Please turn in Your Bibles this morning to Titus chapter 1 as we look at the topic of Eternal Life, what it means to us.  You see, there are many ideas out there regarding eternal life, what it is, when it starts. This morning I hopefully will answer those questions for you because I believe having a correct perspective on eternal life will manifest certain qualities in our life.  On the other end of the spectrum, having an incorrect perspective on eternal life will also manifest certain qualities in our life, but not necessarily for good.

            Maybe you heard of the elderly couple that died in an accident and they found themselves standing at the Pearly Gates of Heaven. St. Peter was there to welcome them and took them inside.

            First he showed them their mansion. The man, overwhelmed by the sheer luxury of it all asked, “How much does this place cost per night?”

            St. Peter replied, “Sir, this is Heaven, it doesn’t cost anything.”

            Then Peter took them to the dining room where table upon table was piled high with the most exquisite, delicious foods you could imagine. Again overwhelmed by the glory of it all the man asked, “How much for the meals?”

            St. Peter said, “You forget, this is Heaven, it’s free.”

            St. Peter then took them out back where they saw a fantastically beautiful golf course.  As the man stood there open-mouthed, St. Peter said, “Now before you ask, there are no greens fees, this is Heaven, everything is free.”

            The man looked at his wife and said, “You and your confounded bran muffins, I could have been here 10 years ago!”

            As I have said, there are many strange concepts of Heaven and eternal life out there and I hope to set things in order this morning for you. In this letter Paul is writing to his son in the faith, Titus.  By Paul saying that it would seem that he lead Titus to the Lord as he did Timothy.

            Now Titus is on the island of Crete, which was located in the Mediterranean Sea, southeast of Greece, southwest of Asia Minor, and north of Africa.  The island itself was some 160 miles long and its width varied from 7 to 35 miles.  And Titus is sent to this island to set things in order, to correct some of the doctrinal errors that were being taught and those doctrinal errors lead to ungodly behavior.  He was to raise up faithful men, godly men to assist in the work of the ministry, to help keep things in order.

            Now, as Paul opens up this letter to Titus, he shared the idea of eternal life and so, let’s begin reading in Titus chapter 1, starting in verse 1 and see what the Lord has for us this morning on the subject of eternal life!

            First of all, what is eternal life?  Does it just mean a lot of time?  Not at all, in fact, it is beyond time itself for time is a property of mass.  Listen to how Unger describes eternal life and then we will expound on that. He tells us:

            This is a priceless treasure, the gift of God.  It is not to be confused with mere endless existence, which all possess, saved as well as unsaved . . . Eternal life must not be confused with natural life. This form of life is subject to death and derived by human generation. Spiritual life has a beginning but no end.  The Difference is that one possessing mere natural life will be separated from God in the lake of fire eternally, whereas the one possessing eternal life will be united and in fellowship with God for all eternity.  Thus, separation from God is eternal death; union with God is eternal life.

             - M. F. Unger, Unger’s Bible Dictionary, p. 326

            You see, the eternal life that God has given to us is not just the existence of life, it is abundant life, it is everlasting life, it is a quality of life that can only come from Him!  And folks, eternal life is not something in the future alone, I believe we can receive it here and now.  There is a present possession of eternal life and a future hope of eternal life. Let me explain.

             Let’s look at our present possession of eternal life first.  John tells us in I John 5:11-12, “And this is the testimony: that God has given us eternal life, and this life is in His Son.  He who has the Son has life; he who does not have the Son of God does not have life.”  Notice, it is not that God will give us eternal life, but He has given it to us.  It is not just the existence of life, for even the unsaved have that, but now a life with a purpose that is found only in Christ!  And in John 10:27-28, notice the security we have in this life as Jesus tells us, “My sheep hear My voice, and I know them, and they follow Me.  And I give them eternal life, and they shall never perish; neither shall anyone snatch them out of My hand.”

            You see, if we have received Jesus as our Lord and Savior we are saved and we can’t be unsaved, that is unscriptural!  Yes, there are some that look like Christians but by their actions they show that they never where saved, like the illustration that Jesus gave of the true Christian being the wheat and the false being a tare, they look very much alike and it is not till harvest time until you can tell the difference.  In fact, that is John’s point in I John 2:19 as he tells us, “They went out from us, but they were not of us; for if they had been of us, they would have continued with us; but they went out that they might be made manifest, that none of them were of us.”

            And so, in Christ we have a quality of life that is a present possession for us here and now, not in the future.  Jesus, in John 17:3 said, “And this is eternal life, that they may know You, the only true God, and Jesus Christ whom You have sent.”  Do you see how our eternal life is based on knowing the truths of God, by receiving Jesus as our Lord and Savior!  So in this present life, eternal life is an intimate, personal, growing relationship with the Father and the Son.  In fact, John tells us that is the reason he wrote his Gospel, “And truly Jesus did many other signs in the presence of His disciples, which are not written in this book; but these are written that you may believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God, and that believing you may have life in His name.”  John 20:30-31.  Thus, Satan loves to move people away from the Word of God, and we will deal more with that in a few minutes.

            Now I realize that for some this is difficult to accept because they believe you must work your way into eternal life, you have to be good and the list goes on.  But the Scriptures tell us that none of us are good, we can’t save ourselves, we can’t reach up into heaven and grab hold of God. But God, in His rich love for us has reached down to sinful man and pulled us out of the mire of sin and has placed our feet upon the Rock, Jesus Christ!  It is as Jesus said in John 10:10, “The thief does not come except to steal, and to kill, and to destroy. I have come that they may have life, and that they may have it more abundantly.”

            Today people are searching for that kind of life, they desire it and thus, they try to fill their lives with all kinds of things that in the end are empty, not satisfying, they don’t lead to abundant life, but many times they place the person in bondage.  So they become dissatisfied with life, depressed and in our society today we go to the therapists, the psychiatrists, the psychologists so we can feel good, have that quality of life we want but can’t find, it eludes us.  But these people themselves can’t really help because they are in the same boat and thus, they hand out drugs like it was candy so that you think you are having abundant life when in reality, you are just on a drug trip!

            I have been a Christian now for some 23 years and I can tell you that I am living the abundant life because my life is focused upon Christ and it is He who gives to us eternal life, abundant life. I wonder if God is trying to get the attention of those who don’t know Him by having them feel empty inside without him and people come and give them drugs, prescription drugs so they don’t realize they are empty outside of Christ?  Jesus said in John 14:6, “ . . . ‘I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through Me.’” Life, ZOE in the Greek, that abundant, everlasting life is only found in Christ and it begins the moment we are saved and continues on forever!

            Now before I move on, let me say this.  Are there some that have a chemical imbalance in their brain and need medication?  I believe so, but our society has made depression an epidemic, everyone is depressed if you look at their criteria, and that is wrong!  We are emotional people, God made us that way, and to numb our emotions isn’t going to help us, but the Lord will!

           That leads us to our second point, a future hope of eternal life.  Yes, we can live and enjoy eternal life, abundant life here and now in Christ, but one day we will be received up in glory and spend eternity with our Lord and Savior and folks, it doesn’t get any better than that.  In saying that, I do believe we have a misunderstanding about heaven.  Listen to this story and then I will show you what I mean. We are told:

            A pastor was preaching on going to heaven.  He said, “How many of you would like to go to heaven tonight?” And everybody raised their hands but a little boy in the balcony. He tried again, “How many of you would like to go to heaven?” Everybody but that one little fellow in the balcony. So he said to him, “Son, don’t you want to go to heaven?”  The little boy said, “Yeah, someday, but I thought you were getting’ up a load right now.”

- James Hewett, Illustrations unlimited

            Maybe you heard someone say or maybe you have said it before as a brother or sister in the Lord has died, “What a shame, they were so young!”  And as we get older that word “young” has a different meaning, doesn’t it!  Now, I wonder what the person who died might say if he heard that statement?  It may go something like this.  “What are you nuts?  I’m in glory, I’m with Jesus, I’m not missing out on anything, but I have obtained everything.”  In fact, they might close by saying, “Oh, what a shame, you are still down there!”

            You see, when we think of Heaven we may think of sitting on some cloud playing the harp all day long, forever!  I don’t know where that concept came from but it is wrong.  Heaven is a place of worship, and can you imagine what the sound will be like as we worship the Lord together, millions upon millions of us!  Heaven is a place of service unto God!  It is a place of unimaginable joy, peace, love with our Lord.  You see, we were created to please God and there is great joy in fulfilling the purpose of our being.  Heaven is not boring, dull, empty but filled with beauty.  Thus, when it is time to go home, we should not be fearful but be excited to see what God has for us as we go to be with Him!

            Now in the verses we have looked at this morning, here in Titus, I see Paul making three important points.  First of all The Truths of God Lead to Godliness – Titus 1:1; then, God’s Promises to Us – Titus 1:2; and lastly, The Truths of God Give Us Assurance – Titus 1:3.  So lets look at these and see how they apply to our topic of eternal life.

1.  THE TRUTHS OF GOD LEAD TO GODLINESS – TITUS 1:1

            Yes, the truths of God do lead us to a more godly life for apart from Him we can do nothing that He will accept. Paul warned Timothy in II Timothy 2:14-19, “Remind them of these things, charging them before the Lord not to strive about words to no profit, to the ruin of the hearers.  Be diligent to present yourself approved to God, a worker who does not need to be ashamed, rightly dividing the word of truth.  But shun profane and idle babblings, for they will increase to more ungodliness.  And their message will spread like cancer. Hymenaeus and Philetus are of this sort, who have strayed concerning the truth, saying that the resurrection is already past; and they overthrow the faith of some. Nevertheless the solid foundation of God stands, having this seal: ‘The Lord knows those who are His,’ and, ‘Let everyone who names the name of Christ depart from iniquity.’”

            You see, unsound doctrine, unhealthy doctrine, heresy will lead to more ungodliness. Now the person involved may not see it that way, in fact they many times feel they are more spiritual than you because of what they are doing or not doing.  Remember the story, after Jesus fed the 5,000 men plus women and children, that He crossed over the Sea and on the next day these people caught up with Him.  And Jesus rebuked them for wanting their stomachs filled, laboring for what is not everlasting, and we are told in John 6:28-29, “Then they said to Him, ‘What shall we do, that we may work the works of God?’  Jesus answered and said to them, ‘This is the work of God, that you believe in Him whom He sent.’”

            It all starts with a relationship with Jesus that is based in truth, the Word of God and out of a relationship with Jesus good works will flow, not for salvation but are the evidence of our faith.  False doctrine puts good works above Jesus and that is like putting the cart in front of the horse, it doesn’t work! The works of God are believing in Him!

            John put it this way in I John 3:2-3, “Beloved, now we are children of God; and it has not yet been revealed what we shall be, but we know that when He is revealed, we shall be like Him, for we shall see Him as He is.  And everyone who has this hope in Him purifies himself, just as He is pure.”  The Amplified Bible puts it this way, “Beloved, we are [even here and] now God's children; it is not yet disclosed (made clear) what we shall be [hereafter], but we know that when He comes and is manifested, we shall [as God's children] resemble and be like Him, for we shall see Him just as He [really] is.  And everyone who has this hope [resting] on Him cleanses (purifies) himself just as He is pure (chaste, undefiled, guiltless).”  You see, it is the sanctification process and we have this passion to live a life that is pleasing to God knowing that He is coming back soon. The way we live is based on the truths of God and it leads us to godly living!

2.  GOD’S PROMISES TO US – TITUS 1:2

            Here’s the thing, God has promised us eternal life, a present possession in Christ and a future hope with Christ in glory.  How can we know if that is true or not?  Because God cannot lie, there is no darkness in Him at all!  Numbers 23:19 tells us, “God is not a man, that He should lie, Nor a son of man, that He should repent.  Has He said, and will He not do?  Or has He spoken, and will He not make it good?”  And in Malachi 3:6 we are told that God doesn’t change!

            Why is that important to us?  Because if God could lie, if He could change His mind then all His promises to us would be useless, we couldn’t trust in them or Him, they would be empty!  Joshua, at the end of his life, is reminding Israel of their history and God’s faithfulness. And in Joshua 23:14-15 he tells them, “Behold, this day I am going the way of all the earth. And you know in all your hearts and in all your souls that not one thing has failed of all the good things which the LORD your God spoke concerning you. All have come to pass for you; not one word of them has failed.  Therefore it shall come to pass, that as all the good things have come upon you which the LORD your God promised you, so the LORD will bring upon you all harmful things, until He has destroyed you from this good land which the LORD your God has given you.”

            You see, we can trust in God’s promises to us for God is faithful, what He has promised He is more than able to bring to pass and our Joshua, Jesus is calling us to not only trust in the promises of God but to walk in them by faith!  God has promised us eternal life in Him before the World’s were created – now believe it!

3.  THE TRUTHS OF GOD GIVE US ASSURANCE – TITUS 1:3

            Paul tells us in Romans 10:17, “So then faith comes by hearing, and hearing by the word of God.”  Thus, Satan attacks God’s Word, tries to negate God’s Word, tries to get us to believe God really didn’t mean that, he tries to get us to believe God is holding back something good from us, kind of a cosmic kill-joy!  And folks, you would expect these attacks from the unsaved but when it is coming from the church, granted many of these people are not saved, they are religious, they have a form of godliness but lack the power, but it is still very dangerous because they are wolves in sheep’s clothing!

            Let me show you how the attack against God’s Word is growing, confusing many and keeping many from saving faith, eternal life!  Many of you have heard of Eugene Peterson’s Bible version called The Message, which pervert’s God’s Word.  Well, now we have The Renovare Spiritual Formation Study Bible whose general editor is Richard Foster and Eugene Peterson is the “consulting editor, New Testament.”  Let me give you a few examples to show you how dangerous this “study Bible” is. Dave Hunt tells us:

            A number of commendable “Spiritual Disciplines” are mentioned, but some that are not commendable: “Solitude, Confession . . . meditation and silence … secrecy, sacrifice, celebration.”  These innocent words have a special meaning for Foster.  Explaining his view of “Celebration,” he writes: “We of the New Age can risk going against the tide. Let us abandon . . . see visions and dream dreams . . . The imagination can release a flood of creative ideas [and] be lots of fun.” (Celebration of Discipline, Harper & Row, 1978, p. 170).

            In the West, meditation means to think deeply about something, but in the East it means to empty the mind in order to open it to the spirit world, leading to mystical experiences of “God.”  Purporting to reject Eastern mysticism, Foster says, “Christian meditation is an attempt to empty the mind in order to fill it.”  He seductively suggests: “John was ‘in the Spirit on the Lord’s day’ when he received his apocalyptic vision

(Rv 1:10).  Could it be that John was trained in a way of listening and seeing that we have forgotten?. . . Let us have courage to . . . once again learn the ancient . . . art of mediation” (Celebration, pp. 14, 15)  The idea that John had a special technique for hearing from God is heresy of the worse sort, but foundational to Renovare’s promotion of “spiritual disciplines” and “spiritual formation”!

            Sadly, the Renovare explanatory notes deny the Divine authorship of much of Scripture – even that Moses wrote the Pentateuch.  Yet it hypocritically declares “We read the Bible literally, from cover to cover . . . [and] in context.”  Renovare claims that Genesis 1-11 is neither historic nor scientific, and that the entire book of Genesis is merely a collection of myths:

            Genesis began as an oral tradition of narrative stories passed down from generation to generation. . . . These stores [gradually] took on theological meaning. . . . Over time [they] were written down and collected together (Gen 12-50), and a prologue (Gen 1-11) was added. . . . Borrowing from other creation account. . . . stories with parallels to ancient Near Eastern religious narrative and mythology were reshaped with monotheistic intent. . . . These strands of varied materials were gathered and edited into the written text. . . .

            What wickedness for Christian “scholars’ to unite with skeptics to declare that Genesis, which is foundational to the Bible, is just an edited compilation of mythology and folk tales! If Genesis is not literally inspired of God, then how can we have confidence in any other part of the Bible? What about Paul’s statement that “all Scriptures is given by inspiration of God” . . .

            Of Daniel, the Renovare Bible declares, “We do not know who wrote it or exactly when it was written . . . it was most likely partially written during Antiochus Epiphanies’ persecution of the Jews in Babylon, which began with the desecration of the Temple in 167 B.C.” So it is the work of an imposter pretending to be Daniel 400 years after the fact!  [That is interesting to me because Jesus said in Matthew 24:15 that Daniel whom He calls a prophet wrote Daniel, and I think I will believe Jesus over these men!].  To escape admitting that Daniel prophesied centuries in advance the breakup of Alexander’s empire under four generals, the rise of Antiochus Epiphanies, and the pollution of the temple, skeptics had to invent a later date for these prophecies. Renovare echoes this lie, robbing Christians of an essential proof of the validity of the Bible and depriving the unsaved of life-giving truth! . . .

            The Renovare “scholars” continually downplay the powerful Old Testament prophecies of Christ (pp. 22, 32, 1375, 1377-8, 1384 etc.).  The key prophecy in Isaiah 9:6-7 of the coming Messiah, who is “the mighty God, the everlasting Father,” is said to speak of “human agents” (p. 997).

            The notes reduce Isaiah’s prophecies to “tradition” (pp. 982, 983), would have us believe that much of that book was not written by Isaiah (there are “three authors” – pp. 982-1068), and even deny that chapter 53 prophesies Christ’s sacrifice for our sins

(p. 984)!  Renovare describes the book of Isaiah as “poetic imagination . . . Isaiah imagines,” etc. the Renovare “scholars” declare, “The prophets of Israel are not to be thought of primarily as . . . predictors of the future . . . they were poets” (p. 1079). Through poetry, Jeremiah attempts “to make sense of the events of his day . . .”

(p. 1080).  Blasphemy!

            Renovare rejects the powerful prophecies of Daniel, including the proof of 9:24-26 that Jesus is the Christ.  All of the major prophecies so crucial in proving the Bible to be the Word of God and Jesus of Nazareth to be the Messiah are either not commented upon, or are spiritualized away as pertaining to the “faith community” and its “spiritual formation.”  There is no recognition of the great prophecies in Jeremiah, Ezekiel, etc., of Israel being brought back into her own land in the last days, and that she must endure forever (Ezk 35-37, etc.).  For example, the powerful prophetic promise from God to bring back the Jews scattered around the world (Jer 31:8-14) is interpreted as a promise to all homeless people (nothing about Israel), and God’s promise that Israel can never be destroyed (31:35-37) is ignored!

            This “Study Bible” is one more step on the slippery downward path into deepening apostasy. The Bible is being mocked in the church. Let us stand firmly, vocally, and actively in defense of God’s holy, infallible, inerrant, and sufficient Word!

        - Dave Hunt, The Berean Call, August 2005, pp. 3-4

            Folks, Paul tells us in II Timothy 3:16-17, “All Scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness, that the man of God may be complete, thoroughly equipped for every good work.”  From Genesis through Revelation we have the Words of God from the lips of God and they are truth as Jesus tells us in John 17:17, “Sanctify them by Your truth. Your word is truth.”

            Now, in knowing that God’s Word is truth, we can have full assurance of all that God says, including eternal life with Him!  But, as you negate the Word of God, it is very unhealthy for you as Walter C. Kaiser tells us in the book, Toward Exegetical Theology. He writes:

            It is no secret that Christ’s Church is not at all in good health in many places of the world.  She has been languishing because she has been fed, as the current line has it, “Junk food”; all kinds of artificial preservatives and all sorts of unnatural substitutes have been served up to her. As a result, theological and Biblical malnutrition has afflicted the very generation that has taken such giant steps to make sure its physical health is not damaged by using foods or products that are very carcinogenic or otherwise harmful to their physical bodies. Simultaneously, a worldwide spiritual famine resulting from the absence of any genuine publication of the Word of God (Amos 8:11) continues to run wild and almost unabated in most quarters of the Church.

- Walter C. Kaiser, Toward an Exegetical Theology, p. 7

            That is why we go verse-by-verse through the Bible here at Calvary, to give you the whole counsel of God, to give you spiritual nourishment to keep you healthy and strong!  You see, I believe God’s Word is truth, that it is living and powerful and is able to transform our lives, that is why I teach it to you!

            Thus, let us hold onto God’s Word, share it with others, show people that we believe it because we are living it and when God speaks of eternal glory for us, it is a sure thing, we don’t have to worry because God’s Word is truth!

            As I close this morning I pray that you have seen we can enjoy eternal life now with Jesus, a present possession that He freely gave to us, that abundant life in Him!  Also, I hope you have seen a future hope, a resurrection life, eternal life with the Lord, with Jesus that is filled with worship, joy, peace, service and-so-on.  Not sitting on a cloud playing the harp, but walking with our Lord!  Enjoy it now and look forward to the future hope we have in Christ!