It is your choice as an individual in whether you believe that God is the creator of the universe, world and all life and the Bible is God’s word given to us so that we may know the truth, to know what the gift of salvation through Jesus Christ and eternal life is and how to obtain it. 

  John 3:16-18: “For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life. 

For God sent not his Son into the world to condemn the world; but that the world through him might be saved. He that believeth on him is not condemned: but he that believeth not is condemned already, because he hath not believed in the name of the only begotten Son of God.”

What does this all mean and what effect does it have on us?
What does: “that whosoever believeth in him should not perish but have everlasting life and that we might be saved”?
Saved from what? 

Does this mean we will not perish or die and 

have everlasting life on this earth?
Not at all. 

The bible teaches that we have an appointment with death 

and then the judgement.
 

Once we die on this earth our physical bodies are 

permanently separated from humanity.
The bible states your soul will go to one of 2 places. 

Heaven or Hell (temporarily).  

Most articles out there stop there. 

They do not mention anything about the 

final judgment, the lake of fire and 

the new heaven and new earth.
 

One of the 2 outcomes of God’s judgment is a second death. 

Anyone that partakes in the second death will be 

permanently separated from God. 

They will perish and be cast into the lake of fire.  

The bible mentions the following: 

Hebrews 9:27-28: “And as it is appointed unto men once to die, but after this the judgment: so Christ was once offered to bear the sins of many; and unto them that look for him shall he 

appear the second time without sin unto salvation.”

The bible states at the judgment, books will be opened. One of them will be the book of life which contains the names of those who have put their trust in Christ to save them from perishing in the lake of fire. Everyone’s life will be reviewed and evaluated. No one is saved by works, but works are seen as clear evidence of a person’s actual relationship with God. God’s gracious gift of salvation does not free us from the 

requirement of faithful obedience and service.

John 12: 47-48:  “And if any man hear my words, and believe not, I judge him not: for I came not to judge the world, but to save the world.  He that rejecteth me, and receiveth not my words, hath one that judgeth him: the word that I have spoken, the same shall judge him in the last day.”

2 Peter 3:7: “This second epistle, beloved, I now write unto you; in both which I stir up your pure minds by way of remembrance: That ye may be mindful of the words which were spoken before by the holy prophets, and of the commandment of us the apostles of the Lord and Saviour: Knowing this first, that there shall come in the last days scoffers, walking after their own lusts, And saying, Where is the promise of his coming? for since the fathers fell asleep, all things continue as they were from the beginning of the creation. For this they willingly are ignorant of, that by the word of God the heavens were of old, and the earth standing out of the water and in the water: 

Whereby the world that then was, being overflowed with water, perished: 

But the heavens and the earth, which are now, by the same word are kept in store, reserved unto fire against the day of

 judgment and perdition of ungodly men.” 

Revelation 20:11-15: “And I saw a great white throne, and him that sat on it, from whose face the earth and the heaven fled away; and there was found no place for them.  And I saw the dead, small and great, stand before God; and the books were opened: and another book was opened, which is the book of life: and the dead were judged out of those things which were written in the books, according to their works. And the sea gave up the dead which were in it; and death and hell delivered up the dead which were in them: and they were judged every man according to their works.  

And death and hell were cast into the lake of fire. 

This is the second death.  

And whosoever was not found written in the book of life was cast into the lake of fire.”
 

Notice Hell is destroyed in the Lake of Fire 

and whoever is not listed in the book of life will also be 

cast into the lake of fire. 

Revelation 21:1-8: “And I saw a new heaven and a new earth: for the first heaven and the first earth were passed away; and there was no more sea. And I John saw the holy city, new Jerusalem, coming down from God out of heaven, prepared as a bride adorned for her husband. And I heard a great voice out of heaven saying, Behold, the tabernacle of God is with men, and he will dwell with them, and they shall be his people, and God himself shall be with them, and be their God. And God shall wipe away all tears from their eyes; and there shall be no more death (everlasting life), neither sorrow, nor crying, neither shall there be any more pain: for the former things are passed away. And he that sat upon the throne said, Behold, I make all things new. And he said unto me, Write: for these words are true and faithful. And he said unto me, It is done. I am Alpha and Omega, the beginning and the end. I will give unto him that is athirst of the fountain of the water of life freely. He that overcometh shall inherit all things; and I will be his God, and he shall be my son. But the fearful, and unbelieving, and the abominable, and murderers, and whoremongers, and sorcerers, and idolaters, and all liars, shall have their part in the lake which burneth with fire and brimstone: which is the second death”

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At this point, this brings us back to the question in the beginning of this message:  What does: “that whosoever believeth in him should not perish but have everlasting life and that we might be saved”? Saved from what?

Saved from the lake of fire and the second death, permanent separation from God. 

Revelation 20:10: And the devil that deceived them was cast into the lake of fire an brimstone, where the beast and the false prophet are, and shall be tormented day and night for ever and ever.

John 3:16-18: “For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life. For God sent not his Son into the world to condemn the world; but that the world through him might be saved. He that believeth on him is not condemned: but he that believeth not is condemned already, because he hath not believed in the name of the only begotten Son of God.”

The bible teaches that God so loves us that he sacrificed his only begotten Son, Jesus Christ, who came into this world to save sinners from the final judgment of perishing in the lake of fire which is the second death. He did so by shedding his blood on the cross for the remission of our sins. 

Romans 3:10: “As it is written, there is none righteous, no not one.”

Romans 3:23: “For all have sinned, and come short of the glory of God”.

1 John 1:8: “If we say that we have no sin, we deceive ourselves. And the truth is not in us”.

Romans 6:23: “For the wages of sin is death; but the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord.”

Jesus paid the price for our sins when he was crucified on the cross.
He made a way for us to not perish in the lake of fire but instead have eternal life with him.
The wages of sin is Death or another way to put it, everlasting separation from God.  Rev 20:14-15.

Matthew 26:28: For this is my blood of the new testament, which is shed for many for the remission of sins.
 

Romans 3: 22-25: “Even the righteousness of God which is by faith of Jesus Christ unto all and upon all them that believe: for there is no difference: For all have sinned, and come short of the glory of God; Being justified freely by his grace through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus: Whom God hath set forth to be a propitiation through faith in his blood, to declare his righteousness for the remission of sins that are past, through the forbearance of God;”

Leviticus 17:11: “For the life of the flesh is in the blood: and I have given it to you upon the altar to make an atonement for your souls: for it is the blood that maketh an atonement for the soul.”  

God so loves us and is longsuffering towards us. It is not his desire that any should perish.

2 Peter 3:9: “The Lord is not slack concerning his promise, as some men count slackness; but is longsuffering to us-ward, not willing that any should perish, but that all should come to repentance.”

From the time Jesus started his ministry the first thing he mentioned was to Repent.

Matthew 4:17: “From that time Jesus began to preach, and to say Repent: for the kingdom of heaven is at hand.”

Acts 2:38:  "Then Peter said unto them, Repent, and be baptized every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ for the remission of sins, and ye shall receive the gift of the Holy Ghost." 

Acts 3:19:  “Repent ye therefore, and be converted, that your sins may be blotted out, when the times of refreshing shall come from the presence of the Lord.”

Acts 17:30-31: And the times of this ignorance God winked at; but now commandeth all men every where to repent:  Because he hath appointed a day, in the which he will judge the world in righteousness by that man whom he hath ordained; whereof he hath given assurance unto all men, in that he hath raised him from the dead.

Salvation is a gift from God. You cannot earn it from your own behavior or works. Going to church does not earn you salvation. Doing good works such as helping or feeding the poor or always helping others does not earn you salvation. If we could earn our own salvation then there would have been no reason for Jesus Christ to die on the cross for our sins.

The bible teaches us how to obtain salvation:

 John 3: 1-7

There was a man of the Pharisees, named Nicodemus, a ruler of the Jews:

The same came to Jesus by night, and said unto him, Rabbi, we know that thou art a teacher come from God: for no man can do these miracles that thou doest, except God be with him.

Jesus answered and said unto him, Verily, verily, I say unto thee, Except a man be born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God.

Nicodemus saith unto him, How can a man be born when he is old? can he enter the second time into his mother's womb, and be born?

Jesus answered, Verily, verily, I say unto thee, Except a man be born of water and of the Spirit, he cannot enter into the kingdom of God.

That which is born of the flesh is flesh; and that which is born of the Spirit is spirit.

Marvel not that I said unto thee, Ye must be born again.

John 3:16-18: “For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life. 

For God sent not his Son into the world to condemn the world; but that the world through him might be saved. He that believeth on him is not condemned: but he that believeth not is condemned already, because he hath not believed in the name of the only begotten Son of God.”

Romans 10: 9-17:  “That if thou shalt confess with thy mouth the Lord Jesus, and shalt believe in thine heart that God hath raised him from the dead, thou shalt be saved.  For with the heart man believeth unto righteousness; and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation.  For the scripture saith, Whosoever believeth on him shall not be ashamed.  For there is no difference between the Jew and the Greek: for the same Lord over all is rich unto all that call upon him.  For whosoever shall call upon the name of the Lord shall be saved.  How then shall they call on him in whom they have not believed? and how shall they believe in him of whom they have not heard? and how shall they hear without a preacher? And how shall they preach, except they be sent? as it is written, How beautiful are the feet of them that preach the gospel of peace, and bring glad tidings of good things! But they have not all obeyed the gospel. For Esaias saith, Lord, who hath believed our report? So then faith cometh by hearing, and hearing by the word of God.”

Ephesians 2:8-9: “ For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God: Not of works, lest any man should boast.”

1 John 1: 7-10 “But if we walk in the light, as he is in the light, we have fellowship one with another, and the blood of Jesus Christ his Son cleanseth us from all sin. If we say that we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us. If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness. If we say that we have not sinned, we make him a liar, and his word is not in us.”

Matthew 11:28-29“Come unto me, all ye that labour and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you, and learn of me; for I am meek and lowly in heart: and ye shall find rest unto your souls.”

Some have said that God is loving and would not send anyone to Hell or the Lake of Fire.
Actually it is us by our own refusal to except Jesus as our Lord and Savior and not admitting that we are a sinner in need of salvation that sends us ultimately in the Lake of Fire. God offers us a way by the sacrifice he made unto salvation through the work of His Son Jesus Christ, but it is us who either accept or reject this.