Truly, truly, I say to you, he who hears my word and believes him who sent me, has eternal life; he does not come into judgment, but has passed from death to life.
"Truly, truly, I say to you, the hour is coming, and now is, when the dead will hear the voice of the Son of God, and those who hear will live. For as the Father has life in himself, so he has granted the Son also to have life in himself, and has given him authority to execute judgment, because he is the Son of man. Do not marvel at this; for the hour is coming when all who are in the tombs will hear his voice and come forth, those who have done good, to the resurrection of life, and those who have done evil, to the resurrection of judgment. John 5:24–29 (RSV)
OK, what is the 'those who have done good, to the resurrection of life, and those who have done evil, to the resurrection of judgment' business? I thought salvation was given and not earned. It appears that Jesus is talking about good living as the means to life.
Remember, Lutherans read the whole Bible when they do theology. We don't cherry-pick a few verses that say what we want Scripture to say. We let Scripture interpret Scripture.
The resurrection of life and resurrection of judgment only makes sense when read in light of this passage's first verse. Jesus teaches that those who hear his word and believe in the Father who has sent Jesus will have eternal life.
Only those who stubbornly refuse to listen to the Good News find themselves under judgment. The Father's heart breaks, but he will allow us to have what we say we want.
And how do we hear and believe this word? The Holy Spirit who calls us through the Gospel creates saving faith when and where he pleases. We hear the Gospel as a work of the Spirit. By the Spirit, we believe the Gospel, and believing the Gospel, we are raised to life in Christ.
Thanks be to God that his mercy is unending, his love boundless, and the Holy Spirit never ceases to call us through the Gospel.