What Is Eternal Life?
The best way to answer the question about everlasting life is to break it into two.
- How can we be certain that God exists?
- How can we know there’s life after death?
As for the first question, we would be confident God exists if He revealed Himself to us. Second, we would know life extends beyond death if someone clearly came back from the dead.
Well, that’s exactly what happened! We don’t have to guess or wander around looking for the truth – because God has shown us the truth.
The Bible tells us something that is almost beyond comprehension: Jesus Christ came down and walked on the Earth as a man. He is God in human flesh. Jesus did it not only so we could know that God exists, but so we could know God and have a personal relationship with Him.
You can know God right now by committing your life to Jesus. God loves you, and just as surely as you could have known Jesus 2,000 years ago, you can still know Him today because He is alive and wants to come into your heart.
But we also know that there is life after death because Jesus Christ died and then rose again to life. Christ died on the cross as a sacrifice for our sins, and He came back from the dead to show us we can be forgiven and have eternal life with God in Heaven. Without His sacrifice, our sins keep us separated from God. Someday, everyone who knows Jesus will be raised again and given new and glorious bodies, and we will be with Christ forever.
You can know—really know—God, and you can know the joy of eternal life right now by receiving the gift of God’s Son and committing your life to Him. “For God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life. For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but in order that the world might be saved through him. Whoever believes in him is not condemned” (John 3:16-18 ESV).
Step 1 – God’s Purpose: Peace and Life
The Bible says:
"We have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ."
Romans 5:1
"For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life."
John 3:16
"I [Jesus] have come that they may have life, and that they may have it more abundantly."
John 10:10
Step 2 – The Problem: Our Separation from God
The Bible says:
"For all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God."
Romans 3:23
"For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord."
Romans 6:23
The Bible says:
"There is a way that appears to be right, but in the end it leads to death."
Proverbs 14:12
"But your iniquities have separated you from your God; your sins have hidden his face from you, so that he will not hear."
Isaiah 59:2
Step 3 – God’s Bridge: The Cross
The Bible says:
"For there is one God and one mediator between God and mankind, the man Christ Jesus."
1 Timothy 2:5
"For Christ also suffered once for sins, the righteous for the unrighteous, to bring you to God."
1 Peter 3:18
Step 4 – Our Response: Receive Christ
The Bible says:
"Yet to all who did receive him, to those who believed in his name, he gave the right to become children of God."
John 1:12
"If you declare with your mouth, 'Jesus is Lord,' and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved."
Romans 10:9
Here is how you can accept Christ into your life:
- Admit your need. (I am a sinner)
- Be willing to turn from your sins. (Repent)
- Believe that Jesus Christ died for you on the cross and rose from the grave. (Be saved by faith)
- Through prayer, invite Jesus Christ to control your life through the Holy Spirit. (Receive him as Lord and Savior)
We suggest a prayer like this one:
"Dear God, I know I’m a sinner, and I ask for Your forgiveness. I believe Jesus Christ is Your Son. I believe that He died for my sin and that You raised Him to life. I want to trust Him as my Savior and follow Him as Lord, from this day forward. Guide my life and help me to do Your will. I pray this in the name of Jesus. Amen."
Did you pray this prayer?
