The Lost Truth

I want to start off with some educated assumptions about anyone reading this.  My first assumption is that everyone reading this has past the age of accountability.  That is the age at which you know the difference in right and wrong and can determine when you are willfully going against God.  My second assumption is that you are component enough to understand what is being written.  And my final assumption is that you are capable of rational thought and can develop insightful questions if you disagree with what you read.

Based on these assumptions, why is it so hard for people to face the truth about hell?  There are people in the church that refuse to believe there is a place of eternal damnation.  These are the same people that only want to talk about the grace and mercy of God.  And yes both of those are great for the feel good only Christians, but we can’t deny the fact there will be judgment one day for everyone.  We need to be taught that there are consequences for only accepting the portions of the Bible that fit our lives.  And those consequences ultimately lead to being lost forever. 

Jesus was so concerned about hell that he openly talked about it more than he did heaven.  He was well aware that allowing people to believe only the good things and not showing them the results would lead them down a false path of hope.  Jesus wanted us to know that hell was real.  In Mathew 22:13, Jesus describes hell as a place of darkness where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.  This verse doesn’t describe a happy place that we will get to all sit around together and sing songs.  It describes a place that only murders and child molesters should be condemned.  But to God there is no difference between the murders or the child molesters or the rapist or the white liars or anyone else that willfully disobeys God.  Hell is the place that your soul will end up if you hear the words, “depart from me I know you not.”

Hell has to be one of the hardest topics discussed with new Christians because they are just getting used to the idea of God being an all loving and kind God. Now the reality of a place like hell is brought up and it turns their world around.  The new believer now has to wonder why God would allow the people He loves to be thrown into a place of torment.  This subject is really best taught by churches that participate in the judgment houses.  They teach believers and non-believers how hell affects everyone in a scripted way.  The judgment houses really bring home the concept that God doesn’t want anyone to go to hell, but rather to accept the path of the righteous. 

As more and more churches turn away from the truth about hell, they are leading generations of people down a slippery slope that will end in a lost generation.  Do churches need to continue to preach the old turn or burn mentality every Sunday?  No they don’t, but it needs to make a comeback into the consciousness of every pastor and church.  Everyone needs to be reminded that there are consequences for their actions.  Just as a parent has consequences for a child, Christians need to know what to expect.  They need to be reminded that hell is real and just because they sit in the pews on Sunday doesn’t mean they are saved from it.

                Jesus discussed hell in depth for a reason.  He knew that it was a place that no one should be condemned to, but He also knew the reality that not all would walk with Him.  Right now I ask anyone reading this to ask them self, if I died tomorrow where would I go?  If you can’t answer that question or you are not sure, then I encourage you to get right with God.  Only then will the grace and love of God truly be shown to you.  God desires a relationship with all of us and He doesn’t want to see any one of us suffer.  So now, right this very second, is the time to choose this day who you will serve.

                Lord, I pray right now for anyone that doesn’t know where they stand with you.  I ask that you touch them in such a way that they know it is You.  I pray that right now someone that reads my ramblings will realize that they are headed for an eternal damnation if they don’t accept you.  Lord, please open the eyes of the churches that refuse to talk about hell anymore in their sanctuaries.  You alone can change the hearts and souls of all people when we allow you to enter our lives.  In name of Jesus, amen.