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"Whoever has the Son has life; whoever does not have the Son of God does not have life."
1 John 5:12

Doing what I do, I go to quite a lot of funerals. You can't believe some of the things people say about heaven.

"I guess God needed him more up there than down here." Have you heard that? I understand that the person who says this doesn't understand biblical teaching and is trying to cope with a very difficult situation. You can't exactly say to the grieving, "Man, you are way off!" You have to just smile, listen, and hope they find out the truth as soon as possible.

Does this one sound familiar? "He was such a good man. Of course he's in heaven." Or, "Everyone is going to heaven." When was the last time you attended a funeral where the officiating person said, "We are remembering today a person who is not in heaven"? People never say that yet Scripture teaches that most people who die don't go to heaven. "Enter by the narrow gate. For the gate is wide and the way is easy that leads to destructions, and those who enter by it are many" (Matthew 7:13). Few choose the narrow way.

So we cope with a wasted life by misinformation about heaven. It's tragic. How much better for us to be changed by the facts of Scripture! We will spend our entire time this week on Walk in the Word focusing on heaven. It's going to be fantastic. It also makes the question, "are you going there?" way more urgent.

The day that each of us will step into eternity is sooner than we think. In preparation for that moment, you need to know this truth: Not everyone is going to heaven.

The apostle John made this distinction very clear. In Revelation 21 he wrote down the vision God gave him of heaven in all its glory. This is what he learned: God Himself will dwell with His people (v.3). God will wipe away every tear from their eyes. Death, pain, crying will be things of the past (v.4).

But John writes in verse eight that there are some people who will never see heaven. "But as for the cowardly, the faithless, the detestable, as for murderers, the sexually immoral, sorcerers, idolaters, and all liars, their portion will be in the lake that burns with fire and sulfur, which is the second death."

Here are two types of people that we are surprised made the list:
The cowardly- those lacking courage, hiding from reality, unwilling to face the facts about God and how to be reconciled to Him.
The faithless- those who have heard the truth about God and His redemptive work and have said, "Nope." Or, "I'll believe it another day. Maybe." And that never happens.

Believing is not a feeling, it's an act of the will; it involves the mind. If you don't believe, it is because you choose not to believe. The truths of Christianity have satisfied the greatest minds of human history. If you have not trusted Jesus Christ for your own eternal life it is because you have chosen not to. But that can change. You can choose today to exercise your faith and believe "in Him whom to know is life eternal" (John 17:3).

As awesome as heaven will be for those who trust Jesus Christ as Savior, hell will be that much more awful. We would not wish it on our worst enemy if we understood what the holiness and righteousness of God will do for those who have rejected the full provision of forgiveness in His Son, Jesus Christ. You cannot read the Bible seriously without seeing it over and over again-the line is drawn.

"Whoever has the Son has life; whoever does not have the Son of God does not have life." (1 John 5:12)

We all know John 3:16, but John 3:18 says, "Whoever believes in him is not condemned, but whoever does not believe is condemned already, because he has not believed in the name of the only Son of God."

Jesus said, "I am the way, and the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me." (John 14:6)

"And there is salvation in no one else, for there is no other name under heaven given among men by which we must be saved" ( Acts 4:12). There is only one way.
Not everyone is choosing to go to heaven. Are you?