THE TRUTH ABOUT ETERNITY-John 5: 25-29
I. TWO DIVERSE IDEAS WHEN IT COMES TO ETERNITY.
A. There is no such thing as eternity.
1. The idea is that life is going nowhere except to the grave.
2. Proof that this is a popular belief is the way people live their lives.
B. Eternity is real; life goes on after death.
1. Some have the idea that everyone is going to have the same experience in eternity.
2. Some have the idea that you can move from one place to another in eternity.
C. What does Jesus say about eternity?
1. Many claim to experts on the matter.
2. Only one has died, come back, and talked about it and that was Jesus; what does He say?
II. FIVE TRUTHS THAT JESUS TAUGHT ABOUT ETERNITY.
A. Jesus taught that EVERY SINGLE HUMAN BEING WILL BE RESURRECTED.
1. John 5:28-29 "Do not marvel at this; for an hour is coming, in which all who are in the tombs shall hear His voice, 29 and shall come forth;
2. Mark 12:26 "But regarding the fact that the dead rise again…”
3. Acts 24:14-15 "But this I admit to you, that according to the Way which they call a sect I do serve the God of our fathers, believing everything that is in accordance with the Law, and that is written in the Prophets; 15 having a hope in God, which these men cherish themselves, that there shall certainly be a resurrection of both the righteous and the wicked.
4. Jesus wants you to know that there is more beyond this present life.
B. Jesus taught that THERE IS GOING TO BE A JUDGMENT.
1. Matt 11:21"Woe to you, Chorazin! Woe to you, Bethsaida!
Vs.24"Nevertheless I say to you that it shall be more tolerable for the land of Sodom in the day of judgment, than for you."
2. Matt 12:36 "And I say to you, that every careless word that men shall speak, they shall render account for it in the day of judgment.
3. Matt 12:41 "The men of Nineveh shall stand up with this generation at the judgment, and shall condemn it because they repented at the preaching of Jonah; and behold, something greater than Jonah is here.
4. Jesus’ disciples continued to teach this truth:
Heb 9:27 And inasmuch as it is appointed for men to die once and after this comes judgment,
5. The popular idea is that only the bad people will be in trouble at the judgment.
6. Jesus says that every single person is going to face the judgment.
a. And the question is not going to be, “Are you a sinner or how bad the sins were that you committed?” because “All have sinned and fall short of the glory of God”; Rom. 3: 23.
b. The question is going to be, “What did you do with your sins and did you believe in Jesus?” because in John 8:24 Jesus says, "I said therefore to you, that you shall die in your sins; for unless you believe that I am He, you shall die in your sins."
C. Jesus taught that GOD WILL SEPARATE THOSE WHO TRUSTED IN CHRIST FROM THOSE WHO DIDN’T.
1. Separation on the Day of Judgment was a consistent theme in Jesus’ parables.
a. Parable of the Dragnet; Matthew 13: 47.
b. Parable of the Tares; Matthew 13.
c. Parable of the Wise and Foolish Virgins; Matthew 25.
d. Parable of the Sheep and Goats; Matthew 25: 31:
Matt 25:31-35 "But when the Son of Man comes in His glory, and all the angels with Him, then He will sit on His glorious throne. 32 "And all the nations will be gathered before Him; and He will separate them from one another, as the shepherd separates the sheep from the goats; 33 and He will put the sheep on His right, and the goats on the left. 34 "Then the King will say to those on His right, 'Come, you who are blessed of My Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world.
i. There will be no middle ground in eternity; there is not going to be a third place or some place in between.
ii. There is going to be right and left and everyone is going to go one way or another.
2. Jesus also taught that on the Day of Judgment a lot of people are going to be shocked.
Matt 7:21-23 "Not everyone who says to Me, 'Lord, Lord,' will enter the kingdom of heaven; but he who does the will of My Father who is in heaven. 22 "Many will say to Me on that day, 'Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in Your name, and in Your name cast out demons, and in Your name perform many miracles?' 23 "And then I will declare to them, 'I never knew you; depart from Me, you who practice lawlessness.'
a. On the day of judgment many people are going to be stunned because they consider themselves to be followers of Christ…they call Him “Lord.”
b. But, you can call Him Lord all you want but that does not mean you have obeyed His will.
c. There is going to be a separation and whether you are a sheep or a goat will depend on whether or not you have obeyed the will of God.
D. Jesus taught that THOSE WHO HAVE TRUSTED HIM WILL BE ASSIGNED TO HEAVEN FOREVER.
John 14:1-6 "Let not your heart be troubled; believe in God, believe also in Me. 2 "In My Father's house are many dwelling places; if it were not so, I would have told you; for I go to prepare a place for you. 3 "And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again, and receive you to Myself; that where I am, there you may be also. 4 "And you know the way where I am going." 5 Thomas said to Him, "Lord, we do not know where You are going, how do we know the way?" 6 Jesus said to him, "I am the way, and the truth, and the life; no one comes to the Father, but through Me.
1. There are many references in the N.T. about heaven.
2. In an effort to describe heaven they use terms such as, “gates of pearl, golden streets, and walls adorned with precious stones.”
3. They also describe heaven as a city: this speaks of community, a place where loneliness is gone as well as all of the social differentiation and lack of acceptance.
4. They also describe people in heaven as “wearing white robes”: this indicates that we are going to be completely free from sin and all of its hurts and guilt.
5. Then the best thing about heaven perhaps is that we will be with Jesus in the Father’s house forever.
E. Jesus taught that THOSE WHO DO NOT TRUST HIM WILL BE ASSIGNED TO HELL FOREVER.
Matt 25:41-42
41 "Then He will also say to those on His left, 'Depart from Me, accursed ones, into the eternal fire which has been prepared for the devil and his angels;
Vs. 46And these will go away into eternal punishment, but the righteous into eternal life."
1. People do not want to hear that there is a hell because they do not want to give up some of their sinful practices.
2. Jesus want us to know that the horror of hell exists.
3. He describes it as a place of “outer darkness”, a “place of fire”, and a place where there will be “weeping and gnashing of teeth.”
4. Hell is going to be a place of eternal regret.
F. One last final truth: YOU DO NOT HAVE TO GO TO HELL; GOD DOESN’T WANT YOU TO.
1. That is why He put a cross in your way…and on that cross He put His Son.
2. And if you or anyone else goes to hell it will be because you rejected that cross and the sacrifice made there.
3. It will be because you have chosen to go there.
CONCLUSION: There is more to life than just this one. When you die you will step into a new existence where you will be judged. You will either be a sheep or a go, or it will be heaven or hell depending on what you did with Jesus. It will be your choice. In life you can survive some wrong choices. But when it comes to your eternal destiny this is one choice you cannot afford to be wrong in. Wide is the gate that leads to destruction and God, trying to stem the tide has put a big cross right in the way. Will you cling to it? Or, will you reject it? The choice is yours today.