Why we are going to talk about Hell?
The reason is: what you believe about eternity determines how you live today!
What you believe about eternity determines how you will live now .
It’s a hard subject to speak about , because you think about relatives , and friends , who could finish up there and even yourself !
Non of us can appreciate the idea of an eternal torment.
Many people say there is no Hell ! Hell is here , on earth !
Many people use it as a swear word (bad word), many people make jokes about Hell ,but Hell is there and Hell it’s real .
Some people say : How can a God of love send anybody to Hell ?
It is not a choice of God ! It is the choice of man who wants to reject God And to live for themselves
Don’t forget that the same God that is love , is Holy , is Just !
It’s impossible for God to be Holy without him being Just !
Where did you get the idea that God was a God of love ? Where ?
I have learned everything about Hell from the same person from whom I learned about the love of God , that was Jesus himself .
In the whole bible the only person who talk about Hell is Jesus !
His warnings about Hell were directed to his own disciples !
Many think that Jesus said that just bad and sinners are going to Hell but it was to his own followers who committed their lives to him that he said:
Matthew 10:28
“Do not be afraid of those who kill the body but cannot kill the soul. Rather, be afraid of the One who can destroy both soul and body in hell.
Most of warnings that Jesus gave, were given to his own disciples, those who were committed to him .
So above all Christian need to be afraid of Hell !
1 Corinthians 9:27 “But I discipline my body and keep it under control, lest after preaching to others I myself should be disqualified.”
Paul said that : having preaching to others he was afraid of been disqualified himself at the end . And I share that fear . I can only talk to others about Hell because I fear going there myself .
Who is going to Hell ?
For many people there is no Hell and if it exist is just for the really really bad and evil people – like murderers , the rapists and terrorist but not me !
God would never do that to me !
But Jesus said something that might imply otherwise!
Matthew 7:13-14 ““Enter through the narrow gate. For wide is the gate and broad is the road that leads to destruction, and many enter through it. But small is the gate and narrow the road that leads to life, and only a few find it.”
In another words there are a lot people in the wrong path.
Small is the gate and narrow is the road that leads to life and only a few find it !
Who is going t Hell ? Those who is not walking in the narrow road.
If you don’t believe in Hell you are gonna live however you want ,
you would justify your sin , you would reject Christ and you would live with no real fear of God
If you don’t believe in Hell you will live ridiculously self-centred and selfish lives and fall in love with this world and
you would not share your faith with many people !
Unfortunately this is many of us live today !
Genesis 18:25 “….the Judge of all the earth will do that which is right “
It’s interesting that this statement comes in the context of the judgment that was coming upon Sodom and Gomorrah !
God is more fair than you or I !
God will do that which is right.
God really doesn’t send anybody to Hell ! We make our choice!
CS Lewis said : There are two kind of people in this world.
Those who bend their knee to a God and say to Him : Your will be done
Or those who refuse to bend their knee to God and God says to them : “Your will be done”
The choice we make for eternity is made by submission of our will to our Heavenly Father .
He will not violate our will .
Even heaven will be hell to the person who doesn’t want to spend eternity with God .
That secret gift of my freedom is given to me by God .
You have to bent your knee and say to Him : Your will be done !
His will is the most beautiful thing you can pursue .
The question is : if God is so good , is loving why does Hell exist ?
1- Hell exist for God to deal righteously with Satan (Devil)
We need to understand that devil is the embodiment of all evil!
Behind every addiction is our spiritual enemy, behind all abuse , every bit of fear , all pain , all shame comes from prince of darkness
The devil is called in scripture: The destroyer, the deceiver , the dragon , the dark angel , your adversary, the tempter , your enemy , the wicked one , the thief , he is the father of lies , he is the prince of darkness , he is the thief that comes to steal your joy , to kill your faith , to destroy your health , to ruin your finances , to destroy your marriage and hurt your children
Hell exists for God to deal righteously with the devil .
Revelation 20:10 “And the devil, who deceived them, was thrown into the lake of burning sulphur, where the beast and the false prophet had been thrown. They will be tormented day and night for ever and ever.”
- Hell exist to God to deal righteously with Satan
- Hell exist for God to deal righteously with unbelievers and people who are following Satan’s advices or living for themselves.
- Hell exist because God is Love , Holy and Just
Do you believe that justice is a good thing ? Yes / No
Why we cry out for justice if justice is not a good thing !
Justice is the firmest pillar of a good government !
Why do we have courts of law ? Why do we have laws ?
Because we want to see justice at the end.
We cry out for justice ? because we believe that it’s a good thing !
When we see something wrong we want justice .
If somebody hurts or kill your children , or your family member , what do you do ?
You will be at door of the Court of Law every day till justice is done .
When something happens , the people on the streets , they are calling for justice ! Someone should pay for that injustice!
But the same people who are defenders of justice on earth , often argue for a God of love , of mercy and grace without any justice !
Justice is a Good Thing ! If it’s not a good thing , evil has conquered!
Hitler killed ten of millions , 6,5 millions of Jew and then he shot himself !
Is that the end ?
Why not live that way for all of us , why don’t I break in and steal , why not start doing wrong things , living then when I get caught I finish it off.
If there is no justice at the end , God is not Just !
2 Thessalonians 1:8-9 “He will punish those who do not know God and do not obey the gospel of our Lord Jesus. They will be punished with everlasting destruction and shut out from the presence of the Lord and from the glory of his might”
If we don’t accept the reality of Hell we will never appreciate the Glory of the Gospel and goodness of Jesus .
Let’s have an idea how is Hell , Jesus is telling a story that gives us some insight to what hell might be like. The story of Lazarus ad the rich man.
Luke 16:23
“In Hades, where he was in torment, he looked up and saw Abraham far away, with Lazarus by his side.”
He was in torment in Hades – Hades is Greek Word equivalent to Sheol in the Old Testament- Hades is not Hell.
Hades is a temporary place after life on earth before the Judgment where people go without Christ.
If you read the scripture (Revelation 20:14) says that Hades is actually thrown into Hell .
Hades is a temporary place for those without Christ (waiting for the Judgment day)
16:23 He was in torment and he looked up and he saw Abraham with Lazarus by his side .
Luke 16:24 “So he called to him, ‘Father Abraham, have pity on me and send Lazarus to dip the tip of his finger in water and cool my tongue, because I am in agony in this fire.’
The rich guy calls out : Father Abraham, have pity on me , send Lazarus to dip the tip of his finger in water to cool my tongue! Why ?
Because I’m in serious pain , I’m I’m agony in this fire !
Last week we saw that: To a true Christian to be absent (away from the body) is to be present with the Lord
For those who are not true Christians to be absent from the body is the begging of suffering
Hell is called in bible , the fiery furnace, is called burning sulphur, it’s a place where there is weeping and gnashing of teeth ,
It’s called outer darkness where there is no light and there is no hope !
(Revelation 14:10-11)
No more joy , no more hope and no more second chance !
Luke 16: 27- 28 ““He answered, ‘Then I beg you, father, send Lazarus to my family, for I have five brothers. Let him warn them, so that they will not also come to this place of torment.’”
The rich man cries out from hades to father Abraham and says : I beg you , I plead with you send Lazarus to my family
Please can you do anything to reach those who are still alive on earth
I love them and I don’t want them to experience what I’m experiencing.
What lessons can we learn ?
- The rich man was fully conscious and aware in Hell.
- He has a memory of what was going on earth , what he did and what he didn’t do on earth.
- He was experiencing very real physical pain
- The rich man’s eternal destiny was defined ! There was nothing he could do to change.
- The rich man knew that his suffering was fair !
- If you notice, he complain about the pain but he never complained about the injustice!
- He said this hurts , this is bad but he didn’t say God this is unfair !
- He accepted the judgment even though it was painful for him
- The rich man begged and pleaded for someone to help his brothers know Jesus ! Please somebody get back to tell them about Jesus , about salvation and forgiveness that is available to them.
Why we are talking about something so difficult, so hard to digest , so painful!?
Because what we believe about eternity impacts how we live today !
Satan has deceived many people , even christians :
- Live whatever you want !
- Justify your sin , reject Christ , live with no fear of God !
- Live for yourself , make money , love this world !
Many Christians are living a ridiculously self centred live. Christians living for comfort , reject sacrifice , avoid persecution, fall in love with this world , never share your faith for those he is going to Hell .
Who are you doing Discipleship ? Who are you preaching or teaching the word of God?
Why Shalom is in Ireland?
We are here to save people , to make disciples !
My brothers Hell is real !
You have just one life and after death you are going to give accounting how you lived.
God is Holy and he is Just , He can not be Holy without been Just!
Because he is Just He must punish wrongdoing
But God is not Just , He is also Love !
Love is not just what he does ! Love is who He is !
The wages of our sin is death , what we deserve
But the gift of God is eternal live in Christ Jesus our Lord
God showed his great love for us by sending Christ to die for is when we were still sinners !
By the blood do Christ he will save us from condemnation!