Contemplating death may be painful, scary, or unpleasant for you, but each person must come to terms with the fact that one day, they will die. For most people, what happens after death is unknown. This is frightening, and since death is painful, people have made up plenty of theories to cope. We explain away death, ignore it, make light of it. Most of us try to console ourselves with the idea that we’ll all go off to “a better place” in the end.
These sorts of ideas may sound nice but they are only theories. No person has come back to tell us what death is like. No person can explain death. Only the God of the universe, who exists eternally outside of time, who created the world we live in, and formed us in our mother’s womb, can tell us about the other side of death.
Did you know that there is abundant evidence that a transcendent God exists? If you think that believing in God involves “blind faith,” please click here to read about some of the reasons why believing in God is completely logical and rational.
God is real. He is perfect, loving, and just.
God uses the Bible to explain to us who He is and what His character is like. 1 John 4:8 tells us "God is love.” The Bible also tells us that God is holy, which means that God is perfect in every way. (1 Peter 1:16)
Mankind has fallen short of God’s perfect standard.
If we’re being honest with ourselves, every person must admit they’re not perfect. We have all violated the conscience that God has given us and done what we knew was wrong. Think about it—we do it when we lie, when we hate others, when we lust, envy, or steal, when we make our own ideas about who or what God is. While this is normal behavior for people, for a perfect God it’s a problem. Matthew 5:48 says “you therefore must be perfect, as your heavenly Father is perfect”—a perfect God demands perfection. Sadly, we’re not perfect, and we know it.
We experience death because of our imperfection.
Another part of God’s character is that he is just. A perfect judge cannot overlook injustice, and Romans 2:5-11 explains that God must punish the guilty. Habakkuk 1:13 tells us that God's eyes are too pure to look upon evil. According to Romans 3:23, “all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God.” Again, if you take an honest look at yourself, you know you’ve fallen short of God’s standard, which is another way of saying you’ve sinned.
The bad news is that as a good judge, God must require payment for sin: "For the wages of sin is death." (Romans 6:23)
God made the ultimate sacrifice so mankind can experience eternal life.
There are two ways to pay God’s price. One is for you to pay for it yourself in hell by living out eternity cast away from God’s perfect presence. The other is to let God pay the price for you and live with Him as he originally intended it.
The good news is that because God is as loving as He is just, God Himself came to earth as the man Jesus Christ and died in our place on the cross as a payment for our sins. He did this because He loves us and wants to be with us! When He rose from the dead three days later (want evidence), it showed that He was God and has the power to save us from our sin. Jesus is alive and wants you to experience His life!
1 Peter 3:18 says, “For Christ died for sins once for all, the righteous for the unrighteous, to bring you to God.” Romans 5:8 says, “But God demonstrates His own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us.” John 10:10 says, "I came that they may have eternal life and have it abundantly."
The gift of eternal life is yours if you will accept it.
Just because Jesus Christ died for our sins doesn’t mean that we are automatically saved. We must believe in Him as a substitute payment for our own sin. John 3:16 says, “For God so loved the world that He gave His one and only Son, that whoever believes in Him shall not perish but have eternal life.” Eternal life is like a gift: A gift could be purchased by a parent and have your name on it, but if you don't take it and open it, it still doesn’t belong to you.
But what is eternal life? Contrary to popular belief, eternal life is more than just living forever in heaven. Jesus clearly defines eternal life as having a personal relationship with God (John17:3)…a pretty remarkable claim! So what does a relationship with God really look like? In Ephesians 1:13, it says that when we believe in Jesus, the Holy Spirit of God enters our lives. The Holy Spirit literally changes our hearts and gives us a desire to love and obey God that we do not have naturally. 2 Corinthians 5:17 says, “if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation. The old has passed away; behold, the new has come.”
Accepting God’s gift secures our eternity.
God paid the punishment that our sins deserve. He HATES sin, but was tortured and died as if He was guilty, so that we could be made innocent…have you understood His LOVE!!! Will you believe in Him and accept His free gift of eternal life?
Please understand it is not enough to believe that God exists. Many people who believe in God actually trust their own perceived “good lives” to save them. That is scary because Jesus said it was impossible for us to be saved that way (Mark 10:27). Believing in Jesus Christ is not merely agreeing with an intellectual concept, but entering into a personal relationship with God. It means understanding that:
- You have sinned and broken God’s standard in a way that deserves punishment in hell.
- You can’t do anything to be get right with God and save yourself on your own.
- Jesus Christ’s death and resurrection are your only hope. (John 14:6)
To put your faith in Christ, all you have to do is humble yourself by admitting you have sinned and need a Savior. Then choose to put your faith in Jesus Christ and what He did for you on the cross and receive Him into your heart. It’s as simple as a prayer, but it’s not the “right” prayer that saves you, it’s a broken and honest conversation with God where you personally receive His invitation to come into your life and save you. If you humbly ask God, He will save you. It sounds too simple, maybe, but God has made it simple because he loves you.
God, who created all things—including eternity—is the one who has control over it. If God himself has paid for your sins and He is perfect, loving, and just, you can be confident that He will accept you into heaven if you will accept the free gift Jesus’ death and resurrection give us access to.
"I write these things to you who believe in the name of the Son of God that you may know that you have eternal life." (1 John 5:13)
Have questions? Let us know.