How Eternal Is Your Life?
Tony Nester
1 John 5:11-13
06-01-03
There's an automobile bumper sticker that reads:
"Eat Right, Exercise, Die Anyway."
That's a bit of cynicism that's tries to deflate all
of our efforts to protect and secure our life on this
earth forever. Psychologists tell us that even though
we know in our heads that we are going to die we deny
the reality of that thought in our hearts. We get up
every morning, and unless we are critically ill, we
simply can't believe that this could be our last day
on earth - which, of course, it might be.
We put a lot of effort and money into staying in the
best shape possible - we diet, we exercise, we take
medications, we undergo surgeries, we replace parts of
our bodies, and we use all sorts of anti-aging creams
and lotions. Nevertheless, that bumper sticker haunts
us: we can eat right, we can exercise, but we're
going to die anyway.
What does the Bible say about life and death? Let's
look at four verses from the Letter we call "1 John" -
(1 John 5:11-13 NRSV) "And this is the testimony: God
gave us eternal life, and this life is in his Son.
{12} Whoever has the Son has life; whoever does not
have the Son of God does not have life. {13} I write
these things to you who believe in the name of the Son
of God, so that you may know that you have eternal
life."
John's Gospel and Letters are full of Life - the Life
that conquers death. In verse 13 John tells us that
he wrote these scriptures "so that you may know that
you have eternal life."
Here's what John teaches us about eternal life.
Firstly - eternal life is a gift. "And this is the
testimony: God GAVE us eternal life..."
I've found that most people never think of eternal
life as a gift given by God.
Some people, for example, think that human beings have
within them an invisible, immortal soul. They think
that when their physical body dies, their invisible
s ...
Tony Nester
1 John 5:11-13
06-01-03
There's an automobile bumper sticker that reads:
"Eat Right, Exercise, Die Anyway."
That's a bit of cynicism that's tries to deflate all
of our efforts to protect and secure our life on this
earth forever. Psychologists tell us that even though
we know in our heads that we are going to die we deny
the reality of that thought in our hearts. We get up
every morning, and unless we are critically ill, we
simply can't believe that this could be our last day
on earth - which, of course, it might be.
We put a lot of effort and money into staying in the
best shape possible - we diet, we exercise, we take
medications, we undergo surgeries, we replace parts of
our bodies, and we use all sorts of anti-aging creams
and lotions. Nevertheless, that bumper sticker haunts
us: we can eat right, we can exercise, but we're
going to die anyway.
What does the Bible say about life and death? Let's
look at four verses from the Letter we call "1 John" -
(1 John 5:11-13 NRSV) "And this is the testimony: God
gave us eternal life, and this life is in his Son.
{12} Whoever has the Son has life; whoever does not
have the Son of God does not have life. {13} I write
these things to you who believe in the name of the Son
of God, so that you may know that you have eternal
life."
John's Gospel and Letters are full of Life - the Life
that conquers death. In verse 13 John tells us that
he wrote these scriptures "so that you may know that
you have eternal life."
Here's what John teaches us about eternal life.
Firstly - eternal life is a gift. "And this is the
testimony: God GAVE us eternal life..."
I've found that most people never think of eternal
life as a gift given by God.
Some people, for example, think that human beings have
within them an invisible, immortal soul. They think
that when their physical body dies, their invisible
s ...
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