And the witness is this, that God has given us eternal life, and this life is in His Son. He who has the Son has the life; he who does not have the Son of God does not have the life.

(1Jo 5:11 NAS)

Explaining eternal life is sometimes tricky. The Bible tells us that the essence of every person will exist forever but the issues is where. If there is a heaven then the reality of Hell is also on the table. Most people ignore Hell and assume that most people are basically good enough to go to a better place (nice euphemism for heaven) without the religious trappings.

The essential problem however, is that the Bible tells us that heaven is the place where God dwells; His home if you please (Matt. 6:10). So who has the right to go there when they die? How can God say he is a God of love and not let (basically) good people in. The problem with this thinking is that it is myopic and self-serving and ignores the most basic truths of the Scriptures that we have all sinned and fall short of God’s glory (Rom. 3:23).

One way I look at “eternal life” is from the vantage point of John 1:12-13:

“But as many as received Him, to them He gave the right to become children of God, even to those who believe in His name, who were born not of blood, nor of the will of the flesh, nor of the will of man, but of God.”

(John 1:12 NAS)

Certainly one aspect of receiving eternal life is that we must become part of God’s family. If you are not part of God’s family you cannot have the life God gives in addition to what you have (or do not have) as a walking, breathing person. The point is this: family has special privileges that other people outside the family are not entitled to, even the really good ones. It might help some of you to think of eternal life as connected to being part of God’s family. Only family are allowed to receive inheritance from the parents. Heaven is God’s inheritance for those who have been born into His family. It might be better to say those who have been adopted into God’s family since the Bible is very adamant that NO ONE is automatically part of God’s family because of sin.

No matter how nice a person you are, you are not entitled to any inheritance that my parents pass on to me and my brothers. It does not matter if you are smart, generous, beautiful, rich, selfless or any of other quality. If you are not family you do not have the right to expect anything. An adult can choose to give inheritance to anyone they want. We simply know from the Bible that God chooses to give this inheritance ONLY to those who are His children. Everyone else will not be allowed to share in it.

“I pray that the eyes of your heart may be enlightened, so that you may know what is the hope of His calling, what are the riches of the glory of His inheritance in the saints, and what is the surpassing greatness of His power toward us who believe.”

(Ephesians 1:18-19 NAS)

This is part of the true nature of eternal life – eternal life is only for those who have been adopted by God into His family through faith in Christ.

Pastor Brad