FAQ

In order to get right with God, we must first understand what is wrong. The answer is sin. We are all born into this world with a sin nature because of Adam’s fall and we are all spiritually separated from God and need to be reconciled to Him. God tells us, “There is no one who does good, not even one (Psalms 13:3).” We have rebelled against God’s commands; we “like sheep, have gone astray (Isaiah 53:6).”

The bad news is that the penalty for sin is (eternal) death (Ezk. 18:4). The good news is that a loving God has pursued us in order to bring us salvation. Jesus declared His purpose was “to seek and to save what was lost (Luke 19:10),” and He pronounced His purpose accomplished when He died on the cross with the words, “It is finished (John 19:30)! ”

Having a right relationship with God begins with acknowledging your sin. Next comes a humble confession of your sin to God. “For it is with your heart that you believe and are justified, and it is with your mouth that you confess and are saved (Rom.10:10).” This repentance must be accompanied by faith – specifically, faith that Jesus’ sacrificial death and miraculous resurrection qualify Him to be your Saviour. “If you confess with your mouth, ‘Jesus is Lord,’ and believe in your heart that God raised Him from the dead, you will be saved (Rom.10:9).” Many other passages speak of the necessity of faith.

Being right with God is a matter of your response to what God has done on your behalf. He sent the Saviour, He provided the sacrifice to take away your sin, and He offers you the promise: “Everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved (Acts 2:21).”

If you want to get right with God, here is a sample prayer. Remember, saying this prayer or any other prayer will not save you. It is only trusting in Christ that can save you from sin. This prayer is simply a way to express to God your faith in Him and thank Him for providing for your salvation. “God, I know that I have sinned against You and am deserving of punishment. But Jesus Christ took the punishment that I deserve so that through faith in Him I could be forgiven. I place my trust in You for salvation. Thank you for Your wonderful grace and forgiveness and thank You for the gift of eternal life. We ask this in Jesus name, Amen.”

Love Oscar

The Bible doesn’t say that a loving God sends anyone to hell and yet they do go to a place called hell. But, they don’t go there because God sends them; it’s the only place for those who have rejected Christ Jesus and have no capacity for God whatsoever. Do you think God is going to bring you into His presence when you have ignored Him and turned your back upon Him? No! He is a Holy God. He had to send His Son to die on the cross for our sins. If you’re going to reject the only way He could work out your salvation; then you must understand that this is the place for you – to be separated from God for all eternity. Don’t say that a loving God sends people to hell. Say that there is a Holy God, and when you do not meet His standards you cannot go into His heaven where He is. That ought to be very obvious to you.

In your own home I’m sure that you have a standard and there are certain people that you would not let come in. God does the same thing. You have to meet His standard if you’re going to go to heaven. There’s only one place for those who have rejected the Lord Jesus Christ and that’s with the devil and his demons. The thing that’s going to send you to hell is that you’re a sinner and you don’t want to admit it. That’s the problem with the human family. It’s self-will; a desire to want to go their way. Yet God has provided a way for you to come. Any time you want to make that turn, a loving God will save you.

God wants all people to be rescued from their sins and know His truth (Tim. 2:3-4). He desires all to repent and to come to know Him and have a loving relationship with Him (2 Peter 3:9). However, the Bible also reveals that God does not force Himself on people and allows people to reject Him. God is love (1 John 4:16), but God allows people to reject His love and to remain in their sin; the sin of the rejection of His Son, Christ Jesus, and what He accomplished for us on Calvary’s cross.

As you can see all around you, this world is like the sinking Titanic and many are going down with it but God sent a lifeboat named Jesus to save anyone who will come to Him by faith. Are you on the Titanic or on the lifeboat?

Each person must make a decision regarding his or her eternal destiny before it is too late. Once we die physically the door to heaven is shut. Your destiny has been sealed. There is no second chance, so please don’t go putting it off because tomorrow is not guaranteed to anyone.

Love Oscar

God put the tree of knowledge of good and evil in the Garden of Eden as a test to give Adam and Eve a choice to obey Him or disobey Him. Adam and Eve were free to do anything they wanted, except eat from the tree of knowledge of good and evil. Genesis 2: 16-17, “And the Lord God commanded the man,’ You are free to eat from any tree in the garden; but you must not eat from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, for when you eat of it you will surely die (spiritually – separated from God)”. If God had not given Adam and Eve the choice, they would have essentially been robots, simply doing what they were programmed to do. God created Adam and Eve to be “free” beings, able to make decisions, able to choose between good and evil. In order for Adam and Eve to truly be free, they had to have a choice.

There was nothing essentially evil about the tree or the fruit of the tree. It is unlikely that eating the fruit gave Adam and Eve any further knowledge. It was the act of disobedience that opened Adam and Eve’s eyes to evil. Their sin of disobeying God brought sin and evil into the world and into their lives. Eating the fruit, as an act of disobedience against God, was what gave Adam and Eve knowledge of evil (Genesis 3:6-7).

God did not want Adam and Eve to sin. God knew ahead of time what the results of sin would be. God knew that Adam and Eve would sin and would thereby bring evil, suffering, and death into the world. Why, then, did God allow Satan to tempt Adam and Eve? God allowed Satan to tempt Adam and Eve to force them to make the choice. Adam and Eve chose, of their own free will, to disobey God and eat the forbidden fruit. The result: evil, sin, suffering, sickness, and death have plagued the world ever since. Adam and Eve’s decision results in every person being born with a sin nature, a tendency to sin. Adam and Eve’s decision is what ultimately required Jesus Christ to die on the cross and shed His blood on our behalf. Through faith in Christ, we can be free from sin’s consequences; born dead spiritually. May I echo the words of the apostle Paul in Romans 7: 24-25, “What a wretched man I am! Who will rescue me from this body of death? Thanks be to God – through Jesus Christ our Lord!”

As believers we are no different than Jesus in so much as being tested for our faith. Jesus Christ spent 40 days in the desert without food or water and was tested by Satan who offered him drink, food, power, and the kingdoms of this world, if He followed him. In the same way when we come to the Lord Jesus Christ; our faith will be tested as well. After a brief honeymoon as new believers, Satan will come along and put our faith in Christ to the test. That’s just the way it is. God has a reason for everything. How do I know? I can personally attest to the fact that this happened in my life.

I remember working at the smelter in Trail, British Columbia and watching how the metals were refined. I would pour caustic soda onto the molten metal and then scrape off all the impurities until we had 98+% pure metal. In the same way, God works in our lives, testing us for our faith, refining us as we grow in Christ, becoming (more) pure in heart and faith. This is why Adam and Eve were tested, why Paul was tested and why you and I will be tested after a brief honeymoon in Christ Jesus. (See 1 Peter 1:3-9)

Love Oscar

To understand the biblical significance of the word “REGENERATION” it is necessary to understand the magnitude of the Genesis 3 event when the sin of man first entered into this world after Adam and Eve’s temptation and fall. There in that original rebellious rejection of God and His word, Adam and Eve severed themselves from their creator. Unless we understand what happened here and how this original sin has impacted all of Adam’s descendants, then our understanding and appreciation of the salvation God gives us in His Son, Jesus Christ, will be minimal. According to Webster’s dictionary, the verb regenerate is defined as to build, make or start anew. It also defines the word as restored or renewed. According to the Bible another word for regeneration is rebirth or born from above from which we get the phrase “BORN AGAIN.” Jesus said to Nicodemus, “Most assuredly, I say to you, unless one is born again he cannot see the kingdom of God (John 3:3).” To be born again is opposed to, and distinguished from, our first birth; when we were conceived in sin. The new birth is a spiritual, holy, and heavenly birth signified by a being made alive in a spiritual sense and born from above. Our first birth, on the other hand, was one of spiritual death because of inherited sin. Man in his natural state is “dead in transgressions and sins” until we are “made alive” (regenerated) by Christ when we place our faith in Him (Eph. 2:1).

Birth and rebirth are both the result of the operation of the Holy Spirit. No man can come alive to God apart from the Spirit’s work. To be “born again of the spirit” or to be “born from above,” is to experience a second Genesis 3 event. It is a new beginning, a fresh start in life. When something is started, we say that it is generated. If it is started again, it is regenerated.

To be regenerated does not mean that we are changed from a human being into a divine being. It does mean that we are changed from spiritually dead human beings into spiritually alive human beings. Spiritually dead persons are incapable of seeing the kingdom of God. It is invisible to them, not because the kingdom itself is invisible, but because the spiritually dead are also spiritually blind.

In the jargon of Christianity we hear people speak of “born again” Christians. Technically speaking, this phrase is redundant. If a person is not born again, if he is not regenerate, then he is not a possessing Christian. He may be a member of a Christian church. He may profess to be a Christian. But, unless a person is regenerate, he is not in Christ, and Christ is not in him. No regeneration, no eternal life. Without regeneration a person can neither see the kingdom nor enter the kingdom of God.

Simply put, regeneration is God making a person spiritually alive; a new creation, as a result of faith in Jesus Christ. The reason regeneration is necessary is that prior to salvation we are not God’s children (John 1:12-13); rather, we are children of wrath (Eph. 2:3; Rom. 5:18-20). Before salvation, we are degenerate. After salvation we are regenerated. The result of regeneration is peace with God (Rom. 5:1), new life (Titus 3:5: 2 Cor. 5:17), and eternal son-ship (John 1:12-13; Gal. 3:26). This regeneration is eternal and begins the process of sanctification wherein we become the people God intended us to be (Romans 8:28-30).

To think that the Lord would literally allow His Holy Spirit to enter into our human spirits at the exact moment of our conversion to Him so that we can have His divine life and power starting to flow and operate through us for ministry and sanctification; is enough to knock you right off the couch when you really stop and think about what is really in this regenerative work by the Holy Spirit. As a result of being truly BORN AGAIN (of the Spirit) or BORN FROM ABOVE; our spiritual relationship with the Lord has now been fully restored. In conclusion; if you do not have God’s Spirit living on the inside of you, then you are not truly born again and you are not saved from God’s wrath. It is only when the Holy Spirit comes and enters into your human spirit that you are truly born again. The only way to be able to get the Holy Spirit to enter into your human spirit is to be willing to accept Christ Jesus as your personal Lord and Savior and transferring ownership of your life to Him (Luke 9:23). There is no other way into the kingdom of God. We either come through Jesus and the blood that He has personally shed for us on the cross or we do not come through at all.

Jesus gives us a personal invitation. He will not force His way in; the door to your heart must be opened from within as He respects the rights of His creatures. Jesus says, “Behold I stand at the door and knock, if anyone hears My voice and opens the door, I will come in to Him (fellowship with Him- Rev.3:20). Please invite Him in to be the Lord of your life and your life will be changed forever. You will become a new creature, indwelt by the Spirit of God. There are few things quite so boring as being religious, but there is nothing quite so exciting as being a child of God, indwelt by the Spirit of God.

Love Oscar

God and man are alike in many ways. First of all, God is Trinity: Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. Man is also a Trinity: Spirit, soul, and body (1 Thess. 5:23).

They are also alike in this: God and man in the beginning had fellowship together. That’s the very reason God created him in His image; man had to be able to understand, to communicate, to respond. Adam was able to do all of that, though Adam fell (deceived by Satan) and no longer wanted that fellowship with God. In fact, I think he was totally incapable of it after the fall. That’s the reason regeneration is necessary for any of us, because we’re born with the nature that is in rebellion against God (Rom. 8:7). Adam died spiritually that day (Genesis 2:17), so mankind today is dead in trespasses and sins. But mankind has that capacity for God, and when he’s regenerated; when man reaches up and accepts Christ as his Saviour and acknowledges that he’s a sinner, he is then brought back into a relationship with God. He can have fellowship with God.

And there is a third thing: Man is self-conscious. Now as far as we know, even the highest form of animal life doesn’t seem to have that self-consciousness; that God consciousness. No monkey in a tree ever stop jumping from limb to limb and said, “Who am I? What’s my future? And what about this great universe I live in?” It’s man who asks the questions about the universe. He knows about it because God is the one who created it and He’s told man about it, and only man has that awareness. That is the way that man is created in the image of God.

Love Oscar

First of all it is a spiritual book and we must have the help of the Holy Spirit to understand it. There are two reasons for that:

1. We need the Holy Spirit to interpret for us because God is the author. It is a supernatural book unlike any other book.
2. We need the Spirit of God because according to 1 Corinthians 2:14, “The natural man receives not the things of the Spirit of God, neither can he know them, for they are spiritually discerned.” Apart from God’s Spirit, we’re left to our own intellect and cannot understand the Bible. We may know Bible facts and even doctrine, but we will never know the real message of the Bible until we are led and taught by the Spirit.

It was by the Spirit of God that the apostles and prophets were enlightened, because the Spirit searches all things; the deeper things of God. In other words, the Spirit of God, one of the members of the Godhead, is infinite in wisdom and understands all the truths of God and is able to impart them to others.

Even in human affairs no one knows what a man is thinking but he; himself. No one else can possibly find out unless the man himself chooses to make it known. An animal could not fully understand our thinking. The only one who can understand the things of God is the Spirit of God. Trying to explain God’s program to unregenerate men would be like; casting pearls before swine. You might as well try to describe a sunset to a blind man or discuss nuclear physics with a monument in the city park. The natural man cannot receive such things. One might as well try to catch sunbeams with a fishhook as to lay hold of God’s revelation unassisted by the Holy Spirit. Unless one is born of the Spirit and taught by Him, all of this is utterly foreign to him. Human reason is totally inadequate to find the truth of God.

This is why when we put our faith in Christ Jesus and what He has done for us on the cross of Calvary and ask Him to come into our lives to be our Lord and Savior; the moment we do that, the Spirit of God comes to reside in you; to TEACH you, to COMFORT you, to COUNSEL you and guide you through your life, and to INTERCEDE on your behalf and pray to God the Father in words that we could not express. You are now born again of the spirit just as Adam and Eve were created – body, soul and spirit. You can now begin a wonderful relationship with God. God is not flesh and bones – God is spirit and we can only worship Him in spirit and in truth (John 4:24).

Love Oscar

In the shifting winds of modern cultures, the idea of everlasting torment and damnation is difficult for many people to grasp. Why is this? The Bible makes it clear that hell is a literal place. Christ spoke more about hell than He did of heaven. Not only Satan and his demons will be punished there, everyone who rejects Christ Jesus will spend eternity right along with them. A desire to reject or revise the doctrine of hell will not mitigate its flames or make the place go away.

In this postmodern era, many go to great lengths to assure no one is offended, and the biblical doctrine of hell is considered offensive. It is too harsh, too old-fashioned, too insensitive. The wisdom of this world is focused on this life, with no thought of the life to come.

Never ending, conscious punishment devoid of any hope is indeed a frightening prospect. Many people would rather ignore the source of fear than face it and deal with it biblically. The fact is, hell should be frightening, considering it is the place of judgement originally created for the devil and his angels (Matthew 25:41).

Many who reject the idea of eternal damnation do so because they find it difficult to believe that a loving God could banish people to a place as horrific as hell for all eternity. However, God’s love does not negate His justice, His righteousness, or His holiness. Neither does His justice negate His love. In fact, God’s love has provided the way to escape His wrath: the sacrifice of Jesus Christ on the cross.

Another reason people reject the concept of eternal damnation is that they have been taught alternative theories. One such theory is universalism, which says that everyone would eventually make it to heaven. Another theory is annihilationism, in which the existence of hell is acknowledged, but it’s eternal nature is denied. Annihilationists believe that those who end up in hell will eventually die and cease to exist (i.e., they will be annihilated). This theory simply makes hell a temporary punishment. Both these theories are presented as viable options to the biblical teaching on hell; both make the mistake of placing human option over divine revelation.

Many contemporary pastors who do not believe in the doctrine of hell consider it simply too delicate a subject to preach on. This further contributes to the modern denial of hell. Congregants in churches where hell is not preached are ignorant of what the Bible says on the subject and are prime candidates for deception on the issue. A pastor’s responsibility should not be to pick and choose what parts of the Bible to leave out.

Another key reason is Satan’s ploys. Satan’s first lie was in the garden of Eden when he deceived our grandparents, Adam and Eve and he has been doing this throughout the centuries ever since. The Bible tells us that “The god of this age has blinded the minds of unbelievers ( 2 Cor. 4:4),” and the blindness he produces includes a denial of God’s holy decrees. Convince the unsaved that there is no judgement, and they can ‘eat, drink, and be merry’ with no care for the future. Rejecting or revising the biblical doctrine of hell carries a sad irony, which one writer put this way: “The only result of attempts, however well-meaning, to air-condition hell is to assure that more and more people wind up there.”

Love Oscar

The religious Jewish leaders could not accept the idea that their Messiah (Savior) would have to suffer and die at the hands of His foes. That was contrary to their image of the Messiah whom they thought would come and oppress their enemies, the Romans. But that was God’s plan all along; to save humanity. You see we (mankind) were in a position where we couldn’t save ourselves as we were helplessly lost in our transgressions and sin. The only One who could save us was God. He loved us so much that He devised a plan in defeating Satan, hell and (spiritual) death and that was for Him to take upon Himself a human body and be born as a man; to become the atoning sacrifice for our sins by laying down his life for us.

Do you know why it would have to be that way? God cannot die. God is spirit and not subject to physical death. God knew that the only way to neutralize the effect of sin and to provide a way back for fallen humanity was for someone else to pay the sin debt penalty for us. The dilemma was that God Himself was the only being in the universe that was qualified to pay the sin debt penalty on our behalf; but He could not die, or at least that’s what Satan thought. What Satan didn’t count on was that little baby boy born in a manger in Bethlehem. “Behold, the virgin shall be with child, and bear a Son, and they shall call His name Immanuel” which is translated, “God with us (Matthew 1:23).” Jesus was born of a virgin and not of the seed of man and therefore not of man’s sinful nature.

Everything hinges on the deity and virgin birth of Jesus Christ. Because Jesus is God in the flesh and He is sinless, He was qualified to die on Calvary’s cross to save humanity. During Old Testament times the lamb was a sacrificial animal among the Jews. God had taught His chosen people to slay a lamb and to sprinkle its blood as a sacrifice. The lamb was killed as a substitute and its blood shed so that sins might be forgiven; year after year. Those Old Testament lambs were pictures or types, pointing forward to the fact that God would one day provide a Lamb (Christ) who would actually take away sin. All down through the years, godly Jews had waited for the coming of this Lamb. Now at last the time had come, and John the Baptist triumphantly announces the arrival of the true Lamb of God. “Behold! The Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world (John 1:29).”

The greatest example of human self-sacrifice was for a man to die for his friends. Jesus said, “Greater love has no one than this, than to lay down one’s life for his friends. You are My friends if you do whatever I command you (John 15:13-14).” This is why it’s so important for us to understand what Christ has done on our behalf when He sacrificed His life for us on Calvary’s cross to forgive us and to save us from eternal death. The sacrifice had to be a perfect sinless man and Jesus fulfilled that mission. That’s why He cried out from the cross, “It is finished.” Mission accomplished.

The sin issue has been dealt with; it is finished. God no longer deals with humanity on the basis of sin. On Christ’s death, a new will, came into effect for man and today God is dealing with us on the bases of faith and grace. God says, “I will forgive their wickedness and will remember their sins no more (Hebrews 8:12).” No person will ever go to hell because of their sin. The only thing that’s going to keep you from heaven is the rejection of Jesus Christ and what He did for you on Calvary’s cross nearly 2000 years ago.

Love Oscar

So many people want it. From the moment we’re born we strive toward something. Many times we don’t know what that something is. Wealth? Fame? Happiness? Financial security? Home? Family? Prestige? Accomplishments? I’ve read a number of biographies and autobiographies on so-called successful and popular icons of my generation, especially musicians and singers.

I remember reading a story about ex-Beatle John Lennon. John Lennon in 1973 wrote a remarkable letter to the Christian evangelist; Oral Roberts. The letter was prompted by the fact that Lennon’s cousin had asked Roberts to pray for John and Yoko, and he had agreed to do so. In his letter Lennon revealed that the philosophy expressed in his famous song, “There is no heaven” had left him empty, fearful and suicidal. John Lennon wrote this: Rev. Roberts: This is ex-Beatle, John Lennon. I’ve been wanting to write you, but I guess I didn’t really want to face reality. I never do this, this is why I take drugs. Reality frightens me and paranoids me. True, I have a lot of money…. but basically, I’m afraid to face the problems of life. That may begin to say, I regret to say that the Beatles were more popular than Jesus. I don’t even like myself anymore – guilt. He ended the letter with a cry of despair. “I want happiness. I don’t want to keep up with drugs. Explain to me what Christianity can do for me. Is it phony? Can He love me? I want out of Hell. Then he added a P.S. that read: “I am, I hate to say, under the influence of pills now. I can’t stop. I only wish I could thank you for caring.” Lennon had already expressed his despair in 1968 in his song, “I’m so tired.” It was written at the height of the Beatles’ popularity, creativity and wealth. In the song, Lennon expressed the emptiness of his “successful” and wealthy life in these words: “I’d give you everything I’ve got for a little peace of mind.”

The best response to Lennon’s despair can be found in Philippians 4:6-7: “Be anxious about nothing, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God. And the peace of God, which surpasses all comprehension, shall guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.” It’s so unfortunate that John Lennon did not get to know Christ Jesus personally because his whole world would have changed and the peace of mind that so eluded him in this world; would have been his in Christ Jesus.

Success in this world is failure in the things that really count. When you accept Christ Jesus as your Savior, you achieve the greatest level of success. The world has a grid by which it measures success. Often it is terms of accomplishments and financial gain but this is not God’s grid. His idea for success has nothing to do with how much you achieve in this life. Instead, success from His perspective has all to do with your relationship with Him. Success according to the world standards is both empty and vain. However, success achieved through God brings eternal joy and something more – a sense of lasting peace.

Like Steve Jobs, the founder of Apple computers and thousands like him, everything you want in life; they have. Yet it can all be snuffed out in a moment, like a flicker of flame and it’s all gone; just like in John Lennon’s case. You can walk across the street and get hit by a car. Out of nowhere cancer attacks you and destroys you. There are no guarantees and no one knows what tomorrow holds. After all, what does it all mean in the end? What does it all matter when you’re sick and old with one foot in the grave, ready to meet your maker? What does it matter? What was your life on earth all about but a fleeting moment (70-100 yrs.) in the annals of eternity and time? Let’s say we live 100 years to the fullest, which very few can, and then go on spending an eternity being tormented in the lake of Fire and separated from God (Rev. 20:15). Does this make sense? What is more important here; 70 to 100 years living on planet earth versus living for all eternity in the arms of a loving God who created you? Think! Open your heart to Jesus; only He can save you from the wrath of God. Will you accept Christ Jesus today? Don’t put it off as none of us knows what tomorrow holds. Don’t be deceived by Satan, the god of this world.

Love Oscar  

The Bible’s standard of human righteousness is God’s own perfection in every attribute, every behaviour, and every word. Thus, God’s laws, are given in the Bible, both describe His own character and constitute the plumb line by which He measures human righteousness. The Bible describes the righteous person as just or right, holding to God and trusting in Him (Psalm 38:18-22).

The bad news is that true and perfect righteousness is not possible for man to attain on his own; the standard is simply too high. The good news is that true righteousness is possible for mankind, but only through the cleansing of sin by Jesus Christ and the indwelling of the Holy Spirit. We have no ability to achieve righteousness in and of ourselves. But believers possess the righteousness of Christ, because “God made Him who had no sin to be sin for us, so that in Him we might become the righteousness of God (2 Corinthians 5:21).” This is an amazing truth. On the cross, Jesus exchanged our sin for His perfect righteousness so that we can one day stand before God and He will see not our sin, but the holy righteousness of the Lord Jesus.

This means that we are made righteous in the sight of God; that is, that we are accepted as righteous and treated as righteous by God on account of what Christ Jesus has done. He was made sin; we are made righteousness. On the cross, Jesus was treated as if He were a sinner, though He was perfectly holy and pure, and we are treated as if we were righteous, though we are defiled and depraved. On account of what Christ Jesus has endured on our behalf, we are treated as if we had entirely fulfilled the law of God and had never become exposed to its penalty. We have received this precious gift of righteousness from the God of all mercy and grace. To Him be the glory!

Love Oscar

The Bible describes death as a separation. It is never cessation of existence or annihilation. There are three kinds of death referred to in the Word of God – physical death, spiritual death and eternal death.
Physical death is separation of the spirit from the body. Note that we are told in James 2:26: “…. the body without the spirit is dead…..”

Spiritual death means separation from God. Paul told the Ephesians, “And you He made alive, who were dead in trespasses and sins (2:1).” Paul wrote in his first letter to Timothy: “But she who lives in pleasure is dead while she lives (5:6).”

Eternal death is eternal separation from God and from all that is good and desirable; together with an everlasting punishment as the result of judgment (Rev.20:11-15). “And anyone not found written in the Book of Life was cast into the lake of fire (v.15).” Jesus said, “And (the wicked) will go away into eternal punishment, but the righteous into eternal life (Matt. 25:46).” This is also called the “second death (Rev. 21:8).” The first death is physical and second death is spiritual (separation from God for all eternity).

Those who have received God’s salvation have turned from “death” to “life” (1 John 3:14), and the second death has no power over them (Rev. 20:6). Only unbelievers will experience the second death – eternal separation from God.

There is no getting around it we all have an appointment with our maker. Whether we’re ready for it or not, depends on what we do with Jesus now. The question is: “Are you ready for your final appointment?”

Love Oscar

While the idea of a second chance for salvation is appealing, the Bible is clear that death is the end of all chances. Hebrews 9:27 tells us that we die and then face judgment. So, as long as a person is alive he has a chance to accept Christ and be saved. Once a person dies, there are no more chances. The idea of purgatory, a place where people go after death to pay for their sins, has no biblical basis, but is rather a tradition of the Roman Catholic Church.

To understand what happens to nonbelievers after they die, we go to Revelation 20:1115 which describes the Great White Throne judgment. Here takes place the opening of the books and “the dead were judged out of those things which were written in the books according to their works.” The books contain all the thoughts and deeds of those being judged, and we know from Romans 3:20 that “by the works of the law, no flesh is justified.” Therefore, all who are judged by their works and thoughts are condemned to a place called hell. Anyone not found written in the Book of Life was cast into the lake of Fire (v.15).

Believers in Christ, on the other hand, are not judged by the books of works, but their names are found written in another book – the “Lamb’s Book of Life (Rev. 21: 27).” These are the ones who have believed on the Lord Jesus, and they alone will be allowed to enter heaven. For believers, there is no need for a second chance because the first chance is sufficient. If we trust the death of Jesus Christ as the full payment for our sin against God, we are guaranteed not only a meaningful life on earth, but also eternal life after death, in the glorious presence of Christ.

Love Oscar

There is a lot of deception and confusion going on in this world due to the “prince of the airwaves” or or what Scripture calls “the god of this world (2 Cor. 4:4)” – Satan. Religion is his forte. The root of religion and of all religions in this world has its start in Satan. He is the root cause of religion and it was started by him in Babylon and the Tower of Babel. A city and a tower were built in order to prevent people from scattering through the earth, in direct defiance of God’s command. This tower which was built for the purpose of worshiping a deity may also picture fallen man’s ceaseless effort to reach heaven by his own works instead of receiving salvation as a free gift of God’s grace.

One of the reasons that Jesus came to earth was to do away with religion. Jesus pronounced eight woes on the proud religious hypocrites of His day. Religion is a unnecessary burden, a blockage, a firewall that comes between you and God. Religion was invented by Satan so he could come between you and the one true God diverting your attention away from God and His word and getting you focused on religion and works; separating you from God.

Satan will do everything in his power to get you focused on religion, rituals, priests, ceremonies, traditions, etc. and keep you from getting to know our Lord and Saviour; Christ Jesus. Satan is the most religious entity there is on the earth and his desire would be to get you to go to church, to offer praise to God with your lips while your heart is cold instead of being the Church; the body of Christ. Carrying a Bible in your hands will not save you. Satan will do everything in his power to keep you “Religious but Lost.”

Love Oscar

The spirit is the seat of our intelligence. It is through the spirit that we reason and understand (1 Cor.2 2:11; John 11:33). This is something the animals do not have. Animals cannot reason. They cannot participate in worship because they do not possess the spirit. Evolutionists say we evolved from animals but that is totally false; God created us differently from the animal kingdom. This is the most important part of man, because it is through man’s spirit that he can know and worship God. “God is spirit and those who worship Him must worship in spirit and truth (John 4:24).”

The soul is the seat of our emotions and affections. The soul is capable of love or hate (Job 14:22; Psalm 107:26; Luke 1:46). The soul is our life. Christ said, “For what will it profit a man if he gains the whole world, and loses his own soul (Mark 8:36)?” In the Garden of Gethsemane, our Lord explained, “…. My soul is exceedingly sorrowful unto death…… (Mark 14:34).”

The body is the seat of our five senses. Through our bodies, we taste, touch, smell, hear, and see. So you can see that God makes a clear distinction between the spirit, soul, and body of man.

Love Oscar