Choosing Between Extremes Should Be Easy.
JV Maurer 6.16.25
I wish people would think more about serious spiritual decisions we all must make in life. Often spiritual matters get treated like they are the least important. They get kicked like a can down the road because their urgency goes unnoticed or because life is just too busy with all the lesser things demanding attention. Daily life can be consuming— often by very insignificant things, if considered in the grand scheme of life and its eternal meaning. Ultimate reality is that we cannot stay here on earth, and the time of our certain departure is unknown, and our eternal destination is determined by proper consideration and preparation in this life.
The admonition of Paul goes unheeded by many: “Set your affection on things above, not on things on the earth.” (Colossians 3:2)
Joel used a vivid expression to convey life on earth— it’s like being in a valley of decision (Joel 3:14). Think about it for a moment and you’ll have to agree.
Joshua’s, “Choose you this day whom you will serve”, was good, timeless advice, especially with his wise emphasis on acting in the present— “Choose you this day…”. (Joshua 24:15).
But Jesus put the priority of life in perfect, heavenly perspective, knowing we need the things of this world that everyone is running after, but also knowing that we need something more, and which doesn’t preclude having the other, lesser important things. His simple formula was: “But seek ye first the Kingdom of God, and His righteousness: and all these things shall be added unto you” (Matthew 6:33). That’s an extremely great promise. Put Christ and His Kingdom first and you will be abundantly provided for physically and spiritually.
Decisions are especially important when the contrasts are great.
Great contrasts in decisions usually make the matter easier to decide. Accordingly, there is no greater possible contrast than in choosing between heaven and hell or between being ready for the Rapture or missing it and going into the great tribulation.
The Rapture will be the greatest event in human history— the wonder of all wonders. The great tribulation will be the worst time ever on planet earth. Those who are alive when the Lord returns, a definite possibility for us all, will experience one or the other. To miss the Rapture for its unspeakable good would be tragic enough. But to experience God’s wrath on earth would make the misery all the worse.
Heaven will be an unprecedented, eternal joy in the presence of Christ, life in its greatest possible fullness.
Hell will be the eternal punishment and destruction of lost, careless souls, regardless of their measure of evil.
Amid such contrast, it doesn’t take much intelligence to realize that it’s not a choice about which is better. Only one is good— and it’s extremely good. And the other is extremely terrible. The extreme contrast makes the decision extremely easy. It seems like it wouldn’t even be a choice. But it is. And, surprisingly, people struggle with it— mainly, I think, because they don’t take it seriously enough to consider the full picture, including the spiritual opposition that the devil, the one responsible for the terrible place, personally mounts against them in the area of deception. He’s working hard to keep them from the Rapture.
With so much at stake, should you not make sure which will be your destination? — especially knowing there is a cunning deceiver who is the enemy of your soul?
So, the first decision you must make is to determine that heaven, not hell, will be your eternal home. It’s fully your own choice and no one can stop you.
The second decision
The next decision will be to choose the doctrinal path that is true. According to Jesus in His parable of the wheat and the tares, the devil has sown a lot of false doctrine to further keep souls from being saved (Matthew 13). Please don’t settle on salvation doctrine carelessly or superficially. I hope you’re not just looking for a quick, easy solution to put aside the matter so you can move on to other things. Your eternal salvation deserves to be your most earnest pursuit in life.
According to the importance of a matter should one’s care and diligence be to make sure he is in the right.
The Rapture and the tribulation are extremes. So is heaven and hell. Eternity is forever. That’s an extremely long time. There has never been and never will be a matter more serious. And many people treat it like there is not much at stake— or like heaven is almost automatic, the default destination if nothing too seriously goes wrong. The default destination is actually the other, if a person is not born again, according to Jesus (John 3:5). “Verily, verily (truly, truly), I say unto you, except a man be born of water and of the Spirit, he cannot enter into the Kingdom of God.”
All the many beliefs in the world about salvation are not provided by God for people to conveniently choose the one that suits best. They are there because the devil is a deceiver and is trying to confuse the issue and prevent God’s truth from being detected— covered, as it were, in a sea of choices. Jesus said many would be lost simply because they didn’t find the correct way that leads to eternal life (Matthew 7:13-14). Thankfully, He also said the person who seeks shall find (Matthew 7:7). He admonished that we first seek the Kingdom of God and His righteousness before the less important things of the world (Matthew 6:33).
Multiple, apparent choices in salvation doctrine make diligence necessary.
So, just because there are so many beliefs offered to deceive souls, a person must be the more careful and diligent to determine which is correct. For we are told in Scripture that there is but one Lord, one faith, and one baptism (Ephesians 4:5).
True salvation is easy for a sincere soul to find.
How do we determine what that one faith and baptism is? The easiest way is to look to the first evangelism of souls after Calvary, the very day Christianity took root in the world— the momentous Day of Pentecost, the birthday of the Church. There, Peter preached the saving message to seeking souls for the very first time. He said, “Repent, and be baptized every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ for the remission of sins, and you shall receive the gift of the Holy Ghost. For the promise is unto you, and your children, and to all that are afar off, even as many as the Lord our God shall call” (Acts 2:38-39). That is the plan of salvation. Three thousand were saved by it that very day (Acts 2:41). And, from that point, it went into all the world (Acts 8, 10, 19).
Today, there are millions the world over who have received this same saving experience. This is what Jesus referred to when He said we all must be born again. And, it’s for you! You would be wise not wasting any time making this precious salvation yours. “Behold, now is the accepted time; behold, now is the day of salvation” (2Corinthians 6:2).
It means the Rapture and heaven await you!