DEATH, the final judgment, Heaven and Hell are certain. And man must so live his life in preparation for these four things.
Reverend Von Barker of St Matthew’s Anglican Church told his congregation last Sunday that while it was not his wish to preach a sermon on death at Advent, the season was a good time to remind worshippers of the Second Coming of Christ and for them to take stock of their lives.
“I need to remind you that death is certain. It is an event for which we should prepare ourselves.
“It should not catch us as a thief in the night. But by the quality of life lived here as Christians, death should come as a friend, ushering us into the presence of the Saviour’s face,” Barker preached.
He added that judgment “is also final”, and as the writer of Hebrews noted, “it is appointed unto man once to die and after that the judgment”.
“St Matthew in Chapter 25 and Verses 31 to 46 gives us a graphic description of what will happen,” he told his hushed audience.
“My dear people, the picture is painted in sharply defined constrasts of black and white.
“All men fall into one of the other two classes, which are clearly distinguished as sheep and goats to a shepherd.
“The sheep identify with the righteous and are placed in the favoured position on God’s right hand, and the goats, who have no other identification, occupy the unfavoured position on the left.
“The sheep are the elect, now gathered from the four corners of the earth. They have made their election sure.
“In stark constrast, those on the left are banished from the presence of its King.
They have no place in the family of God, having none of the characteristics of His children, and as a result are assigned to the devil and his angels.
“Judgment is discriminatory,” he said.
Rev. Barker described Heaven as the place where one beholds God in His majesty, splendour, beauty and holiness.
“Heaven is the sweet and blessed country; the home of God’s elect,” he stated.
Barker said Jesus often warned about Hell in His teachings on earth.
“Hell will be a place where we shall be eternally separated from God; a place where we shall be unhappy. No man there will be able to cross the great gulf fixed to the other side.
“Take the warnings of Jesus Christ seriously, so that you do not go there,” he advised his listeners.
Barker added that since no man knew the day or the hour in which Jesus Christ would return, it was important to live each day “as if He would” return.
He added that man should be actively involved in the things of God, serving Him, practising self-sacrificing acts to one’s fellowman, and doing God’s work in order to be found ready at His appearing.
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