A person faces limitless options in life. We are bombarded by choices. Wanna watch TV? There are literally thousands of channels available. How about a college? There are 2 year & 4 year colleges, Technical Colleges, Campus or on-line colleges. How do you like your coffee? Starbucks offers more than 80,000 coffee combinations. How about a drink from Sonic? They offer 168,894 drink possibilities.
So, Why are we here this morning? I'm not asking a generalized psychology 101 why is mankind here on earth question. I am asking a very personal question. Why are we here, what do we hope to gain?.... Why are YOU here, what do YOU hope to gain this morning?
Hopefully, your answers have something to do with learning more about GODs word & ultimately, I hope you are seeking eternal life. There is a Bible verse, probably second only to John 3:16 in terms of recognition. This morning, lets look at Romans 6:23 to find some answers.
Romans 6:23 For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.
When you look at this verse, how many options do you see? 2....Only 2. Death or life, life or death. There are hundreds, if not thousands, of religions around the world. There are many spiritual paths a person can take. Our society is geared around unlimited & on-demand choices. But, in the end, every person has only two possible endings....life or death, ….both are eternal.
One path is earned, the wages of sin brings death; the other way is a gift...eternal life. A worker earns their payment due them. In this same way, sin earns its wages. A just & righteous GOD demands a wage or payment for sin. On the opposite end of the spectrum, one can never earn eternal life. There is nothing we can do to buy our way into heaven. It is absolutely 100% a free gift given only to those who believe that Jesus Christ is the Son of GOD & that HE died in our place.
Eternal life may mean different things to different people. To someone living with constant & debilitating aches & pains or to someone with a lifetime of adversity & struggles, the thought of life eternal may not be appealing. If we are talking to someone about a life that never ends, & that person has faced physical abuse, poverty & hunger every day, how likely are they to want to live forever?
We need to Biblically define eternal life. To do this, we need to look at several verses, so we will be jumping around in the Bible this morning. Eternal life is more than just living forever or an unending number of years. The Greek word that is translated as 'eternal' or 'everlasting' is aiónios (I-on-e-ous). It is a word that carries two meanings. One is the age-less aspect we are most used to. The other meaning of aiónios is quality. Together, quality of life & quantity of endless time, make up eternal life. Think about that for a second. Once this idea registers, then more of the Bible will make sense.
Lets start with John 3:36, just the first sentence. ...'He that believeth on the Son has (aiónios) everlasting life:...' ...When does everlasting or eternal life begin? Does it begin at death? Does it begin at some point in the future? No. It is present tense. It begins at belief & acceptance of Jesus as your Savior. A believers quality of life is changed in that instant.
Lets look at another verse, John 17:3. And this is (aiónios) eternal life, that they may know You, the only true God, and Jesus Christ whom You have sent. There are several verses found withing the New Testament that mention this. When we realize that in the Greek language, eternal life does not begin at death, but at the very second we ask Jesus to come into our lives, the Bible makes more sense.
Lets look at one more verse while we are on this subject. Before we recite John 3:16, think about the dual meaning of 'aiónios'. (Together) For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life.
If a person is only looking for salvation to avoid hell, they are missing half of the story. That is an important part, definitely, ...but there is so much more. Growing up in the south in the 1970s', every so often we'd have a guest pastor or evangelist come to the churches. They were the fire & brimstone preachers who would yell & pound on the pulpit. I did not like that style of preaching. I did not like their message, ...but I remember them. Their message was centered around personal fire insurance. They scared people into making decisions for Christ to avoid hell fire.
If that is our only purpose, we are truly missing out on the full meaning & benefit of eternal life. It will still get you into heaven after our bodies have passed, but the truer meaning has tremendous benefits right now while we still live. With this new meaning fresh in our minds, then when Jesus says “I have come that they may have life, and that they may have it more abundantly,” (Jn10:10) it makes more sense, doesn't it? Please don't wait until you get to heaven to begin enjoying eternal life. Enjoy it now.
Remember that we began this morning with 2 options. So far, we have looked at the second option, the gift of GOD....eternal life. I wouldn't be doing my job if I didn't spend some time on the other option, ...eternal death. These two choices are mentioned throughout the Bible, though much more subtlety. Do you build your house upon the sand, ….or upon the rock? Will you choose the broad way, ...or the narrow way? Will you enter the wide gate, ….or the narrow gate?
Biblical death does not mean non-existence. ...Death is also eternal. It would be nice if death for the unbeliever was the end, but that, unfortunately ...is not what the Bible teaches. ...Many believe in a second chance after death, or only a short time away from heaven to atone for sins,.... but that is not what the Bible teaches either. There is nothing even remotely similar to the concept of purgatory found in the Bible.
Eternal death is not a popular topic to teach. I think you'll be surprised to hear who spoke of hell more than any other person in the Bible. ...It was Jesus. Lets look at a few verses.
Starting with an Old Testament verse from Daniel 12:2. And many of those who sleep in the dust of the earth shall awake, Some to everlasting life, Some to shame and everlasting contempt.
Mathew 18:8 This is Jesus speaking. “If your hand or foot causes you to sin, cut it off and cast it from you. It is better for you to enter into life lame or maimed, rather than having two hands or two feet, to be cast into the everlasting fire.”
Mathew 25:46 This is also Jesus. And these will go away into everlasting punishment, but the righteous into eternal life.
2 Thessalonians 1:9 Who shall be punished with everlasting destruction from the presence of the Lord, and from the glory of his power.
And we will close with the book of Revelation. 14:11 And the smoke of their torment ascendeth up for ever and ever: and they have no rest day nor night, who worship the beast and his image, and whosoever receiveth the mark of his name.
Chapter 20, verses 10,14 & 15. And the devil that deceived them was cast into the lake of fire and brimstone, where the beast and the false prophet are, and shall be tormented day and night for ever and ever. And death and hell were cast into the lake of fire. This is the second death. And whosoever was not found written in the book of life was cast into the lake of fire.
It isn’t the fear of eternal death that will save you. It is only Jesus that saves you! It is my sincere hope that everyone chooses life...a life that begins at the moment of belief. Paul wrote to the Roman Church, a church of believers. It was meant to encourage them, not discourage them. Believers already know the good news, ...they already have eternal life.
This 1st century Roman church was persecuted. Christians were being killed & martyred in horrible ways. The members of this church were willing to accept this fate to have a relationship with Jesus. It wasn't death they feared,....it was a life without Jesus that they feared. The secular people of Rome saw the difference Christ made in Christians' lives.
A tough question: If we lived in a time of persecution for those who follow Jesus, how many people people would desire the relationship they see we have with Jesus ...so strongly, that they would be willing to die to have it?
