Where Will You Spend Eternity?
Many questions we answer in life are of relatively minor importance. How we answer them may have only the slightest effect on our lives for the briefest period of time.
- What am I going to wear today?
- What am I going to eat for lunch?
- Where am I going to get gas?
- What route will I take to get where I am going?
- What will I do with my free time this evening?
- When will I go to bed?
But there are also many important questions we face in life. How we answer these big important questions affects nearly every other aspect of our lives.
- Where did I came from?
- Is there a God?
- Is the Bible true?
- How should I live my life?
- What career will I pursue?
- Will I marry?
- Who will I marry?
- Where will I live?
- Will I be a disciple of Jesus Christ?
- What priority will I give in my life to following Jesus?
But one of the most important questions we face in life is the one we are considering this morning...
Where will I spend eternity? A song we frequently sing in our services asks this question in the chorus. The title of the song is, “What will your answer be?” #284 in our song books It was written by Tillit S. Teddlie in 1935. We are going to use the lyrics of this song and the scriptures connected with the themes of this song to remind us how important this question is.
“What will your Answer Be?” - Verse 1
Someday you’ll stand at the bar on high,
someday your record you’ll see;
someday you’ll answer the question of life,
what will your answer be?
What is “the bar” referred to in this verse?
Concise Oxford English Dictionary
the bar - a partition in a court room, beyond which most people may not pass and at which an accused person stands. Is this an accurate depiction of what happens after our death? Let’s look at some scriptures to find out.
Romans 14:10–12 NKJV
But why do you judge your brother? Or why do you show contempt for your brother? For we shall all stand before the judgment seat of Christ. For it is written: “As I live, says the Lord, Every knee shall bow to Me, And every tongue shall confess to God.” So then each of us shall give account of himself to God.
Paul the apostle here tells us that someday we must give an account to God for the precious life he has given us. It tells us that Jesus will be the judge when we give an account. It tells us that every human being will also face that same judgment before Christ.
At that trial in that courtroom, our record will be shown and examined.
Ecclesiastes 12:14 NKJV
For God will bring every work into judgment, Including every secret thing, Whether good or evil.
2 Corinthians 5:10 NKJV
For we must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ, that each one may receive the things done in the body, according to what he has done, whether good or bad.
Jesus said we will even give an account for every word we speak.
Matthew 12:35–37 NKJV
A good man out of the good treasure of his heart brings forth good things, and an evil man out of the evil treasure brings forth evil things. But I say to you that for every idle word men may speak, they will give account of it in the day of judgment. For by your words you will be justified, and by your words you will be condemned.”
The book of Revelation describes this judgement where everyone must give an account.
Revelation 20:11–15 NKJV
Then I saw a great white throne and Him who sat on it, from whose face the earth and the heaven fled away. And there was found no place for them. And I saw the dead, small and great, standing before God, and books were opened. And another book was opened, which is the Book of Life. And the dead were judged according to their works, by the things which were written in the books. The sea gave up the dead who were in it, and Death and Hades delivered up the dead who were in them. And they were judged, each one according to his works. Then Death and Hades were cast into the lake of fire. This is the second death. And anyone not found written in the Book of Life was cast into the lake of fire.
Here again we see that every human being will face this judgment, even those who perished at sea and were never buried.
You and I will face this judgment. And we will be judged, each according to our works. The question of life that we will be asked is, “What did you do with the precious gift of life that Your Creator gave you?”
“What will your Answer Be?” - Chorus
What will it be? What will it be?
Where will you spend eternity?
What will it be, o what will it be?
What will your answer be?
“What will your Answer Be?” - Verse 2
Sadly you’ll stand if you’re unprepared,
trembling you’ll fall on your knee;
facing the sentence of life or of death,
what will that sentence be?
Many will be unprepared because their defense is not strong enough.
“I have done more good than bad”
Romans 6:23 NKJV
For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.
James 2:10–11NKJV
For whoever shall keep the whole law, and yet stumble in one point, he is guilty of all. For He who said, “Do not commit adultery,” also said, “Do not murder.” Now if you do not commit adultery, but you do murder, you have become a transgressor of the law.
“I have not committed the worst sins”
Many people comfort themselves by looking at the laws of the land or the ten commandments and saying to themselves, “I haven’t committed murder, or adultery, or robbed anybody” They’ve follow the most important rules, so they should be okay on the day of judgment, right?
Well, they should consider what Jesus said on the sermon on the mount.
Matthew 5:21–22 NKJV
“You have heard that it was said to those of old, ‘You shall not murder, and whoever murders will be in danger of the judgment.’ But I say to you that whoever is angry with his brother without a cause shall be in danger of the judgment. And whoever says to his brother, ‘Raca!’ shall be in danger of the council. But whoever says, ‘You fool!’ shall be in danger of hell fire.
Matthew 5:27–28 NKJV
“You have heard that it was said to those of old, ‘You shall not commit adultery.’ But I say to you that whoever looks at a woman to lust for her has already committed adultery with her in his heart.
“I truly believed that there was no life after death and no judgment”
But Jesus warned us of the truth.
John 5:25–29 NKJV
Most assuredly, I say to you, the hour is coming, and now is, when the dead will hear the voice of the Son of God; and those who hear will live. For as the Father has life in Himself, so He has granted the Son to have life in Himself, and has given Him authority to execute judgment also, because He is the Son of Man. Do not marvel at this; for the hour is coming in which all who are in the graves will hear His voice and come forth—those who have done good, to the resurrection of life, and those who have done evil, to the resurrection of condemnation.
Then Jesus was raised from the dead to prove to the whole world that there is life after death and that these words that he said were true, that all will be raised and all will be judged for their deeds.
“I am too young to be held accountable for my actions”
It is true that we are not born with a understanding of right and wrong. Part of the survival instincts God has given babies is to cry out and lash out when they are hungry, or hurting or scared. Part of the learning instincts God gave them is the drive to touch, taste, pull and push everything and everybody in their environment, so we have to control the environment to allow them to explore in a way that will not harm them and others. But eventually they do begin to understand right and wrong. There are some children who because of disabilities or mental handicaps do not develop that type of awareness and does not become accountable. But most children eventually they come to understand that there is a God that gave them life. And eventually they come to understand that the God that gave them life will hold them accountable for what they do even if no one else know what they have done. And eventually they come to understand that they have done things that will caused them to stand condemned before God on the day of judgment. And they eventually come to understand the way of escape that Jesus provides from that judgment.
Proverbs 20:11NKJV
Even a child is known by his deeds, Whether what he does is pure and right.
And someone who fully understands those things has reached what we sometimes call “the age of accountability” It is a different age for different people. But if you are a young person and you think you may be accountable for God, talk to your parents about it.
Because you don’t want to be unprepared at the judgment
The Two Sentences
The sentence of life
Revelation 21:1–7 NKJV
Now I saw a new heaven and a new earth, for the first heaven and the first earth had passed away. Also there was no more sea. Then I, John, saw the holy city, New Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God, prepared as a bride adorned for her husband. And I heard a loud voice from heaven saying, “Behold, the tabernacle of God is with men, and He will dwell with them, and they shall be His people. God Himself will be with them and be their God. And God will wipe away every tear from their eyes; there shall be no more death, nor sorrow, nor crying. There shall be no more pain, for the former things have passed away.” Then He who sat on the throne said, “Behold, I make all things new.” And He said to me, “Write, for these words are true and faithful.” And He said to me, “It is done! I am the Alpha and the Omega, the Beginning and the End. I will give of the fountain of the water of life freely to him who thirsts. He who overcomes shall inherit all things, and I will be his God and he shall be My son.
The sentence of Death
Revelation 21:8 NKJV
But the cowardly, unbelieving, abominable, murderers, sexually immoral, sorcerers, idolaters, and all liars shall have their part in the lake which burns with fire and brimstone, which is the second death.”
It is the place prepared for the punishment of Satan and his angels
Revelation 20:10 NKJV
The devil, who deceived them, was cast into the lake of fire and brimstone where the beast and the false prophet are. And they will be tormented day and night forever and ever.
And for those who do not share the love of God with others
Matthew 25:41–46 NKJV
“Then He will also say to those on the left hand, ‘Depart from Me, you cursed, into the everlasting 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 take Me in, naked and you did not clothe Me, sick and in prison and you did not visit Me.’ “Then they also will answer Him, 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, ‘Assuredly, I say to you, inasmuch 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 everlasting punishment, but the righteous into eternal life.”
And for those who worship anything other than the true God
Revelation 14:9–11NKJV
Then a third angel followed them, saying with a loud voice, “If anyone worships the beast and his image, and receives his mark on his forehead or on his hand, he himself shall also drink of the wine of the wrath of God, which is poured out full strength into the cup of His indignation. He shall be tormented with fire and brimstone in the presence of the holy angels and in the presence of the Lamb. And the smoke of their torment ascends forever and ever; and they have no rest day or night, who worship the beast and his image, and whoever receives the mark of his name.”
It is worth making any sacrifice to avoid receiving this sentence of death:
Mark 9:43–48 NKJV
If your hand causes you to sin, cut it off. It is better for you to enter into life maimed, rather than having two hands, to go to hell, into the fire that shall never be quenched—where ‘Their worm does not die And the fire is not quenched.’ And if your foot causes you to sin, cut it off. It is better for you to enter life lame, rather than having two feet, to be cast into hell, into the fire that shall never be quenched—where ‘Their worm does not die And the fire is not quenched.’ And if your eye causes you to sin, pluck it out. It is better for you to enter the kingdom of God with one eye, rather than having two eyes, to be cast into hell fire—where ‘Their worm does not die And the fire is not quenched.’
“What will your Answer Be?” - Verse 3
Now is the time to prepare my friend,
make your soul spotless and free;
washed in the blood of the crucified one,
he will your answer be.
This verse tells us that there is a way to be prepared for this judgment, and receive the sentence of life rather than of death. If the other defenses we looked at are insufficient what possible defense could we make to stand in the judgment?
There is no action we can take to remove the guilt of sin. But God can cleanse us with the blood of Jesus, who was crucified
Let’s look at the scriptures about that
1 John 1:5–9 NKJV
This is the message which we have heard from Him and declare to you, that God is light and in Him is no darkness at all. If we say that we have fellowship with Him, and walk in darkness, we lie and do not practice the truth. But if we walk in the light as He is in the light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus Christ His Son cleanses us from all sin. If we say that we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us. If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.
This passage tells us that those who in fellowship with God have their sins cleansed by the blood of Jesus.
The Book of Life
Who has this fellowship with God? God knows, and that is why many of the passages talking about the judgement and heaven and hell talk about the book of life. It is the record of those who are right with God through the blood of Jesus.
It will be open at judgment
Revelation 20:12 NKJV
And I saw the dead, small and great, standing before God, and books were opened. And another book was opened, which is the Book of Life. And the dead were judged according to their works, by the things which were written in the books.
It determines who ends up in Hell
Revelation 20:15 NKJV
And anyone not found written in the Book of Life was cast into the lake of fire.
It determines who ends up in Heaven
Revelation 21:27 NKJV
But there shall by no means enter it anything that defiles, or causes an abomination or a lie, but only those who are written in the Lamb’s Book of Life.
We can be removed from it if we are unfaithful or mishandle God’s word
Revelation 3:5 NKJV
He who overcomes shall be clothed in white garments, and I will not blot out his name from the Book of Life; but I will confess his name before My Father and before His angels.
Revelation 22:19 NKJV
and if anyone takes away from the words of the book of this prophecy, God shall take away his part from the Book of Life, from the holy city, and from the things which are written in this book.
Jesus not only shed his blood to cleanse from our sins, he sent his apostles into the world to tell us how we can receive this cleansing and belong to Jesus and have our names written in the lambs book of life.
Acts 2:38 NKJV
Then Peter said to them, “Repent, and let every one of you be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ for the remission of sins; and you shall receive the gift of the Holy Spirit.
Acts 22:16 NKJV
And now why are you waiting? Arise and be baptized, and wash away your sins, calling on the name of the Lord.’
For those whose names are written in his book, Jesus will not only be the judge of all mankind in the day of judgement, but also the Advocate defending their case.
1 John 2:1–2 NKJV
My little children, these things I write to you, so that you may not sin. And if anyone sins, we have an Advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous. And He Himself is the propitiation for our sins, and not for ours only but also for the whole world.
“What will your Answer Be?” - Chorus
What will it be? What will it be?
Where will you spend eternity?
What will it be, o what will it be?
What will your answer be?
We have no promise of another year, or another day or another hour of life. That is why we must be prepared now to give an answer on the day of judgment.
So I urge every soul here, man or woman, young or old. If you know your are responsible before God for your sins. Now is the time to prepare, by being washed in the blood of the crucified one. Then you can be sure of where you will spend eternity.
2 Corinthians 6:2 NKJV
For He says: “In an acceptable time I have heard you, And in the day of salvation I have helped you.” Behold, now is the accepted time; behold, now is the day of salvation.
