The Death of Stephen Hawking--Was it too late for God's Grace?

Physicist Dr. Stephen Hawking

Yesterday, one of the greatest minds in science passed away. This man wasn’t supposed to live beyond the age of 24, due to having Lou Gehrig’s disease. However, he was given 55 years more to ponder the greatest question “Where did the universe come from?” Hawking would answer that as this “Spontaneous creation is the reason there is something rather than nothing, why the universe exists, why we exist,” he wrote in The Grand Design. “It is not necessary to invoke God to light the blue touch paper and set the universe going. God is the name people give to the reason we are here,” he said. “But I think that reason is the laws of physics rather than someone with whom one can have a personal relationship. An impersonal God. Before we understand science, it is natural to believe that God created the universe. But now science offers a more convincing explanation,” he said. “What I meant by ‘we would know the mind of God’ is, we would know everything that God would know, if there were a God, which there isn’t. I’m an atheist.”

Yesterday when I heard this great scientist died, I immediately thought “Well, Mr. Hawking, how did you enjoy that meeting with your creator that you vehemently denied while He was giving an amazing amount of time to turn to Him?” Ironically, Mr. Hawking’s first wife, Jane Hawking is a devout Christian and took care of him throughout their marriage.

Yet when I returned home tonight, I saw a post by Franklin Graham that presumed to judge that Professor Hawking went straight to Hell. Immediately I remembered that I had made that same presumption based on my understanding that Hawking was an atheist. So tonight, I got to thinking about what if Professor Hawking in his last breath sought out God? So I sat down at my computer to contemplate this more and found a video of Professor Hawking and while he does state that the modern thought of the afterlife is for those who are scared of the dark, he also states “We can’t prove there was not a creator.” When I read this, I heard the word “Sufficient.” 2 Corinthians 12:9 states “But he said to me, “My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.” Therefore I will boast all the more gladly of my weaknesses, so that the power of Christ may rest upon me.”

My next question was “So Rev. Graham, what will you do when you get to heaven and Professor Hawking is there? What will you think? What will your words be then? What will do you if Judas Iscariot walks up? How will you react? What will your words be then? What of that person you dislike with a passion? What then?” God’s grace is sufficient! It’s BIG and it can reach us at the exact moment of our last breath if we grasp on to it!

No matter where you are in life, maybe you don’t feel like you are good enough for God’s grace, well, you’re not. I am not going to tell you, you are worthy, you’re not. Neither was I, nor anyone else for that matter. EVEN Franklin Graham isn’t worthy of God’s love! But God loves us so much that He sent His Son Jesus to suffer death, to pay a debt that we could NEVER pay that we might live. Now maybe you want to know more about salvation and why you need to be saved; keep reading, I will tell you.

How can I be saved? Why do I need to be saved?
We are all infected with sin (Romans 3:23). We are born with sin (Psalm 51:5), and we all personally choose to sin (Ecclesiastes 7:20; 1 John 1:8). Sin is what makes us unsaved. Sin is what separates us from God. Sin is what has us on the path to eternal destruction.

How can I be saved? Saved from what?
Because of our sin, we all deserve death (Romans 6:23). While the physical consequence of sin is physical death, that is not the only kind of death that results from sin. All sin is ultimately committed against an eternal and infinite God (Psalm 51:4). Because of that, the just penalty for our sin is also eternal and infinite. What we need to be saved from is eternal destruction (Matthew 25:46; Revelation 20:15).

How can I be saved? How did God provide salvation?
Because the just penalty for sin is infinite and eternal, only God could pay the penalty, because only He is infinite and eternal. But God, in His divine nature, could not die. So God became a human being in the person of Jesus Christ. God took on human flesh, lived among us, and taught us. When the people rejected Him and His message, and sought to kill Him, He willingly sacrificed Himself for us, allowing Himself to be crucified (John 10:15). Because Jesus Christ was human, He could die; and because Jesus Christ was God, His death had an eternal and infinite value. Jesus’ death on the cross was the perfect and complete payment for our sin (1 John 2:2). He took the consequences we deserved. Jesus’ resurrection from the dead demonstrated that His death was indeed the perfectly sufficient sacrifice for sin.

How can I be saved? What do I need to do?
“Believe in the Lord Jesus, and you will be saved” (Acts 16:31). God has already done all of the work. All you must do is receive, in faith, the salvation God offers (Ephesians 2:8-9). Fully trust in Jesus alone as the payment for your sins. Believe in Him, and you will not perish (John 3:16). God is offering you salvation as a gift. All you have to do is accept it. Jesus is the way of salvation (John 14:6).

After you read this, if you want to know more about salvation or about finding a Bible believing church or maybe you’ve decided to accept Jesus as your savior and you just want someone to know, you can use the “Contact me” form and I will be more than happy to answer your questions. If you want someone to pray for you, use the same form, I will pray. If you want to send me a private message, again, use the “Contact me” form—make sure you add an email address in the form so that I can write you back personally. You can also contact me at thewitnessservant@gmail.com. I’d love to hear from you!