight are related. The “birth from above” and “birth by the Spirit” both refer to regeneration, that is, receiving everlasting life. “Not perishing” and “not being condemned” refer to the eternality of everlasting life. “Be[ing] saved,” as found in John 3:17, is clearly synonymous with “everlasting life” in John 3:16. “Seeing the kingdom” and “entering the kingdom” both refer to the eternality of everlasting life.
Just as the Lord Jesus used various illustrations of saving faith (eating the bread of life, drinking the water of life, coming to Him), He also used various synonyms for everlasting life, including never hungering, never thirsting, never perishing, never being cast out, and never dying spiritually.
The author’s point is that we don’t need to believe that by faith in Jesus we receive “the gift of everlasting life.” I agree that we might believe in “the gift of guaranteed kingdom entrance,” “guaranteed never perishing and never being condemned,” or “salvation that can never be lost.” All of those are synonymous ideas that emphasize the irrevocability of the gift of God.
However, the author went too far when he said we do not need to believe in Jesus to receive any benefit: “Jesus and John never made salvation depend upon believing in Jesus ‘for’ any benefit, let alone ‘eternal life.’” He distinguished between “the result of believing in Him”—the benefits—and “the condition of being saved”—believing in Him. In his view, the condition is that we believe in Him, and he never explained what that means. If we believe in Him, whatever that means, we have everlasting life, even if we don’t believe we receive any benefit from believing in Him.ii
I’d encourage everyone to read the Gospel of John carefully. The Lord repeatedly promises that the one who believes in Him has everlasting life that can never be lost. We can’t have everlasting life unless we believe in Jesus for that gift. We might not know those exact words. But when we believe in Him, we know that we will be with Him forever. Anyone who has never believed in the promise of secure salvation has not yet been born from above.
Keep grace in focus, and you’ll continue to share the promise of everlasting life for all who believe in Jesus.
i We could add the benefit found in John 11:25, that the believer will be raised from the dead and glorified. This, too, stresses the imperishability of the gift of everlasting life that is mentioned in John 11:25 and explained in John 11:26.
ii If someone did not believe he received any benefit from faith in Christ, then he would not believe he received any type of salvation, even a revocable salvation. If no benefit was received, then wouldn’t the person believe that there is no life after death, no kingdom, and no meaning in life? Believing in Jesus, if there was no benefit in that faith, would be about as meaningful as believing in Sasquatch.
