This dispels the frequent objection made by proponents of the "crossless" gospel, when they ask: "When were the disciples of Jesus saved, before or after the cross?" In light of Jesus' statement in John 3:14-15 that question is beside the point, because Jesus indicates that AFTER the cross is when it will be necessary to believe in what He did for us there on the cross for eternal life. In other words, after the cross is when the lost must believe in "the Son of man...lifted up" (Jn. 3:14) on Calvary's cross, on Golgotha's tree — He hung there and died for me! As the apostle Paul says: "Christ died for our sins according to the Scriptures" (1 Cor. 15:3; cf. Num. 21:6-9; Isa. 53:5-6). Now after the cross, this is the gospel message that we preach. And it is perfectly consistent with what Jesus said in John 3:14-15!
In my blog post titled "The Cross Under Siege" (FGFS, Aug 6, 2009), I actually quoted Zane Hodges as affirming that the cross is now essential to believe for eternal life/eternal salvation, and that false doctrine says otherwise. The statement I'm referring to is when Zane Hodges says: "False doctrine...tell[s] us that it is dangerous—even wrong—to trust completely in what Christ has done for us in dying for all our sins (1 John 2:2; John 1:29)."[2] Another statement to the same effect is when Hodges goes on to say: "Either a man can look to the cross and find peace by believing, or he cannot....There is no escape from this conclusion. If I cannot trust completely in Christ and what He did on the cross, then the cross can give no peace about my eternal destiny."[3] A fitting closing statement is when Hodges says: "[In John 3:14-16] Jesus means to say, He Himself will be lifted up on the cross, and the one who looks to Him in faith will live....So, in John 3, the issue is faith, or confidence, in Christ for eternal life. Will a man look to the Crucified One for eternal life, or will he not? The man who does, lives! By this very simplicity, the Gospel confronts and refutes all its contemporary distortions."[4]
In my blog post titled "The Cross Under Siege" (FGFS, Aug 6, 2009), I actually quoted Zane Hodges as affirming that the cross is now essential to believe for eternal life/eternal salvation, and that false doctrine says otherwise. The statement I'm referring to is when Zane Hodges says: "False doctrine...tell[s] us that it is dangerous—even wrong—to trust completely in what Christ has done for us in dying for all our sins (1 John 2:2; John 1:29)."[2] Another statement to the same effect is when Hodges goes on to say: "Either a man can look to the cross and find peace by believing, or he cannot....There is no escape from this conclusion. If I cannot trust completely in Christ and what He did on the cross, then the cross can give no peace about my eternal destiny."[3] A fitting closing statement is when Hodges says: "[In John 3:14-16] Jesus means to say, He Himself will be lifted up on the cross, and the one who looks to Him in faith will live....So, in John 3, the issue is faith, or confidence, in Christ for eternal life. Will a man look to the Crucified One for eternal life, or will he not? The man who does, lives! By this very simplicity, the Gospel confronts and refutes all its contemporary distortions."[4]
References:
[1] Jonathan Perreault, "The Cross Under Siege" (FGFS, Aug 6, 2009).
[2] Zane Hodges, The Gospel Under Siege (Dallas: Redencion Viva, 1992), p. 147, italics his.
[3] Ibid., p. 148, italics his.
[4] Ibid., pp. 18-19, italics his.
2 comments:
According to Dr. Constable's "Notes on John", John 3:15 is the first reference to "eternal life" in John's Gospel. As such, this text is exceedingly significant! And what Jesus says upholds the traditional Free Grace understanding of the saving message (i.e. the gospel), that now after the cross, the gospel includes not only the person of Christ, but also His work (cf. 1 Cor. 15:1, 3-5).
Commenting on John 3:14, Dr. Charles Ryrie wrote the following helpful statements that are excerpted from a set of sermon notes, circa the 1950s or 60s. Under the heading "WHAT JESUS TAUGHT ABOUT HIS DEATH" (p. 4), Ryrie wrote:
"Appropriation of His Death. Jn 3:14; Numb 21:8-9
Faith no good apart from object. Here it is the Divine one, 13; the dying one, 14; the delivering one, 15-17
delivers from perishing to eternal life."
Source: https://ryrielibrary.org/wp-content/uploads/2021/06/Sermon_Topical_What-Jesus-Taught_Bible-Sin-Death-Prayer-Future_OCR.pdf
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