Gospel

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Is it just me, or is there a concerted effort in our churches to neglect Hell? I cannot remember the last time I heard a sermon on the subject. I hear sermons on how to get wealthy. I hear them on how to stay healthy. I even hear them on how God will not move in our lives unless we give to this ministry or that ministry. But I cannot recall very many, if any, messages on Hell. Therefore, I ask this question, "When did it become fashionable to silence Hell?"

The Word says, "And of some have compassion, making a difference: And others save with fear, pulling them out of the fire; hating even the garment spotted by the flesh" (Jude 1:22-23 KJV).

Some people you can love into the kingdom, others need a little fear put into them. Thus, this message is not only for those who know they are worldly, but for those who do not. Some theologians estimate that less than ten percent of those attending church have salvation. This is a frightening number. It is time to wake a complacent, politically correct world from their slumber. It is time we get offensive with our message again and speak about Hell.

My Letter to the Lost and Dying World:

To the Believer:

One of the greatest articles on Hell ever written is "Sinners in the Hands of an Angry God," by Jonathan Edwards. In it Edwards writes, "There is no want of power in God to cast wicked men into Hell at any moment. Men's hands cannot be strong when God rises up. The strongest have no power to resist him, nor can any deliver out his hands."

I have seen funerals, where people stand around remembering the deceased. They talk about how the deceased is in Heaven, looking down on them and smiling. While these are comforting words, I am not sure the deceased can look down and see us from Heaven. The Bible does not address this issue. However, I am certain, if Jesus was not Lord of the deceased's life, he or she will not be in Heaven, but Hell.

I know, in this politically correct world, this is not something people like to hear, but it is true. I have relatives who have died without Christ. I know the heartache of knowing where they are now. No matter how kind they were on earth, they missed Heaven. For no one can enter Heaven without Christ.

I say this, because we need to get serious about Heaven and Hell. Unfortunately, these modern times demand that we treat all religions with the same respect; meaning we are to believe that all people, no matter their religion, will go to Heaven. Their path may be different, but all paths lead to God. This politically correct thinking makes it difficult to speak about Hell. Many believe their religion, spirituality or their goodness will get them to Heaven. Others believe there is no God and therefore there is no Hell. While others deceive themselves, thinking Hell is some mythological place religion created to scare people into Heaven. Thus, whether they believe there is a Hell or they do not believe it exists, no one believes they are going there.

Hell exists. It is not a figment of our imagination. No matter how we try to silence it from the pulpit, it is a real place, where real people go to spend eternity.

To the Unbeliever:

God is a Holy and just God. He cannot break His rules. You are dreaming if you believe you can encourage the Lord Jesus to give you a pass or overlook your sins so you might avoid Hell. Unlike you, He cannot break His Holy laws by overlooking the just punishment sin deserves.

Oh, I know how easy it is to neglect Christ. You have laughed at Him and ridiculed those who have shared the Gospel with you. You have called them stupid, weak, mind-numbed robots, and right-wingers; people without an original thought in their minds. While you, on the other hand rely on your so-called intelligence to get you through each day. Unfortunately, you do not realize that your intelligence pales against God's intelligence. His Word tells us that foolish is the intelligence of this world, compared with the knowledge and the wisdom that God gives us through His Word and the power of the Holy Spirit.

Maybe you are the kind that believes God loves everyone. You tell everyone that you cannot serve a God that sends people to Hell. You could not attend a church that speaks about the wrath of God and the destruction of those without Christ. To you, this makes God a murderer, rather than the righteous judge that He is.

In your mind, God should be tolerant of your sins. After all, it is only human to do those evil things that you do. Since you see no need to change, you see God as someone who changes to accommodate your sinful lifestyle. Thus, God is someone you feel you can mold or make into your own image and likeness.

You do not realize how dangerous this thinking is. In your state of being, you will not experience God's love—only His wrath. God will not tolerate your sins, nor will you experience any mercy from Him after you leave this earth. The Word says, "Whoever believes in him is not condemned, but whoever does not believe stands condemned already because he has not believed in the name of God's one and only Son" (John 3:17-18 NIV).

You, who refuse Christ, are like a condemned prisoner awaiting your time to die. Unlike prisoners condemned to die for their crimes, who still have hope in the system, you have no hope without Christ. When you die and stand before Christ's judgment seat, there will be no mercy from the bench, no slick attorney to plead your case and no last minute pardon. No, you will have none of these working on your behalf. For you gave these up when you refused God's Son as your Savior. Believing in Christ, would have prevented you from ever having to stand before the Great White Throne judgment seat (Rev. 20:11). His death would have given you a pardon. His resurrection would have given you life. As your Savior, He would have pleaded your case, before God. And He was prepared to give you an abundance of mercy and grace to carry you through this life, into the next. Yes, you could have had it all with Christ. But you refused Him and therefore, you face an eternal judgment without mercy, counsel and grace.

Your pride would not let you have anything to do with Jesus. You told others you could not wait to stand before the judgment seat to tell Him how you feel about Him. You want Jesus to know, that He is not your God and never will be. As if this will send Him, scurrying off like some whipped dog.

You have it all wrong my friend. God does not need you. He gave you life. He gave you this earth to live on. He made everything so you might enjoy the beauty of His creation. He did not make this world for the ungodly. He made it for those who love Him and serve Him. Unfortunately, sin crept in and this earth now houses the godly and the ungodly. However, do not take comfort in this. For one day, like the reaper, He will separate the wheat, those that are His from the tares or the worldly. Jonathan Edwards writes the lost will be like chaff. In other words, they will not stand before Him in their pride. Every knee, including yours, will bow before Him. Every tongue, including yours, will confess to God (Rom. 14:11). You will see Him as the King He is. However, it will be too late for you. He will not be your King, but judge.

Hell is the only place sin can remain eternally. Sin stokes the fires of Hell. Your sins, my friend, will bring condemnation on you and eventually send you to a place greater than Hell. A place so enormous, that it swallows up death and Hell. The Bible calls this place the Lake of Fire. It is in outer darkness. Here there will be no joy, no hope and no love. Instead, there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth. All who refuse Christ, along with fallen angels and Satan himself, will remain there for all eternity (Rev. 20:10-15).

Can you imagine a life without hope? That is what you will have. You will have nothing to live for, yet, you will not die. You will remain trapped in this fiery place forever. No doubt, you will want to die. No doubt, you will have time to mull over in your mind those times you laughed at the well-meaning saints who wanted only to see you saved from everlasting destruction. No doubt, you will try to cry out, but you will not be able to scream. Your throat, too parched from Hell's flames will torment you and eventually make it impossible for your parched throat to utter any words. You will long for one drop of water to quench your thirst, but no water exists in Hell (Luke 16:24). And as you watch the millenniums pass you by, your existence will not stop, nor will your circumstances change. For this is your destiny for all eternity.

Do not believe you can escape your final destination. There will be no place for you to go. You will find no shade tree to find relief from the heat, no laughter to soothe your soul and no friends or family to talk to and love on. No, there will only be heat, blackness, and the screams that cry out in your mind as you continue to spew your hatred toward a loving, just God; a God that sent His only begotten Son to die for you, so you could avoid Hell.

Then there are the worms that never burn or die. No one told you about those worms. In and out of your body, they crawl. Through your nose, your eyes, your ears, they slide, causing you great pain and fear. Like you, Hell's fires will not destroy them. They will torture you forever (Mark 9:43-49).

Yes, Hell, rather than earth, is the place for the wicked. Hell is where evil stays for eternity. In Hell, there is no grace, no mercy, no joy, no peace, no beauty, no love, no righteousness, no Holy Spirit, no God, no Jesus, and no hope.

In Hell, there are no appointments to keep, no hugs from your grandchildren, no glorious reuniting of families, as there will be in Heaven. There are no deals to make, no jobs to go to, no golf game to play and no music to hear. Hell is the perfect place for a godless people.

Though most churches remain silent on Hell, Hell's fires, stoked by the sins of this world, are ever increasing (Is. 5:14). You will not know the time or day of your death, but that day comes. So take no comfort in our silence. Death and Hades will overtake you when you least expect it. Once you die, you will not have a second chance to repent (Heb. 9:17). Your soul will have no peace after death. There will be no reincarnation or purgatory awaiting you so you might have a second chance. For these were only figments of wicked imaginations.

Truth is, if it were not for Christ, you would already be dead. But God desires that no one perish (2 Pet. 3:9). So God's mercy holds back your judgment a little longer. But do not take solace in this. Do not believe God accepts your sin, because He does not destroy you immediately. What He wants is to save you from His wrath. Come to Him while you still have time. Jonathan Edwards writes, "the sentence of the law of God, that eternal and immutable rule of righteousness that God has fixed between him and mankind, is gone out against them, and stands against them; so that they are bound over already to Hell. All of wicked men's pains and contrivance which they use to escape Hell, while they continue to reject Christ, and so remain wicked men, do not secure them from Hell one moment."

Please let me make this clear. You do not receive Christ to avoid Hell and then live like the devil. No, you receive Him, because you want to make Him Lord and Savior of your life (Rom. 10:9-10). When you do this, God will forgive you of all your sins, past, present and future. Christ's death paid the price for your sins, so you do not have to pay for them eternally. His life gives you hope for a better life when you leave this earth. All you have to do to receive these is ask Him to come into your life, before it is too late. Ask Him to be your Lord and Savior. Let Him know that, in your heart, you believe He died and rose again and now sits at the right hand of the Father, ever interceding for you. Repent of your sins, before it is too late. The reaper is at the door. The flames of Hell lap at the floor joints of your home. No fire insurance will keep you safe from these flames. Only, a risen Savior will do. Call on Him now, before it is too late. For as Edwards writes, "Your wickedness makes you as it were heavy as lead, and to tend downwards with great weight and pressure towards Hell.; and if God should let you go, you would immediately sink and swiftly descend and plunge into the bottomless gulf, and your healthy constitution, and your own care and prudence, and best contrivance, all your righteousness, would have no more influence to uphold you and keep you out of Hell, than a spider's web would have to stop a falling rock."

Warning to the Church:

While I believe in sharing God's love and showing mercy, time is short. Jesus is coming and billions are lost. It may be time we tell people the truth and put some fear of God in their hearts. It is time to lift the silence and declare to the world what awaits them on the other side. It will not be God's love—but His wrath and a judgment that will sentence all, who refuse His Son, to everlasting damnation. Tough words, for a politically correct world that wants to silence the roaring flames of Hell.

Copyright 2005. You may download a booklet you may print and distribute called "Silencing Hell Won't Make it Go Away." Go to godfirerevival.org and click on "Download Silencing Hell." Let us work together to remind people that Hell exists. It is real.

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