SELaplana >> Religion >> John 3:16

The verse John 3:16 in the Bible is considered the most famous verse for it is widely used by many Christians, and is actually the foundation of the faith of most of the Christian sects especially those part of the Protestant Churches and those who claim as born again Christians.

The verse says:

16 “For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life. (New King James Version)

According to that verse, God sent His only Son because of His love to us. And what will happen if we will believe in Christ? The verse said, we will not perish but we will have everlasting life. In contrast, those who will not believe in Christ will of course be perished, right?

Judgment Day

But why is the Bible saying something about those who will be perished? Is there an event that will happen which will be the cause why there are those who will be perished? The Bible answers:

31 “because He has appointed a day on which He will judge the world in righteousness by the Man whom He has ordained. He has given assurance of this to all by raising Him from the dead. (Acts 17:31, New King James Version)

Yes! God appointed a Judgment Day. On that day God will judge the world through the Man He has ordained who is Christ. And we are assured by the Bible that judgment day will really happen and as proof, God raised Christ from the dead.

But, what will happen to the world on the Day of Judgment? The Bible again answers:

7 But the heavens and the earth which now exist are kept in store by the same word, reserved for fire until the day of judgment and perdition of ungodly men. (II Peter 3:7, New King James Version)

It has been made clear by the Bible that on judgment day, ungodly men will be perished as the heavens and earth will be burned by fire.

Judgment Day is Near But Has No Exact Date When

Last year, a Harold Camping’s group claimed that the Judgment Day would happen on May 21, 2011. However, the date had passed, but there was no judgment day yet. Now, there are those who are speculating that Judgment Day will happen on December 21, 2012. They based this prediction on the Mayan Calendar.

Now, should you believe this new prediction? No! You should not believe what they are saying because Christ told us already that no one knows when will be the exact date of the day that Christ will return to judge the world. Even the angels in heaven and the Son or Christ Himself do not know when. Only one knows when will it happen, and it is God alone. This truth is actually recorded in Matthew 24:3:

36 “But of that day and hour no one knows, no, not even the angels of heaven, but My Father only. (New King James Version)

The Signs that Judgment Day is Near

Now, if those speculations about the date of the doomsday are false, are there signs given by the Bible that will tell us that judgment day is near? Let us consider these verses:

6 “And you will hear of wars and rumors of wars. See that you are not troubled; for all these things must come to pass, but the end is not yet.

7 “For nation will rise against nation and kingdom against kingdom. And there will be famines, pestilences, and earthquakes in various places.

8 “All these are the beginning of sorrows. (Matthew 24:6-8, New King James Version)

Christ gave us signs, according to that verses, like:

1. You will hear of wars and rumors of wars. This is the first war wherein the news is heard all over the world. It happens during the First World War.
2. The war mentioned in number 1 is not yet the end, as stated in the verse 6. Because in verse 7, there is another war that would happen. This war is nation against nation, and kingdom against kingdom. The fulfilment of this prophesy is the Second World War.
3. After the two wars, there will be famines, pestilences and earthquakes… But according to the verse 8, all these are the begging of sorrows. These things are actually happening till now.

But how are we sure that these signs given by Christ are the signs that will tell us that the end is near? In the early verses of the Chapter 24 of the book of Matthew state:

3 Now as He sat on the Mount of Olives, the disciples came to Him privately, saying, “Tell us, when will these things be? And what will be the sign of Your coming, and of the end of the age?” (New King James Version)

So, the signs given by Christ that I quoted above are actually the answer of Christ to the question raised by His disciples, as to when will be the coming of Christ or the end of the world. And then on verse 33 Christ said this:

33 “So you also, when you see all these things, know that it is near, at the very doors. (New King James Version)

So, the signs given by Christ that I quoted above are the signs that will tell us that the end is near. So, there’s no doubt that we are already near to the prophesied end of the world.

True Believers of Christ will be saved on Judgment Day

Back to the verse John 3:16… The verse said that those who will believe in Christ will be saved. But the question is: Does it mean that all men who believe in Christ will be saved? To answer this question, let us consider these verses:

21 “Not everyone who says to Me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ shall enter the kingdom of heaven, but he who does the will of My Father in heaven. (John 7:21, New King James Version)

Christ said that not all who will call him “Lord, Lord” will enter the kingdom of heaven. It is equivalent to when we say that not all who believe in Christ or those that have faith in Him will be saved. Who are those believers of Christ that are assured of the salvation? That verse said, “but he who does the will of My Father in heaven”. In other words, the believers of Christ who do the will of God, are only those who will be saved on the day of damnation.

What is the will of God  that should be fulfilled? In Ephesians 1:9-10, Apostle Paul answers:

9 having made known to us the mystery of His will, according to His good pleasure which He purposed in Himself,

10 that in the dispensation of the fullness of the times He might gather together in one all things in Christ, both which are in heaven and which are in earth – in Him, (New King James Version)

So, the will of God is that all things will be gathered in Christ. How can the said will of God be fulfilled? How can all things be gathered in Christ? In the verse 22 of the same chapter, Apostle Paul said:

22 And He put all things under His feet, and gave Him to be head over all things to the Church, (Ephesians 1:22, New King James Version)

It is said that Christ is made the head of the Church.

Now, when Christ became the head of the Church, what happen then to men who are worthy of the salvation? Apostle Paul in his letter to Romans has this message:

4 For as we have many members in one body, but all the members do not have the same function,

5 so we, being many, are one body in Christ and individually members of one another. (Romans 12:4-5, New King James Version)

So, those believers who are worthy of the salvation became members of the Church while Christ is head of it.

But what kind of Church is this? Is this the Church that everybody knows where we pray, perform our worship service or mass? Of course not! The Church mentioned here is not a chapel, or house of worship. But it’s the body of Christ, just like what the Apostle Paul said:

18 And He is the head of the body, the church, who is the beginning, the first-born from the dead, that in all things He may have pre-eminence. (Colossians 1:18, New King James Version)

If it is the body of Christ, is it the physical body of Christ? No! The physical body of Christ consist of physical body parts like the hands, the feet, the mouth, the eyes, the ears and other parts of the physical body, just like what we have. The members or parts of this body of Christ, just like what we already learned above, are those believers of Christ worthy of salvation.

How To Become A Believer of Christ worthy of Salvation?

I guess, you are also believer of Christ. However, by merely believing or having faith in Christ is not just enough, because just like what we already learned that to be saved on Judgment Day, one should become a member of the body of Christ first. But what should you do so that you’ll become member of the body of Christ? Christ said:

9 “I am the door. If anyone enters by Me, he will be saved, and will go in and out and find pasture. (John 10:9, New King James Version)

Christ invited those who want to be saved to enter by Him. So, you should not just call Christ “Lord, Lord” but you should also enter by Him. Because if you’re already contented of having faith in Christ, you’ll just be scolded by Christ saying:

46 “But why do you call Me ‘Lord, Lord’ and do not do the things which I say? (Luke 6:46, New King James Version)

So, you should do what Christ told you to do, if you really believe in Christ. And since his command is for you to enter by Him for you to be saved, then you need to enter by Him. But how can you enter by Him? We already learned that earlier. Entering Christ is equivalent to joining or becoming member of His Church because His Church is His body.

How do we know that if we join or become member of Christ’s Church, we have the assurance of the salvation? Apostle Paul explains:

23 For the husband is head of the wife, as also Christ is head of the church; and He is the Savior of the body. (Ephesians 5:23, New King James Version)

According to the Apostle Paul, Christ is the savior of the body which is His own Church. In other words, if you are already member of the Church of Christ, then you have the assurance that you’ll be saved on Judgment Day, because as Christ saves His Church, you will be of course included since you are part of the Church. But what if when Judgment Day comes, you are already expelled from the Church of Christ? Will you still have the promised salvation? Apostle Paul said this:

13 But those who are outside God judges. Therefore “put away from yourselves that wicked person.” (I Corinthians 5:13, New King James Version)

From the command, “put away from yourselves that wicked person”, you’ll realize that outside of the Christ’s Church is where the wicked person should be, right? And there, at the outside of the Church of Christ, God judges.

In other words, while Christ saves all those people who are members of His Church, God also judges those people outside of His Church.

And did you know what will be the judgment of God to those outside of the Church of Christ? Consider this verse:

6 “If anyone does not abide in Me, he is cast out as a branch and is withered; and they gather them and throw them into the fire, and they are burned. (John 15:6, New King James Version)

According to Christ, those who will be cast out as His branches will be thrown into fire. What does it mean? It means that these people will not be saved on judgment day. They will be thrown into fire which is second death according to the Bible:

14 Then Death and Hades were cast into the lake of fire. This is the second death. (Revelation 20:14, New King James Version)

 

About the Author

Fred Gonzales is a member of the Iglesia Ni Cristo or Church of Christ. This article is written through the inspiration of the teachings of God upheld by the Iglesia Ni Cristo. However, the author has no authority to represent the Church he is affiliated with. And this article should not be considered as the Church writing but just a personal one.

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Tags: Bible, end of the world, Judgment Day, Prophesy, Salvation, Second Coming of Christ, Truth
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