by Julia M. Bruce, MSPC, Mental Health Coach,
Keynote Speaker, CEO, Wellspring Christian Ministries
Does God send people to hell?
Hell is a real place. It’s made of stuff that is worse than your worst nightmare! 1 John 1:9 says, “God is love.” So if God is love, then why does He send people to Hell? The answer is he doesn’t. People choose Hell as their eternal destination when they reject God and His free gift of salvation through Jesus.
Hell was created for Satan
Hell was created for Satan who once was an archangel in Heaven, named Lucifer. Lucifer became jealous of God and decided he wanted to be God. As a result, he and one-third of the angels in heaven attempted a coup in Heaven. Only, they were defeated. God created hell for Lucifer and his followers. Lucifer is more commonly called the Devil or Satan. In the Bible he is also called the Great Deceiver. His followers are known as demons. God created Hell for Satan and his demons.
Wages of Sin
When man sinned way back in the Garden of Eden, a great divide was created between a holy and righteous God and sinful man. God created man to have fellowship with us. Yet, when man sinned, God’s holiness could not look on sin and God had to judge sin. The Bible says that the wages of sin is death. Wages are what you earn for a certain action. If you get up and go to work every day this week, the wages you earn will show up in your paycheck. The wages we earn for our sin is death. (Romans 6:23) Just as a child has consequences for disobeying his or her parents, so there are consequences when we disobey God. As a result, we are all spiritually dead in our sin until the moment that we accept Christ as our Savior.
Jesus Christ, the Son of God, came to earth as a baby, lived among us, and then he paid our sin debt for us. Remember that our wages for sin is death – Christ died in our place. He was buried in a tomb for three days and then rose again. When we recognize our own brokenness and sin and that we are on our way to Hell as payment for our sin, we have the realization that we are a sinner. We then have a choice to remain lost in our sin or to come to Christ by faith in who he is and what he did for us and ask him to forgive us and cleans us of all our sin. (1 John 1:9). As we invite Him to be our Lord and Savior, the Holy Spirit moves in and dwells within us.
God knew we would sin
One of the most amazing concepts is that when God created man, He knew man would sin. He knew I would sin. He knew you would sin. God also knew that because of that sin, He would have to send His only begotten Son to this earth to pay our sin debt. Even knowing what it would cost Him, he created us anyway.
Yes, God is love. We know He is love because even when He knew from before the world was created that you and I would sin, He still created us and He still provided a way to restore fellowship with us and redeem us from our broken, sinfulness. He knew every sin of our entire lives. He knew that we would need someone to save us from those sins and so in his love and mercy, he sent his son to die a horrible, cruel death in our place so that we would not have to spend eternity in hell.
If God is love, why do people go to Hell?
Why then do people go to hell? Because they reject the free gift of Christ’s sacrifice and payment of our sin debt. They turn away from it. Revelation 21:8 says, “But the fearful, and unbelieving, and the abominable, and the murderers, and whoremongers, and sorcerers, and idolaters, and all liars, shall have their part in the lake which burneth with fire and brimstone: which is the second death.”
Sinners do not want to be confronted with their sin. They would rather create laws that will legalize sin than to confess their sin. They think if they can make a sin legal in the eyes of man they will not be guilty. However, no law of man would over over-rule God’s law and when we stand before God at the end of our lives he will judge us according to His laws – not man’s. At that time, he will either see you covered in the blood of Christ which cleanses you from all unrighteousness and you will spend eternity in Heaven with him or the sins of your entire life will be exposed and you will hear God say the worst words you could ever hear: “Depart from me for I never knew you.” My friend, God does not send people to hell. They send themselves.
Jesus told us more about Hell than Heaven
But Jesus actually talked more about Hell than Heaven. And to read how Jesus — and others in the Bible — described it, we don’t want to have any part of it, and we don’t want anyone we know to have any part in it.
So what does the Bible say about Hell?
- It’s a place of torment. Luke 13:28 says that in Hell, “You will cry and be in extreme pain” (GW). We get our visions of fire and agony in Hell from the Bible.
- It’s a place of complete separation from God and other people. That’s the worst part of Hell. Go through your whole life saying you don’t want to have anything to do with God, and you’ll eventually get your way. Hell means total separation from God. “If anyone does not love the Lord, let that person be separated from God — lost forever!” (1 Corinthians 16:22a ERV)
- It’s a place without love. The Bible tells us that God is love. Without God, we’ll spend forever without his love in Hell. The Bible also says, “There is no fear in love; perfect love drives out all fear” (GNT). What’s it like to live without God’s love? It means you’re scared to death all the time.
People who go to Hell, choose Hell
Everyone who goes to Hell chooses to do so. They’ll get what they always thought they wanted — a life away from God. You don’t want that! You don’t want Hell.
The Bible says that Hell is place for wicked souls; it is referred to as a fiery furnace, a place of unquenchable fire; there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth, constant and eternal torment; there will be no rest; and there is condemnation and destruction; you will be eternally separated from God; it is a place of outer darkness; it is a lake of burning sulfur; and there will be eternal suffering. Yet any description we give it, will not compare the just how horrible spending eternity in hell will be.
Choose Heaven instead of Hell
How do you not spend eternity in hell? By placing your faith and trust in the life, death, burial, and resurrection of Christ. His death on the cross paid your sin debt. Romans 10:9 says, “If you confess with your mouth, “Jesus is Lord,” and believe in your heart that God raised Him from the dead, you will be saved.” He died in your place so that you do not have to spend eternity in hell.
In 1974, a movie was made and shown in churches across the country. “The Burning Hell” is a 58 minute film created by the evangelist Estus Pirkle. This film is Pirkle’s interpretation of what the Bible has to say about hell and you can watch it on YouTube here.
What is Heaven like?
What is heaven like? A river, clear as crystal, will flow from the throne of God and of the Lamb [Jesus] down the middle of the city. On each side of the river there will be a tree of life, yielding twelve kinds of fruit every month. The streets will be pure gold, like transparent glass. The walls of the city will be adorned with every kind of jewel, emerald, onyx, amethyst, topaz, etc. There will be no need for a sun or moon, and no need for a temple or church. The presence of the Lord will be its light. There will be no sickness or pain, no death, no tears or sorrow.
Just as our human mind cannot accurately envision the horrors of hell, so can we not fully imagine the splendor and glory of heaven. Yes, my friend, God is love and He invites you right now to spend eternity in heaven with him.
Whosoever – that means you!
Romans 10:13 says, “Whosoever calls on the name of the Lord shall be saved.”
“Whosoever” that means you!
If that is your heart’s desire, then you can pray the following prayer:
“Dear God, I know I’m a sinner, and I ask for your forgiveness. I believe Jesus Christ is Your Son. I believe that He died for my sin and that you raised Him to life. Today, I want to trust Him as my Savior and follow Him as Lord, from this day forward. Guide my life and help me to do your will. I pray this in the name of Jesus. Amen.”
If you just prayed this prayer, please let us know through the contact us page. You will also want to find an evangelical church and talk with a pastor so that he can lead you through the next steps, being baptized, and growing as a Christian. If you just prayed that prayer, then welcome to the family of God! I look forward to meeting you in Heaven one day.
The choice is your – Heaven or Hell?
Heaven or hell….the choice is yours. Eternity in hell….or eternity in heaven. What do you choose?
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Tee of the Week: Giants
From the song, “Confidence” by Sanctus Reel. As we start a new year, what giants are you facing? What big thing is God asking you to do? Do you need faith like Daniel in the lion’s den? Hope like Moses in the wilderness? A heart like David? Do you need God to be your defense? If you have giants, you can face them with confidence because God is God of the impossibles.
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God, Love and Marshmallow Wars by Julia M. Bruce
What’s Inside God, Love and Marshmallow Wars?
God, Love and Marshmallow Wars is a book that includes 365 daily activities and takes you on a guided journey through Biblical principles about Godly marriage that you can then apply to your marriage, as well as helping you talk through concepts that can help you develop a solid relationship. Inside you will find simple, quick activities that include:
- Scripture to memorize and meditate on.
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However, Revelation 21:8 says that the unbelievers, vile, murderers, sexually immoral, sorcerers, idolaters, and all liars will share hell with Satan and his demons.
