* God’s gift of “eternal life” is given to all who simply believe in Christ Jesus for it!    REVISED

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If ¹ it is fact, what exactly must one believe to receive this gift of eternal life? In the Gospel of John, chapter 6, verse 47 , the Apostle John recorded his eyewitness testimony of what Jesus Himself said: “Most assuredly, I say to you, he who believes in Me ² has everlasting life.” NKJV (everlasting life and eternal life are synonymous terms in the Bible). Jesus clearly stated in this verse that anyone who believes (trusts) in Him for eternal life, receives it. Notice again what Jesus said: “he who believes in Me has everlasting life.” He did not say will have, He said has. Simply put, the gift ( Eph. 2:8 ) of eternal life is given to believers instantaneously, the very second a person is persuaded of the truth and then believes in Jesus—the Christ for His promised eternal life, he or she has it (it’s really that simple—nothing more and nothing less). Therefore, the correct answer to the opening question is: Fact!

Furthermore, only the thought, the mental act of believing in Christ Jesus is needed. The very second anyone crosses the line from unbelief to believing in Jesus for His promised eternal life, they are saved (from hell—the lake of fire), their salvation is complete. In other words, the new believer now actually possesses God’s gift of eternal life; meaning: he or she is guaranteed unending life; resurrection to a new glorified physical body that will be immortal, and eternal participation in the world to come ³ [ Titus 3:4-7 ; 1 Corinthians 15:51-52 ; Phillipians 3:20-21 ; John 6:38-39, 40 ]—all this plus much, much, much more comes with simply believing in Christ Jesus for eternal life. And, it is literally impossible to ever lose eternal life or have it taken from you ( John 10:28-29 ), not even if you later change your mind and stop believing (you may experience heavy discipline from God and lose some or all of any rewards you may have accumulated from any good works you had accomplished while in the Spirit , but you can never change the fact that you once believed; therefore, eternal life can never be taken from you, no matter what! Another way to think of it would be, if you could lose it, God would not have used the words “eternal” or “everlasting” life). Eternal life is the object in salvation ( John 20:30-31 ⁴ ), the mental act of believing that Jesus’ promise of everlasting life is true and then believing in Him for it actually comes before you can think of what to say to God in audible words; this is also a reasonable answer to why scripted prayers are not necessary or a required condition to be saved (most scripted prayers in gospel tracts are way off base and just add confusion). What was it Jesus said in John 6:47? “…he who believes in Me, has everlasting life.” Therefore, the magnificence of God’s infinite knowledge ( Omniscience ) reads the unbelievers thought of belief in Christ Jesus instantly as he or she thinks it. Boom!

So far, we have reviewed what is required of each individual unbeliever in order to receive eternal life. We need to also review what is not required. As has already been made clear, receiving God’s absolutely free gift of “eternal life” does not require anything other than to believe in Christ Jesus for it. Therefore, one does not need to repent of one’s sins before believing in Christ Jesus for eternal life (it is not prohibited—it is OK to be repentant of your sins before or after one believes but the point is, it is not a condition or requirement to be saved from hell—fact is, the doctrine of repentance is never even mentioned in the Gospel of John). If you would like a much clearer explanation regarding the subject of repentance not being a requirement to be saved, I urge you to read the following article by Zane Hodges: Repentance .

Furthermore, nor does it require feeling sorry for one’s sins or make a change in one’s behavior before or after believing, (again, these things are not prohibited—it is OK to do so, but they are not a condition or requirement to be saved); nor is it necessary to commit the rest of one’s life to Jesus before or after believing or even to ask Jesus to come into one’s heart before or after believing—these phrases, when added to or replace what the Word of God says, ultimately confuses the unbeliever to think they are conditions or requirements that he or she must do in addition to faith alone in Christ Jesus alone in order to receive eternal life.

By adding these extra requirements and conditions (what the Bible calls “works”), that would make salvation the result of “faith” and “works.” Ephesians 2:8-9 and Romans 4:4-5 and 11:6 are quite clear that salvation is by “faith alone” and not “works.” Many false teachers ( Galatians 1:7-9 ; 2 Corinthians 11:14-15 ) today, in their quest to be creative, in affect are actually adding to scripture (even well intentioned pastors have adopted the use of these catchy words and phrases), but in reality, they are elevating their words above the words of God. It is unfortunate for the unsaved responder that 100’s or even 1,000’s of pastors today have picked up on these popular gimmick phrases and use them, because it only adds confusion about God’s Word regarding their salvation.

It is the inspired word “believe” that the Apostle John used nearly 100 times in the Gospel of John that we need to use (e.g., John 6:47— “…he who believes in Me, has everlasting life.” and, John 3:16—“…that whoever believes in Him shall not perish but have everlasting life.”); then the convincing ministry of God the Holy Spirit who causes the individual unbeliever to comprehend Gospel truths, will make the information clear to anyone who responds positively to the gospel.

Sometimes we don’t realize the subtleties of our great enemy Satan ( 1 Peter 5:8 ) but we need to be constantly aware that he and his horde of demons ( fallen angels ) are extremely active in the world today. These demons are the ones whose responsibility it is to carry out Satan’s counterfeit deceptions; consequently, a prime target of theirs is the very core of the gospel message of Christ Jesus, because they want to blind the unsaved to the truth of the gospel ( 2 Corinthians 11:3 ; 2 Corinthians 11:13-15 ), and also, to distract born-again believers from fulfilling God’s plan of reaching spiritual maturity. I cannot think of a better way to deceive the unsaved than by influencing well intending preachers and evangelists to alter what scripture says about what we must do and believe to be saved? ( 1 Timothy 4:1 )

How often do you look up support passages at home after church or from articles like this one? Many communicators of God’s Word quote scripture related to the gospel correctly from the pulpit but then turn right around and say in their “invitation” at the end of their sermon (something like the following): “you can be saved right now, right where you sit, all you need do is, “ask Jesus to come into your heart,” or they might say: “first repent of your sins and then invite Jesus into your heart;” or to “invite Jesus to become the Lord of your life—to rule and reign in your heart from this day forward.” Many times, the poor responder is so emotionally charged, he/she just does what the preacher says to do and when they do it, they then get even more emotionally charged and joyfully think they are now born-again. To the responder’s misfortune, if a person is lead to believe that they need to do three things or even two things rather than simply believing in Christ Jesus for everlasting life, they have been given false information. In other words, the added conditions and requirements may persuade the unbeliever to actually believe false doctrine about how to be saved, therefore, the person is still unsaved. Sadly, the responder does not realize it, they think, based on the conditions the preacher or evangelist said they must do is the complete truth, but in fact, it is not; it is counterfeit doctrine, like what “1 Timothy 4:1” is referring to; adding to scripture by means of demon influence is what makes the doctrine false. We are born-again when we simply “believe” in Jesus “the Christ” alone for eternal life (salvation); again, what did Jesus say in John 6:47? “…he who believes in Me has everlasting life.” [NKJV—New King James Version]. Hopefully, if the above scenarios were to happen to somebody in real life, that is, those who were originally told a counterfeit gospel, the true gospel was presented to them accurately sometime soon after, and they believed it, they are now born-again (saved).

With many people, the actual moment of faith in Christ can be a long time in coming, months or even years, before that little light (so-to-speak) in their head clicks on—like when you completely understand something you had not fully comprehended before and you say to yourself—Wow! I get it! I was one of those, I didn’t believe right away but I did what the preacher told me to do and walked the aisle at his altar call and I was very emotionally charged. I think it was around two years after I had responded to the counterfeit gospel (I don’t even know the actual date I was saved), during that time period, I thought I was saved at the altar call but it wasn’t until I understood I needed to simply believe in Christ Jesus for eternal life and did so, then I was saved.

Some might ask: Why would a good understanding of John 6:47 be of any importance to an unbeliever (e.g., agnostics or atheists or even those of other religions)? A reasonable answer would be, because when he or she passes into the eternal future (i.e., the afterlife, the hereafter), the unbeliever will reside wherever he or she lands “forever”—that’s right “forever.” (I think even an agnostic or atheist might agree that “forever” is a long time). The Word of God tells us the human race has free-will and all can choose to be with God forever in His heaven , or remain separated from Him forever ( Revelation 20:11-15 )—spending eternity in the lake of fire , the final destination of all unbelievers and the fallen angels. Odd as it may sound to some, the choice is real and ours to make. However, if we don’t cognitively make the choice to believe in Jesus, “the Christ” for eternal life during our physical lifetime, the automatic default is separation from Him and God ( John 3:18 ), forever.

However, there are limited exceptions to the automatic default; we discern from two of God’s attributes (“Justice and Love”) that each individual human being, beginning at the age of accountability , is volitionally responsible and will be held accountable for what they have believed in time regarding Christ Jesus and His offer of salvation. However: babies, young children ( 2 Samuel 12:23 , even anyone born severely mentally handicapped are automatically saved and will go to heaven when they die since they lack the mental capacity to reach God-consciousness, they cannot be held accountable for their decisions, all others are without excuse.

On other discussion boards, many have expressed their views and beliefs with sincerity and respect regarding an afterlife. Many question whether there is life after this one. Others firmly believe this is all there is and we just cease to exist at physical death. It is my contention that everyone has a faith belief in something, even the atheist and agnostic. Everyone who has expressed their beliefs on other boards that I have read say they believe in something; is not believing there is no God, a belief? Or believing we all cease to exist when we die, a belief? Or believe that mankind evolved from a single cell millions of years ago, also a belief? There are many, many beliefs. To that end, I think it is reasonable and makes good sense for an unbeliever to devote some serious time to checking out what the Word of God has to say about God’s gift of salvation and their eternal future and what role they might have in it and to do so before one’s time runs out. If one is not a believer in Christ Jesus for eternal life, there is much to gain if one were to be persuaded by the truth that their long-held belief has been wrong, so there is really nothing an unbeliever can lose by checking it out. According to God’s Word, when an unbeliever enters into the afterlife, it will be too late ( Luke 16:22-31 ), belief in Jesus for His promised eternal life must occur before physical death. The rich man who had died and was buried and now was in torments ⁵ (Hades—temporary hell) mentioned in the Luke verses was now very much aware of where he was now located but he could do nothing about it.

Would it not be entirely reasonable that a “just” and “fair” God would provide adequate, easily attainable, accurate and understandable information for unbelievers about Jesus’ promise of eternal life so they could make an informed decision, “for” or “against” Him? Of the 66 books of the Bible, the “Gospel of John” is the only book in the Word of God written primarily to those who have not yet believed in Jesus the Christ for eternal life ( John 20:30-31 ); this includes those who are confused by false religious rhetoric, false religious doctrines, and/or have been persuaded to believe false information about how to receive eternal salvation. If someone has been given false salvation doctrine, believed it and is now relying on that belief for eternal life, that would make that person still an unbeliever, would it not?

What someone chooses to believe about Christ Jesus is entirely between them and God the Father, that’s freedom of choice. However, a core purpose of this discussion group, if you decide to join, is to help provide people on the fence with accurate information (i.e., offer them key verses in scripture, provide links to articles, papers and/or audios & videos by recognized Christian scholars and through objective discussion). If those on the fence are truly open minded to God’s Word and are willing to seek the Truth and seriously consider the Word of God as that Truth, it will be God the Holy Spirit who will make it clear in the minds of the unbeliever as to whether or not the salvation information being presented to them is correct. Then, an individual will have the perfect right to decide “for” or “against” the salvation offer because it is their God given right to believe in Christ Jesus for eternal life or reject Him.

Therefore, I encourage anyone who is not absolutely certain about their eternal future, not to take just my word for it, but go directly to the authoritative source, the Word of God, and read the Gospel of John (it’s only a click away—if you’re a slow reader, consider reading a chapter a day), especially if you have never read it. It is an “eye witness” testimony of what the Apostle John actually witnessed himself about Jesus’ signs, miracles and teachings ( John 20:30-31 ; John 21:24-25 ). You may not fully grasp some of the more technical words or phrases, but you should definitely get the big picture of what John’s testimony is clearly communicating. I personally favor the “New King James Version”; however, I think the New American Standard is also excellent. As you read through the Gospel of John, you will read the recorded words of Jesus the Christ (Messiah), the uniquely born Son of God who became both man and God at the same time, who was crucified and resurrected to guarantee eternal life to all believers, who paid the penalty for the sins of the entire world (past, present and future) so all mankind would have the opportunity to receive the “free gift” of eternal life. The message of eternal life is proclaimed throughout the Book of John, here are just a few examples: John 3:14-16 ; John 3:36 ; John 5:20-24 ; John 6:47 , 35, 40, 68-69; John 20:31 .

Another thought, if you are not an avid reader, is to watch the full-length feature movie: the Gospel of John (film) is a 2003 movie that is the story of Jesus' life as recounted by the Gospel of John. It is a motion picture that has been adapted for the screen on a word-for-word basis from the American Bible Society's - Good News Bible. This three-hour epic feature film follows John's Gospel precisely, without additions to the story from other Gospels, nor omission of complex passages. It’s really a fantastic movie. If you want to watch it, you can do it on YouTube for free (it is in 19 increments of about 10-15 minutes each—it’s a three hour movie so try to pick a time to see it through in one sitting if possible). Or, rent it at your favorite video store. After you’ve seen the movie, then do your best to actually read the entire Gospel of John, you will be amazed how much clearer the reading will be with your frame-of-reference able to recall the scenes from the movie. Do you remember the movie “The Ten Commandments?” Whenever you read or hear about the parting of the Red Sea, what image pops into your mind? That is how your recall will be if you read John’s Gospel after you have seen the movie. The following link will take you to a special play list with all 19 chapters in thumbnail format: Gospel of John – The Movie (as a suggestion, when you go to the YouTube playlist, right click the chapter one thumbnail and open in a new window, when finished, delete that YouTube page, that should return you to the thumbnail page and follow the same process through to the end of the movie.) Enjoy!

If this article has sparked your interest and left you with a desire to learn more about what the Word of God says or you wish to be a Christian contributor in our discussions, I invite you to join this group.

[*] This article is an overhaul of a previous one written in early 2008 titled: “God gives the gift of eternal life to all who believe in Jesus Christ for it. True or False?” Due to substantial additions and numerous other revisions, I felt it would be best to publish it as an entirely new article.

[1] The word “if” has four different uses, in this case it is a first-class conditional clause which assumes the reality of the premise: “If, and it is assumed to be true.”

[2] NU-Text omits in Me: NU-Text = These variations from the traditional text generally represent the Alexandrian or Egyptian type of text; they are found in the Critical Text published in the twenty-sixth edition of the Nestle-Aland Greek New Testament (N) and in the United Bible Societies’ third edition (U), hence the acronym, “NU-Text.” [From The Nelson Study Bible, copyright 1997 by Thomas Nelson, Inc. Used by permission.]

[3] Zane C. Hodges; KERUGMA, INC., Mesquite, TX – in his book: “Did Paul Preach Eternal Life? – Should We?” – pages: 9; 18-21

[4] John states the purpose of this book. His purpose was to convince his readers that Jesus is the Christ, the Messiah who fulfilled God’s promises to Israel. Jesus is the Son of God in the flesh. By believing these things, a person obtains eternal life (John 1:12). [From The Nelson Study Bible, page 1808, notes 20:31, copyright 1997 by Thomas Nelson, Inc. Used by permission.]

[5] Torments: the temporary subterranean holding cell which remains the place of abode for all dead unbelievers from all eras of human history, until the Great White Throne Judgment ; after their judgment, the unbelievers will be transferred to the Lake of Fire (or Gehenna) ( Revelation 20:15 ). Chafer Theological Seminary—Glossary of Terms (use your Firefox or Google Chrome browsers for best performance at link destinations).

© Mark W. Miller – 2009
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