Posted on 08/07/2013 7:33:42 AM PDT by SeekAndFind
The Bible is a book of bad news and good news.
First the bad news: Human beings are sinners. Our sin separates us from a holy and righteous God, provokes his wrath, and causes us to ultimately suffer death and eternal separation from Him. (Rom. 3:23, Rom.1:18, Col.3:6). More bad news: We are without excuse. As a result of our wickedness, we have suppressed the truth about God made known to us and are deserving of his righteous wrath. (Rom. 1:16-32)
That's a bitter pill to swallow, but it's not the end of the story. There is good news.
The good news: We don't have to pay the high price of our sin ourselves. Jesus paid it for us. Although he lived a sinless life, because of God's great love for us (John 3:16), he sacrificed his Son to atone for our sins. We can be redeemed from our sin by accepting the free gift of eternal life that comes through faith in Jesus Christ. And if that weren't enough, God even supplies the faith for us. "For by grace have you been saved through faith, and this is not from yourselves—it is the gift of God, not of works, so that no one can boast." (Eph. 2:8-9)
None of us like bad news, and it's natural to avoid it. However, it's surprising to see a church edit the news as reported in the Bible and rewrite it so that it will be more palatable to its congregants. Case in point: The Committee on Congregational Song of The Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.) recently voted to exclude the popular modern hymn "In Christ Alone" from their hymnal because it included the line:
"Till on that cross as Jesus died, the wrath of God was satisfied."
Apparently recognizing the popularity of the song, the Committee asked the hymn's authors for permission to change the end of that line to "the love of God was magnified" in order to be included in their hymnal. The authors refused to make the change. The Committee, it appears, couldn't abide the idea of God's wrath, so the song was left out of the hymnal.
It's disconcerting to see Christians devalue the great love of God in the name of a "loving god." There is no question that the good news of the Gospel centers on the love of God; but, to deny God's wrath eliminates the need for the good news. It also minimizes the culpability of sinners, denies the justice of God's punishment, and trivializes God's love for us. ("But God demonstrates his love for us in this: while we were still sinners, Christ died for us." -Rom. 5:8) In the process, Jesus becomes just a nice man who suffered an unjust punishment… bummer. Of course, this dumbed-down take on Jesus comports nicely with the "helpful wingman" view of God.
Sadly, the basic concepts of sin and atonement are foreign in our time, even within certain strains of liberal Christianity. But they are Biblical. The Bible is unequivocal about the nature of man and the consequences of our sin. God's wrath, however, is not the end of the story.
"But God, being rich in mercy, because of the great love with which he loved us, even when we were dead in our trespasses, made us alive together with Christ—by grace you have been saved—and raised us up with him and seated us with him in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus, so that in the coming ages he might show the immeasurable riches of his grace in kindness toward us in Christ Jesus." (Eph. 2: 4-7) (See also John 3:16, 1 John 1:9, Rom 5:8)
It's that simple. But, it's offensive to a lot of folks—even within the church.
Sin is not a popular notion in a therapeutic society. People don't like the idea that they are sinners. And the idea that we would suffer eternal damnation because we deserve it is even more offensive. We want to embrace God's love without taking into account his wrath and justice. We want the benefit of the good news without acknowledging the bad news.
We are naturally inclined to reject the God of the Bible, but this shouldn't come as a surprise—we're told as much in the Bible! We prefer to cherry pick the Bible and fashion a god that seems more palatable than the one the Bible presents. But a god of our creation is no god at all. He is simply a customized construct designed to make us feel better about ourselves.
Such a creature is not worthy of our worship. The God of the Bible is.
John 3:36 NIV
New International Version
Whoever believes in the Son has eternal life, but whoever rejects the Son will not see life, for God's wrath remains on him."
American Standard Version
He that believeth on the Son hath eternal life; but he that obeyeth not the Son shall not see life, but the wrath of God abideth on him.
John 3:36 BBE
Bible in Basic English
He who has faith in the Son has eternal life; but he who has not faith in the Son will not see life; God's wrath is resting on him.
John 3:36 CEB
Common English Bible
Whoever believes in the Son has eternal life. Whoever doesn't believe in the Son won't see life, but the angry judgment of God remains on them."
John 3:36 CJB
Complete Jewish Bible
Whoever trusts in the Son has eternal life. But whoever disobeys the Son will not see that life but remains subject to God's wrath."
Read John 3 CJB
John 3:36 RHE
Douay-Rheims
He that believeth in the Son hath life everlasting: but he that believeth not the Son shall not see life: but the wrath of God abideth on him.
Read John 3 RHE
John 3:36 ESV
English Standard Version
Whoever believes in the Son has eternal life; whoever does not obey the Son shall not see life, but the wrath of God remains on him.
John 3:36 GW
John 3:36 GNT
Good News Translation
Whoever believes in the Son has eternal life; whoever disobeys the Son will not have life, but will remain under God's punishment.
Read John 3 GNT
John 3:36 HNV
Hebrew Names Version
One who believes in the Son has eternal life, but one who disobeys the Son won't see life, but the wrath of God remains on him."
New Jerusalem Bible
Anyone who believes in the Son has eternal life, but anyone who refuses to believe in the Son will never see life: God's retribution hangs over him.'
If you don't, I'm going to try to remember to repost this on Sunday
“The” translation...
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.
No hostility implied, but I’m not sure what your point is in posting all those translations of John 3:36. All of them end with the idea that the person who rejects Christ will be under God’s wrath.
At first I thought you were going to show that some translations have diluted “wrath” from their translation, but I don’t see that in the examples you posted.
Or, are you just showing how God’s wrath is clearly taught in the scriptures, no matter which translation one uses?
Again, not hostile, just asking.
NABRE
36Whoever believes in the Son has eternal life, but whoever disobeys the Son will not see life, but the wrath of God remains upon him.b
And the footnote:
* [3:31–36] It is uncertain whether these are words by the Baptist, Jesus, or the evangelist. They are reflections on the two preceding scenes.
RSV
36 He who believes in the Son has eternal life; he who does not obey the Son shall not see life, but the wrath of God rests upon him.
Read more: http://www.ewtn.com/ewtn/bible/search_bible.asp#ixzz2bIMLdmAQ
They know the words to say, but you can tell that their heart's just not in it, that the words don't live in them, but are just words, lifeless words.
The Pharisees have nothing on us. Our era has taken their system of belief to levels they would not imagine. Same for those of Sodom.
Does anyone know the way to Ninevah?
RE: Or, are you just showing how God’s wrath is clearly taught in the scriptures, no matter which translation one uses?
YES, that was my point.
I think he was making the point that the PC USA’s decision to ban a hymn because it refers to God’s wrath has no scriptural basis, regardless of translation.
re: “RE: Or, are you just showing how God’s wrath is clearly taught in the scriptures, no matter which translation one uses?
YES, that was my point.”
Thanks, SeekandFind, sometimes I’m a little dense in the morning.
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