I Don't Believe In Hell

Illustration: “I don’t believe in Hell.”

The fact that a lot of people have a tough time believing in a literal Hell was brought home to me in a very meaningful way.

When I pastored in Chino, CA we lived in a parsonage right next to the Church. I soon noticed that a certain man was walking up and down our street almost every morning. So one day I waited out there to see if I couldn’t catch him and get to know him. Sure enough, when I greeted him with a good morning, he stopped to chat. He told me his name was Ulysses. He told me the reason he was walking so briskly every morning was because a relative was getting married soon and he needed to lose some weight so he could fit back into his old tuxedo for the wedding.

The following week we were having a garage sale on our driveway. He came walking by and stopped to look at our stuff. We started to talk and had a really good discussion. Somehow the subject of hell came up and he said: “I don’t believe in Hell. A good God would never make a place like that.”

So I asked him: “Do you believe in Jesus?

He said “Yes.”

I asked: “Do you believe Jesus was good?”

He replied: “Yes of course!”

I asked: “Do you believe Jesus would ever tell a lie?

He said “No, I don’t believe Jesus would ever lie.”

I then said: “Well you know Jesus spoke more about Hell than anyone else in the Bible. And He didn’t do that because He enjoyed talking about it but because He didn’t want anyone to go there. Jesus taught about hell because He knew it was real and He really cared about people’s eternal destiny.”

Then he said: “I didn’t realize that.”

We talked a little more and he headed back home which it turns out was the corner house just down the street from our house.

Well, the very next week I heard some sirens and went out to see what was going on. I saw the Ambulance pull up to Ulysses’ house and stop. I watched as he was rolled out the front door on the gurney and put in the ambulance and taken to the Hospital.

I waited a few hours and then went to the Hospital to see if I could visit Him. They gave me his room number and I went to see him. As soon as I entered the room, Ulysses said thank you for coming to see me. Then he said: “Ray, do you remember we were talking about hell last week. Well I almost died. I was facing death and I didn’t know where I was going. And that was a very scary thing.”

Ulysses and his wife were both of a Catholic background and didn’t really understand the difference between Salvation by the grace of God through faith in Christ alone and trying to earn your salvation by your own good works. I was able to explain God’s plan of salvation and both of them prayed a prayer of repentance and accepted Jesus Christ as their Savior and LORD. They both started faithfully coming to church and Ulysses became one of the most fervent members in our church and a good personal friend.

I will never forget the Sunday I announced that I would be leaving to go pastor another Church. Both Ulysses and his wife came up to me with tears in their eyes and she said: “Thank you for introducing us to the LORD Jesus.”

God still uses the reality of Hell to bring people to salvation in our Savior and LORD Jesus Christ! In fact if we would be more faithful in “declaring all the counsel of God” we would undoubtedly see more people trust in Christ sooner (Acts 20:20-21, 27, 31 with Acts 24:25; 10:42; 17:30-31; Rom. 2:16; 2 Tim. 4:1-2). Hell is included in the “all things” that Jesus taught us and commanded us to teach to “all nations” (Matt. 28:20). You will find that most people already know about Hell; they just don’t know the truth about it. And most people just don’t believe they are in any immediate danger of going there. Part of our Great Commission is to make the truth of “eternal judgment” well known (Heb. 6:2).