Heaven or Hell

Have you ever told a lie, cheated, stolen something, or used profane language. Have you ever been jealous, envious, selfish, lusted for the opposite sex, hated someone, or felt you were better than someone else? Then you have sinned. We as the human family are all guilty of sin, because we were born sinners. So we need a Savior to rid us of our sins. What is even more dreadful is, we cannot remove our sin. Nothing we can do will make things right with our Creator. Why? Because we are sinners, and He is the Holy One. He cannot accept sinners because of who he is. Have you considered your dilemma?

For the wages of sin is death; but the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord.
Romans 6:23

When you die you will not be allowed to live with your Holy Creator in heaven because of your sin. Therefore, to die as a sinner you will have to be placed in God’s garbage dump; a place call hell.

No matter who you are or how many good deeds you do, as a sinner you will not be allowed into heaven. A good, moral life, even if you have “religion,” you CAN NOT be allowed into heaven. Why? Because God says he will not accept anyone into his presence to live with him if they do not accept his only Son as their Savior. No ifs, ands, or buts about it! It will either be Jesus as your Savior, or hell forever. So, my friend, which will it be for you?

God is pure, righteous, and holy. You and I would feel out of place in heaven with God if we went there as an unsaved sinner. So the only place that would be suited for us would be hell. Hell is for unsaved sinners. Hell is for all who do not want Jesus to be their Savior. God is not going to force anyone to be with Jesus if they do not want to be with him. Anyone who would rather go to hell with their sins, God will allow. He wants everyone to be satisfied. Are you satisfied now? Have you made your choice? It is all up to you. It will be heaven or hell, according to what you decide.

Heaven will be a place of beauty beyond description. It will be a place of peace and harmony. There will be pleasures forever more in that wonderful land, we are told in the Holy Scriptures. In heaven no one will ever be sick, sad, or disappointed. Everyone there will live forever. The Devil will not be there , nor any of his angels. There will be no wicked people there, or sinners who are unsaved. Why would anyone want to miss heaven?

Another very important thing about heaven, is the fact that the price to go there has already been paid. Folks, do you realize this! Anyone who wants to go to heaven can go just by trusting the Lord Jesus Christ as their personal Savior.

Now hell on the other hand is a place, we are told in the Word of God, of eternal fire. It is a place of torment, darkness and despair. There is no laughter, and no one has a friend there who cares. All that can be heard in hell is the moaning, groaning, screaming and crying of the myriads of souls who rejected Jesus Christ as their Savior. All of those in hell are there forever to pay for all of their sins, which they can never pay for. They will not have a second chance. No! All in hell are there for eternity.

Only Jesus can cleanse us from our sin and keep us from hell. Do you want to be cleansed? To have all your sins washed away, never to be condemned anymore? Jesus is the one who can wash you, cleanse you, and make you acceptable to Holy God.

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

How We Become a Sinner

The sin nature we all have we got from Adam, the first man, when he disobeyed God. The Psalmist said it like this;

Behold, I was shapen in iniquity; and in sin did my mother conceive me. Psalms 51:5

I find being a sinner very disgusting, shameful, humiliating, and frustrating. There is nothing I can do to change the fact that I am a sinner. Now some of us are saved sinners, forgiven of all our sins, but most people are unsaved sinners, and they are condemned already.

For God sent not his Son into the world to condemn the world; but that the world through him might be saved. He that believeth on him is not condemned: but he that believeth not is condemned already, because he hath not believed in the name of the only begotten Son of God. John 3:17-18

As a result of Adam’s disobedience we are a race of sinners, but God has provided a way for all of us to have all of our sins removed. If we are not willing to acknowledge to God we are sinners, then we cannot be saved. We must humble ourselves before God, and in faith ask Jesus to forgive and save us.

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 Results of Sin

Sin, is the reason people die. The proof you and I are sinners is, we will all die physically. It is the reason for all the trouble and pain in the world. Sin is the cause of divorce, broken homes, and broken lives. Sin is a destroyer and the Devil promotes sin in every area that he can.

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 5:121

Remember in the book of Exodus, in chapter twenty, where God gave Moses the Ten Commandments? This was the moral law of God given to Israel, so they would teach the other nations about him. But Israel failed to do this, having the attitude that they alone were God’s people.

Our Temptations

Even Jesus, who did not have a sin nature, was tempted of the Devil. But he refused to sin. We are tempted, but too often we yield to sin and it gets us into trouble. BUT! We can learn to refuse as Jesus did, but it takes growth in the Holy Spirit. Through growth, we allow Him to control our lives.

Then was Jesus led up of the Spirit into the wilderness to be tempted of the devil. And when he had fasted forty days and forty nights, he was afterward an hungred. And when the tempter came to him, he said, If thou be the Son of God, command that these stones be made bread. But he answered and said, It is written, Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceedeth out of the mouth of God. Matthew 4:1-4

We must learn to say no to sin. Sin will hurt us, embarrass us and destroy us. Sin condemns us and we need the Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ.

The promise made to us by God is;

There hath no temptation taken you but such as is common to man: but God is faithful, who will not suffer you to be tempted above that ye are able; but will with the temptation also make a way to escape, that ye may be able to bear it. 1 Corinthians 10:13

Share Jesus

Today, we who have been saved are to tell others about salvation that comes through Jesus Christ. This is everyone’s responsibility, and not just the preachers, or the missionaries. So, even though it was Israel who was given the Ten Commandments, the moral law of God, it is well for us to recognize them too. The Apostle James said;

For whosoever shall keep the whole law, and yet offend in one point, he is guilty of all. James 2:10

We all have broken the very first of the Ten Commandments, so James says we are guilty of breaking them all!

Thou shalt have no other gods before me. Exodus 19:3

Man’s Pride

The culprit that is keeping many from being saved is their own pride, and pride is the worst of all sins. Anything or anyone, we put before God is sin and a false god. The truth is, we all need a Savior and God has provided only one way to be forgiven of our sin, and that is by faith in his only Son, the Lord Jesus Christ. But all sin is forgivable except the sin of rejecting the Lord Jesus Christ.

There is no forgiveness for those who reject him as their Savior!

Pride goeth before destruction, and an haughty spirit before a fall. Proverbs 16:18

What could man possibly have that makes him so proud. The talents we have are God given. The wealth we accomplish is permitted by God giving us opportunities. Even the life we have is God given. A mind to think and plan, are all God given abilities. We are all nothing without God. The very best we can do in the sight of God without salvation is as filthy rags the Prophet Isaiah says;

But we are all as an unclean thing, and all our righteousnesses are as filthy rags; and we all do fade as a leaf; and our iniquities, like the wind, have taken us away. Isaiah 64:6

In the following scriptures I have selected for you to consider, we are clearly told how God feels about a person who rejects his only son as their Savior. I have printed it for you from the Living Bible so it will be easy to understand. But please read these scriptures from the King James Bible also.

Don’t you realize that those who do wrong will not inherit the Kingdom of God? Don’t fool yourselves. Those who indulge in sexual sin, or who worship idols, or commit adultery, or are male prostitutes, or practice homosexuality, or are thieves, or greedy people, or drunkards, or are abusive, or cheat people—none of these will inherit the Kingdom of God. Some of you were once like that. But you were cleansed; you were made holy; you were made right with God by calling on the name of the Lord Jesus Christ and by the Spirit of our God. 1 Corinthians 6:9-11 (Living Bible)

Then the Apostle Paul wrote to the church at Galatia;

The sinful nature wants to do evil, which is just the opposite of what the Spirit wants. And the Spirit gives us desires that are the opposite of what the sinful nature desires. These two forces are constantly fighting each other, so you are not free to carry out your good intentions. But when you are directed by the Spirit, you are not under obligation to the law of Moses. When you follow the desires of your sinful nature, the results are very clear: sexual immorality, impurity, lustful pleasures, idolatry, sorcery, hostility, quarreling, jealousy, outbursts of anger, selfish ambition, dissension, division, envy, drunkenness, wild parties, and other sins like these. Let me tell you again, as I have before, that anyone living that sort of life will not inherit the Kingdom of God. Galatians 5:17-21 (Living Bible)

The Apostle John wrote for all churches to know;

But cowards, unbelievers, the corrupt, murderers, the immoral, those who practice witchcraft, idol worshipers, and all liars—their fate is in the fiery lake of burning sulfur. This is the second death. Revelation 21:8 (Living Bible)

So we have shared these few thoughts about our sin nature, in which, we do not see anything that is good. The sin nature produces a life that is worldly and displeasing to God. God will not accept the person who has refused to be made a new person in Jesus Christ. That is what happens when we accept Jesus as our Savior. We become a new person because we are born again and made a new creation. From the time of being saved, we begin to become more and more like our wonderful Savior. One day we will be just like him having shed this old carnal, fallen nature.

What a glorious day that will be when the struggle between the flesh and the Holy Spirit is over!

Therefore if any man be in Christ, he is a new creature: old things are passed away; behold, all things are become new. 2 Corinthians 5:17

Father, thank you for salvation for sinners. That you would love us so much you will cleanse us from our sin by the blood of your only Son. What a Savior, and we praise you, in Jesus’ name. Amen. Preacher