A Universal Statement

Once upon a time I was talking to a woman concerning salvation. As I showed her different passages regarding the subject she said, "John 3:16 is a universal statement." The point she was trying to make was that whoever believed that Jesus Christ was the Son of God would be saved, separate and apart from any other action on their behalf. That means no repentance from sin (Luke 13:3), no confession of Christ (Rom. 10:10), and no baptism (John 3:5). She went on to say that a person should want to do all of these things and live a faithful life, working for God, but that no one has to do this to receive eternal salvation. Another woman told me that one only had to believe and to confess. She used two passages to come to this conclusion John 3:16 and Rom. 10:9,10. Both of these ladies were members of the same denomination, yet they had two different plans of salvation. Which one is right? Are either of them?

I suppose that if I were to ask the first woman about confession she would probably agree that one has to confess Christ to be saved (Matt. 10:32). And I would ask her where she found confession in John 3:16. I don't know how she would respond but I do know that the subject of confession is not found in John 3. So a different passage of Scripture must be consulted in order to understand this truth. So one cannot simply read John 3:16 and learn everything he must know to be saved. Some other passage must be read. If two passages can be consulted then three can be, and if three then four or five and so on. The Bible doesn't contradict itself as so many seem to think with Paul teaching one plan of salvation and Peter another. The Bible is in complete harmony with itself, for it is God's word (2 Tim. 3:16) and it is truth (John 17:17).

Most go to Rom. 10 in order to speak of salvation. Within the context of Rom. 10 we can see several requirements for our salvation.

1. Hear the word: Rom. 10:14,17. We must know what to believe before we are able to believe it.
2. Believe in the resurrection of Christ: Rom. 10:9,14
3. Confession of Christ: Rom. 10:10
4. Calling upon the name of the Lord: Rom. 10:13 Paul was told "Arise and be baptized, and wash away your sins, calling on the name of the Lord,"(Acts 22:16).
5. Obedience of the gospel: Rom. 10:16

In Rom. 6 Paul teaches repentance of sin, baptism, and faithful Christian living as a part of salvation. So is John 3:16 a universal statement teaching that all who believe in Jesus Christ will be saved? If you believe that the building you are in is about to collapse around you and the ceiling is going to fall on top of you, will you be saved? Yes, if you get out; no, if you don't. Simply knowing it is about to happen will not save you at all unless you do something. The same is true with Christ. Simply saying, "I believe" is not going to help at all in the day of judgement. For Christ said: "But why do you call Me 'Lord, Lord,' and do not do the things which I say?" (Luke 6:46 NKJV). "And having been perfected, He became the author of eternal salvation to all who obey Him," (Heb. 5:9 NKJV). Yes, John 3:16 is a universal statement. Other universal statements include: Heb. 5:9, Titus 2:11, and Acts 17:30. We must live our lives according to God's will, instead of our own. This includes obeying and teaching the correct plan of salvation.