The Greatest Question Of Life - A Message About Eternal Judgment And Hell

THE GREATEST QUESTION OF LIFE

TEXT: Mark 8:36-37

Mark 8:36-37 KJV For what shall it profit a man, if he shall gain the whole world, and lose his own soul? [37] Or what shall a man give in exchange for his soul?

I. INTRODUCTION—THE MOST FOOLISH IMPLICATION OF ALL

-Over the last several years there have been a lot of books written about heaven. Some of those books have even become movies. It has pushed the idea of heaven to the forefront of American society and people are thinking about heaven.

-But with all of these books and movies there seems to be an alarming implication—everyone will be saved and no one will be lost and go to hell.

• Is this really true?

• Is this what the Bible teaches?

• Is this what Jesus taught?

• Is this the idea that the apostles understood that Jesus said?

• Are all people really going to be saved in the end no matter what they did or how they lived their lives on this earth?

-I believe this is one of the most foolish implications that has ever been put before our society.

II. WHAT EVENTS ARE CONFIRMED BY THE BIBLE?

-If that idea that all will be saved no matter what, then there are some very serious doctrines in Scripture that from the beginning to the end of the Bible will have to come to nothing.

• The Rapture

• The Judgment Seat of Christ

• The Great White Throne of Judgement

• The Marriage Supper of the Lamb

• The Millennial Reign of Jesus Christ

• The Tribulation

• The Antichrist

-All of these are solid biblical doctrines. Many of them have their origin in the Old Testament and then they are magnified in the New Testament. All of these doctrines are ones that the church in ages past have held dear to them.

• Matthew 24-25—The Olivet Discourse

• Daniel 7-12—A picture of the Last Days and how it will unfold

• 1 Corinthians 15—The Resurrection

• 1 Thessalonians 4—The Rapture

• 2 Thessalonians 2—The Antichrist

• Revelation 1-22—The grand portrait of the finale of the battle between God and evil

-All of these matters are clearly defined by the Bible. But because our society and even the church has such a low level knowledge of Scripture, these great doctrines and events that are noted throughout Scripture, many people are largely unfamiliar to them.

-Far too many have the idea that the Bible is a book that you reach in a pull a verse from here and another one from there to serve as a bit of hope in times of difficulty and trouble. When your approach to the Bible is like that it is about like trying to read a novel, a biography, or a textbook with a page here and a page there. If you are preparing for a test in that way, you can be assured you will fail that test.

-Of all of the great doctrines of Scripture that has been lost in the mix is the one concerning the doctrine of hell. It has especially taking a beating in the last 40 years as the humanistic ideas have prevailed in our world. Men who are so-called intellectuals cannot really lower themselves to think that a loving God would send men to hell.

-The famous poet, T. S. Eliot wrote a poem that goes like this:

What is hell? Hell is oneself.

Hell is alone, the other figures in it

Merely projections.

There is nothing to escape from,

And nothing to escape to.

One is always alone.

-Sadly many of our time would like to believe that idea that hell is simply being alone.

III. THE DISAPPEARANCE OF HELL

A. How It Disappeared

-What led us to the place to think that one of the main subjects the Lord was constantly warning men about doesn’t matter or isn’t true?

-Some of it is the choking and stifling madness of materialism of our times. It is that which demands that I get everything I can and stuff may hands and my soul and my life with things that are going to rust, that moths will eat, and that thieves can break in and steal from me.

-Another way that hell begin to backslide in our thinking was the literal obsession that exalts youth and fitness. Do this and stay young. . . Eat this and be healthy. . . Read this for advice on how to train your body. . . All of this comes at great neglect to the soul. The body very well may be healthy but it is the soul that has become anemic, sickly, septic, and shocked to such a degree that it is withering away.

-Have you ever been to a funeral and heard a preacher say these words?