Eternal Life
What is it and how do you get it?
The Bible says that eternal life is knowing God (John 17:3). Yes, heaven is a real place, but eternal life is more than just heaven; eternal life begins while still on the earth. A person either has a relationship with God or they don’t. Eternal life is having a relationship with God. So if a person doesn’t have eternal life, they don’t have a relationship with God, thus are spiritually dead.
Check out these verses: John 3:16; 1 John 5:11-13
All people have sinned (imperfection, disobedience to God), and this sin separates humans from God so that they can’t have a relationship with God. That means God is not in their life on this earth and hey, if they don’t have a relationship with God now, then they won’t when they die, thus they’ll have to go to hell.
Check out these verses: Romans 3:23; Romans 6:23; Isaiah 59:2
God loves everyone and he wants to have a relationship with all people, so he sent his Son, Jesus, to this earth to pay for sin. Jesus was perfect, so he didn’t have to pay for his own sin; and that’s why he was able to be the sacrifice for all sin when he died on the cross. Three days after he died on the cross he rose again, and appeared to many people over a period of 40 days before he went back to heaven. If a person believes in Jesus and turns their life over to him then they will receive eternal life. That is, they will be made alive spiritually. They will have God in their life on this earth and when they die they will go to heaven to live with God forever.
Check out these verses: John 3:16; Romans 5:8; 1 Corinthians 15:3-8; Romans 10:9
Have I been good enough to get it?
NO!!! It doesn’t matter how good you are or how bad you’re not, you can’t earn your way to heaven. God says the payment for sin is death. That means no matter how good you are, if you’ve ever committed one sin, then you’re disqualified from eternal life. So, you can try and be a good person and see where that gets you, but it’s not going to get you eternal life.
Check out these verses: Romans 3:20; Romans 6:23; John 3:18
Religion is man’s effort to get to God—but, it doesn’t work. Christianity is different—Christianity says that man can’t do anything to get to God, but God has already done the work through Jesus.
Check out these verses: 2 Corinthians 5:21; 1 Peter 3:18
A person has to realize that they are helpless and they can’t save themselves; instead they simply need to believe in Jesus and what he has already done to save them. The Bible says that eternal life is a free gift, so all a person has to do is accept it by believing in Jesus and turning their life over to him, quitting trying to do good works to earn eternal life and simply letting God do a good work in them.
Check out these verses: Ephesians 2:8-10