Everlasting Life

Greetings in the name of Jesus! This is Rob Haymes. This is 15 Minutes with Jesus. God bless you, everyone who is reading this. Today we’re going to talk about Everlasting Life. Let’s turn to John 1:1-17,  In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was in the beginning with God. All things were made through Him, and without Him nothing was made that was made. In Him was life, and the life was the light of men. And the light shines in the darkness, and the darkness did not comprehend it. There was a man sent from God, whose name was John. This man came for a witness, to bear witness of the Light, that all through him might believe. He was not that Light, but was sent to bear witness of that Light. That was the true Light which gives light to every man coming into the world. He was in the world, and the world was made through Him, and the world did not know Him. He came to His own, and His own did not receive Him. But as many as received Him, to them He gave the right to become children of God, to those who believe in His name: who were born, not of blood, nor of the will of the flesh, nor of the will of man, but of God. And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us, and we beheld His glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the Father, full of grace and truth. John bore witness of Him and cried out, saying, This was He of whom I said, He who comes after me is preferred before me, for He was before me. And of His fullness we have all received, and grace for grace. For the law was given through Moses, but grace and truth came through Jesus Christ. Let’s go to John 3:1-21, There was a man of the Pharisees named Nicodemus, a ruler of the Jews. This man came to Jesus by night and said to Him, Rabbi, we know that You are a teacher come from God; for no one can do these signs that You do unless God is with him. Jesus answered and said to him, Most assuredly, I say to you, unless one is born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God. Nicodemus said to Him, How can a man be born when he is old? Can he enter a second time into his mother's womb and be born? Jesus answered, Most assuredly, I say to you, unless one is born of water and the Spirit, he cannot enter the kingdom of God. That which is born of the flesh is flesh, and that which is born of the Spirit is spirit. Do not marvel that I said to you, You must be born again. The wind blows where it wishes, and you hear the sound of it, but cannot tell where it comes from and where it goes. So is everyone who is born of the Spirit. Nicodemus answered and said to Him, How can these things be? Jesus answered and said to him, Are you the teacher of Israel, and do not know these things? Most assuredly, I say to you, We speak what We know and testify what We have seen, and you do not receive Our witness. If I have told you earthly things and you do not believe, how will you believe if I tell you heavenly things? No one has ascended to Heaven but He who came down from Heaven, that is, the Son of Man who is in Heaven. And as Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, even so must the Son of Man be lifted up, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have eternal life. For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life. For God did not send His Son into the world to condemn the world, but that the world through Him might be saved. He who believes in Him is not condemned; but he who does not believe is condemned already, because he has not believed in the name of the only begotten Son of God. And this is the condemnation, that the light has come into the world, and men loved darkness rather than light, because their deeds were evil. For everyone practicing evil hates the light and does not come to the light, lest his deeds should be exposed. But he who does the truth comes to the light, that his deeds may be clearly seen, that they have been done in God. Verse 36, He who believes in the Son has everlasting life; and he who does not believe the Son shall not see life, but the wrath of God abides on him. Let’s go to 1 John 1:1-6, That which was from the beginning, which we have heard, which we have seen with our eyes, which we have looked upon, and our hands have handled, concerning the Word of life—the life was manifested, and we have seen, and bear witness, and declare to you that eternal life which was with the Father and was manifested to us—that which we have seen and heard we declare to you, that you also may have fellowship with us; and truly our fellowship is with the Father and with His Son Jesus Christ. And these things we write to you that your joy may be full. This is the message which we have heard from Him and declare to you, that God is light and in Him is no darkness at all. If we say that we have fellowship with Him, and walk in darkness, we lie and do not practice the truth. But if we walk in the light as He is in the light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus Christ His Son cleanses us from all sin. If we say that we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us. If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness. If we say that we have not sinned, we make Him a liar, and His Word is not in us. Chapter 2, verses 1&2, My little children, these things I write to you, so that you may not sin. And if anyone sins, we have an Advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous. And He Himself is the propitiation for our sins, and not for ours only but also for the whole world. Let’s go to chapter 5, verses 11-13, And this is the testimony: that God has given us eternal life, and this life is in His Son. He who has the Son has life; he who does not have the Son of God does not have life. These things I have written to you who believe in the name of the Son of God, that you may know that you have eternal life, and that you may continue to believe in the name of the Son of God. Rom 6:20-23, For when you were slaves of sin, you were free in regard to righteousness. What fruit did you have then in the things of which you are now ashamed? For the end of those things is death. But now having been set free from sin, and having become slaves of God, you have your fruit to holiness, and the end, everlasting life. For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord. 

We were dead in trespasses and sins; the wages of sin is death. Jesus came that He might taste death for every man; that He might take away our sins through the sacrifice of Himself. He gave Himself for our sins upon the Cross. He loved us and washed us from our sins in His own Blood, He who knew no sin, though He lived as a man, as we are, tempted in every way, yet without sin. The Father loved us, and He is not willing that any should perish, but that all should come to repentance and be saved from death. So, in His great love for us, He gave His only begotten Son to give His sinless life for us on the Cross; to die for our sins; to take them all away, that whosoever lives and believes in Him; believes in His sacrifice, might not perish, but have everlasting life. Col 2:13, And you, being dead in your trespasses and the uncircumcision of your flesh, He has made alive together with Him, having forgiven you all trespasses. God made Him who knew no sin to become sin on our behalf, that we might be made the righteousness of God in Him; that’s IN HIM. For we know that the Son of God has come, and has given us an understanding, that we may know Him who is true; and we are in Him who is true, in His Son Jesus Christ. This is the true God and eternal life. We are crucified with Christ through faith and water baptism; buried with Him, and raised together with Him- a new creation in Him, to serve God in the newness of the Spirit, and not in the oldness of the letter, being made righteous by faith in His shed Blood. Eph 2:4-8, But God, who is rich in mercy, because of His great love with which He loved us, even when we were dead in trespasses, made us alive together with Christ (by grace you have been saved), and raised us up together, and made us sit together in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus, that in the ages to come He might show the exceeding riches of His grace in His kindness toward us in Christ Jesus. For by grace you have been saved through faith, and that not of yourselves; it is the gift of God.

Daniel 12:2,  And many of those who sleep in the dust of the Earth shall awake, Some to everlasting life, Some to shame and everlasting contempt.  Everlasting life is only in Jesus. Because we are sons, God has sent the Spirit of His Son into our hearts crying, Abba, Father. If we are born again-born from above, Christ is in us, and He is the hope of glory; the hope of the resurrection and the life, if we continue in Him and be not moved away from that hope. Hebrews 10:26-31 speaks plainly of a certain fearful looking for of judgment and fiery indignation which shall devour those who sin willfully after they have received the knowledge of the truth. Anyone who has rejected Moses' law dies without mercy on the testimony of two or three witnesses. Of how much worse punishment, do you suppose, will he be thought worthy who has trampled the Son of God underfoot, counted the blood of the covenant by which he was sanctified a common thing, and insulted the Spirit of grace? For we know Him who said, vengeance is mine, I will repay, says the Lord. And again, The Lord will judge His people. It is a fearful thing to fall into the hands of the living God. 

The answer, once again, is love. God so loved us that He gave His beloved Son Jesus on the Cross for our sins, to take away our sins, and to bring us into eternal life with Him: into everlasting righteousness, peace, and joy. Greater love has no man than this: that a man lay down his life for his friends, as Jesus laid down His life for us: He loved us and washed us from our sins in His own Blood. He said if we love Him, we will keep His commandments, and His commandments are not grievous. Beloved, if God so loved us, we also ought to love Him, and keep His commandment to love one another. If we love God, we will want to please Him; we will fear Him and seek to do His will every day, laying down our lives for Him and one another; denying ourselves, taking up our cross, and following Jesus. He will lead us by His Holy Spirit. However, if our hearts are full of self-love, love of pleasure, love of money, and love of the world, the love of the Father is not in us and we will not be continuing in Jesus’ Words. We will surely fall away into condemnation and everlasting contempt, unless we repent and turn from our own way and come back to Christ, to truly lay down our life and follow Him. In Mat 18:8, Jesus said, If your hand or foot causes you to sin, cut it off and cast it from you. It is better for you to enter into life lame or maimed, rather than having two hands or two feet, to be cast into the everlasting fire. It’s not your foot or your hand that causes you to sin, but rather, it’s the condition of your heart-the things in your heart, that move your feet and your hands to sin. Jesus was showing how serious this is! We must deal with these things, purifying our souls by obeying the truth through the Spirit, His Word is truth. If this is you, cry out to God now with all your heart and confess your sins to Him; ask Him to change you and cleanse you and create in you a clean heart, and fill you with His righteousness, peace, and joy! Keep on asking; keep on seeking Him. He said, He that seeks after righteousness shall be filled. For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.

Mat 25:31-46, 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. 

Then the King will say to those on His right hand, Come, you blessed of My Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world: for I was hungry and you gave Me food; I was thirsty and you gave Me drink; I was a stranger and you took Me in; I was naked and you clothed Me; I was sick and you visited Me; I was in prison and you came to Me. Then the righteous will answer Him, saying, Lord, when did we see You hungry and feed You, or thirsty and give You drink? When did we see You a stranger and take You in, or naked and clothe You? Or when did we see You sick, or in prison, and come to You? And the King will answer and say to them, Assuredly, I say to you, inasmuch as you did it to one of the least of these My brethren, you did it to Me. 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: for I was hungry and you gave Me no food; I was thirsty and you gave Me no drink; I was a stranger and you did not take Me in, naked and you did not clothe Me, sick and in prison and you did not visit Me. Then they also will answer Him, saying, Lord, when did we see You hungry or thirsty or a stranger or naked or sick or in prison, and did not minister to You? Then He will answer them, saying, Assuredly, I say to you, inasmuch as you did not do it to one of the least of these, you did not do it to Me. And these will go away into everlasting punishment, but the righteous into eternal life. 1John 3:14-19,  We know that we have passed from death to life, because we love the brethren. He who does not love his brother abides in death. Whoever hates his brother is a murderer, and you know that no murderer has eternal life abiding in him. By this we know love, because He laid down His life for us. And we also ought to lay down our lives for the brethren. But whoever has this world's goods, and sees his brother in need, and shuts up his heart from him, how does the love of God abide in him? My little children, let us not love in word or in tongue, but in deed and in truth. And by this we know that we are of the truth, and shall assure our hearts before Him.