Tag: Death

Is Jesus Christ equal with God? Part 3

“28 Do not marvel at this; for the hour is coming in which all who are in the graves will hear His voice 29 and come forth—those who have done good, to the resurrection of life, and those who have done evil, to the resurrection of condemnation.” John 5:28-29

Jesus not only claims to be equal with God the Father because He is the Son and the Savior, but also because HE IS THE SEPARATOR (John 5:27-30). Jesus will separate believers from unbelievers, and execute judgment on those without eternal life and bless those with eternal life. “…And has given Him authority to execute judgment also, because He is the Son of Man.” (John 5:27). Christ is qualified to judge humanity because as a human being, “the Son of Man,” He can understand the needs and viewpoints of people. Christ knows the pressures and the problems we face, therefore He knows clearly when we have reached the place where we are ready to give up depending on ourselves and are ready to depend on Him alone for eternal life.

“28 Do not marvel at this; for the hour is coming in which all who are in the graves will hear His voice 29 and come forth—those who have done good, to the resurrection of life, and those who have done evil, to the resurrection of condemnation.” (John 5:28-29). What a marvelous claim! Jesus says there is an hour coming in history when all the dead – the good and the bad – loving and unloving, murderers, rapists – all, shall come forth from the grave. He is going to empty the cemeteries of the world. Christ will ultimately determine the eternal destiny of all people.

What does “those who have done good” mean? Many people take this verse out of context and make up their own ideas about what it means to “have done good.” Some say if the good you have done in your life outweighs the bad, then God will let you into heaven. But that is not what this verse is saying. This is just a few verses removed from what Jesus said about the gift of eternal life in John 5:24. To“have done good,” of course, means to have heard Jesus’s Word and believed in Him who sent Christ. After a person trusts Christ for eternal life, God looks at their life and sees only the good things they have done, not the evil. How can this be? Because God has no charge against the believer (Romans 8:33). The believer is justified (“declared totally righteous”) of all things based on his or her faith in Christ (Romans 4:5). All our sin has been covered by the goodness of Jesus Christ. We are seen by God as completely holy and perfect because of His grace.

“Those who have done evil” – refers to the person who rejects Christ and remains in the sphere of “death.” This dark circle (see diagram 1) represents the non-Christian’s life filled with the darkness of sin. When God looks at the life of an unbeliever, all He sees are the evil things the unbeliever has done. There is no hint of righteousness in the non-Christian. All their good works, thoughts, and words are stained with sin (Isaiah 64:6). Their condemnation by God is total, just as the believer’s acceptance by God is total. So, when God looks at our lives before we believe in Jesus, all He sees are the bad things we have done.

But the Bible tells us that when a person hears God’s promise of eternal life and believes in Jesus, he is transferred into the sphere of “life” (see diagram 2).  When God looks at our life after we believe in Christ, what does He see? He sees only the blood of His Son and His goodness in our lives. That’s why God can let us into heaven when we die if we have believed in Christ as our Savior.

Some people may object to Jesus’s judgment of the unbeliever. After all, how can a loving God send people to an eternity separated from God? “I can of Myself do nothing. As I hear, I judge; and My judgment is righteous, because I do not seek My own will but the will of the Father who sent Me.” (John 5:30). There will be no argument against Jesus’s judgment. No one will be able to complain that it is unfair, because it is the work of both the Father and the Son. Jesus does not judge others independently of the Father. He says, “As I hear, I judge.” Christ’s judgment is based upon what He hears His Father say so that His “judgment is righteous.”  Jesus would never make a judgment that is different from His righteous Father’s.

God the Son who came among us and knows how we feel, is both our Savior and Judge. We decide which He is going to be by the response we make to the truth.  It is Christ’s responsibility to determine a person’s eternal destiny. It is our responsibility to direct people to Christ. Hence, Jesus defends His equality with God the Father by making three claims:

He is the Son

He is the Savior

He is the Separator

Do you see Jesus as He is this moment? John is concerned that we have a correct understanding of who Jesus Christ is. From the very beginning of his gospel, he has told us that the Word (meaning Jesus) was God and that the Word became human flesh without ceasing to be God (John 1:1, 14). Jesus can never be put on a par with Mohammed, Buddha, Mahatma Gandhi, the virgin Mary, Moses or any other religious leader. But the truth is, much of the world has an image of Jesus as a good man with good teachings on how we are to get along with each other. If that were true though, He would never have gotten Himself in trouble, and He definitely would not have been crucified. You see, the facts don’t match up with that line of thinking.

What will you do with Jesus now? Perhaps your life is a mess. You have been trying to run your own life and it keeps getting messier. Are you prepared to meet Christ as a Judge or as your Savior? The only way you can face Him as your Savior is by coming to Him as a sinner, realizing He paid for all your sins on the cross and rose from the dead, and then trusting Him alone to save you. Have you done that? If not, is there anything keeping you from trusting Christ as your Savior right now? If not, simply take Him at His Word when He says, “Most assuredly, I say to you, he who hears My word and believes in Him who sent Me has everlasting life, and shall not come into judgment, but has passed from death into life.” (John 5:24).

The moment you hear Jesus’s promise of eternal life and believe in Him for it, you have eternal life. Would you do me a favor? The moment you are convinced you have eternal life after trusting in Jesus, would you let me know because I want to rejoice with you!!! Just send me a message under our “Contact Us” menu.

Prayer: Father, please make an eternal difference today by convincing those without Christ to trust in Him alone for the gift of eternal life. Thank You, Father… Please help those of us who know Christ to make Him known to others with our lips and our lives. In Jesus’s name. Amen.

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When the Lord is my Shepherd I shall not want for security

“And I will dwell in the house of the Lord forever.” Psalm 23:6b

What is a Christian? A person who goes to a particular church? A person who is very religious? Someone who lives a moral life? A person who has some lofty goals? A person who believes certain facts? Someone who practices a bunch of dos and don’ts?

The Bible teaches that a Christian is someone who believes in Jesus Christ alone for everlasting life, and therefore knows the only true God and His Son, Jesus Christ personally. After all Jesus said, “Whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life” (John 3:16). You may ask, “What is eternal life?” Jesus explains, “And this is eternal life, that they may know You, the only true God, and Jesus Christ whom You have sent” (John 17:3). The word “know” refers to an intimate knowledge of God, not just an awareness of certain facts.Notice that the primary focus is on one’s relationship with God(“life”), not the duration (“eternal”), although both are true.This is not just a future promise, it is a present reality for all believers in Jesus. Eternal life is knowing the only true God personally in one’s experience forever.Eternal life is not static or unchanging. It can be experienced at deeper and deeper levels as we grow closer to the Father and His Son.

In Psalm 23, King David is talking about his personal relationship with God. When we read “And I will dwell in the house of the Lord forever,” most of us probably think of heaven. But David is not thinking so much about where he will be after death, but with Whom he will be. In Psalm 27:4, David writes, “One thing I have desired of the Lord, that will I seek: that I may dwell in the house of the Lord all the days of my life, to behold the beauty of the Lord, and to inquire in His temple.” David longed to be in the Lord’s house because then he would be in the Lord’s presence. Heaven is primarily a place where we will be with Jesus Christ.

Jesus refers to heaven as His Father’s house. “In My Father’s house are many mansions; if it were not so, I would have told you. I go to prepare a place for you. And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again and receive you to Myself; that where I am, there you may be also” (John 14:2-3). According to Jesus, heaven is a real place where there will be “many mansions.” Jesus is referring to literal homes or dwellings that will be in the New Jerusalem which will descend from heaven to the new earth after the thousand-year reign of Christ on earth (Revelation 21-22). The New Jerusalem will be fifteen hundred miles high, long, and wide (Revelation 21:16). God promises that in our future home “there shall be no more death, nor sorrow, nor crying. There shall be no more pain, for the former things have passed away” (Revelation 21:4). What a great source of comfort this provides for those who are deeply troubled by the death of believers today.

Christ does not have any doubts about the existence of our future home in heaven when He says, “If it were not so, I would have told you” (14:2b). In the Greek language, the phrase “If it were not so” expresses that the condition is unfulfilled. In other words, if heaven were otherwise, and it is not, Jesus would have told them. Christ took for granted that there would be plenty of rooms for all the saved people in heaven.

In anticipation of their reunion with Him, Jesus said, “I go to prepare a place for you” (14:2c). Yes, Jesus was leaving His disciples, but He would not forget them. He would occupy Himself preparing a real place where He and they would dwell together forever. He was going to make ready the place where He would welcome them permanently. Certainly, Jesus would not go to prepare rooms in heaven for His disciples if He did not expect that they would finally arrive there. He was sure they would make it to heaven. He would see to it.

Then Jesus said, “And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again and receive you to Myself” (John 14:3a). Just as the first century bridegroom in Palestine would send for his bride when all was ready, so Christ would do the same when He had completed His work of preparing a place in His Father’s house for His bride, the church (cf. Ephesians 5:22-24; Revelation 19:7-9; 21:1-3).

Think about this! God created the universe in six days (Genesis 1), but Jesus has been preparing our place in heaven for almost two thousand years! Remember, Jesus was the Son of a carpenter (Mark 6:3) and no doubt He was a perfect Learner growing up. He would know how to build some incredible mansions in heaven. So heaven is going to be a fantastic place – a real place! We will live in mansions made of gold and walk on streets of gold (Revelation 21:18, 21). It will be an incredible place of splendor. The glory of Jesus will shine and light everything, not even a shadow exists there (Revelation 21:22-23). Jesus is the center of heaven and all praises will ring to Him. The joy shall never end there. Heaven is a place of inhabitants. It is not empty. It is filled with people, people who have believed in Jesus Christ for eternal life (John 3:5, 15-16; Revelation 21:27).

When Jesus said, “I will come again and receive you to Myself” (14:3b), He is not referring  to the Resurrection or the death of a believer, but to the Rapture or removal of the church from earth which could happen at any moment (cf. I Thessalonians 4:13-5:11). At any time, Jesus Christ could come back for His church with believers who already died to meet living believers in the clouds. This truth is intended to comfort and encourage believers whose loved ones have died in the Lord.

Jesus said, “I will come again and receive you to Myself; that where I am, there you may be also” (John 14:3c). In Jesus’ mind, what would make heaven so special is that they would be with Him and He with them. Yes, Jesus is preparing a wonderful place for us in heaven. But all the beauty of that place will not match the beauty of His presence.

This is exactly what David is saying in Psalm 23:6b. And you know what else? David was absolutely certain he would dwell in the house of the Lord forever. He said, “I will dwell…”, not “I might…” or “I hope to dwell in the house of the Lord forever.” When the Lord is my Shepherd, I shall not want for security that lasts forever.

No other religions offer this kind of security. All other religions can only offer an “I hope so…” or “I think so…” type of assurance that is filled with doubt and uncertainty. Why? Because all other religions are based on the performance of broken sinful people. All other religions are based on founders who are still dead in their graves.

But Christianity offers absolute assurance and security because going to heaven is based on the finished work of Jesus Christ (John 19:30) Who died on the cross for all the sins of the world and rose from the dead (I Corinthians 15:1-8), proving that He is God (Romans 1:3-4). Christianity’s Founder conquered death when He rose from the dead and He is alive today to give everlasting life freely to those who believe in Him (John 11:25-26).

Psalm 23 begins and ends with the Good Shepherd, Jesus Christ! Do you know Jesus personally? I am not asking whether you know about Him. Millions of people have been brought up in Sunday School and know about Jesus Christ. People from other religions around the world are familiar with the name of Jesus Christ. They may know some of the facts, but they do not know Jesus personally. I am not saying you do not know Psalm 23. Scores of people can quote this Psalm who do not know the Shepherd. Do you know Jesus Christ as the only One who can give you everlasting life? Do you know for certain you will go to heaven when you die?

Because of the Coronavirus, we are living in very uncertain and insecure times. You can have security that lasts forever if you will believe in Christ alone for His gift of everlasting life. Jesus promised, “He who believes in Me has everlasting life” (John 6:47). Jesus is not asking if you are religious because He never said he who is religious has everlasting life. He is not asking if you believe God exists because He never said he who believes God exists has everlasting life. He is not asking if you pray every day or read a holy book every day because He never said he who prays every day or reads a holy book every day has everlasting life. Jesus is asking you, “Do you believe in Me?” because he said, “He who believes in Me has everlasting life.”

The word “believe” in the Bible means to trust or depend upon. Trusting in Jesus is a lot like riding on an airplane. When you ride as a passenger on an airplane, do you need to push the airplane to get it off the ground? No, of course not. Do you need to flap your arms to keep the plane in the air? No. All you must do is trust a Person, your pilot, to take you to your destination.In the same way, Jesus does not need us to help Him give us everlasting life and a home in heaven. No amount of our good works can save us from the Lake of Fire because they are all stained with sin (Isaiah 64:6; Ephesians 2:8-9). All Jesus asks is that we believe or trust in Him alone to give us everlasting life and a home in heaven (John 6:47). Only Jesus can take away our sins because He paid the penalty of our sins in full (John 19:30) and rose from the dead (I Corinthians 15:1-8), proving that He is God (Romans 1:3-4).

Believe in Jesus for His gift of everlasting life, and you can say with David, “And I will dwell in the house of the Lord forever.” Why?Because theBible says, “These things I have written to you who believe in the name of the Son of God, that you may know that you have eternal life” (I John 5:13). The Bible does not say you may “think” or “hope” that you have eternal life when you believe in the name of the Son of God. It says you can “know” with absolute certainty that eternal life is yours.

Pastor G. Campbell Morgan tells of an incident that took place in London years ago. A young girl from his church was dying. She had just given birth and it appeared it would cost her her life. Pastor Morgan looked on as the doctor did his best to take care of her. She was delirious and kept saying, “Doctor, I don’t want to go on alone. Doctor, please, I want to take my baby with me.”

The doctor tried to help her and said, “My dear, your baby will have loving care. You need not be afraid. You cannot take the baby with you. The gate through which you go is only wide enough for one.” Pastor Morgan then stepped in and touched the physician’s shoulder and said, “Doctor, don’t tell her that. Tell her the gate through which she is about to pass is wide enough for two – for herself and for her Shepherd. He who brought her to this place will not desert her now, but He will see her safely to the other side.”

Prayer: Lord Jesus, my Good Shepherd, thank You for the security You give me during these uncertain times. Thank You that I can say with David that “I will dwell in the house of the Lord forever” because You are faithful to Your promise of everlasting life to all who believe in You. I praise You not only for Your past and present faithfulness, but also for Your future faithfulness which guarantees You will safely deliver me to my home in heaven where I can enjoy Your presence forever! Please precious Lord, lead me to those who are ready to receive this message of everlasting hope and security in You. In Jesus’ name. Amen.

The problem of Sin

“But if you do not do so, then take note, you have sinned against the Lord; and be sure your sin will find you out.” Numbers 32:23


When the children of Gad and Reuben requested to settle in the land east of the Jordan River (32:1-19), Moses agreed to let them settle there if they first kept their promise to help the other tribes defeat the inhabitants in the land of Canaan (32:20-22). He warned them, “But if you do not do so, then take note, you have sinned against the Lord; and be sure your sin will find you out” (32:23).


Although this warning is directed toward God’s people, it is true for all people – “Be sure your sin will find you out.” All people are guilty of sin whether they admit it or not (Rom. 3:23). And we cannot hide our sin from God because He knows and sees everything we do, say, and think. He is aware of our deepest thoughts and secrets. Jesus said, “For there is nothing covered that will not be revealed, nor hidden that will not be known” (Luke 12:2).


Because God is holy and perfect, He must judge our sin. The Bible says, “For God will bring every work into judgment, including every secret thing, whether good or evil” (Ecclesiastes 12:14).


There are only two possible people to pay the penalty for your sin – either you or Jesus Christ. The Bible says, “For Christ also suffered once for sins, the just for the unjust, that He might bring us to God, being put to death in the flesh but made alive by the Spirit” (I Pet. 3:18). Jesus took the punishment we deserved when He died in our place for our sins and rose from the dead.


Christ now invites us to believe or trust in Him alone for His gift of everlasting life: “Whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life” (John 3:16). Those who do not believe in Christ for His free gift must pay the penalty for their own sin by suffering in the Lake of Fire forever, “And anyone not found written in the Book of Life was cast into the lake of fire” (Revelation 20:15; cf. John 3:36).


(Adapted from EvanTell’s 2014 Evangelism Study Bible, p. 172).

What Happens to Babies or Toddlers who die?

We need to remember that all people are born as sinners (Psalm 51:5; Romans 3:23; 5:12) and that no one is righteous before a holy God (Roman 3:10-11). All people deserve eternal “death” or separation from God forever because of their sin (Romans 6:23; Revelation 20:15). In addition, the only requirement for deliverance from eternal death and condemnation is belief in Jesus (John 3:16-18, 36). 

With these truths in mind, what does the Bible say about babies or children who die in infancy? Will they go to heaven or hell? 

1. The very nature of God prevents Him from being unfair. He will always do what is right and fair in His judgment (Genesis 18:25; Psalm 7:11; 9:18; I Peter 1:17). 

2. God is also love (I John 4:7-8). As a loving Creator He “desires all people to be saved” and has made provision for them through His Son’s death on the cross (I Timothy 2:3-6; cf. 2 Peter 3:9).  All people are savable because Christ “gave Himself as a ransom for all” (I Timothy 2:6; cf. I John 2:2).

3. Nowhere in the Bible does it say a person who is not old enough to believe in Jesus will go to hell. Because God is just and gracious (Psalm 9:8; John 1:14), He will not punish someone who is incapable of believing in Christ because of a lack of mental development (whether through immaturity or mental impairment). 

4. Young children are very valuable to Jesus. They have a special place of love and respect from Jesus. Jesus said, “Take heed that you do not despise one of these little ones, for I say to you that in heaven their angels always see the face of My Father who is in heaven”(Matthew 18:10). Little children are very valuable to God as demonstrated by how close their guardian angels stand to the throne of God. Christ also said, “It is not the will of your Father who is in heaven that one of these little ones should perish”(Matthew 18:14). God the Father does not want any little child to perish forever in hell. In the context (18:6) Jesus is speaking of “little”children who are old enough to believe in Him. We also see Jesus’ concern for little children in Matthew 19:13-15: “Then little children were brought to Him that He might put His hands on them and pray, but the disciples rebuked them. But Jesus said, ‘Let the little children come to Me, and do not forbid them; for of such is the kingdom of heaven.’ And He laid His hands on them and departed from there.” Jesus rebukes those who forbid little children from coming to Him. He says not to forbid little children from coming to Him because “the kingdom of heaven” is occupied by those who possess childlike faith in Jesus. 

5. The Bible does seem to teach that a baby who dies in infancy will go to heaven (2 Samuel 12:22-23). In the context of this passage, King David committed adultery with Bathsheba.  The prophet Nathan boldly confronts David about his adultery and tells him that the child that Bathsheba has conceived will die.  As a result of the confrontation, David confesses his sin, puts on sackcloth and ashes, fasts, and grieves the fact that he will lose his child.  When David receives news that the child has died, he quits grieving and fasting and changes his clothing.  The prophet Nathan comes to David and asks him why he quit mourning the loss of his son. David replies, “While the child was alive, I fasted and wept; for I said, ‘Who can tell whether the Lord will be gracious to me, that the child may live?’  But now he is dead; why should I fast? Can I bring him back again? I shall go to him, but he shall not return to me.”(2 Sam. 12:22-23).  David is confident that the child went to heaven since David says, “I shall go to him, but he shall not return to me”; and other verses indicate that David went to heaven (Psalm 16:10-11; Romans 4:5-8; Hebrews 11:32-33).

Conclusion:While I cannot be dogmatic here, I do believe that infants or toddlers who die before they are old enough to believe in Jesus will go to heaven because:

1. The character of God (holy, just, gracious, merciful, loving) does not allow Him to punish a person for something they cannot do (i.e. believe in Jesus) whether it is because of immaturity or mental impairment (Genesis 18:25; Psalm 7:11; 9:8, 18; John 1:14-17; 3:14-18; I Timothy 2:3-6; Hebrews 4:14-16; I Peter 1:15-17; 2 Peter 3:9; I John 2:2; 4:7-8). No one will question God’s final judgment about the eternal destiny of infants and toddlers because only God is qualified to make this decision!

2. Little children are of special concern to Jesus and He does not want any of these little ones to perish in hell (Matthew 18:1-14; 19:13-15).

3. King David expected to see his dead infant son again in heaven (2 Samuel 2:22-23).

With this said, the number of babies, toddlers, and mentally impaired people from all human history who are “safe” in the arms of Jesus will greatly increase the population of heaven. When considering the infant mortality rate (the number of deaths of infants under one year old per 1,000 live births) which was far greater in the past than the present, it is quite possible that there will be far more people in heaven than in hell.