John 3:36 - Explained
"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."
These are words from John the Baptist, and what he is referencing is two types of people — those that believe on the Son and those that do not believe on the Son. Those that are forgiven versus those that are not forgiven. It all comes down to believing on the Son.
He that believeth on the Son hath everlasting life. It is not good enough just to believe in God or believe in one God. That is not enough to get you to heaven. The Bible says you must believe on the Son. You must believe on Jesus Christ. Jesus is the only way to heaven. And notice it says hath everlasting life — hath is an old-fashioned way of saying has. What the Bible is saying is that if you believe on the Son, you have everlasting life right now. You do not have to wait until one day to find out. The moment you believe on the Son you have everlasting life — not conditional, not temporary, but spiritual life that lasts forever. The moment you believe on the Son you are guaranteed to go to heaven.
But on the contrary, the Bible says he that believeth not the Son shall not see life. The person that does not believe on the Son is never going to receive life. They are never going to get born again. They are never going to become a child of God. So there is not a scenario of someone believing on the Son, receiving life, and then stopping believing and losing it — because what the Bible says is that those who do not believe on the Son will not see life. They never had life. They were never saved. They were never a child of God.
"He that believeth not the Son shall not see life; but the wrath of God abideth on him." Those that do not believe on the Son — when they die, for all eternity they are going to be in hell with the wrath of God abiding on them. And what that means is the punishment is an eternal punishment. It is not that you just burn up or are completely annihilated, as some cults teach. What the Bible teaches is that you are tormented day and night forever and ever, and God's wrath is upon you.
So it really is as simple as believing on the Son. There are two types of people. Those that believe on the Son — they are saved forever, children of God forever. And those that never believe on the Son — they will never see life, they will never be forgiven, and when they die they will spend forever in hell with the wrath of God abiding on them.
Pastor Matthew Stucky
