When the loving God gave us the Bible, He gave us everything we need to know to serve Him acceptably. But, why should we be so concerned about serving Him acceptably? I have something else that I hope you will truly consider, take to heart and keep with you for the rest of your life.
Lock this in your heart: You have a soul that will exist forever in heaven or in hell! It is not simply that the Bible teaches that you have something that will exist forever! It’s more than that! The Bible teaches that you are that something that will exist forever (not your physical body, but YOU)! The world might not believe that, but their ignorance does not stop it from being true.
Truth: God made you different than all other living creatures! After God made all other living things, “Then God said, ‘Let Us make man in Our image, according to Our likeness’” (Gen. 1:25-26). Our likeness to the image of God is not a physical quality but a spiritual one (cf. Luke 24:39; John 4:24). God made mankind as spiritual beings, like Him.
Truth: God gave you a soul that will exist forever! You know that your physical body will not live forever, for every physical body eventually dies (Heb. 9:27). However, YOU will continue to live even after your physical body dies (cf. Luke 16:19-31). Your physical body is merely a temporary dwelling place for your soul and your spirit (2 Cor. 5:1-8; 2 Pet. 1:13), which will depart (unharmed) when your body dies (Jas. 2:26).
Truth: God made two real destinies that will exist forever! Jesus used the same word to describe the longevity of both heaven and hell, when He called one of them a place of “eternal punishment” and the other one a place of “eternal life” (Matt. 25:46). Heaven and hell are both very real! And, both will last for a very long time — i.e., forever!
Truth: God has told you that you will spend eternity in either heaven or hell! We don’t know how long we will live on this earth; we could die any time (cf. Jas. 4:14). But, we do know that after life on this earth, we will live in one of two places, we will live there forever and ever, and there will be no way to leave or escape (cf. Luke 16:26; 2 Thess. 1:8-9). Where do you want to be for all eternity? With God or away from God? Experiencing eternal joy or eternal punishment?
Truth: God has told you how to go to heaven and He wants you there! God has not only told us that there is a heaven (John 14:1-6) and told us of its wonder and beauty (Rev. 21-22), but He has told us exactly how to get there, in simple, understandable instructions. There will be more about this in the following notes, but we must obey Him (Heb. 5:9).
Please, think about your soul! Think about eternity!