The Christian Life Is The Best Option We Have On This Earth

Even if there were no heaven to gain

I¡¯d still choose to be a Christian!

I want to get to know you better, so this morning I¡¯ve decided to begin with a couple of questions.

How many of you love Jesus with all your hearts?

How many of you would be here today if there were no heaven to gain? If everything were the same about your Christian experience, however, at the end, there was no reward called heaven, how many of you would be here today?

One day I was driving around with my friend, David, when I was studying religion at Weimar College. David told me that someone had said, ¡°Even if there were no heaven, I¡¯d still choose to be a Christian.¡± It made no sense at all to me. If there were no heaven, I¡¯d go live it up. After all there were so many exciting things I would enjoy doing. Seven years have gone by. I now understand why he¡¯d still choose to be a Christian.

Today I want to tell you why I¡¯d prefer to be a Christian even if there were no heaven to gain. I want to share with you a parable. It¡¯s parable is called the Eskimo Wolf Hunters.

Parable of the Eskimo Wolf Hunters

According to tradition, this is how an Eskimo hunter kills a wolf.

First, the Eskimo coats his knife blade with animal blood and allows it to freeze. He then adds layer after layer of blood until the blade is completely concealed by the frozen blood.

Next, the hunter fixes his knife in the ground with the blade up. When a wolf follows his sensitive nose to the source of the scent and discovers the bait, he licks it, tasting the fresh frozen blood. He begins to lick faster, more and more vigorously, the wolf licks the blade in the cold Arctic night. Feverishly now, harder and harder, lapping the blade until the keen edge is bare. His craving for blood becomes so great that the wolf does not notice the razor-sharp sting of the naked blade on his own tongue.

Nor does he recognize the instant when his insatiable thirst is being

satisfied by his own warm blood. His carnivorous appetite continues to

crave more until in the morning light, the wolf is found dead on the snow!

Is the meaning of this parable obvious? Who does the Eskimo hunter represent? Who does the wolf represent? What does the concealed blade represent?

Romans 6:23 says, ¡°For the wages of sin is death¡¦¡± I used to think that death is what you got at the end of your life, or if you were unfortunate it came sooner through an illness or an accident. But the truth about death is that it takes place the moment you begin to sin. The wages of sin is death. Isaiah 59:2 says, ¡°your iniquities have separated you from your God; And your sins have hidden His face from you¡¦¡± Sin separates us from God. It separates us from the source of all life, the source of all joy, and the source of all peace.

This parable reminds me about the immoral woman in Proverbs 7:21 (NLT).

¡°So she seduced him with her pretty speech. With her flattery she enticed him. He followed her at once, like an ox going to the slaughter or like a trapped stag, awaiting the arrow that would pierce its heart. He was like a bird flying into a snare, little knowing it would cost him his life.¡±

For the wages of sin is death! Guys, watch out for the immoral woman. And girls, watch out for the immoral man.

For the wages of sin is death!

John Regier, the founder of a ministry called Biblical Concepts in Counseling is a very successful marriage counselor. His whole ministry is based on using Bible truths. Over his years of counseling, he has discovered that there are 12 consequences to premarital sex. Now what I am about to share with you are the consequences that married couples experience who engaged in premarital sex prior to marriage. Friends, is it God will that we wait until the marriage vows are said? The consequences go like this: Guilt, Blame, Conflict with One Another, Rejection by One Another, Lack of Sympathy, Lack of Respect for One Another, Distrust/Dishonesty, Loss of Communication, Loss of Spiritual Interest, Financial Loss, Inability of Respond Physically in Marriage, and Lack of Fulfillment.

If you don¡¯t believe me, go try it. I¡¯m just kidding. Don¡¯t try it. You don¡¯t have to believe me. I¡¯m wrong. You don¡¯t have to prove anything to me. Just don¡¯t try it.

When the guy says, ¡°If you really loved me, you would sleep with me,¡± know that he¡¯s a fool.

Would you like to know what the Biblical consequences are for using drugs and alcohol? Some of the consequences are plainly stated in the Bible. How about the consequences of pride, rebellion, temporal values, how about the consequences of immoral conduct? Would you like to know the characteristics of a person who is morally impure? After all, we want to avoid the immoral man and the immoral woman, right? You keep coming back week after week and I¡¯ll tell you. Do me a favor and bring your friends with you.