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The Daily Word of Righteousness
Pressing Forward Into Eternal Life, #4
Do not be amazed at this, for a time is coming when all who are in their graves will hear his voice and come out—those who have done good will rise to live, and those who have done evil will rise to be condemned [to a resurrection of judgment]. (John 5:28,29—NIV)
There are two resurrections. Every human being will participate in one or the other. There is a resurrection to eternal life, and then there is a resurrection to judgment.
This does not mean, as I understand it, that all who attain to the resurrection to life will go to Heaven while all who participate in the resurrection to judgment will go to Hell and then to the Lake of Fire.
The Bible is clear that some people will finally be thrown into the Lake of Fire with the devil and his angels. However, the issue is not Heaven or the Lake of Fire. The issue is attainment to life.
The only way we can attain to the resurrection to life is to turn away from the desires and lusts of our flesh and learn to live by the Life of Jesus Christ. This obviously is what the Apostle Paul was seeking.
If we attain to the resurrection to life, then, when Christ returns, He will raise us to Himself that we always may be with Him.
If we do not attain to the resurrection to life, we will not be raised when the Lord returns. We shall be raised at a later time and then judged. If at that time our name is not found written in the Book of Life, we will be thrown into the Lake of Fire.
We understand therefore that attainment to eternal life is one matter, and where we will be placed for eternity may be something quite different.
Notice carefully Paul's admonition to Timothy:
But you, man of God, flee from all this, and pursue righteousness, godliness, faith, love, endurance and gentleness. Fight the good fight of the faith. Take hold of the eternal life to which you were called when you made your good confession in the presence of many witnesses. (I Timothy 6:11,12—NIV)
Each Christian has been called to eternal life.
If we are to take hold of the eternal life to which we have been called, we must pursue righteousness.
We must pursue godliness.
We must pursue faith.
We must pursue love.
We must pursue endurance.
We must pursue gentleness.
We must pursue each of these qualities or they will elude us and we will not be able to take hold of the eternal life to which we have been called.
We must fight the good fight of faith if we are to take hold of eternal life.
We see, then, that eternal life is not a legal state that is given us in its fullness when we profess faith in Jesus Christ. Eternal life is a life force that comes as we choose to embrace righteousness, godliness, faith, love, endurance, and gentleness.
Why is it that we have to fight to gain eternal life?
We have to fight because many pressures in the world strive to keep us in the death of the adamic nature. Not only Satan, the demons, and our own mind, flesh, and soul, but the entire American culture seeks to entice us into the ways of death, of materialism, of idolatry, of lust, of covetousness, of foolishness, of witchcraft.
To be continued.