“For surely there is a hereafter” Proverbs 23:18
The late former Beatle John Lennon once wrote a song in which he asked the listener to “imagine” what it would be like if there were no countries, no religion, and even no heaven or hell. In his view, all of these were impediments to world peace. He saw these national and religious distinctions as the cause of all the disputes, disruptions and war in the world. This song became very popular and still is expressing what to many in the world seems like a lovely and worthy sentiment. Rodney King spoke for many when he said, “Can’t we all just get along?”
However, Mr. Lennon and others base this conclusion on a faulty understanding of human nature. He reasoned that men are inherently good and if only given the chance to put aside these dividing issues, they could live in harmony and peace. To him, one of those dividing issues was the belief in the “hereafter.” Perhaps he reasoned that belief in heaven and hell only inspired fear and uncertainty which of course would interfere with the harmony and enjoyment of pleasures in this life.
Holy Scripture, God’s Word, presents a radically different understanding of human nature. In Romans chapter three we read, “There is no one who does good, no, not one. Their throat is an open tomb; with their tongues they have practiced deceit; the poison of asps is under their lips; whose mouth is full of cursing and bitterness. Their feet are swift to shed blood; destruction and misery are in their ways; and the way of peace they have not known. There is no fear of God before their eyes” (verses 12-18). And thus the real reason for the disharmony and disruption in the world, or sin as the Bible calls it, is the self-serving nature of our fallen hearts. We are creatures who are born into rebellion against the One true Living God who made us. We no longer serve and worship God, but instead serve and worship ourselves. What Mr. Lennon was undoubtedly experiencing in his negative feelings towards the “hereafter” was the guilt associated with his moral accountability to His Creator, God! If he could just eliminate the idea of the “hereafter” then there would be no more fear and his life would be more peaceful. That was his real issue!
But the writer of the Proverbs makes it very clear that “surely there is a hereafter”. Instead of mankind imagining there’s not, “imagine” how the world would be if everyone really believed there was. Oh yes, there are many who do believe in a hereafter, but they have a fanciful and sentimental view of a heaven where they will receive the rewards and rest from a well-lived life. After all, a place like hell is only reserved for the really bad people. Is that your view? The Bible makes it clear that “all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God” (Romans 3:23). The Bible also states that “the wages of sin is death” (6:23), and because God is holy and just, He must therefore punish sin.
If people really believed what the Bible says about our fallen condition and the reality of the hereafter, they would be diligently seeking a way to be relieved of this guilt and fear. But “Imagine” there is a way of reconciliation with an offended God. Better yet, believe that the Son of God, Jesus Christ, has come to earth to be the God-Man in order to accomplish that salvation. Again, in the book of Romans we read that repentant and believing sinners are “justified freely by His grace through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus, whom God set forth as a propitiation (or satisfaction) by His blood, through faith… to demonstrate at the present time His righteousness, that He might be just and the justifier of the one who has faith in Jesus” (3:24-26).
For the believer therefore, the “hereafter” is not something unknown or to be feared, but something to anticipate. The apostle Paul wrote, “For to me, to live is Christ, and to die is gain” (Philippians 1:21). He also wrote, “The sting of death is sin, and the strength of sin is the law. But thanks be to God, who gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ” (1 Corinthians 15:56-57).
Is that your belief? If its not, “Imagine” if it were.
The late former Beatle John Lennon once wrote a song in which he asked the listener to “imagine” what it would be like if there were no countries, no religion, and even no heaven or hell. In his view, all of these were impediments to world peace. He saw these national and religious distinctions as the cause of all the disputes, disruptions and war in the world. This song became very popular and still is expressing what to many in the world seems like a lovely and worthy sentiment. Rodney King spoke for many when he said, “Can’t we all just get along?”
However, Mr. Lennon and others base this conclusion on a faulty understanding of human nature. He reasoned that men are inherently good and if only given the chance to put aside these dividing issues, they could live in harmony and peace. To him, one of those dividing issues was the belief in the “hereafter.” Perhaps he reasoned that belief in heaven and hell only inspired fear and uncertainty which of course would interfere with the harmony and enjoyment of pleasures in this life.
Holy Scripture, God’s Word, presents a radically different understanding of human nature. In Romans chapter three we read, “There is no one who does good, no, not one. Their throat is an open tomb; with their tongues they have practiced deceit; the poison of asps is under their lips; whose mouth is full of cursing and bitterness. Their feet are swift to shed blood; destruction and misery are in their ways; and the way of peace they have not known. There is no fear of God before their eyes” (verses 12-18). And thus the real reason for the disharmony and disruption in the world, or sin as the Bible calls it, is the self-serving nature of our fallen hearts. We are creatures who are born into rebellion against the One true Living God who made us. We no longer serve and worship God, but instead serve and worship ourselves. What Mr. Lennon was undoubtedly experiencing in his negative feelings towards the “hereafter” was the guilt associated with his moral accountability to His Creator, God! If he could just eliminate the idea of the “hereafter” then there would be no more fear and his life would be more peaceful. That was his real issue!
But the writer of the Proverbs makes it very clear that “surely there is a hereafter”. Instead of mankind imagining there’s not, “imagine” how the world would be if everyone really believed there was. Oh yes, there are many who do believe in a hereafter, but they have a fanciful and sentimental view of a heaven where they will receive the rewards and rest from a well-lived life. After all, a place like hell is only reserved for the really bad people. Is that your view? The Bible makes it clear that “all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God” (Romans 3:23). The Bible also states that “the wages of sin is death” (6:23), and because God is holy and just, He must therefore punish sin.
If people really believed what the Bible says about our fallen condition and the reality of the hereafter, they would be diligently seeking a way to be relieved of this guilt and fear. But “Imagine” there is a way of reconciliation with an offended God. Better yet, believe that the Son of God, Jesus Christ, has come to earth to be the God-Man in order to accomplish that salvation. Again, in the book of Romans we read that repentant and believing sinners are “justified freely by His grace through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus, whom God set forth as a propitiation (or satisfaction) by His blood, through faith… to demonstrate at the present time His righteousness, that He might be just and the justifier of the one who has faith in Jesus” (3:24-26).
For the believer therefore, the “hereafter” is not something unknown or to be feared, but something to anticipate. The apostle Paul wrote, “For to me, to live is Christ, and to die is gain” (Philippians 1:21). He also wrote, “The sting of death is sin, and the strength of sin is the law. But thanks be to God, who gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ” (1 Corinthians 15:56-57).
Is that your belief? If its not, “Imagine” if it were.