You Are In Danger

Here is another excerpt from Mark Driscoll's Heaven and Hell sermon.

Hell Was Made To Protect Us

There has been a lot of talk over the last few weeks about the reality of Hell, of whether Hell is eternal, and if anyone will actually go there; or since God is love will we all just end up in Heaven?

Well the Bible tells us that Hell is a real place and that there are many who will end up there. But Hell was not created for people. As Mark Driscoll points out in this clip, Hell was created for the devil and his angels, at its purpose it to protect us.

God loves us, but God is also holy and He is just. Therefore sin must be paid for. We can either pay for it ourselves in Hell, or we can humbly come to Jesus in repentance and faith accepting the payment that He made on the cross. My prayer is that you do the latter.

Do You Deserve To Go To Hell?

Well, it has been a long time; so long in fact that I have almost forgotten how to do this.

I listened to a sermon this morning by Dr. Michael G. Morrow that I think is worth sharing, so I encourage you to grab a cup of coffee (or tea if you are so inclined), and take 30 minutes to see what the Bible has to say about who deserves to spend eternity in Hell.

As Sure As Hell

Several months ago I was sitting somewhere and overheard a conversation between two people in which one of them said to the other, "It sure as hell does." That got me thinking, how many people will casually use a phrase like that and never understand the reality of what they have just said. Hell is real, and people need to be warned about its existence and that unless they repent of their sins and put their faith in Jesus Christ that is where they will spend eternity. But we don't warn them. We work and we shop and we play next to people everyday who are perishing - and they don't even know it.

Yes, hell is real. And if we believed that (like we say we do) we would be telling people about it; we would be pleading with the people that we love to come to Christ for the forgiveness of their sins. But we don't hear much about hell anymore in our churches, all we hear about is that God loves you and has a wonderful plan for your life. This is tragic; while we are hearing about the wonderful plan God has for us our friends and families (and people we don't even know) are dying, and they are going to hell!

And since we don't hear much about it anymore, listen to what Jonathan Edwards had to say on the subject:

To help your conception of what hell is

Jonathan Edwards

"His winnowing fork is in His hand, and He will clear His threshing floor, gathering His wheat into the barn--and burning up the chaff with unquenchable fire!"

Matthew 3:12

"They will throw them into the fiery furnace, where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth!"

Matthew 13:42

"Then He will say to those on the left--Depart from Me, you who are cursed, into the eternal fire prepared for the Devil and his angels!"

Matthew 25:41

"If your hand causes you to sin, cut it off. It is better for you to enter life maimed than with two hands to go into hell--where the fire never goes out!"

Mark 9:43

"He will burn up the chaff with unquenchable fire!"

Luke 3:17

"I am in agony in this fire!"

Luke 16:24

"Those who suffer the punishment of eternal fire!"

Jude 1:7

To help your conception of what hell is--imagine yourself to be cast into a fiery oven--or into the midst of a great furnace, where your pain would be as much greater than that occasioned by accidentally touching a coal of fire--as the heat is greater. Imagine also, that your body were to lie there for a quarter of an hour, full of fire, as full as a bright coal of fire, all the while full of quick sense. What horror would you feel at the entrance of such a furnace! And how long would that quarter of an hour seem to you! If it were to be measured by the hour-glass, how long would the glass seem to be running! And after you had endured it for one minute, how unbearable would it be to you--to think that you had yet to endure the other fourteen minutes!

But what would be the effect on your soul--if you knew you must lie there enduring that torment to the full--for twenty-four hours! And how much greater would be the effect--if you knew you must endure it for a whole year! And how vastly greater still--if you knew you must endure it for a thousand years! O then, how would your heart sink, if you thought, if you knew--that you must bear it forever and ever! That there would be no end--that after millions of millions of ages, your torment would be no nearer to an end, than it ever was; and that you would never, never be delivered!

But your torment in Hell will be immeasurably greater than this illustration represents! How then will the heart of a poor creature sink under it! How utterly inexpressible and inconceivable, must the sinking of the soul be in such a case!

"If anyone's name was not found written in the book of life, he was thrown into the lake of fire!" Revelation 20:15

And here is what Arthur Pink had to say:

"Such, in brief, is the portion awaiting the lost - eternal separation from the Fount of all goodness; everlasting punishment; torment of soul and body; endless existence in the Lake of Fire, in association with the vilest of the vile; every ray of hope excluded; utterly crushed and overwhelmed by the wrath of a sin-avenging God!"

Arthur Pink, Eternal Punishment

But we have more than just the words of Jonathan Edwards and A.W. Pink; we have the words of Jesus Himself, who said:

There was a rich man who was clothed in purple and fine linen and who feasted sumptuously every day. 20 And at his gate was laid a poor man named Lazarus, covered with sores, 21 who desired to be fed with what fell from the rich man’s table. Moreover, even the dogs came and licked his sores. 22 The poor man died and was carried by the angels to Abraham’s side. The rich man also died and was buried, 23 and in Hades, being in torment, he lifted up his eyes and saw Abraham far off and Lazarus at his side. 24 And he called out, ‘Father Abraham, have mercy on me, and send Lazarus to dip the end of his finger in water and cool my tongue, for I am in anguish in this flame.’ 25 But Abraham said, ‘Child, remember that you in your lifetime received your good things, and Lazarus in like manner bad things; but now he is comforted here, and you are in anguish. 26 And besides all this, between us and you a great chasm has been fixed, in order that those who would pass from here to you may not be able, and none may cross from there to us.’ 27 And he said, ‘Then I beg you, father, to send him to my father’s house— 28 for I have five brothers—so that he may warn them, lest they also come into this place of torment.’ 29 But Abraham said, ‘They have Moses and the Prophets; let them hear them.’ 30 And he said, ‘No, father Abraham, but if someone goes to them from the dead, they will repent.’ 31 He said to him, ‘If they do not hear Moses and the Prophets, neither will they be convinced if someone should rise from the dead.’

Luke 16:19-32

Some people teach that this is just a parable, but in no other parable did Jesus ever name the the people involved and here we are told that this story involves a poor man named Lazarus who had died, an unnamed rich man who had also died, and Abraham. I believe that Jesus named Lazarus here because the people that He was telling this to knew who Lazarus was.

Likewise, they probably also knew the rich man, so why is his name not given? Could it be that in hell there is no longer the need for individuality since the people there are in complete isolation (notice that the rich man never makes reference to anyone else in this place with him). That is just speculation on my part, but look at what Jesus does say about this man: he is in torment; he could see the comfort of God's people; he still had his senses (he begged for water to cool his tongue); he was in anguish; he described the place he was in as being in a flame;he was aware of his past life; and he understood why he was there and what it would take to keep others from coming there.

Imagine your family and friends in a place like this. And not just for a day - For Ever! The Bible teaches that it is appointed for man to die once and then judgment (Hebrews 9:27) - there are no second chances. Notice in the passage above that the rich man is told that there is a great gulf fixed between the place where he is and the place where Abraham and Lazarus are and that no one can cross over it from where he is to where they are. that means when someone dies their eternity is fixed.

Heaven is forever, but so is hell, and we need to warn people. The Bible says:

For God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life. 17 For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but in order that the world might be saved through him.

John 3:16-17

...if you confess with your mouth that Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved. 10 For with the heart one believes and is justified, and with the mouth one confesses and is saved.

Romans 10:9-10

For “everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved.”

Romans 10:13

The Lord is not slow about His promise, as some count slowness, but is patient toward you, not wishing for any to perish but for all to come to repentance.

2 Peter 3:9 (NASB)

This is the Gospel -the good news - Jesus is God in human form who came to this world to die and take upon Himself the wrath of God for the sins that we committed. He was buried, and three days later He physically rose from the dead. If you repent of your sins and place your faith in Him you will be saved.But we have to let people know that if they reject Jesus Christ they will spend eternity in hell; the good news of the Gospel is freely offered to everyone, but you have to repent and come to Christ.

Those who do not repent will end up just like the rich man in the passage above - "as sure as hell."

The Puritans (Part 7) - The Wrath To Come

Yesterday I finished up the post on 1 John 2:2 and this morning I opened my email to find this from Grace Gems. If you have any question about what it was that Jesus saved us from, or why it is that we need a Savior, just read this.

"Jesus, who delivers us from the wrath to come!" 1 Thessalonians 1:10

By "the wrath to come" we are to understand the infinite wrath of the sin-avenging God—in comparison with which, the wrath of all other creatures in the world is mild, and not in the least to be regarded.

This wrath which is to come, will be most bitter—beyond any gall or wormwood to the taste. This wrath will be most pure—without any allay or mixture of any comfortable ingredients. This wrath will be most plentiful—the treasury of which will be opened in hell, and all the damned will be filled with it abundantly. This wrath will be most weighty—beyond any mountain of lead, to sink sinners down into the bottomless pit. This wrath will be most fierce—and so powerful that all the powers of men and devils shall not be able to make the least resistance. This wrath will be intolerable—and yet must be borne; it will be implacable—so as never to be appeased; and it will be eternal—so as never to be ended!

This wrath will include the punishment of loss—will consist of the loss of the crown, glory, and happiness of heaven, where the righteous shall be admitted to the immediate vision and full fruition of God the chief good, which will fill them with soul-ravishing, inconceivable, and eternal joy. But from this, all the wicked will be eternally shut out, and wholly denied any share in the least of that happiness which, when they come to understand the worth and excellency of it—will above all things be most vexing to them!

This wrath will include the punishment of sense—will consist in the horrible pains and tortures which shall in extreme measure be inflicted upon every part of the bodies of all the wicked, by the most dreadful and unquenchable fire into which they shall be thrown; and the horrible anguish which, through the immediate impressions of God's wrath, shall be inflicted upon every faculty of their souls in hell, where they shall have no ease or release forever! Matthew 25:41, "Depart from Me, you who are cursed, into everlasting fire, prepared for the devil and his angels!" Revelation 14:10-11, "They shall drink of the wine of the wrath of God, which is poured out without mixture into the cup of His indignation, and shall be tormented with fire and brimstone in the presence of the holy angels and in the presence of the Lamb. And the smoke of their torment ascends up forever and ever, and they have no rest day or night."

The wicked are vessels fitted by sin for destruction, and prepared for wrath; and therefore they shall be filled with it! God has treasured up wrath for the wicked—as they have treasured up sin! God will give them that which they have so much deserved, and which He has prepared for them. However sinners may vainly hope to flee or hide themselves from the stroke of God's vengeance, yet God's right hand will find all those who hate Him; and He will make them as a fiery oven in the time of His anger, swallow them up in His wrath, and devour them with the fire of His indignation! (Psalm 21:8-9).

The souls of the wicked, as soon as they are loosened by death from the ruinous habitation of their bodies, presently appear before God, are condemned to hell, and are dragged by the devil, hell's jailer, into that prison where they are bound in chains of darkness, filled with horror and anguish until the day of eternal judgment!

Oh, the dread and confusion which the wicked then shall be filled with—when they are summoned and dragged to the tribunal seat of Christ—and there have the books opened before them, where all their sins are written, and which will then be made manifest to the whole world; and when the sentence "Depart, you who are cursed, into everlasting fire!" shall be passed upon them; and when the Lord shall open the treasury of wrath to them, and give them that portion thereof, which is their due; and when they shall see the mouth of hell open beneath them, and a horrible flame issuing forth from there, giving notice of a more horrible fire within which is prepared for them!

Oh, the dread! Oh, the shrieks! Who can dwell with such devouring fire! Who can inhabit such everlasting burnings! How welcome would a great rock or mountain be—if they could find any that would fall upon them, and hide them from the wrath of the Lamb, and keep off the strokes of God's vengeance, which then will be inflicted upon them!

But, the sentence being pronounced—the execution will follow—and none can escape it! From Christ's tribunal seat, the wicked will be thrown into the fiery prison of hell, where they will be shut down and shut in, and that forever! There they will lie; there they will fry, and there they will cry! Though always dying—they will never die! The fire there will burn most dreadfully and continually, yet will never be extinguished! The wicked will be tormented there, in every part and in extreme measure—and their torment will never be ended!

Thomas Vincent (1670)

Remember, it is the kindness of God that leads us to repentance (Romans 2:4), and what could be more kind than being saved from this? Take some time today to thank God for sending Jesus to redeem us and thank Jesus for the salvation that He provided.

What an awesome God we serve!

The Puritans (Part 6)

While I finish up my next 1 John post here is another excerpt from Puritan author Thomas Watson. This time he is warning us about the dangers of Hell and exhorting us to resist the devil and his schemes. James tells us to:

Submit yourselves therefore to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you. 8 Draw near to God, and he will draw near to you.

James 4:7-8a

So read what Thomas Watson had to say, and then spend some time today alone with God, this is the only way that we can successfully resist the devil and draw near to our Heavenly Father.

"Woe to the wicked! Disaster is upon them! They will be paid back for what their hands have done!" Isaiah 3:10-11

When things seem to be well with the wicked—though they have more than their heart can wish—yet it shall be woe with them at last! "Because the wicked do not fear God, it will not go well with them." Ecclesiastes 8:13

The ungodly man lives under the curse of God! Floods of God's fury and wrath hang over the head of a wicked man! He is heir to all the plagues written in the Book of God! All of God's curses are the sinner's portion, and, if he dies in his sin—he is sure to have his portion paid to him!

Woe unto the wicked! Every bit of food he has—he has it with a curse! It is like poisoned food given to a dog! Every drop of wine he drinks—he swallows a curse with it! Woe unto the wicked! There is a curse in his cup, and upon his table!

Death puts an end to all his COMFORTS—no more indulging and pampering the flesh; no more cups of wine; no more music. "All the fancy things you loved so much are gone! The luxuries and splendor that you prized so much will never be yours again. They are gone forever!" Revelation 18:14. No more joy and gladness, no more mirth and music. All a sinner's choice foods, his fancy garments, his sparkling jewels—all depart from him at death!

Death is the beginning of all his MISERIES! Every sin at the hour of death, stands with its drawn sword in its hand. Those sins which delighted him in life—now frighten and terrify him! All his joy and mirth—is turn into sadness! All the sugared joys of a wicked man at the hour of death—turn into the water of tears and sorrow.

After death, follows the sentence: "Depart from Me, you who are cursed, into the eternal fire prepared for the Devil and his angels!" Go from the presence of Christ—in whose presence is fullness of joy! Go from Christ—with a curse! Remember this, you who go on in your sins—once this sentence is passed—it can never be reversed!

Hell is the very epitome of misery, "I am in agony in this fire!" Luke 16:24. The Scripture tells us that in hell, there are these three things: darkness, fire, and chains!

Hell is called a place of DARKNESS. "For whom is reserved the blackness of darkness forever!" Jude 13. Hell is a black region, nothing but the blackness of darkness forever. It must be a dark place—where they shall be separated from the light of God's presence. Indeed, Augustine thinks there shall be some little sulphurous light there; but even if it is so, that light will only serve that the damned may see the tragedy of their own misery, and see themselves tormented!

In hell, there is FIRE. It is called a burning lake "Anyone whose name was not found recorded in the Book of Life, was thrown into the lake of fire!" Revelation 20:15. You know that fire is the most torturing element, and makes the most dreadful impression on the flesh. Hell is a place of fire.

It is disputed among the learned, what kind of fire it is—I wish we may never know! It is material fire—but far hotter than any earthly fires—which are but painted fires in comparison with hell-fire! Who knows the power of God's anger! Who can dwell with these everlasting burnings! It is intolerable to endure them—and impossible to escape them!

In hell, there are CHAINS. 2 Peter 2:4. Sinners who now will not be bound by any law of God—shall then have chains of darkness to bind them! These chains suggest unto us, that the wicked in hell shall not have power to walk up and down, which perhaps might be a little easier for them, though very little. But they shall be firmly chained down—so as not to be able to stir! Oh, this will be terrible indeed!

Suppose a man should lie always firmly chained on a down bed—and might not stir out of his place—it would be very painful unto him. But the damned will lie eternally chained upon the rack, always under the torturing scorching of God's wrath!

How dreadful are the thoughts of the condition of the wicked! They are under darkness, fire, and chains!

To add to the torment of hell, there are two more things which show that it shall be woe to the wicked—the worm and the serpent.

First, there is the WORM to torture the damned spirits—the worm of a tormenting conscience! "Where the worm never dies!" Mark 9:44. Oh, how dreadful it will be, to have this tormenting worm! The tormenting conscience a hellish fury! Conscience will be just as if a worm full of poison were feeding on the heart of a man! Those sinners who would never hear the voice of conscience—shall feel the worm of conscience!

Second, as there is the worm to torment, so there is the DEVIL, who is called "the old serpent." In hell, as there is the biting of this worm—so there is the stinging of this old serpent! The damned shall be forced to behold the devil. Anselm said, "I would rather endure all the torments of this life, than to see the devil with bodily eyes." But the wicked shall see the devil—whether they want to or not; and not only see—but feel the stinging of this old serpent, the devil. Satan is full of rage against mankind, and will show no mercy. As he puts forth all his subtlety in tempting man—so he puts out all his cruelty in tormenting man.

This is not all! There are two more things in the torments of hell.

These agonies and hell-convulsions shall be forever. "And the smoke of their torment ascends forever and ever and they have not relief day nor night!" Revelation 14:11. Thus it is in hell. They desire to die—but they cannot. The wicked shall be always dying—but never dead. The smoke of the furnace ascends forever and ever. Oh, who can endure thus to be forever upon this rack! This word "forever" breaks the heart! Wicked men now think a sermon and a prayer long—but oh, how long will it be, to lie in hell forever and ever! After millions of years, their torments are as far from ending—as at the first hour they began!

Another aggravation of hell torment, is that the damned in hell have none to pity them. It is some comfort, some ease—to now have our friends to pity us in our sickness and need—but those in hell have no friends. God's mercy will not pity them. His mercy is turned into fury! The holy angels will not pity them—but will rejoice when they see God's vengeance. They exult and glory when they see the justice of God executed upon His enemies! "And again they shouted—Hallelujah! The smoke from her goes up for ever and ever!" Revelation 19:3. Oh, how sad is this—to lie in the scalding furnace of God's wrath—and none to pity them! When they cry out—God will laugh at them!

What a frightening word is this—to all wicked men who go on desperately in sin. There has never been such an inundation of wickedness, as now. Men sin as if they would spite God, and dare Him to damn them! Men sin so greedily—as if they were afraid that hell's gates would be shut up before they got there! Oh, how brazenly do many sin! They go to hell shamelessly in their wickedness!

"There shall be weeping and gnashing of teeth!" One says, "That is sad fare—where weeping is the first course—and gnashing of teeth is the second course!" This gnashing of teeth arises from the extremity of the torment which the wicked suffer. They are not able to bear it—and know not how to avoid it! Also, the wicked in hell gnash their teeth at the godly—to see them in heaven, those whom they persecuted, scoffed, and jeered at—and themselves in hell forever! How may this astonish a wicked man! If all the curses in the Bible will make a man miserable—he shall be made so!

Take heed that none of you are found among the number of the wicked. Take heed of being of this black regiment, which wears the devil's colors and fights under his banner! The sinner and the fiery furnace—shall never be parted! Take heed of those sins which will bring you to hell-fire! When you are tempted to any wickedness, think to yourself, "How can I bear the fierceness of God's wrath forever! How can I lie in the winepress of God's wrath forever!" Take heed of those sins which will bring you into this place of torment!

I have read a story of a young woman who, being tempted by a young man to commit sin, said unto him, "Grant me but one request—and I will do what you ask."

"What is that?" he said.

"Only hold your finger for one hour, in the flame of this burning candle."

"No, I will not do that!"

She replied, "Will you not for my sake, hold your finger for one hour in the flame—and will you have my soul lie burning in hell forever!" Thus, she rebuked the temptation.

Does Satan tempt you to wickedness? Say this, "Oh, Satan, if I embrace your temptations, I must lie under your tormenting cruelty for all eternity!" This will be a shield, to quench the fiery darts of the devil.

Wicked men live cursed—and die damned! They are the very mark which God will shoot at—and He never misses His mark!

Thomas Watson

A Letter From Hell

Every Christian needs to see this video.

Now, go share your faith!