The world and all it offers despite how glamorous and great it may look is dead 

By Greg Holt

“²⁴ Verily, verily, I say unto you, He that heareth my word, and believeth on him that sent me, hath everlasting life, and shall not come into condemnation; but is passed from death unto life.”  John 5:24

(ICB)  Contained in this verse is yet another set of fantastic promises made to us by God.

• We are granted everlasting life, life with the Lord our God
• We shall not be condemned and thrown into the Lake of Fire
• Our state has been altered, from spiritually dead to spiritually alive

Everything anyone could want is in the world, money, toys, houses, status, popularity and much more, lots more.  Everything anyone needs is not in this world, oh no, make no mistake, what we need is in the spiritual realm, what we need is Jesus Christ.

As many have found out, the world and all it offers despite how glamorous and great it may look; the world’s oyster is lacking, shallow, it’s unfulfilling, it’s empty – it’s DEAD.

“He that heareth my word,” this person has found fulfillment.  One can find all the arguments for or against a “God-sized hole,” or a “God-shaped hole” in us, or not online.  I care not what anyone says about this.  There is within the human being a part of us, a part of our soul, our spirit, that longs for and needs God – period.  Humans were created by God, it therefore only stands to reason that we are made to commune with Him, not be separate from Him.

Contained within John 5:24 however are conditions.  It’s not so simple as it looks, like salvation isn’t as simple as a prayer.

Jesus says, “He that heareth my word,” translation – he that understands and believes my word, and believes in Me.  You see, there cannot be a true belief in the Father, if one does not believe in the Son, not Jesus as the son of God, Jesus as the Son who IS God.

• Jesus tells us plainly that He is the only way to the Father (John 14:6)
• Jesus commands us to believe not only in the Father, but Jesus Himself also (John 14:1)
• We have life in Jesus name (John 20:31), and no other name is there where by we are saved (Acts 4:12)

Understanding the Word and believing in Jesus also implies that there is a faith behind the belief.  And as James told us, one cannot have faith without works.

“²⁰ But wilt thou know, O vain man, that faith without works is dead?”  James 2:20

^“26 For as the body without the spirit is dead, so faith without works is dead also.”  James 2:26

Salvation is by faith alone (Ephesians 2:8-9), but that faith if it is genuine will produce works, which is exactly what James is referring to here.

Lastly in John 5:24, Jesus says, “but is passed from death unto life.”  Notice He says is, not will be.

Once we place our faith in Jesus, we are saved; we have passed from death to life.  There is no waiting; we have that life now, immediately upon placing our faith in Christ alone to save us.  Isn’t that great?

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