Jesus is Essential
John 8:21–24: Then Jesus said to them again, “I am going away, and you will seek Me, and will die in your sin. Where I go you cannot come.” So the Jews said, “Will He kill Himself, because He says, ‘Where I go you cannot come’?” And He said to them, “You are from beneath; I am from above. You are of this world; I am not of this world. Therefore I said to you that you will die in your sins; for if you do not believe that I am He, you will die in your sins.”
People die because they are sinners. That is the natural consequence of sin. “If ye believe not that I am he, ye shall die in your sins.” Can a person be saved on his deathbed? Yes, if he accepts the Lord Jesus Christ as his Savior.
But a person can reject Christ too long, just as these Jews did. There comes a time when one has rejected Christ too long and then will not ever want to accept Him. 1
Walking with Jesus
If we continually say no to every request Jesus makes, our hearts will harden, and we will die in our sins. But that principle also exists as a believer. If I say no to the Lord regarding the changes He wants to do in my life, then it will bring a death to my marriage, my family, and my fellowship within the Body of Christ. We should respond to Him immediately, everyday!
But the natural man does not receive the things of the Spirit of God, for they are foolishness to him; nor can he know them, because they are spiritually discerned. 1 Corinthians 2:14
Hell is the eternal consequence for saying no to the gift and the Gift-Giver.
Praying
Lord, thank You for all Your patience towards me over all these years.
1. McGee, J. V. (1991). Thru the Bible commentary: The Gospels (John 1-10) (electronic ed., Vol. 38). Nashville: Thomas Nelson.
