Back to the Future (Part 19)

Everyone can think a place that they would rather not go; places that cause the heart to beat a little faster in fear, and moisten the palms of our hands with perspiration.  For me, just the thought of going to get a shot causes me anxiety, even though I know most shots don't really hurt.  The idea of talking or visiting with someone from the IRS causes some stress even when I know all the paperwork is in working order.  And as a pastor, it takes some prompting of my self-conscience to go to the home of someone I know may be upset with me.  Yet as a Christian (a person who has given their heart to Jesus Christ and is committed to follow Him where-ever He leads), there is one destination of the most stressful kind, that we will never have to visit, and that is hell.  In Revelation chapter 20, the apostle John gives us a glimpse into hell and the lake of fire, two places that were made for the devil and his angels; yet a place that all people will go who choose to reject Christ as Savior and Lord, and try to get to heaven on their own terms.   

God is perfect, holy, and righteous.  Sin is not conforming to God's law and standard of living.  So by the very definition, sin and God can never mix, ever.  So while heaven is the place where God dwells, it makes perfect sense that hell would be the place that sin demands.  The Bible states that all humanity who have rejected Christ Jesus will stand before the Righteous Judge at the Great White Throne Judgement (20:11-15), not to defend themselves but to hear their sentence.  All the lost will be judged from several books, including the Bible and the Lamb's Book of Life, and their final sentence will be eternal death in the lake of fire.  There will be no second chances, no do-overs, no mercy.  The punishment for a sinful, rebellious attitude toward God's Word will manifest itself in this awful place called the Lake of Fire.  As Christians, we are quick to warn people about a bad restaurant, but why in God's name are we timid to warn people about a places Jesus mentioned more times than heaven, hell.  If we are truly walking close to Christ, then we will have the passion to tell more people about the realities of hell, a place that should bring fear to our heart anytime we hear the word.