(Part 3/3 – A summary of the Sunday morning teaching on 30-Aug-15, in AFT Church, English service. From the series The Foundation For Victorious Living)

6) EXCEPTIONAL, LIFE-GIVING LOVE

…SHOULD NOT PERISH…

Sin gradually ruins our spirit, soul and body. One day, we will die a physical death. Our body will cease to function. But our soul will not be annihilated. So if we die without forgiveness of our sins, then our soul will live on in the same condition as on the earth – with all its ungodly passions, anger, lust, bitterness and envy. As a result we will be separated from God – FOREVER. That is what is meant by ‘perishing’!

But if we have experienced forgiveness for our sins and put our faith in Jesus, then we will receive joy and happiness as part of our Salvation. Every blessing of God will then be ours. We will continue to be transformed into the image of Christ by the Holy Spirit who lives in us. Then when we die our soul will live forever with God and we will have a new imperishable body!

7) FOREVER LOVE

…Should Not Perish but have EVERLASTING LIFE…

God’s love is eternal, one that lasts forever. John 17:3 says to know God is eternal life. Our eternal lives start the moment our relationship with Jesus as our Lord and Savior begins. Heaven comes down and glory fills our soul when Jesus comes into our lives. The blessings of Heaven will meet all our earthly needs and the King of Heaven will satisfy our soul forever even after our death. Hence Paul cried out that for Him ‘to live is Christ and to die is gain’.

CONCLUSION

Well, do you know what happened to our hero Nicodemus? The Bible does not say whether he believed Jesus on that night. But clearly somewhere along the way, he did make a choice to follow Jesus. John 19 says that he risked public scrutiny and prepared Jesus’ body for burial after His death along with Joseph of Arimathea. Also Christian tradition says that in the first century AD Nicodemus died as a martyr of Jesus. This man who secretly met Jesus at night was transformed by God’s love for Him and publicly lived it out for His Savior. Let’s take stock of our lives. We are equally eligible to experience the same extravagant love of God and live on for eternity.

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