Since many people I meet show little interest in heaven and express little desire to go there, I thought I’d provide a few instructions on how to go to hell instead. Following are just a few surefire courses of action to be damned and arrive in eternal hellfire and brimstone:
Ignore the whole issue of heaven and hell and put off all thoughts of God and eternity for another day.
Avoid, as much as possible, reading the Bible or attending churches where the Bible is read and taught. After all, the Bible is so narrow in its views regarding life, God’s judgment, and the age to come.
Hope that God grades on a curve and will not condemn you if you have lived as well as the next guy.
Believe that you can escape the fires of hell and obtain eternal life in heaven by doing good deeds.
Live for now and indulge in all your desires because life is short.
Give no heed to preachers who call upon all to repent and look to Christ Jesus for mercy and forgiveness.
Treat the blood of Jesus shed for the sins of all as a worthless thing by continuing on in your sinful ways.
Ignore Jesus and His pleas for you to repent and trust in Him for pardon, forgiveness and life everlasting in heaven.
Yes, I could go on listing ways to be sure of hell; but wouldn’t you rather be sure of heaven?
It’s simple: Acknowledge and repent of your sinfulness and shortcomings and place your faith and hope in Christ Jesus and His innocent sufferings and death for all sins.
In Jesus, heaven is sure! Why? Because Jesus kept all of God’s commandments perfectly in your stead and then suffered and died on the cross for your sins (and the sins of all), rose again, and ascended into the glories of heaven to prepare a place for all who repent of their sinful ways and believe God’s offer and promise of forgiveness and life through faith in Christ Jesus! All who look to Jesus in faith will be spared the fires of hell and receive, instead, the eternal glories of heaven!
God’s Word says, “ Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, and thou shalt be saved” (Acts 16:31 KJV).
Some Bible proof passages: Romans 3:9-26; Hebrews 4:15; 1 Corinthians 15:3-4; John 3:14-18, 36; Mark 16:15-16; Luke 24:46-47; John 14:1-6; Acts 1:9-11; 2:37-40; 3:19; 4:12; Ephesians 1 and 2; 1 John 1:8-9; 2:1-2.
“And when he had spoken these things, while they beheld, he was taken up; and a cloud received him out of their sight. And while they looked stedfastly toward heaven as he went up, behold, two men stood by them in white apparel; which also said, Ye men of Galilee, why stand ye gazing up into heaven? this same Jesus, which is taken up from you into heaven, shall so come in like manner as ye have seen him go into heaven.” Acts 1:9-11 (Read 1-11)
In the Apostles’ Creed, we confess of Jesus Christ, our Lord, that “He ascended into heaven, and sitteth on the right hand of God the Father Almighty; from thence He shall come to judge the quick and the dead.”
And Thursday was Ascension Day, a Christian festival now often forgotten by churches. It is the day we remember Jesus’ ascension into heaven and the fact that He now rules over and fills all things (Eph. 1:15-23), intercedes for us (1 John 2:1-2; Rom. 8:34), pours out His Holy Spirit in our hearts (John 16:7), sends forth men to preach the Gospel and creates faith through the hearing of God’s Word (Eph. 4:8-16; Rom. 10:17), and will soon return to judge the living and the dead and establish His everlasting kingdom (Matt. 25:31ff.; Dan. 7:13-14; Rev. 11:15; 20:11ff.).
Today, we consider the words of the angels to Jesus’ disciples when Jesus was taken up into heaven: “Ye men of Galilee, why stand ye gazing up into heaven? this same Jesus, which is taken up from you into heaven, shall so come in like manner as ye have seen him go into heaven.”
This Word of God, which was spoken by angels to the disciples who had just witnessed Jesus’ ascension into heaven, teaches us that Jesus Christ will return visibly in the clouds of glory on the Last Day. The Bible also says this in Revelation 1:7: “Behold, he cometh with clouds; and every eye shall see him, and they also which pierced him: and all kindreds of the earth shall wail because of him. Even so, Amen.” (Cf. Matt. 24:29-31).
Paul wrote to the believers in Thessalonica that “… the Lord Jesus shall be revealed from heaven with his mighty angels, in flaming fire taking vengeance on them that know not God, and that obey not the gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ: who shall be punished with everlasting destruction from the presence of the Lord, and from the glory of his power; when he shall come to be glorified in his saints, and to be admired in all them that believe (because our testimony among you was believed) in that day” (2 Thess. 1:7-10).
As Jesus ascended into heaven, so He shall also return on the Last Day, the Day of Judgment. He will come again in clouds of glory with His holy angels. Every eye will see Him! His return will be no secret rapture — both the believer and the unbeliever will see Him coming in glory!
The true question for us is this: “Are you ready for His return and judgment? Are you prepared to meet Him?”
Those who do not trust in Him for salvation will wail in sorrow at His return because they stand condemned for not trusting in the only begotten Son of God (John 3:18; 2 Thess. 1:6-10). As Jesus said, they remain in their sins and, thus, face God’s judgment in the filthy garments of the flesh (cf. John 8:24; Isa. 64:6; Matt. 22:11-14).
But those who do trust in Christ Jesus as their Savior — trusting that they have pardon for their sins and peace with God for the sake of Christ’s innocent sufferings and death in their stead — will rejoice at His return because He comes to take them to be with Him forever in the mansions of heaven (cf. Luke 21:27-28; Heb. 9:27-28; John 14:1-3; 1 Thess. 4:13-18).
And so, I ask you: “Do you acknowledge your sins and look to Christ and His cross for mercy and forgiveness?” If not, the day of His return will be for you a day of sorrow and mourning as you face His eternal judgment and condemnation!
But, if you, by the grace of God, agree with God about your sins and trust in Christ and the atonement He made for the sins of the world when He died on the cross, that day will be a day of joy and gladness as you receive His mercy, His pardon, and life eternal in His glorious kingdom! (Cf. 1 John 1:7-2:2; 5:11-12; Mark 16:15-16.)
We will then see Him face to face and be transformed into his image (cf. Psalm 17:15; 1 John 3:2; Phil. 3:20-21). And, we will partake of the pleasures of His everlasting kingdom (John 14:2-3; Psalm 16:11).
Dear Lord Jesus Christ, as You have ascended up into heaven to the right hand of God the Father, so come again and take us to be with You forever. Graciously keep us in the true and saving faith so that, on that Day, we may greet You with joy and not with sorrow. Grant this to us for the sake of Your holy life and bitter sufferings and death on the cross in our stead. Amen.
[Scripture is quoted from the King James Version of the Bible.]
During His earthly ministry, Jesus was continually accused of sin by the religious party of the Pharisees for speaking the truth and for showing mercy and compassion on sinners in obedience to God‘s commandments but sometimes transgressing the man-made applications and traditions of the elders.
It is for this reason that Jesus said to them: “Ye hypocrites, well did Esaias prophesy of you, saying, This people draweth nigh unto me with their mouth, and honoureth me with their lips; but their heart is far from me. But in vain they do worship me, teaching for doctrines the commandments of men” (Matthew 15:7-9).
Today, too, there are those who elevate human traditions to the point where they get in the way of preaching Christ crucified and offering the comfort and assurance of the Gospel to sinners. Instead of being satisfied to preach Christ and the clear teaching of His Word, they make up rule after rule as to how one should worship and serve Christ and partake of His benefits.
When this occurs, we must hold fast to Jesus and his Word and not submit to man-made rules and traditions, as though they somehow are required of us or make us more acceptable to God.
The only way to be acceptable to God is through faith in Jesus Christ and his atoning sacrifice on the cross for the sins of the world. And, the only way for our worship to be acceptable to God is through faith in Jesus.
It is for this reason that our congregation is no longer affiliated with a diocese or synod, nor do we burden ourselves with man-made rites and traditions which merit us nothing before God. We desire to keep our focus on Christ and his life-giving Word and not on the traditions of men.
“Jesus answered and said unto her, Whosoever drinketh of this water shall thirst again: But whosoever drinketh of the water that I shall give him shall never thirst; but the water that I shall give him shall be in him a well of water springing up into everlasting life.” John 4:13-14 (Read John 4:1-14)
Though the Jews usually had no dealings with Samaritans because they were a mixed people and had corrupted the Old Testament Scriptures to justify their erring religious beliefs, Jesus showed compassion on this immoral Samaritan woman and offered her living water — the water which gives life.
He offered her life-giving water, but she didn’t understand. She thought only of water to quench her earthly thirst and wondered how Jesus could give her such water since He had nothing with which to draw water from Jacob’s well.
Jesus told her that anyone drinking from the well of Jacob would thirst again. This water could only temporarily quench one’s thirst and need for water. But the water Jesus offered and desired to give her was different. It was a water that would satisfy her spiritual thirst, forever! The water Jesus offered and gives would become “a well of water springing up into everlasting life.”
What Jesus was offering this woman, and what He offers to us as well, is Himself, the Messiah and Savior of the world, and eternal salvation through faith in Him and His atoning sacrifice on the cross for the sins of the world (cf. Isaiah 12).
Jesus said in John 6:35: “I am the bread of life: he that cometh to me shall never hunger; and he that believeth on me shall never thirst.”
In John 7:37ff., Jesus said: “If any man thirst, let him come unto me, and drink. He that believeth on me, as the scripture hath said, out of his belly shall flow rivers of living water.” And John explained: “But this spake he of the Spirit, which they that believe on him should receive.”
Water is, of course, necessary to sustain life, and the people living in the arid parts of Israel knew what it was to thirst.
Jesus and the forgiveness and life He won for all by His innocent sufferings and death on the cross are needed by all of us, as well, so that we might have life eternal.
He desires to give everyone this living water that springs up into everlasting life, for He wants no one to perish and be lost forever. He wants to quench our ongoing need for forgiveness of sins and for life in fellowship with God our Maker. He wants us to partake of Him and His sacrifice on the cross for the sins of the world by faith and live!
It is the Holy Spirit who opens our eyes to see Jesus for who He really is: the Son of God and our Savior. It is the Spirit, working through God’s Word, who assures us that God is gracious to us and offers us forgiveness for our sins for the sake of Jesus’ holy life and innocent sufferings and death in our stead. It is the Holy Spirit who brings us to trust in Jesus for forgiveness and life, and He strengthens us through the promises of His Word and keeps us trusting in Jesus.
God’s Spirit also moves and enables us to share our faith and tell others of Jesus and what He has done for us. He moves and enables us to share that water of life we have received with others so that their spiritual thirst, too, might be quenched, forever!
All who come to know and trust in Jesus as Savior have the gift of God’s indwelling Spirit, who not only brings them to such faith and conviction but also He keeps them trusting in Jesus and moves them to share their faith with others who thirst spiritually
The life-giving water that Jesus gives is, in all believers, a well of water springing up and quenching our spiritual thirst unto everlasting life. It satisfies us for eternity and continues to well up within us so that we might share it with others so that they, too, might have everlasting life!
O dearest Jesus, grant us Your Spirit and the forgiveness and life You have won for us by Your holy life and innocent sufferings and death on the cross in our stead. Preserve and keep us in the true and saving faith unto life everlasting and enable us to share this water of life with other thirsty souls. Amen.
[Scripture is quoted from the King James Version of the Bible.]
“For the wages of sin is death; but the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord.” Romans 6:23 (read verses 1-23)
That we are all guilty before God and stand guilty and condemned under the law of God is made clear in Romans 3:9-20.
That God provided a way for sinners to be justified and counted righteous by God through faith in Christ Jesus and His atoning sacrifice on the cross for the sins of the world is revealed and explained in Romans 3:21-28 and the following two chapters of Paul’s letter.
In the sixth chapter, the Apostle Paul addresses the errors of those who think they can continue in sin and still possess the benefits of God’s grace in Christ Jesus.
“What shall we say then? Shall we continue in sin, that grace may abound? God forbid. How shall we, that are dead to sin, live any longer therein?” (v.1-2).
You and I were saved for a life with a purpose. In Ephesians 2:8-10, we read: “For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God: not of works, lest any man should boast. For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus unto good works, which God hath before ordained that we should walk in them.”
And, St. Paul wrote to the Corinthian believers: “He died for all, that they which live should not henceforth live unto themselves, but unto him which died for them, and rose again” (cf. 2 Cor. 5:15).
We learned in Romans 6:3ff. that we were joined, in our baptisms, to Christ in His death and resurrection in order that Christ’s death on the cross would be our death and punishment for sin and that Christ’s resurrection, after He paid the price for our sins, would be our resurrection to new life in fellowship with and service to our God and Savior.
In Romans 6:15-16, we read: “What then? shall we sin, because we are not under the law, but under grace? God forbid. Know ye not, that to whom ye yield yourselves servants to obey, his servants ye are to whom ye obey; whether of sin unto death, or of obedience unto righteousness?”
If we willingly give ourselves back into sin — yielding ourselves to the temptations of the devil, the allurements of the world, and the sinful desires of our flesh, we again become slaves of sin and reap the results, the wages of sin, which are spiritual death and eternal death and damnation!
In Genesis 2:16-17, “The LORD God commanded the man, saying, Of every tree of the garden thou mayest freely eat: But of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, thou shalt not eat of it: for in the day that thou eatest thereof thou shalt surely die.”
In Hebrews 10:26-31, we as believers, are warned: “For if we sin wilfully after that we have received the knowledge of the truth, there remaineth no more sacrifice for sins, But a certain fearful looking for of judgment and fiery indignation, which shall devour the adversaries. He that despised Moses’ law died without mercy under two or three witnesses: Of how much sorer punishment, suppose ye, shall he be thought worthy, who hath trodden under foot the Son of God, and hath counted the blood of the covenant, wherewith he was sanctified, an unholy thing, and hath done despite unto the Spirit of grace? For we know him that hath said, Vengeance belongeth unto me, I will recompense, saith the Lord. And again, The Lord shall judge his people. It is a fearful thing to fall into the hands of the living God.”
And so also, we learn from Romans 6:20-23: “For when ye were the servants of sin, ye were free from righteousness. What fruit had ye then in those things whereof ye are now ashamed? for the end of those things is death. But now being made free from sin, and become servants to God, ye have your fruit unto holiness, and the end everlasting life. For the wages of sin is death; but the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord.”
If we turn away from Christ and back into sin, seeking to turn God’s grace into a license to live in rebellion and enmity against God, we justly earn the wages and penalty for our sins, which is death and the eternal wrath of God.
But if, by the grace of God, we continue trusting in Christ Jesus and His atoning sacrifice for our sins, we are set free from the condemnation of the law and from our former servitude to sin, and God’s gracious gift to us is forgiveness for all our sins and eternal life for Jesus’ sake.
When, by the grace of God, we trust in Christ our Savior and walk in fellowship with God through faith in Christ (cf. 1 John 1:5 — 2:2), we possess and receive the gracious gifts of God which Jesus won for us — forgiveness for all our sins and everlasting life in fellowship with our God and Maker.
“For the wages of sin is death; but the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord” (Rom. 6:23; cf. Deut. 30:15-20).
Dearest LORD Jesus, grant we not turn away from You and back into sin but hold fast to You and the new life You have given us by means of Your death on the cross for our sins and Your triumphant resurrection on the third day. Amen.
[Scripture quotations are from the King James Version of the Bible.]