Eternal Life or Eternal Destruction (John 3:36)

Scripture reading(36)
“Whoever believes in the son has eternal life, but whoever rejects the son will not see life, for God’s wrath remains on him.”



Observations:
Does everyone go to heaven?

Would a truly loving god ever not allow anyone into heaven?

Is god’s love truly unconditional?

According to one commonly held viewpoint, there are no boundaries in relation to god’s love, and that his love is absolutely and completely unconditional.

This viewpoint may be popular, but does it accord with scripture?

No. Neither does the idea that everyone is granted entry into heaven after death, a viewpoint advanced by some who feel that a truly loving god would never deny entry into heaven for anyone.

Granted, ardent students of scripture will find several examples which describe the nature and extent of god’s love, – Romans 5:8-9 being a good example.

But nowhere does the bible say that his love is unconditional, and the concept that god’s love does not come with any conditions attached does not accord with scripture. Nor do the viewpoints that everyone goes to heaven after death, or that a truly loving god would never send anyone to hell.

Indeed, this passage, and others like it, contradict these kinds of popular beliefs. This passage makes it clear that there is one condition attached to god’s love and toward entry into heaven.

That condition is simply this: belief in Jesus Christ, god’s only son.

There is one condition, and one condition only, for entry into heaven after death – absolute faith that the death of Christ Jesus on the cross is sufficient to cover the cost of your sins. Those who believe in Jesus are granted immediate and full forgiveness for our sins.

Unfortunately, the same cannot be said for those who do not, whom the bible says are not forgiven for their sins and will be denied entry into heaven.

Why is god’s love not unconditional? I feel that it is important here to explore the issue of why some of the popular notions above do not accord with scripture.

The notions, that god’s love is completely unconditional and that a truly loving god would not deny anyone entrance into heaven upon death, are, in my view, based around a popular, worldly view of god, as opposed to a view of based around the teachings of the bible. This worldly view describes how we imagine god to be like, or how we believe that god should be, as opposed to how god is actually described in the bible.

One of the fundamental problems with this worldly view of god is that it tends to gloss over or ignore one very important fact – that we have all sinned against him, and that our relationship with him has been broken as a result. (refer Genesis 3)

The idea that a loving god would not deny entry into heaven to anyone, for example, would hold true if we had never sinned. If we had never sinned, if we had never rebelled against god, then any denial of entry into heaven on his behalf would be unfair and without justification. After all, what just god would deny entry into heaven to those who had done nothing wrong?

But this is not the case, and indeed, the bible says that each and every one of us has, at some point, turned away and rejected god. The first sin was committed in the Garden of Eden, and Adam and Eve at that time represented and acted on behalf of the entire human race at that time. But more than that, the bible claims that each and every one of us has, at some point, turned away and rejected god our maker and heavenly father.

This is where the worldly view falls down. For god to automatically grant everyone a free ticket into his heavenly home, he would have to pretend that our sin does not matter, or that it does not matter that we have rebelled against him rejected him.

But it does matter. God, with his complete integrity, could not just ignore our rejection of him.

That is why we need Jesus. Our sin cannot go unpunished, and someone needs to take the punishment for us. Either it can be Jesus, whose death on the cross god has deemed sufficient for the complete forgiveness of our sins, or it can be us, who will otherwise have to take an eternal punishment, in being locked out of the kingdom of god forever.


Prayer:
Dear heavenly father,

Sometimes, in our arrogance, we try to demand that you be whoever we want you to be.

We forget our place – that you are the maker and master of heaven and earth, and that we, lowly sinners, are accountable to you, not the other way around.

Lord, we try to gloss over our sin and our rebellion, and in our arrogance, we sometimes think that we are entitled to a place in your kingdom in spite or our brokenness.

But thank you lord, that you did not leave us broken. When we were lost, you have provided a way for us to be reconciled to you. You took the punishment on yourself, so that we may be forgiven, and so that the depth of your amazing character would be revealed and on full display.

For that, we can only fall down on our knees and praise you.

In the name of Jesus Christ our lord.

Amen.