Belief and Eternity
Truly, truly, I say to you, whoever hears my word and believes him who sent me has eternal life. He does not come into judgment, but has passed from death to life.
John 5:24
Is your belief enough to enter eternity with God?
To pass “from death to life.” To not “come into judgment,” which means to not come into what the Greek calls krisis, condemnation. To have the “eternal life” that is God’s free gift rather than the second death of hell which we deserve because of our sin (Rom. 6:23; Rev. 21:8)! What a high, undeserved honor! What a wonderful thing it will be to hear those sweet words from the King of kings: “Well done, good and faithful servant. You have been faithful over a little; I will set you over much. Enter into the joy of your master” (Matt. 25:21). Do you want those wonderful words to be said to you? I know I do…
Look very carefully at what the Master says in today’s Scripture of the Day. These blessings of eternal life and the passing over of judgment from death to life come to “whoever” does two things: the one who “hears my word and believes him who sent me.”
The Psalmist wrote that the “blessed” man “who walks not in the counsel of the wicked, nor stands in the way of sinners, nor sits in the seat of scoffers” is one whose “delight is in the law of the Lord, and on his law he meditates day and night” (Ps. 1:1-2). The apostle wrote that Christians are to long for “the pure milk of the Word” like a newborn longs for milk (1 Pet. 2:2), and that we are to diligently grow in “knowledge” if we are to have that “entrance into the eternal kingdom” provided for us (2 Pet. 1:5-11; 3:18). The faith which pleases God (Heb. 11:6) and saves us (John 5:24; 3:16) comes from hearing “the word of Christ” (Rom. 10:17). Friend, how well do you hear God’s Word? How often do you meditate upon it? Day and night…or once a week for a couple of minutes? Have you ever read the entire Bible? If not, why? If you want to escape the judgment of God and walk into an eternal life of bliss, take Jesus’ promise to heart. Hear his Word.
Not only that, but believe in the God who sent Jesus. This faith consists more of a belief in the existence of God, but also that he “rewards those who seek him” (Heb. 11:6). It must be stronger than the faith of demons, for they too believe in God (James 2:19). No, this belief in God consists of such a strong spiritual, mental, and intellectual conviction and trust that it prompts unhesitating obedience (James 2:14-26). It was this kind of faith that prompted Noah to obey God in building an ark (Heb. 11:7), Abraham to obey God by moving his family to places unknown and being willing to sacrifice his son (Heb. 11:8-10, 17-19), and Moses to give up “the fleeting pleasures of sin” in Egypt in order to serve God by leading Israel out of slavery through the Red Sea (Heb. 11:24-29). It is this faith that will prompt you and me to obey the will of our God as revealed in his Word, no matter what the cost.
Do you want eternal life? Hear, believe, and obey…