Two Paths to Eternity

By Jim Allen

Eternity clearly means forever. It is a physical place, a destination, as well as a state of being. Heaven is the forever life destination. Hell is the forever death destination.
Questions arise when you consider these forever destinations. For instance, why does a person go to heaven? How does he get there? You can ask the same questions about hell. Defining eternal life will help answer these questions.
Jesus defined eternal life when He said: “This is eternal life, that they may know You, the only true God, and Jesus Christ whom You have sent.” (John 17:3) What Jesus is referring to is a personal relationship between man and God that lasts forever. God created man for relationship.
Taking relationship into account, the answer to the above questions becomes: You go to heaven because you have a relationship with God and you go to hell because you don’t.
Choice is required for relationships to exist. You must choose whether to enter into a relationship. In this book I examine how choices in relationships leads to the eternal destinations of either heaven or hell. God has placed humans into a world of choice from which it is impossible to escape. You cannot choose to not choose because even that is a choice!
Overall, this book is about what it means to be a Christian.

• Language: English
• Publisher: WestBow Press
• Release date: Jan 9, 2024
• ISBN: 9798385015207

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Copyright © 2024 Jim Allen.

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ISBN: 979-8-3850-1518-4 (sc)

ISBN: 979-8-3850-1519-1 (hc)

ISBN: 979-8-3850-1520-7 (e)

Library of Congress Control Number: 2023924252

WestBow Press rev. date: 1/9/2024

CONTENTS

Acknowledgments

Introduction

1   Does God Exist?

2   Who Is God?

3   Who Are Humans?

4   The God-Human Relationship

Choice, Vulnerability, and Responsibility

Choice, Relationship, and the Human Construction

Choice, Heart, and Soul

Choice, Human Will, and God’s Will

Choice and Spiritual Relationship

Choice and God’s Requirements of Humans

Choice and Responding to God’s Voice

Choice and Faith

Choice, Faith, Application, and Works

Choice, Temptation, and Testing

Choice, Facts, and Truth

Choice and God’s Promises

Choice and Iniquity

Choice and Eternity

Choices That Fail, Grace, and Mercy

5   God’s Amazing Grace

6   Relationship, Baptism, and Communion

7   Coming to Know God

Addendum: Faith/Works

Notes

ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

I am most thankful for my wife, Linda, for her insightful contributions to this book, for providing the initial editing expertise that I needed and for her patient endurance as I became consumed with writing this book.

I would also like to thank Dr. Harold Delaney for his extensive critique of the original manuscript. His comments were very helpful and much appreciated.

INTRODUCTION

Eternity clearly means forever. It is a physical place, a destination, and a state of being. Heaven is the forever life destination. Hell is the forever death destination.

Questions arise when you consider these forever destinations. For instance, why does a person go to heaven? How does he get there? You can ask the same questions about hell. Defining eternal life will help answer these questions.

Jesus defined eternal life when He said, This is eternal life, that they may know You, the only true God, and Jesus Christ whom You have sent (John 17:3). What Jesus is referring to is a personal relationship between humans and God that lasts forever. God created humans for forever relationship. Therefore, taking relationship into account, the answer to the above questions becomes this: you go to heaven because you have a relationship with God, and you go to hell because you don’t.

Choice is required for relationships to exist. You must choose whether to enter into a relationship. In this book I examine how choices in relationships lead to the eternal destinations of either heaven or hell. God has placed humans into a world of choice from which it is impossible to escape. You cannot decide to not choose because even that is a choice!

It’s the nature of humans to constantly think, question, and choose. The outcome of these activities will eventually lead to the question of God’s existence.

ONE

DOES GOD EXIST?

And without faith it is impossible to please him, for whoever would draw near to God must believe that he exists and that he rewards those who seek him.

—Hebrews 11:6, ESV

T o begin, we must ask the question Does God exist? ¹ This is the most important question any person can consider. Human opinions on God are everywhere. Therefore, answering this question demands more than a few seconds of attention and involves a wide range of ideas and evidence.

I’ve read books and have been taught by several theologians who have provided insight into this question. I’ve also done a fair amount of people watching, hearing what they say and comparing that with what they do. I’ve observed that, with people, encountering facts and accepting them are profoundly different. Airtight, sound arguments are still unconvincing to those determined to disbelieve. For those people, it’s not proof, even if it would convince almost anyone else. A person’s intent is more influential than any evidence encountered.

Therefore, whether or not one acknowledges God’s existence, the decision involves faith. We choose to believe despite what we don’t know because of what we do know. That’s the essence of all forms of faith, including biblical faith, which includes faith in the existence of God.

Perfect knowledge is beyond our ability. Bias and prejudice cloud our views. There will always be a gap between what we can know and what we believe. For this reason, we need to point to human experience, logic, and empirical evidence to investigate the answer to the question Does God exist?

1. Human experience: People interpret life based on the world around them. Looking at the existence of God ought to start with experiences. Evidence of God exists in daily human experiences, including our innate sense of morality. The overwhelming majority of people throughout history are inclined to believe in a reality greater than the physical (Rom. 1:19–20; Ps. 19:1; Eccles. 3:11).

2. Human logic: Three of the more powerful logical suggestions of God’s existence are the cosmological, teleological, and moral arguments:

a. The cosmological argument considers the principle of cause and effect. Each effect is the result of some cause, and each cause is the effect of a prior cause. However, that chain of causes cannot go on infinitely into the past, or else the chain will never actually start. Logic demands something eternally existent and not the effect of anything else. Our universe clearly is not eternal or uncaused. Logic points to God, the uncreated, eternal origin of all other things, the first cause of our reality