Due to the large amount of sermons and topics that appear on this site I feel it is necessary to post this disclaimer on all sermons posted. my sermon ideas and illustrations are often taken from many sources including those at Sermoncentral.com, there could be instances where other minister’s wording is used, or wording similar. I am not trying to steal anything from anyone else, just trying to help others proclaim the gospel. my sermons are not copyrighted and may be used or preached freely. May God richly bless you as you read these words. It is my sincere desire that all who read them may be enriched. All scriptures quoted in these sermons are copied and quoted from the Authorized King James Version of the Holy Bible.
Sermon: THE REALITY OF HELL
one man had these words written on his tombstone. It said, “Consider, young man, as you walk by, as you are now, so once was I. As I am now, you soon shall be, so prepare, young man to follow me.” That sounded pretty profound, but someone took a knife and scratched a response on the tombstone that read, “To follow you is not my intent; until I know which way you went!”
The bible teaches us that this life is not all that there is.
After death there exists two eternal realities.
All of us will spend eternity in one of two places.
turn with me to
Luke 16:19-28
19 There was a certain rich man, which was clothed in purple and fine linen, and fared sumptuously every day:20 And there was a certain beggar named Lazarus, which was laid at his gate, full of sores,21 And desiring to be fed with the crumbs which fell from the rich man’s table: moreover the dogs came and licked his sores.22 And it came to pass, that the beggar died, and was carried by the angels into Abraham’s bosom: the rich man also died, and was buried;23 And in hell he lift up his eyes, being in torments, and seeth Abraham afar off, and Lazarus in his bosom.24 And he cried and said, Father Abraham, have mercy on me, and send Lazarus, that he may dip the tip of his finger in water, and cool my tongue; for I am tormented in this flame.25 But Abraham said, Son, remember that thou in thy lifetime receivedst thy good things, and likewise Lazarus evil things: but now he is comforted, and thou art tormented.26 And beside all this, between us and you there is a great gulf fixed: so that they which would pass from hence to you cannot; neither can they pass to us, that would comefrom thence.27 Then he said, I pray thee therefore, father, that thou wouldest send him to my father’s house:28 For I have five brethren; that he may testify unto them, lest they also come into this place of torment.
The Bible tells us that everything we see around us is temporary.
It is what we don’t see that is ultimately going to last.
All of us were made to last forever.
Now it's true that One of these days your heart is going to stop beating and that’s going to be the end of your body
but it’s certainly not going to be the end of you. This life we live is the warm up act, the preschool, the first lap around the racetrack, the first page of a book that goes on forever
Today I want us to look at one of the reality's of eternity.
Today we’re going to look at the reality of hell.
The first reality of hell is
1. It is REAL
C. S. Lewis was told about a gravestone inscription that read; “Here lies an atheist – all dressed up and nowhere to go.” Lewis quietly replied, “I bet he wishes that were so.”
In a national poll conducted several years ago by USA Today - 67% of American adults said they believe in a hell. Less than 25% believed that they would go there and 25% believe their friends will be there. Many Christians reject the idea of hell. They do not understand why a loving God would send people to such a horrible place.
now days the teaching of universalism is everywhere
Universalism is the teaching that everybody goes to heaven.
In the book Love Wins: Heaven, Hell, and the Fate of Every Person Who Ever Lived, pastor and author Rob Bell said that everyone goes to heaven.
In the movie Hereafter, the afterlife is portrayed as being a wonderful place where everyone goes after death to be surrounded by friends and family.
people just don't want to believe in the torments and tortures of a place as terrible as hell but believe it or not it is still real
The story is told of an army chaplain who reported to a new duty station. Upon arrival some of the men came to see him and asked him this question; Do you believe in a literal hell? He replied that he did not. The men asked him to resign and he asked them why. Their response to him was; ‘ If there is no Hell then we don’t need you and if there is a Hell we don’t want you to lead us astray.”
Well the fact of the matter is that The Bible teaches that hell is a very real place.
The concept of hell was not invented by the church as a way of scaring people to believe what they believe It is an actual place.
In this passage Jesus gives us a very clear picture of what it is really like.
Of how bad it really is
Heaven and hell are very real.
But you do not have to go to hell
heaven can be ours
John 14:2-4 Jesus said
In my Father’s house are many mansions: if it were not so, I would have told you. I go to prepare a place for you.3And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again, and receive you unto myself; that where I am, there ye may be also. 4 And whither I go ye know, and the way ye know.
You know the way
I've preached it time and time again from this very pulpit
Jesus is the way
Since creation God has been preparing heaven for us because this is not your permanent resting spot.
This is not your permanent abode.
I am grateful that we don’t live forever on this planet because nothing works on this planet.
No relationship is perfect,
no job is perfect,
no physical body works perfectly.
Everything’s broken on the planet because of sin.
God has prepared a better place for us – a perfect place.
Both heaven and hell are prepared places.
Matt 25:32
32 And before him shall be gathered all nations: and he shall separate them one from another, as a shepherd divideth his sheep from the goats:33 And he shall set the sheep on his right hand, but the goats on the left.34 Then shall the King say unto them on his right hand, Come, ye blessed of my Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world:
Then down to verse 41
41 Then shall he say also unto them on the left hand, Depart from me, ye cursed, into everlasting fire, prepared for the devil and his angels:
How sad and scary it would be to hear those words from Jesus
Like heaven, hell is a real place.
Satan rebelled against God.
Hell was prepared for those who, like the devil, choose to run from God.
Many people today reject the idea of Hell because they do not understand why a loving God would send people to such a terrible place.
They see hell as a place of punishment which it is but it is also a place of choice.
God gave man a choice; to be with Him or apart from Him.
Since God is everywhere He created one place in creation where He is not present.
To run from God is to run to the only place in creation where God is not present which is Hell.
Hell exists because of God’s love.
That may sound like a paradox but it is the truth.
God in His love for us did not want us to simply love him because we had to.
Love is always a choice.
He did not want us to be robots – simple objects of love without option.
God could have forced us to love Him but He did not.
He gave us the choice.
Free will is God’s greatest gift to mankind and also our worse curse.
To be created in the image of God is to have the ability to choose our eternal destiny.
Why is there so much suffering in the world?
Why does God allow evil to flourish?
The answer ultimately is love.
Free will means the ability to choose God but it also means the ability to choose evil. Ultimately we know that the injustices of life will be dealt with.
Suffering and pain will end and justice will be done.
In eternity all wrong will be made right
The question is what side will you be on
2. The second reality of hell is It is BAD
That is really an understatement
In order to understand hell you have to understand what the word hell means.
The word hell occurs 23 times in the New Testament.
One of the Hebrew words used to describe hell is used 12 times in the New Testament is the word GEHENAH which comes from the words GEHEE (valley) and is HINNOM (sorrow).
The Valley of Hinnom was a garbage dump south of Jerusalem where garbage and dead animals were taken to be burned.
The smell of burning decay and death must have been terrible.
It was the worst possible place a Jew could have imagined
from that word and what all the bible says we can see several aspects of what hell is like:
Hell will be
a. A place of PHYSICAL suffering
This passage says that in hell the rich man was in Much TORMENT.
The word torment scares me because it means more than just intense physical pain – it means ongoing pain.
Pain and suffering without end
Have you ever really hurt yourself so that you were in intense pain?
When I had my kidney stones that was the worse pain I think I ever had.
And that does not compare with the torment of hell
They was able to give me a shot for the pain which made it a little more bearable but in hell there will be no relief
Think about someone with a chronic injury.
Like a person with a back injury and is in constant pain
they cannot find a comfortable position standing or laying down.
Then think about living with that for a LONG time.
What I trying to say is that I think the pain of hell is not just going to be the fire.
The torment will not just be a matter of intensity but a matter of duration.
The rich man was longing for a momentary rest from the pain but did not receive any.
Hell will be
b. A place of RELATIONAL suffering
Hell is a place of complete darkness and lonliness.
In this story the rich man was still able to see out of hell but Revelations tells us that someday hell itself is going to be thrown into the lake of fire.
The doors of hell will be closed forever.
People who think hell is going to be some great big party with all their evil friends don't get the point.
I’ll take heaven for the climate and hell for the society -- Mark Twain
How sad that people just don't understand
In a speech to the National Press Club, Ted Turner said, “Heaven is going to be a mighty slender place. And most of the people I know in life aren’t going to be there. There are a few notable exceptions and I’ll miss them.(Laughter) Remember, heaven is going to be perfect. And I don’t really want to be there...Those of us that go to hell, which will be most of us in this room; most journalists are certainly going there. [Laughter] But, when we get to hell we’ll have a chance to make things better because hell is supposed to be a mess. And heaven is perfect. Who wants to go to a place that’s perfect? Boring. Boring.” [Laughter]
People treat hell like it's a joke
They won't be laughing in hell
Hell is not a party.
You will not just be sitting around with friends and family telling jokes and doing whatever you want
Picture yourself in complete darkness
Total Nothingness.
Think about what that would be like for an hour.
Then a day.
Then a month.
How about forever.
It sends chills down my back just thinking about it.
C. S. Lewis said Hell is nothing but yourself for all eternity
Hell will be
c. A place of EMOTIONAL suffering
Matt 13:49-50
49 So shall it be at the end of the world: the angels shall come forth, and sever the wicked from among the just,50 And shall cast them into the furnace of fire: there shall be wailing and gnashing of teeth.
Several times when Jesus talked about hell He said it was a place where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.
These are signs of emotional suffering --
Hell is a place of eternal sadness.
Life is tough enough by itself, and sometimes people wish they could erase their memories like they erase a video tape. That’s why so many people commit suicide: they want to erase the memories.
But, there is no Alzheimer’s in hell.
Everyone will have a crystal-clear memory.
Hell will be a place of eternal remembrance and regret.
Have you ever bought something on a whim and later regretted it?
It’s called “buyer’s remorse.”
Fortunately, you can take a lot of things back for a refund or an exchange.
In hell there will be something called “invitation remorse.”
It won’t be over something you did,
but it will be remorse over something you didn’t do: accept Jesus.
If you are here today without Jesus and you die in your sins, you will recall these exact words I’m speaking right now.
You will remember having the opportunity to respond but that you rejected that offer. The sad reality is that you will regret that decision forever.
On this earth you always have a chance to make up for things.
In hell there will be an eternal gnashing of teeth --
disappointment with a decision you've made.
You will not be able to blame anybody but yourself.
Nothing but eternal regret.
Hell will be
d. A place of SPIRITUAL suffering
2 Thess 1:9
9 Who shall be punished with everlasting destruction from the presence of the Lord, and from the glory of his power;
On this earth, as good or bad as it might be, we have evil people and good people.
The Bible says God still sends the sun to shine on the evil and the good.
We all benefit from the goodness of good.
We still live in His creation although it's not perfect.
We still benefit from His compassion and patience.
In hell, there will be none of that.
No compassion,
no creativity,
no patience.
It's a place where we are separated from God forever.
I have heard a lot of people say when they are going through a very difficult time that they are going through “hell” but it is not true.
Our lowest days on earth will seem like a vacation compared to hell.
It has been said that the pain of hell is not so much caused by the presence of evil as it is from the absence of good.
Darkness is not dark because of the presence of darkness but because of the absence of light.
Hell will be
3. ETERNAL
Some Christians react against the ideas that hell is eternal.
There is a belief that says people who are sent to hell eventually cease to exist after a certain period.
Catholics believe in Purgatory, a place between earth and hell.
This is not in the Bible.
The word is not even there.
It’s not something that Jesus or God taught.
It was something that was created eight hundred years ago in the middle ages.
In fact many Catholics don’t even believe it any more.
In fact Pope John Paul II even stated in a very public way that purgatory was not a real place.
Matt 25:46
46And these shall go away into everlasting punishment: but the righteous into life eternal
Those are the only 2 options.
Maybe some other time when I’ve been preaching you’ve used it for a good naptime. This would not be a good week to take a nap because your eternal destiny depends on this one
I want everybody to be absolutely certain when we finish here today that when you go out you know without a shadow of a doubt you’re going to heaven.
So I want you to listen as if your life depends on it to this last great truth about hell
Hell
4. is AVOIDABLE
Deut 30:15 &19
15 See, I have set before thee this day life and good, and death and evil;
19 I call heaven and earth to record this day against you, that I have set before you life and death, blessing and cursing: therefore choose life, that both thou and thy seed may live:
The rich man begged God to send someone back to tell his
brothers that hell was real and that there was a way to avoid it.
I wonder How many people in hell cry out for that same thing.
The greatest truth about hell is that it is a choice.
You do not have to go there.
One day, when Vice-President Calvin Coolidge was presiding over the Senate, one senator angrily told another to go “straight to hell.” The offended Senator complained to Coolidge as presiding officer, and Coolidge looked up from the book he had been leafing through while listening to the debate and wittily replied. “I’ve looked through the rule book,” he said, “You don’t have to go.”
The good news is that through Christ our sins have been paid for.
In Christ there is hope.
How can you be sure today that you are not going to hell?
It's as simple as ABC
What are the ABCs of salvation?
A. Admit you are a sinner.
"There is no one righteous, not even one ... for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God."
Romans 3:10,23. (See Romans 5:8; 6:23.)
Ask God's forgiveness.
"Everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved."
Romans 10:13
A – Admit our need
Admit that we are in need of a savior to get to heaven.
That means We admit We are not perfect.
Only Christ is perfect.
Admit that we have blown it and made mistakes.
Recognize that you are a sinner in need of salvation.
Owning up to it and recognizing your need is the first step.
B. Believe in Jesus
(put your trust in Him) as your only hope of salvation.
"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." John 3:16 (See John 14:6.)
Become a child of God by receiving Christ.
"To all who receive him, to those who believed in his name, he gave the right to become children of God." John 1:12 (See Revelation 3:20.
B – Believe that Jesus died for you
Believing means is more than just head knowledge.
You can believe in something but not practice it.
What I mean here is that you place your trust in Christ.
You reach out to Him and rely on Him,
you surrender to Him.
C. Confess that Jesus is your Lord.
"If you confess with your mouth, 'Jesus is Lord,' and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved." Romans 10:9 (See verse 10.)
C – Commit yourself completely to Him
Making someone Lord of your life means that they call the shots. Surrendering your life to God means that you give Him control. This need to be in your heart but it also needs to be in a public way so that others can hold you accountable for your commitment. If you want to receive Christ as your savior all you have to do is come down to this altar and give it all to Jesus.
Let's pray!
