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Jesus said that eternal life is a gift. A gift is free or it isn't a gift. In John 4:10-14 He spoke to the Samaritan woman about the gift of God which is the living water which springs up to eternal life. The living water is a reference to the Holy Spirit (John 7:38-39) who is the agent of regeneration.
People who claim that you have to work in order to earn eternal life like to quote Matthew 7:21.
Matthew 7:21 "Not everyone who says to Me, 'Lord, Lord,' will enter the kingdom of heaven, but he who does the will of My Father who is in heaven will enter.
But they take that verse out of context and ignore who Jesus said that about. Jesus spoke those words about those who in that day will say that they prophesied, cast out demons, and performed many miracles in the name of Jesus. Those are works.
Matthew 7:22 "Many will say to Me on that day, 'Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in Your name, and in Your name cast out demons, and in Your name perform many miracles?'
Jesus will say to them that He never knew them, and to depart from Him.
Matthew 7:23 "And then I will declare to them, 'I never knew you; DEPART FROM ME, YOU WHO PRACTICE LAWLESSNESS.'
Despite doing these deeds Jesus said that they were practicing lawlessness. He said that they were not doing the will of the Father. What is the will of the Father? John 6:40 tells us.
John 6:40 "For this is the will of My Father, that everyone who beholds the Son and believes in Him will have eternal life, and I Myself will raise him up on the last day."
The will of the Father is that everyone who believes in Christ Jesus will have eternal life.
When Jesus was asked by the crowd to whom He was speaking what works of God they might do to have eternal life Jesus refuted their belief that there were works which must be done to receive eternal life.
John 6:27 "Do not work for the food which perishes, but for the food which endures to eternal life, which the Son of Man will give to you, for on Him the Father, God, has set His seal." 28] Therefore they said to Him, "What shall we do, so that we may work the works of God?" 29] Jesus answered and said to them, "This is the work of God, that you believe in Him whom He has sent."
Jesus called believing in Him a work, as opposed to the works that the crowd was asking about that if they knew what they were they would do them. Since the Jews thought in terms of works, Jesus spoke of believing in Him as a work. But He clearly contrasts believing in Him with doing any works to earn eternal life.
Jesus spoke of being obedient to Him and of picking up your cross and following Him. But this is not the means of receiving the free gift of eternal life. During His public ministry Jesus was offering to bring in the kingdom if the Jews would believe that He was the Messiah. Since they did not, the Millennial kingdom has been postponed until His Second Advent. Had the Jews accepted Jesus as the Messiah then He would have established the Millennial kingdom after going to the cross. He still would have had to go to the cross to die for our sins as our substitute. In offering the kingdom to the Jews, His ministry pertained to life and conduct in the Millennial Kingdom. There will be mortal men during the Millennial kingdom and they will have old sin natures. But that is a separate issue from the fact that eternal life is offered only as a free gift for which you cannot work.
In Jesus' Revelation to John we read,
Revelation 22:17 The Spirit and the bride say, "Come." And let the one who hears say, "Come." And let the one who is thirsty come; let the one who wishes take the water of life without cost.
Yes, the water of life is free. As the apostle Paul so clearly stated,
Ephesians 2:8 For by grace you have been saved through faith; and that not of yourselves, it is the gift of God; 9] not as a result of works, so that no one may boast.
Titus 3:5 He saved us, not on the basis of deeds which we have done in righteousness, but according to His mercy, by the washing of regeneration and renewing by the Holy Spirit, 6] whom He poured out upon us richly through Jesus Christ our Savior, 7] so that being justified by His grace we would be made heirs according to the hope of eternal life.
There are people who claim that Paul contradicts Jesus. But as can be seen by carefully reading what both Jesus and Paul say, they are in full agreement. Eternal life is a free gift for which we cannot work. All the work which made salvation possible was done by Jesus on the cross.
Since it didn't occur to me to mention this in the OP I should point out also, in an effort to head off the otherwise inevitable argument that will needlessly prolong this thread, that the issue, and the topic of this thread is not whether those who have believed in Christ will have good works. The issue, and the topic is simply that eternal life is free and cannot be earned by any works on our part.
Last edited by Michael Way; 05-30-2014 at 09:45 AM..
Since it didn't occur to me to mention this in the OP I should point out also, in an effort to head off the otherwise inevitable argument that will needlessly prolong this thread, that the issue, and the topic of this thread is not whether those who have believed in Christ will have good works. The issue, and the topic is simply that eternal life is free and cannot be earned by any works on our part.
if you do not want any arguments .... then why add "a separate issue"
Since they did not, the Millennial kingdom has been postponed until His Second Advent. Had the Jews accepted Jesus as the Messiah then He would have established the Millennial kingdom after going to the cross. He still would have had to go to the cross to die for our sins as our substitute. In offering the kingdom to the Jews, His ministry pertained to life and conduct in the Millennial Kingdom. There will be mortal men during the Millennial kingdom and they will have old sin natures. But that is a separate issue
ok then let's play under those rules:
Yes eternal life is a free gift, but it's by grace that we are chosen ... not what those who persist in the false teaching "separate issue" will so often do is to slide into by making coming to faith "a work of man" with their decision theology.
Ephesians 2:8
For it is bygraceyou have been saved, through faith—and this is not from yourselves, it is the gift of God—
Galatians 1:15
But when God, who set me apart from my mother’s womb and called me by his grace,
Ephesians 3:7
I became a servant of this gospel by the gift of God’s grace given me through the working of his power
but for those of us who correctly witness to the truth is as you say ... that's "a separate issue"
If it were free, everyone would (not could) receive it. Are you a universalist?
I am a universalist but only those chosen now are getting it free as He has decided. Remember this Old Testament forshadowed this when the Levites were first chosen to be the Priests before the rest of Israel could be atoned.
The key though is that the ONE MAN's OBEDIENCE (Christ) must be the obedience that we exhibit. It is still His - He has the copyright on it.
This is the hardest thing to communicate online, but it's not exhibited by us but rather through us.
Our part is to believe, and by believing He works through us. I repeat, as we keep our minds stayed on Him, our lives line up with the fruits of the Spirit. First comes believing, then the fruit - not the other way around.
Grace is the gospel, and we've been mixing it with the old covenant far too long.
if you do not want any arguments .... then why add "a separate issue"
Since they did not, the Millennial kingdom has been postponed until His Second Advent. Had the Jews accepted Jesus as the Messiah then He would have established the Millennial kingdom after going to the cross. He still would have had to go to the cross to die for our sins as our substitute. In offering the kingdom to the Jews, His ministry pertained to life and conduct in the Millennial Kingdom. There will be mortal men during the Millennial kingdom and they will have old sin natures. But that is a separate issue
ok then let's play under those rules:
Yes eternal life is a free gift, but it's by grace that we are chosen ... not what those who persist in the false teaching "separate issue" will so often do is to slide into by making coming to faith "a work of man" with their decision theology.
Ephesians 2:8
For it is bygraceyou have been saved, through faith—and this is not from yourselves, it is the gift of God—
Galatians 1:15
But when God, who set me apart from my mother’s womb and called me by his grace,
Ephesians 3:7
I became a servant of this gospel by the gift of God’s grace given me through the working of his power
but for those of us who correctly witness to the truth is as you say ... that's "a separate issue"
I referred to the Millennial kingdom because Jesus had offered to bring in the kingdom after going to the cross if the Jews accepted Him as the Messiah. And it was with regard to this that Jesus spoke of life and conduct in the kingdom. Many people mistake Jesus' teaching of life in the kingdom with what is required to receive eternal life.
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