by Edwin Crozier<\/p>\n
We have hope of eternal life because the God who promises eternal life never lies. Obviously, no human was around to hear God promise before the ages began or from time eternal. Paul’s point is not that we can find a quote of God before the beginning making this promise. His point is that God’s plan for humankind, even before creating the world, was eternal life. Eternal life is not plan B for us. God always intended us to have it. This is why God had a plan ready and in place when Adam’s sin in the garden prompted death instead of life.<\/p>\n
Since this has been God’s plan for us from before time, we can trust God’s truth will lead us to eternal life. We can especially trust God’s truth to lead us to eternal life because God doesn’t lie. The author of Hebrews provides similar assurance, declaring in Hebrews 6:18, “It is impossible for God to lie.<\/em>“<\/p>\n The point is not that God does not have the ability to lie, but that God does not have the nature to lie. Certainly, God can speak. Therefore, God could speak a lie if He chose. But that’s just it-God never chooses to lie. Lying is opposed to the very nature of the true God.<\/p>\n This tells us something about every page of Scripture. Everything the Bible tells us is true. Certainly, God records the lies of others, as when Psalm 14:1 declares, “The fool says in his heart, ‘There is no God’<\/em>” (ESV). The statement “There is no God<\/em>” is false. But God is not saying that. He is quoting it. The fool truly does say that in his heart. But when we are reading God’s record of events, we know it is true. When we are reading God’s interpretation of circumstances, it is true. When we are reading God’s explanation of the meaning, purpose, and value of anything or anyone, we know it is true.<\/p>\n We can either accept what God says about things, or we can be wrong. Those are our choices. This is why we need to be anchored in God’s Word. His Word is true and contains no lie. Satan is a liar and the father of the lie. Our desires will deceive us. Even our hearts can be deceitful. But God never lies.<\/p>\n Praise God!<\/p>\n\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" by Edwin Crozier We have hope of eternal life because the God who promises eternal life never lies. Obviously, no human was around to hear God promise before the ages began or from time eternal. Paul’s point is not that we can find a quote of God before the beginning making this promise. His point…<\/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_seo_schema_type":"","footnotes":"","jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false},"categories":[27],"tags":[699,90,392,1895,441],"class_list":["post-96816","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-article","tag-eternal-life","tag-god","tag-lying","tag-promise","tag-truth"],"jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_likes_enabled":true,"jetpack-related-posts":[{"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":96816,"position":0},"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":46160,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/hold-to-gods-unchanging-hand-2\/","url_meta":{"origin":96816,"position":1},"title":"Hold to God’s Unchanging Hand","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"April 10, 2022","format":false,"excerpt":"by Jeffrey W. Hamilton Text: Ecclesiastes 1:3-11 \u00a0 I.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0The world seems to be constantly changing. \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0A.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0The one constant seems to be the turmoil \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0B.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0The change is rarely beneficial \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0C.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0Early in the last century a blind poetess, Jennie Wilson, wrote a reminder to us that the world changes but God does\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Audio"","block_context":{"text":"Audio","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/audio\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":66523,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/reading-past-john-316\/","url_meta":{"origin":96816,"position":2},"title":"Reading Past John 3:16","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"February 12, 2024","format":false,"excerpt":"by Perry Hall Do we sometimes miss a powerful point because we stop reading? John 3:16 is so well-known that people stop reading. What happens if we keep reading? Notice these contrasts: \"For God loved the world\" (John 3:16) vs. \"People loved the darkness\" (John 3:19). \"He gave his one\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":93432,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/do-we-have-eternal-life-permenantly\/","url_meta":{"origin":96816,"position":3},"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":91836,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/if-we-have-eternal-life-do-we-have-it-permanently\/","url_meta":{"origin":96816,"position":4},"title":"If we have eternal life, do we have it permanently?","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"November 5, 2025","format":false,"excerpt":"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\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":97142,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/life\/","url_meta":{"origin":96816,"position":5},"title":"Life","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"August 8, 2026","format":false,"excerpt":"by Mark M. Chatfield via\u00a0Sentry Magazine, Vol. 22 No. 1, March 1996 Ken Ledbetter wrote an excellent article titled \"The Emotional Issue of the Origin of Life\" for the December 1995 issue of Sentry Magazine. It was thought-provoking and showed the author's characteristic truth-seeking. It took me a couple of\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":[]}],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/96816","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=96816"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/96816\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=96816"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=96816"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=96816"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}