DOES EVERYONE GO TO HEAVEN?

 

 

 

Coach Dave Daubenmire
September 7, 2006
NewsWithViews.com

You don�t hear much about hell anymore. It is not a very popular subject. In today�s �Who am I to judge� America, it is unusual to hear a pastor speak on this most important of all issues.

Because of the influx of Humanism into the church it seems as if most of the messages that we hear today focus on how Christianity can make your journey here on earth a little more enjoyable. I contend that seeker sensitive churches are a good thing.

We are all seeking. My concern is not that the churches are seeking the seekers, but what are they seeking them for? This brings us to the unavoidable question, �What is the purpose of the cross�?

The recent abduction of two Fox News reporters by Palestinian extremists and their alleged conversion to Islam really caught the eye of the world. Many of the radio talk-shows focused on the �conversion� to Islam of Steve Centanni and his cameraman Olaf Wiig. I listened in amazement as I heard caller after caller explain why they too would have �converted� in order to save their skin. In a society where we worship entertainment and those who provide it, it is frightening that even those who call themselves �Christian� do not really understand what that term means. Is it possible to deny Christ and go to Heaven?

Jesus died on a cross, not to give us a better life here, although that might be a by-product of His crucifixion, but to give us a path to Heaven. Why do Christians call Him �the Savior�? If He died on the cross to �save� sinners, what is it He has saved us from?

The answer is obvious, but rarely mentioned. Jesus died on the cross not to save us TO Heaven, but to save us FROM Hell!

Perhaps the question the seeker-sensitive churches, as well as the tradition-worshiping mainstream ones, need to ask those sitting in the pews is this one.

�Does everyone go to Heaven?�

Hell is the farthest thing from the minds of Americans. In fact, I have heard the mantra many times that �this is hell right here on earth.� Funny, that isn�t what Christianity teaches. No, most �Christians� today think that they are going to go to Heaven because they are �a good person,� or they �go to church,� or they �try to do what is right,� or my favorite, �I was born a Christian.� How can any Christian study the Bible and come to that conclusion?

Right there is the answer. Christians today don�t study the Bible. They take for granted what others have told them about it. The crucifixion of Christ, the central event of Christianity, is not understood by most church goers. Christ died to save us from our sins and an ultimate eternity in Hell. That message is lost on most Christians today.

Forever is a long time. A man once explained it to me this way. If a bird were to land on a beach and pick up a piece of sand and fly away to the farthest star in the universe and drop it off, and then return to the beach and pick up another piece and carry it off to that same star, that would take a long time. But imagine if that same bird were to repeat that trip until he had carried every piece of sand on every beach, and on every desert, to that far away star, how long that would take? And yet, he still would not have begun to touch eternity. Yes, forever is a long time.

Where will you spend it?

There is hope for America, but that hope lies only in the cross of Calvary. Jesus told us, And as Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, even so must the Son of man be lifted up: That whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have eternal life. For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life. For God sent not his Son into the world to condemn the world; but that the world through him might be saved. He that believeth on him is not condemned: but he that believeth not is condemned already, because he hath not believed in the name of the only begotten Son of God. John 3:14-18.

The American culture today is hell-bent (sorry) on convincing you that �I�m OK, you�re OK,� when in fact we are not. America is sick because Americans are sick. We are sin-sick, whistling past the graveyard, oblivious to the impending doom waiting at the end of our journey. We are a nation of �Christians� careening towards hell�.truly living our best life now. Not concerned about eternal life? How about eternal death? Sorry, but someone has to speak the Truth.

That brings me back to Steve Centanni and the talk-radio crowd. If this life is all there is, if Christianity is nothing more than one of the world�s great religions, if our purpose here on earth is only to enjoy our life here on earth, then we are, as Paul said �of all men most miserable.�

Will you ever have to make a choice between claiming Christ and dying, or denying Christ and living? If confronted with the sword, will your set of religious moral codes give you something to die for? Is living a "good life" really what it is all about?

If you really knew Christ you would never deny him. If you are merely following a religion then you are not a Christian. Christianity is not a religion, it is a relationship. Would converting to Islam to save this life really be worth it? Would you trade an eternity in Hell for a few more years now? What if Steve Centanni had been beheaded after he converted?

The Bible is filled with the names of those who did not flinch, and did not bow in the face of death. Hebrews 11 lists the Faith Hall of Fame, some who did not deny Christ, even though it cost them their lives.

Let�s assume for a moment that Jesus is real and that He really did die for our sins. Let�s also assume that what He said in Matthew 10 �But whosoever shall deny me before men, him will I also deny before my Father which is in heaven.� is the Truth. Let�s assume that there is a Heaven to gain and a Hell to shun, and let�s assume that Jesus IS who He says He is, and that He is the only way to the Father.

�And fear not them which kill the body, but are not able to kill the soul: but rather fear him which is able to destroy both soul and body in hell. Are not two sparrows sold for a farthing? and one of them shall not fall on the ground without your Father. But the very hairs of your head are all numbered. Fear ye not therefore, ye are of more value than many sparrows. Whosoever therefore shall confess me before men, him will I confess also before my Father which is in heaven.� Matthew 28-33.

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Jesus said �I am the way, the Truth and the Life. No one comes to the Father except by me.� John 14:6. I think He meant it.

You shall know the Truth and the Truth shall make you free. Do you KNOW Him? Have you received Him into your heart, or are you burdened down with a �moral code� that you can never quite live up to?

Yep. Everyone is going to Heaven. Unfortunately, not everyone is going to stay. Death waits us all at the end of this earthly journey.

Hell is real. What will you do with Jesus?

Hey�check out my new CD�Why Should God Bless America?�it's better than listening to O'Rush, O'Hannity, or O'Reilly. Pass some salt to your friends!

� 2006 Dave Daubenmire - All Rights Reserved