John 5:24-30 “I tell you the truth, whoever hears my word and believes him who sent me has eternal life and will not be condemned; he has crossed over from death to life. I tell you the truth, a time is coming and has now come when the dead will hear the voice of the Son of God and those who hear will live. For as the Father has life in himself, so he has granted the Son to have life in himself. And he has given him authority to judge because he is the Son of Man. “Do not be amazed at this, for a time is coming when all who are in their graves will hear his voice and come out — those who have done good will rise to live, and those who have done evil will rise to be condemned. By myself I can do nothing; I judge only as I hear, and my judgment is just, for I seek not to please myself but him who sent me.
John 6:28-29 Then they asked him, “What must we do to do the works God requires?”
Jesus answered, “The work of God is this: to believe in the one he has sent.”
When God sent the Son as a sacrifice for sin, He made the amazing choice for all people to hear his voice and to accept his divine favor in and through Christ our Lord. Many who hear the Spirit's call refuse God's gifts, choosing life in the flesh over freedom in the Spirit. They reject Jesus Christ as Savior: the Way, the Truth, and the Life. (John 14:6) They reject God's perfect plan for them
to believe in the one He has sent. Eternal life rests in Christ alone: outside of him, we find no life; IN HIM, we find everlasting life with God. As we read earlier in John:
Through him (Jesus) all things were made; without him nothing was made that has been made. In him was life, and that life was the light of men. The light shines in the darkness, but the darkness has not understood it. (John 1:3-5)
The Spirit and the Word bear witness in our hearts of God's promises:
Anyone who believes in the Son of God has this testimony in his heart. Anyone who does not believe God has made him out to be a liar, because he has not believed the testimony God has given about his Son. And this is the testimony: God has given us eternal life, and this life is in his Son. He who has the Son has life; he who does not have the Son of God does not have life. (1 John 5:10-12)
Today's scriptures might seem to infer that good works can bring life. Nonbelievers hope their good deeds elevate their standing with God, especially as they compare themselves favorably with others. The alcoholic or the drug addict, maintaining a semblance of normalcy in life, might say, "I am not so bad. Look at that bum staggering down the street, begging for money. I'm not as bad as he is. Surely God will accept me because I try hard and do a pretty good job of holding my life together." However, we must consider the full counsel of God. God's prophet Isaiah declared:
We all, like sheep, have gone astray, each of us has turned to his own way; and the LORD has laid on him (Messiah) the iniquity of us all. . .
All of us have become like one who is unclean, and all our righteous acts are like filthy rags; we all shrivel up like a leaf, and like the wind our sins sweep us away.
(Isaiah 53:6 & 64:6) Numerous New Testament passages confirm:
The just shall live by faith. (Romans 12:18, Galatians 3:11, & Hebrews 10:30) When describing
the struggle between flesh and the Spirit or law versus grace, Paul concluded: I know that nothing good lives in me, that is, in my sinful nature. For I have the desire to do what is good, but I cannot carry it out. For what I do is not the good I want to do; no, the evil I do not want to do
When we walk according to our fleshly nature, we are lost in sin. Our deeds, whether good or evil, cannot redeem us or bring us to God. As new creatures in Christ, good works follow us as the Spirit teaches and leads us to do the works of the Father: forgiving, loving, encouraging, and serving others in the name of Christ--our Savior, Friend, and Elder Brother. The Spirit testifies of God's love for us by revealing Christ in us. Paul describes this mystery:
the mystery that has been kept hidden for ages and generations, but is now disclosed to the saints. To them God has chosen to make known among the Gentiles the glorious riches of this mystery, which is Christ in you, the hope of glory. (Colossians 1:26-27)
Before Christ, good works brought the faithful to Sheol to await redemption through Messiah. Bad acts landed a person in Hades, to face the final judgment. The former people lived, the latter faced death. From the beginning of time, God revealed his plan: Trusting in God's work through Jesus at the cross makes us new creatures, forever alive unto God. Rejection of God's Son as Redeemer and Lord leaves no other option than eternal separation in a place of torment. Jesus said:
My sheep listen to my voice; I know them, and they follow me. I give them eternal life, and they shall never perish; no one can snatch them out of my hand. My Father, who has given them to me, is greater than all; no one can snatch them out of my Father’s hand. I and the Father are one.
(John 10:27-30) Today, dear ones, LISTEN AND LIVE!
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