Eternal life is in Christ JESUS alone
As described in the Bible, a Jewish lawyer went to Jesus Christ one day and asked a very critical question thus; "Good Master, what shall I do to inherit eternal life?" Now, this Jewish lawyer stood for the most zealous section of the family of Abraham who were the children of the promise and of the covenant. Many persons have been wrapped in religion and activities yet the lack the most important thing which is eternal life.
Matthew 16:19-26
16 And, behold, one came and said unto him, Good Master, what good thing shall I do, that I may have eternal life?
17 And he said unto him, Why callest thou me good? there is none good but one, that is, God: but if thou wilt enter into life, keep the commandments.
18 He saith unto him, Which? Jesus said, Thou shalt do no murder, Thou shalt not commit adultery, Thou shalt not steal, Thou shalt not bear false witness,
19 Honour thy father and thy mother: and, Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself.
20 The young man saith unto him, All these things have I kept from my youth up: what lack I yet?
21 Jesus said unto him, If thou wilt be perfect, go and sell that thou hast, and give to the poor, and thou shalt have treasure in heaven: and come and follow me.
22 But when the young man heard that saying, he went away sorrowful: for he had great possessions.
23 Then said Jesus unto his disciples, Verily I say unto you, That a rich man shall hardly enter into the kingdom of heaven.
24 And again I say unto you, It is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle, than for a rich man to enter into the kingdom of God.
25 When his disciples heard it, they were exceedingly amazed, saying, Who then can be saved?
26 But Jesus beheld them, and said unto them, With men this is impossible; but with God all things are possible.
This man knew that he lacked something very crucial in his life, something that is above all other things and it is that which makes one right with God - Eternal life. It is for eternal life that Christ came to die for us all. This showed how important it is for one to be saved and to also have eternal life. So, it is not just about saying you are a Christian or you are from a Christian home. The main thing is to have eternal life.
Eternal life is the real thing. It is greater atonement, greater than justification by the law and greater than mere forgiveness. Eternal life is simply the nature of God and it means immortality. Some people feel that immortality is not dying at all but it is fallacious. Immortality entails being able to control your life as well as making your life untouchable by sickness, poverty etc.
Simply put, the immortality of man is his ability to defy all possible means of death. It might interest you to know that many great persons in faith stepped into this level and realm. Paul defied all ways of death, until he was ready and same as John the beloved. He defied all ways of death until he was abandoned at the island of Patmos.
Eternal life is the key to the gospel of Christ and it is what unlocks the divine side of the God's redemption plan for man. Eternal life is the biggest word of the gospel and it takes deep study and fellowship with God to have a revelational understanding of it's meaning. The word eternal life represents the whole heart and teaching of the gospel of the grace of God.
So, it's necessary that we receive Christ because He is key to having eternal life and immortality. The immortality realm of living is a realm of dominion and it is brought to light only by the gospel. Eternal life is the Crux of the gospel.
John 3:16 puts it thus:
For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life.