Bruce Collins, Evangelist

Proverbs 14:12, 16:25
There is a way that seems right to a man, But its end is the way of death.

Men are notorious for not wanting to ask directions when they are lost. I, being a man, have to admit that I know what it is like to look and look for an address and after finally asking for directions finding out that it was right where it was supposed to be but I wasn’t where I thought I was.

All of us are alike when it comes to asking for directions about spiritual issues. We want to figure things out for ourselves. One thing many people try to figure out on their own is the answer to the question, “What happens after we die?” We know that things continue after we die. Some think that things continue on earth but that the person who dies ceases to exist. What if they are wrong and that is just one of the things that seems right? If one is wrong, one is wrong for a very long time.

Some who accept the fact that we continue to exist after we die think that a merciful God would not punish people eternally for rejecting the Lord Jesus who provided salvation for us. But what if they are wrong? If they are wrong, the Bible says they are lost and they are lost for a very long time.

Some think that salvation by grace through faith is unfair. Salvation by grace means that sinners can prepare to go to heaven in the eleventh hour if they trust in Christ as the thief did on the cross (Luke 23:43). That also means that people who have done many good things and who have sacrificed much to live good lives could go to hell. Of course, we don’t need the Bible to tell us that even good people do bad things. Good people are sinners just like the people that they know are bad. People should do good and live right but those who try to get to heaven by being good and by living right will be wrong for a very long time.

Some think that all the major religions are worshiping the same God. However, John 14:6 says that there is only one way to heaven and that is by trusting in the death, burial and resurrection of Christ. The only religion that I know of that accepts Christ as the only way to heaven is the one people have called the Christian religion. The others may accept Christ as a prophet or as a good man but they do not accept Him as THE UNIQUE Son of God. How could one who didn’t know Who He was be a good man or a prophet? If Christ is not God, then we who trust in Him are lost. If Christ is God then those who do not trust in Him are lost and they are lost for a very long time.

I am convinced that Satan doesn’t care what we believe just so long as we don’t believe God. That is why people who reject God do so for differing reasons. That is also why there seems to be so many different ways to heaven among those who claim to be Christians.

Does what we believe really matter? Is God going to be merciful to all, even to those who don’t believe in Him at all? Is He going to be understanding and merciful to those who have a general belief in God but not a personal trust in the Lord Jesus Christ? The Bible says that what we believe does matter. If there is no God, nothing matters. But if there is a God, nothing else matters; and we better get good directions to heaven.

I have already asked for directions when I was lost in a big city and found out that the people I asked didn’t know the city. I couldn’t find my own way and they couldn’t tell me the way. I had to find someone who knew what they were talking about. In spiritual things, that would be the One who came from heaven and went back to heaven. That person would be the Lord Jesus Christ. He says, “I am the resurrection and the life. He who believes in Me, though he may die, he shall live (John 11:25).”

Bruce Collins