With the
current financial system, the average person, including people who don’t use
credit cards, has recurring bills. These recurring bills come in the form of mortgages,
rents, and utility bills, and the like, which unless under alternate agreements
with the creditor, come due every month. Bill payment is therefore, a way of
life in society.
Here is a
dilemma to ponder. What should a consumer do about a bill that shows a zero
balance, even though he or she is sure he or she hasn’t paid it? Should the
consumer pay this bill again, after discovering that a loved-one had indeed paid
it in full? I am one of those who will answer, “Absolutely Not.” I’ll say it’s
time to be thankful, and go on with life. If the consumer insists on paying
that debt, after knowing full well it has been paid already, a good number of
people would wonder if this person were out of his or her mind. Some might even
go on to say he or she is a fool.
As ridiculous
as this scenario sounds, many people are doing that right now! They insist on
paying for their sins, although there is no need for them to do that. They’d rather go to hell than place their
faith in Jesus. An atheist on television trying to raise support to keep Church
and State separate concluded his ad with, “I’m not afraid of burning in hell.”
Does he know what that means? Why would anybody look forward to going to hell
when his sins have already been paid for? This is heart wrenching, and shows
defiance and disdain for God. How sad! But just as a person could be considered
a fool for wanting to pay a bill that’s been already paid in full; anybody who
rejects God’s provision for the forgiveness of sin is also a fool. The Bible
says, “The fool says in his heart, ‘There is no God’” (Psalm 14:1 NIV). To such
people, God is just going to say, “Have it your way” and reluctantly send them
to hell (see 2 Peter 3:9). How scary!
The thing is we owe God a debt we cannot pay;
He’ll forgive that debt, but only on one condition—admission of guilt and faith
in Jesus. He says the wages of sin is death-the death of a sinless person. No
human qualifies as that person, So out of love, God sent His Son, Jesus as our
substitute – the only one without sin, and the Bible expresses it this way,
“For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever
believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life” (John3:16 NIV).
Although
Jesus died to pay for our sins, it’s sad but certain, that there are people who
will still be held accountable for their sins. They’ll go to hell because they
refuse to believe in Jesus. But why do they refuse to believe in Him?
Since Jesus
has already satisfied God’s required payment for sin, it makes absolutely no
sense for anyone to go to hell. If scientists ever discover a cure for cancer, I
am a hundred percent sure, that all cancer patients will line up to be treated;
not even one will choose to suffer and die when treatment is available. Pain
and suffering in this life will end at death, but pain and suffering in the
life to come is forever—without end. Sometimes, I think we are very limited in
our understanding of eternity, and that is why some individuals accept hell so
readily, and even joke about it; hell however, is not a joking matter, and it
is not funny. Unfortunately, by the time they understand it, it’ll be too late
to choose the alternative—life in Jesus!
God will not
take His pronouncement back; He will judge sin, because He knows that man knows
the truth about God. Man has chosen to disregard the truth, although deep down
in his heart, he knows God exists, and that he is accountable to Him. The
apostle Paul reminds us, “The wrath of God is being revealed from heaven against
all the ungodliness and wickedness of men who suppress the truth by their
wickedness. Since what may be known
about God is plain to them, because God has made it plain to them” (Romans
1: 18-19).
If you are
reading this, and have not yet submitted to the lordship of Jesus, please do
not take it lightly; because hell is for real, and once you arrive there, you
cannot turn around. That will be where you will spend eternity. Act quickly!
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