Question 1

How should my hope of eternal life in the future affect the way I live now?

Accepted Answer

Mark 8:36-37“What do you benefit if you gain the whole world but lose your own soul? Is anything worth more than your soul?”Luke 12:15-21Then he [Jesus] said, “Beware! Guard against every kind of greed. Life is not measured by how much you own.” Then he told them a story: “A rich man had a fertile farm that produced fine crops. He said to himself, ‘What should I do? I don’t have room for all my crops.’ Then he said, ‘I know! I’ll tear down my barns and build bigger ones. Then I’ll have room enough to store all my wheat and other goods. And I’ll sit back and say to myself, “My friend, you have enough stored away for years to come. Now take it easy! Eat, drink, and be merry!”’ “But God said to him, ‘You fool! You will die this very night. Then who will get everything you worked for?’ Yes, a person is a fool to store up earthly wealth but not have a rich relationship with God.”1 Corinthians 2:9“No eye has seen, no ear has heard, and no mind has imagined what God has prepared for those who love him.”If this life and its rewards are all there is, with no life after death, then a “why bother?” attitude would be understandable. But looking for quick and easy enjoyment on earth ignores both earthly and eternal rewards. First, when we follow and obey God, we put ourselves in position to enjoy life the way it is meant to be enjoyed; our relationships are healthier, our lives are full of integrity, and our consciences are clear. Second, this life is not all there is. The Bible is very clear that those who trust Jesus Christ for forgiveness of sin receive the promise of eternal life. Our faithfulness in this life may or may not result in material prosperity, but the rewards in eternity will be more than we could ever imagine.Mark 8:34-35“If any of you wants to be my follower, you must give up your own way, take up your cross, and follow me. If you try to hang on to your life, you will lose it. But if you give up your life for my sake and for the sake of the Good News, you will save it.”Galatians 5:24Those who belong to Christ Jesus have nailed the passions and desires of their sinful nature to his cross and crucified them there.When we are absolutely convinced that Jesus died on the Cross to save us from since and give us the gift of eternal life, then the troubles of this world are put in perspective. We know that our future—for all eternity—is secure. This gives us peace no matter what happens in this life and changes the way we react to the troubles and trials life throws our way. Our sinful natures no longer control us with lust and fear; we are free to live as God calls us to live.John 11:25-26Jesus told her, “I am the resurrection and the life. Anyone who believes in me will live, even after dying. Everyone who lives in me and believes in me will never ever die.”1 Thessalonians 5:18Be thankful in all circumstances, for this is God’s will for you who belong to Christ Jesus.We should be neither too elated with earthly success, nor too distressed by earthly failures, because we know that the best of this life is just a shadow of what is to come.

Question 2

What is eternal life?

Accepted Answer

John 5:24“I tell you the truth, those who listen to my message and believe in God who sent me have eternal life. They will never be condemned for their sins, but they have already passed from death into life.”2 Timothy 1:10Now he has made all of this plain to us by the appearing of Christ Jesus, our Savior. He broke the power of death and illuminated the way to life and immortality through the Good News.Eternal simply means existing or lasting forever, with no beginning or end. Thus, “eternal life” means living forever after death. Eternal life begins the moment a person trusts in Christ as Savior and continues after that person dies.

Question 3

Does everyone live forever?

Accepted Answer

Daniel 12:2“Many of those whose bodies lie dead and buried will rise up, some to everlasting life and some to shame and everlasting disgrace.”John 3:36“Anyone who believes in God’s Son has eternal life. Anyone who doesn’t obey the Son will never experience eternal life but remains under God’s angry judgment.”1 John 2:17This world is fading away, along with everything that people crave. But anyone who does what pleases God will live forever.1 John 5:11-12This is what God has testified: He has given us eternal life, and this life is in his Son. Whoever has the Son has life; whoever does not have God’s Son does not have life.Every person’s soul lives forever after death on earth, but not every person has eternal life. Those who are under God’s judgment will experience eternal separation from God, eternal death.

Question 4

Why is thinking about eternity important?

Accepted Answer

Matthew 10:28“Don’t be afraid of those who want to kill your body; they cannot touch your soul. Fear only God, who can destroy both soul and body in hell.”Matthew 13:40-43“Just as the weeds are sorted out and burned in the fire, so it will be at the end of the world. The Son of Man will send his angels, and they will remove from his Kingdom everything that causes sin and all who do evil. And the angels will throw them into the fiery furnace, where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth. Then the righteous will shine like the sun in their Father’s Kingdom. Anyone with ears to hear should listen and understand!”John 3:14-18“As Moses lifted up the bronze snake on a pole in the wilderness, so the Son of Man must be lifted up, so that everyone who believes in him will have eternal life. For God this is how God loved the world: He gave his one and only Son, so that everyone who believes in him will not perish but have eternal life. God sent his Son into the world not to judge the world, but to save the world through him. There is no judgment against anyone who believes in him. But anyone who does not believe in him has already been judged for not believing in God’s one and only Son.”Thinking about eternity is vital for every person because life on earth is short, but life after death lasts forever. This is a life-and-death issue and choice. Those who believe in Christ and trust him as Savior will live forever in heaven with him. Those who reject him and the salvation he offers will fall under God’s wrath and experience eternal punishment for their sins in hell.Matthew 6:19-21“Don’t store up treasures here on earth, where moths eat them and rust destroys them, and where thieves break in and steal. Store your treasures in heaven, where moths and rust cannot destroy, and thieves do not break in and steal. Wherever your treasure is, there the desires of your heart will also be.”Thinking about eternity is important because it helps us put our life on earth into proper perspective. Gathering earthly wealth can distract both our hearts and our hands from God’s work—in the end, wealth is temporary. While on earth, we should invest our time, money, and other resources in serving others. Our relationships with God and others have the greatest eternal value.

Question 5

Why is eternity so difficult to understand?

Accepted Answer

Psalm 90:1-4Lord, through all the generations you have been our home! Before the mountains were born, before you gave birth to the earth and the world, from beginning to end, you are God. You turn people back to dust, saying, “Return to dust, you mortals!” For you, a thousand years are as a passing day, as brief as a few night hours.We cannot understand eternity, or anything infinite, because we are mortals, limited by time and space. The finite cannot comprehend the infinite.Psalm 139:6Such knowledge is too wonderful for me, too great for me to understand!God and all his attributes are far beyond our ability to fully comprehend.Isaiah 46:9-10“Remember the things I have done in the past. For I alone am God! I am God, and there is none like me. Only I can tell you the future before it even happens. Everything I plan will come to pass, for I do whatever I wish.”Jude 1:25All glory to him who alone is God, our Savior through Jesus Christ our Lord. All glory, majesty, power, and authority are his before all time, and in the present, and beyond all time! Amen.Because of our human limitations, we cannot conceive of something with no beginning. Regarding time, if someone were to say, “That was first,” we wonder, What was before that? The same is true with space. If someone were to say, “The universe is expanding,” we think, Into what? Everything in our experience has limits. This is not so with God.

Question 6

What will life be like in eternity?

Accepted Answer

Psalm 16:11You will show me the way of life, granting me the joy of your presence and the pleasures of living with you forever.Because we have trusted in Christ as Savior, after we die, we will experience continual joy and other pleasures of living with him forever.Revelation 21:3-4I heard a loud shout from the throne, saying, “Look, God’s home is now among his people! He will live with them, and they will be his people. God himself will be with them. He will wipe every tear from their eyes, and there will be no more death or sorrow or crying or pain. All these things are gone forever.”All pain, death, and sorrow will be gone in heaven as we live in the joy and light of God’s presence.

Eternity