It's kind of scary when you realize what's really real. The Bible... it's all true. As I sit on the porch at 11pm, staring out across the road into the darkness, I realize it's really real. And it scares me. Because if it's really true... then every human here is in great danger. If they don't receive Christ as savior before they die, they will be placed in a disturbing nightmare reality called hell. This nightmare reality is permanent, eternal. They will live forever in a place of endless sorrows and torment. Humanity is in great danger and needs Jesus so very badly.
We often wrestle with the moral questions of heaven, hell and evil. We wrestle with what that means about who God is. But let's table that for now.
On a practical basis if it's true, and it certainly appears to be just that, then, it doesn't really matter if we fully understand why it's that way. The plain fact is that it is that way. So we need to discover how to deal with this reality, more so than wrestle with understanding the implications.
Staring into the darkness of the night, praying and talking to God, looking with my eyes, at the light from the neighbors porch reflecting onto the trees along the road, and the sound of the bubbling water fountain from my other neighbors yard, the bats flying around, the raccoons that quietly cross the road night by night, the stars in the sky, and it's all plainly clear, this is certainly a finely tuned reality made by an intelligent designer, how I didn't see this plainly obvious fact for so many years is absolutely astonishing to me. it's so obvious it should be considered self-evident. We have to create vast play realities like evolution and time + matter + chance to try to somehow explain away the insane complexity of life with big numbers and billions and billions and blah blah blah.
Yet simply looking at the vast complexity, the language of DNA, the unified systems of life, gravity, Higgs-boson particles, animal life, food, water, all of it, screams design! How could I never see that before? Was I blind? Perhaps so. Spiritually blind. But now I see.
So, what should I do with all this? Dare I face it? Can I? It's a bleak scenario. I feel like Neo after waking up on the hovership, looking at the bleak situation of the few survivors of humanity and thinking, what on Earth can I even do?
Or I sit back and ask myself the question: What even am I?
I know what I've been told by modernism as taught in our public schools and universities. I know all that garbage. But apparently I'm not just a consumer or a bag of flesh, I'm something else.
Since all that garbage is man mind ideology and false, what am I actually? What does the Bible say that I am?
I'm made in God's image. I'm of infinite value. Yet also, if I cling to sin, God has no qualms about setting me in a place of nightmares, forever, where I will be consciously tormented for all time, beyond all time, into infinity. I'm loved by God. But sin must be destroyed in me. Sin must be removed from me. I must be made new. Or else all is lost. All is more lost than I can possibly imagine indeed, because, death is not the end, and in hell, one cannot die, but will live forever in ever increasing pain and sorrow. What a terrible fate!
Could one imagine something worse if they were to consider the question of what is the worst case scenario? I don't think so. It is the worst possible fate.
And most people, as far as I can tell, do go there. I would guess about 99% of all humans born go to hell. I hope I'm wrong about that number. Maybe it's worse than that though, maybe it's 99.9% one in one thousand sounds more likely than one in one hundred. But then again maybe that's not necessary, if we would just spread the gospel and follow Jesus, perhaps everyone would turn to Him and follow Him.
It's amazing the hysteria that Covid-19 caused, when it had a 99.9% survival rate. What about the pandemic of sin upon humanity? Most die of it without repenting and putting their faith in Christ. Maybe we should get more hysterical about that.
But hysteria won't solve anything. Instead, faith is the answer. Strong faith and stronger love. As well as a healthy amount of fear for God. You, Christian, are also in danger, if you give sin a foothold, and live in willful sin, you will also be sent to hell. I fear many Christians think they are going to heaven, but when they die, they are sent to hell, because they lived in sin and never repented. But there is great hope. Because you can repent, and cry out to Jesus and he will help you and free you from every sin. He will break every chain in your life. But please do repent daily. Keep seeking the Lord. Make sure no sin lives in your life. Honor God first, and you will receive eternal life in paradise with Jesus the savior of the world.
If you don't have Jesus as your savior, please give your life to Him right now. Repent (turn away) from your sins and put your faith in Jesus Christ for your salvation. He paid off your sin debt on the cross, where he died in your place, received the punishment you deserved, and if you cry out to Him he will not turn you away. He will take away your sins, give you His righteousness, and you will be born again. You'll receive the Holy Spirit as a guarantee of your salvation and begin your pilgrimage home to paradise. You'll be given all you need in Christ to put sin to death in your life, and live holy as God is holy. Join a body of believers locally. Study the word of God, and put it into practice in your life. Love God and his people, serve others. And you can enjoy paradise in a new city, a city called the New Jerusalem, a perfect reality, a timeless eternal life of joy, peace, creativity, community, art, worship, music, books, and new journeys we can hardly imagine. Cry out to Jesus today. If you don't, you'll regret it more than you can possibly imagine. I don't say that to scare you, just to simply tell you the unvarnished truth about the reality we exist in.
It's very difficult to grapple with these truths. I don't think I can face it, not fully. I don't hold on too strongly to the realization about the fate of humanity. It's just too grim to possibly handle. I simply have to focus on sharing the message with those who are in my realm of influence. God help us. We are in great danger. But if we walk in faith with God, in love, and boldly, being led by the Holy Spirit, God will lead us safely to the gates of the eternal city.
There is so much lukewarm Christianity in the world. So much once saved always saved. So much compromise in the body of believers. There is so much cherry-picking of the scriptures, and repeating of the feel good verses. Well the Bible is more than feel good verses. It's the flawless word of God. We must never twist it by only preaching and teaching on the feel good verses. Teach the whole truth, the whole word, even the difficult scriptures, even the scriptures about heaven and hell. Even the teachings about holiness. We need the full picture of who God is, even if it offends our modern sensibilities.
God be with you. Grace and peace be with you in Jesus Christ. Stand firm, the time is near. Amen.
