Closing quotes

“No wonder Scripture makes clear that the one central business of this life is to prepare for the next. . . . Your life on earth is a dot. From that dot extends a line that goes on for all eternity. Right now you’re living in the dot. But what are you living for? Are you living for the dot or for the line? Are you living for earth or for heaven? Are you living for the short today or the long tomorrow?” —Randy Alcorn, In Light of Eternity (Alcorn, In Light of Eternity, 142-143.)

“There is a long list of martyrs . . . . The famous Lutheran martyr Dietrich Bonhoeffer . . . In his last letters from prison, Bonhoeffer reveals how his Christian faith gave him the resources to give up everything for the sake of others. . . . had a joy and hope in God that made it possible for him to do what he did.” —Timothy Keller, The Reason for God (New York, NY.: Dutton, 2008, 66.)

“Let me tell you, if you are too busy to serve Christ, you are too busy to be great in His kingdom. If you are too busy to serve now, you are too busy to be recognized then.” —Tony Evans, What a Way to Live! (Evans, What a Way to Live!, 192.)

“Not that I have already obtained all this, or have already been made perfect, but I press on to take hold of that for which Christ Jesus took hold of me. Brothers, I do not consider myself yet to have taken hold of it. But one thing I do: Forgetting what is behind and straining toward what is ahead, I press on toward the goal to win the prize for which God has called me heavenward in Christ Jesus.” (Philippians 3:12-14)

“I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith. Now there is in store for me the crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous judge, will award to me on that day – not only to me, but also to all who have longed for his appearing.” (2 Timothy 4:7)

“Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a great cloud of witnesses, let us throw off everything that hinders and the sin that so easily entangles, and let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us.” (Hebrews 12:1)

Dear reader, let’s you and I do this! Let’s get our eyes on this prize, fight the good fight of faith, and finish the race . . . unto our “crowning day” when hopefully we will hear these words, “Well done, good and faithful servant! You have been faithful with a few things; I will put you in charge of many things. Come and share your master’s happiness!” (Matt. 25:21, 23). So, what do you say now? Hell yes? Hell no?

For more, see Appendix A in Hell Yes / Hell No. It provides a more extensive scriptural recap of God’s Incentive Plan, a Hierarchical View of Heaven, and “The Doctrine of Eternal Rewards and Punishment for Believers.”

Source:

1 Hell Yes / Hell No by John Noe