Not “if” But “where”

It is appointed for men to die once, but after this the judgment.

Hebrews 9:27

One of the most important things to remember about life as we know it is this: we are not living the life God created us to live. After Adam and Eve were expelled from the Garden of Eden because of their sin (Genesis 3), everything changed. The biggest change was death. Mankind was created to live eternally, but because of sin, that eternal life is interrupted by death, followed by resurrection to eternal life. The question is, where will one’s eternal life be spent?

Again, the Garden of Eden is the model. God created mankind to fellowship with Him for eternity. Therefore, the Bible speaks of only two options for eternal life: with God (heaven) or not with God (hell). Jesus says in John 3:18 that failure to believe in God’s plan for saving mankind from sin results in condemnation—spending eternity apart from God. But believing in God’s plan results in being saved from condemnation and experiencing “everlasting life” (John 3:16). The question is not if we live eternally, but where we will live.

Make sure you have answered the question of where you will spend eternity by believing in Jesus Christ.

The beginning of the way to heaven is to feel that we are on the way to hell.

J. C. RYLE