THE WORST PLACE TO DIE
John 8:21-29
(Antioch Baptist Church: Sunday Morning, May 25th. 2025)
Death is not a subject that we enjoy thinking about. However, despite efforts by doctors, rescue workers, and other medical professionals worldwide, the global death rate remains constant at 100 percent.
The Bible tells us in James 4:14 that life is “a vapor, that appears for a little time, and then vanishes away.” Hebrews 9:27 proclaims that "it is appointed unto man once to die"
- Throughout history, men and women have died in some strange ways and in some strange places.
Fagilyu Mukhametzyanov from Kazan, Russia had been wrongly declared deceased by doctors on June of 2012. The horrified 49-year-old began screaming when she realized they were getting ready to bury her. She was rushed back to the hospital, where doctors had declared her dead (again) from a suspected heart attack.
Canadian lawyer Garry Hoy died in a building while trying to prove that the glass in the windows of a 24th floor office was unbreakable, by throwing himself against it. It didn’t break but it did pop out of its frame and he plunged to his death.
In September 1998 Paul Stiller and his wife were inebriated and bored. They decided to cure their boredom by taking a midnight drive with a couple of sticks of dynamite. Their plan was to light the dynamite and throw it out of the window. But as a result of their drunken condition they forgot to roll down the window. Paul died and his wife was critically injured.
Several years ago CBS News published an article entitled "The 5 worst places to die". The article begins by stating "There's no avoiding death—but some places are "better" places to die than others." The study ranked 80 countries for their "quality of death." Researchers looked at factors such as the overall sedative care, healthcare environment, the availability of healthcare professionals, and the affordability and quality of care. The 5 worst places to die were: Iraq, Bangladesh, Philippines, Nigeria, and Burma.
I would submit to you that these are not the worst places that one could die. In our selected text Jesus makes it abundantly clear that the worst possible place that you can die is "in your sins". The reason that this is the worst possible place to die is because of the consequences of dying this way.
Luke 16 tells us of a "rich man" who died in his sins. After he died "he lifted up his eyes in Hell"; he was suffering in the midst of eternal fire and “tormented in the flames”; he begged for just "one drop of water to cool his tongue."
Jesus described hell as a place of "weeping, wailing and gnashing of teeth". Hell is a place of torments, never ending fire, and unquenchable thirst; it is a place of suffering, separation and sorrow.
Multitudes will draw their last breath and find themselves condemned and facing these torments. Why? Because they chose to die in the worst place ever. They will face eternal damnation because they died “in their sins”.
The Lord Jesus warns of the consequences of rejecting Him. There was a time when He tried to warn the Pharisees, but they refused to listen. They died in their sins and as a result they are in Hell today. I pray that you will learn from their error.
- I would like for us to examine Jesus' warning to the Pharisees and consider "The Worst Place To Die".
In verse 12 of this chapter, Jesus proclaimed that He was "the light of the world". He told the Pharisees that those who would follow Him, would not “walk in darkness, rather, they would have the light of life.” Tragically, (as usual) the Pharisees rejected Him.
In verses 20-29 Jesus reveals the consequences of rejecting Him as Messiah. Those who rejected Him then, experienced spiritual death. Those who reject Him now, will experience the same!
- This passage shows us who it is that will die in their sins. Verses 21-22 reveal that:
THOSE WHO ARE DECEIVED WILL DIE IN THEIR SINS
v21 Then Jesus said to them again, “I am going away, and you will seek Me, and will die in your sin. Where I go you cannot come.”
Jesus’ statement that He was "going away" is a reference to His impending death, resurrection, and ascension. These were all aspects of the promised Messiah that had been revealed in prophecy.
The Pharisees were experts in all matters concerning the Law. They knew the prophecies concerning the Messiah and they had long awaited the arrival of the Promised One. The Messiah was right in front of them and they missed Him! As a result, they would “die in their sins”.
Like those Pharisees, there are many people in our day who will die in their sins because they are deceived. They are extremely religious people who have "checked all of the boxes". They have joined a church, gone through baptismal waters, attend services on a regular basis, give tithes and offerings, say their prayers and read their Bibles.
The people I am talking about are not trying to deceive anyone; the problem is that they have been deceived themselves. They have had an emotional experience that has bread a false sense of security. They possess religion, they follow tradition, they observe rituals, and go through the motions, but they have never truly met the Savior.
Like the Pharisees they are trusting in their own righteousness to get them to Heaven. They are deceived and when they die they will die in the worst place ever, they will died “in their sins”.
In Matthew 7:22-23 Jesus describes what will happen to these deceived religious people. He said, “Many will say to Me in that day, ‘Lord, Lord, have we not prophesied in Your name, cast out demons in Your name, and done many wonders in Your name?’ And then I will declare to them, ‘I never knew you; depart from Me, you who practice lawlessness!”
There are people under the sound of my voice who will come day lift their eyes in Hell and say, “I can't believe I had the opportunity to be saved from this and I missed it!" "Jesus was right in front of me and I rejected Him!"
Satan will tell you that if you will say and do the right things you will be okay. He would have you to believe that if you that if you avoid the bad things you will be okay. That scheming adversary has been successful at deceiving multitudes into believing that if they will just attempt to live a good moral life God will allow them to enter in to Heaven when they die. I plead with you not to believe his lies. In John 14:6 Jesus boldly declared, "...I am the way, the truth, and the life: no man comes unto the Father, but by me."
There is no other way to Heaven than Jesus, Therefore, if you continue to allow Satan to deceive you, you will die in your sins. If you die in your sins you will be cast into the torments of Hell!
- Those who are deceived will die in their sins. Verse 23 tells us that:
THOSE WHO ARE DISTRACTED WILL DIE IN THEIR SINS
v23 And He said to them, “You are from beneath; I am from above. You are of this world; I am not of this world.”
Jesus descended from Heaven and would eventually return there. The Pharisees were of this world and focused on it. Though they were very self-righteous people, the Pharisees were very lax in their morals. They indulged in the wickedness of this world. It is a dangerous thing to be focused on the temptations and temporal pleasures of this life. The Apostle John said “Love not the world, nor the things that are in the world. If any man loves the world, the love of the Father is not in him.” (1 John 2:15)
Unfortunately having an earthly mindset has been a problem since the beginning. Jesus gives us an example of this in Luke 14:16-24. He shares a parable of a man who prepared a great feast and invited many people to come. Three men initially accepted his invitation but when the meal was ready they began to make excuses. One bought some land and had to go see it. Another bought 5 yoke of Oxen and to try them out, and another used his wife as an excuse.
There were 3 excuses used in this parable: work, possessions and family. People still use those same excuses today. These excuses will cause people to miss the Marriage Supper of The Lamb, these excuses will cause people to die in their sins, these excuses will cause people to miss out on Heaven, these excuses will cause people to spend eternity in the Lake of Fire!
There are people here today who spend their lives focused on work, material goods, and family with no thoughts concerning eternity. They live their lives building their own kingdom not realizing that one day it will fall.
Some of you are trying to climb the corporate ladder. Others are trying to find the right woman or the right man. Some have turned sports, hobbies, and recreation into idols. Some are consumed with attaining material goods; they are seeking to build the biggest house or to buy the nicest car. None of these things are inherently evil, but if your priorities aren't in order they could cost you eternally.
In Matthew 16:26 Jesus asked, “For what profit is it to a man if he gains the whole world, and loses his own soul? Or what will a man give in exchange for his soul?” Is your profession, possessions, pursuits, or personal pleasures so important to you that you would risk enduring eternal damnation? If you are distracted by the things of this world, you will die in your sins!
Some people are going to die in their sins and go to hell; even worse, many will take their children with them. Your children are looking to you to see what is really important and you are pointing them in the wrong direction. You will take them all over the country to ball games and other scholastic events. You force them to go to school and to study hard. You encourage them in their extra curricular activities. You spend hours helping them understand algebra, chemistry and world history. When this life is over will it matter if your son was the best ball player? Will it matter if your daughter was the most popular kid in school? Will it matter is she was the valedictorian? Will it matter if he was the class president? Will it matter if they got a full scholarship to the University of Alabama? Will it matter is she was a cheerleader at Auburn? There is nothing wrong with any of these things, but they will not matter at all in eternity!
Hell is full of people who were focused on the things of this world; people who spent their time on the temporal rather than the eternal. Please comprehend the reality that there is no profession, possession, or person that is worth suffering the consequences of rejecting Jesus.
- Those who are deceived will die in theirs sins, those who are distracted will died in their sins, and verse 24 shows us that:
THOSE WHO ARE DISBELIEVING WILL DIE IN THEIR SINS
v24 Therefore I said to you that you will die in your sins; for if you do not believe that I am He, you will die in your sins.”
The Pharisees did not believe, as a result they did not inherit eternal life. If they had believed they would have been delivered. The thief on the cross was not saved because he said "Lord, remember me"; he said "Lord, remember me" because he "believed" that Jesus was Lord and he was saved as a result of His faith.
Many people today believe that Jesus is just one of many ways to Heaven, some don't believe in Him at all, some are trusting in themselves and their own morality, some have put their trust in Joseph Smith, Buddha or Muhammad, and some are still looking for the Messiah to arrive. However, there will come a day when all will see that Jesus is Lord. (Romans 14:11 For it is written, As I live, says the Lord, every knee shall bow to me, and every tongue shall confess to God.)
The same truth that Jesus revealed to the Pharisees applies to you today, if you do not believe in Him you will die in your sins. If you die in your sins and you are condemned to Hell it will not be because of the bad things you have done, it will not be because of the good things that you failed to do. You will endure eternal torments because you rejected the Savior. Those who surrender to Jesus will be washed in His precious blood; those who reject Him will die in their sins and that is the worst place to die!
There are some who doubt Jesus, some profess that they don't believe but there are some who are simply rebellious. Verses 25-29 show us that:
THOSE WHO ARE DEFIANT WILL DIE IN THEIR SINS
v28 Then Jesus said to them, “When you lift up the Son of Man, then you will know that I am He, and that I do nothing of Myself; but as My Father taught Me, I speak these things.”
Jesus' Words, actions, and miracles testified that He indeed was the Messiah. However, with all of this evidence, the Pharisees remained defiant and continued to reject Him. Knowing that they would be instrumental in His death, Jesus declared that one day they would realize that the One they rejected is actually the One they should have worshipped.
Some people believe everything the Bible says about Jesus; they believe that He is the Son of God and the Savior of the World. These same people believe He has the power to forgive sin and provide salvation. Furthermore, they believe Jesus is the only Way to Heaven. They believe all of these truths but they remain defiant, they continue to reject Him, and they will die in their sins. Their defiant rejection will be rewarded with rejection.
In Matthew 22 Jesus tells of a King who prepared a wedding feast for his son. When the banquet was ready he sent for those who had been invited and they all refused to come. The King was furious at the actions of those who had rejected him. He sent his servants out to invite others to attend the feast. When the king came in to meet the guests, he noticed a man who wasn’t wearing a wedding garment. This man suffered greatly for his actions. The King said to His servants "...Bind him hand and foot, and take him away, and cast him into outer darkness; there shall be weeping and gnashing of teeth."
If you die without Jesus you will be cast into outer darkness; where there is weeping and gnashing of teeth. If you reject Jesus' offer of salvation you will die in your sins and that is the worst place to die!!
- Those who are deceived, distracted, disbelieving and defiant will die in their sins. Finally, I would submit to you that:
THOSE WHO ARE DELAYING MAY DIE IN THEIR SINS
v30 As he spoke these words, many believed on him.
There were many who heard Jesus’ warning and continued to reject Him. But verse 30 says that as he spoke "many believed on Him". I think it is possible that there were some who heard Jesus and believed what He had to say, but they refused to respond immediately to His call to salvation.
Perhaps there were some who said, "I believe that this truly is the Messiah.” Maybe they said, “I will surrender all and follow Him tomorrow”, or “after I take care of a few things”, or “after I clean up my act”.
I am convinced that there are people in attendance today that have a similar mindset. You have heard the Word of God, felt the conviction of the Holy Spirit, you realize you need a Savior, you know that Hell is real, you are convinced that Jesus is the only hope of salvation and eternal life. However, knowing all of this you continue to procrastinate. It is important for you to surrender to Him while there is time. If you continue to delay, you may die in your sins.
If you die in your sins and find yourself in Hell it will be too late to pray; there will be nowhere to run, nowhere to hide, and no way of escape. Do not delay! "Behold, NOW is the accepted time; behold, NOW is the day of salvation." (2 Corinthians 6:2)
There is some good news in these verses. Verse 30 says that "As he spake these words, many believed on him". There were some people who were delivered from their sins that day. The same thing can happen to you right here, right now. Do not risk dying in your sins and spending eternity in the Lake of Fire?
D.L Moody told the story of a man who felt the conviction of the Holy Spirit and desired to be saved. However, he was afraid that his friends would laugh at him. The spirit was striving with this man. For weeks he would come each night to the revival meetings. It was as if the man would step to the very threshold of Heaven but then he would hesitate to take the next step. There came a day when the Spirit of God left him, the conviction was gone. Months later Moody went to witness once again to this man. Here is his reply: "Mr. Moody," said he, "I have made up my mind to become a Christian. My mind is fully made up to that, but I won't be one just now. I am going to Michigan to buy a farm and settle down, and then I will become a Christian." Moody pleaded with him to get saved while he had the opportunity. He simply said "not yet, I will risk it" One Thursday, about noon, his wife called for Mr. Moody to come quickly to their home. He was sick and the doctors said there was no hope of a recovery. Moody went in to the man's room and he heard these words, "Mr. Moody, you need not talk to me any more. It is too late. my heart is as hard as the iron in that stove there. My damnation is sealed, and I shall be in hell in a little while." Moody tried to tell him of Jesus' love and God's forgiveness, but he said, "Mr. Moody, I tell you there is no hope for me." The man lingered until the sun went down.From noon until he died all he was heard to say was, "The harvest is past, the summer is ended, and I am not saved." Hour after hour he would say again those awful words, just before he drew his last breath his wife heard him mutter, "The harvest is past, the summer is ended, and I am not saved." Moody concluded the story this way: “He lived a Christless life, he died a Christless death we wrapped him in a Christless shroud, and took him away to a Christless grave.” The man died in his sins and ever since has been in a Christless eternity! The same will happen to you if you continue to reject the offer of salvation. Do not delay, turn to Jesus today. Do not risk dying in your sins for it is "The Worst Place To Die"!
05252025
