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.