You will not be in heaven forever.
Welcome to the GOSPEL JOURNEY. This week we'll be working through the sentence:
Life that is eternal means being with Jesus forever. These posts are to help you engage with the central message of the Bible. Comment. Question. Agree. Disagree. Either way, let us know what you think.
You wil not be in heaven forever.That's not just a poor choice for the opening sentence in an evangelistic conversation, it's also a theological statement that is true for all of us. Take a look at
Revelation 21 & 22 and answer these questions:
1. What happened to the old earth? (Read a few verses before Revelation 21 to see.)
2. What is the significance of the New Jerusalem descending?
3. Try and summarize the appearance of the New Jerusalem. How close do you think words can come?
4. Why isn't there a temple in the New Jerusalem?
5. What will being in God's presence be like?
So technically, we won't be in heaven forever. We'll be on a new earth, but it will be out of this world!
Do you know how to invest?
During the week, we'll be dealing with some questions regarding eternity. Check out the devotional for today, then come back and then examine this question:
Do you know how to invest?As I approached 30, I had to face the fact that adulthood meant I should start considering the world of investing. I'm not a "money guy," so I find it terribly intimidating. (The fact that numbers and letter are mysteriously combined in the world of finance, such as "401K," only makes it more confusing.)
But Jesus encouraged us that investing should be so confusing:
"Do not store up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy, and where thieves break in and steal. But store up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust destroys, and where thieves do not break in or steal; for where your treasure is, there your heart will be also."Just a couple of things to note about Jesus' statement:
1. The difference is eternity. Jesus didn't say that the treasure is fugurative, therefore impossible to be destroyed. Instead, he argues that the location of the treasure is what sets it apart. In God's incomparable grace, He actually rewards us when we respond to the grace He has already shown us.
2. It's ok to make a deliberate effort. There's nothing wrong with consciously storing up treasure. At times when it is a motivator, there is nothing wrong with continuing forward in humble service, aware of gifts that await.
3. That which you pursue, is that which you love. That's a convicting thought for all of us.
The question is, do I use what God has given me to make an eternal impact? How do we go about doing that? A couple of thoughts:
1. Things are made to serve people, people are not intended to serve things. If you are ever using a person as a "stepping stone," odds are you aren't thinking eternal thoughts.
2. All that God has given you should be placed before Him for His glory. Some people think that when a person submits to Christ, they must abandon all of their hobbies and interests. Unless the hobby/interest is sin, that is not necessarily the case. In fact, God may desire to transform the situation into one which brings Him glory through your hobbies and interests.
3. The end is the gospel. How does one make sure their hobbies and interests glorify God? Do they articulate the gospel? If you can use what God has given you to share the message of redemption, you've used it for eternal glory.
This is one investment plan you don't need to be intimidated by.
Eternal life is an issue of quality and not just quantity.
Welcome to the GOSPEL JOURNEY. This week we'll be working through the sentence:
Life that is eternal means being with Jesus forever. These posts are to help you engage with the central message of the Bible. Comment. Question. Agree. Disagree. Either way, let us know what you think.
Eternal life is an issue of quality and not just quantity.When some people think about eternal life, they assume it's just a measurement of time. However, eternal life also describes a type of life we can't even imagine. Take a look at
Romans 5 and answer these questions:
1. What state were we in before accepting Christ?
2. How does God show His love to us?
3. How can we respond to this salvation?
4. What kind of life can we live now?
We are no longer spiritually dead. We have the opportunity to understand life and to live in relationship with Christ from this day forward!
What if you're wrong?
During the week, we'll be dealing with some questions regarding eternity. Check out the devotional for today, then come back and then examine this question:
What if you're wrong?Blaise Pascal once challenged people about faith with this simple question: "What if you're wrong?" Compare and atheist and a believer to see how this maps out:
If atheism is true. We are all destined for annihilation. Neither the Christian, nor the atheist has anything waiting for them after death. The atheist may be able to say they had more fun during life, but the believer can also point to nobility of living selflessly.
If Christianity is right. Then the beliver is destined for heaven while the atheist will be tormented for eternity in hell. The stakes are a little higher.
It basically comes down to an issue of risk/reward. Are a few more fun moments (We can be honest and admit sin is fun. If it wasn't, we wouldn't do it.) really worth risking eternity?
Some people use this question as an evangelism technique. It can certainly get a person thinking, but I wouldn't recommend it as the major means of evangelism. (Remember, salvation is from the wrath of God as evidenced in hell, not simply avoiding hell. It also includes eternity with Christ, not just eternity apart from Satan.) A closer look at Pascal's argument shows he was making a greater point.
According to risk/reward, it is ridiculous for anyone to stake their eternity on a few temporary pleasures. However, Pascal's point was that the human nature is so corrupted that despite the obvious risk, apart from the Spirit's intervention in our lives, we will still choose to reject God.
The start of eternal life
Welcome to the GOSPEL JOURNEY. This week we'll be working through the sentence:
Life that is eternal means being with Jesus forever. These posts are to help you engage with the central message of the Bible. Comment. Question. Agree. Disagree. Either way, let us know what you think.
The start of eternal life.People often think of eternal life as beginning after death. Take a look at
John 3:31-36 and
John 5:19-24 and answer these questions:
1. Where does Jesus receive His authority?
2. What does it take to receive eternal life?
3. When do you receive eternal life?
4. Who gives life?
5. What does the one who has eternal life not receive?
Life does not begin after death. Eternal life begins the moment your repent of sin and trust Christ as your Savior. You can experience eternal life here, while you're still walking this planet.
When was death defeated?
During the week, we'll be dealing with some questions regarding eternity. Check out the devotional for today, then come back and then examine this question:
When was death defeated?As we looked in the last post, death was defeated by Christ. But did you know a day is coming when death will no longer exist at all? Take a look at
Revelation 20:11-15 and answer these questions:
1. Who is the Judge?
2. What is recorded in the Book of Life?
3. Where do the dead come from?
4. Why would death and hades be thrown into the Lake of Fire?
Death entered the world through sin (
Romans 5:12). Through Jesus Christ, we are delivered from death and are given new life. But the day is also coming when death will no longer exhist. Death will be destroyed.
Everyone is eternal.
Welcome to the GOSPEL Journey blog! This week, we will be taking a look at the statement,
Life that is eternal means being with Jesus forever. These posts are to help you engage with the central message of the Bible. Comment. Question. Agree. Disagree. Either way, let us know what you think.
Everyone is eternalSince a lot of people refer to life in heaven as eternal life, some may get confused and think only the believer is eternal. Consider what the author of Hebrews said in
Hebrews 9:26-28 and then answer these questons:
1. Why wouldn't it be necessary for Christ to die more than once?
2. What fate awaits every man?
3. What will Christ do for those who have placed their trust in Him?
Some question, however, whether people are eternal after the judgment. Check out Jesus' words in
Matthew 25:31-46 and answer these questions:
1. Who will be present at the judgment at the end?
2. What waits for those who God deems righteous?
3. What waits for those God deems cursed?
The same word, eternal, is used by Jesus to describe heaven and hell. We all have been created to live for eternity, it's just a question of how we spend that eternity.
Should death be scary?
During the week, we'll be dealing with some questions regarding eternity. Check out the
devotional for today, then come back and then examine this question:
Should death be scary?I Corinthians 15:51-57 says that victory has been won over death by Jesus Christ. For the believer, death has no power over them, because Jesus has ensured that they will have life with Him for eternity.
With that in mind, when Paul was facing death, he said,
"to live is Christ and to die is gain." He knew he'd be better off dead, for he would be in God's presence immediately.
This does not mean that the process of death may not be scary. Not knowing how you may die, or even just fearing what "the transition" may feel like, is understandable.
But we no longer have to fear what would happen to us when we die. Death has lost its sting, it no longer has power over us.
Week Five Review
Everyone who trust in Jesus alone has eternal life.That was the theme we dealt with in Week Five of the GOSPEL Journey. In case you missed some of it, here are the questions we dealt with:
What is faith?Did Jesus make an exclusive claim?Why faith alone?Am I arrogant for knowing I'm saved?Is He a liar, a lunatic or LORD?But we also wondered how the gospel impacts the following groups of people:
BabiesJewsOther religionsThose who've never heard of JesusLast second decisionsNext week we'll look at
Life that's eternal means being with Jesus forever.We're also going to have a GOSPEL Journey celebration at our church next Wednesday night, March 22nd. All are invited!
Is He a liar, a lunatic, or Lord?
Welcome to the GOSPEL JOURNEY. This week we'll be working through the sentence:
Everyone who trusts in Jesus alone will have eternal life. These posts are to help you engage with the central message of the Bible. Comment. Question. Agree. Disagree. Either way, let us know what you think.
Is He a liar, a lunatic, or Lord?This statement was first posed by
CS Lewis. As a counter to people who want to acknowledge Jesus as
just a good person, a prophet, or good teacher, Lewis stated Jesus claimed to be so much more. Look at our posts about Jesus being
fully divine and
fully human. Just looking at those two things together (and those posts are hardly exhaustive), establishes that Jesus claimed to be God.
What do we do with such a claim? Well Lewis offers that we have three options:
Liar. Jesus was aware that He was not God, yet He told He was to gain a following. He deceived people in an attempt to get them to follow Him. There are some people who will claim this to be the case. Yet some of those people say that Jesus said He was God (even though He knew better), and yet was a good moral teacher. How can you be a pathological liar and yet be a moral teacher? If you deny He is God, you must deny He was a good teacher as well. You can not hold to both. (Incidently, He could not be just a prophet either, for how could He be speaking words from the Lord if He was a blasphemer?)
Lunatic. Maybe Jesus was not God, but He wasn't intentionally deceiving others. Perhaps Jesus truly thought He was divine? We have a name for people like that; crazy. If you deny that Jesus is God, yet you do not believe Him to be a liar, then He must have been mistaken about His identity. A person who thinks they are God but isn't is considered crazy. Could Jesus be a good teacher, prophet or moral leader if He was insane? What does that say about His followers? How could you consider it noble to follow His teachings if He was a madman?
[
Legend. Though this wasn't an arguement used by Lewis, some have added this option to the list. They claim that Jesus never said He was God and that it was just legend that has grown over time. However, there are a couple of things to consider (and I'm being quite brief here). The New Testament was written in a time when eye witnesses could refute the claims it made if they were not true. Therefore, if the New Testament claimed that Jesus was divine, even though He never did, witness could have disputed that right away. We find no such disputes. Some argue then that these things were added over time. However, there is a process called the bibliographic standard (ask me about it if you are not familiar with this) that is a scientific process that validates that our Bible is the same as the Bibles of the first century. The Bible is indisputably the most accurate ancient document of all time...by far. The legend claim has no leg to stand on, and is therefore left out of many people's arguements.]
Lord. If He wasn't lying, crazy or it wasn't made up, then that only leaves one option: Jesus is God and therefore is Lord. He is capable of paying the man's penalty to God because He is God. He is capable for paying it for humanity because He is humanity. He is capable of giving us eternal life because He is the Resurrection and the Life. And therefore, we should surrender our lives to Him because He deserves it!
What about: Last Second Decisions
During the week, ask the question, "What about?" We'll be exploring the destinies of those who haven't placed their faith in Christ. Check out the devotional for today, then come back and look at the question:
What about: Last Second Decisions?Is it possible for people to accept Christ right before death? Does God respond the same way to people who repent and trust Christ early in life as those who do it on their death bed? Is an amount of time serving Christ necessary to prove you have made a commitment?
Luke 23:39-43 gives us some insight into this area.
Jesus tells the criminal, "...today you shall be with Me in Paradise." The man did not first need to be baptized. He was not required to prove his commitment (since God sees the heart and knows the sincerity.) He confessed Christ and was saved.
So what do you say to the person who decides to wait until later in life to make a decision. They want to live their life their own way for now, and turn to Christ later. Here are some things to consider saying to them:
1. Tomorrow is not guaranteed. James 4:13-16 reminds us that our days are not guaranteed. Each day you wake up is one closer to your death. You are playing a game that you can't control if you are waiting to repent.
2. Your heart gets harder. The person may believe that later in life they may repent and trust. However, no one comes to Christ unless the Spirit draws them. As you continue to harden your heart toward God, you have no guarantee He will continue to prod you toward salvation.
3. You're missing the point. Wanting to avoid hell is not what salvation is about. It's a by product of salvation, but not the way to salvation. (Do you think Satan or demons want to be tormented for eternity in hell? No, but their desire to avoid it is not what saves.) I would have strong questions about whether a person is repenting of their ways, or just wants to avoid the consequences if they see their sin, understand it offense against God, but choose to continue in it until later so they can have more fun.
This does not mean that we give up on a person who rejects Christ at first. Modern statistics show that it takes about eight times of a person hearing the gospel before they are truly opened up to the message. But God may desire to use us to challenge the person who sees the validity to the gospel but doesn't want to surrender to it until later in life. We need to encourage them that they may not get that chance.
Today can be the day of their salvation!
Am I arrogant for knowing I'm saved?
Welcome to the GOSPEL JOURNEY. This week we'll be working through the sentence:
Everyone who trusts in Jesus alone will have eternal life. These posts are to help you engage with the central message of the Bible. Comment. Question. Agree. Disagree. Either way, let us know what you think.
Am I arrogant for knowing I'm saved?Many people lack a confidence in truth. They feel that things are so hard to define, that the person who confidently asserts that he is saved must be arrogant. Is it truly arrogant to believe you are saved? Take a look at
John 20:29-31 and
I John 5:10-13 and answer these questions:
1. What does it take to have eternal life?
2. Why did John write the book of John?
3. Where does eternal life come from? Who provided it?
4. Does John believe it's wrong or arrogant to know you have eternal life?
If a person believes they are good enough on their own to have eternal life, then yes, they are extremely arrogant. However, if you acknowledge that Jesus' work is your only means for salvation, then it is hardly arrogance to place your trust in someone else. In fact, John argues that confidence in your salvation is one sign that you are maturing in your faith. It's not arrogance, it's a sign of virtuous faith.
What about: Those who've never heard
During the week, ask the question, "What about?" We'll be exploring the destinies of those who haven't placed their faith in Christ. Check out the
devotional for today, then come back and look at the question:
What about: Those who have never heard.Yesterday we looked at the fact that people have to come before Christ for salvation. Some people are willing to believe that you must come through Christ if you've heard of Christ, but wonder if that's fair if you've never heard. What do you do with the person who has never heard the name of Jesus? Can God really hold them responsible if they've never heard?
Consider the following passages:
Romans 10:13-16 reminds us that people can't call on Christ unless they've heard of Him. Salvation only comes from believing, but how can they believe in what they have not heard?
In
John 3:16-21, Jesus states that people are condemned already. He offers salvation, because we stand guilty before God already.
Some people can't understand why God could send people to hell who have never heard the name of Jesus. However, we have to remember that we all deserve hell due to our sin. God, in His grace offers Christ as salvation. A person does not stand guilty before God because they have not accpeted Jesus, but they stand guilty because they are a sinner. The only way they can receive an innocent standing, however, is by coming through Christ...who we must hear about so that we can receive Him.
It should motivate those of us who know Him to be telling more people about Him.
Why faith alone?
Welcome to the GOSPEL JOURNEY. This week we'll be working through the sentence:
Everyone who trusts in Jesus alone will have eternal life. These posts are to help you engage with the central message of the Bible. Comment. Question. Agree. Disagree. Either way, let us know what you think.
Why faith alone?Few people will deny that Jesus walked the earth. Most will even admit that He was a great man who accomplished much for humanity. However, many believe it is not necessary to come through Jesus alone. Some either claim that Jesus "opened the door" for salvation or that He was simply a display of how much God loves us. Is it enough for a person to just acknowledge Jesus, or to claim He played a role in their salvation? Take a look at
Galatians 1:1-10 and answer these questions:
1. Who rescued us? What is the significance of saying we are rescued? What kind of light does that paint us in before salvation?
2. Does Paul say a different gospel is valid?
3. If we accept teaching from another gospel, what have we done with the original?
4. What does Paul say about those who preach a gospel different that the original?
5. What are ways that people adapt the gospel?
We must come to Christ only by our faith because to do anything else is to change the gospel. The moment we add anything to faith, we diminish the need for faith. Paul said that then the message is no longer the gospel. It must stand alone.
What about: Other Religions
During the week, ask the question, "What about?" We'll be exploring the destinies of those who haven't placed their faith in Christ. Check out the
devotional for today, then come back and look at the question:
What about: Other ReligionsMany people have a sincere faith. They are trusting in something, but many are not trusting in Christ. Does God really care that people specifically trust Christ for their forgiveness of sins, or does He just want people to be religious? Check out
Paul's encounter with very religious people. As you look at that passage, you'll notice a few things:
1. Paul was bothered by the view of idols. People worshipped gods, yet Paul was grieved that it wasn't directed to the True God.
2. Paul reasoned with Jews and God-fearing Gentiles. Though they were moral and believed in God, Paul found it necessary to share more with them.
3. Paul acknowledges that they worship an unknown god because of their ignorance.
4. Paul says that all of their temples they have built are in vain, for God does not reside in temples made for human hands.
5. God offers His salvation to all peoples.
6. Yet every man must repent and come through Christ alone (the One appointed to judge) for forgiveness.
Paul was passionate that people didn't just have faith. Paul knew it was critical for people to place their faith in Jesus. Some people think that having faith is the criteria. However, the Bible clearly states throughout it that the intensity of your faith is not what saves you, but the object of your faith.
You can believe you are a fire breathing dragon, but that doesn't make you one. (No matter how bad your breath may smell.) You can believe I am cool, but that doesn't make it so either. Paul did not leave people alone because they were sincere. Paul urged them to see they were sincerely believing a lie. We must turn people toward Christ for their salvation.
Did Jesus make an exclusive claim?
Welcome to the GOSPEL JOURNEY. This week we'll be working through the sentence:
Everyone who trusts in Jesus alone will have eternal life. These posts are to help you engage with the central message of the Bible. Comment. Question. Agree. Disagree. Either way, let us know what you think.
Did Jesus make an exclusive claim?
Many people are willing to admit that God Jesus was special. Many are willing to admit that He was religious. But did Jesus actually claim He is the only way to have a relationship with God?
Take a look at Jesus’ comments in
John 14:6-15 and answer these questions:
1. Translated literally, Jesus said, “I am the way and the truth and the life.” What is the significance of the word “the?”
2. How must a person get to God?
3. What other claims does Jesus make to defend that no one can come to God but through Him?
4. How close is Jesus’ relationship to God?
In a time of inclusion, Jesus’ words are pretty controversial. Jesus states that no one can have a relationship with God, unless they come through Him. His claim would be considered narrow minded by some, but Jesus says He has a right to make that claim, since He is God.
What about: Jews
During the week, ask the question, "What about?" We'll be exploring the destinies of those who haven't placed their faith in Christ. Check out the
devotional for today, then come back and look at the question:
What about Jews?Just last week,
in a new report, Jerry Falwell supposedly said that Jews could come to God apart from Christ. The article was huge news, because this would run counter to orthodox Christian views. By the way, the news report was false.
Romans 11 explains that Jews, like all other ethnicities, need to come to Christ to have salvation.
Galatians 3:24-29 explains that when it comes to salvation, God is not concerned about ethnicity.
The Jew must come to Christ like any other race. Jesus died for Jews as well, and the majority of the early church was made up of Hebrews. However, they first had to realize that Jesus was their long awaited Messiah.
