Article by: Kenneth J. Ester
I am Dying! What Do I Need to Know?
For a lot of people, dying is a scary thing to face. There is the fear of the unknown. What happens after we die? Unfortunately the Fire & Brimstone preachers out there do not always make things easier. They put an image in our heads that we will burn for all of the bad things we have done in life. Many people who are facing death in their near future are afraid that they could never make up for all the bad things they have done. Hell has never seemed as real to them as it does when facing the real possibilities of going there. Let me assure you one thing. You can know your destiny and be confident in it.
I have done some extensive studying of the Bible and God has shown me a way to find His truth and not man’s interpreted version of the truth. God’s truth is written so clearly in the Bible that the biggest mistake people make is trying to interpret it. There are certain verses in the Bible that are so plainly stated that they cannot be interpreted wrong. When you focus on these verses, the truth, God’s truth, comes out just as plain.
Sin will not send you or anyone else to hell. Many Christians will call this heresy but it’s the truth. All of the bad things you have done will not send you to hell. Oh, they will have an effect on you, but they will not send you to hell.
There is only one thing that will send anyone to hell. Rejection of Jesus Christ as your savior! The Bible tells it plainly. If you confess aloud to someone else that Jesus is Lord, and you believe in your heart that Jesus is the Son of God and was raised from the dead. You will be saved! That’s it!
God knew man could never be good enough to save himself. We have been corrupted by sin and born with its stain. God knew nobody would ever be good enough to make it to heaven! But God loves us too much to allow that, so He did the most amazing thing. God sacrificed Himself to save us!
In the ancient times, God used to allow man to sacrifice animals to Him to atone for their sins. The problem was the animals were only pure enough to forgive man for recent sins they committed and could not wash their souls clean. That would take a sacrifice that was far more holy than any animal could supply. So God sent the Word to save us.
You need to understand that God is not just one spirit, but He is three. When He created everything He was the Father, the Word and the Holy Spirit. They are not each other, but they are all, the One True God. And God did not want us to end up in hell, so He sent the Word to us, to be born in the flesh and become a man. The Word, who is the second person of the Godhead, set His godly powers aside to become a man like any other. He was born and grew up learning just like anyone else did. Then as a man, He gathered His disciples and began teaching them how God want us to live. He was able to set the example because He was only a man Himself. He showed us how to walk in faith and it was through faith that He perform great miracles. It was through great faith that He healed the sick, raised people from the dead and prophesied. It was through great love for us, that He willingly let the Jewish leaders have Him crucified.
He was beaten and ridiculed. He was scourged by a whip that had chunks of glass and metal tied into it, so that every single lashing would dig in and shred through His flesh. They pressed a crown of thorns, 2 to 3 inches long, deep into His scalp. Then they nailed His hands and feet to a cross and killed Him. And He went willingly to this barbaric death because it was the only way to save us.
You see, Jesus (the Word) was born in the flesh and became the only begotten Son of God, not for His glory, but to save us. Because to truly wash us clean of our sin, we needed a truly pure and holy sacrifice. So God came to us and sacrificed Himself to give us that perfect pure and holy sacrifice. That’s how much He loves us.
The greatest thing about it is that God does not extract anything from us for payment for that sacrifice. It was the ultimate gift to us. He sacrificed Himself to save us and it is a gift to us, free for the taking to anyone who wants it!
The problem is that like with any other gift in this world, it’s not yours unless you accept it. Since this gift is spiritual salvation, you can only accept the gift if you believe it is real. You must believe God is real and Jesus is the Son of God and that He died for us and God raised Him from the dead in order to accept it. All you have to do is believe.
That is the most amazing thing when you think about it. You don’t have to make up for all the bad things you did. You don’t have to live a perfect life. You don’t need to do a bunch of Hail Mary’s or anything to receive the gift of salvation. Every bad thing you have ever done, however bad it might be, is washed away and forgiven. You only need to believe in your heart that God has saved you!
If you truly believe, then when you die, you will be saved. You will never need to face the Lake of Fire but you will go to heaven and be with God and His angels and the multitudes of others who have believed.
What this world does not realize is that the end is near. When the end comes, this world will be washed away as well. We do not spend all eternity in heaven, but God will be giving us a New Earth. He will give us new bodies that are imperishable and we will live on the new Earth forever. No suffering, no pain, no fear or shame. Only in happiness and love. That will be the prize for believing.
As for the bad things you have done? They are forgiven but they do still have an effect. For each of us has a great reward coming in the afterlife. We will be given positions of authority and jobs in the new Earth. What our position is and how much our rewards will be will be according to how much good and how much bad we have done in our lives. That’s what sin does. It eats away at our rewards, but it will never send you to hell. The only way to be cast into the Lake of Fire is to reject the gift of salvation by not believing in your heart. By not believing Jesus has saved you!
God gives us the ultimate gift. He sacrificed Himself to save us and gives us rewards in a joyous afterlife. That’s why we should serve God while we are alive. That’s why Christians should be praying and working on their personal relationship with God. Because He is worth it. And the closer we are to God, the happier we are.
Many churches will teach you to say a prayer asking God to forgive you for your sins in order to be saved. I don’t believe in that. It is not even in the Bible. Instead, I believe in teaching others to pray to God on a daily basis and pray from your heart. Thank God for what He has done for you and thank Him for His sacrifice. I do teach to pray to ask God to forgive you for your sins as well, but not to be saved. But because you are sorry for sinning against Him. For if you already believe, you are already saved.
That is the truth of the One True God. That is the truth of salvation. Knowing you believe in your heart means you know you are saved and that gives you every reason to enter the New Life with confidence instead of fear.
I have done some extensive studying of the Bible and God has shown me a way to find His truth and not man’s interpreted version of the truth. God’s truth is written so clearly in the Bible that the biggest mistake people make is trying to interpret it. There are certain verses in the Bible that are so plainly stated that they cannot be interpreted wrong. When you focus on these verses, the truth, God’s truth, comes out just as plain.
Sin will not send you or anyone else to hell. Many Christians will call this heresy but it’s the truth. All of the bad things you have done will not send you to hell. Oh, they will have an effect on you, but they will not send you to hell.
There is only one thing that will send anyone to hell. Rejection of Jesus Christ as your savior! The Bible tells it plainly. If you confess aloud to someone else that Jesus is Lord, and you believe in your heart that Jesus is the Son of God and was raised from the dead. You will be saved! That’s it!
God knew man could never be good enough to save himself. We have been corrupted by sin and born with its stain. God knew nobody would ever be good enough to make it to heaven! But God loves us too much to allow that, so He did the most amazing thing. God sacrificed Himself to save us!
In the ancient times, God used to allow man to sacrifice animals to Him to atone for their sins. The problem was the animals were only pure enough to forgive man for recent sins they committed and could not wash their souls clean. That would take a sacrifice that was far more holy than any animal could supply. So God sent the Word to save us.
You need to understand that God is not just one spirit, but He is three. When He created everything He was the Father, the Word and the Holy Spirit. They are not each other, but they are all, the One True God. And God did not want us to end up in hell, so He sent the Word to us, to be born in the flesh and become a man. The Word, who is the second person of the Godhead, set His godly powers aside to become a man like any other. He was born and grew up learning just like anyone else did. Then as a man, He gathered His disciples and began teaching them how God want us to live. He was able to set the example because He was only a man Himself. He showed us how to walk in faith and it was through faith that He perform great miracles. It was through great faith that He healed the sick, raised people from the dead and prophesied. It was through great love for us, that He willingly let the Jewish leaders have Him crucified.
He was beaten and ridiculed. He was scourged by a whip that had chunks of glass and metal tied into it, so that every single lashing would dig in and shred through His flesh. They pressed a crown of thorns, 2 to 3 inches long, deep into His scalp. Then they nailed His hands and feet to a cross and killed Him. And He went willingly to this barbaric death because it was the only way to save us.
You see, Jesus (the Word) was born in the flesh and became the only begotten Son of God, not for His glory, but to save us. Because to truly wash us clean of our sin, we needed a truly pure and holy sacrifice. So God came to us and sacrificed Himself to give us that perfect pure and holy sacrifice. That’s how much He loves us.
The greatest thing about it is that God does not extract anything from us for payment for that sacrifice. It was the ultimate gift to us. He sacrificed Himself to save us and it is a gift to us, free for the taking to anyone who wants it!
The problem is that like with any other gift in this world, it’s not yours unless you accept it. Since this gift is spiritual salvation, you can only accept the gift if you believe it is real. You must believe God is real and Jesus is the Son of God and that He died for us and God raised Him from the dead in order to accept it. All you have to do is believe.
That is the most amazing thing when you think about it. You don’t have to make up for all the bad things you did. You don’t have to live a perfect life. You don’t need to do a bunch of Hail Mary’s or anything to receive the gift of salvation. Every bad thing you have ever done, however bad it might be, is washed away and forgiven. You only need to believe in your heart that God has saved you!
If you truly believe, then when you die, you will be saved. You will never need to face the Lake of Fire but you will go to heaven and be with God and His angels and the multitudes of others who have believed.
What this world does not realize is that the end is near. When the end comes, this world will be washed away as well. We do not spend all eternity in heaven, but God will be giving us a New Earth. He will give us new bodies that are imperishable and we will live on the new Earth forever. No suffering, no pain, no fear or shame. Only in happiness and love. That will be the prize for believing.
As for the bad things you have done? They are forgiven but they do still have an effect. For each of us has a great reward coming in the afterlife. We will be given positions of authority and jobs in the new Earth. What our position is and how much our rewards will be will be according to how much good and how much bad we have done in our lives. That’s what sin does. It eats away at our rewards, but it will never send you to hell. The only way to be cast into the Lake of Fire is to reject the gift of salvation by not believing in your heart. By not believing Jesus has saved you!
God gives us the ultimate gift. He sacrificed Himself to save us and gives us rewards in a joyous afterlife. That’s why we should serve God while we are alive. That’s why Christians should be praying and working on their personal relationship with God. Because He is worth it. And the closer we are to God, the happier we are.
Many churches will teach you to say a prayer asking God to forgive you for your sins in order to be saved. I don’t believe in that. It is not even in the Bible. Instead, I believe in teaching others to pray to God on a daily basis and pray from your heart. Thank God for what He has done for you and thank Him for His sacrifice. I do teach to pray to ask God to forgive you for your sins as well, but not to be saved. But because you are sorry for sinning against Him. For if you already believe, you are already saved.
That is the truth of the One True God. That is the truth of salvation. Knowing you believe in your heart means you know you are saved and that gives you every reason to enter the New Life with confidence instead of fear.
