Things That Make Christians Different From The World: Our Destinations Series

Things That Make Christians Different From The World: Our Destinations

Some of the differences that I have talked about between Christians and the world have been very important and life changing. I have tried to express to yall that there should be and needs to be very clear and distinct differences between how we as Christians look at things and how the world look at things.

But today’s topic, in my mind, is one of utmost importance because it doesn’t just show differences between us and the world but it has eternal consequences for both the Christian and the unbeliever.

When I talked to you about the differences between how the world looks at death and how we look at death, I didn’t really talk about this subject because I wanted to talk about it separately. Because for both the Christian and the unbeliever, death is not the end of life but rather the beginning of the next step of eternity.

We as Christians tend to say that we will have eternal life because we have accepted Jesus Christ as our Savior but the truth of the matter is that the unbeliever also has eternal life. The only difference between the two eternities is the destination. In the Gospel of John chapter 14 verses 1-4 we read this: 1 "Do not let your heart be troubled; believe in God, believe also in Me. 2 "In My Father's house are many dwelling places; if it were not so, I would have told you; for I go to prepare a place for you. 3 "If I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again and receive you to Myself, that where I am, there you may be also. 4 "And you know the way where I am going."

We as Christians know full well that we will be in heaven with our Savior when we leave this earth and the unbeliever will find themselves in a devil’s hell. And we as Christians know exactly why we will be in heaven and that’s because of what Jesus did for us on the cross and our acceptance of that wonderful sacrifice for our sins.

Many unbelievers will find themselves spending eternity in hell even though they may not fully understand why they wound up there. The world has many warped and incorrect views on how and why they think that they will be in heaven when they die.

God ordained that there is only one way to get to heaven and that is through the shed blood of His Son Jesus Christ on the cross at Calvary. It is so easy to understand that children understand this better than most adults do! In the Gospel of Matthew chapter 19 verses 13-14 we read this: 13 Then some children were brought to Him so that He might lay His hands on them and pray; and the disciples rebuked them. 14 But Jesus said, "Let the children alone, and do not hinder them from coming to Me; for the kingdom of heaven belongs to such as these."

Unfortunately, many people in the world believe that there are many ways to get into heaven and because they believe this, they don’t get overly concerned about spending eternity in hell. They just don’t seem to grasp the concept that the Bible puts forth about how people wind up in hell. In Matthew chapter 7 verses 13-14 we read this:

13 "Enter through the narrow gate; for the gate is wide and the way is broad that leads to destruction, and there are many who enter through it. 14 "For the gate is small and the way is narrow that leads to life, and there are few who find it.

Far too many people are on this broad road that leads to destruction and don’t even realize it. This is why we, as Christians, need to be sounding the alarm and shouting warnings with boldness and conviction without concern about whether people think we are crazy or not. The stakes are too high to just let people continue down this highway to hell. We are called to help them change their eternal destination. And unlike with airline companies and other companies, there is no re-booking fee for this change in destination because it was already paid for by Jesus Christ in full on the cross!

There are people who wind up in hell because of their own choice to reject the atonement of Jesus Christ, and think that they can somehow warn others about where they ended up or they think that they can somehow get out of hell and into heaven after they arrive there. Neither of these things is true. Talk about the background with Lazarus and the rich man

In the Gospel of Luke chapter 16 verses 22-31 we read this: 22 "Now the poor man died and was carried away by the angels to Abraham's bosom; and the rich man also died and was buried. 23 "In Hades he lifted up his eyes, being in torment and saw Abraham far away and Lazarus in his bosom. 24 "And he cried out and said, 'Father Abraham, have mercy on me, and send Lazarus so that he may dip the tip of his finger in water and cool off my tongue, for I am in agony in this flame.' 25 "But Abraham said, 'Child, remember that during your life you received your good things, and likewise Lazarus bad things; but now he is being comforted here, and you are in agony.