THREE GREAT CONTRASTS

Deuteronomy 30:10-18                                                 

Pastor Rick Jackson

I. GOD & THE DEVIL

1. God is the Creator/Satan is a Created Being [Isaiah 43:10, Jn. 1:1-3, Ezek. 28:12-15]

Ye are my witnesses, saith the LORD, and my servant whom I have chosen: that ye may know and believe me, and understand that I am he: before me there was no God formed, neither shall there be after me. Isaiah 43:10

In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. The same was in the beginning with God. All things were made by him; and without him was not any thing made that was made. John 1:1-3

…Thus saith the Lord GOD; Thou sealest up the sum, full of wisdom, and perfect in beauty. Thou hast been in Eden the garden of God; … the workmanship of thy tabrets and of thy pipes was prepared in thee in the day that thou wast created. Thou art the anointed cherub that covereth; and I have set thee so: thou wast upon the holy mountain of God; thou hast walked up and down in the midst of the stones of fire. Thou wast perfect in thy ways from the day that thou wast created, till iniquity was found in thee. Ezek. 28:12-15

2. God is Truth/Satan is a Liar [Rm. 3:4, Jn. 14:6, 8:44]

Let God be true, but every man a liar; Romans 3:4

Jesus saith unto him, I am the way, the truth, and the life: Jn. 14:6

Ye are of your father the devil, and the lusts of your father ye will do. He was a murderer from the beginning, and abode not in the truth, because there is no truth in him. When he speaketh a lie, he speaketh of his own: for he is a liar, and the father of it. Jn. 8:44

3. God Wants to Bless You/Satan Wants to Devour You [Isaiah 55:8-9, Jeremiah 29:11, 1 Peter 5:8]

For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways, saith the LORD. For as the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways, and my thoughts than your thoughts. Isaiah 55:8-9

For I know the thoughts that I think toward you, saith the LORD, thoughts of peace, and not of evil, to give you an expected end. Jeremiah 29:11

Be sober, be vigilant; because your adversary the devil, as a roaring lion, walketh about, seeking whom he may devour: 1 Peter 5:8

II. HEAVEN & HELL

1. Heaven is the Kingdom of Light/Hell is a Place of Darkness [Rev. 21:23-25, Matthew 8:12, 2 Peter 2:17]

And the city had no need of the sun, neither of the moon, to shine in it: for the glory of God did lighten it, and the Lamb is the light thereof. And the nations of them which are saved shall walk in the light of it: and the kings of the earth do bring their glory and honour into it. And the gates of it shall not be shut at all by day: for there shall be no night there. Rev. 21:23-25

…shall be cast out into outer darkness: there shall be weeping and gnashing of teeth. Matthew 8:12

To whom the mist of darkness is reserved for ever. 2 Peter 2:17

2. Heaven has the Pure River of Life/Hell is a Place of Never-ending Thirst [Revelation 22:1-2, Luke 16:24]

And he shewed me a pure river of water of life, clear as crystal, proceeding out of the throne of God and of the Lamb. In the midst of the street of it, and on either side of the river, was there the tree of life, which bare twelve manner of fruits, and yielded her fruit every month: and the leaves of the tree were for the healing of the nations. Revelation 22:1-2

And he cried and said, Father Abraham, have mercy on me, and send Lazarus, that he may dip the tip of his finger in water, and cool my tongue; for I am tormented in this flame. Luke 16:24

3. Heaven is Prepared for the Saved/Hell was Prepared for the Devil & His Angels [John 14:2-3, Matthew 25:34, 41]

In my Father's house are many mansions: if it were not so, I would have told you. I go to prepare a place for you. And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again, and receive you unto myself; that where I am, there ye may be also. John 14:2-3

Then shall the King say unto them on his right hand, Come, ye blessed of my Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world: Matthew 25:34

Then shall he say also unto them on the left hand, Depart from me, ye cursed, into everlasting fire, prepared for the devil and his angels: Matthew 25:41

III. SALVATION & CONDEMNATION

1. Heaven is a Gift/Hell is Earned [Romans 6:23]

For the wages of sin is death; but the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord. Romans 6:23

2. Salvation is Glory/Condemnation is Shame [Hebrews 2:10, Dan. 12:2]

For it became him, for whom are all things, and by whom are all things, in bringing many sons unto glory, to make the captain of their salvation perfect through sufferings. Hebrews 2:10

And many of them that sleep in the dust of the earth shall awake, some to everlasting life, and some to shame and everlasting contempt. Dan. 12:2

3. Salvation must be Accepted/Condemnation is Automatic [John 3:18]

He that believeth on him is not condemned: but he that believeth not is condemned already, because he hath not believed in the name of the only begotten Son of God. John 3:18