When Is The Party Over?

There are many people who still believe that life is one never-ending party. We have friends to meet, places to go, and things to get. We seek constant amusement in the pursuit of happiness. We need non-stop activity to fill the emptiness inside, to fight the boredom that surrounds us. Drugs, alcohol, immoral sex, money, and rock and roll are some of the most popular choices in this never-ending party called life. We don’t want to think about the fact that the party will end. However, there is an enemy to all this fun and excitement. It is death. We all—you—have an appointment with death and eternity. “It is appointed unto men once to die, but after this the judgment” (Hebrews 9:27). Yes, you have a God-given eternal soul which will spend eternity somewhere when the party is over. Where you will be in eternity may not matter to you right now. The thought of facing a sin-hating Holy God is a subject you probably avoid at all cost. But, you see, the Creator who put you here for His purpose has been trying to speak to you, and you just keep on partying as if this life is all there is—as if there is no life after death. There are things that God would like to tell you before you die, because once your “party” is over it will be too late. He wants to speak to you directly from His Word, the Bible. The Bible contains all the information you need to prepare for life after death. God’s Word declares, “For out of the heart proceed evil thoughts, murders, adulteries, fornications, thefts, false witness, blasphemies. These are the things which defile a man” (Matthew 15:19,20). We see in Scripture that we are all unclean in God’s sight because of sin. You may not think that you are a hell-deserving sinner. After all, there probably is no God. Right? Wrong! God is real. God is holy and He hates sin. Sin will keep you from being with God in heaven for eternity. Unless you receive God’s forgiveness for sin, God’s Word reveals that you will die in an unclean, unforgiven state. If you refuse to accept His mercy, you will spend eternity in hell with all of the other people who rejected Him. “That’s okay—all my party friends will be there too,” you may think. Yes, sadly, they will join you there too, but the thick blackness of “outer darkness” will separate you from each other (see Matthew 22:13). What other choice is there? There is one. Ephesians 2:4 tells us something about God that maybe you did not know: “God, who is rich in mercy, for His great love wherewith He loved us.” Yes, even though you have lived a life bound by sin and selfishness far away from God, He loves you very much. Because He loves you and desires to have you with Him in heaven, God sent His Son, the Lord Jesus Christ, to the awful cross at Calvary some 2000 years ago. “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” (John 3:16). The Lord Jesus provided payment for our sin debt, the death penalty we deserve, by bearing God’s wrath there on that cross and dying. We now can receive God’s forgiveness for our sins by seeing ourselves as God sees us—as hopelessly lost sinners, undeserving of the pure home of God in heaven where there is no sin. Will you agree with God that you are a sinner? Will you believe that Jesus Christ died for your sins and then rose again according to the Scriptures? (Please read 1 Corinthians 15:3,4.) Perhaps you will say, “I have partied too much. How do I know if Jesus will receive a sinner like me?” Jesus said, “Him that cometh to Me I will in no wise cast out” (John 6:37). “Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners” (1 Timothy 1:15). Call upon the name of the Lord Jesus Christ today, confessing to Him that you are a sinner and trusting Him as your Saviour. Precious soul, this may be your last call. Do not delay your answer.—Gary Pace “Behold, NOW is the accepted time; behold, NOW is the day of salvation.” (2 Corinthians 6:2)