Where Will You Go When You Die?

By pastor Kevin Lea – July 16, 2004

At one time or another most if not all of us have pondered this question. People are always looking for answers to perplexing questions in science, business, life, etc. If the soul of man continues to exist after the human body dies a physical death, then few would argue that finding the answer to where we go after we die is the most important of all pursuits of knowledge. Indeed Solomon, whose wisdom exceeded that of all men except Jesus (1 Kings 3:12, Luke 11:31), said that it is better to be at a memorial service than at a party because a memorial reminds us that we are going to die someday and therefore take to heart the important matters of eternity.

Ecclesiates 7:2 Better to go to the house of mourning than to go to the house of feasting, for that is the end of all men; and the living will take it to heart. (NKJ)

The short answer to the question where will we go when we die? According to the Bible, those who have a saving faith in Jesus will receive a gift from God, eternal life in heaven. If we have saving faith in Jesus, God sees our sin already being judged in the torturous death of Jesus on the cross 2000 years ago. This sacrifice of Jesus on our behalf allows God to righteously pardon us from our sin and give us the gift of eternal life in heaven. The entire New Testament is filled with verses that explain why Jesus had to come, suffer, and die in our place for the sins that we had committed. Jesus lived a perfect sinless life and did not deserve to suffer or be judged for sin. But Jesus, out of profound love for us, allowed us to torture and execute Him as punishment for our sin. This act of supreme love allowed God to pardon us, if we believe.

2 Corinthians 5:21 For He made Him who knew no sin [Jesus] to be sin for us, that we might become the righteousness of God in Him. (NKJ)

If we do not have faith in Jesus, then God as a righteous judge must bring judgment against the sins committed. Since the unbeliever has rejected the substitutionary death of Jesus, he/she calls upon themselves the full judgment for their own sins. Unless the person has lived a perfect life, this results in eternal damnation in the lake of fire, also called hell.

Revelation 21:2 Then I, John, saw the holy city, New Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God, prepared as a bride adorned for her husband. 3 And I heard a loud voice from heaven saying, "Behold, the tabernacle of God is with men, and He will dwell with them, and they shall be His people. God Himself will be with them and be their God. 4 "And God will wipe away every tear from their eyes; there shall be no more death, nor sorrow, nor crying. There shall be no more pain, for the former things have passed away." 5 Then He who sat on the throne said, "Behold, I make all things new." And He said to me, "Write, for these words are true and faithful." 6 And He said to me, "It is done! I am the Alpha and the Omega, the Beginning and the End. I will give of the fountain of the water of life freely to him who thirsts. 7 "He who overcomes shall inherit all things, and I will be his God and he shall be My son. (NKJ)

Rev 21:8 "But the cowardly, unbelieving, abominable, murderers, sexually immoral, sorcerers, idolaters, and all liars shall have their part in the lake which burns with fire and brimstone, which is the second death." (NKJ)

We pray you will consider accepting the gift of life if you haven’t already. You can do so by agreeing with God and confessing to Him that you are a sinner. Get on your knees and talk to Him as you would any friend who loves you. He is all-present and hears you. Confess to Him that you cannot save yourself. Agree with Him that what He calls sin (lying, sexual immorality, taking His name in vain, coveting, stealing, etc.) are sin. Agree with Him that you deserve to be judged and sent to hell for the sins that you have committed. Confess to God that you want to repent (meaning turn away) from a life of sin. Tell Him that you believe He sent Jesus to take the punishment you deserved. In exchange for this incredible act of love tell Him that you want to stop fighting God and instead want to serve Him out of Love. Tell the Father that you want the power of Jesus to come into your life. Tell Him you want Jesus to start changing your heart, and to speak to you in a spiritual way through His word, the Bible. If you do this, you will become born again and you will have everlasting life.

But my non-christian friend told me…..(the long answer)

In our age of information overload, there are as many proposed answers to this question as there are religions in the world. The atheist, who believes there is no God, would say there is no eternal soul and that when the human body dies you as an individual cease to exist, and the body is simply left to decay in the grave. The crass will simply say, “You become worm food.”

The Hindu reincarnationist would answer that you go into the spirit world and wait to come back as another human being or animal depending on how you lived your present life.

The Buddhist would say that if you reached the point of spiritual perfection (called Nirvana) in this life, then you will have broken the cycle of birth, aging, death and rebirth, thus never having to experience the hardships of life again.

The list goes on and on, but there is one answer that stands out from the rest. It is the answer given in the Holy Bible, which says the eternal condition of the soul after this life is either dependent on your works (which result in Hell) or on your acceptance of a gift from God (which allows entrance into Heaven).

Human effort to achieve spiritual works on the other hand, can only result in eternal judgment in hell because all people sin and the Bible teaches that sin must be judged by spiritual death.

Romans 3:23 - for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God,

Romans 6:21-23 --- What fruit did you have then in the things of which you are now ashamed? For the end of those things [your sins] is death. 22 But now having been set free from sin [talking to Christians in Rome], and having become slaves of God, you have your fruit to holiness, and the end, everlasting life. 23 For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord. (NKJ)

Death in the above verses means spiritual death and eternal separation from God in Hell as a result of the sins committed. In other words, since we all sin, we all deserve death and hell.

But the gift of God is offered to those who want eternal life in Jesus. A belief in Jesus sets us free from sin. This does not mean that Christians will never sin again, just that they are set free from the effects of sin, which is death and hell.

A believer in Jesus becomes a friend of God and desires to please Him. They change from being a slave of sin, to becoming a voluntary slave of God. And because of the Christian’s love for God, God promises to reserve a place in heaven as a gift, not as an earned reward.

Book of Hebrews 9:26-28------ He [Jesus] has appeared to put away sin by the sacrifice of Himself [On the cross]. 27 And as it is appointed for men to die once, but after this the judgment, 28 so Christ was offered once to bear the sins of many. To those who eagerly wait for Him He will appear a second time, apart from sin, for salvation. (NKJ)

The last verse above promises that those who eagerly wait for Jesus to return will be receiving salvation, meaning eternal life in Heaven with Him. He came the first time to take our sins upon Himself, but when He returns, He is bringing the gift of eternal life!

Verse 27 above makes it clear that belief in reincarnation is a deceptive lie. Mankind has only one life to determine their final condition. When we die, God judges us.

The following are additional verses that talk of the gift of eternal life for those who have been born again by faith in Jesus, and eternal damnation for those who reject God’s salvation plan:

Daniel 12:2 And many of those who sleep in the dust of the earth shall awake, some to everlasting life, some to shame and everlasting contempt. (NKJ)

John 3:16 "For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life. 17 "For God did not send His Son into the world to condemn the world, but that the world through Him might be saved. 18 "He who believes in Him is not condemned; but he who does not believe is condemned already, because he has not believed in the name of the only begotten Son of God. 19 "And this is the condemnation, that the light has come into the world, and men loved darkness rather than light, because their deeds were evil. (NKJ)

John 3:35 "The Father loves the Son, and has given all things into His hand. 36 "He who believes in the Son has everlasting life; and he who does not believe the Son shall not see life, but the wrath of God abides on him." (NKJ)

John 5:24 "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. 25 "Most assuredly, I say to you, the hour is coming, and now is, when the dead will hear the voice of the Son of God; and those who hear will live. 26 "For as the Father has life in Himself, so He has granted the Son to have life in Himself, 27 "and has given Him authority to execute judgment also, because He is the Son of Man. (NKJ)

John 6:27 "Do not labor for the food which perishes, but for the food which endures to everlasting life, which the Son of Man will give you, because God the Father has set His seal on Him." 28 Then they said to Him, "What shall we do, that we may work the works of God?" 29 Jesus answered and said to them, "This is the work of God, that you believe in Him [Jesus] whom He [God, the Father] sent." (NKJ)

John 6:40 "And this is the will of Him who sent Me, that everyone who sees the Son and believes in Him may have everlasting life; and I will raise him up at the last day." (NKJ)

John 6:46-47 "Not that anyone has seen the Father, except He who is from God; He has seen the Father. Most assuredly, I say to you, he who believes in Me has everlasting life. (NKJ)

Revelation 20:6-15 6 Blessed and holy is he who has part in the first resurrection. Over such the second death [lake of fire] has no power, ---------------------11 Then I saw a great white throne and Him who sat on it, from whose face the earth and the heaven fled away. And there was found no place for them. 12 And I saw the dead, small and great, standing before God [this is the resurrection of those who did not want to have their sins forgiven by Jesus, and rejected His as their Savior], and books were opened. And another book was opened, which is the Book of Life. And the dead were judged according to their works, by the things which were written in the books. 13 The sea gave up the dead who were in it, and Death and Hades delivered up the dead who were in them. And they were judged, each one according to his works. 14 Then Death and Hades were cast into the lake of fire. This is the second death. 15 And anyone not found written in the Book of Life was cast into the lake of fire. (NKJ)

In this last section of scripture, those who believe in Jesus as their Savior have their names written into the Book of Life. This book is a list of those who are FORGIVEN by God for the sins they committed. Those who do not want the gift of forgiveness in accordance with the terms given by God for receiving the gift (which is belief in His Son Jesus) will be judged out of books that record their works on earth. Every thought, every deed will then be exposed and judged. The result is called the second death, where the unbeliever is separated from God in the Lake of Fire.

Once again, we pray you will consider accepting the gift of life if you haven’t already. You can do so by agreeing with God and confessing to Him that you are a sinner. Get on your knees and talk to Him as you would any friend who loves you. He is all-present and hears you. Confess to Him that you cannot save yourself. Agree with Him that what He calls sin (lying, sexual immorality, taking His name in vain, coveting, stealing, etc.) are sin. Agree with Him that you deserve to be judged and sent to hell for the sins that you have committed. Confess to God that you want to repent (meaning turn away) from a life of sin. Tell Him that you believe He sent Jesus to take the punishment you deserved. In exchange for this incredible act of love tell Him that you want to stop fighting God and instead want to serve Him out of Love. Tell the Father that you want the power of Jesus to come into your life to set up home. Tell Him you want Jesus to start changing your heart, and to speak to you in a spiritual way through His word, the Bible. If you do this, you will become born again and you will have everlasting life. 

Feel free to contact us if you want someone to pray with you as you give your life to Jesus or if you have mote questions.