The Truth About Hell

Okay, so isn't hell just a scare tactic that Christians use to pressurize vulnerable people into joining their church? Isn't it a myth amplified by fire-and-brimstone preachers in rural parishes who love the sound of their own voice a bit too much? Who has the right to say someone is going to hell anyway? Surely you can't possibly know what happens to someone after they die...

There are dozens of objections to the concept of hell, framing themselves in various moral, philosophical or logical guises. But the heart of the matter is really this: how can we know if there is a hell?

Well, Christians believe in an all-knowing, all-seeing God. A God who is timeless and eternal, who created the cosmos and watches over it. This God at one point in human history became a man and took on human flesh: Jesus Christ. And, as the Son of God, Jesus is able to tell us unique things about heaven and hell, because He had a divine perspective on them that no mere human could ever achieve.

And it follows that most of what Christians know about hell comes directly from Jesus Christ. He spoke about hell like no one else ever had done (namely because they couldn't), and He spoke about hell in the loving authority which characterised His ministry as recorded in the four gospel accounts.

Jesus said:
1. Hell is real, and hell is terrible.
In several parables, including the parable of the Great Banquet, Jesus shows those who rejected God to be thrown outside 'into the darkness, where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.' (Matthew 8:12) These three things (darkness, weeping, gnashing of teeth) are used repeatedly by Jesus to depict what hell is like. It is basically the place outside God's kingdom, where God's presence does not dwell, and so all of the good things we enjoy on earth (happiness, joy, friendship, love etc) are absent too. No one can enjoy anything in hell. It is a place of sadness and torture.

2. Hell is the place where people go to eternal punishment, having been judged by God and condemned.
'Do not be afraid of those who kill the body but cannot kill the soul. Rather, be afraid of the One who can destroy both soul and body in hell.' Matthew 10:28
'The Son of Man will send out his angels, and they will weed out of his kingdom everything that causes sin and all who do evil.' Matthew 13:41
Everyone who sins -that is, everyone who ever fails to love God with their whole heart, all of the time- is destined for hell because we all fall short of God's pure standards (see also Romans 3).

3. Hell is easy to get to- it's the default position of men to go against God.
'Enter through the narrow gate. For wide is the gate and broad is the road that leads to destruction, and many enter through it.' Matthew 7:13

4. Hell is to be avoided at all costs.
'If your right eye causes you to sin, gouge it out and throw it away. It is better for you to lose one part of your body than for your whole body to be thrown into hell. And if your right hand causes you to sin, cut it off and throw it away. It is better for you to lose one part of your body than for your whole body to go into hell.' Matthew 5:29-30
This is extreme language! Jesus warns us that it's worth undergoing great pain and struggle to avoid hell.

5. Hell can only be avoided through faith in Him.
After the parable of the weeds, which so vividly depicts the destruction of evildoers, Jesus tells the parable of the great treasure and the pearl. He says that heaven is worth giving up everything for, and seeking more than anything else in this life. How do we seek and find the kingdom? Well, the key is in the King of the kingdom: Jesus.

'Whoever acknowledges me before men, I will also acknowledge him before my Father in heaven. But whoever disowns me before men, I will disown him before my Father in heaven.' Matthew 10:32-33

Getting into heaven and thus avoiding hell is not about doing good deeds and racking up a tally chart before God. It's about knowing Jesus. Acknowledging Jesus means to see Him for who He truly is: the Son of God; to believe in Him and trust in Him for salvation. Who has the right to decide who goes to hell? Jesus does. That's what He means in the verses quoted above. If Jesus disowns you, you're heading to an eternity without Him.

Now the parable of the sheep and the goats (Matthew 25) teaches us that, if we truly know Jesus, we will show this in the way that we act- helping the poor and needy around us and working for justice. But ultimately we've been given our life here on earth to get to know Jesus, and if you spend your life ignoring Him then you're wasting your life!

Christians don't relish the idea of hell. It's an awful thought. But, just as you would want to warn people of an oncoming tsunami to save them, Christians want to share the truth of Jesus with people so they can avoid the danger too.

Deborah Drapper- no ordinary 13 yr old!

Have you seen Deborah 13:Servant of God on BBC Iplayer yet? It's raised some really interesting questions. Deborah Drapper is a 13 yr old girl who whole-heartedly follows Jesus Christ. She lives with her family in Dorset (a very large family!) and has been home-schooled. The programme begins by showing how little Deborah knows about celebrities (she doesn't recognise a picture of Victoria Beckham or Britney Spears), and she doesn't show any interest in fashion and the usual concerns of a 13 yr old girl. But she is astounding in her conviction and confidence.

I have only met a few home-schooled teenagers, and those I have met have come across as very immature for their age. Not so with Deborah. She is mature, perceptive and has passion about what she believes. She believes that everyone has turned away from God in their life, and is therefore under God's judgement and headed for hell, but that God sent His Son Jesus to die on the cross, so that anyone who believes in Him can be saved and go to heaven. The logical response to whole-heartedly believing this is to get out there and share this awesome news with everyone you meet... and that's exactly what the documentary portrays.

I personally felt very humbled when I watched this. I remember having the same fervour and sense of urgency to share the good news about Jesus when I became a Christian at a young age. But somehow as time goes on, I've been desensitised to the fantastic power of the gospel. All too often I stay quiet and withhold the words of truth and life from my dearest friends, colleagues and family.

Thank you Deborah, for reminding me how serious the situation is. It is a matter of eternal life and eternal death. If you're a Christian reading this, be encouraged to get out there and share your faith with others. If you're not a Christian, be encouraged to start thinking about God.

The interviewer at one point asks Deborah, "What will you do if you die and that's all there is?"

Deborah thought carefully then responded, "Well I guess then I'll be dead and that's it. But if you die and I'm right, you'll be in a place far worse than death."

More on heaven and hell to come. Here's a link to Deborah's blog:
http://deborahdrapper.com/

The End of the World

Matthew 25

I remember vividly reading a book at the age of 10 which contained a Notre Dame prediction that the world would end in July of that year. I lived rather fretfully, not really understanding what the end of the world meant, but it sounded bad and I didn't want to be around to see it! But July came and went, and the prophecy came to nothing.

The Bible does teach that the world will end, but we are never told WHEN exactly this will happen. Instead, we are told WHAT will happen and how we should prepare.

Matthew 25 is made up of three parables which Jesus taught, concerning the end of the world. The first is of the ten virgins, which depicts Jesus as a bridegroom who returns to find five virgins ready and waiting, but five virgins who were ill-prepared. They end up being shut out of the wedding feast. This is a picture of Christ returning at the end of the world to collect His people (the Church is often presented as a bride in Scripture- see Ephesians 5). Those who are not ready are excluded.

The second parable is of the talents. It teaches us to use our time on earth wisely- to take our resources (material, educational etc), and use them for our Master's glory. Those of us privileged with a high level of education, wealth, freedom, and good Bible teaching will be expected to use all these things well, and will be judged on how we have used these gifts. So Christians are not meant to hide away in a bomb shelter waiting for Armageddon, but we are expected to use our precious life for the glory of God, spreading the gospel.

The third parable concerns the sheep and the goats. This depicts the final separation of God's people from God's enemies. It is an awesome picture of the end of the world: Christ in glory with the angels, a throne of judgement, all nations before Him. And for God's people, it is a wonderful day- we receive our inheritance, the kingdom prepared for us since the creation of the world (34).

But the real question is, how can you tell a sheep from a goat? At the final judgement, how are God's people discerned? The answer Jesus gives may sound like it's the 'good people' who get to heaven, and the 'bad people' who go to hell. But this does not take into account the rest of Jesus' teaching. Simply put, God's people are discerned because their faith impacts the way they live their lives. Love for Jesus gives us love for the poor and needy. Jesus heavily criticised the Pharisees and other religious leaders for having lots of 'knowledge' about God, but this never impacted the way they dealt with the poor around them. But those who simply 'do good deeds' with no acknowledgement of God cannot be commended either, for they have failed to recognise the heavenly Bridegroom and have not prepared for His coming.

For those outside God's kingdom, the sheep and the goats parable is a terrifying picture of judgement and exclusion. As Christians, then, we should endeavour to make them aware of their situation, and urge them to accept Jesus. It is also a solemn warning to us that our faith HAS to show itself practically!

Why is it important to love Jesus more? (Col 2)

Ever felt taken for granted? Like when the first light-headed months of romance are over, and your boyfriend stops buying you flowers?

We all need to keep our relationships going (whether romantic or just friendship), because we know from experience that as soon as we stop bothering to phone someone up, or do something special for them, that the relationship will suffer. As people, we are constantly moving and changing, and if we don't make the effort to counteract this, our relationships will soon drift apart.

'A successful marriage is an edifice that must be rebuilt every day' -Andre Maurois.

This quote speaks truth! When things start going wrong in a relationship, it's often not because anything is wrong with the people involved, just that they have stopped communicating effectively.

Why should it be any different with Jesus?

He is perfect, He is faithful... but we are imperfect and faithless. We easily drift away from Him, being distracted by other things. It is one thing to come to know Jesus as your Saviour. It is quite another to keep on growing in love for Him and staying faithful to Him all your days. That's the test of true faith- it's not about conversion, it's about finishing the race still wearing the banner!

In Colossians 2, Paul says that 'just as you received Christ Jesus as Lord, continue to live in Him, rooted and built up in Him, strengthened in the faith as you were taught, and overflowing with thankfulness' (6-7). When you first come to know and love Jesus, this should not become a static or detached emotion, or a remote part of your life. You must CONTINUE to live in Him, growing in faith and love for Him, and growing in thankfulness as you grow in understanding what He has done for you.

'See to it that no-one takes you captive through hollow and deceptive philosophy, which depends on human tradition and the basic principles of this world rather than on Christ' (8). It is very easy to get a distorted view of Jesus from the messages and opinions that the world gives. If we don't continue to read the Bible and pray and know Jesus for ourselves, wrong ideas can easily get a foothold in our thinking, such as 'Jesus would never condemn anyone', or 'It's not that important that He rose from the dead' or subtle teachings that we can earn our own salvation by being good. But the gospels show a Jesus who is passionate and truthful, uncompromising in telling men that if they do not accept Him they will be condemned (Jn 3:18). The New Testament writers emphasise that if Christ is not risen, then our faith is futile and we are fools (1 Cor 15). And any teaching that says we can earn favour in God's sight through our own endeavours undermines the sacrifice Jesus Christ made for us as a nice but pointless gesture.

'You have been given fulness in Christ' (10) It's all in Him! Our sinful nature was cut off (circumcised) through His death, and we were raised with Him through faith to a new life (11-12). We were dead in sins (13)- there was no way we could please God ourselves- but God made us alive with Christ, forgiving us all our sins (13). The OT law, which condemns all for no one can completely obey it, was nailed to the cross of Jesus, the One who DID completely obey it (14). God silenced the claim of justice against us, all through His Son's willing sacrifice. That helps us love Jesus more, to know that the voice in court demanding our death penalty, has been silenced and satisfied for ever if we appeal to Jesus.

Jesus triumphed over all demonic powers on the cross (15)- we too can triumph over hell by clinging to Him.