To those who have not committed their lives to Jesus Christ, I ask you to continue reading this post.
The fact of the matter is that "we must all appear before the judgement seat of Christ, so that each of us may receive what is due us for the things done while in the body, whether good or bad" (2 Corinthians 5:10) The day is coming when "God will bring every deed into judgement, including every hidden thing, whether it is good or evil" (Ecclesiastes 12:14) As Jesus said, " There is nothing concealed that will not be disclosed, or hidden that will not be made known. What you have said in the dark will be heard in the daylight, and what you have whispered in the ear in the inner rooms will be proclaimed from the roofs." (Luke 12:2-3) On its face, this is both terrifying and terrible news. The truth, after all, is that none of us are clean. As the apostle Paul rightly said, "All have sinned and fall short of the glory of God" (Romans 3:23) or as Isaiah the prophet expressed it, "We all, like sheep, have gone astray, each of us has turned to our own way" (Isaiah 53:6) Worse yet the Scriptures declare that "the wages of sin is death" (Romans 6:23) Then, whoever's name is not found written in the book of life will be thrown into the lake of fire", where they "will be tormented with burning sulpher in the presence of the holy angels and of the Lamb. And the smoke of their torment will rise for ever and ever. There will be no rest day or night" (Revelation 20:15, Revelation 14:10-11) Jesus Himself described the lake of fire as a place of "eternal punishment" (Matthew 25:46), where "there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth," both anguish and eternal bitter regret (Matthew 13:42).
GOD SO LOVED THE WORLD
There is good news, however--very good news! It is quite literally the best news that has ever been told--if we will hear it. This good news is summarized well in the famous Bible verse: "God so loved the world that He gave His one and only Son, that whoever believes in Him shall not perish but have eternal life" (John 3:16). Our creator loved us so deeply,so passionately, that He sent His very Son, His very essence, His very Heart---He sent Himself into the world to take on human flesh, to actually become one of us, ultimately to be mutilated in our place, and to make atonement for our sins. The Bible says that " He was crushed for our iniquities; the punishment that brought us peace was on Him, and by His wounds we are healed... and the Lord has laid on him the iniquity of us all" (Isaiah 53:5-6) Peter the apostle appealed to his countrymen:
Repent and be baptised, everyone of you, in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins. And you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit. The promise is for you and your children and for all who are far off--for all whom the Lord our God will call. (Acts 2:38-39)
If any of us desire to be saved from our sins and to be spared from being cast forever into the lake of fire, then there is only one way of escape. The Bible tells us that we must acknowledge, turn away from, and renounce our sins. This is the meaning of "repentance." As part of our public confession, we are to be baptized in water, signifying our choice to put to death our old sinful selves, and as we rise from the water, we are raised to new life. As Jesus said "Whoever believes and is baptized will be saved, but whoever does not believe will be condemned" (Mark 16:16). We must transfer our faith and confidence from "our righteous acts which are like filthy rags" (Isaiah 64:6) to Jesus Christ, placing all of our faith in His shed blood and the atoning work He accomplished for us on the cross. It is this way, and only this way that we may be washed clean and forgiven. Whoever does this will recieve the Holy Spirit. This is the very Spirit of God, who will testify "that we are God's children" (Romans 8:16) He will stregthen you to live a holy life, pleasing to God, and He will confirm that on the day of judgement, you will be raised unto eternal life, "guaranteeing what is to come" (2 Corinthians 1:22). You will be spared from the punishment of "everlasting shame and contemp" (Daniel 12:2) I assure you that though this may be a difficult decision, it will absolutely be the best decision you make in your life. If the Holy Spirit is touching your heart, do not ignore His voice. Do not miss the moment. As the author of Hebrews reminds us all:
See to it that you do not refuse him who speaks. If they did not escape when they refused him who warned them on earth, how much less will we, if we turn away from him who warns us from heaven? (Hebrews 12:25)
Along with the apostle Peter, I appeal to you from the bottom of my heart, "Save yourselves from this corrupt generation" (Acts 2:40)