Lesson 7 - Jesus, The Way to Heaven
Church of Christ - Duluth
318 N. 18th Ave. E.
Duluth, MN 55812
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Evangelist: Keiran Murphy
churchofchrist.duluth@gmail.com
Both the Bible and experience remind us that death is certain. "It is appointed for men to die once, but after this the judgment." Hebrews 9:27
The judgment will take place when Jesus returns and He has described it: “When the Son of Man comes in His glory, and all the holy angels with Him, then He will sit on the throne of His glory. And all the nations will be gathered before Him, and He will separate them one from another, as a shepherd divides his sheep from the goats. And He will set the sheep on His right hand, but the goats on the left.” Matthew 25:31-33
These two groups will go forth to vastly different destinations.
HELL
The following words describe the destiny of those on the left.
"Then He will also say to those on the left hand, 'Depart from Me, you cursed, into the everlasting fire prepared for the devil and his angels.'" Matthew 25:41
"It is better for you to enter the kingdom of God with one eye, than having two eyes, to be cast into hell fire - 'where their worm does not die and the fire is not quenched.'" Mark 9:47,48
"But the cowardly and unbelieving and abominable and murderers and sexually immoral and sorcerers and idolaters and all liars shall have their part in the lake which burns with fire and brimstone, which is the second death.'" Revelation 21:8
"Let no one deceive you with empty words, for because of these things the wrath of God comes on the sons of disobedience." Ephesians 5:6
The warning of this last verse is appropriate for our times. To many in our generation, hell is a joke, considered nothing more than mild byword. Even among those who claim to be Christians, there are many who insist that God is “too good” to send men to hell.
To question hell, however, is to question the goodness of God, for God is also too good to lie. Jesus said: "These will go away into everlasting punishment." Matthew 25:46 One who believes in Jesus must believe that this is true. The way to hell is easy and popular. "Wide is the gate and broad is the way that leads to destruction, and there are many who go in through it." Matthew 7:13
One does not have to do wicked things to go to hell. He may go to hell by failing to take the way to heaven. The Bible describes the end of the world when — “The Lord Jesus is revealed from heaven with His mighty angels, in flaming fire taking vengeance on those who do not know God, and on those who do not obey the gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ. These will be punished with everlasting destruction from the presence of the Lord and from the glory of His power.” II Thessalonians 1:7-9
HEAVEN
Man was not created to spend eternity in hell but to walk with God in
paradise (Genesis 2:7-9). When man lost his home in Eden through sin,
God set in motion a plan of redemption by which he may be forgiven and
enjoy a home that is even better than Eden.
John, the apostle, was given a vision of this new paradise: “And I, John, saw the holy city, New Jerusalem, coming down from God out of heaven, prepared as a bride adorned for her husband. And I heard a loud voice out of heaven saying, ‘Behold, the tabernacle of God is with men, and He shall dwell with them, and they shall be His people, and God Himself shall be with them and be their God. And God shall wipe every tear from their eyes; there shall be no more death, nor sorrow, nor crying; and there shall be no more pain, for the former things have passed away.’” Revelation 21:2-4
This is the paradise to which the King will summon those on His right hand, saying: “Come, you blessed of My Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world.” Matthew 25:34 But the sad fact is that few will enter this heavenly paradise – “Because narrow is the gate and difficult the way which leads to life, and there are few who find it.” Matthew 7:14
JESUS IS THE WAY
Those who will enter the heavenly rest after judgment are those who die
in Jesus, for He is THE WAY.
“And I heard a voice from heaven saying to me, ‘Write: Blessed are the dead who die in the Lord from now on.’ ‘Yes,’ says the Spirit, ‘that they may rest from their labors, and their works follow them.’” Revelation 14:13
If we wish to be among those who die in the Lord, we must establish that relationship with Him while we live. This is not accomplished by merely calling Him “Lord”, but by obeying God’s will as revealed through Him. He has warned us: “Not everyone who says to Me, ‘Lord, Lord’, will enter the kingdom of heaven, but he who does the will of My Father who is in heaven.” Matthew 7:21
We have already learned that the will of the Father for those who believe in Jesus is that they should repent of their sins and be baptized into Christ. “For as many of you as have been baptized into Christ have put on Christ.” Galatians 3:27 “Blessed are those who do His commandments, that they may have the right to the tree of life, and may enter in through the gates into the city.” Revelation 22:14
Having been baptized into Christ and living as He directs, we can be sure that we are in the way to heaven. If we are not in Christ, we are not in the way – for as the text of this series assures us, He is the ONLY WAY.
Can you answer these questions about Jesus?
Please copy and paste these questions into an e-mail addressed to: churchofchrist.duluth@gmail.com
Send us your answers, and we will be happy to give you a response.
Use quotations in the lesson or find verses in your own Bible from which to answer the following questions:
1. After death, one must face ____________________. (Hebrews 9:27)
2. Everlasting fire was prepared for the __________________. (Matthew 25:41)
3. Those who do not ________________ God and do not _________________ the gospel will be punished with everlasting destruction. (II Thessalonians 1:8,9)
4. ________________ will go through the wide gate to destruction, but ________________ will find the way to life. (Matthew 7:13, 14)
5. In the New Jerusalem (heaven), God dwells with _________________ and they shall be His __________________. (Revelation 21:3)
6. Those who will rest from their labors are those who die in the _______________. (Revelation 14:13)
7. The one who enters the kingdom of heaven is the one who ________________ the will of the Father in heaven. (Matthew 7:21)
8. Those who put on Christ are those who are ________________ in Christ. (Galatians 3:27)
9. Jesus said, "I am the ________________, the truth and the life." (John 14:6)
The following scripture references are not in the lesson. Find them in your own Bible and answer the questions.
10. Our life is like a _______________ that appears for a little while and then vanishes. (James 4:14)
11. The dead will be raised when the ______________________ sounds. (I Corinthians 15:52)
12. Those who have done good will be raised unto _________________, but those who have done evil will be raised to _____________________. (John 5:28-29)
13. God gave His only begotten Son that whosoever _________________ in Him should not perish but have everlasting life. (John 3:16)
14. God does not desire that any should perish, but that all should _______________________________. (II Peter 3:9)
15. "And now why are you waiting? Arise and be __________________ and wash away your sins, calling on the name of the Lord." (Acts 22:16)
Christians who have provided this study course will be happy to assist you further in your effort to know Christ and to obey Him. Check any of the following ways that we can assist you:
---- I would like to enroll in another free correspondence course where I can learn even more about the Bible.
---- I would like to have someone visit me to discuss the Bible.
---- I would like to have a series of Bible studies in my home.
Do you have any other questions? Is there any other way that we can help you? Please let us know! Thank you for completing the "Jesus, The Way" correspondence course.
