Today I’ve entitled our message “Do You Have Eternal Life?” God has placed in the heart of every person the desire to live forever.
Ecclesiastes 3:11b (ESV) … He has put eternity into man’s heart.
What is eternal life? Eternal life is not just eternal existence. The spirits of every human being ever created will exist forever. Eternal life according to the Bible is life with God forever and ever in heaven. The other option is eternal death, which is eternal torment in hell without God. Each person at the end of their physical life goes to one or the other existence, eternal life or eternal death.
So how to have eternal life is a question of the utmost importance. There are two main ideas of how to have eternal life. Majority of Americans believe that if you’re a good person, you will go to heaven and have eternal life. According to God’s Word, the belief that being good will get you to heaven is false.
Ephesians 2:8-9 (ESV) For by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God, not a result of works, so that no one may boast.
This verse tells us that a person is not saved by doing good things. People are saved by receiving God’s gift of eternal life through faith. The second idea of how to have eternal life is given in that verse, through faith. However, is faith enough to have eternal life?
James 2:17 (ESV) So also faith by itself, if it does not have works, is dead.
This verse and others in the book of James indicates that faith and works must go together. As we read the Bible carefully, we see that good works are the evidence of genuine faith. True faith will always lead to good works.
Ephesians 2:10 (ESV) For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand, that we should walk in them.
This verse tells us that when someone is created in Christ Jesus, that is saved, their purpose is to do good works. If someone claims to be a Christian, to have faith, but there is no evidence or fruit of good works, then there is reason to doubt that person has eternal life. Good works therefore are a test of whether someone’s faith is genuine.
Today, we’re going to learn how Jesus answered the question – What must I do to have eternal life? In His answer, He will bring together the aspects of faith as it relates to God. And the aspect of good works, as it relates to other people. It will help us answer the question “do I have eternal life” for ourselves. And it will help us discern whether those around us have eternal life.