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Eternal Life (Series 1, Lesson 3)
by
Sean Mize
In the same way as God gave us life, gave us food to
eat, and gives us the daily needs to maintain our life, he has also
given us eternal life. The state of that eternal life will be a
reflection of our response to His given, while we are here on earth. You
see, for those of us who recognize His Creatorship, His Godship, and
worship Him as such, we will spend that eternal life with Him, in His
presence. O, what a beautiful time that will be! Forever, with the
Creator of the Universe!
For those who reject His Creatorship and Godship, He has ordained a
place for them in eternal isolation from Him. This eternal isolation is
so intense that it is referred to in the Bible as a Hell, as a place of
eternal torment. It will still be eternal life, but it will be eternal
life in seclusion from our Lord and Maker.
Have you ever been alone? Really alone? You think no one cares? No one
wants to talk? Imagine a place on this earth of isolation. Imagine the
prisoner of war who is put into an earthen cell, and fed once a day. But
even that prisoner, as alone as he may feel, is not truly alone. Perhaps
he can see the soldiers when they come to bring his daily food. Perhaps
the rats and cockroaches visit him in his cell. Perhaps he hears the
tortured screams of other prisoners. Perhaps he converses with his God.
He is not truly alone.
But nevertheless, he is experiencing a type of living hell. Now imagine
what that same cell would be like with no food, no rats, no soldiers or
fellow prisoners, and worst yet, no God. That is Hell.
You see, when God created us, He created us for Heaven, not Hell. He
created us to always have communion, fellowship, and communication with
Him. Starting with the first man and the first woman, Adam and Eve, man
as a race has chosen to ‘eat of the forbidden fruit’, to sin, or turn
away from God. Everyone who has ever lived to the age of understanding
has done it, turned away from God, and failed to recognize Him as God
and Provider. Not only failed, but purposely tested Him to show that
they are in control of their own lives. The Book of Romans tells us:
“For all have sinned and come short of the glory of God” (Rom. 3: 23).
Once we have sinned and rejected the promises of God, His life-giving
power, once we eat of the forbidden fruit, so to speak, once we firmly
establish that we own our lives and our futures, we effectively tell God
that we no longer need Him, that we can do it on our own. And the
natural and fair end of that decision is that God gives us exactly what
we ask for and desire: eternal separation from Him. Because He is Holy,
he cannot tolerate the presence of the unholy, of sin. The natural and
normal result of the choice to sin, to refuse to accept His Creatorship
and Lordship, is eternal separation from Him, which is effectively death
(Rom 6: 23).
Fortunately, God in His infinite mercy has crafted a plan, one which He
set into motion before He even created the earth, knowing what His
creation would do. He ordained that His own Son would die to bridge the
gap between God Himself, from whom every man chooses to separate, and
man, the creation. By being God Himself and taking on the nature of man,
when Jesus Christ, the Son of God, was put to death, his death was able
to pay the penalty, not of His own sins, because He had none, but our
own sins, because He was pure in His death.
You see, the acceptance of His death for our sins is the same difference
as not eating of the forbidden fruit (which we have all done, in one
form or another). It is the same difference as paying a tithe of our
property and our yearly increase. It is the ultimate form of recognizing
that God created everything, including us, and that He gave us
everything we have. It is simply saying that I cannot, as man, do it on
my own; I need a mediator, someone to stand in the gap for my rebellion,
and prevent eternal isolation from the Creator of the universe.
Questions for discussion:
Describe your view of the nature of God and His redemption plan.
Have you struggled with what you perceived as God’s wrathful and
vindictive nature?
Does this lesson help you see that eternal separation is a direct result
of our sin, not His vindictive nature?
Have you sinned (rebelled against the Creator of the universe)?
Can God, in His holiness, permit sin in His presence?
Have you accepted His loving plan to keep you from eternal separation?
About the Author:
Sean Mize is a Christian Entrepreneur and Christian internet Marketer, and the author of “The Christian Guide to Maximizing Your Time”, which can be ordered via
Christian Success Network
He also co-publishes a Christian Article Directory. To read articles or submit articles for inclusion in the directory, click here:
Christian Article Bank
You have my permission to reprint and distribute this article as long as it is distributed in its entirety, including all links. © Sean Mize 2006
Series 1 Lesson 1
Series 1
Lesson 2
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Management