So hell isn't real?
So there's this popular preacher who says that hell isn't real, that it's a fantasy.
It's no wonder he's popular.
Do you know who wasn't popular?
Jesus and those who were faithful to Him!
Matthew 25:41, 46: "Then he will say to those on his left, 'Depart from me you who are cursed, into the eternal fire prepared for the devil and his angels.' ... Then they will go away to eternal punishment, but the righteous to eternal life."
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 ..."
Matthew 13:49-50: "This is how it will be at the end of the age. The angels will come and separate the wicked from the righteous and throw them into the fiery furnace, where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth."
Jude 7: "In a similar way, Sodom and Gomorrah and the surrounding towns gave themselves up to sexual immorality and perversion. They serve as an example of those who suffer the punishment of eternal fire."
Revelation 20:15: "If anyone's name was not found written in the book of life, he was thrown into the lake of fire."
Revelation 21:8: "But the cowardly, the unbelieving, the vile, the murderers, the sexually immoral, those who practice magic arts, the idolaters and all liars - their place will be in the fiery lake of burning sulfur. This is the second death."
John 3:16-18: "For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life. For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but to save the world through him. 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."
You might not like the idea of hell. You might not want to believe in the idea of hell. But your feelings and opinions will not change the reality of hell!
Denying that there's a hell doesn't make it less real; it just ruins your chance of being saved from it. Because if you don't believe in it, you'll see no reason to seek the Lord and the salvation He offers.
If you don't recognize and admit that you're drowning, you'll never reach for the Life Preserver!
He's trying to rescue us from hell, not threatening to send us there.
It's no wonder he's popular.
Do you know who wasn't popular?
Jesus and those who were faithful to Him!
Because people don't like being told the truth when it infringes on their lifestyle and on the things they want to believe.
The Truth is offensive ... but it's the Truth that saves!
I wonder what Bible that preacher is reading! Because it's not the one I have. Want to know what mine says about hell?
Matthew 25:41, 46: "Then he will say to those on his left, 'Depart from me you who are cursed, into the eternal fire prepared for the devil and his angels.' ... Then they will go away to eternal punishment, but the righteous to eternal life."
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 ..."
Matthew 13:49-50: "This is how it will be at the end of the age. The angels will come and separate the wicked from the righteous and throw them into the fiery furnace, where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth."
Jude 7: "In a similar way, Sodom and Gomorrah and the surrounding towns gave themselves up to sexual immorality and perversion. They serve as an example of those who suffer the punishment of eternal fire."
Revelation 20:15: "If anyone's name was not found written in the book of life, he was thrown into the lake of fire."
Revelation 21:8: "But the cowardly, the unbelieving, the vile, the murderers, the sexually immoral, those who practice magic arts, the idolaters and all liars - their place will be in the fiery lake of burning sulfur. This is the second death."
Romans 6:23: "For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord."
Denying that there's a hell doesn't make it less real; it just ruins your chance of being saved from it. Because if you don't believe in it, you'll see no reason to seek the Lord and the salvation He offers.
If you don't recognize and admit that you're drowning, you'll never reach for the Life Preserver!
The thing is ... God doesn't threaten us with hell, as in "If you're not good, you're gonna go to hell." He warns us of hell, as in "This is where you're headed if you don't accept My help getting off that path. Please, take My hand, the salvation I offer. I don't want you to perish!"
He's trying to rescue us from hell, not threatening to send us there.