I got a reply:
I can see the train so i know it is a danger, one can not say the same about heaven or hell.
My response:
That’s because you’re still in the car and your radio is up. You refuse to listen to those who tell you about it and you refuse to consider that what we say is true. Think about it – suppose for a few minutes that there is a God who created this whole place. As the Creator, He has the right to lay down the rules. Much as if you could create your own planet with your own people on it, you’d want them to treat you with respect, after all, you are their creator. They deny your existence and go about their lives. You exist outside of their world and outside of their time so you can see what happens in the end – you can see what would happen if you didn’t intervene – in that you become personal but you want to have them love you on their own and not out of fear of your judgment. You setup a sacrificial system to cover their sins against you but you know that this can never pay the real price for the sins they’ve committed against you. You set aside a group of people for yourself so the rest of the world can look at them and see how much you love them and so that they will recognize you as well. They continue to deny your existence. You give them general rules – they break them. You give very specific rules – they break them. They tell you that they don’t want your direct rule and that they want to be like the rest of the world – so you give them a king. That king, and most of his descendants lead the people away from you. You give them up to their lusts and they end up in horrible slavery and pain. They call out to you and each time you bring them back only to have them lash out against you again. Over and over they fail to meet your rules but you knew this would happen from the start. You GAVE them the ability to think for themselves and to walk away if they so desired.
So you send your own son down to this planet you created to live the perfect life that they cannot. To follow all of your rules and to teach them how they can do it, but only by following the teachings of your son. The religious leaders kill him for threatening to take away their power. In doing so they don’t realize that they’ve performed a sacrifice, based on your rules set way back in the beginning – but this sacrifice can actually take the place of their sins. This sacrifice wipes it all clean. Not only that, you promise that you’ll never let them slip back out of your hand of salvation once you have them. You place a fire in their heart to reach others and to learn more about you and your nature – you bring them back and now you have a people who are totally different from the rest of society and who everyone else looks at and realizes that they are separate. You keep your promises and keep them close to you. Many try mock you and create false religions based on the right worship you’ve created but ultimately you know those who rightly worship you and who are truly redeemed. You know this because they’re safely in your hands. No matter how bad their persecutions get on this planet you’ve created – your promises are sure and you will redeem them in the kingdom to come.
The problem is that without dying to your own desires and giving up all that you hold dear in this life you’ll never be able to have the assurance that is available in Christ Jesus. I know this is all evangelical-speak and it sounds different because it IS different. As long as your hands are full of sand you can’t have anyone place gold inside them. Read the book of John – prove me wrong. Just don’t claim that what I know to be, and that I’m willing to bet my life on, isn’t true. I know that it’s true because I’ve seen it. I’ve felt it. I know the rebirth in myself is absolutely true and that rebirth by the Holy Spirit is my guarantor of things to come.
That was quick. 😀