“This is the record, that God hath given to us eternal life and this
life is in His Son. He that hath the Son hath life; and he that hath
not the Son of God, hath not life” (I John 5:11, 12).
An old
gentleman lay on his death bed. He had been a church member since
childhood. All his life, he had faithfully worked in the church. He
thought he was saved and ready to meet God.
He had just learned
that salvation cannot be earned or merited by good character and
religion, but that it is a gift, and that to have it, one must receive
the Lord Jesus Christ. And now, when the light dawned upon the old
gentleman, he realized that his lifetime of religious activity availed
him nothing and that despite it, he was not ready to die. He had
religion, but he didn’t have eternal life.
With trembling lips, he
spoke of the dreadful fact that he was a good church member—but lost.
Friend, are you religious—but lost?
Eternal life does not mean
everlasting existence. All have that, including the devil, demons, and
fallen angels. You do not have eternal life unless you have received the
Lord Jesus Christ, but you do have endless existence, which means you
will live on forever, in Heaven or Hell. When you receive the Son of God
as your Lord and Savior, your sins are forgiven, you are saved from
Hell, and you have the promise of a home in Heaven. But eternal life
means more than all this; it means you become a “partaker of the divine
nature” (II Peter 1:4)— you become a child of God. Eternal life is the
new life that God gives to all who are willing to receive His Son. It
is the life of God imparted to man.
Eternal Life Is Presented as a Gift
“This is the record, that God hath given to us eternal life.” You
cannot buy it, for “the wages of sin is death; but the gift of God is
eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord” (Romans 6:23).
You say,
“I think if I behave myself and am faithful to my religion, I’ll go to
Heaven.” But God says, “Not by works of righteousness which we have
done, but according to His mercy He saved us” (Titus 3:5).
It is
bad manners to insist on paying for a gift. Suppose you invite me to a
delicious steak dinner. Now, if I should insist on paying the bill
(which I wouldn’t), you would tell me to take a course in etiquette.
God is offering you His salvation as a gift. Yet some of you dear
readers who pride yourselves on your exceptional education, your perfect
manners, your polish, and culture, are positively rude to God. You are
very careful to be courteous to your fellowmen. Yet, you refuse to
receive the gift of eternal life from the hands of a merciful God. You
insult Him by trying to pay, with your good deeds, for the salvation He
so graciously offers. It is the height of ill manners!
An old man
with whom I was dealing said to me, “I’m afraid . . . I’m afraid that my
bad deeds outweighed my good deeds.” I said, “Mister, even if your good
deeds had outweighed your bad deeds, you would not have the slightest
chance of going to Heaven.”
That startled him. He looked at me in
utter amazement. He thought if his good deeds outweighed his bad deeds,
all would be well. Multiplied thousands believe the same thing. He
thought he could earn, or buy, or merit eternal life by his goodness.
After I showed him that salvation is a gift, he bowed his head and
received the Lord Jesus Christ.
“For by grace are ye saved through
faith; and that not of yourselves; it is the gift of God: Not of works,
lest any man should boast” (Ephesians 2:8-9).
Eternal Life Is Presented In A Person
“And this life is in His Son,” . . . not in religion, not in a lodge,
not in your morality, but a Person, in God’s Son! The One who died for
your sins rose again and is now seated at God’s right hand, exalted as
Lord. “He that hath the Son hath life” (I John 5:12).
“He that hath
not the Son of God hath not life.” You may belong to a church and enter
into all the ceremonies of religion. You may be a decent, respectable
citizen. You may even believe in God, but the solemn truth is this: If
you do not have God’s Son if you have never received Him, you do not
have eternal life. You are still lost, still guilty before God, and
headed for judgment and Hell.
Make sure you have the Son; without Him, there is no hope, no matter how good and religious you may be.
“He that believeth not the Son shall not see life; but the wrath of God
abideth on Him” (John 3:36). You can settle this most critical matter
now by receiving the Lord Jesus Christ. Tell Him you trust Him now. God
will give you eternal life when you, by faith, accept His Son, but not
before. “As many as received Him, to them gave He power to become the
children of God” (John 1:12).
Religious - But Lost!
We were conducting a second series of meetings in a particular church. A
lady said to me, “I had been a member of this church for twenty-six
years, and I thought I was on my way to Heaven, but during the meetings
you had here last year, my eyes were opened. I realized I had never been
saved, and shortly after the meetings closed, I asked our pastor to
lead me to Christ.” A baptized church member believed in God, went
through the forms of religion, and was on her way to Hell!
Thank
God she saw the truth, admitted she was lost and received the Lord Jesus
Christ. Had she died during those twenty-six years, she would have gone
to Hell as surely as if she had never gone to a church. And this is
also true of you if you have not been born again. She was a church
member and had religion, but she didn’t have the Son. There will be
thousands of baptized church members in Hell. What about you?
Eternal Life Is The Present Possession of All Who Have The Son
“He
that hath the Son hath life.” Notice that verse does not say you will
get eternal life when you die, or at the judgment, or in Heaven, but
right now. “Hath” means that you have eternal life the moment you have
the Lord Jesus Christ.
God does not put you on probation when you receive His Son—He gives you eternal life!
There is no such thing as having eternal life apart from the Son.
Neither is it possible to have the Son without having eternal life. If
you have the Son, you have eternal life. If you have eternal life, it is
because you have the Son.
If you receive the Lord Jesus Christ by
faith, God will blot out your sins, save you from coming judgment, and
you will become His child. You will be on your way to Heaven, ready to
die, ready to live, and ready should the Lord return for His own before
you die.
Settle this vital matter now, friend, while your heart is
tender, and the Spirit of God is striving with you. Now is the accepted
time. Today is the day of salvation. Tomorrow may be too late. Use the
prayer on the back to take this step.
by Paul Levin
