Christ's Doctrine of Faith: A Study of "Believing" in John's Gospel (John 8:24)

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John 8:24 contains the forty-third occurrence of the idea of faith, the act of believing, in John’s Gospel. Here, the Lord Jesus Christ says: “I said therefore unto you, that ye shall die in your sins: for if ye believe not that I am he, ye shall die in your sins” (KJV). So, as usual, what is the context of this passage and what are some facts about faith in this passage?

First, there is the context. Right after the Pharisees cite theirs’ and the rulers’ unbelief in Jesus as a reason that the officers, who heard Jesus speak, shouldn’t believe in Him either, the Pharisees then say that the people are cursed because they don’t know the Law. We then see Nicodemus (and the text clarifies that it is the same Nicodemus who came to Jesus by night in John 3:1-21) ask his fellow Pharisees (cf. John 3:1) if their Law judges any man before it listens to him and knows what he does. His fellow Pharisees respond by derisively asking Nicodemus if he is also from Galilee. They then tell him to search and see [1], because (according to them) no prophet comes from Galilee. Next, in John 7:53-8:11, we hear the story of Jesus rescuing the woman caught in adultery from the judgment of her accusers [2]. Then, in John 8:12, we see the Lord Jesus Christ declaring that He is the Light of the world, and that he who follows Him will not walk in darkness, but instead will possess the light of life. Consequently, the Pharisees challenge Him that His testimony is not true, because He is bearing witness of Himself. Christ responds by telling them that, despite the fact that He is bearing witness of Himself, His record is still true, because He knows where He came from and where He goes, but they cannot tell these things. He informs them that they judge according to the flesh, whereas He judges no man, before saying that, if He yet judges, His judgment is true, because He is not alone but with the Father, who sent Him. He then reminds them that their Law says the testimony of two men is true, before saying that He bears witness of Himself and the Father, who sent Him, bears witness of Him. The Pharisees then ask Him who is His Father is, to which Jesus answers that they know neither Him or His Father and that, if they had known Him, they would have known His Father also. The text then tells us that Jesus spoke these words in the treasury as He taught in the temple and, because His hour had not yet come, no man laid hands upon Him. We then see Jesus saying to them that He goes His way, and that they will seek Him and die in their sins, before saying that, where He goes, they cannot come. The Jews then wonder among themselves if He will kill Himself, since He said that they cannot come where He goes. The Lord then tells them that they are from beneath, while He is from above, before telling them that they are of this world, while He is not of this world. It was for this reason that He said to them that they will die in their sins. Why? Because, as Christ explains, “…if ye believe not that I am he, ye shall die in your sins” (KJV). This is the context of John 8:24!

Second, there are the facts about faith we can learn from John 8:24, some of which we will cover here. The first fact I’ll bring up is one that God has been using some Christian teachers to remind me of lately: what makes faith saving faith is NOT any part of the act of believing itself. Yes, we must believe, but what makes saving faith saving is not some psychological feature of the act of believing, but rather the object of faith, or, in other words, who is believed. And the Lord Jesus Christ makes that clear here in this text. He does not merely say “If you believe not, you will die in your sins,” but “If you believe not I AM HE, you will die in your sins.” And that leads us to the next fact about faith we can glean from this passage: what we must believe concerning Jesus Christ to be saved. We know that we must believe in Jesus to be saved, but we must believe specific things about Jesus to truly trust in Him. This is another fact that sound Bible teachers have pointed out, on the basis of texts like 2 Corinthians 11:4 and Galatians 1:6-9: we must believe in the TRUE Jesus, the Jesus Christ whom the Holy Spirit describes in the Bible, in order to be saved. And that brings us back to John 8:24! Jesus says we must believe “I am He.” You will see that the “he” in John 8:24 is italicized, meaning it is not in the original Greek but instead added by the translators only to make clear what the original Greek means, which is not as clear to English speakers. So, in the original Greek, Jesus is saying “Unless you believe I AM, you will die in your sins.” Since God revealed Himself by the Name of “I AM” to Moses (Exodus 3:14), we see a clear claim of the Lord Jesus to Deity here. Now, this does not mean that the translators were wrong in translating “I am” as “I am He.” Because, as we see in the verse immediately following, the Jews respond to this statement by asking Him who He is, and Jesus’s answer is “Even the same that I said unto you from the beginning” (John 8:25, KJV). So, to believe in Jesus means to believe He is what and who He reveals Himself, in the Bible, to be. Reader, have you believed Him to be the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world, and therefore all your personal sin (John 1:29, 6:27-58 [3], esp. comparing 6:40 to 6:54)? Not just believing that He did what He did for men in general [4], because even the demons believe things like that (James 2:19), but do you believe that He did His work of salvation for you? Believe in Him, and you will enter into that rest (Hebrews 4:1-3)! These are some facts about faith we can learn from John 8:24!

[1] “searching” the Scriptures, most likely [2] Given my lack of expertise in the field of textual criticism (though I desire to develop, and I wholeheartedly exhort others to develop, a Biblical-presuppositional approach to this field, since God Himself is the sole trustworthy Authority on the subject), I will not comment one way or the other on the authenticity of John 7:53-8:11 [3] Credit for pointing out to me how Christ’s Bread of Life Discourse shows how Christ’s atonement is for all but effectual only for believers goes to this link: https://middletownbiblechurch.org/doctrine/4whom04.htm. Note: This is NOT an endorsement of everything on this website, but ONLY giving credit where it is due. [4] This is NOT an endorsement of everything Pastor Joel Webbon has said, but I did learn this insight from him that what separates saving faith from demonic faith is the belief that Jesus did His salvific work personally for the believer and not just men in general: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=l93pQG4C8mE and https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9LSlgktIbAU. I have also learned this insight from Pastor Joe Morecraft, who is currently a pastor at Heritage Presbyterian Church in Cumming, GA.