Living on the Brink of Eternity

We may live today assuming that we have plenty of time to think about cleansing, forgiveness,  serving God, and eternity. Unpredictable, calamitous, life-ending events remind us that we all live either on the brink of eternity with Christ or on the brink of eternity in hell.

None who perish in disaster enter upon the day with the forethought that as a Christian this may be my last day and I’ll meet my Savior, or as one who rejects the Lordship of Christ, today my life will end abruptly  and I will wake up in the torments of hell.

We all need to be reminded of the powerful words of Jonathan Edwards in his message “Sinners in the Hands of an Angry God.”

It is no security to a natural man, that he is now in health, and that he does not see which way he should now immediately go out of the world by any accident, and that there is no visible danger in any respect in his circumstances. The manifold and continual experience of the world in all ages, shows this is no evidence, that a man is not on the very brink of eternity, and that the next step will not be into another world. The unseen, unthought-of ways and means of persons going suddenly out of the world are innumerable and inconceivable. Unconverted men walk over the pit of hell on a rotten covering, and there are innumerable places in this covering so weak that they will not bear their weight, and these places are not seen. The arrows of death fly unseen at noon-day; the sharpest sight cannot discern them.

Yes every step we take in this world apart from Christ is on a collapsing road that travels over the pit of hell. The surface of the road is deceptive because it looks stable; it leads to pleasure, and is crowded with people who seem to be without care.

But the foundation is collapsing and, inevitably, maybe not today, nor tomorrow, but one day, the road will fail and the wide and hungry mouth of hell will consume those without Christ.

Listen to the words of Jesus:

Matthew 7:13-14 13 ¶ “Enter by the narrow gate. For the gate is wide and the way is easy that leads to destruction, and those who enter by it are many. 14 For the gate is narrow and the way is hard that leads to life, and those who find it are few.

John 10:9 9 I am the door. If anyone enters by me, he will be saved….

John 14:6 6 Jesus said to him, “I am the way, and the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.

No one can promise that we will not perish in some unforeseen, inescapable calamity. The promise is that when we do die, by whatever means, we will live with Christ forever.

share

On September 10, 1970 I came to understand the great love of God for me, a sinner and a rebel. That evening I received God’s forgiveness and a new life through Jesus Christ, who died in my place and rose again to offer forgiveness and new life. I have been senior pastor for over 30 years planting two churches in Buckingham, PA and Queens, NY and serving two other churches in Brooklyn, NY and Roslyn, PA. I am currently the lead pastor at Grace Church of Philly.

Recommended Posts

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *