Monsignor Pope Ping!
The Gospel message, as proclaimed by the apostles of Christ, in the New Testament, include the following, five declaratory truths, and two commands (which are also mentioned in this article):
1. Christ died for our sins
2. According to the scriptures (i.e. prophetically predicted according to God’s sovereign plan)
3. He was buried
4. He rose again on the third day
5. He was seen by many witnesses (including all of the apostles)
...
6. God now commands all men, everywhere, to repent
7. And believe the Gospel
See Isaiah 53, 1 Corinthians 15, and Acts 3.
And many churches like to translate it thusly: whoever believes in Him shall not have etrenal life of unconscionable suffering, but have eternal life.
I much prefer the way it is written. It fits the personality of the God of the old and new testaments.
And while the concept of faith is included in this first verse, without the larger context the tendency is to soft-pedal the need for repentance and for the obedience of faith.
Psa_7:12 If a person does not repent, God will sharpen His sword; He will bend and string His bow.
Psa_50:22 Repent, all of you who forget Me, or I will tear you apart, and no one will help you.
Isa_1:27 Zion will be restored by justice; those who repent will be revived by righteousness.
Isa_9:13 For after all this punishment, the people will still not repent. They will not seek the LORD of Heaven’s Armies.
Jer_5:3 LORD, You are searching for honesty. You struck
Your people, but they paid no attention. You crushed them, but they refused to be corrected. They are determined, with faces set like stone; they have refused to repent.
Jer_36:3 Perhaps the people of Judah will repent when they hear again all the terrible things I have planned for them. Then I will be able to forgive their sins and wrongdoings.”
Eze_3:19 If you warn them and they refuse to repent and keep on sinning, they will die in their sins. But you will have saved yourself because you obeyed Me.
Eze_14:6 “Therefore, tell the people of Israel, ‘This is what the Sovereign LORD says: Repent and turn away from your idols, and stop all your detestable sins.
Eze_18:30 “Therefore, I will judge each of you, O people of Israel, according to your actions, says the Sovereign LORD. Repent, and turn from your sins. Don’t let them destroy you!
Eze_33:9 But if you warn them to repent and they don’t repent, they will die in their sins, but you will have saved yourself.
Eze_33:12 “Son of man, give your people this message: The righteous behavior of righteous people will not save them if they turn to sin, nor will the wicked behavior of wicked people destroy them if they repent and turn from their sins.
Zep_2:2 Gather before judgment begins, before your time to repent is blown away like chaff. Act now, before the fierce fury of the LORD falls and the terrible day of the LORD’s anger begins.
Mat_3:2 “Repent of your sins and turn to God, for the Kingdom of Heaven is near. “
Mat_3:11 “I baptize with water those who repent of their sins and turn to God. But someone is coming soon who is greater than I am—so much greater that I’m not worthy even to be His slave and carry His sandals. He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and with fire.
Mat_4:17 From then on Jesus began to preach, “Repent of your sins and turn to God, for the Kingdom of Heaven is near. “
Mat_12:41 “The people of Nineveh will stand up against this generation on judgment day and condemn it, for they repented of their sins at the preaching of Jonah. Now someone greater than Jonah is here—but you refuse to repent.
Mat_21:32 For John the Baptist came and showed you the right way to live, but you didn’t believe him, while tax collectors and prostitutes did. And even when you saw this happening, you refused to believe him and repent of your sins.
Mar_1:15 “The time promised by God has come at last!” He announced. “The Kingdom of God is near! Repent of your sins and believe the Good News!”
Mar_6:12 So the disciples went out, telling everyone they met to repent of their sins and turn to God.
Luk_5:32 I have come to call not those who think they are righteous, but those who know they are sinners and need to repent.”
Luk_11:32 The people of Nineveh will also stand up against this generation on judgment day and condemn it, for they repented of their sins at the preaching of Jonah. Now someone greater than Jonah is here—but you refuse to repent.
Luk_13:3 Not at all! And you will perish, too, unless you repent of your sins and turn to God.
Luk_13:5 No, and I tell you again that unless you repent, you will perish, too.”
Luk_16:30 “The rich man replied, ‘No, Father Abraham! But if someone is sent to them from the dead, then they will repent of their sins and turn to God.’
Luk_24:47 It was also written that this message would be proclaimed in the authority of His name to all the nations, beginning in Jerusalem: ‘There is forgiveness of sins for all who repent.’
Act_2:38 Peter replied, “Each of you must repent of your sins and turn to God, and be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins. Then you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit.
Act_3:19 Now repent of your sins and turn to God, so that your sins may be wiped away.
Act_5:31 Then God put Him in the place of honor at his right hand as Prince and Savior. He did this so the people of Israel would repent of their sins and be forgiven.
Act_8:22 Repent of your wickedness and pray to the Lord. Perhaps He will forgive your evil thoughts,
Act_13:24 Before He came, John the Baptist preached that all the people of Israel needed to repent of their sins and turn to God and be baptized.
Act_17:30 “God overlooked people’s ignorance about these things in earlier times, but now He commands everyone everywhere to repent of their sins and turn to Him.
Act_26:20 I preached first to those in Damascus, then in Jerusalem and throughout all Judea, and also to the Gentiles, that all must repent of their sins and turn to God—and prove they have changed by the good things they do.
2Co_7:9 Now I am glad I sent it, not because it hurt you, but because the pain caused you to repent and change your ways. It was the kind of sorrow God wants His people to have, so you were not harmed by us in any way.
2Pe_3:9 The Lord isn’t really being slow about His promise, as some people think. No, He is being patient for your sake. He does not want anyone to be destroyed, but wants everyone to repent.
Rev_2:5 Look how far you have fallen! Turn back to Me and do the works you did at first. If you don’t repent, I will come and remove your lampstand from its place among the churches.
Rev_2:16 Repent of your sin, or I will come to you
suddenly and fight against them with the sword of My mouth.
Rev_2:21 I gave her time to repent, but she does not want to turn away from her immorality.
Rev_2:22 “Therefore, I will throw her on a bed of suffering, and those who commit adultery with her will suffer greatly unless they repent and turn away from her evil deeds.
Rev_3:3 Go back to what you heard and believed at first; hold to it firmly. Repent and turn to Me again. If you don’t wake up, I will come to you suddenly, as unexpected as a thief.
Rev_9:20 But the people who did not die in these plagues still refused to repent of their evil deeds and turn to God. They continued to worship demons and idols made of gold, silver, bronze, stone, and wood—idols that can neither see nor hear nor walk!
Rev_9:21 And they did not repent of their murders or their witchcraft or their sexual immorality or their thefts.
Rev_16:9 Everyone was burned by this blast of heat, and they cursed the name of God, who had control over all these plagues. They did not repent of their sins and turn to God and give Him glory.
Rev_16:11 and they cursed the God of heaven for their pains and sores. But they did not repent of their evil deeds and turn to God.
An interesting translation with impact on theory of ‘once saved, always saved’:
“And know this: on the day of your judgment, the verdict will not be rendered by me so much as by you. For by then, you will either love the Light or hate it. And I will not force you to live in a light you detest. You will be free to go your own way. It will not be I who reject you. It will be you who reject me.”
The Msgr gets this one right!
It is about belief/faith and it has always been about belief/faith going back to Abraham. This is what is echoed throughout the whole Bible.
This completely does away with the roman catholic concept of the Mass being required for salvation.
The Good News is simple, and dead religion will have none of that. The net effect of so many “explanations” of the simplicity of the Gospel is nullifying the grace of God (making it of none effect).
THAT should scare the pants off anyone messing with the stark offer of John 3:16!
Thank God that in contrast to such attempts by men, the Scripture are inspired of God. For rather then man opening their hearts and then being drawn of God, it is God who draws men first, and opens their heart, by both enablement and motivation. And rather than man becoming accustomed to the darkness and begin to consider the Light (which I am) to be obnoxious, harsh, judgmental, and even cruel, in reality that is the normal nature of man. (Rm. 3:10-23) though he can become harden in rejection.
Man could not and would not believe on the Lord Jesus or follow Him unless God gave him life, and breath, and all good things he has, (Acts 17:25) and convicted him, (Jn. 16:8) drew him, (Jn. 6:44; 12:32) opened his heart, (Acts 16:14) and granted repentance (Acts 11:18) and gave faith, (Eph. 2:8,9) and then worked in him both to will and to do of His good pleasure the works He commands them to do. (Phil. 2:13; Eph. 2:10)
Thus man owes to God all things, and while he is guilty and rightly damned for resisting God contrary to the level of grace given him, (Prov. 1:20-31; Lk. 10:13; 12:48; Rv. 20:11-15) man can not claim he actually deserves anything good, and God does not owe him anything but damnation, except that under grace — which denotes unmerited favor — God has chosen to reward faith, (Heb. 10:35) in recognition of its effects.
But which God enabled and motivated him to do. To God be the glory!
Which means that God justifies man without the merit of any works, which is what Romans 4:1-7ff teaches, with “works of the law” including all systems of justification by merit of works, “for, if there had been a law given which could have given life, verily righteousness should have been by the law.” (Galatians 3:21)
But works justify one as being a believer, and as one fit to be rewarded under grace for such, (Mt. 25:30-40; Rv. 3:4) though only because God has decided to reward man for what God Himself is actually to be credited for.
This is NOT at all what John 3:16-21 is saying. A simple reading of the text says that "...and people loved the darkness rather than the light because their works were evil."
God loves the world. God sent His Son. Whoever believe in Him has life. But we love darkness rather than light. Our works are evil. Whoever does what is true (come to Christ) it is because it has been carried out by God.
God is love, love, love. Man is evil, evil, evil. God must change our hearts to want to seek Him. We are a stubborn and rebellious people.
Amen to that!
There is therefore now no condemnation to those who are in Christ Jesus, who do not walk according to the flesh, but according to the Spirit. For the law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus has made me free from the law of sin and death. For what the law could not do in that it was weak through the flesh, God did by sending His own Son in the likeness of sinful flesh, on account of sin: He condemned sin in the flesh, that the righteous requirement of the law might be fulfilled in us who do not walk according to the flesh but according to the Spirit. For those who live according to the flesh set their minds on the things of the flesh, but those who live according to the Spirit, the things of the Spirit. For to be carnally minded is death, but to be spiritually minded is life and peace. Because the carnal mind is enmity against God; for it is not subject to the law of God, nor indeed can be. So then, those who are in the flesh cannot please God.
Romans 8:1-8