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My understanding of the Scriptures is that they teach that those who are following and obeying Jesus will be saved and those who are not following and obeying Jesus will be lost. Many years of studying the Scriptures in their original languages has confirmed this to me (cf. The parables of the sower; Matt. 24:36-25:46; Rev. 2-3; 21:7-8).

John 3:16 from the Greek can be translated as:

"For God so loved the world that He gave His only Son that whoever is being faithful in Him should have eternal life."

(The following is provided for those wanting to do their own research on this.)

If one googles "Daniel B. Wallace The Participle", they shoud be able to find an article by one of the top Evangelical Greek scholars concerning the mistranslation of John 3:16. (This is a study at Bible study website; see sections/pages 620-621 and footnote 22.) Here he shows, in accordance with the rules of Greek grammar, that the word that is almost always translated as "believes" in John 3:16 really means a continuous believing, thus, "For God so loved the world that He gave His only Son that whoever is believing on Him should have eternal life."

The word that should be translated with the continuous sense of "believing," can also have a range of other meanings, including "be faithful" ((The Theological Dictionary of the New Testament, vol. 6, p. 208; The Theological Dictionary of the New Testament, Abridged in One Volume p. 854),)

So, it is possible that John 3:16 could be translated as, "For God so loved the world that He gave His only Son that whoever is being faithful in Him should have eternal life."

Would this go against the teachings of the Scriptures? I do not believe so. In fact I believe that it would fit better with the Scriptures.

But if it should be translated something to the effect of "is being faithful" and not "believes", why was it translated as "believeth" in the first place? My research has shown that the first English translations were heavily dependent upon the Latin translations of the Greek New Covenant Scriptures, and the Latin word here (credit) can mean believe and does not have to be continuous. Another element, Martin Luther and the Protestant Reformation and their doctrine on justification called Sola Fide, which says that man is justified by belief only. (See Wikipedia on Sola Fide.)

Which translation better fits with the teachings of Jesus and the teachings of His apostles and early followers (cf. James 2:14-26)? You will have to judge for yourself.