Notes follow the video below for the hearing impaired.
Romans 6:23 KJVS
[23] For the wages of sin is death; but the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord.
John 3:36 KJVS
[36] He that believes on the Son has everlasting life: and he that believes not the Son shall not see life; but the wrath of God abides on him.
This gift is the result of our being born again spiritually when we repent of our sins and ask God to forgive us. At that moment, we are made innocent in the eyes of God, and we inherit eternal life with Jesus. That eternal life means we will enter the presence of God and be there forever to enjoy the glory and blessings found in the New Jerusalem.
Those who do not believe in Jesus will have to face the wrath of God. They will be separated from the presence of God for all eternity and be placed in the place of torment we call hell. There they will suffer torment forever.
Our promise of eternal life in heaven when Jesus returns is the blessed hope of the church of the living God. It is what we just sang about. It is the moment toward which we are anxiously looking, the moment when the glory of Jesus will be revealed to the whole world. We get to become part of that glory because of this gift of eternal life.
When Paul wrote his first letter to the Christians in Corinth, he addressed the issue of doubting that there is a resurrection to live eternally with Christ. Listen to 1 Corinthians 15:20-23 NLT. [20] But in fact, Christ has been raised from the dead. He is the first of a great harvest of all who have died. [21] So you see, just as death came into the world through a man, now the resurrection from the dead has begun through another man. [22] Just as everyone dies because we all belong to Adam, everyone who belongs to Christ will be given new life. [23] But there is an order to this resurrection: Christ was raised as the first of the harvest; then all who belong to Christ will be raised when he comes back.
We looked at how Adam brought spiritual death in our Christmas message. Jesus brought us new spiritual life through his sacrificial death on the cross. When He was buried, Jesus didn’t stay in the tomb. He laid His life down for us, and He took it back up again in newness of life. That different kind of existence and newness waits us at our resurrection, too.
Paul continues his discussion about the resurrection to eternal life with a description of what happens at the resurrection. 1 Corinthians 15:42-44 NLT. [42] It is the same way with the resurrection of the dead. Our earthly bodies are planted in the ground when we die, but they will be raised to live forever. [43] Our bodies are buried in brokenness, but they will be raised in glory. They are buried in weakness, but they will be raised in strength. [44] They are buried as natural human bodies, but they will be raised as spiritual bodies. For just as there are natural bodies, there are also spiritual bodies.
This body we have now is a natural, weak fleshly body. That body will be changed into a spiritual body when we are raised to eternal life with Christ. Here’s why it has to change—
1 Corinthians 15:51-58 KJVS. [51] Behold, I shew you a mystery; We shall not all sleep, but we shall all be changed, [52] In a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trump: for the trumpet shall sound, and the dead shall be raised incorruptible, and we shall be changed. [53] For this corruptible must put on incorruption, and this mortal must put on immortality. [54] So when this corruptible shall have put on incorruption, and this mortal shall have put on immortality, then shall be brought to pass the saying that is written, Death is swallowed up in victory. [55] O death, where is thy sting? O grave, where is thy victory? [56] The sting of death is sin; and the strength of sin is the law. [57] But thanks be to God, which giveth us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ. [58] Therefore, my beloved brethren, be ye stedfast, unmoveable, always abounding in the work of the Lord, forasmuch as ye know that your labour is not in vain in the Lord.
This body in which our spirits now reside cannot live forever. In order to enter an eternal existence with Jesus, we will need a different type of body. That body will be incorruptible, immortal, and like the body Jesus has had since He was raised from the dead.
This gift of eternal life in a new type of spiritual body is something we can look forward to with great expectations. As we mature physically and spiritually, we develop a longing for that eternal life with Christ. Here’s how Paul describes that longing: 2 Corinthians 5:1-10 NLT
[1] For we know that when this earthly tent we live in is taken down (that is, when we die and leave this earthly body), we will have a house in heaven, an eternal body made for us by God himself and not by human hands. [2] We grow weary in our present bodies, and we long to put on our heavenly bodies like new clothing. [3] For we will put on heavenly bodies; we will not be spirits without bodies. [4] While we live in these earthly bodies, we groan and sigh, but it’s not that we want to die and get rid of these bodies that clothe us. Rather, we want to put on our new bodies so that these dying bodies will be swallowed up by life. [5] God himself has prepared us for this, and as a guarantee he has given us his Holy Spirit. [6] So we are always confident, even though we know that as long as we live in these bodies we are not at home with the Lord. [7] For we live by believing and not by seeing. [8] Yes, we are fully confident, and we would rather be away from these earthly bodies, for then we will be at home with the Lord. [9] So whether we are here in this body or away from this body, our goal is to please him. [10] For we must all stand before Christ to be judged. We will each receive whatever we deserve for the good or evil we have done in this earthly body.
Christians don’t seek to end this life because of our emotional ties to family and friends, our goals to accomplish certain things, and our desire to achieve as much as possible while we are still here. We typically want to live as long as we can. However, we do look forward to the day when we will be changed to live forever with Jesus.
If you have not received that gift of eternal life yet, you can do that today. Eternal life is promised to everyone who puts their faith in Jesus. Everyone who repents of their wrongdoings and unkind words and asks for forgiveness will be forgiven by God. When that happens, your spirit is placed back into right relationship with God as you are born again spiritually. At that moment, you inherit the gift of eternal life with Jesus.
If you have questions about eternal life and forgiveness from sin, please contact us. We are available to help you find answers as they are found in the Bible.