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Eternal Life Insights Home  (I Corinthians 1:18)
Articles
(click on any title)
Wouldn't it be hateful and unfair for God to send anyone to that terrible place of torment?
Can the grace of salvation be received by "hope" in the promise of God, or must it be
received by "faith"?
Is salvation of the soul a lifelong series of choices, or can one be saved instantly as a
result of one single choice?
Do you have it; and how important is it for the salvation of your soul?
If you do not believe that Jesus has saved your soul from Hell forever; can you really
claim to be "saved" at all?
Can a person who has truly been born again lose his salvation and become "unborn"?
Was Jesus' sacrificial death enough to pay for your sins or are there still some sacrifices
that you must do to save yourself?
Isn't it just a way of honoring the persons they represent?
"But God said... Thou fool, this night thy soul shall be required of thee..."
Is homosexual conduct just a natural lifestyle that will not be judged as sin by God?
Or is this life on earth the only Hell that there is?
Does a person commit a sin if they claim that they know for sure they are going to
Heaven when they die?
* These articles are available in pamphlet form for distribution from Eternal Life Insights.
(Free as the Lord provides)
Will A Loving God Send You To Hell???
Wouldn't it be hateful and unfair for God to send anyone to that terrible place of torment?
Have you ever noticed that when a person dies, most relatives and friends automatically assume that he or she went to Heaven? It never really seems to matter whether that person ever met God's standard for righteousness or not. They just figure that God will be "goodhearted" and let everyone in, regardless of their so called shortcomings. After all, nobody's perfect, right?
Many even seem to think that it is old fashioned and cruel to believe that God would ever send anyone to a place called Hell.
About the only time that you ever hear the word "Hell" spoken is when someone is cursing. No one seems to take it seriously anymore. Some refuse to believe that such a place even exists. However, the same Bible that tells us about the wonders of Heaven also tells us about the misery of Hell. So if you are going to believe in one, you had better believe in the existence of the other.
Some people mockingly claim that Hell is going to be a place where there won't be any "goody two-shoes" judging them and they will be able to have one big continuous drinking party.
Then, of course, because of religious upbringing, there are those who claim that they believe there is a Hell, but they have the idea that only the very worst criminals of our society deserve to go there (rapists, child-molesters, violent murderers, etc.).
May I remind you that it was Jesus who stated that the MAJORITY of people are going there. In Matt. 7:13,14; He said: "Enter ye in at the strait gate, for wide is the gate, and broad is the way that leadeth to destruction, and MANY there be which go in thereat: Because strait is the gate, and narrow is the way, which leadeth unto life, and FEW there be that find it." Jesus spoke this shocking truth because He loved His listeners and did not want to see any of them go to that terrible place. As a matter of fact, Jesus preached more on the subject of Hell than He did on Heaven.
Unfortunately, the popular teaching by most modern ministers seems to be that God is too loving to send anyone to Hell. To preach otherwise would be considered too negative and judgmental; and possibly cause people to stop coming to their churches. Because of this, many people do not feel any guilt for their sins, and cannot see any reason why they should repent or forsake them. They expect to be able to get away with anything and take advantage of God's mercy. They have no fear of being judged by a righteous, all-powerful God. This philosophy has allowed our society to become so permissive in the last forty years that anything is considered acceptable today (extramarital sex, homosexuality, abortion, etc.). However; besides being loving, God is also HOLY and will not just look over these things. The Bible says: "Know ye not that the unrighteous shall not inherit the kingdom of God? Be not deceived: neither fornicators, nor idolators, nor adulterers, nor effeminate, nor abusers of themselves with mankind, nor thieves, nor covetous, nor drunkards, nor revilers, nor extortioners, shall inherit the kingdom of God." (I Cor. 6:9,10)
God is not "hateful" if He sends people to Hell. Since He is their Creator and Judge, He has every right to send them there. "Is God unrighteous who taketh vengeance? God forbid: For then how shall God judge the world?" (Rom. 3:5,6)
Friend, have you ever considered that maybe you deserve to go to that horrible place of the damned. Maybe you have wondered just how bad one really has to be to go to Hell? You may be a devout Baptist, Catholic, Lutheran, Methodist, Presbyterian, Pentecostal or belong to any other religious organization and still be headed for Hell.
According to the Bible; if you have committed even one sin, you are considered guilty of breaking God's law and deserve to go to Hell when you die. "For whosoever shall keep the whole law, and yet offend in one point, he is guilty of all." (James 2:10) If you have ever committed murder, you are guilty. If you have ever committed adultery, you are guilty. If you have ever stolen something, you are guilty. If YOU HAVE EVER EVEN TOLD ONE LIE, you are guilty and deserve to burn in Hell. For the Bible says: "But the fearful, and unbelieving and the abominable, and sorcerers and idolaters, AND ALL LIARS, SHALL HAVE THEIR PART IN THE LAKE WHICH BURNETH WITH FIRE AND BRIMSTONE..." (Rev. 21:8) According to Jesus, God has even kept a record of every single word that you have ever spoken; "But I say unto you, that every idle word that men shall speak, they shall give account thereof in the day of judgment." (Matt. 12:36) Listen, no matter how good you have tried to live your life, you cannot plead innocence. NO ONE CAN! "For there is not a just man upon earth, that doeth good, and sinneth not." (Eccl. 7:20)
Possibly you are thinking: well then, how good does one have to be to go to Heaven? Maybe you feel that if your good deeds outweigh your bad, surely a loving God would allow you into Heaven. This shows that you do not understand the PERFECT righteousness of God. For God does not grade on a curve. According to the Bible, the world will be judged upon the basis of God's perfect righteousness. Jesus Christ, who is God manifested in human flesh, demonstrated this righteousness by living a perfect sinless life. If you honestly consider it, there is no way that your life could ever match up to that kind of standard. You may even be full of religious zeal, but that is no better than the Jews which the apostle Paul talks about in Romans 10:2,3: "For I bear them record that they have a zeal of God, but not according to knowledge. For they being ignorant of God's righteousness, and going about to establish their own righteousness have not submitted themselves unto the righteousness of God." You see, anything that you might do to try to make yourself worthy of Heaven is not God-righteousness; it is SELF-RIGHTEOUSNESS. This self-righteousness is nothing but "filthy rags" in the eyes of God. For, compared to Jesus Christ, "...there is none righteous, no not one." (Rom. 3:10) The only way that you can have the righteousness of God is by trusting Jesus Christ as your own personal Saviour. This happens when you stop trying to establish your own righteousness and completely depend upon the perfect sacrifice that He offered on Calvary as a "once and for all" payment for your sins. "For Christ is the end of the law for righteousness to every one that believeth." (Rom. 10:4) "For he (the Father) hath made him (the Son) to be sin for us, who knew no sin; that we might be made the righteousness of God in him." (II Cor. 5:21) "...even the righteousness of God which is by faith of Jesus Christ unto all and upon all them that believe." (Rom. 4:5)
WILL A LOVING GOD SEND YOU TO HELL? YES, but He does not want to; nor will it be His fault if you go there. For God is "...not willing that any should perish but that all should come to repentance." (II Pet. 3:9)
Friend, the Bible says that God has done His part to show how much He loved you. "For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life." (John 3:16) Now, will you respond to that love by repenting of your sins and trusting Jesus Christ alone to get your soul to Heaven? Remember, the very moment that you repent and receive Him as your personal Saviour, that VERY MOMENT; you will be saved from Hell... FOREVER!
If you refuse to do so, you leave Him with no other choice but to cast you into Hell forever. "He that believeth on the Son hath everlasting life; and he that believeth not the Son shall not see life; but the wrath of God abideth on him." (John 3:36)
The Law Of Faith In Salvation Can the grace of salvation be received by "hope" in the promise of God, or must it be received by "faith"?
Have you ever watched the evening sun set in the east? Have you ever heard of an apple falling up from the ground into a tree? Of course not! The reason for this is that because of the earth's rotation, the sun always sets in the west. Also, because of gravity, the direction of the fallen apple will always be downward.
When God created the universe, He established certain principles that would help to keep things consistent and in order. These principles are often referred to as the "laws of nature".
Friend, the Bible records that there are also certain principles which can be found in the spiritual realm. For example, it speaks of a law of sowing and reaping, the law of sin, the law of liberty, etc. Please understand that these are not like traffic laws which state "do this" or "don't do that". They are "operating principles of cause and effect".
I would like to call your attention to one of these spiritual laws which is mentioned in Romans 3:27. It is called the "law of faith". This is a principle which pleases God and brings much glory to Him. It allows one to show God that they are willing to believe what He says, regardless of the circumstances. For the Bible says: "But without faith it is impossible to please him; for he that cometh to God must believe that that he is, and that he is a rewarder of them that diligently seek him." (Heb. 11 :6)
I suppose that most people in our community would claim to have "faith that is pleasing to God" because of part of this verse. They believe that "God is". They acknowledge the existence of a Supreme Being. However, according to the Bible, this kind of faith by itself is not enough to please God. "Thou believest that there is one God, thou doest well: the devils also believe and tremble." (James 2:19) You see, even though the devils believe in the existence of God, they are still condemned, because they haven't trusted in Him. In order for your faith to qualify as one that pleases God, you must also believe that "He is a rewarder to them that diligently seek Him". In other words, when someone prays to God for something, they must be persuaded that He can and will do what He says He will do. Otherwise their prayer is without faith and therefore not pleasing to God. Jesus emphasized the importance of this "faith principle" in Mark 11:24. "Therefore I say unto you, What things soever ye desire when ye pray, believe that ye shall receive them, and ye shall have them."
This is not to say that one never receives anything from God unless they have faith. After all, even the staunchest atheist receives many wonderful things from God (physical life, health, etc.) in spite of his unbelief. However, when it comes to certain things, God refuses to give them to us unless we truly have faith that He will. This way, He is not forcing them on us, but giving us a choice as to whether we want to receive them or not.
A Scriptural example of how this "faith principle" works can be found in the book of James, chapter 1:5-7. "If any of you lack wisdom, let him ask of God, who giveth to all men liberally, and upbraideth not; and it shall be given him. But LET HIM ASK IN FAITH, NOTHING WAVERING. For he that wavereth is like a wave of the sea driven with the wind and tossed. FOR LET NOT THAT MAN THINK THAT HE SHALL RECEIVE ANY THING OF THE LORD." From this verse we can understand that if a man would ask God for wisdom, but does not have the faith to believe that God will give him wisdom, then he will not get wisdom. He may claim that he hopes that God will give him wisdom, but "hope" IS NOT "faith". "Hope" always has a tinge of doubt mixed with it. Whereas faith is positively "knowing" that one's prayer will be answered, based on the promise of God's Word.
Let me briefly illustrate the difference between "hope" and "faith" by asking you a question: Do you know that there is a God, or do you hope that there is a God? You see, if someone only hopes that there is a God, then there must be some doubt as to whether they really believe in His existence or not. Merely "hoping" that God exists fails to qualify as real "faith" compared to "knowing" that He exists.
Now that we have established that there is a difference between "hope" and "faith", I would like to ask you another question: If you were to die five years from now, do you know absolutely for sure that you would go to Heaven? Unfortunately, there are many sincere, religious people who answer: "I hope so, but nobody can really know that for sure". According to the "law of faith", this reply proves that they actually lack what is necessary for the salvation of their soul. They might have "hope" but THEY LACK FAITH! I repeat; HOPE IS NOT FAITH! They have never really trusted in the power of God's grace to save them from Hell. They are really still trying to make themselves worthy of going to Heaven by living a "good" life. They are really still trusting in their own "self righteousness" instead of receiving "God's righteousness". They cannot claim to have God's gift of everlasting life, because they don't believe that He will really give it to them until the day they die. However, the Bible says: "For by grace are ye saved THROUGH FAITH: and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God: Not of works, lest any man should boast." (Eph. 2:8,9) Listen, because of God's wonderful grace, He freely offers "everlasting life" as a gift to those who will receive it by FAITH alone in the one, perfect sacrifice of His Son on the cross at Calvary. This way, the "law of faith" guarantees that there can be no chance of anyone boasting that they deserve to go to Heaven because of their "good" life. For the Bible says: "Where is boasting then? It is excluded. By what law? Of works? Nay: but by THE LAW OF FAITH." (Rom. 3:27) "Therefore it is of FAITH, that it might be by grace... And if by grace, then is it no more of works: otherwise grace is no more grace..." (Rom. 4:16; 11:16)
Friend, if you have believed a "gospel" that claims you can lose your salvation, you did not have FAITH to believe that God offers "everlasting life" as a free gift. You may profess to be saved for now: but if you can do something which would cause you to be lost in the future, you can only "hope" to be saved for eternity. You may say that you have everlasting life now, but if it can be ended, then it isn't really "everlasting" to begin with. It is only probationary , dependent upon your behavior. Because of this, God's promise was made of none effect, and your "faith" was made void (see Rom. 4:14). According to the LAW OF FAITH, since you did not believe that God would give you "everlasting" life when you prayed to be saved, you did not receive it. You are just like that man who asked God for wisdom, but didn't really believe that God would give it to him. As a matter of fact, the Scriptures even state that because of your refusal to believe the written record of God, you are really insinuating that He is a liar. "He that believeth on the Son of God hath the witness in himself: HE THAT BELIEVETH NOT GOD HATH MADE HIM A LIAR: BECAUSE HE BELIEVETH NOT THE RECORD THAT GOD GAVE OF HIS SON. AND THIS IS THE RECORD, THAT GOD HATH GIVEN TO US ETERNAL LIFE, AND THIS LIFE IS IN HIS SON. HE THAT HATH THE SON HATH LIFE; and he that hath not the Son of God hath not life. These things have I written unto you that believe on the name of the Son of God: THAT YE MAY KNOW THAT YE HAVE ETERNAL LIFE;... (John 5: 10-13)
What about you? Are you willing to believe the record of God? That He will give you "eternal (everlasting) life" through faith in His Son? If you are, then... right now... why don't you pray and ask Him to, believing that He will? For it is then that the "LAW OF FAITH" will go into effect.
Remember, the very moment that you call upon God with a believing heart to save your soul from Hell, that VERY MOMENT ... you have "EVERLASTING LIFE"... AND ARE SAFE FROM HELL FOREVER!
Free Will and Final ChoicesIs salvation of the soul a lifelong series of choices, or can one be saved instantly as a result of one single choice?
If you were to die today, do you know absolutely for sure that your soul would go straight to Heaven? What if you die five years from today? Are you convinced that you will go there? Wouldn't it be wonderful if you could know for sure? For then, any problem or hardship that you might face down here would not be so unbearable: because you would know that when this physical life ends, you are going to a place where there is no more pain, or sorrow, or death. And just think, you will be living in that place with Jesus for millions and billions of years, never to end!
Friend, the Bible reveals to us that a person can know for sure that his soul has eternal life now, therefore guaranteeing him of a future home in Heaven. This guarantee can be secured instantly in this present world as the result of one single "choice". That "choice" being: to sincerely repent and totally commit the salvation of one's soul to Jesus Christ alone. Listen to what the Scriptures say in I John 5: 11-13: "And this is the record, that God hath given to us eternal life, and this life is in his Son. He that hath the Son hath life; and he that hath not the Son of God hath not life. These things have I written unto you that believe on the name of the Son of God; THAT YE MAY KNOW THAT YE HAVE ETERNAL LIFE, and that ye may believe on the name of Son of God."
Now, there are many religious people who would object to this on the grounds that there is always the possibility that a Christian can choose to turn away from Jesus and die in that condition, resulting in condemnation to Hell. They do not believe that a person can have an "eternal security" for their soul in this life as long as he still has a "free will".
Consider what kind of conclusion this "free will" objection will lead to. First of all; a free will is a wonderful privilege from God because it gives man the ability to independently respond to Him. After all, God could have created man as a race of "mindless zombies" or "computerized robots". However, this would never be a satisfying relationship for Him. Keeping this in mind; we must conclude that those who are already in Heaven still have a "free will", or do you suppose that they are just like "zombies" or "robots"? Of course they are not! But if they still have a "free will", then wouldn't there be the possibility of them turning away from God sometime in the future and end up in Hell? They could never have the peaceful security in knowing that they were safe in Heaven forever. For, even if they were to behold God in all of His glory [some call this the Beatific Vision], there would always be the chance that they could end up like Lucifer and his angels. The point is: in order to be consistent; all of those who believe that a person can never be eternally secure in this life because of his "free will" must conclude that a person could never be eternally secure in Heaven either!
Having considered all of that; may I remind you that there is such a thing as a FINAL CHOICE. For when one makes a "final choice" about a particular matter; he may have had a free will up to that point, but not after. He may have a free will in other matters, but he cannot go back and reverse that particular choice because it was "final". You see; ONCE A PERSON MAKES A "FINAL CHOICE", HE HAS SURRENDERED ANY OPPORTUNITIES TO USE HIS FREE WILL TO CHANGE THAT CHOICE!
To illustrate this, let's suppose that a person has been diagnosed with cancer in one of his feet. The doctor gives him a choice as to how he wants to keep it from spreading. Either he can try to treat it medically, hoping to stop it; or he can have the foot amputated, guaranteeing that it wouldn't spread. If he has the foot amputated, he has made a "final choice". Two years later, he may wish that he had never made that choice, but he can't change it, because it was "final".
This same principle of "final choice" can also be applied to receiving salvation by the grace of God. The reason for this is that when a person sincerely repents and through faith depends upon Jesus Christ alone for the salvation of his soul; he immediately receives "everlasting" life.
Jesus said: "Verily, verily, I say unto you, He that heareth my word, and believeth on him that sent me, HATH EVERLASTING LIFE, and SHALL NOT COME INTO CONDEMNATION; but IS PASSED FROM DEATH UNTO LIFE." (John 5:24) The Scriptures teach that "...the gift of God is ETERNAL LIFE through Jesus Christ our Lord." (Rom. 6:23) The adjectives "everlasting" and "eternal" before the word "life" prove by context that it is speaking of something that is permanent, endless, etc. The very fact that this life is a "gift" from God and that it is "everlasting" necessitates that it must be received as the result of one single, "final" choice. Jesus said: "Therefore I say unto you, What things soever ye desire, when ye pray, BELIEVE THAT YE RECEIVE THEM, AND YE SHALL HAVE THEM." (Mark 11:24) Consider this for a minute, suppose that you were to pray, believing that God would give you His gift of everlasting life [through Jesus Christ] today: would you have to ask for it again next week, or next year? Of course not, because if you had really believed that God would give it to you, and that it was "everlasting", [as Jesus said it was]; then you would have already had it. If you were to keep asking for it, then you must not have really had enough faith to believe that Jesus would give it to you in the FIRST PLACE!
Listen to how He puts it as He is speaking to the Samaritan woman in the Gospel of John: "Jesus answered and said unto her, Whosoever drinketh of this water [the physical water in the well] shall thirst again: But whosoever drinketh of the water that I shall give him SHALL NEVER THIRST; but the water that I shall give him shall be in him a well of water springing up into EVERLASTING LIFE." (John 4:13,14) Please notice; in the physical realm, in order for a person to keep from getting thirsty, he has to keep on taking drinks of water. However, in the spiritual realm, once a person has taken a drink of the "living water" of salvation, he will never have to take another drink again, for he will never be thirsty for it again! He had a free will beforehand to choose whether to drink of it or reject it, but not after, for he has made a "final choice".
Another example of this can be found in the Scriptures when Jesus said: "And I give unto them ETERNAL LIFE; and THEY SHALL NEVER PERISH, neither shall any man pluck them out of my hand. My Father which gave them me, is greater than all; and no man is able to pluck them out of my Father's hand. I and my Father are one." (John 10:28-30) Friend, since God is more powerful than anyone, even the devil himself could never pluck one of God's children out of His hand. Neither would someone be able to jump out, because once they have entered into God's hand, they have made a "final choice". Suppose that a small child wants to cross a busy street. His father will take him, but only if he puts his hand into his father's. As they get halfway across, the excited child may try to pull away from his father's grasp. However, because of the loving father's strength and knowledge of the potential danger, he would never let go of his child. The child had a free will to choose as to whether he wanted to put his hand into his father's, but once he made his choice, he could not reverse it.
The apostle Paul speaks about the time that he had made his "final choice" about the destiny of his soul when he tells Timothy: "... I know whom I have believed, and am persuaded that he is able to keep that which I have committed unto him against that day." (II Tim. 1:12) Please note that he doesn't say "whom I am believing" or "which I am committing". This is because he knew that there was a time in his past when he had made that "final choice" to commit the responsibility for his salvation to Jesus Christ alone!
Friend, if you haven't already; right now you have the "free will" to make that "final choice".
Why don't you admit your need for salvation and commit to Jesus Christ the responsibility of saving your soul from Hell. "Wherefore he is able also to save them to the uttermost that come unto God by him, seeing he ever liveth to make intercession for them." (Heb. 7:25) After all, that's why He died on the cross and rose from the dead!
Remember; the very moment that you completely trust Jesus Christ to save your soul, you have made a FINAL CHOICE and can always be thankful that you will NEVER have to be cast into Hell. For Jesus said: "All that the Father giveth me shall come to me; and him that cometh to me I WILL IN NO WISE CAST OUT." (John 6:37)
The Necessity of God's RighteousnessDo you have it; and how important is it for the salvation of your soul?
"I do not frustrate the grace of God: for if righteousness come by the law, then Christ is dead in vain." (Gal. 2:21) In this verse, I would like to call your attention to the very important word "righteousness".
RIGHTEOUSNESS: What is it? Who has it? How and when does one receive it? How long does it last? If a person needs righteousness to get to Heaven, these are some questions that must be answered upon the authority of the Word of God.
I. What is righteousness?
In Psalm 45:7, "righteousness" is recognized as the direct opposite of wickedness. It could be described with adjectives such as pure, holy, just, etc. The dictionary defines righteousness as a "condition that is considered right according to some standard of morality and justice". The question is: who determines that standard, man or God?
The Bible makes mention of two kinds of righteousness. One is measured by a human standard, while the other is measured by a divine standard. In the book of Romans, Paul alludes to these two kinds of righteousness when voicing his concern about the eternal salvation of his own people:
"Brethren, my heart's desire and prayer to God for Israel is, that they might be saved. For I bear them record that they have a zeal of God, but not according to knowledge. For they being ignorant of God's righteousness, and going about to establish their own righteousness, have not submitted themselves unto the righteousness of God." (Rom. 10:1-3)
Do you see the two different "righteousnesses"? One is God's (divine righteousness), and one is their own (human or self-righteousness). Paul admitted that the Jewish people were very moral and religious, but obviously that was not enough to qualify them as righteous according to God's standard. The Scriptures teach that God will judge the world in righteousness by one man. (Acts 17:31) That man is Jesus Christ who lived a perfect, sinless life. He is the divine standard of righteousness.
II. Who has righteousness?
Since divine righteousness is the standard by which God determines who will qualify for Heaven, no one deserves to go there. "For there is not a just man upon earth, that doeth good, and sinneth not." (Eccl. 7:20) Because of sin, human righteousness will always come up short of qualifying a person for Heaven. "As it is written, there is none righteous, no not one." (Rom. 3:10) "For all have sinned, and come short of the glory of God." (Rom. 3:23) You may consider yourself a very moral, religious person; but Jesus said: "except your righteousness shall exceed the righteousness of the scribes and Pharisees, ye shall in no case enter into the kingdom of heaven." (Matt. 5:20)
III. How and when does one receive righteousness?
Remember when Paul said that the Jews were trying to "establish their own righteousness?" Whether it be the rite of circumcision, sacrificing in the temple, or keeping the law, etc.; they were always trying TO DO SOME THING to make sure that they would be righteous enough at the final judgment. Unfortunately, this is the same thing being taught by most churches today (get baptized, attend church, keep the commandments, etc.).
Dear reader, if you have done or are doing any of these things to make sure that you will finally get to Heaven, you are just trying to "establish your own righteousness." The only righteousness you have is "self-righteousness". You must repent of this! You cannot do anything to EARN God's righteousness! Neither is God's righteousness something a man can bestow on you through some physical, outward act such as circumcision, baptism, or confirmation. It can only come by a spiritual, inward operation which the Holy Spirit performs on a person's heart. Jesus told the Pharisees: "the kingdom of God cometh not with observation ... for, behold, the kingdom of God is within you." (Luke 17:20, 21) Remember: "man looketh on the outward appearance, but the Lord looketh upon the heart." (I Sam. 16:7) The Old Testament prophets often made mention of a circumcision of the heart. Paul also refers to this in Romans 2:28, 29. The only kind of conversion that is really going to change a man is a genuine heart conversion!
The Bible says divine righteousness is imputed (accounted) to a person the moment he completely trusts God's Word, before any works are performed. Consider Abraham in Romans, chapter four: "For what saith the scripture? Abraham believed God, and it was counted unto him for righteousness." (Rom. 4:3)
Notice: this imputation of God's righteousness took place before any physical acts of obedience were performed. "How was it then reckoned? When he was in circumcision, or in uncircumcision? Not in circumcision, but in uncircumcision. And he received the sign of circumcision, a seal of the righteousness of the faith which he had yet being uncircumcised:..." This "sign" or "seal" was a physical outward label for others to see what had already been done in his heart. (This same principle applies with the ceremony of baptism today.)
IV. How long does righteousness last?
That depends on whose righteousness you have. If it is your own, then it will only last as long as your physical life and you will spend eternity in Hell. However, if you have God's righteousness, then it will last forever. For the Bible says His righteousness is an "everlasting righteousness." (Psalms 119:142, Isa. 51:6-8)
Dear reader, what about you? You can't work for righteousness or it would be your own. You must submit to God's righteousness by faith in his Son who paid the price for you. "For he (the Father) hath made him (the Son) to be sin for us, who knew no sin: that we might be made the righteousness of God in him." (II Cor. 5:21) Remember, the very moment that you sincerely repent and call upon Jesus Christ with a BELIEVING heart to save your soul from Hell, that VERY MOMENT... you have GOD'S Righteousness and it is EVERLASTING!
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Will A Loving God Send You To Hell???