Photo: Kilauea Volcano Lava Tube, Big Island, Hawaii. United States. ©1998-2023 R. John Anderson
Do not be deceived, God is not mocked; for whatever a man sows, this he will also reap. For the one who sows to his own flesh will from the flesh reap corruption, but the one who sows to the Spirit will from the Spirit reap eternal life. – Galatians 6:7-8
No se dejen engañar, de Dios nadie se burla; pues todo lo que el hombre siembre, eso también segará. Porque el que siembra para su propia carne, de la carne segará corrupción, pero el que siembra para el Espíritu, del Espíritu segará vida eterna. – Gálatas 6:7-8
The saved, those who become obedient to the gospel (by hearing, believing, repenting, confessing, being baptized, being obedient, persevering in faith) will hear the verdict of “NOT GUILTY” (of sin) and hear “Well done, good and faithful servant” (Matt. 11:28; 25:21), “enter into my rest” (Heb. 4:3) in heaven with God and His holy angels forever. The “lost” (Matt. 18:11; Matt. 15:24; Luke 15:6, 24; 19:10), however, those who died in sin by rejecting Christ (John 14:6), will hear the verdict: “GUILTY” (of sin). Scripture also tells us that the penalty for sin is death; the guilty will hear the Judge say, “I never knew you; depart from Me, you who practice lawlessness” (Matt. 7:23), and they will then be thrown “into the eternal fire [hell] which has been prepared for the devil and his angels who followed after him” (Matt. 25:41) for all eternity, where they “will pay the penalty of eternal destruction, away from the presence of the Lord and from the glory of His power” (2 Thess. 1:9). This is called eternal death, for life can only be found in the presence of God. Only the righteous will enter heaven with God in “eternal life”; nothing and no one sinful can enter heaven with God. Make no mistake; Hell is a real place, and those who die in sin will be banished there forever, away from the presence of God. It is described as a place of “eternal fire” (Matt. 18:8; 25:41; Jude 7), a “lake of fire and brimstone” (Rev. 20:10), but also one of “outer darkness” (Matt. 8:12; 22:13; 25:30) and a “place of torment” (Luke 16:28) where there is “weeping and gnashing of teeth” (Matt. 8:12; 13:42, 50; 22:13). Hell was “prepared for the devil and his angels who followed after him” (Matt. 25:41); it was not created for man. However, when man chooses to remain in sin (by his own free will – the result of pride and stubbornness, Josh. 24:15), his destination is the same as the devils. Christ died so you can have forgiveness of sins and “eternal life” with God and His Christ Jesus in heaven. Amen.