What is eternal life according to the bible? How can one receive eternal life? This post will explain what eternal life means, how to get it, and how to know for sure that you have or received it.
A lot of people ask what eternal life is and how one can get it and they wonder if it’s possible to get it and this article will give you an answer to this common theological question.
And by the end of this article, you will know what eternal life is and how you can receive it so that you can spend eternity with God in heaven when you die. Let’s get started.
What Is Eternal Life?
Eternal life according to the bible is simply an everlasting life or divine life with Jesus Christ here on earth and in heaven when one dies with Christ as their personal Lord and savior (John 3:16).
That’s the simplest definition I can give you and I know there are others, too but this simple definition of eternal life is all you need to know to understand what eternal life is.
Eternal life is a free gift from God that comes by believing in the crucifixion, death, and resurrection of our Lord Jesus Christ by grace through faith.
And this everlasting life that comes when one believes in God’s son for their salvation is only found in Jesus Christ because He’s the one who dies for our sins.
What makes eternal life unique is that it can only be found in one true God by believing in His Begotten Son Jesus Christ. You can’t earn it as it’s God’s gift by grace through faith, not works.
Where Is Eternal Life Found?
This is another important question most people ask concerning eternal life especially with so many false religions in the world promising something similar.
But what you must know dear is that eternal life is only found in Jesus Christ and in no other person or false religion that promises an alternate version of it.
What you must know what you die is that you will either spend eternity with God in heaven filled with indescribable joy or in hell full of everlasting misery, regret, and contempt (Daniel 12:2).
Let no man deceive you dear that there is reincarnation where you will turn into some animal or so as that’s a lie from Satan. It’s either eternal punishment with the devil in hellfire or everlasting joy with the Lord in heaven.
Jesus Christ is the only one that will save you from eternal death that will come upon all those who rejected God’s love gift of eternal life through Jesus. Don’t be that person.
When Does Eternal Life Begin?
To answer the above question, you must first know what eternal life is and since I have defined it for you earlier in this post, this question must be fairly easy for you to answer.
Now, there are several answers out there stating when eternal life begins but according to the Bible, eternal life begins immediately when you receive Christ as your personal Lord and Savior by faith at salvation after truly repenting of your sins (John 5:24).
Eternal life isn’t just an everlasting existence with God and Jesus Christ in eternity when you die but it’s also the quality of life you have in Jesus when you truly become saved from the eternal punishment sin brings to unrepentant sinners.
Of course, an eternal existence with God, Jesus, and redeemed saints of all ages since the beginning of this world is the hallmark of eternal life and what it’s all about.
Since there will be a resurrection of all the dead both saved and unsaved, only those who died in Christ will spend eternity with Him in heaven while those who die without Him shall go away into everting punishment in hellfire with the devil and his angels (Mathew 25:46).
6 Steps To Take To Receive Eternal Life.
There are several things you must do to receive eternal life and here are the 6 things or steps to take to receive eternal life.
- Hearing God’s Word.
- Believe On The Lord Jesus Christ.
- Accept Jesus Into Your Heart.
- Repent Of Your Sins.
- Forsake Your Sins.
- Serve The Lord Till The End.
1. Hearing God’s Word.
The number one thing you must do to receive eternal life is first you must hear God’s word because it’s God’s word that will give you everlasting life and save you from hell.
Without hearing God’s word, you won’t know how to get this wonderful gift of eternal life that will use you in God’s presence and glory when you take your last breath on earth.
Remember, faith comes first by hearing and by hearing the word of God according to the gospel (Romans 10:17) because if you hear this good news, how are you going to believe?
It’s by reading the bible are you going to discover God’s plan of eternal life which was always in existence before the foundation of this world.
You will also discover the immensity of God’s love God has for humanity that has no equals to it and this is why He sent Jesus Christ to die on the cross so that we can have everlasting life by believing in Him. Hallelujah.
2. Believe On The Lord Jesus Christ.
The second step you must take to have everlasting life in God’s presence in heaven is you must believe in the Lord Jesus Christ and what He did for you on the cross.
God’s gift of eternal life can only be obtained by faith and this is why you must first believe in the Lord Jesus Christ to receive it.
As John 3:36 tells us that it’s by believing in God’s son that will grant us everlasting life with him in heaven while not believing in him will guarantee eternal punishment and separation from God in hellfire.
This means that those who don’t believe and reject Jesus during their earthly life will not spend eternity with Him in heaven. What a tragedy that will be dear. Please don’t be that unfortunate soul by refusing to believe Jesus Christ for your salvation.
Why must you go to hellfire and spend eternity with the devil and his angels in misery when God provides a way out by His Son’s death on the cross and resurrection to be with Him in everlasting joy?
3. Accept Jesus Into Your Heart.
Accepting Jesus Christ into your heart is the third important step you must take to have everlasting life and escape eternal death.
It’s not enough just to believe what Jesus did for you on the cross to save you from eternal death and hell, you must accept Him into your heart to have everlasting life (John5:24).
Salvation can only happen if you receive Christ and accept Him into your heart. Without that, you won’t be saved from the wrath to come (Mark16:16).
When you accept Jesus Christ into your heart, it simply means that you have allowed Jesus to be your personal Lord and savior in your life.
Don’t be among those who reject Jesus to the detriment of their precious souls because it will be quite unfortunate dear for you to miss this huge banquet in heaven where all saints of all the ages will reunite into one big royal family for all eternity in heaven.
4. Repent Of Your Sins.
Repenting your sins so that you can have the salvation that brings everlasting life in the first place is the fourth step you must take to receive God’s gift of eternal life through Jesus to enter heaven (Mathews 3:2).
When you repent, it simply means that you have changed your mind towards sin by turning away from it and turning towards God by having a change of heart.
It’s this change of heart towards sin that is required for true repentance to take place. If that doesn’t happen, salvation won’t be possible.
By repenting of your sin and forsaking them to have everlasting life by accepting Jesus into your life, you are transferred from spiritual death to life because we are all spiritually dead by birth.
And the time of repentance and the remissions of sins is now my dear. Don’t postpone it to tomorrow because tomorrow may be too late, dear.
5. Forsake Your Sins.
After repenting of your sins on the fourth step, the next step to take to receive everlasting life is to forsake them (Isaiah 55:7).
If you don’t forsake your sins, then you haven’t truly repented of them and therefore your repentance is fake and not genuine at all my dear.
It’s only by repenting and forsaking of your sins will you obtain mercy and forgiveness from God as that will show that you are sincere in wanting to live your sinful lifestyle behind (Proverbs 28:13).
Most people these days only repent but are not willing to forsake the sinful lifestyle they love and such people will receive eternal condemnation for their sins they loved to indulge in if they don’t truly repent by forsaking their sins while there is time.
Remember, sin isn’t worth your soul because its pleasure is just but for a moment but its destructive effects on your soul will last for all eternity.
6. Serve The Lord Till The End.
Once you are saved and have received eternal life by accepting Jesus into your life, the only thing remaining now is to serve the Lord till the end and not to depart from Him.
Otherwise, if you do so, it will be very unfortunate for you, dear on that day to be a castaway in the end after all these years of suffering and toiling in your Christian life and the journey you gave up on in the middle of the road.
You must run your Christian race with endurance so that you can obtain the crown of life that will be given to all those who will endure to the end (Hebrews 12:1, 1 Corinthians 9:24).
Jesus Christ also encourages you a dear saint and new convert that you must hold fast that which you have received i.e. eternal life in this case till He comes (Revelations 3:11).
If you don’t hold fast to your eternal life and allow the things of this world or the cares of this life to rob you of your everlasting life, you will be very unfortunate, dear, and full of nothing but regrets. Nothing in this word is worth your eternal life.
Conclusion.
I hope this post on what is eternal life has thoroughly answered you questions you had on this subject with satisfaction.
If you have not yet received eternal life, just follow the above steps and believe in the Lord Jesus Christ for your salvation and you be saved right now and have everlasting life.
In closing, if you found this post useful, kindly share it with others so that they can have eternal life too so they too don’t go to hell. Stay blessed.
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