Tag eternity

What is Grace pt5, it brings ETERNAL life.

The Preacher Leave a comment

“For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God.”

(Eph 2:8)

“But we believe that through the grace of the Lord Jesus Christ we shall be saved, even as they.” (Acts 15:11)

“For the grace of God that bringeth salvation hath appeared to all men,” (Titus 2:11)

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

Grace is the gift of God that brings us Eternal Life. “For the wages of sin is death; but the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord” (Romans 6:23).

It may be helpful to some, as it is me, to think about the grace of God that enables us to have ETERNAL life.

First, we need to explain what ETERNAL means, (I know, but some “scholars” try to tell us it doesn’t mean what we think it means). It means EVERLASTING; perpetual, forever, ongoing. We look forward to a time when we can live with the Lord forever and ever.  

How to attain to Eternal life is TAUGHT by the Word of Christ. “Then Simon Peter answered him, Lord, to whom shall we go? thou hast the words of eternal life” (Joh 6:68). “Labour not for the meat which perisheth, but for that meat which endureth unto everlasting life” (John 6:27). “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). “Search the scriptures; for in them ye think ye have eternal life: and they are they which testify of me” (John 5:39). We would know nothing about it separate and apart from the revealed will of God in the Scriptures.

Eternal life is our lifelong EXPECTATION of hope that is in Christ. “And this is the promise that he hath promised us, even eternal life” (1John 2:25). “In hope of eternal life, which God, that cannot lie, promised before the world began” (Titus 1:2; 3:7). “To them who by patient continuance in well doing seek for glory and honour and immortality, eternal life” (Romans 2:7). Without eternal life, where is the hope?

Eternal life is for the RIGHTEOUS as defined by God. “And these shall go away into everlasting punishment: but the righteous into life eternal” (Matt 25:46). “That as sin hath reigned unto death, even so might grace reign through righteousness unto eternal life by Jesus Christ our Lord” (Rom 5:21). We are made righteous through the blood of Christ when we are baptized into Christ (Rom 5:9; Rev 1:5).

There is a NEGATIVE aspect to eternal life. The same length of eternity that awaits those that are in Christ also awaits those who are outside of Christ. The difference will be location. “Then shall he say also unto them on the left hand, Depart from me, ye cursed, into everlasting fire, prepared for the devil and his angels” (Matt 25:41-46). “But he that shall blaspheme against the Holy Ghost hath never forgiveness, but is in danger of eternal damnation” (Mark 3:29). “Who shall be punished with everlasting destruction from the presence of the Lord, and from the glory of his power” (2Thess 1:9). “Even as Sodom and Gomorrha, and the cities about them in like manner, giving themselves over to fornication, and going after strange flesh, are set forth for an example, suffering the vengeance of eternal fire” (Jude 1:7). Some will claim that the lost will be annihilated; the scriptures teach something different.

Back to the positive aspects of eternal life. We can be ASSURED of eternal life by our faithfulness to Christ. “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” (1John 5:13). When our faith begins to waver, perhaps it’s an indication of a need to study His word, examine ourselves, and make correction so we may return to that confidence we have in Christ. “And now, little children, abide in him; that, when he shall appear, we may have confidence, and not be ashamed before him at his coming” (1John 2:28; cf Heb 3:14; 10:22).

We can LAY HOLD of eternal life; “Fight the good fight of faith, lay hold on eternal life, whereunto thou art also called, and hast professed a good profession before many witnesses… Laying up in store for themselves a good foundation against the time to come, that they may lay hold on eternal life.” (1Tim 6:12, 19). This is done when we remain in the LOVE of Christ. “Keep yourselves in the love of God, looking for the mercy of our Lord Jesus Christ unto eternal life” (Jude 1:21). We love God when we keep His commandments. “For this is the love of God, that we keep his commandments: and his commandments are not grievous” (1John 5:3; cf John 14:15). The New Testament Scriptures are consistent on this point. “For he that soweth to his flesh shall of the flesh reap corruption; but he that soweth to the Spirit shall of the Spirit reap life everlasting” (Gal 6:8). “And being made perfect, he became the author of eternal salvation unto all them that obey him” (Heb 5:9).

Spencer

If you are in the Borger area and would like to attend one of the services of the church of Christ at Franklin and Juniper, click here for location, and time.

Where will you spend your eternity?

The Preacher Leave a comment
The Destiny of Man
Keith Sharp | Mountain Home, Arkansas, USA
Introduction
September 11, 2001, the world watched in horror as terrorists took the lives of almost 3000 people. Thousands of people like us, who hours earlier were beginning a normal work day with no hint of significant danger, were suddenly face to face with their eternal destinies. For many souls who moments earlier were absorbed with job, family, and pleasure, now only one thing mattered – were they right with God? Surely this should cause us to think. Our lives too, in any of a thousand different ways, could be instantly snuffed out. Each of us must face the destiny of his soul. In comparison to this, all other concerns shrink to utter insignificance.
For what profit is it to a man if he gains the whole world, and loses his own soul? Or what 
will a man give in exchange for his soul? For the Son of Man will come in the glory of His 
Father with His angels, and then He will reward each according to his works 
(Matthew 16:26-27).
What is your destiny?
 
Life
To the young, life seems endless; but both the inspired Word of God and the experience of the aged confirm that our time here is but a fleeting moment. “As for man, his days are like grass; as a flower of the field, so he flourishes. For the wind passes over it, and it is gone, and its place remembers it no more” (Psalm 103:15-16).
 
Furthermore, human life is so terribly uncertain. While you anticipate many years of work and pleasure, your life could be ended in an instant, as quickly and unpredictably as the vanishing of the morning fog.
Come now, you who say, ‘Today or tomorrow we will go to such and such a city, spend 
a year there, buy and sell, and make a profit’; whereas you do not know what will 
happen tomorrow. For what is your life? It is even a vapor that appears for a little time 
and then vanishes away. Instead you ought to say, ‘If the Lord wills, we shall live and 
do this or that’ (James 4:13-15).
 
We must also realize there will be no second chance after death to make corrections for a misspent life. “For we must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ, that each one may receive the things done in the body, according to what he has done, whether good or bad” (2 Corinthians 5:10).
 
Death
As you consider your life, be realistic. Death is certain. “It is appointed for men to die once, but after this the judgment” (Hebrews 9:27).
 
The only alternative is the possibility the Lord may return while we are still alive.
Behold, I tell you a mystery: We shall not all sleep, but we shall all be changed– in a moment, 
in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trumpet. For the trumpet will sound, and the dead will 
be raised incorruptible, and we shall be changed (1 Corinthians 15:51-52).
Spend your small amount of time here preparing for destiny.
 
After Death
After death, what then? The spirits of all the dead enter a realm known in the Hebrew tongue as “Sheol” and in the Greek as “Hades.” David prophesied the resurrection of Christ thus: “For you will not leave my soul in hades, nor will you allow your holy one to see corruption” (cf. Acts 2:27). Thus, the apostle Peter explained, “He, foreseeing this, spoke concerning the resurrection of the Christ, that His soul was not left in Hades, nor did His flesh see corruption (Acts 2:31). This realm is variously defined as “the common receptacle of disembodied spirits,” “the unseen world,” or simply “the abode of the dead.”
 
There are two places within this realm. One is “Paradise,” where the blessed dead are comforted. As the Lord promised the thief, “Assuredly, I say to you, today you will be with Me in Paradise” (Luke 23:43). The other realm is “torments” where the lost departed spirits suffer. The Master said the rich man was “in torments in Hades” (Luke 16:23). These places are separated by a “great gulf” over which none can cross. When the rich man wanted Abraham to send Lazarus to comfort him, Abraham reminded him, “between us and you there is a great gulf fixed, so that those who want to pass from here to you cannot, nor can those from there pass to us (Luke 16:26).
 
Judgment Day
Then follows our unbreakable appointment with the Day of days. There have been many great days in human history. Americans remember Independence Day, July 4, 1776. Now September 11, 2001 has exceeded December 7,1941, Pearl Harbor Day, as “a day that will live in infamy.” But there is coming a day, “the judgment of the great day,” (Jude verse 6) which shall completely exceed all other days of all time.
 
On that monumental day, all the people, both good and bad, of all ages shall come forth from the grave. Christ warned:
Do not marvel at this; for the hour is coming in which all who are in the graves will hear 
His voice and come forth–those who have done good, to the resurrection of life, and 
those who have done evil, to the resurrection of condemnation (John 5:28-29)!
Abraham and Sarah shall arise from Machpelah. Moses shall come forth from the unknown wilderness grave across from Beth Peor. The oceans shall deliver up the countless millions buried within. The righteous dead shall burst forth from the grave with the shout of victory. All, all from Adam down, shall be raised! All the peoples of all the nations of the earth, including you, my friend, will stand before the Lord to be judged.
When the Son of Man comes in His glory, and all the holy angels with Him, then He will sit 
on the throne of His glory. All the nations will be gathered before Him, and He will separate 
them one from another, as a shepherd divides his sheep from the goats. And He will 
set the sheep on His right hand, but the goats on the left (Matthew 25:31-33).
 
The Judgment
Christ will be the Judge. “For the Father judges no one, but has committed all judgment to the Son” (John 5:22).
 
His Word will be the standard of judgment. “He who rejects Me, and does not receive My words, has that which judges him–the word that I have spoken will judge him in the last day” (John 12:48). Reject His tender plea now if you will, but by that same Gospel your destiny will be sealed.
 
Eternity
On that day time will end and future eternity will begin. “And these will go away into everlasting punishment, but the righteous into eternal life” (Matthew 25:46).
 
Eternity – what does it mean? Actually, in human terms it is undefinable because it is infinite (unlimited), whereas all within our experience is finite (limited). But, to crudely illustrate its vast sweep, suppose that a tiny house fly were to scrape a minute particle of dust up on one of his little wings and begin the 92,900,000 mile journey to the sun at the rate of one mile per hour, deposit the particle, return to the earth at the same slow pace, and continue this process until the entirety of our globe, all six sextillion (6 followed by 27 zeros) tons of it, were transported to the sun. How would this compare with eternity? About like the snap of your finger compares to all human history from Adam to the present. And the comparison is inadequate, because, despite the enormity of the time involved, it is finite, not infinite.
 
Hell
If you have not prepared for destiny, you will spend that eternity in a horrible devil’s hell. “And do not fear those who kill the body but cannot kill the soul. But rather fear Him who is able to destroy both soul and body in hell” (Matthew 10:28).
 
The punishment will be terrible beyond human power to describe. Those miserable wretches so utterly condemned will burn without ceasing, with never any hope of relief. “And the smoke of their torment ascends forever and ever; and they have no rest day or night” (Revelation 14:11). There will be weeping and gnashing of teeth (Matthew 25:30). Their companions forever will be the wicked of the earth.
But the cowardly, unbelieving, abominable, murderers, sexually immoral, sorcerers, idolaters, 
and all liars shall have their part in the lake which burns with fire and brimstone, which is 
the second death (Revelation 21:8).
“But outside are dogs and sorcerers and sexually immoral and murderers and idolaters, and whoever loves and practices a lie” (Revelation 22:15). Man’s vicious adversary, Satan, and his angels will be their companions. “Then He will also say to those on the left hand, ‘Depart from Me, you cursed, into the everlasting fire prepared for the devil and his angels’” (Matthew 25:41).
 
Heaven
On the other hand, if you have prepared to meet your destiny, the beauty of an eternal inheritance in Heaven will await you.
Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who according to His abundant 
mercy has begotten us again to a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ 
from the dead, to an inheritance incorruptible and undefiled and that does not fade away, 
reserved in heaven for you, who are kept by the power of God through faith for salvation 
ready to be revealed in the last time (1 Peter 1:3-5).
 
What joy to spend eternity in that sweet home where we shall never again face the suffering of disease, the heartache of death, or the tears of departure. The loving Father shall tenderly comfort His children forever and ever. “And God will wipe away every tear from their eyes; there shall be no more death, nor sorrow, nor crying. There shall be no more pain, for the former things have passed away” (Revelation 21:4).
 
He shall be our light throughout endless ages, and the curse of sin will be forever lifted. “There shall be no night there: They need no lamp nor light of the sun, for the Lord God gives them light. And they shall reign forever and ever” (Revelation 22:5).
 
How blessed to be in the very presence of God, His Son, our beloved Savior, and the Holy Spirit. “God Himself will be with them and be their God” (Revelation 21:3). “And there shall be no more curse, but the throne of God and of the Lamb shall be in it, and His servants shall serve Him (Revelation 22:3; cf. 1 Peter 1:12). The angels of God will be our companions, for they too are “in heaven” (Matthew 22:30). How delightful to walk and talk with Abraham, Moses, Ruth, Esther, Mary, Paul, Peter, and all the great men and women of faith from every age. Don’t you long to go there?
 
Conclusion
Eternity is the common destiny of Adam’s race. Where you spend that eternity is your decision. It depends on what you do with Christ and His Word. You can believe in Him, obey Him, and give your life to Him, and your eternal destiny will be the wonderful joy of heaven. Or you can refuse Him and His Word and suffer forever in hell. Where will you spend eternity?