If we have eternal life<\/b>, doesn’t that mean we have it permanently?<\/p>\n\tAnswer:<\/h2>\n
We have eternal life in promise. Just as formerly, we had eternal condemnation in promise. The promise of eternal damnation is to the unbeliever who can change their destiny by belief and repentance. Change your destiny by changing your direction and heart. “And for this cause he is the mediator of a new covenant, that a death having taken place for the redemption of the transgressions that were under the first covenant, they that have been called may receive the promise of the eternal inheritance<\/em>” (Hebrews 9:15). We have the eternal inheritance in promise<\/strong>. It hasn’t become our reality yet. In the same way, eternal destruction is the promise to the unbeliever. He hasn’t experienced it yet, but that is the direction he is going, and unless he changes his mind and direction, he is under eternal condemnation.<\/p>\n Can he change directions? Yes! Likewise, a believer can change directions. Hebrews 3:12 says to take heed lest you develop an evil heart of unbelief in departing from the living God. Here is a person with the promise of eternal life changing directions to the promise of eternal condemnation. So, “eternal” life does not mean you automatically keep it forever, but that under the terms of the covenant, it is yours by promise, and under the terms of unbelief, “eternal condemnation” is yours by promise, but in either case, you can forfeit the promise. “And this is the promise which he promised us, even the life eternal<\/em>” (I John 2:25). It is not a “promise” if it is an actual possession that cannot be forfeited. If we have it by possession instead of promise, then hope is no longer hope since hope has been realized (Romans 8:24f). If we have eternal life in actual possession, then we are not hoping for immortality. But if it is our promise and hope, then we can lose that hope by forfeiting the terms and conditions that give that promise and hope. That would be like selling your birthright for a mess of pottage, as Esau did. Giving up everlasting life for the temporal is certainly a foolish trade.<\/p>\n Terry Wane Benton<\/p>\n\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Question: If we have eternal life, doesn’t that mean we have it permanently? Answer: We have eternal life in promise. Just as formerly, we had eternal condemnation in promise. The promise of eternal damnation is to the unbeliever who can change their destiny by belief and repentance. Change your destiny by changing your direction and…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"advanced_seo_description":"","jetpack_seo_html_title":"","jetpack_seo_noindex":false,"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[20],"tags":[699,427,58],"class_list":["post-91836","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-answer","tag-eternal-life","tag-eternal-security","tag-once-saved-always-saved"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_likes_enabled":true,"jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":93432,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/do-we-have-eternal-life-permenantly\/","url_meta":{"origin":91836,"position":0},"title":"Do we have eternal life permanently?","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"January 24, 2026","format":false,"excerpt":"by Terry Wane Benton Question: If we have eternal life, doesn't that mean we have it permanently? Answer: We have eternal life in promise. Just as formerly, we had eternal condemnation in promise. The promise of eternal damnation is to the unbeliever who can change their destiny by belief and\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Article"","block_context":{"text":"Article","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/article\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":27754,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/did-the-righteous-before-jesus-have-to-wait-for-jesus-death-to-receive-the-promise\/","url_meta":{"origin":91836,"position":1},"title":"Did the righteous before Jesus have to wait for Jesus’ death to receive the promise?","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"November 18, 2020","format":false,"excerpt":"Question: Does Hebrews 9:15 teach that those that God chose as righteous under the old covenant also had to wait for the blood of Christ for the promise to come into effect? Answer: Salvation to mankind required the offering of a perfect sacrifice for mankind's sins. \"For it is impossible\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Answer"","block_context":{"text":"Answer","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/answer\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":13711,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/what-does-it-mean-to-inherit-the-kingdom-of-god\/","url_meta":{"origin":91836,"position":2},"title":"What does it mean to “inherit the kingdom of God?”","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"January 25, 2008","format":false,"excerpt":"Question: What is your position on Galatians 5:2? Is \u201cinherit the Kingdom of God\u201d compared to salvation or is it dealing with rewards? Answer: The Christian's relationship to God is described by several metaphors in the Bible. One is seeing a Christian as a child of God. \"The Spirit Himself\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Answer"","block_context":{"text":"Answer","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/answer\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":52578,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/can-someone-lose-his-reward-but-retain-his-salvation\/","url_meta":{"origin":91836,"position":3},"title":"Can someone lose his reward but retain his salvation?","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"February 10, 2018","format":false,"excerpt":"Question: Dear minister of God, Would you be kind enough to assist me in answering the following: For me, my understanding is that the believer's eternal salvation is a matter of grace through faith alone. His reward is based on righteousness and works. Whereas the believer's eternal salvation can never\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Answer"","block_context":{"text":"Answer","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/answer\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":27224,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/why-is-it-that-there-is-no-contribution-of-marys-in-the-books-of-the-bible\/","url_meta":{"origin":91836,"position":4},"title":"Why is it that there is no contribution of Mary’s in the books of the Bible?","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"April 14, 2011","format":false,"excerpt":"Question: What happened to Mary after the death of Jesus? Why is it that there is no contribution of Mary's in the books of the Bible? She should be closer to God than all other disciples after the death of Jesus. Why do we have many versions of the Bible?\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Answer"","block_context":{"text":"Answer","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/answer\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":51572,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/how-did-people-get-saved-before-jesus-was-crucified\/","url_meta":{"origin":91836,"position":5},"title":"How did people get saved before Jesus was crucified?","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"August 12, 2022","format":false,"excerpt":"Question: How did people get saved before Jesus was crucified? Answer: Prior to Jesus, people were expected to live in obedience to God. \"For all who have sinned without the Law will also perish without the Law, and all who have sinned under the Law will be judged by the\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Answer"","block_context":{"text":"Answer","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/answer\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]}],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/91836","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=91836"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/91836\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=91836"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=91836"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=91836"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}