Monday, August 29, 2011

Death is coming to us all. We know not when or how. So then what? Time will continue to pass after we die, but do we have some sort of immortal soul?

People were created with some unique abilities. One is imagination. We can imagine things that are real, and things that are not real. We can imagine things that are true, and things that are not true.

On a side note at this point, one sad fact is that people also have the ability to believe in their false imaginations. By believe, I mean they will act and shape their life based on a lie. Sometimes people believe their own lies, and/or the lies of others, and live their lives according to such.

So back to imagination. When we die, we can imagine that life just ends in the grave. But is it imagination to believe that our soul is immortal and will live on? Not according to God. He tells us that He has placed the idea of eternity within us [(Ecc. 3:11 http://bible.cc/ecclesiastes/3-11.htm). Also note, that this is not all He has placed within us. He has also placed the moral law inside us, Romans 2:15 http://bible.cc/romans/2-15.htm]. Jesus confirms this when He says "I am the resurrection and the life. Whoever believes in me, though he die, yet shall he live, and everyone who lives and believes in me shall never die."(John 11:25, 26) However, Jesus also affirms that people who do not believe in Him, will also live eternally, but having faced the judgment of God on their own, will do so without Him, without God's goodness, and will face the penalty of their sin in eternal judgement in a place called Hell.

So the Bible says that God has placed eternity in our hearts, the moral law as well, but is there anything else He did? Romans 1:20 says For since the creation of the world God's invisible qualities--his eternal power and divine nature--have been clearly seen, being understood from what has been made, so that men are without excuse. (http://bible.cc/romans/1-20.htm). He has created the universe itself, in such a way, that although man may imagine silly nonsense about it creating itself and evolving naturally, that they will be without excuse when they stand before Him in judgement.

So, is it possible to believe something that is not true, and also, to know something is true, but choose not to believe in that truth, but rather believe in a false imagination? God says yes, that man can "suppress" the truth, and live a lie. (http://bible.cc/romans/1-18.htm)

You may have legitimate questions about God and the bible, and about Jesus, God the Son, my Lord, my Saviour. But ultimately those questions will not serve as a "get out of jail free" card when you stand before Him. You will be without excuse. You will stand alone, (http://bible.cc/ezekiel/18-4.htm), unless you have Jesus standing next to you, (http://bible.cc/1_john/2-1.htm).

If you have ever been, or are my friend, and I have failed to tell you of Jesus, or to live a life worthy of His name, you have my sincerest apology.

Don't let this day pass without considering your life, because you may not have it tomorrow. If you have questions about the christian faith, about the bible, about Jesus, please ask me, and don't wait. If I don't have the answer you need, I will find it, or direct you to someone else if you need a more "professional" answer, i.e., a Doctor of Psychology or of one of the natural sciences.