Dead Or Alive? Heaven Or Hell?

Q: What does the Bible say about heaven?

The Bible describes heaven as a place of eternal worship and the presence of God. Heaven is portrayed in Scripture not as a place of earthly pleasures or rewards, but as a realm of constant worship and communion with God. In Revelation 7:9-10, it depicts a great multitude from every nation shouting praises to God and the Lamb. This contrasts the common misconception that heaven is merely a place where people reunite with loved ones or indulge in earthly delights. Rather, it is the presence of God, where believers see Him face to face, worship Him eternally, and experience the fullness of joy.

Q: How do we know hell is real?

Hell is affirmed in the Bible, notably by Jesus, who speaks of it more than anyone. Hell is described in Scripture as a place of eternal separation from God and relentless torment. In Luke 16:23, Jesus relays a parable of a rich man in hell, demonstrating the reality of its agony and the finality of one's fate after death. The concept of hell serves as a sober reminder of the consequences of rejecting God and receiving His grace. Jesus emphasizes its truth more than any other biblical figure, highlighting the necessity of understanding both God’s mercy and His judgment.

Q: Why is understanding sin important for Christians?

Understanding sin is crucial as it reveals our need for God's grace and salvation through Christ. The recognition of sin is foundational to the Christian faith as it underscores humanity's fallen state and our inability to attain righteousness on our own. Romans 3:23 states, 'For all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God.' This inherent sinfulness means we are spiritually dead and in need of divine intervention. It highlights the seriousness of our rebellion against God and the necessity for grace, which is offered freely through Jesus Christ, as seen in Ephesians 2:8-9. Understanding sin, therefore, directs believers toward dependency on God’s grace for salvation and sanctification.

Q: What does being spiritually dead mean?

Being spiritually dead refers to the state of being separated from God due to sin. Spiritual death is described in Ephesians 2:1, where Paul writes, 'And you were dead in your trespasses and sins.' This condition illustrates a complete separation from God’s life and moral influence, rendering individuals incapable of seeking God or responding to Him without divine intervention. It emphasizes the need for regeneration by the Holy Spirit, as John 3:3 states that one must be born again to see the Kingdom of God. Thus, understanding spiritual death aids in appreciating the necessity of Christ’s sacrificial work, which brings dead souls to life (Ephesians 2:4-5).

Q: How can someone receive eternal life according to the Bible?

Eternal life is given freely by God's grace through faith in Jesus Christ. According to Romans 6:23, 'For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord.' This gift is not earned or deserved but is granted solely based on faith in Jesus, who accomplished the work needed for salvation through His life, death, and resurrection. Ephesians 2:8-9 further clarifies that it is by grace through faith that one is saved, emphasizing that it is not of works, lest any man should boast. The believer's response to this gospel is to repent and trust in Christ for salvation, resulting in the gift of eternal life.

Matthew chapter twenty five. Matthew twenty five. It's a sad. Fact. That very little. thought, most
of us give very little thought to death and eternity. And it's a clear commentary,
it's very clear proof of our sinful and worldly natures that
we rarely give a thought to what is inevitable of every one of
us, that which is going to befall each and every one of us, we
rarely give a thought to it. Men and women don't like to think
about dying, and they don't give much thought to dying. And young people don't give any
thought to it whatsoever. I'll tell you an illustration.
There was an eighty-year-old man who owned a farm. And he lived beside an 82-year-old
man who owned a farm. Their farms joined one another,
separated by a fence line. And that 80-year-old man coveted
or desired a piece of property that that other fellow, the 82-year-old
man, had, a little lower portion of property. Now, he wanted that
piece of property, and he tried to buy it off the old fellow
for many years. But he wouldn't sell it. He wouldn't
part with it. The man wasn't using it, but he wouldn't sell
it. He wouldn't part with it. And
that 80-year-old man one day, talking about the 82-year-old
man, he went home one day, and he told his wife, he said, you
know, one of these days, that old goat's gonna die, and I'm
gonna get that piece of property. Well, We are just about as foolish.
We're just as foolish. Yes, we are. I look around at our congregation
and I've buried one person, not a member of this congregation,
but a man in the community. But I look around and I look
at some of you and I'm constantly Thinking about
this, who am I going to bury first? It may be me. It may be. But in all probability,
I'll probably bury somebody in here first. It may be, I don't
know, one of our men. We've got some sick people. We've
got some feeble people. Many of you are very sick, very
people, and aged. We've got some people in their
80s. And. Who's it going to be? Who's it going
to be? William. Joe. I'd hate to lose you, but I don't
want to lose you, but it's coming and it's coming. Who knows? Charles? It's going to come. It's going
to come. But we just don't give much thought
to it, do we? Don't give much thought to it. When I was 15
years old, well, when I was 13 years old, my 21-year-old brother
died. When I was 15 years old, my 15-year-old
best friend died. When I was 18 years old, my best
friend of 19 years old, he died. So it doesn't just happen to
aged people either. Mindy's mother, I've said this
before, but we need to think about it. Her mother came down
with cancer years ago, and her death was inevitable. cancer
of the liver, and the doctor said it was the worst they'd
ever seen. So it was inevitable, and we were expecting her to
die. Do you know, in the course of
her illness, six people in our church died before she did? Everybody's looking at her, and
she's going to die. Six people. And we look at Virgie,
and some of our older folks, Who knows? But just as certain
as death is, people talk about the certainty of death and taxes.
Well, taxes will someday cease. Death won't. But just as certain
as death is, there's also life after death. There's life after
death. There's an eternal dwelling place,
and as old-fashioned as this sounds, as biblical As it sounds,
there is a place called heaven, and there is a place called hell. These are real places. They are
real places, and if you do not believe it now, you will find
out. Now, how do I know? Because I've
heard and I've read the first-hand account of someone who has been
there, both Now, I didn't read this in the National Enquirer,
somebody who came back from the grave and somebody who was hallucinating
under morphine or Demerol. I didn't read that from somebody
like that. I read it from a man whose name was Jesus, who was
the Lord himself. And I read here in Matthew chapter
25, verse 31, he says, when he comes back, This same man came,
he died, he arose, and it says when he comes back that he will
gather the people before his throne. Before him, verse 32,
all nations will be gathered. He'll separate them one from
another as a shepherd divides his sheep from the goats. And
he'll set the sheep on his right hand, but the goats on the left.
And verse 34, he'll say to the sheep, Come, ye blessed of my
Father, and inherit this kingdom, this salvation which I preordained,
predetermined, prepared for you from the foundation of the world."
In verse 41, he'll say unto the others on the left hand, Depart
from me, ye cursed, into everlasting fire, prepared for the devil
and his angels. The one will go away into one
place, everlasting punishment. It's not a myth, it's true. He said verily. Didn't he say
verily? Truly, I say unto you. One will
go unto one place of everlasting punishment, but the righteous into life eternal over this place
called heaven. I'll tell you in a moment. why someone would be called one
or the other. But I ask this question, two
questions, dead or alive, which are you? You're one or the other,
spiritually speaking. Heaven or hell, where are you
headed? You're one or the other. There's
no middle ground, there's no purgatory as Catholicism has
made up. Dead or alive, which are you?
What I read from the scriptures, where it says in 1 Corinthians
15, in Adam all die. Now it's plain that all men and
women and even young people die. They die physically. But he's
talking about spiritual death. He's talking about death of the
spirit. In Adam all die, but he says even so, In Christ, that
is, everyone in Adam, represented by Adam, will die. He is dead,
spiritually. But in Christ, all those represented
by and in the Lord Jesus Christ will live, will be made alive. Very simple and very straightforward. You're one or the other. You're
either dead in trespasses and sin, or you're alive unto God
through the Lord Jesus Christ. You're one or the other. You
can't be both. No, no, no. Can't be both. Well, the scripture
says the natural man, that is the carnal man, the worldly man,
is dead in trespasses and in sin. Dead in trespass. Wholly consumed and taken up
with sin and trespasses. Dead. Can't do anything but sin. the natural man. All have sinned,
the scripture says, and every one of us have sinned, lest we
think we don't. We've called God a liar. All
have sinned and come short of the glory of God, that is, that
which God Almighty requires of us. He said, Be ye holy, for
I am holy. And every one of us have fallen
short of that holiness. And God says, you'll not come
into my presence without this perfect holiness and righteousness. But every one of us, Terry, has
fallen way short of this holiness, and we're dead and consumed in
our sins, naturally speaking. Every one of us. And he says,
the wages of sin, that is, that which we earn for this sin that's
within us and this sin that we commit, that which we earn from
God is death, final destruction, annihilation, spiritual condemnation
and punishment, because we've rebelled against our God. That's
what we earn. We earn it physically. He said
there over in Romans 5, we'll see in a minute, how that even
little children die as a result of this thing called sin. I'm
not saying children in hell. Don't go out here and say that.
I'm saying that. I'm not saying that at all. I'm saying that
all people suffer the consequences of sin, and those that God held
accountable for their sins will suffer the eternal damning consequences
of their sin. I firmly believe from the Scriptures
that little children have the blood and righteousness of Christ
supplied to their souls, and God saves those children, even
though they're little sinners. If you don't believe that, you've
never had a child, have you? But men and women are dead, spiritually
speaking, dead, dead, spiritually speaking. That is true life,
spiritual life. Men and women, I'll describe
it from the scriptures. The scripture says men and women
by nature do not like to retain God in their knowledge. This
is proof of our death. Don't like to think about God.
It's as plain, there's some people in here right now, it's very
plain, you don't like to think about God. could care less, rather
not be here. That's proof that you're dead
in trespass and sin and eternal consequences waiting on you.
Don't like to think about God. Do not like to retain God in
their knowledge, as Scripture says. Scripture says they come
short of the glory of God. That is, they're forgetful and
unthankful to God Almighty who has provided everything for them
from the cradle to the grave. God has abundantly supplied our
every need, our clothing, our food, our drink, everything we
have, the things we've got on right now, God Almighty gave
it to us, and we don't give Him a thought. Don't thank Him unthankful
and disobedient to who cares what God wants. Going on my merry
way. That's proof that you're dead
in sin, dead. Rarely think about dying. Something
so inevitable. As I said, I saw my 15-year-old
companion, my 21-year-old brother, and so on and so on. Die, die,
die. We're like cattle grazing in
a field. And the farmer comes and gets
one and takes him to the slaughter. And what do the rest of them
do? They look down and don't hardly look up. And go on eating. Is that not the way men and women
are? Yes, it is. Rarely think about dying, rarely
think about spiritual things. But we're like beasts for the
most part, the natural man. Like beasts, like pigs, looking
down in the mud. Now, this is you. This is everybody
in here, including the preacher, by nature, unless God makes a
change. Looking down in the mud of this
world, wholly consumed with wallowing in the mud of this world, rarely,
hardly ever looking up. That's the natural man, dead
in the world in sin and trespass. Men are very much alive, though,
in another way, worldly speaking, carnally. Very much alive to
the pleasures of this world. Very much alive, totally taken
up with and consumed with this world. Everything is wholly taken
up and consumed. Wake up, just wanting to do something
in this world. Wanting to be taken up with this
world. Like Eve. Eve saw that through. She saw
that it was Good for food, that is the lust of the flesh. She
had to have something to eat, only good to eat. She saw that
it was pleasant to the eyes, that is the lust of the eyes,
the scripture says in 1 John 2. Lust of the eyes, oh that
looks good, oh I'd like to have that, oh I need that, I think
I'll work for that. And then the pride of life. She
saw that it was able to make one wise, I want to be wise.
She took it, the pride of life, in every one of us by nature.
are consumed in this man with these three things. Dead to God. That is, just as a dead man. You go out to the graveyard.
Go out to the graveyard. And stand over a grave. And talk
to that man. Talk to him, or woman. Talk to
him. Can they hear you? Why? They're dead. They're dead. Why can't they hear you? They
can't hear. They can't hear. Can't hear, and just like a dead
man in the grave, a spiritually dead man can't hear the word
of God. I can tell the same thing to everybody in here, and some
will hear it, and others won't. They'll go on their way as if
they never heard it. Why? Don't have spiritual ears. Can't hear it. Dead. Dead. You go out there and you take
these flowers out to the graveyard and say, boy, I'm going to put
some pretty flowers on your grave. Can't see. Can't see. And it's the same way with people
who are spiritually dead. They can't see. They can't see
God and his holiness, his power, his sovereignty. They can't see
themselves in their own sin and iniquity. Can't see where they're
headed. Can't see what they're doing, like blind sheep running
toward a cliff. Can't see. Just grazing in the
world, grazing, grazing, until they fall off the end of the
cliff. Don't have spiritual eyes. Can't walk. You can't take the
first step to God. I'm sorry, you're laying on both
legs. You're dead. You can't walk toward God because
you don't want to walk toward God. You'd rather walk the other
way. You know what the Scripture says? All we like sheep have
turned our own way. We don't want a shepherd. We
don't want God. We don't want God to lead. We want to go that way.
And I say we. I'm not preaching at anybody in particular. I'm
talking about me, too, by nature. can't talk, men will not cry
to God, men and women will not talk to God or cry to God unless
they get in trouble. You let a man get in the sickbed,
in the hospital, then he'll cry to God, and then only. Oh, they'll
mutter some little words at the dinner table, and this and that
and the other thing, you go, let's see. But you let a man get flat on
his back, and the doctor says you've got to have a triple bypass.
God! Never called on him before. When God lavishes him with every
good and good gift in this life, then he ought to be going, God,
thank you! Thank you! That's all of it. And what is that proof of? Dead. Dead to God. Dead to God. got
earth covering us, dead to God in sin. And he says the wages
of sin is death, not only physical, but spiritual. He says, okay,
do not acknowledge me and do not thank me and do not worship
me and do not believe in me and come to my son who is your only
hope of salvation. Do not do that and you will be
punished eternally. That's what he said. That's the
wages of sin that we've all earned. But! There's a clause here. We've
all earned it. The wages of sin is death. But. He says the gift of God is eternal
life through Jesus Christ. And Henry hated me, spit in my
face, rebelled against me, didn't like me, talked about me. And
I just said to him one day, I said, here Henry, the gift. He didn't earn it. He did everything on the contrary. But I'd give it to him. And God
says, the gift of God is eternal life. Eternal bliss and happiness
dwell with him in heaven for eternity through Jesus Christ
our Lord. You don't do anything to earn
this stuff. You don't work good works. You don't work good works. You don't not do this or you
don't do that to earn it. It's a gift that only God can
give. It's a gift. Eternal life. Now
look at it with me. I'll tell you the whole story.
Romans chapter 5. Look in Romans chapter 5. Everything I've been
telling you is from God's Word. If you do not believe me, here
it is. Romans chapter 5, verse 12. You see, it all started back
there in the garden. You say, now, wait a minute.
I refuse to be held accountable for what one man did years ago. God can't hold me guilty for
what Adam did years ago. I don't believe in that imputed
sin. I don't believe in that I believe a man, every man has
his own choice, and I don't believe I ought to be held accountable
for what Adam did in the garden." Well, all right, if that's the way
you want it. I don't want it that way. You
see, if you don't take your part with Adam in the garden, as a
sinner, in his bloodstream, You can't take your part with Christ
on the cross. You weren't around when Christ
died on the cross either. And God says it's only because
of what Christ did on the cross that he's going to save anybody.
And you weren't there then either, were you? I wasn't either. I
wasn't born. It's 2,000 years ago. I don't
know which way it'll be. Look at this. It says here plainly
in the scriptures anyway, by one man, verse 12, sin entered
into the world. and death by sin. That is, by
Adam and Eve, sin, this concept, this thing of evil, iniquity,
sin, entered into this and permeated this world. Sin, by Adam, by
Eve. That's what it says there. If
you're looking at the Bible, that's exactly what it says there. By one man,
sin entered into the world, and death by sin. Even the animals,
the plants, everything died because of this thing of sin and rebellion.
against God. It wasn't just that Adam got
this apple and said, that looked pretty good, take a bite. No,
it was Adam saying, God said, don't eat of that tree. Adam
and Eve said, who does God think He is but telling us what to
do? I'm a little God too. I've got my will. I've got my
free will. God doesn't have a right to impose
His will upon my free will. I'll take this apple. So you
got... And that's the attitude of every
one of us by nature. God can't be sovereign. He can't
choose who he will. God can't do what he will. It's
not fair. And that's what we are in. Death,
he says, by one man's sin entered into the world. By that man's
rebellion against God's authority, death passed upon all men. And he says, unless you think
it's just by one man's sin, verse 12, he says, all have sinned.
You have sinned. I have sinned. And he said, Death
reigned over from Adam to Moses, verse fourteen, even after those
who hadn't sinned the same way that Adam did, that is, little
children. Little children don't sin in
the same willfully rebellious way a little baby in his mother's
arms. All he knows is what he wants, and he needs to try to
get it. It is rebellion. It is somewhat
a sin when they don't get what they want. But they don't sin
in the same rebellious and hard-hearted way that Adam did, right? But
they still suffer death because of this thing of sin. Now look, verse 15. But not as
the offense, so also is the free gift, if through the offense
of one many be dead, much more. The grace of God and the gift
by grace which is by one man, that is Jesus Christ, has abounded
unto many. Verse 17, if by one man's offense
death reigned by one over all, much more, they which receive
abundance of grace and of righteousness shall reign in life by one man,
Jesus Christ. Look at verse 18. If you have
a Bible. Because by the offense of one, judgment came upon all
men to condemnation." We're judged under the judgment of God. Every
man and woman and young person that he holds accountable are
under the condemnation of God because of what we are and do.
But even so, by the righteousness of the Lord Jesus Christ, the
gift came upon all these people that he represents, all under
justification of life. I think I'm getting myself across
here. Well, over in chapter 6, in verse 11, it says that, he's
talking to believers here, he says, you're dead indeed unto
sin, but by God's mercy and grace you're alive unto God through
our Lord Jesus Christ. Now stay with me. Some people
are alive spiritually. They don't always give much evidence,
but some people are alive spiritually. Unlike the descriptions I gave
of the natural worldly man, some people are truly alive spiritually. That is, by God's Spirit, by
God's grace, they think about God. And I can say that about
some of you. You do think about God. And one
day I was over working on the house, sitting in my truck eating
lunch, and I thought to myself, I thought back on my past life
and where God brought me from and where he's brought me to
now. And I was, I had got the Bible out of the glove compartment,
got the Bible out of the glove compartment and started reading.
I thought, I believe this. This is unbelievable that I believe
this. That's what he said over in 1
Timothy 3, 16. Great is the mystery of Godliness, that he was actually
believed on the Word. He said that, he said, blessed
are your eyes, they see. But he said, blessed are the
eyes that don't see, yet they believe. And that's me. I actually
do think about God. I didn't used to, didn't give
a flip before about God. Now I do. I actually, Paul, I
actually think about God. I was twenty and twenty-one years
old. I didn't care about God, but now I do. It's God's mercy
and grace. I actually think about it, and
I'm actually thankful. There's not a thing that passes
in my life that I don't actually think, oh, I thank God for this. My little girl, my wife, my home,
whatever, the people, the Lord's just given me this, and I actually
need that. This old dull, hard heart actually
looks up. This old pig waddling in the
mud actually makes you smile every now and then. Oink! Thank
you. Oinks! What? That's a miracle of God's grace
is what it is. It's a miracle. And I actually
want to know it. Some people don't. It's obvious. They don't come here to hear
about it, don't read the Bible, don't listen to the tape, but God who? Who
cares? going on my merry way that I actually want to know
it. Spiritually sensible, unlike
that dead man in the grave. Some people really see, they
see God as he is, as he's revealed in the scriptures. Holy! Not
as men describe him, the man upstairs, that ain't in the Bible.
But he's holy, sovereign, got a lot of things in his hands.
And I see him like that. I didn't always see him like
that. I was once blind, but now I see. Job said, I heard of you. I heard all my life. I grew up
hearing the gospel. I heard this message, and one
day I saw! This is so! God is God, and I'm
in his hands. I actually saw. Do you see? I actually heard his word. I
used to hear it all my life with these ears, but it went through
one ear and out the other. But then one day I heard his
talking about me. I used to be untouched. I used
to be unfeeling. The word of the gospel didn't
touch my whole heart and heart. It's a big drama in churches
over time. Get out and run the world. But one day I actually
touched my heart, and I felt my need of Christ, a sinner. And I cry out, God have mercy
on me, not because I know Calvinism, because I need a savior. He's
saying I have knowledge. It's a heart persuasion. And
it takes the mercy and grace of God to make that change, to
turn a pig into a sheep. And I actually, I used to didn't
talk, didn't talk to God, you know, talk to my friends, talk
to my girlfriend, talk to... But I actually, God, do you think you can save me? And now I actually walk, try
to follow Him, don't do such a good job of it, but I actually
am walking by and trying. Look over to Ephesians chapter
2, Ephesians chapter 2. God Almighty
let somebody stay in here this morning. Rick, wouldn't that
be great? Somebody that's never seen before. You think about
it. One of our children. Back there. You think about it. Wouldn't
that be great? He does it. He did it to this
old boy. or some self-righteous religious
man or woman, you know, I've never, I just, oh, to let them
see, open up this heart and see how God sees it. The motives,
the thoughts, the will, everything selfish. Look at Ephesians chapter 2.
Ephesians chapter 2. He says, you, Henry Sowers, You, you have God Almighty chosen
from the foundation of the world to make life alive. You who were dead and trespassed
in sin, Henry, you were, weren't you? You still feel like you
are, don't you? But you used to be really in
that. Look at verse 2, wherein in time past you walked according
to the course of this world, that is, you followed right along
with anything like a beast, you know. When it smells good, smell
it. If it feels good, do it. If it tastes good, taste it.
If it, you know, whatever, just the flesh, the body, you know,
like an animal, like a beast, following this world. Rarely
looking out. Godhood. Jesus Christ, gospel.
Following the course of this world, right? Rooting, grubbing. Like an animal. The same spirit
that now works in the children of disobedience, verse 2. The
same spirit that now works in the people of this world, who
could give a flip about God Almighty, among whom also we are. Children of wrath, that is, against
God, even as others, by nature, just like everybody else. But God. But God says, Stop! Just headed toward a cliff. Stop no further! God, who is
rich in mercy, Folks, you know, I apologize
for the outrage if it offends you, but this thrills my heart. Is this what he did for you?
Huh? What he did for me? One of these
days! One of these days. Goodness gracious, one of these
days. Those that God has really done this, who are you talking
about shouting in? And those that Don't see it now. They're going to shout too. God was rich in mercy for his
great love. Stickies are picturing on that
old boy from the foundation of the world. What's he need with
Henry's soul? Nothing! He doesn't need a thing with
Henry's soul. But old Henry sure needed him.
And he said his love on him. He said, I'm just going to love
him. Oh, he's unlovely. But I'm just going to do it. Even when he's dead and he's
stinking, that's what they said about Lazarus. Lord, he's stinking
now. You don't want to raise this old boy, he's stinking.
And Lord, you don't want to raise old Henry, he's stinking. I'm just going to do it anyway.
Dead and quicken you together with Christ. By grace, you say. How's that? By God sending his
Son down here. to live a perfect life as a man. That's what God requires of every
single individual in here, everybody. Whether you believe it or not,
this is what God requires of us, that we live perfectly, thought,
word, and deed, holy, perfect. God's tooâ€”you can't have anything
in His presence that's not holy like Him. And you've got to do
it. Either you've got to do it, or somebody will do it for you. But we can't do it. We can't
do it. But he's rich in mercy unto all
who call upon him. Lord, would you send, would you
make Christ, would you make what Christ did? My, for me, Christ
came down here and lived a life, perfect, from the cradle to the
grave, perfect. And God said, I approve of, this
is the way I demand of every man. That's the way men and women
are supposed to live. I approve of this man's life.
And then by some miraculous change, by some supernatural power of
God's Spirit, he took that life of that man and some people that
he was going to call in time, that he was going to convict
in time and give faith in that man in time. He took that life
and put it on him. Put it on Henry's shoulder. Put
that life. And now God looks at Henry and
says, I approve of you. You look holy. Come on in, Henry. But he took Henry's sins and
rebellion and put them on Christ. It takes the work of God. It's
the work of God. Put them on Christ. And then he put Christ
on the cross and said, there's Henry's Lord. He's rebelled against
me. He hadn't worshipped me, hadn't
thanked me, hadn't done, hadn't lived as he should. He's worthy
of hell and damnation. And he killed his son. like those
animals, like those lambs in the wilderness that had their
throat cut. They were innocent. They didn't sin like the people,
but the high priest cut their throats and poured that blood
in the basin. And the high priest went in and
offered it to God and said, here's innocent blood for the guilty.
And Christ did that with his own blood and said, here's my
innocent blood for the guilty. And that's the gospel, as clear
as I can make it. And Christ went back to the throne of God.
He rose from the grave, God showing that he accepted him, that the
sacrifice was accepted. Like those bells on the garment,
his bells kept ringing. He rose and went into the presence
of God and now sits right there, interceding for old Henry Silver. He's still sitting, yeah, but
God doesn't see it. Got blood all over him. You see
why we talk about the blood? You see why we talk about the
need for blood? The blood covers his sin. Like
that blood in the tabernacle, the ark that covered that broken
log. Well, why'd they do this? Why'd they do it then? Verse
7. That in the ages to come. What
ages? Eternity. He might show the exceeding riches
of his grace and his kindness toward you. He's going to say
about Ginny, William, to everybody, look what I've done to this girl.
That's the reason God did it. He's going to say, look what
I've done for her. And oh, and Ginny's going to
say, yes, he did. to everybody, and that's what
she says now. Yes, he did it! I didn't do it! And everybody
that he's done this for is pointing and saying, I didn't do anything!
He did it! And that's what we're going to
be doing throughout eternity. He did it! He did it. Salvation's up and that's what
we're going to be doing. You know, it's proof also of
our, you know, some people think it's a raving lunatic. I am in my right mind right now. Spiritually, thinking like I
ought to think, in praise and glory to God. I'm not in my right
mind when I'm laughing and giggling and carrying on in this world.
I'm not in my right mind. I'm a fool in the face of death,
is what I am, walking this world. When I don't think about God,
when I do not give God the praise and the honor and the glory,
when I do not acknowledge God, that is when I'm in the wrong
state of mind. Now, there is a place called
heaven. And it's proof of our depraved natures. Listen to me.
Just bear with me a little longer. It's proof of our depraved natures
that everyone likes to think of some eternal, happy dwelling
place, some heaven. Everybody. I don't care what
a man's done. I remember an actor one time died. He was a drunk.
The man was an alcoholic. He lived a wild life. And I remember they interviewed
some friend of his, and she said, Well, I don't know where he is
now, but he's drinking vodka and he's having a good old time. And you know, I don't care how
a man or woman lives, I don't care, somehow or another they
get to heaven. Everybody believes that. Most
people believe that except the worst of the worst of the worst.
But then he can just up and step Jesus, you know, on his deathbed,
make his peace with God, and he just goes on into heaven. No matter how he's living. Now
let me tell you, based upon the scriptures, there is a place
called heaven. But it is not as men think. It is not how men
think that you get there, and it is not like men think it is.
Turn over to Revelation chapter 7 with men, and don't take my
word for it. Let's look at what God's Word
says about heaven. It is not as men think. It is
not fleshly enjoyment, that is, pie in the sky and a sweet bye-bye.
That's not it at all. Not mansion, you know, that little
mansion in the cabin of glory. Christ was talking about dwelling
places. He was talking about reservations. It's not golf courses,
you know, endless golf courses and bowling alleys or whatever.
It's not it at all. It's not rewards, because the
last shall be first, and the first last. And the people that
get the greatest reward of all, people that haven't done anything. People that know what I'm talking
about know. And the people that get eternal damnation are the
people that have been doing all these things. And it's not status. Status,
however you say it. Status. Everybody's alike, male
and female. No husband, no wife. No Jew,
no Gentile. No black, no white. No male,
no female. All alike. Everybody. Not status. I'm somebody
and you're nobody. Not any of you. Not any way heaven
is. Look at this. Heaven is a place of constant
worship, constant worship. Verse 9, After this I beheld,
and lo, a great multitude, which no man could number, of all nations,
and kindreds, and people, and tongues. They stood before the
Lamb, and before the throne, clothed with white robes, and
palms in their hands, and cried with a loud voice." You see what
I'm saying? You're going to be crying with a loud voice then. A loud voice saying, Salvation
to our God, which sitteth on the throne. And under the Lamb,
and all the angels stood around about the throne, the elders
and the four beasts, and fell on their faces and worshipped.
God said, Amen, blessing, honor, glory, salvation, wisdom, power
to God, singing for eternity. You don't like hearing this,
Mayor? Forget heaven. It's going to be eternal preaching. This earth, you see, is preparation
for heaven. That's all this is, is preparation.
It's a sojourning for pilgrims, preparing them for the way things
will be. Is that not what I just read, that heaven's going to
be like? I don't see any mention of Having a good old time with
the old boys and reminiscing with mom and dad. I don't see
any of that. All I see is them worshiping
and praising the Lamb. And if you see anything else,
you're reading a different Bible than I'm reading. Heaven is the presence of God
in Christ. We shall know Him. We shall see Him face to face. Scripture says that a lamb shall
feed them and wipe away all their tears. Come here, son. Come here. Sit you down. Wipe your eyes. Let me tell you what I've done
for you. Christ prayed to the fathers
that they may be with me where I am. That what? That they may
behold my glory that I had with you. That old Terry Kinsley,
that old boy, that he'd sit there, he'd sit there with his mouth
And behold the glory of his Redeemer. Terry. Well, there is a hell to it. Now bear
with me just a little bit. And I didn't bring this up first
because you can't scare anybody in here. He didn't do anything
to me to scare me. You can't scare anybody, and
this is what I despise about religion today. They get little
children, they show some scary movie about hell, scare them
into making some kind of a, I don't want to go to hell. Nobody wants
to go to hell. So you'll do anything to escape
it, won't you? That's not salvation. That's guilt manipulation. They're
doing it to little children. The only way a man is saved is
if he sees God in his holiness, himself in his own sinfulness,
and Christ his Savior. See his need of Christ to represent
him for us. That's the only way a man will
turn from his sin. See God in his holiness. See
himself. See Christ in his beauty and
his need, his provision. But there is a hell. Jesus Christ
preaches it more than anybody. It's old-fashioned. And somebody
will go out of here today saying that I'll preach a priest on
hellfire and damnation. So be it. Jesus Christ preached it
more than anybody. There are numerous Old Testament
scriptures. I want you to look with me at one passage in the
New Testament, and I'll let you go. Mark chapter 9. Mark chapter
9. Jesus Christ is talking about
a man who is in hell. Please listen to me. Mark chapter nine. Christ talked about it more than
anybody. Why? Because he has the keys on his side. Scripture says he has the keys
of hell and death on his side. Doesn't it? Doesn't it? It does say that. That Jesus
Christ has the keys of hell and death. He decides who goes there. That's what it says. No, I'm sorry, Luke. I want you
to turn to Luke chapter 16. That's the wrong gospel here. Luke chapter 16. Look at it with
me. If you have a Bible, please.
It won't do you any good unless you do. Unless God lets you hear
it. Luke chapter 16. Luke 16. Christ is giving a story of a
man who is inhaling. It says in verse 23. He says in verse twenty-three,
In hell this man lift up his eyes, being in torment, and seeth
Abraham afar off, and Lazarus in his bosom. And he cried and
said, Father Abraham, have mercy on me, and send Lazarus, that
he may dip the tip of his finger in water, and cool my tongue,
for I am tormented in this flame. But Abraham said, Remember. Remember. Christ said that in
hell is where the worm dieth not. He said that three times
in Mark chapter 9. Three times he quoted Isaiah. The last verse in the book of
Isaiah, he said the worm dieth not there. What is the worm that
dieth not? Memory. Memory. A worm, you see, is something
that gnaws at you. Something that eats. Like a grub
worm. I looked up. Grub worm, earthworm, maggot,
something eats. Gnaws. Relentlessly. Chewing
and eating. Guilt. Memory. Eating. Gnawing. remember. Oh, I do. I can't get it out
of my mind. A memory. Nothing, you see there,
there'll be nothing of this world's opium. People like to forget.
The reason people don't think about God is because they've
got other things to take their mind off of God. the opium of this
world. They've got recreation, they've
got drugs, they've got sex, they've got all of this world to take
their mind off of God, off of hell. All of this is to take
your minds off of God in eternity. There won't be any of that there.
You know, when you sit by yourself every now and then, most people
don't like to. Why? Start thinking. You think,
you go say you think, you get yourself in trouble. Well, you
better believe. When you see it and you stop
and you start thinking, guilt, things, oh, we're going to have
nothing but time on our hands to think about things, ain't
we? Hell is memory. It's going to
be a memory of God's mercy and grace. Oh, he was so good to
me. He was so merciful and gracious
to me. He did. He gave me everything and I didn't
even give him a thought. Memory. It's going to be a memory
of every gospel. You're going to remember this
message here. I hope it's not me that remembers
this. I said, I preached, and I myself am a castaway. Paul
said that. He said, I don't want to be a
castaway having preached this. I hope this doesn't come up to
haunt me. I preached it. Warnings and word, the word of
God ignored. We may have a perfect recall
of all the scripture then. We may have a perfect recall.
Scripture after scripture coming into mind. May remember every sermon I ever
heard. Hell is this too. Look at verse 23. It says, Hell
is separation from God. He saw Abraham far off. You see,
God is life. God is goodness. It's God's Son.
It's God's water. It's God's air. It's God's earth
that we're partaking of. It's God. It's God. Everything
is in God's hands. Everything that we enjoy, our
children, it's because of God who is life. He gives this. He
gives. He gives. He gives. He gives. And someday
he's going to take it away! And when God removes the sun,
the air, the water, you fromâ€”what have you got? God, who is mercy and restrains
all manner of evil, when he removes that, it's the presence of God
that holds you and me together, alive. It's the presence. In
God we live and move and have our being. Someday he's going
to drop us. It's going to be truth realized
too late. Look at verse 27. Then he said,
I pray thee, Father, that you send Lazarus to my father's house. I have five brethren. Tell them
the gospel. I didn't believe it, no, but
go tell them. Tell them it's true. There really is a God. There really is a death to die.
There really is an eternity to spend. There really is. There
really is a gospel. There really is a Savior named
the Lord Jesus Christ. There really is. Go tell them
that. It's going to be unfulfilled
lust. Look at verse 24. Oh, he said,
said Lazarus to dip his finger in water and cool my tongue,
for I'm tormented in this flame. But he said in verse 26, Can't
come. Can't go. Unfulfilled lust. It'll be like the alcoholic with
a bottle right out in front of him. He can't get to it. Returns to it. Get the DTs. Like a sex pervert
with all this out in front of him and he can't, can't, no relief. No outlet. Like a worldly person in suit
of pleasures, having all these things before their eyes and
can't partake of it, can't enjoy it, unfulfilled lust. And finally, verse 26, he said, besides all this, oh
man, there's a great gulf fixed. That is, there's no hope. No hope. Now, the scripture says
that today is the day of salvation. I'm up here, standing up here
right now, preaching the best news that you could possibly
hear in all of your life. I'm preaching the way Let's not
just avoid this, the way to eternal life in the Lord Jesus Christ. Today is the day of salvation. Right now, you don't have promise,
I don't have promise of tomorrow morning. We don't know if God's
going to let us wake up in the morning. We don't know that.
We really don't. Someday, though, there's not
going to be any more gospel, no more word, no more mercy.
The cup of God's mercy, which is running over now, just come
and drink. If you're thirsty, just come drink it. It's overflowing
right now. God is merciful and gracious.
But then, No more. I wish I could impress
that, you know, Paul said, knowing the terror of the Lord would
persuade me, and I can't, but the Holy Spirit has to impress
this upon people. I hope this sparks at least an
interest in somebody, and I hope if it does spark this interest
that he'll continue that which he's begun. I hope he'll give whoever he
gives a slightest little bit of interest that this might be
the truth I hope he'll let you live a few more days believe.
And me. Listen to this. You know. He says. He that despised Moses'
law died without mercy in the two or three witnesses you remember
the children of Israel out in the wilderness God just did everything
for them, just gave them bread from heaven and water out of
the rock and killed the Egyptians behind them, kept them from being
killed and destroyed. God just did everything for them
and they always constantly rebelling, refusing. Every one of them died. God killed them all, except for
two over the age of 20, Joshua and Caleb. He that despised Moses'
law died without mercy under two or three witnesses. silver
punishment. Suppose he, shall he be thought
worthy who has trodden underfoot the Son of God and his gospel. I don't want the gospel. And has counted the blood of
the covenant, the blood of God's Son, an unworthy thing. I don't need that. I'll get to
heaven by working. I don't need that old-fashioned
blood." He says, we know that he saith,
vengeance belongeth unto me. It's a fearful thing to fall
into the hands of the living God. But he says this in verse
thirty-two, but call to remembrance. Now, when you go home You think
about what I've been saying. Call it to memory, and ask God
Almighty to keep it there, and burn a hole in your head with
it, and then make it seep down into this heart to bring forth
repentance and faith. Call upon this God. Most important message you've
ever heard. I don't care who preached it,
if it was this old boy. there may be a strong winds several
times when this passing world is done. The wind has set beyond glaring
sun. When I stand with Christ in glory,
looking all life's finished up, Then Lord shall I fully know
Not till then how much I owe When I hear the wicked call on the rocks and hills to fall. When I see them start and spring
on that fiery day, lose breath. Then, Lord, shall I fully know
not till then how much I When I stand before His throne
Dressed in beauty, but it's not my own And when I see the eyes
I'll mark love thee with a singing heart. Then, Lord, shall I fully
know, but not tell thee how much I owe. Chosen not good in me. I was awakened from wrath to
flee. Now I'm hidden in the Savior's
sight. Christ, Holy Spirit, I've been
sanctified. Now teach me, Lord, on earth
to show My, my, my. How much I owe you. How much I owe you. How much I owe you. You're dismissed.

Dead Or Alive? Heaven Or Hell?

What does the Bible say about heaven?

How do we know hell is real?

Why is understanding sin important for Christians?

What does being spiritually dead mean?

How can someone receive eternal life according to the Bible?

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Dead Or Alive? Heaven Or Hell?

What does the Bible say about heaven?

How do we know hell is real?

Why is understanding sin important for Christians?

What does being spiritually dead mean?

How can someone receive eternal life according to the Bible?

Sermon Transcript

About Paul Mahan

Comments

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