The greatest lesson to learn in life is how to die well. To die well is to pass from this sad and fallen world into paradise, and so to bid farewell to all our pains and cares and sorrows, into the glorious presence of Almighty God. To enjoy this great and blessed change, we must all in this life prepare.
Most people, as they see death approaching, close one eye, and so shut their mind to the dark side of death. For death has two sides: heaven, and hell. It is foolishness to pretend that there is nothing after death. It is also foolishness to pretend that all of us will go after death to heaven.
If we are wise, we shall confess that we are all sinful and are all unworthy to be blessed with eternal happiness. Our conscience warns us that we are all sinners. The Bible confirms this most serious truth. We prepare for death by facing up to the fact that we are all sinners and are worthy of suffering eternal punishment for our disobedience to God.
Those men and women who are serious as they face the approach of death, confess that we are all members of a fallen, ruined, and disobedient human race. Our greatest need is to confess to God our sins and to ask him for his forgiveness.
It is no true way to prepare for death if we turn a blind eye to our sinful life here on earth. God is infinitely holy and hates sin. Those who try to forget the sins which they have committed will certainly suffer eternal punishment.
So the first step in preparing to meet God is to remind ourselves that God is well aware of all the sins we have committed in the earthly life. God has seen all our actions. God has heard all our words. God has been fully aware of all our thoughts. In his book is a perfect and complete record of all and every sin which we have committed.
The only true way to prepare to meet God is to learn from the Bible how God promises to forgive our sins and to take us to heaven. God’s way of forgiveness has two aspects to it. We need to confess to him our sins, and to believe in Jesus Christ as the Savior of our soul. When any sinner, however great his or her sin, comes to God in prayer and confession to be guilty of disobedience, ungodliness, and shameful behavior, God’s ear is open to hear such a prayer, and he is ready to forgive.
Because God hates all sin with a perfect hatred, he required that Jesus Christ, his only begotten Son, should be punished for the sin of fallen mankind. This was and is the most wonderful message in the world. God hates sin, but he has great mercy on sinners. To provide a way of forgiveness for sinners who wish to be pardoned, God required Christ to suffer on the cross and die. It is the sublime expression of God’s love for this sinful world. Jesus has paid the price for the sins of all who repent and put their faith in him.
Why do so few people prepare to meet God? It is through fear. God is the one whom sinners most fear to meet. This fear is the result of guilt. But God will not punish those who prepare to meet him in the way which he has revealed to us in his Bible. However great our sins, God will freely pardon them all when we confess and ask for mercy.
A very lovely example of this is seen in the way Christ spoke to the thief who was on the cross beside him. The thief had been speaking very unkind words about Christ, as they both were suffering the agonies of the cross, but then the thief repented and spoke to Jesus these words, “Lord, remember me when thou comest into thy kingdom” (Luke 23:42). In reply to this prayer of repentance and faith, the blessed Lord Jesus said to him, “Today shalt thou be with me in paradise” (Luke 23:43). Oh, what kindness! Oh, what forgiveness! Oh, what a promise to so great a sinner!
So the great lesson is very clear. We poor dying sinners are not prepared to meet God until we confess our guiltiness and turn to Jesus Christ for forgiveness. Here is the secret of the sinner’s hope of heaven. Faith in Christ is all we need! The God who hates sin, loves to pardon sinners who turn to him in repentance and genuine faith.
Let us remember that when death comes, we can take nothing with us to the world beyond death. All we have to take with us is our immortal soul. It will profit us nothing if death finds us unprepared for eternity. It would be better if we had never been born, than if we die with our sins unforgiven. Hell is a place where God’s anger burns with terrible fire for all eternity. Oh, how terrible! Oh, what a way to spend eternity – in eternal fire!
But the sinner who repents and believes in Jesus will be welcomed into glory forever.
If conscience toward God, and credit with men, cannot both go to heaven with the saints, the author is satisfied with the former companion, and is willing to dismiss the other.
– Samuel Rutherford, Lex Rex
