That is, the candidates for congress, senate, and for president of the United States are asked some of the most profound questions that candidates can be asked. And, almost without hesitation, the candidates would have us believe they are so brilliant they have the answers to all those perplexing questions.
They give the impression that if they are elected there is nothing they can face that they do not have the right solution for in a moment’s notice.
Illus: They remind us of ourselves, who often engage in political dialogues. If anyone sat back and listened to us talk they would hear us solve all the problems of the world in thirty minutes. We can not figure out why the folks in office have such a hard time coming up with our brilliant solutions.
Seriously, even though WE and THE POLITICIANS may try to give the impression that we have all the answers, the fact is, WE DO NOT!
Life is filled with questions that to which people have no answers.
There are many questions in the Bible that we need to address and seek a Biblical answer to.
Let me share at least TWO of them with you, then we will examine ONE more in depth.
(1) First, look at Mark 8:37. We read, “...what shall a man give in exchange for his soul?”
Some feel the answer to that question is to gain notoriety, wealth, or power. They think they would be willing to trade their souls for these things.
Illus: We occasionally hear of a young person, or persons, in a rock group who has made a pact with the devil that they will trade their soul(s) for what he has to offer them.
Listen, one moment in the torments of hell and they will recognize they did not have the right answer. Maybe if hell only lasted for one second of our time a person might consider such a trade; but hell is FOREVER! This is hard for mankind to grasp--HELL IS FOREVER!
Illus: We have been told that if the earth was a solid brass ball, and if a bird could fly around the world for trillions of years without stopping and every ten thousand year the soft feather of his wing would touch the earth until his wing tip wore the earth down to nothing, that would not amount to a second in hell.
Why? Because, hell is FOREVER!
God answers the question with a question.
In verse 37, God says, “Or what shall a man give in exchange for his soul?” Some say, “I would exchange my soul for PLEASURE, WEALTH, FAME, ETC. God’s Word, in the previous verse, shows you how foolish that would be. We read, verse 36, “For what shall it profit a man, if he shall gain the whole world, and lose his own soul?”
God assures us that hell is such a terrible place that if a man could trade his soul for the WHOLE WORLD he would still have made a bad deal! Satan has nothing to offer that would make it worth while to go to hell.
(2) But there is another question we need to consider.
Look at I Peter 4:17. We read, “For the time is come that judgment must begin at the house of God: and if it first begin at us, what shall the end be of them that obey not the gospel of God?”
There are many lost people who think they have the answer to that question. That is, they are thoroughly convinced that when we all stand before God, since God is a God of love and forgiveness, He is going to say to everyone, “All right, I know you all deserve to be punished, but I am going to forget about all the evil you have done as if you had never done it. Come on into My glorious eternal home and let us put the past behind us!”
THERE IS SOME PROBLOEM IF GOD DID SUCH A THING!!!
He can not allow sinners into heaven. Why?
Becausew they are evil because they have chosen to be evil. If God allowed them into heaven in no time at all they would be claiming that THEIR RIGHTS WERE BEING VIOLATED.
Just as on earth they protested that they had a right to:
• Have their abortions.
• Drink and carouse.
• Live as they wanted to and no one would have the right to tell them to do that which was right, they would try that same thing in Heaven!
If God allowed that crowd into Heaven, it would soon be just as it is on earth now, which is almost now not a fit place to live.
Illus: Would you want to live in a country where all kinds of evil was rampant and where those who committed the crimes were treated as if they had done nothing wrong. What if they were brought before a Judge for sentencing and he would say, “All right, I know you all deserve to be punished, but I am going to forget about all the evil you have done as if you had never done it--go on back out onto the streets of our country and live as if you had never done those things.”
If God allowed sinners in hell He would immediately become the most crooked, corrupt judge that ever existed.
We know what would happen because we already know that most of the crimes in this country are committed by repeat offenders. These people keep on living the same evil way because that is the only kind of lifestyle they want!
However, one day evil men are going to be brought to justice. God proposes this question, “For the time is come that judgment must begin at the house of God: and if it first begin at us, WHAT SHALL THE END BE OF THEM THAT OBEY NOT THE GOSPEL OF GOD?”
In order to be able to answer that question we must know this: if we CHRISTIANS can not sin and get away with it, then why should THE LOST PERSON think he can? The answer is, THEY CAN NOT!
• They will not be able to hire a crooked lawyer and get away with their crimes.
• They will not be able to lie their way out.
They will be judged for their sins.
There is a third question in the Bible we need to address.
Look at Hebrews 2:3. We read, “How shall we escape, if we neglect so great salvation...?”
There are several things we need to consider about this question. For example:
I. THIS QUESTION CHALLENGES US ABOUT SOMETHING.
That is, God asks ALL MANKIND--How shall we ESCAPE IF WE NEGLECT THIS GREAT SALVATION?”
It is true that all people have not robbed banks, gambled, drank, cheated on their spouses, but still they are sinners in need of this GREAT SALVATION that God has provided for them.
Notice that when it comes to this “great salvation” God recognizes that ALL MANKIND is in need of it!
We read in Romans 3:23, “For all have sinned, and come short of the glory of God.”
• Educated men.
• Uneducated men.
But simply as sinners.
The question to mankind is, “HOW DO YOU EXPECT TO SURVIVE OR ESCAPE IF YOU NEGLECT GOD’S SALVATION FOR YOU?”
That is a hard question for many.
Why? Because they can not see themselves as sinners. They can not see their need for this GREAT SALVATION.
Illus: Many have met the standard that SOCIETY has set that they consider for a good moral person.
• They pay their bills, they aren’t thieves.
• They have attended a Bible-preaching church for years.
• They have heard God’s man tell them over and over again what the Word of God says a person must do to be saved.
These people have been educated in the Word of God and now they can tell others what God’s Word says a person must do to be saved.
However, the fact is that they have never been saved themselves because they have never seen themselves as wretched sinners that need to be saved.
You may wonder why we come to such a firm conclusion. God’s Word teaches how we can know those who are saved.
Matthew 7:17-18 says, “Even so every good tree bringeth forth good fruit; but a corrupt tree bringeth forth evil fruit. A good tree cannot bring forth evil fruit, neither can a corrupt tree bring forth good fruit.”
We can look down a few more verses to verse 20 and read, “Wherefore by their fruits ye shall know them.”
The reason we can come to the FIRM CONCLUSION that many have never been born again is because they do not produce the fruit of a Christian, and God says we can know these by the FRUIT THEY BEAR.
Someone says that the Bible says we are not to JUDGE ANYONE. That is absolutely true, but the same Bible tells us if we have enough sense to tell an orange tree when we see one, we also have enough sense to tell a Christian when we see one.
This question, “HOW SHALL WE ESCAPE, IF WE NEGLECT SO GREAT SALVATION,”
CHALLENGES US all to recognize our need for this GREAT SALVATION. Also-
II. THIS QUESTION CAUTIONS US ABOUT SOMETHING.
Sometimes we hear people say to a sinner, “Man, that liquor is going to send you to hell.”
Listen, men and women are not in hell because of liquor, dope, adultery, etc. People are in hell because the REJECTED GOD’S GREAT SALVATION for them.
If they had come to God for salvation He would have saved them from these things. Look at:
-John 5:40. We read, “And ye will not come to me, that ye might have life.”
-Jesus stood on the hillside of Jerusalem and cried, in Mark 13:34, “...how often would I have gathered thy children together, even as a hen gathereth her chickens under her wings, and ye would not!”
The word “REJECT” simply means: “To refuse to take.” So when a person REJECTS this GREAT SALVATION he can not be saved!
So, the answer to the question, “HOW SHALL WE ESCAPE, IF WE NEGLECT SO GREAT SALVATION,” is: “WE CANNOT.”
If we do not:
• Recognize we are lost,
• Recognize our need to accept the Lord,
then we can not escape the judgment of God!
Conclusion/Summary:
God wants every Christian here to understand this before it is too late. That is, your loved ones and friends are not going to escape the damnation of hell if they REJECT THIS GREAT SALVATION. Do not wait until you stand over the casket of a loved one or a friend before you realize this. You as a Christian-
• Need to pray for them.
• Witness to them.
• Plead with them.
• Live a godly life before them.
Do everything you possibly can do to win them to Christ.
You lost people in this congregation, God wants you to know:
• If you do not recognize you are a wretched sinner.
• If you do not recognize your need for a Savior.
• If you do not accept Christ as your personal Savior--YOU ARE GOING TO SPEND ETERNITY IN A CHRISTLESS HELL.
“How shall we escape...” is a question we will deal with NOW. If we reject Christ, then we will deal with it LATER!
I. THIS QUESTION CHALLENGES US
II. THIS QUESTION CAUTIONS US
