BY Argie Simonis
Hell may not be the most popular or favorite topic of discussion, but did you know that Jesus was the one who spoke more about hell than anyone else in the Bible?
God never intended hell for man. And we see this in the 25th chapter of Matthew in the 41st verse, where the Lord said that Hell is prepared for the devil and his angels.
It is very important to understand that hell is NOT just a metaphor or a symbolism. It is a real place that all those who do NOT accept the salvation offered ONLY through Jesus will end up there.
There will come a day when all men who have walked on the face of the earth will stand accountable before God:
"And as it is appointed to men once to die, but after this the judgment:" Heb. 9:27
So when we accept the redemptive work of Jesus, then on the day of judgment we will go to Heaven not based on what we did, but based on what the Lord did for us.
But if you don't accept Jesus and think that your good works outweigh your bad and that will get you a ticket to Ηeaven, you are wrong. Do you know that you will give an account to the Lord for every word that came out of your mouth?
"But I say to you, That every idle word that men shall speak, they shall give account thereof in the day of judgment." Matt. 12:36
"For by your words you shall be justified, and by your words you shall be condemned." Matt. 12:37
Paul writes to the Romans:
"... whatever is ΝΟΤ of faith is sin." Rom. 14:23
Many believe that sin is to lie, steal or kill. Yes, all of this is sin, but we have just read that if you are NOT walking in faith you are in sin. Let's look at it Biblically:
"For ALL have sinned, and come short of the glory of God;" Rom. 3:23
Today's society has come to the point of calling good that which is an abomination to the Lord. In the LGBT community they claim that God made them this way. This is a lie! God never made anyone that way. Homosexuality and all kind of sexual perversion is sin.
The world today has a tendency to re-define good and bad according to its own standards and not according to what God says, with the excuse that some things that were true in the past are irrelevant with the development of society today. They even promote all these perversions and celebrate it with pride parades.
Do you know what these people actually do? They make themselves God, because they say
"God says so, but I say so, and so shall it be..."
This is a sin, and rest assured that those who do this will be held accountable to God.
See what David has to say:
"The transgression of the wicked said within my heart, that there is no fear of God before his eyes." Ps. 36:1
The reason that everyone who promotes homosexuality, transgenderism, pedophilia and all kind of sexual immorality, is because they have NO fear of God. They ignore that one day they will stand accountable before God for their actions, so they twist the words of God, exchange the truth with a lie and become gods themselves who decide what is right and what is wrong.
Human nature has not changed. Since the fall of man there have been homosexuals, transexuals, pedophiles, and all sorts of sexual immoral people.
A few years ago, if someone dared to go out and parade naked, they would end up in jail for public indecency.
And yet, today there are such parades of shame where people parade naked in front of children, and instead of the police arresting them, they are allowing them to do whatever they want. This is so wrong!
There are satanists who publicly impersonate Jesus on the cross and embarrass Him with various ironies and immoral things they do.
You know, such people have always existed, but there was also a fear of God that limited them. Today this fear of God has disappeared for two reasons:
- One reason is that these people have seared their conscience to such an extent that they fear neither God nor Ηell,
but there is another reason.
- Divine grace has been misinterpreted to such an extent that many have gone to the complete opposite extreme and believe that a God of love would never send someone to Ηell.
~~ This is a lie and completely contrary to what the Scriptures teach us. ~~
It is a fact that some people got mental, went out on the street and started shooting people and then commited suicide thinking that they would escape punishment.
How wrong they were! If these people knew that there is an afterlife, an eternity that follows this life here on earth and that they would give an account to God for their actions and had the fear of God, I am sure they would never do this.
~~ You don't have to be a Christian to have the fear of God because God gave ALL people a conscience and the ability in their hearts to know right from wrong. ~~
It is very important for everyone to understand that there is a day when ALL mankind will be judged and the choices we made HERE in this life will determine where we spend the rest of eternity after we die.
"The transgression of the wicked said within my heart, that there is no fear of God before his eyes." Ps. 36:1
"For he flatters himself in his own eyes, until his iniquity be found to be hateful." Ps. 36:2
"The words of his mouth are iniquity and deceit: he has left off to be wise, and to do good." Ps. 36:3
"He devises mischief on his bed; he sets himself in a way that is not good; he abhors not evil." Ps. 36:4
This is a picture of what is happening today.
There are people who not only don't understand good, but they promote evil:
"Woe to them that call evil good, and good evil; that put darkness for light, and light for darkness; that put bitter for sweet, and sweet for bitter!" Is. 5:20
Jesus said:
"... your word is truth." John 17:17
Some people admit that Sodom and Gomorrah were destroyed because of the sexual perversion that prevailed, but on the other hand they say that today the world has evolved and things are different.
~~ God's word does NOT change and is the rule for every moral value. No one is God, and no one has the right to define what is right or wrong except God. ~~
God has given us the privilege of free will to choose what we want, but if you choose incorrectly you will stand accountable before God, and God's word which is the standard of right and wrong will judge you.
We must all recognize that:
"... ALL have sinned, and come short of the glory of God;" Rom. 3:23
and that:
"... the wages of sin is death; but the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord." Rom. 6:23
~~ Every person who does not accept Jesus in his life is heading for a Christless eternity, and that is Hell! ~~
God does not want anyone to perish:
"The Lord is not slack concerning his promise, as some men count slackness; but is long-suffering to us-ward, not willing that any should perish, but that ALL should come to repentance." 2Pet. 3:9
God wants ALL people to be saved, but Jesus warned us that unfortunately many will perish:
"Enter you in at the strait gate: for wide is the gate, and broad is the way, that leads to destruction, and MANY there be which go in thereat:" Matt. 7:13
The ONLY way to salvation is Jesus:
"Jesus said to him, I am the way, the truth, and the life: no man comes to the Father, but by me." John 14:6
Going to Hell does not depend on how good or bad you are. All of us, from the day we are born have a sinful nature and that's why Jesus came and died; to free us from this sinful nature.
~~ Anyone who ignores the need for a Savior and does not accept the redemptive work of Jesus and believes that he can be saved by his own good works, that's self-righteousness and that person is heading straight for hell! ~~
That's why it is so important to understand that hell is NOT a symbolism but a real place where those who reject Jesus will end up, because we were all born in sin and
"... were dead in trespasses and sins;" Eph. 2:1
But when not even the state church does not take a firm position and actively oppose the marriage or adoption of same-sex couples, how do we expect to see any fear of God in society?
And when the church does not dare to openly speak about the reality of Hell, but only caresses the ears of the believers to keep them coming, what kind of revival do we expect to see?
There are hundreds of references in the Scriptures about Hell, Gehenna, and Hades, spoken by many men of God, from Moses in the book of Genesis, to John in the book of Revelation.
The one who talked about hell the most was Jesus.
Jesus was the One who with His sacrifice on the cross brought us the grace of God so that no one would have to go to hell:
"For the law was given by Moses, but grace and truth came by Jesus Christ." John 1:17
Praise God that because of this grace, we don't get the punishment we deserve. That DOESN'T stop Hell from being a real place that exists, and that anyone who relies on their own goodness will end up there.
~~ Grace means that I do NOT receive what I deserve, (punishment), but I receive as a gift what I do NOT deserve (salvation and blessing). ~~
If you believe that you deserve salvation because you are good by yourself and that you are not a sinner, then you can have neither salvation nor a savior,
"For when we were yet without strength, in due time Christ died for the ungodly." Rom. 5:6
To be continued...
No comments:
Post a Comment