Why are we not in Hell today?
1/17/03
Opening statement… Why are we not in Hell today?
Why are we not in Hell.?
Take your Bibles this morning if you would and please turn to 2ND Thessalonians chapter 1.
Read 2 Thess 1:5-9
Why are we not in Hell?
Today is the day that the Southern Baptist Convention observes sanctity of Human Life Sunday. This is the day that we as Southern Baptist… we as Christians, take the time to recognize the Value of Human Life….
It is a day that we discuss the Holiness of our creator GOD.
It is the day that we discuss the fact that God valued the life of mankind enough to form mankind in his own image… and to form a personal relationship with Human beings.
It is the day that we recognize that Jesus Christ valued our lives enough to hang on an old rugged cross in our stead… to bring us back into a relationship with God after the sinfulness of man caused a great separation.
It is the day that for years now, on this day, I have heavy heartedly mentioned the Millions of unborn babies…. Around 40 million now… that have been executed in Utero… all in the name of “Choice” .
Today is the day that in thousands of pulpits, the sanctity of Human Life on earth will be touted… just as I usually do on this day.
But the Lord led me in another direction for today’s messages. This evening’s message will tie into this morning’s message also.
You see, as much as the Lord loves Human Life… as much as God desires for us to live life abundantly as Christ himself said in John 10:10.
As much as God is concerned with our lives on this earth……
HE IS SO MUCH MORE CONCERNED ABOUT OUR SOULS………….
So again… why are we not in Hell at this very moment?
Now, we could get different answers to that question.
One of the answers many people give today is … “Well, we are not in Hell today… because there is no hell….”
Even some people who say they believe in the Word Of God may say there is no Hell.
And of the people who do believe in Hell, many of those do not believe in .. or at least understand Hell as it is described in the Bible.
Why are we not in Hell??
I want us today to understand the terrible realities that the Bible has to say about Hell…. If a man accepts the Cross of Christ…. He must also accept the realities of Hell…
Now, to understand the realities of Hell, I think it is important to understand how the word Hell in our English Bibles is translated from the original languages.
The Greek and Hebrew languages that the Bible was originally written in , were very complex languages. The same word could have many different meanings depending upon the context in which the word was used.
Now, the word Hell is used 54 times in the King James Version of the Bible… but it is not always referring to our topic at hand this morning.
There are three words most commonly used in Gods word that are translated as Hell…
First, there is the word “ Sheol” . This Hebrew or Old Testament word is used 65 times in the Bible and is translated as Hell, the grave, the pit, and a few others but it is usually not actually talking about the place of eternal punishment.
The Greek word “Hades” is translated 10 times in the New Testament, and out of these 10 times.. it is referring to the place of eternal punishment three times.
And then there is the Greek word “Gehena”
I would love to give you the origin and background of this word.. it is very interesting, but I am going to be pressing my time this morning and these words are not the main focus of today.
The word “Gehena” is used in the New Testament 12 times and it is always referring to the place of eternal punishment… or , the place that we are referring to when we say the word Hell…
And then there are also 7 or 8 other words, terms, or phrases that are scattered throughout the Word of God that are describing Hell.
Now, my intentions today were not to focus on these words, although I would like to some day. But I wanted you to understand that every time we see the word translated as Hell in the Bible.. it is not always referring to the place of eternal punishment that we are looking at.
And the reason I wanted you to understand this is because someone could be reading the Bible and depending on the translation, they may read the word hell when the writer was actually referring to the grave, or death, or the absence of life……
Someone could read the word Hell used in reference to one of these places and they may think…
“well, Hell doesn’t sound near as bad as what I have heard people say… or it doesn’t sound near as bad as what the preacher preaches about….”
Oh my friends, let me show you what the Word OF God truly has to say about the place all souls will go if they have never trusted Christ Jesus as their Lord and Savior before this earthly life is over….
I wish I had time to read every verse and every passage of verses in context this morning… but time will not permit me to. So I will reference a lot of scripture, and if you would, please take note of these verses, write them down, and then, you can go back and study them later..
In Luke chapter 16, the Bible teaches us that for those who never call on the name of Christ… that as soon as this life is over… the very moment the soul leaves the earthly body, …… instantly.. that soul will find itself in anguish and torment in the pits of Hell itself.
My Friends.. Hell is a place of torment!
It is NOT a place like so many people joke about… it is not a place where you can hang out with your buddies and friends and have a party for all eternity..
Matthew 25:46 and other passages, tell us that Hell is a place of ETERNAL PUNISHMENT…
Matthew 25:41 tells us that it is a place of Eternal Fire…
Isaiah 33:14 tells us that Hell is a place of a consuming fire that is an everlasting burning….
Matthew 13:42 says….
They will throw them into the fiery furnace, where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.
A place of such dread and destruction… there will be eternal weeping and gnashing or grinding of the teeth…. Because of the agony they are in….
One old time preacher preached on this verse many years ago… and a gentleman in his congregation called out…
“well preacher… what about them that aint got no teeth”
And the preacher replied…. Oh my brother…. Teeth will be provided…
Rev. 20:15 refers to Hell as a lake of Fire…..
Matthew 3:12 says that hell is an unquenchable fire…. Nothing can put out the flames…. Or the pain.
This week I touched the rack in the oven while I was taking something out of the oven. The oven was only 400 degrees… and I just touched the rack for a split second… and the pain was intense for hours…. and finally subsided to a dull ach…
In hell, the fire never dies… the pain never subsides…..
Rev. 21:8 tells us Hell is a place of burning sulfur… or some translations say brimstone… that is where we get the old fire and brimstone adage…..
Oh my friends… Hell is a place of Eternity….. a place of eternal suffering…. A place of eternal pain… a place of eternal agony… a place of eternal torment….
An eternity where, if the mind can think at all through the anguish, it will have an eternity to think of the blatant distain that was shown to Christ… the contempt that was shown to the one who offered to take their place… by refusing to call upon His name, and accept the free gift of salvation….
An eternity to say “Why did I worry about someone calling me a “Christian” and making fun of me…. If I only had It to do over again….”
But the Bible teaches us that there is no second chance…. It is appointed to man once to die, then the judgment…….
It would be dreadful to suffer this type of anguish and torment for a single moment…..
But to suffer for all eternity…
No end to the misery….
To look forward and see forever…. And to realize that there will never be any deliverance… the fire department is never going to show up… there will never be any rest…. There will never be an end to the misery.
The soul in Hell will understand and realize that they will be in torment for millions and millions of years…..
And then, after those millions and millions of years of anguish and agony…. There are just millions and millions more years of suffering ahead….
We can not comprehend eternity friends…… it is never…. never…. ending…
How could I ever stand here today and truly express the horrible state of a soul in such condition?
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It has been suggested that the references to both heaven and hell in the Bible are only symbolism… and I believe they are.
You see, the writers did the best they could to describe these places in a way where we might possibly get a picture of what it will be like in our minds…
Knowing friends, that the wonders and glories of Heaven are to great for our minds to comprehend..
But also realizing, that our minds are to feeble for us to even imagine the true terror… and torment of HELL!
Hell is not a place any soul wants to be…
Hell is a real, literal place where many, many souls will spend eternity……
So why are WE not in hell today…
Well, another answer to that question many people would give today would be
“well, we don’t deserve to go to Hell”
I probably get this type of answer more than any other…. Not necessarily word for word, but the meaning is the same….
“I don’t need a savior” some would say…
I’m a good person.
I’ve never done anything wrong.
I’ve never killed anyone….
I’ve never stolen anything… well at least anything big.
I’ve never cheated on my wife…. The Bible says that if you have looked upon a woman with thoughts of lust… you have committed adultery.
I take care of my family….
I’ve worked hard all my life….
I’m a good person……..
Or,
I don’t deserve to go to Hell…..
But the Bible teaches us differently….
Romans 3:10 says,
"There is no one righteous, not even one;
Not me, not you, not Billy Graham… no one.
Romans 3:23
for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God,
Romans 6:23
For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.
Isaiah 59:2
But your iniquities have separated you from your God; your sins have hidden his face from you, so that he will not hear.
Mankind is sinful… we are born sinful… From the very day that Adam and Eve ate of the tree of life, sin has been passed down generation after generation.
We are not born as clean slates as some psychotics… I mean, as some psychiatrists would have you believe.
We do not become sinful as a byproduct of our society or the environment we live in. Our society is in the shape it is in today because of our sinfulness… and because of mankind’s disobedience to God.
We are born with sin… and as we read a moment ago, sin separates us from God..
Friends… we Deserve to go to Hell.
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So, why are we not in Hell today?
Well, others would say that God is a God of love… and he would never send a soul to Hell.
Friends, God is a God of love,….
But He is also a God of wrath… and judgment.
And Gods wrath will fall upon all who reject His Son Jesus… and to not make any decision at all about Christ… is to Reject Christ….
Rev. 20:10 talks about the day of Judgment for all who reject Christ.. and after the judgment, the wrath of God will fall upon all who have rejected His Son…. And Gods wrath is fierce…
Isaiah 59:18
According to what they have done, so will he repay wrath to his enemies and retribution to his foes; he will repay the islands their due.
Rev. 19:15
Out of his mouth comes a sharp sword with which to strike down the nations. "He will rule them with an iron scepter." He treads the winepress of the fury of the wrath of God Almighty.
Isaiah 63:3
"I have trodden the winepress alone; from the nations no one was with me. I trampled them in my anger and trod them down in my wrath; their blood spattered my garments, and I stained all my clothing.
Isaiah 66:15
See, the Lord is coming with fire, and his chariots are like a whirlwind; he will bring down his anger with fury, and his rebuke with flames of fire.
Friends, the Judgment of God,… His wrath and anger… is not something we ever want to see…. Much less feel.
And out of all the Horrors that Hell will be like, I feel like the worst part of it all, will be what the Bible talks about in the focal passage of scripture this morning.
2 Thes. 1:9
They will be punished with everlasting destruction and shut out from the presence of the Lord and from the majesty of his power
I feel like the worst part of Hell, will be eternal separation from GOD…
To suffer for all eternity… not until the end of time because time will not end… but to suffer for all eternity, to be in torment for millions and millions of years..
And to not even have someone that will have pity on that soul….
To not have someone that is concerned about the eternal state of destruction that soul is in…
To spend 1 moment without the love of God would be dreadful… but to spend eternity that way… is incomprehensible….
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So…. Why are we not in Hell today?
Because my friends, God IS a God of love…. And the Bible tells us in many different places, that he is longsuffering… and God provided a way for us to spend eternity in Heaven.
1 Timothy 2:3 tells us that God wants all men to be saved..
God wants every single soul to be in Heaven… God would have that everyone would accept Christ, and receive salvation…..
But He will not Force it upon us… it is our decision to make… that is why he is longsuffering.. to give us every opportunity to be saved.
God will not send any soul to Hell…..
If a soul winds up in Hell, it is because of their rejection of Christ….
Not because of anything God will do.
When a judge sentences a criminal to prison for a crime he has committed… we don’t blame the judge…..
We don’t say, well, the judge is such a good judge, he would never send anyone to prison….
A person is sentenced to prison because of his own actions…
And so it is with Hell…
The Bible says our life on this earth is like a mist, a vapor, a shadow, brief, short, it is like flowers or grass that wither quickly….
But then we enter eternity…. And eternity is never ending….
The Bible says our life is but a brief moment in time… and at this very moment my friends… there are millions of souls hanging over the pits of Hell…
Just one heart beat away from spending eternity in that awful dreadful place…
Please be sure today my friends, that yours.. is not one of those souls…..
Yes, God is longsuffering… and God has held back his wrath for a time…. But that time will come to an end…
And then there will be wailing and gnashing of teeth….
If you are here today, and you have never given your life to Christ…
If you don’t know beyond any doubt that you’re a Christian,… then you should be afraid to leave here today, without giving your life to Christ.
Some people may misunderstand what we are referring to when we use the word salvation…
Friends, Jesus Christ paid the penalty for my sins and yours… and If you but call upon his name… the Bible says that your soul will be guaranteed a seat in heaven… your soul will no longer be dangling over the pits of Hell ready to fall into the eternal torment and anguish at any moment……
Friends….. that is salvation…..
In a moment, we are going to sing a song, we call it a hymn of invitation… and during that time, when everyone is singing, if you have any questions, if you want to know anything, if you want to give your life to Christ…. You can come, and I will be more than happy to help you,
My prayer today is that everyone here is a Christian…. But if you are here and you are not…. You can be, before you leave…
And then there are many here this morning who say, boy, it sure is good to know what the Bible says about Hell, and it sure is good to know that IM not going… but, I am a Christian…. I did not need to hear this message….
Oh my friends,…… WE ALL need to hear this message….
And if you’re a Christian, and you want to know why….. then come back this evening for the conclusion of this discourse…
But the most important thing right now, is this time of invitation.. and if you are here and you do not need to make a decision this morning.. than may I ask you to pray for those who do…..
