Let’s begin by reading John 5:24-25, “Verily, verily, I say unto you, He that heareth my word, and believeth on him that sent me, hath everlasting life, and shall not come into condemnation; but is passed from death unto life. Verily, verily, I say unto you, The hour is coming, and now is, when the dead shall hear the voice of the Son of God: and they that hear shall live.”

The theme of the Lord in these verses is Spiritual Life and Death. The one who will hear and believe on the Lord HAS (present tense) eternal life and will not come into condemnation. Romans 8:1 assures us, “Therefore there is now NO CONDEMNATION for those who are in Christ Jesus.” 1 John 5:12 tells us, “He that hath the Son HATH LIFE; and he that hath not the Son of God HATH NOT LIFE.” That divides the whole world into those who have life and those who do not have life. Only those who have Christ as their savior have life. The Lord, Himself, said in John 14:6, “I am the way, the truth, and the life: no man cometh unto the Father, but by me.” There is one way to Heaven and one way of salvation. Faith in the Lord Jesus Christ.

Those who believe in Him are “passed from death unto life.” According to Ephesians 2:1, we are all “dead in trespasses and sins” before accepting the Lord Jesus as our savior. We are given life, new life, when we become saved. 2 Corinthians 5:17 assures us, “Therefore if any man be in Christ, he is a new creature: old things are passed away; behold, all things are become new.” We do not become better people when we are saved; we become BRAND NEW people through faith in Christ.

In John 5:25, the Lord declares “The hour is coming, and now is, when the dead shall hear the voice of the Son of God: and they that hear shall live.” That hour is still continuing today. The voice of the Son of God continues to go forth in the sound of His glorious Gospel. He continues to offer salvation to all who will believe in Him. Though spiritually dead, the Lord is able to speak to each one and give them eternal life when they put their faith in Him. The Lord spoke to Lazarus, who was PHYSICALLY DEAD, and said, “Lazarus, come forth. And he that was dead came forth, bound hand and foot with graveclothes: and his face was bound about with a napkin. Jesus saith unto them, Loose him, and let him go.” (John 11:43-44) The Lord continues to call those who are SPIRITUALLY DEAD. Those who have ‘ears to hear’ will listen and receive eternal life.

The Lord Jesus said in John 6:63, “…the words that I speak unto you, they are spirit, and they are life.” How about you, my friends. Have you put your faith in the Lord Jesus Christ? Have you entrusted Him with your eternity? Have you bowed your knee to Him and owned Him as savior and Lord. Romans 14:11-12 states, “For it is written, As I live, saith the Lord, EVERY KNEE SHALL BOW to me, and EVERY TONGUE SHALL CONFESS to God. So then every one of us shall give account of himself to God.” We can bow our knee to the Lord today and receive Him as our savior. If we wait until it is too late, and we leave this world still in our sins, then we will bow before Him as our JUDGE. He will deal with all without mercy and without grace. Let us heed the words of Hebrews 10:31, “It is a fearful thing to fall into the hands of the living God.” (271.2)