“There was a rich man who dressed in purple and fine linen and who feasted sumptuously every day. But at his gate lay a poor man named Lazarus whose body was covered with sores, who longed to eat what fell from the rich man’s table. In addition, the dogs came and licked his sores.
“Now the poor man died and was carried by the angels to Abraham’s side. The rich man also died and was buried. And in hell, as he was in torment, he looked up and saw Abraham far off with Lazarus at his side. So he called out, ‘Father Abraham, have mercy on me, and send Lazarus to dip the tip of his finger in water and cool my tongue, because I am in anguish in this fire.’ But Abraham said, ‘Child, remember that in your lifetime you received your good things and Lazarus likewise bad things, but now he is comforted here and you are in anguish. Besides all this, a great chasm has been fixed between us, so that those who want to cross over from here to you cannot do so, and no one can cross from there to us.’ So the rich man said, ‘Then I beg you, father—send Lazarus to my father’s house (for I have five brothers) to warn them so that they don’t come into this place of torment.’ But Abraham said, ‘They have Moses and the prophets; they must respond to them.’ Then the rich man said, ‘No, Father Abraham, but if someone from the dead goes to them, they will repent.’ He replied to him, ‘If they do not respond to Moses and the prophets, they will not be convinced even if someone rises from the dead.’” [LUKE 16:19-31 NET BIBLE] [1]
Reverend W. Leo Daniels, a great preacher of a bygone era, relates an incident from his childhood years in Texas. He was determined to become a successful shoeshine boy. The man for whom he worked asked him to go next door for some change. When he walked into the shop next door, the store owner growled at him, “Boy, what you doin’ coming in through that door? You know you’re s’posed to come in the back door!” When the young boy got to the back, the barber snarled, “Now, what in hell do you want?” The young man responded to the snarled demand, “Nothing.” And with that, he turned and walked out. Rev. Daniels commented that that experience was the end of his shoeshine career. He commented that he wanted nothing in hell.
“And in hell, as he was in torment…” We often pass over Jesus’ words so rapidly that we miss what was said. No doubt each Christian, each one attending church on a regular basis, has heard at some time the story Jesus told of a rich man and a poor man. Their lives intersected for a period, but beyond this moment we call “now,” their lives deviated dramatically. As we examine Jesus’ words on this occasion, bear in mind that the account Jesus provided was not the recitation of a parable. Jesus speaks in the present tense as He relates what took place; that would not be the case in a parable. Jesus provided us with a name—Lazarus, and that would not be the case if this were a parable. In short, there is a man named Lazarus even now rejoicing in the presence of the Lord. And there is a man who once had it all in this life, and that man is in torment even now.
With this message, I am seeking to confront the individual who is moving inexorably toward eternity, and that person is yet separated from the love of God. Perhaps that person is you? To such a one, I ask, “What is there in hell that you want?” The message is intended to confront the woman who has played at being a church member without ever receiving the grace of God in Christ the Lord. “What do you think is of such eternal worth that you would go to hell to find it?” The message is meant to challenge the man who has become cavalier about hell. “What in hell do you want?” is the question that requires an answer from that man. May God be glorified as His Spirit challenges each of us to think soberly, to think clearly, about where the lost will spend eternity. May He prompt each of us to look to Christ for mercy and for salvation. Amen.
WHERE LIFE IS LEADING EACH OF US — Life for each of us is moving inexorably toward death. We are born dying, and death will definitely come to each of us. Sir Walter Scott has presciently observed, “Come he slow or come he fast it is but death that comes at last.” Here is the great tragedy—Death doesn’t end it all! We know this is true, and yet we live as though somehow death is the end of everything. Intuitively, we realise we must one day give an accounting to the Living God, and somehow the reality of that knowledge fails to stir our hearts.
“Wow, Pastor Mike, you certainly speak about death a lot!” I admit that I do speak about death—a lot! In a very real sense, the ministry of any pastor is preparing people to die. Life is stunningly brief, but eternity is so very long. Each person who hears my voice is moving toward eternity. Saints of an earlier era were wont to say,
Just one life, ‘twill soon be past,
What’s done for Christ is all that last.
Knowing that our choices fix our destiny for all eternity, I do speak often about death! Undoubtedly, the fact that I’m moving closer to my final day on this blue orb causes me to think about what lies ahead. The knowledge of the brevity of my life compels me to acknowledge that whatever I will accomplish of eternal worth must be completed soon. Peter spoke for me, as he spoke for each of us, when he wrote, “I think it is right [to remind you of what I have taught], as long as I am in this body, to stir you up by way of reminder, since I know that the putting off of my body will be soon… I will make every effort so that after my departure you may be able to recall these things” [2 PETER 1:13-15].
People struggle with what are called “end of life” issues. Your physician is almost embarrassed to ask if you have any instructions for the eventuality of death. She will need to know what level of medical intervention you desire in the event of catastrophic illness or injury. It is a source of amazement to discover how few Canadians have a valid will for distributing their assets after death. It is a source of amazement to pastors to learn how few church members in their will remember the congregation that has ministered to them. We know that we must one day surrender to the inevitable, and yet, an astounding number of us have never discussed with our family how we want our earthy remains to be treated following death. And it is a tragic truth that many of us have never secured a life insurance policy to provide for burial and for the welfare of those whom we love. Why do we struggle with these issues? Isn’t it because we don’t really want to think about death?
Each person has an eternal destiny, a destiny that is fixed by a deliberate choice each individual makes in this life. I am able to speak with certainty about your destiny based upon what is revealed in the Word of God and how you respond to the call of the Lord. In the penultimate sense, each of us is heading toward a date with death; however, death does not end it all. Beyond this moment we call “life” awaits continued consciousness, awareness and experience that persists throughout all eternity. We ponder the possibility that we shall one day cease to exist when the physical parameters will have been removed, but the transition that must take place doesn’t stir us to action. We are quite able to put aside the disquieting thought that we shall cease to be.
One thing is certain concerning this present existence we speak of as “life.” No one gets out alive. Our first parents rebelled against the will of the Creator, plunging the race, and all creation, into ruin. Death reigned where life once prevailed. None of us can imagine what it would be to live without fear of death. Again and again we are confronted by the knowledge that we must die. Have you heard the writer of that letter to Hebrew Christians as he asks, “Since therefore the children share in flesh and blood, [Christ] Himself likewise partook of the same things, that through death He might destroy the one who has the power of death, that is, the devil, and deliver all those who through fear of death were subject to lifelong slavery” [HEBREWS 2:14-15].
How descriptive is that statement that the writer has penned! His words remind us that the fear of death imposes upon us a lifelong slavery. We pamper this body, despite knowing that it is growing progressively weaker, losing the vitality we treasured in youth. We try to watch our diet—some of us are more successful than others; we take supplements, hoping they will keep us healthy; we avoid thinking about dying. Despite all our efforts, we just keep on dying. And despite not wanting to think about it, in our quiet moments when we permit our mind to carry us where we don’t really want to go, we know there is a God before Whom we must stand to give an answer for our lives.
Therefore, I am speaking to some someone today who claims to have no fear of hell. Your supposed bravado is because you have no concept of what hell is. Though you don’t fear hell, I am certain that you do fear death. If there were no fear of death, people would act differently from the way they now act. We try to make sure that we exercise, believing that exercise will help stave off the spectre of death. We try to eat a balanced, healthy diet because we are assured that a balanced diet will extend life, giving us a measure of health that will ensure that we don’t suffer from disease that could otherwise be avoided. We make sure that we get all our shots; we don’t want to contract some disease that would otherwise be avoided. Many of us were very careful to mask up and maintain social distancing, even though we know that masks cannot stop a virus and that the airborne particles that pass through the pores of the mask are capable of travelling long distances. Nevertheless, why take any chances? What I’m saying is that we are terrified of the prospect of dying.
Allow me to expand on this business of death. The Word of God confronts us with the knowledge that we are dead in sin, though we are still walking. We need to think about what it means to be dead. Death is a separation from that which animates, that which vivifies. To be dead as the concept is usually employed points to the separation of the soul and the spirit from the body. When we die, the real “us” is removed from the body. You are a tripartite being—body, soul, and spirit. To speak of death is to acknowledge that the soul and the spirit are no longer bound by the body.
Solomon compels us to think of “end of life” issues when he draws the dark book he wrote to a conclusion, the Book we know as Ecclesiastes. You will recall that Solomon writes, “Remember also your Creator in the days of your youth, before the evil days come and the years draw near of which you will say, ‘I have no pleasure in them;’ before the sun and the light and the moon and the stars are darkened and the clouds return after the rain, in the day when the keepers of the house tremble, and the strong men are bent, and the grinders cease because they are few, and those who look through the windows are dimmed, and the doors on the street are shut—when the sound of the grinding is low, and one rises up at the sound of a bird, and all the daughters of song are brought low—they are afraid also of what is high, and terrors are in the way; the almond tree blossoms, the grasshopper drags itself along, and desire fails, because man is going to his eternal home, and the mourners go about the streets—before the silver cord is snapped, or the golden bowl is broken, or the pitcher is shattered at the fountain, or the wheel broken at the cistern, and the dust returns to the earth as it was, and the spirit returns to God who gave it” [ECCLESIASTES 12:1-7].
Indeed, the spirit shall return to God Who gave it. But just as the body is dying and must eventually die, so the soul is dead if it is separated from God who gives life. The spirit has no life of its own when we are yet in our sin; it is dead to God! This is the reason we say that the soul is saved—it was dead to God. And it is the reason God must give us a new spirit—the old spirit was dead to Him. And this is the reason we receive the promise of a new body—the old body is dying because it is tainted by sin. Is not this the emphasis witnessed in Scripture when Paul writes, “You were dead in the trespasses and sins in which you once walked, following the course of this world, following the prince of the power of the air, the spirit that is now at work in the sons of disobedience—among whom we all once lived in the passions of our flesh, carrying out the desires of the body and the mind, and were by nature children of wrath, like the rest of mankind” [EPHESIANS 2:1-3].
We are born dying, each of us is moving inexorably toward a final date with death. What then? What happens to us when we shuffle out of this present existence and into whatever lies before us? Do we, as so many appear to imagine, simply cease to exist? Or do we continue on in some strange, otherworldly existence in which all share? Perhaps we just all move into a realm of light and joy as almost everyone seems to imagine, where the dead of this life now sing in God’s choir. Certainly, every noted celebrity singer is praised as now singing in that celestial choir that many imagine and none have ever seen or heard. Know that for every story told of the wonders of people passing from this life into some unseen and delightful existence, there are other stories that speak of something darker, something more frightful.
WHAT WE KNOW ABOUT HADES — Above all else, to be in Hades is to be separated from hope, separated from the love of God, consumed by our own fallen desires without any possibility of fulfilment. All we know of Hades is what we are told in Scripture. Hades is identified with darkness and with burning that continues throughout all eternity. More than anything, the horror of Hades seems to be defined by the persistence of memory, and especially the memory of rejected opportunity to be free from eternal banishment from God and from all that is good. Memories persist in Hades. The knowledge of past refusal to submit to God’s reign persists throughout eternity.
Almost forty years ago I read a sobering article in Moody Monthly that was entitled, “The Greatest Story Ever Sold.” [3] Mark Littleton authored the story, compiling the little we are taught in the Word concerning Hades from Scripture and applying this knowledge to the way a person might respond to finding himself or herself in hell. Though the story is extended, I believe it is worthwhile to read it for those who have yet to receive the grace of God in Christ the Lord. It will be valuable for those of us who are followers of Christ in order to encourage us to alert our lost loved ones to the danger they are facing and to make us aware of the awful terror awaiting lost people.
Consciousness slowly broke through the haze. Jeremiah Delms remembered sitting in church. Every Sunday he’d come to hear his wife’s preacher. Putting in my time, he had thought, smiling.
But suddenly there was pain in his chest, shortness of breath, no breath.
Then he had seen that great light—blinding, razing light, hurling its rays like boulders. And he’d heard the voice. It sounded awful, like a train slamming into a truck, recapping his life, the whole sordid mess.
He still wondered how had He known everything? Everything!
Jeremiah had knelt before the voice, saying, “Your will be done,” as if he had a choice. And it was over. He had agreed. Justice was demanded and exacted.
But now his mind filled with feathers on the wind. Each logical conclusion slipped away.
He found himself dropped—no, falling—somewhere. But where?
“When it brightens a bit,” he said, “I’ll take a look around.” His voice carried a whispery sound, as when you think something so clearly that you believe you’ve said it, but you haven’t.
Jeremiah opened his eyes, straining to look both left and right. Nothing.
“Where am I?” he said, this time quite distinctly. But again his voice vanished with an eerie, shadowy tone, and he didn’t know whether he’d thought it or said it.
“What is this nonsense?”
He began to feel his way around. I may be blind, he thought. Have to feel for things. Maybe I’ve had an accident.
Only moments before, he had begged—screamed—to get out of that scorching light. Now…
“God? Ha!” he cried. “I’m rid of You.”
Slowly moving his hand in the darkness, he suddenly trembled. His hand still seemed to be attached to him. He sensed its weight. But he found nothing to touch.
He reached for his nose. It felt numb, but he knew it was there. It began to itch.
He jerked both his hands to his face. No relief. He scratched vigorously, yet the itching sensation lingered.
He stopped, cocked his head, and listened. No sound anywhere. No hum of traffic. No cricket chirps. What about my voice?
“There must be sound,” he said.
His voice sounded real enough. But it seemed to disappear in the darkness, as though muffled in folds of cloth.
He shouted, “I’m here! I’m here! I’m here! Where is everybody?”
No answer, not even an echo.
He felt himself sweating. Instinctively, he raised his hand to his brow. That awful sensation of impotence gnawed again.
Beads of sweat slowly moved down his forehead, cheeks, and nose. He felt heat prickling beneath the wetness.
“A towel! I need a towel!”
He bent down and began to feel madly near his feet.
No floor. “I’m standing on—nothing.”
“How?” he shouted. “How?”
He could feel heat surging through his body. His belly tightened. A familiar pain struck his side—the perforated ulcer began to burn.
“I’ll lie down,” he said. “That always helped.”
First he bent, and then he leaned. He was still upright. He curled into a ball and lunged—there was no up or down or sideways.
“What kind of trickery is this? Where am I?”
The darkness and silence rendered no clues. But he could remember light—penetrating, razing light—and the voice.
High. Omnipotent. The words had flashed like lightning, each one belting him like a boxer’s gloved fist.
Jeremiah had tried to run. For an endless moment, he was held in place. Finally, he was cast out.
Cast out? he mused.
A hollow yearning pulled at his belly. “I suppose the food in this place is as strange as everything else.”
“Where could I go to find out?”
He moved about, perhaps for an hour—or what seemed like it. But nothing changed, except his now ravenous appetite.
His mouth felt drier each moment.
Why am I burning? How can I feel flames without their causing light? That desert was bright…
During the war, his platoon had run out of water. Jeremiah remembered that maddening thirst, lying on the sand, and panting. Mercilessly, the sun had hammered his forehead. His body screamed for water. Every pore felt like fire.
And then they found the sea. It was all he could do to crawl. Others walked as he inched his way. They drank as he struggled on. And they died—their stomachs full of salt water. But he lay helpless, just like now.
Can’t lie, can’t eat, can’t even scratch my nose.
Tears slid down his face. But as hard as he tried, he couldn’t wipe them away. “Answer me! Where am I? Answer me!”
The darkness still engulfed him, passive and silent.
Now he found himself soothing his conscience.
That’s it—just make yourself laugh. Then you’ll snap out of this.
He began to tell himself a joke, but he couldn’t remember the punch line. The more he thought, the more agitated he became. Nothing helped him remember.
But something else came to mind—sex.
All the old sensations returned. He tried to catch himself. Don’t think of it. It’ll be just like the thirst.
The tension mounted. He had no power to satisfy the craving.
Then a new idea came to his rescue: “I don’t even exist!” he yelled. That did make him laugh—a bitter, chilling laugh.
In his youth, he had wrangled with the fanatics about life after death. The existence of God.
He remembered having said, “When you die, you’re gone forever. Poof. Nothing.”
Now he groaned. But how can I not exist? I feel everything, every desire.
He waited, hoping for an answer, but none came.
“Do I exist?” he cried. “At least tell me that!”
Strong desires pummelled out one after another—dreams, hungers … lusts for ice cream, a beer, a game, a slap on the back. He was an empty cavern with no end to the torrent pouring through.
“Is this hell?” he whined. “Is this hell?”
Then he started to laugh.
“Hell? What’s that? There is no hell. And for that matter, there’s no God.”
But there had been that light. And the voice…
Jeremiah had bowed before Him, admitting to many deeds. Now it was all coming back.
Still, that couldn’t have been God.
“It was a dream. A nightmare. It’ll be over as soon as I wake up.”
But he wasn’t sure.
“Is this hell?” he whispered.
“Is this hell?”
“Tell me, please tell me. At least do that. Just tell me,” he begged. “Is this hell? I’ve got to know! At least let me know that.”
If I could just hear a voice or even feel a touch…
“I don’t know where I am. I don’t know what to do. I know absolutely nothing about this place and yet, here I am, gritting my teeth, weeping, sweating…”
Then he remembered the cold, harsh words of the voice: “Depart from Me, you who practise wickedness.”
“Is that it?” The question died on his lips.
“What about my profession of faith?” he yelled. “I walked the aisle and prayed the prayer. The preacher said I was in. OK, so I did it to please my wife. But still—I did everything they said.”
He grew hopeful, as though he’d just discovered an ace in his pocket. “Ha,” he challenged, “what about all that?”
He waited. He listened. He turned his head, expecting some acknowledgement.
“I suppose You won’t even answer that,” he said mockingly. “Well, I don’t care. You’ve put me here, and I’m going to curse You and hate You as long as I can, God.
“I curse Your name and Your ‘wonderful’ justice. I hate You. I’m going to hate You as long as I’m down here. You hear me? Until You let me out, I’ll hate You and hate You and hate You!”
Jeremiah paused for effect.
I’m screaming against my own air. I can’t do anything to Him.
He made yet another disturbing discovery. His hatred began to coil inside him, ready to spring. Burning malice and anger flooded his being, as in the old days when someone spoke to him about “his soul.” Yet there was nowhere to direct his wrath—except within.
Terror gripped him.
“Well, maybe it will end,” he murmured. “Maybe it’s just for a while.”
But something new hit him so fiercely it almost took his breath.
“How long do I have to wait?” he cried. “How long? There has to be an end. All things end sooner or later. Please—tell me how long!”
Immediately, he remembered the voice: “Depart from Me.”
Had He said, “Forever”?
The blackness seemed so immense, and the silence was vast as a cindered landscape.
“You’ve got to tell me that,” he pleaded. “How long? Please say it. I can stand anything if only I know how long. Please, have mercy!”
The moment he said that, a new revulsion overwhelmed him. Mercy? Mercy! I never asked for mercy in my life, and I’m not starting now, not even here.
“Take Your mercy, God, and Your world, too. I don’t need it. I don’t want You or Your water or Your people or anything!
“And I don’t care how long it takes down here. I’ll wait You out, God. You hear me? I’ll wait longer than You. I’ll beat You at Your own game, God.”
The darkness and silence seemed even heavier.
God has condemned me—forever. I’d thought it was all a weakling’s religion, a bunch of nonsense.
He began to review all the services he had attended, all the times his pastor had spoken to him, all the times his wife had prayed and pleaded.
“Why didn’t I believe?” he shouted. “Was I insane?”
His thought seemed to shout back: “Because you thought it was nonsense. Remember? Boring. A real pain you could live without. Remember?”
Jeremiah looked up, straining his neck. “Is there no hope?”
The unquenchable desires began another rampage. They burned within, scorching his soul.
“I hate You, God!”
But deep inside he knew. He had even agreed with Him. The punishment was just. In fact, he had wanted it—anything to get away from that penetrating light. But now…
“Forever?” he murmured. “Forever?”
He shook his fist and snarled. The burning raged on.
Jeremiah began to cry.
I understand that what I’ve just read to you is a fictional depiction of … what? Mark Littleton, the gifted writer who crafted this story, built it on what has been revealed through the Word concerning the continued existence of the lost who go into eternity without a relationship to the True and Living God. God tells us about that awful place we call “hell,” so that we might be warned about what lies beyond if we reject the grace He now offers. Are you willing to risk everything for all eternity on what you imagine will be? Are you willing to reject what is revealed in the Word? What in hell do you want?
WHAT IN HELL DO YOU WANT? What can there be in Hades that would attract you? For that matter, what can there be in Gehenna that would make you want to go there? Everything we know of that final abode of the lost horrifies the thinking individual. There is nothing attractive about Hades. As terrible as the prospect of Hades is, more horrific still is what God has revealed about Gehenna, the final abode of the lost. The lost face a friendless eternity. People sometimes casually dismiss the prospect of hell by saying, “That’s where all my friends will be.” That may be tragically true; but you won’t see them in hell. Cartoons and caricatures aside, the damned are isolated from all consolation and from all human discourse. And even if it was possible for you to meet “your friends” in hell, you would curse them for sharing in the damnation of your soul!
I believe it is significant that Jesus never spoke of the demons tormenting people in hell. The demonic powers do torment people in this life, but nowhere are we told that they continue their nefarious work against people in eternity. We are told that the devil will be cast into the lake of fire and sulphur. In Gehenna, we are told that he shall be “tormented day and night forever and ever” [see REVELATION 20:10b]. The antichrist and the beast who promotes him will be in confined to that awful place. And ultimately, all who are compelled to stand before the Great White Throne are to be thrown into the lake of fire. If we question who those are who are cast into this place of eternal torment, we are informed when John writes, “If anyone’s name was not found written in the book of life, he was thrown into the lake of fire” [REVELATION 20:15]. If your name has not been written in the Book of Life, you are without hope and without God in the world.
Perhaps you have heard this awful place of eternal banishment from the love of God described as the insane asylum of the universe. It is an apt description. Anyone would have to be insane to imagine that they could go to hell and find anything that would attract them. To even imagine that one will meet friends or find any sort of convivial interaction is utterly insane. Some cultists bluster against the thought of hell, making such inane comments as, “Why, I wouldn’t throw a dog into the fire. God won’t throw anyone into a lake of fire.”
That is a stupid argument, no decent person would throw a dog into a fire; and God does not consign anyone to the fires of hell. People choose to go to hell through their obstinate refusal to receive God’s mercy. Rejecting God’s love, refusing to accept the grace that He extends, lost people have no place left where they should spend eternity except exclusion from the love of God. There are only two eternal destinations after this life—Heaven or hell! People are fitted for Heaven when they receive the sacrifice of Christ, God’s own Son, in the place of their sin. His death provides atonement for sin so that those receiving His sacrifice in their place are shielded from the wrath of the Father. Those who refuse to receive Christ as Lord of their life, place themselves outside of the mercy of God; there is nowhere else for them except eternal exclusion from God.
God describes hell as a place of darkness, as a place of torment, as a place where all who are confined in hell as isolated from the love of God. There will be no friends in hell, for those that are there are isolated from every comfort. A person has to be insane to imagine that eternity without hope and without God has anything positive to commend it. Surely, it is only an unrealistic and irrational hatred of God and a hatred of all that is good that would ever lead a person to think of rejecting the grace of God just so she or he could spend eternity in that awful place!
I make the assumption that I am speaking to rational people. I am prepared to make the assumption that no one who hears me at this hour wants to go to hell. However, I am also aware that for some who hear me, perhaps even many who hear what I say, their final and eternal destination is hell. They will go to hell, not because they chose to do so, but because they refused to accept the grace of God that was extended through faith in Christ, the Risen Saviour. People who go to hell are often those who have become habituated to the self life, a life that excludes God and refuses to even consider doing what He wills. When a person has rejected God’s love, nothing remains but to concede that they have chosen by default eternal exclusion from love, exclusion from goodness, exclusion from God.
In order not to appear totally negative, I point any who are willing to hear the truth to the love of God. We are told in Scripture, “In this is love, not that we have loved God but that he loved us and sent his Son to be the propitiation for our sins. Beloved, if God so loved us, we also ought to love one another. No one has ever seen God; if we love one another, God abides in us and his love is perfected in us” [1 JOHN 4:10-12].
Your situation, if you have never received Christ as Master over your life, is pointedly described by the Apostle as he compiles a collection of Scriptures that speak of who you are. He writes,
“‘None is righteous, no, not one;
no one understands;
no one seeks for God.
All have turned aside; together they have become worthless;
no one does good,
not even one.’
‘Their throat is an open grave;
they use their tongues to deceive.’
‘The venom of asps is under their lips.’
‘Their mouth is full of curses and bitterness.’
‘Their feet are swift to shed blood;
in their paths are ruin and misery,
and the way of peace they have not known.’
‘There is no fear of God before their eyes.’”
[ROMANS 3:10b-18]
Elsewhere, the Word of God says you are not sufficiently good to avoid condemnation. Scripture warns that, “All have sinned and fall short of the glory of God” [ROMANS 3:23]. Your goodness will not suffice to assuage the wrath of God.
However, no one needs to remain under condemnation, no one is required to be bound over to death. You know very well that the Word of God informs each of us, “God shows his love for us in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us. Since, therefore, we have now been justified by his blood, much more shall we be saved by him from the wrath of God. For if while we were enemies we were reconciled to God by the death of his Son, much more, now that we are reconciled, shall we be saved by his life” [ROMANS 5:8-10]. Though you are a sinful person, the love of God is freely extended to you now in the Person of His Son, Jesus, Who is the Christ.
The invitation of the Lord God that is offered to each individual promises: “If you confess with your mouth that Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved. For with the heart one believes and is justified, and with the mouth one confesses and is saved. For the Scripture says, ‘Everyone who believes in him will not be put to shame.’ For there is no distinction between Jew and Greek; for the same Lord is Lord of all, bestowing his riches on all who call on him. For ‘everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved’” [ROMANS 10:9-13].
This is God’s invitation that is even now extended through the congregation of the Lord to any who will receive it. The Risen Saviour, the Living God, promises to any who will receive His grace freedom from guilt, freedom from sin, freedom from eternal banishment from the God of love. This freedom is offered to you, if you will receive it. This freedom will not be found in the church, nor will it be found in the rituals conducted by the churches of this world. The freedom that is offered will be found only as you receive Jesus, the Son of God, to be Master over your life. When you receive Him as King over your life, you receive all that He offers as well. And His offer includes deliverance from even the possibility that you could ever be excluded from Heaven.
What a beautiful statement of God’s love is penned by the Apostle as he writes to Christians living in the Roman province of Galatia. Paul testifies, “I have been crucified with Christ. It is no longer I who live, but Christ who lives in me. And the life I live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, Who loved me and gave Himself for me” [GALATIANS 2:20].
If I have been crucified with Christ, then there is no reason for me to be punished further. He took upon Himself all the evil that has marred my life, all the wickedness that has indelibly stained me, all the filth that has contaminated my soul. Christ, the Son of God, has cleansed me from all sin and makes me stand clean and pure in the presence of the Father. And that cleansing is offered to you if you are willing to accept Him as King over your life. The freedom that Christ offers is extended even to you if you are willing to receive it. Amen.
[1] Unless otherwise indicated, all Scripture quotations are from The Holy Bible: English Standard Version. Wheaton: Standard Bible Society, 2016. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
[2] Rev. W. Leo Daniels, “What in Hell do You Want?” Gospel Sermon, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=U6EnOOlphrY&t=699s, accessed 1 November 2021
[3] Mark Littleton, “The Greatest Story Ever Sold,” Moody Monthly, October 1983, pp. 58-61
