The world was shocked today to find out that 2 major pop culture icons died. One expectedly, the other not expectedly. Michael Jackson and Farrah Fawcett left this life today. Many people were shocked. Many questioned their own reason for existence as their own mortality stared them in the face.
There is one appointment on your life's timetable that you will undoubtedly keep. You may not know the day or the hour (neither MJ nor Farrah knew theirs), but one thing is for certain: you will pass from this life never to return again.
The Bible says "...man is destined to die once, and after that to face judgment..." (Hebrews 9:27). So make no mistake...once you die, that is it. There's no going back. No reincarnation. No sleeping in the dust in bliss for all eternity. There is judgement to face. Every man must face his Creator and give an account for his life. What will God be looking for?
The Bible teaches that everyone will be raised on that last day...some to everlasting life, others to everlasting condemnation (Daniel 12:2). So who will be raised to life and who will be condemned? For the Bible also says that there is no one righteous, no not one. And also that "for all have sinned and fallen short of the glory of God" (Romans 3:23). So, what will be the requirement that allows a man to enter into Heaven?
First, let me just say that God, the Creator of the Heaven and the earth loves you sooo much! How much? Well, He knows (at any gven time no less) how many hairs are on your little (or big) head!! He formed you in your mother's womb, He gave you the personality that you have. He knew all your likes, dislikes, weaknesses and strengths before you ever let out one scream on the delivery table. He knows all your days (Psalm 139). He longs to spend time with you. To fellowship with you. The all-knowing, all powerful Ancient of Days is crazy about you.
Well, "if He is so all-loving, then why does God send people to hell?", you may be asking. He doesn't. God doesn't send anybody to hell. Does that surprise you? Why? You see, the scriptures are clear: God does not and cannot change. He is without sin. He is holy. That is just His nature. He set His moral standard for all humnakind in His Word. Yet, every single one of us has transgressed His law, His standard. We fall short. We sin. We are, by nature, enemies of the very God who loves us so much. Hell (sheol) was not created for you and me, but it was created for the devil and his fallen angels. And sin cannot exist in the presence of a holy God, so all who sin must go to the place of torment known as hell, where the Bible describes there will be weeping and wailing and gnashing of teeth and their torment never ends. So how can this be resolved to where a person can spend eternity with the Creator if we have all sinned, we have all gone against God's moral standard and deserve hell? (eternity is forever...it never ends. Hard to wrap your mind around, huh?)
The Atonement
In the first Covenant (You may be more familiar with the term Old Testament), God had the same exact standard He holds today. It can be summed up in the Ten Commandments, or the Ten Words. But people sinned back then, as they do today. So God made a provision for them through the instructions He gave to the children of Israel; a way they could be reconciled to Him and have their sin forgiven, by way of a blood sacrifice. Without the shedding of blood, there can be no remission of sin. But God did somethiing even MORE awesome than that. By His power and awesome wisdom, He became our sin sacrifice in the person of Yeshua (Jesus) the Messiah. John 1 says "the Word became flesh and dwelt among us". Imagine that! The very moral standard...the very Word of God became human flesh, yet He was without spot or wrinkle, was without sin so that He could fulfill His own requirement for a perfect sacrifice! Then He offered Himself up to die in our place...to take the judgement and wrath we were so deserving of....He took it upon Himself...in its entirety. He did this so that you and I could be purchased, redeemed from the power of sin and death. He did this so that we could live forever with Him in Heaven when we die and so that we can have the abundant, meaningful, and full life He always meant for us to have here on earth! It would be like you were in court, sentenced to death because you broke the law. If someone came and took your place, paid your fine, and it was acceptable to the judge, he could commute your death sentence. It is the same with the Judge of the universe! Jesus paid your fine, setting you free from jail. On the day of judgement, the ultimate court date, your sin has been paid for. You have been purchased and can go free!
Isn't that incredible??
So the only thing that will stand before you and a holy God on judgement day is this: what did you do with God's Son? How did you respond to what He did for you, what He did in your place? Did you trample His blood under your feet? Did you laugh, mock, or think Jesus was for old women and weak people who need a crutch? Did you think His Word was a bunch of stories and fairy tales? Did you passively, if yet cowardly, think that is nice for some people, but I know how to live my life?- I'm doing fine? Or did you gratefully accept His payment for you? Or, instead, did you respond by saying Yes...if Jesus loved me this much, I would like to get to know Him, I would like to trust in Him for my salvation and live forever with God and His holy angels in Heaven. Because, my friend, this life is just a vapor in light of eternity.
Here today. Gone tomorrow. And you never know when your time will be up. All we have is now. Every moment, every breath is a gift of a loving God who does not want you to perish. He does not want you to reject His offer!!! God WILL NOT send you to hell. People send themselves there. They send themselves there by rejecting the one and only provision God has given them, by throwing it back in His face through unbelief, cynicism, and refusal to give up their sin, their pride, and the way they have been doing things. After all, if you were on a plane that was about to crash, and the pilot said "Here, put on this parachute, it will save your life", would you then say to the pilot, "I'll be fine. I've never died from a plane crash before..."? or "A parachute might be good for you, but I don't believe in parachutes..", or even, "I don't belive I will die from hitting the ground, I think I will just go into a very long blissful sleep". That sounds ridiculous, does it not?!
What is even more ridiculous? Having an opportunity to trust God for what He Has said and done and having the most satisfying, fulfilling relationship anyone could have the only one that can bring you true and lasting peace and assurance of Heaven, and squandering it away.
The book of Ecclesiastes states that it is a far better thing to consider death, to mourn and to wail, than to be happy, merry, and bright. Why? Because this is every man's end. No one has been known to escape it. No one ever will. Consider it now. It is your lot in life. And after that, the judgement. Judgement of what you did with the knowledge of God's love for you and His sacrifice for you.
I hope you will choose wisely.
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