I’m writing this on October 31.  While the world wilts at the thought of ghosts and goblins and other mythical creatures, I’d like to share with you what I think actually is THE SCARIEST thing in the universe.  Bar none.

You might think I’m talking about hell, about spending all eternity in fiery torture and utter darkness and isolation and separation from God (2 Thessalonians 1:7-9) but would you believe that there’s something – one thing – EVEN SCARIER than that?  And that’s this:  a person’s spending all eternity in hell after being fully convinced for YEARS and even DECADES here on earth that he or she would be spending it in heaven.

The other day I turned on the TV for a few minutes to see what was going on in the nation and world, to keep up with the news, and I came across a commercial with former President Ronald Reagan’s son and namesake, Ron Reagan (which is the only reason I stopped to, you know, actually watch a commercial – a very rare, nay, unheard-of event for me personally, but he was one of the most beloved presidents so I waited a few seconds to see what his son would say).  Perhaps you’ve seen it:  he promotes atheism and ends by saying something to the effect that he’s “looking forward to burning in hell.”

Okay, that’s the OPPOSITE of what I’m talking about here.

I’m not referring to people like him who think eternity itself is a joke or myth or even that they’ll have fun in hell.  And I’m not even talking about the exponentially greater number of people who rightly realize and view that notion as utter folly, who don’t mock hell but also don’t know whether or not they’ll avoid that grimmest of fates.

BOTH of those thoughts are scary, to be sure.  Very scary.  At least to any sane person.  But what I find to be scariest is the fact that many, many, many people who are absolutely convinced that they’ll go to heaven will wake one irreversible day, when it’s too late, in the fiery lake of hell.  The Lord Jesus Himself could not have been any clearer about this in Matthew 7.

Just the thought of that breaks my heart.  Breaks.  My.  Heart.  And brings tears to my eyes.  So it’s no surprise that this is one of THE BIGGEST, STRONGEST motivating factors of my life and very existence, to spend virtually every second of every minute of every hour of every day doing everything I can (the Lord through me) to help people KNOW and MAKE SURE they are indeed headed for heaven, not  hell.

I do not desire at all to breed doubt in anyone.  Just the opposite:  blessed and blissful certainty about this most important of all matters.  Nor does the Bible desire at all to breed doubt, but given said all-importance it does URGE us in two passages in particular not to doubt but rather to REMOVE any and all doubt about our eternal status and destiny.

• “TEST YOURSELVES to see if you are in the faith; EXAMINE YOURSELVES!” (2 Corinthians 13:5 – and please note the explanation point there, quite rare in the Bible, i.e., we should render rapt attention to EVERY WORD, every jot and tittle of Scripture… but the Holy Spirit – and I suspect the Apostle Paul – doesn’t ever waste His breath, even down to something like punctuation, so it would behoove us in that sense to pay 110% attention in this case, if you get my gist, i.e., it’s almost as though the Bible is “waving its hands” to get our attention, knowing that this matter perhaps more than all others is prone to getting swept under our collective rug and out of our minds)
• And He takes a similar approach in 2 Peter 1:10 in saying, “Therefore, brethren, be ALL THE MORE DILIGENT to MAKE CERTAIN about” our salvation, adding that we “will never stumble” if we simply practice the qualities in verses 5-7, namely:  faith, moral excellence, knowledge, self-control, perseverance, godliness, brotherly kindness, and love

Hmm, that sounds very familiar.  Probably because it’s a virtual mirror of the “fruit of the Spirit” listed in Galatians 5:22-23.  And also similar to the list in Romans 5:3-5.  And Ephesians 5:18-21.

Yes, beloved, the standard, the “key” for grading the test is very clear in the Bible – not just these passages but also the entire books of James and 1 John which in essence were written for this very purpose, so that the reader “may KNOW that you have eternal life” (1 John 5:13) simply by “looking intently” into the mirror of the Bible and abiding by what we see versus being “like a man who looks at his natural face in a mirror” and then simply “goes away” and “immediately forgets” what he saw (James 1:22-25).

So why did these two warnings in 2 Corinthians 5:13 and 2 Peter 1:10 even need to be given much less twice?  One word:  deceit.

You see, not only do we have the external factor of the devil always seeking to deceive us with his various “schemes” (Ephesians 6:11) but we also have the internal factor of our fallen flesh (Jeremiah 17:9).  But wait, there’s more!  Believe it or not.  Just what we needed, right?  Yeah, like an eighth hold in the head.  But be that as it may, along with being prone to the deceit of the devil and our own flesh, there’s also the additional deceit produced by sin itself (Hebrews 3:13).  That’s right, it’s already as though each of us is trying to walk UP the DOWN escalator, but when we let sin into our lives, when we give into temptation, it’s as though the operator pushes the “2x speed” button.

This is the reason for that exclamation point (urgency) in 2 Corinthians 13:5 and the phrase “ALL THE MORE DILIGENT” in 2 Peter 1:10 and “applying ALL DILIGENCE” in verse 5.

But that’s easier said than done.  Why?  It goes back to the devil’s deceptive”schemes” of Ephesians 6:11.  The Lord Himself called him the “father of lies” (John 8:44) and said that the self-righteous religious leaders of the time wanted “to do the desires” of the devil, to carry out and fulfill what THE DEVIL wanted them to.  But did you know that this is the case with EVERYONE who hasn’t put their faith in Christ?  “… those who are in opposition, if perhaps God may grant them repentance leading to the knowledge of the truth, and they may come to their senses and escape from THE SNARE OF THE DEVIL, having been HELD CAPTIVE by him to DO HIS WILL.” (2 Timothy 2:25-26)

Wow!  Double-wow!  Just to think that there are literally billions of people on earth who are headed for an eternity in hell but don’t even realize it.  Why?  Well, if we had been thrown out of heaven and cursed to spending all eternity in the fiery lake and darkness and torture of hell and wanted as many people as possible to suffer that fate with us (per the time-tested adage that “misery loves company”), what would be the BEST way to accomplish that?  Exactly.  To make people headed for hell THINK THAT they’re going to heaven.  In other words, the devil’s main desire and goal in life – and ultimately his only desire and goal – is to take as many people with him to hell.  WHAT BETTER WAY TO DO THAT THAN TO MAKE THEM THINK THAT THEY’RE GOING TO HEAVEN?

You see, people who are searching out and seeking the truth are far more likely to find it, right?  But by convincing so many people, by making and keeping them so convinced that they’re going to heaven, his job is made a thousand times easier and more effective, more productive, more successful.  Talk about warped!  Talk about evil genius!  Talk about psychological/spiritual warfare!  He’s playing for keeps.  For eternity.  But thankfully God in/through the Bible has given us all the weaponry we need to combat and overcome him and his tactics and wicked intent.  The “armor of God” as noted in that very same verse, Ephesians 6:11, and consummated in verse 17 by “the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God” – the Bible!  Isn’t it amazing how everything always comes back and down to the Bible?!  This is why I’ve committed the rest of my life (literally) to memorizing it.  Reading it is right, studying it is super, but memorizing it is max, ingesting it is incomparable, irreplaceable, and imperative for maximum victory over the devil and sin and our own human propensity for being deceived.  1 John 2:14 – “because you are strong, and THE WORD OF GOD ABIDES IN you, and you have OVERCOME THE EVIL ONE.”  It’s right there in black and white, the only question is whether or not we’ll walk through that wide open door.

To sum up, each and every one of us is born into sin by default (Romans 5:12) but then compound the situation by our own actual sins (Romans 3:23) which carry the spiritual penalty of death (Romans 6:23).  BUT by accepting that “free gift of God” of “eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord” by placing our faith and foundation for entering heaven wholly, fully, and solely in Him (John 14:6) by grace through faith (Ephesians 2:8-9) which comes via the Bible (Romans 10:17; James 1:18) and will be confirmed by a characterizing pattern of good works in that person’s life (Ephesians 2:10; James 2:14-26; Romans 5:15-19; entire book of James; entire book of 1 John) which also comes via the Bible (1 Peter 2:2; John 17:17).

Therefore, it’s absolutely imperative that each of us examine our own life to see, to “make certain” that it does indeed demonstrate such a pattern and if it does, then we can KNOW for a FACT that we will indeed spend eternity in heaven, not hell.  “Even so, EVERY good tree bears good FRUIT; but the bad tree bears bad fruit.” (Matthew 7:17)

But if we fail to do that, to make certain of that most important of all matters, the Bible makes clear that we run the risk of merely thinking  we’re on the road to heaven, of being in the very same boat of the people Jesus addressed later in that Chapter, in verses 21-23, which in my view is indeed the SCARIEST passage in all of Scripture and scariest thought in the universe.  May we be wise in this matter and heed the instruction and implied warning of 2 Corinthians 13:5 and 2 Peter 1:10 – not for the purpose of making us doubt but rather to REMOVE all doubt about our true eternal destination and spiritual status.  In other words, don’t question your salvation, clarify it; don’t doubt it, definitely do confirm it by taking a close look at your life on a regular basis to make sure that what you see if in line with what you read in the Bible:  if it IS then KNOW that you are indeed saved and heaven is in your future, not hell.  But if the overall, characterizing pattern of your life isn’t in line with the Bible then it would be wise to stop wandering through life with a guess and come to a clear conclusion in the matter – and quickly.  Because tomorrow is guaranteed to nobody, only today, indeed only right now.  If your examination suggests that you’re in this second camp, please don’t put it off for another day, hour, or even minute.  I don’t want you to find yourself in the same situation as undoubtedly so many of those unsuspecting 9/11 victims did, startled to awake in hell when they thought they were going to heaven, or never took the time to nail down that most important of matters.  And then next thing they knew, it was too late.  “NOW is the acceptable time, TODAY is the day of salvation” (2 Corinthians 6:2).

Today is the day.

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