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By NiteOwlDave
Perhaps the above statement—that one can
earn his way to eternal damnation in a literal, horrifying Hell—sounds
totally absurd.
We've all heard of the suggestion that one can
earn his way to Heaven.
Well, here's how a person can guarantee he
will wind up in Hell after drawing his last breath on earth.
1. Be born a robust, blonde-haired,
blue-eyed baby into a fine, upstanding family.
2. Grow up healthy and turn out to be
a model kid.
3. Earn straight "A's"
throughout high school and college
4. Avoid drugs and the other pitfalls
of youth.
5. Captain the football teams; excel
in chess.
6. Be voted "Most Liked"
and rack up a trunk load of scholastic and sports' honors.
7. Spend an hour a day reading for
the blind.
8. Be loyal to the homecoming queen
and other lookers who hang from your arm until you marry Miss Perfect upon
completing college, debt-free.
9. Quickly march up the corporate
ladder without trampling on anyone.
10. Correctly raise your 2.5
children, assisting them with schoolwork and serving as an-always-there,
listening, assistant coach.
11. Attend your community church
every Sunday. Become an active deacon and applaud your wife's work in all her
church-related activities.
12. Volunteer on numerous community-betterment
committees.
13. Be named "Man of the
Year" in your community in a landslide vote.
14. Be kind, gentle, forgiving, and a
friend to all.
15. At age 78, die quietly in your
sleep after a healthy, productive life.
16. Over 3,000 people attend your funeral
and a statue in your memory is erected in the park.
You wind up in Heaven, right?
Wrong! Dead wrong!
You pushed all the right buttons in life and
assumed it was good enough for God.
A major goof!
You failed to acknowledge that you were a
sinner before God.
Your life was quite sterling, but you were
born a sinner and you did rack up a few sins by your own choice.
The Bible points out that:
"All our good works are as
filthy rags... that all have sinned."
The only sinless man was Jesus Christ who took
on our sins when He died for us and rose again.
We each must admit we are a lost sinner, and
ask Christ for His forgiveness, which He freely offers to all who will ask.
Romans 10:13 states:
"Anyone who calls upon the
name of the Lord will be saved."
Have you called?
Living an upstanding life is admirable.
Accepting God's free gift of salvation
completes it.
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