Repent or Die

In this relativistic world, where everything is up to personal interpretation, there is a universal truth: Ten out of ten people die. No matter if you are rich or poor, wise or foolish, you are going to die. King Solomon said, Then I saw that wisdom excels folly as light excels darkness. The wise man’s eyes are in his head, but the fool walks in darkness. Yet I myself perceived that the same event happens to them all. So I said in my heart, “ As it happens to the fool, it also happens to me, and why was I then more wise?” Then I said in my heart, “ This also is vanity.” For there is no more remembrance of the wise than of the fool forever, since all that now is will be forgotten in the days to come. And how does a wise man die? As the fool!

Solomon understood that one day, everything that we strive for will be unkindly taken from our hands by the merciless and unbreakable jaws of death. What is it you strive for? Isn’t there something more important?

Jesus said, “I tell you, that every idle word that a man shall speak, he will give an account thereof on the Day of Judgment.” After we die, we have to face the God who gives us every breath that we take, to give an account for how we have used those breaths. How will you fare?

Have you ever told a lie? The Bible says, “..and all liars shall have their part in the lake which burns with fire and brimstone.”

Have you ever stolen anything (even if it was small)? The Bible declares that thieves are not allowed into Heaven.

Have you ever looked with lust? Jesus said that if you look with lust, you commit adultery in your heart, a violation of the Seventh Commandment for which God prescribed the death penalty.

Have you ever hated anyone? Jesus said that if you so much as insult someone, you will receive the same punishment as a murderer.

You see, if we trivialize God’s commandments, He could trivialize our breath. That would be a big deal for us, so we need to make God’s commandments a big deal. As such, there is not one of us who deserves to go to Heaven, for all of us have lies, stolen, lusted, and hated.

But we know that God is a loving God, as well as a just God. So, do you know what Just thing God did so that we would not have to go to Hell? John 3:16 says, “For God so loved the world, that He gave His only begotten Son, that whosoever will trust in Him, should not perish but have everlasting life.” If Jesus had not come down from Heaven and suffered and died for our sins, there would be no way for God to forgive us. But there’s more:

God is not going to merely give a blanket pardon to everybody. Jesus said, “Except ye repent, ye shall all likewise perish.” Jesus also said that on Judgment Day, many people would come to Him saying, “Lord, Lord, didn’t we prophecy in Your Name, and cast out demons in Your Name, and do many wonderful works [in Your Name]?” and He said, “I will tell them, ‘I never knew you, depart from me, ye workers of iniquity’”! God makes no exceptions for Christians, Muslims, Hindus, Buddhists, or Jews. If we do not forsake our sins, God will not forgive us. God will not allow sin into Heaven.

So repent, and trust Jesus today. You trusted in someone’s car to get you here, or you would not have ridden in it (whether it was your car, a friend’s car, a rental car, or a Metrolink car). Trust Jesus the same way. Jesus said, “If ye continue in My Word, then you are My disciples indeed. And ye shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free.” If you have repented of your sins, then you will get you instructions from Heaven rather than continuing to get instructions from yourself. So read your Bible daily, and obey what you read. God will never fail to keep all of His promises.