1. The Holy Spirit emboldens us to teach about the wonders of heaven as our future home with the Lord. Paul wrote, "No eye has seen, no ear has heard, no mind has conceived what God has prepared for those who love him. But God has revealed it to us by his Spirit." (I Cor. 2:9,10)
Application: Ask the Lord to help you boldly teach of the wonders of heaven so that many will gain inspiration, hope and a greater reverence for God.
2. The Holy Spirit helps us distinguish between a healthy fear of hell and an irrational fear of men who have limited powers. Jesus said, "Do not be afraid of those who kill the body but cannot kill the soul. Rather, be afraid of the One who can destroy both soul and body in hell." (Matt. 10:28)
Application: Ask the Lord to give you the wisdom, understanding and communicative skills to help people distinguish between a healthy fear of God and an irrational fear of human authorities who have no eternal power.
3. The Holy Spirit shows us how to warn people of the horrors of hell as a motivation to trust Christ as their Savior from their sins. Paul wrote, "They will be punished with everlasting destruction from the presence of the Lord and from the glory of His power." (2 Thes. 1:9)
Application: Ask the Lord for help in clearly warning people of the horrors of hell so as to persuade them to trust Christ today as their Savior.
4. The Holy Spirit helps us paint a graphic picture of the torment in hell. In hell, people still have awareness of the history, communicational abilities, desires, hunger, thirst and feel pain. Jesus said,
"The rich man also died and was buried. In hell, where he was in torment, he looked up and saw Abraham far away, with Lazarus by his side. She called to him, ‘Father Abraham have pity on me and send Lazarus to dip the tip of his finger in water and cool my tongue because I am in agony in this fire." (Luke 16:23,24)
Application: Ask the Lord for help in giving a graphic picture of the torment, agony and eternal punishments in hell.
5. The Holy Spirit assures us that hell is a place only for the unrighteous who reject Christ’s offer for redemption by faith in His substitutionary sacrifice for the forgiveness of one’s sins. God does not wish that any perish, but that all come to repentance. (2 Pet. 3:8,9)
Application: Ask the Lord for help in explaining that hell is only for those who have chosen to reject or neglect Christ’s free offer of forgiveness for sins.
6. The Holy Spirit helps us talk about hell as Jesus did without appearing condescending, judgmental or morbid. Jesus said,
"If you right hand causes you to sin, cut it off and throw it away. It is better for you to lose one part of your body than for your whole body to go into hell." (Matt. 5:30)
Application: Ask the Lord for help to gently, respectfully and appropriately teach about the horrors of hell for maximizing what is good.
7. The Holy Spirit teaches us how to compare and contrast hell with what is familiar to people. Jesus said, "If anyone will not welcome or listen to your words, shake the dust off your feet when you leave that home or town. I tell you the truth, it will be more bearable for Sodom and Gomorrah on the day of judgment than for that town." (Matt. 10:14,15)
Application: Ask the Lord to help you clearly contrast and compare what hell is like with images that are familiar with your audiences. Ask God to help you teach from the known to unknown.
8. The Holy Spirit helps us show all people that we will reap what we have sown in quantity and in quality. Paul wrote, "The mind of sinful man is death, but the mind controlled by the Spirit is life and peace." (Rom. 8:6) Ask the Lord to help you show how the eternal consequences of what we sow and reap will be manifested in either heaven or hell.
9. The Holy Spirit shows us how the prayers for deliverance from hell will be denied. Jesus said, "Between us and you a great chasm has been fixed, so that those who want to go from here to you cannot."(Lk16:26)
10. The Holy Spirit instructs us on how many people will be held responsible for whatever light of truth they are exposed to. Jesus said, "If they do not listen to Moses and the Prophets, they will not be convinced even if someone rises from the dead." (Luke 16:31) Ask God to help people use what truth they possess.
11. The Holy Spirit teaches us not to perceive one group as worse sinners than another group. Do you think that these Galileans were worse sinners than all the other Galileans because they suffered this way? I tell you, no! But unless you repent, you too will all perish." (Luke 13:2,3) Ask the Lord to help people understand the urgency of making a decision to trust Christ for eternal forgiveness of their sins, instead of trying to excuse themselves by their comparing themselves with the other people’s faults or weaknesses.
12. The Holy Spirit persuades us of the horrors of hell and the priority of preaching the gospel by the awful truths of hell. Jesus said,
"If your eye causes you to sin, pluck it out. It is better for you to enter the kingdom of God with one eye than to have two eyes and be thrown into hell. Where their worm does not die, and the fire is not quenched." (Mark 9:47,48)
Application: Ask the Lord to help you persuade people of the priority of preaching the gospel to all nations with a clear description of the agonies of hell. Only when there is a conviction of one’s lost condition are they willing to totally transfer their trust to Christ as personal Lord and Savior. May the Lord help you to do so today before it is too late.
