Beyond the Billboard: Why John 3:16 Isn't the Whole Story

Sometimes I'll hear preachers say that all a person needs to hear in order to be saved is John 3:16. David Jeremiah even preached a sermon and said something to the effect that "these 25 words are all you need" (referring to John 3:16 in the King James Version). Now I greatly admire David Jeremiah and I don't really fault him too much because I get the gist of what he's saying. And in a certain context what he's saying could be true. That is, if someone has already heard the gospel from somewhere else or previously in another context, and John 3:16 simply fills in the gaps or explains it in a way that the hearer can relate to and believe at that moment, then of course, if that's what brings them to salvation and they've already heard the gospel, then yes, John 3:16 is all they need to hear in terms of all they need to hear at that moment to bring them to a point of trusting Christ. But again, that assumes that they've already heard the gospel. Because if a person has never heard the gospel and all they see is "John 3:16" printed on a sign at a football game, that person might have no idea what it means! It's interesting that David Jeremiah even admits this, in that he says: "If you've watched sporting events on television you've seen John 3:16. In the NFL games, in the NBA games, people write that verse on a card, and they sit in the end zone and they hold it up so you can see 'John 3:16'. I'm sure a lot of folks wonder what that is. Because if you don't know God, if you're not a Christian, you wouldn't have a clue what that means!"[1] 

It is in this context of not hearing the whole story of the gospel that the apostle Paul says: “And how shall they believe in Him of whom they have not heard? And how shall they hear without a preacher? And how shall they preach, except they be sent? as it is written, How beautiful are the feet of them that preach the gospel of peace, and bring glad tidings of good things!" (Romans 10:14b-15, KJV). Notice that in verse 15, Paul quotes from the Old Testament book of Isaiah (Isa. 52:7). Previously in Romans 10:8 he had quoted from the book of Deuteronomy (Deut. 30:14). Paul's gospel, as he says elsewhere, was "promised beforehand by God's prophets in the holy Scriptures" (Rom. 1:1-2). And so Paul wasn't preaching a "bare minimum" message, as some do today. (Such as, for example, those who try to squeeze the gospel into 25 words or less. By the way, isn't that quite an arbitrary standard? Because despite what some might think, the Bible wasn't originally written in King James English!) Instead, Paul is filling in the details and sharing the whole story. Commenting on Romans 10:8, William R. Newell affirms this when he says: "Now . . . came the simple word of faith preached by Paul. This expression, 'the word of faith,' involves the whole story of the gospel: that Jesus was the Christ, that He had come, died for sin, been buried, been raised, and been seen by many witnesses after His resurrection (1 Cor. 15.3-8)."[2] And so people need to hear the (whole) gospel message—not merely part of it—to be saved. That is Paul's point. And as William R. Newell stated, Paul's gospel message is found where? Not in John 3:16, but rather in 1 Corinthians 15! Dr. Charlie Bing of GraceLife Ministries affirms that the gospel "is laid out no more clearly than by Paul in 1 Cor 15."[3] Thus, for those of us who want to present the gospel as clearly as possible, 1 Corinthians 15 should be our primary focus.

Let me just pause here for a moment and reference an article that I previously wrote titled, "Getting the Gospel in Focus".[4] Because judging from what some evangelicals are saying, it seems as if they think the apostle Paul just went around quoting John 3:16 to everyone! But when we look at what the Bible says, we find something quite interesting. Because instead of preaching John 3:16, what the apostle Paul was actually preaching was "the gospel" found in 1 Corinthians 15! In fact, Paul says in 1 Cor. 15:11 that all the apostles were preaching that very same message! Not merely John 3:16, is my point. Here's a fitting illustration. In his book Sanctuary: Finding Moments of Refuge in the Presence of God, David Jeremiah shares the following true story in a daily devotional titled "DEFINING THE GOSPEL":

"Duncan McNeil, the Scottish evangelist, once said that in school he had a seminary professor who insisted on opening his theology classes with a question. No one could ever anticipate what the question would be. One day he said to his students, 'Gentlemen, can someone give me a definition of the gospel?' A student rose and read John 3:16: 'For God loved the world so much that he gave his only Son so that anyone who believes in Him shall not perish but have eternal life.' The professor said, 'That is a good gospel text, but it is not a definition of the gospel.' Another student read 1 Timothy 1:15: 'How true it is, and how I long that everyone should know it, that Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners—and I was the greatest of them all.' Again the professor declined to accept it; he waited for what he wanted. Finally, a student stood and read 1 Corinthians 15:3-5, much to the professor's delight. It was evident that he had the reply he desired; he said, 'Gentlemen, that is the gospel. Believe it, live it, preach it, and die for it if necessary.'"[5]

There is also a very good article written by the late evangelist Dr. Sumner Wemp titled "The Gospel, The Good News," in which he highlights the need for sharing the whole story of the gospel from 1 Corinthians 15, not merely John 3:16. After emphasizing the importance of giving the gospel as found in 1 Corinthians 15, Dr. Wemp then turns to discuss John 3:16. And here's what he says: "Please think with me. People often say this is the greatest gospel verse in the Bible. This verse does not give the gospel. This was given before Jesus suffered and died for our sins. THINK, that lost man does not have a clue what it means that God 'gave his only begotten son' if someone has not already told him. Christians quote John 3:16 so glibly to the lost world and think, 'I gave him the gospel.' That man who holds up the sign at the football games with 'John 3:16' on it, surely thinks he is getting the gospel to all the world!"[6] But actually John 3:16 isn't the whole story.

Dr. Wemp goes on to say that at age 17, he still had not once heard the good news that "Christ died for my sins." This highlights the danger of proof-texting—quoting a single Bible verse and assuming we've shared the gospel simply because we recited John 3:16 to someone. It's well to note that even Jesus shared more than John 3:16 with Nicodemus (see John chapter 3). If we are truly to "follow in His steps" (1 Pet. 2:21; cf. Eph. 5:1; 1 Cor. 11:1), then we too must be diligent to present the gospel clearly and completely.

ENDNOTES:

[1] David Jeremiah, "John 3:16 Explained Like Never Before" (YouTube), timestamp: 5:25 - 5:48 min.

[2] William R. Newell, Romans Verse-By-Verse (Grand Rapids: Kregel, 1994), pp. 276-277. Note: This book was originally published in Chicago by Moody Press, 1938. Note: More statements by Newell to the same effect can be found elsewhere in his commentary on Romans. See in particular Newell's comments on Romans 1:16.

[3] Charlie Bing, "How to Share the Gospel Clearly" (bible.org).

[4] Jonathan Perreault, "Getting the Gospel in Focus," GraceLife Edition (November 2024).

[5] David Jeremiah, Sanctuary: Finding Moments of Refuge in the Presence of God (Nashville: Integrity Publishers, 2002), pg. 277.

[6] Sumner Wemp, "The Gospel, The Good News" (www.sumnerwemp.com, archived).