by Terry Wane Benton<\/p>\n
Disciples of Christ have eternal life in promise. Just as formerly we had eternal condemnation in promise. The promise of eternal damnation is for the unbeliever who can change their destiny by belief and repentance. Change your destiny by changing your direction and heart.<\/p>\n
“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).<\/p><\/blockquote>\n
We have the eternal inheritance in promise. 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.<\/p>\n
So, “eternal” life does not mean you automatically keep it forever; it means 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 in 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.<\/p>\n
But if it is ours in 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 like Esau. Giving up everlasting life for the temporal is certainly a foolish trade.<\/p>\n\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
by Terry Wane Benton Disciples of Christ have eternal life in promise. Just as formerly we had eternal condemnation in promise. The promise of eternal damnation is for 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…<\/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":[699,427,58],"class_list":["post-98988","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-article","tag-eternal-life","tag-eternal-security","tag-once-saved-always-saved"],"jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_likes_enabled":true,"jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":31874,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/do-you-support-conscientious-objection\/","url_meta":{"origin":98988,"position":0},"title":"Do you support conscientious objection?","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"February 19, 2012","format":false,"excerpt":"Question: Do you or your church support selective conscientious objection and conscientious objection? Answer: Registering for the draft is a government law that does not violate any teaching of God. \"Let every soul be subject to the governing authorities. For there is no authority except from God, and the authorities\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":1296,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/why-are-boy-girl-relationships-not-advisable-at-a-young-age\/","url_meta":{"origin":98988,"position":1},"title":"Why are boy-girl relationships not advisable at a young age?","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"April 3, 2004","format":false,"excerpt":"Question: Why are boy-girl relationships not advisable at a young age Answer: Youth is a time of impatient desires. They want the things available to adults, but adulthood seems so far away. The typical teenage boy enters puberty around the age of 11. 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Answer: We were taught to pray, \"Give us this day our daily bread\" (Matthew 6:11), but God still commands us\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":61889,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/the-book-of-my-life\/","url_meta":{"origin":98988,"position":4},"title":"The Book of My Life","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"September 23, 2012","format":false,"excerpt":"by Jeffrey W. Hamilton Text: Job 19:23-27 \u00a0 I.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0Each week the paper publishes its list of top selling books \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0A.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0Sometimes the books are biographies, fictional stories, or fiction placed in historical settings. \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0B.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0They hope that others will also purchase the books, if for no other reason than curiosity. \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0C.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0Many author\u2019s\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":6988,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/are-there-passages-that-refer-to-the-lords-supper\/","url_meta":{"origin":98988,"position":5},"title":"Are there passages that refer to THE Lord’s Supper?","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"August 2, 2006","format":false,"excerpt":"Question: We have been studying the Lord's supper issues and one of our main concerns is about a second offering in which only a few partake, for the reasons you listed in your article (not doing it together). 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