Intro: There are some who believe a preacher should not preach on hell. But as long as it is in the Bible it must be preached. In fact, Jesus preached more about hell than anyone. He preached about hell because he came to seek and to save the lost. He gave his life for us so we could escape hell if we truly trust Him as Lord and Saviour.
The reason people don’t want to hear about hell is because it makes them think of death. We don’t like to think of cancer, AIDS and other deadly diseases, but they are real! We don’t like to think of death but it will surely happen! Jesus provided a way so we can live with Him in eternity after this life. Unfortunately, there will be eight kinds of people in the Philippines who will ignore and reject the way Jesus has provided. Let’s take a close look at these eight people.
#1: THE FEARFUL (Prov. 29:25). The fearful is first in the list. Who are the fearful? The fearful are those who care more about what man thinks of them than what God thinks and knows about them. They lack courage to stand for Jesus in the public. They are fearful that man may call them names. But listen, Jesus suffered all the name calling for you and me and never had a second thought!!
#2: THE UNBELIEVING (John 3:18, 36). These are those who laugh at the things of God. They don’t believe the Bible and make fun about heaven, hell and judgment; they never care about the precious blood of Jesus and Calvary’s cross. The Bible says the unbelieving will be in hell forever. Now I’m not only talking about atheists who openly don’t believe the Bible but also anyone who has never committed his life and soul to Jesus. You may believe the Bible in your mind, die later on, and still go to hell because you haven’t fully trusted Jesus in your heart. Unbelievers don’t know what it is to be saved & born-again. If that is you, then you are classified in the unbelieving class.
#3: THE ABOMINABLE (Col. 3:5). This group refers to one of the worst sinners before God and man. These are they who are given to the addiction of abominable sins particularly the sins of sexual perversion or lewdness. These people habitually and openly use and abuse their bodies in an unnatural way that God hates! These are they who like animals live only for the lust of the flesh and their own fleshly passions as were those from Sodom and Gomorrah (Jude 7). Examples of such perverts are – the homosexual, the lesbian, the playboy, the playgirl, the fornicator, the pedophile, the maniac, and the pornographer. That doesn’t mean these people cannot be saved, because they can if they would only repent and trust Jesus. If they do not, then the only thing that keeps them from hell is time!
#4: THE MURDERERS (I John 3:15). You may say that this group does not include you since you have never killed anyone, right? But listen, the Lord says something about murder that may surprise you. He said if you hate a man in your heart, then you have committed murder in your heart. The Lord was talking about inward murder, that is, hating someone enough that you would like to see them dead. Jesus will give you victory over that if you receive him in your heart. He can take away hate and change it with a spirit of love.
#5: THE WHOREMONGERS (Heb. 13:4). These are unfaithful to their marriage vows and spouses. The Bible speaks of them as adulterers and adulteresses. But the Bible even takes a step further for it teaches that if a man or woman looks upon another with lust in their heart, then inwardly he or she has already committed adultery with that person in their heart (Matt. 5:28). You see, the Bible also places emphasis on the inward man. You say, who hasn’t done that? None! That is the reason we need Jesus because He can cleanse and forgive us all these sins when we ask Him to be our Lord & Saviour.
#6: THE SORCERERS (Deut. 18:10-12). Sorcery=Pharmakeia. The sorcerers are those who are involved in devil worship by way of spiritism, occult, witchcraft, astrology, fortune telling, the New Age movement, DRUGS. They are followers of the devil. The word of God says all sorcerers shall have their part in the lake that burns with fire and brimstone. The devil’s place is in the Lake of Fire and sorcerers will follow the devil in the same place where there will only be fire, smoke, torment, pain, worms, and darkness for ever (Matt. 25:41)!
#7: THE IDOLATERS (I Cor. 10:7). Idolaters bow down and serve false gods. They love the things of the world more than the things of God. They are interested only in themselves. Next to SELF the greatest idol is MONEY which is the root of all evil. You can make an idol out of anything. An idol is anything that keeps you from Jesus and what He wants you to do (I John 5:21 cf. I Thess. 1:9).
#8: THE LIARS (I John 4:20). These are people who profess to be believers and know God. They dress, talk, act and look like a Christian. But the truth is, they have never been saved and born-again. They not only deceive others, but worse themselves as well.
Conclusion: Friend, I’m almost 100% sure none of us would like to be companions to these eight kinds of wicked people identified in God’s word. If you die unrepentant and have not personally known Jesus as Lord & Saviour, they will be your companions in hell forever! But all is not lost. You can still repent of your sins and trust Jesus as your Lord and Saviour today.....Are you prepared to meet God soon?
