The Reality of Hell

There is an overwhelming epidemic of no fear of God today, both among God’s people, as well as with those who are not born again. I have no question that the fear of the Lord is the most crossed out element of the true Gospel of Christ in this modern era. That is not to say that the remainder of the true Gospel has NOT been crossed out, but rather that real godly fear is scoffed at more than anything else I can think of. So it is no wonder that almost universally God’s people have been taught that they can be saved and be a part of the “first resurrection”, or the “resurrection of the just,” even with sin in their lives (Rev. 20:6; Lk. 14:14). So why did Jesus issue the following warning to those who would believe on him? “For there is nothing covered, that shall not be revealed; neither hid, that shall not be known. Therefore whatsoever ye have spoken in darkness shall be heard in the light; and that which ye have spoken in the ear in closets shall be proclaimed upon the housetops. And I say unto you my friends, Be not afraid of them that kill the body, and after that have no more that they can do. But I will forewarn you whom ye shall fear: Fear him, which after he hath killed hath power to cast into hell; yea, I say unto you, Fear him” (Lk. 12:2-5). Considering the scriptural fact that we will all be judged according to our works, the first part of this passage should be sobering enough (Eccl. 12:13,14; Rom. 14:10-12; II Cor. 5:10). But the last part of the passage is just as direct as it can be, and there can be no question that Jesus is saying we very much need to fear God, because if we do not, we will surely go to hell after death. The divine wisdom that God bestowed upon Solomon in great measure was largely about the fear of God: “Then shall they call upon me, but I will not answer; they shall seek me early, but they shall not find me: For that they hated knowledge, and did not choose the fear of the LORD” (Prov. 1:28,29). It is a very serious thing indeed to get into a position where God will not regard our cry. Yet according to the scripture, if we refuse the fear of the Lord, that is where we will eventually end up. Solomon went one better when he summed up the book of Ecclesiastes, which I consider to be the most powerful and sobering description of the human existence ever written: “Let us hear the conclusion of the whole matter: Fear God, and keep his commandments: for this is the WHOLE DUTY of man” (Eccl. 12:13).

Friend, you are already in trouble if you are thinking something like this right about now: “Well, God doesn’t want us to be afraid of him, but just to have a great respect for him.” That just doesn’t sound anything at all like what Jesus said in our text passage. And it will take more than respect to fulfill the following words from the Proverbs: “By mercy and truth iniquity is purged: and by the fear of the LORD men depart from evil” (Prov. 16:6). The lack of godly fear among God’s people is inseparable from the fact that the body of Christ is under dominion to Christian traditions and doctrines that actually promote sin by subtle means. The raw reality is, if you or I leave this world with sin in our lives, we will go to the unspeakable torment of hell, from whence we will await the great white throne judgment, after which we will be cast into the lake of fire that burns with brimstone forever; which is a fate far worse than hell (Rev. 20:11-15; Rev. 21:8). It was that particular fate, known as “the second death,” that Jesus warned us of, saying, “And if thy hand offend thee, cut it off: it is better for thee to enter into life maimed, than having two hands to go into hell, into the fire that never shall be quenched: Where their worm dieth not, and the fire is not quenched. And if thy foot offend thee, cut it off: it is better for thee to enter halt into life, than having two feet to be cast into hell, into the fire that never shall be quenched: Where their worm dieth not, and the fire is not quenched” (Mk. 9:43-46). My friend, Jesus suffered, died, and rose again to give us the same power from heaven that he had, so that we can purify ourselves from sin and remain pure; so that we could avoid that fate and inherit eternal life instead. There is no doubt that nothing less than true holiness of the heart and soul will be found worthy to inherit that said eternal life (Mat. 5:8; Tit. 2:11-14; Heb. 12:14). As it is written, “Blessed and holy is he that hath part in the first resurrection: on such the second death hath no power” (Rev. 20:6). I don’t know about you, but these things make me feel a whole lot like taking heed to the sobering admonition of the apostle Paul: “Wherefore, my beloved, as ye have always obeyed, not as in my presence only, but now much more in my absence, work out your own salvation with fear and trembling” (Philip. 2:12). Amen.