What happens when we die? That was the question asked in a 2005 poll conducted by Newsweek and Beliefnet. Here is the breakdown of responses: The soul goes to heaven or hell (67%); there is no heaven or hell, but the soul lives on in some kind of spiritual realm (13%); it's all over; there is no soul (6%); the soul is reincarnated into another creature (5%); don't know (9%).

Let's go to Time magazine (December) to an article by Jeffrey Kluger called "Why We Worry About the Things We Shouldn't." He notes that human beings pride themselves on being the only species that understands the concept of risk. Yet we have a bad habit of worrying about mere possibilities while ignoring the real probabilities. For example, we get all hyped up on the avian flu, which has not killed anyone in the U.S. But we have to be cajoled into getting vaccinated for the common flu, which kills 36,000 Americans each year.

People fret about flying and would rather drive a thousand miles than fly, when in reality a few hundred people are killed in commercial air crashes a year, compared with 44,000 killed in automobile accidents. We worry about mad cow disease in our hamburger, yet worry far less about the cholesterol that produces heart disease that kills 700,000 annually. We worry about E. coli in a bag of spinach and then fill our carts with fat-infested French fries. Where am I going with this? You would think that we would be pretty good at distinguishing the risks likeliest to do us in from the ones that are statistical long shots. The fact that you are going to die is not a statistical long shot. The death rate remains at 100 percent. Almost 70 percent believe they will go to heaven or hell when they die. Yet less than half of Americans are followers of Christ. There are millions of Americans who know they will one day die; yet they do nothing to get their spiritual lives in order so as to be ready when that time comes. Could you be one of them?

We're still in our summer series of messages called "Did Jesus Really Say That?" We're looking at some of the tough sayings of Jesus, interpreting them, and applying them to our daily lives. Today we're going to deal with the issue of sheep and goats, heaven and hell. What happens after I die? How could a loving God send someone to hell? Is hell eternal? Or does the person just cease to exist? Or is he simply destroyed and obliterated? How can I go to heaven? Pretty important questions, I'd say. Jesus provides many answers in this section of Scripture. So let's read. [Read text.]

These verses appear in the broader section of the Matthew 24-25 where Jesus talks about end times. Stack up ten commentaries on Matthew and you will learn a wide variety of possible interpretations dealing with end times. These verses have challenged Bible scholars for centuries.

Let me say up front that my purpose today is not to clarify issues that scholars have debated for centuries and continue to debate today. To do so would miss the primary teaching that I believe Jesus had in mind when He spoke these words. There is no question that He is dealing with the end of history as we know it. That's pretty obvious with verse 31: "When the Son of Man comes in his glory, and all the angels with him, he will sit on his throne in heavenly glory."

Instead of going verse by verse, I want to use the verses to capture what I believe are answers to some very critical and sometimes confusing issues about what will happen at the final judgment. In this passage Jesus talks about sheep and goats. At the final judgment all of humanity will be divided into two clearly defined groups. One group will be the sheep, a symbol referring to followers of Jesus Christ. The other will be the goats, a symbol representing those who are not followers of Jesus Christ. The two will be easily identifiable, just like a shepherd can easily tell the difference between a sheep and a goat. There is no gray area here. After Jesus, the Judge, gets everyone into the proper group, He then informs us what happens next. What He teaches here clarifies four very important issues.

First, there is a literal heaven and hell. The survey cited at the beginning of the message indicated that 69 percent of Americans believe that they will go to heaven or hell when they die. But here is the real truth. I don't care how many believe it, but one hundred percent of Americans will go to heaven or hell when they die. That destiny is sealed once and for all at the time of death. Although the Bible doesn't define it perhaps as much as we'd like, another segment of this separation takes place at the end of history. Although our destiny is sealed when we die, that same destiny will be ultimately fulfilled at the end of time.

Last Sunday Perry Noble devoted a whole sermon to the subject of hell. Perry and Newspring Church in my hometown of Anderson, are doing a great work for the kingdom. They are running seven or eight thousand every Sunday. Let me tell you what he did to introduce his sermon. I wish I had thought of it. Pallbearers brought in a real, closed casket as if they were in a real funeral and placed it on the platform. Perry was inside the casket and preached a portion of his message from inside the casket. Man, if that won't get you thinking. His thrust—if you're in the casket, it's too late to do anything.

Let's move to the second issue. God does not send people to hell. Whoa, Ken. Don't you remember what Rick said about you a couple of weeks ago? If you ever go outside the Scripture, he will be the first one in your face. Hold on before you jump to conclusions. Let me explain.

One of the biggest problems people have with God is that they don't understand how a loving God could ever willingly send someone to hell. Look closely at these verses. First, look at verse 34: "Then the King will say to those on his right, ‘Come, you who are blessed by my Father; take your inheritance, the kingdom prepared for you since the creation of the world.'" He tells the sheep, those on His right, to take their inheritance. He's talking about the blessings of heaven. God has been preparing this place for them since the beginning of time.

Now look at verse 41: "Then he will say to those on his left, ‘Depart from me, you who are cursed, into the eternal fire prepared for the devil and his angels.'" Here He's talking to the goats and He's telling them to get ready to be thrown into the fire of hell. But notice the difference. God didn't create hell for the goats. He created hell for the devil and all his cohorts. Heaven was designed for the goats also. But because they chose not to follow Christ, they will end up in the same place as the devil.

So here's what I mean when I say that God does not send people to hell. God desires every human being to enter into a relationship with Him. And He has made it crystal clear that choosing to follow His Son Jesus will lead you to heaven. Choosing not to follow Jesus will lead you to hell. God doesn't predestine people to hell. The Bible says He doesn't want anyone to perish. He wants every person to have a relationship with His Son.

In essence then, we all have a choice. We choose heaven or we choose hell. God laid it out very clearly. That's one of the great qualities of God—He gives us the freedom to choose. But whatever we choose, we are destined to live by the consequences of that choice. So our loving God does not send people to hell. Hell was made for the devil. But we choose to spend an eternity there by refusing to commit our lives to Jesus Christ. So where does the blame lie—with God or with the person? Who's responsible—God or the person?

Third, serving the needy is evidence that you are a Christ-follower. This passage does not teach salvation by works. But I think Jesus' message here is loud and clear. We have a divine mandate to do all we can to serve the needs of those on the margins of society. Notice all the segments He lists—the hungry, the thirsty, the stranger, the naked, the sick, and the prisoner. Of course, He wasn't trying to provide an exhaustive list.

If you're saved, God calls you to serve. Being an usher, greeter, nursery worker, preacher, teacher, money counter, handyman, or office volunteer is extremely vital to the health of a church. But as important as these tasks are, they must not serve as a substitute for serving the needs of the less fortunate. Throughout the year we try to organize events locally and globally to give you hands-on opportunities to serve. We Care Center, GoOd Works, Katrina relief, Clothe-a-Child, Moldova, Brazil, and now Zimbabwe. We encourage Sunday School classes to engage in ministry projects.

When we stand before the Judgment Seat on that final day, God will measure the genuineness of our Christianity by the deeds we've done to serve others, especially those on the fringes of society. I reiterate, serving the needy doesn't qualify you for Judgment Day. But it does verify the validity of your walk with Jesus Christ.

Fourth, heaven and hell are eternal experiences. Verse 46 clarifies this truth. Referring to all sheep and goats, Jesus said, "Then they will go away to eternal punishment, but the righteous to eternal life." Notice the word eternal is included in both. Heaven is forever; hell is forever. There is absolutely no biblical evidence whatsoever that the non-Christian simply ceases to exist or that He is somehow annihilated. Evidence abounds in the Bible that the person is fully conscious of his pain and suffering in hell.

Let's review. There is a literal heaven and hell. God does not send people to hell. Each individual chooses his eternal destiny by his choices on earth. Caring for the needy does not save a person, but caring for the needy certainly verifies the genuineness of his faith. Heaven and hell are eternal experiences. And, by they way, there is no crossing over from one place to the other.

You may be in our audience today and have never settled this eternal and most important issue. You're concerned about a lot of stuff going on in your life. But your greatest concern right now should be where you will spend eternity. There are no in between locations. It's either heaven or hell. The good news is that your destiny is your choice. Jesus Christ has already paved the way for you to spend eternity in heaven. He died on the cross to pay the penalty for all your sins. But forgiveness is not automatic. You must consciously decide to follow Christ. You must ask Him to forgive you, and you must choose to live for Him. I plead with you today to come to Christ. Come over to the sheep's side.

It grieves my soul to know that there is a good chance that some of you here today will spend a Christless eternity in hell. This kind of message is not fun to preach. And I'll be honest with you. I hope that somehow I have misinterpreted what the Bible teaches. If somehow, God would grant eternity in heaven for every human being, I certainly wouldn't argue with that. God is God. He can do what He wants. And if He wants to save everyone in the end, man, that would be awesome.

But I must be truthful with the plain teachings of God's Word. He has revealed to us His truth. And I have the responsibility to shoot straight with what He says about the final judgment. Heaven and hell are both real. Don't count on some far-fetched outside chance that God will ultimately save everyone in the end. No, go with what you know has been plainly revealed. Give your heart to Jesus Christ today. All the interests that captured your time and all the worries that you fretted about—they all pale in comparison to the significance of settling your eternal destiny. Today is the day you need to settle that issue once and for all.