There are no accidental believers. Neither are there any adjustments to the words of Jesus that can explain away the eternal consequences of our disbelief no matter how warm and spiritually fuzzy that explanation might sound to a natural mind. Doctrines of demons are being used to craft these false misrepresentations.

The opening chapters of John’s gospel clarify who Jesus is and what our responsibility is to reveal Him to the world. As John the Baptist expounded on the life and purpose of Jesus it was said, “But to all who believed him and accepted him, he gave the right to become children of God” (John 1:12). Believing and accepting are important words to consider. They involve a choice.

In one of the first confrontations between religious leaders and Jesus had to do with what the Lord said about the destruction of the temple, His body. Jesus said it would be raised after three days. The religious leaders considered the Lord’s statement to be ridiculous. The religious leaders and even the disciples did not fully understand this truth. For His disciples, something changed after the resurrection, “After he was raised from the dead, his disciples remembered he had said this, and they believed both the Scriptures and what Jesus had said. (2:22).

After His dialogue with the inquiring Nicodemus, the Lord said, “I tell you the truth, unless you are born again, you cannot see the Kingdom of God” (3:3). Jesus told Nicodemus “You must be born again” (vs.7). Because the works of the Spirit are akin to a blowing wind, Jesus said, “You can’t explain how people are born of the Spirit” (vs. 8).

As Jesus continued speaking to Nicodemus, He said “Whoever believes in Him will not perish” (vs. 16) and, “There is no judgment against anyone who believes in him. But anyone who does not believe in him has already been judged for not believing in God’s one and only Son”  (vs.18). The text then returns to John the Baptist where John said, “And anyone who believes in God’s Son has eternal life. Anyone who doesn’t obey the Son will never experience eternal life but remains under God’s angry judgment” (vs. 36).

Jesus came to remove judgment and condemnation for all who chose to believe. In Jesus’ words and those who proclaimed His message, a choice to believe remains. That choice, though mysterious in its execution, must be made if we are to escape the judgment of God. There are no exceptions, even with some of the explanations that are currently being offered to the Church that try to explain away the need for that choice to escape a future judgment. Such clarity about our salvation has motivated the Church for the last 2,000 years to go to the ends of the Earth to declare the message of salvation at the cost of great personal loss and at times, even the sacrifice of one’s life.