This is an excellent and deeply thoughtful question. You’re not wrong to see
tension between “faith alone” passages and those that speak of
obedience, confession, and love as necessary for eternal life. But this tension is
not a contradiction—it’s a structured mystery, one that
Jesus Himself builds intentionally through the Gospel of John.
Let’s use
Sensus Plenior (SP) principles to reconcile this:
Summary of the Problem
| Category | Representative Verses |
|---|
| Salvation by Belief | John 3:16; 6:29, 40; 1 John 5:1 |
| Belief not Confessed = Incomplete | John 12:42–43 |
| Belief must bear fruit | John 15:10–17; 1 John 3:23–24 |
| Commandment is Eternal Life | John 12:50 |
| Commandment is Eternal Life | John 12:50 |
So which is it?
Let’s examine
how John defines belief,
what “commandment” means, and
how Christ presents oneness with Him.
1. In John, “Believe” Never Means Mere Mental Agreement
Instead, belief in John is:
- Coming to Jesus (John 6:35)
- Abiding in Jesus (John 15:4–5)
- Receiving Him fully (John 1:12)
- Eating and drinking His flesh and blood (John 6:56)
These are not
additions to belief.
They are
definitions of belief in Johannine theology.
So when someone “believes”
but does not confess (John 12:42), John is saying:
2. SP Pattern: Belief Always Produces Fruit
Let’s go deeper:
- John 15:2 – “Every branch in Me that does not bear fruit He takes away.”
- John 15:8 – “By this My Father is glorified, that you bear much fruit, and so prove to be My disciples.”
In SP terms:
- Faith is seed
- Love is fruit
- No fruit = no life = no union
Therefore:
3. What Is the “Commandment” in John?
Key text:
Now look at:
This isn’t
faith plus works.
It is
faith that works by love (Galatians 5:6).
Jesus’ “commandment” is a
twofold unity:
- Believe in the Son
- Love one another
These are not separable.
They are the
form and fruit of the same vine.
Gospel Integration
So:
- When we are in Christ, we are brought into that same obedience
- We abide in love, not to earn salvation, but because we are now branches of the Vine
SP Perspective:
Final Reconciliation
| Apparent Tension | SP Resolution |
|---|
| “Believe to be saved” | True—belief is union with the Son |
| “Must obey His commandment to have life” | True—His commandment is to believe and love |
| “Faith without love = false faith” | True—fruitlessness reveals dead union |
| “Confession proves real belief” | True—fearful silence can be unbelief (John 12) |
Conclusion:
When these are lacking,
John does not call it true belief.
So John 3:16 and John 15:10 are not in conflict—they are two sides of the
same vine.
I would respectfully disagree, since the "little chidlren" are warned "abide in Him so that you will not shrink back in shame at His appearance" (1 Jn 2:28), so the "branches" that don't "abide" (Jn 15) obtains even among those who "truly" believe, which seems to uphold Jn 8 "if you remain in My Word, you will prove you are My disciples, and you will know the truth and be set free [from sin]" : those who do not remain are cut off and dry up and are thrown in the fire.
Remaining in Him, it says, is by obeying His command, but the Command is twofold : believe, and love--not in word but in deed.
It would seem, then, that sin (not loving) is breaking this singular command that exists on a continuum of "believe" and "love one another", so that sin, or failure to love others, is also denial of Christ ("Whoever denies Me before men I will deny before My Father"), and denial of Christ is also failure to love (hating your brother).
John 11: 5Now Jesus loved Martha and her sister and Lazarus. 6So when He heard that he was sick, He then stayed two days longer in the place where He was.
Christ showed His love for Lazarus by obeying God's command to stay there until Lazarus would die (it was exceedingly nearby, there was no physical reason, if Christ had struck off on His own, which He would never have done, for Him to have taken so long to get there), despite the fact that this would leave His disciples, Whom He'd told, "This illness will not end in death", puzzled, so that God's glory would be revealed for the good of the onlookers, at Lazarus's resurrection : obeying God's command is always inextricable from loving others, and falling short of God's glory is sin, which Christ is to save us from (if we will follow Him, we will not sin but be fed eternal life, fulfilling God's Commands), so it seems undeniable that doing Christ's will in the walk, or walking by love and faith, does decide eternal life, again, because "He has never left Me bc I always do what pleases Him", and "eternal life is to know You, the only true God, and Christ, Whom You have sent."
I DO AGREE with you, however, in another way, in the sense that "Apart from Me, you Can do nothing," so that the person aiming to remain with Christ will have the ability to do right, but the person who aims to do right might miss the reality that "Apart from Me, you can do nothing."
Now, I wish I could believe what you believe, because it's so simple, superficial, and, for you, you can rest, having found your "answer", but I just can't let myself ignore (I see your view that way, at least) what is plain--and it just so happens that my view aligns with the ancient faith.
Having said that, an experience of God I had once told me I was trying to save myself by the obedience to Him I was performing, and that "You're trying to show Me the good you're doing, but what about your sin?", but no amount of trying to live by that way of reasoning ("I don't have to do good to justify myself") has ever got me in to God's Presence, but has always left me without
I don't claim to understand it. I try, but I don't get it. When do I get to be in God's Presence? "As for me, God's presence is my good", "Not by the sword alone but by the help of His countenance", and "blessed are those who watch and pray that they may keep their garments", "apart from Me you can do nothing", "remain in Him that so that when He appears you will not shrink back in shame [of your nakedness]", for me, the question is as to how to reliably be in His presence, which answer I can't find.
I know when I would intend to obey in my deeds, I would be permitted to experience God's Presence, but I cannot process this idea of "faith alone", though I also remember another experience where I understood I had to be forgiven by Jesus, and there was nothing I could do to get around that, and, if not, I would be seeking to speak over or contrary to Christ, but, no matter what I try, I can't get back to that place--but I remember Christ would appear to me at times I went back to doing things I believed I should do, contrary to the assertion I only needed to be forgiven.
These may be different "shades" of justification, or clarity of conscience, confidence before God, so that we are not ashamed, but may approach His Presence.
I don't really get why I have experienced these two seemingly mutually exclusive things--though you may say they reflect the two expressions ("you
believe in God's love", "you
love") of the single command existing on that continuum.
It has to do with clarity of conscience, I think... but, then, in my experience, I have gone to God with great confidence based on my "heroic" obedience which He even had blessed in various ways... which confidence He promptly destroyed by telling me I was wrong, I was trying to save myself, and was trying to pay Him back for my sins (as it says, "but not before God")... which is odd... then I am supposed to have clarity of conscience / confidence before God because of what Jesus did, and because God forgives my sin, but, somehow, this has never worked (has never resulted in me experiencing God's Presence) in the many years I have tried it.
I don't really get it, and I would be a liar if I said I got it, and I would leave the conversation the same as I came--unhelped, confused.
That’s not saving belief—because it is incomplete union.
