I’d like to think with you for a few moments about two destinies that the Bible very clearly depicts for us. It’s quite a thing when you think of the Bible as a divine book, the very word of God. The Bible, as it were, pulls back the curtain of death and lets us peek — lets us see what is beyond death. And beyond death is not the ground. It’s not six feet under — sure, perhaps for your body, but not for your soul. Your soul will be carried into eternity the moment you breathe your last. God is very clear that beyond death there are only two destinies. It’s either heaven or it’s hell. So tonight we’ll consider heaven, and we’ll consider hell.
Heaven Is a Real Place
We know that heaven is a real place — and it’s a real place not simply because our parents have taught us so. If they have, that’s a good thing, because heaven is a real place. But not only because our parents told us so. What about families where parents are teaching their children that heaven is not a real place? Does that make heaven any less real? No. We know that heaven is a real place simply because God, in His word, tells us that heaven is a real place.
You may think that’s overly simple. Believing God doesn’t have to be difficult — I choose my words carefully. Believing God does not have to be difficult, though for some people it is difficult to believe God. Perhaps when we talk about heaven, it’s easy to say, “I believe there’s a heaven.” Maybe it’s easy to believe that God is love, that He so loved the world. I can believe that, and that God has made us, and so forth. But often, when we get to another passage in that very same book, the very same word of God, it talks about sin — the consequences of sin, our accountability before a righteous God who cannot overlook sin. That part is often harder to believe. But believing God does not have to be difficult.
Why Someone Is Not Saved
I was thinking, before these meetings, about those who are not saved, and why — why perhaps you are not saved tonight. If you’re not saved tonight, it’s not because you’re too young. Don’t think you need to reach a certain age of maturity to be saved — no, you can be saved even tonight. You’re not too young, and it’s not because you’re not intelligent enough. The reason someone is not saved I’ll share in five words: you have not believed God.
Very simply, someone is not saved — their sins are not forgiven, they are not on the way to heaven — purely and only because they have not believed God. Have you believed God?
A Man Who Came From Heaven
God says that heaven is a real place, and there is living proof of it. Sometimes people say, “Well, no one’s ever come and told us what’s beyond death.” Is that really true? If we’re honest, we’d have to say it isn’t — at least, that’s not what the Bible says. The Bible is clear that the living proof heaven is real is that there is a man who came from heaven. He wasn’t a man yet, but He became one — the Lord Jesus became a man. He was a real man, and yet He was, and is, truly God. Those who make the excuse that no one’s ever come and told us really come back to the same five words: you have not believed God.
The Lord Jesus is living proof, if you’re willing to accept it — willing to receive the truth that heaven is a real place. He spoke about heaven because He wants you to be there. Speaking to an audience much like this one, He would say, “You’re from below. I’m from above. You’re from this earth, from this world — I’m not of this world.” He is the man from heaven, and heaven is a real place.
What Is Heaven Like?
Somebody might ask, “What is heaven like?” I think simply we could say heaven is everything unlike this earth, unlike this world. The first point is that in heaven there is no death. No sorrow. No pain. No disease. No natural disasters. No tears. Everything is perfect. There is joy, there is peace — it is the very presence of God. That is the place where God desires every person to be after they die, in eternity. Heaven is a real place.
Heaven Is Accessible Through Christ
The good news is that heaven isn’t only real — it’s accessible. Imagine if heaven were real but inaccessible to us. Think of all the places in this world people would love to visit — a military base like Area 51, or Buckingham Palace. Plenty of places people would like to go, but they can’t; they’re not accessible. The marvel of all marvels is that the heavenly place is accessible, even tonight.
If you picture the chart again — the broad way that leads down — you also see the narrow door. John chapter 10 and verse 9, where the Lord Jesus Himself says, “I am the door; by Me, if anyone enters in, he will be saved.” In other words, those who come to the Lord Jesus will be saved — taken off the broad way that leads down and placed on the narrow way that leads up. I wish the chart’s door had been drawn more open — it shows just a sliver — because really, the door to heaven tonight is wide open. You don’t even have to knock. You don’t have to force your way through. You simply have to walk through it. And the door is the Lord Jesus Himself. By His death on the cross, He provided a way by which you can be fitted for heaven.
Heaven Can Be Missed — and Hell Is Real
Maybe you didn’t need me to tell you heaven is real, or even that it’s accessible. But maybe what you didn’t know is that heaven, though it’s real and accessible even to you tonight, is a place that can be missed. Not everyone in this world believes that, but it’s exactly what the Bible teaches — not that God takes pleasure in people going toward destruction, but the reality is that some people have Bible knowledge, are law-abiding, good neighbours — the kind of people you’d want living next door — and they will live their whole lives and still miss out on heaven.
Because the reality is, hell is also a real place, for the same reason we know heaven is real: God speaks about it. In our passage tonight, the Lord Jesus describes it as a place of destruction — not annihilation, but an eternal place of punishment for sin.
This isn’t meant to be fear factor. God isn’t trying to scare anyone — He’s like a faithful doctor who tells a patient the truth about a diagnosis rather than hiding it. That may not be comfortable, but it’s his responsibility to be honest. God tells the truth. Rather than seeing this as a threat, or accusing God of being unkind, we should be grateful that He is transparent — pulling back the curtain of death completely and letting us see what’s beyond it. He speaks of heaven, but He also speaks of hell.
What kind of place is hell? The Bible describes it as a place of weeping and gnashing of teeth — no joy, no love, a place separated from God, where people serve the sentence of sin’s penalty. The wages of sin, the consequence of sin, is death — physical death, but the Bible also speaks of a second death.
The Broad Way and the Narrow Way
Hell is an accessible place too. Many people assume everyone eventually gets to heaven — “every road leads there,” or “it’s really the same road, just different names.” That isn’t true. Many ignore the fact that there is a road, a way, that leads down to destruction. Which road are you on tonight? You’re on one or the other — you can’t be on both, and you can’t be on neither.
Everyone begins on the broad way. There was a point in my own life when I recognised and admitted before God that I was on that road, that my sins were taking me toward judgment — and rightfully so; I deserved it. Have you come to that realisation? The Bible speaks of a way that seems right to a man, but the end of that way is death. Is that the way you’re on tonight? It’s possible to go along thinking all is well for eternity while, unknowingly, the end of that way is death. Tonight would be a good time to check your GPS, so to speak — to find out where you really are before God.
The Bible says many go in by that broad gate. This is where all of us start, left to ourselves — to our own strength, our own abilities, our own sincerity, our own love, our own devotion and zeal. We are all, by nature, on that broad way.
Thankfully, hell is a place that can be avoided — missed entirely. No one wants to perish, and I’m glad the Bible says God doesn’t want anyone to perish either.
What Separates the Two Roads?
There’s one thing that separates those on the broad way from those on the narrow way — one thing the broad way traveller does not have, whatever else they may have. Those heading toward destruction may have knowledge of the Bible. They may know Bible stories, have been to Sunday school, know the hymns, attend Christian meetings, even have Christian parents. It’s possible to have a lot of things on the broad way. But without exception, what they do not have — who they do not have — is the Lord Jesus. They may have a religious title, a church membership, but not the Lord Jesus as their Saviour.
What about you tonight? What do you have, as far as heaven is concerned? Those on the narrow way have one thing in common: they have the Lord Jesus Christ. And everyone now on the narrow way was once on the broad way — make no mistake about that. No one is born on the way to heaven. Everyone who walks through the door does so because, as the Lord says in verse 13, “Enter — enter the narrow gate, get on the narrow way” — which implies you’re not there yet.
A Personal Testimony: Religion Without Christ
Those now on the narrow way often had a lot of things beforehand too. I, for one, had my religion. I prayed every night — if I was going to bed late and saw it getting close to midnight, I made sure to pray, because I felt I had to pray every day. I was baptised, and according to everyone around me, I was a good person. I could go on — I had a lot of things. I didn’t have the Lord Jesus as my Saviour.
Jesus Christ Is the Way
What about you tonight? The Lord Jesus is the way. He Himself said, “I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through Me.” In other words, no one gets to heaven except by first going through the Lord Jesus. This is a personal matter — between you and God, you and the Lord Jesus — not between you and me. It has nothing to do with me, or with the believers here. It’s between you and God.
As mentioned earlier, hell is a place where people serve the sentence of sin’s penalty — and that’s exactly why the Lord Jesus went to the cross. He’s the man from heaven, perfect and pure, who never committed a sin, never had an evil thought. Yet on that cross, in the full knowledge of God, He endured the sentence our sins deserved.
The reason people are on their way to heaven isn’t because God has overlooked their sins, or set them aside for later. It’s because their sins have been dealt with — not by any religious means, but dealt with once for all, righteously, at the cross, where God judged His own Son, the Lord Jesus, in our place, for our sins, that we might be saved.
The Invitation: Enter Through the Open Door
The Lord says to you tonight: “Enter. The door is open.” If you come to the Lord Jesus tonight, you’ll escape the flames of hell. If you come to the Lord Jesus tonight, you’ll have a home in heaven. If you come to the Lord Jesus tonight, He’ll give you eternal life as a gift. If you come to the Lord Jesus tonight, He’ll give you peace.
Why don’t you come? What’s holding you back? Often what holds people back is that they don’t see their need. My hope tonight is that you’ll see yourself as God sees you — a sinner in need of God’s salvation — and that, without any delay, you’ll come, enter by the door, and come to the Lord Jesus.
