The teachings and parables of Jesus Christ form, among other things, a persuasive model of how the world works and how this world is related to the afterlife. This worldview includes Judgement Day, heaven, and hell. After centuries of dissemination into our society, this worldview is common knowledge to believers and unbelievers alike, and is typified by Matthew 25:32, “All the nations will be gathered before him, and he will separate the people one from another as a shepherd separates the sheep from the goats.” Many who dismiss the Christian worldview do so in the name of science. Okay, that is reasonable. If I want to be realistic, objective, and skeptical, I will say, “There’s no way to prove that there’s a Judgement Day, heaven, and hell.” Much of Jesus teachings are, however, moral and ethical content, such as Matthew 7:12 “…do to others what you would have them do to you…” In Matthew 22:39 Jesus exhorts, “Love your neighbor as yourself.” Science, for all the marvelous things it does, is not a system of ethics, nor is it intended to evaluate systems of ethics and moral behavior. So, Jesus Christ is an Ethicist and Moral Philosopher, the greatest in history. It is only when we ask, “Where does Jesus get his remarkably insightful teachings?” -that we can begin to entertain the supernatural claims he makes about his own identity: Messiah and Savior. Jesus’ teachings, and the claims he makes about is identity, form a pair of interlocking proofs. His compelling teachings support his claim to be the Messiah, and his role as the Messiah explains the source of his otherwise mysterious teachings. Since Jesus’ ethical teachings about this world are so authoritative, his suggestions about Judgement Day, heaven, and hell may be worthy of more serious consideration. Even after two millennia, has anyone matched or superseded the deposit of philosophical work set forth by Jesus Christ? What is the real probability that Jesus was mistaken about his beliefs? We humans enjoy being at the top of the “species hierarchy,” so we tend to push back against the existence of God at all, because a) now I’m on the “second rung” of the hierarchy (God now being on the top rung), and b) I am disinclined to accept any moral restrictions, for up until now, I have been doing as I please. In dismissing the existence of God, am I really being objective and scientific, or am I actually drawing a subjective picture of the universe as I want it to be? While the “top dog on a rampage” scenario is enticing, it isn’t true. Prisons are full of people who thought, “The world is mine for the taking.” Christianity is actually a more realistic worldview: you follow the rules (of the Bible), you respect others, and in return you partake of the benefits of being a servant of God. If you are considering becoming a Christian, you are acting wisely. Jesus has issued a challenge to everyone. Luke 6:47-48 says, “As for everyone who comes to me and hears my words and puts them into practice, I will show you what they are like. They are like a man building a house, who dug down deep and laid the foundation on rock. When a flood came, the torrent struck that house but could not shake it, because it was well built.”
Now, imagine the Apostle Paul, the author of the Epistle to the Colossians, praying for you as you read this passage aloud.

Colossians 1:9-14 NIV. Since the day we heard about you, we have not stopped praying for you and asking God to fill you with the knowledge of his will through all spiritual wisdom and understanding. And we pray this in order that you may live a life worthy of the Lord, and may please him in every way: bearing fruit in every good work, growing in the knowledge of God, being strengthened with all power according to his glorious might so that you may have great endurance and patience, and joyfully giving thanks to the Father, who has qualified you to share in the inheritance of the saints in the kingdom of light. For he has rescued us from the dominion of darkness and brought us into the kingdom of the Son he loves, in whom we have redemption, the forgiveness of sins.