How to Get Eternal Life!

“Truly, truly, I say to you, whoever hears my word and believes him who sent me has eternal life. He does not come into judgment, but has passed from death to life.” (John 5:24; English Standard Version)

Authority is an interesting concept.  It is defined as the ability “to enforce laws, exact obedience, command, determine, or judge.”  For authority to be effective it must be objectively recognized.  For example, I do not have the authority to pull another motorist over for violating the speed limit.  Try as I may, speeding motorists will not recognize my authority.  However, a state trooper does have the authority to arrest a speeding motorist; that authority is vested to him by the government, which has its authority vested to them by the voters.

Furthermore, for authority to be effective, those in authority must have the ability to enforce its authority and punish those who challenge it.  Even though the government has its authority vested to it by the voters, citizens can choose to rebel against that authority.  Unless the government can enforce its authority, recognizing its authority isn’t enough.  That’s why we have policemen and a judicial system to enforce and adjudicate violations of government authority.

OK, what does all of this have to do with the Gospel of John?  Well, Jesus, as God’s Son, has authority given to him.  In particular, Jesus has the authority to judge, and that authority was given to him by God (John 5:22, 27).  Side note:  As Creator of the universe, God is the supreme authority (Psalm 24:1) and can grant that authority to whomever he chooses.  What does a judge have the authority to do?  In criminal cases, a judge has the authority to pronounce guilt or innocence, and in a sense that is what Jesus has authority to do.  In John 5:29, Jesus has the authority to determine the eternal state of our souls.  He has the authority to grant eternal life or eternal judgment. 

The question then becomes if Jesus has the authority to grant eternal life or eternal judgment, how can we make sure he rules in our favor?  That’s where today’s verse comes in.  Jesus gives us two conditions that must be met in order to attain eternal life.  The first condition is hearing the word of God.  Jesus says, “Whoever hears my word” will not pass into judgment.  What does this mean?  The context of this verse is a conflict between Jesus and the Jewish leaders in the aftermath of the healing at Bethesda.  Jesus had told the man he healed to go and sin no more.  This, and the fact that Jesus healed on the Sabbath, had provoked their ire.  Couple this with the fact that Jesus had equated himself with God, and the Jewish leaders were really worked up. 

When Jesus says, “Whoever hears my word,” I believe he is referring to the gospel—that Jesus is deity and that he has the authority to forgive sins.  All throughout the gospel of John, Jesus was saying things that pointed to the fact that he was deity and that he offered salvation to mankind.  In particular, note the “I am” statements that Jesus made (cf. John 6:35; 8:12; 10:7; 10:11; 11:25; 14:6; and 15:5).  These are direct references to the covenant name of God (Exodus 3:14).

The second condition is believing that Jesus was sent by God.  This is basically believing in the fact that God has indeed vested the authority to judge in Jesus Christ, the Son.  As Jesus said in John 3:17, he was sent into the world, not to condemn the world, but that the world might be saved through him.  Again, reading through the gospel of John, we read of all the miracles that Jesus performed.  These very miracles attest to the fact that Jesus was sent by God.  However, if we don’t believe that, then we fail this condition—and both conditions must be met.  The Jewish leaders failed this condition.  They ascribed Jesus’ miracles to the devil.  They didn’t believe that Jesus was sent by God. 

These two conditions depend on one another.  We must hear the word of Christ before we can believe he was sent by God.  We see this thought echoed from the apostle Paul in the book of Romans:  “So faith comes from hearing, and hearing through the word of Christ” (Romans 10:17).  One can hear, but not believe; and one cannot believe unless he hears.

When these two conditions are met, the result is eternal life.  Notice what Jesus says, the person who hears and believes has eternal life; not will receive, but has.  Eternal life is guaranteed for the person who hears the word of Christ and believes he was sent by God.  His eternal destination has been changed.  He is no longer under judgment, but now has “passed from death to life.” 

Bottom Line:  The default eternal destination for all people is judgment, death, and eternal separation from the beneficent presence of God.  That is implied in this verse.  Jesus says the person who hears and believes has passed from death to life.  That means if we don’t hear, or we hear and don’t believe, we remain under God’s judgment; and that judgment will be meted out by his Son, Jesus Christ.

Don’t trivialize this.  Don’t think this is good for some, but not for others.  Finally, don’t be fooled into thinking there are many roads to heaven.  Jesus said he was the way, the truth and the life; no one gets to the Father except through him (John 14:6).  Jesus came to earth to satisfy God’s righteous requirements.  He did this by living a perfect, sinless life.  He went to the cross to die as atonement for the sins of the world.  He suffered the wrath of God on the cross as a substitution for you and me.  He could do this because he was God in human flesh.  As God, only he could live a perfect life.  As a human being, only he could be a substitute for mankind.  If you’re reading this, you’ve met the first condition described above.  You have now heard the word of God.  I implore you to do the second part and believe that God has indeed sent Jesus as atonement for our sins.  That is the only way to “pass from death to life.”