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Charles Stanley

Charles Stanley – Loved but Lost

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Charles Stanley

John 3:15-17

Many people assume that since God is loving, He will make a place for everyone in heaven. They do not grasp the basic truths about “lost” and “saved”:

1. All people start life as “lost” beings. Since he was the first man, Adam served as representative of the human race. When he sinned against God (Gen. 3), his spirit became one of rebellion and sinfulness (Rom. 5:12). That “sin nature,” which is passed along to each generation, results in our being “lost.” Neither our deeds nor the fact of God’s love are the determining factors.

2. Mankind is dead in trespasses and sins (Eph. 2:1). When Adam sinned, his intimate relationship with God died. We, his descendants, are born into that state. Although we are physically alive at birth, our spirit—the only part of us that can relate to God—is dead.

3. We are eternal beings. Because we are made in God’s image, our souls are eternal. Yet Scripture tells us that those who reject Christ as Savior will perish. (John 3:16). This does not mean annihilation; rather, the “lost” will experience consciousness after physical death but will be separated eternally from God.

4. New birth is required (1 Peter 1:3). To have a relationship with our heavenly Father requires that the part of us that has been dead to God now be made alive. When we trust in Jesus, the very life of God is born in us, and we move from being spiritually dead and lost to being alive and saved.

Our heavenly Father, out of love for us, provided just what we needed—a Savior. Start spreading the truth!

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Charles Stanley – Heaven: Our Eternal Home

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Revelation 21:1-6

A wise person will prepare for the inevitable. And the most inevitable thing in the world is our physical passing. We weren’t designed to live forever in our earthly bodies; we are eternal beings with eternal purposes. With so sure an outcome, we would be wise to spend time on earth preparing for our eternal future.

Have you trusted Jesus Christ as your Savior? If so, then you can be confident that you will spend eternity with Him in heaven. However, a common question for believers is, “But what will we do when we get there?” Despite common portrayals of the afterlife, we will not be sitting around on clouds and playing harps. An exciting future awaits believers.

We will praise God. If you’ve ever been passionately in love with someone, you probably remember how hard it is to think about anything else. In a way, that’s how we will view God in heaven—as our ultimate source of love and companionship—only, our relationship with Him will far surpass any “feeling” of love we’ve ever experienced. Far more than simply a feeling, it will be the outgrowth of a completely perfect union with our heavenly Father.

We will shine for God. In heaven, earthly limitations will be stripped away, allowing the glory of God within every believer to shine brilliantly (Matt. 13:43).

We will reign with God. Do you understand how valuable you are to your Creator? Romans 8:16-17 tells us that we are notonly God’s children but also co-heirs with Christ. This means we will take part in all that the Father has designated for His Son.

Heaven is a reality, and in John 14:6, Jesus explained that there is just one way to get there: through Him.