Are You Afraid of Dying?
No one likes to be ill. For some, death is a taboo subject. But all of us will face illness that will claim our lives, even if we are currently in good health and even if it comes very suddenly.
"The Lord is not slow to fulfil his promise as some count slowness, but is patient toward you, not wishing that any should perish, but that all should reach repentance. But the day of the Lord will come like a thief, and then the heavens will pass away with a roar, and the heavenly bodies will be burned up and dissolved, and the earth and the works that are done on it will be exposed."
2 Peter 3:9-10
The Bible says that everyone thinks that they are generally good. We look at something terrible such as rape and think that "oh, I'd never do that, I'm not that bad." "All the ways of a man are pure in his own eyes, but the LORD weighs the spirit" (Proverbs 16:2). But God is not partial in his judgement.
The very first man, Adam, sinned and therefore tainted the bloodline of all of his offspring, that is--mankind. "Therefore, just as sin came into the world through one man, and death through sin, and so death spread to all men because all sinned" (Romans 5:12)The Bible says "All have sinned and fall short of the glory of God" (Romans 3:23). All have broken his law. Now the Ten Commandments are a reflection of God's character and not simply a guideline to live by.
Most people think that the Ten Commandments are a standard to which we must live in order to get to heaven. This is a misconception.
"Why then the law? It was added because of transgressions(sins), ['for sin indeed was in the world before the law was given' (Romans 5:13)] until the offspring should come to whom the promise had been made, and it was put in place through angels by an intermediary(God)" (Galatians 3:19). The law just increases the amount of sin, but God's grace abounds much more. It gives God much more glory to forgive all those sins instead of just one. God demonstrates the magnitude of your sins on the bruised and bloody body of Jesus Christ on that cross over 2,000 years ago. That was the punishment taken that was owed to you. He took it upon himself on the cross so that you and everyone else may live eternally as promised from the beginning. "For as by the one man’s disobedience the many were made sinners, so by the one man’s obedience the many will be made righteous." (Romans 5:19)
You cannot earn your way to be forgiven. Every day you sin and every thought in your mind is taken accountable to God. He knows all the bad things you've done in life and not even one person is without sin. You deserve God's wrath.
Think of it this way: There's a woman in court and she is guilty for the $10,000 in damages to her ex-boyfriends car. The judge sentences her to jail because she can't pay the fine. She says to the judge, "Please, Your Honour! I have never done anything bad my whole life except this, I've always been a good girl, look at all the good things I've done. Please, take this dollar as payment, it's all I have."
If the judge is good he will still punish her. The law has been broken and there is no way to for to pay it back. It's the same with our eternal judge. If God is good then He will give justice to evil. When Saddam Hussein was captured and hanged, people cheered because evil was put to an end. Although, as he was a human being, it's still tragic to see someone be put to death. As a Christian I wished that he would have surrendered his life to Christ and be saved. I never want see anyone go to Hell, no one does. God too doesn't want to see us perish either and never delights in the death of the wicked.
Are You Afraid of Dying?
We all fear death. It's our God given will to live. The Bible says we're made in the image of God and He set eternity in our hearts (Ecc. 3:11). So do I fear death? No. I have assurance in eternal life with God by trusting in the works done by Jesus and I believe his death on the cross was a payment for my sins. But I am afraid of the process of dying of course. That's still a scary thought to not know when or how I'll die or what it'll feel like dying.
Many don't want to surrender their lives to Jesus because they love the way they live their lives. They would rather do what they want without consequences or feeling guilty. But guess what, you can never escape the feeling of guilt. You can cloud your mind with some new age philosophy or drown your sorrows in booze or release it in music or dance, but that is all meaningless and chasing after wind. There is no other explanation or answer to this life than in the name of Jesus Christ. My hope is that you've taken these words into consideration and think about your soul and what life is all about. Think about Jesus, and read the Bible and see what it says for yourself.
"The Lord is not slow to fulfil his promise as some count slowness, but is patient toward you, not wishing that any should perish, but that all should reach repentance. But the day of the Lord will come like a thief, and then the heavens will pass away with a roar, and the heavenly bodies will be burned up and dissolved, and the earth and the works that are done on it will be exposed."
2 Peter 3:9-10
The Bible says that everyone thinks that they are generally good. We look at something terrible such as rape and think that "oh, I'd never do that, I'm not that bad." "All the ways of a man are pure in his own eyes, but the LORD weighs the spirit" (Proverbs 16:2). But God is not partial in his judgement.
The very first man, Adam, sinned and therefore tainted the bloodline of all of his offspring, that is--mankind. "Therefore, just as sin came into the world through one man, and death through sin, and so death spread to all men because all sinned" (Romans 5:12)The Bible says "All have sinned and fall short of the glory of God" (Romans 3:23). All have broken his law. Now the Ten Commandments are a reflection of God's character and not simply a guideline to live by.
Most people think that the Ten Commandments are a standard to which we must live in order to get to heaven. This is a misconception.
"Why then the law? It was added because of transgressions(sins), ['for sin indeed was in the world before the law was given' (Romans 5:13)] until the offspring should come to whom the promise had been made, and it was put in place through angels by an intermediary(God)" (Galatians 3:19). The law just increases the amount of sin, but God's grace abounds much more. It gives God much more glory to forgive all those sins instead of just one. God demonstrates the magnitude of your sins on the bruised and bloody body of Jesus Christ on that cross over 2,000 years ago. That was the punishment taken that was owed to you. He took it upon himself on the cross so that you and everyone else may live eternally as promised from the beginning. "For as by the one man’s disobedience the many were made sinners, so by the one man’s obedience the many will be made righteous." (Romans 5:19)
You cannot earn your way to be forgiven. Every day you sin and every thought in your mind is taken accountable to God. He knows all the bad things you've done in life and not even one person is without sin. You deserve God's wrath.
Think of it this way: There's a woman in court and she is guilty for the $10,000 in damages to her ex-boyfriends car. The judge sentences her to jail because she can't pay the fine. She says to the judge, "Please, Your Honour! I have never done anything bad my whole life except this, I've always been a good girl, look at all the good things I've done. Please, take this dollar as payment, it's all I have."
If the judge is good he will still punish her. The law has been broken and there is no way to for to pay it back. It's the same with our eternal judge. If God is good then He will give justice to evil. When Saddam Hussein was captured and hanged, people cheered because evil was put to an end. Although, as he was a human being, it's still tragic to see someone be put to death. As a Christian I wished that he would have surrendered his life to Christ and be saved. I never want see anyone go to Hell, no one does. God too doesn't want to see us perish either and never delights in the death of the wicked.
Are You Afraid of Dying?
We all fear death. It's our God given will to live. The Bible says we're made in the image of God and He set eternity in our hearts (Ecc. 3:11). So do I fear death? No. I have assurance in eternal life with God by trusting in the works done by Jesus and I believe his death on the cross was a payment for my sins. But I am afraid of the process of dying of course. That's still a scary thought to not know when or how I'll die or what it'll feel like dying.
Many don't want to surrender their lives to Jesus because they love the way they live their lives. They would rather do what they want without consequences or feeling guilty. But guess what, you can never escape the feeling of guilt. You can cloud your mind with some new age philosophy or drown your sorrows in booze or release it in music or dance, but that is all meaningless and chasing after wind. There is no other explanation or answer to this life than in the name of Jesus Christ. My hope is that you've taken these words into consideration and think about your soul and what life is all about. Think about Jesus, and read the Bible and see what it says for yourself.