Rewarded with eternal life?

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whyeyeman

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“For the wages of sin is death, but the free gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.” - Romans 6:23

How can eternal life be a “gift” if the soul is immortal? How can the wages of sin be death, if the soul and body are both kept alive in hell?

This verse seems to support the annihilationist position. Any explanations?
 
The “free gift” isn’t just “eternal life”, but “eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord”.

Death as defined here doesn’t seem to be just annihilation, but rather the absence of God/ Jesus. In other words, continued existence in Hell in the absence of God/Jesus.
 
Let’s consider another possibility: that Paul didn’t deem the soul to be automatically “immortal” (in the sense of “undying”).
 
Romans 2:6-8 (“For he will repay according to each one’s deeds: to those who by patiently doing good seek for glory and honor and immortality, he will give eternal life; while for those who are self-seeking and who obey not the truth but wickedness, there will be wrath and fury.”)
 
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Depends whether the wrath and fury were experienced prior to death. Or as part of the annihilation.
 
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whyeyeman said:
“For the wages of sin is death, but the free gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.” - Romans 6:23

How can eternal life be a “gift” if the soul is immortal? How can the wages of sin be death, if the soul and body are both kept alive in hell?

This verse seems to support the annihilationist position. Any explanations?
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“Eternal life” isn’t just eternal existence; it’s life with God, “life and life abundantly”, life worth living, eternal bliss This is why hell has been referred to as “eternal death”.
 
I think he might say the wrath and fury is the process of being destroyed.
 
That being said, the concept of eternal punishment doesn’t really make sense if you are annihilated.
 
Yes, I tend to take the sayings of Jesus more seriously than other Scripture, and on several occasions he spoke of eternal punishment, unquenchable fire, torment, and such things.
 
I think it goes to understanding and definition… just recently I heard (1010 Wins) that Gerber placed the image of a child/babe with down syndrome on its products. Does that mean that Gerber believes targeting parents of down syndrome children will boost their sales or are they allowing their platform to speak to the equality of human dignity?

Does a wealthy person have a grater human dignity than the most impoverished person in the world?

Now, Eternity…

While the saying is Eternal Life, this description is missing a qualifier: “in Heaven.”

It is Eternal Life in the Presence (with) of God.

Since we do not know exact what the Heaven and hell experience is all about, we can only go with what has been Revealed: Heaven, a wonderful place where God Resides vs. hell a place of torment and the complete absence of God.

Eternal Life: Heaven.

Eternal death: the lake of fire where the worm does not die.

Maran atha!

Angel
 
Thank you. I think “where their worm does not die and the fire is not quenched.” Puts it in some context.
 
Hi!

…and yet, we do not really know the mind of God… nor what eternity actually holds… we find Scriptures about the Final Judgment where “Death” will give up its inhabitants… and the warning that those whose names are not found in the Book of Life of the Lamb will suffer the “Second Death…” but we still do not know exactly what that would be:
12 And I saw the dead, great and small, standing before the throne, and books were opened. Another book was opened, which is the book of life. The dead were judged according to what they had done as recorded in the books. 13 The sea gave up the dead that were in it, and death and Hades gave up the dead that were in them, and each person was judged according to what they had done. 14 Then death and Hades were thrown into the lake of fire. The lake of fire is the second death. 15 Anyone whose name was not found written in the book of life was thrown into the lake of fire. (Apocalypse [Revelation] 20)
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Since we are Created by God in His Image and Likeness could it be that we are bound for eternity regardless of our determination to accept God or reject Him? Could this “Final Judgment” be a complete annihilation of the spiritual being/essence with which God made us or would this “Punishment” be eternal?

There’s a little window into this in Jesus’ parable about Lazarus and the rich man… it seems that the dead are/will be conscious about both their state (where they are) and their past existence.

Some would jump at the chance to blame God for whatever eternity we choose to end up with (Heaven vs. hell); yet, this is done out of caprice and self-denial and overesteem–God clearly wants all to be Saved; He puts at out grasp the means of attaining Life:
19 This day I call the heavens and the earth as witnesses against you that I have set before you life and death, blessings and curses. Now choose life, so that you and your children may live (Deuteronomy 30)
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When man chooses to reject Life, how can he attribute the consequences of his choice to God?

Maran atha!

Angel
 
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