One day in New York City, right outside of the United Nations Building, there was a street evangelist preaching right on the street corner.  He was trying to get the attention of the people walking by.  He was preaching on hell and was warning people about the reality of hell.“I warn you,” he roared, “that in hell there will be weeping, wailing, and gnashing of teeth!”  An old woman in the crowd shouted out, “Sir, I have no teeth.”  “Lady,” the evangelist responded, “teeth will be provided!”Whether that is true or not, I don’t know.  But I do know that we live in a time where the message of hell is a “forgotten doctrine.”  In our time, rarely will you ever hear anyone preach a message on hell.  The idea of hell is so repugnant that we try to find ways to explain it away – false teachers have unfortunately done a good job doing this.It seems that virtually no one believes they are going to hell, but Jesus said in Matthew 7:13-14 – “Enter through the narrow gate. For wide is the gate and broad is the road that leads to destruction, and many enter through it. But small is the gate and narrow the road that leads to life, and only a few find it.”  The truth is: Many are on the road to hell and they don’t even know it. What stands out the most from the NT is that Jesus believed in hell.  Read the four Gospels and you discover that he spoke more about hell than heaven.  Most of what we know about hell comes from the words of Jesus.Throughout history, the Christian church has always believed in hell.  This is one of those rare points on which Catholics, Protestants, Orthodox, and evangelicals are in general agreement.  For 2000 years Christians have united in saying that those who die having rejected Christ will spend eternity in hell.In Romans 6:23 the Apostle Paul said, “For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.”God is so holy, so righteous, that he cannot allow sin in his presence, and because he is just, he cannot let sin go unpunished. Either we trust the punishment Jesus took on our behalf, or we endure our own punishment.Occasionally, someone will say to me, “Loren, I couldn’t serve a God who would send people to Hell.” To which I always respond, “You must have misunderstood. God is in the business of providing everyone a way to escape that awful place. He sent his Son, Jesus to take our punishment and to give us the gift of eternal life. We just have to receive the gift.From God’s point of view, hell is man’s choice.  Jesus said in John 3:19 – “Light has come into the world, but men loved darkness instead of light because their deeds were evil.”  God simply ratifies the choice of an individual’s determination not to submit his will to God.Imagine someone is driving down the interstate and they see a flashing sign that says: Danger! Bridge out: 1 mile. Detour ahead. Half a mile later it says: Danger! Bridge out: 1/2 mile. Detour ahead... Danger! Bridge out: 1500 feet. Merge left. There are flashing signs and cones and barriers across the bridge being repaired. What if someone is driving and hit the accelerator and drives right through the barriers and into the gully? Would anyone say, “How can our highway department be so cruel to send somebody to their death?” Of course you wouldn’t say that. God has put up so many warnings for every one of us about hell.  One of the warnings is this podcast episode.  Today’s Challenge: You don’t have to go to hell.  God has provided a way of escape for you.  But even God’s way of escape will do you no good unless you reach out and take it. I pray that you will receive God’s gift of salvation by placing your faith in Jesus as Savior and Lord.

Ver todos los episodios