“For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life” (John 3:16).
The extent to which God went to demonstrate His love for His creation is undeniably the greatest mystery this world has ever known—but allowing the sacrifice of His own Son certainly does show the extreme importance of our submission to Him.
What is required of us pales in comparison to what God required of Himself just so that we would have an opportunity to have eternal life in Heaven. The requirement for us is that we have an active, sincere belief in Jesus.
In this verse, Jesus could not be teaching a passive or complacent belief because he has already established that our being born again of the water and the spirit is necessary for our entering Heaven. In fact, twice in this chapter he has established that point.
The only logical conclusion from this passage is that we must fulfill all requirements for salvation, beginning with faith and ending with the new birth in water, if we are to receive everlasting life.
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