And it is appointed unto men once to die, but after
this the judgement:
The Bible tells us people die. Well, we all know that. What we didn't know was that after death there is a judgement we must face. This judgement can lead us to a second death.
And death and hell were cast into the lake of fire.
This is the second death.
Why will God judge us? Because we are sinners. Sin means to do wrong. How do we know what is wrong? The Bible spells it out for us.
For all have sinned, and come short of the glory of
God;
The purpose of things like The Ten Commandments and the law in the Bible is to point out the wrong things we do. God does this because when we do wrong we hurt ourselves and others. Because the wrongs we do can hurt everyone, there is a judgement for our sin. That judgement is the second death. The second death is described as being thrown into a lake of fire. But God has provided a payment for our sin so that we can avoid the second death.
For God so loved the world, that he gave his only
begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should
not perish, but have everlasting life.
God's love and mercy allows for us to avoid his judgement simply by believing in his Son, Jesus Christ. When we do that we repent or turn from our sin to God's grace. How do we do that?
That if thou will confess with thy mouth the Lord
Jesus, and shalt believe in thine heart that God hath
raised him from the dead, thou shalt be saved.
For with the heart man believeth unto rightousness; and
with the mouth confession is made unto salvation.
At some point in our life when we come to understand that we are sinners and that God has provided a payment for our sin, we must accept that payment. Christ died on the cross for the sins of all mankind, but not everyone will believe or accept that.
Since we can die at any time, we must believe and accept God's payment for our sins now before the judgement. After we die it's too late. All you need do is pray a simple prayer to God:
I confess that I am a sinner and I understand that your Son, Jesus Christ, died for all my sins. I accept Jesus Christ as my Savior and repent of my sins. Amen.
Once you have prayed that prayer and meant it, God will forgive your sins and you can be sure that if you died right now, you would go to Heaven and avoid the second death.
More then that, God sends the Holy Spirit into your heart and life to help you live as a Christian. The word Christian means to have Christ in you.
God has not only forgiven your sins, but will now help you to live a better life if you will let him. He's given you a new life in Christ.
Therefore is any man be in Christ, he is a new
creature: old things are passed away; behold, all
things are become new.
This means you have a chance to start over no matter who you are or what you have done. It doesn't mean you will stop sinning or making mistakes. As long as we are alive and have a sinful nature, we can and will make mistakes. But when and if we do, God is there to forgive us and help us recover and try to stop us from making those mistakes again.
If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to
forgive our sins, and to cleanse us from all
unrightousness.
When we do wrong we should go to God in prayer and tell him about it. We need to ask for forgiveness in the name of Jesus Christ. This doesn't mean we will have to be re-saved from our sins. Our place in Heaven has already been assured. We ask for forgiveness to maintain our relationship with God.
God loves us but hates out sin. Sin seperates us from God, but Jesus is always there to mend that relationship.
For there is one God, and one mediator between God and
men, the man Christ Jesus;
Sin destroys and brings death, God's mercy and grace brings eternal life and joy. It also brings new meaning to the Bible. Once you accept God's grace and become a Christian, you will want to read the Bible to learn about your new life. As you read, God will reveal himself and his Word to you.
Alot of religions include people that call themselves Christians. Are their beliefs right? They seem to be very nice and their Leaders appear very Holy.
Many will say to me in that day, Lord, Lord, have we
not prophesied in thy name? and in thy name cast out
devils? and in thy name done many wonderful works?
And then I will profess unto them, I never knew you,
depart from me, ye that work iniquity.
A right emphasis will lead to a right doctrine. If we do what God tells us to do as Christians and study the Bible as it is written and not the way we want to view it, we will have the right doctrine. The problem is the Devil.
Be sober, be vigilant; because your adversary the
devil, as a roaring lion, walketh about, seeking whom
he may devour:
The devil attacks Christians as much or even more then he does non-Christians. If he cannot keep us from going to Hell, he desires that we live a sad and fruitless Christian Life. The key is knowing his methods of attack.
Lest Satan should get an advantage of us: for we are
not ignorant of his devices.
Beware of false prophets, which come to you n sheep's
clothing, but inwardly are ravening wolves.
For such are false apostles, deceitful workers,
transforming themselves into the apostles of Christ.
And no marvel for Satan himself is transformed into an
angel of light.
Satan makes sin appear very appealing. For example, he will pervert God's simple plan of salvation so that non-Christians will feel they have to work their way to Heaven. For this reason some well-meaning people believe that if they do enough good, stare at the sun, crawl on their knees for miles, give up certain foods, prayer to their ancestors or even sacrifice an animal, they will have their sins forgiven.
The devil attacks Christians by keeping them from a joyful and victorious Christian Life. He can do this by making us do things out of order as we see in the above verses.
When Jesus walked the earth there were religious leaders who were desperately trying to obey the law by following religious rituals (Matthew 23:23). Jesus tried to tell them that the law will not get them to Heaven. The law wasn't designed to do that. The law was designed to show us that we are sinners and need redemption.
Once saved, we can do certain things that the Bible tells us to do so that our lives will be filled with inward joy and success. The devil wants us to do things backwards. Everything we do in Christ has an ultimate purpose.
God gives us a clear description of what he expects us to do as Christians. This all starts with our ultimate command...
Go ye therefore, and teach all nations, baptizing them
in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the
Holy Ghost:
Teaching them to observe all things whatsover I have
commanded you: and, lo, I am with you alway, even unto
the end of the world. Amen.
Those verses, sometimes called the Great Commission, tell us that we are to reproduce ourselves. In short, we are to tell others that God gave his Son, Jesus Christ, to die on the cross for us and that all we need do to accept that gift is repent and ask God to save us through faith in Christ.
In order for the DOCTRINE of any Church to be correct, it must begin with the simple Fundamentals of the Christian Faith. These include:
This is a simple and Biblical standard that you can use to examine any Church, Religion or group of Believers.
Return to Solving The Bible Puzzle.