Is there a Heaven and how do you get there?
Is there a Hell and how do you avoid it?
Who has the authority to answer these questions? Looking at the Bible, the words of the God who is there I've been thinking.......
Over the previous few days we've looked at how the God who is there is a God of love and holiness. In his holiness he has a just wrath against our sin, and as 'all have sinned' (Romans 3v23) we all stand condemned under Gods wrath.
However yesterday we looked at Gods love manifesting itself in a rescue plan – a saviour predicted throughout the old testament. This saviour would be God himself.
“Then God [singular] said, “Let us[plural] make man in our[plural] image...”” Genesis 1v26
From the creation account and throughout the bible we have a picture of one God yet in three persons - Father, Son and Holy Spirit – a trinity. I'm not going to look at this doctrine in detail here but think on the fact that for God to have character attributes such as love he must be relational.
“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. For God did not send his son into the world to condemn the world but to save the world through him. Whoever believes in him is not condemned, but whoever does not believe stands condemned already because he has not believed in the name of God's one and only Son”
John 16v16-18
“For the wages of sin is death but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord” Romans 6v23
“God made him who had no sin to be sin for us, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God” 2 Corinthians 5v21
Gods rescue plan was to send his son Jesus Christ into the world. As both man and God he lived a perfect life without sin. As a sinless being he had not earned the wages of sin, he deserved not the physical death nor the spiritual death of God pouring out his wrath on sin.
“This is how we know what love is: Jesus Christ laid down his life for us” 1 John 3v16
Jesus chose to suffer death on the cross in our place. He cried out 'My God, My God why have you forsaken me' (Mark 15v34) as he hung dying to show us that his death went beyond the physical to the spiritual death of suffering Gods wrath against the sin of his people.
To satisfy Gods justice he sent his son who willingly gave up his life as the perfect sacrifice. Gods holy wrath against the sin of his people was bore by Jesus Christ in our place.
“Whoever believes in the Son has eternal life, but whoever rejects the Son will not see life, for Gods wrath remains on him” John 3v36
The God who is there is justly angry against sin. Jesus while on earth spent more time warning people of hell, suffering Gods wrath for sin after our death, than heaven.
By faith in Jesus Christ as the son of God and through trusting in his sacrifice that forgives us our sin we are saved for an eternal life with God.
If we reject Jesus then Gods wrath remains on us, no amount of DIY religion will save us from suffering Gods wrath for all eternity.
God has given us a rescue plan – will you take it?
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