If there is no Hell, then there is no need for accountability of ones life. Go ahead, live however you please, get as much pleasure as you like, just make sure for societies sake that you stay out of jail. If there is no Hell, then there is no reason to turn from your wicked sinful heart, because God, who is Holy, has now put His holiness and justice aside by allowing sinners, who have lived however they please into eternal glory in Heaven.
If there is no Hell, then I'm going to start living it up a little bit more. If there is no Hell, then I don't see the need to forgive my brother who has hurt me. If there is no Hell, then life is all about me and I'm going to live like it.
Yet, Jesus Christ did die and He did rise from the dead. He was seen by over 500 hundred witnesses after his resurrection. On the cross He cried out, "Tetelestai", which translated means, "It is finished". The Greek word implies that something has been completed, perfected and accomplished in full. Jesus Christ uttered these words right before He took His last breath, because in this one statement He was saying, my purpose, of coming to this world to save sinners, to make a way for them to be made right with God has been accomplished through my death. It is finished, and in that one moment, Jesus Christ took away all sin for those who would trust in His death and resurrection to save them.
God, came down as a man. Don't believe it? Ok, go ahead, disprove the resurrection. Find someone else who claimed that He was equal with God and defeated death. I promise you, you won't find anyone.
Since Jesus Christ proved that He was God, then Hell is real. Since Hell is real, we have to ask ourselves, where am I headed? Many of us will say, well I'm a good person so of course I'm not going to Hell, but the truth is that our eternity is not based upon how good we are, for if it was then again Christ death would have been pointless.
One must ask themselves, according to God's will revealed in the Bible, how do I measure up? Jesus says, any man who lusts after a woman in His own heart has committed adultery with her. He also says, if a man hates his brother it is the same as murdering them. Wow, fit in there anywhere?
Ever lied? Stolen? Cheated on a test? The reality is that because God is Holy He cannot allow sin into Heaven. There must be an exchange. The exchange must take place with one who was without sin and that was Jesus Christ. "He who had no sin, became sin, so that we might become the righteousness of God" 2nd Corinthians 5:21
One must realize that in and of themselves, there is no salvation, but only through Jesus Christ can true salvation be found. Do not come to Him with pride, for He will have nothing to do with it. The truth is that everyone is deserving of Hell, not Heaven.
Come to Him in brokenness over your own sin, call out to Him to save you and watch Him transform you into a new person. It is only then that you can be assured that after you die that you will have a hope of eternal life in Heaven.
Do not be deceived. Trust in the Lord Jesus today and be set free!
It's amazing how we are deceived by this world's relativism, falling into the trap that our sin is not really sin, or that our sin isn't as bad as some others sin. Truth is, SIN IS SIN, whether you lied to spare someone pain, or you ogled someone as they walked by, or you simply used the Lord's name in vain, as is customary and, unfortunately, all too common in society's vernacular these days. Thank you for shedding light in the darkness. Let the truth give sight to those who are blind. For they are doomed to walk in perpetual sin unless we share the truth. God bless you.
ReplyDeleteHi Heather,
ReplyDeleteThough I of course agree that Hell exists, and Christ saves us from it, I think it's also important to be clear about what Christ saves us FOR.
He saves us not merely that we can go to heaven when we die, but that when He returns to earth to bring heaven here and make all things new (Revelation 21-22), he will resurrect our dead bodies into brand-new ones, incapable of death, suffering, pain, sin, sorrow, and decay. And then we will live forever with him in the new, restored, resurrected heavens and earth, and enjoy everything he has prepared for us to do.
We sell the life that Christ has given us so short by just speaking about it in terms of "going to heaven when you die." Romans 8:18-25 and Revelation 21-22 promise us that going to heaven when we die is just the prelude to the much bigger thing that God has in store for us when he resurrects us on the last day.
John,
DeleteThanks for your response. I agree with you 100%! This blog post was just in response to some people that I've spoken with recently who don't believe that Hell exists. My main objective was to tackle that issue. I do agree with you that we do often forget about talking about the joy that awaits us in the New Jerusalem. Maybe that will be my next blog post :) In fact, I did some teaching on it last year in youth group in our series called "What Happens When You Die?" I taught the students all about the New Heavens and New Earth. It will certainly be an experience that you and I cannot even begin to fathom. I'm so glad that Jesus just doesn't save me from Hell, but that He saves me for a life so great the no eye has seen, no ear has heard and no heart can fully know what God has prepared for those who love Him. It will be a place with no sickness, death, crying or pain, hallelujah!
Thanks for reading :). To God be the glory! If you have a minute check out this best two minutes video from our series last year. I thought that it had a lot to do with your post.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=B2DdZb_QC64