What do the Scriptures teach about hell?

 BY Argie Simonis

In the previous message I emphasized how important it is to understand the difference between revelation knowledge and the intellectual or academic knowledge we acquire.

Revelation knowledge CANNOT be taught. It comes from the work of the Holy Spirit in our hearts and affects our minds and the way we think:

"But the Comforter, which is the Holy Ghost, whom the Father will send in my name, he shall teach you all things, and bring all things to your remembrance, whatever I have said to you." John 14:26

In this message I will talk about Ηell. What do the Scriptures teach us about hell and how can these revelations change our lives?

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Most people believe that there is a Heaven and a Hell, and that good people go to Heaven and bad people go to Hell.

Do you know what happens in reality?

The FORGIVEN people are the ones who go to Heaven and those who did NOT accept the GIFT of salvation offered by Jesus Christ, end up in Hell.

In other words, no matter how good someone is compared to others, if they have NOT accepted Christ's redemptive work, they will end up in Hell. This is what the Scriptures teach us.

"For all have sinned, and come short of the glory of God;" Rom. 3:23

ALL men, without exception, are guilty and are going to Hell, unless they accept the salvation offered by Jesus:

"For the wages of sin is death; but the GIFT of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord." Rom. 6:23

Salvation is a gift; NOT a wage to earn:

"For BY GRACE are you saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the GIFT of God:" Eph. 2:8

"NOT OF WORKS, lest any man should boast." Eph. 2:9

That is why Paul continues in the 3rd chapter of Ephesians and says that the grace of God is a mystery that the Lord revealed to him:

"For this cause I Paul, the prisoner of Jesus Christ for you Gentiles," Eph. 3:1

"If you have heard of the dispensation of the grace of God which is given me to you-ward:" Eph. 3:2

"How that by revelation he made known to me THE MYSTERY; (as I wrote before in few words," Eph. 3:3

Paul writes in Romans something equally important:

"But not as the offense, so also is the free gift. For if through the offense of one many be dead, much more the GRACE of God, and the GIFT by grace, which is by one man, Jesus Christ, has abounded to many." Rom. 5:15

With the phrase "if through the offense of one many be dead," Paul means Adam. We did not become sinners by what we did, but because of what Adam did. Therefore, when we sin, this is actualy the manifestation of our sinful nature that we inherited from Adam.

By nature we are born separated from God. This is what Paul emphasizes when he says:

"...we ALL had our conversation in times past in the lusts of our flesh, fulfilling the desires of the flesh and of the mind; and were by nature the CHILDREN OF WRATH, even as others." Eph. 2:3

"But God, who is rich in mercy, for his great love with which he loved us," Eph. 2:4

"Even when we were dead in sins, has quickened us together with Christ, (by grace you are saved;)" Eph. 2:5

This is very important to understand:

~~ We do not get a sinful nature because we sin, but we sin because of the sinful nature we inherited from Adam. ~~

"For if by one man's offense death reigned by one; much more they which receive abundance of grace and of the gift of righteousness shall reign in life by one, Jesus Christ.)" Rom. 5:17

"Therefore as by the offense of one judgment came on all men to condemnation; even so by the righteousness of one the free gift came on all men to justification of life." Rom. 5:18

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Look what David writes in his psalm:

"Behold, I was shaped in iniquity; and in sin did my mother conceive me." Ps. 51:5

Here he does not mean that his mother committed adultery and became pregnant, but refers to what Paul writes:

"For all have sinned, and come short of the glory of God;" Rom. 3:23

I will explain this a little better. See what Paul writes here:

"For I was alive without the law once: but when the commandment came, sin revived, and I died." Rom. 7:9

What Paul means here is that the sinful nature is NOT imputed to someone until that person reaches the age of accountability, which is the mental capacity to know what they are doing and that they are sinning against God. That's the point where they become accountable to God for their actions.

You may think this is strange, but do you know that according to Rom. 3:23 even a newborn baby has a sinful nature?

A baby behaves completely selfishly and does not care about anyone else. It doesn't care at all if in the middle of the night won't let his parents sleep because it''s hungry or wants it's diaper changed.

Of course babies don't intentionally try to do harm, but they have this sinful nature, no matter how innocent and cute they look.

When a baby dies, it has NOT reached the point of being accountable for its actions, so its sinful nature is NOT imputed to it by God.

Here I will also debunk a myth, which some people use to scare the believers into baptizing their babies (of course with the appropriate compensation). The Scriptures teach us that if an unbaptized baby dies (birth defect, disease, abortion), it does NOT go to hell, because of the un-accountable. What I mean by that is

~ When a baby dies, it has NOT reached the point of being accountable for its actions, so its sinful nature is NOT imputed to it by God. ~

"Why, as by one man sin entered into the world, and death by sin; and so death passed on all men, for that all have sinned:" Rom. 5:12

"(For until the law sin was in the world: but sin IS NOT IMPUTED when there is no law." Rom. 5:13

When king David lost his child he said:

"... While the child was yet alive, I fasted and wept: for I said, Who can tell whether GOD will be gracious to me, that the child may live?" 2Sam. 12:22

"But now he is dead, why should I fast? can I bring him back again? I shall go to him, but he shall not return to me." 2Sam. 12:23

What David means here is that after he died and went into the presence of the Lord in Heaven, he would also find his child there.

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I will say this again:

~~ Therefore, good people do NOT go to Heaven; the forgiven do, and bad people do NOT go to Hell; those who have denied Jesus Christ and the salvation He offers, do. ~~

When we all stand before God on judgment day, the Lord will not take a scale to see if our good deeds outweigh our bad. There is only one criterion that will determine whether we spend the rest of eternity with God or away from Him:

"And when Ηe is come (the Comforter, the Holy Spirit), Ηe will reprove the world of sin, and of righteousness, and of judgment:" John 16:8

"Of sin, because they believe not on me;" John 16:9

I hope you understand all this, because these are great truths that will set you free from errors and from all the burden and guilt that the spirit of religion brings.

When Jesus came as a man, He paid a debt that we could NOT pay. He died and went to Hell and suffered the punishment we deserved to suffer:

"Why He said, When He ascended up on high, He led captivity captive, and gave gifts to men." Eph. 4:8

(Now that He ascended, what is it but that He also descended first into the lower parts of the earth?" Eph. 4:9

That is why it has nothing to do with whether our good is greater than our bad. It all has to do with whether we have accepted the payment of sin that the Lord made for us.

All other religions require your good works in order to get saved and go to Heaven. Only Christianity offers salvation through a Savior!

"And Jesus answering said to them, Suppose you that these Galilaeans were sinners above all the Galilaeans, because they suffered such things?" Luke 13:2

"I tell you, No: but, except you repent, you shall all likewise perish." Luke 13:3

"Or those eighteen, on whom the tower in Siloam fell, and slew them, think you that they were sinners above all men that dwelled in Jerusalem?" Luke 13:4

"I tell you, No: but, except you repent, you shall all likewise perish." Luke 13:5

This revelation made me realize that I couldn't do it on my own. I needed a Savior so I could go to Heaven and be eternally with the Lord. When I prayed and asked Jesus to come into my heart, I may not have had the experience of Paul on the road to Damascus, but a supernatural peace came within me,

"Therefore being justified by faith, we have PEACE with God through our Lord Jesus Christ:" Rom. 5:1

and I felt the assurance that I have

"... passed from death to life." John 5:24

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What I believe is missing from many people's lives today is the awareness that there is a heaven to be won or a hell to be lost. They have no fear of God. They think that they are not accountable to anyone and that they will never give an account to God for their actions.

So they live a completely immoral life and they never consider that their decisions in THIS life will determine whether they spend the rest of eternity in Heaven or Hell.

The Scriptures are not only about love and compassion. There are also serious warnings, and those who ignore them will face the consequences, which have eternal consequences. See an example:

Most of us know John 3:16:

"For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish, but have everlasting life." John 3:16

Look also how John continues in the next 2 verses:

"For God sent not his Son into the world to condemn the world; but that the world through him might be saved." John 3:17

"He that believes on him is not condemned: but he that believes not is condemned already, because he has not believed in the name of the only begotten Son of God." John 3:18

So it doesn't matter if someone has lived a relatively good life compared to some other people who have robbed or murdered for example, because 

"... all have sinned, and come short of the glory of God;" Rom. 3:23

And all this is a result that is coming from the Lord's warning to Adam in the Garden of Eden:

"But of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, you shall not eat of it: for in the day that you eat thereof you shall surely die." Gen. 2:17

Let me make something clear here: Death is not ceasing to existc as some people claim; it is actualy separation from God. 

The spirit of man does not die, it is eternal.

ALL people are born with a sinful nature and are therefore spiritually dead, meaning that they are separated from God, and if they DO NOT ACCEPT Christ's redemptive work in THIS life, they will spend the rest of eternity in Hell, separated from God.

This is what John means here:

"He that believes on him is not condemned: but he that believes not is CONDEMNED ALREADY, because he has NOT believed in the name of the only begotten Son of God." John 3:18

Many believe that on Judgment day God will compare their works with those of other people, and if they are relatively better, they will enter into Heaven.

This is far from reality!

"... ALL have sinned, and come short of the glory of God;" Rom. 3:23

"... There is none righteous, no, not one:" Rom. 3:10

NO ONE can stand before God on their own righteousness, because NO ONE can meet God's standard of righteousness by their own works, no matter how good they may be.

So it all boils down to one thing: 

Have you accepted Jesus into your heart? 

Even if you help people with volunteering work or with your money, if you never stole, murdered or wronged anyone, none of that counts.

The greatest sin of all is NOT accepting Jesus Christ. 

In other words, you don't recognize that you CANNOT save yourself, but you need a Savior. It's like saying 

- Jesus doesn't count. 

- That He came and died for nothing. 

- I can save myself by doing good works.

 

~~ This is called self-righteousness and it is the greatest sin of all! ~~

"And when He is come,(the Comforter, the Holy Spirit) He will reprove the world of sin, and of righteousness, and of judgment:" John 16:8

"Of sin, because they believe not on me;" John 16:9

This sin is greater than the sin of murder, adultery, homosexuality, pride, theft, lying, injustice, and every other evil you can think of.

It is basically the ONLY SIN that will send someone to Hell. 

~~ Where do you put your faith? To the Savior Jesus Christ or to yourself? ~~

All other sins have been paid for on the cross of Calvary and forgiveness through Jesus Christ is available to those who accept Him into their lives.

~~ But whoever does NOT accept the Savior, CANNOT receive the forgiveness He offers. ~~

"... he that believes ΝΟΤ is condemned already, because he has not believed in the name of the only begotten Son of God." John 3:18

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Some also believe that Jesus is simply the cherry on the cake of their good and pious life. I really doubt if these people have ever been born-again. It is very important for all of us to understand that Heaven and Hell are realities and not metaphors, and that everyone who has lived on this planet throughout the human history, was born with a sinful nature.

Because of Adam, we were ALL born sinners and headed for Hell. But Jesus came and died for us, took upon Himself all sin and made forgiveness available to all who repent and accept Him as their Savior.

Now, watch this:

"For every one that does evil hates the light, neither comes to the light, lest his deeds should be reproved." John 3:20

This is exactly what is happening in today's society. All these anti-christs out there, who are now openly persecuting Christians and opposing the Scriptures, deep down, on a heart level, they know very well that their works are evil. They cannot stand the conviction on their consciences, coming by men of moral values who believe in God, who live godly lives and preach that man needs a Savior to be saved.

If 20-30 years ago anyone went out to parade naked in public, they would be arrested for public indecency.

But today they applaud these parades of shame that call gay pride, and say that homosexuality, transgenderism, pedophilia, beastiality and a bunch of other abominations are normal.

We even got to the point that men marrying men and women marrying women is becoming old fashioned, because lately there are people who have started marrying trees, animals, and even themselves! The world has gone crazy! This is the descent and dishonor of man because of sin:

"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

Do you know why all this is happening? 

"For every one that does evil hates the light, neither comes to the light, lest his deeds should be reproved." John 3:20

That is why it is so important to have this revelation that there is a real Heaven and a real Hell and that we are ALL headed for Hell unless we accept the salvation offered by Jesus Christ.

I have a lot more to say on this topic, so I will continue in the next message.

To be continued...