ETERNAL LIFE INSURANCE

Home Office
IN HEAVEN

BRANCH OFFICES
In principal cities and
communities all over tshe
world known as
Churches of Christ.


This Policy is given b all authroity
both in heaven and on earth.
Matthew 28:18-20




CONDITIONS OF THIS POLICY


I. Application for policy.

1. Believe in Christ.

“For without faith it is impossible to please him, for they that come to him must believe that he is and that he is the rewarder of them that diligently seek after him. Heb. 11:6

“Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ and thou shalt be saved and thy house.” Acts 16;31

“Therefore being iustified by faith we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ.” Rem. 5:1


2. Repent of sins.
“I tell ye nay, except ye repent ye shall all likewise perish.” Lk. 13:3,5

“And the times of this ignorance God winked at but now commandeth all men everywhere to repent.” Acts 17:30
“Repent and be converted that your sins may be blotted out..."Acts 3:19

3. Confess faith in Christ. -
“With the heart man believeth unto righteousness and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation.” Romans 10-10

I believe that Jesus Christ is the Son of God,” Acts 8:37 -

4.Be baptized for the remission of sins.
“He who believes and is baptized shall be saved; he who believeth not shall be damned.” Mk. 16:18
“Repent and be baptized every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ for the remission of sins and ye shall receive the gift of the Holy Spirit.” Acts 2:38
“And now why tarriest thou? arise, and be baptized, and wash away thy sins, calling on the name of the Lord.” Acts 22:16.
When these conditions have been met your policy Is in force. Acts 2:47


II.How to pay premiums.
1. By worship.
They continued steadfastly in the apostles' doctrine, in fellowship, in the breaking of bread and in prayers.Acts 2:42
And upon the first day of the week, when the disciples came together to break bread ...“ Acts 20:7
“Not forsaking the assembling of ourselves together, as the manner of some Is. Heb. 10:25

2. By service.
“Be ye steadfast, immovable, always abounding in the work of the Lord.” I Cor. 15:58 “Not slothful In business, fervent in spirit, serving the Lord.” Romans 12:11

3.Keep self pure.
“Blessed are the pure in heart, for they shall see God.. Mt. 5:8
“But pure religion and undefiled before God and the Father Is this, to visit the fatherless and widows in their afflictions and keep oneself unspotted from the world.” Jas. 1:27

4.Be faithful unto death.
“Be thou faithful unto death and I will give thee a crown of life.” Rev. 2:10
“Blessed are they that do his commandments, that they may have a right to the tree of life and may enter In through the gates into the city.” Rev. 22:14


SPECIAL PROVISIONS AND BENEFITS

1.Salvation
“Though he were a son, yet learned he obedience by the things which he suffered; And being made perfect, he became the author of eternal salvation unto all them that obey him. Heb. 5:8,9

2.Forgiveness of sins.
“In whom we have redemption through his blood, even the forgiveness of sins.” Eph. 1:7

3.An advocate with the Father.
~My little chijdren.keep these things I write unto you, that you sin not. But if any man sin, he hat an adyocate with the Father. J~us Christ the righteous.” I John 2:1,2

The kingdom of heaven is like unto a very wealthy man who went forth and established a life insurance company. It was incorporated under the grace of God and for the sake of humanity. He appointed 12 men to the Board of Directors, who under the President̓s supervision, wrote all the by laws of the company. These directors stipulated in writing the provisions, benefits, and conditions of each policy. To protect the company as well as the insured, the following clause was placed in each policy: “No agent of this company or otherwise, is authorized to alter or amend the provisions and conditions of this policy.” Jesus the master teacher used the parable as an effective method to teach religious truth. In this discourse I will follow the example of the master and use a modern day parable based on everyday life in the 21st century. There is a striking similarity between the religion of Christ and a modern up to date insurance company. I am going to talk to you about the religion of Christ much like an insurange agent would talk about the insurance company he represents. There is a sense in which religion may be considered as a kind of insurance. Jesus taught that we can use our physical assets an4 abilities in such a way in this life as to insure us an eternally happy ex—, istence when this life has ended. In Luke 16:9 Jesus said, “And I say unto you, Make to yourselves friends of the mammon of unrighteousness; that, when ye fail, they may receive you into everlasting habitations.” Mammon refers to money, material things and Jesus was teaching about insuring yourself against death by the proper use of these things. I do not know what the greatest business in the world is, but I would rank insurance high on the list. The total face value of life insurance policies in force in the United States is over 430 billion dollars. There are over 1100 insurance companies with more than 278 million policies in force. There is something that makes sense about this business to the people of America, and if you can understand the basic principles of life insurance you can understand the religion of Christ. Your attention is called to the parable given at the beginning of this message. What is represented by the insurance company which was in—i corporated under the grace of God for the sake of humanity? Who established: this company and who were the 12 directors?

ESSENTIAL FACTS ABOUT THE COMPANY

First, consider some essential facts about the insurance company in the parable. The name of an insurance company is very important as well as the location of its home office and the number of years it has been in business. The insurance company in the story represents the church which Jesus built and the names given it in Scripture are very significant. The name of the church which Jesus built is given in Romans 16:16 which says, “The Churches of Christ salute you.” The same spiritual organization is referred to in I Corinthians 1:2 in these words, “Unto the church of God which is at Corinth.” It is significant that God has his own names for the church and these verses indicate that God's church is the Church of Christ. For illustrative purposes this spiritual organization may be referred to as The Eternal Life Insurance Company of the World. Jesus Christ is the founder and president of this organization for he said in Matthew 16:18, “And I say alsb unto thee, That thou art Peter, and upon this rock I will build my church; and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it.” Jesus did not build his church on Peter but on the truth which Peter had just uttered, namely that Jesus Christ was the divine Son of God. The similarity between the church and an insurance company is based on the fact that both make certain promises to individuals in the event of death. The first life insurance conjpany in the United States began in 1759 with the home office in Philadelphia. The eternal life organization which Jesus established began in 33 A.D. in the city of Jerusalem with the home office in heaven, and the same was incorporated under the grace of God for the sake of humanity. Jesus appointed the 12 apostles as the board of directors of this company. The church by its spiritual nature is an eternal life insurance company, and its divinely designated name, Church of Christ, is just as distinctive as the name of any insurance company. We are not authorized to call it by any other name than that found in scripture. Another very important thing about an insurance company is its present standing. To impress us with the ability of a company to make good its promises, salesmen often tell the ranking of their companies and show a state— merit of assets and liabilities. The capital funds of the eternal life insurance company I represent are listed in Ephesians 3:8, “Unto me, who am less than the least of all saints, is this grace given, that I should preach among the Gentiles the unsearchable riches of Christ.” The unsearchable riches of Christ constitute the capital funds, and the word unsearchable me~ns literally “not traced out”. This simply means the riches of Christ are so great as to be beyond computation. The Reserve Fund is mentioned in I Peter 1:4, where the apostle states that God has begotten us to a lively hope, “To an inheritance incorruptible, and undefiled, and that fadeth not away, reserved in heaven for you.” The reserve fund is incorruptible and each policy holder has an imperishable inberitance reserved in heaven. This simply means the policy cannot be exchanged or reduced to one with a smaller amount. It does not exist. The Liabilities of this company are staggering and can be summed up in one phrase, the sins of the whole world. I Corinthians 15:56 states, “The sting of death is sin.” Man's greatest danger is not dying itself, but the dread is dying in his sins. My company is liable for past, present, and future sins, and is the only organization on earth that can insure you against the consequences of sin after death. Jesus said in John 6:37, “All that the Father giveth me shall come to me; and him that cometh to me I will in no wise cast out.” Peter said in Acts 2:38, “Repent and be baptized every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ for the remission of sins.” Remission in this passage means forgiveness and we learn that when one is scripturally baptized all past sins are forgiven up to the time of baptism. Sins committed after baptism are provided for in I John 2:1, “And if any man sin, we have an advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous.” It is added in I John 1:9, “If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.” This company is liable for all sins, including the sins of the whole world, and it has the assets to pay off its liabilities.

PROVISIONS AND EXCLUSIONS

Thirdly, we sball consider the provisions and exclusions of this policy. Every insurance company states very carefully in writing what it promises to do, what it promises not to do, what it will pay, and what it will not pay. The company I represent makes exceedingly great promises to all of its members as stipulated in 2 Peter 1:4, “Whereby are given unto us exceeding great and precious promises: that by these ye might be partakers of the divine nature, having escaped the corruption that is in the world through lust.” The promises as stated provide essentially two kinds of insurance: fire insurance and life insurance. Every human being is exposed to a special danger as stated in Revelation 20:15, “And whosoever was not found written in the book of life was cast into the lake of fire.” Some have blocked this fact out of their minds and have convinced themselves there is no danger of hell fire. All that can be said about these people is they disagree with the Bible. What you need is protection against this fire which is sure to come. The gospel is fire insurance and the policy files of this company is called the book of life. If your name is not in the book of life when you die, you will most certainly be cast into the lake of fire. By way of figure of speech the gospel may also be called life insurance because it protects against death. In John 11:26 Jesus said, “And whosoever liveth and believeth in me shall never die.” The promise that we shall never die is not a promise that we shall escape physical death. The reference is to a never ceasing eternal existence in the world to come. This is a promise of eternal life after the grave. The Church which Jesus built offers no promise or protection whatsoever to anyone outside its membership. For a person out of the church to expect to be saved is like expecting an insurance company to pay a claim to one who has never taken out a policy with the company. It cannot be done. The Church of Christ, the Eternal Life Insurance Company of the World; home office, Heaven promises to insure the life of a faithful Christian, and promises to pay at its home office in heaven the amount of eternal life at the judgment of the last day. The policy reads like this in I John 2:25, “And this is the promise that he hath promised us, even eternal life.” This policy cannot be exchanged or reduced to one with a smaller payment. It does not exist.

DIVIDENDS

One of the attractive provisions of this policy is that it is a participating policy. Those who qualify for this eternal life policy will reap the full benefits of the company day by day, and the dividends are a hundred fold plus. Jesus said in Mark 10:29,30, “Verily I say unto you, There is no man that hath left house, or brethren, or sisters, or father, or mother, or wife, or children, or lands, for my sake and the gospel's, but he shall receive an hundredfold now in this time, houses, and brethren, and sisters and mothers, and children, and lands, with persecutions; and in the: world to come eternal life.” Eternal life is the future benefit but the present benefit in this life is abundant living. Jesus asserted this in John 10:10, “I am come that they might have, life, and that they might have it more abundantly.”

EXCLUS IONS

However, I must mention that there are certain exclusions in this policy. There are some claims which the eternal life insurance company of the world will not pay under any circumstances. The company does not pay spiritual disability benefits. Eternal life is a prepared gift in a prepared place for a prepared people. This fact is emphasized in the Bible in Revelation 21:27, which describes the inhabitants of heaven, “And there shall in no wise enter into it anything that defileth, neither whatsoever worketh abomination, or maketh a lie: but they which are written in the Lamb's book of life.” There is absolutely no payment for spiritual disability and spiritual unpreparedness. Furthermore, the policy is cancelable. The eternal life organization headed by Jesus Christ does not offer ~ non—cancelable eternal life insurance policy. Jesus reveals that we can be
canceled out in Revelation 3:5, “He that overcometh, the same shall be clothed in white raiment; and I will not blot out his name out of the book of life...” This implies that Christians who do not overcome the world an4 sin cannot inherit eternal life. The exclusion provision in the religion of Christ is mentioned again in 2 Timothy 2:12, “If we deny him, he also will~ deny us.” There is one more exclusion which should be mentioned and there is a striking analogy between insurance and religion in this regard. If this policy lapses, it must be reinstated before death. My physical life insurance policy reads like this, “If this policy shall lapse because of default of any premium, it may be reinstated at any time within five years from the due date of the first premium in default....upon the payment of all overdue premiums with interest at 5% per annum to the date of reinstatement.” When a Christian errs from the truth and becomes an unfaithful Christian, he has until death to be reinstated with the church. The Christian who dies in his sins cannot go to heaven. It is more important to keep up your religion than your physical life insurance. When you die someone will bury you, but if you go into eternity as a non-Christian or an unfaithful Christian, you will personally suffer the consequences.

HOW TO SECURE A POLICY

The final discussion in this analogy between religion and insurance is in regard to securing a policy. Insurance companies require an indorsement and payment of a premium before the policy is in effect. Moreover, a person desiring to have eternal life in the world to come must also personally endorse the promises of Christ. The first day̓s premium amounts to becoming a Christian. This entails believing in Christ as Lord and Saviour, making a clean break with your past life plus a full intention to follow Christ wherever he leads you. Furthermore, a confession of his divinity is required with the mouth followed by an immersion in water for the purpose of removing the sin and guilt of the past life without God. The policy is in force just as soon as these conditions are met, and if death occurs the next day the company will pay off with eternal life.
The premiums after the first day amount to six things: read, pay, pray, add, attend, and continue. The members of this company will read thoroughly and daily our official guide book, the Bible. The Bible says in 2 Timothy 2:15, “Study to show thyself approved unto God, a workman that needeth not~ to be ashamed, rightly dividing the word of truth.” In addition, to benefit from this policy, all members are obligated to keep in daily contact with our home office in heaven. This is expressly asserted in I Thessalonians 5:17 which says, “Pray without ceasing.” Each member who enjoys the privileges of this policy will cheerfully make a financial payment each week to the church as he has been prospered uring each week. We read about this in I Corinthians 16:2, “Upon the first day of the week let every one of you lay by him in store, as God hath prospered him.” By indorsing the promiseá of this policy all members agree thereby to attend all the weekly meetings; of this organization. Failure to faithfully attend the assemblies of this organization will render the policy null and void. This is written in the policy in Hebrews 10:25,26, “Not forsaking the assembling of ourselves together, as the manner of some is; but exhorting one another; and so much. the more, as ye see the day approaching. For if we sin wilfully after that• we have received the knowledge of the truth, there remaineth no more sacrifice for sins...” It is a saying worthy of all acceptation that if you are not a faithful church attender you have no eternal life insurance. As this organization is essentially a character building institution, the members will add to their lives certain stipulated moral and religious characteristics. They are listed in 2 Peter 1:5—9, “And beside this, giving all diligence, add to your faith virtue; and to virtue knowledge; and to knowledge temperance; arid to temperance patience; and to patience godliness; and to godliness brotherly kindness; and to brotherly kindness, love. For if these things be in you and abound, they make you that ye shall neither be barren nor unfruitful in the knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ. But he that lacketh these things is blind, and cannot see afar off, and hath for-gotten that he was purged from his old sins.” Finally, they will continue to live a godly consecrated life until death. Titus 2:11,12 declares, “For the grace of God that bringeth salvation hath appeared to all men. Teaching us that, denying ungodliness and worfly lusts, we should live soberly, righteously, and godly, in this present world.” Jesus added in Revelation~ 2:10, “...be thou faithful unto death, and I will give thee a crown of life.”