Plan of Salvation-1

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Plan of Salvation-1

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May 24, 2022 • The Gospel of Christ

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The greatest question ever asked comes in Acts 16:30-31. “Sirs, what must I do to be saved?”
We welcome you today to our study on the subject of salvation. In particular, we're going to be talking about God's plan of salvation and the answer to that question, ‘what must I do to be saved?’ As you think about Acts 16, you can imagine the scene in the prison in Philippi. Those walls began to shake. The prison doors flew open. At that moment, a jailer, a prison guard awoke. He realized his own fate, and he started to commit suicide. He started to kill himself. But before he did, he heard these encouraging words: ‘Sir, do yourself no harm, for we are all here.’ Upon the heels of that encouraging statement, that greatest question that's ever been asked comes: ‘Sirs, what must I do to be saved?’
Today we're going to think about that question and as near as I can tell, that question is only asked two other times in the Bible. Acts 2:37, they cried out, ‘Men and brethren, what shall we do?’ And then in Acts 9:6, Saul of Tarsus said, ‘Lord, what would you have me to do?’
And so, what is God's plan of salvation? What does the Bible say a person must do to be saved? To really help us understand this question better and the importance of it, we might could ask the question by placing emphasis on the different words inside the question. Let me illustrate. For example, we could say ‘What must I do to be saved?’ This teaches us that
salvation is active. You can't just sit back and somehow expect you're going to magically be saved. There's something man must do. Jesus said that. Matthew 7:21, “It's not everybody that looks up in heaven and says, ‘Lord, Lord,’ that's going there but he who does the will of my father in heaven.”
But then we might ask the question this way. What MUST I do to be saved? This teaches us that salvation is imperative. We're not talking about flippant, nonchalant, lackadaisical matter that you can just take it if you want it or leave it if you want it. This is an imperative. You must be saved. You cannot get to heaven, you cannot live with God, and you cannot be forgiven of your sins, of all the essential things. This is imperative. You must be saved.
But then we might ask it like this as well. What must I, do to be saved? Salvation is personal. Friend, in all kindness, we're not asking what did your mama do, or what did your daddy do? What did your grandpa do or what did some person close to you do? The question is what must I do to be saved? Salvation is personal for this reason. Romans 14:12 says, “So then, each of us shall give an account of himself to God.” When I stand before God, I'm going to give an account of my life. I'm going to give an account of the things I've done or the things I haven't done. I'm going to be saved or lost based on whether I followed God and his teaching or not. And so what must I, the personal nature of it, is so important.
But then, we might also say, what must I do, to be saved? Not get, or not feel, but do. Jesus said in John 14:15, “If you love me, keep my commands.” “You're my friends if you do whatever I ask you,” John 15:14, again implying that man has to do something to be right with God.
Then, the most important part of the question of all- What must I do to be saved? This is a question of eternal importance. If I answer this question according to the will of God and obey the gospel, the Bible says “The righteous will go away into eternal life.” I can live in heaven with God for all eternity.
If I don't follow God, and I don't answer according to the teaching of Christ and the Bible, friend, there is a place called hell. Jesus said, “It is a place where the worm does not die and the fire is not quenched,” Mark 9:44. God wants you to be saved. We want you to be saved. And that's the motivation behind our lesson today.
Before we look at this question and the answer to it, we want each of us to stop for just a moment and we want you to consider two very important things.
Number one, we want you to know, more than anything in all the world, that the God of heaven loves you deeply. God wants all man to be saved, 1 Timothy 2:4. God loved you so much, he sent his own son to die for you, John 3:16. We love your eternal soul. The reason we're speaking on the subject of salvation, I will promise you today, the motivation of that is out of a love for eternal souls.
Now, there's a second thing, though, that we want you to do. As we begin to think about this lesson, and as you begin to think about it in your own mind, we want you to stop for just a moment and think about your own salvation experience. I want you to think about when you were saved. Do you remember where you were at? Maybe at camp, maybe you were in a church building somewhere, maybe you were at home, wherever it may be, and I just want you to think about where were you when you were saved? Do you remember how old you were? Maybe you don't because maybe somebody told you were saved as a baby. Maybe you were 10, maybe you were 12, or maybe it was later in life. Whatever the age, I just want you to think about where you were, how old you were. And then I want you to think about, what did I do by which I knew I was saved? Maybe somebody told you to come down front and make an altar call. Maybe somebody told you to say the sinner's prayer. Maybe you did other things. All I'm asking you right now is to draw up in your own mind, to remember in your own mind, your salvation experience. As we think about God's plan of salvation today, we just ask you to compare the two. If what you've done matches what God says you must do, then friend, that's wonderful. That's the greatest thing ever.
But if they don't, then we encourage you today to make those changes where they're necessary.
So in our lesson today, and in the lesson that will precede this, that will follow this as well, we're going to be asking and answering two very important questions. What must I know to be saved? And what must I do to be saved?
Now friend, I understand and I realize there are things the Bible teaches. There are things that I must know to be saved. How do I know that? Jesus said, in John 8:32,”You shall know the truth and the truth will make you free.” Must I know God's truth to be free? Absolutely. The Bible says in Ephesians 5:17, “Do not be ignorant, but understand the will of the Lord.”
Let us mention today three things specifically that one must know if he's going to be saved. What must I know to be saved?
Number one, I must know that outside of Christ, I am lost in sin and headed down the road to destruction. Friend, that's not pleasant for anybody. It's not something we like to think about. But you know what? If I'm going to be saved, I've got to come to terms with the fact that outside of Christ, I'm lost in sin and I'm headed down the wrong path to destruction. Now how do we know that's the case? The Bible says in Romans 3:10, ‘there's none righteousness, no, not one.’ ‘Nobody is perfect,’ Romans 3:23. People who are of an accountable age in mind, the Bible says, all have sinned and fallen short of the glory of God. None righteous, all have sinned. What's the consequence of sin? ‘The wages of sin is death,’ Ezekiel 18:4. ‘The Lord's ear's not heavy that he cannot hear. His arm's not short in that he cannot save. But your sins and your iniquities have separated you from your God.’
When I sin and when you sin, when we're in sin, we're lost. We're in a state of spiritual death and we are separated from the God of all love and the God of salvation. Jesus said, “Unless you believe that I am he, you will surely die in your sins.”
I understand nobody likes to talk about sin. We don't like to think about it. I cannot figure my own path to heaven. Until I come to terms with the fact that I'm lost and I need God, salvation is not going to be something I'm concerned about. Do we really understand how lost we are without God?
Secondly for a person to be saved, not only must he realize he's in sin, but that person must realize he cannot save himself. No matter how hard I try, no matter how many good things I may do, I'll never earn or merit my own salvation. This is the way Jeremiah said it in the long ago. The Bible says in Jeremiah 10:23, “Oh Lord, I know the way of man is not in himself. It is not in man who walks to direct his own paths. I can't save myself.” John 6:68, Jesus had made some hard statements. At that point in time, some decided to walk with Jesus no more. Jesus turned to the rest and said, “Do you want to go away also?” And Peter said, “Lord, to whom shall we go? You have the words of eternal life.” I need to trust in the Lord with all my heart and lean not on my own understanding. ‘Yes, there is a way that seems right to a man, but the end thereof is the way of death,’ Proverbs 14:12. This is why, from scripture, we realize that salvation is in Christ. If I'm going to be saved, I cannot do it myself. I cannot make my own way of salvation. Nobody can tell me of themselves and through their own path how to get there. I've got to follow God's plan to be saved.
Thirdly once I realize I'm lost in sin, and once I realize I cannot save myself, I've got to come to terms with the fact that if I'm going to be saved, it'll be God who saves me. The Bible teaches that we're saved by the grace of God. “By grace are you saved through faith, and that not of yourselves." It is the gift of God, not of works, lest any man should boast.” I'm saved by God's grace, God's wonderful favor, unmerited favor, toward me. ‘The grace of God that brings salvation,’ the Bible says, ‘has appeared to all man.’ It's here and it's available for everybody, Titus 2:11-12. And friend, it's found in Jesus Christ, John 1:17. The Bible says I'm saved by the good news, or the gospel of God or of Jesus Christ. I'm not ashamed of the gospel; it's the power of God unto salvation, Romans 1:16.
We are to receive with meekness the implanted word which is able to save our souls, James 1:21-22. Paul said to Christians in Rome, ‘God be thanked, though you were the slaves of sin, yet you obeyed from the heart that form of doctrine to which you were delivered.’ I'm saved by obedience to the will of God. Jesus said, “If you love me, keep my commandments,” John 14:15. Jesus said, “It's not everybody who just goes out and says, ‘Lord,’ that's going to heaven, but who does the will of my father in heaven,” Matthew 7:21. Friend, I'm saved through and in the church of the Lord Jesus Christ. The Bible says in Acts 2:47, that when men and women obeyed God's plan of salvation, ‘the Lord added to the church daily those who were being saved.’ I'm saved in the church of the Lord Jesus Christ that he purchased with His own blood.
We ask you today to consider these things. Do you realize that without Christ you're lost in sin? That you are headed down the path to destruction? That you cannot, no matter what, save yourself? And that only by the gospel and obedience to God's plan of salvation you can be saved? Friend, if you realize those things, then the next logical question is what must I do to be saved?
John 7:17, “If anyone wants to do his will, he shall know concerning the doctrine.” What does the doctrine of Christ teach? I've got to know to do the will of God. Like the Philippian jailer, Acts 16:30, what must I do to be saved? Friend, as we think about this idea, we want to mention God's steps in the plan of salvation that man must do to be pleasing to the father.
The first step is we've got to hear or listen to the word of God. I want to direction your attention to a passage in the Bible, in Romans 10:17. Notice these words with me. The Bible says, “So then, faith comes by hearing and hearing by the word of God.” Now, that passage teaches us that if we want to have faith, we've got to hear the word of God. Now, how do I know then, that hearing is essential? Because faith is essential. Hebrews 11:6 says, “Without faith, it's impossible to please God.” Must I have faith to please God? Yes, how do you get faith? The way I get faith is essential, wouldn't you agree? Faith comes by hearing and hearing by the word of God. Psalm 95:7, in the long ago, David said, “Today, if you will
hear his voice, do not harden your hearts as in the day of rebellion.” To be saved and to get faith, I must hear the word of God. Friend, I want to ask you to think with me today about this. What does it mean, according to the scriptures, to hear the word of God? Does it mean that whatever anybody says, I've got to hear and accept that as gospel truth? Does it mean I got to listen to everybody? What does it mean, really, how does the Bible define hearing God's word?
Friend, to hear God's word means these things from scripture. Number one, hearing the word of God means I recognize the absolute and final authority of the Bible. Do you remember the Mount of Transfiguration, where Jesus takes Peter, James and John, in Mark 9 and Matthew 17, up on that high mountain? The Bible says “He is there transfigured before them. He begins to shine. His clothes are so ultra-white, and they're so amazed as Moses and Elijah are there, discussing with Jesus. And Peter, because he's afraid, and really doesn't know what to say blurts out, ‘Lord, it's good for us to be here. Let's make three tabernacles, one for you, one for Moses and one for Elijah.’” One account tells us before he even finished getting those words out of his mouth; this voice came down from heaven. Listen to what it said, “This is my beloved son, in whom I'm well pleased. Hear ye him.”
Friend, if I'm going to be saved, hearing correctly means that I recognize the authority of Jesus Christ as the son of God and that I recognize the authority of the New Testament. Jesus said it this way in Matthew 28:18. Jesus said, “All authority,” not some, not a little, not most, “All authority has been given to me in heaven and on earth.” If Jesus has all authority, how much does that leave for everybody else? You can't have more than all. He's the final authority. The New Testament, His new testament, is our final authority today. ‘Whatever I do in word or deed, I'm to do all in the name of or by the authority of Jesus Christ,’ Colossians 3:17.
This is why we want to illustrate this as being so important in salvation. When I stand before God on that great judgment day, what standard am I going to be judged by? Jesus said in John 12:48, “He who
rejects me and does not receive my word has that which judges him. The word that I've spoken will judge him in the last day.” Friend, I'm going to be judged by the words of Christ. His words are the final authority. God said, listen to him. Therefore, to hear the word of God correctly, I first must recognize the absolute authority of Jesus Christ and His new testament.
Secondly to hear the word of God correctly, I must search. I must seek, and I must prove that what I'm being told or what I'm trying to be taught is according to the word of God. How do we know that's the case? I want you to think with me about, probably the perfect example in the Bible of hearing. Acts 17:11, these are the Bereans and ‘they're more noble than those in Thessalonica.’ And it says, ‘these were more fair-minded than those in Thessalonica,’ Acts 17:11, ‘in that they received the word with all readiness, readiness of mind, and searched the scriptures daily to see if these things were so.’ Did they say, ‘Paul, we're just going to take your word at it and that's right. We believe you because you're Paul.’ No. They said, ‘Paul, we've heard what you had to say. We appreciate you coming today. We've written these things down and we've taken notes. Now we're going to check it.’ What do you mean we're going to check it? They searched the scriptures daily to see if these things were so. They took what Paul said. They listened intently, but it wasn't the final word until they checked it in the scriptures.
Friend listen carefully, this is where so many people are duped when it comes to religion. So many people are told something and it sounds good or it's popular. It's what people want to hear, so they just accept it, hook, line and sinker without checking it. I have a personal responsibility with anything I hear to check it by the scriptures and so do you. The Bible says, “Prove all things. Hold fast that which is good,” 1 Thessalonians 5:21. The Bible says, “Test the spirits to see if they're of God.” Why? “Many false prophets have gone out.” How do you know somebody's not telling you a lie? Study to show yourself approved unto God, 2 Timothy 2:15.
And then thirdly, as it relates to hearing, I want to listen with an ear toward eternity. Luke 8:18, Jesus said, “Take heed how you hear.” Mark 4:24, “take heed what you hear.” How are you listening? Who you listening
to? Mark 9:7 “hear ye him.” Do you remember that little statement in every one of the seven letters, or letters to the seven congregations in Asia Minor? Here's what Jesus said, “To him that has ears to hear, let him hear.” What's Jesus saying when he mentions that? When Jesus says to those Christians in Asia Minor, to him that has ears to hear, let him hear, what's he saying? How many people you know that don't have ears? What did God give your ears for? Do you have ears? And what are they to be used for? You've got ears. Jesus is saying, ‘to him that has ears to hear, let him hear; God gave you ears for a reason. Listen to my voice. Obey that. Listen with an ear toward eternity and with a heart that is directed toward pleasing God.’
And so what must I do to be saved? Friend, to be saved, you absolutely must hear the gospel of our Lord and savior, Jesus Christ.
Again, as we started at the outset of this lesson, we want you to think about this great question, what must I do to be saved? We want you to think about your own salvation. We want you to think about what the Bible, what you've done and then what the Bible says. Do you realize that without Christ you're lost in sin? Do you realize that you cannot save yourself? And do you realize that you must be obedient to the gospel to be right with God?
If so, then have you heard the word of God? Do you believe? The Bible teaches you must believe. Do you believe in Jesus as the son of God? John 8:24, Jesus said, “Unless you believe that I am he, you will surely die in your sins.” Do you really believe Christ is the way, the truth and the life? No man comes to the father except by him, John 14:6. Would you, once you have believed, be willing to repent of sin? Jesus said in Luke 13:5, “Unless you repent, you'll all likewise perish.” Would I turn from sin and maybe a life in sin or things in my life that are sinful and not right, would I turn from that and turn to God, Acts 3:19? Would you be willing to confess the beautiful name of Jesus before men? The Bible says in Romans 10:10, “With the heart one believes unto righteousness, and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation.” Would you, to be saved and to have that sin which separates you from God completely removed, would
you be baptized? Jesus said, listen to the simplicity of it. Jesus said, “He that believes and is baptized will be saved. Him that does not believe shall be condemned.” Did Jesus say you've got to believe and be baptized to be saved? You bet he did. That's the exact wording of Mark 16:16. If I don't even believe, I'm not even a candidate to be baptized. But if I believe and I'm baptized, I will be saved. Think about the words of Peter in Acts 2:38. Peter said, “Repent and be baptized, every one of you, in the name of Jesus Christ for the remission of your sins.”
Do you want your sins removed? Do you want that barrier that is separating you from God to be taken out of the way? Baptism is for the removal or remission of sins. John 3:5, Jesus said it this way: “Unless a man is born of water and the spirit, he cannot enter the kingdom of God.” Do you want to live with God forever? Do you want to be a part of God's kingdom? You've got to be born of water and the spirit. And then, once one obeys the gospel, that person must be faithful unto death. Romans 6:4 describes the conversion process: “We die to sin, we're buried with Christ in baptism, we're raised up out of the water, just as Jesus was raised up out of the grave, to walk in newness of life.” We've got to strive every day to be faithful unto death.
And so friend, we ask you today, out of love and concern for lost souls, have you really answered the question, what must I do to be saved according to the Bible? Have you done the things that we've talked about today?
If not, they're not hard to do. We'd be happy to help you with any of those things.
Study Questions for:
“Salvation: Lesson 7”
1. What great question is asked in Acts 16:30-31?
2. According to Matthew 7:21, who will be in Heaven?
3. According to Romans 14:12, who will give an account of himself to God?
4. What will we do if we love Jesus according to John 14:15?
5. What does Jesus say of hell in Mark 9:44?
6. According to 1 Timothy 2:4, what does God want?
7. According to James 1:21-22, how shall we receive the word?
8. How does faith come according to Romans 10:17?
9. According to Matthew 28:18, who has all authority?
10. According to John 12:48, what will judge us?

God's Eternal Plan

May 24, 2022 • The Gospel of Christ

The Bible says “God wants all men to be saved and come to a knowledge of the truth,” 1 Timothy 2:4. We welcome you today to The Gospel of Christ program. In this series of lessons, we're going to be discussing the great subject of salvation. And friend, how good it is to know that the God of heaven wants all men to be saved! 2 Peter 3:9 the Bible says that ‘The Lord is not slow concerning His promises, as some men count slowness, but He's long-suffering toward us, not willing that any should perish but all should come to a knowledge of the truth.’ God wants everybody to be saved. Jesus has delayed or is slow in His coming in that God wants to give all men time to repent. (The full transcript is available in the "Download Document" button above.)

Jesus is the Only Way

May 24, 2022 • The Gospel of Christ

The Lord and Savior Jesus Christ said, "I am the way, the truth, and the life. No man comes to the Father except by me." John 14:6 We welcome you today to our study of Jesus as the way of salvation. You know, in the world we live in today there seem to be in a lot of peoples' minds a variety of different ways that you can be saved. Some would say that you can be saved under the Hindu religion or by being a Buddhist. Others would say that you could be saved by Allah or Muhammed under Islam. Whether it be Judaism, whether it be some kind of spiritual "-ism" today or something like that, there's just a whole host of different religions and people claim that all these and all the followers of and leaders of can save you. Well friend, is that true? (The full transcript is available in the "Download Document" button above.)

I Need Salvation

May 24, 2022 • The Gospel of Christ

The word of God says, "It is appointed to man once to die and then the judgment." 2 Corinthians 5:10 says, ‘We must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ, that each one may give an account for the things done in the body whether good or evil.’ One day all of us will leave this life, and one day we all stand before the almighty throne of God. In view of that, I need and you need salvation from God. Welcome to our study of the subject of salvation. Today we're going to be thinking about the fact that I need, that every individual needs salvation, and what it is we're saved to, and what it is we're saved from in eternity. The fact that heaven is going to be wonderful, and the fact that we're going to be saved to heaven, and the fact that hell is going to be horrible, and that we're saved from a sinner's hell. We welcome you today to our study of this wonderful subject relating to salvation. Let's then begin to think about our soul in view of eternity. Let's think about the fact that I need salvation from a sinner's hell and to the beautiful place we call heaven. I want you to think with me in this first part of our lesson about how that nobody would ever in their right mind want to be lost in hell. You know, when we think about hell, what's it going to be like? What is hell, what does the Bible teach about that subject of hell? You know, we don't hear much today on the subject of hell and probably in most places it's been a long time since we heard a sermon on what hell is going to be like-but friend there's a value to that. As I think about what is hell, and as I think about the subject of hell, this motivates and this challenges a person to be saved in view of that. I don't want to go to hell. I want to live in such a way that I'm right in the sight of God, and it is a preventative to make sure that I remain true to God's teaching. I want to invite you to open your Bible with me to Luke the 16th chapter, and let's think about a man who went to hell. Let's think about this man's journey through torment. Let's see just how horrible it was for this man and see what lessons we can learn that'll promote and prevent us from being lost for all eternity. Open your Bible if you would to Luke 16:19. The Bible says, "There was a certain rich man who was clothed in purple and fine linen and fared sumptuously every day. But there was a certain beggar named Lazarus, full of sores, who was laid at his gate desiring to be fed with the crumbs which feel from the rich man's table. Moreover the dogs came and licked his sores. So it was the beggar died, and was carried by the angels to Abraham's bosom. The rich man also died and was buried." Now notice this, "And being in torments in Hades, he lifted up his eyes and saw Abraham afar off and Lazarus in his bosom." Friend, as you think about this man's journey to torment, what is torment going to be like, what's hell going to be like? Friend, it's a place of horrible, horrible torment. If you can imagine being in such agony, being in such pain and torment that you would almost hope to die, you would beg to die-and you would live forever. You know, as you think about the idea of torment think about maybe when you felt sick in your life. Think about maybe when you felt really, really bad. You were so sick and you felt so bad that you'd probably say to yourself, death would almost be better than this. If you've ever been in that kind of torment, whether it is mental or whether it be emotional torment, you know how bad that is. Can you imagine living forever in a state where you would almost wish for death and yet living in that moment of time for all eternity, being in that kind of torment for the rest of your life. Can you imagine that? Well look a little further as you think about the rich man and what he had to face. We also learn that hell is a place of fire. Notice in your Bible in Luke 16:24. The scripture says, "Then he cried and said, ‘Father Abraham, have mercy on me, and send Lazarus that he may dip the tip of his finger in water and cool my tongue; for I am tormented in this flame.’" What's going to be so horrible, why do I need salvation from hell? For in hell it's going to be a place of unquenchable fire. Listen to the words of Jesus in Mark 9:44. Hell is a place, Jesus said, "where the worm does not die and the fire is not quenched." When you think about the rich man's words here, ‘have mercy on me, send Lazarus, I just need one drop of water, for I'm tormented in this flame.’ Have you ever had to deal with a burn? Everybody in their life at one point or another has maybe burned themselves. Maybe you were in the kitchen and you accidentally touched a hot pan and it burned you. Maybe you've played with fireworks and got burned, maybe in your work you somehow got burned, or maybe even worse, you were in some type of fire and you got burned by that fire. You know how bad a burn hurts and how it makes your skin boil up. When you pop it and touch it, it just hurts so much- the pain and the anguish. In fact I once heard a story of a preacher who went into a hospital and he was in the burn wing. He said you just cannot imagine how horrible that part of the hospital was. He said from the moment you walked through those double doors, the screams and the anguish and the pain of those people with those burns on their bodies as they're tending the wounds, as they're dressing them, as they're taking care of them- the agony and the pain that they're writhing in can't be rivaled with anything. Truly nothing hurts nearly as bad as a burn. Now why do we say those things, why do we make you think about that? Friend, the Bible describes hell as a place of fire. 'The smoke of their torment goes up forever and ever,’ Revelation 14:11 says. ‘It's a place of burning brimstone, of fire and brimstone,’ as described in Revelation chapter 20. Imagine now living in a place of eternal fire forever. Nobody'd want to do that. Let's say, would you do this, you think about this, if you had a cigarette lighter would you light that lighter and hold your finger over it and burn yourself? Well of course not. If you were at the house and your oven was cranked up to 500 degrees, would you stick your hand in there and hold it in for a good while? No. Why? It'd burn you. You'd do whatever you could to prevent being burned. You're not going to burn yourself. You're not going to stick your hand in a hot oven. You're not going to jump in a fire. Why not? I don't want to be burned. I'm going to do whatever it takes to prevent that. And yet now is the opportunity, now is the time, to prevent living forever in torment. Many people are living as though they have no fear of the eternal torment in the fire of hell. What else do we know about this man's journey to hell? This is probably the worst thing. It's not necessarily the physical torment. It's not necessarily the pain and the torture of the fire. Friend, probably one of the worst things about hell is that there's going to be mental recognition in hell. Listen to Luke 16:25. "But Abraham said," now listen to this, "Son, remember that in your lifetime you received good things, and likewise Lazarus evil things; but now he is comforted and you are tormented." What's going to be horrible about hell? Your memory will not be erased. You will remember in hell. God said to the rich man, ‘Son,’ Abraham said, ‘remember now you had it pretty good back on earth. You had all the fine things, all the luxuries; Lazarus not so.’ Now the roles are kind of reversed, aren't they? This man squandered his opportunity. He didn't use what he had to glorify God. He didn't help Lazarus. He wasn't a very good man, and he's going to remember that for all eternity. Friend, what's going to be horrible about hell is the fact that I will remember. Think about this for a moment- can you imagine sitting in the halls of hell thinking about what you should have done, thinking about the opportunities that you overlooked, thinking about the time that you almost changed your life and obeyed the gospel? You think about ‘I almost became a Christian. I almost gave up this sin,’ whatever it may be. ‘I almost.’ Almost is going to be one of those haunting words in hell. Don't let that be in your heart, and your life for all eternity. Instead of thinking ‘if I should have or would have or could have,’- make changes now because your memory and mind will not be erased in eternity. We will be able to remember some of those things. Then of course the Bible teaches another horrible thing about hell is that hell is a place of eternal separation. Listen to Luke 16:26. This man's journey then goes further when the Bible tells us "And besides all this, between us and you there is a great gulf fixed, so that those who want to pass from here to you cannot, nor can those from there pass to us." What do we know about hell? It's a place of eternal separation. There is no crossing over. The rich man says ‘just send Abraham to get one drop of water to cool my tongue, I'm tormented in this flame.’ Son, remember you had it good on life. He's got it good now. He says ‘well let me go back and,’ no- no crossing over. There's a great gulf. The word gulf means a ‘wide, deep chasm that nobody could get across.’ You just can't get across it. No going back and forth. The idea is that of separation. There's no going back and forth. If one is lost, it's eternal. The separation will be eternal. Friend, hell is going to be horrible because if I don't live right and obey the gospel and become a Christian no- it's too late on the other side. You're not going to buy anybody out of there, that's not taught in the Bible. You can't do enough good works to get somebody out of, that's not taught in the scripture. Now is the opportunity. This is my one chance to get right with God or I'm going to be separated for all eternity. Think about that- I'm going to be separated from God. I'm going to be separated from Jesus Christ. I'm going to be separated from all good, righteous, and holy people. I am going to not only be separated from God and all that's good, I'm going to be with, without the possibility of getting away, I'm going to be with the devil and his angels, and evil ungodly immoral people without the possibility of ever being separated from them either. Think about how horrible that would be on the other side. When you think about this separation you also have to think about how good it's going to be to go to heaven. I need salvation not only because I don't want to go to hell and be lost for eternity, but I need salvation because I want to be saved and I want to go to heaven. I want you to think about the beauty and the splendor of that place called heaven. You know, Christians often sing the song “How Beautiful Heaven Must Be.” How true that is, we sing songs like the “Paradise Valley” and we think about how wonderful it's going to be. Friend, heaven really is a beautiful place of rest. I want you to look in the Bible in Hebrews chapter four, and I want you to notice, now let's think about some passages that relate to heaven. Hebrews 4:9 listen to what the word of God says about the beautiful rest of heaven. Scripture says, "There remains therefore a rest for the people of God." Think about how beautiful heaven's going to be. Think about how wonderful that place called heaven is and don't you want to go there? It's a place of rest. You know, when you think about rest, imagine it this way. Let's say that you've gone out and you've worked harder than you have ever worked before. You have been involved in some type of strenuous manual labor from sunup to sundown, whatever that may be. You're tired, your body aches, and the one thing you want is rest for the old weary body. When you think about that, think about it in a spiritual sense. The soul and the spirit, which has fought with sin, which has struggled every day with the world, which has done battle against Satan, which is worn out and tired from all that- it's a place of rest for the spirit and the soul. There'll be no more sorrow, death, pain, or crying. All the sin, all those former things will have passed away. Don't you want to go to that beautiful place of rest where God himself is? I need salvation, and I want to go to heaven because evil is going to be absent in heaven. I want you to notice next Revelation 21:4.The Bible says, "And God will wipe away every tear from their eyes; there'll be no more death, nor sorrow, nor crying. There shall be no more pain, for the former things have passed away." The things that bring us so much heartache in this life don't exist on the other side. There'll be no death. Won't it be wonderful that when you get to heaven you'll never hear the news, you'll never read the obituary in the paper, and you’ll never have somebody call you and say, did you hear so and so died? No more death. There'll be no more crying. I won't have to shed tears on the other side. There'll be no more sorrow. There'll be no more pain. You won't hurt. We won't have to deal with disease, sickness, cancer, heart attacks, and strokes. All those former things will have passed away. Isn't it a beautiful picture of God in Revelation 21:4? God is pictured as wiping away every tear from their eyes. When I think about this I think about an illustration. When I was a young kid sometimes we would stay at my grandmother's house, and I remember specifically we would play. We'd sometimes get rambunctious and as kids do sometime- you'd fall down and scrape your knee or sometime you'd hurt your elbow or you'd get hurt sometime. You go to your grandmother crying maybe. I remember every time, grandmother would take us up, and she'd take that apron that people in that day and age wore, and she'd take that apron, bring us up in her arms and she'd just wipe away every tear and before you knew it you didn't even know why you were crying. You didn't even know what was wrong. All you knew was that you were in that place of safety and grandma had wiped away every tear. Friend I want you to think about God like that. What's heaven going to be like? It's a place of safety. There isn't the heartache and the pain that we face now. God is going to bring us up and wipe away every tear from our eye. We won't feel the things that we feel in this life. Heaven's going to be wonderful because God is going to be there. When I was a young person and I used to hear things about heaven, and I used to read the Bible as it spoke about heaven, I would often think that the things that are going to make heaven great are the jewels and the diamonds and the pearly gate, and the river, all those physical touchable images that we think about. I don't really think now that's the main thing that's going to make heaven great. What is the number one thing that makes heaven great? I think Jesus mentioned it in Matthew 6:9. Jesus said, "In this manner, therefore pray Our Father who is in heaven." What makes heaven great? If God is in heaven that's what'll make heaven great-the God of love, I John 4:8, and the God of light, John 8:12. If Jesus Christ, the great sacrifice is there, that'll make heaven, heaven. Being in the presence of God for all eternity is Heaven. Living with the saints of old, being with loved ones who've passed on- that's heaven. That's what makes it wonderful! It's not necessarily the jewels or the pearly gates or the river- no, all those images are wonderful things, don't get me wrong, but if God's there, that's what makes heaven heaven. Don't you want to go to heaven? I'll assure you of this today, heaven, no matter what you face, no matter what you have to go through, no matter what things you have to give up… heaven will be worth it all. There's a final Bible passage that I want you to think about with me that really illustrates how heaven is worth whatever you've got to face and whatever you've got to give up to go there… heaven's worth it. Listen to what Paul said in Romans 8:18. "For I consider that the sufferings of this present time are not worthy to be compared with the glory which shall be revealed in us." What'd Paul say? Heaven's going to be worth it all. The sufferings you face now and the difficulties that you incur will all be worth it. People may laugh at you. People may mock you. You may have to face difficulties and challenges in this life. You may have to give up, and you may have to suffer to be a Christian. Heaven's going to be worth it. The glory that's one day going to be revealed in us- it doesn't even compare. Those things don't even compare to what heaven's going to be like. Paul could definitely say that, could he not? He'd done a lot of things that were not pleasing to God. When he changed his life he truly gave up, didn't he? He spent his life spreading the gospel. Paul was stoned at certain times in Lystra and other areas, Iconium, Acts 14. He was beaten. He was stranded out in the sea. He faced shipwreck. He was put in prison. All that, Paul said, isn't even worthy to be compared with what we'll one day receive. Friend, I hope today that you'll think seriously about why we need salvation. I hope that you'll think with a view toward eternity. Are you thinking seriously about your soul? Are you thinking about the judgment day? Remember, Hebrews 9:27 says, “It’s appointed to man once to die and then the judgment.” There are two things, only two that you can be sure of. We will all one day leave this life, no getting around that, and we'll all one day stand before the judgment seat of God. Now in view of that, we've got to think seriously about our soul. This life is not what's important. The things of this life, the stuff, the pleasures, the junk that often gets in the way of people putting God first-that's not what's important. What's important is my soul and yours. Are you really thinking about eternity? Have you really thought about how horrible hell's going to be? Can you imagine, just think seriously in your own mind, if I die outside of Christ, and I go to hell. Have I really thought about what that's going to be like? Friend, we're saying this because God doesn't want anybody to go there. We don't want anybody to go there. We love your eternal soul, and we want you to be saved. You've got to think seriously. The reality is, I will die, and I will be judged. The reality is, if I haven't obeyed the gospel and lived right, or I live and die in sin, I will be lost in hell. Hell is a place of torment, fire, and a place of mental recognition. It’s a place of separation and a place where you'll be with the devil and his angels for all eternity. Are you thinking seriously about your soul in view of heaven, a beautiful place of rest? Heaven is a place where God is, a place where evil and all the things of this life do not haunt us, and a place where you can spend eternity with loved ones who've gone on before you, who are also saved. Now friend, if you're thinking about these things seriously today, the question you need to be asking is, am I right with God? Have I obeyed the gospel of Jesus Christ? Am I a Christian and have I obeyed God's will? Now here's what we'd ask you to consider. Some people think they are a Christian, think they've obeyed the gospel, and they've not really been taught the truth on salvation. What does the Bible say you've got to do to be saved? Friend, you must hear the word of God to be saved. “Faith comes be hearing, hearing by the word of God.” Are you willing to listen to what God and God alone says in the Bible? If you are, do you believe that Jesus is the savior of the world? Jesus said, “Unless you believe that I am He, you will surely die in your sins,” John 8:24. Would you be willing to repent and turn to God? Luke 13:3 and 13:5, Jesus said, "Unless you repent you will all likewise perish." Are you willing to change your way of thinking and change your way of acting? Would you turn from sin and turn to God? Would you confess in the name of Jesus before men? Romans 10:10 says, "With the heart one believes unto righteousness, and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation." And friend would you, to have every sin washed away, to become a Christian, be baptized in water for the forgiveness of your sins? Here's what the Bible teaches. Jesus said in Mark 16:16, "He that believes and is baptized will be saved." Peter said in Acts 2:38, “Repent and be baptized for the remission of your sins.” Saul was told, "Arise and be baptized and wash away your sins," Acts 22:16. Baptism is that which puts us into Christ, Galatians 3:27. Peter so clearly said, “Baptism does now also save us.” More than anything we want you to be saved. We want people to go to heaven and to miss out on hell. We urge you today; we're begging you, if you've never obeyed the gospel, if you are not a Christian or you've got sin in your life, please make that right. More than anything we want to see you one day in heaven with all the saved. Study Questions for: “Salvation: Lesson 3” 1. According to 2 Corinthians 5:10, what will we all do? 2. In Luke 16:24, why did the rich man want relief? 3. What does Jesus say about hell in Mark 9:44? 4. What does Revelation 14 say about hell? 5. According to Luke 16:25, is there mental recognition in hell? 6. According to Luke 16:26, is there eternal separation in hell? 7. According to Hebrews 4:9, what will the people of Heaven receive? 8. According to Revelation 21:4, what will Heaven be like? 9. What will be absent in Heaven according to Revelation 21:4? 10. According to Hebrews 9:27, what will we all experience?