I have been thinking about hell a lot. Just ask the members of my church. My accountability partners pointed out to me this week that I have mentioned it every Sunday for the past eight weeks. The idea of it is always present when I preach, but they explained that I have been dwelling on it. They wondered what was up.
The day after my guys talked with me one of our seasoned saints dropped in to see me. The purpose of her visit was to check on me. She and her husband had been talking about me and were concerned that I was allowing my mind to focus too much and too often on the reality of hell. Their concern was for my health. They both felt that to dwell on that subject too much could lead to a dark emotional state. I don’t disagree with them. If I did not have the hope of heaven for myself and that I can share with others, I do not know how I could live.
I honestly had not thought about it all that much, but I think they are all correct. Since my sabbatical I have spent more time thinking and talking about eternity than I ever have in my life.
There are a lot of things that could attribute to this. For one I am getting near 40 and my father died at the age of 49 so I could be considering the reality of my own mortality. It may also be that the Scripture reading I have been doing points to the eternal so often. You can’t read Spurgeon a week without having him saying something about it.
I have also been reading a lot of C.S. Lewis. I love C.S. Lewis, but the way he describes hell is, I believe, inconsistent with Scripture. He was a very sophisticated and intellectual man. I have the greatest respect for him. But I do not think he does hell justice. I believe it is going to be far worse than he describes. He makes it sound like hell is the worst of humanity. That is true, but it is also the worst of everything. There are going to be demons there. The Bible speaks of a burning fire and a never ending suffering. Hope is lost. Grace is gone. There is an awareness of God, but the thought of Him is terrifying and painful. Spiritual, emotional, and physical suffering is continuous and strenuous. Others are screaming. Demons are raging. Fear abounds.
I hope this doesn’t mess up your day, but I think it is very important that we understand that hell is not safe. Christians have the truth that can set sinners free from this deserved damnation. We must take it serious and do all we can to avoid it and to help other people avoid it.
3 comments:
I, for one, am thrilled to hear you talk of the reality that exist without Christ and the hope that does with Christ. Hell is real and time is short. Is not that our duty to prepare and warn of those truths? Sugar-coating it or ignoring it is not going to make it less real or painful for those without Christ. We have to be intentional and I thank you for being just that. Soldier on Jason -there is nothing more frightening to Satan than when you tell it like it is!
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Hell is the antithesis of heaven. The chief end of man is to glorify God. We were made to do this (worship God for eternity). We were not designed for Hell. As a result, it makes perfect sense that dwelling on Hell is something we also cannot do well. Also, if we dwell on anything else, regardless of what it is, I also believe we cannot that well; as well.
I'm a firm believer that whatever our talents are in this life, and however good we are deemed at something, we are far better designed for worshiping our Rescuer than anything else.
However, the reality of Hell must be related to all; Christians and non-Christians alike.
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