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A Hell to Shun
Avoid It at All
Costs!
by
Pastor John Hamel
“The Lord is known
by the judgment which he executes: the wicked is snared in the work of his
own hands... The wicked shall be turned into hell, and all the nations that
forget God.” (Psalm 9:16-17)
Hell. That’s
a topic that really burns a lot of people up. No pun intended.
It’s nothing to laugh about. Many people become more than furious
when someone dares to bring up such an “archaic” teaching. Many
insist, “There is no such place!” Others declare, “The only Hell is
what we are presently living on this Earth.” Many believe they are
just too “educated” to even consider such “foolishness.”
The reason these
individuals do not believe that there truly is a Hell to shun is because
they simply do not accept the Bible as their final authority concerning
life and conduct. This does not, however, change the fact that Jesus
taught us that Hell is a literal place where human beings will spend a
punishing eternity for rejecting His death on the Cross in their place.
(Luke 16:20-31; Romans 6:23) The Bible refers to Hell well over fifty
times. Jesus referred to it at least fourteen times and warned all to
avoid it, at all costs. (Matthew 5:29,30; 23:33)
Some, pretending to be fearless, have expressed their
preference for Hell over Heaven. A former friend of mine was killed
as a young man. Someone placed a bottle of whiskey in his casket so
he could “…party hearty when he got to Hell.” Friend, Hell is not a
Jack Daniels party with a bunch of Hell’s Angels. Neither is it a
little red, burning schoolhouse where you’ll finally learn your
lessons!
The first thing you
will experience if you end up there is all of your ignorant “educated”
ideas being violently raped by a brutal gang of facts! Hell is a place
of more than agonizing emotional, physical and spiritual torment.
Those who end up there damned themselves by rejecting God’s plan of escape
in Jesus.
Anyone who does not
accept Jesus’ three days in Hell on their behalf will simply have to go
there and pay for their sin themselves … ETERNALLY. (Acts 2:27-32;
Revelation 20:12-15) They sure can’t go to Heaven and they have to go
somewhere. Unfortunately, they’ll just have to go to the place that
God initially prepared only for Satan and his demons, a place called
“Hell.” (Matthew 25:41)
A word to those who
call themselves “annihilationist,” insisting that Hell does indeed exist
but that upon arrival individuals are burned into non-existence.
Jesus also said that Hell is a place where the “…worm (maggots) dies not
and the fire is not quenched.” (Mark 9:44) The maggots
in your disease-infested body won’t burn up because your body won’t burn up. You’ll live
in that horrible, wretched condition forever. You’ll even recognize
family and friends and they’ll recognize you. (Luke 16:19-31) You’ll
hate one another for not helping one another to avoid such torment when you
had the chance. This is definitely no Halloween charade.
I’ve told some who
insist on arguing these points with me, “I hope you’re right and I hope I’m
wrong, for your sake.” They look incredulous and ask me, “Why?”
“Because,” I tell them, “if you are right and there is no Hell, nobody needs
to worry about anything. On the other hand, if the Bible is right,
there’s going to be a lot of unending, unnecessary suffering going
on.”
Why not just say,
“Jesus, You’re my choice.” (Romans 10:13)
That's when you become a member of God's family.
That's when things stop happening TO you and
start happening FOR you.
There is a Hell to
shun and a Heaven to gain!
Be Blessed … John
and Barbara Hamel
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