You have nobody to blame but yourself is a Biblical principle. There are four ways to guarantee you will die in your sins.

1 – Be self-righteous (vs. 22)

Be content with your own ability to please God. That you’re good deeds will outweigh your bad deeds on some kind of imaginary scale. Be warned! These self-righteous Jews thought they were going to Heaven. They thought Jesus was talking about killing himself. They believed that the worst places in Hell were kept for those who committed suicide. These people invent a system of works to take them to Heaven.

2 – Be worldly (vs. 23)

Live for the world. Live for the temporary. The word “world” is used often in John’s gospel. It refers to an invisible evil system of belief that loves materialism, sin, money and false religion. It is an ideology that opposes God. It worships man. It exalts sex and pleasure. Its aims are selfish. It is physical and not spiritual. It thinks wrongly. It is not eternal and will not last. You cannot love the world and love God. Friendship with the world makes you an enemy of God. Love the world and you hate God. The kingdom of this world belongs to Satan. Christ’s kingdom is not of this world.

3 – Be unbelieving (vs. 24)

The only way to escape hell is to believe in Jesus Christ. No one has to die in their sins. Jesus is the “I am” sent from God. If you do not believe the truth about Jesus Christ then you still go to hell. It is important to believe in:-

• Eternal trinity – Father, Son and Holy Spirit. Three persons in one. Those who deny the trinity, miss Jesus.
• Incarnate in human form – God was in Jesus Christ. The virgin birth is how it is possible.
• Sinless life – Jesus could not sin. He had to fulfil all righteousness. This is imputed to all believers.
• Died on the cross – It was sufficient sacrifice for sins and accepted by God. This is why he was resurrected from the dead.

This is the Jesus we must believe in or we have another “Christ” who cannot save. If you do not believe in these things then you are not a Christian. It is Christ alone. Nothing else can be added! If you add then you negate everything else.

4 – Be wilfully Ignorant (vs. 25-30)

They haven’t been listening. Jesus has been speaking but they have been dull of hearing. They refuse to know because they love their sin. They should have seen God in the life of Jesus. The good news is that some believed after His words. If you want to go to hell by default then just keep doing what you are doing. Why die when you can live? Why not accept God’s atonement for your sin?

Categories: John