Five Minutes After You Die: Sentencing for the Unbeliever

by David Chadwick

Today, we look at not just five minutes after death, but immediately after death, and specifically in the life of an unbeliever. After judgment comes sentencing.

When an unbeliever meets the Creator of the Universe face to face, without the grace and mercy of Jesus, he or she is declared guilty. The unbeliever is cast into hell, a place where there is weeping and gnashing of teeth (Matthew 13:42). Hell is continual rebellion against God, marked by eternal sadness and regret.

If the beauty of Jesus’s grace could not win you over during your time on earth, why would you think that a terrible thing would all of the sudden cause you to repent and accept grace? Beauty invites us into true and lasting transformation, whereas fear of punishment only creates momentary change. The Gospel of Jesus Christ is a beautiful message, meant to set captives free.

Hell is permanent separation from God. I know this sounds harsh to our world that loves nice, kumbaya messaging, but it’s true. It’s what Jesus said himself. The same word in the Greek that Jesus used to describe eternal (ainos) is the same word he used to describe eternal death (ainos). In Revelation 20:11-15, it’s called the lake of fire.

Jesus spoke more about the subject of hell than he did heaven. If it was true for him, it must be true for us, especially those of us who are pastors and teachers today. Warning unbelievers about the reality of hell must be a part of gospel preaching. Sin. Judgment. Hell. Repentance. Missing in action words from too many preachers’ vocabulary.

The bad news for the unbeliever needs to be shared as often, if not more so, than the good news of the forgiveness of sins by Jesus. Both messages are important to the gospel of Jesus Christ.

But the story doesn’t end with the bad news. God loves the world. He sent his son Jesus to die the death we deserved and to cover the penalty for our sins. Anyone who believes in him will not perish but have eternal life (John 3:16). He is the resurrection and the life and if we believe in him we will never die (John 11:25) and we will live forever with Jesus.

It’s the best words the world can hear. Let’s all preach it until Jesus returns.

Five Minutes After You Die: Judgment for the Unbeliever

by David Chadwick

Many wonder what happens five minutes after we die. But more specifically today, as we look at the sobering reality of death for unbelievers, this question must be asked: what happens immediately after death?

Yesterday, I asked you to consider which group you find yourself in: lost or saved? Selfish or surrendered? Saved by works or saved by grace? A son or daughter of God or a slave to sin?

This question of which group you find yourself in has significant implications. Biblically speaking, there is an eternal judgment facing everyone, and eternal consciousness exists for all. This is why Jesus said in Matthew 16:26 that the most valuable possession anyone has on earth is their eternal soul. To gain the world and forfeit a soul is tragic.

Though our bodies die, our souls live forever. This is clearly biblical. If you remember, Luke 16 talks about the rich man and the poor man, Lazarus, both of whom had eternal consciousness, one in Hades, the place of the dead, and one in the bosom of Abraham in paradise.

Without Jesus Christ, that judgment seat bears eternal consequences of a life separated from God and spent in eternal damnation. Man dies once and then comes the judgment (Hebrews 9:27). It is a one-time event. No purgatory for purification before heaven. There is no reincarnation. No second chances.

A soul that is unforgiven before a holy God is declared guilty of treason and rebellion. The penalty is separation forever in hell. Evidently, they will never repent. Hell is not remedial. It honors people’s choice not to want to follow Jesus.

This begs the most important question today: how is your eternal soul? It’s your most valuable possession. Is it forgiven by Jesus? Or overseen by your own selfishness? Where will you spend eternity? With the Lord or separated from him forever?

If the Gospel of Jesus Christ is true, which it is, I beg you to receive Jesus as your Lord and Savior. Now. Today. Confess your sins. Accept Jesus’s free gift of forgiveness. Be confident of the eternal security to live with him forever.

And now live Jesus’s abundant life to the full.

Five Minutes After You Die: For the Unbeliever

by David Chadwick

Let’s continue to look at what happens five minutes after we die. More specifically today, what happens immediately after death? There are so many wonderful realities for a follower of Jesus when it comes to life after death. I want this series to inspire you, instill hope, and create a greater expectancy for the day when we meet Jesus face to face.

But in order to understand the Good News of life after death, we must also embrace the reality of hell for the unbeliever. This will be our focus over the next three days.

There are really just two groups of people: those who resist grace and those who embrace it. Those who are in Adam and those who remain in Jesus. Those who are lost and those who are saved. Those whose sins are not forgiven and those who are forgiven by Jesus. Those who approach God with a works-based righteousness and those who know that no amount of good works will ever make them right before God.

So what happens after a person dies who does not put his or her trust in Jesus as Lord and Savior? Like anything, this question must be approached from a biblical perspective. The Word of God is true, and we must place our lives under the authority of Scripture.

Isaiah 64:6 says that our good works are but filthy rags before a perfect and holy God. Romans 3:23 says that we have all sinned and fallen short of a holy God. Romans 6:23 says that the wages of sin is death, but the gift God has given us through Jesus brings eternal life.

Let’s pause here for today. If you are reading this or listening to our podcast, pause right now and ask yourself this question: which group are you in? Truly ponder the framework of your life. Do you spend your life trusting in Jesus for your eternal salvation? Or have you placed your trust in yourself, your good works, and your own righteousness?

Your answer to that question and the ones that followed determines your eternal destination, which we will study in greater depth tomorrow.

Keep asking yourself what will happen immediately after you die. It’s the most important question any of us could ever answer.