My Weblog: The Gospel Preacher.

In Job 21:32, it is written, " 32 Yet shall he be brought to the grave, and ¹shall remain in the tomb. "  Job ( see verse one ) said that a vigil shall be kept over the tomb of the wicked man.  In Hebrews 9:27, it is written, " 27 ^aAnd as it is appointed unto men once to die, ^bbut after this the judgment. "  Hades is the realm of the dead.  This realm is divided into two regions ( see Luke 16:19-31; 23:26-49 ( especially verses 33 and 43, for example ), for example ): ( 1 ) Tartarus and ( 2 ) Paradise.  Those who find themselves in Tartarus after they die will know that they are going to hell on judgment day.  Those who find themselves in Paradise after they die will know that they are going to heaven on judgment day.  The only way to be in this latter group is to be a member of the church of Christ, and to be faithful to God unto death ( see Matthew 16:18; James 1:12; and Revelation 2:10, for example ).  Many people have been deceived into believing that they are Christians when they are not ( see Matthew 7:21-27, for example ).  There are many people who claim to be Christians, but they have not done what is necessary to be one ( see Matthew 10:32; 11:15; Luke 13:3; Romans 12:1-8 ( especially verse 5, for example ); James 4:7; and 1 Peter 5:1-5, for example ).  Anyone who is not a member of the church of Christ is not a Christian, is not saved, and is not following Jesus.  The vast majority of people in this world blindly accept what false teachers tell them without searching the Scriptures themselves.  Furthermore, there is no access to heaven through religious denominations, as is demonstrated in Figure 1, below:

There are other passages of Scripture which clearly teach this concept.  False teachers try to complicate the simplicity of the gospel message, for in 2 Corinthians 11:3, it is written, " 3 But I fear, lest by any means, as ^athe serpent ¹beguiled Eve through his ²subtilty, so your minds ^bshould be corrupted from the simplicity that is in Christ. "  See also Acts 15:1-21 ( especially verse 7, for example ) and Ephesians 1:1-14 ( especially verse 13, for example ), for example.

Sometimes we think that we are smarter than God, however, in Job 40:1, 2, it is written, " 40 Moreover the LORD ^aanswered Job, and said, 2 shall he that ^acontendeth with the Almighty instruct him? he that ^breproveth¹ God, let him answer it. "  Who is going to instruct God?  He knows everything ( see also Job 21:22, for example ).  Whever we commit sin ( see also 1 John 3:4, for example ), we think that we can make a better decision ourselves, rather than doing what God has told us to do.  In Isaiah 55:8, 9, it is written, " 8 ^aFor my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways, saith the LORD.  9 ^aFor as the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways, and my thoughts than your thoughts. "  May we live for Christ ( see 2 Corinthians, chapter 5 ( especially verses 14 and 15, for example ), for example ), for example.  Please seek ye out of the book of the LORD, and read ( see Isaiah 34:16, for example ). 🕮