Do you have eternal life? If you ask many people that question, they will answer, "I hope so” or “I expect I will have when I get to Heaven.” Such answers show that the people know little about the Bible. You will never find a "hope so" answer in the Bible. Look at John 5:24 "He that heareth My Word and believeth on Him that sent Me hath everlasting life.” Jesus does not say that maybe the believer will have everlasting life, but that he has it now. Read John 6:47 and 3:36, and you will find that the same thing is true. Then turn to 1 John 5:13, "These things have I written unto you . . . that ye may KNOW that ye HAVE eternal life.” He does not say, that ye may hope, but, that ye may know.
A young man came to Jesus one day and asked Him what he must do to inherit eternal life (Matthew 19:16-26). He thought Jesus was only a good man, and Jesus had to begin by showing him that He must be called either Good God or bad man. You cannot talk about an honest thief! Then Jesus began to answer his question about life. The great mistake of the young man was to think that life could be received by doing. So Jesus answered him, first, by telling him that he had to keep all the commandments, and when the young man said that he had done this, Jesus showed the young man that he had not kept them at all.
We all know the words "eternal life.” We have heard them for many years, but I wonder if we know what they mean. Just what is eternal, or everlasting life? You know what physical life is - it is the opposite of death. A live dog is a dog that is not dead. But the life we are talking about is not just the life of the body, it is the life of the soul. Many of the people whom you see every day have dead souls. Their bodies are alive, but God says they are really dead, dead in trespasses and sins (Ephesians 2:1); dead while living (1 Timothy 5:6).
There is a difference between being paid and being rewarded. If a man works hard all day, he deserves to be paid. If the one for whom he works does not pay him, it is the same as stealing from him, for the wages he has earned are his. Sometimes, though, a kind employer will reward the man who works for him, as well as giving him his pay. Perhaps the man has worked hard all winter long, and has received his pay every week. Then comes summer. The man is supposed to have two weeks vacation, but his employer says to him, "Well, you have worked very hard and very well, and I am going to give you a months vacation, instead of only two weeks.” That would be a reward. The employer did not have to give it to him, but he did it because he wanted to.
It is very interesting to watch men build a house. You know how they begin. First they dig the cellar and lay the foundation. Then they raise the walls, and finally they put on the roof. If you saw carpenters building a roof, right on the ground, and when they had it done, shingles and all, trying to raise it up and to build the walls under it, you would think you had met some crazy carpenters, and probably you would be right.
