IMMORTALITY


A. "TO THEM WHO BY PATIENT CONTINUANCE IN WELL DOING SEEK FOR GLORY AND HONOR AND IMMORTALITY" - Rom. 2:7
  1. Treasures worth seeking:
    1. Glory
    2. Honor
    3. Immortality
  2. But, if it were true, as some assert, that man is by nature immortal, why seek for immortality?
    1. We do not seek for that which we already have.
    2. But we do seek the things which we want but do not, as yet, possess.
B. BIBLE FACTS ABOUT IMMORTALITY
  1. The words IMMORTAL and IMMORTALITY:
    1. Do not occur in the Old Testament; there is not a single instance in the Old Testament books where these words are used.
    2. But, if man had, as some claim, been immortal, the expressions IMMORTAL, IMMORTALITY, would be found in the writings of Moses and the prophets.
    3. In contrast to the silence of the books of the Old Testament on the word immortality, the word MORTAL is used once in Job 4:17
    4. But this same word occurs six times in the New Testament, in the writings of Paul - Rom. 6:12; 8:11; 1 Cor. 15:53, 54; 2 Cor. 4:11
  2. It is most significant that the words IMMORTALITY and IMMORTAL are used by Paul, and he applies them to:
    1. God, who possesses alone IMMORTALITY - 1 Tim. 1:17; 6:15, 16
    2. Paul ties IMMORTALITY to -
      1. The gospel of Jesus Christ - 2 Tim. 1:10
      2. Our connection with Jesus Christ - 1 John 5:10-12
      3. It is the gift of God through Jesus Christ - Rom. 6:23; 1 John 5:10-12
      4. It will be given to the saints in the first resurrection - 1 Cor. 15:50-57
      5. It is, as it has been in the past, conditional - Gen. 2:15, 16; 3:22; 1 John 5:10-12
C. OTHER FACTS ABOUT IMMORTALITY
  1. Had Adam and Eve been immortal by nature:
    1. They could never have been saved after the fall; they would have been immortal sinners.
    2. But they, as well as we, are mortal, and will be changed. Compare Phil. 3:21 with 1 Cor. 15:51; 1 Thess. 4:13-17; 2 Cor. 3:18
  2. Had Adam and Eve been immortal by nature, there would be no need to make immortality a primary condition to faith in Christ: John 3:16; 1 John 5:10-12
  3. If, as claimed by some, immortality is our inherent nature, why speak of it as a gift through faith in Christ Jesus: John 3:16; Rom. 6:23
  4. Immortality implies:
    1. Unchangeableness; that being true, why wait until our change comes? Job 14:14
    2. Immortality is, according to our opening text, Rom. 2:7, to be sought for by men; but why seek for something you already have?
    3. The Bible speaks of immortality to be given in the first resurrection - Mark 10:30; Dan. 12:2; Matt. 25:46
    4. But why wait until the resurrection if we have it already?
  5. Immortality became the first issue between the Creator and Lucifer in the Garden of Eden; it still is:
    1. The Creator made life conditional upon obedience - Gen. 2:15, 16
    2. Lucifer asserted that immortality was inherent in man - Gen. 3:1-6
    3. But Genesis 3:22, 23 shows conclusively that Lucifer told an untruth - John 8:44
    4. The answer to the devil's assertion is found in the fact that Adam died - Compare Gen. 3:19 with Rom. 5:12, 13
    5. The fact remains that immortality is a conditional gift and centers in our faith in Jesus Christ our Lord - Rom. 6:23; John 3:16; 1 John 5:10-12


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