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BEYOND THE GRAVE
Written by Dr. Lester Hutson

Copyright - Lester Hutson - 2000
This material is copyrighted and may not be copied or reproduced without the express written permission of Dr. Lester Hutson.

To order a copy of Beyond the Grave,
please contact the Berean Press at:
(281) 987-2700.

One day, probably sooner than you think,
you will reach your grave. Your clock is
ticking. There is no need to debate this issue.

Your death is not a matter of if, it’s only a
matter of when.

What if Christians are wrong and there is nothing beyond
the grave? No problem! They’re still as well off as all the rest.
If Christians are right about heaven and hell, they are winners
indeed. All others are eternal losers. Either way,
Christians can’t lose.

You ask, "So what? How do I know the Bible is true?" The
Bible has a 100% accuracy record in its predictions. Yes!
Really! Check it out for yourself. There are hundreds of
prophecies in the Bible and not one has ever failed.
The Bible also is in complete harmony with itself. Never is
there a shade of contradiction in the Bible. Imagine! Sixty-six
separate books penned by dozens of men over a
millennium and a half! Most of them never met.
Collaboration was impossible, yet perfect harmony and total
accuracy. Amazing, but no accident!

The Bible claims to be the product of God, not men. It
says, "All scripture is given by inspiration of God" (2 Tim.
3:16). God dictated the words of the Bible. 2 Pet. 1:21
claims "holy men of God spake as they were moved by the
Holy Ghost."

The Bible also says you will ultimately face God in judgment.
"As I live, saith the Lord, every knee shall bow to me, and every
tongue shall confess to God. So then every one of us shall give
account of himself to God" (Rom. 14:11-12). At the judgment
the truth of God’s word ("thy word is truth" John
17:17) will be the basis of your judgment for "we are sure
that the judgment of God is according to truth" (Rom. 2:2).

Ultimately you will go to "the lake of fire" if you are not
saved. "Whosoever was not found written in the book of life
was cast into the lake of fire" (Rev. 20:15). If your spirit goes
to that awful place, it will be because you are a sinner with-out
a Savior. Your sins and mine put Jesus to the cross

("Christ died for our sins" 1 Cor. 15:3), yet it will not be your
sins that keep you out of heaven. If you go to that "lake of
fire," it will be only because you have "not believed in the
name of the only begotten Son of God." Before God "He
that believeth…is not condemned; but he that believeth not is
condemned already" (John 3:18). Believing is not only
accepting the facts; it’s a matter of trusting Christ, placing
your faith in or depending on Him. It’s a deliberate choice
to give up on all you are in favor of Him alone as your
Savior.

Both lost and saved people are sinners. "If we say that we
have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us"
(1John 1:8). The difference between heaven and hell is not
sin; it’s a Savior. Saved men are forgiven by the blood of
Jesus Christ. "We have redemption through His blood, the for-giveness
of sins" (Eph. 1:7). Lost men have no Savior and no
forgiveness. They are "without God in the world" (Eph.2:12).

Good behavior is great! Men ought to tell the truth, pay
their bills, live moral lives, go to church, pray and be baptized,
but not in order to be saved. These are the results of
salvation, not the means to receiving it. The Bible says, "For
by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves:
it is the gift of God: Not of works, lest any man should boast"
(Ephesians 2:8-9).

Only Jesus Christ can forgive your sins, keep you out of
the lake of fire and deliver or get you to heaven. "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).

He alone died, was buried and rose again. Yes! Rose again!
Many others have claimed to be saviors. They are still in
their graves or soon will be. In His resurrection, Jesus stands
alone. This is the miracle of all miracles, the one that gave
Him the living power to take care of you beyond the grave.
1 Cor. 15:3-4 calls Jesus’ death, burial and resurrection "the
gospel." This is the powerful work by which God can make
you right with Him in spite of your sins however many and
bad they may be. In reality He took your death penalty
upon himself and paid it in your stead. "Who his own self
bare our sins in his own body on the tree, that we, being dead
to sins, should live unto righteousness: by whose stripes ye were
healed" (1 Pet. 2:24)
Jesus "God with us" (Mat. 1:23) has "finished" (John 19:30)
the work whereby you can be saved and experience eternity
beyond the grave in heaven.

The instant you believe on Him in your heart, He will save
you. A man in Acts 16:30 asked, "What must I do to be
saved?" The Bible answer is strikingly simple, "Believe on the
Lord Jesus Christ, and thou shalt be saved" (Acts 16:31). He
was not instructed to pray, be baptized, join a church or do
any sort of work "for with the heart man believeth unto righteousness"
(Romans 10:10).

That’s it! Trust Him "In whom ye also trusted, after that ye
heard the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation: in whom
also after that ye believed, ye were sealed with that Holy Spirit
of promise" (Eph. 1:13). Trust is what belief or faith is. Acts
20:21 calls it "repentance toward God, and faith toward our
Lord Jesus Christ." Repentance and faith are inseparable.
One is impossible without the other. When in your heart
you turn in simple faith from all you are to Jesus Christ as
your own personal Savior, He will instantly give you the
greatest gift of all, everlasting life. "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).

Where you go beyond
the grave is up to you.

You know that you can’t get yourself to heaven. When your
body is a corpse, you will be powerless to do anything for
yourself.. Your only hope is a Savior and Jesus Christ is the
only Savior there is.

What’s beyond the grave for you? There are only two
options. Where you go depends on what you do with Christ
before you depart. You will depart. Your clock is ticking
and you can’t stop it. What you can do right now is believe
on the Lord Jesus Christ and be saved. Why don’t you do it?
The consequences of your decision are eternal. There are
no second chances beyond the grave.

You will find an address and phone number on this tract.
If you need more help, you owe it to yourself to make
contact. The stakes are immeasurably high.

Lester Hutson

"It Does Make a Difference What You Believe"