BY JACK WARD
A Baptist Pastor had a dream and found himself fully dressed, holding a Bible, at the gate of Heaven. As he was about to enter, he heard so many people crying and wailing in hell. He went to the gate and met the Gatekeeper.
“Who are those crying?” he asked the Gatekeeper. “Is there a Baptist there?”
The Gatekeeper answered, “No.”
The Pastor said, “I thought so. That is what I expect it to be.”
To satisfy his curiosity, he asked, “Are there some Methodists there?”
The Gatekeeper again answered, “No.”
The Pastor asked the same question about all the other denominations he knew, and the answer was still “No.”
He left there confused.
The Pastor again went to the gate of Heaven and, before entering, introduced himself as a “Baptist Minister.” The Gatekeeper said, “No Baptists are here.” Again, the Pastor asked about all the denominations, and the answer was “No.”
The truth is that there is no denomination and there is no division in Heaven or hell. There will be no subtraction either. No one will be kicked out of Heaven and no one will be thrown out of hell. Whatever it is, it will always be.
Did you ever think about that? No one in Heaven will ever have to worry about not being good enough to stay there. We got there by trusting in Christ’s righteousness while on earth and we will stay there by Christ’s righteousness for eternity. So as long as Christ holds out, we will hold out. As long as Christ can stay good, we are good. So you see it is all about Jesus. It is about Him now and it always will be. So you might as well be devoted to Him while on earth, because Heaven will be centered on Him for all eternity.
This may make some people sad but in Heaven it will never be about you again. But it will be about Christ.
Take heart in this: Christ’s great love for you and for me.
While we think about never getting thrown out of Heaven, what about those who can never get kicked out of hell? No matter how disruptive you are, no matter how evil you are, no matter how uncooperative you are, no matter how many rules you disobey or how good you suddenly become, you will never get tossed out of hell. Once there, it is too late. Too late to repent, too late to trust in Christ, too late to change your mind. Too late. The saddest words in the English language are “no more room” and “it’s too late.”
Jesus as a baby was told there was “no room” for Him in the inn. Later in His life He suffered the rejection of man and was crucified. So on two occasions, at His birth and at His death, He was rejected by man. Praise God that you will not be rejected in Heaven and sadly not in hell or the lake of fire either.
Listen to Pastor Jack’s sermons every Sunday morning at 10:30 on 98.9 WSIP FM. He is also on most all other podcast and video platforms. Check out the Tomahawk Missionary Baptist Church Facebook page and our website at tomahawkmbc.com.