A Christian Guidebook: What Is Eternal Life? (6)

… God, who “will render to each one according to his deeds”: eternal life to those who by patient continuance in doing good seek for glory, honor, and immortality… Romans 2.5-7

A most useful gift
We might be inclined to think that eternal life is like a comfy chair, one of those that can put your feet up, massage your back, apply a little heat to your body, and be just what you want for an extended period of “Ahhhh.”

Well, in fact, eternal life is a bit like that, because as our vision of then and there improves and becomes more constant, and as we embrace the reality of eternal life in all our here and now, a certain measure of rest comes to characterize our lives. We’re not as easily troubled or agitated. We enjoy considering Jesus and delight in the surprise of finding ourselves becoming a little more like Him. We go to bed at night without the trials and difficulties and challenges of the day fighting to have a place under the covers with us.  We just turn our soul to Jesus, close our eyes, give Him thanks and praise, and say in our spirit, “Ahhhh.”

And that’s a really good place to be.

But that’s not the whole of what it means to have eternal life. It’s not all a comfy chair. We can rest in the promise and possession of this unspeakable gift, even to the point of filling up with peace and joy. This is, indeed, no small part of what God intends in granting us the gift of eternal life.

But he has given us this gift so that we might share the fruit of it with others. And this we do through a life devoted to doing good and seeking God’s glory and honor and the full measure of immortality He will give.

What does that entail?

A new orientation
Those who possess the gift of eternal life discover, increasingly, that their lives are being reoriented in various ways—from self to others, from getting to giving, from complacency to action, from the things of earth to the things of the unseen realm of heaven, from present indulgences to future promises and blessings.

And all this re-orienting inclines us to use our time in works appropriate for one who has eternal life, good works that bring glory and honor to God and demonstrate to the world that we are immortal mortals, and they can be, too.

I realize I’ve lifted our text out of a context of prior and succeeding verses that help our passage make sense. But I do not believe my use of the text will compromise or contradict the point of the larger section. For the point of the whole is that God will bring His righteous judgment to bear against every human being. And He will give the full gift of eternal life (“immortality”) to those who seek it by good works of glory and honor. Good works that strive for the glory and honor of God are the proof that we have received and will receive the gift of eternal life. Good works are not how we earn eternal life because, as we have seen, eternal life is the gift of God. Rather, good works are just how people live who have received that great gift and are orienting their lives accordingly.

And, if we’re careful to abide by our new orientation, such good works will issue from us gladly, selflessly, and to the edification and blessing of others. Proof positive that eternal life is at work in us.

But which works?
Which works are good works? We can safely say that good works are works like Jesus did, works of compassion, courage, self-denial, instruction, witness, standing for truth, being patient, loving others, and so forth. Since considering Jesus, looking to Him, and especially seeing Him in His Word have the effect of transforming us into His likeness, we expect to do the kinds of works Jesus did. Not as consistently or completely, but truly and really and increasingly (cf. 1 Jn. 2.1-6).

The works Jesus did brought glory and honor to God. Following Jesus—being a disciple of Jesus—entails doing the works He did, which proves that we have eternal life and are on the path to enjoying eternal life forever with Him.

But still: Which works?

Well, Jesus did holy works, works that refracted the glory and honor to the holy God. He did righteous works, works that displayed the hand of God like a straight flush, spread out on the table—works of love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, gentleness, faithfulness, and self-control. And Jesus did good works, works that helped, encouraged, and edified others, opening the eyes of many to the reality of eternal life through Him.

We want to do good works that are just that—holy and righteous and good. And the apostle Paul tells us that those works are to be found in the holy and righteous and good Law of God (Rom. 7.12). These, Paul insisted, are the works the Holy Spirit brings to light from within those in whom He dwells (Rom. 8.5-8). These are the good works of love that help us increase in the gift of eternal life and the Kingdom of God (Matt. 22.34-30; 5.17-19).

A life of good works is what you would expect—what God expects—from one who has received His gift of eternal life. And the more we increase in the experience and enjoyment of that gift, the more such good works will be present with us as the evidence of the kind of true and lively faith that accompanies eternal life and leads to glory and honor for God.

Search the Scriptures
1. We don’t do good works to gain eternal life but because we have received it. Where would you turn in Scripture to demonstrate each of those truths?

2. How does the Holy Spirit bring forth the fruit of good works in us? According to Romans 8.5-8, what can short-circuit that process?

3. How do works that glorify and honor God show proof of our having eternal life? What does the absence of such works suggest?

Next steps—Transformation: Read Psalm 1. What place do reading and meditating in God’s Law have in your practice of eternal life? How could you improve in this?

T. M. Moore

Additional Resources
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Except as indicated, all Scriptures are taken from theNew King James Version. © Copyright 1982 by Thomas Nelson, Inc. Used by permission. All rights reserved.