Believing: God’s Work…or Man’s Responsibility (John 6:29)?
“This is the work of God, that you believe in Him whom He sent” (John 6:29).
Calvinists assert this passage teaches that believing is a work of God. That is, the reason why some people believe in Jesus is because God unilaterally changed their hearts and made them believers.
But is that really what this passage is teaching? The scriptural evidence shows otherwise. Consider the context. Jesus is talking with the unbelieving Jews of his day:
Jesus: “Do not labor for the food that perishes, but rather, for that which endures” (John 6:27).
Jews: “What shall we do, that we may work the works of God?” (John 6:28). Translation: “What does God require of us?”
Jesus: “This is the work of God, that you believe” (John 6:29). In other words, “This is the work that God requires, that you believe.” Jesus is simply answering the question from the previous verse. Jesus is not talking about what God does; he’s talking about what people must do—which is to believe![1]
Jews: “What sign will You perform then, that we may see it and believe?” (John 6:30).
Jesus: “I am the bread of life [I am the sign]…yet you [still] do not believe” (John 6:35).
God gave these Jews every reason in the world to believe in Jesus. Jesus did all kinds of signs and wonders, and he showed from the Old Testament Scriptures that he was the prophesied Messiah—yet most of the Jews refused to believe. Why? Because Jesus was not the kind of Messiah they wanted. These Jews wanted a political Messiah, someone to overthrow the Romans. However, Jesus said “My kingdom is not of this world” (John 18:36). Jesus did not come to bring political revolution; he came to bring spiritual revolution. But this was not what most of the Jews wanted—so they rejected him—despite all the signs (proof) that God gave them!
The Calvinist interpretation of John 6:29 completely misses/ignores the context. When Jesus said, “This is the work of God, that you believe,” Jesus simply meant: “This is the work that God requires, that you believe.” Jesus was answering the question from the previous verse. Moreover, the context shows that God does not unilaterally change people’s hearts/make them believers. In fact, God did everything he could to persuade these Jews—giving them sign after sign after sign—yet most of them still refused to believe.
Believing is man’s responsibility, not God’s!
By Alex Polyak, founder of Answering Calvinism (.org), 10/24/25.
[1] Believing entails more than merely acknowledging something is true. Even the demons believe in God, yet they are not saved (James 2:19). A saving kind of belief entails responding in faith. See my article “A Saving Kind of Faith.”