THOSE WHO ARE IN CHRIST LIVES FOREVER
A Sunday Message
THE INCREDIBLE REALITY OF LIFE BEYOND THE GRAVE
The Lord Jesus said, “WHOEVER BELIEVES HAS ETERNAL LIFE”, “HE WILL NOT DIE” and “HE WILL LIVE FOREVER.
Think about that mindfully for a moment. No man can find a more staggering truth about his life than what the Savior revealed.
Everything we cherish and love in this world. All our earthly hopes and dreams. Our pains and failures. Our possessions and treasures. Our human loves and relationships. They are all within the confines of a single and brief lifetime on earth. And we leave them all behind in physical death.
That makes death the greatest curse of humanity. No matter how prestigious, powerful or popular you are, death forces you to give up everything worldly. If a man has nothing more significant and meaningful beyond this earthly life, he faces the grimmest of possibility when he leaves this world.
But that is not the end. There is more. He faces a more terrible prospect beyond. After the grave is eternal death under God’s wrathful judgment because of sin. That is the next and ultimate reality for all.
ETERNAL LIFE INSTEAD OF ETERNAL DEATH
The Scripture reveals that all have sinned against the glory of God at His perfect law (Romans 3:23) and because of sin, all died (Romans 5:12, Ezekiel 18:20). A second death awaits. It will be final and eternal. A day of judgment will come and all who sinned are thrown into the eternal lake of fire. (REVELATION 20:11-15).
Once again, no truth is more staggering in every human life than what the Lord Jesus said,
John 6:47
Truly, truly, I say to you, WHOEVER BELIEVES HAS ETERNAL LIFE.
John 6:50-51
This is the bread that comes down from heaven, SO THAT ONE MAY EAT OF IT AND NOT DIE. I Am the LIVING BREAD that came down from heaven. IF ANYONE EATS OF THIS BREAD, HE WILL LIVE FOREVER. And the bread that I will give for the life of the world is my flesh.”
ETERNAL LIFE instead of eternal death. LIVING FOREVER instead of dying forever. FORGIVEN instead of cursed. ACCEPTED by God instead of rejected. PURIFIED and not petrified.
That is what we gain when we “eat” the BREAD OF LIFE FROM HEAVEN.
Incredible statement isn’t it? It is absolutely true. This touches every human life and about everything they live for. These words implicate all about what we are now and what our eternal destiny will be. And it all depends upon WHO CHRIST JESUS is for us. How we see Him determines how we receive Him.
He said, “I AM THE LIVING BREAD THAT CAME DOWN FROM HEAVEN.”
HOW DO YOU GAIN LIFE FROM BREAD?
No one is nourished by going to a banquet and learns all information about every food on the table and gains comprehensive knowledge about all its ingredients. No one is fed by looking at postings of good food nor listening at the intricacies of the menu as he tries to enjoy every aspect of the presentation. Nobody nurtures anyone by simply passing posts and quotes of healthy meals. That is not the way you receive sustenance nor how you feed anyone.
There must be hunger to desire food and decide to appropriate it for yourself. Food must be digested to become a part of you. Food is no good to you unless you consume it yourself. No one else can do that for you. Eating is a personal matter. No proxies. No substitutes.
That is how food sustains and nourishes your life.
Those who receive the LIFE of Jesus Christ gains ETERNAL LIFE.
There must be a desperate hunger within yourself to desire Him. The heart must believe that He is heaven’s provision of Eternal Life. Those who recognize how seriously sinful they are and realize that they miserably fail God’s holiness and glory will have this undeniable yearning within. This is the soul’s hunger of those who come to Christ in true repentance with an unquestionable faith on His Lordship and salvation.
Those who believe that Jesus Christ is the BREAD FROM HEAVEN, the ONE AND ONLY PROVISION of God for Eternal Life will receive it. God appropriates the Life of the Son into His being. Saving, Regenerating, transforming, sanctifying, and conforming him to His Son’s image.
HIS FLESH IS THE LIVING BREAD
He was made FLESH (JOHN 1:14) and in Him was LIFE (JOHN 1:4) and whoever receives Him is BORN OF GOD (JOHN 1:12-13). Whoever believes Him will not perish but will have EVERLASTING LIFE (JOHN 3:16).
He was MADE FLESH to die for the sins of those who believe. He was crucified for the redemption of those who receive.
JOHN 6:51
I AM THE LIVING BREAD THAT CAME DOWN FROM HEAVEN. IF ANYONE EATS OF THIS BREAD, HE WILL LIVE FOREVER. AND THE BREAD THAT I WILL GIVE FOR THE LIFE OF THE WORLD IS MY FLESH.”
Only those who believe in Jesus Christ as the BREAD OF LIFE will have Eternal Life. Those who don’t will die as they continue striving for mere earthly manna.
May we find nothing more precious and necessary than Christ Jesus our ETERNAL LIFE in this life and the life to come.
Pastor Jay-R Remorosa