‘THIS I KNOW!’

It makes people feel good to think that family members and friends “go to a better place” when they die. Most people want to believe that even general acquaintances, and certainly all children, go to heaven when they leave this earth. In fact, most people have eliminated the thought of a place called “hell” from their minds, along with the idea that “God,” whoever or whatever you imagine “him,” “her”or “it” to be, would actually punish anyone for eternity because of “sins” committed while alive on this earth. Surely, the teaching about judgment and hell is simply a tool used by some in the church to persuade people to change their behavior … or else!! According to many, the support for such a position is found in the Bible. The Bible tells us that “God is love!” Could a God who is love, if He even exists, pour out such a severe sentence on people He loves? And what of Jesus? Jesus was gentle and kind and merciful to all, and John 3:16 says, “God SO loved the world (every single person) that He gave His only Son!” THIS is how most people today think … if they think about eternity and what comes after death at all. All of this, however, is based on a faulty understanding of the Bible, of Jesus and the purpose of His coming, and of eternity. John 3:16 has been used to promote a false gospel that leaves people in their sin, that dishonors the true God and that deceives those who trust in their own goodness rather than in Christ for salvation!! Only by knowing the truth about how God saves all who believe will you find true comfort, peace, hope and joy in the assurance that YOU have been saved by grace through faith in Jesus Christ! Only then will you be able to discern between the false gospel and the true Gospel, and be able to say with confidence and boldness, “THIS I KNOW!”