Thought For Today - March 6, 2023
Hell Is No Joke! -
By: Robert A. Searles
My Dear Friends
I
admit that this may come across as an unpopular message, and rather
long, but I believe that God has laid it upon my heart to warn the
wicked, my unsaved friends, neighbors ,and loved ones, of the
consequences of not taking heed to his Word, and accepting his plan of
salvation for their souls. I have applied this message first of all to
myself, and then to the world.
I
pray that you will read all the way through to the end. And if you are a
"born again" Christian and love God, you will speak the truth in love,
and share this message wherever you are or wherever you go.
Has
anyone ever told you to “go to Hell”? Have you ever told anyone to “go
to Hell”? Have you heard any “jokes” about Hell?
Have you told any “jokes” about Hell? My friend, allow me to tell you
and warn you, by the authority of the Word of God, the
holy bible, that Hell is no joke and is not to be trifled with and
taken lightly.
Hell is a real
place, even as earth is a real place, and Heaven is a real place. Hell
is a place of continual fire, kindled by
the anger of God: “For a fire is kindled in mine anger, and shall burn
unto the lowest Hell and shall consume the earth with her
increase, and set on fire the foundations of the mountains.”
Deuteronomy 32: 22.
Hell is a place prepared by God for the devil and all the rebellious angels who followed him, and the eternal abode of all
who willfully reject the love of God.
“Then shall he say also unto them on the left hand, depart from me ye cursed, into everlasting fire, prepared for the devil
and his angels.” Matthew 25:41.
No one will automatically go to Heaven; but everyone WILL automatically go to Hell unless they are SAVED. There is no
middle ground where we receive a second chance. Someone has rightly said: “Going to Hell requires no decision, and no
reservation is necessary.”
The bible teaches that once we are born and die, we will exist and live forever in one of two places, Heaven or Hell, heaven- a place of eternal joy, peace and happiness in the presence of God our father and saved loved ones, or - Hell, a place of eternal fire, a place of eternal torment and suffering, separated from the love of God, with never any escape.
Unless
we believe on the Lord Jesus Christ: that he is God manifested in the
flesh, Emanuel, God with us, and that he came
to offer himself a sacrifice to pay the penalty for our sins, and unless
we confess that we are all sinners and need a Savior and
recognize Jesus Christ as our redeemer and rescuer, and call upon him
to have mercy upon us and save us, our destiny will be
to spend eternity in that horrible, eternal place called Hell. Being in
Hell forever is the natural state of mankind without God, just
as cold is the natural state without heat, and darkness the natural
state without light.
To be
condemned by God and separated from him forever means Hell, indeed! The
bible says: “He that believeth on him is not
condemned; but he that believeth not is condemned already because he
hath not believed in the name of the only begotten son of
God, and this is the condemnation, that light is come into the world,
and men loved darkness rather than light, because their deeds
were evil.” John 3: 18, 19
My
friend, if you would rather “hide out” as it were, in the darkness of
sin, and rebellion rather than to enter into God's light
of love; if you are a lover of this world rather than a lover of God,
then on the authority of God's word, Hell is your inheritance
forever. When our blessed Lord Jesus Christ walked on the earth, he
taught and warned of the dangers of Hell fire more than the
glories of Heaven. Hell is a place of continual, everlasting sorrow,
grief, anguish, pain and suffering; it is a place of perpetual
darkness where there is “weeping and wailing, and gnashing of teeth”,
and as the scripture says: “the worm dieth
not” - that is – the fire is never extinguished, the thirst is never
quenched, the pain is never eased, the loneliness and despair
of being forever separated from a loving God and godly loved ones is
never abated. - See Matthew 8: 12 and Mark 9: 43-48.
“The
children of the kingdom shall be cast out into outer darkness, there
shall be weeping and gnashing of teeth,” “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. And if thine eye
offend thee, pluck it out: it is better for thee to enter into the
kingdom of God with one eye, than having two eyes to be cast
into hell fire, where their worm dieth not and the fire is not
quenched.”
The Lord Jesus
Christ confirmed the fact that Hell is a real place of fire and eternal
punishment, and gave us warning that it
is to be avoided at all cost.
There is a great gulf fixed between Heaven and Hell, between the
good and the evil. That gulf cannot be crossed. No one
is able to go from one to the other. God is kind, and merciful and
long suffering, but he has warned us that “his spirit shall not
always strive with man.” Gen 6: 3
. One day God will close the doors of Heaven and all who have refused to hear his call
will be shut out, and then all there is left is Hell forever.
Today,
the door of Heaven is wide open, God is calling. If you
hear his voice, answer his call and be saved: “Now is the accepted time;
behold, now is the day of salvation.” 2 Corinthians 6: 2.
Tomorrow
may be too late. The door might be shut.
In Luke's gospel chapter 16, verses 19-31, Jesus told of one who
was rich in this world's goods and thought he had no need
for God; but when he died he went to Hell: “And in Hell he lift up his
eyes being in torments, and seeing Abraham afar off and
Lazarus ( a poor beggar, who in his lifetime knew and trusted God), in
his bosom, he cried and said, father Abraham have mercy
on me and send Lazarus that he may dip the tip of his finger in water
and cool my tongue for I am tormented in this flame” Now
it was too late for him to repent. The door had been closed. He was
there in Hell forever, forever to be tormented.
Don't fool yourself, my friend. Don't play Russian roulette with your eternal destiny. Any moment could be your last on
earth, and then where will you find yourself in Heaven or in Hell?
“It is appointed unto man once to die (young or old, rich
or poor), and after this the judgment.” Hebrews 9:27. Where will you stand at the judgment? If you were to die today do you
have the assurance of Heaven or is the mouth of Hell gaping wide open , waiting to receive you into everlasting habitations
and torment? Death is not the end of your existence, my friend, but commencement, as it were, when you are either promoted to
Heaven, or consigned to Hell forever.
When
God created you and me, he gave us a life that would go on forever.
You and I
will spend eternity some place, either in Heaven or in Hell.
The bible says. “ It is appointed unto men once to die” (that is – our
spirit is to be separated from our physical body), “ and
after that the judgment.” Hebrews 9:27.
How will you be judged when you find yourself before the judgment throne of
God? Jesus said: “At the end of the world, the angels shall come forth and sever the wicked from among the just
shall cast them into the furnace of fire: there shall be weeping and wailing and gnashing of teeth.” Matthew 13: 49-50.
.
How will you be judged, as among the wicked or among the righteous? In the book of Revelation John tells us: “And I saw
the dead, small and great stand before God; and the books were opened; and another book was opened which is the book of
life; and the dead were judged out of those things which were written in the books, every man according to their works.
And the sea gave up the dead which were in it; and death and Hell delivered up the dead which were in them; and they were
judged every man according to their works, and death and Hell were cast into the lake of fire. This is the second death, and
whosoever was not found written in the book of life was cast into the lake of fire.” Revelation 20: 12-15. “The fearful and
unbelieving and the abominable, and murderers and whore mongers, and sorcerers and idolaters and all liars, shall have their
part in the lake which burneth with fire and brimstone which is the second death.,” Revelation 21: 8.
My
friend, is your name written in the lamb's book of life? Have your
sins been forgiven? Have you believed since you
heard the Word of God? Have you asked God to show you his loving
kindness and tender mercies and apply the shed blood
of the Lord Jesus Christ to your account so that you might be declared
righteous in his sight? As you read these words and
hear his voice, the opportunity is still available to you, but consider
the awesome alternative that lies before you if you refuse.
My
friend, don't expect to party with your drinking “buddies” in Hell.
Hell fire always burns, but never consumes. A split
second after you leave this physical body, if you find yourself in
Hell, it will be a terrible unnecessary situation because God
in his love and mercy has provided a way of escape from the horrors of
Hell to enjoy the pardon of God forever. “I amAlpha
and Omega, the beginning and the end, I will give unto him that is
athirst of the fountain of the water of life freely. He that
overcometh shall inherit all things, and I will be his God, and he
shall be my son. “Revelation 21: 6-7.
The good news is that God himself so loved you and me that he took upon himself human flesh in the person of Jesus Christ,
and came to earth to rescue from Hell, and to save all who will believe and trust in him. “God so loved the world that he gave
his only begotten son that whosoever believeth in him should not perish but have everlasting life.” John 3: 16.
“Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ and thou shall be saved and thy house.” Acts 16: 31. Christ Jesus came into the world
to save sinners. “As it is written, there is none righteous, no not one.” Romans 3: 10. “For all have sinned and come short of
the glory of God.” Romans 3:23. “The wages of sin is death (separation from God in Hell forever), but the gift of God is
everlasting life (with God forever in Heaven) Through Jesus Christ our Lord.” Romans 6: 23. “What must I do to be
saved?”, the Philippian jailer asked. “Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ and thou shalt be saved and thy house.” Acts 16: 31
was the answer.
My friend, while there is still time for you to avoid the horrors of Hell forever, won't you heed the warning?
Hell is no joke: it is a horrible certainty for you unless you believe God, ask for his mercy , and trust in his promises.
If you have read thus far in this message, if you have in your possession a copy of the Word of God, the Holy Bible, and
if you have ever heard the preching of the Word of God, perhaps the Holy Spirit is tugging at your heart, even perhaps
causing you to be quite uncomfortable and miserable, convicting you of the truth of what you have heard and read, and if
that is so, then this is good evidence that God is drawing you to himself to be saved.
The
bible says that no one can come
to Christ except the Father draws him. No one can earn salvation by
any amount of good works or good intentions or good
deeds, for salvation is a gift from God. “For by grace are ye saved,
through faith and that not of yourselves, it is a gift of
God, not of works lest any man should boast.” Ephesians 2: 8 ,9.
My friend, God sends no one to Hell willingly. God is not willing that any should perish, but that all should come to
repentance. If you go to Hell it will be because you have trampled on the love of God and the prayers of Christian loved
ones and friends, the shed blood of Jesus Christ, and the working of the Holy Spirit. Don't be a fool. “The fool hath said
in his heart, there is no God.” Psalm 53: 1.
Believe the gospel that - “Christ Jesus died for our sins according to the scriptures, and that he was buried, and that he
rose again the third day according to the scriptures.” 1 Corinthians 15: 3,
4. “Wherefore he is able to save them to the
uttermost that come unto God by him, seeing he ever liveth to make intercession for them.” Hebrews 7: 25. He is able
to save all who will come to him by faith, and admit their sins and ask for his forgiveness.
Will you dear reader consider doing this if you have not already done so, before the door is eternally closed and it
is everlastingly too late, and you learn for sure that Hell is no joke because you find yourself there?
When you have
received Christ into your heart, and have become a born again child of God, confess him with your mouth. The bible
says that “With the heart man believeth and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation.” Romans 10:10.; Tell
your friends, your wife, your husband, your children, your parents and co-workers. You ought to seek the fellowship
of other believers in a bible believing fundamental church where the bible, and the bible alone is the sole authority for
faith and practice. You ought also, after you are saved, follow the Lord in believer's baptism as a testimony of your
new life in Christ. May the Lord lead you and bless you and save you from the horrors of Hell which otherwise you
will find is no joke.
Telehelp Publications Christian Literature Ministry
Psalm 26:7
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