Where are the dead? What are they doing? Are they aware of the living? Do the dead “pass away” to heaven or hell? Do people have immortal souls? Does suicide really end it all? Will you see deceased loved ones again? Here are the Bible answers! Is this life all that there is? Many religions profess to know what happens at death. Yet they do not agree. Why such confusion about the afterlife? Why such mystery; such disagreement? This question of life after death has perplexed mankind throughout the ages. Thousands of years ago, the patriarch Job asked, “If a man die, shall he live again?” (Job 14:14). This question remains today. Most professing Christians believe that they possess an immortal soul. They have been taught that the dead go to either heaven or hell. Most ministers, evangelists and religionists freely speak of “when we all get to heaven.” They declare this to be the Bible’s teaching. But is this true? We must not assume. Jesus said, “in vain do they worship Me, teaching for doctrines the commandments of men. For laying aside the commandment of God, you hold the tradition of men” (Mark 7:7-8). Men have their own ideas; their own commandments, their own traditions; invariably based on Bible assumptions. If the Bible is the Word of God, we must examine what it actually says, not what people say it says. Be willing to set aside cherished traditions and replace them with scripture. Then be willing to believe God, not me Before answering the question “is there life after death?,” let’s examine what happens at the precise moment of death. Recall, Job asked, “shall he live again?” What did he mean “again”? If the dead are really permanently alive anyway, how can they live again? If you hold a job, you receive regular paychecks. They represent wages paid to you for work done. What about God? Does He ever pay wages? Notice Romans 6:23: “For the wages of sin is death; but the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord.” Here, eternal life is contrasted to death—perishing! The wages of sin is death, not life. We will see that this understanding is not compatible with eternal torture in hell. There is no mystery about the meaning of wages that an employer pays an employee for his work. Why should there be confusion over the meaning of wages God pays a sinner for his works? He pays the wicked a paycheck of death—not life in a place of torment. The Bible says what it means and means what it says. (Read our booklet Bible Authority...Can It Be Proven?) Consider this! Perhaps the most familiar and often-quoted verse in the Bible is understood by almost no one. John 3:16 states, “For God so loved the world, that He gave His only begotten Son, that whosoever believes in Him should not perish, but have everlasting life.” Millions quote this verse while ignoring one of its key points. Reread it. Notice that it exactly mirrors Romans 6:23! This time, eternal life is contrasted to perishing—death.
Posted on: Wed, 25 Sep 2013 01:35:46 +0000
Trending Topics
Recently Viewed Topics
© 2015