By: Steve Wilmot
When someone whose had a life of misery or who suffered for months before he died, you’re likely to hear someone say, “Well, at least he’s in a better place.” It’s akin to the belief that all roads lead to heaven.
Sorry to burst your bubble, my friend, but not everyone who dies goes to a better place. If that was true, then explain to me why Jesus had to give his life on the cross for us?
According to Jesus and oodles of verses in the Bible there are two possible destinations after we die: heaven or hell.
When a person dies, he goes to one or the other. Heaven is indeed a “better place,” but hell is far from it. It’s the worse place imaginable to spend all eternity.
To say someone who dies is in a “better place” assumes everyone who dies goes to heaven. It’s a nice sentiment, but it’s false hope.
Paul uses the opening chapters of Romans to make his case. Imagine you’re in the courtroom. God is the Judge. You are on trial.
Paul is the Prosecuting Attorney presenting his case against you that you and everyone else stand guilty before God and deserve to be sentenced to hell.
Here is a summary of his evidence: [A] Everyone has sinned because everyone has disobeyed God’s commands.[B] The sentence for sin is death. Here’s what I wrote to explain this in my book, “FAQ New Believers Want to Know.”
“It’s obvious you don’t drop dead the moment you sin because you’re still alive. Death means separation. Sin is like a high fence that separates you from the rich kids. It separates you from God and the new life he longs to give you.
“Physical death occurs when your spirit separates from your body. Spiritual death occurs when you are separated from God eternally in hell.”
Paul asserts that when the evidence is presented, “every mouth [will] be silenced and the whole world held accountable to God (Romans 3.19).
When we stand before God to be judged by our actions, we won’t be able to offer a persuasive defense. We’ll have no excuses, no explanations. No one will be declared righteous. No one can earn his ticket to heaven by his behavior. No one will go to a better place.
We won’t make it to heaven because we’ve been good enough. (By the way, what is good enough? According to the Bible, good enough is being perfect like Jesus, and I think we come up short on that, don’t you?)
We won’t make it to heaven because we did more good deeds than bad deeds; because we kept more commands than we broke. (Again, the standard is perfection.)
We won’t make it to heaven because we’re not as bad as the other guy. God doesn’t grade on a curve. (Even if he did, Jesus set the curve that left everyone far behind.)
So, we stand before God without a shred of evidence he should pronounce us deserving of heaven. Instead, we’ll acknowledge his judgement is right — we deserve hell.
Isn’t the gospel supposed to be good news? It doesn’t sound like it. Keep reading… In this darkest and most desperate moment, we expect to hear the judge pound his gavel, and the verdict pronounced: “Guilty!”
Here’s the good news: It’s not inevitable we will be sentenced to hell. Here’s Paul again:
“But now God has shown us a way to be made right with him without keeping the requirements of the law… We are made right with God by placing our faith in Jesus Christ. And this is true for everyone who believes, no matter who we are. For everyone has sinned; we all fall short of God’s glorious standard. Yet God freely and graciously declares that we are righteous.
He did this through Christ Jesus when he freed us from the penalty for our sins. For God presented Jesus as the sacrifice for sin. People are made right with God when they believe that Jesus sacrificed his life, shedding his blood… God did this to demonstrate his righteousness, for he himself is fair and just, and he declares sinners to be right in his sight when they believe in Jesus” (Romans 3.21-26).
What great news! The sun breaks through the storm clouds. The hero rides in on the white horse. You hear the best news you’ve ever heard. You don’t have to go to hell. Your guilt can be pardoned because Jesus died in your place to pay your penalty. He took your sentence.
Now he offers you a pardon and an unbelievable life now and forever. It’s not a blanket pardon for everyone, even though it’s offered to everyone.
All that’s necessary is for you to place your faith in Jesus and follow him the rest of your life. Go where he leads. Do what he says. Love whom he loves.
And despite the desire of your heart and your best efforts, you’ll still sin. But you are still pardoned, and you will still go to heaven when you die.
You do that, and you will go to a better place when you die. Guaranteed. Not by me, but by the Judge of all the earth.
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Steve Wilmot is a former Edgerton, Ohio area pastor who now seeks “to still bear fruit in old age” through writing. He is the author of seven books designed to assist believers to make steady progress on their spiritual journey.
