At The Heart Of Christ's Passion, We Experience Eternal Life

At the Heart of Christ¡¦s Passion,

We Experience Everlasting Life

March 31, 2004

John 10:25-30 (New International Version)

25Jesus answered, ¡§I did tell you, but you do not believe. The miracles I do in my Father¡¦s name speak for me, 26but you do not believe because you are not my sheep. 27My sheep listen to my voice; I know them, and they follow me. 28I give them eternal life, and they shall never perish; no one can snatch them out of my hand. 29My Father, who has given them to me, is greater than all; no one can snatch them out of my Father¡¦s hand. 30I and the Father are one.¡¨

INTRODUCTION: This is eternity?

I saw this ad in Readers Digest, ¡§Scott Tissue¡¦s thousand soft sheets can seem to last an eternity.¡¨ And I wondered this is eternity?

Then I came across a quote, ¡§God has given me so many things to do, it will take me so long to do them, I¡¦ll live forever.¡¨ And I wondered this is eternity?

At the heart of Christ¡¦s passion, we experience everlasting life. Kind of ironic, don¡¦t you think, through death we receive life. Today let¡¦s look at 3 foundational beliefs that are part of what it means to

Experience Everlasting Life

FOUNDATIONAL BELIEF 1: Receive eternal life the moment you believe in Jesus. According to Alex Chiu, based on testimonies, facts, and proofs, people are believed to be able to stay physically young forever by using his new inventions "The Eternal Life Rings" and "The Eternal Life Foot Braces". The Eternal Life Rings are to be worn on both small fingers of a user during sleep. The Eternal Life Foot Braces are to be worn on all toes of both feet during sleep. Both devices consist of rare earth or ceramic magnets and plastic braces that hold magnets onto the fingers of the user. The inventor explained that the fingers and toes are the negative (-) and positive (+) terminals of your body. Alex Chiu even says he can bring a unified world. It must be his magnetic personality. I will give him this, he might live longer with his magnetic devices, but he won¡¦t live forever ¡V only Jesus can make that happen.

Jesus says in John 10:28, ¡§I give them eternal life, and they will never die, and no one can steal them out of my hand.¡¨ -- (New Century Version)

One T-shirt asks this question, ¡§Where will you be sitting in eternity? Smoking or Non?¡¨ The key to eternal destinations is what do you do with Jesus. Those who believe in Jesus as their Savior experience everlasting life. Those who don¡¦t believe in Jesus, don¡¦t experience everlasting life. The reason why is given in John 10:26, ¡§¡K you don¡¦t believe because you¡¦re not my sheep.¡¨ -- (GOD¡¦S WORD)

That¡¦s not meant to be an exclusive statement, but an honest one. Sin is the disease, death is the result, and Jesus is the cure. There is no other. What¡¦s amazing is the cure can be yours now by faith, and the moment you believe you receive eternal life.

FOUNDATIONAL BELIEF 2: Live eternally now by faith in Christ. Our present life on earth is the dot. It begins. It ends. It¡¦s brief compared to eternity. But from that dot extends a line that goes on forever. That line is eternity, which Christians will spend in heaven. „h-----„³ The Dot: Life on Earth The Line: Life in heaven. Right now we live in the dot. The danger is when we live for the dot, and not for eternity. When Jesus describes our relationship with Him, notice how he uses present tenses in John 10:27, ¡§My sheep respond to my voice, and I know who they are. They follow me.¡¨ -- (GOD¡¦S WORD)

Eternity may seem like a long moment, but eternal life is at the heart of the Christian faith. Eternal life is what Jesus won for all on the cross, and gives to all who believe in Him as their Lord and Savior. By faith in Christ, we can live eternally now.

William Barclay noted, ¡§The word for eternal is aionios. It means far more than simply lasting forever. A life that lasted forever might be a curse and not a blessing. There is only one person to whom aionios may properly be applied and that is God. In the real sense of the term it is God alone who possesses and inhabits eternity. Eternal life is, therefore, nothing other than the life of God himself. What we are promised is that here and now there can be given us a share in the very life of God.

John writes in 1 John 5:13, ¡§My purpose in writing is simply this: that you who believe in God’s Son will know beyond the shadow of a doubt that you have eternal life, the reality and not the illusion.¡¨ -- (The Message). Whoever believes in God’s Son has eternal life. He is all you need. You don’t need to wait for eternal life because it begins the moment you believe. You don’t need to work for it because it is already yours. You don’t need to worry about it because God himself has already given you eternal life ¡Xand it is guaranteed.