Here's me at a recent festival, discussing with these folks why God gave us His Ten Commandments...not to show us how to live, but to show us our need for a Savior. I'm the chubby little guy in the plaid shirt.
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The Reasonableness of Hell

(The following is taken from The Evidence Bible, Psalm 55:15 footnote.)

There are those who say, "I don’t mind going to hell. All my friends will be there."

Obviously, those who flippantly say such things don’t believe in the biblical concept of hell. Their understanding of the nature of God is erroneous. The slow-witted criminal thinks that the electric chair is a place to put up his feet for a while and relax. It may be wise therefore to speak with him for a few moments about the reasonableness of a place called hell.

Reason with him by saying, "If a judge in Florida turns a blind eye to the unlawful dealings of the Mafia, if he sees their murderous acts and deliberately turns the other way, is he a good or bad judge? He’s obviously corrupt, and should be brought to justice himself. If he is a good judge, he will do everything within his power to bring those murderers to justice. He should make sure that they are justly punished.

"If Almighty God sees a man rape and strangle to death your sister or mother, do you think He should look the other way, or bring that murderer to justice? If He looks the other way, He’s corrupt and should be brought to justice Himself. It makes sense then, that if God is good, He will do everything in His power to ensure justice is done. The Bible tells us that He will punish murderers, and the place of punishment—the prison God will send them to—is a place called hell.

"God should punish murderers and rapists. However, God is so good, he will also punish thieves, liars, adulterers, fornicators, and blasphemers. He will even punish those who desired to murder and rape but never took the opportunity. He warns that if we hate someone, we commit murder in our hearts. If we lust, we commit adultery in the heart, etc."

Then take the time to tell him of the reality of hell. Sinners like to picture hell as a fun, hedonistic, pleasure-filled place where they can engage in all the sensual sins that are forbidden here. But Jesus said that it is a place of torment, where the worm never dies and the fire is never quenched (Matthew 9:45-47). We tend to forget what pain is like when we don’t have it. Can you begin to imagine how terrible it would be to be in agony, with no hope of relief? Many human beings go insane if they are merely isolated for a long time from other people. Imagine how terrible it would be if God merely withdrew all the things we hold so dear—friendship, love, color, light, peace, joy, laughter, and security. Hell isn’t just a place with an absence of God’s blessings, it is punishment for sin. It is literal torment, forever. That’s why the Bible warns that it is a fearful thing to fall into the hands of the living God.

God has given His Law to convince men of their sins, and unless a sinner is convinced that he has sinned against God, he won’t see that hell is his eternal destiny. He may consider it a fit place for others, but not for himself. That’s why we mustn’t hesitate to open up the Law and show that each individual is personally responsible for sin, and that God’s wrath abides on him because of it. Ask him to consider why you would say such things to him if it wasn’t true. Tell him to examine your motives. You are so concerned for his eternal welfare that you are prepared to risk offending him.

Then ask him if he would sell an eye for a million dollars. Would he sell both for ten million? No one in his right mind would. Our eyes are precious to us.

How much more then is our eternal soul worth?

The Reality of Hell

(The following is taken from the Way of the Master Online School of Biblical Evangelism at www.biblicalevangelism.com.)

“Save some, O Christians! By all means, save some. From yonder flames and outer darkness, and the weeping, wailing, and gnashing of teeth, seek to save some! Let this, as in the case of the apostle, be your great, ruling object in life, that by all means you might save some.”

- Charles H. Spurgeon

“There is no doctrine which I would more willingly remove from Christianity than the doctrine of hell, if it lay in my power. But it has the full support of Scripture and, especially, of our Lord’s own words; it has always been held by the Christian Church, and it has the support of reason.”

- C.S. Lewis

While it is true that God is love (1 John 4:8), He is also just (Nehemiah 9:32,33; 2 Thessalonians 1:6) and eternal (Psalm 90:2; 1 Timothy 1:17). God will therefore punish the evil doer (Isaiah 13:11) and this punishment will be eternal. It will also be conscious. Scripture tells us of the rich man who found himself in hell (Luke 16:19–31). He was conscious and 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.” We tend to forget what pain is like when we don’t have it. Can you imagine how terrible it would be to be in agony, with no hope of relief?

Many human beings go insane if they are merely isolated for a long time from other people. Imagine how terrible it would be if God simply withdrew all the things we hold so dear—friendship, love, color, light, peace, joy, laughter. Hell isn’t just a place with an absence of God’s blessings; it is punishment for sin. It is literal torment, forever. That’s why the Bible warns that it is a fearful thing to fall into the hands of the living God. The fate of the unsaved is described with such fearful words as the following:

● “Shame and everlasting contempt” (Daniel 12:2)
● “Everlasting punishment” (Matthew 25:46)
● “Weeping and gnashing of teeth” (Matthew 24:51)
● “Fire unquenchable” (Luke 3:17)
● “Indignation and wrath, tribulation and anguish” (Romans 2:8,9)
● “Everlasting destruction from the presence of the Lord” (2 Thessalonians 1:9)
● “Eternal fire . . . the blackness of darkness for ever” (Jude 7,13)

Revelation 14:10,11 tells us the final, eternal destiny of the sinner: “He shall be tormented with fire and brimstone . . . the smoke of their torment ascended up for ever and ever: and they have no rest day or night.” Scripture is quite clear: hell is a real place. It is not mere unconsciousness. It is not temporal. It is eternal 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). Jesus spoke more of hell than of heaven and spent much time warning people not to go there. After all, if people just stopped existing, why warn them? If hell were temporal, they’d get out in a while. But because it is eternal and conscious, we must do everything we can to warn them.

However, a sinner won’t see that hell is his eternal destiny unless he is convinced by the Law that he has sinned against God. He may consider hell a fit place for others, but not for himself. That’s why we must not hesitate to open up the Law and show that each individual is personally responsible for his sin, and that God’s wrath abides on him because of it.

(Note: Next post will discuss the "reasonableness" of Hell.)

The Law of the Lord

According to Psalm 19:7a, "The law of the Lord is perfect, converting the soul:..." Hence the name of our ministry, Perfect Law Ministries. Charles H. Spurgeon, the "Prince of Preachers," said, "I do not believe that any man can preach the gospel who does not preach the Law. The Law is the needle, and you cannot draw the silken thread of the gospel through a man's heart unless you first send the needle of the Law to make way for it."

Paul said, in Romans 7:7, "...I had not known sin, but by the law..."

Galatians 3:24 tells us, "the law was our schoolmaster, to bring us to Christ..."

1 Timothy 1:8 says that the "law is good, if it is used lawfully."

1 John 3:4 informs us that sin is defined as "transgression of the law."

Let me ask you a question: Proverbs 20:6 asserts that most people will proclaim their own goodness, so...do you consider yourself to be a good person?

If you said, “Yes,” then you’re just like most people. But how do you define “good?” Chances are, your definition would be a little different from the next person, and theirs would be a little different from the next, and so on.

However, there is one definition of “good” that applies to everyone.

The Ten Commandments define “good” according to God’s perfect standard, which never changes (Exodus 20:1-17).

Have you kept the Ten Commandments? To find out, answer the following questions honestly:

Have you ever lied (even one fib, half-truth, or exaggeration)? Have you ever stolen anything in your whole life, no matter how small (the value doesn’t matter)?

If you said, “Yes,” then you are a lying thief. Bad news, huh? Hang on…there’s more:

Have you ever had sex outside of marriage? If so, you’re a fornicator. Jesus said that “Whoever looks at a woman to lust after her hath has committed adultery with her already in his heart” (Matthew 5:28).” If you’ve ever hated someone, the Bible says you are a murderer (1 John 3:15).

What’s more, you have a conscience (“conscience” means “with knowledge”), so when you sin, you do it with knowledge that it’s wrong (Romans 2:15).

Bearing in mind that God is perfect, and that he has seen your every thought, when you stand before Him on Judgment Day and He judges you by the Ten Commandments, will you be innocent or guilty?

If you’ve been honest so far, you’ve already seen that you’d be guilty before God. So would you go to Heaven or Hell?

The bible says that “all liars, shall have their part in the lake which burneth with fire and brimstone,” (Revelation 21:8), and that no adulterers, fornicators, thieves, or murderers can enter the kingdom of Heaven. You might not believe that, but it will happen no matter what you believe.

That brings us to the good news: Do you know what God did for you so you wouldn’t have to go to Hell?

“But God commendeth His love toward us, in that, while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us” (Romans 5:8).” You are guilty of breaking God’s Law, but Jesus took your punishment…He paid your fine in full…by suffering and dying on a cross 2000 years ago. Then He rose from the dead and defeated the grave.

That’s good news for you because if you repent (which means to confess and turn away from your sin) and put your trust in Jesus to save you (that is, if you trust Jesus like you would trust a parachute…you wouldn’t just believe in it, you’d put it on and hold tightly to it), then God will forgive you and grant you everlasting life – what better news could there be!

Read the Bible every day and obey what you read. God will never let you down.