Avoiding hell
Even though it’s a topic that most of us would prefer not to think about (including believers), if Jesus addressed the reality of hell so much in the Bible, shouldn’t we try to understand why?
The great news is, we all have been given the freedom to decide where we will live forever!
Here are the two options from a Biblical frame-of-reference for us to consider when we think of our own mortality:
For those who choose to reject Jesus and His sacrifice for their sins when He died on the cross for them, Revelation 20:14-15 says this will happen at the final judgment, “Then death and Hades [the realm of the dead] were thrown into the lake of fire. This is the second death, the lake of fire [the eternal separation from God]. And if anyone’s name was not found written in the Book of Life, he was hurled into the lake of fire.”
For those who choose to accept Jesus and trust that He paid the price for all their sins on the cross and are now forgiven, Revelation 21:1-4 says, “Then I saw a new heaven and a new earth, for the old heaven and the old earth had disappeared. And the sea was also gone. And I saw the holy city, the new Jerusalem, coming down from God out of heaven like a bride beautifully dressed for her husband. I heard a loud shout from the throne, saying, “Look, God’s home is now among his people! He will live with them, and they will be his people. God himself will be with them. He will wipe every tear from their eyes, and there will be no more death or sorrow or crying or pain. All these things are gone forever.”
We’re all presented with a clear distinction surrounding where (and how) we will spend our future eternity. Depending upon where you may be in your ‘faith journey’ … what will you do about the following claim from Jesus in John 3:16-18?
“For God so loved and dearly prized the world, that He gave His only begotten Son, so that whoever believes and trusts in Him shall not perish, but have eternal life. For God did not send the Son into the world to judge and condemn the world, but that the world might be saved through Him. Whoever believes and has decided to trust in Him [as personal Savior and Lord] is not judged [for this one, there is no judgment, no rejection, no condemnation]; but the one who does not believe [and has decided to reject Him as personal Savior and Lord] is judged already, because he has not believed and trusted in the name of the only begotten Son of God.”
As a Life Member of the PGA of America, I’ve made my fair share of risk versus reward decisions while competing in golf tournaments over the years … but there’s no comparison to what’s at stake when we consider where in fact we will spend all of eternity. My prayer is that you will put your faith and your trust fully and completely into Jesus in preparation for spending all of eternity with Him in heaven.
In case you don’t personally know a christian who you could ask why they believe they’ll be going to heaven after they die … please click on the link below to see and hear a real life testimony about someone very dear to me who has recently ‘relocated’ to heaven.
https://www.mightywind.org/storys