Where Is Stephen Hawking Now?

With the death of Stephen Hawking today, I started to think about his eternity. Where did his soul end up? Is he in Heaven or will he spend eternity in Hell? Honestly, at this point, whether he believed in Heaven or Hell or not, he now knows the truth.

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I did not follow many of the teachings of Stephen Hawking, but I have heard that he is a good man. I bet he would have considered himself a good man as well.

I wonder how many of the Ten Commandments he kept. I figure that at some point in his life he lied about something. He probably also stole something at some point, even if it was an idea from someone or something small.

So when he stood before God today as his soul passed into eternity, would God have found him innocent or guilty of keeping the Ten Commandments? We are told in the Bible that only Jesus is without sin.
_{1 Peter 2:22 - He committed no sin, neither was deceit found in his mouth.
Hebrews 4:15 - For we do not have a high priest who is unable to sympathize with our weaknesses, but one who in every respect has been tempted as we are, yet without sin.
2 Corinthians 5:21 - For our sake he made him to be sin who knew no sin, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God.
1 John 3:5 - You know that he appeared to take away sins, and in him there is no sin.}

The rest of us are guilty of breaking God's law and are guilty. So, would Stephen Hawking then be found guilty before God or would he be innocent?
_{Romans 3:23 – for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God.}

What happens in a court when a person is found guilty of a crime? They are then required to pay for their wrongdoing. They must either pay a fine or follow through with the sentence - be that spending time in jail, community service, the death penalty...

Imagine that he is found guilty in court of breaking a major law and has a large fine that he cannot pay. Someone walks in and tells the judge, "Don't charge him! I am here to pay his fine! Here it is! Set him free!" He would forever be grateful to this person.
_{Romans 6:23 – For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.}

That is exactly what Jesus did on the cross for us 2000 years ago. Jesus loved us so much that he paid the penalty for our sins with his death (and resurrection) years ago so that we wouldn't have to! God provided a way out.
_{Romans 5:8 – But God demonstrates His own love toward us, in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us.}

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In order to accept this payment from Jesus for our debt, He asks us to turn away from our sins, trust Him, and follow Him alone. There is nothing you can do to be worthy enough to pay your own fine, Jesus payment for our sins is the only payment accepted.
_{Luke 13:3 I tell you, no! But unless you repent, you too will all perish.
Ephesians 2:8-9, "For by GRACE ye are saved through faith and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God: NOT of works, lest any man should boast."
Acts 4:12, "Neither is there salvation in any other: for there is none other name under heaven given among men, whereby we must be saved."}

Whether he believed in Heaven or Hell before he died, he now knows the truth and he has to live with that forever. Don't let today go by without thinking about your eternity. Would you be guilty of breaking the Ten Commandments? Have you accepted Jesus' payment for the debt you owe?
_{Romans 10:9-10 NKJV – that if you confess with your mouth the Lord Jesus and believe in your heart that God has raised Him from the dead, you will be saved. For with the heart one believes unto righteousness, and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation.
II Corinthians 5:17, "Therefore if any man be in Christ, he is a new creature: old things are passed away; behold, all things are become new."}

You do not know when your time on earth has come to an end, just like Stephen Hawking did not know he was going to die early this morning.