Verily, verily, I say unto you, He that heareth my word, and believeth on him that sent me, hath everlasting life, and shall not come into condemnation; but is passed from death unto life. (John 5:24)
Hearing and believing are two different things. Many people think that as long as they have physically listened to what God said, that’s good enough. So, we have droves of people who go to church every weekend and think that as long as the preacher's words graced their eardrums, they get a pass for living whatever way they want the rest of the week.
It’s not good enough to go to church; it’s not good enough to sing in the choir; it’s not good enough to give a bit to God and think that means you’re following God. Genuine faith and real belief require an active, faith-filled response to the Word you have heard as you trust and obey God in every aspect of life.
Jesus gave a promise when He spoke about hearing and believing. He promised that those who hear and believe hath eternal life. Note the past tense of the word. Eternal life is not only in your future but a reality now. You get it when you believe in your heart and confess with your mouth that Jesus is Lord. Eternal life is the believer’s current reality, not just the future when we reach heaven. Eternal life is not floating on clouds with angels. It is the very life that God Himself lives continually. It is the ability to transform situations and problems by now bringing God’s life into dead situations.
Jesus explained this by saying we have passed from death unto life. Death no longer has any hold on believers. Sin and death previously separated us from God; now, the law of the spirit of life in Christ Jesus has set us free from what sin and death’s purpose is trying to accomplish. This is not symbolic; it’s a fundamental transformation of what is possible and what it means to be born again.
Practical Application
I encourage you to decide that Jesus is Lord in every aspect of your life. That means He makes the decisions, He gives you direction, and He gets the final say in what you do and how you live. When you decide to give Him lordship every day, you also get access to eternal life, which will show up in your daily activities. Decide to bring life.
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