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.
26 'And besides all this, between us and you there is a great chasm fixed, so that those who wish to come over from here to you will not be able, and that none may cross over from there to us.' 27 "And he said, 'Then I beg you, father, that you send him to my father's house— 28 for I have five brothers—in order that he may warn them, so that they will not also come to this place of torment.' 29 "But Abraham said, 'They have Moses and the Prophets; let them hear them.' 30 "But he said, 'No, father Abraham, but if someone goes to them from the dead, they will repent!' 31 "But he said to him, 'If they do not listen to Moses and the Prophets, they will not be persuaded even if someone rises from the dead.'"
A huge contrast in this story is how much the rich man is suffering and how desperately he wants to get out of his current and now eternal “home” and how we see that Lazarus was in heaven and we don’t hear him once say that I really would like to get out of here and got to where the rich man is!
This story has many truths in it and one great one is that if you don’t make the right choice while you’re alive on earth then there is no hope for you when you pass away. You don’t get a do over and you don’t get the opportunity to warn your friends and family to not come to where you are. And you will spend eternity in torment and anguish.
To all of the people in the world who believe that they can avoid going to hell by any other way besides Jesus Christ, learn a lesson from this man who is sorry for not making the right choice in his life.
Satan has blurred the line between heaven and hell for multitudes of people in the world. He has turned what God has stated as fact and truth, black and white into shades of gray and this is what the enemy does, he gets people to not focus on godly truth but rather on what will make them feel better and soothe their consciences.
Satan has told people that because God doesn’t send people to hell that this means that no one is going to go there and this is a terrible and hurtful lie. Satan also tries to diminish just how horribly awful hell really is and that heaven isn’t really all that it is cracked up to be. Let’s take a quick look at the difference between the two places biblically.
In the Gospel of Matthew chapter 13 in verses 41-42: we read this about hell:
41 "The Son of Man will send forth His angels, and they will gather out of His kingdom all stumbling blocks, and those who commit lawlessness, 42 and will throw them into the furnace of fire; in that place there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.
Sounds like a great place to take the family doesn’t it? Unfortunately, too many people don’t believe that hell is real. When one considers that the heat of hell is one thing that would be a horrible punishment we have to remember that the fire is just one aspect of hell. There is also the fact that everyone who goes to hell will be conscious of the wrong choice that they made in life, and that they will also be aware that others in their family could also end up there, and that they get to spend eternity with the very one for whom hell was created for in the first place, satan and his demons!
There could not be a more stark contrast in the ones who will rule over their respective kingdoms, satan over hell and God over the kingdom of heaven. Who do you want to spend eternity with? God in heaven where there will be peace and goodness forever more or satan who will be extremely unhappy with his lot and will therefore make hell even more miserable and all of his evilness will be aimed at you for all of eternity?
Now for a short description of heaven from the Book of Revelation chapter 22 verses 1-5:
1 Then he showed me a river of the water of life, clear as crystal, coming from the throne of God and of the Lamb, 2 in the middle of its street. On either side of the river was the tree of life, bearing twelve kinds of fruit, yielding its fruit every month; and the leaves of the tree were for the healing of the nations. 3 There will no longer be any curse; and the throne of God and of the Lamb will be in it, and His bond-servants will serve Him; 4 they will see His face, and His name will be on their foreheads. 5 And there will no longer be any night; and they will not have need of the light of a lamp nor the light of the sun, because the Lord God will illumine them; and they will reign forever and ever.
Which description do you like best? The contrast between heaven and hell is very much like the difference between the Body of Christ and the world. We are the light of the world and the world is not only in darkness but it IS darkness.
We are called to be the light of the world and we have been commanded by Jesus Christ to go out into the world and make a difference for the kingdom of God.
As much as we like to talk about heaven and how wonderful it is going to be when we get there, going to heaven IS NOT the goal of becoming a Christian. Many Christians believe that getting to go to heaven is the end game for becoming a Christian but I am here to tell you today that this is not the facts.
Getting to spend eternity in heaven is one of the greatest fringe benefits of all time! But the true purpose of becoming a Christian is found in the Great Commission. In the Gospel of Matthew chapter 28 verses 18-20 we read this:
18 And Jesus came up and spoke to them, saying, "All authority has been given to Me in heaven and on earth. 19 " Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit, 20 teaching them to observe all that I commanded you; and lo, I am with you always, even to the end of the age."
Going out into the world and making disciples of lost people is the true purpose of becoming a Christian and too many Christians lose sight of this. We, as Christians, can become so heavenly minded that we are no earthly good. Heaven will be a much better place when we reach out to the lost and do our part to get them into a right relationship with Jesus and then get to spend eternity with them in heaven! AMEN!?
The contrast between heaven and hell couldn’t be more stark or clear could it? Just as the differences between the destinations for the saved and lost couldn’t be any more distinct.
A lot of the lost people in the world are living in a state of ignorance, in a state of denial, or in a state of plain old unbelief about hell and why they believe that they are going to heaven. I truly wish that all of the people in America who believe that they are going to go to heaven when they pass away were actually going because that would be great news for the Kingdom of God.
But I know that these people are not really going to be in heaven when they die if they stay where they are today spiritually. This is why it is so critical for all Christians to take the Great Commission so seriously and embrace it with all that we are because the eternal future of billions of people hangs in the balance!
One of the great things about heaven is that it is there that we will receive our rewards for doing the good works that God ordained for us to do and because we were faithful to work hard for the kingdom we will be able to spend eternity in heaven with people that we helped to get there and what a day that will be amen!?
