Why Does It Matter?

It Matters because ETERNITY Matters

God created man as ETERNAL beings.

Created by God as three parts: BODY, SOUL, and SPIRIT

1 Thessalonians 5:23 NASB95

Now may the God of peace Himself sanctify you entirely; and may your spirit and soul and body be preserved complete, without blame at the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ.

Hebrews 4:12 NASB95

For the word of God is living and active and sharper than any two-edged sword, and piercing as far as the division of soul and spirit, of both joints and marrow, and able to judge the thoughts and intentions of the heart.

Genesis 1:7 NASB95

God made the expanse, and separated the waters which were below the expanse from the waters which were above the expanse; and it was so.

Genesis 2:7 NASB95

Then the Lord God formed man of dust from the ground, and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life; and man became a living being.

The BODY will one day die.

Hebrews 9:27 NASB95

And inasmuch as it is appointed for men to die once and after this comes judgment,

When that happens the Spirit is left to stand before God

Revelation 20:11–15 NASB95

Then I saw a great white throne and Him who sat upon it, from whose presence earth and heaven fled away, and no place was found for them. And I saw the dead, the great and the small, standing before the throne, and books were opened; and another book was opened, which is the book of life; and the dead were judged from the things which were written in the books, according to their deeds. And the sea gave up the dead which were in it, and death and Hades gave up the dead which were in them; and they were judged, every one of them according to their deeds. Then death and Hades were thrown into the lake of fire. This is the second death, the lake of fire. And if anyone’s name was not found written in the book of life, he was thrown into the lake of fire.

Jesus quoting from , describes hell in as a place where the worm doe not die and the fire is not quenched.

The word used is Gehenna which is the valley just to the west of Jerusalem and is where the evil kings of Judah performed child sacrifices. It was considered cursed and used as a dump and a place to leave the bodies of criminals. Fires continually burned there and there were so many bodies and garbage the worms always had food.

Contrasted to that is Heaven where according to is the place where both Jesus and the Heavenly Father are!

It Matters because OTHERS Matter

The confident assurance that is seen in chapter four is the what empowers us to tell others to follow us as we follow Christ.

You will never be a POWERFUL WITNESS for God until you nail down the assurance of your own salvation.

1 John 1:3 NASB95

what we have seen and heard we proclaim to you also, so that you too may have fellowship with us; and indeed our fellowship is with the Father, and with His Son Jesus Christ.

Peter and John said in -

Acts 4:20 NASB95

for we cannot stop speaking about what we have seen and heard.”

That is what gave Paul’s witness its POWER

2 Timothy 1:12 NASB95

For this reason I also suffer these things, but I am not ashamed; for I know whom I have believed and I am convinced that He is able to guard what I have entrusted to Him until that day.

2 Timothy

Romans 1:16 NASB95

For I am not ashamed of the gospel, for it is the power of God for salvation to everyone who believes, to the Jew first and also to the Greek.

It Matters because the TRUTH Matters

There are enough people PRETENDING to be Christians today.

What is TRUE of you and I will SHAPE our lives.

1 Peter 1:17–21 NASB95

If you address as Father the One who impartially judges according to each one’s work, conduct yourselves in fear during the time of your stay on earth; knowing that you were not redeemed with perishable things like silver or gold from your futile way of life inherited from your forefathers, but with precious blood, as of a lamb unblemished and spotless, the blood of Christ. For He was foreknown before the foundation of the world, but has appeared in these last times for the sake of you who through Him are believers in God, who raised Him from the dead and gave Him glory, so that your faith and hope are in God.