“For all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God” (Romans 3:23).

“For the wages of sin is death” (Romans 6:23a).

“For people are destined to die once, and after that to face judgment” (Hebrews 9:27).

Most Americans and most American church-going people believe that the default destination of people is heaven. It’s only the people who have messed up really bad – or at least worst than us – that end up in hell.

That belief could not be further from the truth.

The Bible is clear – “ALL have sinned and fall short of the glory of God” (Romans 3:23). All means all. Every single human being is a sinner.

What is the wage of sin? What is the result of sin? “The wages of sin is death” (Romans 6:23). The result of sin is eternal separation from God. The wages of sin is eternal damnation.

What happens after people die in their sin? “People are destined to die once, and after that face judgment” (Hebrews 9:27). After people die, every person will be judged for their sin in judgment.

The default destination for sinners is hell.

God never sends people to hell. God hates that even a single person would go to hell. It’s God’s desire that “not one should perish, but everyone to come to repentance” (2 Peter 3:9). Because God could not imagine spending eternity without us in it, God sent His Son to die for us on the cross.

God never sends people to hell. If people go to hell it’s because they rejected God’s gift of eternal life through Jesus.

God never sends people to hell. God wants all to repent and be saved.

But until people repent, the default destination for all sinners is hell.

If you’re reading this: repent and be saved! Believe in the Lord Jesus!

“God made him who had no sin to be sin for us, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God” (2 Corinthians 5:21).

Substitutionary Atonement.

Ever hear of it? This is one of the most essential doctrines of the Christian faith. This is how Jesus’ death was able to pay our debt of sin. This is how we – who are sinners – are able to stand before a holy God.

Just as the word says, Jesus pays the wages of sin for us. When sinners are judged before a holy God, Jesus steps in our place to declare He has paid the wages of our sin by dying on the cross instead of us and by descending into hell instead of us.

And because Jesus did so, we are able to stand before a holy God because Jesus has made atonement for us.

Simply put, substitutionary atonement means: We stand before God as if we were Christ, because Christ stood before God as if He were us.

Substitutionary atonement.

Awesome!

Thank You, Jesus!!!

Rejoice always, pray continually, give thanks in all circumstance; for this is Gods will for you in Christ Jesus (1 Thessalonians 4:16-18)

Why be anxious when we can pray?

The very essence of anxiety is pride imagining we know better than God. That’s ludicrous! If God is for us, fear is irrational. God’s got this. That’s all we need to know.

So what is the secret to rejoicing always, giving thanks in all circumstances?

The pathway is prayer.

Pray and let God handle it.

Speaking of prayer…did you know that there is a group that gathers in the sanctuary library on Sunday mornings at 9:30am to pray for the Sunday worship, for our world, city, and congregation?

It’s a great way to start of the Sunday. Pray. Fellowship. Worship.

See you there!