Eternal Life

Then he dreamed, and behold, a ladder was set up on the earth, and its top reached to heaven; and there the angels of God were ascending and descending on it.

And behold, the LORD stood above it and said: “I am the LORD God of Abraham your father and the God of Isaac; the land on which you lie I will give to you and your descendants.

Also your descendants shall be as the dust of the earth; you shall spread abroad to the west and the east, to the north and the south; and in you and in your seed all the families of the earth shall be blessed.

Behold, I am with you and will keep you wherever you go, and will bring you back to this land; for I will not leave you until I have done what I have spoken to you.”

You shall keep them, O LORD, You shall preserve them from this generation forever.

A Psalm of David. [1] LORD, who may abide in Your tabernacle? Who may dwell in Your holy hill?

He who walks uprightly, And works righteousness, And speaks the truth in his heart;

He who does not backbite with his tongue, Nor does evil to his neighbor, Nor does he take up a reproach against his friend;

In whose eyes a vile person is despised, But he honors those who fear the LORD; He who swears to his own hurt and does not change;

He who does not put out his money at usury, Nor does he take a bribe against the innocent. He who does these things shall never be moved.

Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me All the days of my life; And I will dwell in the house of the LORD Forever.

Depart from evil, and do good; And dwell forevermore.

For the LORD loves justice, And does not forsake His saints; They are preserved forever, But the descendants of the wicked shall be cut off.

The righteous shall inherit the land, And dwell in it forever.

The heaven, even the heavens, are the LORD’s; But the earth He has given to the children of men.

The dead do not praise the LORD, Nor any who go down into silence.

But we will bless the LORD From this time forth and forevermore. Praise the LORD!

The LORD preserves all who love Him, But all the wicked He will destroy.

For whoever finds me finds life, And obtains favor from the LORD;

But he who sins against me wrongs his own soul; All those who hate me love death.”

When the whirlwind passes by, the wicked is no more, But the righteous has an everlasting foundation.

The fear of the LORD prolongs days, But the years of the wicked will be shortened.

The hope of the righteous will be gladness, But the expectation of the wicked will perish.

The way of the LORD is strength for the upright, But destruction will come to the workers of iniquity.

The righteous will never be removed, But the wicked will not inhabit the earth.

Death and life are in the power of the tongue, And those who love it will eat its fruit.

For the Son of Man will come in the glory of His Father with His angels, and then He will reward each according to his works.

Then He said to them all, “If anyone desires to come after Me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross daily, and follow Me.

For whoever desires to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for My sake will save it.

For what profit is it to a man if he gains the whole world, and is himself destroyed or lost?

For whoever is ashamed of Me and My words, of him the Son of Man will be ashamed when He comes in His own glory, and in His Father’s, and of the holy angels.

And behold, a certain lawyer stood up and tested Him, saying, “Teacher, what shall I do to inherit eternal life?”

He said to him, “What is written in the law? What is your reading of it?”

So he answered and said, “ ‘You shall love the LORD your God with all your heart, with all your soul, with all your strength, and with all your mind,’ and ‘your neighbor as yourself.’ ”

And He said to him, “You have answered rightly; do this and you will live.”

Most assuredly, I say to you, if anyone keeps My word he shall never see death.”

Fight the good fight of faith, lay hold on eternal life, to which you were also called and have confessed the good confession in the presence of many witnesses.

Blessed are those who do His commandments, that they may have the right to the tree of life, and may enter through the gates into the city.