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Romans 6:23 For the wages of sin is death; but the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord.
The gift of God is eternal life. Heaven is life, consisting in the vision and fruition of God; and it is eternal
life, no infirmities attending it, no death to put a period to it. This is the gift of God. The death is the wages
of sin, it comes by desert; but the life is a gift, it comes by favor. Sinners merit hell, but saints to not merit heaven.
There is no proportion between the glory of heaven and our obedience; we must thank God, and not ourselves, if ever
we get to heaven. And this gift is through Jesus Christ our Lord. It is Christ that purchased it, preparedit,
prepares us for it, preserves us to it; he is Alpha and Omega, All in all our salvation.
You can work for sin but it is a cruel master. When it pays you off, its wage is
death--separation from God forever. In stark contrast, God does not pay wages. He has a free gift to offer--eternal
life. There is nothing that one can do to earn this gift. If one could earn it, it would not be a gift, it would
be wages. Eternal life is just that--eternal--it never ceases. The basic concept underlying life is union.
There are t hree kinds of life mentioned in th Bible:
1. physical life--union of the soul with the body.
2. spiritual life--union of the soul with God.
3. eternal life--eternal union of the soul with God.
Jesus said, "My shep hear my voice. . .And I give unto them eternal life, and they will never perish" (John
10:27, 28 My sheep hear my voice, and I know them, and they follow me. And I give unto them eternal life; and
they will never peish, neither will any man pluck them out of my hand.) They hear his voice, for they know
it to be his, and he has undertaken that they will hear it. They discern it, It is the voice of my beloved, They
delight in it, are in their element when they are sitting at his feet to hear his word. They do according
to it, and mske his word their rule. Christ will not account those his sheep that are deft to his calls, deaf to his
charms. Secondly, They follow him; they submit to his guidance by a willing obedence to all his commands,
and a cheerful conformity to his spirit and pattern. The word of command has always been, Follow me. We must eye
him as our leader and captain, and tread in his steps, and walk as he walked--follow the prescriptions of his word,
the imitations of his providence, and the directions of his Spirit--follow the Lamb withersoever he goes.
The estste settled upon them is rich and valuable; it is life, eternal life. Man has a living soul; therefore the
happiness provided is life, suited to his natue. Man has an immortal soul; therefore the happiness provided is eternal
life, running parallel with his duration. Life eternal is the felicity and chief good of a soul
immortal.The gift of God is eternal life. One receives this gift when he believes in Jesus as his own personal
Savior. Having eternal life, he will never perish.
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