Good morning,
Who will be given eternal life?
John 3:16 tells us that God loves the world that he created. It also tells us that he gave his only Son and that everyone who believes in him will not perish but have eternal life. In verse 17 we are told God sent his Son into the world not to judge the world, but to save the world through him. Then in verse 18 he begins, “There is no judgment against anyone who believes in him. Then from there till the end of verse 20 we are told that anyone that refuses to believe in him is doomed. He is clearly telling us about Jesus, but we have only known Jesus as the son of God for the last 2,000 years. What does it mean that we believe in him? The Old Testament that was written before he came, is filled with stories of people who pleased God and were part of God’s eternal family. How did they get saved? As we read the last book in the Bible, The Apostle John tells us of being taken into heaven and seeing leaders and angels around Jesus singing things like, For you were slaughtered, and your blood has ransomed people for God from every tribe and language and people and nation.(Rev.5:9) Is it true that God the Father and Jesus the Son have loved all the people for all of time from beginning to end? A little further on in the same book we read, After this I saw a vast crowd, too great to count, from every nation and tribe and people and language, standing in front of the throne and before the Lamb.(Rev.7:9) John asked where they came from and he was told, “These are the ones coming out of the great tribulation. They washed their robes in the blood of the Lamb and made them white.(v.14) During the 7 years of God’s anger towards those who hate him and his followers, God’s enemies will try to kill everyone who believes in Jesus. When these genuine believers die, they will be taken into heaven and will be eternally safe from any more danger or problems.
So what makes it possible for people from the start of time to the end of time to be given the gift of eternal life?What makes eternal life available to all people anywhere and in any generation is the work of God that the Holy Spirit does in this process. God’s Holy Spirit knows what is going on in each of our hearts and when someone becomes aware of the reality of God and because he opens his heart to that reality, admitting that he or she is sinful and needs God forgiveness and eternal life, they are given that gift willingly. It wasn’t just people in the Bible who have that Gift. One of God’s prophets, Elijah, who felt overwhelmed with fear told God that he was the only good guy left, God told him that, I will preserve seven thousand others in Israel who have never bowed to Baal or kissed him!”(1Kings 19:18) Right from the beginning of time till the end of time God will always know what is in our hearts and will reward eternal life to those who trust and obey God with eternal life, and will punish those who hate the goodness and light of God no matter how hard they try to hide from God and the people around them. So when we go back to John 3:21 the Lord tells us, But those who do what is right come to the light so others can see that they are doing what God wants.” Lord help us to never forget the love that you have for any of us at any time in history in any part of our world who has a genuine heart to follow you. Just think, they will be our neighbors when it is our time to be called home and settled into our part of heaven for eternity.
John 3:21 But those who do what is right come to the light so others can see that they are doing what God wants.”
Roy Wisner
