Where Am I Going?

Of Life's Great Questions this is most important to us. If the Biblical worldview is true then we will live forever in one of two places —heaven or hell. If the secular worldview is true then death is the end, we are slaves of chance and our heaven or hell is now and we cannot change our destiny.

The Biblical Worldview
The Secular Worldview

Many Will Not Find Life
Jesus warned that although many want it, few will find the way to eternal life.

For the gate is small, and the way is narrow that leads to life, and few are those who find it. (Mt 7:14)

Even some religious zealots, laboring in Jesus' name, will be told by their Maker:

"Depart from me ... I never knew you." (See Mat.7:21-23) We must be careful to understand what God requires —faith and obedience.

Heaven The Bible describes heaven at length. Jesus promised He would prepare a special place for believers. Heaven is inestimable beauty, happiness free of pain and tears. It is eternal life with our Creator. We will have eternity to enjoy and explore His new and even greater creation with the One who made it.

Hell How could a loving God punish any of His creatures in eternal fire? The short answer is that God is also holy. He must reward obedience and punish disobedience. Unless He does He is unjust —that He cannot be.

If we are faithless, He remains faithful; for He cannot deny Himself. (2Tim 2:13)

All sin must be paid for —either by the sinner's own eternal death or by Jesus Christ's death. Our temporary physical death doesn't pay —it is only a sleep until the resurrection.

It's A Choice! The Biblical worldview makes clear that God has provided everything necessary for us to choose our own destiny.
For God so loved the world, that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish, but have eternal life. (Jn 3:16)

God wants to restore everyone to eternal perfect life with Him.
The Lord is [...] not wishing for any to perish but for all to come to repentance. (2 Pet 3:9)
God will not overrule the power of choice He gave us. Before we die physically, we will choose between Him and eternal death —perhaps by default.

Our Brief Opportunity Unbelief is optional for only a short time. Its consequence —blindness —begins with our first willful doubt. What we won't believe, we will soon find we can't believe.
Behold, now is the acceptable time, behold, now is the day of salvation" (2Co 6:2)

Hope
• In Adam I chose my own way —the way of death that will end in eternal death unless I choose the way of life before I die.
• If I chose life I will spend eternity with my Creator, otherwise I will be judged and sentenced to eternal death.
• God wants me to return to enjoy His designed original high created estate, not to some self-made alien life-form.
• The Bible is full of "re-" words. I can be redeemed and restored to my original, eternal perfect life in communion with Him.
• If, as the Bible says we are "lost" in sin, then where do we belong? We belong with the One who made us.

Of Life's Great Questions this is most important to us. If the Biblical worldview is true then we will live forever in one of two places —heaven or hell. If the secular worldview is true then death is the end, we are slaves of chance and our heaven or hell is now and we cannot change our destiny.

Utopia
In the secular worldview humans rise out of slime into a new alien life-form. With all of nature they reach a state of everlasting perfection.

But this hope is now fading. Terrorism, epidemics, environmental disasters, international tension, drug wars, resistant viruses, weapons of mass destruction, precarious financial structures show that man’s extinction looms instead. Technological advances have empowered us to annihilate everyone.