However, we are not eternal in the same way as God is eternal, because we all had a beginning - born, hatched, dropped from an alien spacecraft. So we are not eternal in having existed before birth, but we do have the opportunity to become like God in the "never ending" side of eternal life.

In addition to the idea of "eternal life" the Bible presents the opposite idea of "eternal fire." In fact, the Bible presents us with a simple choice - shall it be eternal life or everlasting fire?

Here's a verse where both ideas are found together: "If your hand or your foot causes you to sin cut it off and throw it away. It is better for you to enter life maimed or crippled than to have two hands or two feet and be thrown into eternal fire." (Matthew 18:8)

Concerning this verse, Commentator Albert Barnes explains, "It is not meant by this, that when the body shall be raised it will be maimed and disfigured in this manner. It will be perfect. The meaning is, it is better to go to heaven, without enjoying the things that caused us to sin, than to enjoy them here, and then be lost.

The important question is, "Which will it be, eternal life or eternal fire?"

This is a sobering thought. "God is just: He will pay back trouble to those who trouble you and give relief to you who are troubled, and to us as well. This will happen when the Lord Jesus is revealed from heaven in blazing fire with his powerful angels. He will punish those who do not know God and do not obey the gospel of our Lord Jesus. They will be punished with everlasting destruction and shut out from the presence of the Lord and from the majesty of his power on the day he comes to be glorified in his holy people and to be marveled at among all those who have believed. This includes you, because you believed our testimony to you." (II Thessalonians 1:6-10)

Does it seem strange to you that this is what God is like, someone who punishes with "everlasting punishment"? It shouldn't. According to the writer of Hebrews, this is considered to be an elementary teaching, something that we should have learned at the very beginning of our relationship with God when we first believed in Christ. Here's what is written in Hebrews 6:1,2:

"Therefore let us leave the elementary teachings about Christ and go on to maturity, not laying again the foundation of repentance from acts that lead to death, and of faith in God, instruction about baptisms, the laying on of hands, the resurrection of the dead, and eternal judgment."

Perhaps some of us need to be reminded of this elementary teaching about the judgment of God with everlasting fire.

Also, please understand that the idea about God's punishment being eternal is not unique to the New Testament; it's also found in the Old. Here's an example:

"Multitudes who sleep in the dust of the earth will awake: some to everlasting life, others to shame and everlasting contempt. Those who are wise will shine like the brightness of the heavens, and those who lead many to righteousness, like the stars for ever and ever." (Daniel 12:2,3)

If it is clear that the choice is between eternal life and eternal fire, what must I do to ensure that I get the life, not the fire?

The passage quoted at the beginning, one we are all so familiar with, John 3:16, is part of the answer - believe in Jesus the Son of God. This is further reinforced by some of the other statements provided by John.

"And this is the record, that God hath given to us eternal life, and this life is in his Son. These things have I written unto you that believe on the name of the Son of God; that ye may know that ye have eternal life, and that ye may believe on the name of the Son of God." (I John 5:11, 13)

John is the writer who also recorded these rather surprising words of Jesus, "Whoever eats my flesh and drinks my blood has eternal life, and I will raise him up at the last day. For my flesh is real food and my blood is real drink." (John 6:54,55)

Taken literally, this sounds cannibalistic and repulsive. At least one major portion of the church believes this refers to what we call "Communion" and teaches that when the bread and wine is ingested, it actually turns into the body and blood of Jesus, and therefore it is through the act of taking communion that we are saved from sin and eventual judgment. In that church, one of the worst things that can happen is to be barred from taking Communion because for them it's the same as being thrown into hell.

Of course we don't accept that particular interpretation concerning Communion. For us the bread and wine are merely symbolic, and taken in the way Jesus coached His first Disciples - "Do this as a memorial of me."

So it's clear that in order for us to receive the promise of eternal life, and thus avoid the punishment of eternal fire, we need to believe in Jesus - there's no other way.

But we must be true to the whole teaching of Scripture and understand that there's another part. And what is that? Yes, we must believe, but we also must do.

This we learn from Gospel accounts of people who asked Jesus this simple question, "What must I do to inherit eternal life?" The Gospel writer, Luke, gives us two such stories.

The first is in Luke 10:25-37 when a religious lawyer asked the question. Jesus' quickly confirmed the lawyer's answer taken right out of the Old Testament, "'Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength and with all your mind;' and, `Love your neighbor as yourself.'"

When the questioner pressed for further explanation, Jesus told the story of the Good Samaritan. This is one of the most memorable stories told by Jesus, about a man on the road from Jerusalem to Jericho who was accosted by thieves who not only robbed him, but mugged him and left him for dead. As Jesus told it, two men, both quite religious, walked by and couldn't be bothered to even check to see if the half naked man was still alive. Clearly the message is this: the man who did help the barely breathing victim, even though he was a despised Samaritan, he alone of the three would receive eternal life.

The other story is found in Luke 18:18-29; it's the story of the man we call "the rich young ruler" who asked basically the same question, "What must I do to inherit eternal life?" Jesus' answer to that man was that he should do what was commanded in the Ten Commandments. When the young man claimed that he had broken none of them, Jesus faced him with the fact that evidently he loved his wealth more than he loved God - there was still something he had to do.

The idea that eternal life will be granted to those who do right is reiterated elsewhere by the "Apostle of Free Grace," Paul. This is what he wrote, "God will give to each person according to what he has done. To those who by persistence in doing good seek glory, honor and immortality, he will give eternal life. But for those who are self-seeking and who reject the truth and follow evil, there will be wrath and anger." (Romans 2:6,7)

And we recall the charge Paul gave to his son in the faith, Timothy: "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 6:12)

Did you hear the part, "Take hold of the eternal life"? It seems there is something that Timothy, and all of us, must do.

But, we protest, Paul also pointed out that keeping the law perfectly is out of our reach - even the "rich young ruler" found that out - after faithfully keeping the law, he still came up short because he was not willing to let go of his wealth.

Right, but remember that Paul also said, "I can do all things through Christ that strengthens me." No, we cannot achieve the sinless life, we cannot perpetually do what only is good - in our own strength, but He gives the strength to do it.

One positive thing we can say about this "rich young ruler" is that he was obviously anxious about eternal life, whether or not it would be part of his inheritance.

Our question is, what are we anxious about?

It seems that too many of us are not very concerned about the real future, the "eternal life" future - we're only worried about the immediate.

Yes, Jesus once said, "Do not worry about tomorrow," (Matthew 6:34), but let's make sure we understand that He was talking about clothes and food - don't worry about what you will wear tomorrow or what you will eat.

A legitimate worry, one that is in short supply, is the anxiety about the future.

A couple years ago as we were preaching through the Bible highlighting the "Great Chapters," we came across Ecclesiastes 3 where it says that God has placed "eternity in our hearts." We understood by this that in every one of us there is this deep awareness that we were created to live forever.

Perhaps the mistake we make is thinking that it's automatic - immortality is a given, and a Good God wouldn't create us just to then use us as fuel for His eternal fire.

Others will protest, "Wait! I thought all you had to do was 'Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ and you will be saved.'"

But what does it mean to believe? It surely means to trust in Him, accept His word as true, and then make every effort to live a holy life according to the directives of the Word, knowing that doing in itself is not enough, we will always come up short. What is required faith and obedience - faith plus works.

Remember the story Jesus told about the wise and foolish virgins who were waiting for the bridegroom's call to enter the wedding feast? What was required of them? They had to believe in the coming of the bridegroom, but there was something they also had to do to prepare themselves - they were responsible to keep their lamps trimmed and filled with oil.

Then there's the alarming teaching of Jesus in Matthew 25 when He places all people in one of two categories like a shepherd dividing sheep from goats. At the end, those symbolized as goats "will go away to eternal punishment, but the righteous (symbolized as sheep) to eternal life." (Matthew 25:46)

Some of you have been around long enough to remember Keith Green and his song based on this passage:

And when the Son of Man comes, and all the Holy Angels with Him, then shall He sit on His Glorious throne, and He will divide the nations before Him, as a shepherd separates the sheep from the goats.

And He shall put the sheep on His right and the goats on His left, and He shall say to the sheep; come ye, blessed of My Father, inherit the Kingdom I have prepared for you from the foundation of the world.

For I was hungry, and you gave Me something to eat, I was thirsty, and you gave Me something to drink, I was naked, and you clothed Me, I was a stranger, and you invited Me in, I was sick, and I was in prison, and you came to Me.

Thank you! Enter into your rest.

And they shall answer Him, yes, they shall answer Him, and they'll say, Lord, when?

When were You hungry Lord, and we gave You something to eat? Lord, when were You thirsty? I can't remember. And we gave You drink? When were You naked Lord, and we clothed You? And Lord, when were You a stranger and we invited You in? I mean, we invited lots of people in Lord. I could never forget that face. And Lord, when were You sick and we visited You? Or in prison, and we came to You? Lord, tell us?

In as much as you did it to the least of My brethren, you've done it unto Me. Oh yes, as much as you've done it to the very least of My brethren, you've done it, you've done it unto Me. Enter into your rest.

Then He shall turn to those on His left, the goats. Depart from Me, you cursed ones, into everlasting fire, prepared for the devil and his angels.

For I was hungry, and you gave Me nothing to eat, I was thirsty, and you gave Me nothing to drink, I was naked, out in the cold, in exposure, and you sent me away, I was a stranger, and I knocked at your door, But you didn't open, you told Me to go away, I was sick, racked in pain upon My bed, and I begged, and prayed, and pleaded that you'd come, but you didn't, I was in prison, and I rotted there, I'd prayed that you'd come. I heard your programs on the radio, I read your magazines, but you never came.

Depart from Me!!!

Lord, there must be some mistake, when? Lord, I mean, when were You hungry Lord and we didn't give You something to eat? And Lord, when were You thirsty, and we didn't give You drink? I mean, that's not fair, well, would You like something now? Would one of the Angels like to go out and get the Lord a hamburger and a coke? Oh, You're not hungry, yeah, I lost my appetite too.

Uh Lord uh, Lord, when were You naked, I mean Lord, that's not fair either Lord, we didn't know what size You wear. Oh Lord, when were You a stranger Lord, You weren't one of those creepy people who used to come to the door, were you? Oh Lord, that wasn't our ministry Lord. We just didn't feel led, you know?

Lord, when were You sick? What did You have, anyway? Well, at least it wasn't fatal; oh, it was? I'm sorry Lord, I would have sent You a card. ord, just one last thing we want to know, when were You in prison Lord? What were You in for anyway? I had a friend in Leavenworth . . .

ENOUGH!

In as much as you've not done it unto the least of My brethren, you've not done it unto Me. In as much as you've not done it unto the least of My brethren, you've not done it unto Me. Depart from Me.

And these shall go away into everlasting fire. But the righteous into eternal life!

And my friends, the only difference between the sheep and the goats, according to this scripture, is what they did, and didn't do!!

So there it is - eternal life for the sheep, eternal fire for the goats. In which herd will you be found?

1. Besides the words "eternal life," what other important words or phrases are found in the favorite verse, John 3:16?

2. Why is it difficult for us to comprehend the never/beginning - never/ending nature of "eternity"?

3. What is the important difference between our eternal life and God's?

4. If when connected with "eternal" the four-letter word "life" is good, what four-letter word goes with "eternal" to make it bad?

5. Not all Scriptures should be taken literally, like the one that says, "If your hand or your foot causes you to sin cut it off and throw it away." What did Jesus mean to convey when He said this?

6. II Thessalonians says that God "will pay back trouble to those who trouble you." Does this mean that God is revengeful and unforgiving?

7. Why do you think that the writer of Hebrews considered teaching about the judgment of God to be elementary, and that we should mature beyond such teaching?

8. What is the first, but not the only thing we must do to receive eternal life according to John3:16?

9. If not referring to the practice of "Communion," what did Jesus mean when He said, "Whoever eats my flesh and drinks my blood has eternal life"?

10. According to Luke, two different men asked Jesus, "What must I do to inherit eternal life?" Who were these men, and how was the question answered for each of them?

11. How can we balance Paul's statement "God will give to each person according to what he has done" with this one, "by grace you have been saved, through faith -- and this not from yourselves, it is the gift of God -- not by works"?

12. What hope is left for us when we learn that we must obey the commandments but cannot?

13. Why do you think it is that many people couldn't care less about the distant future?

14. According to what Jesus taught in Matthew 25, what will determine whether we will be classified as sheep or goats?