Who's Going to Hell? Why? For How Long?
The Bible (Rev. 20: 15) makes that crystal clear. All whose name is not found written in the book of life is thrown into the lake of fire. The lake of fire, not Hades (Rev. 20: 13), is the final and permanent destination of all human souls who are not born again (John 3: 3). A soul is born born again, when after reaching the age or stage of moral accountability, believes (John 3: 18) in the Person (Who He is) and the Works (What He accomplished on the cross) of the Lord Jesus Christ. ALL sin(s) have been paid for, in full, by the Lord Jesus Chirst with the exception of the sin of disbelief.
Rejecting, via disbelief, the Gospel Message is the unpardonable sin, and there is no remedy for it. No religous ritual, good behavior, work, pennance, time, prayer, or anything else made by or in behalf of anunbeliever will ever atone for this sin.
His Work becomes personally and individually applicable via a one time act of faith to believe. God cannot require re-payment for something that has already been paid in full. Post-salvation sin can result in divine discipline here on Earth and/or the loss of specific rewards in Heaven that the same believer could have received, but never the loss of salvation (1Cor. 3: 15).
For What Purpose Did God Create Me?
You were created and placed here for one purpose and for one purpose only and that is to glorify God. A person glorifies God by becomming "born again (John 3: 3 NIV)" and thereby enters into a personal relationship with God by believing in the Person ( who He is ) and the Works (what He did on the cross) of the Lord Jesus Christ. Once born again, the believer then has the opportunity to further glorify God by developing and appplying the "mind of Christ (1Cor. 2: 16 NIV)" to the events and circumstances of his/her everyday life. Family, friends, and the pursuit of temporal blessings all have a part in our life, but none of these are to take the primary place of priority that belongs to God
Where did God come from, and who made Him?
One of the attributes of God is that He is eternal (Deut.33:27/ Isaiah 9:6). Eternity, and eternal things, never had a beginning and will never have an end. The natural realm is a product of God's creative ability. In the natural realm, everythng has a beginnng and everything has an end. God is not of the natural, but the supernatural realm.
Why can't a person who is not born again understand the things of God?
Until the dead spirit of an unbeliever is regenerated (Titus 3:5), as a result of being born again (John 3:3). his/her ability to understand ANYTHING is limited to the fallen nature. The fallen nature is not only incapable of understanding spiritual truths, it is actually hostile towards God and the things of God (Romans 8:7). An unbeliever's thinking capacity is limited to the finite limits of the natural mind that is time oriented. A hostile mindset lacks the humility required to learn anything. God and things of God sound like foolishness to a person who does not have spiritual discernment, and spiritual discernment is not a reality for anyone who is not born again.
Why does God withold all the facts?
Scripture teaches us that the secret things belong to God (Deut. 29:29. God gives us all the information that we need to now, but not all that there is to know. The reason for this is that God does not Man to come to Him on the basis of irrefutable facts or arguement, but on faith as well. The missing information that Man would like to know of does not mean that answers do not exist, not does it discredit the intergrity of the Word of God. Because God desires faith, the missing information is a part of the divine plan of God.
How does a spiritually dead, hostile, soul come to understand the Gospel Message?
God the Holy Spirit, acts in behalf of one's dead spirit, enables an unbeliever to understand a presentation of the Gospel Message, but does not violate the free of will of anyone. If and when a person chooses to believe (John 3: 18)a presentation of the Gospel Message under the presalvation ministry of God the Holy Spirit, the Titus 3:5 process takes place.
Can Salvation Be Lost?
No! Once a person is born again, that individual is forever saved. Salvation is the forgivness of ALL past, present, and future sins..The means of salvation was accomplished by the Work of the Lord Jesus Christ who paid the entire sin debt of the whole world. The character of God cannot demand repayment for something that has already been paid in full. Our Lord's Work on the cross provided the means of salvation becomes applicable to the individual soul when that person makes a conscious decision to believe in the Person and Works of the Lord Jesus Christ. To believe or to teach that salvation can be lost amounts to the sin of blasphemy, as it is an attack on the very nature, character, and work of God.
Is The Doctrine Of Eternal Security A License To Sin?
No! Every sin has its temporal and or eternal consequences, but thanks to the grace of God, the loss of salvation is not one of them. Post-salvation sins results in Godly discipline during our lifetime here on Earth and the loss of certain eternal rewards , but not salvation (1Cor. 3:15).
Why Do Bad Things Happen To Good People?
Accepting suffering as a result of problems that we have brought on ourselves via negative decisions requires mental maturity.
When "bad" things happen to good people, the inevitable, "Why did God let this happen?", is bound to be surface. Although GOd's over-riling will DOES intervieve at times, He does so only when His (not our) ultimate plan for the human race or for the individual(s) involved would otherwise fail to materialize. God gave free will. Free will would not exist if He intervened every time that negative decisions were made. We must, accept in faith, the fact that if God allowed something, He has a purpose for it. We are here to fulfill His will and plan, not our own.
Understanding suffering when we (or someone else) have done nothing to deserve it requires spiritual maturity. God uses deserved suffering and adversity to redirect us when we go off course. He also uses undeserved suffering and adversity to give us the opportunity to spiritually mature, as it is when we are under the greatest adversity that we have the greatest opportunity to grow up spiritually and glorify Him. Failing to accept His will over our own is a clear indication that we are living for self.
Satan also uses adversity (and blessing) to distract us from what life is really all about. Seeing unbelievers prospering while children of God are suffering is one of the gretest tests (and opportunity) that all Christians will face from time to time. Whatever adversity He sends or permits to come our way is just as much a part of the spiritual life and plan of God as is all the blessings. God never takes anything away without replacing it with something better, if not in this lifetime, in the the life to come. When we can welcome a day of adversity with as much zeal as we welcome a day of overt blessing, we have taken a giant step down the road to spiritual maturity.
What About Death?
You're not ready to live until you're ready to die! The Bible (Hebrews 2: 15 NIV) tell us that those who live in "fear of death" are slaves, but living and/or dying in the environment of this slavery, however, is a choice that we make.
Accepting the inevitability of one's demise is no great accomplishment in light of the fact that we have no other options. Looking at death from divine viewpoint and living one's life accordingly, however, is quite a different matter.
A person cannot truly begin to live until he is ready to acknowledge that like his birth, the timing and circumstances of his death is in Gods hands and according to His will. When a person lives to please God, that person will not want to live one second longer or die one second sooner than what God's will is for him . Such a person accepts and believes that "the day of death [is] better than the day of birth (Eccl. 7: 1 NIV)". There is nothing to fear in what God calls "precious (Psalms 116: 15 NIV)."
If we, as individuals, are called to endure great and prolonged adversity in the circumstances of our dying or our death, it will afford us the greatest opportunity for us to glorify God before we go home to live with Him forever in a place where there is no pain or death.
Facing death is a matter of desiring His will over our own when it comes to accepting the timing and the circumstances of death, be it our own or the death of others.
Once a person is born again, the eternal location for that soul has been forever settled. Knowing this is what sets one free from all forms of bondage, including the satanic fear of death (Heb. 2: 14, 15).
Only when the eternal destiny has been resolved, can one truly begin to execute the post-salvation spiritual life that gives our time here on Earth purpose and meaning.
A spiritually mature believer with the right priorities will not want to leave this earth until all the divine work that was assigned to him has been completed (2Tim.4: 7). At the same time, the true believer will also look forward to the day when he leaves his earthly body and goes home to be with the Lord (Phil.1: 23, 24 NIV).
accompanied by dying grace is the final spiritual blessing that the mature believer receives during his time here on Earth. Dying grace is what permits the individual to face death with as much contentment as he faced life. Only mature believers will experience dying grace, which explains why many Christians face dying and/or death with as much apprehension as their unbelieving counterparts. How one faces the trials and tribulations of this life is a good indication of how he will face the issue(s) of death.
Physical death,
It is through this physical death that we are taken out of the devil's world and brought Home to be face to face with God.
If home is where the heart is, then dying or death is not to be seen as an end, but merely the ticket hat God has provided for transportation Home.
Just as our earthy parents would have great concern over a child who would not want to come home to them, how we choose to face dying or death is a good indication of where our hearts are in our relationship with God.
Spirituality vs. Religion
One of the milestones along the road to spiritual maturity is the development of the ability to discern what is spiritual and what is religious. Simply put, religion is any teaching(s) or practice(s) that Man has added to or taken from what can be Biblically substantiated. Religion appeals to the fallen nature of Man that desires for Man to do something in order to either be saved or retain salvation. Religion is works oriented and is dependant on the performance of Man. Spirituality, on the other hand, is a matter of believing what God has already done to provide for our salvation and what God will do through us in the post-salvation spiritual life. Spirituality is grace oriented and is dependant on the performance of God. What is spiritual can ALWAYS be Biblically substantiated, whereas what is religious cannot.
Which Church, Which Denomination?
There is only one "Church". It is made up of the born again believers (John 3: 3) from each generation since Pentecost. The majority of the Church members are presently in interim bodies in Heaven, awaiting the Rapture when the entire Church will be reunited. They have served the purpose that God selected for the period of time that they were on Earth. The minority of the Church is here on Earth, consisting of born again believers (1Cor. 6: 19/Eph. 2: 21) of the present generation of believers. The primary internal purpose and function of the Church here on Earth is to gather together in local assemblies to bring into remembrance the Person and Works of the Lord Jesus Christ by celebrating the Lord's Supper (Communion), and to make "mathetes" (students of the Bible) of its membership. The primary external purposes and function of the Church here on Earth is to present the Gospel Message to unbelievers. There is not one verse of the Bible calling for the construction of either buildings or altars during the Church Age. Much of the pageantry found within the Christian Community are no more than products of religion that have no Biblical basis at all. There is not one denomination that has not been influenced to some degree by religion. Only what can be Biblically substantiated should be a part the worship service if we, like the ancient Bereans (Acts 7: 11),desire to be the type of worshipers that God desires who worship according to the truth (John 4: 23).
