A TIMELESS WORD
How to Have Eternal Life
Death, Taxes, and the One Certainty That Matters Most
Benjamin Franklin famously said, “In this world nothing is certain but death and taxes.” People find ways around taxes. No one finds a way around death. The Bible puts it plainly: “It is appointed for man to die once, and after that comes judgment” (Hebrews 9:27; cf. Ecclesiastes 12:14).
So, here’s the question worth asking: what happens after you die?
It’s strange how much time we spend planning vacations, scrolling social media, and chasing hobbies—and how little time we spend thinking about eternity. That’s backwards. This is the biggest decision of your life, and it comes down to one person: Jesus Christ. What you decide about Him determines where you’ll spend forever (John 14:6; Acts 4:12; 1 John 5:11–12)
Here’s the good news: you can know—with certainty—where you’ll spend eternity. Not hope. Not guess. Know. The Bible says this confidence comes through faith in Jesus Christ. John wrote, “These things I have written to you who believe in the name of the Son of God, so that you may know that you have eternal life” (1 John 5:13). Faith isn’t a feeling or a leap in the dark. It’s trusting that what God says is true, the same way you’d trust a doctor’s diagnosis or a pilot’s instructions. Jesus said, “Truly, truly, I say to you, he who believes has eternal life” (John 6:47). When you trust that Jesus died in your place and rose again, you receive the eternal life He freely offers (John 5:24).
So, if trusting Jesus is enough, why do so many people still try to add something to it?
Certainty isn’t built on what we can earn or achieve, but on where we place our trust.
Keeping the Ten Commandments. Doing good works. Joining a church. Giving to charity. Getting baptized. These are good things—but none of them can save you (Romans 4:5; Galatians 2:16). Scripture is direct about this: “He saved us, not on the basis of deeds which we have done in righteousness, but according to His mercy” (Titus 3:5). And again: “For by grace you have been saved through faith, and that not of yourselves; it is the gift of God, not as a result of works, so that no one may boast” (Ephesians 2:8–9).
That’s why the only thing that matters is where you place your trust—not in yourself, but in Christ alone (John 3:16; Acts 16:31). That’s the one certainty money can’t buy, and effort can’t earn: knowing, for certain, where you’ll spend forever.
Here’s the gospel, plainly stated: God made you to know Him, love Him, and enjoy a relationship with Him (Ecclesiastes 12:13; John 17:3). But every one of us has turned away from God—in what we think, what we say, and what we do. None of us measures up to His perfect standard (Romans 3:23).
God is perfectly good and perfectly just. Because of that, sin can’t simply be overlooked. Scripture says the payment for sin is death—not just physical death, but eternal separation from God (Romans 6:23).
But God loves us enough to do something about it. He sent His Son, Jesus Christ, to do what we could never do for ourselves (Romans 5:8). Jesus lived the perfect life none of us has lived. Then He willingly died on the cross, taking the punishment our sin deserved—in our place (2 Corinthians 5:21). Three days later, He rose from the dead (Romans 4:25). That resurrection proved His death actually paid for sin, once and for all (1 Corinthians 15:1–11).
Here’s what God asks of you: acknowledge your sin, and trust in Jesus alone to save you—not your good deeds, not your religion, just Him. Everyone who does this is fully forgiven (Colossians 2:13–14; Ephesians 1:7). God no longer holds their sin against them (Romans 5:1; 2 Corinthians 5:19). They’re brought back into relationship with Him and given the promise of eternal life. Everyone who refuses this gift remains separated from God—not because God didn’t provide a way, but because they turned it down (John 3:16–18).
So, the real question is this:
Is there any good reason not to accept a gift that’s already been paid for?
If not—place your faith in Christ today.
Ready to take this step? Or still have questions?