The False
Teaching
There are exceptions, but in
general the churchmen describe the abundant life as does Billy Graham in
the following exerpt:
God
loves you and all of mankind. He wants
to bless your life and make it full and complete. He offers
you not
only an
abundant life here and now, but a life which is eternal--His very own
life.
This distinction
between the here and now abundant life and life eternal, as though
the life abundant here and now were distinct from the life eternal
and included in the promise of John 10:10 is an errroneous and false teaching.
It motivates people to turn to Jesus in the hope of more success, prosperity,
and satisfaction and less anxiety, grief, and poverty here and now.
This is an
effective lure to all as demonstrated by the multitudes who have responded
to a Billy Graham invitation. It is also the ultimate betrayal of
Jesus and his Gospel of the Kingdom. |
Exposing
the Error
Jesus proceeded to state the promise of
the abundant life in unambiguous terms as follows:
My sheep hear my voice, and I know them, and they follow
me; and I give them eternal life, and they shall never perish,
and no one shall snatch them out of my hand. (John
10:27,28)
He also made promises
as to the life in this world that his disciples can expect:
I have said this to you, that in me you may have peace.
In the world you have tribulation; but be of good cheer, I have overcome
the world. (John16:33)
If you were of the world, the world would love its own;
but because you are not of the world, but I chose you out of the world, therefore
the world hates you. (John 15:19)
For the gate is narrow and the way is hard, that leads to
life, and those who find it are few. (Matt.
7:14)
This is the
life "here and now" that he promises his disciples. |
Declaring
the Truth
Life in this world and eternal
life form a dichotomy, two mutually exclusive entities. Jesus stated this
in his Great Principle:
He who loves his life loses it, and he who hates his life
in this world will keep it for eternal life.
(John 12:25)
It follows
that one who turns to Jesus motivated by the desire for and love of abundant
life here and now loses the abundant eternal life
that Jesus promises. The religion of the churchmen is a very effective
trap. It is baited with the promise of an abundant life but yields
death!
Yet to those who hate
life in this world for the sake of eternal life, the blessings of eternal
life begin to be realized even in the here and now as Jesus, true
to his promises, grants peace and joy and eliminates anxiety and fear in
the midst of the hardness, the tribulations and the hatred
of the world.
Read more.
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