Do You Have Eternal Life?
Math 19:16
And, behold, one came and said unto him, Good Master, what good thing shall I do, that I may have eternal life?
What must I do to have eternal life? Isn’t this the central question of Christianity? How does your church claim to answer this question? How would you answer this man?
If you’re like most people in the modern church you’d probably have this person recite the so called sinner’s prayer. It might go something like this;
Heavenly Father I come to you in the name of Jesus, I confess that I’m a sinner. I believe that Jesus is the Son of God, raised from the dead for me. Lord Jesus, come into my heart, cleanse me from sin, be the lord of my life. Amen.
Then you’d probably tell this person that they are now born again and assured of heaven. You’d also tell them that they need to start going to church and reading their bible. Then you’d be on your way, feeling pretty good about yourself, thinking that God had used you to advance the kingdom. Another sinner saved, another jewel in your crown.
May I suggest that you’ve done nothing more than give this person a false assurance of salvation. That perhaps you’ve actually inoculated them against the true gospel of the kingdom.
Now before you accuse me of heresy let me say that I do not discount the grace of God in these situations. But……. this form of “soul winning” is found nowhere in scripture.
Let’s go back and see how Jesus answered this mans question.
Math 19:17-22
And he said unto him, Why callest thou me good? there is none good but one, that is, God: but if thou wilt enter into life, keep the commandments.
He saith unto him, Which? Jesus said, Thou shalt do no murder, Thou shalt not commit adultery, Thou shalt not steal, Thou shalt not bear false witness,
Honour thy father and thy mother: and, Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself.
The young man saith unto him, All these things have I kept from my youth up: what lack I yet?
Jesus said unto him, If thou wilt be perfect, go and sell that thou hast, and give to the poor, and thou shalt have treasure in heaven: and come and follow me.
But when the young man heard that saying, he went away sorrowful: for he had great possessions.
I’m sure you’ve read this passage many times and I’m equally sure that you don’t think it applies to you. You think that Jesus told this man to sell his goods because he was rich and material possessions were his god. You think that since you aren’t rich you don’t have to sell out. That is what you think isn’t it?
There is some truth to that. The man obviously had put another god before the true God. But it is also true that Jesus wasn’t asking this man to do anything that his other disciples hadn’t already done. Look at verse 27
Math 19:27
Then answered Peter and said unto him, Behold, we have forsaken all, and followed thee; what shall we have therefore?
Was Peter rich? What about the other disciples, did they forsake all because they were rich?
Math 4:18-20
And Jesus, walking by the sea of Galilee, saw two brethren, Simon called Peter, and Andrew his brother, casting a net into the sea: for they were fishers.
And he saith unto them, Follow me, and I will make you fishers of men.
And they straightway left their nets, and followed him.
When Jesus called they dropped what they were doing and followed him.
Math 4:21-22
And going on from thence, he saw other two brethren, James the son of Zebedee, and John his brother, in a ship with Zebedee their father, mending their nets; and he called them.
And they immediately left the ship and their father, and followed him.
Again they left everything, even their family.
Luke 5:27-28
And after these things he went forth, and saw a publican, named Levi, sitting at the receipt of custom: and he said unto him, Follow me.
And he left all, rose up, and followed him.
Now you might say that these were special circumstances. After all, these men were to become the twelve apostles. They had a special call. Did they?
Luke 9:57-62
And it came to pass, that, as they went in the way, a certain man said unto him, Lord, I will follow thee whithersoever thou goest.
And Jesus said unto him, Foxes have holes, and birds of the air have nests; but the Son of man hath not where to lay his head.
And he said unto another, Follow me. But he said, Lord, suffer me first to go and bury my father.
Jesus said unto him, Let the dead bury their dead: but go thou and preach the
And another also said, Lord, I will follow thee; but let me first go bid them farewell, which are at home at my house.
And Jesus said unto him, No man, having put his hand to the plough, and looking back, is fit for the
Do you think you are a follower of Jesus? Have you left all to follow him or are you still making excuses?
The Cost of Discipleship
Many people will disagree with the following statement but that is because most people in today’s church have believed a false gospel.
Salvation cannot be earned but it is not free. There is a price to pay. That price is your life.
Mark 8:34
And when he had called the people unto him with his disciples also, he said unto them, Whosoever will come after me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross, and follow me.
Jesus here was addressing the people, not just his disciples, not just the twelve. He said whosoever. That means you too.
He said if you desire to come after him you must deny yourself. You must renounce all claims to your own life. You must be willing to say, not my will but thy will be done. And then when he reveals his will you must be willing to actually do it.
Mark 8:34
For whosoever will save his life shall lose it; but whosoever shall lose his life for my sake and the gospel's, the same shall save it.
If you attempt to hang on to your life, your will, your desires, your plans, your dreams, you will lose everything. The only way to save your life, to have real life, is to forsake all to follow him.
Is this what you’ve been taught? Oh, I’m sure your preacher has mouthed these words a few times in his sermons. But then he’s tried to explain them away. He’s added the doctrines of men in order to keep you from the truth. He’s told you that this doesn’t really mean that you must walk away from your family, forsake your career, and sell your possessions to follow Jesus. He’s used the traditions of men to make the word of God ineffective in your life
To take up the cross is to enter into the gospel. The gospel is defined in 1Cor 15 as the death, burial and resurrection of Jesus. As the cross was the instrument of Jesus physical death, we too must reckon ourselves dead to this world and to our own will. We must consider ourselves buried with him in baptism and resurrected with him into a new life.
Gal 2:20
I am crucified with Christ: nevertheless I live; yet not I, but Christ liveth in me: and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by the faith of the Son of God, who loved me, and gave himself for me.
Rom 6:4
Therefore we are buried with him by baptism into death: that like as Christ was raised up from the dead by the glory of the Father, even so we also should walk in newness of life.
Buried with him in baptism, wherein also ye are risen with him through the faith of the operation of God, who hath raised him from the dead.
Until you get a revelation of this you will never have life. It is not about you trying to live a Christian life. It is not about you trying to do good works and advance the
It is about you dying to self. It is about Christ in you doing the works of the Father. There is only one way for Christ to manifest in you and that is to deny yourself, take up your cross and follow him.
John 3:30
He must increase, but I must decrease
Do you want more of God in your life? The only way to have more of God is to have less of you.
The church of today preaches a false gospel. It is the gospel of a false Jesus. This gospel says Jesus loves you just the way you are. This gospel says that Jesus requires nothing of you except to believe on him. This Jesus says all you have to do is say the magic sinner’s prayer and everything will be all right. It doesn’t matter what you do the rest of your life. You don’t have to give up anything. You can stay in the world. You can love and desire all that the world has to offer and still be “saved”. And best of all, since you didn’t do anything to earn the gift of salvation, there is nothing you can do to lose it.
The greatest deception always consists of some truth. It may even be 99% truth but that 1% lie will kill you. Jesus said a little leaven leavens the whole lump.
While it is true that Jesus died for us while we were yet sinners, the whole truth is that he loves enough not to leave us like he found us.
Rom 6:6
Knowing this, that our old man is crucified with him, that the body of sin might be destroyed, that henceforth we should not serve sin.
It is also true that we are instructed to believe on him. But the whole truth is that to believe means more than mere mental assent. It means to trust in and make a commitment to.
Luke 6:46
And why call ye me, Lord, Lord, and do not the things which I say?
To say a prayer to the father for salvation in Jesus name is fine but the whole truth is that faith without works is dead.
James 2:19-20
Thou believest that there is one God; thou doest well: the devils also believe, and tremble.
But wilt thou know, O vain man, that faith without works is dead?
The truth is that the church is called out of the world. The word church in Greek is ekklesia {ek-klay-see'-ah}meaning people who are called out. We are called out of this world system. We are to forsake what the world has to offer. You cannot serve both the world and Jesus
1John 2:15
Love not the world, neither the things that are in the world. If any man love the world, the love of the Father is not in him.
Paul understood that he must forsake the things of the world in order to obtain Christ
Phil 3:8
Yea doubtless, and I count all things but loss for the excellency of the knowledge of Christ Jesus my Lord: for whom I have suffered the loss of all things, and do count them but dung, that I may win Christ
Finally, the idea that you can do nothing to lose your salvation is just a flat out lie. It is a doctrine of demons.
John 15:1-2
I am the true vine, and my Father is the husbandman.
Every branch in me that beareth not fruit he taketh away: and every branch that beareth fruit, he purgeth it, that it may bring forth more fruit.
Every branch that fails to bear fruit he (the Father) takes away.
John 15:6
If a man abide not in me, he is cast forth as a branch, and is withered; and men gather them, and cast them into the fire, and they are burned.
When you fail to deny yourself, take up your cross and follow him you fail to bear fruit.
The fruit we are required to bear is the nature, character, and authority of Jesus. When our lives fail to reflect Jesus character, nature, and authority we are fruitless branches and we’re subject to being cast into the fire by God almighty Himself.
You probably think I’m preaching a gospel of works. The reason you think that is because you’ve believed a false gospel. If you don’t believe me, won’t you believe the scriptures?
Phil 2:12
Wherefore, my beloved, as ye have always obeyed, not as in my presence only, but now much more in my absence, work out your own salvation with fear and trembling.
The word translated work out here is the Greek word katergazomai {kat-er-gad'-zom-ahee} meaning to accomplish or achieve, to bring about.
Now I’m sure you’ll quote me Ephesians 2
Eph 2:8-9
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
Works here is a different Greek word. It is ergon {er'-gon} meaning an enterprise, that which one undertakes to do, anything accomplished by ones own hand.
There is no contradiction here because the gift of God is not salvation but grace. The grace of God and the faith to access that grace is the gift. We cannot obtain the grace of God or faith by the works of our own hands.
God’s grace, his favor, good will, and loving kindness is given freely to us. That is the gift. Don’t believe me? Paul said that the gift is grace.
Rom 5:1-2
Therefore being justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ: By whom also we have access by faith into this grace wherein we stand, and rejoice in hope of the glory of God.
Rom 5:15
But not as the offence, so also is the free gift. For if through the offence of one many be dead, much more the grace of God, and the gift by grace, which is by one man, Jesus Christ, hath abounded unto many.
The word translated here as free gift is the Greek word charisma {khar'-is-mah} meaning favor which one receives without any merit of his own, the gift of divine grace.
We cannot earn or merit the gift of grace. Nor do we earn the faith to access that grace. But we must enter into that grace, God’s favor and His good will, in order to accomplish our salvation. Even then our salvation is not accomplished by our own efforts.
Remember, we must reckon ourselves dead. By faith we must enter into his death burial and resurrection. By faith we must die to self and allow Christ in us to accomplish the works of salvation. But this does require action on our part. If we fail to act on God’s grace we only deceive ourselves.
James 1:22-24
But be ye doers of the word, and not hearers only, deceiving your own selves.
For if any be a hearer of the word, and not a doer, he is like unto a man beholding his natural face in a glass:
For he beholdeth himself, and goeth his way, and straightway forgetteth what manner of man he was.
Go back to the words of Jesus. Every time someone asked him how to obtain eternal life he told them to DO something. He didn’t tell them to pray a prayer. He required them to act on his words. Here’s another example
Luke 10: 25-28
And, behold, a certain lawyer stood up, and tempted him, saying, Master, what shall I do to inherit eternal life?
He said unto him, What is written in the law? how readest thou?
And he answering said, Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy strength, and with all thy mind; and thy neighbour as thyself.
And he said unto him, Thou hast answered right: this do, and thou shalt live.
Jesus said this DO and you shall live. He didn’t tell the man to recite a sinner’s prayer. He didn’t tell him to come to the altar and be sorry for his sins. He said this DO
Math 7:21
Not every one that saith unto me, Lord, Lord, shall enter into the kingdom of heaven; but he that doeth the will of my Father which is in heaven.
Is that clear enough? If you sit in church week after week and hear the word but fail to actually do what Jesus said you will not enter in.
Math7:24-27
Therefore whosoever heareth these sayings of mine, and doeth them, I will liken him unto a wise man, which built his house upon a rock:And the rain descended, and the floods came, and the winds blew, and beat upon that house; and it fell not: for it was founded upon a rock.And every one that heareth these sayings of mine, and doeth them not, shall be likened unto a foolish man, which built his house upon the sand: And the rain descended, and the floods came, and the winds blew, and beat upon that house; and it fell: and great was the fall of it.
You think the rock is Jesus but that isn’t what this says. The rock is the act of doing the words of Jesus. Only if you actually do his words will your house stand.
In today’s so called church, many hear but few do.
We’ve been conned. We’ve been lied to. We’ve been fed a false gospel and a false Jesus.
It’s so much easier to preach the false gospel. It’s so much nicer to tell everyone Jesus loves them just the way they are. That all they have to do is come to the altar and say a prayer. It’s much more palatable to the world. It draws much bigger crowds. It doesn’t offend anyone. It doesn’t drive people away. The problem is that this gospel puts people on the broad path to destruction.
John 6:53-54 & 60
Then Jesus said unto them, Verily, verily, I say unto you, Except ye eat the flesh of the Son of man, and drink his blood, ye have no life in you.
Whoso eateth my flesh, and drinketh my blood, hath eternal life; and I will raise him up at the last day……
Many therefore of his disciples, when they had heard this, said, This is an hard saying; who can hear it
John 6:63& 66
It is the spirit that quickeneth; the flesh profiteth nothing: the words that I speak unto you, they are spirit, and they are life…..
From that time many of his disciples went back, and walked no more with him.
The true sayings of Jesus are hard. They are difficult. Many will walk away. But only His words and acting on his words lead to life.
John 6:67-68
Then said Jesus unto the twelve, Will ye also go away?
Then Simon Peter answered him, Lord, to whom shall we go? thou hast the words of eternal life.
To whom will you go?
If you are convicted by this message then you need to repent. To repent is an act of will. It is something you must do!
The first thing you must do is take up your cross, deny yourself and follow him. Pray right now asking for God’s forgiveness. Ask for his will and not your own.
I know that’s hard to do. Jesus said it would be hard.
Math 7:13-14 NKJV
Enter by the narrow gate; for wide is the gate and broad is the way that leads to destruction, and there are many who go in by it. Because narrow is the gate and difficult (confined) is the way which leads to life, and there are few who find it.
Your flesh doesn’t want to do God’s will. Your flesh only wants to do its own will.
Maybe you’re afraid that if you ask for God’s will he’ll tell you to do something you don’t want to do. May I let you in on a little secret? I can assure you that he WILL tell you to do something you don’t want to do. But I’ll tell you something else. He will also grant you the grace and the faith to do whatever that is.
Today is the day of salvation. Don’t wait. Begin your journey to true life today. Take up your cross, deny yourself, follow him! Leave the broad path that leads to destruction and enter the narrow gate. Leave the many and become one of the few that find life. Do it now before it’s too late!
Luke 13:23-24
Then said one unto him, Lord, are there few that be saved? And he said unto them,
Strive to enter in at the strait gate: for many, I say unto you, will seek to enter in, and shall not be able.
When once the master of the house is risen up, and hath shut to the door, and ye begin to stand without, and to knock at the door, saying, Lord, Lord, open unto us; and he shall answer and say unto you, I know you not whence ye are:
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Steve Lumbley 2004 www.apostasywatch.com
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