A WARNING TO THOSE WHO CONSIDER THEMSELVES CHRISTIAN!

I have been a Christian for 15 yrs. At the age of 16 I confessed my sins to the Lord Jesus and asked him to forgive me and help me live a repentant life for him alone and to live a life where he has complete Lordship in my life. Since then my life has been transformed and it is my personal relationship with Jesus Christ that has made all the difference. It is through reading the bible that I learn how to be changed and find new direction. I have an incredible assurance that the Lord has saved me from the consequences of my sin nature, the sinful choices I have made that have made me guilty before God and from hell. I do not live in fear of death or eternal punishment for my sins. I am free of guilt and shame because I have a new past and a hopeful future in Christ. I have peace and the power to forgive anyone for anything. I am truly free. I am happy in all circumstances and am joyful because I am saved. And I give all my praise and thankfulness to Jesus Christ because he is showing me more and more who he is and who I am as a child of God.

2 Corinthians 5:17 says: "Therefore, if any man be in Christ, he is a new creature: old things are passed away; behold, all things have become new."

Lately, I have been asking the Lord to show me what his heart is feeling for those who call themselves Christians, and what is being revealed to me is very sobering and fearful.

Read these verses carefully in Matthew 7. This is a direct warning from Jesus to those who call themselves Christians:

13"Enter through the narrow gate; for the gate is wide and the way is broad that leads to destruction, and there are many who enter through it. 14"For the gate is small and the way is narrow that leads to life, and there are few who find it. 15"Beware of the false prophets, who come to you in sheep's clothing, but inwardly are ravenous wolves. 16"You will know them by their fruits. Grapes are not gathered from thorn bushes nor figs from thistles, are they? 17"So every good tree bears good fruit, but the bad tree bears bad fruit. 18"A good tree cannot produce bad fruit, nor can a bad tree produce good fruit. 19"Every tree that does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire. 20"So then, you will know them by their fruits. ******21"Not everyone who says to Me, 'Lord, Lord,' will enter the kingdom of heaven, but he who does the will of My Father who is in heaven will enter. 22"Many will say to Me on that day, 'Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in Your name, and in Your name cast out demons, and in Your name perform many miracles?' 23"And then I will declare to them, 'I never knew you; DEPART FROM ME, YOU WHO PRACTICE LAWLESSNESS.' *****24"Therefore everyone who hears these words of Mine and acts on them, may be compared to a wise man who built his house on the rock. 25"And the rain fell, and the floods came, and the winds blew and slammed against that house; and yet it did not fall, for it had been founded on the rock. 26"Everyone who hears these words of Mine and does not act on them, will be like a foolish man who built his house on the sand. 27"The rain fell, and the floods came, and the winds blew and slammed against that house; and it fell--and great was its fall."

If you call yourself a Christian in this country or this world it is automatically presumed that we share the same faith, read the same bible, and are drawing close to the same Jesus Christ in the same Holy Spirit. But this is not necessarily true. When I read the bible and then look around in this country I see a great confusion about what being a Christian really is. The truth is that you are not a Christian if you just say that you are. You are a Christian IF you live according to what the Bible says in it's entirety. It is the Bible alone that reveals what God expects. It is Jesus Christ's expectations that matters not the pastor at your church or on TV. It's not the seemingly wise family member or friend who always talks about Jesus and God stuff. It is not the opinion of the politicians, hollywood stars, scientists, or economists that matters. It's not your opinion that matters. It is the Bible alone that has the ultimate authority on our lives. It is not the Bible and the book of Mormon. It is not the Bible and the Catechism. It is only the Bible. I understand if this last statement is hard to accept if you are not a Christian, but if you call yourself a "Christian" and this bothers you then beware! Those above verses are for you. There is a song called, "The Real Jesus" by Downhere that speaks of all the many Jesus's that are popping onto the scene but the message of this song is: just give me the REAL Jesus! Believing in the REAL Jesus makes you a REAL Christian.

A real Christian believes that Jesus Christ is the one true GOD. That it is Jesus Christ who created this world and you and me. A real Christian believes that GOD is THREE seperate persons IN ONE: Father, Son and Holy Spirit. Much like the SUN or WATER or MAN each have THREE seperate parts but are still considered ONE. A real Christian believes that Jesus is the only way to heaven and that there are not many ways to heaven. WHY? Because NO ONE in all of history has died and rose again from the dead as Jesus has. NO ONE has proven themselves as GOD except Jesus Christ. NO ONE has showed more love then Jesus Christ. The Bible says in John 15:13: there is no greater love then when a man lays down his life for his friends. A real Christian believes that Jesus is the only way to heaven because he is the only one who lived a SINLESS life and therefore is the only one worthy to save souls. Jesus Christ is the only one who died for the purpose of saving humanity from their SIN NATURE and then rose from the dead to prove that he is the one true God. A REAL CHRISTIAN LIVES BY FAITH IN THESE THINGS and the Bible says it is impossible to please God without faith.

A Christian is REAL if they believe in all of these things and the rest of what the Bible teaches and follows Jesus daily in a repentant life.

Jesus said that not everyone who thinks they are a Christian will enter the kingdom of heaven. There will even be those who performed miracles and healed and cast out demons that are cast into hell because they were false Christians. If this doesn't rattle your heart then I don't know if anything will. When I read Matthew 7 I sober up because it is warning religious people to stop being religious and start getting right with Jesus Christ with a sincere heart of humility. Only the pride in your heart will keep you from receiving Jesus as who he really is.

IT'S NOT SAFE TO DIE!

DEAR FAMILY & FRIENDS,

This may very well be the hardest thing I ever write, but to help you understand the urgency I feel and the motive in my heart to warn you, I can share with you two scenarios from a book I just read called "23 Minutes In Hell" by Bill Wiese.

I. Imagine you are sleeping in a hotel room, and it's very early in the morning. Someone starts yelling, "FIRE! FIRE!" You not only wouldn't mind that person waking you up, but also you would be extremely grateful for the warning if there was a real fire. The inconvenience and unpleasantries you would experience would be welcomed in exchange for your life.

II. Try to imagine how you would feel if you were sitting beside a pool and saw a tanker truck pull up with some evil-looking men in it. The men got out of the truck and began to drain the pool water about half-full. Then they filled it back up with another liquid from the large truck. However it's not water --it's acid! You watch the men throw a wooden board into the pool, and the board immediatly disintigrates. Obviously, these men are planning on killing whoever jumps into the seemingly harmless pool. Then the men drive away. A few seconds later, some children come running up to the pool to swim. You immediatly scream and warn them of the acid in the water, but they don't believe you. You desperatly yell, telling them to stay out of the pool. However, the water looks great to them--it's inviting. How frustrated you would be! You couldn't let them jump in, even if they insisted. You would feel compelled to do whatever it took to save them.

It would be nothing less then criminal if someone knew there was impending danger ahead and did not do everything in their power to warn and stop those from moving into harms way! The phrase, "With all due respect" would take on a whole new meaning in these critical moments. And so it is with all due respect and love for you that I write to you with this urgency and obligation to warn you to avoid the coming danger by doing what's necessary.

This is not a joke.

Do you realize that there is a real fire to avoid and it's not your local wildfire. It's much worse and has a much greater threat on you then just burning up all your stuff. This fire is in a very real place called Hell. I mentioned Bill Weise. This man had a real life experience in hell that lasted for 23 minutes back in November of 1998. I just read his book and his experience is horrifying and unmentionable. What he describes is like nothing you or I have ever experienced or want to experience. Not only that but everything he experienced is not new news. Actually it's all found in the bible which is the one book that has been warning all humanity about this place for millenia.

Think on the following words and try to put the real meaning back into them. Try to feel what these words really mean and convey and remember that our societies and cultures and methods have watered down and desensitized us to the true meaning and context of words throughout the ages but mostly in the last 50-60 years:

APPOINTED // ASSIGNED // BODY IN HELL // DARKNESS // DEGREES OF PUNISHMENT // DESTRUCTION // ETERNAL SEPERATION // FEAR // FIRE // BURNING // HELL // HELL DESOLATE // NO LIFE OF ANY KIND // HUMILIATION // SHAME // LOCATION // HOPELESSNESS // NO MERCY // NO PEACE // NO PURPOSE // NO REST // ODORS // STENCH // PIT // PROFANITY // RIGHTEOUS JUDGEMENT // THIRST UNENDING // TORMENT IN HELL // WORMS // WRATH // WEEPING // KNASHING OF TEETH // ANGER // HATE // PAIN // NO LOVE // TERROR // EVIL // BITTERNESS // NO WATER // DEMONS // NO FOOD ...

These words are describing what happens in this place called hell and it is all going to last an eternity for those people who do not repent or turn away from their sins and place their trust in Jesus Christ as their Lord and Savior. If you have lied, stolen, cheated, lusted after a person, used God's name as a cuss word, have lived a sexually immoral life, you are guilty of breaking God's moral law: The Ten Commandments, and you will be guilty as charged as you stand before God who is the Righteous Judge. I plead with you to get right with God today, right now!, by receiving his free gift to you. His free gift is his son Jesus Christ. He is the one who chose to die in your place and you must receive him into your heart by faith. If you place your faith in him and confess that you are a sinner and ask him to forgive you he will do so. By doing this He will become Lord of your life and you will choose to live a repentant life daily and choose to take up your cross daily. You will choose to stop living for your self and will live for his will. Please read my posts Have You Made Your Final Decision Part 1-4 and The Best and Final Decision to help you understand more of this serious decision.

There are close to 400 references about Hell in the bible. Consider some of these warnings:

Revelation 21:8 - ...all liars shall have their part in the lake which burns with fire and brimstone.

Matthew 10:28 - Fear Him who is able to destroy both soul and body in hell.

2 Peter 2:4 - ...cast them down to hell and delivered them into chains of darkness...

Job 31:3 - Is it not destruction for the wicked, and disaster for the workers of iniquity?

Deuteronomy 32:22 - For a fire is kindled in My anger, and shall burn to the lowest hell.

Isaiah 38:18 - For Hell cannot thank you, death cannot praise You; those who go down to the pit cannot hope for Your truth.

Ecclesisastes 9:10 - ...for there is no work or device or knowledge or wisdom in the grave.

Amos 5:18-19 - It will be darkness and not light...leaned his head on the wall, and a serpant bit him.

Psalm 74:20 - ...for the dark places of the earth are full of the haunts of cruelty.

Also, consider these quotes in light of what the bible is talking about:

"He who provides for his life but takes no care for eternity is wise for a moment but a fool forever"- John Tillotson

"Sin and hell are married unless repentance proclaims the divorce"- Charles Spurgeon

"A lot of people are rooting for me to go to heaven. Why? Because if I go, then everybody goes!"- Jerry Springer

"Between us and heaven or hell there is only life, which is the frailest thing in the world."- Blaise Pascal

"There are two kinds of people: Those who say to God, "Thy will be done," and those to whom God says, "All right, then, have it your way."- C.S. Lewis

"If sinners will be damned, at least let them leap to Hell over our bodies. And if they will perish, let them perish with our arms about their knees, imploring them to stay. If Hell must be filled, at least let it be filled in the teeth of our exertions, and let not one go there unwarned or unprayed for."-Charles Spurgeon

"Satan...will do everything in his power to hold people captive in sin and to drag them down to the prison of eternal seperation from God."- Billy Graham

"Hell is a place of unrelieved torment and horrible misery...a place of impenetrable darkness...a place of fire...a place of unrelieved torment for both body and soul. Hell will be horrible for everybody there, but some people will suffer more than others."- John MacArthur

It is not an accident that you are reading this.

Your soul is very valuable to Jesus. He does not wish that you go to hell and he has proven this by his death on the cross. His choice to die for you is what has made it possible for you to escape hell. But in order to obtain a gift you must receive it. You must receive Jesus by faith. If you reject this narrow way of escape only pure justice will remain to judge you and hell is that place you will be appointed to.

My friend, in the same motive that I hope success for you and the best that life has to offer I also hope you choose life in Christ.

Only in Christ is it safe to die!