Imagine for a moment that you've just collapsed. A loved one finds you and calls for help, but it's too late. Your body is cold and lifeless. Plainly speaking, you're dead.
At your funeral friends will say, "Well, at least he didn't suffer". If they only knew! Actually the very moment your heart stopped beating, your soul, the conscious part of you that never dies, was literally
ripped from your body, and in Hell you opened your eyes, being in torments!
(Luke 16:23)
Reality sinks in. Could you really be in Hell? You never even believed there was
such a place. And after all, what great crime did you commit? (Romans 3:23)
As panic sets in you begin to scream out to the very God you've denied your whole life, begging that he would send relief from the tormenting flames surrounding you. He tells you that there is a great gulf fixed,
so none may pass from the place of torment to the place of Glory. (Luke 16:26)
A sickening fear grips you. Could this awful punishment
really last forever and ever? (Revelation 20:10) Could you really be guilty? You begin to reason
with yourself - this isn't fair - nobody ever told you of the way of salvation, or
of the penalty for rejecting the Lord Jesus Christ. But
then your mind goes back to a time when you shut the door in the face of a man from the local
Baptist church who came by to speak to you concerning your eternal soul. If only you would have listened and heeded
his simple message of the gospel - things would be different now.
Your thoughts turn to your family.
You beg God to send someone by to warn your loved ones lest they too come to this awful place of torment.
(Luke 16:27,28) God answers
that they have the Bible and witnessing Christians to share with them. The very
same opportunity you had. (Luke 16:31)
After suffering in Hell for what seems like forever, you feel a slight reprieve. It seems now that you are being led out of Hell. You are glad it's over! But
wait a minute - What is this place? It's the largest courtroom you've ever
seen! Never have you seen so many people before. You shield your eyes from the brightness of the One sitting on the throne. His
radiant glory fills the arena! There are multitudes with Him, dressed in white, assisting with the books and records. One by one you see others like yourself being called to the bench. One now is on his knees begging for mercy. The books are opened. His name cannot be found written in the Lambs Book of Life. GUILTY is the decree!!
(Revelation 20:11-15)
In the distance you hear horrifying screams as men and women,
young and old alike, are cast "alive" into the burning Lake of Fire. Suddenly your name is called. You humbly approach the bench and fall to your knees. You beg and plead for mercy, but find none! There is no mercy here, no forgiveness. The great era of
mercy and grace has passed. It is only now that you realize that you could have avoided all of this by simply
trusting the Lord Jesus Christ as your personal Savior during your lifetime. But you chose not to receive
this greatest gift of all. You are without excuse! (Romans 1:20)
In a moment you hear that your name cannot be found in the Lambs Book of Life. Again the verdict echo's out: GUILTY!! You kick and scream and gnash your teeth for
pain as you are led to the burning Lake of Fire. (Matthew 22:13) You catch a glimpse of
ole Satan himself. He too is awaiting an eternal inferno as punishment.
He doesn't look so victorious now does he? It's hard to imagine that you allowed him to deceive you all of
your life on earth.
Remember how he made you laugh and mock at the story of The Lord Jesus Christ dying on the cross for your sins? Friend, he's actually trying to deceive you even now as you read this message. Those thoughts of unbelief are his.
Being consumed in a fire is terrible enough, but to have to endure it throughout the
endless ages of eternity is incomprehensible. You will be there alone. Your
"friends" won't be coming over to have a good time with you. It's over for you, and then again it's only the beginning. Just think, after you have been
tormented there for 1,000,000,000,000 (trillion) years, it will be like the first day!
Do you understand that?
Believe it or not there is only ONE way to avoid the
above scenario. Contrary to popular belief being a good person and even
faithfully attending church will not keep you from the fires of Hell that now await you. So what does?
I'm glad you asked! Read on for the most important message you will EVER read
in your life. Your eternal destination depends on how you respond to this
simple message. Even if you don't believe it now, one day you will.
Friend, you have broken God’s holy Law. You don’t think so? “I’m not so bad,” you tell yourself.
Really? Ask yourself some questions. Have you ever lied? Yes, you have. Have you ever stolen anything? Yes, you have.
Have you ever committed adultery? Yes, you have, because Jesus says that one who
looks upon a woman to lust after her hath committed adultery with her already in
his heart. My friend, you have broken three out of ten. And by desiring her in the first place, you are coveting someone’s wife or daughter. That’s four.
Shall we try for five out of ten? Jesus says to hate someone is to commit the sin of murder in your heart. And that’s where sin starts. Let’s check the balance sheet. You have admitted that you are a lying, thieving, covetous, murdering, adulterer—and we’ve only looked at five of the ten.
Shall we go for six? By doing all these things, you have dishonored your father and mother. My friend, you’ve broken six out of ten. If you will be honest with yourself, you have broken all the others, too. And these are just a summary of God’s
Holy Law.
You’ve got a problem, my friend. And it’s a serious problem, because the penalty for breaking God’s Law is severe indeed. But it’s not just your problem. It’s my problem, too. In fact, it’s everybody’s problem. The penalty is death, and not just physical death. The penalty is eternal death, separation from God in a place that you really don’t want to go
to (remember the scenario above?).
But there is some good news. In fact, it’s great news. That eternal penalty has already been paid. God Himself paid it and paved the road for our salvation through Jesus Christ.
The road to salvation through Jesus Christ is clearly presented in the New Testament. These Seven Principles of Salvation are set forth in Paul’s letter to the Romans.
1. All people are born sinners. We are all unrighteous people.
As it is written, "There is none righteous, no, not one: There is
none that understandeth, there is none that seeketh after God. They are all gone
out of the way, they are together become unprofitable; there is none that doeth
good, no, not one." —Romans 3:10-12
This means that no one is righteous before God and, in fact, no one is even searching for Him.
2. All people sin. Our best efforts will never measure up.
… since "...all have sinned, and come short of the glory of God;" —Romans 3:23
This means that you have sinned. You have not earned, and do not deserve, eternal life. There are two things you need to know to be saved: First, you need to know that you are a sinner who has violated God’s laws. Second, you need to know that there is a terrible and eternal price for sin.
3. The price of sin is death.
"Wherefore, as by one man sin entered into the world, and death by sin;
and so death passed upon all men, for that all have sinned:" —Romans 5:12
Adam sinned and gave Satan a foothold in the world. By nature, we are all separated from God. We are all born in sin. We deserve death and hell.
4. Jesus paid your debt by dying in your place.
"For the wages of sin is death; but the gift of God is eternal life
through Jesus Christ our Lord." —Romans 6:23
You have earned death, not eternal life. So Jesus, in effect, went to the “Bank of Heaven” and paid your debt for you. Jesus paid the price for you to obtain salvation and eternal life. You cannot earn this payment. Eternal life must be accepted as a gift from God.
5. Christ died in your place, paying your price, and suffering so that you would not have to suffer eternally.
"But God commendeth his love toward us, in that, while we were yet
sinners, Christ died for us." — Romans 5:8
Due to unconditional love, Christ died in your place, paying a debt He did not owe. We all have an unpaid debt of sin that Christ is willing to pay for us. How do we get our debts paid by Christ? If you accept His payment of your debt by receiving Him as your Lord and Savior, He will make you His child and take you to heaven when you die.
6. You must confess
that you are a sinner, and believe in your heart that God raised Christ from the dead.
"That if thou shalt confess with thy mouth the Lord Jesus, and shalt
believe in thine heart that God hath raised him from the dead, thou shalt be
saved. For with the heart man believeth unto righteousness; and with the
mouth confession is made unto salvation." — Romans 10:9-10
The Bible promises us that God forgives our sin when we accept the work that Christ did for us when He died on Calvary. You can do this by praying this short, simple prayer:
7. His invitation is open to
"whosoever"… even you.
"For whosoever shall call upon the name of the Lord shall be saved.” — Romans 10:13
The word “whosoever” includes you. How do you “call on the name of the Lord” to be saved?
“Lord, Jesus, I know that I am a sinner and I need you. I know that you paid the price for my sins by dying on the cross. I ask that you forgive my sins; and I receive you as my Savior. I thank you for forgiving my sins and giving me eternal life.
Please work in my heart to make me the kind of person you want me to be. Amen.”
Look to God’s Word for encouragement as you begin your new life in Christ. Remember these simple truths from God’s Word:
"If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins,
and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness."
—1 John 1:9
"The Spirit itself beareth witness with our spirit, that we are the
children of God:" —Romans 8:16
"For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is
the gift of God: Not of works, lest any man should boast." —Ephesians 2:8
"For I reckon that the sufferings of this present time are not worthy to be
compared with the glory which shall be revealed in us." —Romans 8:18
"These things have I written unto you that believe on the name of the Son
of God; that ye may know that ye have eternal life, and that ye may believe on
the name of the Son of God." —1 John 5:13
"Therefore if any man be in Christ, he is a new creature: old things are
passed away; behold, all things are become new. And all things are of God,
who hath reconciled us to himself by Jesus Christ... —2 Corinthians 5:17-18a