A PLACE CALLED HELL !
Pastor Adron Wheat
Acts 20:26-31 --- Romans 9:1-3
Introduction: A message of warning is never easy. Hell is an unpleasant subject we hate to mention from the pulpit. We much rather think and talk about the pleasures and rewards of Heaven. We must not only tell our people there is a Heaven to gain but a Hell to shun. By never mentioning the later, we may be responsible for a generation that no longer has a fear of Hell. Many today have the opinion that everyone will go to Heaven so it doesn't really matter how you live or what you believe.
The Bible teaches there must be a balanced message of "love" and "warning" to our people. Hebrews 11:7 By faith Noah, being warned of God of things not seen as yet, moved with fear, prepared an ark to the saving of his house; by the which he condemned the world, and became heir of the righteousness which is by faith.
With the Lord's coming so near we need a fresh understanding of the word "Lost" and the horrors of Hell that await our loved ones. Knowing the reality of an eternal Hell should motivate us to both love and warn the lost.
HELL IS A PLACE AS REAL AS HEAVEN
(I) The Bible is our only source of information about Hell
(A) Science and human experience knows
nothing beyond death.
(B) Jesus warned of the horrors of Hell many more
times than he spoke of Heaven.
(C) There are 260 chapters in the New Testament.
Hell or judgment are referenced or described approximately 234 times.
(D) Imagine a highway 260 miles long, with 234
warning signs along the way, almost one for every mile, would you heed
the warning?
(E) Here are a few warnings of Jesus:
Matthew 10:28 And fear not them which kill the
body, but are not able to kill the soul: but rather fear him which is
able to destroy both soul and body in hell.
Matthew 13:40 As therefore the tares are gathered and burned in
the fire; so shall it be in the end of this world.
Matthew 13:41 The Son of man
shall send forth his angels, and they shall gather out of his kingdom
all things that offend, and them which do iniquity;
Matthew 13:42 And shall cast them into a furnace of fire: there
shall be wailing and gnashing of teeth.
Matthew 23:33 Ye serpents, ye generation of vipers, how can ye
escape the damnation of hell?
Matthew 25:41 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:
Mark 9:43-47 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. 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:
(II) Jesus gave a clear description in Luke 16:19-31 (READ)
(A) This is NOT a parable;
There WAS a certain Rich Man ( un-named by God's mercy) There WAS
a beggar named Lazarus, and of course there WAS a patriarch named
Abraham.
(B) This is not a Parable, Illustration, Story, or
Tale but a literal Fact !
(III) Hell is not a state of mind, Hell is a real Place
(A) A Place: Of everlasting fire
prepared for the devil and his angels (Aggelos: messengers or
followers.)
(B) A Place: The wicked shall be turned into Hell
and all nations that forget God (Psalm 9:17)
(C) A Place: Hell hath enlarged herself, and opened
her mouth without measure ( Isaiah 5:14)
(D) A Place: Hell and destruction are never full. (
Proverbs 27:20 )
THE LOCATION IS DOWN, IN THE BOWELS OF THE EARTH
Deuteronomy 32:22 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.
Psalm 55:15 Let death seize upon them, and
let them go down quick into hell
Proverbs 15:24 The way of life is above to
the wise that he may depart from hell beneath.
Isaiah 14:15 Yet thou shalt be brought down
to hell, to the sides of the pit.
Ezekiel 31:16 I made the nations to shake
at the sound of his fall, when I cast him down to hell with them that
descend into the pit.
A PLACE OF EVERLASTING FIRE, TORMENT, AND PUNISHMENT
Matthew 18:8-9 Wherefore if thy hand or thy foot offend thee, cut them off, and cast them from thee: it is better for thee to enter into life halt or maimed, rather than having two hands or two feet to be cast into everlasting fire. And if thine eye offend thee, pluck it out, and cast it from thee: it is better for thee to enter into life with one eye, rather than having two eyes to be cast into hell fire.
Matthew 25:41 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 25:46 And these shall go away into everlasting punishment: but the righteous into life eternal.
Luke 16:24 And 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.
Luke 16:28 For I have five brethren; that he may testify unto them, lest they also come into this place of torment.
Matthew 22:13 Then said the king to the servants, Bind him hand and foot, and take him away, and cast him into outer darkness; there shall be weeping and gnashing of teeth.
Revelation 14:11 And the smoke of their torment ascendeth up for ever and ever: and they have no rest day nor night, who worship the beast and his image, and whosoever receiveth the mark of his name.
HELL IS A PLACE OF MEMORY
Luke 16:25 But Abraham said, Son, remember that thou in thy lifetime receivedst thy good things, and likewise Lazarus evil things: but now he is comforted, and thou art tormented.
(A) You will have eternity
to remember every sin that brought you here.
(B) You will have eternity to remember every
service, message, song, alter call that you refused to accept Christ.
(C) Here, you may have occupied your mind with
sports, movies, books, drinking, drugs, or other distractions, but in
Hell there is nothing to soothe the pain.
HELL IS A PLACE OF TOTAL SEPARATION FROM GOD
(A) A great gulf is
fixed: ( An impassable, set and established chasm ) No way in, and no
way out !
(B) The doctrine of "Purgatory" is unscriptural. Not
one verse in the Bible eludes to a place of limbo or purgatory. Jesus
never hinted that a person who died unsaved has another chance.
John 8:21 Then said Jesus again unto them, I go my way, and ye
shall seek me, and shall die in your sins: whither I go, ye cannot come.
Hebrews 9:27 And as it is appointed unto men once to die, but after this the judgment:
Revelation 22:11 He that is unjust, let him be unjust still: and he which is filthy, let him be filthy still: and he that is righteous, let him be righteous still: and he that is holy, let him be holy still.
(C) Purgatory: A pagan doctrine
offered to leave hope after death for sinners who conscientiously knew
they were unfit to be placed with the saints.
(D) Purgatory: Was not known in the church for the
first thousand years. It's doctrine dishonors God and offers man a
false hope of salvation.
HELL IS A PLACE GOD NEVER INTENDED ANYONE TO GO
IT WAS CREATED FOR THE DEVIL AND HIS ANGELS
(A) A sinner reasons; "If God
loves his children, He would never condemn them to Hell.
(B) Their mistake? No one is a child of God until
they accept Christ as His Son and believe upon Him for their
salvation.
(C) Jesus told the Pharisees: John 8:44 Ye are
of your father the devil, and the lusts of your father ye will do. He
was a murderer from the beginning, and abode not in the truth, because
there is no truth in him. When he speaketh a lie, he speaketh of his
own: for he is a liar, and the father of it.
(D) Only children (followers) of the devil go
there.
If you go there: It will be by your choosing, your rejection
of God
If you go there: You will go over the prayers and pleadings of friends.
If you go there: You must climb over the cross, trample the blood of
Jesus.
If you go there: You will have ignored every opportunity to be
saved.
Peter II 3:9 The Lord is not slack concerning his promise, as some men count slackness; but is longsuffering to us-ward, not willing that any should perish, but that all should come to repentance.
Hebrews 2:3 How shall we escape, if we neglect so great salvation; which at the first began to be spoken by the Lord, and was confirmed unto us by them that heard him:
Hebrews 3:13 But exhort one another daily, while it is called To day; lest any of you be hardened through the deceitfulness of sin.
Make that decision right now - Ask Jesus to come into your heart !