Basics For Believers

Lesson Thirty: Eternal States

I. What happens to the believer at death?

1. They never die, they only sleep.

a. John 8:51; 11:25-26; 1 Thess. 4:13-15

2. They depart to be with Christ.

a. Phil. 1:23-24; 2 Cor. 5:6-8; John 12:26

3. They receive new bodies at the coming of Christ.

a. Phil. 3:20-21; 2 Cor. 5:1-4; 1 Cor. 15:38

II. They will go to heaven where Jesus has prepared a place for them.

1. John 14:2

2. Rev. 7:14-17 and chapters 21 and 22 give us a description of heaven.

a. No more tears, death, sorrow, crying, or pain. All things will be new. We shall have God's ever abiding presence. We will have waters of life to satisfy our thirst. It is a large beautiful city made of the most precious stones. There is no need of the sun or moon there because the glory of God will illuminate it. There will be no night. There will be no more defilement, abomination, curse, hunger, thirst, or suffering of any kind. There will be constant service before God's throne. We shall reign with Him forever. There will be no sea.

3. There is some practical teaching concerning heaven.

a. God desires that we live a heavenly life NOW (Deut. 11:18-21; Matt. 6:10; Heb. 8:1-6). Many things that are in heaven can be appropriated now on earth.

b. We must remain heavenly minded (Col. 3:2). This will free our minds the cares of this world (Phil. 4:7) and the fear of death (Phil. 1:21-24).

III. Terrifying facts about hell - Luke 16:19-31.

1. A place of continuous torment (Rev. 14:9-11; 20:10).

2. A place of unsatisfied desire.

3. A place of regret and remorse.

4. A place of hopelessness (Prov. 11:7).

5. Unquenchable and literal fire (Mark 9:43-49).

6. Eternal and everlasting punishment (Matt. 25:46). No second chances.

7. A place of shame and contempt (Dan. 12:2).

IV. Practical aspects of this teaching:

1. We must continue to witness and warn others of this place, encouraging them to trust in Christ who died to redeem them from such a place.

2. We must live right ourselves. We must not deceive ourselves into thinking that because we made a decision for Christ that we can continue to live in sin and still make it to heaven (1 Cor. 6:8-11; Gal. 5:16-25; Eph. 5:5).

a. All of us slip and are in need of forgiveness (1 Jn 1:7-9). Yet there are those who profess Christ but whose lifestyles do not show it. A sincere Christian may sin and repent. An unsincere Christian may live a life of sin decive that he is secure no matter how he lives.

3. This is the place where Satan and his demons will finally meet their expected doom (Matt. 25:41; Rev. 20:10). This proves that he is a defeated enemy. Treat him as such.

CONCLUSION: The choice you make in this life will determine where you will spend eternity. There are no second chances outside of this life. If you have not yet accepted Jesus Christ as Lord and savior then you are in danger. As we have seen in this lesson, hell is not a pleasant place to spend eternity. Please consider accepting Him today. All you need to do is pray:

Lord Jesus

I ask you to come into my heart right now. You said in your word that if I confess you with my mouth and believe in my heart that God raised you from the dead then I will be saved (Rom. 10:9). I recognize that I am a sinner and I need your forgiveness and a change in my nature. I repent of all my sin. I know that all that come to you, you will not reject (John 6:37). Thank you for your for dying for me so that I can be born again. Thank you Father for Jesus. Thank you Holy Spirit for coming in to my life. AMEN.

After praying this prayer and if you truly meant it then you have the assurance of spending eternity with Jesus Christ.

E-mail: victoryword@yahoo.com

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