Beloved of God who believe in Christ and keep His words, grace to you and peace from God our Father and our Lord Jesus Christ.
I write to you concerning the most essential matter of life, the way to remain saved and possess eternal life. There is but one way, one truth, and one life, and it is through our Lord Jesus Christ. As He Himself said, “I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through Me” (John 14:6, NKJV).
Salvation is not by works, so that no one may boast, but by grace through faith. We are saved when we believe in the finished work of Christ on the cross, trusting Him as the Son of God who bore our sins, died in our place, and rose again for our justification. The apostle Paul said, “If you confess with your mouth the Lord Jesus and believe in your heart that God has raised Him from the dead, you will be saved” (Romans 10:9, NKJV).
Those who are saved are not those who simply call themselves believers, but those who have genuinely received Christ into their hearts. They are those who have been born again, born of the Spirit, and sealed with the Holy Spirit. Just as Jesus told Nicodemus, “Unless one is born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God” (John 3:3, NKJV). The evidence of being born again is a transformed life—one that turns away from sin and follows Christ.
“For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life” (John 3:16, NKJV). The promise is clear: eternal life belongs to those who believe in Jesus Christ, who abide in His word, and who live according to His commands.
You who are saved, hold fast to the faith. Do not depart from the path that leads to life. The Scripture says, “But he who endures to the end shall be saved” (Matthew 24:13, NKJV). Your salvation is secure, but only as long as you remain in Him, for “If anyone does not abide in Me, he is cast out as a branch and is withered; and they gather them and throw them into the fire, and they are burned” (John 15:6, NKJV).
The Danger of Not Keeping God’s Word
But woe to those who hear the word and do not keep it, for they will not inherit eternal life. “Not everyone who says to Me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ shall enter the kingdom of heaven, but he who does the will of My Father in heaven” (Matthew 7:21, NKJV).
You must understand, beloved, that salvation is not merely a verbal profession; it is a life surrendered to God, lived out in obedience to His Word. Many in this world hear the gospel, and many even profess to know God, but they do not do His will. This is the danger of a heart that does not submit to His Word.
Consider the parable of the sower (Matthew 13:3-9). Some hear the word of God, but their hearts are like the path where the seed is sown and quickly snatched away by the enemy. These are those who hear the gospel but do not hold fast to it, and so they are lost.
Others receive the word with joy, but when trials and tribulations arise, they fall away. These are those who do not endure to the end. They may seem to believe for a time, but when faced with difficulty, they abandon the faith, showing that their belief was not deep-rooted.
Then, there are those whose hearts are like the thorny ground. They receive the word, but the cares of this life, the deceitfulness of riches, and the desires for other things choke the word, and it becomes unfruitful (Mark 4:18-19). These are the people whose love for the world exceeds their love for God, and as a result, they bear no fruit of righteousness.
Finally, there are those whose hearts are like good soil, those who hear the word, understand it, and keep it, and bear fruit in their lives (Matthew 13:23). These are the ones who will inherit eternal life, for they keep the word of Christ and endure in it.
As Jesus said, “If you love Me, keep My commandments” (John 14:15, NKJV). The word of God is clear: to be saved, one must not only hear but obey His word. Those who do not keep God’s word, whose hearts are hardened, whose lives are unfruitful, will not inherit the kingdom of God. Their end will be like the foolish man who built his house on the sand. When the storms came, it fell, and great was its fall (Matthew 7:26-27).
The Lord also warned us with another parable: “The kingdom of heaven is like a man who sowed good seed in his field; but while men slept, his enemy came and sowed tares among the wheat and went his way” (Matthew 13:24-25, NKJV). The tares represent those who are among the true believers but are not genuinely saved. They look like believers on the outside, but they do not bear the fruit of the kingdom of God. In the end, the angels will gather the tares and cast them into the fire. So, it is with those who do not keep God’s word.
Let this be clear: eternal life is promised to those who remain in Christ, who live by His word, and who endure to the end. “He who has My commandments and keeps them, it is he who loves Me” (John 14:21, NKJV). The love of God is not a feeling or a mere verbal declaration; it is seen in action, in obedience to His word.
To Keep God’s Word and Inherit Eternal Life
Therefore, beloved, let us not be hearers only, deceiving ourselves, but doers of the word (James 1:22). Let us continue in the faith, steadfast, unmovable, always abounding in the work of the Lord, knowing that our labor is not in vain in Him (1 Corinthians 15:58). Remember, Jesus has promised eternal life to those who remain faithful to His word, and He is able to keep us from stumbling and present us faultless before the presence of His glory with exceeding joy (Jude 24).
Be encouraged, be diligent, and continue to press forward toward the prize of the high calling of God in Christ Jesus (Philippians 3:14). For it is written, “And this is the promise that He has promised us—eternal life” (1 John 2:25, NKJV). Keep His word, endure in faith, and you will inherit the eternal life He has promised.
Grace and peace be with you.
