President Obama,
The men's prayer group at my church has been praying for you and your administration ever since you came into office. I'm writing this letter because I'm concerned about your spiritual well-being, especially since I happened across an old magazine article the other day. In the article, which was in the March/April 2006 issue of the AARP magazine, you commented briefly on your personal faith and religious beliefs. I was troubled to find that although the article labeled you as Christian and spoke about your public commitment to Christ, it also recorded that you don't believe anyone is going to hell and that you're not sure if you are going to heaven.
I would like a little clarification from you on these two points:
Do you really believe that no one is going to hell?
Are you unsure of your eternal destination?
If your answer to these questions is "Yes", then I would have to wonder if you truly are a Christian. Because all the Christians that I've known through the years will tell you that they believe in a literal heaven and hell and that they have an assurance of eternal life in heaven. If you call yourself a Christian, that would seem to say that you accept the Bible as the Word of God and that you believe in and follow the teachings of Christ. All through the gospel accounts of the Bible Jesus teaches on heaven and hell. There's no doubt from Jesus' own words that heaven and hell are both real places. (Mt. 5:22, 13:37-43, 25:41; Mk. 9:43-48; Lk. 12:4-5) There's also no doubt that God loves us and wants us to have eternal life in heaven. (Jn. 3:16; 2 Pt. 3:9) The problem is that God is perfect and holy and we're not. We are separated from Him because of our sins, the wrong things that we have done, and we are on a fast track to hell without some kind of intervention. (Rom. 3:23, 6:23) But God loves each and every one of us, and has made a way for us to be reconciled with Him. (Rom. 5:8, 10:9-10)
The article that I mentioned had the following quote from you highlighted: "I don't presume to know what happens after I die." I guess one reason that I'm writing to you is to let you know, if no one else ever has, that you can know about your eternity. That's not to say that any of us know all that there is to know about what will happen in the afterlife, but I believe that God has taught us about what's important to understand. I, unlike you, don't know a single thing about practicing law or about politics or government, but I do know beyond the shadow of a doubt that I'm going to spend eternity in heaven with my Lord. And you can know that too! We all can. God has given us His inspired Word, the Bible, so that we can know that we have eternal life. (1 Jn. 5:12-13) But it's not simply about knowing facts and scriptures. It's not about joining a church or being baptized. It's not about going to Sunday School, confessing to your priest or reaching a higher state through some meditation. It's not even about making a public commitment to Christ--It's about having a personal relationship with Him. Do you know Jesus as your personal Lord? Have you allowed Him to occupy the throne of your heart? He alone is the Way, the Truth and the Life, and no one will come to God except through Him. (Jn. 14:6) I hope that you do know Christ personally or that you soon will for your soul's sake.
I have enclosed a little booklet entitled "Eternal Life", which I hope will clarify how you can know that you will live for eternity in heaven. I hope to meet you there some day!
Sincerely,
Joey Culpepper