Jesus said to the religious Pharisees, "You are from beneath; I am from above: you are of this world; I am not of this world. I said therefore unto you, that you shall die in your sins: for if you believe not that I am he, you shall die in your sins, John 8:23-24.
The Pharisees could not believe that Jesus was the Son of God, the promised Messiah. They said, "Is this not Joseph's son?"
In my early Christian life, I had trouble believing that Jesus was God, but after a few years of Bible study I concluded that in order for Jesus to do what he did he had to be God. Only God can atone for the sins of the whole world. Only God can raise the dead. It was the raising of Lazurus that made the Pharisees decide that they had to kill Jesus. They said, "If we don't kill him the whole world will follow after him, and we will lose our place".
All of the Pharisees died in their sins because they could not believe that Jesus was the Christ. They were blinded by their religion; Jesus did not fit into their religious profile. The ones that accepted Jesus were the whores, criminals and tax collectors. The Pharisees accused Jesus of being a wine bibber and a friend of sinners. It was the sinners that believed in him.
If we die in our sins, there is not a second chance. There is nothing about a purgatory in the Bible, that is another Catholic fairy tale. If you die in your sins you will be judged in your sins and condemned. God is holy beyond human comprehension. He will judge sin wherever he finds it. The cross of Christ should literally scare the hell out of people. God is a God of law and judgment. This is why he sent Jesus into the world to be the savior of the world, John 3:17.
The whole world is under condemnation, Romans 3:19. The good news of the Gospel is that Jesus has provided salvation for everyone, Hebrews 2:9. It is God's great free gift for everyone, Ephesians 2:8. But he is not going to force you to believe in him, you will have to come to him by your own free will.
The Pharisees could not believe that Jesus was the Son of God, the promised Messiah. They said, "Is this not Joseph's son?"
In my early Christian life, I had trouble believing that Jesus was God, but after a few years of Bible study I concluded that in order for Jesus to do what he did he had to be God. Only God can atone for the sins of the whole world. Only God can raise the dead. It was the raising of Lazurus that made the Pharisees decide that they had to kill Jesus. They said, "If we don't kill him the whole world will follow after him, and we will lose our place".
All of the Pharisees died in their sins because they could not believe that Jesus was the Christ. They were blinded by their religion; Jesus did not fit into their religious profile. The ones that accepted Jesus were the whores, criminals and tax collectors. The Pharisees accused Jesus of being a wine bibber and a friend of sinners. It was the sinners that believed in him.
If we die in our sins, there is not a second chance. There is nothing about a purgatory in the Bible, that is another Catholic fairy tale. If you die in your sins you will be judged in your sins and condemned. God is holy beyond human comprehension. He will judge sin wherever he finds it. The cross of Christ should literally scare the hell out of people. God is a God of law and judgment. This is why he sent Jesus into the world to be the savior of the world, John 3:17.
The whole world is under condemnation, Romans 3:19. The good news of the Gospel is that Jesus has provided salvation for everyone, Hebrews 2:9. It is God's great free gift for everyone, Ephesians 2:8. But he is not going to force you to believe in him, you will have to come to him by your own free will.