Hell is probably the least talked about topic in churches today. But hell is very real. God does not desire His people to perish, sadly, we fall away because we do not know the truth. We do not seek Him; we do not read His word and we do not accept His calling for our lives.
My people are destroyed for lack of knowledge. – Hosea 4:6
The most effective preacher of the Lake of Fire was Jesus Christ. No one emphasised on hell as the ultimate outcome of God's judgement or condemnation more than Him. Look through the Scriptures; Jesus spoke more of hell than of heaven. Knowing that our need for a Saviour is the first step on the path to God.
The Story of the Rich Man
Humanity is adequately forewarned about how to escape damnation in God's Word. The rich man who mistreated Lazarus was condemned to hell and there he realised how mistaken he was about life after death. He begged for a message to be sent to alert his family so they may avoid his situation, but he was told that his family can avoid hell by following God's laws which comes by reading and understanding His word.
Then he said, ‘I beg you therefore, father, that you would send him to my father’s house, for I have five brothers, that he may testify to them, lest they also come to this place of torment.’ Abraham said to him, ‘They have Moses and the prophets; let them hear them.’ And he said, ‘No, father Abraham; but if one goes to them from the dead, they will repent.’ But he said to him, ‘If they do not hear Moses and the prophets, neither will they be persuaded though one rise from the dead. - Luke 16:27-31 NKJV
Why Would a Loving God Send Anyone to Hell?
For God so loved the world, that He gave His only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in Him should not perish, but have everlasting life. – John 3:16
Hell is not a threat to those who trust in Jesus Christ. Many claim to trust God, but do you truly follow His ways, seek Him daily, and honour Him with reverence and fear? Do not be a lukewarm Christian, trying to enjoy both God’s blessings and the pleasures of the world. When you choose to walk with God, your life centres on Him, you act to glorify Him and walk in truth and light. Be the Christian the Bible defines, not the one the world defines. You belong to God, not the world.
You will spend all eternity in the Lord's presence on the new earth. We should detest sin and place our faith in Jesus to avoid God's wrath and the fires of hell, allowing the reality of hell to motivate us. In this way, we do not perish for our sins but rejoice in the salvation Christ gave us through His death on the cross.
God, who created everything, has laid out the way to salvation. The problem is that humanity does not adhere to God's standard of living. We cannot all assert that we are sinless. A sinner can be defined as someone who has committed even one sin. We have the same sickness, sin. Sin is what keeps us from God forever. Even while God gave people the ability to choose, His justice demands that those who disobey be punished just like the justice system of any country. Sin cannot exist in the presence of a holy God.
Misconceptions About Hell
Hell is not a cool place, where you get to see your friend and make jokes about how you ended up there. Hell is not even something that people should joke about. God’s anger is nothing to make fun of.
There shall be weeping and gnashing of teeth, when ye shall see Abraham, and Isaac, and Jacob, and all the prophets, in the kingdom of God, and you yourselves thrust out. – Luke 13:28
It is a common misunderstanding that Satan is in command of hell, that he and his minions reside there, and that they are the ones who torment sinners for all time with their pitchforks. No where in the Bible does this idea even have a foundation. Rather than being the tormentor in the lake of fire, Satan will actually be one of the suffering.
Who Will be Sent to the Lake of Fire?
But the cowardly, the unbelieving, the vile, the murderers, the sexually immoral, those who practice magic arts, the idolaters and all liars—they will be consigned to the fiery lake of burning sulfur. This is the second death. – Revelation 21:8
The apostle Paul declared, "There is not even one righteous person. There is not even one good person in the world (Romans 3:10-12).
Hell is the destiny of those who reject God and persist in sin without turning to Christ. Paul asserts that upholding a system of works will not make someone righteous. Righteousness apart from the law has been revealed through the substitutionary death of Christ on our behalf. This righteousness is received when we repent of our sins and accept Jesus Christ as Lord of our lives. The gift of God's righteousness is the only means of avoiding a realm of eternal anguish (Acts 4:12).
So, those who go to hell are those who choose their sin over following Christ.
