Hell
There are those who accept that Hell is a place of punishment, but believe that the punishment is to be annihilated—to cease conscious existence. They can’t conceive that the punishment of the wicked will be conscious and eternal. If they are correct, then a man like Adolph Hitler, who was responsible for the deaths of millions, is being “punished” merely with eternal sleep. His fate is simply to return to the non-existent state he was in before he was born, where he doesn’t even know that he is being punished.
However, the Bible paints a different story. The rich man who found himself in Hell (Luke 16:19-31) was conscious. He was able to feel pain, to thirst, and to experience remorse. He wasn’t asleep in the grave; he was in a place of “torment.” If Hell is a place of knowing nothing or a reference to the grave into which we go at death, Jesus’ statements about Hell make no sense. He said that if your hand, foot, or eye causes you to sin, it would be better to remove it than to “go into Hell, into the fire that never shall be quenched: where their worm dies not, and the fire is not quenched” (Mark 9:43-48).
Look at it this way. Imagine the most pain, guilt, regret, disappointment, remorse, grief, sadness, indignation, misery, anguish, disgrace, dishonor, hopeless, uselessness, unworthiness, embarrassment, worthlessness, inferiority and loneliness you have ever felt both physically and mentally in your life, then multiply that exponentially 1 billion times.
Next, imagine feeling all of that completely conscience, in complete darkness with not even a pinpoint of light. While surrounded by and constantly consumed by a fire you cannot see because it gives off no light but you can feel because it burns. Understanding that there are others like you suffering just like you are because you can hear them weeping and screaming and imagining what they look like. Knowing now that you could have avoided this fate but chose not to, you cry out and beg God to let you go and tell your family and friends but it’s too late and that knowledge will torment you the most because you know some of them will be here. That’s just the first day. In Hell nothing changes. Hell is constant. Hell is eternal, forever and continual.
You don’t have to go there. You have a choice! The Bible says that God has given you a choice, life or death. Choose Life!
Today, right now, this very minute, turn from your sin, ask God to forgive you and surrender your life to Jesus Christ. Don’t wait; don’t put it off until tomorrow because tomorrow never comes. You could die today and then it will be too late.
Pray something like this: Dear God, today I turn from my sin and place my faith in Jesus Christ as my Lord and Savior. Please forgive me of my sins and grant me Your gift, my pardon and eternal life. Amen. There is nothing magic about these words because God is concerned with the attitude of your heart, but you must say at least the gist of it. The Bible says you must have faith and you must say it out loud, even if it’s just a whisper. Why? If God is concerned with the attitude of my heart why do I have to say it out loud? Simple, the Devil (who is real, helps keep people in sin and on their way to Hell) cannot know your heart. How is he going to know you’re done with sin unless you tell him?
God will transform you from the inside out. You will begin to think and act differently as you learn to trust and obey God. Nobody is perfect except Christ. You will make mistakes and that’s OK if you can do these 2 things. 1: Learn from it. 2: Ask God for forgiveness. He will give you new strength to live right and love Him above all else. Read your Bible daily and obey His Word. You can trust God. He will always be faithful.
To help you get started, we have a free booklet for you called “So what! I’m a Christian, now what?” Click HERE to download it for free. If you do not have a Bible we would like to send you one absolutely free, no shipping, no handling, no taxes, or any other fees. Click HERE and put Bible in the subject line and then tell us your name, mailing address and whether or not you made a decision for Christ or if you just need a Bible. In a couple of weeks it will arrive embossed with your name and note of encouragement from your brothers and sisters in Christ here at So What! Ministries.
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