This was a billboard along the Interstate in South Carolina typical of the Southern Baptist mindset and motivator to accept Jesus.
I personally, have always had a faith problem with forgiveness being impossible without the shedding of blood (Hebrews 9:22), redemption by execution and "I am the way, the truth and the light. No man comes unto the father but by me". (John 14:6)
If the Romans or whoever wrote the story of the pacified Jesus Messiah meant to make it uncomfortable to reject, they did it well.
Sorry, that's just me
I don't believe anyone would argue that accepting Jesus, however one defines that, is an either/or else proposition.
There is no free will involved. You can only choose wrongly if you do not choose rightly. There is only one right answer.
Belief and acceptance of the story of Jesus as presented with all that can be questioned, doubted or suspect, is mandatory if one is to be on the right team.
Whether one accepts the theology of Jesus the first time or the second first time or after a good beating, there is no other way.
"Trust and obey, for there's no other way to be happy in Jesus, but to trust and obey" as I sang with gusto as a kid and yet it bothered me as well. Seemed risky and rather dictatorial with no good or any alternatives allowed.
Belief in the story of Jesus, which must be accepted on faith, and the theology that follows from it is compulsary, mandatory, obligatory and required...OR ELSE.
No one on the planet will ever meet the Father God if they don't go through the Son God.
The "Or Else" factor in mandatory belief and practice has always been the Biblical approach towards those less inclined to believe.
Zechariah 14:16-21
And it shall come to pass, that every one that is left of all the nations which came against Jerusalem shall even go up from year to year to worship the King, the Lord of hosts, and to keep the feast of tabernacles.
17 And it shall be, that whoso will not come up of all the families of the earth unto Jerusalem to worship the King, the Lord of hosts, even upon them shall be no rain.
18 And if the family of Egypt go not up, and come not, that have no rain; there shall be the plague, wherewith the Lord will smite the heathen that come not up to keep the feast of tabernacles.
19 This shall be the punishment of Egypt, and the punishment of all nations that come not up to keep the feast of tabernacles.
This is just one of my personal stuggles with Christianity and belief since when I first believed.
Trust and Obey is always risky in human hands and compliance, or else, is no reason to believe anything.
https://godliberationcathedral.org/posts/what-happens-if-you-fail-to-accept-jesus-christ
The Eternal Consequences of Rejecting Gods Gift of Salvation
"He that believeth on the Son hath everlasting life: and he that believeth not the Son shall not see life; but the wrath of God abideth on him." - John 3:36 (KJV)
The question what happens if you fail to accept Jesus Christ is one of eternal significance. It is not a question of religious preference or theological debate—it is a matter of life and death, heaven and hell, eternal blessing and eternal judgment.
The Bible provides clear, unambiguous answers to this crucial question, and every person must face it honestly before their time on earth ends.
Rejecting Jesus Christ means turning away from the greatest gift God has ever offered humanity: His grace, forgiveness, and salvation. It means refusing the only remedy for sin that God has provided. The stakes could not be higher, and the consequences could not be more serious.
This is not meant to frighten but to inform, for God has revealed these truths in His Word so that we might choose wisely and escape the judgment that awaits those who refuse His Son.
The Biblical Reality of Rejection
What happens if you fail to accept Jesus Christ? Scripture answers this question directly and repeatedly:
You Remain Under Gods Wrath
"He that believeth on the Son hath everlasting life: and he that believeth not the Son shall not see life; but the wrath of God abideth on him" (John 3:36, KJV). This verse reveals a sobering truth: those who refuse to believe in Jesus Christ remain under Gods wrath. They do not move from wrath to grace—they remain in the state of condemnation they were born into.
Gods wrath is not arbitrary anger or uncontrolled rage. It is His holy, righteous response to sin—His settled opposition to all that is evil and rebellious against Him.
Every person is born under this wrath because all have sinned and fallen short of Gods glory (Romans 3:23). The only escape from divine wrath is through Jesus Christ, who bore that wrath on our behalf. To reject Christ is to remain under the wrath you were born into.
You Will Not See Eternal Life
The same verse declares that those who do not believe in the Son "shall not see life". Jesus said, "I am the way, the truth, and the life: no man cometh unto the Father, but by me" (John 14:6, KJV). There is no other way to eternal life except through Jesus Christ.
"Neither is there salvation in any other: for there is none other name under heaven given among men, whereby we must be saved" (Acts 4:12, KJV).
Gods plan of salvation centers exclusively on Jesus Christ. No other religious leader, no other religious system, no amount of good works or moral improvement can save you. Christ alone is the Savior. To reject Him is to reject your only hope of eternal life.
You Remain Unforgiven
Without faith in Christ, your sins remain unforgiven. "If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness" (1 John 1:9, KJV). But this forgiveness is only available through Jesus Christ, who died to pay the penalty for our sins.
"In whom we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of sins, according to the riches of his grace" (Ephesians 1:7, KJV). Forgiveness comes through Christs blood shed on the cross. Those who reject Christ reject the only means of forgiveness God has provided. They remain guilty before God with no covering for their sins.
The Exclusivity of Christ
Some find it offensive that Christianity claims Jesus is the only way to salvation. But this is not arrogance—it is what Jesus Himself taught. He said, "I am the way, the truth, and the life: no man cometh unto the Father, but by me" (John 14:6). We did not invent this exclusive claim; Jesus made it Himself.
The Biblical Doctrine of Hell
What happens if you fail to accept Jesus Christ? Scripture teaches that those who die without Christ face eternal judgment in hell:
Hell is a Real Place
Jesus spoke more about hell than anyone else in Scripture. He described it as a place of eternal fire, darkness, weeping, and gnashing of teeth. "And fear not them which kill the body, but are not able to kill the soul: but rather fear him which is able to destroy both soul and body in hell" (Matthew 10:28, KJV).
"And if thy hand offend thee, cut it off: it is better for thee to enter into life maimed, than having two hands to go into hell, into the fire that never shall be quenched" (Mark 9:43, KJV). Jesus describes hell as a fire that is never quenched—indicating eternal, unending suffering.
Hell Was Not Created for Humans
An important truth often overlooked: hell was not originally intended for human beings. "Then shall he say also unto them on the left hand, Depart from me, ye cursed, into everlasting fire, prepared for the devil and his angels" (Matthew 25:41, KJV). Hell was prepared for Satan and his fallen angels—not for people made in Gods image.
Humans go to hell only by rejecting the salvation God offers through Christ. God does not send people to hell capriciously—they choose hell by refusing the remedy He has provided. Every person who ends up in hell will be there because they rejected Gods gracious offer of salvation through Jesus Christ.
Eternal Separation from God
Hell is ultimately eternal separation from God and all His goodness. "Who shall be punished with everlasting destruction from the presence of the Lord, and from the glory of his power" (2 Thessalonians 1:9, KJV). Those in hell will be separated from Gods presence forever—cut off from all light, love, joy, peace, and every good thing.
This separation is eternal and irreversible. "And these shall go away into everlasting punishment: but the righteous into life eternal" (Matthew 25:46, KJV). The same word translated everlasting for punishment is used for eternal life. If eternal life lasts forever, so does eternal punishment. There is no second chance after death, no escape from hell once judgment is pronounced.
Conscious Eternal Suffering
Some attempt to soften the biblical doctrine of hell by suggesting annihilation—that unbelievers simply cease to exist. But Scripture teaches conscious, eternal suffering. Jesus described hell as a place where "their worm dieth not, and the fire is not quenched" (Mark 9:44, KJV). The rich man in Jesus' parable of Lazarus and the rich man was conscious and in torment in hell (Luke 16:19-31).
In Revelation, we read: "And the devil that deceived them was cast into the lake of fire and brimstone, where the beast and the false prophet are, and shall be tormented day and night for ever and ever" (Revelation 20:10, KJV). This is not annihilation but eternal, conscious torment.
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The remedy for doubt seems to be faith, which is belief without evidence and trust in the word of God, (Romans 10:17) which is what one doubted to begin with. Seems rather circular much like the Bible being true because it says it is true.
20 comments:
"Love your Daddy, or he will burn you forever!" If a human parent ever took this approach with a child, the authorities would remove the child from the custody of that evil parent. Yet that attitude is the default assumption of mainstream Christianity.
Thank you for that. That is absolutely true . I have said "Give daddy a hug or I'll kill you!" :)
".....faith problem with forgiveness being impossible without the shedding of blood.......
****even when it's not your blood? And, I still withholding judgment on the meaning of the "for ever and ever" which in Greek is "to the ages of the ages".
A great deal of ink is spent obsessing over what uneducated "scholars" of old made up out of thin air.
Dennis keeps repeating that the Bible teaches belief without proof. People believe in the laws of physics and chemistry even though they don't directly "see" these laws. But they believe in these laws because they see their effects. The bible is no different on this point.
Failed Christian Dennis also intermingles Christianity with Churchianity. The two are often very different.
"compliance, or else, is no reason to believe anything."
The assumption is that an irrefutable reason was given before compliance was required. Of course, that is not the case, but the logic of Denis is faulty.
Without Churchianity there would have been no Bible and so there would be no Bible-based Christianity. So there is no Christian that is not following Churchianity.
Yep. The Bible is no different from chemistry because you can test everything in a beaker.
Dennis continues to paint God as unjust merely because God demands from His children what any decent parent would demand from theirs. Who's in charge of your house Dennis?
Also, everlasting punishment (hell) for finite sins is not an accurate description of the character of God, and the Bible doesn't teach that. Punishment of itself is not unjust, but the punishment concocted by unrighteous man for the purpose of inflicting fear is of another kind of spirit.
"the authorities would remove the child from the custody of that evil parent"
I'm not impressed by the standard of morality the authorities impose. Plenty of women murder their own children (we call that abortion) and the state does nothing. The same state that claims the right to conscript people and send them off to kill warriors protecting their homelands. And to kill civilians. Remember Hiroshima? And the same state removes children from the custody of their fathers for the simple reason that they want the female vote.
This is funny. Much like Dennis, I always took issue with this line of reasoning, even as a child. It never made sense to me that a so-called all-loving, omnipotent, omniscient "god" would behave the way described in the Bible. Not in the Old Testament, and not in the New Testament.
Instead I find it quite curious how the god of the OT and NT behaved much like the Jewish peoples: jealous, angry, and vengeful. My oh my, what a coinkydink.
Anon, Monday, December 8, 2025 at 12:45:35 PM PST, wrote:
Dennis keeps repeating that the Bible teaches belief without proof. People believe in the laws of physics and chemistry even though they don't directly "see" these laws. But they believe in these laws because they see their effects. The bible is no different on this point.
Failed Christian Dennis also intermingles Christianity with Churchianity. The two are often very different.
******
Does the Bible teach "belief without proof?"
I'm not sure if Dennis has a scripture in mind to back up that thought, but I find the following verses to be very interesting:
Ephesians 1:17 "That the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of glory, may give unto you the spirit of wisdom and revelation in the knowledge of him:
:18 The eyes of your understanding being enlightened; that ye may know what is the hope of his calling, and what the riches of the glory of his inheritance in the saints,
:19 And what [is] the exceeding greatness of his power to us-ward who believe, according to the working of his mighty power,"
For one to believe, is it necessary that Jesus' God, Jesus' Father, actually provide that "working of His mighty power" in one's life?
Time will tell...
John
Christ said "follow me" 23 or 24 times depending on how a certain scripture is interpreted. He did not say follow Churchianity. Rather he condemned the Pharisaic Churchianity of his day.
Yes, God did use Churchianity to preserve the bible , but that was a miracle from God. It's similar to God having used Balaam to give certain prophecies in the Old Testament.
Btw, God stops answering people's prayers when they start following Churchianity rather than their Bibles. This is because following man rather than following God is the mark of the beast. That the splinters narrow this down to Sabbath observation while ignoring its broader application, says something about their spiritual state.
Basically, Dennis's premise is built upon the very literal and conservative approach that we were all taught as part of our cultic brainwashing. And, there are mainstreamers who take this same approach, so there is no shortage of ingredients with which to construct a strawman.
I believe there is more to the story than that.
Dennis has on a number of occasions quoted Hebrew 11:1 "Now faith is the assurance of things hoped for, the conviction of things not seen," as "proof" that the Bible teaches belief with out proof. As I posted, people cannot 'see' the laws of nature, only their effects. As a former minister, he's banking on the 'magic' of repetition to sell his point of view.
Dennis, you said: I personally, have always had a faith problem with
1. forgiveness being impossible without the shedding of blood (Hebrews 9:22
2. redemption by execution and
3. "I am the way, the truth and the light. No man comes unto the father but by me". (John 14:6 [
Is it possible that such viewpoints have always been a stumbling block for seeing the glory of the scriptures that you quoted.
Let's look at the first difficulty: Jesus going to the cross and shedding His blood to redeem us and bring salvation. You are thinking like Peter.
Matthew 16:21 -23: "From that time Jesus began to show His disciples that He must go to Jerusalem, and suffer many things from the elders and chief priests and scribes, and be killed, and be raised up on the third day. 22 Peter took Him aside and began to rebuke Him, saying, "God forbid it, Lord! This shall never happen to You." 23 But He turned and said to Peter, "Get behind Me, Satan! You are a stumbling block to Me; for you are not setting your mind on Good's interests, but on man's."
Why was the shedding of blood and redemption by execution necessary? For Justification by a Just God.
Romans 3:23-26
23 for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, 24 being justified as a gift by His grace through the redemption which is in Christ Jesus, 25 whom God displayed publicly as a propitiation in His blood through faith. This was to demonstrate His righteousness, because in God’s merciful restraint He let the sins previously committed go unpunished; 26 for the demonstration, that is, of His righteousness at the present time, so that He would be just and the justifier of the one who has faith in Jesus.
1 John 2:1-2 "My little children, I am writing these things to you so that you may not sin. And if anyone sins, we have an Advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous; 2 and He Himself is the propitiation for our sins; and not for ours only, but also for the sins of the whole world.
The word propitiation carries the basic idea of appeasement or satisfaction, specifically toward God. Propitiation is a two-part act that involves appeasing the wrath of an offended person and being reconciled to him.
Jesus, did not want to suffer in His body, have His flesh torn to pieces, and then suffer dying nailed to a cross.
At prayer in the garden, on the night He was betrayed, asked His Father, "My Father, if it is possible, let this cup pass from Me; yet not as I will, but as You will." And later, "My Father, if this cannot pass away unless I drink it, Your will be done."
Hebrews 12: 2 " looking unto Jesus, the author and finisher of our faith, who for the joy that was set before Him endured the cross, despising the shame, and has sat down at the right hand of the throne of God.
First, Hebrews 12:2 says that Jesus endured the cross. There in Gethsemane, He determined to carry out the will of the Father (Matthew 26:39). He did this by focusing on the joy that was to come. He knew that He would be resurrected and restored to the place of glory that He had with the Father from the beginning (John 17:5). He looked forward with joy to the people He would save. He willingly gave His life to save His sheep (John 10:10–11).
And concerning ""I am the way, the truth and the light. No man comes unto the father but by me."
The context of the verse is in verse 1 of Chapter 14: "Do not let you heart be troubled; believe in God, believe also in Me."
He said that because he had just talked to them about His betrayal and His future departure from the disciples. In verse 5 Thomas says, "Lord, we do not know where You are going, how do we know the way?"
Jesus answers by saying: "I am the way, the truth and the light. No man comes unto the father but by me."
That is the explanation; but if you are questioning why Jesus is the only way to God, that is an entirely different problem.
Yet it is occasionally amazing how unexpected heroes emerge. There is a certain lady from Georgia for whom, six months ago, I held nothing but disdain. Now, suddenly, she has come clean and refused to remain silent, starting with an issue that was of extreme importance to her.
Dennis wrote, “Jesus spoke more about hell than anyone else in Scripture. He described it as a place of eternal fire, darkness, weeping, and gnashing of teeth.”
Dennis’ view on hell has merit. It is based on the standard translations in circulation. On this data the Infernalist view of Hell in the mainstream churches has been founded. By the Infernalist view I mean that view which sees Hell as a place of destruction either through ever-burning flame of annihilation. But is the Infernalist rendering of the original Greek correct?
But let me show you something that Jesus said. In the Infernalist KJV, Matthew 24:46 has been translated in this way:
“And these shall go away into everlasting punishment: but the righteous into life eternal.”
But this is what he really said in Greek at the relevant phrase “into everlasting punishment”:
“Eis kolasin aionion”
“Kolasin” does not mean destruction but pruning or perfecting. “Aionion” means “of the age.” It does not typically mean everlasting but rather of the Age or until the Age ends. This is a finite duration and not eternity.
So, what Jesus actually said, based on this more accurate rendering is (check The Bible Hub):
“And these shall go away into rehabilitation of the Age: but the righteous into life eternal.”
I am not sure what Age is being referred to but it has an ending. It is of finite duration. And kolasin means pruning so a tree will produce better. When translators come to the Bible, they come with all their biases intact. The KJV translators have given us the traditional Infernalist idea of hell and made it sound like it is actually in scripture. And we deal in English so we don’t know what Jesus actually said without research. So the atheist brother is correct based on the traditional data but the traditional data has deficiencies.
That’s my view.
Scout
It does look like the Greek, and Hebrew, rather than if you don't accept Jesus now you'll burn in hell, allows for a resurrection back to physical life to live when you are judged when Satan is no longer around but has expired after some days and nights at the end or toward the end of his age. The age would be of several ages: the age now, the millennium, Satan's release for a while after the millennium which would be Satan's final "age", and an age after.
Erratum for Scout 8:24
Sorry for the brain fog. The scripture is Matthew 25:46. And my definition of "Infernalism" should have read:
By the Infernalist view I mean that view which sees Hell as a place of destruction either through ever-burning flame OR annihilation.
In sum, I do not believe God destroys his creations. I believe that the scriptures recruited to support that viewpoint are misunderstood. God has built into all of us a desire to seek good. It might be the best car for your dollar or God himself - he is the ultimate good. He uses this good-seeking to bring us to salvation although the road through Kolasis is rocky. Maybe for some many stripes. Given a God who destroys his creations and one that conserves and renews his creations, which one do you think sits on the Throne of Grace?
Scout
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