THE TRUTH ABOUT ETERNAL LIFE AND DEATH We should probably begin with the following passage from Matthew: John 3:15-21: 15 Everyone who believes in him (Jesus Christ) will have eternal life. 16 For God loved the world so much that he gave his one and only Son, so that everyone who believes in him will not perish but have eternal life. 17 God sent his Son into the world not to judge the world, but to save the world through him. 18 There is no judgment against anyone who believes in him. But anyone who does not believe in him has already been judged for not believing in God s one and only Son. 19 And the judgment is based on this fact: God s light came into the world, but people loved the darkness more than the light, for their actions were evil. 20 All who do evil hate the light and refuse to go near it for fear their sins will be exposed. 21 But those who do what is right come to the light so others can see that they are doing what God wants. If you will only take the next few minutes to read what follows, it can change your future for eternity beginning right now. That change will bring you the kind of joy and peace you ve been searching for all your life. So if you only read the next paragraph containing the bullet highlights, you will have all the information you need to receive salvation and eternal life. It is a gift from God. You do not need to earn it, nor is it possible to earn it. All you need do is reach out and accept it as a free gift from God. So here is your opportunity to receive it. The decision is all yours! SALVATION Every person ever born has sinned. God does not allow sin in Heaven. No one, therefore, can enter Heaven based on how good they think they are because of their own efforts. That will not cut it with God! No one can earn their way into Heaven. Because God loves every one who has ever been born (all our His children), He provides a way for all our sins, past, present, and future to be forgiven so that we become sinless in His sight. The only way for sin to be forgiven is by the sacrifice of a perfectly sinless human life. Therefore, God became a man, taking the human form of Jesus Christ, and came to earth. In His earthly body He would never commit one sin in all of His life, and when the proper time came, He would willingly die on a cross to provide that sacrifice for all sinners. That, however, did not mean that all people would be saved. That sacrificial death for 2012 Ron & Betty Teed www.villagechurchofwheaton.org 1
the sins of the world could only be claimed by those who believed from their heart that Christ died for the sin they committed. And the salvation and eternal life that goes with that faith, can only be offered by God through His grace. God then directs the Holy Spirit to live within you and be available to help you always do what s right if you only ask His counsel before you act. He will also help you to deal with any situation life brings your way, including the tough times, and you will have those just as all Christ followers do. But you will never be given more than you can bear. You now have the knowledge you need to be guaranteed eternity in Heaven. Do you want that? Do you now want to reach out and accept the gift? It is only fair to be upfront with you and let you know that the Bible tells us that those who refuse this gift will not be allowed into Heaven; not because God refuses the person entry, but because a person chooses not to accept God s gift, which serves as an invitation allowing one entrance into the party in Heaven. The rest of what follows gives more detail on what is outlined above. You may also go to our website: villagechurchofwheaton.org Here you will find a library of sermons dealing with almost any topic you would like to explore. We also provide you with a link where you may ask questions. You are also welcome to call us (630-221-0919) and discuss anything you would like to better understand about the Bible. Village Church was founded primarily to tell people the truth about salvation and eternal life in Heaven as it is revealed to all people in the Bible. To begin with there is probably one thing on which we can all agree, and that is, we all will die. The last time we checked the mortality (death) rate in this world was still 100%. According to the Bible, after a person dies there are only two places to go. One is Heaven, the other is Hell, and there are no other alternatives. Hebrews 9:27: People are appointed to die once, and then to face judgment This verse makes it quite clear that there is no such place as purgatory, or the equivalent in other religions. So, where are you headed? Do you know? God has made it quite easy for us to find the narrow path to Heaven. Matthew 11:28-30: 11:28 Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest. 11:29 Take my yoke on you and learn from me, because I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. 11:30 For my yoke is easy to bear, and my load is not hard to carry. 2012 Ron & Betty Teed www.villagechurchofwheaton.org 2
Surprisingly, however, the greatest majority of people don t want to know what that involves, either because they want to think they can make it as the result of being a good person, or because they simply have no use for God and don t believe His Bible. All it takes is FAITH. If you would prefer Heaven as your eternal home rather than Hell you need simply talk to God as you would to someone you love, telling Him sincerely from your heart that you know you have fallen short of His expectations (what God calls sin), and that you believe that Jesus came to this earth and paid the price for your sin, so that you may have salvation by His death and resurrection. Those people who end up in Hell do not end up there because God has a mean nature, but rather it is something that a person causes to come upon themselves when they continually refuse to accept the truth of God s Word. Because God is perfect, He cannot allow people who want to continue in sin into His perfect environment, because then it would no longer be perfect. So the only way to have sin completely removed, so that we are able to enter Heaven, is to accept Christ s death as having paid the penalty for our sin. When we do that we immediately are given the Holy Spirit of Jesus to live within us and He cleanses us of all sin; past, present, and future. He also is there to help and guide us 24/7 to do what is pleasing in the sight of God, if we ask for His help. You therefore have Jesus available to you at all times to provide what you need to get through any situation that life brings your way. Those that choose to ignore that desire to know God, a desire that God has placed within each of us, are going to go to Hell because their sin nature will remain with them forever, even after death, because no matter what they do, including those who think they are super good, cannot earn their way into Heaven and God s grace. The only way into Heaven is to have all your sin paid for by the perfect sinless sacrificial Lamb, Jesus Christ. Many of you reading this may not know the details of what is involved in crucifixion, but let us just say this: There is no other method of torture leading to death that is more painful than a crucifixion. Jesus voluntarily submitted himself to that ordeal so that each one of us could receive the gift of salvation just by believing in what He did for us and asking Him to come and live in our heart. Can you think of a greater expression of love than having someone who is willing to die for you? God has given us the ability and responsibility of free choice. He has made salvation a very easy thing to obtain. All anyone has to do is accept it as the free gift it is offered to be; simply to believe that Christ died for our sins and rose from the dead. Something no other so-called gods ever did. That is all there is to it. If you believe in your heart that Christ s death on the cross paid for all your sins; past, present, and future, you are saved and destined for Heaven. And once you have been given that salvation, you can never lose it. You see, sin is such a serious thing to God that the only payment for sin that God would accept required the shedding of blood by a perfect sinless life. The only one that could 2012 Ron & Betty Teed www.villagechurchofwheaton.org 3
provide such a payment was Jesus because He was the only person who lived a sinless life. You might want to consider what Jesus did to be similar to the following illustration: Imagine that you committed a murder. On the day of your sentencing in front of the judge, you are sentenced to death. As you are waiting in your cell for that final day, your lawyer appears and says that the judge wants to see you. As you enter his chambers you see that the judge has a stunned look on his face. He tells you that the man dressed in a white robe in the back of the room has offered to accept your punishment upon Himself and die in your place. The judge says that he is willing to accept that deal on one condition, and that is that you believe the man truly wants to do this for you. What would your answer be? This would be as good a time as any to recognize the love and perfection in God s message and make the decision to trust in Jesus. The moment you do that you will be reborn into a new life, and the Holy Spirit will be sent permanently to live within you. Your attitude toward life will change; you will find a sense of peace in the presence of God within you. You will find more lasting enjoyment than you ever thought possible by doing what is right in the eyes of your Father (God) than you ever have in pursuing the worldly sensual pleasures you thought could bring you happiness as a nonbeliever. God is standing before you right now with His arms outstretched asking you to come and accept the free gift of salvation and eternal life that will make your life more meaningful while you re still here on earth and one that will bring lasting joy in the Heaven you will one day find to be your true home. We hope and pray that you make that decision today. If you feel, however, that you re not yet ready, please do one simple thing for yourself. Tell God exactly what you think of Him, but also tell Him that you are open to know the truth about Him and ask Him simply to show you that truth. He will reveal it to you personally, for the Bible says; Matthew 7:7-11 (NLT): 7 Keep on asking, and you will receive what you ask for. Keep on seeking, and you will find. Keep on knocking, and the door will be opened to you. 8 For everyone who asks, receives. Everyone who seeks, finds. And to everyone who knocks, the door will be opened. 9 You parents if your children ask for a loaf of bread, do you give them a stone instead? 10 Or if they ask for a fish, do you give them a snake? Of course not! 11 So if you sinful people know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your heavenly Father give good gifts to those who ask him. Revelation 3:20-21 (MSG): 2012 Ron & Betty Teed www.villagechurchofwheaton.org 4
20 "Look at me. I stand at the door. I knock. If you hear me call and open the door, I'll come right in and sit down to supper with you. 21 Conquerors will sit alongside me at the head table, just as I, having conquered, took the place of honor at the side of my Father. That's my gift to the conquerors! Remember, however, that the day is soon coming when as Luke writes: Luke 13:23-25 (NLT): 23 Lord, will only a few be saved? He replied, 24 Work hard to enter the narrow door to God s Kingdom, for many will try to enter but will fail. 25 When the master of the house has locked the door, it will be too late. You will stand outside knocking and pleading, Lord, open the door for us! But he will reply, I don t know you or where you come from. You must establish this saving relationship with Christ before you die because there will be no second chances. But whatever your decision, Village Church is here to help you in whatever way we can. If you make the decision to accept Christ and aren t quite ready to risk attending church, you can find a wealth of Bible knowledge regarding God s Word by going to the sermon library on our web site and selecting whatever topic might interest you. You may also type in a key word that will take you to a sermon covering that topic. We also provide a way for you to ask questions that you might have about God, Jesus, and the Bible. We will allow you to do this anonymously without contacting you to get involved with our church, unless of course you request we do so. We welcome all newcomers to our church, including singles, seniors, teenagers, children, the lonely, the needy, and of course the sinner. But we want everyone to be comfortable with us before coming, and we believe the internet can be a less threatening first step. Remember, God loves each and every one of us, including the worst of sinners. There s nothing you have done that God will not forgive. That should motivate many of us who are weighed down by guilt and shame and a sense of hopelessness, to look to the One who promises to relieve those feelings and replace them with feelings of love and peace and hope and security in knowing that one day soon, life will be perfect for all who believe. Let us close with this poem by Sam Shoemaker: I Stand at the Door By Sam Shoemaker (from the Oxford Group) I stand by the door. I neither go to far in, nor stay too far out. The door is the most important door in the world - It is the door through which men walk when they find God. There is no use my going way inside and staying there, 2012 Ron & Betty Teed www.villagechurchofwheaton.org 5
When so many are still outside and they, as much as I,.. - Crave to know where the door is. And all that so many ever find Is only the wall where the door ought to be. They creep along the wall like blind men, With outstretched. groping hands, Feeling for a door, knowing there must be a door. Yet they never find it. So I stand by the door. The most tremendous thing in the world Is for men to find that door - the door to God. The most important thing that any man can do Is to take hold of one of those blind, groping hands And put it on the latch - the latch that only clicks And opens to the man's own touch. Men die outside the door, as starving beggars die On cold nights in cruel cities. in the dead of winter, Die for want of what is within their grasp. They live on the other side of it - live because they have not found it. Nothing else matters compared to helping them find it, And open it, and walk in, and find Him. So I stand by the door. Go in great saints; go all the way in - Go way down into the cavernous cellars, And way up into the spacious attics. It is a vast, roomy house, this house where God is. Go into the deepest of hidden casements, Of withdrawal, of silence, of sainthood. Some must inhabit those inner rooms And know the depths and heights of God, And call outside to the rest of us how wonderful it is. Sometimes I take a deeper look in. Sometimes venture in a little farther, But my place seems closer to the opening. So I stand by the door. There is another reason why I stand there. Some people get part way in and become afraid. Lest God and the zeal of His house devour them; For God is so very great and asks all of us. And these people feel a cosmic claustrophobia And want to get out. 'Let me out!' they cry. And the people way inside only terrify them more.. Somebody must be by the door to tell them that they are spoiled. For the old life, they have seen too much: One taste of God and nothing but God will do any more. Somebody must be watching for the frightened 2012 Ron & Betty Teed www.villagechurchofwheaton.org 6
Who seek to sneak out just where they came in, To tell them how much better it is inside. The people too far in do not see how near these are To leaving - preoccupied with the wonder of it all. Somebody must watch for those who have entered the door But would like to run away. So for them too, I stand by the door. I admire the people who go way in, But I wish they would not forget how it was Before they got in. Then they would be able to help. The people who have not yet even found the door. Or the people who want to run away again from God. You can go in too deeply and stay in too long And forget the people outside the door. As for me, I shall take my old accustomed place, Near enough to God to hear Him and know He is there, But not so far from men as not to hear them, And remember they are there too. Where? Outside the door Thousands Of them. Millions of them. But - more important for me - One of them, two of them, ten of them. Whose hands I am intended to put on the latch. So I shall stand by the door and wait For those who seek it. I had rather be a door-keeper So I stand by the door. If you are now saved, please go out and tell others about the gift! 2012 Ron & Betty Teed www.villagechurchofwheaton.org 7