God: "... you will certainly die." (Genesis 2:17b)
The devil: "You certainly won't die!" (Genesis 3:4)
God: "The person who has God's approval will live by faith. But if he turns back, I will not be pleased with him." (Hebrews 10:38)
"For God so loved the world, that He gave His only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in Him should not perish, but have everlasting life." (John 3:16)
"Write a Letter, Win a House: 'Homeowner selling $1.7M mansion for $25 and 'compelling' essay'." (An ad on social media)
Let's compare those two:
1. Those two above are announcement headlines
2. They are offers to the public
3. Both offer irresistible prizes
4. The prizes, an 'everlasting life' and a '$1.7M mansion', are up for grabs
Like giveaways and promotions in general, offers also have their own details or as known as terms and conditions.
Terms and conditions are normally attached to a prize and mostly are non-negotiable.
Anyone who accepts the offer consequently declares to enter into a formal and legally binding contract with its terms and conditions.
Some of the Writing Contest's terms and conditions posted on the social media read:
"Paying $20 entry fee, writing 1-page story with 350 words maximum
One entry each person or household
Any unmet terms and conditions will disqualify the participant"
As a 'headline' offering salvation from God, where can you find John 3:16's 'see store for details', such as references, terms and conditions, or fine print in the Scripture?
One of them is on the following 20 verses:
"Whoever believes in the Son has eternal life; whoever disobeys the Son will not have life, but will remain under God's punishment." (John 3:36)
So, the word believe in John 3:16 is clearly not referring to Charles Blondin's 'believers'. In fact, John 3:16 is all about nothing but the 'action' of faith.
Headline 1: "For by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God, not a result of works, so that no one may boast." (Ephesians 2:8-9).
Reference 1: "For we are Gods workmanship, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance as our way of life." (Ephesians 2:10)
Headline 2: "I give them eternal life, they'll never be lost, and no one will snatch them out of my hand." (John 10:28)
Terms and Conditions 2: "My sheep listen to My voice, I know them, and they follow Me." (John 10:27)
To listen and to follow here specifically indicate habitual actions. Indeed, the sheep that stay faithful and obedient to the shepherd will never get lost!
Headline 3: "I am sure that nothing can separate us from God's love--not life or death, not angels or spirits, not the present or the future, and not powers above or powers below. Nothing in all creation can separate us from God's love for us in Christ Jesus our Lord!" (Romans 8:38-39)
Reference 3: "So now there is no condemnation for those who belong to Christ Jesus who do not walk in the flesh, but in the Spirit." (Romans 8:1)
Indeed, nothing can separate us from Gods love as long as we walk in the Spirit, not in the flesh.
Headline 4: "If you confess that Jesus is Lord and believe that God raised Him from death, you will be saved." (Romans 10:9)
Terms and Conditions 4: "Not everyone who calls me their Lord will get into the kingdom of heaven. Only the ones who obey my Father in heaven will get in." (Matthew 7:21)
The Bible has 31,102 verses. Some are 'headlines', while the remainder are details, such as contexts and constraints, among other things. You should have read everything without disregard for context or reference.
"... teach them to do 'everything' I have told you... " (Matthew 28:20a)
You won't understand a verse until you find no inconsistency or disagreement with other verses.
Never 'cherry-picking' God's Word.
