Beautiful Life Unending
—God’s promise to you
[Translation from the lesson in Bislama]
Christ gives you the promise of life everlasting (1John 2:25). This is God’s promise to everyone who tries hard to obey the commandments attached to this promise.
God makes a promise in the Bible, that the blood of Jesus Christ takes away the sins of those who believe in him and follow his word. Such will receive beautiful life unending (1John 1:7, 5:11-13).
There are three things that go with this promise of God. We will examine these three things in the Bible.
1 The Promise is for Everyone
The promise [of eternal life] is for every human being. Everyone is able to take hold of this promise. God loves all people of this world, so God’s promise goes out everywhere in the world (John 3:16, 1John 2:2).
The blood of Jesus can take away the sins of every person. John says, "Christ died to make it possible for God to take away our sins". But we must ask one question about this statement. Did Christ die to take away our sins only, or was it for the sins of all mankind? John goes on to answer this question. He says, "Not for ours only, but for those of the whole world" (1John 2:2).
2 The Promise is Conditional
God has laid down some rules to this promise. If we want the blood of Jesus to be washing our sins away, so we can gain life in Heaven, well then we must walk in the light just as God lives in light. We must not walk in darkness of sin. We must constantly follow the word of God in the manner of Christ. Our minds must not forget the word of Christ.(1John 1:6-7, 2:3-6,24-25).
3 The Promise Can be Lost
Those who have accepted this promise are able to fall away from it if and when they don't keep its commandments carefully. If a person accepts God’s promise and then later turns back and leaves the faith, falling away again, that one no longer keeps the promise, but has lost it (Hebrews 6:4-6).
When Paul told Timothy about a man becoming an elder of the church, he said this: "A man who has recently become a Christian is not able to take on the work of an elder, because he might become proud and cocky, so God will then judge him with the same condemnation as the devil has received." This shows that a person who becomes a Christian can lose [salvation] (1Timothy 3:6 paraphrased).
The Bible says, "The man who thinks he stands strong must keep a careful eye on himself so that he will not fall" (1Corinthians 10:12).
How can we be careful like that? We should not try at all to stand by our own strength. We must ask God to help us, so that we can stand strong in him. "God holds to his promise and he does not permit anything to test us that is too strong for us. But rather, at the very time something bad tests us, God makes a way to achieve a getaway" (1Corinthians 10:13 paraphrased).
If we believe in Jesus, turn our hearts from our sins, and are baptised in the name of Jesus, then God takes away our sins. As well, God gives us the Holy Spirit to help us. If we stand strong in him, then we have the good promise and gift from God [guaranteeing life unending] (Acts 2:38-39).