|
Ultimately, the fact that all people are sinners means that, unless something happens all people are separated from God, both now and after their death. God is a good God. He is infinitely loving, infinitely just, and morally perfect. His Kingdom has all of these attributes as well. It is perfect. As a result no sinner has any place in His Kingdom. Sinners are cut off from the victorious and extraordinary life that God desires for them on earth, and incapable of entering God's eternal Kingdom (Heaven) after their deaths. Romans 6:23 says that "The wages of sin is death . . ." If wages are what a person earns then this verse means that because we are all sinners, we deserve death (separation from God.) God is not only a loving Father but He is also a just Judge. An earthly judge (If he is just) must declare the guilty as guilty. He must also justly demand restitution for the crimes committed. In the same way, because of our crimes against God we will all be declared guilty on judgment day. We have already discussed the fact that all people are inherently selfish. When a person dies in this state God gives them exactly what they wanted, they get themselves. The problem is that nothing good can come from ourselves. All good things come from God alone. This means that for those with an eternity apart from God there is no peace, pleasure, or comfort, and perhaps worse than that , there is no hope. That is what the Bible is talking about when it speaks of Hell. Where there is no hope for pleasure or comfort there is only lasting pain and terror. Perhaps worse than all of this is the fact that on our own, man can do nothing to escape the sinful state.
|
