Where Will You Spend Eternity?
“Even so it is not the will of your Father which is in heaven, that one of these little ones should perish.” ─Matt 18:14
Many people don’t like to think of eternity. They may try to shut their eyes to the fact, but the fact remains, there is an eternity. Ecclesiastes 3:11 says God has set eternity in the hearts of men. Each of us has a sense that there is more than just this life. Unless we turn a deaf ear to it, we hear an inner voice reminding us, calling out to us about where we will spend eternity. Will we spend it with God in Heaven, or without God in Hell? It doesn’t matter whether you’ve told yourself that there is no heaven or hell, your spirit knows they exist. So, where are you going to spend eternity? Jesus Christ made it very clear that a person’s relationship with God in this present life will determine his destiny in the life to come (Matthew 19:16-26; 7:13-23).
When I hear that someone has passed on from this life, the first thought that comes to my mind is were they ready to meet God? Was their name written in the Lamb’s Book of Life? Did they know Jesus? When I think about my family and friends, the first thought that comes to my mind is are they ready? Is their name written in the Lamb's Book of Life? Do they know Jesus? So, before we go further, I ask you, when was the last time you thought about eternity? Do you know where will you spend eternity? There are two different states of eternity. One is with God and one without God.
The times we live in are uncertain! Each one of us has an appointed time to die. Eternity is coming for you, whether you want it to or not. None of us knows when that time is. Some of us have years to live. Some have days, and some have hours. But we don't know that, even if the doctor has said you have a few months. Only God knows. So, I ask you, where will you spend eternity? Are you ready to meet God? Have you been born again, “born from above?”
Why does a person need to be born again? In the Garden of Eden, God told Adam and Eve that if they ate of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, it would result in death. “And the LORD God commanded the man, saying, ‘You may surely eat of every tree of the garden, but of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil you shall not eat, for in the day that you eat of it you shall surely die.’” Up to that point, men were to live forever. This is evident in the fact that in biblical days, humans lived hundreds of years (Genesis 5). As time went on, our life span has shortened. "You shall surely die" means a continuous state of death which began with spiritual death, continues throughout life as our body continues to deteriorate, and ends in physical death. The immediate spiritual death resulted in Adam's separation from God (Genesis 3:8). He knew that he had done wrong. He knew that he was separated from God. When God came to fellowship with him as He did every day, he hid from God. When God questioned Him about his action, he tried to blame Eve for his action (Genesis 3:12).
Sadly, as the representative of the human race, Adam’s sin carried all of humanity into his sin. Seed always reproduces after its own kind. In Genesis 1:26 we read that God made man in His own image, "Let Us make man in Our image." Then in Genesis 5:3 it says that when Adam had lived 130 years, he fathered a son in his own likeness, after his image, and named him Seth. Look at that! A radical change has taken place within man after the sin of Adam. Man went from being made in the image of God to man being created in his own image. As he procreated, his sin nature is passed down to the next generation.
It’s just like if you took an uncontaminated glass of water and add a drop deadly poison into it. That poison will permeate the whole glass of water. That is what sin did to the human race. Since the spirit of God is no longer in man, sin has permeated man’s entire being (intellect, affections, and will) are all tainted by sin.
Someone asked the question how can a baby be born a sinner. Paul explains in Romans 5:12 that sin entered the world through one man (Adam), and death through sin, and in this way, death came to all people. As descendants of Adam, the father of the human race, the sin nature was passed down to us. The Bible says in Proverbs 22:15, “Folly is bound up in the heart of a child . . .”
King David in Psalm 51:5 said, “Surely I was sinful at birth, sinful from the time my mother conceived me.” This does not mean that his mother bore him out of wedlock. It means that his mother had inherited a sin nature from her parents, and they from their parents, and so on. David inherited a sin nature from his parents, as we all do. Even if we live the best life possible, we are still sinners as a result of inherited sin.
No one teaches a child to lie (I didn’t do it, they say), or to be selfish (it’s mine, they say). Where does this come from? We might not like to acknowledge it, and it may seem unfair, but sinful behavior comes naturally for babies because they are born sinners. In fact, we have to teach children the value of telling the truth, sharing and so on. If you’ve had children, you know that this is true.
The good news is Adam’s sin did not surprise God. God made provision before the foundation of the world to return mankind back to Him. He sent His Son Jesus Christ into the world to go to the cross to pay the penalty for our sin (death). We may not have a choice about being born in sin, however, we do have a choice about remaining in sin. Romans 5:19 says, “For as by one man’s disobedience many were made sinners, so also by one Man’s obedience many will be made righteous.” John 1:12–13 says, “To all who receive him, to those who believed in his name, he gave the right to become children of God not born of natural descent . . . but born of God.” The apostle Paul in Ephesians 2:1 says, “And you He made alive, who were dead in trespasses and sins" (NKJV). Only those who are born again have their sins forgiven and have a relationship with God.
Look at this conversation between Jesus and the Pharisee, Nicodemus in John 3:1-8:
“1 Now there was a Pharisee, a man named Nicodemus who was a member of the Jewish ruling council. 2 He came to Jesus at night and said, “Rabbi, we know that you are a teacher who has come from God. For no one could perform the signs you are doing if God were not with him.” 3 Jesus replied, “Very truly I tell you, no one can see the kingdom of God unless they are born again.”
4 “How can someone be born when they are old?” Nicodemus asked. “Surely they cannot enter a second time into their mother’s womb to be born!” 5 Jesus answered, “Very truly I tell you, no one can enter the kingdom of God unless they are born of water and the Spirit. 6 Flesh gives birth to flesh, but the Spirit gives birth to spirit. 7 You should not be surprised at my saying, ‘You must be born again.’ 8 The wind blows wherever it pleases. You hear its sound, but you cannot tell where it comes from or where it is going. So it is with everyone born of the Spirit.” (NIV)
No matter how good you, or those around you think you are, you must be born again to connect with God. When we receive spiritual life through faith in Christ, the Bible likens it to a rebirth.
It cost God a lot to make salvation possible: the blood of His own dear Son. He did it out of love: “For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life” (John 3:16). Have you put your faith and trust in Him? If not, open your heart to Christ right now. If you are not born again, now is the time to accept Jesus Christ. None of us know when we will take our last breath and leave this earth or when Jesus will come back. We need to be ready for Jesus’ return.
Jesus said in Matthew 7:22-23, “Many will say to Me on that day, ‘Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in Your name, and in Your name cast out demons, and in Your name perform many miracles?’ And then I will declare to them, ‘I never knew you; depart from me, you who practice lawlessness.”
So please don’t believe the lie that:
There is nothing we can do to make ourselves acceptable; we need God to save us. There IS ONLY ONE God and there IS ONLY ONE WAY to God. Jesus said in John 14:6, “I am the way, the truth, and the life: NO MAN cometh unto the Father, but by me. Only the blood of Jesus cleanses the soul of man from sin. In whom we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of sins, according to the riches of his grace (Ephesians 1:7). The blood of Jesus Christ his Son cleanses us from all sin (1st John 1:7).
This is the most important decision you will ever make. It is not about of bunch of rules and regulations. That is a lie of the devil. Salvation is of the Lord, not man. You cannot stop living in sin to be saved, so you do not have to try. Salvation is a gift, not a reward. Salvation is by grace through faith in Christ alone (Ephesians 2:8,9). If you do not receive the gift of salvation before you die you will die in sin and be eternally separated from God. There are only two places the spirit man can live, in Paradise with God or in Hell. There is no changing your final destination after death. If you will receive Him, you will be born again. As many as received him, to them gave He power to become the sons of God, even to them that believe on His name: Which were born, not of blood, nor of the will of the flesh, nor of the will of man, but of God (John 1:12,13).
If you are not sure where you will spend eternity, and you want to spend it in Heaven . . . Right now, lift your hands towards as a sign of surrender, and in your own way talk to God. Acknowledge that you have broken God’s Laws. Ask God to forgive you for your sin. Pray to God and confess belief in Jesus Christ. Accept Him as Lord and Savior. This is the first step in your relationship with God. You can say something like: Father God, I admit that I have done things that are wrong. I am a sinner and my sins have separated me from you. Please forgive me, and help me avoid sinning again. I believe that Your Son, Jesus Christ died for my sins, was resurrected from the dead, is alive, and hears my prayer. I invite Jesus to become the Lord of my life. Thank You that you have died to take away all my sins. By faith, I receive Your forgiveness now and declare that I want to live for you for the rest of my life. Come and fill my life with your Holy Spirit. I now depend completely on you. Amen.
If you have prayed this prayer and meant it, you are born again. I am so glad that you made the decision to trust in Jesus. I would love to hear from you. Please send me an email at angeline@walking-by-faith.com, or reach out to me on Facebook: www.facebook.com/angeline.williams, and let me know of your decision. I want to personally welcome you to the Body of Christ and celebrate with you.
When I hear that someone has passed on from this life, the first thought that comes to my mind is were they ready to meet God? Was their name written in the Lamb’s Book of Life? Did they know Jesus? When I think about my family and friends, the first thought that comes to my mind is are they ready? Is their name written in the Lamb's Book of Life? Do they know Jesus? So, before we go further, I ask you, when was the last time you thought about eternity? Do you know where will you spend eternity? There are two different states of eternity. One is with God and one without God.
The times we live in are uncertain! Each one of us has an appointed time to die. Eternity is coming for you, whether you want it to or not. None of us knows when that time is. Some of us have years to live. Some have days, and some have hours. But we don't know that, even if the doctor has said you have a few months. Only God knows. So, I ask you, where will you spend eternity? Are you ready to meet God? Have you been born again, “born from above?”
Why does a person need to be born again? In the Garden of Eden, God told Adam and Eve that if they ate of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, it would result in death. “And the LORD God commanded the man, saying, ‘You may surely eat of every tree of the garden, but of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil you shall not eat, for in the day that you eat of it you shall surely die.’” Up to that point, men were to live forever. This is evident in the fact that in biblical days, humans lived hundreds of years (Genesis 5). As time went on, our life span has shortened. "You shall surely die" means a continuous state of death which began with spiritual death, continues throughout life as our body continues to deteriorate, and ends in physical death. The immediate spiritual death resulted in Adam's separation from God (Genesis 3:8). He knew that he had done wrong. He knew that he was separated from God. When God came to fellowship with him as He did every day, he hid from God. When God questioned Him about his action, he tried to blame Eve for his action (Genesis 3:12).
Sadly, as the representative of the human race, Adam’s sin carried all of humanity into his sin. Seed always reproduces after its own kind. In Genesis 1:26 we read that God made man in His own image, "Let Us make man in Our image." Then in Genesis 5:3 it says that when Adam had lived 130 years, he fathered a son in his own likeness, after his image, and named him Seth. Look at that! A radical change has taken place within man after the sin of Adam. Man went from being made in the image of God to man being created in his own image. As he procreated, his sin nature is passed down to the next generation.
It’s just like if you took an uncontaminated glass of water and add a drop deadly poison into it. That poison will permeate the whole glass of water. That is what sin did to the human race. Since the spirit of God is no longer in man, sin has permeated man’s entire being (intellect, affections, and will) are all tainted by sin.
Someone asked the question how can a baby be born a sinner. Paul explains in Romans 5:12 that sin entered the world through one man (Adam), and death through sin, and in this way, death came to all people. As descendants of Adam, the father of the human race, the sin nature was passed down to us. The Bible says in Proverbs 22:15, “Folly is bound up in the heart of a child . . .”
King David in Psalm 51:5 said, “Surely I was sinful at birth, sinful from the time my mother conceived me.” This does not mean that his mother bore him out of wedlock. It means that his mother had inherited a sin nature from her parents, and they from their parents, and so on. David inherited a sin nature from his parents, as we all do. Even if we live the best life possible, we are still sinners as a result of inherited sin.
No one teaches a child to lie (I didn’t do it, they say), or to be selfish (it’s mine, they say). Where does this come from? We might not like to acknowledge it, and it may seem unfair, but sinful behavior comes naturally for babies because they are born sinners. In fact, we have to teach children the value of telling the truth, sharing and so on. If you’ve had children, you know that this is true.
The good news is Adam’s sin did not surprise God. God made provision before the foundation of the world to return mankind back to Him. He sent His Son Jesus Christ into the world to go to the cross to pay the penalty for our sin (death). We may not have a choice about being born in sin, however, we do have a choice about remaining in sin. Romans 5:19 says, “For as by one man’s disobedience many were made sinners, so also by one Man’s obedience many will be made righteous.” John 1:12–13 says, “To all who receive him, to those who believed in his name, he gave the right to become children of God not born of natural descent . . . but born of God.” The apostle Paul in Ephesians 2:1 says, “And you He made alive, who were dead in trespasses and sins" (NKJV). Only those who are born again have their sins forgiven and have a relationship with God.
Look at this conversation between Jesus and the Pharisee, Nicodemus in John 3:1-8:
“1 Now there was a Pharisee, a man named Nicodemus who was a member of the Jewish ruling council. 2 He came to Jesus at night and said, “Rabbi, we know that you are a teacher who has come from God. For no one could perform the signs you are doing if God were not with him.” 3 Jesus replied, “Very truly I tell you, no one can see the kingdom of God unless they are born again.”
4 “How can someone be born when they are old?” Nicodemus asked. “Surely they cannot enter a second time into their mother’s womb to be born!” 5 Jesus answered, “Very truly I tell you, no one can enter the kingdom of God unless they are born of water and the Spirit. 6 Flesh gives birth to flesh, but the Spirit gives birth to spirit. 7 You should not be surprised at my saying, ‘You must be born again.’ 8 The wind blows wherever it pleases. You hear its sound, but you cannot tell where it comes from or where it is going. So it is with everyone born of the Spirit.” (NIV)
No matter how good you, or those around you think you are, you must be born again to connect with God. When we receive spiritual life through faith in Christ, the Bible likens it to a rebirth.
It cost God a lot to make salvation possible: the blood of His own dear Son. He did it out of love: “For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life” (John 3:16). Have you put your faith and trust in Him? If not, open your heart to Christ right now. If you are not born again, now is the time to accept Jesus Christ. None of us know when we will take our last breath and leave this earth or when Jesus will come back. We need to be ready for Jesus’ return.
Jesus said in Matthew 7:22-23, “Many will say to Me on that day, ‘Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in Your name, and in Your name cast out demons, and in Your name perform many miracles?’ And then I will declare to them, ‘I never knew you; depart from me, you who practice lawlessness.”
So please don’t believe the lie that:
- Believing in God WILL NOT save you.
- Going to church WILL NOT save you.
- Obeying the Ten Commandments WILL NOT save you.
- Joining a religious organization WILL NOT save you.
- Giving money or volunteering to charity WILL NOT save you.
- The Universe WILL NOT save you.
- Changing your behavior WILL NOT save you.
- Water baptism WILL NOT save you.
- And please don’t think because you are young you have time TO GET SAVED.
There is nothing we can do to make ourselves acceptable; we need God to save us. There IS ONLY ONE God and there IS ONLY ONE WAY to God. Jesus said in John 14:6, “I am the way, the truth, and the life: NO MAN cometh unto the Father, but by me. Only the blood of Jesus cleanses the soul of man from sin. In whom we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of sins, according to the riches of his grace (Ephesians 1:7). The blood of Jesus Christ his Son cleanses us from all sin (1st John 1:7).
This is the most important decision you will ever make. It is not about of bunch of rules and regulations. That is a lie of the devil. Salvation is of the Lord, not man. You cannot stop living in sin to be saved, so you do not have to try. Salvation is a gift, not a reward. Salvation is by grace through faith in Christ alone (Ephesians 2:8,9). If you do not receive the gift of salvation before you die you will die in sin and be eternally separated from God. There are only two places the spirit man can live, in Paradise with God or in Hell. There is no changing your final destination after death. If you will receive Him, you will be born again. As many as received him, to them gave He power to become the sons of God, even to them that believe on His name: Which were born, not of blood, nor of the will of the flesh, nor of the will of man, but of God (John 1:12,13).
If you are not sure where you will spend eternity, and you want to spend it in Heaven . . . Right now, lift your hands towards as a sign of surrender, and in your own way talk to God. Acknowledge that you have broken God’s Laws. Ask God to forgive you for your sin. Pray to God and confess belief in Jesus Christ. Accept Him as Lord and Savior. This is the first step in your relationship with God. You can say something like: Father God, I admit that I have done things that are wrong. I am a sinner and my sins have separated me from you. Please forgive me, and help me avoid sinning again. I believe that Your Son, Jesus Christ died for my sins, was resurrected from the dead, is alive, and hears my prayer. I invite Jesus to become the Lord of my life. Thank You that you have died to take away all my sins. By faith, I receive Your forgiveness now and declare that I want to live for you for the rest of my life. Come and fill my life with your Holy Spirit. I now depend completely on you. Amen.
If you have prayed this prayer and meant it, you are born again. I am so glad that you made the decision to trust in Jesus. I would love to hear from you. Please send me an email at angeline@walking-by-faith.com, or reach out to me on Facebook: www.facebook.com/angeline.williams, and let me know of your decision. I want to personally welcome you to the Body of Christ and celebrate with you.