Aug 4, 1996 11 min read old-sermon

Reasons to Believe in Heaven & Hell

I don’t know if you’ve ever found yourself casually talking about your own death
yesterday some of us got talking about funeral homes and I mentioned, “Boy, when I die, I’ve got one picked out for me”
it wasn’t very long before everyone was completely disgusted with me for even thinking about my own death
but we all realize we have a date with death
there is a one-to-one ratio in history of people being born to people dying
I wonder how your readiness factor reads this morning
many in this world, when they are confronted with death, say, “I have some thinking to do”
is there an afterlife?
is all this talk about heaven just pie in the sky?
are we reincarnated like the Hindus and New Agers say?
this is what this final installment in this series is about
reasons why we should believe in the reality of heaven and hell
I want to begin by listing seven reasons for believing in life after the grave
I know full well that many people believe that life does not extend beyond the grave
but I want to list seven reasons for believing otherwise
these reasons are not conclusive in and of themselves, but if you take them together, there seems to be a cumulative effect
FIRST, LOOK AT NATURE
for centuries, men and women have observed nature and noticed that in the natural realm, death gives way to a new kind of life
seeds die to give birth to plants
acorns shrivel and give birth to oak trees
caterpillars create a tomb around themselves that later explodes with the beauty of a butterfly
dark nights and cold winters pass into glorious mornings and blossoming springs
the pattern is everywhere – death leading to life
the great philosopher Plato looked at the death leading to life patterns in nature and concluded that maybe they provided a clue of what lies beyond the grave for humans
in his mind, nature points to an afterlife of some kind for human beings
SECOND, LOOK AT THE LAWS OF PHYSICS
Einstein and later others argued that matter may change states, but probably will not be created or destroyed
many people have studied the first law of thermodynamics and have seen it to be analogous to what happens to human beings at death
humans might change states, as it were, but not destroyed altogether
if they were destroyed, they would be among the only things in this universe to be ultimately destroyed
so some people look at this and say maybe there is some reason there to look at life beyond the grave
THIRD, LOOK AT PHILOSOPHY
Emmanuel Kant, certainly no lightweight thinker, observed that all people on the planet earth seem to have a concern for ethics
through a long, involved philosophical process, Kant argues that the only explanation for this inherent sense of ethics is this thing he calls justice
he argues that because justice is not applied fully in this world, it must be applied in the afterlife by a judge who finally settles human accounts
so Emmanuel Kant held a belief in the afterlife if for no other reason than justice for once and for all to be served
FOURTH, LOOK AT THE ETERNAL LONGINGS OF THE HUMAN HEART
anthropologists have concluded long ago that virtually every people, every cultural group, every tribe on earth has a well-developed sense of the afterlife
from the happy hunting ground concept of the native to the sensual pleasure concept of the Muslims, humans seem incapable of believing that death extinguishes their existence
from the pyramids of evil to the reincarnation of New Age thinking, people everywhere believe that the human soul survives death
how do you account for this universal sense?
there must be life after the grave
Ecclesiastes 3:11 says, “He has also set eternity in the hearts of men”
some think that what Solomon was saying is that there is an inescapable longing for something that this world cannot satisfy
Solomon tried to fill this inner void with work, alcohol, laughter, philosophy, music, and sexual relations
but his disillusionment grew
only when he turned to thoughts of a final judgment and afterlife could he find something big enough to satisfy his longings
(Ecclesiastes 12:14) For God will bring every deed into judgment, including every hidden thing, whether it is good or evil.
FIFTH, LOOK AT NEAR DEATH EXPERIENCES
you’ve all heard of these
these are incredibly subjective and arguable, and yet they happen
almost eight million people in the States alone claim to have come so close to death that they at least got a glimpse of what lies on the other side
Bruce Gyerson, a professor at the University of Connecticut, who specializes in studying near-death experiences, says that these experiences have had a profound affect on those who have experienced them
and often the experience motivate them to change their lives
often, they become less materialistic and more involved in worthwhile causes
whatever it is that they saw
they’ve had a profound experience that has changed their life, and there’s no doubt in their mind anymore about the afterlife
taken as a whole, they point to the fact that as people approach death, they sense they are not coming to the end of an existence but the beginning of another journey
SIXTH, LOOK AT THE INJUSTICES OF LIFE
it would be very difficult to believe that life is good if we knew there was nothing beyond the grave to compensate for all the inequality and unfairness present in this world
some in this world are born with a silver spoon in their mouths, while others are born into terrible relationships and circumstances
Solomon wrote in Ecclesiastes:
(Ecclesiastes 4:1) Again I looked and saw all the oppression that was taking place under the sun: I saw the tears of the oppressed– and they have no comforter; power was on the side of their oppressors– and they have no comforter.
(Ecclesiastes 4:2) And I declared that the dead, who had already died, are happier than the living, who are still alive.
(Ecclesiastes 4:3) But better than both is he who has not yet been, who has not seen the evil that is done under the sun.
(Job 3:1) After this, Job opened his mouth and cursed the day of his birth.
(Job 3:2) He said:
(Job 3:3) “May the day of my birth perish, and the night it was said, ‘A boy is born!’
when you hear about children being killed by their parents, when you think about a little child being abused by an adult, when you think of the hatred and murders and even petty crimes that go unpunished, one reason to believe in the afterlife is the necessity of the record being set straight
the sense of justice
in one of the very honest psalms, Psalm 73, a man named Asaph describes how he almost lost his faith in God when he considered how evil people prosper and the godly suffer
until he realizes that eternity will fix the imbalances of life
SEVENTH, LOOK AT THE BIBLE
the Bible speaks so clearly about life beyond the grave that you can’t read the Bible honestly and without confronting the teaching on the afterlife
in Genesis, straight off, the Scriptures tell us that God created us in his likeness, and God is an eternal God
Daniel 12:1-3 speaks of a day when those who sleep in the dust of the earth will be resurrected, some to life and some to everlasting shame
in Matthew 10:28, Jesus warned, “Do not be afraid of those who kill the body but cannot kill the soul. Rather, be afraid of the One who can destroy both soul and body in hell.”
Jesus promised Paradise to the repentant thief who was dying at his side, but he also used the Valley of Hinnom – a foul garbage dump outside of Jerusalem – as a symbol of what awaits those who insist on risking the judgment of God
Jesus even said, (Matthew 16:26) What good will it be for a man if he gains the whole world, yet forfeits his soul? Or what can a man give in exchange for his soul?
the Biblical teaching on heaven and hell is significant and compelling
what I want to do with the remaining minutes is to look at what happens when we die
and the source of the information I’ll be sharing is the Bible, which we have found to be reliable and trustworthy
THE FIRST EVENT THAT IS INESCAPABLE IS OUR DEATH
people often joke that there are only two things in life that are certain: death and taxes
that is only partially true, because some have been known to cheat the tax collector and avoid payment
death, however, cannot be cheated
(Hebrews 9:27) Man is destined to die once, and after that to face judgment
do you ever hear the saying, “So and so’s death was a surprise”
friends, somebody’s death is never a surprise
maybe the timing of their death was a surprise, but none of us should be surprised that we are going to die
it could be today, it could be years from now, it could be when we’re young or when we’re old, but we’re all destined for death
the only two people who were spared death in the Bible were Enoch and Elijah, and those who are alive at the second coming of Christ will also not experience death
but the rest of us have an inescapable appointment with death
THE SECOND EVENT THAT IS INESCAPABLE IS THE RESURRECTION
the Bible teaches at death, the soul of a believer goes to be immediately with the Lord
(2 Corinthians 5:8) We are confident, I say, and would prefer to be away from the body and at home with the Lord.
but one day, both believer and unbeliever will have their body resurrected, but not at the same time
the first resurrection will be of believers
(1 Corinthians 15:51) Listen, I tell you a mystery: We will not all sleep, but we will all be changed–
(1 Corinthians 15:52) in a flash, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trumpet. For the trumpet will sound, the dead will be raised imperishable, and we will be changed.
(1 Thessalonians 4:16) For the Lord himself will come down from heaven, with a loud command, with the voice of the archangel and with the trumpet call of God, and the dead in Christ will rise first.
(1 Thessalonians 4:17) After that, we who are still alive and are left will be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air. And so we will be with the Lord forever.
after a period of time called the millennium, according to Revelation 20:4, unbelievers as well will be resurrected
the souls of unbelievers will come from Hades and will be given bodies in which they will face the next inescapable appointment
the bodies we will receive, by the way, will be similar in many ways to the ones we have now, but also different
they will be flesh and bone, but dramatically changed (Luke 24:39; 1 Corinthians 15:50)
they will be incorruptible (1 Corinthians 15:49), awe inspiring (1 Corinthians 15:43), and they will have new abilities (1 Corinthians 15:43)
THE THIRD EVENT THAT IS INESCAPABLE IS THE JUDGMENT
(Revelation 20:11) Then I saw a great white throne and him who was seated on it. Earth and sky fled from his presence, and there was no place for them.
(Revelation 20:12) And I saw the dead, great and small, standing before the throne, and books were opened. Another book was opened, which is the book of life. The dead were judged according to what they had done as recorded in the books.
(Revelation 20:13) The sea gave up the dead that were in it, and death and Hades gave up the dead that were in them, and each person was judged according to what he had done.
(Revelation 20:14) Then death and Hades were thrown into the lake of fire. The lake of fire is the second death.
(Revelation 20:15) If anyone’s name was not found written in the book of life, he was thrown into the lake of fire.
many other passages speak of this final judgment
(Acts 17:30) In the past God overlooked such ignorance, but now he commands all people everywhere to repent.
(Acts 17:31) For he has set a day when he will judge the world with justice by the man he has appointed. He has given proof of this to all men by raising him from the dead.”
2 Timothy 4:1 tells us that Jesus Christ will be the judge
unbelievers will stand before Christ for judgment and receive various degrees of punishment
the secrets of people’s hearts will be revealed
(Luke 12:2) There is nothing concealed that will not be disclosed, or hidden that will not be made known.
(Luke 12:3) What you have said in the dark will be heard in the daylight, and what you have whispered in the ear in the inner rooms will be proclaimed from the roofs.
believers as well will be judged
(Romans 14:10) You, then, why do you judge your brother? Or why do you look down on your brother? For we will all stand before God’s judgment seat.
(Romans 14:12) So then, each of us will give an account of himself to God.
this will not be to determine our eternal destiny, since all believers will enter into God’s kingdom, but rather the various degrees of reward
we all have an inescapable date to stand before the judgment seat of Christ
THE FINAL EVENT THAT IS INESCAPABLE IS OUR ENTRANCE INTO EITHER HEAVEN OR HELL
these are not mythical places or figments of our imagination
one man writes of heaven, “It’s better than a mouse getting locked in a cheese processing plant. It’s better than a beggar inheriting a million dollars. It’s better than a lazy person finding a job as a mattress tester. It’s better than winning the Nobel Prize. We are talking about heaven, and it is far better than any earthly joy we can imagine”
what is most notable about heaven is what will be absent from it as well as what will be present in it
things that will be absent in it include tears, sorrow, death, pain, darkness, ungodly people, sin, temples, the sun or moon, and the curse from Adam’s sin
what will be present in heaven includes the saints, the river and the water of life, healing fruit, the Lamb of God, worship, the wedding feast of the Lamb and His bride, the unveiled face of God, and the Sun of Righteousness
Jonathan Edwards wrote that the saints will:
- swim in the ocean of love, and be eternally swallowed up in the infinitely bright, and infinitely mild and sweet beams of divine love; eternally receiving the light, eternally full of it, and eternally compassed round with it, and everlastingly reflecting it back to its fountain
we will not sit around all day playing harps and twiddling our thumbs
but the Bible tells us that unbelievers have an appointment with Hell
(Hebrews 10:31) It is a dreadful thing to fall into the hands of the living God.
hell is not just reserved for the Hitlers and Jeffrey Dahmers, it is reserved for all who fail to put their trust in Christ
Jesus spoke more of hell than he did about heaven, describing it as a place of fire (Matthew 5:22), bodily torment (Matthew 5:29-30), darkness (Matthew 8:12; 22:13), weeping and gnashing of teeth (Matthew 13:42, 50), and a place of varying degrees of punishment (Mark 12:40)
(2 Thessalonians 1:6) God is just: He will pay back trouble to those who trouble you
(2 Thessalonians 1:7) and give relief to you who are troubled, and to us as well. This will happen when the Lord Jesus is revealed from heaven in blazing fire with his powerful angels.
(2 Thessalonians 1:8) He will punish those who do not know God and do not obey the gospel of our Lord Jesus.
(2 Thessalonians 1:9) They will be punished with everlasting destruction and shut out from the presence of the Lord and from the majesty of his power
R.C. Sproul summarizes: “Hell…is an eternity before the righteous, burning wrath of God, a suffering torment from which there is no escape and no relief”
it is important to realize that there will be severe judgment but no cruelty in hell
all punishments received will be punishments earned
the good thing this morning is that your appointment with hell is not a sure thing
there is a way of escape
but we can’t straddle the fence, and we can’t wait to make a decision until after we have passed through death’s door
there are only two options
imagine standing at the door of an open elevator
how do you decide whether or not to get on?
your choice is influenced by two factors: the elevator’s direction, and where you want to go
now imagine yourself standing at the door of eternity
where will you go? Heaven or hell?
the decision you make now, before you die, will determine whether you are headed for the resurrection of the righteous or the resurrection of the condemned, whether your judgment will be joyful or miserable, and whether you spend eternity with God or eternity experiencing his wrath
the choice is yours
there are only two options
you can seek God’s forgiveness through Christ
Christ wept over the lost condition of mankind
he gave his life for sinners
his love and compassion were obvious to all who came in contact with him
and he’s calling out to you this morning
how will you respond?

Darryl Dash

I'm a grateful husband, father, oupa, and pastor of Grace Fellowship Church Don Mills. I love learning, writing, and encouraging. I'm on a lifelong quest to become a humble, gracious old man.

Toronto, Canada

Darryl Dash

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