GRACE BIBLE CHURCH

Our salvation is based on believing (aorist) in the Lord Jesus Christ. When John saw that the present tense of the verb believe was used in John 3:16 he saw there was a discrepancy with Acts 16:31 and this caused him to rethink John 3:16. John 3:16 states that "...whosoever believeth (present tense) in him (the Son, the High Priest) should not perish (subjunctive might perish) but have (subjunctive may have) eternal life." Believe in this verse is in the present tense and both of the verbs perish and have are in the subjunctive mood which indicates the possibility of failure. Those believing in the present tense may quit and hence the reason they might perish and might not have eternal life. Our problem is our understanding of what eternal life means. We think it means living forever but a scriptural study reveals something else, something even better.