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NASB | John 5:24 ¶ "Truly, truly, I say to you, he who hears My word, and believes Him who sent Me, has eternal life, and does not come into judgment, but has passed out of death into life. |
AMPLIFIED 2015 | John 5:24 ¶ "I assure you and most solemnly say to you, the person who hears My word [the one who heeds My message], and believes and trusts in Him who sent Me, has (possesses now) eternal life [that is, eternal life actually begins--the believer is transformed], and does not come into judgment and condemnation, but has passed [over] from death into life. |
Bible Question:
I am a bible study lead and have been posed a difficult question, or at least I think it to be difficult. Please help: In John 5:24, Jesus states that those who hear his word and believe in God (who sent him) have eternal life and do not come into judgment, but pass out of death into life. In John 5:28-29, Jesus states that those in their graves will hear his voice, those that have done good will rise to live, and those who have done evil will be condemned. John 5:24 agrees well with John 3:16, but John 5:28-29 implies works will be judged (done good vs. done evil). Since John 5:24 states that those who are saved bypass judgment, to whom were versus 5:28-29 directed and for what purpose? This reads as if there are two avenues to eternal life - being saved and by deeds. Clearly, deeds is a risky path since it is a grave mistake for man to believe that he can deem what is good and evil, but I was looking for others opinions of this text. Thank You in advance. |
Bible Answer: In this text the leadership was questioning Him about healing on the Sabbath. He was basically establishing who He really was. 5:24 - He is the redeemer and sacrifice. The fulfillment of prophecy. 5:28-29 - He is the Judge of those who are not under Grace. He has perfect understanding and Judges rightly. Possibly, to judge those before His death on the merits of their lives, which is still based on faith more than works. Read Hebrews 11 to understand that God viewed the Old Testament believers in terms of their great faith that then led to works. You cannot have good works with out a proper faith. The idea of good and evil is not based on the action, but on the motivation. Going to the Temple on the sabbath and performing the right rituals mean nothing if you do not believe they do anything for you. Giving to someone is good, but if it was for future gain only, your motivation was evil. We cannot deem for sure any action right or wrong because we cannot see the heart as God can. His Judgements will be just. No one is with excuse..... Too much babbling... Kickingguru22 |