Everlasting life cannot be destroyed

Today’s topic is the enduring power of the Word of God, so I went online to check out “attempts to destroy the Bible.” The results had me laughing and crying. The average answers were often far from historical truth. Most showed ignorance of the Bible and its history. 
 

Some talked of ripping up their copy, or putting a Bible in a bonfire, as if that “destroyed” the Word of God. Others said the Bible has destroyed those who believe it, making the question flawed. A few wrote about historical efforts to get rid of the book. Others mentioned philosophical ideas that mock it and attempt to destroy its teaching, but most didn’t seem to have any grasp of what it actually teaches. Obviously, many who tried to affirm that the Word of God could be destroyed had never read the Bible for themselves. 

Peter and John had firsthand experience with Jesus Christ. John wrote this about His identity…

In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was in the beginning with God. All things were made through him, and without him was not any thing made that was made. In him was life, and the life was the light of men. The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome it… And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us, and we have seen his glory, glory as of the only Son from the Father, full of grace and truth. (John 1:1–5, 14)

This man understood, as do all who put their faith in Christ, that Jesus is the Word of God made flesh. In my imagination, I try to picture God speaking and the word that comes out of His mouth (even though He is Spirit and does not have a mouth) is a Living creature, God the Son. This sounds like science fiction, but this is what the Bible declares, and because I believe in a God who can do whatever He decides to do, I’ve no problem with this. 

Nor do I have difficulty with the events that followed. God sent that Word to earth to be a man, to save us from our sin. He lived a sinless life, was crucified and buried, then rose from the dead to live forever, interceding on behalf of those who believe in Him.

With God, all this is possible. The Bible affirms it and also says that those who repent and believe in Jesus are given new life, actually the life of this Living Word. When we believe in Him, His everlasting life becomes our life and everything changes.

There are many who say they follow Jesus, and many religious people seem sincere. I know some of these people, and as nice as they may be, not all that claim they are Christian are genuine. The Bible says, “Whoever has the Son has life; whoever does not have the Son of God does not have life” (1 John 5:12) Without the life of Christ, there is no eternal life, no matter how “religious” a person seems. This can explain many horrid things and is the answer to those who think the Word of God destroys people. Apart from the life of Christ, sinful hearts are free to do sinful things, even the hearts of those who claim to be Christians. 

The notion of destroying the Word of God is not as much about the book as it is about its main character and all attempts to destroy Him. Sinners do not want anything that Jesus offers or represents. To them, He marks the end of their “freedom” to do whatever their hearts desire. They would get rid of the Word, Living or Written, and thus get rid of all restraint, or so they suppose. 

However, they do not know what they are up against. The Word is everlasting. Even death cannot stop it, never mind mere bonfires and book banning.

Having purified your souls by your obedience to the truth for a sincere brotherly love, love one another earnestly from a pure heart, since you have been born again, not of perishable seed but of imperishable, through the living and abiding word of God; for “All flesh is like grass and all its glory like the flower of grass. The grass withers, and the flower falls, but the word of the Lord remains forever.” And this word is the good news that was preached to you. (1 Peter 1:22–25)

Those who believe in Jesus have new life, imperishable and abiding, living in them. It is this Life that produces obedience, sincere love, and purity of heart. It is this life that never withers or falls, but remains forever. It is the resounding voice of God in the human heart. Because of God’s grace, as long as man sins and as long as God lives, His Word will keep on speaking, bidding sinful people to believe in Jesus Christ and live forever.

Letting go — of what?

Let go and let God is an expression that receives polarized opinions. For many, it is a trite saying that becomes an excuse for disobedience. That is, I can release everything to God; He will do it all and I don’t have to do anything. However, the idea of letting go, if explained, becomes far more than trite. It is the very essence of living for Jesus Christ and in His power.

I didn’t hear from God this morning in Spurgeon’s devotional, so popped open “My Utmost for His Highest” and read these powerful verses about Christian living.

We know that Christ, being raised from the dead, will never die again; death no longer has dominion over him. For the death he died he died to sin, once for all, but the life he lives he lives to God. So you also must consider yourselves dead to sin and alive to God in Christ Jesus. (Romans 6:9–11)

Oswald Chambers writes about eternal life. He says that this is the life which Jesus Christ exhibited on a human level while He walked this earth. Then he says: “ . . . it is the same life, not a copy of it, which is manifested in our mortal flesh when we are born of God. Eternal life is not a gift from God, eternal life is the gift of God.”

Genuine Christians are those who have made what Chambers calls a “moral decision” about sin. By grace through faith we become children of God who turn from sin because we have a new source of life. That is, all the power that is Jesus Christ now is in us because we are “in Him” and He lives in us.

The Bible says, “You shall receive the power of the Holy Spirit.” Notice that this is not power from the Holy Spirit. The power is the Holy Spirit, not something which He gives to me. The life that is in Jesus is made mine — once I made that decision to be identified with Him.

The hard part about getting right with God is always that sin issue. No one wants to come to the Light because our lives are full of sin and the Light will expose it. But once we do, the full life of Jesus Christ comes in “that we might be filled with all the fulness of God.”

Chambers points out that this eternal life has nothing to do with time or endlessness as much as it is the quality of life lived by Jesus Christ. He is the only source of it. I, in my weakness and inabilities, can experience this power once I am willing to “let go” of my own.

This is the secret about let go and let God. It is not about sitting back and doing nothing, but about saying no to my own plans, schemes, energies and abilities that “blur the life of Jesus” as Chambers says. I must keep releasing my insistence on these things so that the full life of God will invade and motivate every part of who I am and what I do. It is only by this that I can truly let God have His way in my life. Letting go is about abandoning sin. Letting God is about obedience to Him.

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Lord, I need this reminder. I need to be constantly aware that it is in You that I live and move and have my being. All that I do must be done in the power of Your life, not my own. However, this isn’t about a “better power” (even though Your power is far greater than mine) so much as it is about Your glory. If my life and my skills are selfishly and self-centeredly exercised apart from You, I get the pats on the back. No one will see You in me or realize that I am Your child when I refuse to let go. Considering myself dead to sin and alive to You is letting go, but it is also a far cry from sitting back and doing nothing. It remains the greatest challenge of being a Christian.