Gospel

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Several weeks ago in Binghamton New York, 14 people were brutally murdered by an insane gunman at an immigration service center. As of this writing there aren't many details other then there are 14 families out there who now must mourn the death of a loved they thought they would surely see again. When the planes smashed into the twin towers in New York City eight years ago, everyone who went to work there that day believed they would return home. Some of them never conceived they would have to make the decision on whether or not to burn alive or jump 900 feet to the concrete below. Everyday, hundreds of thousands of people worldwide rise in the morning fully expecting to be alive at the end of the day and do not make it. Everyday many people expect the people they love to be alive at the end of the day, and then they are taken suddenly by unforeseen tragedy. Death can take a person unawares in the blink of an eye and doesn't appear much to play any favorites--rich or poor, young or old, healthy or unhealthy, academic or lay persons, beautiful or plain-looking, famous or non-famous. There is no partiality with sudden death and all of us take for granted that we'll have life even another minute. In my own arrogance, I expect to finish this writing at the end of the day, but who knows, I might not, I might be taken before the sun sets.

Sudden death should be the most frightening idea conceivable to human beings, yet it is one of the less considered thoughts we have. There is absolutely no way a person can prove they'll be alive in the next ten minutes--all we have are probabilities or likelihoods about what could happen to us, but never assurances. Did you know that 100 people worldwide every year are killed by ball point pens (I'm not certain exactly how that happens but it's documented fact)? As unbelievable as that sounds, it demonstrates to us how easily and quickly death can snatch us up. I could conjure up about a thousand ways one could suddenly die in a freakish manner against laughable odds, and yet, these things do befall people suddenly.

But I want to get the to the beef here, and propose the obvious questions: when we die, are we going anyplace else, or is death just a final extinction? If we care at all we should be contemplating these questions, and how we answer them depends solely on our spiritual beliefs if we have any. Atheism proclaims no life after death exists or can be proven to exist, but the problem with that is that millions of people clinically die, only to be revived and return with stories of things they saw while they were dead. Nobody ever returns saying they saw nothing. The atheists of course chalk all this up to lack of oxygen to the brain causing hallucinations and delusions, but there's no more proof of that then there is about the things people see while clinically dead. So we need to ask, are millions of people hallucinating or fabricating these stories, or are they telling the truth?

If you accept that life after death exists, then you need to consider that based on the testimonies of these people there seems to be only two general experiences that occur after death: either it's very good or very bad. Many claim to see wonderful bright lights while others claim to see horrors unimaginable. Many speak of being in the presence of loving beings, while others claim to be tormented by terrifying creatures. Many speak of ascending to a place of bliss, while others claim to descend to a pit of agony.

These experiences are consistent with two popular views of the afterlife: heaven and hell, each representing the good and bad experiences. It is this writers belief that what people are seeing after they die are one of the two, and that only by the power of a supreme being in complete command of these places are people able to be sent back to share their stories with us. This is the premise of this writing--that death can take us instantly at any moment and it is important to know, if we can know, where we're going. My belief is that the god of the bible is the one in charge of the afterlife and who goes where. So to find out what he says about this subject, we need to turn the bible which is his word to mankind concerning these matters.

The book of Hebrews tells us: "and it appointed for men to die once, and after this the judgement" -- Hebrews 9:27

The first thing about this verse that grabs me is the word 'once". We completely die only once, and if we are not revived we reside forever wherever we end up. The finality of death alone is frightening in that we will not get another chance if we end up in a horrifying place. But the latter part of this verse is even more scary--"the judgement". According to the bible, all people will be judged by God for the conduct of their lives here on earth.

"So then each one of us shall give an account of himself to God"-- Romans 14:12

Every thought, every word, and every action is recorded and measured against us or for us, and from that the decision is made on where we go. Whatever you're thinking, speaking, or doing right now is observed by God and documented. This ought to be petrifying to us all because we know honestly that we all think, speak, and do bad things. But our culture has this perception about heaven and hell that as long as we are a good person to the best of our own measure of good, then the bad we do will and should be overlooked by God. Permit me to demonstrate with a hypothetical scenario how flawed this way of thinking is. Suppose a person stands before a judge having been convicted of stealing a car, and having been asked by the judge if they have anything to say, they reply "Well judge I know I committed a crime, but up until this time I've led a very charitable life, been generous, and was never afraid to give when called upon , so I think I should be acquitted for this one crime based on that". Our courts don't function that way. That judge is going to say "That's all very well and good, but in the justice system crimes demand accountability and punishments for their perpetrators, so it matters not the good you've done, you must serve time for this crime".

The bible states that all human beings are inherently sinners:

"For all have sinned and come short of the glory of God"--Romans 3:23

This is no insignificant matter. I know sin is perceived as something cute and comical--something slightly naughty and rebellious but not really dangerous or serious, and we write music about committing sin with sarcastic delight. This couldn't be more desperately wrong. Sin is soberingly dead serious, and the bible tells us just how much:

29 If your right eye causes you to sin, pluck it out and cast it from you; for it is more profitable for you that one of your members perish, than for your whole body to be cast into hell. 30 And if your right hand causes you to sin, cut it off and cast it from you; for it is more profitable for you that one of your members perish, than for your whole body to be cast into hell. Matthew 5:29-30

A direct and unmistakable connection is made between sin and the afterlife. Not just the afterlife however, but hell. So what the scriptures are saying is that regarding sudden death and all death in fact, is that sin sends people to hell. I would like to be able to put that more eloquently and more gently but there is no other way to say it adequately, and our society; our culture, is drowning in sin. This is the truth that alludes most people--that their lives are held accountable by God, and if their lives involve habitual sin they are utterly doomed. Since the bible states we are all sinners; in mind, word, and action, we are all in fact doomed. Examine your own heart, your own mind, your own thoughts, and your own actions, and anyone who is honest and humble will come to the conclusion that they are in dire trouble with God. In our current condition should we die suddenly; or die in days, weeks, months, or years from now, we are finished forever.

Millions are walking around under the deception that when they die they are emphatically heaven-bound, but that's not where they're headed, and the true horror for them will be when they expect a comforting presence in white only to come face to face with a tormenting presence of unbridled evil. Paul the apostle who wrote most of the New Testament, said "knowing the terror of the Lord we persuade men......". Hell is the terror of the Lord, the final judgement of God who is the only ultimate judge of souls upon us the sinners, and it is there where we pay for our sins(crimes). God is such a being unchallenged in authority that he can't be reasoned with, he can't be bargained with; no appeals, no acquittals; and no degree of protest that his decrees about sin and hell are unfair or unjust, will matter.
However, this culture does have one thing right about God: he is love. In this love he has provided a way out of our predicament. That way out comes in the form of Jesus Christ:

"I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me."-- John 14:6

Picture yourself now in front of that judge with a half a dozen traffic tickets against you. As you resign yourself to accept imminent jail time for fines you can't pay, the judge suddenly says "I've decided to extend you mercy because I love you and it isn't my wish you go to jail, so I'm going to pay your fines--a free gift you can have if you so want it". No earthly judge would do this of course, but God is not an earthly judge. God has offered to pay for our sins through the life, death, and resurrection of Jesus Christ, his begotten son.

6 "For when we were still without strength, in due time Christ died for the ungodly. 7 For scarcely for a righteous man will one die; yet perhaps for a good man someone would even dare to die. 8 But God demonstrates His own love toward us, in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us. 9 Much more then, having now been justified by His blood, we shall be saved from wrath through Him. 10 For if when we were enemies we were reconciled to God through the death of His Son, much more, having been reconciled, we shall be saved by His life. 11 And not only that, but we also rejoice in God through our Lord Jesus Christ, through whom we have now received the reconciliation". Romans 5:6-11

The ungodly referred to here is all of us. Jesus Christ was God incarnate--God becoming a man and descending to earth to live as a man, a sinless man who's purpose was to bring the truth to mankind. That truth was that man was lost; lost in his sins and separated from God. Jesus, a sinless man, was eventually put to death by God through human beings on a cross to pay for the sins of every person alive then and who would be born in the future.

21 For He made Him who knew no sin to be sin for us, that we might become the righteousness of God in Him. 2 Corinthians 5:21

A sinless man had to die for sinful people because sin can't reside in heaven at all--heaven is the epitome of perfection and purity. So Christ, a sinless man took the punishments for sinful people on the cross, while in turn his sinless life is allocated to sinful people who are cloaked in his perfection, thereby making them acceptable for heaven.

29 The next day John saw Jesus coming toward him, and said, "Behold! The Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world!-- John 1:29

Your sinful life was credited to Christ which he was punished for, and his sinless life was credited to us so we wouldn't be punished. After he died he rose again three days later, thus conquering death, the spiritual death humans experience being trapped in sin. We're all spiritually dead without Christ, but his resurrection is symbolic of the victory over death--the victory over sin, and the victory over hell. He had to rise from the dead so we could rise again from the dead--so that we could be made alive.

So how do we obtain this mercy? We obtain it by believing:

16 "For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life". John 3:16

We obtain it by repenting:

38 "Then Peter said to them, "Repent, and let every one of you be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ for the remission of sins; and you shall receive the gift of the Holy Spirit."-- Acts 2:38

That is the two-fold request of God for us for receiving his salvation. We first believe that Jesus was God incarnate; that he died for sin, and that he was indeed resurrected. We don't believe that frivolously either--we believe that with broken seriousness. Secondly, we repent. Repentance is a turning from sin, a change of heart, a change of mind, and a change of lifestyle. It is to say "I want to change and live according to God's way". But it doesn't happen overnight. Once you commit to live for God, a process called sanctification begins to take place in your heart upon receiving the holy spirit. To sanctify means basically to make holy, and over time, you start to see changes in your thought and behavior. Think of yourself as a large tree that needs pruning. To prune a tree, one can't cut off all the branches at once, they must trim them one at a time. Similarly, the limbs of your character are pruned by the holy spirit over time, and everything unsavory about you begins to disappear gradually.

6 being confident of this very thing, that He who has begun a good work in you will complete it until the day of Jesus Christ; Philipians 1:6

When you accept Jesus Christ as your Lord and savior, God starts working on you-- he starts ironing out all those wrinkles so to speak. If you've truly come to receive salvation, you'll see this vividly I promise you. Salvation is for anyone no matter what they've done in the past. There's nothing you've done regardless of how heinous or immoral it may be that can't be forgiven. This is the incredible love of God for you in that not a soul on this planet deserves what Jesus Christ has done for them, yet Jesus did it anyway. That an innocent man died for guilty people is a concept not found in human affairs; it is a divine act of mercy.
I'll leave you with that and let you make your own choice. Where you spend your eternity is up to you but what you've just read is the truth about heaven, hell and God. I'd like to say a word about Jesus Christ and then leave you with a prayer you can pray for salvation, and you can pray this in your mind or out loud, wherever you are, whatever you're doing.

Jesus Christ is the epitome of pure unconditional mercy. Christ is the anchor by which I live by and whom I submit my every thought to. That he yanked me, a hopeless and worthless junkie alcoholic out of the depths of corruption and self-inflicted misery and selfishness, is a gift I can never dream of thanking him enough for. That he bled to death on a cross in front of his own mother for the filthy things I did is an injustice that's only made right by an immaculate creator. Furthermore, that I continue even after receiving his grace to fail him at times, and that he still continues to put my failures under his blanket of forgiveness by his atoning blood, is something I'll never fully appreciate this side of eternity. He knew me when he was on that cross; he knew you when he was on that cross; and he knew someday you'd hear about his offer for salvation. He endured that unbearable pain and shame so that when we heard it, we could accept it. He knew the very day you'd read this, and sees you reading this now. Jesus sees broken hearts, he sees people starved for love, he sees the losses people suffer, and he sees the the thirst for meaning in a world riddled with confusion. Jesus mends the broken hearts, provides more love for a person then they can dream of; can sooth the pain of loss, and provide meaning and hope amidst confusion. Jesus can be a friend, a mentor, a teacher, a brother, a savior, and Lord all at the same time. Nothing else exists in this universe that is worth the praise we can give him. Jesus is the savior of mankind, the light amidst darkness, and the food for a famished humanity. He loves you--he's loved you since you were born and before you were born. To be loved by another person is always wonderful, but to be loved by the kind of love Jesus has is inexpressibly euphoric. If you could experience a small piece of his love for you, it would drop you to the floor because humans cannot handle that much love, yet it's there for you. He weeps to have to see you in hell someday and longs for you to join him in heaven if you'll just call upon him.

There's no ritualistic prayer, you can say what you like, but something like this may help:

"God, I admit, I've done terrible things. I've lived my life wrong and I know it. I understand now the consequences for that and want to accept your gift of salvation. I want to accept Jesus Christ as Lord and savior; to have my sins forgiven, and to be saved from damnation. I believe Jesus is the son of God, that he was sinless, and that he was resurrected from the dead for my soul. I want to live for him and live for you. I throw myself at your mercy and ask for forgiveness and a change of heart and mind. I want to commit myself to you forever."

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