John 3:16 might be the most famous verse in the Bible. We see it displayed at sporting events and Christian organizations are named after it, but have you read John 3:36?
“Whoever believes in the Son has eternal life; whoever does not obey the Son shall not see life, but the wrath of God remains on him.” (John 3:36 ESV)
However, other translations give a different interpretation. For example:
“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.” (John 3:36 KJV)
Why is there such a difference in how this verse is translated? Why does one translation say “believe” and another says “obey”?
In the original Greek, we are dealing with two different words. In the first half of John 3:36, the word translated as “belief“ is correctly translated in both of the above translations. However, the word translated “belief” or “obey” in the second half of the verse implies obedience that can be observed and is produced by belief. [1] This is what the whole book of James teaches. “. . .Faith apart from works is dead.” (James 2:26 ESV) If we truly believe something, there will be consequences of that belief in terms of our conduct. As Christians has our beliefs changed our conduct?
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[1] Vine’s Expository Dictionary of Biblical Words, copyright 1985.