I invite you to drive out into the Blackwater Forest to visit with us. The preaching is expository in nature and the Bible is taught in our Sunday School and Discipleship Training. We have a brief Bible study on Wednesday nights. You are always welcome here. Come out and join us.

May I ask you a personal question? If so, please answer the following quiz:

Q: If you were to die today, do you know where your would spend eternity?

If you answered "A", wonderful! It is nice to have a fellow brother or sister in Christ visit our site. If you answered anything other than "A", perhaps you should continue reading this message.

Let me begin with another question. Have you ever sinned? Most will answer honestly and say yes, I have committed a few small sins in my life, but nothing major. Some will answer dishonestly that they have never sinned. Let me clear this up for you. Everyone, that is every person ever born on this earth (except one) has sinned. A sin is violating a rule of God. Most know those rules of God as the ten commandments. Have you ever broken one of the ten commandments? Many will say "No."

Here is a test to see if you have followed the ten commandments. Do you put earning money, or your career, or your home, or some other human endeavor as your top priority? Have you ever said "I swear to God", or taken God's name in vain? Do you often work seven days a week? Have you ever disobeyed your parents when you were a child? Have you ever murdered anyone? Probably not, but have you ever hated someone in your heart? If you hate someone in your heart, you have committed murder in your heart. Have you ever had an affair? Or have you had sexual relations outside of marriage (including homosexual relations)? If not, have you ever lusted after another in your heart? Or have you actively looked at pornography? If you lust, you commit adultery in your heart. Have you ever stolen anything? Have you ever taken a pen or a paper clip from work? The value of the stolen property is irrelevant. Have you ever told fibs or white lies or gossiped about another person? Have you ever desired someone else's property so much that you wanted to take it?

You can see what I am getting at. Each of the above scenarios violates one of the ten commandments. For example, if you have lusted after another person in your heart and have taken a pen from work, and lied to someone, then God sees you as a lying thieving adulterer.

Let me elaborate on those questions. If you have put anything at a higher priority than God, such as earnings, career, or your home, then you have broken the first two commandments: "You will have no other Gods before Me." And, "You will not make an image and worship it." You are guilty of breaking both of them if something is a higher priority to you than God. It becomes your God and you worship it.

If you have said "I swear to God that I will . . . " or if you have used a curse word that takes God's name in vain, then you have broken the third commandment, which is, "Do not take My Name in vain."

If you have worked seven days without a day off for rest, you have broken the fourth commandment, "Remember the Sabbath and keep it holy."

If you ever disobeyed your parents even once, then you have broken the fifth commandment, "Honor your father and your mother."

If you have hated someone in your heart, you have committed murder in your heart and you have broken the sixth commandment, "Do not commit murder."

If you have had sexual relations outside of marriage (including homosexual relations), or lusted after another in your heart, or actively viewed pornography then you have broken the seventh commandment, "Do not commit adultery."

If you have ever taken another person's property (including your employer), no matter the value, you have broken the eighth commandment, "Do not steal."

If you have ever gossiped or lied about another, you have broken the ninth commandment, "Do not bear false witness against another."

If you have ever desired the possessions of another so badly that you were capable of stealing them, you have broken the tenth commandment, "Do not covet another person's possessions." (This includes lusting after his or her spouse.)

If we are honest, most of us have broken all ten of the commandments at one time or another in our lives. If you have broken just one of them, you are in trouble. If you have broken only one of them, you have sinned. God says that death is the wages paid for sin. If you have committed just one sin, you are in trouble. You will die. God also says that if you have broken just one commandment, it is the same as breaking all of them. In God's eyes all are the same and the penalty for any one of them is death. Not the death of the body, but the death of your eternal soul in hell. Hell is a real place. If you do not believe in Hell your disbelief does not change the fact that is real.

Many people think that if they can just do enough good deeds to outweigh their sinfulness that God will let them off the hook and find them not guilty. They think God keeps score of the do's and the don'ts and if the do's outweigh the don'ts he will let you off the hook. If you will reflect on this idea for just a few moments, you will see its absurdity. Let's take a real life scenario. If you get a speeding ticket on Monday and live a really good life the rest of the week and do good deeds, that still does not change the fact that you broke the traffic laws. On the following Monday if you tell the judge you sped on Monday, but you were good the rest of the week, he will still find you guilty of speeding and fine you.

Think of it this way, parents. If your child broke one of your rules, such as running out in front of a speeding automobile, would you let him off the hook because he cleaned his room and swept the kitchen floor that morning? He did two good deeds and one bad deed. Do the good deeds outweigh the bad? They do not in the case of such a gross safety violation. The child could have been killed. In order for that child to learn he must be punished for his misdeed, even though he did two good deeds that very day. It is the same with God, Who is our Father. Our misdeeds are not outweighed by our good deeds. Payment must be made for our misdeeds and that payment is death.

If you lie and steal, no amount of good works or time can remove the fact that you are a lying thief. Should a just judge acquit a child molester because he had done nothing but good deeds and been a model citizen since his crime? Of course not. So, if you sin, no amount of good works will change the fact that you are a sinner.

Let us cut to the chase. If you have sinned (and we all have) you are going to hell. Period. Whether you believe it or not, that is where you are headed. If you have sinned, and you have, for I have just proven to you that you are a sinner, you are in BIG trouble.

There is coming a Judgment Day. On that day you will stand before God and every sin, every thought, word, and deed, will come out as evidence of your guilt. You will be found guilty and will be cast into the lake of fire prepared for sinners. That lake of fire promises eternal torment for sinners. If you do not believe in it your unbelief does not change the fact that the lake of fire is very real. There is no way out for you. For that matter, there is no way out for anyone. The penalty must be paid, and that penalty is death. The only possibility is for us to die. We are in a fix. You may ask, "Is there any hope for anyone?"

There is hope. If you have received a speeding ticket and you are found guilty, then the only way out for you is to pay that fine. But if someone walks into the courtroom and gets money out of his wallet and pays the fine for you, then justice is served. You have been found guilty of speeding and the fine has been paid. Case closed. Once the case is closed it cannot be reopened. It is over, finished, kaput, done with.

That is exactly what God has done for you. Jesus Christ, a true historical person, was God in the flesh. He left his home in Heaven with His Father and came to earth to become a man and be born of a woman like all men. He was a man but He was also God. He walked the earth for about 33 years and never committed one sin. Yet he was executed by the state on trumped up charges. He had no sin and was not worthy of death, but He was killed anyway. He was perfect and clean and whole and without sin but was killed anyway. Jesus Christ, a perfect sinless man, died for the sins that you and I have committed. He has come into the courtroom and paid our debt for sin and therefore we have been found guilty of sin and the penalty has been paid. Case closed. Once the case is closed it cannot be reopened. It is over, finished, kaput, done with. Even though He died, He is now alive and in Heaven. God raised him up from death. We are no longer guilty of sin for the debt has been paid. Now we can go and be with our Father in Heaven.

But there is a catch. In our speeding fine scenario above, if the man came into the courtroom and asked you if you would allow him to pay your fine and you told him no, then you would still be responsible for payment. You would have had to accept his payment in order for him to pay the fine. Jesus Christ has paid our penalty, but we must accept it from Him. How?

We must believe that He is the Son of God and that He did die for your sins and that He was raised to life on the third day and that He is alive now and sits at the Right Hand of God in Heaven interceding on our behalf.

It is your choice. You can choose to believe in Him or you can choose not to. If you do not believe in Him, your penalty will not be paid. God gives you the right to choose. He will allow you to choose as you please, but he wants you to choose life. If you choose to believe in Jesus, you will live. If not, you will die in your sins and go into the lake of fire. It is YOUR CHOICE!

If you have chosen to believe, then you are saved right now. Your belief is all that is required for you to be saved. If you believe you are now a follower of Jesus Christ. You are one of His disciples. You are a Christian! There are some things you should do. Now that you are a follower of Christ, you need to profess that you believe in Him before others. And you should follow Him in baptism. He was baptized and you should be baptized too. The best way to do that is to go to a Bible Believing Church where other believers are and tell them that you are now a believer. Then ask them to help you become baptized. They are your loved ones and they will accept you and make it easy for you.

You need to become involved in Bible Study. That can happen at any Bible Believing Church, but churches that provide expository preaching and chapter and verse studies of the Bible are best. A Christian seeks to know God better and better. Be a seeker.

CONGRATULATIONS on becoming a Christian today!

Rom 6:23 For the wages of sin is death; but the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord.

Rom 3:23 For all have sinned, and come short of the glory of God;

Rom 5:8 But God commendeth his love toward us, in that, while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us.

Rom 10:9-11 That if thou shalt confess with thy mouth the Lord Jesus, and shalt believe in thine heart that God hath raised him from the dead, thou shalt be saved. {10} For with the heart man believeth unto righteousness; and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation. {11} For the scripture saith, Whosoever believeth on him shall not be ashamed.

Eph 2:8-9 For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God: {9} Not of works, lest any man should boast.

Titus 3:4-5 But after that the kindness and love of God our Saviour toward man appeared, {5} Not by works of righteousness which we have done, but according to his mercy he saved us, by the washing of regeneration, and renewing of the Holy Ghost