This past weekend, I may have been attending a wedding, but our church continued the series, “Between a Rock and a Hard Place.” This past week’s lesson was: “Are Heaven and Hell Real?” I made a point to listen to the message when returned from the weekend. If you’d like to listen to the original message, Click HERE.
No one really likes to talk about death. However, whether we like it or not…we all have a death date. In fact, within the past two weeks, two individuals I distantly know died before their 30th birthday. If you go to www.deathclock.com, you can “predict” your death date based on a few questions. According to the clock, I will die on October 1, 2082 – I would be 100 years old. Of course, this clock isn’t too reliable – each time you click, it provides a new date. But the point is that we all will die at some point.
No one really likes to talk about death. However, whether we like it or not…we all have a death date. In fact, within the past two weeks, two individuals I distantly know died before their 30th birthday. If you go to www.deathclock.com, you can “predict” your death date based on a few questions. According to the clock, I will die on October 1, 2082 – I would be 100 years old. Of course, this clock isn’t too reliable – each time you click, it provides a new date. But the point is that we all will die at some point.
Psalm 139:16 says, “all the days ordained for me were written in your book before one of them came to be.” God knows when we’ll pass away before the day that we are born. But what happens to use the moment after we take our last breath? How do we even know that there will be life after death? Who’s to say that we don’t just disappear?
Well, if we just look around, we can see that there’s a circle of life…even when Faith leaves us hanging for more information, science fills in the gaps. But, the Bible does give us more direction. Hebrews 9:27-28 says, “Just as people are destined to die once, and after that to face judgment, so Christ was sacrificed once to take away the sins of many; and he will appear a second time, not to bear sin, but to bring salvation to those who are waiting for him.” These verses tell us that after our final breath, we will face judgement.
I think we’d like to believe that God is just like a grandfather…that upon our deaths, he’ll kick open the gates and let us all in…just for being a good person. That’s not necessarily the case. In fact, it doesn’t matter how good we are on Planet Earth. It doesn’t matter what denomination we are, how much money we gave or who we’re related to. At the end of the day, it all boils down to “are you holy?” Better yet, did we accept God’s son, Jesus Christ? It’s really that simple. Ephesians 2:8-9 says, “For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith—and this is not from yourselves, it is the gift of God— not by works, so that no one can boast.”
If we back up to Ephesians 1:13-14, it says, “And you also were included in Christ when you heard the message of truth, the gospel of your salvation. When you believed, you were marked in him with a seal, the promised Holy Spirit, who is a deposit guaranteeing our inheritance until the redemption of those who are God’s possession—to the praise of his glory.” This tells us that when we accepted Christ, we are marked by God…almost like earnest money towards a home that will be accepted when we enter our eternal reward: heaven. That’s all God is looking for.
So, we die and we go before judgement. At that time, we are separated into two groups. Matthew 25:32 says, “he will separate the people one from another as a shepherd separates the sheep from the goats.”
- Eternal Bliss – Heaven
- Eternal Punishment – Hell
Let’s talk about Heaven. Heaven is not a state of mind…it is a real place. And, according to Colton, the four-year old son of a small town Nebraska pastor, Heaven is for Real! Remember John 14:1-4, “Do not let your hearts be troubled. You believe in God; believe also in me. My Father’s house has many rooms; if that were not so, would I have told you that I am going there to prepare a place for you? And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come back and take you to be with me that you also may be where I am. You know the way to the place where I am going.” Yes – it is a real and physical place…a place of perfection, perfect relationships, perfect bodies, and perfect fellowship between one another and God. I believe that Revelations even talks about white robes and an endless supply of water. It really is a perfect place.
And a lot of us will go to Heaven…but some of us won’t. If you believe in God…and believe in Heaven, you must also believe that there is a Hell. Matthew 8:12 says, “But the subjects of the kingdom will be thrown outside, into the darkness, where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.” At one time in my life, I recall joking about my treating people poorly and making some off-handed comment that I was going to hell. The joke would continue by someone saying something to the effect of, “well you’ll be in good company.” But, according to the scripture, Hell is a place of darkness and solitary confinement. We might think it’ll be one big party of non-believers, but that’s just not the case.
And I guess we can’t help but wonder why God would send loving people to hell. God doesn’t SEND anyone to Hell…we’re each given the choice. Matthew 7:22 says, “Many will say to me on that day, ‘Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in your name and in your name drive out demons and in your name perform many miracles?'” God is looking for our mark…that seal that says we are his.
Matthew 7:16 says, “By their fruit you will recognize them.” If it’s as easy as accepting Christ and then being recognized by our fruit…then what is the fruit of your life? Are you obedient to God’s teaching? Is your life a reflection of Jesus? When you accepted Jesus, did it transform your life (or did you go back to your old ways)? It’s a lot to think about but our death clock is still ticking. We may not know when exactly we’re going to go, but we can certainly determine where we’re going next. Where are you going?
And a lot of us will go to Heaven…but some of us won’t. If you believe in God…and believe in Heaven, you must also believe that there is a Hell. Matthew 8:12 says, “But the subjects of the kingdom will be thrown outside, into the darkness, where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.” At one time in my life, I recall joking about my treating people poorly and making some off-handed comment that I was going to hell. The joke would continue by someone saying something to the effect of, “well you’ll be in good company.” But, according to the scripture, Hell is a place of darkness and solitary confinement. We might think it’ll be one big party of non-believers, but that’s just not the case.
And I guess we can’t help but wonder why God would send loving people to hell. God doesn’t SEND anyone to Hell…we’re each given the choice. Matthew 7:22 says, “Many will say to me on that day, ‘Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in your name and in your name drive out demons and in your name perform many miracles?'” God is looking for our mark…that seal that says we are his.
Matthew 7:16 says, “By their fruit you will recognize them.” If it’s as easy as accepting Christ and then being recognized by our fruit…then what is the fruit of your life? Are you obedient to God’s teaching? Is your life a reflection of Jesus? When you accepted Jesus, did it transform your life (or did you go back to your old ways)? It’s a lot to think about but our death clock is still ticking. We may not know when exactly we’re going to go, but we can certainly determine where we’re going next. Where are you going?
