Die or Live

DEVOTION

THE GOSPEL OF JOHN

DIE OR LIVE

PERISH OR ETERNAL LIFE

John 3:16-17

16 "For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life.

NIV

Here we are at the most widely known, yet also the most highly ignored verse in the entire Bible. Maybe because someone always shows up with a big sign at every sporting event in hopes the Television camera will pan past them and the whole audience will see John 3:16. Maybe John 3:16 has been overused so much no one really thinks about the message which is within these words of Jesus. It is amazing how so many people believe that we all are going to live for eternity either in heaven or in hell and that it is always someone else some really bad evil person, like Adolf Hitler, Saddam Hussein, John Wayne Gacy, Jeffrey Dahmer or some other really bad person who is going to hell. It is also amazing how so many people believe they are a good person and therefore they are going to live forever in heaven. But that is not what Jesus says here. He makes is very clear that whoever believes in his name will not perish but have eternal life. That is an either or situation. Perish does not mean eternal life in hell. Perish means perish, eternal life means eternal life. Some try to explain perish as being outside the presence of God, but that is impossible because he is everywhere. People simply do not know that hell is not eternal, for it will be throw into the lake of burning sulfur and perish alone with all those who fall or refuse to believe in the name of Jesus. Perish is what is referred to as the second death, the end of the spirit of a person, the complete utter end, ceasing to exist in any form whatsoever. For me that is an unbearable thought, and it is difficult to understand why anyone who loves their life would consider that kind of end by refusing to accept Jesus Christ as their Lord and Savior. Yet people need to hear this true message of what Jesus is saying, and he is not done as we will see later. This is just the beginning of his explanation of his purpose here. So for now let us rejoice that we believe in the name of Jesus and that we will not perish, we will not experience the second death, but we will have eternal life.