What’s Wrong With John 3:16?

When I was a kid, I remember seeing that guy at nearly every sporting event.  Maybe you remember him – I’m talking about the guy holding up the John 3:16 poster behind the basketball net, or the uprights, or in the outfield.

For years he was always there, and I think, even today, he is fairly representative of our Christian culture: if you ask any Christian to give you the verse in the Bible that best explains the Gospel, they will probably tell you John 3:16.  And don’t get me wrong – it is a beautiful verse that tells an amazing story:

“”For God so loved the world that he gave his only Son, so that everyone who believes in him will not perish but have eternal life.”

What could possibly be wrong with that verse?

Actually, I don’t think there is anything wrong with the verse, but I think there is something wrong with how we have elevated it above every other verse in the Bible.  Do we really believe it’s possible to take one passage and use it, by itself, to explain something as complex as the line between perishing and eternal life?  If one verse can adequately explain that, then why do we still have the rest of the Bible?  What happened to context?

I think the main reason the modern evangelical community fell in love with John 3:16 is that it simplifies the most pressing question in our brains: who is in, and who is out.  This is our obsession.  We believe the Bible’s main purpose, and by extension Jesus main purpose, is to get us into heaven, and when we identified a verse that in some way answered that question in a simple formula, we latched on to it.

There are several problems that occur when John 3:16 becomes our basis for a spiritual life:

1) helping the poor and needy, the widow and the imprisoned, become non-priorities when compared to the importance of ensuring that everyone believes the right thing (“whoever believes in him”).  This particular verse, in and of itself, displays no urgency when it comes to helping the disenfranchised.  The only concern it discusses is who is in, and who is out.

2) it is easy to leave out any emphasis on a changed life when confessing belief is the end all and be all.  In other words, since all I have to do is believe certain things in order to get into heaven, the actions that come after that are not important, and can be easily disregarded.

3) Since our John 3:16 faith gives us such a stark line between those who are perishing and those who are entering eternal life, judgment becomes the central issue of Christianity, one that suddenly becomes easy to navigate because the one distinctive seems clear: belief.  We then take this knowledge and use it as a sledgehammer on the heads of anyone who doubts.

4) Thus, at best, we’re not sure what to do with those who follow Christ but have doubts regarding their faith. After all, isn’t it all about belief?  If belief in Jesus wavers, does that mean we will perish?  Doesn’t the presence of doubt equate to the absence of belief?

I wonder what our modern day Christian culture would be like if we had chosen a different verse to rally around?  What if, for example, we decided that our attitudes and actions should be dictated, not just by John 3:16, but also by John 3:17:

“God did not send his Son into the world to condemn it, but to save it.”

What if our key verse continually reminded us that Jesus main purpose did not involve judging the world? *gulp*

What if our spiritual lives centered, not around the measurable criteria of spoken belief and the number of people we’ve led through a prayer, but around a life of Christ-centered non-judgment that led others to find him through love and acceptance?

Hey, I’m probably crazy.  Just a thought.

24 Replies to “What’s Wrong With John 3:16?”

  1. Great blog, Shawn. But now you’ve made me curious–do you know approximately when John 3:16 became the tagline of evangelical Christians?

    1. Great question Kristen. I wonder if it had anything to do with the Billy Graham crusades? I’ll have to ask someone a little older…is there anyone in your office who would fit that description? (:

  2. “What if our spiritual lives centered, not around the measurable criteria of spoken belief and the number of people we’ve led through a prayer, but around a life of Christ-centered non-judgment that led others to find him through love and acceptance?”

    Wow. Will be chewing on this all day long. Thank you for some really, really amazing food for thought.

  3. You nailed it when you said Evangelical’s primary concern is getting in to heaven. If that’s all there was, don’t you think God would’ve devised a system where we’d die right after being saved? Or why hasn’t Jesus yet returned if that’s all there was to it? Because of that I believe we’re supposed to do something with our lives here while we have them.

    Great thoughts, thank you

  4. For an interesting counterpoint, the great rabbi Hillel was asked by someone to teach him the whole Torah standing on one foot. Rabbi Hillel told him “What is hateful to you, do not do to others. All the rest is commentary. Go and learn it.”

    1. Great point Sara – Jesus also said that the commandments could be simplified into 1) love G-d with all your heart, soul, mind and strength, and 2) love your neighbor as yourself. Perhaps if we are going to attempt to simplify scripture, we should keep these words of rabbi Hillel and Jesus in mind.

  5. I liked #4, “Thus, at best, we’re not sure what to do with those who follow Christ but have doubts regarding their faith. After all, isn’t it all about belief? If belief in Jesus wavers, does that mean we will perish? Doesn’t the presence of doubt equate to the absence of belief?”

    I’m born/raised UMC. But, i do have my strong doubting side. Still, I have been following a trajectory that is less about having my beliefs nailed down and more about how I act/feel towards others. (love my neighbor)

    I have been wrestling with that question, “Isn’t it all about belief?” For me, Belief isn’t enough. Or, maybe it’s this: If I REALLY believed what I say I believe, how could I NOT follow that through with action?

    1. Thanks Tina – you say you have a strong doubting side…have you checked out Jason Boyett’s blog “O Me of Little Faith”? A great blog about faith and doubt. His latest book (same title) is also great for this topic.

  6. I had an Atheist say to me one time “If Christianity is true America would be a different place, you should be putting 100 percent of your life into saving people if Hell is real” That was a real eye opener on what I believe.

  7. It’s amazing how we try to simplify the complex, and then how quickly we latch on to that which was simplified.

    The late Rich Mullins once said: “I know a lot of you are into being born again. And that’s cool, Jesus did tell a man named Nicodemus that he needed to be born again. But He also told another man to sell everything he had and give it to the poor so he could enter the kingdom of heaven. Maybe thats why God created highlighters, so we can highlight the parts of scripture we like and ignore the rest.”

    It’s hard to grip our minds around something more complex than us. It’s a lot easier to simplify the complex to a point of comprehension. Easier yes, but true?

    Thanks for this Shawn, you got my wheels turning :-)

  8. I think that if I had to pick my favorite verses, to be honest, John 3:16 wouldn’t make it, but John 3:17 definitely would (I like to use this one with those who try and say that “God hates fags” or other such statements like that) Though John 15:13 would be up there too “Greater love has no one than this, that he lay down his life for his friends”

  9. Right on (and also write on), Shawn! I just picked this up, but it is one of the most profound analyses of what is wrong with modern Christianity (and perhaps modern thinking), that I have read lately. The urge to find a quick, comfortable fix can too often disguise and outweigh the need for difficult thinking or hard work.

    Barb

    PS I love John 3:17!

  10. I guess anything can be warped to an extreme. But if we truly “believe in Him”, then everything He said becomes important. I guess the previous generation had a different definition of ‘believe’. To them it implied that every single word He said therefore becomes important, implying v.17 too of course. And the parts about feeding the poor an standing up for justice. If you ‘believe in Him’ only to get eternal life, do you believe in him?

    The body of Christ is fraught with extremes. Like the church in Florida burning the Koran. It’s really amazing He loves any of us. Especially me.

    1. I completely agree with Gerry when you say, “if we truly ‘believe in Him’, then everything He said becomes important.” I just don’t remember ever being taught that as a kid. Maybe I should have picked up on it myself, but when I was growing up all I remember being told after hearing that verse is, “so just believe Jesus is God’s son and you’ll go to heaven.” That was the main emphasis. And I think that it’s caught up with my generation, because a gospel that isolates John 3:16 as the end all and be all doesn’t make sense to us.

  11. Man you tread where angels fear to tread with some of your comments. I like where you’re going with that thought. I agree we like our well defined boundaries and formulas so we can wrap it up neatly and put a bow on it. Answers to life’s deeper questions just aren’t that simple are they?

  12. “What if our spiritual lives centered, not around the measurable criteria of spoken belief and the number of people we’ve led through a prayer, but around a life of Christ-centered non-judgment that led others to find him through love and acceptance?” – this brings about a really good point…I’ve often wondered if I’m spending enough time learning the verses, beliefs, etc. and spending enough time discussing them…yet thankfully the church I currently attend DOES focus on these points, as well as on teaching through DOING…acts of service that benefit other people. Its interesting, for sure! Thanks for raising some really good points!

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