Polar bears are fearsome predators that have been known to stalk human beings. With the average adult male weighing about 1,300 lb. (600 kg, 7½ times the weight of an average man), they are the largest carnivore on earth. With their great size, they need a lot of calories to keep their bodies going, and they may consider human beings as a potential food source. Unlike other bears, they are not omnivorous. They are meat eaters only and human beings fall into that category. If you journey to the cold north regions where polar bears live and come across a polar bear, remember this: Polar bears do not bluff.
With their white fur, they blend perfectly into their ice and snow-filled surroundings. They are highly skilled ambush predators, capable of approaching prey undetected.
Unlike other bears, polar bears may not show any aggressive behaviors before attacking. They may appear emotionless, with a “deadpan” expression on their face before making a swift lunge to overpower their prey. They can move amazingly fast.
Anyone traveling in polar bear habitat should exercise extreme caution and have a plan on how to deal with an attack.
ABSOLUTELY NOT BLUFFING
Polar bears don’t bluff. They need to be taken seriously. You may never be in polar bear country and so have nothing to worry about, but there is One who is very great in every way, whom we will all have to deal with, who is absolutely not bluffing about what will befall men and women if they fail to prepare to meet Him.
This One is God who is supremely good, holy, right and just — and who has also promised to bring every human being into judgment for their sins. “We must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ; that every one may receive the things done in his body, according to that he hath done, whether it be good or bad” (2 Corinthians 5:10).
“Well, what is so dangerous about that?” you might ask. “God is full of kindness and love.” The danger is that we are sinners in the sight of God. Sin is any deed, thought or word performed independent of God’s will. Adultery, fornication, drunkenness, drug abuse, child abuse, theft, murder, taking bribes, lying, pornography and extortion are examples of grave sin. God’s Word states that those who do such things shall not enter the kingdom of God. “Now the works of the flesh are manifest, which are these; adultery, fornication, uncleanness, lasciviousness, idolatry, witchcraft, hatred, variance, emulations, wrath, strife, seditions, heresies, envyings, murders, drunkenness, revellings, and such like: of the which I tell you before, as I have also told you in time past, that they which do such things shall not inherit the kingdom of God” (Galatians 5:19-2119Now the works of the flesh are manifest, which are these; Adultery, fornication, uncleanness, lasciviousness, 20Idolatry, witchcraft, hatred, variance, emulations, wrath, strife, seditions, heresies, 21Envyings, murders, drunkenness, revellings, and such like: of the which I tell you before, as I have also told you in time past, that they which do such things shall not inherit the kingdom of God. (Galatians 5:19‑21)).
The alternative to inheriting the kingdom of God is to be cast out of God’s presence into a place called hell. God can’t have anyone in His presence who is unclean with any sin — no matter how small they may consider it to be.
Just as the joys of heaven will far surpass the joys we feel in this life, so will the miseries of hell far surpass any miseries experienced on earth. There will be terrible pain in hell, and the awful thing about hell is that it will be forever.
Beware! If you want to wander through this life, continuing to live as a stranger to the God who loves you, know this: God is not bluffing. Impenitent sinners will end up spending eternity in the outer darkness of hell, where there is constant weeping, wailing and gnashing of teeth. “Cast ye the unprofitable servant into outer darkness: there shall be weeping and gnashing of teeth” (Matthew 25:3030And cast ye the unprofitable servant into outer darkness: there shall be weeping and gnashing of teeth. (Matthew 25:30)). Hell is not an illusory place invented by some medieval thinker in order to scare superstitious people into behaving. It is a real place to which those who refuse to repent and turn away from their sins are headed.
To make a way so no man or woman has to end up in hell, the Lord Jesus came into the world and gave His life at the cross. “When we were yet without strength, in due time Christ died for the ungodly. For scarcely for a righteous man will one die: yet peradventure for a good man some would even dare to die. But God commendeth His love toward us, in that, while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us” (Romans 5:6-86For when we were yet without strength, in due time Christ died for the ungodly. 7For scarcely for a righteous man will one die: yet peradventure for a good man some would even dare to die. 8But God commendeth his love toward us, in that, while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us. (Romans 5:6‑8)). Through faith in Christ, sinners may be pardoned, cleansed and made fit for heaven.
God is not bluffing about souls ending up lost in hell. Not in the least bit. Oh, be wise and renounce your sins and turn by faith to Him who is mighty to save!
It’s really not complicated to believe in Jesus, as Just Answer “Yes” or “No” makes clear.