'Anyone Who Believes.'
John 6:47.
a) Truly, truly,
b) I say to you,
c) Whoever Believes
d) Has Eternal Life. (John 3:36)
(This QT reminds me that Eternal Life is a free gift for Anyone Who Believes)
PRAYER: Thank God for His Gift of Eternal Life.
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'Predestined.'
Ephesians 1:11.
a) In God the Father
b) We have obtained an inheritance,
c) Having been Predestined
d) According to the Purpose of Him
e) Who works all things
f) According to the counsel of His Will,
(Through this Second one I thank God that I have been Predestined)
PRAYER: Thank God for our Divine Inheritance - Eternal Life.
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Chris.
Eternal Life is a free gift from God for anyone who Believes. It does not say that Eternal Life is a free gift for everyone who has ever lived on this Earth, the key word is Believes. We need to be Believers in the Gospel of the Lord Jesus Christ in order to inherit Eternal Life. The basis and foundation of the Gospel is Love - God's Love. The Gospel is not some kind of "Divine Favor" given by a grudging God, it is intense and sacrificial Love. It is incredibly easy to receive and believe the Message of the Gospel and the response in our hearts to the Gospel is found clearly in the New Testament: when we Believe it, we begin to follow Jesus. If we understand the Gospel then surely we will be grateful, very grateful, to God.
The Promise of God is not only to give us a place in Heaven forever, it is also to give us a transformed life now! When we lived in South East and East Asia there was much emphasis on the New Life in Christ, a very real change took place in the New Believer's heart - transformation of heart and life.
In the Western Church, when teaching about the Gospel, we tend to neglect the word, (and actions of) Life. Within most Gospel believing Churches in East and South East Asia, the Believers knew about and experienced Eternal Life. They lived out this "new life" joyfully and gratefully after they received Jesus Christ as their Lord and Saviour. "Faith" is an active word for them!
We, also, need to understand that Faith is an active Word. Faith is more than just "thought", it is belief put into action. We do not "do God, or the Church, a favor" when we receive Jesus Christ. We receive Him, and the transformation that He brings into our lives because we really need Him. More than anything, or anyone, else in this World, we need Jesus Christ personally as Lord of our lives.
