Perfect Love Casts Out Fear

“It is done! I am the Alpha and the Omega, the Beginning and the End. I will give of the fountain of the water of life freely to him who thirsts. He who overcomes shall inherit all things, and I will be his God and he shall be My son. But the cowardly, unbelieving, abominable, murderers, sexually immoral, sorcerers, idolaters, and all liars shall have their part in the lake which burns with fire and brimstone.” (Revelation 21:6-8)

God is Love.

So how could a loving God impose such a fearful sentence of fire and brimstone in a lake which burns with fire?

The atheists and unbelievers will scoff at this, but those who have their part in the lake of fire will have willfully chosen to be there.

How so?

Jesus says in the first part of the verses quoted above: 

"I will give of the fountain of the water of life freely to him who thirsts."

Thirsts for what?

For righteousness—or, being 'right with God.' 

In the opening section of His Sermon on the Mount, Jesus said: 

“Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they shall be filled.” (Matthew 5:6)

All those who hunger and thirst to be right with God, will be filled freely, from the fountain of the water of life.

That's right. It's free.

You don't have to work for it. You can't earn it. You just have to want it.

You have to believe it.

And something that all Christians and non-Christians alike need to remember is, Jesus does not single out any certain group as having a part in the lake of fire.

He groups all liars together with murderers. Cowards together with the sexually immoral. Idolaters together with the abominable.

What ultimately keeps people out of Heaven is a refusal to thirst for and receive Jesus Christ—the free gift of Eternal Life.

Those who are self-righteous see no need for a Savior. They don't thirst to be right with God because they are already right in their own eyes. They see themselves as 'evolved' individuals, with their own goodness already inside of them. They are the unbelieving. They are liars.

But those who hunger for righteousness—who thirst to be right with God—shall be filled with the water of life.

Jesus said:

“If anyone thirsts, let him come to Me and drink. He who believes in Me, as the Scripture has said, out of his heart will flow rivers of living water.” (John 7:37-38)

People don't like it when conditions are placed on them. But Jesus puts very specific conditions on receiving His rivers of living water.

You must thirst for righteousness—for being right with Him.

You must come to Him and drink—freely receiving Him.

You must believe in Him—as the scriptures have said.

What often happens with people who are righteous in their own eyes, is they consider themselves to be a follower of Christ because they think they are so much like Him. They refuse to come to Him because they see no personal need of a Savior, thinking they are already such a good person. 

What does the Bible say about good people?

“As it is written: “There is none righteous, no, not one.” (Romans 3:10)

Many people consider Jesus to be a good teacher, or even a prophet. The bible is full of Jesus' sayings, but self-righteous people take only certain verses that they like, claiming that the rest—the parts that put specific, (unwanted) conditions on them—are all just an invention of man.

No.  

Jesus said you must believe as the Scriptures have said. Not according to the ungodly philosophies of the world.

Christ the Savior did not come to die for a world filled with people who have no need of saving. The bible says, 

"For all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God." (Romans 3:23)

All mankind have sinned. All need a Savior.

But you must choose for yourself.

To all men Jesus says:  "If anyone thirsts, let him come to Me and drink."

But to the proud, who reject Him, thinking they are already righteous and have no need of a Savior, and who therefore have ultimately chosen their part in the lake of fire, He says: 

"But you are not willing to come to Me that you may have life."

Perfect Love laid down His life so that all who willingly receive Him may freely drink of the fountain of the water of life. In Him is life eternal. In Him is joy and peace forever more.

Perfect Love casts out all fear for those who will choose to believe in Him—as the Scriptures have said.

"For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whosoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life." (John 3:16)

     Will you believe?

—God is Love and Love Never Fails.