By Rick Williams
Someone has well said one of the great themes of the Bible is obedience, that God demands we obey His commands. I believe this is a fair assessment. Some folks, however, want to tell us that all one has to do in order to be saved is believe on the Lord Jesus. They point to John 3:16 as proof (“For God so loved the world, that He gave His only Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have eternal life”). So, let us examine this teaching. Is it indeed the case that John 3:16 teaches that belief alone will save us? That’s the question.
First, observe that the careful student of the Bible will come to the understanding that “to believe” is to obey. We need to let the Bible be its own best commentary and stop listening to the words of men without checking to see whether they are so. The Bereans were commended because they “examined the scriptures daily” to see if what was being preached to them was truth (Acts 17:11). So let us examine the Scriptures. Notice in the same chapter where John 3:16 appears, we find these words of Christ: “He who believes in the Son has eternal life; but he who does not obey the Son shall not see life, but the wrath of God abides on him” (verse 36). The Greek word here is apeitheo, from the root word for obedience. Here we see proof of that which we already know logically to be true: that to believe is to obey. The Bible says that “even the demons believe, and shudder” (James 2:19). But will they be saved? No, because they do not obey.
Further, notice that earlier in this same chapter (John 3), Jesus commands that baptism (immersion) in water is necessary for salvation. He said, “Truly, I say to you, unless one is born of water and the Spirit, he cannot enter into the kingdom of God” (verse 5). Later in the Great Commission, He commands His disciples, “Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and the Son, and the Holy Spirit” (Matt. 28:19). Baptism is something which the Lord has commanded (see also Mark 16:16; Acts 2:38; Acts 22:16; Romans 6:3-4; Gal. 3:27). If we are going to be obedient to Him, then we will follow His command to be baptized, and teach others to do the same.
Therefore, if we truly believe in the Son of God, we will gladly follow His commands. He said, “If you love me, you will keep my commandments” (John 14:15). I think we can see that obedience is a necessary part of true belief - faith alone will not save man. “You see that a man is justified by works, and not by faith alone” (James 2:24). John 3:16 teaches obedience and not faith alone.