Where Will You Spend Eternity?
A Bible Study
God’s Word, the Bible, tells us that every person will spend eternity in one of two ways: either in heaven with God, enjoying His blessings forever; or, in hell, banished from God and all his blessings, to be punished forever (read Matthew 25:31-46; Luke 16:19-31). Where will you spend eternity?
If you were to die, or Jesus Christ were to return right now in judgment, where would you spend eternity?
Why? Why do you hope to spend eternity in heaven? Or, why do you expect to spend eternity in hell?
While you may not expect it, the time of your death could be near; and, according to God’s Word, Jesus Christ could come back at any time to judge the living and the dead. Read: Hebrews 9:27; Matthew 24:36-44; 2 Corinthians 5:10. Are you ready for Christ’s judgment upon you? Do you know where you will spend eternity?
The following Bible study has been written so that you can see for yourself God’s answers to these questions and learn the way of salvation He has provided for you in His Son, Jesus Christ. The Bible references for you to look up are listed as follows: the book of the Bible; the chapter; and the verse number(s). The first passage in Part One is Deuteronomy 6:4. This means that you are to turn to the book of Deuteronomy, chapter 6, verse 4. If you need assistance locating the books of the Bible, most Bibles have an index in the front. If you do not have a Bible, it is available in most book stores and libraries. We recommend that you use a good translation of the Bible, such as the King James Version, because of the importance of accuracy and faithfulness in translating God’s Word. You will also find the answers to the questions in this Bible Study summarized in paragraph form at the end of each section. God’s blessing to you as you study His Word!
Part One - About God
1. Who is the true God? How many Gods is He? How many Persons make up this God? Read Deuteronomy 6:4; Matthew 28:19; (1 John 5:7 in KJV).
2. Who made you and all things? How did He do it? Read Genesis 1 & 2; Nehemiah 9:6; Hebrews 11:3.
3. To whom are you responsible? And, to whom must you give account? Read Romans 14:12.
4. Who will be
your Judge on the Last Day? See 2 Corinthians
There is only one true God. This God is one Being, but three Persons: the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit. For this reason, we call this God the Triune (Thee/One) God.
This God created man and all things in six normal length days and still sustains and preserves His creation by His almighty Word. Since God has created us, we are accountable to him for the way we live our lives. On the Last Day, all people will be judged by Jesus Christ, who is God the Son.
Part Two - About You
1. What does God say about you and all people? Read Romans 3:10-20, 23; Ecclesiastes 7:20.
2. When did you become a sinner? Read Psalm 51:5.
3. How did this come to be? Read Genesis 3; Romans 5:12.
4. What does God, your Creator, expect of you and of all people? Read Leviticus 19:2; Matthew 5:20,48.
5. What do you and all people deserve because of sin? Read Romans 6:23; Matthew 25:41.
God says that all of us are sinners. No one is holy or good in His sight. As we are by conception and birth, not one of us truly loves God and serves Him. God created Adam and Eve perfect and without sin; yet they soon doubted God’s Word and disobeyed Him, falling into sin. As a result, all people, from their conception onward, are sinful. They are born without true respect and honor for their Creator, without true love for Him, and without genuine trust in Him. God expects and demands perfect obedience to His commandments, but all people have sinned and fallen far short of His expectations. As a result, all of us deserve eternal death; that is, eternal punishment in hell. This means that you too are a sinner and deserve to condemned to eternal suffering in hell!
Part Three - The Way of Salvation
1. Whom did God send to save you, and all people, from sin? Read John 3:16; Luke 1:26-38; Matthew 1:18-25; John 1:14.
2. Did Jesus sin or keep God’s Law perfectly and without sin? Read Galatians 4:4-5; 1 Peter 2:21-22; Hebrews 4:14-15.
3. What did Jesus then do for you and all people? Read 1 Corinthians 15:3-4; Compare and study the Gospel accounts of this in Matthew 26-28; Mark 14-16; Luke 22-24; John 18-21.
4. What did Jesus Christ accomplish for you, and for all people, by His innocent sufferings and death upon the cross? Read Isaiah 53:5-6,11-12; 1 John 2:1-2; Romans 3:23-24; Romans 4:25; 2 Corinthians 5:19,21; Galatians 3:13; Ephesians 1:6-7.
God sent His only begotten Son into the world as a true man in order to save all people from their sin. God the Holy Spirit miraculously caused the Virgin Mary to conceive and bear a Son. Jesus Christ, true God and true man, kept all of God’s Law perfectly and without sin in the place of sinful mankind; and then He suffered and died upon the cross to bear the punishment for the sins of the whole world (John 1:29), and rose again on the third day. Because Jesus Christ satisfied God’s just anger against sin, God has declared all people pardoned and forgiven in His sight. God no longer holds your sins against you for the sake of the innocent sufferings and death of Jesus Christ, His only begotten Son!
Part Four - Receiving God’s Salvation
1. How alone can the forgiveness of sins and eternal life which Jesus Christ won for you and all people become your own? Read John 3:16; Mark 16:16; Acts 16:31; Romans 3:28; Romans 4:5.
2. Who creates and preserves saving faith in our hearts? Read Ephesians 2:8-9; 1 Corinthians 12:3; 2 Thessalonians 2:13-14; Philippians 1:6,29; 1 Peter 1:5; Romans 10:17; Titus 3:5.
3. What will happen to those who do not trust in Jesus Christ alone for forgiveness of sins and eternal salvation? Read Mark 16:16; John 3:18,36; 2 Thessalonians 1:7-9.
We cannot earn God’s forgiveness or enter into heaven by our own life and works because we are sinners and fall far short of God’s expectations and demands; but God gives us His full and complete pardon for all our sins, and eternal life with Him in heaven, when we trust in Jesus Christ and His innocent sufferings and death for our salvation. Such saving faith is also God’s gracious gift to us, worked by the Holy Spirit through the Word of God. But those who do not trust in Jesus Christ alone for their salvation will be condemned to eternal suffering in hell for rejecting the salvation which God has provided for them in His own Son.
Do you believe that you are a sinner, deserving of eternal punishment in hell? Do you believe that God forgives you, accepts you, and gives you eternal life in heaven because of Jesus Christ and His innocent sufferings and death upon the cross? If so, God has graciously brought you to faith in His Son, and you have forgiveness for all your sins and eternal life with Him in heaven! If you were to die, or Jesus were to return right now in judgment, you can be confident that you will not be condemned to hell but enter into the everlasting joys of heaven for the sake of Jesus and His blood shed for you!
Part Five - Walking With Jesus
1. If you have
not been baptized, what will you want to do? Read Matthew 28:19; Acts
2. What else will you want to do that you might grow and be strengthened in your faith in Jesus, your Savior? Read John 8:31-32; Colossians 3:16; 2 Timothy 2:15; Acts 2:41-42; Hebrews 10:25.
3. What kind of church will you want to attend and join? Read Acts 2:42; Matthew 28:20; 2 Timothy 3:14-17; Jeremiah 23:1-4,28.
4. What teachers and churches will you want to avoid? Read Matthew 7:15-23; Romans 16:17-18; 1 Timothy 6:3-5; Titus 3:10-11.
5. How will you seek to live as a believer in Christ? Read 2 Corinthians 5:15; Romans 6:1-2,12-14; Proverbs 8:13; Psalm 119:35; 1 John 1:7--2:2.
God’s Word commands all to be baptized for the remission of sins. To be kept in the true and saving faith, it is important to continue in the pure Word of God and to be a part of a church which is faithful to that Word in both teaching and practice. Christians seek to live their lives in this world for Christ Jesus and in accord with His Word. Even as Christians, we fail and sin and must continually rely upon Christ and His shed blood for our cleansing and forgiveness.
Randy Moll
Listen to the Bible On-Line at: Audio Bible Online
Read and Study in the: New King James Version of the Bible
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