… in the hope of eternal life …
Summary: The choice we have is not between eternal life and no life. The choice is between eternal life and eternal punishment.
Do you ever wish you could have a redo? Fortunately, when it is only a blog post that we are talking about, a redo is easy!
In my post, “Once Upon a Time,” we talked about time and how God’s perspective is different than our own. That got me thinking about how we look at eternity, and I started wondering if we are all speaking the same language.
When we talk about our hope of “eternal life,” it might help if we take that phrase apart for a moment. Are we hoping for a kind of eternity or a kind of life?
When we are conceived we are given a physical body and a spiritual soul. The spiritual part of our being is eternal. This is important to understand. If the secular humanists were right, our thoughts and experiences would be nothing more than the motion of electrons bouncing around in our brain. They imagine that when the body dies, the brain stops, and there is … nothing. But that is not the case. The soul is not a physical thing. When the body dies, the soul continues for eternity.
How do we know?
The answer is in Matthew 25:46. Jesus is telling the parable of the sheep and the goats. He separates out the good from the bad and explains that the goats, “…will go away to eternal punishment, but the righteous to eternal life.” So both are eternal.
The choice we face is not whether our soul survives this physical existence. It does. Our choice is between punishment and life. This is why Jesus says, “Not everyone who says to me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ will enter the kingdom of heaven, but only the one who does the will of my Father who is in heaven.” (Matthew 7:21)
(Once again, it is worth noting that we are not saved because of what we do. We are saved because of what Jesus did for us. (John 3:14-15) What we do is in response to being saved.)
So what is this “eternal life” Paul speaks of? According to Jesus, it is the opposite of eternal punishment. So that is one way of looking at it. Another way of looking at it is explained by Jesus, in his conversation with Nicodemus. Jesus says, “Very truly I tell you, no one can enter the kingdom of God unless they are born of water and the Spirit. Flesh gives birth to flesh, but the Spirit gives birth to spirit.” (John 3: 5-6)
So how does this work? When are we born again? When does the Spirit of God make us alive?
The answer is simple. Almost too simple to be true. But it is true. Jesus says, “Whoever believes in him [Jesus] is not condemned, but whoever does not believe stands condemned already because they have not believed in the name of God’s one and only Son.” (John 3:18)
The catch is that “belief” is not just words we say with our mouth. Neither is it what we do with our hands. Jesus reprimands the Pharisees for this when he says, “Woe to you, teachers of the law and Pharisees, you hypocrites! You give a tenth of your spices—mint, dill and cumin. But you have neglected the more important matters of the law—justice, mercy and faithfulness. You should have practiced the latter, without neglecting the former.” (Matthew 23:23)
Belief is what we say with our hearts. The prophet Micah tells us what God expects:
He has shown you, O mortal, what is good.
And what does the Lord require of you?
To act justly and to love mercy
and to walk humbly with your God. (Micah 6:8)Application: Jesus looks at what we say, what we do, and what is in our heart.
Food for Thought: How do we know what is in our heart?
What we say and do reflects what is in our heart (seat of our mind, desires, will, emotions). It is a gauge that reveals the condition of the inner spirit. Matthew 15: 16 – 20.
Thank you, Rich!
Great verse!! I found this to be an interesting question. It requires that I look inside myself, and look deeply.
How do we know what is in our heart?
Humans will view and measure their heart from a self-centered position according to human standards which are opposed to God. Those who truly seek to know what is in their heart, should seek Gods view through prayer and study of His word.
God knows each of us better than we know ourselves.
Genesis 6:5, And GOD saw that the wickedness of man was great in the earth, and that every imagination of the thoughts of his heart was only evil continually.”
God sees things about us that no one else, not even ourselves can see. Deep, hidden, inner thoughts and desires that our family and friends have no idea are even floating around in our heart and mind. Things we have locked away, deep inside the darkest areas of our hearts. Things which are too painful, too frightening to revisit because they would destroy our preferred image of ourselves..
God very, very briefly unlocked, opened this area to me on two occasions. Once which I believe could have been my last opportunity to accept His gift of salvation, and once a few years later as I arrogantly prayed for humility. In both cases God stayed close to me, ASSURED ME of His love for me and revealed the importance of my fully understanding what He already knew.
Each believer has asked Christ into their hearts as an act of free will repentance following our conviction of revealed sins by the Holy Spirit. We then begin our walk with God by faith. We are progressively convicted, made aware of shortcomings and by faith turn from, die to our old ways, and grow in our new self through Christ. The priority for our inward changes has been established by God before creation so we will each become His instrument of righteousness according to His priorities.
Genesis 6:5,1 Samuel 16:7, Psalm 139:2, 23-24, Mark 2:8, Luke 16:15, John 16:8-11
Ron,
Thank you for sharing your insights on this question. It sounds like the best way to know our heart is to know God.
Proverbs 4:23 Above all else, guard your heart, for it is the wellspring of life.
The verse goes on to talk about putting away perversity and corrupt talk. Our hearts should be set on holy things (the things God values)
Rob,
Thank you! You have touched on something that I’ve been learning is very important. Just as it is easy to stub a toe or smash a finger, it is also easy to wound or bruise our own heart. Such wounds are best avoided.
Weird how the heart is decietful above all things, beyond cure and yet David was a man after God’s own heart. Jesus is the only cure for the heart,..people can strive to be good, do good things for others but if Jesus is not at the heart of it all then it is all for not,..God knows our hearts
He knows who will accept His message and who will not,..He knows who will be sent to spread His message and who will be in the pews to recieve it,..He knows whose heart His message will touch and whose heart will remain hardened,..from beginning to end it’s all been predestined,..
Reminds me of a song,..My heart is Your’s, my heart is Your’s, Take it all, take it all,..my life’s in Your hands.
If I have God in my heart then I have love in my heart because God is love and my heart belongs to Him
👍🏻