Eternal Life

Temple Baptist Church - 8-24-2014

 

1 John 2:25

 

Introduction:

A. In our verse, I find it important to re-establish the fact that the child of God is forever saved! I do not want to make this message hard to understand but it is one that needs to be understood!

B. The doctrine of eternal life has been attacked by both man and devil about as much as the doctrine of the scriptures! No man has or ever will be able to merit salvation through personal righteousness nor will man ever be able to maintain his salvation through the same. It all goes back to Romans 10:3, which says: “For they being ignorant of God's righteousness, and going about to establish their own righteousness, have not submitted themselves unto the righteousness of God.” What righteousness is essential to salvation? The absolutely perfect righteousness that can only be found in Jesus Christ. What righteousness is essential to remaining saved? The same: the absolutely perfect righteousness of Jesus Christ.

Isaiah 64:6 But we are all as an unclean thing, and all our righteousnesses are as filthy rags; and we all do fade as a leaf; and our iniquities, like the wind, have taken us away.

Ecclesiastes 7:20 For there is not a just man upon earth, that doeth good, and sinneth not.

Philippians 3:9 And be found in him, not having mine own righteousness, which is of the law, but that which is through the faith of Christ, the righteousness which is of God by faith:

Romans 3:21-28 But now the righteousness of God without the law is manifested, being witnessed by the law and the prophets; (22) Even the righteousness of God which is by faith of Jesus Christ unto all and upon all them that believe: for there is no difference: (23) For all have sinned, and come short of the glory of God; (24) Being justified freely by his grace through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus: (25) Whom God hath set forth to be a propitiation through faith in his blood, to declare his righteousness for the remission of sins that are past, through the forbearance of God; (26) To declare, I say, at this time his righteousness: that he might be just, and the justifier of him which believeth in Jesus. (27) Where is boasting then? It is excluded. By what law? of works? Nay: but by the law of faith. (28) Therefore we conclude that a man is justified by faith without the deeds of the law.

C. At this point, let me say that if you lived a perfect, sinless life, you would still die and go to hell for all eternity because you did not come to God through Jesus Christ. (John 14:6) Salvation is not of works according to Ephesians 2:8-9 but salvation is a salvation THAT WORKS according to the bible! I do not work to continue to be saved; I work because I am saved.

D. Once again, let us go to Genesis 2 and look at the first mention of life in Adam.

Genesis 2:7 And the LORD God formed man of the dust of the ground, and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life; and man became a living soul. (Adam became a living soul, not just a living body, through the breath of life from God. Living means more than just physical life. Adam became spiritually alive or a “living soul.” By spiritually alive, I mean that the soul of Adam could not be seen because it is spirit.)

Ecclesiastes 12:7 Then shall the dust return to the earth as it was: and the spirit shall return unto God who gave it.

E. God has eternal life and the breath of God gave to Adam eternal life. His body died 930 years later but Adam remains to this day and will live forever. In John, when speaking of the Word, the scripture sets forth this same principle.

John 1:4 In him was life; and the life was the light of men. (Life can come only from God and the life that God gives is not only life but spiritual light! To declare that there is no God, one must reject the very light of God that makes man so special.)

Luke 3:38 Which was the son of Enos, which was the son of Seth, which was the son of Adam, which was the son of God. (Children carry the attributes of their parents. Eternal life was such an attribute of God given to Adam.)

Genesis 1:24-26 And God said, Let the earth bring forth the living creature after his kind, cattle, and creeping thing, and beast of the earth after his kind: and it was so. (25) And God made the beast of the earth after his kind, and cattle after their kind, and every thing that creepeth upon the earth after his kind: and God saw that it was good. (26) And God said, Let us make man in our image, after our likeness: and let them have dominion over the fish of the sea, and over the fowl of the air, and over the cattle, and over all the earth, and over every creeping thing that creepeth upon the earth. (Notice, in the context, every living thing brings after its kind but—when speaking of the human race—God made man in His image [an image resembles] and likeness [to fashion after or to compare to]. Man is not an animal!!! He is different in his genetics as well as his makeup.)

1 Corinthians 15:38-39 But God giveth it a body as it hath pleased him, and to every seed his own body. (39) All flesh is not the same flesh: but there is one kind of flesh of men, another flesh of beasts, another of fishes, and another of birds.

F. God created Eve in Adam when Adam was formed. Though Eve had not yet been formed from Adam’s rib, she was in Adam.

Genesis 1:27 So God created man in his own image, in the image of God created he him; male and female created he them. (God created Eve when He created Adam.)

Genesis 5:1-2 This is the book of the generations of Adam. In the day that God created man, in the likeness of God made he him; (2) Male and female created he them; and blessed them, and called their name Adam, in the day when they were created. (They were both named Adam until God brought forth Eve. All of our children are also named in Adam until they are brought forth.)

G. Now, I will make a biblical statement that will need a little explaining: life does not begin at conception because life was there before conception. Now, before someone says that I do not believe that the life of a child begins at conception, I do because God gave all of us life through Adam and not one child conceived since Adam and Eve was a mistake or unknown to God. We were all in Adam!

Acts 17:26 And hath made of one blood all nations of men for to dwell on all the face of the earth, and hath determined the times before appointed, and the bounds of their habitation;

H. Now, let us look at the phrase “eternal life”26x and the phrase “life eternal” 4x.

1. First Mention of eternal life is found in the New Testament, Matthew 19:16 And, behold, one came and said unto him, Good Master, what good thing shall I do, that I may have eternal life? (Give up the world, come and follow Christ.)

2. All mankind will remain in one eternal state or the other. Matthew 25:46 And these shall go away into everlasting punishment: but the righteous into life eternal. (Hell and heaven are both eternal.)

3. Eternal Life is a result of believing, not personal merit. John 3:15 That whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have eternal life. (Believing the record of the gospel of Jesus Christ for salvation brings eternal life.)

1 John 5:11 And this is the record, that God hath given to us eternal life, and this life is in his Son.

Romans 6:23 For the wages of sin is death; but the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord.

Titus 3:7 That being justified by his grace, we should be made heirs according to the hope of eternal life.

4. Eternal Life is just that and cannot be lost. John 10:28 And I give unto them eternal life; and they shall never perish, neither shall any man pluck them out of my hand. (Shall never perish is an absolute negative! Never for any reason. Not possible.)

5. Eternal Life comes through a personal faith in the record given in the Word of God. John 5:39 Search the scriptures; for in them ye think ye have eternal life: and they are they which testify of me.

John 6:68 Then Simon Peter answered him, Lord, to whom shall we go? thou hast the words of eternal life. (Faith comes by hearing and hearing by the Word of God [Romans 10:17].)

6. Eternal Life can be assured to the believer. 1 John 5:13 These things have I written unto you that believe on the name of the Son of God; that ye may know that ye have eternal life, and that ye may believe on the name of the Son of God. (Knowing that you are saved eternally is not presumptuous, it is God’s will for His children.)

1 John 2:25 And this is the promise that he hath promised us, even eternal life.

1 John 5:20 And we know that the Son of God is come, and hath given us an understanding, that we may know him that is true, and we are in him that is true, even in his Son Jesus Christ. This is the true God, and eternal life.

7. Eternal Life is the life of God and manifested in the person of our Lord Jesus Christ. 1 John_1:2 (For the life was manifested, and we have seen it, and bear witness, and shew unto you that eternal life, which was with the Father, and was manifested unto us;)