Jesus made numerous
references to Hell and Eternal Punishment in the New Testament.
Hell was made for
the devil, not for people and God has made provision
that no one has to go there if they accept the Salvation that he is
offering.
The Question
itself shows a misunderstanding of the nature of God.
God is a God of
love, but he is also a God of PERFECT JUSTICE, Which means that he
cannot just overlook sin, but must punish it.
How would you
feel if someone commited a crime against a member of your
family, then you went to court and heard the Judge tell the offender “ I'm a
Good Judge, so I'm going to let you walk free ”. You would say that the
Judge was unjust and corrupt.
Every
human being has an inner sense of Justice, and know that wrongdoing
should be punished, because he was made in the image of a Perfectly
Just Creator.
Can people come to
your home and do as they please ? We have laws in our homes for those
who live there and for visitors. And we expect
people to adhere to them, such as no smoking, You can't wear your shoes
in the living room, etc
Imagine if someone
came to your house and totally ignored you, and then
took over your kitchen, using your food to make their meals, took over your T.V,
not allowing you to get a look in, and started to take over your house
as if it were their own.
How would you feel ?
If people violate
our rules we will ask them to leave and we certainly
won't be inviting them back as it shows that they have no respect for
us.
This is God's world,
he made it, and he has the right to set the laws
by which men should live. These laws are are a reflection of his Holy
nature.
Just as a landlord
has the right to set the level of rent for his
property and also to make the rules for his property i.e. no pets, and
no loud music.
We have all violated
God's laws in one way or another. We have Lied,
Stolen, dishonoured our parents, lusted, been selfish and greedy, been
envious, jealous and hateful,
used Foul Language,fornicated and commited adultery etc
The violation of
God's law is called sin.
We have all heard
people say, or we may have said it ourselves, “It's just human nature”
or “ We don't live in a Perfect World.”
This is usually said
in order to justify our sins. We think that if other people are doing
it, it must be OK.
Because we were in
the first man Adam when he sinned, every human being
has inherited a sinful nature which is in rebellion against God.
No parent has to
teach their child to do wrong, it happens
automatically. Children don't have to be taught to lie, steal, be
envious or greedy, to fight etc. Parents have to
correct their child and teach them not to do these things.
Man is in a
Fallen Condition and needs a Saviour. This is what God
wants to make us aware of.
Imagine that you
are waiting to use the bathroom but someone else is in there.
After the person
finishes their business, they flush the toilet and walk out.
You, who've been
waiting in the fresh air, walk in, and the smell is so bad that you
have to hold your nose and walk back out.
The person who
produced the smell didn't think that it was so bad, they could have sat
there for hours.
There are now two
perceptions of the same smell.
The person who
produced the smell, doesn't think it's too bad and the person who is in
the fresh air, will tell you, it stinks. The person who is
in the fresh air is the one with the true perception. It Stinks.
Our sins are
worse than we imagine them to be in the sight of a Holy God?
God is the one
who is in the fresh air.
Our sins stink in
the nostrils of a Holy God.
Try this for
yourself, go and stand in a room with a bad smell and
after few minutes the smell will not seem as bad as when you first
walked in.
We are all born
into a sin cursed world, ( a world with a bad smell ).
We all tend to
think that we are good people and that our sins are not
that bad, because we measure ourselves against the standard of fallen
humanity and not
against the Perfect standard of God's Holiness.
If the average
person on the street compares themselves to Adolph Hitler, they will
appear to be snowy white.
God's standard is
Perfection in Word, thought and deed.
In the early 1980s
Paul McCartney and Stevie wonder Sang a song called ' Ebony and ivory'.
Part of the Lyrics
say that “ there's good and bad in everyone ”.
All good deeds are
to be commended, but we have to remember that good
deeds don't cancel out bad ones.
It is the “Bad” that contaminates our
souls.
If someone gave you
a glass of water, which had been contaminated with just 1% sulphuric
acid, would you drink it?
If someone gave you
a glass of water, which had been contaminated with 50% sulphuric acid,
would you drink it?
In both cases the
amount of Sulphuric Acid is irrelevant.
Both glasses of
water are contaminated and both will result in death if you drink them.
The amount of sin
that people commit is irrelevant.
A man cannot enter
into Heaven in his sins. He can only enter
Heaven by accepting Jesus Christ as his Saviour and being Born again.
John 3:5 Jesus answered, Verily, verily, I say unto thee, Except a man
be born of water and of the Spirit, HE
CANNOT enter into the kingdom of
God.
Being christened as
a Baby is not being born again according to the Bible.
Romans 3:23 For ALL HAVE SINNED, and come short of
the glory of God;
1Kings 8:46 If
they sin against thee, (FOR THERE IS
NO MAN THAT SINNETH NOT,) and thou be angry with them, and
deliver them to the enemy, so that they
carry them away captives unto the land of the enemy, far or near;
Romans 6:23 FOR THE WAGES OF SIN IS DEATH; BUT THE GIFT OF GOD IS ETERNAL LIFE THROUGH
JESUS CHRIST OUR LORD.
If two men Commit
the same crime and can't afford to pay the fine
imposed upon them by the Judge, both of them will go to prison.
If someone offers to
pay both of their fines,and one of them accepts the offer gladly and
the other rejects the offer, the one will go free
and is now justified in the eyes of the law, while
the other is still seen as a criminal and will go to Prison.
The one wasn't
better than the other, but they now have different standings in the
eyes of the law.
A Born Again
Christian was no better than a non-Christian.
What
makes the difference, is that the Born Again Christian has accepted the
Eternal fine which was payed for him on the cross by Jesus Christ.
God Loved You so
much that he came down from Heaven and died in your place. He took the
punishment that should have been yours.
Ephesians 2:8, For
by Grace are ye Saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: IT IS THE GIFT OF GOD:
Some people think
that an eternity in the lake of fire is a disproportionate punishment
to the sins committed in his life.
Once again I have
to say that our sins are worse than we imagine them to be in the sight
of God ?
Secondly, if a
man kills his next door neighbour he will go to prison.
If he kills a
policeman he will get a longer sentence.
If he kills the
Prime Minister, an even longer prison sentence.
If he kills the
monarch of the country he will not be coming out of prison for the rest
of his natural life.
We can see that
even by society's standards, the value of the person
against whom the crime is committed determines the length of the prison
sentence
Our sins, are
crimes committed against an infinite, eternal and Holy God, who has
given us life, and all good things to enjoy.
Therefore the
punishment is eternal.
Revelation 20:14,
And death and hell were cast into the lake of fire. This is the second
death. 15, And whosoever
was not found written in the book of life was cast into the lake of
fire.
I hope and pray that
after reading this, you will see the Goodness and Mercy of God and also
your own Sins in a New Light.
1Peter 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.
Acts 2:38 Then
Peter said unto them, Repent, and be baptized every one
of you in the name of Jesus Christ for the remission of sins, and ye shall
receive the gift of the Holy Ghost.
US
