There’s far more here
than meets the eye. The things we see now are here today, gone tomorrow. But
the things we can’t see now will last forever.
When we think of eternity, there is only one of two places in eternity that
we can go: Heaven or Hell. Each one of us will be placed in one of these
two places to be there forever and ever. Jesus, in speaking of eternity
says,
And these [those who did not follow the way of Jesus] will go away into everlasting punishment, but the righteous into eternal
life. Matthew 25:46
Notice that the duration of the lost in Hell is exactly the same
as the duration of the saved in Heaven, "forever and
ever". It is hard for us as mortals to grasp how long eternity
will be, but, imagine if you can, after we have been there a billion years,
eternity will have just begun.
I find it amazing that 65% of people with no religious
affiliation, (according to a U. S. News & World Report), as of 2013, do not
believe in Hell. But Hell is a real place. To say there
is no Hell is to make God a liar.
Let God be true and every
man a liar. Romans 3:4
Satan does not want us to believe in Hell
Satan is accomplishing his purpose as we see there is very seldom any
teaching on Heaven or Hell today. It is not a “church growing” message. A
person who does not believe Hell is real will find their home there. Ignoring
or scoffing at Hell will not do away with it.
Another reason we don’t want to believe in hell is because we do
not like to think about eternal punishment. But evidently it must be very
important or God would not have told us about it. First consider what God
says about eternal punishment of Hell and then consider a more pleasant
thought, Heaven. Jesus spoke as much about the eternal punishment of Hell
as He did any other subject in the bible. Jesus took our punishment and
gave His life to keep us out of Hell. In His attempt to persuade us not
to go there, He has given us numerous warnings in His word.
In describing how horrible Hell will be for the many who will end
up going there, Jesus says,
And will cast them into the furnace of fire. There will be wailing and gnashing of teeth. Matthew 13:42
This definitely will be a horrible and terrible place beyond
description. Jesus says concerning those who are lost, that they will be:
cast into Hell, into
the fire that shall never be quenched: where their worm does not die, and
the fire is not quenched. Mark 9:43-48
The occupants of Hell will never know relief or rest from their
torment. Hell is such a horrible place that we cannot begin to
contemplate the horror of it. Hell is not a fictitious place, it is
real.
But we make the choice. The choice is ours.
We will bear the responsibility and the consequences on that day
of judgment.
Those who end up in hell
will not be there alone. They will have
company.
The devil, who deceived them, was cast
into the lake of fire and brimstone where the beast and the false prophet
are. And they will be tormented day and night forever and
ever. Revelation 20:10
Not very good company
to be in. Notice that the torment goes on "day and night forever and
ever".
Hell must be avoided at all costs.
No one can begin to exaggerate how horrible Hell is going to
be. Its misery and anguish is beyond description. It will
never, never, never, ever end.
We are warned,
It is a fearful thing to fall into the hands of the
living God. Hebrews 10:31
and
Knowing, therefore, the terror of the Lord we
persuade men. 2 Corinthians 5:11
This is where the call of the remnant comes in. We should not, cannot, will not, shall
not be silenced! We will let
the world know of a place that Jesus has prepared for a prepared people.
We must make sure that we ourselves don’t end up in Hell, and we
must warn other people who will listen. We
. . . must be even more diligent to make your calling and
election sure 2 Peter 1:10
Jesus has promised,
Be faithful until death and I will give you the
crown of life. Revelation 2:10
Anyone who ends up in Hell will only have
himself to blame.
Now let’s turn our attention to something far more pleasant:
A prepared place for a prepared people - Heaven.
Jesus says:
In My Father’s house are many mansions;
if it were not so, I would have told you. I go to prepare a place for
you. And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again and receive
you unto Myself; that where I am, there you may be also. John 14:2-3
Heaven
will be a very wonderful place. For the few, the remnant, who go there,
it will be beyond our wildest dreams and we will be totally surprised and
amazed.
Eye has not seen, nor ear heard, nor have
entered into the heart of man the things which God has prepared for those who
love Him. 1 Corinthians 2:9
There
is no way that the magnificence of Heaven can be adequately described to us
mortal beings. The only way will be to see it for yourself.
Talking
about a contrast:
Heaven will be the very opposite of eternal punishment.
And God will wipe away every tear from their
eyes; there shall be no more death, nor sorrow, nor crying. There
shall be no more pain, for the former things have passed away. Revelation 21:4
Unlike hell, there will be no weeping, and no wailing, and no gnashing of teeth as will be happening in eternal torment. But there will forever and ever be nothing but joy, and peace, and happiness, beyond description. What a wonderful place Heaven will be. But again, the choice is ours. We cannot escape the consequences if we make the wrong choice. We will not accidentally end up in Heaven. Remember, Heaven is a prepared place for prepared people.
But seek first the kingdom of God, and His
righteousness. Matthew 6:33
Going
to Heaven has got to be our number one goal; our first priority in this life. We must want to
go to Heaven more than anything else.
It’s all about heaven and what it takes to get there. God requires our all and if you can’t answer
this question,
"Are you really sure of your eternal salvation?"
you
still have some qualifying work to do.
Any
person who is interested in thier soul’s salvation cannot afford to follow any of
the many false doctrines that are being taught, but will have a genuine
interest to know the truth which is found only in God’s word, the Bible.
Jesus has already made provision for the forgiveness of our sins by His
suffering death on the cross, His burial and resurrection. On Judgment Day we will not have to be
lost in the eternal punishment of torment along with Satan.
Are
you sure of your eternal salvation? This
is a very important question, and one that will have lasting
consequences. If you were to die today, do you know for certain that you
would go to heaven? This is a question about which we cannot afford to be
wrong, because eternity is permanent. One day each of us will know the
true answer to this question:
For we shall all stand before the
judgment seat of Christ Romans 14:10.
Every
one of us have two appointments that have already been made for us and that we
will definitely keep, whether we want to or not.
And as it is appointed for men
to die once, but after this the judgment Hebrews 9:27
These
two appointments, death and the judgment, can’t be cancelled.
The
tragedy of what happened in New York City and the Pentagon in Washington, D.C.
on September 11, 2001 for example and more currently the coronavirus pandemic that swept and continues to sweep across the world, along with all the other negative global events happening now such as what is going on with Russia and Ukraine, shows
the uncertainty and brevity of life. God tells us we don’t know what
will happen tomorrow. Our life is as a vapor that appears for a little
time and then vanishes away.
Whereas ye know
not what shall be on the morrow. For what is your life? It is even a vapour,
that appeareth for a little time, and then vanisheth away. James 4:14
We
must not make the error concerning our salvation by following what "seems
right" to us, or what we "feel in our heart that we are
saved". Particularly when the Bible says:
There is a way that seems right to a man,
but its end is the way of death. Proverbs 14:12
Our feelings are not a safe guide, only the Bible
What prior
assumptions have we already made about our salvation? Many of the
assumptions, that people make, contradict what God says in his word to
us. All we have to do is to look around at all of the many differing
doctrines that are being taught, and then compare them to what God says in the
Bible, and we can see a great difference.
Jesus said:
And in vain they worship Me,
teaching as doctrines the commandments of men. Mark 7:7
Our
worship is in vain if it comes from the doctrines of men and
not from God. Can we say that all these many differing doctrines have
come from God? I think not.
God is not the author of confusion. 1 Corinthians 14:33
Or
are these varying doctrines from men? Where else could they have come
from, if they did not come from God? This becomes a very serious
question. Our worship becomes vain and useless, if our doctrines come
from men when they meet in their conventions and conferences to decide what we are to believe and do. Apostle Peter made it very plain when he said:
We ought to obey God rather than men. Acts 5:29
So,
on the Day of Judgment we are going to be judged only by what Jesus says in the
Bible. That is going to be the only standard for judgment.
The
word that I have spoken will judge him in the last day. John 12:48
Know that if I or any other person cannot point to it in the Word of God, then please do
not believe it, because there is too much at stake – our soul! Our soul is worth more than the whole world
and everything in it. Jesus says:
For
what profit is it to a man if he gains the whole world, and loses his own
soul? Or what will a man give in exchange for his soul? Matthew 16:26
We
cannot afford to lose our soul and be eternally punished.
Christ,
who is all knowing, tells us that many people are going to be lost, and only a few are going to be saved. Ask yourself are you a part of the few; the
remnant. God says,
Enter by the narrow gate: for wide is the
gate, and broad is the way, that leads to destruction, and there are many
who go in by it. Because narrow is the gate and difficult is the way
which leads to life, and there are few who find it. Matthew 7:13-14
According
to the Bible, the majority of people will be lost. Sadly, the majority of
people still walk the wide path of sin into eternal damnation. We must
take this warning from God at face value. The Lord says only a few people
will be saved. How few can a few
be? Think about it:
When once the longsuffering of God waited in
the days of Noah, while the ark was preparing, wherein few, that is eight souls
were saved by water. 1 Peter 3:20
We, as believers and followers of Christ Jesus, have an obligation, a responsibility to point as many as possible in the right
direction while there is still an opportunity to get right.
Based on historical accounts, the
conservative estimate of the number of people on the face of the earth in the
days of Noah were two hundred million people. But only 8 out of the
estimated two hundred million were saved. That’s a whole other lesson
when you read or rather don’t read where Noah was to encourage or even ask the
world; wicked beyond reproach, to come into the ark. Even though the Bible says that God is
. . . not willing that any should perish, . . . 2 Peter 3:9
Jesus
says concerning eternal life in Heaven that
there are few who find it. Matthew 7:13-14
That’s
not a contradiction. God’s desire is
that none of mankind perish yet knowing at the same time that many will. The vast majority of people will spend
forever and ever in the eternal fires of Hell that will never be
extinguished. Why? The vast majority of people are not really
interested in going to Heaven.
There
are only two roads to eternity and we are on either one or the other.
According to what the Lord says, only few will make it to Heaven, but the vast
majority will be lost in eternal punishment. This is both frightening and
sad. But it does not stop or deter our efforts to win souls to Christ.
_________________________________
This is a sermon given during the 2020 revival - The Remnant will not be Silenced. If you would like to hear this sermon, please copy and paste the link below:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oOB9N-1llkk&t=794s
Sermonette
03/08/22
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