Hell is the subject and the place of eternal torment that
will keep me up at night as I ponder this very fact that many people I work
with, many people close to me are on a wide path to eternal destruction. Does
it keep you up at night Christian? Do you consider the flames that are never
ending for many who are being held accountable for their iniquities against a
holy and righteous God? O how we should rightly fear our Lord! And let us make
no mistake about what it means to be saved as well, for it says in Matthew 7:22
On that day many will say to Me, ‘Lord,
Lord, didn’t we prophesy in Your name, drive out demons in Your name, and do
many miracles in Your name?’ Oh yes, the very fact that a professing
Christian is ever active in the church cannot keep them out of that terrifying
place where the flames never die down nor where the worm likewise never dies.
Should we not rightly fear our Lord? If only then that our lives become of no
use even to Christ’ observance, what a terrifying thing to hear from our great
and powerful Lord “away from me, I never knew you!” The underlying presumption
is that this person presumes to know Christ, but clearly it is more right that
Christ knows us.
Do you ever consider Christian that the very
thing that keeps you away from hell is the Lord’s attribute of grace and mercy?
We all deserve hell, we all deserve the full cup of the Lord’s holy and right
wrath poured out onto our souls. Paul’s observation of mankind tells us so in
Romans 3:10-18 “there is no one good…” And right you are Paul! Do you ask
yourself this simple question Christian, “what did the Lord see in me to choose
a person like me?” I can tell you the simple truth is this; He saw nothing but
a vile wretched sinner that without the working of the Lord’s love upon the
cross, none of us would see the light of heaven! This simple and yet extraordinary
truth should keep us ever mindful and thankful of the grace and mercy of our
Lord Jesus Christ.
It is this truth that causes division
between the believer and the non-believer. Jesus says in Matthew 10:34 “I have
come to bring a sword” a sword that creates division between those who adore
Christ as Lord and of those who despise Him. Does the topic of hell make you
sorrowful knowing many non-believers are headed for this eternal destruction?
Hell should keep us sober minded, prayerfully vigilant and ever seeking to obey
Christ! It is good to dwell on hell; it is where our minds meet the reality of
many under the wrath of God. Let us not be comfortable in this life! Let us
continue to pray for and minister to those who are headed for a great and terrifying
fate!
O that the church should wake up to this reality!
It is a terrifying thing to fall into the hands of the
living God! (Hebrews 10:31) Salvation therefore is not dependant on man’s
doing, it is not dependant on a simple prayer (that is, the sinners prayer) but
it is dependent on the very working of our Lord. It is He who changes the
heart, mind, soul and course of a believer! Knowing our wretched condition
before the Lord is to know that all we brought to the table was nothing more
than our filthy sin. There was nothing worthy inside of you Christian when the
Lord chose you and that is reason to fear the Lord and be ever thankful for His
mercies upon us. Let us not treat the mercies of God as something trivial, but
something that we should strive to know and strive to push on in telling others
of through the power of the gospel! (Romans 1:16)
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