The Way to Eternal Life with Christ
What Happens After Death?
Most people do not trouble themselves with this question. One should live and enjoy life now—why think about something that will happen sometime in the unknown future, or whether it will happen at all? Although such thinking should be characteristic only of unbelievers, unfortunately, the majority of believers think in much the same way.
This indifference is partly due to our life experience. If you do something bad—you are punished (if caught); if you do neither good nor bad—no one bothers you; if you do something good—you may be rewarded. “Be subject for the Lord’s sake to every human institution, whether it be to the emperor as supreme, or to governors as sent by him to punish those who do evil and to praise those who do good.” (1 Peter 2:13–14, ESV) Most often a person thinks like this: if I have done nothing wrong, why should I go to hell? And if I believe in God and occasionally attend church, I should go to heaven. Well, even if I don’t make it to heaven, at least not to hell—I haven’t done anything bad; I’m better than many others. Then most likely I’ll end up somewhere in the middle—neither in heaven nor in hell; I’ll just die and that will be the end of it. This scenario satisfies most people: even if I don’t get to heaven, I certainly won’t go to hell. And as for heaven—who knows what it will be like? Is it worth sacrificing life, time, and pleasures for something you’re not sure about? As the saying goes, a bird in the hand is worth two in the bush. But this is a great deception.
So we could distinguish three post-death states: hell, heaven, and a third—non-existence. Unfortunately, this third state does not exist. Scripture clearly states this:
“When the Son of Man comes in his glory, and all the angels with him, then he will sit on his glorious throne. Before him will be gathered all the nations, and he will separate people one from another as a shepherd separates the sheep from the goats. And he will place the sheep on his right, but the goats on the left. Then the King will say to those on his right, ‘Come, you who are blessed by my Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world. For I was hungry and you gave me food, I was thirsty and you gave me drink, I was a stranger and you welcomed me, I was naked and you clothed me, I was sick and you visited me, I was in prison and you came to me.’ Then the righteous will answer him, saying, ‘Lord, when did we see you hungry and feed you, or thirsty and give you drink? And when did we see you a stranger and welcome you, or naked and clothe you? And when did we see you sick or in prison and visit you?’ And the King will answer them, ‘Truly, I say to you, as you did it to one of the least of these my brothers, you did it to me.’ Then he will say to those on his left, ‘Depart from me, you cursed, into the eternal fire prepared for the devil and his angels. For I was hungry and you gave me no food, I was thirsty and you gave me no drink, I was a stranger and you did not welcome me, naked and you did not clothe me, sick and in prison and you did not visit me.’ Then they also will answer, saying, ‘Lord, when did we see you hungry or thirsty or a stranger or naked or sick or in prison, and did not minister to you?’ Then he will answer them, saying, ‘Truly, I say to you, as you did not do it to one of the least of these, you did not do it to me.’ And these will go away into eternal punishment, but the righteous into eternal life.” (Matthew 25:31–46, ESV)
We clearly see that after death a person’s soul goes either into eternal punishment (hell) or into eternal life (the kingdom of heaven). There is simply no third option.
It is worth noting that those who will go into eternal punishment were not evil people—nothing is said about that. Just as in the earlier example in the same chapter about the talents: “He also who had received the one talent came forward, saying, ‘Master, I knew you to be a hard man, reaping where you did not sow, and gathering where you scattered no seed, so I was afraid, and I went and hid your talent in the ground. Here, you have what is yours.’” (Matthew 25:24–25, ESV) We cannot say about this servant that he was a bad person. One might even praise him for preserving the property by burying it in the ground—rather than, say, wasting or stealing it. But did the master praise him? “But his master answered him, ‘You wicked and slothful servant! You knew that I reap where I have not sown and gather where I scattered no seed? Then you ought to have invested my money with the bankers, and at my coming I should have received what was my own with interest. So take the talent from him and give it to him who has the ten talents. For to everyone who has will more be given, and he will have an abundance. But from the one who has not, even what he has will be taken away. And cast the worthless servant into the outer darkness. In that place there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.’” (Matthew 25:26–30, ESV)
Thus we see that only those who did something for the Lord will enter the kingdom of heaven (we will talk more about this later). And those who went to hell were condemned not for what they DID, but for what they DID NOT DO. That is, not because they did something BAD, but because they did NOT do what Christ wanted. Of course, it is not as if these people did no good at all. They did—as most people do: good to their loved ones, to other people, brought some benefit to society. Because most people are good by worldly standards. Yet few will enter heaven. “For the gate is narrow and the way is hard that leads to life, and those who find it are few.” (Matthew 7:14, ESV) Therefore we can conclude that HELL WILL BE FULL OF GOOD PEOPLE—those who did not care to know Christ. For even that in itself is sin. “And since they did not see fit to acknowledge God, God gave them up to a debased mind to do what ought not to be done.” (Romans 1:28, ESV)
Who then can be saved?
This question was put to Christ by His disciples. “And they were exceedingly astonished, and said to him, ‘Then who can be saved?’” (Mark 10:26, ESV). The disciples were simply stunned by what they heard—that a man who had diligently kept God’s commandments from his youth could still not be saved. This story has become one of the best-known narratives in the New Testament, recorded in all three synoptic Gospels. Let us recall it:
“And as he was setting out on his journey, a man ran up and knelt before him and asked him, ‘Good Teacher, what must I do to inherit eternal life?’ And Jesus said to him, ‘Why do you call me good? No one is good except God alone. You know the commandments: “Do not murder, Do not commit adultery, Do not steal, Do not bear false witness, Do not defraud, Honor your father and mother.”’ And he said to him, ‘Teacher, all these I have kept from my youth.’ And Jesus, looking at him, loved him, and said to him, ‘You lack one thing: go, sell all that you have and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven; and come, follow me.’ Disheartened by the saying, he went away sorrowful, for he had great possessions. And Jesus looked around and said to his disciples, ‘How difficult it will be for those who have wealth to enter the kingdom of God!’ And the disciples were amazed at his words. But Jesus said to them again, ‘Children, how difficult it is to enter the kingdom of God! It is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for a rich person to enter the kingdom of God.’” (Mark 10:17–25, ESV)
We see that although this man kept God’s commandments (and Jesus even loved him!), Christ still said that this alone was not enough.
So, who then can be saved? To answer this question, we must remember why man was created in the first place (see the sermon “The Purpose of Man’s Creation”). Man was created to be the bride of Christ and to spend eternity with Him. The church is the bride of Christ. “Let us rejoice and exult and give him the glory, for the marriage of the Lamb has come, and his Bride has made herself ready;” (Revelation 19:7, ESV)
We see that the relationship between the church and Christ is the same as that between husband and wife. This explains why it is not enough to be a good person in order to become the bride of Christ. Who would marry someone simply because that person is good? Imagine a stranger approaching you on the street and proposing marriage. When asked why, he explains: because he is a good man—he is not a thief, not a robber, not an adulterer. Would that be enough? Where is love? Where is devotion? Where is faithfulness? Will love and faithfulness endure when trials come?
This is exactly why Christ told the young man that something was lacking—that he could not enter the kingdom of heaven. Not because he was rich, but because money was more important to him than Christ. Christ will never accept second place. “Whoever loves father or mother more than me is not worthy of me, and whoever loves son or daughter more than me is not worthy of me.” (Matthew 10:37, ESV)
It is the same in marriage. Suppose a businessman husband loves his wife—but not enough to give up his business for her if such a choice arose (circumstances vary). And if the wife sees that her husband values his business more than her, she will not feel happy. Likewise for the husband, if he sees that something else (for example, her relationship with her parents) is more important to his wife than her relationship with him. Very often marriages break up precisely because the wife wants to live near her parents and refuses to move where her husband wants to go.
Therefore, if there is anything in our hearts that is more important than Christ, the way to heaven—as it was for that rich young man—is closed. We must remove all these idols from our hearts until Christ becomes the most important to us. That is the main task and purpose of our life.
What Is Christ’s Place in Our Lives?
Most believers, when asked whether they love Christ and whether He occupies the most important place in their heart, would answer yes. Yet in many cases, this is not true.
And someone said to him, “Lord, will those who are saved be few?” And he said to them, “Strive to enter through the narrow door. For many, I tell you, will seek to enter and will not be able. When once the master of the house has risen and shut the door, and you begin to stand outside and to knock at the door, saying, ‘Lord, open to us,’ then he will answer you, ‘I do not know where you come from.’ Then you will begin to say, ‘We ate and drank in your presence, and you taught in our streets.’ But he will say, ‘I tell you, I do not know where you come from. Depart from me, all you workers of evil!’” (Luke 13:23–27, ESV)
Once again, the word “workers of evil” (or “piktadariai” in some translations) is not entirely precise. In the Greek, the term ἀδικία (more accurately “workers of lawlessness” or “those who practice lawlessness”) refers to those who do not keep or live according to God’s law—those who do not obey the word of God. From this and other passages in Scripture we see that many who profess faith claim to love God only with their lips. “This people honors me with their lips, but their heart is far from me;” (Matthew 15:8, ESV). Often a person does not even realize that something in his heart is placed higher than Christ. Just as with the rich young ruler: before his encounter with Christ, he probably never suspected that his wealth was more important to him than God.
In order to understand whether a person truly loves Christ or only thinks he does, love must be TESTED. “Blessed is the man who remains steadfast under trial, for when he has stood the test he will receive the crown of life, which God has promised to those who love him.” (James 1:12, ESV) “In this you rejoice, though now for a little while, if necessary, you have been grieved by various trials, so that the tested genuineness of your faith—more precious than gold that perishes though it is tested by fire—may be found to result in praise and glory and honor at the revelation of Jesus Christ.” (1 Peter 1:6–7, ESV)
“And you shall remember the whole way that the LORD your God has led you these forty years in the wilderness, that he might humble you, testing you to know what was in your heart, whether you would keep his commandments or not.” (Deuteronomy 8:2, ESV; cf. Deuteronomy 13:3 – “for the LORD your God is testing you, to know whether you love the LORD your God with all your heart and with all your soul.”)
The Test of Faith and Love: Choice, the Role of the Devil, and Why There Is So Much Evil in the World
In the article “The Purpose of Man’s Creation,” I wrote that the purpose of humanity’s creation is to select a bride for Christ. Why didn’t God create her perfect right from the beginning? After all, human nature became sinful when Adam fell. Why would He want such a bride?
To understand this, let us recall our own weddings (or imagine them). Every person wants their future spouse to love only them, to choose them out of all others, and for that choice to be made out of genuine love, not from any other motives. The same is true between Christ and His bride. There is no doubt about Christ’s love—He loved His bride so much that He laid down His life for her. “By this we know love, that he laid down his life for us” (1 John 3:16, ESV). And not only the Son loved, but the Father as well. “For God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life” (John 3:16, ESV). There is also no doubt about the purity of the motives, because a human being can neither give anything to God nor harm Him. “If you have sinned, what do you accomplish against him? And if your transgressions are multiplied, what do you do to him? If you are righteous, what do you give to him? Or what does he receive from your hand?” (Job 35:6–7, ESV).
But with humanity it is not so simple. Christ wants the person to CHOOSE Him, not to become His bride simply because there is no other way. If man had been created perfect, he would not have fallen into sin and abandoned the Lord. Of course, God could have created man imperfect yet protected him from sin—for example, by not placing the tree of the knowledge of good and evil in the middle of the Garden of Eden, whose fruit God had forbidden to eat. But again, that would no longer be a choice. Christ does not want His bride to be His bride only because there is no other bridegroom.
Therefore, in order for there to be a real choice, an alternative had to be created—a “competitor” to the Lord, so to speak. That competitor’s role is played by the devil. He is here on earth to seduce its inhabitants. “And he seized the dragon, that ancient serpent, who is the devil and Satan, and bound him for a thousand years, and threw him into the pit, and shut it and sealed it over him, so that he might not deceive the nations any longer, until the thousand years were ended. After that he must be released for a little while. … And when the thousand years are ended, Satan will be released from his prison and will come out to deceive the nations that are at the four corners of the earth, Gog and Magog, to gather them for battle; their number is like the sand of the sea” (Revelation 20:2–3, 7–8, ESV). Thus the devil was not cast down to earth for nothing—he could have been cast somewhere else, bound, or destroyed. He performs his work quite effectively. “She lusted after the Assyrians, governors and commanders, warriors clothed in full armor, horsemen riding on horses, all of them desirable young men” (Ezekiel 23:12, ESV). “For their mother has played the whore; she who conceived them has acted shamefully. For she said, ‘I will go after my lovers, who give me my bread and my water, my wool and my flax, my oil and my drink’” (Hosea 2:5, ESV). God allows the devil to test the inhabitants of the earth. “Do not fear what you are about to suffer. Behold, the devil is about to throw some of you into prison, that you may be tested, and for ten days you will have tribulation. Be faithful unto death, and I will give you the crown of life” (Revelation 2:10, ESV). Of course, the devil can act only within the limits set by God, as we see in the book of Job. And he gives the test according to our strength. “No temptation has overtaken you that is not common to man. God is faithful, and he will not let you be tempted beyond your ability, but with the temptation he will also provide the way of escape, that you may be able to endure it” (1 Corinthians 10:13, ESV).
Naturally, the choice would not truly be a choice if we could clearly see the devil’s ugliness and God’s glory, or the reward for serving the devil versus serving God. Therefore all of this is hidden from our eyes. The devil’s cunning is not plainly visible, because he entices us with what appeals to our flesh—various worldly pleasures and riches. “And the devil said to him, ‘To you I will give all this authority and their glory, for it has been delivered to me, and I give it to whom I will’” (Luke 4:6, ESV). Of course, Christ could also entice His bride with riches and worldly pleasures. But we have a good example in Solomon. “He had 700 wives, who were princesses, and 300 concubines” (1 Kings 11:3, ESV). Unfortunately, he never found his true chosen one. “Which my soul has sought repeatedly, but I have not found. One man among a thousand I found, but a woman among all these I have not found” (Ecclesiastes 7:28, ESV). Thus enticing a bride with riches is not the right way if you want a bride who truly loves you, not your wealth and glory.
I remember from childhood seeing a fairy tale in which a rich, handsome prince disguised himself as a beggar, won the prize set by the king, and married the princess. He disguised himself as a beggar so that the princess would love him for who he truly was—as a person, not as a wealthy prince. After spending considerable time with her as a beggar and being convinced that she truly loved him, he revealed that he was the prince and brought her to the palace. The princess was speechless… This fairy tale quite accurately reflects Christ’s relationship with the church. “…Christ Jesus, who, though he was in the form of God, did not count equality with God a thing to be grasped, but emptied himself, by taking the form of a servant, being born in the likeness of men” (Philippians 2:5–7, ESV). He could have come to earth in all His royal glory and beauty—who would not want to marry such a bridegroom? But that would not have been tested love. Christ wants to know that we love Him, not that we are seeking His blessings or glory. Therefore love must be tested and proven.
Christ and the Father proved Their love for us by sacrificing what is most precious to Them: the Father gave His only Son, and Christ gave His life for us. This is the greatest possible proof. “For God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life” (John 3:16, ESV). “I have been crucified with Christ. It is no longer I who live, but Christ who lives in me. And the life I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me” (Galatians 2:20, ESV). Thus Their love for us is beyond doubt. It remains for us to prove our love from our side.
As already mentioned, unlike the devil, Christ does not entice His bride with riches and glory. “For consider your calling, brothers: not many of you were wise according to worldly standards, not many were powerful, not many were of noble birth” (1 Corinthians 1:26, ESV). The riches of this world ultimately draw people away from God. “No one can serve two masters, for either he will hate the one and love the other, or he will be devoted to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve God and money” (Matthew 6:24, ESV). Our true riches are in heaven. “Do not lay up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy and where thieves break in and steal, but lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust destroys and where thieves do not break in and steal. For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also” (Matthew 6:19–21, ESV).
Thus man is given a difficult choice: either to enjoy the pleasures of this world on earth—what our eyes see and our body feels—or to renounce them and follow Christ, not seeing but believing that together with Him we will inherit the kingdom of heaven, which is incomparably better. “You adulterous people! Do you not know that friendship with the world is enmity with God? Therefore whoever wishes to be a friend of the world makes himself an enemy of God” (James 4:4, ESV). Therefore becoming the bride of Christ is far more difficult than many think. “For the gate is narrow and the way is hard that leads to life, and those who find it are few” (Matthew 7:14, ESV). We must prove our love for Christ through deeds—beautiful words alone will not suffice. “This people honors me with their lips, but their heart is far from me” (Matthew 15:8, ESV).
“So now FAITH, HOPE, and LOVE abide, these three; but the greatest of these is love.”
(1 Kor. 13:13)
Discover the purpose of your life!