So, we have gotten our point across, there is a hell, but we haven't gotten the point across that you are headed there already, and God is rescuing people from going there because He does not want anyone to perish (Ezekiel 18:23); that's the issue.
We live in a world where sin is freely exploited. Sin is so much a part of our culture that every imaginable sin is acceptable except pedophilia, that's the last sin left, and you watch the outrage.
At least in the athletic world, if not in the roman catholic church, over the sin of pedophilia, you don't find that outrage over adultery. We don't find that outrage over homosexuality, don't find that outrage over lying, cheating, stealing, etc.
Murder is still wrong unless the victim does not deserve to live. Abortion, on the other hand, is still a heinous crime. But we're extremely used to sinning, and we're very comfortable with sin, that society imposes very minimal repercussions for wrongdoing.
So, when people grow up in a world where things that once were defined as sin, are no longer defined as sin, then immorality and crime escalate because man’s behaviors have no consequence and society loses hope in justice, fairness, and security.
In a society where, for example, when a son comes home at the age of twelve and announces to his mother that he's a homosexual, she becomes a homosexual advocate, because there are absolutely no consequences to that kind of immoral behavior.
There's obviously a warped sense of good and evil and a distorted understanding of justice. We don't know what sin is, except that sin can never be what I deem it can be.
However, if what I do harms someone else, then that would be a sin. But any activity that I do, in and of itself, I’m free to do and there shouldn't be any consequences at all. The truth of the matter is then if the culture imposes no consequences, and the family imposes no consequences, then Society places no stigma on people for their sinful behaviors.
People get so used to committing sin without consequences that when you introduce the idea that they will pay in full forever for every sin, that becomes alien to their thinking. Why? Because when they sin without immediate consequences, to convince them that there is a day of reckoning coming down the road, decades from now, is a hard sell.
But you might want to convince someone of Romans 1:18, which says “For the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men, who hold the truth in unrighteousness;” they are storing up for themselves wrath, in the day of wrath and the revelation of the righteous judgment of God.
People need to know that they're not getting away with anything: no act of fornication, no act of adultery, no sin in the mind, no sin and the behavior, no sin with the lips, no lies, no deception, and no cheating. You will not get away with any of it. You're just accumulating iniquities, all of which will be confronted and judged. You're storing up God’s wrath.
You're going to need to have a large storehouse to contain all the wrath that's going to break upon your head, that is a very difficult thing to convince people about, who are so used to sin, and used to getting away with it in the culture and the world.
But professing Christians are used to getting away with it too. In the so-called Church, Churches are that so-called, are very reluctant to confront sin; very reluctant, to do the disciplining that the Bible talks about to teach people the consequence of sin.
In the home, parents are also reluctant to create significant consequences for the sins of their children, which may be the most important thing apart from the gospel that your child ever learns, that sin has immense and painful consequences.
We need to tell people that every unforgiven sin, every sin committed by every person who rejects Jesus Christ, will be justly punished by God forever in a place called hell. Almost all the biblical teaching on hell comes from Jesus' mouth. But some Christians have gone to great lengths to minimize damnation to avoid or soften Jesus' doctrine.
The Bible described hell as outer darkness, a lake of fire, a place of crying and gnashing of teeth, eternal separation from God's blessings, a prison, and a region of torture where the worm does not turn or die (Mark 9:48). These vivid depictions of eternal torment beg the question, "Should you be afraid that you could spend eternity there?"
Allow me to define sin for you. Sin is any deviation from God's moral character or from God's law. We sin when we think evil, say evil, perform evil or neglect good. The Bible tells us that the soul that sins will die (Ezekiel 18:20).
Today's society is uninterested in discussing sin. To suggest that we are all born with a wicked bent, a desire to break God's rule, dethrone God, and substitute Him with ourselves? To argue that we are incapable of accomplishing anything positive. Our society despises everything that is labeled as a sin. Everything is simply a matter of personal preference. The concept of guilt is medieval, outmoded, and harmful.
We must comprehend sin since it is the primary reason for our need for a Savior. God has sent the Lord Jesus Christ to rescue His people from their sins (Matthew 1:21), and He saves sinners who repent and seek forgiveness from Him.
Now, how can we persuade our culture that there is a Savior who will redeem them from sin when their notion of sin is almost non-existent? You basically inform them that their actions are an insult to God's holiness and a breach of His Holy law, as stated in the Bible.
You emphasize that God is loving and kind, but because of His holiness, He hates wickedness. You point out that God is also just and righteous; therefore, He cannot just turn a blind eye and pretend evil doesn't exist. Despite His patience, He must eventually punish sin. That is the meaning of the cross.
So, if you put your trust in Jesus for the salvation of your soul, then you need not fear eternity (John 1:12). Why? Because Jesus bore your sin on the cross, you don’t have to go to hell. Christ, the only sinless person who ever lived, bore the total weight of sin's shame and punishment (2 Corinthians 5:21); and for sinners, they crucified Him.
God shows His love for us by not only forgiving us of our sins but by going even further and bringing us into His family. He has qualified us to share in the inheritance of the saints. (Col 1:12) This inheritance includes salvation, strength, hope, peace, comfort, providence, fellowship and so much more! “But God commends his love toward us, in that, while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us” (Romans 5:8).
Those people who put their confidence and hope in Him receive forgiveness (1John 1:9), not because God ignores their wrongdoing, but because Christ has already paid for it. That is why the crucifixion properly and adequately depicts both God's anger against sin and His incomprehensible love for sinners. That is the Gospel's primary message.
Jesus took sin seriously and gave his disciples harsh advice on how to combat sin in their lives. Therefore, “repent ye therefore, and be converted, that your sins may be blotted out, when the times of refreshing shall come from the presence of the Lord” (Acts 3:19). What a fantastic reality and blessing!
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