But in this message we are going to study the last thing that will happen to SINNERS, as they will spend eternity in the horrendous place the Bible calls hell!
In this day of liberalism, when a preacher preaches about hell he is immediately branded in a negative way as being one of those “Hell-fire-and brimstone preaching preachers!” Why? This is Satan’s attempt to discredit the messenger. He knows if people know the truth about HELL, THEN SINNERS WILL COME TO JESUS FOR SALVATION. Satan trys to keep that from happening by trying to DESTROY THE MESSENGER AND THE MESSAGE.
Illus: Satan does not want the message of hell preached to unbelievers because he knows that every message they hear about it is like a caution sign on the highway of life, telling them of the danger that is ahead and telling them they can be delivered.
Satan has been successful in silencing many preachers because they do not want to be branded as alarmists. He has been so successful that many in the pews are totally ignorant about hell. They only know that they hear, and use, it as a curse word.
Illus: One little boy rode a church bus for the first time in his life to a church where the Bible was preached. When he came back home, his parents asked him how he liked church. He said, “I really like it, but the preacher kept cursing in his sermon!” The parents became concerned and asked, “What do you mean?” The little boy said, “At least half a dozen times he said “hell” in his sermon.”
Actually, hell is not a curse word. It is the name of a very real place, just as Columbia, S. C., is a real place. It is A PLACE, NOT A CURSE WORD!
Illus: Luke 16, makes it clear that hell is a place and tells about this place.
• Verse 23a. We see it is a place where the rich man could look up -- “And in hell he lift up his eyes, being in torments..,”
• Verse 24a. It is a place where he cried. “And he cried and said, Father Abraham, have mercy on me...”
• Verse 24b. It is a place where he thirsted. “...and send Lazarus, that he may dip the tip of his finger in water, and cool my tongue;..”
• Verse 24c. It is a place where he suffered. “...for I am tormented in this flame.”
• Verse 25. It is a place where he remembered. “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.”
• Verse 27. It is a place where he prayed. “Then he said, I pray thee therefore, father, that thou wouldest send him to my father's house:..”
• Verses 27-28. It is a place where he pleaded and interceeded. “Then he said, I pray thee therefore, father, that thou wouldest send him to my father's house: For I have five brethren; that he may testify unto them, lest they also come into this place of torment.”
Again, hell is no curse word. It is a horrible place where all who do not accept Christ as Savior will live for eternity. Let us LOOK AT WHAT PEOPLE SAY ABOUT HELL, AND THEN WHAT THE BIBLE TEACHES ABOUT HELL.
First, let us see what evil people say about hell because they do not think it is a real place.
I. THE ERROR.
Many sinners say it is AN ERROR to believe in such a place as hell. Why? They say that the Bible teaches that God is a God of love. They say if anyone preaches about hell it makes God look mean!
Illus: After a sermon on hell a lady asked the preacher, “If your child was suffering, would you not, as a father, rescue him?” The preacher answered, “I most certainly would. I would be a monster if I did not.” After she thought she had made her point, she asked, “Well, would not God be a monster if He allowed one of His children to suffer in hell instead of rescuing him?” “He certainly would!” Then the preacher proceeded to explain, “There is something you need to understand about hell. God is not going to send a ONE of His children there. The ones who are going to hell belong to Satan, not God!”
This is why Jesus came to save sinners. They have placed their faith in Satan and he is going to drag every sinner to hell with him. The ERROR is on the part of the sinners in that they do not believe there is a hell. How could a person ever get into a situation like this? Well, we have looked at the sinner’s ERROR. Now look at...
II. THE ENTRAPMENT.
We have a law in this land that has to do with, “Entrapment.” For example, a police officer may not go to a person he knows is addicted to dope and flash dope in his face and then arrest him when he gives into the temptation to purchase the dope.
This is what Satan does. He ENTRAPS PEOPLE INTO SINNING.
Illus: This is one of the reasons liquor stores display large red dots on the sides of their buildings. They purposely want to distinguish themselves from everything else. When those who drink liquor drive by they begin to crave that liquor and are tempted to stop in where they see those big red dots.
The devil makes it so easy to become “entrapped” by sin! It is like getting into debt. It is easy to get in, but oh so hard to get out. Satan is constantly tempting people. Those who have good credit are bombarded with all kinds of invitations by credit companies to apply for credit cards. They even tell them they have been pre-approved for $5,000.00 to $25,000.00.
Illus: Someone has said that, “The most difficult thing imaginable is to keep clean of DEBT, DIRT, and the DEVIL all at the same time.”
It doesn’t take long to mess your life up FINANCIALLY, but I only mentioned that to get the point across that THE SAME THING APPLIES TO SIN. Once you partake, you pay! You pay! And, you pay!
Many are running up a sin debt! They have allowed Satan to lure them into giving in to that little voice that says, “Go for it!” They are going for it! Let me show you three ways people are being entrapped by sin in our current evil society. We will also see that the cost is astronomical. For example...
A. Some have been entrapped by the sin of abortion. Since creation men have known it was wrong to kill babies before they were born. When laws were first drafted in our U. S. that, among other things, was included. It was illegal to kill unborn babies. Anyone who murdered an unborn child had to do it behind locked doors. Then ungodly, liberal women across this land began paying the price of the guilt of their sin and they thought they could do something about it. They thought they could make abortion legal and be able to do it and not feel guilt. They knew they had to have some substantial reason to have it legalized because just feeling guilty would not be enough, so they joined hands with politicians. This is the “spin” they placed on their plea to get abortion legalized. They said, “We have to legalize abortion because too many WOMEN ARE DYING in these back-alley abortion clinics.”
Any thinking person should have caught the irony of that petition. The woman, WHO HAD A CHOICE, WHO DID NOT HAVE TO GET HERSELF PREGNANT, then would have the freedom to choose to kill the child who did not have any choice in the matter. Then the remains of the child would not be afforded the honor of a decent burial, many being thrown into dumpsters and hauled to landfills, or garbage heaps.
I am not preaching on abortion because it applies to most women in this congregation because it does not! Most God-fearing women would not think of having her baby mutilated! But, I am preaching on abortion because some of YOU YOUNG PEOPLE, if you do not walk close to the Lord, may become ENTRAPPED INTO SIN by some jerk. You may become pregnant and he may deny it is his child, and to make matters worse he may suggest that the only way for you to solve your problem is to have an abortion. Young ladies need to remember:
- You can be led into illicit sex.
- Illicit sex can lead to pregnancy.
- Pregnancy can lead to abortion.
- Abortion WILL LEAD TO A LIFETIME OF MISERY!
Illus: One day it will dawn on you what you did to your baby and you will never get over it! Satan will have you ENTRAPPED! God will forgive you for it, but the sin of abortion comes with a BIG PRICE TAG. You will always know that even though you never went to the electric chair for murder, in God’s eyes you are as much of a murderer as the murderer on death row. And perhaps yours is even a more hideous crime than theirs because you chose to murder a helpless baby in the most hideous way imaginable. You will pay, and pay, and keep on paying for that sinful deed until the day you die. You can not forget!
Also,
B. Some are being entrapped by the sin of homosexuality. Years ago homosexuals were called “queers.” Although this sounds mean, there was a reason they were called that. It described their behavior, which was “strange, or queer.” I hope you recognize when I use that term, I am not trying to be rude, but there are not many other ways to describe that behavior. Homosexual behavior IS NOT NORMAL BEHAVIOR according to the Word of God. Yet, in spite of how obvious this is, we live in such a sinful society that many people are doing everything they can to try to convince the rest of society that it is normal.
Illus: Some time ago, those participating in this abnormal behavior decided they did not like being called “queer” so they met and decided at least TWO things:
(1) THEY ADOPTED A NEW NAME. They wanted to be called “GAY”!
Isn’t that just like the devil. He can take something vile and abominable in God’s eyes and title it “gay”! He thinks by giving it this title that every young person will think that word describes that lifestyle.
If you think the life of a homosexual is “gay” you need to read Tim LaHaye’s book, “What Everybody Should Know About Homosexuality.” He documented and wrote in his book that:
• Homosexuals may give the impression they have a loving relationship, but in their insatiable desire for perverted sex they go from one partner to another, trying to find satisfaction, but find none.
• Depression, rejection, loneliness, and suicide is as much a part of the homosexual’s life as breathing is a part of ours.
When homosexuals decided to get rid of their “queer” image by adopting a new name, they also decided they needed to tie it in with God. They stated-
(2) GOD CREATED CERTAIN PEOPLE TO BE HOMOSEXUALS. They decided if they could convince people God created them that way then it would be easier to get people to accept them as being normal.
Common sense dictates, and Dr. Tim LaHaye wrote that God did not create a person to be homosexual. HOMOSEXUALITY IS A LEARNED BEHAVIOR!
If you want to incur the anger of God on your life, just involve yourself in a homosexual relationship. God made man for woman and woman for man. It is absolutely disgusting in His eyes that man has become so perverted in his thinking so as to even consider homosexuality as normal. God created Adam and Eve, not Adam and Steve! God did not tell Adam, “Adam, here is beautiful Eve, but if she does not satisfy you sexually, you can have an alternate lifestyle so here is a Steve. No! GOD CREATED MALE AND THEN CREATED A FEMALE, AND ONLY A FEMALE, FOR HIM, TO COMPLETE HIM!
Illus: We see the obvious BIG PRICE TAG that has resulted already from man’s attempt to alter God’s plan for men and women.
• Millions have died with AIDS as a direct result of their perverted, homosexual, lifestyle. Not only that, now many have innocently been exposed to the deadly plague of the promiscuous through tainted blood, etc.
• Thousands have committed suicide because they could not stand the guilt eating away at them every day!
When a thing is sin, no matter what we call it, no matter if we try to legalize it, and no matter how brave a person may seem to be in admitting to his perverted lifestyle (coming out of the closet), THE GUILT OF THIS ABOMINABLE SIN IS WITH THE HOMOSEXUAL EVERY DAY!
I believe most of you understand what a hideous sin this is, and you do not want anything to do with it; but, there may be a young person here who could be approached by a homosexual who will try to ENTRAP him. Do not even consider it! This sin comes with A BIG PRICE TAG! If you give in, it most surely will send you to a premature grave, and besides that you will pay in more ways than you could ever realize.
C. Some have been entrapped into the sin of pornography. In years gone by this sin was mostly indulged in by men. However, as our society becomes more ungodly year by year, women are lowering themselves to this animal level behavior by indulging in the same things. In fact, some women are as bad, if not worse, than men. They have been ENTRAPPED BY THE SIN OF PORNOGRAPHY and every day they crave exposure to nudity as a dope addict craves dope. They began this sin in a very casual way, but now they are wide open and can not stop. Some who are ENTRAPPED spend up to a thousand dollars a month calling 900 numbers advertised on television. The ironic twist to this is that it has been documented and exposed on primetime television that the women the “customers” talk to are nothing like those in the ads. In fact it was revealed that some even hire homosexual men with feminine voices to answer the phone.
What mockery Satan makes of those he ENTRAPS! Listen, you can become ENTRAPPED with pornography, but you need to understand, this sin comes with a BIG PRICE TAG.
EVERY SIN HAS A HIGH PRICE TAG, and WHAT A PRICE SOME ARE PAYING!
1. Some are paying by having their reputation ruined. Not many years ago several well-known television ministers, who had been respected by many across America, became ENTRAPPED and paid the ultimate price -- their ministries became the subject of comedians all over this nation.
2. Some are paying with guilt. All across this nation there are people who have been ENTRAPPED BY SATAN and the guilt they are living with is a slow tortuous death. They have tried many doctors and drugs, but they are steadily getting worse. Why? Because, those who chose to sin pay the price of living with guilt. For those who never come to Christ, their guilt can drive them to even wanting to get a gun and blowing their brains out.
Illus: Year ago serial killer Gary Gilmore was convicted. He told his captors he did not want to spend the rest of his life in prison. He wanted to be executed. When it came time for his execution he looked at the security guards and said, “Let’s do it!” Everyone commented on how brave they felt he was. He was not brave. He was a coward! He did not have the courage to live the rest of his life in prison with his conscience eating away at him twenty-four hours a day for the rest of the days of his life for those horrendous crimes.
Many have been lured by Satan. They fell for the temptation to sin and have been ENTRAPPED. Now no one knows the horrors of the guilt they live with. Many are like the woman in the Bible who had tried many physicians for a physical illness she had, but she had steadily gotten worse. She did not get help until she realized that Jesus was the only One Who could help her.
3. Some are paying physically. We all know people, and of people, who lived a life of sin and have paid a tremendous price physically.
- Many have died prematurely. Their sin literally killed them.
- Some have had their appearance marred. They may look as much as twenty years older than they really are.
4. And everyone that chooses to sin pays the price spiritually. Every day that goes by those who choose to sin are missing out on the JOY and PEACE that only God can give. We see people everywhere we turn whose lives have become ENTRAPPED BY SIN. Is there any hope for them? Yes, they have been caught in the cobweb of sin, but look at...
III. THE ESCAPE.
Illus: Every pastor can tell you he has seen people go to a doctor with a serious...
- Heart problem, and the doctor was able to help them.
- Cancer problem, and the doctor was able to help them.
- Arthritis problem, and the doctor was able to help them.
But, pastors will tell you they have never seen anyone go to a doctor, psychiatrist, or a psychologist with a sin related problem and ever get any help. Why? If it is a sin problem, that person must go to the Savior, Who can save him.
In Luke 16:32, we read, “And in hell he lift up his eyes, being in torments...” There is absolutely nothing that can be done for the rich man. He is domed! But, for everyone who is here today, there is hope for you! You still have time to have your eyes opened to your sinfulness and what it will eventually do to you before it is too late.
The Lord has this to say to you. In John 8:36 we read, “If the Son therefore shall make you free, ye shall be free indeed.” That simply means that even though Satan has ENTRAPPED YOU, Christ CAN SET YOU FREE!
Through the ages the Lord has delivered dope addicts, prostitutes, homosexuals, thieves, etc. You will not go to hell because you could not be saved; you will go to hell because you refuse to come to Christ that He might save you! If you choose to go to hell, you will have to walk across the prayers of God’s people, and trample upon the blood of Jesus that He shed for you that you might be saved.
Conclusion/Summary: I want to invite you to come to Christ today, before He has to say to you one day, “Depart from me...” For if comes to that, never again will you have an opportunity to come to Christ.
I. THE ERROR.
II. THE ENTRAPMENT.
III. THE ESCAPE.
