July 6

Hebrews 9:27 — And as it is appointed unto men once to die, but after this the judgment:

Yesterday, I wrote mostly to the “family” – fellow Christians – but I did include a note to others, begging them to join us. Today, if the family will pardon me I want to address those other folks about something theologians over the years have called “four last things”: death, judgment, heaven and hell. If you expected the normal sort of devotion, that you might read through and perhaps trigger some thoughts of your own, I’m sorry. But this is important — it won’t let go of me. Maybe you could use this and pray for someone who is not yet saved.

I don’t suppose I have to spend a lot of time convincing anyone that we all die. I really don’t suppose anyone who doesn’t accept that would irritate themselves by reading Christian devotionals. But what comes next?

If we’re agreed about death, that really only leaves the other things to talk about: Judgment, heaven and hell. Now whether you’re prepared to talk about them depends on how you feel about God. The apostle Paul said that God is angry with men who know about Him, but suppress that truth in themselves. I believe that, because I remember that when I was a kid I knew there was a god, and that he had to be all-powerful — but it took me 40 years to surrender my life to Him. But if you are not yet ready to grant the possibility of God, we don’t have anything to talk about.

Still with me? Good. So here’s what I believe about judgment, heaven, and hell.

• When we die, we all are judged by Jesus.
• Those who are reckoned as “righteous” join Jesus in heaven.
• Those who are not reckoned as “righteous” go to hell.

There are three things I want to share that come from my belief – what heaven is like, what hell is like, and what it means to be righteous.

Let me be honest. The Bible isn’t completely specific about heaven. Oh, it contains some specifics but a quick thought might reveal that if there is a place better than anything we can imagine, a complete description might be a challenge – or as 1 Cor. 2:9 says, “eye has not seen, nor ear heard, nor have entered into the heart of man the things which God has prepared for those who love Him.” There are some Biblical specifics that I love, and give me some idea: Revelation 21:4 says, “And God shall wipe away all tears from their eyes; and there shall be no more death, neither sorrow, nor crying, neither shall there be any more pain: for the former things are passed away.” That’s what I’m looking forward too!

What about hell? There are MANY more specifics. I want to start with an example that made it real for me. Someone once asked me if I had ever burnt my finger – just a little burn? Of course I had, and it was a really painful thing – so imagine being in a lake of everlasting fire. Hell is a place of place of weeping and gnashing of teeth (Matthew 25:30) of unending sorrow, and utter darkness. Oh please, if you are reading this, don’t go there!

So how do you choose heaven, and not hell. Easy. “All” you have to do is live up to God’s standard of perfection, being perfect and sin free! If you can’t do that, off you go to hell … unless.

I hope it’s clear that I don’t want anyone to fall at the last judgment and go to Hell. But the way I feel is NOTHING compared to how God feels about it. One of Peter’s letters in the Bible says “The Lord is not slack concerning his promise, as some men count slackness; but is longsuffering to us-ward, not willing that any should perish, but that all should come to repentance.” It’s answering the question, “why hasn’t the end of the world happened yet”. The answer is that God has provided a way out and leaving plenty of time for us to take it. Make no mistake, the price for sin has to be paid. But Jesus, God’s perfect Son stepped in. He was crucified to pay for all of us. All that’s left for you to do is to take the gift! If you will admit you have plenty of sins to pay for, and that Jesus, God’s Son, paid for them – and if you will take Him as your Lord, you will be declared righteous at the judgment.

Maybe this all sounds simple. Maybe it all sounds too easy. Sometimes Christians can do that. Let me tell you that everything I have said so far is true. But once you take that step, you are going to find your life changes in ways you can’t imagine. Some of those changes will be really hard – but never beyond your ability to cope. Real Christians have taken a step out of the world, and become citizens of heaven, strangers in a strange world.

Come join us. Be a stranger!