“Again, Jesus said to them, ‘I am going away, and you will seek Me, and you will die in your sins. Where I am going, you cannot come.’ So the Jews said, ‘Will He kill Himself? For He said, “Where I am going, you cannot come.”’ He said to them, ‘You are from below; I am from above. You are of this world; I am not of this world. Therefore I said to you that you will die in your sins. For unless you believe that I am He, you will die in your sins.’” John 8:21-24
What a terrible thing to die in your sins — to die and stand before the holy Judge of all while still bearing the uncleanness and guilt of your sins! Yet, this is what was soon to happen to a great many of the Jews in Jesus’ day. Jesus warned them, “I am going away, and you will seek Me, and you will die in your sins. Where I am going, you cannot come” (John 8:21).
Because so many of His Jewish hearers saw no need to repent of their sins and trust in Jesus as their Messiah and Savior, they would die in their sins and face the eternal wrath and condemnation of God. Where Jesus was going — to the right hand of God the Father in heaven (cf. John 14:1ff.; Eph. 2:20f.) — they would not be able to come! Instead, they faced a Christless eternity and the everlasting torments of hell!
Again, Jesus warned them, “Therefore I said to you that you will die in your sins. For unless you believe that I am He, you will die in your sins” (John 8:24).
Jesus’ words still ring out today! Those who do not trust in Jesus as their Messiah and Savior from sin are not justified and forgiven and acceptable to God. They are still dead in their trespasses and sins (cf. Eph. 2:1ff.). Unless they repent and trust in Jesus and His cross, they will die in their sins and are headed to an eternity of everlasting punishment. Where Jesus is, at the right hand of God the Father, they cannot come!
Unless people repent and turn to God’s Son, Jesus Christ, who was lifted up on the cross to suffer and die there for us and bear the full punishment for our sins and the sins of the whole world, they will die in their sins and face the holy God in their own uncleanness and guilt! (Cf. John 3:14-18,36; Matt. 22:11-14.)
What about you? Will you die in the guilt of your sins and face the eternal wrath of an angry God? Or will you, by the grace of God, turn to Jesus and receive His full and complete pardon and forgiveness for your sins and enjoy the everlasting blessings of life in heaven with Him?
The Bible tells us: “As it is appointed for men to die once, but after this comes the judgment, so Christ was offered once to bear the sins of many, and He will appear a second time, not to bear sin but to save those who eagerly wait for Him” (Hebrews 9:27-28).
Jesus has already died and paid in full for your sins. His resurrection on the third day is proof that God accepted His death as full payment for the sins of the world (cf. 1 Cor. 15:3,4; Rom. 4:23-25)! Why die in your sins and be condemned by God? Turn in faith to Jesus and His shed blood and be forgiven and saved (Cf. 2 Cor. 5:19-6:2; Isa. 55:6-7)!
O dearest Jesus, have mercy upon our wayward hearts and draw us to You so that we might not enter eternity bearing the guilt and condemnation for our sins but have, instead, the blessing of forgiveness and life everlasting for the sake of Your holy and precious blood, shed for us on the cross. Amen.
[Scripture is quoted from The Holy Bible, Modern English Version, Copyright © 2024, 2017, 2014 by United Bible Association. Published and distributed by Charisma House. All rights reserved.]