The Nugget:
John 3:36 He that believeth on the Son hath everlasting life: and he that believeth not the Son shall not see life; but the wrath of God abideth on him.
My Comment:
This most important verse is very controversial for some who wish to deny such Bible doctrines as the doctrine of eternal punishment. Some would argue that if “God is love,” then He surely would not punish for eternity sin that took place in the brief moment of time occupied by this life. My answer is, quit playing with God. He did not appoint either you or me to re-write the script He has laid out most plainly in Scripture. The warnings of Scripture are no joke. We all must heed them or suffer the eternal consequences. He that does not believe on Jesus Christ, the Son of God, shall not see life. The consequence of that is declared to be that the wrath of God continues to abide on him. Jesus warned us there are two options: eternal life, or eternal punishment (Matthew 25:46): “And these shall go away into everlasting punishment: but the righteous into life eternal.” There is no way to legitimately assign a different meaning to eternal in the clause mentioning eternal life, compared to the same word eternal in the second clause speaking of everlasting punishment, when it is the same Greek word in both. Therefore, however long those who believe on Christ are promised to have eternal life, that is how long those who do not believe will be punished. The idea that the wicked are punished only for a time commensurate with their guilt and then mercifully terminated by annihilation is nowhere taught in the Bible. Therefore, it is important to be sure you believe on Christ and now possess eternal life!
For those who desire to DIG DEEPER into this subject:
(1) Consult the cross references given in Nelson’s Cross Reference Guide to the Bible on page 1168 for John 3:36.
(2) Consult the cross references given in The New Treasury of Scripture Knowledge on page 1190 or in Logos 5 Bible software for John 3:36.
(3) Lacking access to those two resources, consult the cross references for this passage as I have developed them as given below:
John 3:36. he that believeth on. ver. *15, **16, *18. Jn **1:12. +4:39. **5:24. 6:29, 40, 47-54. 9:35. **10:28. 11:25, 26. 12:46. 14:4, 6. **20:31. Hab +*2:4. Mt +19:16. Mk 16:16. Ac **16:31. 20:21. Ro 1:17. 3:27. 4:11. 6:22, 23. *8:1. Ga 3:22. Ep *2:8. 1 T 1:15, 16. 1 J 3:14, 15. **5:10-13. Re 22:14. the Son. ver. 35. Jn 1:34. 9:35. Lk 9:35. 20:13. Ac 2:36. 3:13. **4:12. +*10:36. 13:35. Ro 1:3. 2 C 1:19. Ph 2:9. He 3:6. 1 J 5:12. Re 2:18. everlasting. Gr. aionios, Mt +18:8. Jn +4:14. Mt 19:16. life. Pr 8:35. Ezk 33:16. Mt +7:14g. **25:46. 1 J *5:11. believeth not. or, obeyeth not. Gr. apeitheō [S#544g: Rendered (1) believe not: Jn 3:36. Ac 17:5. 19:9. Ro 11:30, 31. 15:31. He 3:18. 11:31. (2) disobedient: Ro 10:21. 1 P 2:7, 8. 3:20. (3) obey not: Ro 2:8. 1 P 3:1. 4:17. (4) unbelieving: Ac 14:2]. ver. 18. Jn 8:24. Ge 22:18. Le 13:45. Dt *8:20. Pr 1:32. Is 1:19, 20. Mk 16:16. Lk 20:5. Ac +14:2. Ro 2:8. 2 Th 1:8. 2:12. He 3:19. +*5:9. Re +*21:8. the Son. Jn +*8:24. Ac **4:12. Ro *5:1. not see. ver. *3. Jn 6:53. *8:51. 20:23n. Nu *32:11. 2 Ch 15:13. Jb *33:28. Ps 22:29. *36:9. 49:19. 106:4, 5. Pr 1:32. Is 65:20. Mt 11:14n. 18:3. **25:46. Lk 2:30. 3:6. 14:24. 16:26. Ro *8:24, 25. 1 J 5:12. Re +*21:8. but the wrath. i.e. [permanent] wrath. Gr. orgē (S#3709g, Ep +4:31n); as in Mt 3:7; Ro 1:18; 1 Th 2:16. Not thumos (S#2372g, Ep +4:31n), which means [temporary] wrath (CB). ver. 18. Jn 9:39. 12:40. Nu 25:11. Dt 28:20. 2 K *22:13. Jb **36:18. Ps *2:12. 88:7. *90:11. Pr **11:23. Is %55:7. Je 10:10. Jon 4:2. Na +*1:2. Mt 3:7. 22:7, 12. 24:28, 30. 25:12. Mk 16:16. Lk 19:27. Ro *+1:18. 2:4-9, 17. *4:15. *5:9. +*11:22. 2 C +*5:11. Ga *3:10. Ep 2:3. *5:6. Col *3:6. 1 Th *1:10. 2:16. *5:9. He **2:3. *10:29. Ju 15. Re **6:16, 17. 11:18. 20:15. abideth. Present tense. Jn *12:46. Is %55:7. Jon %4:2. Mt 12:31n, 32n. +**25:46. He +*9:27. 2 P 2:17. Re +*22:11.
Isa 25.1″thou art my god i will exalt thee”
jn 3.36 he that believeth on the son hath everlasting life: and he
that believeth not the son shall not see life: but the wrath of god abideth on him
really encouraging cross references on this verse.
1. jn 3.15 that who soever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting
life.
2. jn 3.16 for god so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten son, that who
sovever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life.
3. jn 1.12 but as many received him, to them gave he power to become the sons of
god.
4. jn 5.24 verily,verily,i say unto you, he that believeth on him that sent me, hath
everlasting life, and shall not come into condemnation: but is passed from death to
life.
5. jn 6.47 verily,verily, i say unto you, he that believeth on me hath everlasting life.
6. jn 10.28 and i give unto them evernal life: and they shall never perish, neither shall
any man pluck them out of my hand.
7. rom 1.18 for the wrath of god is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men, who hold the truth in unrighteousness;
9 rom 4.15 because the law worketh wrath: for where no law is, there is no transgression.
10. rom 5.8 much more, then being now justifed by his blood, we shall be saved from
the wrath through him.
this is one of the clearest verses in all the bible on how a person is to be saved. it
“simply by believing” in the son. as we read this verse, we should realize that god is
speaking. he is making a promise that can never be broken. he says,clearly and
distinctly, that anyone who believes in his son has everlasting life. also notice that
there is nothing in this verse about keeping the law, obeying the golden rule, going
to church, doing the best we can, or working out way to heaven”