The oldest known icon of Christ Pantocrator – Saint Catherine’s Monastery. The two different facial expressions on either side emphasize Christ’s dual nature as both divine and human.
If you have ever heard a sermon preached on eternal life, then you probably heard it taught that only those who trust in Jesus have eternal life. Have you ever thought, based on the scriptures that this teaching is only partially right?
The bible talks about eternal life in many places. Matthew 19:16, Matthew 19:29, John 3:16, John 5:24, Acts 13:48, Romans 5:21, Jude 1:21, and many more.
We place our trust in Jesus, and stop trusting in ourselves in order that we may receive eternal life. Only the finished work of Christ on the cross allows us to live with God in eternity. Did you notice the wording; Christ’s work allows us to live with God in eternity? That is a very important distinction that I will come back to shortly. We allow Jesus to be Lord of our lives…we grant Him control and we follow His direction. We acknowledge our sins, and through the redemptive work of Jesus we can be forgiven. Then we must repent of those sins, meaning that we do not commit them anymore, and we are truly sorry for what we have done wrong.
We of ourselves can do absolutely nothing to obtain eternal life…or can we? Is there anything we can do to obtain any form of eternal life? What do you think about this?
If we who trust in the Lord have eternal life with Him, (and we do) what happens to those who do not trust in the Lord? Do these people just pass out of existence? Knowing the answer to these questions is pretty important.
Lets say that you do not believe in God. You as an unbeliever will also have eternal life. Yes you read that right; unbelievers will have eternal life as well as Believers. Maybe eternal life is the wrong term, how about eternal existence? Remember that before I stated that those who are safely hidden in Christ would have life everlasting with God. Those who do not believe will also have life everlasting, it just will not be very pleasant. It will be an eternal existence without God. Can I support these views? Yes I can…
John 3:36 Whoever believes in the Son has eternal life, but whoever rejects the Son will not see life, for God’s wrath remains on him.”
Notice the text says those who reject the Son will not see life, but it also says God’s wrath will remain on them. It does not say that God’s wrath will remain for a while, it says remains…meaning without ending.
Matthew 25:46 “Then they will go away to eternal punishment, but the righteous to eternal life.”The context here is the time of judgment before the throne of Christ. He will separate the sheep from the goats; trust me on this…you want to be one of the sheep.
Mathew 25:41 “Then he will say to those on his left, ‘Depart from me, you who are cursed, into the eternal fire prepared for the devil and his angels. Eternal fire, I think that is pretty clear, don’t you?
Matthew 18:8 If your hand or your foot causes you to sin, cut it off and throw it away. It is better for you to enter life maimed or crippled than to have two hands or two feet and be thrown into eternal fire.
Revelation 20:10 And the devil, who deceived them, was thrown into the lake of burning sulfur, where the beast and the false prophet had been thrown. They will be tormented day and night forever and ever. The devil is of course Satan, and it is worth noting that the false prophet is human…and they will be tormented forever.
Revelation 20:14-15 Then death and Hades were thrown into the lake of fire. The lake of fire is the second death. 15 If anyone’s name was not found written in the book of life, he was thrown into the lake of fire. The lake of fire is the same thing as the lake of burning sulfur. Note that even death and Hades are thrown in the lake of fire. Then all unbelievers are also thrown in the lake of fire.
Jude 1:13 They are wild waves of the sea, foaming up their shame; wandering stars, for whom blackest darkness has been reserved forever. Another aspect of hell…
We have eternal life, those of us who trust in Christ and have made Him Lord of our lives and serve Him. Those who do not serve Him have a pretty grim future. Do we not as Believers have an obligation to teach this truth? People may not want to hear it, but that does not make it any less true. People need to know the consequences of their decisions.
If you choose not to follow Christ, you are choosing to place yourself into a very unpleasant eternal existence.
Some will say that they will just die, yes you will die, and then be resurrected to an eternity of punishment. Some will also say that they will at least have company, no actually you will not. The lake of fire is not going to be a social club; it is going to be a very unpleasant place of punishment…forever. You will be alone in the dark…suffering. These are not my words, but the bibles.
Accept Christ; receive peace now, and eternal life with God. The sheep have a Shepherd…the goats do not.
About the author: Greg is a strong believer in Jesus Christ and is also a political analyst, author, and is the Editor-in-Chief for the National War Council. By day he is a self-employed non-emergency medical transport driver, as well as being an author and blogger. His articles are first published on Inspirational Christian Blogs, and I Am Not Ashamed of the Gospel of Christ! His articles have been widely published on many well-known conservative websites. If you would like to republish his articles, please feel free to do so leaving all links intact and crediting the author and the website that the article appeared on.
Greg is the author of the newly released book: Spiritual Darkness is Destroying America and the Church
Categories: EVANGELISM, FAITH FOR TODAY, THE WORD OF GOD FOR TODAY
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Not surprisingly Greg, this has become a debated topic even among professing believers. Mainstream leaders of the church are even presenting alternative views of the meaning of everlasting punishment. I suppose it’s easy enough to see what is at the core of this desire to go against orthodox theology – worldliness, materialism, self-centered-ness, etc… we can’t align the biblical teachings on these topics of our lifestyles… with true faith, therefore it’s easier to eliminate the penalty of an unrepentant lifestyle.
Unfortunately, all the intellectual explanations in the world can’t go against Scripture. I’ve allowed myself the privilege (if it can be called that) to read some of these works by men who once defended what the church has always taught. One really has to ask why Paul would have endured beatings, imprisonment, and martyrdom to carry a message of universal ism. If there is no wrath to come, why die for the cause? Take the easy path… it goes to the same place… hopefully you catch my sarcasm.
Jesus suffered the ultimate wrath at the hands of His Father to rescue us from a fate we cannot fathom. As you say, those who die outside of the grace found only in Christ, will have to face that very same wrath… forever (because only Jesus could pay that debt). May we ever be about our Father’s business. Let the gospel be proclaimed!
A good word friend… needed much! God bless.
Thank you Mike for a great comment. As you said, why would Paul and so many others die for something that is not true? It astounds me that people even debate this issue, is not the bible rather clear that punishment will be eternal?
God bless and thanks for stopping by!
Greg