How Can I Have Eternal Life?

Hi Everyone, I have been mentally gearing up and thinking about how to go about trying to plant a church, as I am planning on really getting started in a couple of weeks, and particularly have been thinking about talking to strangers. I have decided to give people I talk to a small card with a couple of verses on it and a link to a blog site which will basically be an online tract with a place to make comments or ask questions. Also on the site will be contact and meeting information for the church plant. So, below is what I am planning on putting up on the blog site. I thought I'd put it up here because it might be helpful to someone who reads my blog, and also because I would be interested in any feedback about how I might be able to make it more clear. So, here it is:

How Can I Have Eternal Life?
Today, right now, you can not only know how to receive eternal life, but you can actually receive it and be assured of your eternal destiny. The Lord Jesus, while He was on earth, said, “He who believes in Me has everlasting life” (John 6:47). This was true when He spoke it, and is still a true statement today. Please read on to learn what it means to believe in Jesus and how you can know that you have everlasting (or eternal) life.
God created all of us as spiritual beings who will exist forever. He created us with the ability to think and feel, to know Him, and to make choices for ourselves. Unfortunately, our first ancestors, Adam and Eve, chose to sin against God and became separated from Him. They passed on to their children a sinful, disobedient nature which continues with us to this day. That’s why the Bible says of us that “all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God” (Romans 3:23). It also says that the wages of sin, or what one gets because of his sin, is “death” (Romans 6:23). In the Bible, death means more than simply the body ceasing to function. It also refers to spiritual death, one’s spirit being separated from God. So all have sinned, and all are therefore cut off from God.
But the good news is that God didn’t leave us in this condition. In the Bible, in the gospel of John, chapter three, verse sixteen (John 3:16), it says, “For God so loved the world, that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish, but have everlasting life.” Jesus, the Son of God, was fully God but became a man. God gave Him to die on a Roman cross to pay the penalty for our sins so that all who believe in Him would not die and go to hell, but rather would enjoy eternal life together with Him. Jesus not only died on the cross for our sins, but three days later He rose from the dead and later returned to heaven. Jesus is alive and fully able to give eternal life to all who believe in Him.
You may have heard that there are many things that a person must do in order to have their sins forgiven and live with God forever, like getting baptized or attending church, or you may have thought that if you just tried to be reasonably good, you would probably be alright. Maybe you have thought there is no way a person could know for sure how to have eternal life, but the Bible makes it clear that you can know. The Bible tells us that all who believe in Jesus have eternal life.
So what does it mean to believe in Jesus? To believe in Jesus means more than simply believing that He exists or even that He is God, which, of course, He is. In the Bible, believing in Jesus means believing, or trusting, in Him to do what He has promised, which is to freely give you eternal life. The Lord Jesus said, “He who believes in Me has everlasting life” (John 6:47). Do you believe what He said? If you do, then you have believed in Him and have received eternal life.
One other thing should be said about eternal life: just like it sounds, eternal life lasts forever. Once you have received it, you belong to God and can never lose the free gift which He has given you. Jesus said, “I give them eternal life, and they shall never perish; neither shall anyone snatch them out of My hand” (John 10:28). Hopefully, receiving eternal life will be the first step in a life-long adventure for you of learning more about the Lord Jesus and following Him. But the most important and most foundational thing in life is to know that He has saved you (see Ephesians 2:8-9) and given you eternal life.
If this article has helped you to see how you could have eternal life and you have believed in Jesus, please leave a comment below to let us know. If you have further questions or would like to talk to someone about what you have read, also please leave us a comment so we can talk further. We would love to get in touch with you and help you to learn more about the Lord Jesus through His word, the Bible.