What Have You Chosen?

J. A. Moore

Some excerpts for your interest.

It has been said that nothing clarifies your mind like knowing you will be hanged in the morning! Equally, the vital question “Will I go to Heaven when I die?” demands the full focus of our thoughts. It is inevitable that we will die, and for any of us it could unexpectedly happen in the very near future.

Most people establish their spiritual belief from their family, peers, friends and life’s experiences without giving it much serious thought.

This belief can be that God does or does not exist.

If they believe that God exists, many think that because “God allows bad things to happen to good people”, he must be a distant, callous God. That doesn’t fit their worldview image of what God should be like and they don’t want to have anything to do with him.

Others believe that God is a “lovesick” God who will not turn anyone away from Heaven, irrespective of what they may have done or thought.
Then suddenly an incident happens and the time for serious thought is gone, forever! What happened to the people in this story is what “God’s Instruction Manual”, the Holy Bible, says they would have experienced.

Let’s hear their story.

The Story of James and Louise

It was the start of an exciting day. But then something happened, and suddenly their lives were changed forever.

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“Why do you have to have your name written in the Lamb’s Book of Life?” asked Louise. “Isn’t God a God of love who won’t reject anyone? Doesn’t everyone go to Heaven?”

“No, they don’t,” said the Angel. “This is a time when God, as a just God, must act with justice, though tempered with love.”

The Angel looked from one to the other and then went on. “For everyone their ‘end times’ is when they die. Once you have died, everything is set in place. You had your opportunity to get it right—or perhaps I should say, get it clean—when you were living in the world. After death it is too late.

“Heaven is where God lives. God is extremely powerful—so powerful that he created the universe by just uttering a word—and he radiates an enormous amount of energy. Nobody who is impure can exist in his presence. Only those who are completely pure can come into his presence and live with him.”

The Angel paused. “Perhaps an example will help you understand. If you have a burning flame that is very hot and you bring a clear, pure piece of glass near it, the heat energy from the flame will pass straight through it and the glass will be untouched. On the other hand, if you bring an impure piece of glass, such as one that has been smeared or painted, near a burning flame, the heat won’t pass through the glass but will quickly heat it and the glass will distort or shatter.

“It is the same with people and God. “Only people who have been made pure and whose names have been written in the Lamb’s Book of Life can enter Heaven and come into the presence of God.”

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“If, on the other hand, a person has chosen not to believe and rejected God’s gift, or they have drifted or walked away from their faith in Jesus as their Saviour and their name has been erased[i], then their name will not be written in the Lamb’s Book of Life. Then when they die and come to the Gates of Heaven and Hell, they won’t be able to get the robe of righteousness and they won’t be able to enter Heaven because of the presence of God.”

“What is our situation?” chorused James and Louise anxiously.

“Unfortunately,” said the Angel, looking down at the Book once again, “neither of you has chosen to accept Jesus as your Saviour. Hence your names are not written in the Lamb’s Book of Life, you are impure and there is no way you can enter Heaven.”

“But that’s not fair!” protested Louise. “No one told me that I might go to Hell when I died!”

“Yes” said the Angel “You are right. The modern Christian Church has been tricked by Satan, and no longer tells people about Hell, because they want to present a warm, fuzzy message that will not frighten people and they will easily accept. They don’t realise that it is a contradiction to their most important message. They say Jesus is the Saviour of the world, but he can only save people if he has something to save them from. The only thing Jesus died for, was to offer people the opportunity to be reconciled to God and to be saved from going to Hell!”

“But being fair is not the point!”  Said the Angel. “It is being just!” God has offered forgiveness as his part of the Covenant to all who will receive it as a gift. Even people who have committed terrible crimes, if they are sorry for their mistakes and receive Christ, they are forgiven by God and given a fresh start. Even those who repent on their deathbed are saved.[ii]

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[i] Revelation 3: 5 ⁵He who overcomes will, like them, be dressed in white. I will never blot out his name from the book of life, but will acknowledge his name before my Father and his angels.

[ii] Luke 23:39–43 One of the criminals who hung there hurled insults at him: “Aren’t you the Christ? Save yourself and us!” But the other criminal rebuked him. “Don’t you fear God,” he said, “since you are under the same sentence? We are punished justly, for we are getting what our deeds deserve. But this man has done nothing wrong.” Then he said, “Jesus, remember me when you come into your kingdom” Jesus answered him, “I tell you the truth, today you will be with me in paradise.”