Maurice S. Rawlings M.D., a prominent cardiologist, wrote a book titled To Hell and Back. It is subtitled: Life After Death: Startling New Evidence. In it he records the experiences of people who saw glimpses of hell during cardiac arrest. There are many books about near death experiences but most tend to emphasize positive experiences almost to the exclusion of negative ones. Dr. Rawlings, who at the time was an unbeliever, was alarmed at the reports of hell that his resuscitated patients reported. He then went on a search for truth that ultimately led him to turn to Christ to receive forgiveness of sins.
The Bible makes many references to hell such as "Hell from beneath is moved for thee to meet thee at thy coming" (Isaiah 14:9). Jesus spoke more about hell than He did about heaven. Jesus, because of His great love and compassion, warned us of the consequences of dying in our sins. He exhorted us to repent.
D. James Kennedy, in his book Why I Believe has this to say about hell: "Our own moral nature requires such a place as hell. The human conscience also demands it. All men feel that there is a difference between virtue and vice and that in character these are moral opposites. And always we treat them as such: we approve virtue and condemn vice. We reward virtue to promote it, and punish vice to suppress it."
Hell is the implicit choice of those who reject God. If someone rejects God in this life why would he or she desire to be with God in heaven in the afterlife? Jesus said "This is the judgment, that light has come into the world, and men loved the darkness rather than the light" (John 3:19 NAS). Those who love darkness (sin) are those who embrace hell. God is the source of all good and therefore to be separate from His goodness is to embrace pain.
Those who reject God implicitly reject goodness and cling to evil. Few people consciously and deliberately choose evil. The choice of evil is done subtly, quietly, deep in the heart. The mind then springs to action to rationalize the choice. The bold approach is to deny the existence of God and to live without restraint. Atheistic materialism is, however, becoming more and more untenable as science advances to show the evidence of intelligent design in the universe. The simplest one celled bacteria is more complex than the computer you're using to read this. The complexity of life is no accident. There has to be a God!
There is a more common way that people use to rationalize a choice of evil. It is to claim to believe in God but not really turn to God in the heart. The subtle rejection of God is expressed by trusting in self to do good works in order to earn heaven. Instead of turning to God they turn to self. Isaiah 64:6 says "all our righteous acts are like filthy rags." Who can buy heaven with filthy rags? Our good works fall far short of God's holiness.
The Bible plainly and repeatedly teaches that salvation is not earned by our good deeds. Salvation is "not a result of works, that no one should boast" (Ephesians 2:9 NAS). Salvation is given as a free gift to those who repent and turn to Christ who died for our sins. Jesus took upon Himself the penalty that was due us for our sins. Jesus experienced the pains of hell for us when He suffered and died. Jesus lived the perfect life. His good works and selfless giving of His life in crucifixion earned heaven for us. We must sincerely turn to Him in repentance to receive forgiveness of sins.
The Bible is scientifically accurate! Find the evidence at www.icr.org.
Steps to salvation:
Jesus said "Ye must be born again." (John 3:7)
- Believe that God created you and loves you and sent the Messiah (Messiah is Hebrew for Christ) to redeem you.
- Believe that Jesus the Messiah came in fulfillment of over 300 Bible prophecies to die for you to take upon Himself the penalty for your sins. (Isaiah 53:5-6, John 6:29, Romans 4:5, First Peter 3:18)
- Turn from sin and call on the name of Jesus to receive forgiveness. (Romans 10:13)
- Receive Jesus as Savior and experience the new birth. (John 1:12, Acts 2:38)
- Follow Him as Lord. (John 14:21)
"Whosoever shall call upon the name of the Lord shall be saved" (Romans 10:13)
To receive the salvation that Jesus purchased for us at the terrible cost of His suffering and death on our behalf I invite you to pray this simple prayer:
"Dear heavenly Father, I thank you for sending Jesus, the promised Messiah, to die for my sins. I admit that I am a sinner and I ask for your forgiveness on the basis of the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ. I ask you to fill me with your Holy Spirit to empower me to serve you under the Lordship of Jesus Christ, Amen."
If you prayed that prayer in the humble sincerity of your heart then you have received everlasting life, which includes power to live right in this life and entrance into heaven in the afterlife!
Bill Nugent, Overcomer Ministries of West Harrison, New York, USA
(C) 2010 William P. Nugent, permission granted to email or republish if credit given
Read Bill Nugent's award winning Christian book, Lawful or Legalistic: How New Testament Believers Must Understand Old Testament Laws. For more information and to order click here.
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DEFENDING THE FAITH
APOLOGETIC ARTICLES
Bill Nugent currently writes a series of articles called "Defending the Faith" which, as the title suggests, defend the Christian faith from the many attacks leveled against it in our postmodern world.
The articles deal with such topics as evolution, UFOs, cults, modern/postmodern philosophy, liberal theology and popular culture. At the end of each article is an invitation to receive Christ as Savior and Lord. These articles are sent out over the Internet to several opt-in email lists. People who receive these articles are encouraged to resend them to their own lists and in this way reach their own unsaved relatives and friends with the Gospel.
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