Following Judah's Lion

Hell and the Church

Rev.20:15 - And whosoever was not found written in the book of life was cast into the lake of fire.

Do not just gloss over those words. Read them and invite them to disturb your being. If those words are true, then they are the most disturbing warnings that man could ever imagine. The doctrine of hell has become a theological tennis ball with professing believers taking sides. But there can be only one side that is true. And the Scriptures are clear; hell exists.

But for those of us that cannot deny God’s Word and believe there is an eternal place called hell, can we say with certainty that our lives genuinely translate our stated belief? I know we can defend our doctrines with great and swelling words and pinpoint exegesis, but if we had only our lives to defend what we believe could we point to that as evidence of our faith?

A believer was sharing the doctrine of hell to an unbeliever. He explained to him that those who die without Christ go to spend eternity separated from God, and in a great deal of torment - forever. The unbeliever, stunned by the magnitude of such thought, looked at this believer in amazement and bewilderment. “Do you actually believe that?”, asked the unbeliever.

“Yes,” said the believer, “I really do.”

The unbeliever replied, “Well, if I believed that to be true, I would crawl on my hands and knees over broken glass in order to tell anyone and everyone I could.”

What is this unbeliever saying? What point is he making? It is obvious that he has revealed a glaring hypocrisy that exists in the church and in the lives of believers. If there is a place called hell which is the destiny for all unredeemed sinners, and if when a sinner enters hell he can never escape, then what in God’s dear name is the church doing? In fact, the tension of such a belief is so great, that many preachers are abandoning the entire concept and running toward some “love wins” theology that removes all passion for souls and soothes the conscience concerning the prospect of eternity without God.

We now live in a ecclesiastical environment that actually teaches that faithful Muslims, Hindus, Buddhists, Jews, and almost everyone else will receive redemption without believing on the Lord Jesus. And if that is not taught openly, then it is implied by the tepid tone of our preaching, and the passion for buildings, gymnasiums, exorbitant staff salaries, and obscene amounts of church debt which is almost never for missionary efforts, unless you believe the disingenuous rhetoric about buildings being evangelistic tools. And if we examine the prayer life of the average church collectively and individually, then it becomes painfully obvious that we are not concerned about sinners going to hell, regardless of our doctrinal protestations to the contrary. And of course if you believe that God has already chosen a select and miniscule few who He wishes to be saved, then you cannot have a genuine passion for the salvation of souls. The outcome is already written in stone.

But can we with a straight face continue to say we believe in an eternity with two dwelling places? Let us be frank, the concept of hell is extremely difficult to believe, and when it is not taught with tears and passion from our pulpits, then living in accordance with that reality is almost insurmountable. Everything in this world openly and subtly attacks any and all concepts of eternal punishment and justice. From the heretical teachings of the false teachers, to the earthly lullabies sung by those whose statement of faith includes some antiseptic acknowledgement of the place called hell. If hell does not exist then people like me are madmen, but if hell does exist then we stand indicted by our own words.

Think about it. Believers are consumed with everything from the lives of British royalty to the latest gossip in Hollywood, and from the political sirens from the right or left to the anticipation of economic good news. Gas prices, mortgages rates, sports, new restaurants, new cars, health clubs, and anything that will cost more obsesses the western world, and the church happily joins in with the world and in fact lets them lead. But when are we obsessed with the eternal plight of the world, and specifically those within walking distance of our very homes? When was the last time a believing friend called you and shared with you that he or she has a burden, a extraordinary burden, for the lost?

When was the last time your preacher could not finish his message because he wept violently over the souls within his own community? I do not say that should be the norm lest it becomes a religious tradition, but does it ever occur? Does the church ever have an all night prayer meeting with the distinct purpose of praying for souls and begging the Holy Spirit to break us and remold u into vessels of light to the nations? We party too much; we play too much; we enjoy the pleasures of this material world while millions starve for food and the gospel.

Do I paint too bleak a picture? Well then, just go on with what we now call church and watch the world slide into eternity without the gospel. Go ahead, blend into your community and avoid the shame and ridicule that might accompany a bold and humble witness for Jesus Christ. Build bigger church barns and fill them with letter transfers and the children of believing families, and convince yourself that you are walking in the footsteps and the power of the Lord Jesus. It is not difficult to construct a local faith community that “meets your needs” and one in which you find solace and good fellowship. If that is what God desires then “Voilà!”, we have created such a thing with great innovation and communicative effectiveness. We have ministered to ourselves with determination and even some financial support.

Oh, but there is world of suffering and spiritual death out there. These whited fields no nothing of our quest for church activities and “Christian” cruises. They exist unwittingly in a spiritual vortex, and they live as “strangers from the covenants of promise, having no hope, and without God in the world.” The Macedonian call has been drowned out by the desire for things and “your best life now”. The church weeps when their dogs die, but are dry eyed audiences that give little thought to what is transpiring all around them.

How can the lost world believe we have any credibility when we profess with our mouths and doctrinal statements such unimaginable spiritual realities, but we live as though they do not actually exist? And to soothe our consciences we support missionary efforts, as well as take issue with the Rob Bell’s of this present age. And in the very height of spiritual hubris and grace denying self elevation, we magnify the sin of lost sinners and wage some imaginary moral war against the very souls Jesus died to save.

Dear ones, I stand on no pedestal and I openly and publicly admit to being in desperate need of a penetrating revival on a personal level. I see most clearly my own grievous shortcomings and my own paradoxical hypocrisy between what I believe and what I do. I do not share what I believe the Spirit desires because I so thoroughly exhibit it in my own life, but whatever surgery is done through my words must cut deeply into me own spiritual chest first and foremost, and remove a heart of stone, and replace it with a heart that beats continuously with a love and obedience to the Lord Jesus Christ and His kingdom.

And it is that context that I exhort you to WATCH THIS VIDEO and see what God desires for His church.